Vasilj Grđić

Vasilj Grđić was a educational worker, activist, publicist, and politician, best known as a long-time general secretary of the Cultural and Educational Society Prosvjeta. He belonged to the generation of prominent intellectuals who combined political struggle with cultural and educational advancement in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Austro-Hungarian rule and later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Early Life and Education

Vasilj Grđić was born in Gacko, in eastern Herzegovina, to father Risto Grđić and mother Ana (née Petrić). He lost his father at a very young age in 1878, after which his mother single-handedly raised him and his brothers, Vojislav, Šćepan, and Luka.

He completed elementary school in Gacko and Mostar. Initially trained as a craftsman, Grđić later enrolled in high school in Sarajevo, where his older brother Šćepan was already studying. During this period, he became deeply involved in national and political activism. In 1896, he founded the secret student society “Serbian Consciousness”, serving as its president under the pseudonym Vuk Mandušić. The society published a clandestine lithographic newspaper of the same name.

Grđić pursued higher education at the universities of Vienna and Graz, where he studied history and geography. While abroad, he played a significant role in organizing Bosnian students and actively participated in protests against the absolutist rule of the Austro-Hungarian authorities, including student demonstrations in Vienna.

National, Cultural, and Political Activism

Upon completing his studies, Grđić—like many politically active Bosnian Serbs educated abroad—was barred from employment in the civil service. At a time when university-educated Serbs in Bosnia were rare, he devoted himself entirely to educational, cultural, and national work, collaborating with various political and cultural journals.

He belonged to the generation of national fighters opposing Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina, alongside figures such as Risto Radulović, Atanasije Šola, and Uroš Krulj. Beyond political resistance, this group emphasized cultural and educational uplift as a cornerstone of national emancipation. Grđić was also an active participant in the Young Bosnia movement.

In 1905, he became the first editor of Serbska riječ, conceived as the principal Serbian opposition newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, due to his radical positions on church and school autonomy, he soon clashed with senior colleagues and was dismissed from the post later that year.

In 1907, the national-democratic circle of Herzegovinians gathered around him launched the newspaper Narod in Mostar. Although heavily censored and temporarily banned following the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the paper re-emerged in 1911. Grđić was also the founder and owner of the journal Pregled, launched in Sarajevo in 1910 and discontinued in 1913, largely due to financial difficulties. Over the years, he collaborated with and edited numerous publications, including Zora, Glas Naroda, and Glasnik društva Prosvjete.

Prosvjeta and Parliamentary Career

From 1907 until his death in 1934—a full 27 years—Grđić served as secretary of Prosvjeta, becoming one of the most influential figures in its history. The society itself had been initiated by his brother Šćepan, and together they edited the journal Prosvjeta until the outbreak of the First World War. Through articles on culture, education, history, politics, and medicine, the journal played a vital role in shaping Serbian intellectual life in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 1910, Grđić was elected as a deputy to the Bosnian Parliament, representing the districts of Bileća, Gacko, and Nevesinje. He became widely known for his passionate speeches and uncompromising stance against Austro-Hungarian repression. His defiant cry of “Down with Poćorek!” during parliamentary sessions, as well as his prophetic verses directed at Governor Oskar Poćorek, became legendary. In 1913, he was expelled from parliament together with Atanasije Šola.

Imprisonment During World War I

Following the outbreak of World War I, Grđić was arrested on July 27, 1914. He was imprisoned in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Zenica, and at one point held as a hostage near the Sarajevo–Vardište railway line. He was the first-named defendant in the Banja Luka High Treason Trial (1915–1916), in which 156 Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina were prosecuted. Initially sentenced to death by hanging, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He remained incarcerated until the end of the war, suffering lasting damage to his health, particularly during his imprisonment in Zenica.

Later Years and Legacy

After the war, Grđić became a member of the National Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina and later served as a deputy in the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, representing the Gacko–Šavnik electoral district. Politically, he was active in the Democratic Party and the Farmers’ Alliance.

He married Georgina Stojanović, the daughter of a priest from Prijedor, whose family had ties to the Sarajevo assassins. In 1934, Grđić authored the original inscription for the black marble memorial plaque at the site of the Sarajevo assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and delivered a speech at its unveiling.

Vasilj Grđić died in Belgrade on October 26, 1934, and was buried two days later at the New Cemetery in Belgrade.

Selected Works

• Review of the Educational and Cultural Work of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1902–1912)

• Twenty Years of Education

• Twenty-Five Years of the Work of Prosvjeta (1902–1927)

• Memorial on the Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Prosvjeta

• Enlightenment: The Work of Enlightenment

• Enlightenment: Ideology of Enlightenment