Ljerka Pavković
Specialized Hospital for Medical Rehabilitation, Lipik, Croatia
Title: Testimonies of the Nurses from Lipik of the Homeland War
Biography
Biography: Ljerka Pavković
Abstract
The story "Testimonies of the Nurses from Lipik of the Homeland War" was created according to archive photographs collected by war cameramen whose materials were used to write historical documentation for the town of Lipik. The aim was to authentically show the city's tragedy, sufferings of civilians, the supernatural efforts of the defenders of Lipik, human destinies and all the other horrors only war can bring. The destruction and revival of the city with a great historical heritage were witnessed by nurses participating in those war events. Before the Homeland War, Lipik was a beautiful town known for its thermal water, health resort, hundred-year-old park, beautiful promenades, horses, dance halls, pools and everything that can help a healthy person feel healthier and the sick to get the care they need. In the early morning of a summer day, an aerial bombing attack broke off all the beauty of life in Lipik. It was August the 19th 1991, 5 a.m. The children's home, hospital, school, church, stables and civilian objects were all devasted by the falling grenades. How they felt, what they were thinking, what they were doing, how they organized and what was most difficult is told by the surviving nurses who bravely participated and aided defenders and people in the war. After the liberation of Lipik on December 6th, 1991, the city returned to life bit by bit. The contribution of nurses will remain permanently recorded in the history of Lipik and the Republic of Croatia in connection with the organization of palliative care in the country and the Society of Nurses of the Homeland War of the Croatian Association of Nurses.