Derviš Korkut, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Derviš Korkut

chief librarian at the Bosnian National Museum

Date of Birth: 05-May-1888

Place of Birth: Travnik, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Date of Death: 28-Aug-1969

Profession: teacher, librarian, theologian, minister

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Derviš Korkut (Travnik, 5 May 1888 – Sarajevo, 28 August 1969) was a Bosnian librarian, teacher, humanist and orientalist.
He is the brother of the famous Bosnian translator of the Qur'an, Besim Korkut.
Derviš Korkut is remembered as the curator of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina who saved the Sarajevo Haggadah from the Nazi army during World War II.
As confirmed by people close to Korkut in 1942, he saved Mira Papo, a Jewish girl, by bringing her into his family and hiding her true identity.
After not joining the fascist organization during the war, he did not want to join the Communist Party after the war and was sentenced to several years in prison.
After serving six of eight years in the Zenica prison, he was released, but his civil rights were never restored.
After his release until the end of his life he worked as curator of the Museum of the City of Sarajevo.
He died on 28 August 1969.
Together with his wife, Serveta Ljuž, he was proclaimed Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1999.