Nurija Pozderac (15 January 1892 – 12 June 1943) was a Bosnian teacher, politician, member of the

Yugoslav Muslim Organization The Yugoslav Muslim Organization (, ''JMO'') was an Ethnic Muslim (today Bosniak) political party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was founded in Sarajevo on the 16 February 1919 and was led by ...

, and local liberation leader during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, participating in the National Yugoslav Liberation Struggle. He served as Vice President of the Executive Board of the

Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,, mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Југославија commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberat ...

. His nephews Hakija and Hamdija were influential

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 ...

politicians during the era of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Early life

Pozderac was one of 11 children—seven sons and four daughters—born to Bashi-bazouk Agha Murat Pozderac (1862–1930), the last leader of

Cazin Cazin ( sr-cyrl, Цазин) is a city located in Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bosanska Krajina region, near the borde ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 H ...

during Ottoman rule. His father had three wives, a common practice in 19th century Bosnia. His six brothers were Mujaga, Mehmed, Muhamed, Smail, Ahmet, Hasan; his four sisters were Semka, Derviša, Šefika, and Zulejha.

Politics

Nurija was a teacher before moving into politics in the 1930s. His first serious political engagement came as a minister in the local legislative and administrative body of Cazin. He was a member of the

World War II

After the 1941 occupation of 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 ...

and the creation of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

, Pozderac was angry at the Ustasha policy of killing and expelling Jews and Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He rejected

Džafer Kulenović Dr. Džafer Kulenović (17 February 1891 – 3 October 1956), often referred to as Džafer- beg Kulenović, was a Bosnian Muslim and Yugoslav politician who led the Yugoslav Muslim Organization in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and was briefly Min ...

's offer to become a minister in the Government of the fascist Independent State of Croatia. Later in 1941, Pozderac teamed up with 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 became a member of the Yugoslav National Liberation Movement. As an influential and well-known figure among the people of Cazin and the

Krajina Krajina () is a Slavic toponym, meaning 'frontier' or 'march'. The term is related to ''kraj'' or ''krai'', originally meaning 'edge'Rick Derksen (2008), ''Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon'', Brill: Leiden-Boston, page 244 an ...

, in 1942 he was elected president of the National Liberation Committee in Cazin. He participated in the first session of the

Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,, mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Југославија commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberat ...

(AVNOJ) on 26—27 November 1942 in

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 ...

. At this meeting he was elected vice-president of the Executive Board of AVNOJ.

Death

In June 1943, during the

Fifth Enemy Offensive Case Black (german: Fall Schwarz), also known as the Fifth Enemy Offensive ( sh-Latn, Peta neprijateljska ofanziva) in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav historiography and often identified with its final phase, the Battle of th ...

(also known as the Battle of Sutjeska) and one of the

Axis forces The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were Na ...

attack on Partisans' High Command, which was in retreat across the Sutjeska river and over the ridge of Maglić, attempting to reach Vučevo plateau, Pozderac was mortally wounded, while his group tried to take cover from heavy areal bombardment on the edges of

Perućica Perućica ( sr-cyrl, Перућица) is one of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe. It is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the border with Montenegro. It is part of the Sutjeska National Park.

. Four days later, while in the presence of his son Sead, Nurija Pozderac died from his wounds.

Legacy

In March 2013, Nurija and his wife Devleta received

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

medal for rescuing and sheltering Jewish people during the Holocaust. His great-grandson, Serbian politician

Vuk Jeremić Vuk Jeremić ( sr-cyr, Вук Јеремић, ; born 3 July 1975) is a Serbian politician and diplomat who served as the president of the United Nations General Assembly from 2012 to 2013 and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia from 200 ...

, spoke at the ceremony saying that he was, "...immensely proud of his origin and ancestors who rose up against the crimes against their Jewish and Serbian citizens during World War II."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozderac, Nurija 1892 births 1943 deaths Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Yugoslav Muslim Organization politicians People from Cazin Pozderac family Bosnia and Herzegovina people of World War II Anti-fascism in Yugoslavia Anti-fascists Muslim Righteous Among the Nations Yugoslav Righteous Among the Nations Yugoslav civilians killed in World War II Deaths by airstrike during World War II