Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War

Summary

The Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, known as Spanish fighters (Croatian: Španjolski borci, Slovene: Španski borci, Serbian: Шпански борци / Španski borci) and Yugoslav brigadistas (Spanish: brigadistas yugoslavos), was a contingent of volunteers from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia that fought for the Republicans (in support of the Second Spanish Republic) during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). An estimated 1,664[1] "Yugoslav brigadistas" fought in the war, out of whom c. 800 were killed in action. According to Spanish statistics, 148 Yugoslav volunteers received the officer rank during the conflict.

Yugoslav volunteers fighting in Spain, 1937.
President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito meeting with representatives of the Association of Former Yugoslav Spanish Fighters in 1972.

Most of them fought in the battalions Dimitrov and Đuro Đaković of the International Brigades, and many of them participated and perished during the Battle of Ebro in 1938. They were recruited by the outlawed Communist Party of Yugoslavia in their home regions or through the recruitment centre of the Comintern that Josip Broz Tito managed in Paris. There were four airmen among the volunteers the most notable one being the fighter pilot Božidar "Boško" Petrović, who attained the status flying ace.

After the war, those who managed to flee across the Pyrenees, fell captive in internment camps in France, where the Yugoslav communist organisation illegally repatriated many of them. Some of whom became leaders of the resistance against the Nazi occupation. Three members of the International brigades that fought on the Republican side ended up commanding the four armies of the Partisan Liberation Army, which fought the Nazis in World War II: Peko Dapčević, Kosta Nađ and Petar Drapšin. Koča Popović was the partisan commander who was fighting for the Spanish Republican Armed Forces.[2]

Composition edit

According to Spanish statistics, 1052 Yugoslavs were recorded as volunteers of which 48% were from what, after 1945, became Croatia, 23% Slovenia, 18% Serbia, 2.3% Montenegro and 1.5% Macedonia.[3]

Legacy edit

  • A street in New Belgrade, a municipality of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, bears the name Španskih boraca (Spanish fighters).
  • The People's Library in Podgorica, Montenegro is named after Radosav Ljumović, a Montenegrin volunteer in the Spanish Civil War.
  • The "Španski Borci" cultural centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is named after the Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.

Notable people edit

  • Đorđe Andrejević-Kun (1904–1964)
  • Vicko Antić [sr] (1912–1999)
  • Maksimilijan Baće [sr] (1914–2001)
  • Spas Bandžov [sr] (1904–1942)
  • Jakov Baruh [sr] (1914–1941)
  • Aleš Bebler (1907–1981)
  • Imre Beer [sh] (1905–1942)
  • Vlajko Begović [sr] (1905–1989)
  • Božo Bilić Marjan [sr] (1913–1942)
  • Gojko Bjedov [sr] (1913–1937)
  • Milan Blagojević Španac (1905–1941)
  • Stane Bobnar [sr] (1912–1986)
  • Divko Budak [sr] (1897–1941)
  • Leopold Caharija [sl] (1905–1995)
  • Nikola Car Crni [sr] (1910–1942)
  • August Cesarec (1893–1941)
  • Vlado Ćetković [sr] (1911–1944)
  • Rajko Cibic [sl] (1914–2010)
  • Rodoljub Čolaković (1900–1983)
  • Milan Ćopić (1897–1941)
  • Vladimir Ćopić (1891–1939)
  • Matija Šiprak (1913–1937)
  • Josip Čubrić [sr] (1912–1941)
  • Vjećeslav Cvetko Flores [sr] (1917–1941)
  • Stjepan Cvijić [sr] (1905–1938)
  • Miljenko Cvitković [sr] (1914–1943)
  • Jovan Đajić [sr] (1905–1974)
  • Stipe Đerek [sr] (1912–1942)
  • Božidar Dakić [sr] (1909–1941)
  • Peko Dapčević (1913–1999)
  • Nada Dimitrijević-Nešković [sr] (1907–1941)
  • Robert Domany (1918–1942)
  • Žikica Jovanović Španac (1914–1942)
  • Petar Drapšin (1914–1945)
  • Stipe Đerek [sr] (1912–1942)
  • Ivan Gošnjak (1909–1980)
  • Ahmet Fetahagić [sr] (1914–1944)
  • Roman Filipčev [sr] (1895–1941)
  • Dimitrije Georgijević [sr] (1884–1959)
  • Jože Gregorčič [sr] (1903–1942)
  • Gančo Hadžipanzov [sr] (1900–1936)
  • Ivan Hariš [sr] (1903–1989)
  • Ljubo Ilić [sr] (1905–1994)
  • Grga Jankes [sr] (1906–1974)
  • Fadil Jahić Španac [sr] (1910–1942)
  • Rudi Janhuba [sl] (1914–1976)
  • Janko Jovanović [sr] (1901–1939)
  • Žikica Jovanović Španac (1914–1942)
  • Juraj Kalc [sr] (1908–1942)
  • Svetislav Kanački [sr] (1911–1943)
  • Čedo Kapor [sr] (1914–2004)
  • Drago Kobal [sl] (1911–1944)
  • Viktor Koleša [sl] (1884–1946)
  • Josip Kopinič (1911–1997)
  • Đoko Kovačević [sr] (1912–1938)
  • Veljko Kovačević (1912–1994)
  • Ivan Krajačić [sr] (1906–1986)
  • Otmar Kreačić [sr] (1913–1992)
  • Josip Križaj (1911–1948)
  • Dušan Kveder (1915–1966)
  • Mirko Kovačević [sr] (1916–1941)
  • Marijan Krajačić [sr] (1905–1942)
  • Branko Krsmanović (1915–1941)
  • Ivan Lenac [sr] (1906–1945)
  • Lazar Latinović [sr] (1915–2006)
  • Danilo Lekić [sr] (1913–1986)
  • Vladimir Majder (1911–1943)
  • Jovan Mališić [sr] (1902–1939)
  • Srećko Manola [sr] (1914–1979)
  • Mijat Mašković [sr] (1910–1937)
  • Božidar Maslarić [sr] (1895–1963)
  • Karlo Mrazović [sr] (1902–1987)
  • Danko Mitrov [sr] (1919–1942)
  • Kosta Nađ (1911–1986)
  • Guido Nonveiller (1913–2002)
  • Gojko Nikoliš (1911–1995)
  • Franjo Ogulinac Seljo [sr] (1904–1942)
  • Marko Orešković (1896–1941)
  • Blagoje Parović (1903–1937)
  • Ratko Pavlović Ćićko [sr] (1913–1943)
  • Boško Petrović (1911–1937)
  • Miha Pintar Toledo [sr] (1913–1942)
  • Koča Popović (1908–1992)
  • Vlado Popović (1914–1972)
  • Svetozar Popović-Milić [sr] (1901–1944)
  • Vladeta Popović Pinecki [sr] (1911–1941)
  • Franc Primožič [sl] (1915–1963)
  • Franjo Puškarić [sr] (1908–1937)
  • Franc Rozman (1911–1944)
  • Ivan Rukavina (1912–1992)
  • Mićo Radaković [sr] (1915–1941)
  • Kornelija Sende-Popović [sr] (1914–1941)
  • Ante Šarić Rade Španac [sr] (1913–1943)
  • Drago Štajnberger (1916–1942)
  • Izidor Štrok [sr] (1911–1984)
  • Stane Semič Daki [sr] (1915–1985)
  • Ivan Turk [sr] (1913–1937)
  • Vojo Todorović [sr] (1914–1990)
  • Anton Ukmar [sr] (1900–1978)
  • Cvetko Uzunovski [sr] (1912–1993)
  • Lazar Udovički [sr] (1915–1997)
  • Julio Varesko [sh] (1896–1937)
  • Ivo Vejvoda [sr] (1911–1991)
  • Mate Vidaković [sr] (1907–1941)
  • Veljko Vlahović (1914–1975)
  • Đuro Vujović [sr] (1901–1943)
  • Ratko Vujović (1916–1977)
  • Petar Vuksan Pekiša [sr] (1905–1941)
  • Pavle Vukomanović [sr] (1903–1977)
  • Tone Žnidaršič [sr] (1913–1944)
  • Ljubomir Živković Španac [sr] (1918–1942)

References edit

  1. ^ Asociación Brigadistas Yugoslavos "Naši Španci Archived October 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine" Retrieved 2012-02-29
  2. ^ Lenninists "International Solidarity With the Spanish Republic 1936•1939. Yugoslavia Archived August 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine" Retrieved 2012-02-29
  3. ^ Milo Petrović, editor; (2014) Preispitivanje prošlosti i istorijski revizionizam. (Zlo)upotrebe istorije Španskog građanskog rata i Drugog svetskog rata na prostoru Jugoslavije. (in Serbo-Croatian) p. 243; [1] Archived 2020-10-20 at the Wayback Machine

Sources edit

  • Aleš Bebler (1961). Naši Španci: zbornik fotografija i dokumenata o učešću jugoslovenskih dobrovoljaca u španskom ratu 1936-1939. Španski borci Jugoslavije.
  • Savo Pešić (1990). Španjolski građanski rat i KPJ. Izdavački centar Rijeka.
  • Krv i život za slobodu: slike iz života i borbe studenata iz Jugoslavije u Španiji. Univerzitet u Beogradu. 1982 [1969].
  • Slovenci, španski borci. Komunist. 1982.
  • Dragoljub Kuprešanin; Veselinka Kastratović-Ristić; Dušica Knežević; Jelena Bjelajac; Marija Minić (2006). Homenaje a los brigadistas yugoslavos. Belgrade: Muzej istorije Jugoslavije. ISBN 9788684811075.

External links edit

  • "Крв и живот за слободу - слике из живота и борбе студената из Југославије у Шпанији". 1969.
  • Ivan Očak (1985). "Jugoslavenski sudionici Oktobarske revolucije u borbi proiv fašizma (1936-1936)". Radovi Zavoda za hrvatsku povijest Filozofskoga fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. 18 (1).
  • Живојин Павловић, Биланс совјетског термидора: Приказ и открића о делатности и организацији Стаљинског терора
  • Свједочанства о Далматинцима у Шпањолском грађанском рату
  • др Август Лешник - „Крв и живот за слободу“ – Југословени интербригадисти у Шпанији (1936—1939)
  • MDC "Mihovil Vojnović" Retrieved 2012-02-29
  • Beogradski Short Film Festival "In Memoriam" Retrieved 2012-02-29
  • Website of the Association of Yugoslav Volunteers, «YuInterBrigade» (in Serbian and Spanish)
  • YouTube «Naši Španci - Jugoslaveni u Španjolskom građanskom ratu» (Gallery)