brochure “Partizanski spomenik u Mostaru” (1980)
book “Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945.”
another document or proof of the memorial stone (e.g., a photograph).
Sofija J. ONEŠČUK
SOFIJA SOFKA ONEŠĆUK*, daughter of JAKOV, born on July 27, 1926, in Grude, employed as a clerk at the Tobacco Factory in Mostar, where her mother Katica worked as a cook. Member of the Communist Youth League (SKOJ) since 1941, joined the Battalion in January 1944 as a nurse. Killed in an attack on the partisan hospital in Grušća near Konjic in April 1944.
Sister of Mirko Onešćuk, who died as fighter in 1943. A street in Mostar is named after the Onešćuk family.
EXCERPT:
“Sofija was one of those girls and Mostar women who were wholeheartedly dedicated to the movement and willingly took on tasks that posed immediate danger to their lives. She was a very brave, open, and resourceful girl, skillfully evading traps and police surveillance. In particular, she was constantly pursued by the Ustasha Zvonko Mišetić, who was always on her trail.”
An example of an action in which Sofija participated was also recorded:
“As Katica had relatives in Opuzen, Sofija would sometimes go there to bring vegetables. In addition to that, she would carry out certain tasks on that route. So, when a group of people from Mostar had to join the partisan unit, weapons and ammunition needed to be transported for them. Sofija took her vegetable basket and packed as much as she could, including leaflets. At the train station, a German officer noticed the beautiful girl and began courting her. Sofija knew some German and engaged in conversation with him. The German officer was traveling on the same train. As a gentleman, he offered to carry her basket onto the train. She accepted the offer, but only as assistance, to carry it together. Besides, it made her feel safer to pass through checkpoints. In Opuzen, a courier and two or three other comrades were waiting for her at the station. When they saw the German officer carrying the basket with Sofija, they thought she had been arrested and escaped. The German officer continued to be helpful until it was necessary. Sofija thanked him politely for his assistance. When he asked for her address, she naturally gave him a false name and a false street and number in Mostar. The courageous girl returned to Mostar with the vegetables, and underneath them were bombs.”
Mahmud Konjhodžić recorded Sofija’s death:
“When the fighters of the Mostar Partisan Detachment crossed from the left to the right bank of the Neretva River in April 1944, their hospital remained with 15 wounded and sick partisans in the village of Grušći, along with about ten field workers and dozens of security personnel, totaling about 35 people. Three girls from Mostar, Sofija Onešćuk, Fatima Ševa and Vahida Mujan, also remained there as nurses. The hospital was well hidden in the forest in huts. However, on April 28, the Chetniks discovered the hospital, attacked its protective unit, and broke it up (…). Among the twenty-eight killed and murdered were these three young women from Mostar (…)”
* The surname on the memorial plaque should be corrected to Onešćuk.
Ćemalović, Enver (1986): Mostarski bataljon, Konjhodžić, Mahmud (1981): “Mostarke”: fragmenti o revolucionarnoj djelatnosti i patriotskoj opredjeljenosti žena Mostara, o njihovoj borbi za slobodu i socijalizam, Opštinski odbor SUBNOR-a Mostar; grupa autora: Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945.
Photo of the memorial plaque: S. Demirović.
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