The Kabiljo Family During The Holocaust

The Hardaga Family The Hardaga family was a muslim family that helped a Jewish family, the Kabiljos, during the Holocaust.

The Hardaga family were a religous Muslim family that helped hide the Jewish Kabiljo family during the Holocaust. The Kabiljo family were trying to hide during the Holocaust and were lucky enough to run into Mustafa Hardaga while they made a run for their family factory. Mustafa insisted that the Jewish family should stay with his family even if it was risky. THe Hardagas were very religious and believed that women should cover their faces when around men but they did not want their friends lives at risk so they declaired that the Kabiljos were family and that the woman of their family did not have to cover their face around them. One day the Gestapo came to the Hardaga’s home to check documents and hid the Kabiljos in the back of a walk-in closet. Salih Hardaga stated, “We were only ten meters away from the Germans and hiding the Kabiljos right under their noses.”
As his family left, Yosef stayed behind so he could liquidate his bussiness but was caught and imprisoned. Luckily Yosef was not transported to the Jasenovac concentration camp, as the snow made the roads impassable, but instead was forced to clear snow. One day Zejneba Hardaga had saw him shoveling and, even with the danger, she brought food to the prisoners. Yosef later managed to escape and went back to the Hardaga’s home, he did not want to continue putting his friends at risk and left to Mostar and joined up with his family again. Later the Kabiljos would leave Mostar, as Italian areas were put under German occupation, and even later fled to