Vlado Janić ''Capo'' (14 July 1904 – 4 May 1991) was a Croatian Partisan and the commander of the

Sisak People's Liberation Partisan Detachment The Sisak People's Liberation Partisan Detachment (), also known as the 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment (''1. Sisački partizanski odred''), was the first Partisan armed anti-fascist resistance unit formed in occupied Yugoslavia following the inv ...

, the first

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 ...

resistance unit formed by a

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

occupied Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned among Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attack ...

and Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Vlado Janić was born on 14 July 1904 in

Sisak Sisak (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavina (Sava basin ...

and he declared himself as

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

. His entire family participated in the labor movement and since 1941 in the People's Liberation War. His two brothers and father were executed, while his mother and sister were in the

Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia durin ...

.Olga Đurđević-Đukić(editor) (1975) ''Narodni heroji Jugoslavije''(People's Heroes of Yugoslavia) Mladost

/ref> At the end of the WWI and in the first years of Yugoslavia, he learned the locksmith trade at the fabric factory in Sisak. After that he was employed in the railway workshop in Sisak. In 1931, he was admitted to the League of Communists of Yugoslavia , Communist Party of Yugoslavia and he was arrested several times for party's work. From 1939 Janić was a member of the Communist Party of Croatia. On 22 June 1941, Vlado Janić entered the People's Liberation War. The first Partisan unit in Croatia was organized under the leadership of Marijan Cvetković and Vlado Janić. At the end of September 1941, Sisak Partisan Detachment and several

Banija Banovina or Banija is a geographical region in central Croatia, between the Sava, Una, Kupa and Glina rivers. The main towns in the region include Petrinja, Glina, Kostajnica, and Dvor. There is no clear geographical border of the region tow ...

Partisan units formed the Banija Partisan Detachment whose first commander was Vlado Janić. His other duties were: Commissar of the 12th Slavonian brigade, 28th Slavonian Division, 6th Slavonian Corps, and the People's Defence Corps of Yugoslavia. After WWII, Vlado Janić had high functions in JNA. He lived 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 ...

where he died on 4 May 1991.

Legacy

He was proclaimed a national hero of Yugoslavia on 20 December 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janic, Vladimir 1904 births 1991 deaths People from Sisak Croatian communists Croatian people of World War II Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero Detachments of the Yugoslav Partisans Military units and formations established in 1941 Croatia in World War II Yugoslav Partisans members Members of the Central Committee of the 4th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia Members of the Central Committee of the 5th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia Members of the Central Committee of the 6th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia