During the summer, the occupying authorities made sure that every resident over the age of 18 was supplied with an identity card. Without such a document, no one could leave the village, and often, it was impossible to move freely even within the town. This measure by the occupiers was a novelty for the population. In the pre-war period, very few villagers possessed identity cards, so the introduction of this new regulation sparked various reactions. However, it was clear that the primary purpose of these identity cards was to help the occupiers implement more effective control over the movement of the population, as well as to identify suspicious individuals, of whom there were more and more, causing the enemy increasing concern.
The occupiers’ identity cards, with the large word "AUSWEIS" written on them, were distributed to the population in July 1941, and many partisan fighters, being in hiding, were left without them. However, it was necessary to provide them with identity documents, anticipating that they would be useful in exceptional circumstances.
Thus, the party organization, under the orders of Miloš Klima, forged or obtained identity cards for him, Laza Pajić, Draga Stanaćeva, Draga Živančeva, Dančika Bešlina, and Slavko Radnović.
The municipal coachmen, Pera Popov and Belja Bristul, successfully carried out this task. Through municipal clerk Kikić, they managed to acquire the necessary number of blank, unfilled identity card forms (Kikić had agreed to help the movement at the right time, though he later withdrew). Then, Belja took advantage of the opportunity when Froman, the representative of the municipality, was not in his office and stamped the unfilled forms with the municipal seal.
Afterward, Kikić filled out the documents with the information he received from Belja, and the Ferko-Mikloš and Jergli brothers (who had been part of the movement since the early days of the Uprising) forged the signatures of Froman as the head of the municipality and Kunst as the representative of the Kulturbund.
These identity cards were ready within a few days and were soon sent to the Island to the fighters.
Around the same time, Ljubica Psoderov and Stojanka Bešlinova forged identity cards for Arkadija Popov and Duško Marković, and a week later for Veselin Popov-Selika. They also carried out this task under the orders of Miloš Klima.
As a clerk in the municipality, Stojanka managed to steal several unfilled identity card forms from the responsible official when he was away from the office. Then, she and Ljubica filled them out with the relevant information about the comrades, the partisans. The completed cards were handed over to Belja Brustul, who stamped them with the occupier's municipal seal, and finally, the signatures of Froman and Kunst were forged.
Now, most of the fighters had identity documents, but none of them used them except for Duško Marković. After the disbanding of the unit in October 1941, with this forged identity card, he managed to travel by train to Belgrade and connect with the movement there.
These two examples of impeccable task execution by the activists of the National Liberation Movement highlight not only their skill and resourcefulness but also their courage in carrying out the task, even at the cost of their own lives. For if the occupiers had discovered the "forgers," which could have easily happened, there is no doubt that they would have been shot like thousands of other patriots – activists who carried out the same or similar tasks within the great national revolution.
They risked their lives to ease the struggle of their comrades, the partisans, against a cunning, well-equipped, and numerous enemy.
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