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 

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.