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Photo: a collage of documents from the Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the cover of the issue of Sarajevski list, which published an article about sending children from Herzegovina to Croatia
War suffering in the World War I affected every country and participant in thousands of possible and seemingly impossible ways. The departure of young and able-bodied men to the front, the weakest and most vulnerable remaining to protect their homes and their own lives in practically impossible conditions, poverty that was often present even before the events of the war, are just some of the adversities faced by the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The following story explores the difficult situation in Herzegovina caused by the war, - a famine. By the joint action of two prominent individuals and their associates, Herzegovinian children were provided food and shelter in Croatia. The action was organized in 1917 in order to prevent an even greater tragedy - children dying of hunger.
With the working-age population sent to war and a drought that had lasted several months, the people of Herzegovina faced famine in the second half of 1917. Due to the difficult social conditions, the school year of 1916/1917 ended earlier. As per the school authorities, the children were needed at their homes to work in the fields and combat hunger. Summer was marked by a severe drought and social conditions failed to improve as autumn started. In fact, the situation had only deteriorated.
The dire situation in Herzegovina was described in detail in the report of the School Board of the National Primary School in Rasno (the city of Široki Brijeg, BiH) dated September 8, 1917. The document provides the following reasons for the departure of children from Herzegovina:
“ Fathers, guardians and brothers have been mobilized. Those left home are old people, mothers and children, all of whom are unable to work and take care of the house…. Fields and arable land remain uncultivated. … The lands that had been cultivated with great effort were subsequently destroyed by the drought. With reduced crop yields, most people experienced extreme hunger. ... The income from tobacco sales used to sustain us and then some. But the tobacco too has suffered from the drought … We’ve lost half of our livestock, which was essential to us for food, clothes and shoes, for cultivating and ploughing the land... we rely on a limited amount of grain. Servings of grain were distributed to the people completely randomly, and had we not had our livestock, grass and wild greens, we would have surely starved… In addition, one of the main problems is water scarcity. The wells have run dry, leaving both us and the livestock to walk 2-3 hours in search of the nearest source of water. There is no water in schools, even though a single school requires at least eight water casks per day. Neither the school nor the people can contribute anything to help the poor school children. The school is on its uppers, lacks sufficient money and cannot efficiently allocate it. It is evident that we cannot send our children to school as they are hungry, thirsty and barefoot. We ask that the government – or anyone in a position to – help us…”
Dr. Josip Šilović, the founder of the Child Protection League and the president of the Central Provincial Committee for the Protection of Families of Mobilized and Fallen Soldiers of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, initiated a rescue effort to send the starving children to Croatia and provide them meals. In Herzegovina, this effort was initiated by fra Didak Buntić, the director of the High School in Široki Brijeg, and supported by other Herzegovinian friars.
The first details of when they began sending Herzegovinian children to Croatia come from the transcript of a telegram sent by the Provincial Government to the president of the Central Committee, dr. Josip Šilović, on September 10, 1917, in which it is stated that “four hundred Roman Catholic children from Herzegovina, with fra Didak Buntić as their guardian, are expected to arrive in Bosanski Brod on Thursday, September 13, at 7 a.m. After undergoing disinfection, they are then to take the evening train to Zagreb”.
Photo: report from the School Board of the National Primary School in Rasno, which testifies a difficult situation in Herzegovina (Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Photo: a letter from Fr. Dominik Mandić in which he describes the journey of the group of children he was accompanying (Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Church and/or school authorities made a list of these children, mostly between 6 and 12 years old, who came from the poorest of families. The children would walk to the train station in Mostar on appointed dates, from where they were sent to the town of Bosanski Brod. There they underwent disinfection and had overnight accommodation organized. The next day, the children would go to Slavonski Brod, from where they were sent to foster families in Slavonia and Srijem.
The effort continued up to the second half of 1918, and it later included Orthodox and Muslim children from other parts of BIH, especially from the Bihać district. In most cases, the children were sent to stay with families of the same religion, although there were exceptions. The conditions in which the children were accommodated are recorded in archival material and periodicals from that time.
The children attended school in Croatia, “the illiterate older kids had a writing course arranged for them”, and the other older kids were given an opportunity to learn various crafts. Considering the harsh conditions in Herzegovina, it is reasonable to assume that the children quickly accommodated to life in Slavonia: “many of them got used to our customs and way of life, and don’t even want to return to Herzegovina”.
The accommodation of the Herzegovinian children in Croatia is best depicted in the records of dr. Sladoevečki and fra Mandić, since the two witnessed these events. Dr. Eugen Sladović pl. Sladoevečki, government undersecretary who accompanied most of the transports, writes (source: Sladović pl. Sladoevički, Eugen, “The Travel of the Third Vacation Colony of Herzegovinian Children to Croatia", Sarajevski list, Sarajevo, no. 248, October 13, 1917, p. 1-2.): “Welcoming the children in Slavonia exceeds all expectations. It cannot be put into words. We witness a sincere brotherly cordiality, one that overwhelms man and children with a whole gamut of emotions. The populace is eager to take in the children, competing to see who will provide them with greater comfort and care. The children who arrived in Croatia with the first transports can no longer be identified as Herzegovinian”.
A large part of the story about the arrival of children from Herzegovina we are following through the letter of Fr. Dominik Mandić from Herzegovina, a Franciscan who participated in the rescue.
Fr, Dominik Mandić accompanied a group that was sent to Inđija, a town in Vojvodina. He checked on the children the very next day after handing them over. In his letter, fra Mandić writes the following: “We could not even recognize many of the kids. Almost everyone was given a new outfit and donned it the very first day. Some of them were in a smart black suit with a tie and cuffs, and they wore elegant yellow shoes. The residents of Inđija are wealthy and kind, and the children will enjoy their stay. About 15 of them were provided with various occupations. Those who did not go to school in Herzegovina will attend it here, and many will have the opportunity to learn about rational economy”.
On several occasions Sarajevski list wrote about the rescue operation in Herzegovina.
According to these sources, 12 961 children were sent to Croatia and Vojvodina to be given food: 7,120 of them were Serbian Orthodox, 4,820 Roman Catholic and 121 Muslim. 8,841 children were placed in Croatia, and 4,120 in the Hungarian counties of Bacs-Bodrog, Baranya and Torontal.
Sending children to Croatia saved thousands of lives. The children found new homes, they were provided with food and some even learned crafts.
Photo: article about saving children from Herzegovina in Sarajevski list (Sarajevski List, no. 231)
Prepared by: Šimun Novaković, Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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