brochure “Partizanski spomenik u Mostaru” (1980)
book “Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945.”
another document or proof of the memorial stone (e.g., a photograph).
Smajil A. JUGO
SMAIL* JUGO, son of AHMET, born on March 15, 1919, in Mostar, carpenter. He worked as a projectionist at the Uranijum cinema and became a member of the Communist Youth League (SKOJ) in 1940. He joined the Battalion at the beginning of 1942 and was a fighter. He survived the Fifth Offensive (Battle of Sutjeska) and, along with 80 other fighters, returned to Mostar for recovery, changing accommodations in different neighborhoods of Mostar several times. He was arrested in a raid by the Germans due to the betrayal of a comrade and was executed at Ovojci in July 1943.
Mensur Seferović described the raid and arrest in one of his novels:
“That morning, behind the barbed wire, not far from the tobacco factory, over a thousand and a half men gathered. Heavy machine guns were guarded around by trucks. In the middle of the wide circle stood a senior officer, next to him an agent and… Husković. Frightened, almost bewildered, Husković walked step by step in front of the prisoners, looking at each one in the line and, without a word, pointing his finger at his victims. The prisoner towards whom his hand would stretch came out in the middle of the circle, and soon after the first traitorous journey of Husković, there were about thirty prisoners, among whom were people who had sheltered and fed Husković himself. He also brought out Smajo Jugo and Meho Pala, comrades with whom he fought in the fifth offensive, and Avdija Pavlović, with whom many underground fighters always found a safe shelter, from where many patriots went to the unit. (…) Thirty of Husković’s victims were not enough for the Germans. And the escort started again, circling around. Husković now more frequently pulled citizens out of the line, still walking completely lost. In the middle of the circle there were already eighty people (…)”.
*In the book “Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945,” his name is recorded as Smail, which, according to the family, is incorrect.
Smajo’s brother Hamo (Muhamed) Jugo also participated in the National Liberation War. The youngest brother Ismet spent the war in an orphanage in Sarajevo, where he was placed through connections in the waqf orphanage, considering that both of his brothers were participants in the National Liberation War and his parents had already passed away.
In a brief reflection, Mensur Seferović mentioned that Jusuf Jerković and Smajo Jugo “sang sevdalinkas and Jusuf’s favorite song ‘Na majčinom grobu’**.”
** Perhaps it is this song (performed by Bora Spužić Kvaka).
grupa autora (1986): Hercegovina u NOB 2. dio, Beograd; Seferović, Mensur (1981): „Istočno i zapadno od Neretve“, „Narodna armija“, Beograd; Seferović, Mensur (1964): Partizanski kolopleti, „Narodna armija“, Beograd; grupa autora: Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945, porodično predanje
Photo of the fighter: family archives. Photo of the memorial plaque : S. Demirović; We thank the Jugo family for the information provided. Other photos: google, family archives (as of 6.6.2023.)
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