World War II gave rise to what many consider to be “The Greatest Generation.”
These were the brave soldiers and service members who were born in time to participate, however willing they were or weren’t, in two of history’s bloodiest and most vile wars ever known.
The current stage of warfare was unlike anything the world had seen or was prepared to deal with.
Thanks to the brave efforts of the sacrificed, many of their countrymen and friends could live to see a brighter future. Some of these great souls were not soldiers or trained combatants.
The state of war was so vicious that ordinary people had to be conscripted to fight, not for pride, to defend their homes and lives from invaders. Lepa Svetozara Radić was one of those young souls.
She started fighting at just 15 in her homeland of Yugoslavia. She led a life of hard work, rebellion and stood to deliver final words of warning against her Nazi captors as they hunger her in public to end her resistance.
Her example shows what good common folk can do when faced with the presence of absolute evil.
10 /10 Yugoslavian Birth
Lepa was born as a Bosnian Serb in what we know today as Yugoslavia. Back then, it was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
The history and existence of the Balkan States that exist in the Balkan Penninsula that links Europe with the northwestern corner of Turkey is long and complicated, and two World Wars made it even more complex over time.
Nevertheless, Lepa was part of a hard-working and faithful family that was part of the labor movement.
9 /10 Yugoslavian Communists
Lepa was a proud communist member as of the age of 15. Her family instilled in her values related to the party’s mission of hard work, owning one’s labor, and benefiting the masses through unified effort.
She showed an interest in her work and in reading advanced literature for a girl her age.
Her uncle Vladeta was her primary influence and her gateway into the labor movement. Her vicious faith in her party and people gave her the tenacity to join the Yugoslav Partisans as the war began.