Today Smederevo is marking the 107th anniversary of the city’s liberation in the Great War.
On this occasion, after the church bells rang, a memorial service and a commemorative gathering were held today at the Monument to the Fallen Fighters on the City Square.
Wreaths were laid at the monument, which was erected and consecrated on 1 December 1926 in memory of those who died, by representatives of the Požarevac Garrison of the Serbian Armed Forces, the SPS City Committee, the Smederevo Association of Descendants of the Warriors of 1912–1918 and its Lipe branch, the Association of Descendants of the Warriors of 1912–1918 Kovin and the SUBNOR City Committee of Smederevo. On behalf of the City of Smederevo, wreaths were laid by the Deputy Mayor, Vladimir Nešić, and the President of the City Assembly, Milan Perić.
Recalling the significance of this historic day, Branko Milanović addressed the citizens gathered on behalf of the city Association of Descendants of the Warriors of 1912–1918.
“This is the day when, with due respect and honour, we remember our ancestors who, fighting in the difficult conditions of the Great War, gave their lives for the freedom of new generations.
We are increasingly witnessing attempts by former conquerors and losers, but also by certain individuals, to rewrite our history, which shows that we must preserve the memory and the real facts so that our descendants come to know the real truth,” said Branko Milanović, among other things.
Marko Pavlović recited verses from his poem “Through Fire and Fog” at the gathering by the Monument to the Fallen Warriors of the First World War.
Most of the information about the key battles for the liberation of Smederevo in the Great War is preserved in the war diary of Major Dušan Dodić, under whose command that decisive battle was fought in the autumn of 1918.
