Jean-Michel Nicollier

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Jean-Michel Nicollier in Vukovar , Croatia

Jean-Michel Nicollier , mostly Nicolier in Croatian , (born  July 1, 1966 in Vesoul , France , †  November 20 or 21, 1991 in Ovčara near Vukovar , Croatia ) was a French volunteer for the Croatian Defense Forces (HOS) during the Croatian War . It was after the Battle of Vukovar as a prisoner of war during the hospital massacre by Serb irregulars painfully executed .

biography

Early years

Nicollier was born on July 1, 1966 in Vesoul, France, the second eldest of three sons of Lyliane Fournier. In Vesoul he attended elementary and secondary school .

Croatian war

When Nicollier found out about the war in Croatia through French television , he decided to travel to Croatia to help the people affected by the war. Before leaving, he said to his mother:

“I want to help these people, they need me. I have to go, but I'll be back. You know, I'm wild grass that never disappears. "

In July 1991 he reached the Zagreb main station by train unaccompanied . Shortly after his arrival, he joined the Croatian Defense Forces and was stationed at the front along the Kupa River in the Banovina .

In September 1991 Nicollier reached the city of Vukovar on the Danube together with the last volunteers . He fought in the Battle of Vukovar and was wounded twice in three months .

A few hours before his murder, Nicollier described the embattled and destroyed Vukovar in an interview with the French reporter Agnès Vahramian as a “ slaughterhouse ”. In the interview broadcast on French television, Nicollier continued:

“I was offered several times to leave the city and return to France, but I refused. I came to Vukovar as a volunteer. That was my decision, for better or for worse. Why as a volunteer? Because I think they needed help. "

death

The ruins of Ovčara - the place of execution of 200 sick and wounded people from the Vukovar hospital, including Jean-Michel Nicollier

On November 20, 1991, Nicollier and 300 patients from the Vukovar hospital were abducted by Serbian militants to the site of the former Ovčara farm .

During the hospital massacre on the night of November 20-21, 1991, the wounded Nicollier was led out of one of the halls and beaten by a man nicknamed "Kemo". According to later testimony, "Kemo" hit Nicollier with a club . Finally, Nicollier was brought to the 19-year-old Spasoje Petković , fighting name " Štuka ". This shot him in the head and looted him.

Petković mentioned his victim Nicollier in an interview as early as 1991:

“Ustaše su bili veoma dobri momci. Nimalo naivni, kao što su neki pričali, ali ih je bilo i drogiranih. Kad ih uhvatiš, međutim, mnogi su plakali i molili. Ove zavoje što vidite po zglobovima… To nije rana, otekli su mi zglobovi dok sam ih tukao, obične kukavice. A bilo ih je iz svih krajeva Hrvatske, iz Zagreba, Samobora, Našica, Vukovara, a najžešći su bili oni iz Hercegovine. Našli smo i jednog snajperistu Francuza , nekakve crnce i Šiptare. Ipak, među njima je bilo razlike. MUP-ovci su se htjeli predati, oni su se i drugačije ponašali. Zenge, ti plaćenici, oni su tjerali do kraja. "

“The Ustashas [HOS men] were very good guys. Not naive at all, as some have said, but they have been drugged. However, when they are captured, many cry and pray. Those bandages you see on my wrists ... It's not a wound, my joints are swollen when I hit them, the common cowards. And they came from all over Croatia, from Zagreb, Samobor , Našice , Vukovar, and the toughest were those from Herzegovina . We also found a French sniper , a couple of blacks, and a Schiptar . Even so, there were differences between them. The MUP men [police officers] wanted to surrender and they behaved differently. The Zenge [National Guards ], these mercenaries , fought to the end. "

Nicollier's remains were never found. It is possible that they were first disposed of in shallow pits, which were uncovered and reburied the following spring to cover up traces. His body could possibly have been thrown into the Danube .

Recognition and commemoration

Bust of Nicollier next to the bridge named after him in Vukovar (July 2019).

Nicollier was posthumously honored on November 15, 2006 with a plaque in Vukovar. In 2010 the Croatian authors Višnja Starešina and Ivan Maloča published a documentary about the hospital massacre in Vukovar. This also gave a very detailed account of the fates of Siniša Glavašević and Nicollier. The documentary was first broadcast by Croatian Radio on the 19th commemoration day of the massacre .

Since Nicollier's fate received attention again after almost two decades , the Croatian war veteran Antun Ivanković from Tovarnik and the retired professor Nevenka Nekić decided to investigate the case and also contacted Nicollier's mother. Ivanković found out in October 2011 that Nicollier had never been included in the official list of Croatian veterans . This deficiency was quickly remedied by the Ministry of War Veterans of the Republic of Croatia .

On the initiative of a non-governmental organization , Nicollier was honored on November 17, 2011 by the Vukovar-Srijem County for “love, loyalty and bravery in the Croatian War of Independence”. On the same day Nicollier was awarded the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski for his heroism . Nicollier's mother traveled to Zagreb with her younger son Paul to accept the order from the then Croatian President Ivo Josipović . Ribbon of an Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski.png

In June 2012 Nekić published a book about Nicollier entitled Jean ili miris smrti ("Jean or the smell of death"). Two months later, Nicollier's mother met with the Croatian War Veterans Minister, Predrag Matić , who confirmed that she was entitled to her deceased son's veteran pension.

In May 2013, the citizens of the city of Vukovar voted electronically to name a newly built bridge in the center of the city of Most Jean-Michela Nicoliera ("Jean-Michel-Nicolier Bridge").

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Priča o dragovoljcu u tuđini koji nema coarse (Croatian) . In: Večernji list , June 3, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2019. 
  2. ↑ a b c d Majka: Osjetio je Božji poziv, nisam mogla spriječiti da ode (Croatian) . In: Večernji list , November 17, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2019. 
  3. ↑ a b c Priča o hrvatskom domoljubu Jeanu Michelu Nicolieru, mučki likvidiranom na Ovčari, zaslužuje da ode u svijet (Croatian) . In: Slobodna Dalmacija , October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2019. 
  4. ↑ Posmrtno odlikovan Jean Michel Nicollier ( Croatian ) HRT . November 17, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  5. ^ Jean Michel, hvala ti, učit ćemo svoju djecu o tvojem herojstvu (Croatian) . In: 24sata , November 17, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2019. 
  6. ^ New nationalism in Eastern Europe: Perspectives on cultural studies , page 51, books.google.at, accessed on September 8, 2019
  7. ↑ U Vukovaru ever i obitelj Jean-Michela. "Ovo je klaonica", rekao je prije smrti , index.hr, accessed on September 8, 2019
  8. ↑ JEAN MICHEL NICOLIER VUKOVAR , 2:54, YouTube video
  9. ↑ 'NAZVAO SAM UBOJICU JEANA MICHELA NICOLIERA' Brat ubijenog vukovarskog junaka prepričao što se dogodilo kada je preko telefona dobio zloglasnog Štuku , jutarnji.hr, accessed on September 8, 2019
  10. ↑ BS: Jači od sudbine . In: Intervju . 1991, Heroji Vukovara. Quoted from Snježana Vučković: EKSKLUZIVNO! ŠTUKINO PRIZNANJE: 'Hrvate sam ubijao kao kokoške, plakali su i molili…' dnevno.hr, April 12, 2018, accessed on January 16, 2020 (with a picture of the newspaper article including a photo by Petković).
  11. ↑ Na Ovčari su ubijeni i Srbi, ali i francuski i njemački dobrovoljci (Croatian) . In: Večernji list , November 18, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2019. 
  12. ↑ Priznanja županije ( Croatian ) VFM Radio. November 9, 2011. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 8, 2019. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vfm.hr
  13. ↑ Posmrtno odlikovan Jean Michel Nicollier ( Croatian ) Croatian radio . November 17, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  14. ↑ Predsjednik Josipović posmrtno odlikovao vukovarskog branitelja Jean Michela Nicolliera ( Croatian ) Office of the Croatian President. November 17, 2011. Archived from the original on January 10, 2012. Retrieved on October 8, 2019.
  15. ↑ Predstavljen roman o francuskom dragovoljcu ubijenom na Ovčari (Croatian) . In: Večernji list , June 12, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2019. 
  16. ↑ Mirovina za majku vukovarskog junaka Jean-Michela Nicoliera (Croatian) . In: Večernji list , May 30, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2019. 
  17. ↑ Majci francuskog dragovoljca ubijenog na Ovčari stan i mirovina (Croatian) . In: Večernji list , August 31, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2019. 
  18. ↑ Most Jean-Michela Nicoliera u Vukovaru ( Croatian ) September 18, 2014. Accessed October 8, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Nicollier, Jean-Michel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nicolier, Jean-Michel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French volunteer and Croatian soldier
DATE OF BIRTH July 1, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Vesoul
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 1991
Place of death Vukovar