DONJI ZOVIK NEAR BRČKO – 56 VICTIMS (When the mother fell on top of her dead son, they buttstroked her)

Home Guard unit, Tunjo Salatović and Anto Ikić in the photo. Source: Vitomir Zečević, Zovik na križnom putu, Zovik, 2002.

Donji Zovik

Donji Zovik is a small Croatian village belonging to Zovik parish, former Brčko municipality, now Brčko district. Donji Zovik is said to be 100% inhabited by Croats. When the war started in the territory of the parish, young men from Donji Zovik and all able-bodied volunteered to join the Croatian army. They were mostly unmarried young men, but there were also those who started a family. The Partisan Communist government always labeled Donji Zovik an “Ustasha place.”

When the war was over, Donji Zovik had 50 houses – and lost a total of 56 people. Of the 56 killed, eight of them were killed in a fight with Partisans and Chetniks or were mercilessly killed by Partisans, while 48 were killed at Bleiburg and the Way of the Cross, when the war was over.

When the war was over, the Partisans committed violence against the disarmed people. Without any trial, they committed terrible massacres and crimes in Donji Zovik.

In 1946, Tunjo Mićić and Stjepan Dubravkić were killed by Partisans in broad daylight in front of their house in Donji Zovik. Tunjo Mićić neither served in the army nor participated in the war. Tunjo was married, had one child, and was unfit for military service because he had a damaged leg. On the day of his death, he was only 20 years old and an only son. Zekerija Mulahalilović (a Partisan) from Ograđenovac bragged that he had fired 14 more bullets into the dead Tunja, and when Tunjo’s mother fell on top of her only son and cried, the partisans beat her with rifle stocks and boots.

Zekerija said: “Tunjo got what he deserved.”

From Tunjo’s house, they went to Stjepan Dubravkić and killed him in front of his house. Two men in the prime of their youth in the summer of 1946, one year after the end of the war, lost their lives in such a terrible way, without any trial. This tells us how little the lives of our people were worth. Then they also shot at Peja Mijatović, who survived severe wounds. Anto Celić was killed in Soljani.

Niko Dubravkić was killed by Partisans in Gornji Rahić. Luka Grgić was killed in a fierce battle near Ugljevik. Marko Kraljević, a member of Croatian units, was killed on the battlefield near Tuzla in a battle with Partisans. Pejo Vidović was killed near Zagreb when their positions were attacked by Partisans. Filip Sarčević was killed in Đakovo by Partisans. Niko Sarčević was accidentally killed in Donji Zovik.

The post-war situation was very difficult for the inhabitants of this place. The government tried to solicit them to enter into a “commune” and wanted to subjugate all the locals under a “cooperative”. They did not give in to it, but because of that they were harassed by the Communist government.

Eight men killed during the war:

How many sons have fathers lost

Dubravkić, Niko           3 sons               Tunjo, Mijo i Stjepan
Kraljević, Ivo                 3 sons                Niko, Marko i Milan
Mijatović, Pejo            3 sons                Niko, Antun i Tadija
Pejić, Blaž                     3 sons                Mijo, Grga i Stjepan

Ageljić, Grga                 2 sons                Pejo i Martin
Celić, Marko                 2 sons                Grga i Toma
Dubravkić, Ivan            2 sons                Pejo i Jozo
Mijatović, Ivo                2 sons                Grga i Stjepan
Mićić, Franjo                 2 sons                Marko i Grga
Šarčević, Filip                2 sons                Petar i Šimo
Šarčević, Franjo            2 sons                Petar i Mato
Šarčević, Tunjo             2 sons                Božo i Niko
Tomić, Franjo                2 sons                Grga i Niko

Ageljić, Ivo                     1 son                 Joko
Ageljić, Joko                   1 son                Jerko
Ageljić, Jokica                1 son                Mato
Ageljić, Jerko                 1 son                 Niko
Ageljić, Marko                1 son                 Filip „Gavro“
Blažević, Niko                1 son                Mato „Baća“
Brčinović, Tunjo            1 son                Petar
Celić, Ivo                        1 son                Anto
Dubravkić, Franjo          1 son                Niko
Grgić, Joko                     1 son                Luka
Ilijanić, Mato                   1 son                Jozo
Markanović, Antun         1 son               Franjo
Matijašević, Andrija        1 son               Marko
Mijatović, Antun             1 son                Mato
Mićić, Tunjo                    1 son                Filip
Mićić, Niko                      1 son                Mato (Mađan)
Mićić, Pejun                    1 son                Niko
Mićić, Jozo (Jozep)         1 son                Tunjo
Mićić, Mato                    1 son                Niko
Pejić, Pejo                       1 son                Stjepan
Šarčević, Ivan                 1 son                Filip
Šarćević, Ivo                   1 son                Mato
Šarčević, Tadija             1 son                Jozo
Tomić, Marko                 1 son                Petar
Tomić, Mijo                    1 son                Mato
Vidović, Ivo                     1 son                 Pejo

On Bleiburg and the Way of the Cross, the Partisans with the red five-pointed stars, and with the approval of the executioner Josip Broz Tito, killed 56 disarmed people from Donji Zovik, without any trial:

1. Ageljić (Marko) Filip, 1921, +1945, Bleiburg
2. Ageljić (Ivo) Joko, 1925, +1945, Bleiburg
3. Ageljić (Grga) Pejo, 1921, +1945, Bleiburg
4. Ageljić (Grga) Martin, 1924, +1945, Bleiburg
5. Ageljić (Jerko) Niko, 1910, +1945, Bleiburg
6. Ageljić (Joko) Jerko, 1921, +1945, Bleiburg
7. Ageljić (Jokica) Mato, 1921, +1945, Bleiburg
8. Brčinović (Tunjo) Petar, 1921, +1945, Bleiburg
9. Blažević (Niko) Mato “Baća”, Bleiburg
10. Celić (Ivo) Anto, 1925, +1945, Soljani
11. Celić (Marko) Grga, 1917, +1945, Bleiburg
12. Celić (Marko) Toma, 1925, +1945, Bleiburg
13. Dubravkić (Ivan) Pejo, 1904, +1945, Bleiburg
14. Dubravkić (Ivan) Jozo, 1908, +1945, Bleiburg
15. Dubravkić (Niko) Tunjo, 1910, +1945, Bleiburg
16. Dubravkić (Niko) Mijo, 1915, +1945, Bleiburg
17. Dubravkić (Niko) Stjepan, 1918, +1946, D. Zovik
18. Dubravkić (Franjo) Niko, 1912, +1945, G. Rahić
19. Grgić – Lukić (Joko) Luka, 1905, +1943, Ugljevik
20. Ilijanić (Mato) Jozo, 1921, +1945, Bleiburg
21. Kraljević (Ivo) Marko, 1922, +1944, Tuzla
22. Kraljević (Ivo) Niko, 1924, +1945, Bleiburg
23. Kraljević (Ivo) Milan, murdered near Tuzla
24. Matijašević (Andrija) Marko, Bleiburg
25. Mićić (Jozo) Tunjo, 1925, +1946, D. Zovik
26. Mićić (Franjo) Marko, 1922, +1945, Bleiburg
27. Mićić (Franjo) Grga, 1924, +1945, Bleiburg
28. Mićić (Mato) Niko, 1921, +1945, Bleiburg
29. Mićić (Mato) Martin, 1924, +1945, Bleiburg
30. Mićić (Pejo) Niko, 1922, +1945, Bleiburg
31. Mićić (Niko) Filip, 1918, +1945, Bleiburg
32. Mijatović (Ivo) Grga, 1907, +1945, Bleiburg
33. Mijatović (Ivo) Stjepan, 1919, +1945, Bleiburg
34. Mijatović (Pejo) Niko, 1922, +1945, Bleiburg
35. Mijatović (Pejo) Tadija, 1925, +1945, Bleiburg
36. Mijatović (Antun) Mato 1920, +1945, Bleiburg
37. Mijatović (Pejo) Antun, Bleiburg
38. Markanović (Antun) Franjo, 1915, +1945, Bleiburg
39. Pejić (Blaž) Mijo, 1922, +1945, Bleiburg
40. Pejić (Blaž) Grga, 1924, +1945, Bleiburg
41. Pejić (Blaž) Stjepan, 1926, +1945, Bleiburg
42. Pejić (Pejo) Stjepan, 1922, +1945, Bleiburg
43. Šarčević (Tunjo) Božo, 1905, +1945, Bleiburg
44. Šarčević (Tunjo) Niko, 1911, +1941, D. Zovik
45. Šarčević (Ivan) Filip, 1915, +1943, Đakovo
46. Šarčević (Tadija) Jozo, 1914, +1945, Bleiburg
47. Šarčević (Filip) Petar, 1911, +1945, Bleiburg
48. Šarčević (Filip) Šimo, 1915, +1945, Bleiburg
49. Šarčević (Ivo) Mato, 1925, +1945, Bleiburg
50. Šarčević (Franjo) Petar, 1920, +1945, Bleiburg
51. Šarčević (Franjo) Mato, 1923, +1945, Bleiburg
52. Tomić (Mijo) Mato, 1918, +1945, Bleiburg
53. Tomić (Franjo) Niko, 1924, +1945, Bleiburg
54. Tomić (Marko) Petar, 1925, +1945, Bleiburg
55. Tomić (Franjo) Grga, Bleiburg
56. Vidović (Ivo) Pejo, 1916, +1945, Zagreb

Sources:

Zbornik radova i popis žrtava za vrijeme i poslije II. svjetskog rata na području Brčkog, Stradanje Hrvata brčanskoga kraja u II. svjetskom ratu, Zagreb, 2002.

Vitomir Zečević, Zovik na križnom putu, Zovik, 2002.

Ivo Šarčević.

Editorial/crimesofcommunism.net