211471 Mladjen Stijakovic Army My late Grandfather, Mladjen Stijakovic, was captured in Bosnia and brought to Stalag 13b in 1942. He served the term until war ended in 1945. During his term there, he served a local Check baker, Enzel Scobac (please note that the name written is probably not correct, it's written the way we pronounce it). As my entire Grandfather's family was slaughtered in Bosnia in 1942, including his wife and children, one of them which he has never seen, Encel Scobac felt sorry for my Grandad and took him to his bakery to help, and they become great friends. Few years after, my Grandad fell in love with Encel's daughter, and in 1945 they got a baby son. The baby had approx 20 days when war ended and all war prisoners were brought back to their country of origin. My Grandad's girlfriend was not allowed with him on the train, as they thought the baby would not survive the trip (it took approx 10-15 days from Czech Republic to Bosnia). My Grandad came back to his ruined home, and started rebuilding. Took him several years to form a decent home. But under preassure of family and neighbourgs, he was forced to get married again. He admited to his wife (My Grandmother) he had a wife and a baby while in the camp, and my Grandmother supported the idea of him going back there to look for them, but the poverty of the time prevented the trip. Later on, my Aunties (in the late 60' and 70'ties) were actively looking for their lost half brother thru various organizations, but with no success. The search was stopped in 1990, when the civil war broke in former Yugoslavia. After more than 20 years of search, they have simply given up any hope. I know my Grandfater would love us to meet his son, and I made it my personal aim to keep looking for him. If you can help with any info about the territory, the baker - Encel Scobac etc, or simply with the advice of where to start the search, please get in touch with me, I would love to hear from you
|