Petar Drapšin ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Драпшин; 15 November 1914 – 2 November 1945) was a
Yugoslav 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 ...
commander.
Early life and education
Drapšin was born to a family of poor peasant farmers in the village of
Turija near
Srbobran
Srbobran ( sr, Србобран, ; hu, Szenttamás) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town is located on the north bank of the Danube-Tisa-Danube canal. The town ...
(Szenttamás),
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
a few months into
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. By the time he reached school age, the war ended, resulting in the Austro-Hungarian defeat and disintegration along with formation of a new state
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
.
He completed primary school in his village before going to nearby Srbobran for lower gymnasium studies.
He then moved to the country's capital
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 ...
,
apprenticing
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
for a
tradesman
A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast to ...
position. After completing his trade term, he enrolled in the streamlined technical high school where he first got introduced to the
workers' movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
ideas under the auspices of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
(KPJ), a political organization banned in 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 ...
. Active in the school's literary section that actively spread communist ideas, Drapšin also joined KPJ's youth wing
SKOJ
League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia, commonly known in English as the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia, or simply Communist Youth, was the youth wing of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia from 1919 to 1948. Although it was banned just two y ...
.
In 1937 he went to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
for university studies.
Soon after that, he went to fight in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, joining the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
side as one of the
Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
The Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, known as Spanish fighters ( hr, Španjolski borci, sl, Španski borci, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Шпански борци, separator=" / ", Španski borci) and Yugoslav brigadistas ( es, brigadistas yugo ...
. He excelled in combat, earning the rank of captain in the process. After the demise of
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...
, he was interned in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. From there he escaped to
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 ...
in 1939.
World War II
In 1941, following the
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
*Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
, Drapšin was given the task of organizing armed uprising in the
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...
region by 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 ...
(KPJ).
Savo Skoko (1923–2013), a historian who fought on the Partisan side during World War II, hailing from the
Jugovići village near
Gacko
Gacko ( sr-cyrl, Гацко) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the region of East Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,784 inhabitants, while the m ...
compiled a book of documents and first-hand accounts titled ''Krvavo kolo hercegovačko 1941-1942''.
Published in Podgorica in 1995, the book details crimes committed by the members of People's Liberation Movement against civilians in the
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...
region during World War II, and Petar Drapšin is mentioned as the organizer and perpetrator of a series of such crimes. After complaints within the revolutionary movement that the communists in Herzegovina are soft on "
class enemies
The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...
", various prominent war-tested communist leaders including
Sava Kovačević
Sava Kovačević ( sr-cyrl, Сава Ковачевић; 25 January 1905 – 13 June 1943) was a Yugoslav Partisan divisional commander during World War II, and one of the heroes of the communist Partisan movement.
Early life
Kovačević was ...
and Drapšin were sent there in late 1941 and early 1942. As the commanding officers of the First Striking Battalion (Prvi udarni bataljon), their men executed 21 local villagers on 27 February 1942 on Radački brijeg. On 3 and 4 March 1942, an even bigger crime occurred when they rounded up and executed a total of 41 people from the
Bileća-area villages of
Golobrđe
Golobrđe ( sr-cyrl, Голобрђе) is a village in the municipality of Bileća, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often ...
, Divljakuša, and
Meka Gruda. To strengthen the psychological effect on the rest of the villagers they then proceeded to completely dehumanize their victims by dancing and celebrating around their corpses while the family members wailed.
Drapšin's conduct in Herzegovina got him sharp criticism from the party leadership as well as disciplinary action. However, in January 1943, the party gave him another chance by appointing him the commander of
Yugoslav National Liberation Army
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
's (YNLA)
12th Slavonian Division. Two months later he received the rank of major general. In May 1944 he became commander of YNLA's
8th Corps. During summer 1944, Drapšin became deputy commander of the
Croatian National Liberation Army (NOVH), the Croatian branch of YNLA.
In December 1944 Drapšin was sent to
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
to command YNLA's
8th Corps. In January 1945 he received the rank of lieutenant general. Units under his command halted German offensive in Dalmatian hinterland in January 1945 and liberated Herzegovina during the
Mostar Operation
The Mostar Operation was a series of Yugoslav Partisan military operations in Herzegovina from February 6–15, 1945.
The Battle
Most of central Herzegovina was part of the District of Hum in the Independent State of Croatia. Mostar was also ...
.
Soon after that the 8th Corps got transformed into the
4th Army, which began the
Lika-Primorje operation
Lika-Primorje operation was a military operation carried out by the Yugoslav Partisan 4th Army against Wehrmacht units and the Croatian Armed Forces. It was conducted in the area of Lika and Western Bosnia from 20 March to 15 April 1945.
In ...
, an offensive against the remaining
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 ...
in Yugoslavia in late March 1945. Despite difficult terrain and need for complicated amphibious operation, Drapšin's force scored spectacular success by piercing through enemy lines in
Lika
Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...
, defeating German forces in the
Rijeka operation, landing in
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
and entering
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
before Allied forces. This Partisan offensive was arguably the most important in the history of Yugoslavia, because it allowed Istria,
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 ...
and
Slovene Littoral
The Slovene Littoral ( sl, Primorska, ; it, Litorale; german: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adria ...
to become part of
SFR 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 ...
, later
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and Slovenia.
After the war Drapšin was entered as candidate for the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
at the post-war elections.
Death
Details surrounding Drapšin's untimely death are uncertain. There are contradictory accounts about his death on 2 November 1945. The official version attributes the cause of death to an accidentally discharged pistol. Other stories tell about Drapšin being criticised at a party meeting and committing suicide afterwards.
In his book, Skoko describes Drapšin as a "psychologically unstable person whose condition bordered on complete insanity".
Skoko also disputes the official communist version of Drapšin's death and claims that he committed suicide.
In 1953, he posthumously received the honour of the
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 ...
.
See also
*
Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
The Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, known as Spanish fighters ( hr, Španjolski borci, sl, Španski borci, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Шпански борци, separator=" / ", Španski borci) and Yugoslav brigadistas ( es, brigadistas yugo ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drapsin, Petar
1914 births
1945 deaths
People from Srbobran
Serbian generals
Yugoslav Partisans members
Yugoslav communists
Yugoslav people of the Spanish Civil War
Serbian people of World War II
Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero
Generals of the Yugoslav People's Army
Suicides by firearm in Serbia
Suicides in Yugoslavia