Boško Palkovljević Pinki ( sr-Cyrl, Бошко Палковљевић „Пинки"; 1920–1942) was a prominent Partisan fighter during

World War II in Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was Invasion of Yugoslavia, invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis powers, Axis forces and partitioned among Nazi Germany, Germany, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), It ...

and a People's Hero of Yugoslavia.

Biography

Palkovljević was born on 14 December 1920 in the village of Manđelos (part of

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...

), in the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(today

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

). After finishing the elementary school, he enrolled at the High School for Mechanics in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

. Pinki joined the

SKOJ The League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia (SSOJ) was the youth movement, member organisation of the People's Front of Yugoslavia, Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia (SSRNJ). Membership stood at more than 3.6 million individuals i ...

while in school, and, in 1940, became the leader of the school's SKOJ section. Soon he organized student strike, during which the students demanded better conditions for studying and better treatment from professors. He was later arrested because his organization took part in the textile workers' strike. He spent two months in detention, but was released due to the lack of evidence against him. During the Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, although he was not in the army, Pinki responded to the call from his

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

and joined the fighting, where he was captured. During the transport to the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

, he managed to escape in the city of Ruma, and to steal a

hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

and a machine gun from the provisional airport in Veliki Radinci. After that, he joined Partisans at the

Fruška Gora Fruška gora ( sr-Cyrl, Фрушка гора) is a mountain in Syrmia, with most of the mountain being part of Serbia and its westernmost edge extending into eastern Croatia. The Serbian part of the mountain forms the country's oldest National p ...

mountain. Pinki was among the organizers of the escape of

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

inmates from the Ustasha prison in

. After they planned the escape, on 22 August 1941, Pinki and his comrades helped the 32 inmates to escape through a tunnel they dug. Afterwards, they took them to Fruška Gora. A decision was made that four of the escaped communists should remain on Fruška Gora, while the others should be transferred to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Pinki took them to

Bogatić Bogatić ( sr-cyr, Богатић, ) is a town and municipality located in the Mačva District of western Serbia. As of the 2022 census, it has 24,522 residents. Geography Bogatić is located in the western part of Serbia. The nearest large ...

, where they were picked up by

Mačva Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; ) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava (river), Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is nam ...

Partisans. Pinki took part in the

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

fights and diversions. He blew up a train in Srem with a home-made mine. Soon after that, he tried to blow a bridge on Bosut river disguised as a Croatian Home Guard soldier. He approached Ustasha guardian on the bridge and asked for a lighter. The Ustasha called him to a barrack where Pinki killed him, and another Ustasha who came to help. Then he placed a mine and blew up the bridge. Boško Palkovljević was the first Partisan

courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

from Srem to reach the High Command of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

and inform them on the activities of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Partisans after the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

offensive in Western Serbia and the withdrawal of Partisans toward Bosnia and Sandžak. Between early December 1941 and January 1942, during an entire month, Pinki pressed through enemy territory. He was even captured by

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

, but he managed to escape and to come back to Srem with the High Command's orders. After he returned from the bridge destruction activities on 10 June 1942, Pinki was in the village of Mala Remeta when German forces attacked. Pinki opened fire on the Germans in an attempt to slow them and allow people to escape into the woods. While he was trying to escape too, he was shot by a machine gun. He was among the first to be awarded Order of the National Hero on 25 October 1943. Pinki was buried at the memorial cemetery in Sremska Mitrovica. Many streets and schools in SFRY Yugoslavia were named after him including the High School for Transport in

. Hala Pinki sports hall in

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

is also named after him.

Biography

References

Further reading