Participation at the Adriatic Cemetery Days 2018
On Monday and Tuesday, 19 and 20 November 2018, the third conference Adriatic Cemetery Days took place in Zadar, Croatia.
WWI Armistice Centenary Walks through the New Cemetery in Belgrade (Serbia)
In a view of the
WWI Armistice Centenary, two more guided strolls devoted to this important
historical event were organized at the New Cemetery of Belgrade on November 4
and November 18, 2018.
Legendary WWI Military Commanders and Heroes Buried at the New Cemetery
Legendary WWI Military Commanders and Heroes Buried at the New Cemetery
This guided
stroll through the New Cemetery was devoted to immense courage, sacrifice and
patriotism of the Great War participants. In the course of this inspiring
stroll, our guide revived the memories of Legendary Serbian WWI Military Commanders,
famous filed marshals, generals and majors, but also all those known and
unknown man and women who significantly contributed to the Serbian WWI effort.
One of the focuses of this stroll was the Memorial Ossuary of Belgrade
Defenders (1914-1918), where the visitors were able to enter the crypt beneath
the monument. This informative tour revealed many aspects of the Great War:
locations, strategies, battles, and events, in addition to many intimate
stories of hopes, fears, anger, pain, suffering, patriotism and love.
Serbian She-Soldiers and Volunteer Nurses in the Great War
Our visitors who
showed up in significant number, disregarding the cold weather and the first
snow, were able to hear emotional stories on the women in Great War. The stories were related to the courageous
she-soldiers who defended their country and were widely admired by the
international community and press, but also the women who interrupted their
successful careers or studies abroad to act as volunteer nurses or humanitarian
workers, tending to the wounded at the battle fields or tirelessly travelling
through the world, gathering aid in order to help their compatriots in these
times of temptation.
We would like to share a story about a local lady, almost
forgotten today, who played a significant role during the first days of the
Great War in Belgrade. In spite of being a middle-class home maker, Vuka
Popadic was considered one of the bravest citizens of Belgrade at the time.
Upon first siege of Belgrade in the Great War, she started to gather around the
hungry and frightened citizens of Belgrade. At her flat in down-town Belgrade,
which was the center of military action, she organized an improvised field
hospital, providing the first aid to the wounded soldiers and civilians and helping
them to survive to the nearest hospitals. She even managed to capture a group
of fifteen Austro-Hungarian soldiers, whom she later surrendered to the Serbian
Army, but only after sheltered them in the safety of her home and treating them
with fruit preserve (loc.: “slatko”) and fresh water in accordance with the
local customs. Remembrance Day – WWI Armistice Centenary (New Cemetery in Belgrade, Serbia)
Since the New Cemetery of Belgrade is one of the rare, urban civillian cemeteries comprising five WWI Military Cemeteries, each November is marked with the series of commemorations devoted to all victims of the Great War.
On the occasion of the Italian Armed Forces Day and WWI Armistice Centenary, on November 2, 2018, the commemoration was held at the Italian Military Cemetery within the New Cemetery of Belgrade, for the purpose of remembering the Italian soldiers killed in the Great War, as well as all the casualties of the Great War, other armed conflicts and peace-keeping missions.
Another commemoration devoted to the victims of the Great War was held on November 10, 2018, at the Austro-Hungarian Military Cemetery. The ceremony of laying wreaths and paying respects was attended by high ranking state and church officials from Austria, Hungary and Serbia, representatives of the embassies and defense attaché offices accredited in Belgrade.
This series of
commemorations was finalized by the Central
State Ceremony, at the very day of the WWI
Armistice Centenary, November 11, 2018 at 10:00 hrs. The Central
Ceremony commenced at the Commonwealth War Cemetery, followed by the central
event in front of the Memorial Ossuary of Belgrade Defenders. The ceremony
continued by laying wreaths at the WWI Russian Ossuary, whereas the finale was
marked by commemoration at the WWI French Military Cemetery.
The Remembrance Day is commemorated each year on
November 11, as a token of remembrance of the WWI armistice
signed in the railway wagon in Compiegne (France) and the hostilities formally
ended on November 11, 1918 - "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th
month" In accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, each
country was obligated to maintain the war cemeteries at their territories,
disregarding the fate or nationality. Based on the decision of the SHS Kingdom from 1919, the Municipality of
Belgrade secured the area for French, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian
military cemeteries. The cemeteries were constructed by their respective
countries in the period between 1928 and 1934. From their establishing until this
day, the foreign military cemeteries are treated as separate, ex-territorial
units, within the New Cemetery of Belgrade.
Like the Remembrance
Poppy – in Serbia the same symbolism is assigned to the Natealie’s
Ramonda (lat. “Ramonda
nathaliae”) – an endemic flower species, growing in Eastern parts of Serbia and Macedonia. The flower is considered a symbol of the Serbian Army's struggle
during WWI, due to its sturdiness (i.e. it can survive temperatures well
below zero degrees Celsius) and potential to recuperate after the most severe
weather conditions. The plant was first described in 1884 by the local
scientists and named after the Queen Natalija Obrenović of Serbia.
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