Lepa Radić: The Yugoslav Partisan Publicly Hanged By The Nazis
Wikimedia CommonsTeenage resistance fighter Lepa Radić at her execution.
On February 8, 1943, 17-year-old Lepa Radić stared resolutely into space as a Nazi looped a noose around her neck. Moments earlier, one of the Germans had told her that she still had time to escape her execution. All she had to do was reveal the names of other resistance fighters in Yugoslavia.
“I am not a traitor of my people,” Radić responded passionately. “Those whom you are asking about will reveal themselves when they have succeeded in wiping out all you evildoers, to the last man.”
And with that, she was hanged. But Radić’s bravery — and the gut-wrenching photos of her execution — endured much longer than the Nazis.
Born in 1925, Radić was just 15 years old when the Nazis invaded Yugoslavia. The Axis presence shattered the country, creating two resistance movements — the Chetniks and the Partisans — with different aims.
Since Radić came from a long line of Communists, she joined up with the Yugoslav Partisans in December 1941. They aimed to overthrow the Axis powers and establish an independent socialist Yugoslav state.
Her work for the Partisans was extremely dangerous. Radić darted along the front lines and helped move wounded people out of harm’s way. Significantly, Radić also helped vulnerable people flee the country.
During one such rescue mission in February 1943, Radić was suddenly confronted by Nazis. To protect the 150 women and children she had with her, the teenager opened fire with her remaining ammunition.
However, the Nazis soon overpowered and arrested her. But even though they tortured Radić mercilessly, she refused to give them any information about the Partisans in Yugoslavia. Until the very end, Radić successfully protected the resistance fighters she knew.
She was posthumously awarded the Order of the National Hero by the Yugoslavian government on December 20, 1951.
