Milunka Savic
Milunka Savić ( Serbian - Cyrillic Милунка Савић , * between 1888 and 1890 in Koprivnica near Novi Pazar , Kingdom of Serbia ; † October 5, 1973 in Belgrade , SFRY ) was a Serbian soldier who fought in the Second Balkan War and the First World War. She is considered one of the most highly decorated women in military history and is considered a war hero in Serbia .
biography
Milunka Savić grew up in the Koprivnica settlement. When her brother in 1913 to fight in the Second Balkan War convened was, pulled her to his place in the war and disguised herself as a man for it. She served in the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the first Serbian Army, which was also known as the "Iron Regiment". Among other things, she fought at the Battle of Bregalnica , which took place from late June to early July 1913. For this she received a medal and was promoted to corporal . She was hospitalized for her injuries sustained during the battle. Her true gender was revealed.
During the First World War she fought at the Battle of the Kolubara . For this she was awarded the Order of the Karađorđe Star, Second Class. In 1916 she fought in the Battle of the Cerna Arch , which took place from October to November . She later moved across the Albanian Alps with the Serbian army . After French ships evacuated the Serbian army to Corfu , Savić joined the Serbian brigade of the French army . Wounding again in the battles, she was sent to Bizerta in Tunisia for treatment . Then she was stationed at the Salonikifront and was promoted to NCO .
Savić received a total of six war awards : the Order of the Karađorđe Star , the Order of the Legion of Honor , the Russian Order of St. George , the Order of St. Michael and George , the Croix de Guerre and the Miloš Obilić Medal . Savić was the only female soldier who received the Croix de guerre in the First World War.
Next life
In 1919 she was offered the option of moving to France, where she would have been entitled to receive a soldier's pension . She turned down this offer and instead moved to the Voždovac district of Belgrade in 1923 , where she worked as a postal worker . In the same year she met her future husband Veljko Gligorijević in Mostar , from whom she divorced shortly after the birth of her daughter Milena a year later. From 1927 Savić worked as a cleaner in a Belgrade mortgage bank . In 1945 she received a state pension. After it became known in 1972 that Savić lived in poverty, the Belgrade City Council gave her a small apartment in response to public pressure. She died of a stroke on October 5, 1973 and was buried in her family grave in the Novo Groblje cemetery in Zvezdara .
legacy
In 1995, a monument to Savić was erected in the spa town of Jošanička Banja near Raška . There is a memorial plaque on her former home in Voždovac. Some streets in Serbia are named after her.
On September 25, 2013, a multimedia exhibition about Savić's life was opened by the Serbian parliamentary president Nebojša Stefanović in the History Museum in Belgrade , organized in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of Defense and the public broadcaster Radio-Televizija Srbije .
On October 7, 2013, the documentary "Milunka Savić - heroina Velikog rata" (= Milunka Savić - heroine of the Great War) was first broadcast on television on Radio-Televizija Srbije. The production of the film was supported by the Serbian Ministry of Culture, Foreign Affairs and Defense. The film was shown on October 1st as part of the Hungarian “Week of Serbian Culture” in Budapest . Among others, the ambassadors of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany were present.
On November 10, 2013, Savić's remains were moved to the “Aleja zaslužnih građana” (= Avenue of the Major Citizens) area of the Novo Groblje cemetery. The funeral was attended by the Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić , the Ministers Nebojša Rodić , Ivan Mrkić and Velimir Ilić , the military commander of the armed forces of Serbia Ljubiša Diković , the Archbishop Stanislav Hočevar and representatives of embassies and military attachés from 19 countries. President Nikolić said during a speech that “Serbia should keep alive the memory of this woman who was the bravest of many brave people”.
The playwright Peter Stanojlovića wrote a monodrama about Savić's life, which premiered on September 17, 2014 in the Belgrade Youth Center. The role of Savić was played by the Serbian actress Vesna Stankovic .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Milunka Savić in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ↑ a b c d e Milunka Savić: Heroina, pa čistačica Večernje novosti. March 12, 2011.
- ↑ Kathryn J. Atwood: Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics . Chicago Review Press, 2014, ISBN 161374689X , p. 133.
- ^ Jelena Batinić: Gender, revolution, and war: the mobilization of women in the Yugoslav Partisan resistance during world war II . Stanford University. Dept. of History, 2009, p. 79.
- ↑ Milunka Savić - heroina Velikog rata Radio-Televizija Srbije. October 7, 2013.
- ^ A b c Terry Breverton: Breverton's First World War Curiosities . Amberley Publishing Limited, 2014, ISBN 1445633523 .
- ↑ a b c d Milunka Savić - Žena sa 12 ordena ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Broadcasting House Europe. 7th August 2014.
- ↑ a b Милунка Савић, исправљање неправде Radio-Televizija Srbije. November 9, 2013.
- ↑ a b Milunka Savić in honor of International Radio Serbia. 29th September 2013.
- ↑ Milunka Savić - heroina Velikog rata Radio-Televizija Srbije. October 7, 2014.
- ^ Budapest: Screening of the documentary film “Milunka Savic -heroine of the Great War” Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia (website). October 1, 2014.
- ↑ Remains Of Serbian Heroine Milunka Savic Transported To The Alley Of Deserving Citizens in Belgrade inserbia.info. November 10, 2013.
- ↑ 1914/2014: Serbia struggles with its history Salzburger Nachrichten. April 20, 2014.
- ↑ Милунка Савић, исправљање неправде Radio-Televizija Srbije. November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Nikolić: Milunka Savić - a heroine who resembles her country International Radio Serbia. November 10, 2013.
- ↑ Bolje da radim predstavu o Milunki Savić nego since SEDIM u skupštini Politika. 17th September 2014.
- ↑ Milunka Savić na sceni Doma Omladine Beograda Vesti. 15th September 2014.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Savic, Milunka |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Савић, Милунка (SrS) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Serbian soldier |
| DATE OF BIRTH | between 1888 and 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Koprivnica near Novi Pazar |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th October 1973 |
| Place of death | Belgrade |