Branko Ćopić

Branko Ćopić (Бранко Ћопић; January 1, 1915 – March 26, 1984) was a Serbian writer. He was an ethnic Serb born in the village Hašani, near Bosanska Krupa in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He attended schools in Bihać, Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Karlovac before moving to Belgrade to study philosophy until 1940. His books have been translated into English, German, French, and Russian, and some of them have been turned into TV series and feature-films. He committed suicide on March 26, 1984 in Belgrade by jumping off of Sava river bridge.

He was featured on the 0.50 Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark bill, which has been withdrawn from circulation and replaced with coins.

Notable works

hort stories

*"Pod Grmečom" - At the Foot of Mt. Grmeč (1938),
*"Borci i bjegunci" - Fighters and Fugitives (1939),
*"Planinci" - Mountaineers (1940),
*"Rosa na bajonetima" - Dew on the Bayonets (1947),
*"Surova škola" – The Cruel School (1948),
*"Odabrane ratne pripovetke" – Selected War Stories (1950),
*"Izabrane humorističke priče" – Selected Humoristic Stories (1952),
*"Dragi likovi" – People Dear to Me (1953),
*"Doživljaji Nikoletine Bursaća" – The Adventures of Nikoletina Bursać (1955),
*"Bašta sljezove boje" – Mallow-Coloured Garden (1969);

Novels

*"Prolom" – The Break-out(1952),
*"Gluvi barut" – Silent Gunpowder (1957),
*"Ne tuguj, bronzana stražo" – Bronze Guards, Don't Mourn (1958)
* Osma ofanziva - The Eight Offensive - 1966;

Poems

*"Ognjeno rađanje domovine" – Homeland’s Fiery Birth (1944),
*"Poems" (1945),
*"Ratnikovo proljeće" – Spring of a Warrior (1947);

Writings for children

Short stories:
*"Priče partizanke" – Partisan Stories (1944),
*"Pjesme pionirke" – Pioneer Verses (1945),
*"Vratolomne priče" – Breakneck Stories (1947),
*"Sunčana republika" – The Sunny Republic (1948),
*"Аrmija, odbrna tvoja" – The Army, Your Defense (1949),
*"Priče ispod zmajevih krila" – Stories from beneath the Dragon’s Wings (1950),
*"Pijetao i mačak" – The Rooster and the Tomcat (1952),
*"Bosonogo djetinjstvo" - Barefoot Childhood (1976),
*"Ježeva kućica" - The Hedgehog's House,
*"U svijetu medvjeda i leptirova" - In the World of Bears and Butterflies,
*"Doživljaji mačka Toše" - The Adventures of Toša the Cat;

And novels:
*"Orlovi rano lete" - Eagles Start Flying Early (1959),
*"Slavno vojevanje" – Glorious Combat (1960) and
*"Bitka u Zlatnoj dolini" – The Battle of Golden Valley – these three are known as "„Pionirska trilogija“" - The Pioneer Trilogy,
*"Magareće godine" - "Donkey" Years (meaning: The Tough Teens);

Films and television series made after Ćopić's writings

*"Živjeće ovaj narod" (1947)
*"Major Bauk" (1951)
*"Grob u žitu" (1951)
*"Nikoletina Bursać (1964)
*"Orlovi rano lete" (1966)
*"Četrdeset prva" (1971)
*"Hajdučka vremena" (1977)
*"Mala moja iz Bosanske Krupe" (1978)
*"Osma ofanziva", TV-series (1979)
*"Bježaćemo čak u Liku" (1979)
*"Odumiranje međeda" (1982)
*"Smiješne i druge priče", TV-series (1986)
*"Razgovori stari" (1986)
*"Gluvi barut" (1990)
*"Magareće godine" (1994)