In 1938, she left Ženski list dissatisfied with the majority of the editorial staff that had become supporters of conservatism and clericalism contrary to their original support for liberalism and feminism. In 1939, she founded magazine Hrvatica [Croatian Woman] (1939–41). All of the proceedings acquired from the subscribers were spent on the printing, while Zagorka volunteered. During World War II, she was persecuted by Ustaše who forbid her from publishing Hrvatica, seized all the existing magazine copies, subscription money, and even furniture from her apartment.Hergešić, Ivo: Introduction in Tajna krvavog mosta, Džepna knjiga, Zagreb, 1987, p. 21-22 Faced with constant harassment, she attempted suicide. In 1944, she tried to join the Yugoslav Partisans but was rejected. Following the end of the war, she became excluded from the cultural scene for which she blamed some of her former, misogynist colleges from Obzor who believed that women should only write romance novels. Since she didn't have a pension and was therefore dependent on the help of acquaintances and readers, she decided to publish an advertisement in which she sought someone who would regularly bring her food. Among several candidates, she selected two younger men, Nikola Smolčić and Leo Car, who introduced themselves as cousins but were, in fact, a couple. She eventually asked them to move in with her. It was later revealed from the letters she secretly sent to her friends that she was heavily mistreated by Smolčić and Car. Zagorka joined the Women's Antifascist Front of Croatia, Slobodna Dalmacija purchased the copyright to her works, and in 1952, she became an independent publisher collaborating with the Otokar Keršovani Printing Office.
