REMEMBRANCE OF A SERBIAN HEROINE: Serbs Greatly Wronged Milunka Savić, and Novi Sad is Correcting That Injustice by Building a Museum in Her Honor!

The City Assembly of Novi Sad has adopted a decision to build a museum dedicated to Milunka Savić in the Stepanovićevo settlement. Savić was a Serbian heroine and the most decorated woman soldier in history. Dragana Simić from the “Nikola Tesla” library in Stepanovićevo told Euronews Serbia that this museum will have the task of preserving the memory of her life and exploits, as well as bringing the story of her courage and sacrifice closer to younger generations and all who wish to know more.

The museum, Simić adds, will be built opposite her house, on the street that also bears Milunka’s name.

A Symbol of Volunteers and Humanitarianism

“The village was founded by Thessaloniki volunteers. Older citizens are familiar with her life, but I belong to a generation that didn’t learn much about her in school. However, we had grandmothers and grandfathers who told us about Milunka Savić. It is very important that we know everything about the Thessaloniki volunteers, especially about her, because their contribution is immeasurable—it’s thanks to them that we live the way we do today,” Simić emphasized.

Milunka Savić, she reminds, was also a symbol of all volunteers. That’s why it’s important, she adds, for the museum to also cover the broader picture of that generation.

“It is important for young generations to learn what dignity is, and number one—who we are and where we come from. To be taught dignity, love, and self-sacrifice. She was a woman who, even after the war and everything she went through, dedicated herself to humanitarian work. She fed many children, I think it was about 30 children, and she brought them from her village to Belgrade, fed them, and educated them. Besides her biological child, she also had two adopted daughters,” Simić reminds.

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Preserving Heritage for Future Generations

The “Nikola Tesla” library already has valuable materials that could become part of the museum’s exhibition.

“There is a monograph about Stepanovićevo, as well as an addendum to that monograph. A colleague who worked before me at the library in 2012 created a phenomenal exhibition dedicated to the founding of the village, the volunteers, and Milunka Savić. There are rich collections of photographs and albums that could be used in outfitting the museum,” Simić states.

When asked what she would like visitors, especially young people, to take away from the museum, Simić replies that the lessons to be learned here are crucial and important, primarily for understanding our history but also for envisioning the future.

“I would like them to first find out who they are, and to adopt the principles that were once normal in behavior—dignity, love for the homeland, and self-sacrifice,” she said.