Lepa Radić
| Lepa Radić | |
|---|---|
| Born |
19 December 1925 Gašnica, Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| Died |
11 February 1943 (aged 17) Bosanska Krupa, NDH |
| Allegiance | Yugoslav Partisans |
| Years of service | 1941–1943 |
| Unit | 2nd Krajiški Detachment |
| Battles/wars |
World War II in Yugoslavia Kozara Offensive Battle of Neretva |
| Awards | Order of the People's Hero |
| Relations |
Svetozar Radić (father) Milan Radić (brother) Dara Radić (sister) |
Lepa Svetozara Radić (Serbian Cyrillic: Лепа Светозара Радић; 19 December 1925 – February 1943) was a Bosnian Serb member of the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II in Yugoslavia who was posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Hero on 20 December 1951, for her role in the resistance movement against the Axis powers—becoming the youngest recipient at the time.
She was executed in February 1943 at the age of 17 for shooting at German troops during World War II.[1] As her captors tied the noose around her neck, they offered her a way out of the gallows by revealing her comrades' and leaders' identities. She responded that she was not a traitor and that they would reveal themselves when they avenged her death.
Early life
Radić was born on 19 December 1925 in the village of Gašnica near Bosanska Gradiška. After graduation from the elementary school in the nearby Bistrica, she attended the first grade of Women's School of Crafts in Bosanska Krupa and completed the remaining grades at school in Bosanska Gradiška.[2] Starting with becoming a member of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ), she eventually joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in 1941 at the age of 15.
World War II
On 10 April 1941, after the successful invasion of Yugoslavia, the Axis powers established on its former territory the puppet state Independent State of Croatia, which, in particular, consisted of Bosanska Gradiška and its surroundings.
In November 1941, Lepa Radić and other family members were arrested by the Ustaše, but with the help of undercover partisan associates, she, along with her sister Dara, managed to escape from prison on 23 December 1941.[2][3]
Further reading
- Kovačević, Dušanka (1977). Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War. Belgrade: Conference for Social Activities of Yugoslav Women. OCLC 22230663.
- Bjelić, Krste; Svirčić, Zdenko (1980). Heroine Jugoslavije [Heroines of Yugoslavia] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Spektar. OCLC 439136119.
References
- ↑ Jancar-Webster, Barbara (1990). Women & revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945. Arden Press. p. 100. ISBN 0-912869-10-0.
- 1 2 Jasmina Čaušević, ed. (2014). Women Documented: Women and Public Life in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 20th century (PDF). Gender Edition 4. Translated by Adisa Okerić Zaid; Lejla Efendi. Sarajevo: Sarajevo Open Center. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-9958-536-19-9.
- ↑ "Radić Svetozara Lepa". Narodni heroji Jugoslavije [National Heroes of Yugoslavia] (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: Mladost. 1975.
| ||||||