Borko "Boro" Vukmirović ( sr-Cyrl, Борко "Боро" Вукмировић, ; 1 August 1912 – 10 April 1943) was one of the organizers of the anti-fascist uprising in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

.''Narodni heroji Jugoslavije''. Belgrade: Mladost, 1975 He was posthumously awarded the

Order of the People's Hero The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; , ), was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav gallantry medal, the ...

Early life

Vukmirović was born on 1 August 1912 in the Bulgarian town of

Bratsigovo Bratsigovo ( ) is a town in Southern Bulgaria. It is located in the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, on the banks of the Umishka River in Pazardzhik oblast, and is close to the towns of Peshtera and Krichim. Bratsigovo Hills on Trinity Penin ...

. His father , originally from the Montenegrin town of

Rijeka Crnojevića Rijeka Crnojevića ( cnr-Cyrl, Ријека Црнојевића, lit=River of Crnojević noble family, Crnojević) is a town in Montenegro on the eponymous Rijeka Crnojevića (river), Rijeka Crnojevića River, near the shore of Lake Skadar lake, ...

, took part in the

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...

in 1903. After the uprising was suppressed, Nikola was imprisoned in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

later moving to Bulgaria where he married Stojanka with whom he had three sons: Boro, Andro and Rade. In 1914, the family moved to

Peć Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...

where Boro completed elementary school and six grades of gymnasium. At that time, the Peć gymnasium had only six grades and further education had to be completed in

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

for which his parents didn't have the funds. After completing the sixth grade, he found a job as a labour worker. He worked in Peć and other places in

Pre-Second World War

As a young worker, he joined the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

. He became a member of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) in 1932 and a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (KPJ) in 1933. Near the end of 1934, he became a bureau member of the Communist Party District Committee for Peć.''Vojna enciklopedija (eighth edition)''. Belgrade: 1974 Due to his revolutionary activities, he was sought and arrested numerous times by the police. In 1935, he was arrested and tortured in a police prison in Peć. He was then brought before the state court in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

but due to a lack of evidence he was freed. At the first regional KPJ conference for Kosovo and Metohija at the beginning of July 1937, he was chosen as the organizational secretary for the Regional Committee. At the beginning of August 1940, he was chosen as a member of the KPJ Regional Committees for Montenegro,

Sandžak Sandžak (Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) is a historical and geo-political region in the Balkans, located in the southwestern part of Serbia and the eastern part of Montenegro. The Bosnian/ Serbian term ''Sandžak'' derives from the Sanjak of Novi Paza ...

and Kosovo and Metohija. In October 1940, Vukmirović was 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

for the Fifth Worldwide KPJ Conference at which he was a candidate for member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (CK KPJ). He was organizer of numerous strikes, demonstrations and other working-class protests in Peć and other places in Kosovo and Metohija such as the large anti-fascist demonstrations on 11 May 1940 and the March demonstrations in Peć in 1941.

Second World War

After the invasion and occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941, he worked on connecting party organizations and organizing armed battles in Kosovo and Metohija. First he was member of the Military Committee formed before the Regional Committee but after the arrest of

Miladin Popović Miladin Popović ( sr-cyr, Миладин Поповић; 23 September 1910 – 13 March 1945) was a Yugoslav Partisan and secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (OK KPJ) of Kosmet (Kosovo). He was one of the ...

, he took over as secretary of KPJ Regional Committee for Kosovo and Metohija. By directive of the CK KPJ, he coordinated ties with Albanian communists and helped them link the Communist Party of Albania with the People's Liberation Struggle. In October 1941, he was named as the political commisar for the Metohija Partisan Unit and in October 1942 he was chosen as a member of the temporary Main Unit of the Kosovo and Metohija Partisan units. He then founded the newspaper Glas naroda (Voice of the People) which he led until his death as a tribune of the KPJ Regional Committee and the People's Liberation Struggle in Kosovo and Metohija. In April 1943, Vukmirović was in Đakovica/Gjakova along with

Ramiz Sadiku Ramiz Sadiku ( ; ; 19 January 1915 – 10 April 1943) was an Albanian law student and one of the organizers of the anti-fascist uprising in Kosovo.''Narodni heroji Jugoslavije''. Belgrade: Mladost, 1975 He was posthumously awarded the Order of th ...

. At that time, CK KPJ member Tempo Vukmanović left for Prizren. Boro and Ramiz had agreed to meet him there. On 7 April 1943 en route to Prizren in the village of Landovica, Boro and Ramiz were captured after being wounded in battles with Italian fascists and Albanian fascists known as the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front'') was an Albanian nationalist, Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist, and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra a ...

. Knowing that they are high-ranking members of the Yugoslav Partisans, the Balli Kombëtar members tried to get information on other Partisans from them by torturing them. As Vukmirović and Sadiku didn't want to inform, it was decided that they were to be executed. On being demanded that they are to be executed individually, they put their arms around one another and shouted slogans supporting the Partisan cause and were executed together (on 10 April 1943).

Legacy

On 6 March 1945 by decree of the presidency of the

Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,; ; commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberative and legislative body that was established in Bihać, Yugoslavia, in November 1942. It was established by Josip Broz T ...

, Vukmirović and Sadiku were posthumously awarded the

and were among the first to be recipients. In the years after the Second World War, Boro and Ramiz became a symbol of

Brotherhood and Unity Brotherhood and unity was a popular slogan of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia that was coined during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War (1941–45), and which evolved into a guiding principle of Yugoslavia's post-war inter-ethnic policy. ...

of the Serbian/Montenegrin and Albanian people and of the anti-fascist struggle in Kosovo and Metohija. Numerous streets and schools bore their name along with the

sports centre A leisure centre, sports centre, or recreation centre is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and provided by the local government authority, where people can engage in a variety of sports and exercise, and keep fit. Typical facilit ...

Priština Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of th ...

. In 1963 on the twenty-year anniversary of their execution, a monument was made in the form of an obelisk with a mosaic and a memorial fountain and it was erected in Landovica in the spot they were executed. Poet Adem Gajtani dedicated the poem ''Boro dhe Ramiz'' to them.

References

External links