Dida Demajo (1906-1964)

Abstract

Dida Demajo rođen je 1906. godine u Beogradu, u staroj i vrlo uglednoj jevrejskoj porodici koja je u jevrejskom javnom radu imala istaknute predstavnike. Posle boravka u Beču i Parizu vraća se u Beograd i sa velikim elanom uključuje u revolucionarni i antifašistički pokret kao umetnik koji likovno oprema razne edicije; radi i za Komunističku partiju. "Sud za zaštitu države" osudio ga je 1935. godine na 3 godine robije koje je proveo u Mitrovici, gde je i dalje neumorno nastavio da radi, politički i umetnički. Po isteku kazne od 1937-1938. opet živi u Beogradu gde nastavlja s ranijim likovnim i političkim radom. Ističe se u ilegalnom partijskom radu (izrađuje pasoše za borce u španskom građanskom ratu). Kada mu je pretilo ponovno hapšenje, prelazi u ilegalu. Po odluci Partije prebacuje se u Francusku, gde učestvuje u pomaganju borbe republikanske Španije i naših dobrovoljaca. U centralnoj Francuskoj stupa u pokret otpora i kao oficir Maquisa sa puškom postaje borac ali sa kičicom ostaje umetnik. Između ostalog spasao je život Andre Malraux-u, kasnijem čuvenom ministru kulture Francuske. Po povratku u Jugoslaviju 1945. godine Dida radi na grafičkoj opremi knjiga i drugih edicija.

Dida Demajo was born in 1906 in Belgrade, an old and highly respected Jewish family that had prominent representatives in Jewish public work. After a stay in Vienna and Paris, he returned to Belgrade and, with great enthusiasm, joined the revolutionary and anti-fascist movement as an artist who furnishes various editions with fine arts; he also works for the Communist Party. In 1935, the State Court condemned him to three years in prison, which he spent in Mitrovica, where he continued to work tirelessly, politically and artistically. At the end of his sentence from 1937-1938 again lives in Belgrade, where he continues with his previous art and political work. He stands out in illegal party work (making passports for fighters in the Spanish Civil War). When he is threatened with re-arrest, he goes illegal. At the decision of the Party, he moves to France, where he participates in helping fight Republican Spain and our volunteers. In central France, he joined the resistance movement and, as a Maquis officer with a rifle, became a fighter but remained an artist with his brush. Among other things, he saved the life of Andre Malraux, later France's famous minister of culture. Upon returning to Yugoslavia in 1945, Dida worked on graphic equipment for books and other editions.