Luka D. KNEŽIĆ 

LUKA KNEŽIĆ, son of DUŠAN, born on October 18, 1913.*, a photographer and a pre-war activist of the workers’ movement. Arrested and sent to the prison of Lepoglava due to a protest general strike caused by the closure of the Workers’ Hall in Mostar and the ban on FC “Velež” activities, but released in December 1940. Member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) since 1941, in the Battalion since August 1941 with the first group of fighters, serving as the company’s economist. Survived the Chetnik coup in 1942. Killed in Šćit near Prozor in March 1943. “In the Rama Valley, Luka Knežić, a photographer from Mostar, a pre-war communist frequently arrested by the police, disappeared. Through his work among the youth in the Workers’ Hall, he brought optimism and faith in the future of the working class, and as a warrior, he had faith in victory (…)” Luka’s younger brother Drago Knežić was also killed in the People’s Liberation War.

From the memories of E. Ćemalović:

“A particularly interesting person was Luka Knežić, an old communist and former photographer from Mostar. He took care of the supply and nourishment of the company. Clothes were washed regularly, preferably through ‘steaming’ in barrels. Luka’s economy was located in a small house in the village of Bijela, not far from the elementary school, where Luka usually slept. The Mostar party organization made efforts to equip each detachment heading to Boračko Lake as best as possible. Almost every fighter of the detachment was well equipped with clothing and footwear before departure. They usually received several shirts, socks, and sweaters (…) Our economist Luka introduced a regime where all fighters coming from Mostar had to report to him and hand over all their spare clothing. This clothing became the collective’s property, and during each subsequent change of clothes, it was distributed regardless of the bringer. Sometimes, during the distribution of clothes, we would receive thick shirts that were typically worn by peasants, while they would get our shirts. Mostar residents would make jokes about it. Despite attempts to retrieve our own shirts, Luka remained relentless. He ensured fairness and equal distribution, with no one being privileged. I knew his brother Drago well; we were classmates in high school and worked together in the SKOJ organization in Mostar for some time before joining the detachment. Luka was a tall man, and Drago was short.”

Circumstances of Luka’s death:

“In the Rama Valley, Luka Knežić, a photographer from Mostar, a pre-war communist frequently arrested by the police, disappeared. Through his work among the youth in the Workers’ Hall, he brought optimism and faith in the future of the working class, and as a warrior, he had faith in victory over the occupiers and their servants. Before the battle for Prozor, he contracted typhoid fever. At that time, he sent me three rolls of photo negatives depicting the life of our Battalion. In my absence, Commander Radovan, while looking for paper in my bag, found the rolls of film and unwound them, as he had no knowledge of film. All three films were irretrievably lost, including the most precious photo documents of our Battalion. When I saw what he had done, we argued and nearly fought. In the agony of typhoid fever, Luka took his own life.”

*According to the information in the book “Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945,” he was born in 1913.