26.10.2012
Monograph and documentary film on the occasion of the centenary of the Battle of Kumanovo
Promotion of the documentary film "Battle of Kumanovo – Blood and Fog" and the book "The Battle above the centuries – a hundred years from the Battle of Kumanovo", has been prepared tonight at the Central Military Club in Belgrade.The event was attended by Minister of Culture and Information Bratislav Petkovic, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces Major General Milan Bjelica, representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces and the Serbian Orthodox Church.
"We were wrong to the heroes of Kumanovo. Therefore, I think, Rakic was right when he said in his poem "The Gazimestan" that we are unworthy of our ancestors." Minister of Culture and Information Bratislav Petkovic said, noting that the devastating fact is that even 85 percent of the surveyed citizens did not know who was Milunka Savic. "It would be the same as if only 15 percent of French people knew who Joan of Arc is, and Milunka Savic was the most decorated hero of the Second World War", Minister Petkovic said, recalling memories of a meeting with a hero of the Battle of Kumanovo.
Acting Chi
ef of the Military Museum, Lieutenant Ivan Mijatovic, PhD, citing the words of Jovan Dragasevic that "every nation is famous if it has glorious deeds, but besides all glorious deeds the nation can be without any glory if its works remain unknown", said that the Serbian people is at the crossroads, just as they were a hundred years ago, while famous deeds of our great grandfathers sink into oblivion."Therefore there are such promotions, to prevent part of the memory to be forgotten, and not to forget the glorious victory of the Serbian people and its glorious deeds. There is no nation that does not celebrate its significant events. Therefore the tradition is the best choice of the past. It must not be forgotten, because if we forget our tradition we are to adopt someone else's. Marking one hundred years from the Battle of Kumanovo is not nationalism or aberration. It is an expression of respect for the deeds of our ancestors, and they were in line with the democratic aspirations towards eventual liberation based on similar principles that were emerging in Europe of that time and our own history and tradition, "he said.
A historian, D
r Milic Milicevic said that Serbia in 19th century did not have too much of war luck. In 1912, Kumanovo battle was a beginning of something else. It opened a the golden book of Serbian victories and it will last until 1918."These victories, however, had their prices. Kumanovo took 700 Serbian lives and the number of wounded was about 2,500 thousand. That was just the beginning. The first Balkan war, no matter how successful it was took 22 000 lives. At that time it was like population of Nis. The Second Balkan War took 16 000 people. And that was just the prelude. By 1918, wars, famine, disease, took nearly one million lives. Everything that Serbia had done before for the creation of Yugoslavia was paid in great sacrifices. There will remain a question whether it was worth it, and we hope that our film answers at least some of the questions", Milicevic said.
On the occasion of the centenary of the outbreak of the First Balkan War and the Battle of Kumanovo, the film "Battle of Kumanovo – blood and fog" was made produced by the company Sense production, under the auspices of the Ministry of Employment and Social Policy. The main goal is not only to present and explain the circumstances under which the battle took place, but also to introduce the spectator to direct participants in the battle. Courage, ingenuity and sacrifice of a regular Serbian soldier won a victory in this important battle and determined the future course of the Balkan wars. Director and Screenwriter of the film is Petar Petrovic, Director of Photography is Dragan Jugovic, and Producer Maja Popovic.
Ministr
y of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, Sector for the protection of veterans and disabled persons with a publishing hous "Princip pres" has dedicated a significant monograph to celebration of the battle entitled "The battle above the centuries – a hundred years from the Battle of Kumanovo".According to the Editor-in-Chief of "Princip pres", Miso Vujovic, the monograph is a small archive of the most important events of that time.
"The battle started on 23 October 1912 and was completed a day later. Physically, it lasted two days, and metaphysically 523 years. It was won by the knightly feats of the Serbian Army. This informative and richly illustrated chronicle of a forgotten and neglected event is our debt to the ancestors and descendants, and was created when we are persuaded from inside and outside, by benevolent and caretaking attempts that we should forget the myths from the past for the sake of the future", Vujovic said.
