Rivka Kabiljo lived with her husband Jozef and their children Benjamin and Tova in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Their apartment was damaged in German air raids in April 1941. The family of four was taken in by the Hardagas, a Muslim family. The two families were close friends.
Only a few days later, Sarajevo became part of the “Independent State of Croatia.” The Croatian fascist organization Ustasha started persecuting the Jews. A neighbor helped Rivka Kabiljo and her children escape to Mostar in the Italian occupation zone, where Jews were still relatively safe. The Hardaga family regularly sent money to Rivka Kabiljo in Mostar.
Her husband, Jozef Kabiljo, initially went into hiding in Sarajevo, but he was soon arrested. In the spring of 1942, he managed to escape from prison and was hidden by the Hardaga family. He later fled to Mostar to join his family.
After the war, Rivka and Jozef Kabiljo returned to Sarajevo along with their children. The family emigrated to Israel in 1950.