Petar Drapšin
| Petar Drapšin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | November 15, 1914 Turija, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | November 2, 1945 (aged 30) Belgrade, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Allegiance |
Second Spanish Republic Yugoslavia |
| Service/branch |
International Brigades Yugoslav People's Army |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards | |
Petar Drapšin (Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Драпшин; 15 November 1914 – 2 November 1945) was a Yugoslav Partisan commander.
Drapšin was born to a family of poor peasant farmers in the village of Turija near Srbobran (Szenttamás), Austria-Hungary a few months into World War I. By the time he reached school age, the war ended, resulting in the Austro-Hungarian defeat and disintegration along with formation of a new state Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
He completed primary school in his village before going to nearby Srbobran for lower gymnasium studies.
He then moved to the country's capital Belgrade, apprenticing for a tradesman position. After completing his trade term, he enrolled in the streamlined technical high school where he first got introduced to the workers' movement ideas under the auspices of the Communist Party (KPJ), a political organization banned in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Active in the school's literary section that actively spread communist ideas, Drapšin also joined KPJ's youth wing SKOJ.
In 1937 he went to Prague for university studies.
Soon after that, he went to fight in the Spanish Civil War, joining the Republican side. He excelled in combat, earning a rank of captain in the process. After the demise of Second Spanish Republic, he was interned in France. From there he escaped to Zagreb in 1939.
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