Roza Papo (1914–1984) was a Bosnian Jewish physician and general of the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

. She was the first woman to rise to the rank of general on the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Early life

Roza Papo was born on 6 February 1914 into a

Sephardi Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

family in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. Her mother, Mirjama Papo (born Abinun), was the daughter of a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

from Gračanica. Roza Papo studied at the

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

and worked as physician in Sarajevo, Begov Han and

Olovo Olovo ( sr-cyrl, Олово) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated about 50 kilometers northeast of the capital city of Sara ...

before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

War service

Following the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1941, Papo made contact with the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

in Ozren and started aiding them. Jews throughout Europe joined

resistance movements A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through e ...

in an attempt to survive, but Papo's decision was also motivated by patriotism. Papo officially joined the Partisans in December 1941. The following year, she also became a member of the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...

. During the war, she contracted

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

, and during a battle in Ozren in 1942, she was slightly wounded in the face by an airplane bomb. As an officer, Papo served directly under

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

, the leader of the yugoslav resistance. She led the recruitment system and commanded the network of the different Partisan

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...

s. Not wishing to be seen as a coward, she refused to take shelter during an air raid in 1942 and nearly lost an eye. She reached the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1943 and was a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

by 1945.

Post-war career

The Partisans emerged victorious from the Second World War in 1945, but Papo's parents and both siblings had been killed. Her mother and all four aunts were killed in

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

. Upon returning to Sarajevo, Papo lived in a hotel, but soon moved to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

to specialize in infectology. Papo continued her career as physician in the army, and became the first head of the Military Medical Academy. She formulated the first criteria for the selection of military physicians. Having published over 50 papers, she became a professor at the academy in 1965. Rosa Papo was one of the first infectologists in Yugoslavia. She is credited with introducing new diagnostic methods, primarily liver biopsies, as well as the introduction of precise diagnosis of viral hepatitis and

hyperbilirubinemia Bilirubin (BR) (adopted from German, originally bili—bile—plus ruber—red—from Latin) is a red-orange compound that occurs in the normcomponent of the straw-yellow color in urine. Another breakdown product, stercobilin, causes the brown ...

, as well as

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and purulent

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

.''Знаменити Јевреји Србије : биографски лексикон''. Association of Jewish Communities of Serbia. Belgrade, 2011. p. 176. Papo received six medals for her contributions, including the

Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941 The Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941 (Macedonian language, Macedonian, Slovene language, Slovene and sh-Latn-Cyrl, Partizanska spomenica 1941., Партизанска споменица 1941., separator=" / ") is a commemorative Soci ...

, the

Order of Merits for the People Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

, and the Order of Brotherhood and Unity. In 1973, she was promoted to the rank of major general. Yugoslavia at the time had more Jewish generals than Israel, and Papo was the first woman general in all the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. As such, she was affectionately known as "the general with braids". Papo had a son, who died in 1969, and a daughter. She died on 25 February 1984 in

Decorations

Order of Bravery The Order of Bravery () is a Bulgarian order which existed during the Kingdom of Bulgaria and currently exists in the Republic of Bulgaria. It was the second highest in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and is the fourth highest in the Republic of Bulgaria ...

(October 1944) *

(1952) * Order of the Yugoslav Army - II degree (1956) * Order of Brotherhood and Unity - II degree (1960) *Order of Military Merit with a Big Star (I degree) (1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papo, Roza 1914 births 1984 deaths Generals of the Yugoslav People's Army Yugoslav military doctors Bosnia and Herzegovina people of World War II Military personnel from Sarajevo Women in the Yugoslav Partisans Yugoslav Partisans members Jews in the Yugoslav Partisans Bosnia and Herzegovina Sephardi Jews Jewish physicians School of Medicine, University of Zagreb alumni Female army generals Yugoslav communists