Herta Haas (29 March 1914 – 5 March 2010) was a Slovene and

Yugoslav partisan The Yugoslav Partisans, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

during World War II and the second wife of Josip Broz Tito, leader of the partisans and a future

president of Yugoslavia The president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or the president of the Republic for short, was the head of state of that country from 14 January 1953 to 4 May 1980. Josip Broz Tito was the only person to occupy the office. Tito ...

Biography

Haas was born 1914 in Slovenska Bistrica, which was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

at the time. She joined the revolutionary workers movement in high school and worked as a courier between groups in Yugoslavia and France. Haas met Tito in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1937, a year after he had divorced his first wife, Pelagija "Polka" Belousova. In 1940, Haas travelled to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

to deliver a passport to Tito, who was returning from a trip to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. Their relationship soon turned romantic, according to Tito's authorized biography, ''The Loves of Josip Broz Tito.'' The couple married in 1940 and returned to Yugoslavia using aliases. They lived in Zagreb until the Invasion of Yugoslavia, when Tito moved to Belgrade, while Haas, who was pregnant with their only child, remained in Zagreb. In May 1941, Haas gave birth to their only son, Mišo Broz, who was a Croatian ambassador to Indonesia from 2004 to 2009. Partisan supporters hid Haas and her son from Nazi German authorities and their allies, but she was eventually caught and arrested. She was swapped for a German officer in a 1943 prisoner exchange between the Germans and the Partisans. By the time Haas was released and rejoined the Partisans in 1943, Tito was having an affair with his personal secretary Davorjanka Paunović, who was code named "Zdenka". Haas and Tito suddenly separated in 1943 in Jajce during the second meeting of AVNOJ after she reportedly walked in on him and Davorjanka Paunović. Haas spent much of the rest of World War II in Slovenia, away from Tito. Haas reportedly met Tito only once after World War II during a visit to his presidential office in Belgrade. Following the end of the war, Haas worked at several Yugoslav government institutions. She remarried and gave birth to two daughters. She lived much of her later life in relative obscurity. Haas died in Belgrade, Serbia, on 5 March 2010 at the age of 95.

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Herta 1914 births 2010 deaths Yugoslav Partisans members Military personnel from Maribor Military personnel from Zagreb Military personnel from Belgrade Josip Broz Tito Women in the Yugoslav Partisans Slovenian people of German descent