The Republic of Užice ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Užička republika, Ужичка република) was a short-lived liberated Yugoslav territory and the first liberated territory in World War II Europe, organized as a military mini-state that existed in the autumn of 1941 in occupied Yugoslavia, more specifically the western part of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. The Republic was established by the Partisan resistance movement and its administrative center was in the town of Užice.

Borders

The Republic of Užice comprised a large portion of western part of the occupied territory and had a population of more than 300,000 (according to another source, nearly one million). It was located between the

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

– Bajina Bašta line in the north, the river Drina on the west, the river Zapadna Morava in the east, and the Raška region to the south. Different sources provide differing information about the size of the republic: according to some sources, it included 15,000 or 20,000 square kilometres.

History

The government was made of "people's councils" ('' odbori''), and the partisans opened schools and published a newspaper, '' Borba'' (meaning "Fight"). They even managed to run a postal system and around 145 km of railway and operated an ammunition factory from the vaults beneath the bank in Užice. In November 1941, in the First anti-Partisan offensive, the German troops occupied this territory again, while the majority of Partisan forces escaped towards

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Sandžak and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, re-grouping at

Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the south-east on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 1 ...

in Bosnia.

End

The leftist policy then pursued by

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

(known later as the leftist errors) substantially contributed to the defeat of the partisans in the Republic of Užice. Because of the pro-fascist Serbian propaganda which described the partisans as being led by foreigners, the population of Serbia turned against the uprising and against the partisan insurgents. At the beginning of December 1941 the partisans moved from Serbia to Bosnia (nominally part of the NDH) and joined their comrades who had already left Montenegro.

In popular culture

The 1974 Yugoslav partisan feature film '' The Republic of Užice'' covers the events surrounding the existence of the Republic of Užice.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Modern Serbia - Revolution and the antifascist struggle
at

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

.
Opština UžiceWestern SerbiaNational Museum Uzice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Republic of Uzice 1941 disestablishments in Europe Uzice, Republic of Uzice, Republic of Uzice, Republic of States and territories established in 1941 States and territories disestablished in 1941 1941 establishments in Europe Užice