Djuro Ivkovic was born in 1934 in Drezanj, Nevesinje Municipality. Both before and during the war, he worked as a policeman in Nevesinje. He retired after the war, and he died because of a stroke on May 17, 2008. An ethnic Serbian policeman, during the war - particularly between June and July 1992 - he organized the escape of several Muslim civilians who had been expelled from their countries and were imprisoned in Nevesinje police stations and surrounding concentration camps in eastern Herzegovina.
In July 1992, he saved a number of people by releasing them from detention in the basement of the Nevesinje Police Station and helped them reach free territory. In particular, he saved three boys of the Bosnian family Ćatić, who were about to be killed: Irfan, aged 11 and born in 1980, Dzemal, aged 12 and born in 1979, and Dzenis, aged 8 and born in 1984. He also helped a six-month-old baby and a three-year-old child, both sons of a woman called Nura Micijevic, to leave the prison and reach their mother. On the same occasion, he also saved two elderly ladies who were detained in the prison.
Witnesses say that, from the first to the last day of the conflict, Djuro chose to live by a great principle: "In war, the most important thing is to save one's integrity and protect the family". Retired at the end of the war, Djuro died because of a stroke on May 17, 2008. In 2009, he and his family were awarded the "Duško Kondor" Prize for Civil Courage, sponsored by Svetlana Broz with Gariwo Sarajevo.
His biography is taken from the archive of Duško Kondor Award for Civil Courage. We would like to thank Svetlana Broz for providing the material to the editorial staff.
