The life of Delfa Ivanić is a magnificent struggle. This extraordinary woman was undeterred by wars, suffering, or death, and neither the arrests by Nazis nor Communists frightened her.
Just over 121 years ago, she was among the founders of the Circle of Serbian Sisters. With the same passion, in 1912, she established the Fourth Reserve Hospital for the Wounded alongside Lady Paget, just as she later, in July 1946, wrote an open letter to the Presidium of the National Assembly of the FNRJ (Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia), offering to be executed instead of the condemned Draža Mihailović. Njegoš would not have been offended if it were written about Delfa: "She truly had reason to be born."
A girl born in March 1881, to a Serbian Catholic father, Ivan Musić, from the Herzegovinian village of Klobuk, one of the leaders of the uprising in restless Herzegovina, and a mother, Cvija, from the heroic Vuksanović family from Stolac. Delfa grew up to the songs, customs, and legacies as firm as the Herzegovinian stone. Her father Ivan, handsome, educated, and beloved, was celebrated in folk songs, and when someone is immortalized in song, it usually means family suffering and tragedy.
After the uprising in Herzegovina, they sought refuge in Cetinje, then in Podgorica. However, due to intrigues and misunderstandings between the father and the Montenegrin prince Nikola Petrović, they relocated to Serbia, to Belgrade. The mother fell ill, most likely from tuberculosis, and died as early as 1886. In 1888, both Delfi and the father, Ivan, passed away. Ivan was buried in Belgrade as an Orthodox Serb, and the renowned hero’s funeral service was conducted by Bishop Nikanor Ružić of Žiča.
Restless Times
After her father's death, Delfa was adopted by Mihailo Bogićević, then President of the Belgrade Municipality, and his wife, Katarina Konstantinović, a close relative of the Obrenović dynasty. Delfa called Mihailo "father," and they accepted her as their own daughter. She excelled at school in Belgrade and enrolled in chemistry studies in Geneva, where she remained for a year.
“Unfortunately, her studies were interrupted by the death of Mihailo Bogićević, as there was no longer enough money for her education. When she returned to Serbia, she decided to work. She chose a job in Skopje and, in 1896, moved to what she called "Dušan's Skopje" - explains Danijela Krunić, President of the Circle of Serbian Sisters in Belgrade.
During that time in Skopje, Branislav Nušić arrived and introduced Delfa to Ivan Ivanić. She decided to marry the divorced diplomat, who had a daughter, Ivanka. They married in 1901, on the Feast of Transfiguration, at the Cathedral Church in Belgrade. These were times of great upheaval in Macedonia and Kosovo. The situation for Serbs was dire, and Delfa, living in Skopje, saw this clearly. Many, including Delfa, realized that the Serbian people needed to organize and protect themselves. Throughout this time, there was communication between women like Nadežda Petrović, Mabel Grujić, Delfa Ivanić, Savka Subotić, and Ljubica Luković, all of whom were involved in founding the non-partisan cultural, educational, and humanitarian organization, the Circle of Serbian Sisters, in 1903.
“The Circle of Serbian Sisters was not, and is not, a feminist organization. While they fought for women's rights, it was logical, as women in Serbia at the time had almost no civil liberties. Those who were educated in both the East and West wanted to apply the best of what they had learned to Serbia's fledgling civic society. The organization did not want to align with either the monarchy or political parties but sought to genuinely fight for the Serbian people, primarily in Kosovo and Macedonia. The unification and liberation of the Serbian people was the core reason for founding the Circle of Serbian Sisters. Of course, the fight for women's rights and humanitarian work were also important,” explains Danijela Krunić.
On the Feast of the Assumption in 1903, the founding assembly of the Circle of Serbian Sisters was held in the "Kolarac" café, attended by 3,000 women. Savka Subotić, mother of Vojislav Subotić, one of the founders of the Medical Faculty in Belgrade, was elected as the first president. Patriarchal Belgrade was shocked.
However, they gained support from the ascension of King Peter Karađorđević to the throne, who had a visionary understanding of the situation. In 1903, Delfa was the society's secretary. A few years later, Delfa initiated the creation of "nurseries" for children of working mothers, organizing a series of theatre performances to raise funds for the establishment of the first kindergarten in the Balkans. Belgrade was sceptical.
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“The leaders of the Circle were educated and determined. Politicians did not view them favourably either. Of course, they managed to open the kindergarten and began educating women in rural areas,” says Krunić.
Three-Month Courses
A new world order was emerging, and the old one was collapsing, a reality many recognized even before the outbreak of the First Balkan War. At this time, the Circle of Serbian Sisters began recruiting its first nurses. These were serious courses lasting three months, so the women were well-prepared for the First and Second Balkan Wars, as well as the First World War. Before the First Balkan War, the idea of establishing a hospital emerged.
“Ljubica Luković said: ‘This crazy Delfa wants to build a hospital, and we only have 15,000 dinars in the treasury.’ With significant help and efforts from female diplomats in Europe, the Circle of Serbian Sisters founded the so-called Fourth Reserve Hospital, located in Vračar. Initially, the hospital had a modest 70 beds, but by the end of the Balkan Wars, it had around 1,300. They received so many supplies from abroad that they managed to support an additional 47 hospitals in Serbia. The hospital in Niš, funded by Lady Paget, was said to have everything except pedicurists and manicurists,” says Danijela Krunić.
Delfa spent every third night on duty as a nurse at the Fourth Reserve Hospital. It wasn't just her; all the women from the Circle of Serbian Sisters experienced the hardships of war. Jewish women also contributed significantly, helping the wounded and sick with great dedication. One camera captured Natalia Munt, weak as she was, carrying a wounded man on her back. Without that photograph, it would be hard to imagine the dedication and perseverance that characterized these nurses. Delfa was immensely proud of the Fourth Reserve Hospital, which saved many lives.
During the Second Balkan War, in the summer of 1913, there were 11 hospitals in Drač and Lješ, which were in catastrophic condition. Sick and exhausted, Delfa arrived in Albania and raised these hospitals to the highest possible standards. That same year, she contracted typhus. God spared her, as if God himself had further plans for this brave woman.
The First World War found her in Skopje. She managed to secure 20 wagons of aid, bring 54 members of the medical mission, and five doctors from Europe to Serbia.
“In 1914, her family had visas to go to Thessaloniki, but she didn't want to go to Greece. Instead, she went to Priština,” Krunić recalls.
From 1916, Delfa travelled throughout Europe, collecting aid for Serbia. From Nice, Rome, and Paris, a thousand packages a day were ready to be sent to Serbia. That same year, she stayed in Rijeka, a crucial point in Europe during the First World War. In Rome in 1917, she founded the Serbian Women's Committee. Poleksija Todorović, daughter of Matija Ban, served as president. After the war, in 1919, she initiated the establishment of a Home for War Orphans in Čačak. Thanks to Delfa's energy, the home was built..
That same year, along with Mirka Grujić, first lady of the court under Queen Maria, she founded a Home for Disabled Veterans. They opened their doors to forgotten war veterans whom the state had neglected. Their goal wasn't just to provide care but to reintegrate them into society. Around 1,500 war invalids passed through this home.
Delfa became Vice President of the Circle of Serbian Sisters in 1922. It was then that the construction of the Circle's home, complete with a boarding school, began on Resavska Street in Belgrade. Once again, a lack of funds stood in their way, but Serbian industrialist and philanthropist Đorđe Vajfert, a great friend and patron of the Circle, stepped in to help. By 1923, they had built two buildings and a boarding school for about fifty female students.
In 1934, Delfa lost her husband Ivan, and in her memoirs, she wrote that she visited his grave daily for three years. The Circle was all that remained for her. In the darkest times, in 1940, Delfa became the President of the Circle of Serbian Sisters.
However, she wasn’t spared further suffering. That same year, she was arrested by the Gestapo. After several weeks of interrogation, Delfa and 52 other women were released, but they were each forced to pay a ransom of 1,000 dinars to the German occupying authorities. She vividly remembered the 22 questions she had to answer during her interrogation by the Gestapo, such as who the donors were and who the members of the Circle were. The Nazis officially banned the Circle of Serbian Sisters from operating. However, the women continued their efforts in secret, helping refugees who fled from the Ustasha's atrocities, packing aid packages, and sending supplies. Later, when their activities became impossible, they joined the Red Cross.
Arrested Again
At the end of 1944, Delfa was arrested once again, this time by the Communists, who accused her of being a traitor and a bourgeois. She spent several months in prison. Thanks to the intervention of Jaša Prodanović, who in March 1945 served as the Minister for Serbia in the Provisional Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, Delfa was eventually released. However, the Communists also banned the Circle of Serbian Sisters, and their building in Belgrade was handed over to the Cultural and Artistic Society "Ivo Lola Ribar." The apartments in the building, which had been built in 1922, were divided among officers of the First Strike Brigade, Second Proletarian Brigade, and others...
Delfa Ivanić stayed quiet only until the trial of Draža Mihailović, when she offered herself as a witness for the defence. Ozna (the Yugoslav secret police) threatened her, warning her not to do so. After the death sentence was passed on Mihailović, Delfa wrote a letter to the Presidium of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FNRJ) offering her own life in exchange for his, to stop further division among the Serbian people. After this letter, Delfa was arrested again in 1946. Once released, she withdrew from public life and wrote her memoirs.
She passed away on 14 August 1972 in Belgrade and was buried at the New Cemetery, beside her husband Ivan.
“Everyone’s deeds eventually come to light. Delfa Ivanić was long forgotten and neglected. Just as the relics of saints, buried deep in the earth, cannot remain hidden forever and perform miracles to reach the people, so too does Delfa Ivanić find her way back to the people from whom she came, for whom she fought so tirelessly, and to whom she gave herself selflessly. The challenge in difficult times isn’t in knowing the truth, but in standing by it, and Delfa Ivanić had the strength to defend the truth, unwaveringly, throughout her entire life,” concludes Danijela Krunić.
The Circle of Serbian Sisters
Name given by Branislav Nušić
The Circle of Serbian Sisters was founded on the Feast of the Assumption, 28 August 1903, in Belgrade, as a civic, female, patriotic, humanitarian, and cultural organization. Its main duty was to help the Serbian people in southern Serbia and Macedonia, who were subjected to Turkish and Albanian terror after the failed 1903 uprising for liberation. The idea came from Nadežda Petrović, a painter, and Delfa Ivanić, a teacher from Skopje.
The name of the organization was given by Branislav Nušić, a Serbian writer, who, along with Ivan Ivanić, a diplomat in Turkey, wrote the statute for the society.
A Shocking Proposal
She prevented the demolition of the Vuk and Dositej Museum
The Vuk and Dositej Museum shared an interesting story, published in the book "Delfa Ivanić: Memories" by Jasmina Milanović in 2012, about how this courageous woman prevented the museum from being demolished before the Second World War:
"In July and August 1930-1931, we were together in Lipik, a spa in Croatia, Ivan and I, along with Professor A. Stanojević, known as Prof-Aca, the director of the gymnasium and head of the Ministry of Education. During our walks and water drinking, he told me that, as a city councillor in Belgrade, he had submitted a proposal to demolish the Vuk and Dositej Museum building for street regulation purposes. When I heard this from Prof Aca, I was shocked and frantic. I began fiercely criticizing this idea and explained that in the cultured world, such monuments are jealously guarded, even at the expense of street regulations. I cited a classic example from Frankfurt am Main—Heine's sausage shop, which the Germans carefully preserved as a cultural monument, even though it stood in the middle of a street. When he was leaving for Belgrade, he promised me that he would withdraw his proposal to demolish the Vuk and Dositej Museum, and that’s exactly what happened. Upon his return, he immediately withdrew his proposal, and my persistence thus saved the Vuk and Dositej Museum building, which today proudly represents our national and cultural heritage."
To the Presidium of the National Assembly of the FNRJ – Belgrade
A Life for Draža Mihailović
"I am addressing the esteemed Presidium of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia with a heartfelt plea for clemency for former General Draža Mihailović. I am writing personally, in my own name, but I am convinced that many hundreds of thousands of Serbian women stand behind me, just as they have supported my national work for the past 47 years.
“I beg the Presidium to demonstrate both nobility and far-sightedness in this difficult moment and, by sparing the life of one opponent—who undoubtedly made many mistakes, perhaps often against his own will, desires, and intentions—to show a better and more generous spirit than the sentiment of punishing the guilty, the suffering, and the defeated, even when we are the victors. A true victor is certainly the one who knows how to forgive when he is in power, rather than the one who imposes punishment and allows it to be carried out, regardless of whether the punished person is guilty or innocent.
“Kindness and goodness are laws given to us by God, and they are undoubtedly infallible. Nobility and goodness are surely above all rights and written human laws. “Everything else—laws, regulations, and such—is human work, and they can be wrong, often even when it is believed they serve the common good.
“I beg the Presidium to consider my humble and earnest plea and, by this noble act, bring peace to many honest Serbian souls. I believe that this would not only be an immensely appreciated gesture by the Presidium—granting clemency to a great opponent when he is completely defeated—but that it would have an extraordinarily peaceful influence on the Serbian people. I willingly offer my own life, knowing it is of little value, and I ask to be executed instead of the condemned Draža Mihailović."
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With deep gratitude to the Presidium,
In Belgrade, 15 July 1946
Delfa Iv. Ivanić
Daughter of Duke Ivan Musić, Founder and former president of the Circle of Serbian Sisters
11a Dušanova Street, Belgrade
Education in Geneva
Friendship with Dučić
“While studying in Geneva, Delfa Ivanić met Jovan Dučić, who had come for his education. She said that he was depressive, struggling to adjust to the new world, and frequently lamenting, mentioning the Neretva River and Herzegovina. However, when she met him again seven or eight years later, he had completely changed. She said he was no longer the same Jovan Dučić, as he had embraced Western manners and seemed almost embarrassed by some of his youthful poems,” says Danijela Krunić.
Uglješa Balšić