#greatestsacrifice

 

Museum item: Teodor Kračun, Abraham’s sacrifice, 1775-1780.

Digital item: Cigarette holder of Dušan Ivović

Donor: Milan Vučetic *

Note from Donor:

This is my grandfather’s, Dušan Ivović (1982 – 1959), cigarette holder. He used it during the Battle of Sutjesca. He took part in NOB in 1941 as a member of AVNOJ. During the Battle of Sutjesca, Dušan fought alongside his four children: Dušanka ‘Baby’ (1925), Stojanka ‘Dika’ (1926), Vera (1922) and son Momčilo ‘Momo’ (1923).

Dušanka, who was 18 at the time, was wounded in both her legs while fighting. She dragged herself from behind German lines before being taken to the hospital. While on the stretcher, somewhere near Tjentiš she encountered her father for the last time:

“Amongst the heavily wounded was Dušanka Ivović, a 6th grade university student. While she was being carried in by her friends they were seized upon by German gun fire. A few of the wounded partisans who had weapons fired back. Dušan Ivović, the father of the wounded girl appeared, he was a teacher who went into combat with his four children. Everybody knew of him. He was a member of AVNOJ. As the Germans advanced, the girl saw her father and screamed, knowing that he couldn’t carry her, she asked him to kill her. Scared and devastated her father didn’t know what to do. The girl begged, “Kill me, Dad, don’t leave me to be abused.” Dušan paused in despair and indecision. The girl kept begging. The unlucky father tried to separate himself from her, to leave. The girl persisted and he began to cave. He started to cock his gun when the Commissioner of a Herzegovian battalion stepped in. “Go with the others, I’ll stay with the wounded girl. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll try to help. You must go.” Dušan looked at his daughter then ran into the woods. The Commissioner stayed with her, fought and died.”

“Fighters Sutjeska”, Victor Kučan

Dušanka was killed on August 13th June 1943 – Probably the same day when she last saw her father. This is the cigarette holder my grandfather used during the war at the Battle of Sujesca, in our family, it is a reminder of this terrible day when the enemy killed Dušanka and another 1200 partizans and wounded men in Tjentiš.

___

*For more stories from the Vučetić family, scan the following museum items: