Pistol holster used by a Yugoslavian partisan

Dr. Lavoslav Kadelburg (1910-1995) was born in Vinkovci, Austria-Hungary (now Croatia) to Tobias and Jolan Kadelburg. The family were Ashkenazi, descendants of Jews who had lived in Germany and France who were forced to migrate due to religious persecution. Lavoslav was named after his deceased grandfather, following an Ashkenazi custom. The family were secular, but knew Jewish tradition. Lavoslav grew up speaking Hungarian, German, and Serbo-Croation. As a teenager, Lavoslav was involved in Jewish communal life. He was president of Herut from 1925-1929, a member of the Radni odbor of the Federation of Jewish Youth Associations and he was a member of Hashomer Hatzair, a prewar Zionist youth organization. Lavoslav completed his secondary schooling in Vinkovci, and then studied law at Zagreb University, graduating in 1935. After graduation, Lavoslav began practicing law.

On April 6, 1941, Germany and Italy invaded Yugoslavia with the support of Hungary and Bulgaria. Before the invasion, Lavoslav was mobilized as a reserve officer in the Royal Yugoslav Army. He fought with the army against the invaders, but the combined forces overcame the defenders and Yugoslavia capitulated on April 17. The country was partitioned, and central Yugoslavia was formed into the independent State of Croatia, which was governed by the Ustaše and administered by the Germans. The regime enacted anti-Jewish laws, confiscated property and money, forced males to work hard labor and then began deporting Jews to camps. After the dissolution of the army, Lavoslav was captured by the Germans as a prisoner of war (POW) and was taken to Germany as a prisoner.

In Germany, Lavoslav was held in Oflag VI C, a prisoner of war camp in Osnabrück-Eversheide, which was housed in an existing Wehrmacht barracks complex. There, he became a member of the Antifascist Committee which combated the cruel treatment of the prisoners by the camp authorities. Later, Lavoslav was transferred to Barkenbrugge camp in Eastern Prussia, near the former Polish border. In late January, 1945, with the Soviet Army approaching, the prisoners were marched out of Barkenbrugge. During the evacuation, the prisoners staged a mass break out and Lavoslav was able to escape. Approximately 10 days later, the escaped prisoners were found by the Soviet soldiers. They then joined the Soviet ranks and helped combat the Germans. In March 1945, Lavoslav returned to Yugoslavia and joined the Narodnooslobodilački pokret (NOP, People's Liberation Movement).

After the war, Lavoslav helped rehabilitate survivors of the Holocaust and served in a number of sociopolitical organizations and top level government positions. Through these roles he became one of the most influential and powerful figures in the Jewish community of Yugoslavia. He served in the Popular Front transition government in Vrsac, was president of the Autonomous Aid Committee from 1945-1952, vice-president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia from 1948-1964 and then president from 1964 to 1992. Lavoslav also held high positions in international Jewish organizations, including vice-president of the World Jewish Congress.