Mladen Stojanović
| Mladen Stojanović | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | Младен Стојановић |
| Nickname(s) | Doktor Mladen |
| Born |
7 April 1896 Prijedor, Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Died | 1 April 1942 (aged 45) Jošavka, near Banja Luka, Independent State of Croatia |
| Buried | Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina (exhumed from place of death and re-interred in 1961) |
| Allegiance |
|
| Years of service | 1941–42 |
| Rank |
.svg){kind=small} Detachment Commander |
| Commands held | 2nd Krajina National Liberation Partisan Detachment |
| Battles/wars | World War II in Yugoslavia |
| Awards | Order of the People's Hero (posthumous) |
| Spouse(s) | Mira Stojanović |
| Relations | Sreten Stojanović (brother) |
| Other work | Physician Poet |
Mladen Stojanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Младен Стојановић; 7 April 1896 – 1 April 1942) was a Bosnian Serb physician who led a detachment of Partisans on and around Mount Kozara in northwestern Bosnia during World War II in Yugoslavia. He was posthumously bestowed the Order of the People's Hero.
At fifteen, Stojanović became an activist in a group of student organizations called Young Bosnia, which strongly opposed Austria-Hungary's occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 1912, Stojanović was inducted into Narodna Odbrana, an association founded in Serbia with the goal of organizing guerrilla resistance to Bosnia-Herzegovina's annexation by Austria-Hungary. Stojanović was arrested by the Austro-Hungarian authorities in July 1914, and although he was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment, he was pardoned in 1917. He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine after World War I, and in 1929, opened a private practice in the town of Prijedor. In September 1940, he became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ).
Following the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers and their creation of the Independent State of Croatia, Stojanović was arrested at the behest of the Ustaše, Croatia's fascist ruling party. He escaped prison and went to Kozara, where he joined fellow communists that had escaped from Prijedor. The KPJ chose Stojanović to lead the communist uprising in Prijedor. The uprising began on 30 July 1941, although neither Stojanović nor any of the other communists had much control over it at this stage. The Serb villagers of the district seized control of a number of villages and threatened Prijedor, which was defended by the Germans, Ustaše, and Croatian Home Guards. In August 1941, Stojanović was recognised as the principal leader of the Kozara insurgents, who were then organised into Partisan military units. Under Stojanović's direction, the Kozara Partisans began attacking the fascists from the end of September 1941. In early November 1941, all Partisan units in Kozara were merged into the 2nd Krajina National Liberation Partisan Detachment, commanded by Stojanović. By the end of the year, most of Kozara—covering about 2,500 square kilometres (970 sq mi)—was controlled by Stojanović's detachment.
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