Zora Dirnbach

Who is Zora Dirnbach?

Zora Dirnbach is Croatian Jewish journalist and writer.

Dirnbach was born in Osijek on 22 August 1929 to a Jewish father and Austrian-born Catholic mother who converted to Judaism in 1922. She was raised with her sister Gertruda. Dirnbach studied art history at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb. Since 1949, Dirnbach has worked as a journalist and editor of the cultural section at the daily newspapers, and Radio Zagreb. Since 1958, she worked as a dramatist on Radio Zagreb first channel, and since 1963 to 1991 as a dramatist and editor of television drama program on Radio-Television Zagreb. Dirnbach is author of three feature film scenarios, more than a dozen radio plays, TV dramas, TV movies, two series, adaptation and translation of a large number of radio and TV dramas. As an associate, Dirnbach taught TV dramaturgy for several years at the Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb. She is an author of several novels and collections of short stories. Through her life Dirnbach was inspired by the tragedy of Shoah, personal and family tragedy, as she gave invaluable contribution to the Jewish community in Croatia. With the extensive involvement at the Council of the Jewish community Zagreb, she led the Committee for Information at the Jewish community Zagreb and gave a special contribution to the Zagreb Jewish society. Although Dirnbach was christened by her family during World War II in a attempt to save her life, she stated that she consider herself to be an atheist Croatian Jew. Her mother and sister survived the Holocaust while many members of her family did not.