Mate Čvrljak: Joakim Rakovac
(inauguracija biste 1973. godine)
Joakim Rakovac, narodnjak, antifašist (Rahovci/Rakovci nedaleko Poreča, 14. IX. 1914 – Križnjak kraj Korenići iznad Limske drage, 18. I. 1945). Podrijetlom je iz ugledne narodnjačke obitelji srednje imućnog seljaka Ivana (umro u Dachau) i Marije rođ. Herak. Završio je petogodišnju talijansku osnovnu školu u Baderni i kraću poljoprivrednu školu. Odgojen je u hrvatskom duhu, čitao je početnice i zabranjene hrvatske knjige te učio, zarana stekavši ugled u selu i kraju. Godine 1938. oženio je Dušu Štifanić (1920) koja mu rađa sinove Milana (1939), poznatog književnika i Živka (1941). Po završetku osnovne škole nije imao mogućnosti, a ni dopuštenje režima, da nastavi školovanje. Stoga je odlučio ostati s roditeljima i baviti se vinogradarstvom na obiteljskom posjedu. Od 1935. do 1937. služio je talijansku vojsku. Uoči napada na Jugoslaviju 1941. mobiliziran je u talijansku vojsku i kao politički sumnjiv, poput većine istarskih domoljuba, smješten u neboračke jedinice tzv. Battaglione speciale (Specijalni bataljuni). Izigrava vojne vlasti (praveći se psihički bolesnim) i vraća se u Istru 1942. Tu saznaje za borbe protiv okupatora u Jugoslaviji te započinje pripreme za ustanak, povezuje se s istomišljenicima, po vezi dobiva pisani materijal iz Rijeke. Poslije prvih sastanaka s Antom Drndićem (prvi je održan u Smolicima u kući Jože Šurana 18. siječnja 1943), Rakovac 23. veljače 1943. osniva u Rahovcima prvi seoski narodnooslobodilački pokret (NOP) koji je ubrzo postao važan čimbenik za razvitak NOP-a u tome kraju, a iz Rahovaca se ideja NOP-a raširila po Istri. U travnju 1943. blizu sela Fabci osnovana je prva simpatizerska skupina Komunističke partije Hrvatske (KPH) na Poreštini u sastavu Joakim Rakovac, Ivan Rakovac – Đovanin, Jože Šuran, Ćiril i Mirko Jurcan koja je u svibnju primljena u KPH. Rakovac je vjerojatno postao sekretar te nove ćelije. Tada su na Poreštini uslijedile sabotaže i diverzije protiv okupatorske vojske i uprave fašističke Italije, a istovremeno se vršila i mobilizacija za Narodnooslobodilačku vojsku (NOV). S brda Rušnjaka nedaleko Baderne 29. srpnja 1943. skupina od 69 mladića, dragovoljaca, antifašista i rodoljuba s Poreštine i Rovinjštine otišla je u Gorski kotar u XIII. primorsko-goransku diviziju. Odluka da grupa krene u partizane donesena je sedam dana ranije na masovnom sastanku u šumici Strani kojim je rukovodio Rakovac. S grupom su bili Joakim Rakovac i Jože Šuran, ali su vraćeni u Istru na politički rad u istarska sela. Na Pazinštini je Rakovac osnivao narodnooslobodilačke odbore (NOO), budio borbeni duh naroda, organizirao skupljanje pomoći za jedince NOV-e te raspačavao partizanski tisak. U srpnju 1943. nalazi se u proširenom rukovodstvu NOP-a za Istru. Kapitulacija Italije zatekla ga je u Gologorici. Ne čekajući direktive, na vlastitu inicijativu okuplja narod iz sela Pazinski Novaki i na juriš, zajedno s njima, razoružava karabinjere u Cerovlju i Borutu, a potom sudjeluje u oslobođenju Pazina i Poreča. Okružni NOO za Istru donio je 13. rujna 1943. odluke o priključenju i sjedinjenju Istre s Hrvatskom, a 25. i 26. rujna predstavnici naroda osnovali su u Pazinu Okružni NOO za Istru na čelu s Rakovcem te potvrdili odluku od 13. rujna o odcjepljenju Istre od Italije i njezinu sjedinjenju s maticom zemljom Hrvatskom. Odluci od 13. rujna legitimitet je dala Odluka Zemaljskog antifašističkog vijeća narodnog oslobođenja Hrvatske (ZAVNOH) od 20. rujna 1943. Na Drugom zasjedanju ZAVNOH-a održanom u Plaškom od 12. do 15. listopada 1943. prisustvovali su delegati Istre (njih osam), među kojima i J. Rakovac, koji je na zasjedanju izabran za vijećnika Antifašističkog vijeća narodnog oslobođenja Jugoslavije (AVNOJ). Na Istarskom narodnom saboru s oko 150 delegata održanom u Pazinu 25. i 26. rujna 1943. Rakovac je izabran za predsjednika Pokrajinskog NOO-a za Istru. Taj sabor potvrdio je 26. rujna odluke donesene 13. rujna o odcjepljenu Istre od Italije i priključenju majci Hrvatskoj u Jugoslaviji. Nakon Rommelove listopadske ofenzive koja je počela 2. listopada Rakovac se vratio u sela i iznova organizirao NOO-e i borbenu četu koja je odmah stala napadati Nijemce. Ostao je predsjednik i kad se Pokrajinski odbor reorganizirao i postao Oblasni NOO početkom 1944. godine. Kao predstavnik Istre i vijećnik ZAVNOH-a sudjelovao je 8. i 9. svibnja 1944. godine zajedno s tajnikom Oblasnog NOO-a za Istru A. Cerovcem na njegovu III. zasjedanju u Topuskom. Bio je i vijećnik na Drugom zasjedanju AVNOJ-a (u Jajcu 29. i 30. studenoga 1943). Po cijeloj je Istri organizirao narod, pridobivao svećenike i druge antifašiste. Bio je stalni suradnik Glasa Istre u kojem je objavio niz zapaženih priloga. Ubijen je 18. siječnja 1945. u selu Korenići na Kanfanarštini i u tajnosti pokopan na groblju u Juralu. U srpnju 1954. njegovi su posmrtni ostaci premješteni u Poreč pod veliki brončani spomenik na trgu koji od tada nosi njegovo ime (bivši Cimarè).
Narodnim herojem proglašen je 9. prosinca 1952. godine. Njegovim imenom nazvane su ulice i trgovi u Rijeci, Puli, Poreču, Pazinu te poduzeća, škole i društvene ustanove. U rodnoj kući u Rahovcima uređen je spomen-muzej. Opjevali su ga pjesnici i skladatelji, a njegov život i rad izučavaju književnici, publicisti i povjesničari.
Poprsje Joakima Rakovca od ostalih kiparskih očitovanja izdvaja skulptorska obrada moćnih sugestija. Odjeća, košulja s ruskim ovratnikom i jakna, jaketa po starinski prebačena preko ramena, sugerira istarski ruralni prostor, kapa šilterica sa zvijezdom – partizana, a reljefno izbrazdana morfologija i ekspresija lica – istarskog težaka. Saznanja o ovoj iznimnoj ličnosti autor je znalački pretočio u skulptorski jezik ne zatomljujući nijednu od odrednica koje ga definiraju: hrabrost, prkos i mukotrpan život seljaka.
Mate Čvrljak, akademski kipar (Konjevrate kod Šibenika, 30. IV. 1934 – Rijeka, 17. IV. 2018). Diplomirao je kiparstvo na Akademiji likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu u klasi prof. Vanje Radauša (1961), od 1962. do 1964. bio je suradnik majstorske radionice Antuna Augustinčića. Od 1965. do 2000. radio je kao profesor umjetnosti u Srednjoj školi Mate Blažina u Labinu i suutemeljitelj je Labinskih ateliera. Sudjelovao je na skulptorskim simpozijima, od 1972. godine održao brojne samostalne izložbe, a 1985. izložbu skulptura u Kaštelu u Pazinu. Čvrljak je autor javnih spomenika u Labinu, Buzetu, Aranđelovcu (Srbija), Iloku, Puli i Medulinu. Ostvario je značajan opus portreta i poprsja koji su postavljeni u javne i otvorene prostore. U pazinskom Parku istarskih velikana autor je sedam bisti.
Joakim Rakovac
Sculptor: Mate Čvrljak, inauguration of the bust: 1973
Joakim Rakovac was a supporter of the People’s Party, anti-fascist (Rahovci/Rakovci near Poreč, September 14, 1914 – Križnjak near Korenići above Lim Bay, January 18, 1945). He came from a respectable family who supported the People’s Party. His father, Ivan, who died in Dachau, was a middle-income peasant and his mother Marija’s maiden name was Herak. He completed a five-year Italian elementary school in Baderna and a shorter agricultural school. He was brought up in the Croatian spirit, read primers and banned Croatian books and studied, gaining a reputation in the village and the region from an early age. In 1938, he married Duša Štifanić (1920), who gave birth to his sons Milan (1939), a well-known writer, and Živko (1941). After finishing primary school, he had no opportunity, and the regime did not allow him, to continue his education. Therefore, he decided to stay with his parents and engage in viticulture on the family property. From 1935 to 1937 he served in the Italian army. On the eve of the attack on Yugoslavia in 1941, he was mobilized into the Italian army and as a political suspect, like most Istrian patriots, he was placed in the so-called non-combatant units Battaglione speciale (Special battalion). Playing tricks on the military authorities (pretending to be mentally ill), he returned to Istria in 1942, where he learnt about the battles against the occupiers in Yugoslavia and began preparations for the uprising, connecting with like-minded people, and receiving written material from Rijeka. Following the first meetings with Anto Drndić (the first was held in Smolici at the house of Jože Šuran on January 18, 1943), Rakovac founded the first village National Liberation Committee in Rahovci on February 23, 1943, which soon became an important factor for the development of the National Liberation Movement in that area, and from Rahovac the idea of National Liberation Movement spread throughout Istria. In April 1943, the first Communist Party of Croatia sympathizer group was founded near the village of Fabci in the area of Poreč, consisting of Joakim Rakovac, Ivan Rakovac – Đovanin, Jože Šuran, Ćiril and Mirko Jurcan, which was accepted into the Communist Party of Croatia in May. Rakovac probably became the secretary of that new cell. Subsequently, there were sabotages and diversions against the occupying army and administration of fascist Italy in the area of Poreč, and at the same time mobilization for the National Liberation Army was taking place. From Rušnjak hill, not far from Baderna, a group of 69 young men, volunteers, anti-fascists and patriots from the area of Poreč and Rovinj went to Gorski kotar to join the 13th coastal-mountain division on July 29, 1943. The decision for the group to join the partisans was made seven days earlier, at a mass meeting in Strana forest, which was led by Rakovac. Joakim Rakovac and Jože Šuran were with the group, but they returned to Istria for political work in Istrian villages. Rakovac founded the National Liberation Committees in the Pazin region, and awakened the fighting spirit of the people, organizing a collection of aid for members of the National Liberation Army, and distributing the partisan press. In July 1943, he was in the extended leadership of the National Liberation Movement for Istria. The capitulation of Italy found him in Gologorica. Without waiting for directives, on his own initiative, he brought the people from the village of Pazinski Novaki together and on the offensive, together with them, disarmed the carabinieri in Cerovlje and Borut; he then took part in the liberation of Pazin and Poreč. The District National Liberation Committee for Istria made the decisions on the annexation and unification of Istria with Croatia on September 13, 1943, and on September 25–26 representatives of the people founded the District National Liberation Committee for Istria in Pazin headed by Rakovac and confirmed the decision of September 13 regarding the separation of Istria from Italy and its unification with the mother country of Croatia. Legitimacy was given to the decisions of September 13 by the Decision of State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia dated September 20, 1943. During the second State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia session held in Plaški from October 12 to 15, 1943, delegates from Istria (eight of them) attended, including J. Rakovac, who was elected to the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia. At the Istrian National Assembly, with about 150 delegates, held in Pazin on the September 25 and 26, 1943, Rakovac was elected president of the Provincial National Liberation Committee for Istria. That assembly confirmed decisions made on September 13 on September 26, “regarding Istria being separated from Italy and joining mother Croatia in Yugoslavia”. Following Rommel’s October offensive, which began on October 2, Rakovac returned to the villages and reorganized the National Liberation Committees and a combat armed group that immediately started attacking the Germans. He remained president even when the Provincial Committee was reorganized and became the District National Liberation Committee in early 1944. As a representative of Istria and councillor of the State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia, he participated on May 8 and 9, 1944, together with A. Cerovac, secretary of the District National Liberation Committee for Istria, on his 3rd session in Topusko. He was also a councillor at the Second Session of Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (in Jajce on November 29 and 30, 1943). He organized people all over Istria, recruited priests and other anti-fascists. He was a permanent contributor to Glas Istre, in which he published a number of notable articles. He was killed on January 18, 1945 in the village of Korenići in the area of Kanfanar and secretly buried in the cemetery in Jural. In July 1954, his remains were moved to Poreč, under a large bronze monument on the square that has been named after him ever since (formerly Cimarè). He was declared a national hero on December 9, 1952. Streets and squares in Rijeka, Pula, Poreč, Pazin, companies, schools, social institutions were named after him. A memorial museum has been set up in his birth house in Rahovci. He was acclaimed by poets and composers; his life and work are studied by writers, publicists and historians.
The bust of Joakim Rakovac is distinguished from other sculptural manifestations by the sculptural processing of powerful suggestions. Clothes: a shirt with a Russian collar and a jacket, traditionally draped over the shoulders, suggest the Istrian rural area, a visor cap with a star – a partisan, and the embossed morphology and expression of the face – an Istrian farmer. The author has skilfully translated his knowledge about this exceptional personality into the sculptural language without obscuring any of the determinants that define him: courage, defiance and the arduous life of a peasant.
Mate Čvrljak, was an academic sculptor (Konjevrate near Šibenik, April 30, 1934 – Rijeka, April 17, 2018). He graduated in sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb under prof. Vanja Radauš (1961). From 1962 to 1964, he was an associate of Antun Augustinčić’s master workshop. From 1965 to 2000, he worked as an art teacher at the Mate Blažina High School in Labin and co-founded the Labin Ateliers. He participated in sculpture symposia, and from 1972 held a number of solo exhibitions with an exhibition of sculptures in Pazin Castle in 1985. Čvrljak is the artist behind public monuments that can be found in Labin, Buzet, Aranđelovac (Serbia), Ilok, Pula and Medulin, and he also created a significant body of work of portraits and busts placed in public, open spaces, with seven of them being placed in Pazin’s Park istarskih velikana.