THE ACTIVITY OF DIANA BUDISAVLJEVIĆ WITH THE CHILDREN VICTIMS OF WORLD WAR II

Djelovanje socijalnih aktivista, najčešće žena, u zbrinjavanju djece stradalnika 2. svjetskog rata značajno je pridonijelo konačnom uspostavljanju socijalnog rada kao profesije u Hrvatskoj 1952. godine osnutkom Više škole za socijalne radnike u Zagrebu. U ovom prilogu to djelovanje je ilustrirano opisom rada Diane Budisavljević koja je u razdoblju 1941. do 1945. potaknula i organizirala spašavanje iz logora, sudjelovala u zbrinjavanju te vodila sustavne podatke o oko 12.000, uglavnom pravoslavne, djece. Činila je sve da sačuva identitete djece i tako omogući njihov povratak obiteljima. Ovako osmišljen rad predstavlja praksu pomaganja u skladu sa suvremenim aspektima primjene Konvencije o pravima djeteta kad se radi o djeci u ratu, koja je donesena mnogo godina kasnije. Iako svoje djelovanje nije započela s idejom "da radi socijalni rad", Diana Budisavljević kao nezavisna socijalna aktivistica je jedna od preteča suvremenog socijalnog rada u Hrvatskoj u promicanju i zastupanju ljudskih prava marginaliziranih skupina i organizaciji rada temeljem dobro dokumentirane prakse.The activity of social activists, primarily women, in providing care for the children who were victims of World War II considerably contributed to the final establishment of social work as a profession in Croatia in 1952, when the College for Social Workers was founded in Zagreb. Such activity is illustrated in this paper through the description of the work of Diana Budisavljević, who instigated and organised the rescue from camps, participated in the care of and kept systematic records of 12,000 children, mainly Orthodox. She did all in her power to maintain the identities of the children and thus enable their return to their families. The work organised in this manner represents the practice of providing aid to the children suffering from the war in accordance with the contemporary aspects of the application of the Convention for the Rights of the Child, which was passed many years later. Although she did not start her activity with the idea that she was «doing social work», as an independent social activist, Diana Budisavljević is one of the forerunners of modern social work in Croatia in the promotion and respect of human rights of marginalized groups and the organisation of work based on well documented practice