In the 15th issue Drenovski list, in December 2008, he published a Draško Maršanić article on the people of Drenovci in the First World War, relaying part of the records of the parish priest Mate Polić in the Parish Book of Drenovska Parish Liber insertionis historiae neoerectae Parochiae Drenovensis ab anno 1837. (Book of additions to the history of the newly established Drenov parish since 1837), which he began to lead Ivan Cvetko, the first Drenova parish priest and founder of the Drenova parish. A copy of the book is the goodness of the long-time Drenov pastor, Mons. Gabriel Bratine in the digital collection of our Heritage Museum and is the source of many historical facts from Drenova's past.
Unfortunately, not all pastors write everything equally diligently, but fortunately he is a wolf. Mate Polić, pastor of Drenova from 1911 to 1919, his legible and neat handwriting He wrote down many events and facts from that time.
Mobilization on Drenova
From the many interesting facts for this occasion, we will single out a contribution written in Croatian by the parish priest Mate Polić, on the occasion of the beginning of the First World War in 1914 and the departure of many Drenovci to the battlefields across Europe. The annex entitled World War II reads as follows:
Wire telegram told us very sad news, that the assassination killed our beloved throne - heir to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 29 June 1914 during the inspection of military maneuvers. Together with him, his wife Sophia the Archduke of Hohenberg was killed. The assassination took place at the time, when the Archduke and his wife went on trips to the town hall. About this, I think, it is superfluous to describe it more closely here, since the world history will accurately describe it. Based on the investigation conducted, it turned out that the Serbian government, headed by Major Tankošić, also participated in the assassination. This was due to the fact that the Austro-Hungarian monarchy declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, and on August 2, 1914, a general mobilization was proclaimed after Serbia's Russia and Austria-Hungary's loyal ally Germany came to their aid. To describe this in more detail does not belong here, but the purpose of this is to know in the future how this parish ‘Drenova’ participated in this world war.
wolves. Mate Polić about the beginning of the First World War
Several of the names on the list were later crossed out. According to local legend, soldiers had been returning home for years. Some of them even walk all the way from Russia, and some as heroes – on horseback. About that a few words later. Reading the list of those who died and the ways in which some lost their lives, we see the atrocities they went through.
The diligent and meticulous pastor Mate Polić left us a truly valuable and interesting document. We can see that according to house numbers at that time Drenova had about 200 houses, so we can estimate that it had 1000 to 1200 inhabitants. Every fifth inhabitant, that is, all men capable of military service, was called to the war.. We have examples where four members were invited from the same house or family, such as: Miko, Franjo, Paškval and Vicko Francetić with Fr. 83 (b. 68 to 71 on the list of pastors of Polić). Twenty-five people from Drenovci died, and the tragedy of the war shows that some of them raised their hands on themselves.
The following is a list of those, as the diligent pastor Polić wrote, who were forgiven by the military service, where we also see a vicious questionnaire next to the name of Lino Kučić (b.192), a wealthy Drenov craftsman. There was also corruption:
Of these they were pardoned from the service of the army, as follows: Lino Kučić kbr. 149, because of the great (?) need for the sub-municipality of Drenova; Franjo Senjan, a teacher, was immediately super-arbitrated for heart disease; Josip Stefan, teacher, for the teaching service; and Innocento Francetić kbr. 153 due to family circumstances.
Notice the malicious questionnaire next to the name of Lino Kučić, a wealthy landlord and merchant.
Kukuljan Andrija kbr. 76. discharged due to incapacity (:sick:), Karlo Geiger kbr. 157/III; Anton Črnjar Kbr. 59/I was mobilized but at the work of a torpedo factory in St. Pölten near Graco.
They returned home unfit for mutilation on the battle fronts as follows: Anton Francetić kbr. 126, because his leg was broken and therefore shorter by 5 cents.; Martin Pants kbr. 93, because he lost a middle finger on his hand; Josip Perušić kbr. 103 due to illness.
Post-release home: Ivan Superina kbr. 165; Ivan Črnjar Tomčev, Nocento Francetić, Josip Francetić 101, Art. Benussi, Fran Črnjar 79, Mario Črnjar kbr. 41, Materno Superina kbr. 189.
Interesting note wolf. Mate Polić
The Ancients of the Great War - Fate
The next source of information about the Drenovci in the first war, the photographs are exhibited at the exhibition of old photographs of Drenos to take a look at, authored by Alberto Mihich and Christian Graiach, held for the Days of the Drenos, now a bit back in 2004, which at that time we were able to scan and store in the digital archive of the museum, as well as some that we subsequently received on loan. Who were these people:
- Milan Silvester Žorž, (in the list of pastors of Polić on r. no. 195) born on Drenova 30. 12. In 1898, the son of Gasparus Žorža and Maria Stefan, died in Paris.
- Josip Mikulić (b.No. 157), born 15.2. 1888 in Paz, Istria, married on Drenova
- Josip Puharić Pepe, (b. 98), born 28.11.1889 in Rubeši, married on Drenova, died 19.10.1968.
- Franjo Škrobonja, (b. 173), born on Drenova 18. 4. 1869, died in 1936.
- Franjo Mihić Perac, (r. 113) born on Drenova 26. 11. 1886, died in 1947. As his grandson Alessandro Mihić recounted, Francis was in Villach (Austria) during the war as a soldier in the cavalry unit. When the war ended, he asked his superiors to give him a horse to return home, so Francis returned to Drenova as a true hero – on horseback!
Spartaco Črnjarić, born in Drenovčan, sent us a beautiful picture of his son Pranonot and the text we publish:
These data nan was given a drenofski float before the fanj flight. Francetić Vincenco is imel 12 children. When the first war started, it was too old to start a war (68 flights). His first installment was his son Franjo Francetić (b.191), barba Franić. I spammed him, he kept us on our knees, flaws, my brother and the late bitch Mauroto, and seh was called "spartačići". The jackal is tabak, and then you'd znel it with your mouth and put it under a hat. When the war was fine, it was on the Black Sea. Agricola (Spartac's mother, Agricola's cousin. Francetić, op.a.) says that he is vavek mentioned the city of Ufa (capital of the Bashkir Republic - central Russia, most often on Google Earth). From Crneg Mora to the city of Ufa has been a fan for a long time. It will be that the detainees were fined there (it is on the list of Prisoners in Russia of Pastor Polic, r.No.13, op.a.).
From there to Drenova there are 4 flights, from village to village .(Air distance Rijeka-Ufa is 3095 km, op.a.).
Prišal is from the clobukon home who imel scooped from the bullet (not even hit him ). Barba Franić is a staunch fan deaf of the canoe cha shot around him.
Kujin Robert Grohovac who takes care of va Drenova's antiquities is still a saying for Franjo Francetić and this (and this led him to Fr. Tito Francetić, brother of Agricola):
Captured in Galicia by the Cossacks, the only one of the regiments standing still alive, no more imel ammo so it was foretold. They sent him as a prisoner to share on the grand estate of some widow, where she kidnapped him.... When there was a chance she escaped... she was carrying a walrus in your ear.
A few more photos of Drenovčan from the list of Mate Polić:
Wounded in Russia, escaped from hospital
One of the most interesting photos is definitely the one we got from the family. Frank and Tatjana Cvečić from the Podbreg. In the picture is the so-called Rijeka Brigade with a prominent Rijeka flag with the inscription Indeficienter. As it says in web link The (Rijeka) brigade was formed by the 70th and 79th regiments from Petrovaradin, or Otočac, and it is interesting for Drenova that Drenovčan Ivan Jelisej (b. 26 on Polić's list) is also in the picture, after Frank Cvečić's mother.
Very interesting is the painting that Ivan Francetić sent to Professor Fran Franković, a viewed Drenovčan who during his lifetime was called the father of the teacher's education in Istria, the author of the first Croatian Beginner, the first manager of the newly founded teacher's school in Kastav and the founder of the Public Reading Room Drenova in 1908. By the address of the sender it is evident that he was in the Rijeka Brigade in Petrovaradin and it is easily possible that he is also in the picture where Ivan Jelisej is.
As an interesting fact, it should be noted that there were Drenovčans who were in the army and then in the war, so that they “served the homeland” for eight full years. Unfortunately, we do not have their pictures, and these are according to what Alberto Mihich and Atilio Mihić told us:
Romualdo Črnjar, nr. 112, nr. 139 (pictured above)
Karlo Superina, No. 152, No. 167
Franjo Fran Superina, No. 52, No. 68
Interesting is Polić's text on the parish priest's concern for the food of parishioners during the war:
The diet of the parishioners of Drenova: The undersigned Mate Polić, the parish priest, having already noticed the lack of mercury at the beginning of the war, caught the economic branch of the Rijeka branch of the economic society in Zagreb, and recorded over 181 members, and on that basis we got from the economic society of mercury: corn, potatoes, wheat, barley, beans, and so this people, in addition to the aprovization of the city, got some food from the mentioned society. This was a thorn in the eye especially of the merchant Lino Kučić kbr. 149, and he did everything to prevent food from coming from Zagreb to Drenovo, but about it in another place.
Mate Polić, pastor
Drenova, November 20, 1916,
He also wrote down and described the wolf in detail. Polić, which are bells from Drenov churches and chapels requisitioned for war purposes (in other words, melted into cannons and the like).
All in all, the hardworking and virtuous pastor Mate Polić left a valuable document that our Society Without Borders published on the website Europeana 1914-1918 – untold stories and official history of the First World War
In the digital archive of our museum we also find many documents from the Drenov school from the time of the First War written in Italian.
List of orphans of fathers fallen in war or due to illnesses caused during military service, which the then director G. Deichmann sent to the Rijeka City Master's Office on March 14, 1917, testifies that twenty-three underage children were left behind the dead, without a father. The list applies only to students and their siblings. Who knows how many other children have lost their father?
Others List, since 4 February 1916, shows the names of children, including children of soldiers, who received shoes (scarpe di guerra) as a help.
Fathers' names are completely in line with Polić's lists, except that Polić wrote them in Croatian and the school was Italian.
The Unknown Heroes of the Great War
The following are pictures of soldiers, apparently from the time of the Great War, for which no names or data are known. There are people from Drenova in the pictures, but the owners of the pictures can't say who it is.
If anyone knows anything in more detail, please contact our Heritage Museum!
Walking from Russia
Many Drenovci returned on foot from battlefields in distant Galicia or later from captivity in Russian camps. It's really about huge distances and it's amazing what these people have walked.
We have identified some of the camps mentioned in our documents, see how these distances look on Google Maps – and with a modern car it would be a challenging journey!
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