A picture of a Croat stands at the entrance to the UN, and in Croatia they are ashamed of it

The picture of a Croat who moved to Serbia, where he was killed during the Second World War, is forgotten in Croatia, and stands at the entrance to the United Nations
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Stjepan Steva Filipović on the losing ground, Photo: Wikipedia
Stjepan Steva Filipović on the losing ground, Photo: Wikipedia
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The black-and-white photo shows a young man with his arms raised high and his fists clenched, and on a white background, a thin piece of rope can be seen around his neck. That photo is at the entrance to the headquarters of the United Nations and it shows Stjepan Steva Filipović, it says "Index".

Filipović is a Croat from Opuzen, who, due to a combination of life circumstances, moved to Serbia with his parents as a child, to Valjevo, where this photo was taken, just a few minutes before Stevo or Stjepan were to be hanged. And hanged on this very day, May 22, 1942.

In Valjevo, Filipović was called Stevan, so during his short life he was both Stjepan and Stevan. In the pre-war period, he was a member of the local branch of the then-banned Communist Party, and after the Nazi occupation, he was one of the organizers of the uprising in the Valjevo area. On Christmas Eve 1941, he was captured by the Chetniks and after torture was handed over to the Gestapo. The Nazis, after months of torture, executed him in front of the gathered crowd, as a warning to others.

Stjepan Filipović
Stjepan Filipović surrounded by occupiers and domestic traitors(Photo: Wikipedia)

But, according to "Index.hr", history made an interesting coincidence. Namely, Filipović was killed on the same day that Rada Končar was shot in Šibenik. The Croat Filipović was captured by the Chetniks and handed over to the Germans, and the Croatian Serb Rada Končar was captured by the Ustashas and handed over to the Italians.

A monument to Filipović was erected both in Valjevo and in his native Opuzen. The one in Opuzen was torn down in 1991, and the one in Valjevo is mottled and run-down, but somehow it still holds up.

Monument to Stjepan Filipović in Valjevo
Monument to Stjepan Filipović in Valjevo(Photo: Wikipedia)

Over time, Stjepan Filipović was forgotten in Croatia. In the revisionist frenzy that continues to this day, anti-fascists were sidelined because they are not desirable, and Filipović even less because he responded to the name Stevan, writes "Index".

On the other hand, in the United Nations, Filipović is someone whose name is worth highlighting. The image of that young man on the verge of life defying death with defiantly raised fists in front of the fascist gallows remains one of the most memorable memories of anti-fascism. In Croatia, the authorities are ashamed of him, probably for the same reason, Index assessed.

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