Malkica Dugeč, Croatian writer who promoted Croatian literature in Germany dies at 91

She was forced to leave her homeland after the fall of the Croatian Spring, but she never left Croatia behind in her poetry.

Writer Malkica Dugeč, who lived and worked in Germany for decades and tirelessly promoted Croatian literature and the Croatian language among the diaspora, died Tuesday, September 15, in Stuttgart at the age of 91.

She leaves behind a prolific literary legacy of more than 30 published books, poems included in numerous Croatian and German anthologies, and a life devoted to literature, the Croatian language and her longing for her homeland.

Forced Into Exile After the Croatian Spring

Malkica Dugeč was born in 1936 in Zavidovići, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She attended elementary school in Sarajevo and graduated from high school in Zagreb, where she earned a degree in Croatian language and literature from the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

As a Croatian language and literature teacher, she worked in schools in Požega, Lobor, Gradac near Drniš, Donji Miholjac and elsewhere.

She began publishing poetry in 1953 in the high school magazine Polet, and later in Studentski list. Her first collection of poems, Crveni biseri (Red Pearls), was published in Požega in 1960.

Because of her public advocacy for the Croatian language, membership in Matica hrvatska, support for the 1967 Declaration on the Name and Status of the Croatian Literary Language, participation in the founding assemblies of Matica hrvatska branches across Slavonia, and involvement in the Croatian Spring, she and her husband, professor Božo Dugeč, were forced to emigrate in 1972.

In Germany, she sought political asylum.

Promoted Croatian Literature in Frankfurt

Even in exile, Dugeč continued to write and work to promote Croatian culture.

In the decades before the fall of the Berlin Wall, she regularly presented Croatian writers in exile at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Together with Vinko Nikolić, publisher of Hrvatska revija, Ivona Dončević and Stjepan Šulek of the Kroatische Berichte magazine, and other writers living and working in Western democracies, she took part in activities at the “Croatian Word” stand.

Nearly a Quarter-Century Between Her First Two Collections

Although she continued writing poetry in exile, Dugeč waited nearly a quarter-century to publish her second collection.

It was not until 1984 that Zemlja moja nebo moje (My Land, My Sky) was published in Barcelona by the Library of Hrvatska revija, under the editorship of Vinko Nikolić.

Her literary work appeared in almost all Croatian émigré publications in Europe and around the world. After 1991, she resumed publishing her poems and books in Croatia.

More Than 30 Books

By the end of 2020, more than 30 of her books had been published. Among her notable collections of confessional poetry are Kriška dobrote, Sve dalje od sebe, S Hrvatskom u sebi, Kroz pukotinu neba, Žudnja za smijehom, Zipka, O kamenu poj, Drhtaji ptic, Moć svjetla, U riječ unjedrena, Tragovima bezdomnosti, I cvijet može zaplakati and Žigice vjere.

She also wrote in German, publishing Vjetrom istrgnuta (Vom Winde gerissen). She wrote for children as well, including Početak rasta u ljude, while Suzama pečatim uspomene was published digitally.

Her work was also translated into foreign languages.

Preserved the Memory of Croatian Writers and Intellectuals

Together with professor Kazimir Katalinić, she edited a collection of speeches and essays by her husband, Božo Dugeč, titled Nismo spremni robovati, published by the Croatian Republican Community.

With academician Josip Pečarić, she published Vjenceslav Čižek, a book devoted to the life and work of Croatian poet and martyr Vjenceslav Čižek.

Her books Slobodna misao, Anegdote – Iz tuđine i iz Domovine, Krik iz magle and Za dane buduće were also published by Zagreb-based Tkanica.

Award-Winning Literary Career

From 1991 onward, she published books in Croatia and contributed to numerous literary newspapers and magazines, including Marulić, Jezik, Osvit, Motrišta, Hrvatski iseljenički zbornik and Hrvatsko slovo. She also took part in poetry festivals and literary gatherings throughout Croatia.

Her poems were included in Croatian and German poetry anthologies, lexicons and the Croatian Literary Encyclopedia published by the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography.

In 2005, she received the Dubravko Horvatić Literary Award for her cycle of poems Sebe ne vidiš nikada. In 2007, she received the Antun Branko Šimić Award from the Croatian Writers’ Association of Herzeg-Bosnia for her collection U riječ unjedrena.

In 2014, she received the Fra Lucijan Kordić Literary Award for her poetry collection Žigice vjere.

A Life Devoted to the Croatian Word

Dugeč had been a member of Matica hrvatska since 1970. She was also a member of the Croatian Writers’ Association in Zagreb, the Croatian Writers’ Association of Herzeg-Bosnia in Mostar, the German Society for Croatian Studies in Bamberg, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in the Diaspora, based in Basel, and numerous Croatian cultural associations.

She lived and worked in Stuttgart and, in the final years of her life, received medical treatment at a hospital in Heilbronn.

She was well regarded within the Croatian diaspora, and her literary work and decades of cultural activity earned her a wide circle of friends and admirers.

Malkica Dugeč leaves behind decades of literary work and more than 30 books, as well as the story of a woman who was forced to leave her homeland but continued to carry Croatia with her in her poetry.