I kind of doubt that your rifle actually says "Preduzece 1944" but rather that it says "Preduzece 44". There is a difference. "Preduzece 44" means "Factory 44". It is not a town and a date, but the Yugoslav secret code designation for the arms factory in Kragujevac, Serbia. This was applied when your rifle was rebuilt by the Yugoslavs.
After WWI when it became apparent that manufacturing facilities could be subject to air strikes, many European nations began giving contractors secret codes to identify themselves in an attempt to foil the enemy knowing the locations of manufacture of military goods.
The Germans also used these secret codes thoughout this period and their code, which would identify the manufacturer of your rifle was, unfortunately, most likely where the Yugoslav communist crest now sits.
The faint 42 under the crest is indeed the real year of manufacture. It is faint because the Yugoslavs refinished it.
Look over the rifle for waffenamts. The are little Eagle and Swastika (probably pinged or ground off by the Yugoslavs) symbols that have a number under them. These numbers identify inspection officers (or teams) and the numbers for most of the German plants are known.
Also inspect the barrel and other parts for any letter codes (byf, dot, dou, ce, bcd). These are the German secret codes that identify the makers of these parts.
Many countries pinged or ground off the hated Swastikas on these K98k's, but they didn't bother to take off the inoffensive little numbers and letter codes that went with them.
If you can find any of these, it still might be possible to identify the original manufacturer of the rifle.
