Memories on Sofija Jovanović

Abstract

The life trajectory of Sofija Jovanović, a female combatant during the wars of 1912-1918, was marked by profound upheavals and personal tragedies. She was the eighth and youngest daughter of Hristina and Antonije Jovanović. She married Sima Marinković during her high school, with whom she had a son. On the eve of the First Balkan War, she experienced a devastating family loss, having lost her father, husband, and son.

According to the testimony of Ksenija Petrović, Jovanović’s participation in the First Balkan War was motivated by a solemn vow made at her father’s grave that she would join the first war undertaken by the Kingdom, as well as by a personal desire to reunite with her deceased husband and son in the afterlife. She survived a continuous seven-year period of warfare and was decorated 10 times for her military merits. In recognition of her service, the state granted her land in Čurug.

The consequences of her wartime experiences persisted throughout her life. She remained a war invalid and suffered from tuberculosis. As a disabled war veteran, she was entitled to certain benefits, including subsidized transportation, free medical examinations, and treatment. She frequently encountered fellow veterans at the Home for Invalids in Sokobanja, where she underwent rehabilitation. After the First World War, she entered into a second marriage with her wartime comrade, Tihomir Krsmanović.

During the Second World War, the Krsmanović couple was accused of collaborating with the organization of Draža Mihailović, including distributing leaflets and hosting meetings of his associates and Chetnik members in their home. In the postwar period, they lived in conditions of severe economic hardship. Sofija was compelled to sell jewelry and work as an auxiliary laborer at the “Partizanka” hosiery factory. The circumstances of war deprived her of the opportunity to become a mother; consequently, she and her husband adopted Tihomir’s nephew, Dragoslav, who, together with his wife, Radoslavka (Rada), later cared for them.

Following Tihomir’s death in 1960, Sofija was forced to leave their marital home. Due to inadequate living conditions in her residence on Žarka Davidovića Street, she was allocated an apartment by the municipality, as a veteran, on Mirijevski Boulevard, where she died on December 20, 1979. After her death, the apartment was returned to the state. She was buried at the New Cemetery in Belgrade with full military honors. The official record of her death was entered on 14 January 1980, under serial number 453 for the year 1979, identifying her as a sergeant of the Serbian Army, Sofija Jovanović.