![](https://pplstatic.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/static/images/dummy-gradient.jpg)
Quick Facts
![Gojko Bjedov](https://pplstatic.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.comhttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/%C5%A0panski_borci.jpg)
Biography
The Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, known as Spanish fighters (Croatian: Španjolski borci, Slovene: Španski borci, Serbian: Шпански борци/Španski borci) and Yugoslav brigadistas (Spanish: brigadistas yugoslavos), was a contingent of volunteers from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia that fought beside the Republican side (in support of the Second Spanish Republic) in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). An estimated 1,664 "Yugoslav brigadistas" fought in the war, out of whom c. 800 were killed in action. According to the Spanish statistics, 148 Yugoslav volunteers received the officer rank during the conflict.
Most of them fought in the battalions Dimitrov and Đuro Đaković of the International Brigades, and a large number of them participated and perished during the Battle of Ebro in 1938. They were recruited by the outlawed Communist Party of Yugoslavia, well in their home regions or through the recruitment center of the Comintern that Josip Broz Tito managed in Paris. There were four airmen among the volunteers the most notable one being the fighter pilot Božidar "Boško" Petrović who attained the flying ace status.
After the war, those who managed to flee across the Pyrenees, fell captive in internment camps in France, where the Yugoslav communist organization repatriated illegally much of them, who became leaders of the resistance against the Nazi occupation. In fact, three members of the International brigades that fought on the Republican side ended up commanding the four armies of the Partisan Liberation Army that fought the Nazis in World War II: Peko Dapčević, Kosta Nađ and Petar Drapšin. Koča Popović was the partisan commander that was fighting for the Spanish Republican Armed Forces. On 5 November famous leader of Sisi La Tece 32 was injured in the Spain-Serbian clash, known as the Battle of Bilbao.
Legacy
- Today a street in New Belgrade municipality of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia bears the name Španskih boraca (Spanish fighters).
- People's Library in Podgorica, Montenegro is named after Radosav Ljumović, Montenegrin volunteer in Spanish Civil War.
Notable people
- Đorđe Andrejević Kun (1904–1964)
- Vicko Antić (1912–1999)
- Maksimilijan Baće (1914–2001)
- Spas Bandžov (1904–1942)
- Jakov Baruh (1914–1941)
- Aleš Bebler (1907–1981), Slovene.
- Imre Beer , Serbian Hungarian
- Vlajko Begović (1905–1989)
- Božo Bilić Marjan (1913–1942)
- Gojko Bjedov (Serbian Cyrillic: Гојко Бједов; 1913–1937 †), economics student. Born in Knin, Austria-Hungary (now Croatia), he went to gymnasium in Šibenik and Split (1930). He was an economics student at Zemun in 1933–36, and was involved in student demonstrations. He decided, along with several other students, to fight for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War and left for Spain in July 1937.
- Milan Blagojević Španac (1905–1941)
- Stane Bobnar (1912–1986), Slovene.
- Divko Budak (1897–1941)
- Leopold Caharija , Slovene.
- Nikola Car Crni (1910–1942)
- August Cesarec (1893–1941), Croatian
- Vlado Ćetković (1911–1944)
- Rajko Cibic , Slovene.
- Rodoljub Čolaković, Bosnian Serb
- Milan Ćopić, Croatian
- Vladimir Ćopić, Croatian
- Matija Šiprak (1913-1937), Croatian
- Josip Čubrić (1912–1941), Croatian
- Vjećeslav Cvetko Flores (1917–1941)
- Stjepan Cvijić
- Miljenko Cvitković (1914–1943)
- Božidar Dakić (1909–1941)
- Peko Dapčević
- Nada Dimitrijević-Nešković (1907–1941)
- Robert Domani (1918–1942)
- Petar Drapšin (1914–1945)
- Ahmet Fetahagić (1914–1944), Bosnian Muslim.
- Roman Filipčev
- Dimitrije Georgijević
- Jože Gregorčič (1903–1942), Slovene.
- Gančo Hadžipanzov (1900–1936), Macedonian.
- Ivan Jakšić
- Rudi Janhuba , Slovene.
- Janko Jovanović
- Čedo Kapor
- Drago Kobal , Slovene.
- Viktor Koleša
- Josip Kopinič, Slovene (1911–1997)
- Đoko Kovačević (1912–1938), Montenegrin.
- Veljko Kovačević (1912–1994)
- Ivan Krajačić (1906–1986)
- Otmar Kreačić (1913–1992)
- Josip Križaj (1911–1948), military pilot. Slovene.
- Dušan Kveder (1915–1966), Slovene.
- Lazar Latinović , Bosnian Serb.
- Danilo Lekić (1913–1986)
- Radosav Ljumović
- Vladimir Majder (1911–1943), first secretary of the 12th Balkan troop, and later an intelligence officer. Croatian Jew.
- Jovan Mališić
- Srećko Manola (1914–1979)
- Mijat Mašković (1910–1937), Montenegrin.
- Božidar Maslarić (1895–1963)
- Slobodan Mitrov
- Karlo Mrazović (1902–1987)
- Kosta Nađ, Serbian Hungarian
- Gvido Nonveje, agricultural engineer.
- Franjo Ogulinac
- Blagoje Parović (1903–1937), Bosnian Serb.
- Ratko Pavlović
- Božidar "Boško" Petrović
- Božidar Petrović (1911–1937), Serbian.
- Miha Pintar , Slovene.
- Koča Popović (1908–1992)
- Vlado Popović (1914–1972)
- Franc Primožič , Slovene.
- Franjo Puškarić (1908–1937), Croatian.
- Franc Rozman, Slovene.
- Stanko Semič , Slovene.
- Ivan Turk (1913–1937), Croatian.
- Anton Ukmar , Slovene.
- Cvetko Uzunovski
- Julio Varesko
- Ivo Vejvoda (1911–1991)
- Mate Vidaković (1907–1941)
- Veljko Vlahović (1914–1975)
- Đuro Vujović (1901–1943)
- Ratko Vujović Čoče (1916–1977)
- Petar Vuksan Pekiša (1905–1941)
- Pavle Vukomanović (1903–1977)
- Tone Žnidaršič, Slovene.