Valerija Skrinjar Tvrz
Valerija Skrinjar Tvrz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 8 November 1928 |
| Died | 16 July 2023 (aged 95) Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Other names | Honorču Valči |
| Occupation(s) | Partisan codebreaker, journalist, writer and translator |
| Employer | Tanjug |
| Organization | Slovene Partisans |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Sixth of April Sarajevo Award |
Valerija Skrinjar Tvrz (8 November 1928 – 16 July 2023), also known by her illegal pseudonyms Honorču and Valči, was a Slovene partisan codebreaker, journalist, writer and translator.
Biography
Valerija Skrinjar Tvrz was born into a mining family on 8 November 1928 in Zagorje ob Savi, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.[1]
At the age of 16, Skrinjar joined the Slovene Partisans,[1] part of the anti-Nazi resistance movement led by Yugoslav revolutionary communists during World War II. She worked as a codebreaker in the operational headquarters of the Šlandr and Zidanšek brigades.[1][2]
After the end of World War II, Skrinjar travelled around the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia working as a correspondent for the Serbian state-owned news agency Tanjug.[1]
Skrinjar lived in Sarajevo, in the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina federated state within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina), for 40 years.[1][3] She considered Bosnia her own country.[4] She was the author of the "Dragon's Blood" trilogy of historical novels about Bosnian identity,[5][6] which cover the medieval period through to World War I and then the Bosnian War (1992–1995).[7][8] During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Skrinjar fled from Sarajevo to Slovenia with her husband.[1]
Skrinjar was honoured with a Sixth of April Sarajevo Award.[3] She was interviewed about her experiences during World War II for the Radiotelevizija Slovenija documentary series Spomini, broadcast in 2019.[9]
Skrinjar died on 16 July 2023 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, aged 95.[1][10]
Legacy
Skrinjar was portrayed in the film Breakthrough (2019), directed by Dejan Babosek.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Umrla je partizanska učiteljica in šifrantka ter pisateljica Valerija Skrinjar - Tvrz". Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV) (in Slovenian). Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ^ E-občina. "Valerija Skrinjar Tvrz (1928 - 2023)". www.visitzagorje.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ^ a b "Slovo Valerije Skrinjar Tvrz". Savus (in Slovenian). 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ^ Fischer, Ilse; Hahn, Johannes (29 July 2016). Europa neu denken III: Die andere(n) Seite(n) des Meeres (in German). Verlag Anton Pustet. ISBN 978-3-7025-8033-9.
- ^ Pečenković, Vildana (30 December 2022). "Issues of Identity in Trilogija o Bosni by Valerija Skrinjar-Tvrz". Društvene i humanističke studije (in Bosnian). 7 (4(21)): 219–240. doi:10.51558/2490-3647.2022.7.4.219. ISSN 2490-3647.
- ^ "Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian Studies: Language, Linguistics, and Literature". The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies. 85 (1): 567–576. 25 February 2025. doi:10.1163/22224297-08501032 (inactive 6 August 2025). ISSN 0084-4152.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2025 (link) - ^ Gabrovec, Alenka (9 August 2019). "Sledi korakov: Valerija Skrinjar - Tvrz". Slovenec. Archived from the original on 21 March 2025. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ^ Hunt, Peter (2 August 2004). International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Routledge. p. 1216. ISBN 978-1-134-43684-2.
- ^ Slovenija, Televizija. "Spomini: Valerija Skrinjar - Tvrz, napovednik". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ^ "Poslovila se je partizanka in pisateljica Valerija Skrinjar". www.slovenskenovice.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 26 July 2025.