Serbia's Valjevo 1942. Stepan Filipovic, a 26-year-old Croatian, shouts "Death to fascism" just before being hanged by the Serbian State Guard, which the Nazis funded.
liberty for the people! "
One of the most powerful photos ever taken, one of Stjepan Filipovi only seconds before hanging, was always used to support everything related to his death and the admiration that followed it. Slobodanka Vasi, then 17 years old, took the iconic picture. Her job was to snap pictures of the hanging at the Valjevo photography studio "Foto Kosare." Locals who wanted to purchase the photographs were quite interested when they saw the pictures of Stjepan Filipovi standing tall in the studio. Germans searched the studio and confiscated all the photographs and video* recordings of the hanging because German command was stationed across the street and could see that something was going on. Slobodanka spent two weeks in jail while being questioned about whose command she was acting under when shooting those pictures and whether or not she was collaborating with the partisans. One copy did, however, make it to local physician Branko Kesler, a member of the partisan opposition.
Upstanding citizen with German origin, Nazis trusted him and one officer decided to show Kesler bunch of photos just a few days after the infamous hanging of Stjepan Filipović took place. Taking advantage of one moment of his negligence Kesler slipped the photo on the ground and with the tip of his foot pushed it under the rug.”
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