Rade Koncar
Encyclopedia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
Communist leader and legendary World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
resistance fighter.
Biography
Rade Končar was born in the village of Končarev Kraj (part of Plitvička JezeraPlitvicka Jezera
Plitvička Jezera is a municipality in central Croatia, in the eastern part of the Lika-Senj county, that lies in and near the eponymous Plitvice Lakes National Park, bisected by the D1 main road . Its total area is 539.08 km². The main town and seat of the municipality is Korenica...
), Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia or Croatia Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was part of the Hungarian Kingdom within the dual Austro-Hungarian state, being within the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen or Transleithania...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, to an ethnic Serb
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
family. After finishing primary school, he left his home for Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
in order to school himself to become a machinist.
In 1934, Končar became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. He got a job in the Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
power company. In 1936 he was arrested by the Royal
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
police and sentenced to one year in prison for his communist activity. After serving his sentence he went to Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
where he took a job in the local workshop of Siemens AG
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
. There he organised a Party cell and led a strike. Because of that he quickly rose in Party ranks. In 1938 he became a member of the Zagreb local Party committee, and in 1939 he became the general secretary of the Croatian Communist Party. One year later he became a member of the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of CPY.
Following the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
invasion of Yugoslavia
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...
in 1941, he was working on preparations for an armed uprising against the occupation forces and their collaborators. In September 1941 he took part in conference with other Partisan
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
leaders in Stolice. After that he came to Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
where he organised resistance movement against the Italian
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
occupation force. His efforts resulted in series of spectacular actions against Italian soldiers, local Fascists and collaborators, most notable being grenade attack on Italian military band. In his dispatches to Party leadership Končar bragged about causing "such panic among Italians, that 200 armed men could have liberated Split without shots being fired".
On 17 November 1941 Končar was arrested by the Italian OVRA
OVRA
The Organizzazione per la Vigilanza e la Repressione dell'Antifascismo was the secret police of the Kingdom of Italy, founded in 1927 under the regime of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and during the reign of King Victor Emmanuel III. The German Gestapo were the equivalent of the OVRA...
. Despite being tortured, he refused to give his name and the Italian authorities established his identity only after obtaining old Royal Yugoslav files from the Ustaša secret police in Zagreb. Končar stood trial at a special Italian military tribunal and received the death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
. Asked whether he would ask for clemency, he said "I will not ask for mercy nor would I have it on you!". He was shot in Šibenik
Šibenik
Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...
together with 25 other anti-fascists.
Legacy
Rade Končar quickly became one of the greatest Partisan icons. In August 1942 he was among the first to receive title of People's Hero of YugoslaviaPeople's Hero of Yugoslavia
The Order of the People's Hero was a Yugoslav gallantry medal, the second highest military award, and third overall Yugoslav decoration. It was awarded to individuals, military units, political and other organisations who distinguished themselves by extraordinary heroic deeds during war and in...
. Few months later, in December 1942, the 13th Proletarian Brigade of the National Liberation Army
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
was named after him.
Končar Group, an electrical equipment conglomerate in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
that exists to this day, was named after him. The Electrical Engineering Highschool "Rade Končar" in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
is also named after him.
In the Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
version of the 2005 animated film Robots, the character of Rodney Copperbottom is named Ratko Končar, as a reference to Rade Končar.
See also
- Končar Group, Zagreb, Croatia
- Index of Serbs of Croatia-related articles