Andrija Poklepović

Poklepović was born on 20 March 1895 in Milna on the island of Brač.^[3] He attended secondary school in Split and later studied medicine in Zagreb and Vienna.^[4] During the First World War he served in the Austro-Hungarian army and was held as a prisoner of war in Italy.^[5]

By the early 1930s Poklepović worked at the hospital in Split, where he specialized in infectious diseases and later became head of the infectious diseases department.^[6] After the liberation of Split in 1944 he helped organize the infectious diseases department of the military hospital in the city and remained its head until his death.^[7]

During the Second World War Poklepović assisted members of the Yugoslav resistance and protected persecuted individuals, including Jews and prisoners held by occupying authorities.^[8] Testimony held by Yad Vashem states that Poklepović and fellow physician Dr. Mihovil Silobrčić used hospital transfers and medical care to protect detainees from deportation.^[9]

In 1996 Poklepović was posthumously recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for helping rescue Jews during the Holocaust.^[10][11]

For his service in military medicine he received several Yugoslav decorations, including:

• Order of Merit for the People – Third Class^[12]
• Order for Military Merit – Third Class^[13]