Who is Vera Blagojevic?

Did you know that there was such a brave girl who was beaten, mutilated, sick, got up and said: "Shoot, victory is ours. We are defiantly dying for freedom."

Young Vera Blagojević had an impressive appearance - blonde hair, slender stature and tall stature, mischievous, prudent, a fighter for rights. She was also a fearless girl who lost her life at the age of 22 for the freedom of her people.

She was also loved because she shared everyday little things with her poorer friends and visited them almost every day in the "Queen Mary" dormitory, not knowing how to spend time in the dormitory that would bear her name years later. She was posthumously proclaimed a national hero by the decree of Josip Broz Tito. This is the story of Vera's short life.

The Blagojevic family and the fighting Vera

Vera Blagojević was born on May 16, 1920 in Belgrade. Originally from a very respectable family, from the father of the lawyer Jovan Blagojević and the mother of Ana, a housewife who dedicated herself to the family. When Vera was three years old, the Blagojević family made the decision to move from Belgrade to Šabac, where Vera spent her childhood. She finished elementary school and high school in Sabac, and even then, although withdrawn at first glance, she showed incredible fighting spirit, and with her intellect she excelled in school and society. Very hardworking and with a lot of interest, Vera regularly visited the French Home in Šabac and learned French so well.

Her resistance to injustice was evident even at the end of primary school when she organized a strike due to the bad behavior of certain professors towards the students in the school she attended.

Her school always "went well", so she was an excellent student and the best student of Sabac High School, and her graduation thesis, which was declared the best in her generation, was inspired by Njegoš's verse "Flowers will grow on the grave for a generation to come". These verses seemed to foretell her fate.

"It's a thorny path where roses don't bloom, but it's the only path I want to take."

In parallel with graduating from high school, Vera began to show great interest in politics. Those who remember her, emphasized her friendliness and gentle nature, and even then she gathered a group of friends around her with whom she talked about the situation in society.

Together with his best friends at the time, he became a member of the Sabac Library "Sabac Public Library and Reading Room". She loved and often read the works of Dostoevsky, Victor Hugo and Tolstoy, her favorite writers.

Soon, Vera began to move in the circles of "leftists", and her political affiliation was strongly influenced by a close friend from the school, Stojanka, who also lived in Vera's father's house for a while. Among the significant influences on her political affiliation was Vera's teacher Zika Popovic, a communist and manager of the Sabac library.

Thus, in the spring of 1937, at the age of 17, Vera became a proud member of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia - SKOJ. She ran home to tell T-shirt Ana the good news, but she was not happy about it, because her mother was worried, knowing what bad things could bring her doing politics. She said that dangers were lurking on all sides, especially for free-minded people like Vera. She was fully aware of that, but she made it clear what she wanted: "It's a thorny path where roses don't bloom, but it's the only path I want to take."

Return to Belgrade to study medicine

After graduating from high school, Vera returns to her native Belgrade. Against the will of her parents, who thought that it was too much for her health, which was fragile, in 1938 she enrolled at the Medical Faculty in Belgrade. Her engagement in politics does not abate either, so after the beginning of her studies, she enrolls in the "Advanced Student Movement".

Unlike other students, Vera came from a wealthy family, which enabled her to live independently in a rented apartment. However, her pleasant life was not an obstacle to sympathizing with less happy friends whom she always tried to help in every way. Since her best friends lived in the "Queen Mary" women's dormitory, she spent most of her free time there with them. Students who were communists, like Vera, had a rule that they often, especially during the holidays, when packages arrived from families with food, distributed to friends who were poorer and whose families could not afford to send packages.

The first female member of the party and again the city of Sabac

Vera's political activity continued during her studies. Her biggest engagement was in the SKOJ organization at the University of Belgrade. In the winter of 1940, she was officially accepted into the membership of the CPY - Communist Party of Yugoslavia.

After the beginning of the war in April 1941, Vera returned on foot from Belgrade to Sabac. Upon his return, one of the party's first engagements was to assist in the work and organization of SKOJ. Due to her great efforts and efforts, the results were seen very quickly, so the work of the Local Committee of SKOJ for the city of Sabac was renewed.

Her enthusiasm and energy were unstoppable. She constantly worked on educating the youth and women of Šabac about the importance of politics for their society, and her main aspiration was to include them in the political struggle and the struggle for the right to vote, which she considered the most important. Also in the same year, the District Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia was formed for the district of Podrinje, of which Vera became the only female member, and at the same time the secretary of the youth branch of the committee.

In addition to political engagement, a thin girl, blonde hair and poor health, she participated in the fights without a shred of fear. She did not give up even when her best friend from the faculty was killed in the battles for Sabac in 1941.

Because of her entire commitment and prominence in society, the fight for women's rights and membership in the banned party, she bothered the occupiers. The police of the City of Belgrade Administration have been collecting information about Vera's movements for a long time. Although she withdrew illegally, she did not calm down, despite the danger that her opponents would discover her. On one occasion, while she was carrying leaflets and all party material to Loznica on her own responsibility, she was intercepted and arrested. However, as she never surrendered, she managed, with the help of her men, members of the Macva-Partisan detachment who organized her escape, to eventually escape.

At the end of 1941, what her parents were most afraid of happened, and Vera became seriously ill. During the withdrawal of the Macva-Partisan detachment, the sick and wounded were left in the village of Tekeriš, near Loznica. Vera was among them. During the action of "cleaning" the Macva region, in March 1942, they also found Vera, and after a long and severe torture, she was handed over to the Gestapo service in Šabac.

"Shoot the victory is ours. We are defiantly dying for slo .."

The Gestapo had no regard for Vera's serious health condition. She was forced and blackmailed to confess and betray all those who worked for the People's Liberation Movement in exchange for freedom. And Vera, already distorted by the blows she received, just kept silent, holding on bravely and proudly, never wanting to betray anyone. As they could not extract any information or knowledge from her, after a long torture, they ruthlessly sentenced her to death.

Vera Blagojević was shot on March 18, 1942, at the age of twenty-two. She gave her life for the freedom of her people, remaining consistent with her beliefs.

While she was waiting for her turn, she raised her hand and said: "Shoot, victory is ours. We are defiantly dying for the word ...", but it was interrupted by the sound of machine guns.

The fatal event took place in the Shicara forest near the village of Klenak, and about 70 other people were shot with it. The news that their daughter was shot by Vera's parents was received by detainees in the Banjica camp.

People's hero Vera Blagojević

Because of all the merits and because she bravely gave her life for freedom and the fatherland, the then President of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, posthumously proclaimed Vera Blagojević a national hero with her decree on July 7, 1953.

In memory of Vera, the Women's Student Dormitory "Kraljice Marija", where she spent her student days, was renamed the Dormitory "Vera Blagojević".

Also, due to the reduction in the number of students of the Islamic religion who came to Belgrade to study, the former Home for Muslims in Belgrade "Osman Đikić" changed its purpose and was placed under the management of the already existing home "Vera Blagojević".

This second building, located in the immediate vicinity, in Dalmatinska Street, is today called "Vera Blagojević II".