Ivan Ribar (23 April 1916 – 27 November 1943), known as Ivo Lola or Ivo Lolo, was a
Yugoslav communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
politician and military leader of
Croat
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
ian descent.
In the 1930s, he became one of the closest associates of
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
, leader of the
Yugoslav Communist Party
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
.
In 1936, Ribar became secretary of the Central Committee of
SKOJ , SKOJ mk, Сојуз на комунистичката младина на Југославија, СКМЈ sl, Zveza komunistične mladine Jugoslavije, ZKMJ
, colorcode = red
, founded = 1919
, dissolved = 1948
, succeeded by = League of S ...
(Young Communist League of Yugoslavia).
During
World War II in Yugoslavia
World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attacked the US ...
, Ribar was among the main leaders of the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
and was a member of the
Partisan Supreme Headquarters
The Supreme Headquarters was created in June 1941 by the Central Committee of the Yugoslav Communist Party after the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia of 6 April 1941. It was the main command and staff body of the Yugoslav Partisans, with ...
. During the war, he founded and ran several leftist youth magazines.
In 1942, Ribar was among the founders of the
Unified League of Anti-Fascist Youth of Yugoslavia (USAOJ).
He was killed by a German bomb in 1943 near
Glamoč
Glamoč ( sr-cyrl, Гламоч) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the foothills of Staretin ...
while boarding an airplane for
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, where he was to become the first representative of Communist Yugoslavia to the
Middle East Command
Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...
.
In 1944, Ribar was awarded the title of
People's Hero of Yugoslavia
The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; sl, Red narodnega heroja, mk, Oрден на народен херој, Orden na ...
. Lola was the older of two sons of
Ivan Ribar
Ivan Ribar (; 21 January 1881 – 2 February 1968) was a Croatian politician who served in several governments of various forms in Yugoslavia. Ideologically a Pan-Slavist and communist, he was a prominent member of the Yugoslav Partisans, who r ...
, the first
President of Yugoslavia
The president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or the president of the Republic for short, was the head of state of that country from 14 January 1953 to 4 May 1980. Josip Broz Tito was the only person to occupy the office. Tito ...
. His brother was another People's Hero,
Jurica Ribar
Jurica Ribar (Đakovo, 26 March 1918 - Trebaljevo near Kolašin, 3 October 1943) was a Yugoslav painter.
Biography
He was the younger son of the politician Ivan Ribar and brother of Communist Yugoslavia's hero Ivo Lola Ribar. Jurica grew up an ...
.
Life
![Tito predaje zastavu Prvoj proleterskoj brigadi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Tito_predaje_zastavu_Prvoj_proleterskoj_brigadi.jpg)
Ribar was born in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
and lived most of his life in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, where he graduated from the
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia.
Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-b ...
's
Law School
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
. During his studies he joined the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
and since 1936 led the
Young Communist League of Yugoslavia , SKOJ mk, Сојуз на комунистичката младина на Југославија, СКМЈ sl, Zveza komunistične mladine Jugoslavije, ZKMJ
, colorcode = red
, founded = 1919
, dissolved = 1948
, succeeded by = League of S ...
(SKOJ). During his studies, he often traveled around Europe, visiting communist conferences and informal gatherings in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
(1935),
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
(1936) and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
(1937).
In 1940, the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
authorities incarcerated him in the
Bihać
Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina ...
Prison for being a member of the Communist Party. When the
Second World War in Yugoslavia
World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was Invasion of Yugoslavia, swiftly conquered by Axis powers, Axis forces and partitioned between Nazi Germany, Germany, Kingdom of Italy, Italy, Kingdom of Hung ...
started, he was a member of the Central Committee of the Party and soon joined the Supreme Command of the
Partisans, where he worked with
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
and
Edvard Kardelj
Edvard Kardelj (; 27 January 1910 – 10 February 1979), also known by the pseudonyms Bevc, Sperans and Krištof, was a Yugoslav politician and economist. He was one of the leading members of the Communist Party of Slovenia before World War II ...
on the resistance plans.
In October 1943, Lola Ribar was named the chief of the first Partisan military mission to the
Middle East Command
Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...
. However, just before embarking on an airplane trip in a captured German plane to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, he died in the German bombing of the
Glamoč
Glamoč ( sr-cyrl, Гламоч) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the foothills of Staretin ...
airfield in south-western
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
. Two members of the
British Military Mission to Yugoslavia
The Maclean Mission (MACMIS) was a World War II British mission to Yugoslav partisans HQ and Marshall Tito organised by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in September 1943. Its aim was to assess the value of the partisans contribution to t ...
,
William Deakin
Sir Frederick William Dampier Deakin DSO (3 July 1913 – 22 January 2005) was a British historian, World War II veteran, literary assistant to Winston Churchill and the first warden of St Antony's College, Oxford.
Life
Deakin was educated ...
and
Fitzroy Maclean, wrote about the circumstances of the death of Ribar and two British officers from an attack by a small German aircraft, and Maclean said that he was an outstanding younger leader who "seemed destined to play a great part in building the new Yugoslavia".
Family
Ribar's father,
Ivan Ribar
Ivan Ribar (; 21 January 1881 – 2 February 1968) was a Croatian politician who served in several governments of various forms in Yugoslavia. Ideologically a Pan-Slavist and communist, he was a prominent member of the Yugoslav Partisans, who r ...
, held important offices in both the pre-war
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
and the post-war
Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia. The rest of his family was also involved in Communist resistance movement. His younger brother
Jurica Jurica is a Croatian given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Jurica Buljat (born 1986), Croatian football defender, currently playing for Maccabi Haifa
*Jurica Golemac (born 1977), Slovenian professional basketball player
*Jurica Grabu ...
died in around the same time in October 1943 near
Kolašin
Kolašin (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Колашин, ) is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 2,989 (2003 census). Kolašin is the centre of Kolašin Municipality (population 9,949) and an unofficial centre of Morača region, named af ...
. His mother Tonica was killed in the Syrmian village of
Kupinovo
Kupinovo () is a village located in the municipality of Pećinci, Serbia. As of 2011 census, the village has 1,866 inhabitants.
It is near the famous biodiversity area, the Obedska bara. This contains several insects and other life forms unique ...
in July 1944. Additionally, his fiancé,
Sloboda Trajković, was also in the revolutionary movement. She was imprisoned and
gassed to death in
Banjica concentration camp
The Banjica concentration camp (german: KZ Banjica, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Бањички логор, Banjički logor) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German Nazi concentration camps, concentration camp in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, the ...
together with all of her family, after refusing to write a letter that would get him to give up his location when his letter to her got intercepted.
Legacy
![Lola Ribar spomenik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Lola_Ribar_spomenik.JPG)
After the death, Ribar was at first secretly buried in the village of
Gornji Ribnik
Gornji Ribnik ( sr-cyrl, Горњи Рибник) is a village in the municipality of Ribnik, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina ...
near
Ključ on 30 November 1943. His body was exhumed in 1948 and reburied at the
Tomb of People's Heroes at the
Belgrade Fortress
The Belgrade Fortress ( sr-Cyrl, Београдска тврђава, Beogradska tvrđava), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, in a ...
.
He was posthumously proclaimed a
People's Hero of Yugoslavia
The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; sl, Red narodnega heroja, mk, Oрден на народен херој, Orden na ...
on 18 November 1944.
Ivo Lola Ribar became an iconic figure in post-World War II
Communist 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 Yugo ...
.
Many streets, schools and factories were named after him.
Croatian producer of medical supplies and sanitary products from
Karlovac
Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705.
Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...
is named after him. A brand of scooters was named after him. The
Ivo Lola Ribar Institute
Ivo Lola Ribar Institute ( sr-cyr, Институт Иво Лола Рибар) is a Serbian manufacturer of heavy machine tools, robotics, industrial equipment and industrial computers, headquartered in Belgrade, Serbia. It has been named after ...
in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
is named after him. A major thoroughfare in the west of
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
used to be named after him until 1991 when it was renamed the
Baron Filipović Drive. Several streets in Croatian cities such as
Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
,
Valpovo
Valpovo is a town in Slavonia, Croatia. It is close to the Drava river, northwest of Osijek. The population of Valpovo is 7,406, with a total of 11,563 in the municipality.
Name
In Hungarian the town is known as ''Valpó'' and in German as ''Wa ...
,
Novi Banovci
Novi Banovci () is a settlement in Serbia by the Danube River. It is situated in the Stara Pazova municipality, in the Srem District, in Vojvodina province. It is located 5 kilometers away from Batajnica and 20 km from the capital, Belgrade ...
and since 2009
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
are named after him.
Rock band
Korni Grupa released a single "Ivo Lola" in 1973 which tells a story about the last letter Lola Ribar sent to his fiancé Sloboda Trajković.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
Ivo Lola Ribaron
SKOJ , SKOJ mk, Сојуз на комунистичката младина на Југославија, СКМЈ sl, Zveza komunistične mladine Jugoslavije, ZKMJ
, colorcode = red
, founded = 1919
, dissolved = 1948
, succeeded by = League of S ...
web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribar, Ivo Lola
1916 births
1943 deaths
Croatian people of World War II
Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II
University of Belgrade Faculty of Law alumni
Yugoslav Partisans members
Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero
League of Communists of Croatia politicians
Deaths by airstrike during World War II