CHAPTER IX

IT appears to be a fact that death holds no fear for the man whose heart is fired with a principle. The merit of the principle is determined by the degree of love which it can excite in the heart of man. The principle of freedom seems to have no equal in human struggle. " Greater love hath no man than this. ..." appears still to be an invincible truth.

The people of Jugoslavia, identified as they are in their several States of Serbia, Montenegro, Hercegovina, Bosnia, Croatia, Voj-vodina, Dalmatia, Slavonia and Slovenia, have nurtured the love of freedom for centuries, in fact since 600 a.d. The record of those centuries has been one of their bloody and cruel suppression by neigh-bouring countries, who have at different times exercised supremacy over Jugoslavia either in whole or part. The people of Jugoslavia, who are of Slav'origin and blood cousins to the Russians, have been rent by division, fostered and encouraged to suit the purpose of foreign dominating influences.

Over a period of years, neighbouring countries had systematically infiltrated their nationals into Jugoslavia to oust local inhabitants from their villages and towns. This they did by means of either purchasing their properties or economic boycot. For example, the town of Kocevje, in Slovenia, which was originally wholly Slovene in character, was systematically changed, until, just before the war, a large percentage of its residents were German pensioners. Likewise the city of Trst (Trieste), also originally Slovene, and Split, originally Dalmatian, became squatting places for many Italians.

The effect of these disrupting influences, which neighbouring States exercised over Jugoslavia from time to time, was reflected in the few weak, unpatriotic and traitorous elements, such as the Ustashi, Chetniks, Domobranci, White and Blue Guardists, and later the Rupnik following, all of which were persuaded to collaborate with the Italians and Germans during their occupation of the country.

It had long been the cherished dream of the people of Jugoslavia to unite themselves in a Federated State and to live their own lives as they saw fit, independent of and free from all outside dominations.

When the Germans invaded Jugoslavia in April of 1941, the resistance offered by the ex-Regular Army was of very short duration. That collapse came as a bitter disappointment to the people of Jugoslavia. They accused the Army of weakness and moral decrepitude.

It required only the ruthless and barbarian atrocities of the German and Italian occupiers against their home and loved ones to fan the flame in the heart of the freedom-loving Jugoslav. In their thousands they rallied to the voice of freedom and carried on a ceaseless struggle alone and unaided against the occupier with amazing success for over three years.

It has already been described how these men and women left their cities, towns and villages in small numbers at first, and, as the struggle developed, in a ceaseless stream, until their army swelled to over three hundred thousand. And how all kinds, classes and creeds from all parts of the country, because of their common love of freedom, were able to unite in purpose and effort. How that all were able to subject selfish interest and work together in perfect harmony and trust. Also, much has been stated regarding the homes and environment whence those men and women came.

But it must be stressed that the strength of the Freedom Move-ment in Jugoslavia was essentially and directly due to the character of its individual member, which was obviously inspired by his under-standing and love of freedom. And as the Freedom Movement was organised about its army, and depended upon it for liberation, a study of the qualities and characteristics of the Partisan individually and collectively may help us to a better understanding of the virtue of the movement.

(note. The proper and full title of the Partisan Army was the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments. In the correct sense, the ' Partisans ' were those who actually lived and fought in small numbers in close quarters with the enemy, and corresponded somewhat to the scouts and patrols of an army. While the Freedom Army, on the other hand, operated in larger and more compact units. But since the men were the same usually, many having served as Partisans before transferring to the Army, and all fought for the same cause, we have not differentiated but have chosen to refer to the entire army as Partisans. We trust no ofience may be taken by the real Partisan himself.)

In the courier lad or girl, fourteen or fifteen years old, with rifle, a few rounds of ammunition and leather message pouch, who used to cover the lonely, uncertain trail over hill, through woods, in rain or snow, whose only bed was a fold in the ground or a hide-out in a barn, and whose meal was as uncertain as the trail, one saw the spirit of the army symbolised.

Theirs was the responsibility to get messages through at all costs. They operated alone, they planned their own life. Their pride, though never uttered, was to outwit a watchful foe. Many of them could relate how they were hidden in the attic of a farmhouse or barn along the way when S.S. troops were searching the ground Hoor, as our courier of fourteen years was on one occasion. Dog-tired, wet, cold, hungry, always ready to start out again, they never complained. They would choose death rather than captivity. The greatest reward to a courier was the assurance that his last message would be delivered.

In the groups of men and women who severed the ties of home and loved ones, to take up arms and chance all, one saw the utter abandon to faith and trust, and the courage which their love of freedom in-spired. Once, having put their hand to the plough, there was no looking backward. They must organise themselves and fight to win.

In the manner in which they organised themselves one saw the same honest regard and respect for freedom. As free men but re-cently engaged in peaceful pursuit, they banded themselves together (experience had taught them to unite), appointed leaders and volun-tarily submitted to the authority of their own unity. This they did without surrendering their status as free men.

This fact was ever apparent among the Partisans. In accepting the authority of their unity there was no sense of inferiority among them. They always bore an easy, free, self-confident manner. The respect which they accorded their leaders was obviously engendered by their own trust and confidence in them. A like respect was accorded his men by the leader, and by the men themselves to each other. A man was rated by the way in which he did his work, and however menial his task, if he did it well he enjoyed the respect of all.

An example of this was to be found in the relationship of a senior commander and his personal attendant, the man whose duty it was to look after his personal requirements. The Commandant regarded him as a companion and never referred to him as an orderly or ser-vant. In fact, such manner of reference would have been strongly resented not only by the attendant himself but by all Partisans, including the Commanders. He was respected as an expert guide, which he invariably was, as a capable groom and one whose duty it was to see that all reasonable requirements were available to the Commandant. There was no privilege or glamour, and the attendant was quite the manager of his own duties. The worst punishment he could endure was to fail in his duty and embarrass the Commandant in any way.

We recall a case of a strapping big chap who was so distressed on one occasion for having caused the Commandant to be late for an appointment that he had completely lost his appetite for supper. Even the next day he could not conceal his self-rebuke when others chided him about it.

Several Commanders had had the same attendant for months, and in a few cases they were from the same town or village and were old friends.

The relationship between the Commandant and his men in general was unique. It was very similar to that between a captain and his men in a well-organised sports team. All were playing the same game, taking the same risk and living in the same conditions. Partisans invariably greeted their officers, and very frequently each other, with the crooked arm salute (greeting), accompanied by the expression "Zdravo" (Hello) or "Zdravo Druze." If they knew the officer well they might address him by his first name or by a pseudonym, which the leaders generally used during the early days of the Freedom Front movement. (It was necessary to conceal their correct names in order to protect their families who were in occupied territory).

An interesting case of such greeting was witnessed one day when we were talking to the Commandant of a Senior Command. A young Partisan approached and quietly addressed the General (as he was then) with the usual salute and "Zdravo," followed by the General's first name, at the same time taking the General's arm and leading him a few steps to the side. When the General returned he noticed our amused expression, and, somewhat amused himself, remarked, "Well, what else should one do; we fought the Hun for weeks together, slept out under the same blanket and ate out of the same mess tin when we were in the Starjerska, only a few months ago."

All work that had to be done by reason of necessity was organised and distributed in such a way that the right man found the right job — the work that he was best fitted to do. Any job had to justify its right to exist by the contribution it made to the efficiency of the general organisation.

Partisans would arrange their duties among themselves. The motive always was to do what should be done and to do it well. Instructions which came from the Commandant were of a general nature, leaving the men wide scope for individual initiative. Sentries relieved each other without having to be called up or formally posted by an officer — yet one never saw a sentry hand over to another unless it was in a very smart, formal manner. We have witnessed this, ourselves unseen, at a lone sentry post in the woods, and on many occasions. Even a guard of twenty men would mount themselves. Some-times they would hoist or lower a flag while standing at the salute, singing their national anthem, with one of themselves selected to conduct procedure. All very serious and orderly.

Fatigues and routine duties which were well known were performed by them with uninterrupted regularity in fair rotation. Instructions from the Commandant would outline new duties which they would likewise perform by their own arrangement.

It was never necessary to caution a Partisan for having a dirty rifle or machine-gun. Even when oil was scarce or unobtainable, as it often was, they usually managed to have clean weapons. We have very often witnessed a group of twenty or thirty men and women, when billeted in a hut or barn, clean their weapons at the same time each morning without an order from anyone. It was natural for them to do such things in their own way. The women were very painstaking and seemed to insist on the same standard as the men. In permanent billets, rifle racks of the usual barrack type were often seen.

Without being ordered to do it, Partisans, when going to or returning from a place, would carry essential things required at either end. When coming into camp, if they should pass a pile of wood, they would carry an armload to the cook-house. It was their purpose to do something to help.

In the matter of personal hygiene, though it was often difficult to find water, it was the general practice to shave and wash daily, and only a lack of soap or water prevented it. Barbers were always avail-able. Laundries were operated by the women in the villages, and it was seldom that the weekly change of undenvear failed to arrive. It was a very remarkable fact that men could live so exposed and keep vermin so well controlled as they did.

The Partisans' attitude to discipline was most reasonable. He regarded it as his supreme duty to contribute something to the com-mon cause. He co-operated fully and put himself out to help in the running of things. He did what he was asked to do. He was a volunteer, unpaid, fighting for freedom. (All Partisans were volunteers until the Italian capitulation, when conscription was introduced, but even then the percentage of conscripts was very small). As such, he was ever ready to accept any hardship without complaint. Petty offences were not known in the Partisan Army. A man behaved and conducted himself as a responsible human being. The remarkable thing to us was that we ourselves, having had long experience with human nature, always accepted the principle that breaches of discip-line were inevitable among organised men and women. But that idea, along with many others which we had held to, before our experience with the Partisans, was relegated to the winds. A man was an individual, he was free to live his life, but his job must be done, and he organised himself to the best of his ability to do it in co-operation with others.

The Commandant recognised this responsibility in his men and knew how to direct it. He gave the lead and was wise and under-standing in his instructions and management of his men. He was always honest, fair and firm. Insubordination we never heard of, and, we believe, seldom occurred. During the year we spent with the Partisans, we never heard of anybody being checked for failure to salute; there were such cases, no doubt, though we never saw evidence of them. The greeting which we invariably did see was always an expression of genuine respect.

<>The thoroughly democratic relationship between the Commandant and his command never failed when put to the most exacting tests. Orders were definitely issued by the Commandant, but the men required no 'wet nurses' to watch over them, and the Commandant was never satisfied with any effort but the best. Each man assumed such personal responsibility that the presence of the Commandant mattered little, and the Commandant accorded the same trust and confidence to his men. We can recall innumerable incidents of a Commandant issuing instructions for the execution of an important duty and never think of checking the results. We have often expressed our concern — suggesting that perhaps we had better go and inspect the work; his remark was invariably: " You may most certainly go if you wish, but the men have their instructions and will do the work as it should be done." He was always right — they did the work as it should be done.

If the Commandant was absent his assistant would take over or someone else would act for him. There was always someone to succeed him when he fell. The main directional purpose was so well-known to all and so much shared by them that to be isolated, dispersed or hard pressed by the enemy never weakened their effort. They could always reorganise themselves and carry on. It was their common experience to do so. In the heat of battle, when their leaders have been killed or wounded, we have watched them press the attack, never slackening for a minute. New leaders would appear by their own selection, and further attempt would be made, until the objective had been gained or casualties and lack of ammunition had compelled them to withdraw.

In practically everything the Partisan did one observed the same quality of dogged determination. The life required initiative and resourcefulness to a marked degree, and great ability to improvise ways and means of gaining his end. He was scarcely ever found wanting in such qualities, these qualities being the rule and not the exception. They were seen in the young leader of a very well-known squad of Sappers; he was scarcely 18 years old, and had become an expert in the use of explosives, having learned much of what he knew from practical and often dangerous experience. If ordinary explosive was not available he would use the contents of Italian and German shells, many of them dating as far back as the last war. He had already destroyed many small bridges, long stretches of track and other objects of military importance; he also had the destruction of nine complete trains to his credit. He then devised a most ingenious type of pressure switch, which he made from the parts of two Italian hand grenades. It required no drills or machines to make it. It worked — and solved the problem (which was then acute) of detonating their home-made tank traps.

Tanks, as soon as captured, were overhauled, made to run, and turned on the enemy as long as the petrol and ammunition lasted. One instance of this we witnessed was a light tank which the Partisans had succeeded in blowing up about noon one day. The underworks were hopelessly destroyed, but the turret and armament were salvaged, mounted on a wagon and used in action before day-break the following morning.

An ordinary railway locomotive was run on to a siding, jacked up and made to provide electricity for use in one of their permanent camps.

It was considered advisable at one time to decentralise the hospitals and erect many small units of a standard type of about 50 beds each and scatter them at wide intervals throughout the woods. Plans of a hospital that met all requirements, included provision for light and ventilation, without draught, regulated temperature, concealment of smoke by day; storage of three months' supply of food, safety against dampness; and sanitation that would pass the most fastidious health officer. The plans were blue-printed and the work was carried out; many of these hospitals were homes for the sick and wounded for over two years, and attested to the ability of a people to do things in spite of a lack of proper tools and material to work with.

It was always the Partisans' joy to make a thing work; to supply a need; to fill the gap caused by the loss of some essential thing. We always declared that the Partisans, if given a crystal, a few bits of wire and a quantity of automobile parts, would be capable of producing a wireless set.

Their genius ran in other directions as well. We have seen them quietly working together over a new song. A girl or two and five or six men, all of the same army unit. (A new song was always a point of friendly inter-unit rivalry). They would try suggestion after suggestion and build up the tune bar by bar until they were satisfied with its harmonies, and from the laughing and witticisms we judged they were having a merry time doing it.

In their freedom the Partisans appeared to have a flair for doing things. They had accomplished so much with so little that they were not afraid to try — they applied themselves without fear. Each new problem was to them something to be solved; something that must be solved. They revelled in their ability to do things. But they were never conceited, nor did they underrate the difficulties which confronted them. As one of their senior commissars well implied whenever a new problem arose, after appreciating it fully, he would calmly comment, "Videt cemo" (we shall see).

The same qualities of initiative, resourcefulness and determination probably accounted for the Partisan's keen interest in things about him. He seemed to accept nothing without understanding it fully. Show him a revolver, and before one could caution him, he would have it all apart. Walk into a room where they were with a piece of strange equipment, and, before one could turn, their interest would be centred upon it. They would open it, examine it and ask all manner of questions until they would know everything about it, from where it was made to the last screw in the blessed thing.

Introduce a new explosive to them; not only did they insist on knowing how powerful to the closest calculated work it would do, but were not satisfied until they knew its actual composition. And when we had to inform them that that was a trade secret, they sent it to their chemical laboratory, whence came a full analysis showing all ingredients. These fine points of knowledge were not matters of idle curiosity with them. They must know everything about the substance.

Among the Partisans we found a high standard of education. They comprised all classes of people, cultured and less cultured, city folk and peasant, Christian and Mohammedan, rich and poor. Few there were who could not read or write, and if reading matter, which was everywhere to be seen among them, might be taken as an indica-tion, reading was a popular indulgence.

It was interesting to hear that the percentage of illiterate people in Jugoslavia varied from about three per cent in Slovenia to about fifteen per cent in parts of Serbia. Such writers as Cankar, Zupancic and Preseran were definitely the favourite authors and poets in their own literature, while translations of Shakespeare, Galsworthy, Dickens, Wells and many other English writers were popular and found to be in general circulation. We visited many libraries and reading rooms which were maintained for the benefit of the troops, and, when located in villages or towns, were available to civilians.

Battalions or Brigades published their own periodicals, which were in pamphlet form. They were circulated and exchanged among units. We found these pamphlets to be very interesting and of excellent quality. The practice of circulating them throughout the army developed a very high degree of co-ordination and esprit de corps. Competitions in prose and verse were very common in all units. Young artists were aided and guided by some of the best artists in that country who were also serving with the Partisans. Several of those artists, painters and sculptors enjoyed international fame.

The Universities of Zagreb, Belgrade and Ljubljana had served the Partisans well. Graduates of these institutions were found in great numbers throughout the Freedom Front movement.

<>Public speaking was encouraged in debates held frequently in every unit. These took the form of discussions on every conceivable subject from politics to agriculture. No restrictions were placed on writing or speech. A person was encouraged to say what he thought. We had heard the Monarchy upheld. We had heard it denounced. We have heard discussions of Communism versus Capitalism, in which both sides were honestly upheld.

The Partisan was not always given to work and serious duty. He knew how to relax. He enjoyed entertaining and being entertained. Scarcely a week would pass, if the enemy would permit, without an entertainment or two. A short play, song and accordion selections usually composed the programme, and dancing would follow it. Arrangements for formal entertainments were always entrusted to an artist, who would co-opt a committee for the purpose. Quite often the committee would take the trouble to paint humorous invitations and to decorate the hall. Light lunches, if food were available, would be served. Spontaneous song was heard at all gatherings, and throughout the billets, until late in the evening. On cold evenings songs were heard from groups, usually seated about bonfires.

An entertainment of a kind that we recall was held at our camp in the woods in the month of August. A large wooden platform, four feet above the ground, was built among the trees without clearing them away, and a camouflage silk parachute suspended from the branches was canopied over it. A few "Chinese" lanterns with the motley but warming assistance of the moon through the trees provided the guests with all the light that was necessary to assure selection of partners. Bonfires were burning, round about which attracted groups of chattering, laughing, singing folk who vied with the accordion that moved the dancers.

Two features of an unusual nature contributed to the happiness of all that night. A Partisan who was popular as a young poet, and a Partisana who also was known for her writings, had recently married. They were present at the dance. The bride was exceptionally attractive and an excellent dancer. Everyone was about as happy as we thought it possible to be when suddenly we heard the sound of British aeroplanes. They had long been expected with much-needed supplies. They flew right overhead.

What a grand night it was: hot doss and buns added to the delight of all.

An entertainment of a different character was a banquet that the iiihabitants of a large town which had recently been liberated ten-dered to the Partisans as a mark of their appreciation. About seventy men and women assembled in a beautifully decorated hotel dining-room and enjoyed a six-course dinner, which was served by the women of the town. The care and pains taken in the preparation of that dinner was the work of many happy women. Their joy was great, and they simply had to express it. Speeches followed the dinner, after which the Partisans took over. They sang and they danced, those girls, until daylight. We went home in the first heavy snow-fall of the winter, tired but ready for the day's duties.

Wherever the Partisan was he could enjoy himself. He was exceptionally good-natured, and gifted with a keen sense of humour.

He accepted his lot with great fortitude and patience. Ever an optimist, he lived in the hope of better days.

Though he made little show of it, the spirit that permeated the life of the Partisan was essentially and fundamentally religious zeal. His home training from childhood had been to fear God, and his knowledge of the principles of Jesus Christ was profound. In a country where one saw six churches, all of one denomination, in an area of sixteen square kilometres, that was to be expected. Brotherly love and self-denial to a degree very difficult to appreciate unless actually there with them, was the fabric of their life and organisation. They believed in the brotherhood of man.

The three principal religions in Jugoslavia were Greek Orthodox and Mohammedan, which were centred largely in Serbia and Croatia, and Roman Catholicism in Slovenia.

Partisan life, as it usually was, completely severed from the routine of home and church, and not conducive to formal and regular attendance at church, nevertheless gave ample scope to live and practise the principles upon which their very conception of freedom was based.

The fearlessness with which they fought was rooted in their understanding and love of freedom. Freedom to them impelled a complete. abandonment to faith. There was no fear or doubt and no easy way to freedom. "He that seeketh his life shall lose it" was the basis of their logic.

Their religion had perhaps become much more of a personal and individual matter than it had been in the past. They were not afraid to question and criticise various practices and authority of organised Church. They believed that the official Church had in some respect lost sight of God and had assumed an intolerant attitude toward man; that there should be more freedom in religion; and that religion as the soul of freedom should not be restricted by organised Church.

Priests and religious leaders among the Partisans visited all units, conducted services and ministered to the welfare of the troops. They carried arms just as the other Partisans. One of the most popular individuals in the Slovenian forces was Dr. Method Mikuz, whose unselfish concern for the welfare of his comrades led him wherever they were, regardless of danger. He was loved by all. It was touch-ing indeed to witness a tribute paid him at the first Slovenian Parliamentary session at Kocevje by an audience of close on one thousand persons, who broke into tremendous applause when he appeared to address them.

Quietly and unobserved, Partisans would go out from camp to attend Mass among the trees. If near a village, and duty permitted, they would attend service at the church. At Christmas, New Year and Easter seasons parades of Partisans were seen attending church services.

One of our many delightful experiences while in Jugoslavia was the Christmas of 1943. At that time the various departments of Slovenian Headquarters were billeted in three small villages in a triangle on nine square kilometres.

Tv. Marija and her two small boys were living in an occupied city with her parents. Her husband, a young lawyer, had already left home and was somewhere in the woods with the Partisans. Marija, although active in underground committee work and living in con-stant danger, decided to do still more in her effort for freedom, and left her children with her aged father and joined the Partisans in the woods. She spoke English fluently.

"Albin" was a brilliant linguist. He knew and spoke seven languages, and in addition was expert in shorthand. So good were his Italian, German and French that he was employed by the Italians in Rome on special staff work (of course, he was a Partisan). He returned to Slovenian Headquarters about the same time that we arrived there. His work with the Partisans was to take down all speeches at important meetings, listen to all European broadcasts, which he took down in shorthand and afterwards translated for Partisan use, and in addition found time to make many official translations. Night and day Albin worked, but he was scarcely an exception in that respect.

Dr. Brecelj was Minister of Economics in the Slovenian Parliament. His brother, Bogdan, was a young medical student. Lado and Dana have already been introduced. Dana, it will be recalled, journeyed with us to Slovenia, and her husband, Lado, was editor of a farmer's publication.

Comrade Bregar was a courier.

Marija sent us an invitation to spend Christmas with a group of Partisans. Just one of scores of groups of persons who shared that Christmas together.

We found Marija and Albin in the little village just before dark, December 24th. We had intercepted the courier when we were on our way over the wooded hill, and obtained the second invitation from him.

In a very small garret over the workshop of a carpenter (a German, by the way, who was still allowed to carry on his cabinet-making, although he was not a Partisan), we met Dana and Lado. They had only recently married, and this was their billet. President Vidmir and the others were present.

In one corner, on a small table, was a tiny spruce tree, at the foot of which was a home-made scene of the Nativity. Every creature and building in miniature, brightened by tinsel and imitation snow.

A few small candles when the electric light was switched off made the scene most impressive. The simplicity, the love and the truth expressed by what we saw in that corner made our Christmas a very real one.

Lado had walked kilometres through deep snow that afternoon, canvassing farmhouses for walnuts and apples: he had also found a litre or two of wine, and was as pleased as Punch when he arrived with them.

We ate walnuts, apples and cake (the German lady made the latter). It was a speciality of Slovenia called potica. In times of plenty, we were told, it was made with sugar. We thoroughly enjoyed everything.

President Vidmar amused all with his nimble wit, and each contributed something to the common enjoyment. Seated or sprawling as we were on the floor, we sang and talked until midnight.

Some of the party attended the carol singing at the church. We were still awake when they returned. The carol singing, they said, was excellent, and they enjoyed it the more when the priest early announced that he would not keep them very long.

We slept on the floor where we had been sitting all evening.

About noon, Christmas Day, we enjoyed a dinner of soup and roast pork whlch had been prepared by a famous Partisan cook and her fourteen-year-old Partisan daughter Diana. The mother had been cooking for over three years for different Partisan units, and her daughter was her faithful assistant. The Partisans were always keen to dance with Diana — she could dance beautifully. Diana served the dinner.

We parted to our various duties with the memory of a Christmas never to be forgotten.

On Easter morning, at four-thirty, we were fast asleep on the second floor, with windows open, in what had formerly been a Catholic School, which stood next to a twin-spired church. We literally sprang from our beds when the six large bells in those spires broke the stillness of the night. From that hour until late in the evening a continuous run of people from miles around visited the church. At eight o'clock in the morning, when the formal procession approached, a Partisan battalion formed up on both sides of the road and presented arms as the procession passed between. The Partisans followed the procession into church. Many Partisans attended services at different hours of the day.

In many Partisan units all three religions — Orthodox, Catholic and Mohammedan — were represented. There was no religious prejudice among the Partisans. A man was free to worship as he pleased, or to refrain from worship. Their unity was not aftected in the slightest by any differences in the form of religious worship.

Freedom in religious worship and belief was essentially consistent with their freedom.

Morally, the Partisans set a very high standard. The natural idealism of youth spread into the older age groups. They displayed the same marked determination not to compromise their moral principles as that which was so apparent in their struggle for freedom. They were intolerant of moral weakness. Units and at least one entire brigade had reputations for non-smoking and non-drinking, though that certainly was not the general rule. Wine and rakija (brandy) were almost always available, and wine was commonly drunk, though in strict moderation. We can truthfully say we have never seen a drunken Partisan.

Cigarette smoking was quite general, when they were available. The supply always fell far short of the demand. Men went for days without a smoke. They shared a cigarette down to the last draw, and, if there were butts enough, they would assemble them and fashion a cigarette in a bit of newspaper. Girls very seldom smoked, but they knew how to scrounge cigarettes for the men.

At a supper or gathering cigarettes were usually passed around. We have watched a girl accept one, but no sooner was the match withdrawn than the ember would be flicked off and the cigarette find its way into her pocket. She obtained six cigarettes in that way during the evening. Six Partisans got a pleasant surprise the next day.

Swearing and cursing were never heard.

Their truthfulness and honesty could be relied on; whatever was left lying about never disappeared.

It was the Partisan's nature to share what he had. Nobody could enjoy a privilege among them. His own conscience would prevent it. One day we were at a headquarters for lunch. The Commissar of that unit was known to have a weak stomach. The main course was stewed beef and corn meal. The cook had sent in two fried eggs and a boiled potato for the Commissar. There was no apology necessary by way of embarrassment, because we all knew each other very well, but in a quiet, troubled voice he asked if someone would take one of the eggs, as he did not enjoy privileges. That was a frank, honest expression of a Partisan's conscience.

<>The Partisans had the highest respect for their women. They were indeed jealous of their high qualities, and were very proud of them. The women reciprocated in admiration for their men. No sacrifice or hardship was too great for the women to make if they could help the men. Neither men nor women were sentimental, and they accepted each other as comrades together in arms.

There seemed to be an understanding between the men and women — though we never learned whether there actually was or not — that sexual matters should be postponed until after the war. But we do know such an understanding might just as well have been resolved, because sexual matters were taboo between them. There was, to be sure, the occasional marriage, and genuine cases of mating were encouraged, but all marriages were characterised by the highest decorum.

The Partisan generally fought against heavy odds. He was tenacious and cunning. He fought to the last when pressed, and few ever surrendered. Guerilla warfare was grim. A Partisan force could only survive on its ability to destroy the occupier. Few prisoners were taken, but those who were were justly and fairly treated. It would not be surprising if the brutal, inhuman practices of the enemy in his effort to exterminate the Partisans excited a revengeful spirit in the heart of a lone survivor, and there might have been isolated cases of personal revenge, though we know of none.