Šefkija A. DERVIŠKADIĆ 

ŠEFKIJA DERVIŠKADIĆ, son of ARIF, born on January 4, 1922, in Nevesinje. He belonged to the progressive secondary-school youth in Mostar and Sarajevo. He studied and worked in Sarajevo, where he was a member of the SKOJ Factory Committee. After the capitulation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, he worked at the brown coal mine in Mostar. A worker, member of SKOJ since 1938 and of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) since 1940. Member of the Mostar Municipal Committee of SKOJ. From December 1941 he served in a battalion, as a company political commissar. After the withdrawal of Partisan forces from Herzegovina, he was a platoon delegate and company commissar of the Mostar Battalion of the 10th Herzegovinian National Liberation Strike Brigade during its march through Bosnia, and a participant in the Battle of the Neretva. He was killed in fighting against Chetnik forces in Fojnica near Gacko in May 1943. Brother of fallen fighter Hakija Derviškadić.

Excerpts from literature:

“We observed the Ustasha soldiers rushing around and cursing, wondering why none of us had been killed. After resting, we continued our journey, and that night we were already on the slopes of Mount Malo Čvrsnica. Making slow progress, we took shelter near a cave at dawn, from where we observed Aleksin Han. During the day, as we looked at the path we had passed at night, we all marveled that none of us had fallen down the cliffs and precipices. A flock of goats passed by, and Šefkija Derviškadić caught one, slaughtered it, skinned it, and cut it into pieces. We made a fire and eagerly enjoyed the freshly cooked meat.”

Regarding Šefkija’s death, it is recorded:

“In Zijamet, our Battalion spent the night in the villages of Jagodići and Jelašnica. At the break of dawn, a battalion of Ustasha soldiers from Francetić’s Black Legion 132 appeared, burning houses and barns. When Šefkija Derviškadić rushed onto a small hill above the village and shouted, ‘Comrades, here come the Ustasha soldiers like ants!’ Our fighters grabbed their weapons, leaving their backpacks and bags in the houses, and immediately engaged in combat. Initially, the Ustasha soldiers managed to push back our fighters, but after our company reorganized, they fiercely fought against the attackers on the nearby hills covered with bushes. Deputy Commander Novak Knežević, among the first to come out of a house, deployed the 2nd and 1st companies on the flanks of the Ustasha soldiers while keeping them engaged with the 3rd company at the front. A firefight ensued, as neither side could dislodge the other from their positions. Šefkija Derviškadić, a worker from Nevesinje, was severely wounded in the battles against the Chetniks and died in the hospital after a few days. He was a squad leader who never parted with his machine gun. He was always cheerful, ready for jokes and songs. Šefkija had been a member of the Party since 1940 and worked in the mine, also being a member of the City Committee of SKOJ in Mostar in 1941.”