Stanislav Krakov ( sr-Cyrl, Станислав Краков; 1895–1968) was a Serbian officer, Chetnik guerrilla, journalist, writer and film director. He participated in the Balkan Wars and

First World War 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 ...

. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, he supported his maternal uncle, General Milan Nedić, and was the editor of Nedić's newspapers '' Novo vreme'' and ''Obnova''.

Early life

Krakov was born in Kragujevac, Kingdom of Serbia. His father, Sigismund, was a doctor of Polish origin, and his mother Persida was a granddaughter of Nikola Stanojević, a lord from Zeoke and nephew of voivode Stanoje Mijailović, who was killed during the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1 ...

Military service

Not being able to enroll in the regular army, since he was only 17 years old, he joined the volunteer guard of Vojvoda Vuk, a Chetnik unit, in the war against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1912. The following year he was back on the frontline of the Serbian defence, this time against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, where he was wounded near

Kriva Palanka Kriva Palanka ( mk, Крива Паланка ) is a town located in the northeastern part of North Macedonia. It has 14,558 inhabitants. The town of Kriva Palanka is the seat of Kriva Palanka Municipality which has almost 21,000 inhabitants. ...

. Together with the last class of cadets-corporals, he left the military academy in 1914 and went straight to the front to fight the Austro-Hungarian Empire. For much of 1914 he, much to his frustration, was assigned to Pirot which was far from the front. In 1915 he participated in many battles, survived the

Serbian army's retreat through Albania The Great Retreat, also known in Serbian historiography as the Albanian Golgotha ( sr, Албанска голгота / ''Albanska golgota''), was a strategic withdrawal of the Royal Serbian Army, which marked the end of the second Serbian c ...

, and was one of the first who reached the top of the impregnable Kajmakčalan. During these wars he was wounded seventeen times and was awarded eighteen times. In 1937 Krakov became chief of Propaganda for Zbor thanks to

Dimitrije Ljotić Dimitrije Ljotić ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Љотић; 12 August 1891 – 23 April 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav fascist politician and ideologue who established the Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor) in 1935 and collaborated with Ge ...

and subsequently, the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the pro-Nazi ''Obnova'' newspaper, hailing from Belgrade.

Literary and film career

After the

, from 1919 to 1931, he published prose in almost all newspapers and magazines in Serbia. He wrote novels: "Kroz buru" (1921), "Krila" (1922), travel guide "Kroz južnu Srbiju" (1926), memoirs "Naše poslednje pobede" (1928), a book of short stories "Crveni pjero". When it comes to historical-fiction works, he wrote "Plamen četništva" (1930), "Prestolonaslednik Petar" (1933) and "General Milan Nedić" (1963-1968). "Život čoveka na Balkanu" ("Life of the Man from the Balkans") was his autobiography. Stanislav Krakov was a director of the film "Za čast otadžbine i požar na Balkanu", which premiered on 25 March 1930, and also " Golgota Srbije" (The Calvary of Serbia) in 1931, which is still regarded as the best Serbian documentary film account of

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 ...

ever. He was editor of "

Politika ''Politika'' ( sr-Cyrl, Политика; ''Politics'') is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and owners ...

" and "Vreme", and CEO of Radio Belgrade (1940-1941). While working for ''Vreme'' magazine, Krakov traveled to

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

's house in 1932 and interviewed him. During the

he supported his uncle, General Milan Nedić, and the rest of his life he spent in exile. He died in Switzerland.Stanislav Krakov: "Život čoveka na Balkanu", Naš Dom, Beograd In his autobiography "Život čoveka na Balkanu" ("Life of a Man from the Balkans"), which was published posthumously, Stanislav wrote:

I felt all the high points of success and all the bitterness and humiliation when you reach the bottom of human society. If the adventure is always an unexpected twist, always a surprise, most commonly a danger, usually a dazzling success, and even more hursh fall, then I lived a crazy, often brilliant and painful adventure of my time and my native soil...

Bibliography

* "Kroz buru" (1921) * "Krila" (1922) * "Kroz južnu Srbiju" (1926) * "Naše poslednje pobede" (1928) * "Crveni pjero" * "Plamen četništva" (1930) * "Prestolonaslednik Petar" (1933) * "General Milan Nedić" (1963-1968) * "Život čoveka na Balkanu"

Early life

Military service

Literary and film career

Bibliography

References

Further reading

Books

Scholarly articles