Ivan Goran Kovačić (; 21 March 1913 – 12 July 1943) was a Croatian poet and writer.

Early life and background

He was born in

Lukovdol Lukovdol is a small village located in the Gorski Kotar region of Croatia, about one mile south of the Slovenian border. Lukovdol is part of Vrbovsko municipality. Lukovdol has an area of 5.91 km2. As of 2011, there were 129 people living in ...

(part of

Vrbovsko Vrbovsko ( sr-cyr, Врбовско) is a town in western Croatia, situated at the far east of the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County; on its 280 square kilometers area, Vrbovsko features 60 settlements and a t ...

), a town in Gorski Kotar, to a Croat father, Ivan Kovačić, and

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

n Jewish mother Ruža (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Klein). Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Nataša Maksimović Subašić; Zora Dirnbach – Svjetionik s one strane nacionalizma; stranica 4; broj 110, lipanj/srpanj/kolovoz 2009. He attended the

Gymnasium Karlovac Gymnasium Karlovac ( hr, Gimnazija Karlovac), sometimes historically referred to as Higher Real Gymnasium, is a Secondary education, secondary school (Gymnasium (school), gymnasium) located in the city of Karlovac in Croatia. Description Housed i ...

. In his honour, the Karlovac city library, the city's oldest cultural institution founded in 1838, was renamed after him. During World War II, in the harsh winter of 1942, Kovačić and

Vladimir Nazor Vladimir Nazor (30 May 1876 – 19 June 1949) was a Croatian poet and politician. During and after World War II in Yugoslavia, he served as the first President of the Presidium of the Croatian Parliament (Croatian head of state), and first Sp ...

volunteered for the

Partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

forces to set an anti-fascist example for the world. At that time, Goran was already ill with tuberculosis and Nazor was advanced in age, but they were motivated by their consciences. Kovačić was killed by Serbian

Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

troops in an east-Bosnian village of Vrbica near

Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and a municipality located in Republika Srpska in south-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 18 ...

on 13 July 1943. His death is described as follows: “Like in an ancient tragedy, the one who is most opposed to evil will most cruelly die from evil. The poet who raised his voice against the Croatian

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...

massive killing and torturing of Serbian civilians (women and children mostly) had his throat cut by Serbian Chetniks….A few reliable witnesses confirm that Goran survived the hell of the fifth offensive, but when he returned to help his ill, left-behind, friend, Dr Simo Milošević, the fascists killed both the Croatian poet and the Serbian scholar without distinction. Fascism did not look on poets or scientists anywhere in the world as being of value.”

Works

Death is a central theme in much of Kovačić's poetry,The pit Ivan Goran Kovacic
/ref> however this is not a reflection on his life outlook. His melancholy subjects came from outside events—such as his own and his brother's affliction with tuberculosis—rather than from an internal disposition toward the morose. Jure Kaštelan, one of Kovačić's contemporaries, expressed that Kovačić was inclined both toward romanticism and realism in his poetry, and that Kovačić had an intense perception of life. His best known work is ''"Jama"'' (''"The Pit"''). He penned it during the war, while in service near the town of Livno. The poem was written out of intellectual and ethical responsibility that condemns atrocities and massacres done by the Croatian

. It has been described as a metaphor about the sufferer, martyr, and victim: “The sufferer is when a person without fault suffers. The martyr is when nonhumans torture a person. The victim is when the whips of injustice extinguish life. That is Goran’s metaphor. And his life.” His work is an example of

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

poetry with messages against torture, mass murders and war crimes. "Jama" was studied in elementary schools throughout the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

"Jama"

The poem starts with a striking metaphor of blood replacing both light and darkness as victim's eyes were plucked out with a knife. That common torture was probably a mere sadism, since the victims were mass-murdered by Croatian

after that anyway: :''Blood is my daylight and darkness too.'' :''Blessing of night has been gouged from my cheeks'' :''Bearing with it my more lucky sight.'' :''Within those holes, for tears, fierce fire inflamed'' :''The bleeding socket as if for brain a balm –'' :''While my bright eyes died on my own palm''

In culture

* Paul Éluard wrote a poem called ''The grave of Goran Kovačić''. * A Yugoslavian film ''

Ivan Goran Kovačić Ivan Goran Kovačić (; 21 March 1913 – 12 July 1943) was a Croatian poet and writer. Early life and background He was born in Lukovdol (part of Vrbovsko), a town in Gorski Kotar, to a Croat father, Ivan Kovačić, and Transylvanian Jewi ...

'', was made in 1979, written and directed by Ljubiša Ristić. Croatian actor Rade Šerbedžija portrayed Kovačić. * The ban
Warnament
recorded a song titled "Hollow Of The Innocent Victims" inspired by the poe
''"Jama"''
*

Branko Miljković Branko Miljković (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранко Миљковић; 29 January 1934 – 12 February 1961) was a Serbian poet. Biography Miljković was born in Niš to a Serb father Gligorije Miljković, who hails from Gadžin Han, and a Croat mo ...

's poem ''"Goran"'' is dedicated to Ivan Goran Kovačić. *

Dragutin Tadijanović Dragutin Tadijanović (4 November 1905 – 27 June 2007) was a Croatian poet, and in his native Croatia he is referred to as a " Bard." Tadijanović was born in the village of Rastušje close to Slavonski Brod in the region of Slavonia. He pub ...

's poem ''"Goran's Epitaph"'' (1945) is dedicated to Ivan Goran Kovačić. * Živko Anočić portrayed the poet in ''Narodni heroj Ljiljan Vidić'', receiving critical acclaim

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacic, Ivan Goran 1913 births 1943 deaths People from Vrbovsko People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Croatian Jews Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Yugoslav Partisans members Croatian people of World War II Jewish poets Croatian writers Yugoslav writers Executed writers Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II People killed by Chetniks during World War II 20th-century poets Gorski Kotar