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Ibrahim Avdić from Gračanica, a decorated partisan fighter and war veteran, a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was sent for vocational training and education to the military Invalid Home in Novi Sad after the end of the war. There, he experienced incidents of discrimination based on his nationality, even enduring physical attacks. Instead of protecting him and combating nationalism and chauvinism within their ranks, the local party leadership stood up for the troublemakers, abruptly excluding Avdić from the Communist Party, into which he had been admitted in 1944 as a fighter of the partisan 2nd Krajina Brigade. The appeal filed by Ibrahim later, along with the statement of his comrade, Huso Halilović, testifies that “brotherhood and unity” had not yet taken root even among the members of the ruling - and only political organization, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. This paper is based on several documents preserved among the archival materials of the former County Committee of the Communist Party of Gračanica, which is now kept in the Archives of the Tuzla Canton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, basic data is presented on cases of violations of the rules and customs of international humanitarian law, namely war crimes that occurred in the municipality of Gračanica and among its inhabitants from 1992 to 1995. The Gračanica area is not an exception to numerous documented cases of war crimes throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite organizing and successfully defending itself against aggressors, avoiding the fate of cities and municipalities that were occupied and became sites of the most severe mass crimes (including crimes against humanity and genocide), Gračanica and its surrounding settlements were under constant indiscriminate artillery attacks, sniper fire, infantry weapons, heavy machine guns, and anti-aircraft guns aimed at civilian targets. Additionally, individual cases of more serious war crimes, such as capture and execution, and direct killing of civilians, were recorded. This article is based on historical sources and archival material—on those which we were able to access directly or indirectly. Based on available sources, we examined cases in which civilian populations lost their lives or suffered injuries under circumstances that unquestionably constituted violations of the provisions and rules of international humanitarian law. War crimes committed in the Gračanica area can be fundamentally divided into three categories: 1) civilians directly harmed by aggressors, i.e., those who were captured and killed, as well as those directly killed with criminal intent; 2) civilians killed and wounded by snipers, infantry weapons, and anti-aircraft means; and 3) civilians killed and wounded in the shelling of civilian settlements. In cases of directly committed crimes against civilian populations, a few cases from the early stages of the war stand out. Firstly, the fate of three members of the Jusufović family, captured in DonjaLohinja and criminally executed in Lendići, where their bodies were found a year after their disappearance. Similar to the Jusufović family was the fate of SabrijaMuratović from DonjaOrahovica, who was captured and executed at the beginning of the war, and his body was found a few months later. There is also the murder of Meho Bejtić from Gračanica, the oldest civilian victim of war in the Gračanica area, and the tragic fate of Sead Habibović from Džakule, a victim of the Serbian concentration camp Batković. Another civilian, Džema lMujkić from Stjepan Polje, fell victim to direct murder by VRS (1993). Three civilians disappeared, one in the municipality, and the other two in other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Civilians who were originally from Gračanica but had permanent residence in other municipalities before the war are not addressed in this work. However, we mentioned three cases in which Gračanica natives were victims of war crimes, including so-called “ethnic cleansing” (specifically, the crime of genocide) in Doboj and Brčko. A significant number of civilians suffered fatal injuries or were wounded by aggressors through sniper fire, machine gun fire, and anti-aircraft fire. Considering the circumstances and technical characteristics of the weapons used against civilians, these incidents can be considered deliberate crimes and strategically planned means of terror. In such attacks, at least 13 people were killed, including 4 women and 2 children; 57 people were injured, including 20 women and 11 children and minors. Another 11 people were, as mentioned, shot (including 4 women and 4 children), but we did not find detailed information on the circumstances of their injuries in available sources. The highest number of casualties occurred in artillery attacks on civilian settlements and objects. From May 1992 to October 1995, 93 civilians were killed by shrapnel during artillery fire, including 33 women and 22 children. Over 330 civilians, including 59 children, were seriously or lightly wounded. Records we used also mention the injury of seven more municipality residents, but without described circumstances of the injuries, so we did not include them in the mentioned numbers. However, there is no doubt that at least some of them were wounded due to the previously described circumstances. Some civilians also suffered on the territory under HVO control in 1993, mainly on the road and in convoys transporting goods to free territories. Two of them were directly killed, and a larger number were injured; two more civilians were killed under unclear circumstances later, in 1994 and 1995. Taking all these data into account, we see that at least 115 civilians from the municipality of Gračanica were fatally injured in circumstances that, as we have determined, constitute war crimes—115 out of the total officially reported number of 150 people. Therefore, more than two-thirds of all documented civilian casualties of war are, in fact, victims of war crimes. All this information, it must be emphasized once again, is not complete. We presented it based only on the material and documentation available to us, which we were able to verify. The actual number is undoubtedly higher. Nevertheless, all documented cases presented here are cases of war crimes, the most serious criminal offenses that never expire. Prosecuting such criminal acts is an obligation and a necessity. The fact that post-war Bosnian-Herzegovinian society, for various reasons, has deviated from this obligation should not and must not be any excuse. During the war, the former Public Security Station Gračanica submitted reports on committed criminal offenses, i.e., criminal reports related to some of the committed and documented war crimes. We emphasize, some—because, given the circumstances, the police managed to process only a part of the total number, or the actual extent, of war crimes in this area (indeed, we dare say: a smaller part). All reports and criminal reports were duly received and recorded in the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office Tuzla—the predecessor of today’s Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office in Tuzla. However, the fact that there is not a single case currently formed in the Cantonal Court in Tuzla related to the Gračanica area is more than significant. By publishing this article, we want to raise awareness within the local community about the scale of the crimes that have occurred and encourage broader social engagement in terms of directing requests to judicial institutions for the prosecution of the cases described here (at least the most serious ones). (Translated by E. Bokun) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2023, the Town Museum in Gračanica was visited by Zajim Šestan from Donja Lohinja, an 85-year-old resident and certainly the most knowledgeable and informed person when it comes to the past of his village. Zajim gave us an old photo–a portrait of Zećir Alefendić from Donja Lohinja, who died in 1938 at the age of 96, at the same time telling us everything he learned and remembered about Zećir, according to the accounts of older relatives and neighbors. These stories are part of the oral history of Donja Lohinja and its inhabitants, a history that lived among the people, that was passed down from generation to generation, much richer and more contentful than the written history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2023, the City Council of Gračanica adopted a decision that changed the previous internal organization of the Public Institution for Culture and Information “Bosanski kulturni centar” (Bosnian Cultural Center). With that decision, in addition to the existing five organizational and work units, a sixth one was founded: the Town Museum. This finally resolved the legal status of the Homeland Museum Collection (Zavičajna muzejska zbirka), which has existed within the institution for decades, and has actually been functioning as a separate organizational unit for ten years. The Homeland Collection in Gračanica, as a unique fund of museum material, archival records, documents and literature dedicated to Gračanica and its surroundings, was originally founded in the early 70s. The greatest credit for its establishment and initial development belongs to Branko Vajić, a retired teacher, history enthusiast and amateur archaeologist. For the next 15 years, Vajić was the volunteer curator of the Homeland Collection, intensively collecting new material and data on archaeological sites, mineral resources, history and ethnology of the Gračanica area. Since 1980, the Homeland Collection has been housed in a study room in the newly built Culture Center (Dom kulture). Unfortunately, Branko Vajić’s ideas to grow the collection into a Regional Museum were left without sufficient support from the local government and the general public. After Vajić’s death (1989), the Homeland Collection was almost forgotten, and the collected material remained inaccessible and almost completely unknown. After the Aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina there were several initiatives for the organization and presentation of the Homeland Collection. In the summer of 2005, parts of the Collection were presented to the public for the first time, and a year later the first permanent exhibition was ceremonially opened. Unfortunately, that exhibition display and several later were only temporary. In the meantime, the primary processing, marking and inventorying of the museum objects was carried out. In 2014, with the support of the Municipality of Gračanica and the Federal Ministry of Culture, a new permanent exhibition of the Homeland Museum Collection was organized and officially opened. Since 2016, a thorough revision of the museum inventory has been carried out, including the processing and conservation of museum objects, along with the arrangement of the museum depot, as well as the reorganization and expansion of the permanent exhibition. In the course of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, the implementation of the Memorial Collection of 1992- 1995 project began, during which the museum was adapted, the permanent exhibition was thoroughly reorganized, and the Memorial Room of the Defense of Gračanica 1992-1995 was established and officially opened. Two years later, the Town Museum was founded by previously mentioned decision of City Council of Gračanica. Today, the Town Museum in Gračanica consists of two parts. The first part is the permanent exhibition, which includes items and exhibits from the geological-paleontological, archaeological, numismatic, historical and ethnographic collections. The second, special part of the Town Museum is the Memorial Room of the Defense of Gračanica 1992-1995, dedicated to the period of defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Gračanica in it against Serbian aggression on this country. The Town Museum in Gračanica is open for visits with prior notice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information about Latif Karić (1905-1991) from the village of Vranovići near Gračanica, a widely known gusle player (guslar), but also one of the most respected locals, a man with a very interesting biography. He was born and grew up in an impoverished rural environment, in a village without an elementary school, but nevertheless he became literate and made considerable efforts in self-education. From an early age, he showed a gift for music and song, learning to play the saz, shargia, and then the gusle. As a guslar, he mainly performed old heroic epic songs. He performed at celebrations, parties, and social events in the wider surroundings of Gračanica, Srebrenik and Lukavac. Before the Second World War he also performed at night gatherings during Ramadan in a coffee house (kafana or kahva) in Gračanica. Besides being a guslar, he also was a reputed blacksmith, and a famous folk dentist. He was also considered a man of progressive views, an advocate of public enlightenment and education. He was one of the leaders of the campaign to build a school in the village in 1939 and 1940, which unfortunately did not succeed then, due to the resistance of other villagers. During the Second World War, he was among the respectable people from the wider area who strongly condemned robbery and looting, especially against the inhabitants of the neighboring Serbian Orthodox village of Gornja Lohinja, whose adult male inhabitants were arrested by the Ustashe and deported to concentration camps. From his youth until the end of his life, he faithfully maintained the tradition of gusle songs and Bosniak folk epics, as one of the last gusle players in North-Eastern Bosnia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the village of Džakule (Gračanica) during works on the local road a formed stone was found, a monolith, apparently a medieval stećak. The monument was found at the Samovine site, known and previously recorded as an archeological site, which confirms that the Džakule area was inhabited during the Middle ages. Given the extremely small number of recorded and preserved stećak tombstones in the Gračanica city area and the wider Trebava area, the monument is essential for the study of the past of this area. The stećak is endangered and requires urgent protective measures, including an eventual dislocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the activities of the public institution The Bosnian Cultural Center Gračanica has launched an initiative to collect museum material and historical documents from the 1992-1995 period. It is planned to form a special museum exhibit from the collected material – a memorial room commemorating the defense of Gračanica, intended for the general public, while a collection of relevant historical documents on Gračanica and its surroundings in the 1992-1995 period would be formed next to the planned memorial room (a historical-documentary collection, intended for the narrower, professional public). After the preparatory activities a public invitation to collect museum and historical material was sent out on the 1st of September 2019. Until the opening of the exhibition 55 citizens responded to that invitation. The collected museum material was professionally processed and entered into the museum records. In the meantime, the room itself had been renovated and an exhibition set-up was arranged. The memorial room was ceremoniously opened on the 1st of September 2021 (on the occasion of the Day of the 11th/21st mountain brigade Gračanica). This project was sponsored by the mayor of Gračanica. It is planned that the memorial room will be used for cultural and commemorative, educational and other purposes, and it will be constantly expanded and supplemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During Ottoman times there were several public and private libraries in Gračanica. One of them was the library of Hadži Hasan effendi Nurikić, the muderris of the “Osman-kapetan” madrassah, who endowed his books to the Ahmed Paša mosque in Gračanica in the middle of the 19th century. We learn some basic data on this hitherto little-known library on the basis of a waqf document from 1916, when the grandson of the founder, Hasan ef. Kadić, was supervisor of the library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides data on new and unpublished archaeological finds originating from the narrower area of Gračanica, and which have been preserved in the holdings of the local museum collection or have been discovered only recently. In 1976, traces of a pottery workshop were discovered in the Riječka neighborhood, a few three legged stands, on the basis of which he items were dated back to antiquity. In the Vuknić area, alongside the hillfort which was already researched, there were accidental finds of fibulae, spears, parts old weapons and a roman coin, most probably the one that can be found in the local museum (a coin of Emperor Maxentius from the beginning of the 4th century). Fragments of medieval pottery from the early and late Middle Ages, as well as granaries for storing grain were found at the Grič site. At the Hurije site there are remnants of an old cemetery and numerous other antiquities, and an earthenware piece dating from Ottoman times. On the nearby hill of Straževac fragments of prehistoric pottery, daub and flints were discovered. At the Bašča site in the Drafnići neighborhood, a large amount of Ottoman era pottery was discovered, as well as pieces of jewelry. Clay water pipes were (the remains of an old waterwork) were excavated in the same neighborhood. Several archeological traces were identified in the narrow settlement area, that is the center of Gračanica. This paper also publishes basic information on several finds from the Middle Ages, primarily the remains of armor, weapons and tools. Although these are accidental finds, for which there are seldomly more information and reliable data, they still indicate an extremely rich archeological picture of the narrower area of the town of Gračanica, testifying to a long continuity of settling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attached are several documents from the archive of the Tuzla canton, which bring testimony on the stay of Todor Žuža from Gornja Lohinja near Gračanica in the Jasenovac concentration camp, and his unusual escape from the camp. The documents, primarily the statements made by Žuža himself and two of his neighbors and friends from the camp were created at the request of the Communist Party, which Žuža was a member of. Žuža was arrested in March 1942 with a large group of locals from his village and sent to Jasenovac. For a time he was assigned to forced labor in Feričani near Našice, and in the Bosanska Gradiška area. He remained in the camp until the end of May 1944. He escaped to the Kozara Mountain with a group of comrades, aided by one of the guards, and joined the partisans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na osnovu arhivske građe sačuvane u Medžlisu Islamske zajednice Gračanica, u članku se govori o tri gračaničke džamije (Pašazade, Potok i Olovija), koje su po naredbi lokalnih vlasti porušene 1952. i 1953. godine. Pašazade džamija je srušena u julu 1952. godine, zbog navodne dotrajalosti. Potok džamiju su vlasti proglasile ruševnom nakon podnesene molbe Vakufskog povjerenstva i džematlija za dozvolu radova na njenoj obnovi. Iako je vakufska uprava pokušala da kod republičkog Zavoda za zaštitu spomenika kulture zaštiti džamiju kao kulturno-historijski spomenik, ona je po naredbi vlasti srušena u oktobru 1953. godine. U isto vrijeme, izdato je i rješenje za rušenje Olovija džamije. Haremi i mezarja uz Pašazade i Olovija džamiju su uništeni i prekopani, a na mjestu džamija su sagrađene stambene zgrade. Iz postupka rušenja ove tri džamije uočava se izrazita pristrasnost i bezobzirnost lokalnih vlasti, što upućuje na zaključak da se rušenje tih džamija može promatrati u širem kontekstu komunističke represije nad Islamskom zajednicom i vjerskim zajednicama uopće, koja je tih godina bila u punome jeku. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Šeh Dedino turbe in the village Čekanići near Srebrenik is an old cult place that is well known in the wider area of Northeastern Bosnia. The oral folk tradition concerning Šeh Dedo, who was one of the “good” (“evlija”, wali, God-pleasing) is rich in many details and interesting from a folkloristic aspect, although it follows the usual hagiological patterns of the oral tradition among the Bosniaks, as we find stories about these “good” and awliya’ from many parts of the country. Therefore we cannot take it as something surely grounded in history, although it also contains reflections of memories of some real historical events and processes. Our assumption, based on the analogy with the turbe of Sheikh Sinan-Baba from Gronji Srebrenik and the comparison of oral traditions and historical sources about this wali, is that the person behind the legend of Šeh Deda probably lived in the second half of the 16th or the first half of the 17th century, and that he was active in the area as a dervish, or a sheikh in a tekke. In addition to the turbe and the mosque there is also an enigmatic grave with a stone sarcophagus which the folk tales link to the builder – the waqif of the Mosque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This overview, based on the relevant scientific literature, provides the most basic data and facts about the mass crime which is referred to under the general term Bleiburg in the historiographical literature. It was a pre-planned and systematically executed crime of horrific proportions in which at least 80,000 people were brutally executed without any court procedure or base in law. The Bleiburg massacre is only a part of the systematic reprisals, of the violence and terror of the Yugoslav communists which were keen on eliminating the greatest possible number of their real and potential political enemies during their struggle for the establishment of absolute power and the implementation of their revolution. Mass extrajudicial executions, such as similar events that took place throughout Yugoslavia, were and integral part of such a policy. It was a coldly calculated and preconceived act that was primarily ideologically motivated. Allegations on the excessive nature of the crime and revenge as the main motivation cannot withstand critical historiographical examination. The historical facts on Bleiburg should not be seen through the prism of political manipulations and abuses of these facts. No crime of this magnitude was spared of its fair share of abuse and mythomania. The question on the manner and form of commemorations and other manifestations of public memory as well as the political messages are irrelevant in this context. Forms and contents of such kind can be criticized, but to negate and challenge the crime itself, to question the fundamental human and civilizational right of victims to remember - that is beyond all reason and moral considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The third part of "The list of Bosniak victims from the area of the municipality of Gračanica" presents data on the victims of the Second World War from the city area, the town (local community) of Gračanica. Based on a partially conducted survey and data collection by the method of oral history, registry books and several archives sources as well as the existing partial lists, a complete list of 227 victims was complied. Much of the data are incomplete and insufficiently verified, while the sources often provide contradictory information. We publish the list as working material with hope that it will encourage further collection of new data, as well as the verification and correction of the existing information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this issue of our magazine we bring a series of selected documents, reports, articles and photographs which illustrate the half-century long history of Radio Gračanica. This is only one part of the collected source material which will be hopefully used in the near future to create a special monograph on this radio station. Until then, we are convinced that the reader will see these documents and reports as first-rate historical sources and that he will feel the breath of the past while looking at the presented material; a breath in which this radio was born, in which it grew, evolved and matured, changing as its environment changed and as we change ourselves. They say that a picture says more than a thousand words - it is the same case with archival material. Browse through the following pages and see for yourself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides basic information from archival sources and other material on the establishment, startup and beginnings of the radio station in Gračanica. Radio as a medium became popular in Gračanica during the 1930s. By 1945 there were several dozen owners of radio-de vices in Gračanica, and in the next ten years that number had grown to several hundreds. After 1960 several local radio stations were established around Gračanica (Brčko, Modriča, Gradačac, Doboj. . .), thus the idea of establishing a radio station in Gračanica was born. Self-initiated attempts at private and illegal radio broadcasts are worth mentioning as well; radio stations such as "Radio Lipa", "Radio Varoš" and "Radio Miričina", which gained great popularity and public attention. Radio Gračanica was established in 1966 due to the decision of the Municipal organization of the Socialist Alliance of Workers. However, three years would pass before all the legal, staff and technical requirements were met. As part of the People's University, a municipal public institution for education, culture and information, Radio Gračanica started with its experimental work in mid-February, and the regular program was launched on the 1st of March 1969. Radio Gračanica was initially working with improvised equipment and very modest technical capabilities, as well as mostly volunteer staff. But over time it grew in terms of staff, developed and even stagnated depending on the historical breaks and changes it undergone in its fifty years long history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The liberation of Vijenac on the 11th May of 1994 was one of the most significant victories of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the area of northeastern Bosnia during the Bosnian war. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of this important battle, we present several articles that were published in the war press and deal with the battle of Vijenac; mostly from the publications of the Second Corps and the Second operative group of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These articles are important and interesting historical sources today - primarily about the battle of Vijenac itself, but also about the effect this victory had on the soldiers and members of the Bosnian Army. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the events that took place from the 23th to the 25th of May 1992 at the Zečev Gaj site, on the triple border between the villages of Stjepan Polje, Malešići and Lendići. Based on some previously unknown and unused historical sources, as well as the testimonies of a large number of witnesses and direct participants, the author presents new information and insights, and at the same time corrects some of the previous conclusions that were presented in the 43th issue of "Gračanički glasnik" (May 2017). Particular emphasis is placed on the events that took place on the 23th of May (the death of Džemal Bašić, the recovery of his body and the conflict with the armed Serb extremists, and the capture of the hamlet of Ahmići); as well as the fateful move of the Maneuver unit of the Territorial Defense of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (TO RBiH) that happened around noon on the 25th of May. This move was ordered, and it was not a self-initiated action, as this article clearly proves. The paper also presents the circumstances of the casualties and wounded of TO RBiH members, as well as a reconstruction of the events that happened at that time at Zečev Gaj and the surrounding area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the old Muslim graveyard in "Svatovsko greblje" which is located in Donja Lohinja. The grave is marked by stone gravestones, which can be dated to the early Ottoman period, probably the first decade of islamization, by their archaic ornaments and massive form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article was written as an introduction to this issue of the magazine in which, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the local radio station, several articles and documents on the foundation and its beginnings are published. Pointing to the role and importance of Radio Gračanica in the social and cultural life of the Gračanica municipality in the last half a century, the author concludes that it would be useful to do the necessary research and prepare and publish a special historical monograph on this institution, which occupies a significant place in the cultural history of this city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author gives a short review of the book “Gračanica i okolina u NOB i Revoluciji” on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the publication of the aforementioned book, as well as an assessment of the significance of this publication and the development of the local historiography from the end of the XIX century until 1988. The introductory section of this book was the first publication that brought a serious and detailed account of the history of Gračanica and surrounding areas from the earliest periods to 1941. In spite of all recent research and insights and the voluminous production of the local historiography which was mostly represented on the pages of the “Gračanički glasnik” , this book still represents the only synthesis of the history of Gračanica and the surrounding area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Patriotic League (PL) of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Gračanica municipality was formed in fall 1991 in Gračanica in close connection to the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), which was the major political party in the area. Due to the right assessment of the political and security situation SDA started with the organizational and other preparations against the coming military aggression; that is, with the preparation for the defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Concrete measures were taken in September 1991 when regular guard duty was established in the town and all local communities, as well as a system for tracking Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) movements and activities. That period saw the formation of the so called Crisis Staffs in the local communities as the basic structure for the so called political wing of the Patriotic League, which was unified on the 24th of October 1991 with the creation of the Crisis Staffs on the municipal level and with the assignment of specific duties (military organization, assessment of enemy and own strength, a plan for the district defense and so on). A month later on the 26th of November 1991 the military wing was established, that is, the Municipal Staff of the Patriotic League of Gračanica, while the formation of smaller units in the municipalities took place in the first months of 1992, as well as the formation of an “Intervention-Maneuver” unit subordinate directly to the Municipal Staff which was sent to Zvornik as reinforcement to the besieged defenders (The battle for Kula Grad). During this time the activities of all legal organs and organizations, which were paralyzed by Serb representatives, were firmly supported. The Presidential order that all units of the Patriotic League were to be incorporated into the Territorial Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina saw the PL units of Gračanica incorporated into the aforementioned TO where they showed exceptional results in their first engagements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alaga Beganović (1916-1948), better known by his nickname Alaga Zelenkić, was the leader of an outlaw group that was active in the Gračanica area in the immediate post-war period from 1945 to 1948. He gathered a small group of his fellow-comrades, mostly former members of defeated military formations and civilians who have been hiding from the Communist authorities. Alaga and his band, with their appearance and minor guerrilla actions, resisted the communist regime and its representatives. Relying on his associates among civilians, he successfully resisted the pursuit and raids until the first half of 1948, when he was betrayed, discovered and killed. Like many other rebels and outlaws, he has become a legendary figure of some sort even during his life, and in folk tales and traditions his name is still alive, both in the Gračanica region and wider. This article, based on collected memories, and available archival sources, attempts to lighten and describe Alaga’s life path and his outlaw period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NOTE BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD: At the 8th session in May 2017, the municipal council of Gračanica adopted the Decision on declaring the City of Gračanica, after which the initiative was addressed to the Government of the Federation of BiH to start a procedure of giving the status of a city to the municipality of Gračanica. The initiative noted that all of the requirements of the Law on local self-government principles of the Federation of BiH had been met. At the session of the Government of the Federation of BiH held on 20 July 2017 in Sarajevo, the Government supported the initiative to pass the law on the City of Gračanica and addressed the proposal to the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH. Attached to the initiative is the historical explanation with a brief description of the centuries-long urban tradition of Gračanica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review on the battles held on 25th May 1992, through the testimonies of the direct participants In this paper, based on the testimonies of direct participants and other available source materials, the view of the struggle in Zečev Gaj, on the border of Malešići, Stjepan Polje and Lendić, is brought on 25th May, 1992. The mentioned fight represents the first severe conflict between the forces of the Serbian aggressor and the units of the Territorial Defense of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (TO RBH) on the Gračanica area. Through the analysis of the presented data, the author points out that combat operations of the TO RBH units in the wider area of Zečev Gaj on that day did not represent an attack nor even an attempt of the liberation action, but the more spontaneous development of situation that began with aggressor attacks, with artillery and tank support, on the lines of defense of Malešići and Stjepan Polje. Emergency forces, including the Maneuver Unit of TO RBiH, consolidated the line of defense and rejected the aggressor by going out into the field, but because of the mutual incoherence and the lack of coordination, they failed to take the full initiative over the battlefield. In this attempt, on the contrary, there was an invasion in the enemy ambush, in which the Maneuver Unit of TO RBiH suffered heavier losses, which increased by the end of the day as the result of attempts to bring out the killed and injured ones. However, in spite of heavy losses, TO RBiH units have managed to fend off aggressors and a prevent probable attempt of the occupation of Zečev Gaj, as the ideal starting position for the further progress in order to connect the aggressor forces from Ozren and Trebava, which would have the disastrous consequences for the defense of the wider area of Gračanica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents the notes of Osman Nurić (1926 - 1965) from Sokol, a prisoner of war and a participant of the so called Death Marches of 1945. Most survivors of such horrors were fearful and didn't dare to write or publicly speak about their experiences while the totalitarian, communist regime was still in control. These notes have a special historical significance for these reasons, even though they are in a short and lapidary form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]