"The air was trembling, as if the sky were burning." "Yeah, the storm is coming."
Do you feel familiar with this line? If you're a fan of military history movies, you know where this line comes from. That's right, this is the famous movie
Walter Defends Sarajevo
。 The protagonist in it -
Walter
The scene of going deep behind enemy lines and fighting wits with germans and traitors has infected many audiences in front of the screen. It also made walter a household name in China.
In fact, Walter's prototype is real in history, and today we will return to that bloody era. Together to explore the prototype of Walter, the legendary guerrilla -
Walter Peric
。
From bank clerks to party members
One winter in 1919, one called
Vladimir Peric
The young man was born. Although his family was not wealthy, the young Vladimir worked very hard, not only earning a secondary school diploma, but also studying with honors at a business school in Belgrade. While studying at business school, Vladimir went out to work odd jobs to earn tuition and support the family. It can be said that his entire academic career has been spent in work-study.
In 1938, Vladimir worked for the Mortgage Bank in Belgrade. In his work, he was baptized by communism and was determined to become a good communist. In 1940 he officially joined the Party and became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Later, because of the transfer of work, Vladimir was assigned to work at a branch in Sarajevo, and from then on, a legendary story was about to begin.
Second, the birth of "Walter"
In 1941, Germany, together with Italy and other Axis powers, brazenly launched an armed aggression against Yugoslavia
。 Due to inadequate response and backward weapons, the original Royal Yugoslav army was defeated by the Nazis. The Nazis carried out inhumane massacres and arrests of the peoples of all ethnic groups in the occupied territories. At the same time, pro-Nazi organizations also set up puppet governments to assist the Nazis in their aggressive activities.
The surviving Resistance, under the leadership of Tito and others, was reduced to partisans and destroyed and harassed Nazi soldiers, strongholds, and weapons and equipment in the form of guerrillas, in order to achieve the purpose of dividing the Nazi forces. Among them, Sarajevo, the most important strategic place in the Balkans, became a three-way battle between the Nazis, the puppet regime and the guerrillas. The resistance movement in Sarajevo also reached unprecedented heights at this time.
In 1941, at the age of 22, Vladimir became an honorable partisan. He and his comrades secretly appealed to the wealthy people of Sarajevo to provide financial and material support to the Jewish community in the city, while secretly escorting the guerrillas to the city to carry out assassinations and sabotage.
For the convenience of action, Vladimir gave himself a code name , Valter , and the guerrilla "Walter" became his household name.
In 1942, Walter came to the important town of Tuzla and carried out a successful sabotage operation against the local German army and puppet government. The operation caused great damage to the German intelligence network on the ground, and the search for guerrillas and other resistance groups was forced to stop. In the same year, for his outstanding performance, he was awarded the rank of deputy political commissar of the guerrilla unit in eastern Bosnia.
In 1943, Walter was again appointed secretary of the Partisan Sarajevo Committee by the leaders of the partisan regions
。 By this time, Walter had been promoted to battalion commander, and he had been given a new combat mission by the organization— reorganizing the local underground resistance organization.
With Walter's help, local resistance groups recruited young and energetic young people in the area. The number of guerrillas grew rapidly. Walter also contacted guerrilla strongholds in other areas to provide funds, weapons and intelligence to local guerrillas in Sarajevo to strengthen the force.
In June 1944, Walter, who had officially become the commander-in-chief of the partisans in Sarajevo, led the partisans to organize large-scale strikes, market closures, and school strikes in the city center and suburbs.
Resist the Nazi occupation of the area. During the operation, Walter was responsible for the identification and training of new members. Through the efforts of Walter and his men, the economic and social order of the German army in Sarajevo was greatly impacted, which was no worse for the German army, which was already on the eve of the collapse of the war.
Sacrifice on the eve of liberation
By early 1945, partisans across Yugoslavia had taken control of most of the country. The liberation of the whole country had come to the eve of a decisive battle, and Sarajevo, the main battlefield, was liberated under Walter's leadership. The Nazis did not want to lose, and they secretly organized a sabotage campaign, ready to make a final death attempt. For a time, many strongholds were attacked, many guerrillas were killed, and some of the recovered sites were returned to the hands of the Germans.
Seeing that the German sabotage activities were about to have a serious adverse impact on the liberation of Sarajevo, Walter, as the head of the city, actively gathered intelligence at this time, looking for the weaknesses of the German army and the way to eliminate traitors within the organization, leading the guerrillas in the city to counterattack the German army. Part of the plot of the famous movie "Walter Defends Sarajevo" is happening in the city at this time. Through the efforts of Walter and his men, the German sabotage was quickly suppressed, and the last efforts of the German army were in vain.
April 5, 1945
On an ordinary day, Walter led his guerrillas to the city's cigarette factory for inspection as usual. Before that, he had left his footprints at the post offices, hospitals, and factories in the city. Walter was to prevent the Germans from destroying the facilities before they retreated or surrendered. While the group was patrolling inside the factory, they were spotted in the shadows by a german vandal squad, carrying not only light weapons such as submachine guns, but also a mortar.
After confirming that walter and the others had not found it, a German soldier set up the mortar, adjusted the firing of the elements, and fired a criminal mortar shell at Walter not far away. After a loud noise, the badly wounded Walter collapsed in a pool of blood, and the team members around him, after a brief shock, quickly counterattacked and annihilated the German squad. Walter, who was seriously injured, was taken to the hospital for rescue.
However, due to his serious injuries, the next morning, the legendary guerrilla, Walter Peric, died honorably at the age of 25.
On the day of Walter's death, Sarajevo was officially liberated. The guerrillas and all the Sarajevo soldiers and civilians won the final victory, but the heroic Walter did not wait for the day of victory. On April 9, the local military and civilians held a solemn funeral for Walter Peric, who was buried in the local cemetery with his comrades who had died before. More than 15,000 people attended the funeral, and people used various forms to commemorate the legendary guerrilla.
Fourth, walter forever
Although Walter died, his fighting spirit has always been remembered by the Yugoslav people.
In 1972, the famous Yugoslav director Hainuddin Kelvavac filmed the famous war film "Walter Defends Sarajevo" based on walter's deeds and artistic processing.
Famous actor
Bata Zhivoynovich played the role of Walter
Walter's calm, jealous, heroic and tenacious spirit in the film touched countless Yugoslav people. When the film was released in China in 1973, it caused a huge sensation in China. Walter and his character, Bata Zyvoynovich, became heroes among the Chinese and continue to this day.
Before the outbreak of the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, an anti-war, anti-nationalist march was held in Sarajevo, in which participants wore stickers that read "I am Walter" to preach the desire not to war and to call for peace. The parade is also considered a sign of racial tolerance before the outbreak of war, and later people also regard Walter Peric as the hero of Sarajevo, and every year when his birthday comes, a series of commemorative events are held in the local area to commemorate this legendary hero.
epilogue
Although Walter is far away from us, the strong, indomitable, and resolute fighting spirit he represents will never be forgotten. Like many legendary heroes of World War II, he will be remembered by all peace-loving and war-opposing people in the world. Sarajevo, which he once defended, is now a quiet and peaceful city, and this heroic city will be like the last words of the German commander von Dietrich in the movie "Walter Defends Sarajevo":
"The city, it, is Walter!"
Resources:
1.Donia，RobertJ.（2006）。 Sarajevo: Biography
2. Stojkovic, Zlatko, editor. (1975). "Peric, Vladimir-Walter". National hero of Yugoslavia
3. Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). The Wars and Revolutions in Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1945: Occupation and Cooperation
4. The legend of Walter defending Sarajevo