Mithad H. HAĆAM, national hero

MITHAD AĆIM HAĆAM, son of HASAN, born in Bratunac on September 17, 1917, into a family of teachers. Surveyor, graduated in geodesy in Belgrade. Lived with his family in Mostar since 1937.

Even as a student, he became involved with the revolutionary youth movement and later actively participated in actions organized by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ), becoming a member in 1940. The April War in 1941 found him serving in the military in the Bay of Kotor. After the capitulation, he returned to Mostar, bringing with him five pistols and several bombs. He immediately connected with the party organization and actively participated in preparations for armed uprising. In July 1941, he went to Sarajevo and then joined the insurgent units in Romanija. During the summer of 1941, he was a battalion commander in the Romanija Partisan Detachment, and later in the 6th East Bosnian Brigade. He participated in many battles in Romanija, and particularly distinguished himself in the battle at Prutine, where his battalion repelled the attack of the Domobrani forces advancing from Sarajevo towards Rogatica, enabling the withdrawal of the garrison from Rogatica. In early December 1941, he was sent with a group of fighters to the Foča and Miljevina area to influence the participation of Muslims in the National Liberation War. On their way through Jahorina, they were surrounded by thirty Chetniks who called for their surrender. Mithad Haćam and his five comrades accepted the fight and repelled the Chetniks with bombs in their hands. He was killed on August 15, 1942, on the Konjuh Mountain, in a sudden attack by the Ustaše forces from Kladanj on the 6th East Bosnian Brigade, whose fighters, after heavy fighting and exhausting marches, fell asleep. Mithad was among the first to open fire and stubbornly defended the position he was on, allowing the members of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina to withdraw. He was proclaimed a national hero on December 21, 1951. Mithad’s sister, Emina Haćam, also died in the National Liberation War.

According to the archives of Radmilo Braca Andrić, the remains of Mithad Haćam were transferred and buried in the Partisan Memorial Cemetery in Mostar.

In 1963, a scout detachment of NH “Mithad Haćam” was founded in Mostar. There was a bust of Mithad Haćam on Balinovac in Mostar, which was removed in the nineties. In 1952, a commemorative plaque was erected at the place of his death, with Mithad’s name on it.

Circumstances of Mithad’s death:

“In August 1942, he joined the newly formed Sixth East Bosnian Brigade with the First Shock Battalion. He distinguished himself in battles against the Ustashe near the village of Potkleče, near Zavidovići, and in battles against the Chetniks on Mount Ozren, among others. He was killed on August 14, 1942, in a sudden Ustashe attack on the Sixth East Bosnian Brigade, which was resting in the village of Miljkovac near Doboj. The fighters were tired and sleeping, and the Ustashe took advantage of that and approached them. When they mingled with the partisans, chaos ensued. Mithad Haćam showed great alertness and was among the first to open fire on the enemy. He persistently defended the position he was in with a group of fighters, thus eliminating the threat to the members of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia for Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were with this brigade. Mithad Haćam perished while protecting the retreat of other fighters and did not withdraw until the Ustashe approached him at a few meters and fatally shot him.”