Enes S. Omerović, JAN KONOPKA – POSLJEDNJI HAJDUK „MALE EVROPE“

DOI: 10.29362/2350.ome.71-84

U burnoj bosanskohercegovačkoj historiji nikada nije manjkalo odmetnika od zakona i vlasti – hajduka. Čak je i tokom XX stoljeća, zahvaljujući relativno čestim i naglim društvenim lomovima, stvarano plodno tlo za njihovu pojavu. Jedan od takvih hajduka – Jan Konopka – držao je u strahu i pripravnosti stanovništvo i organe vlasti tokom 1933. i 1934. godine na prostoru Bosanske krajine, odnosno na prostoru Prnjavorskog, Banjalučkog, Bosanskogradiškog, Teslićkog i Derventskog sreza. Jan Konopka je poticao iz porodice poljskih (galicijskih) doseljenika. Odrastajući u razorenoj porodici, u sredini gdje je najvjerovatnije bio stigmatiziran kako zbog poljskog porijekla od strane većinskog domaćeg stanovništva, tako i od drugih kolonista-sunarodnika zbog majčinog „slobodnijeg“ života, Konopka je rano prešao na drugu stranu zakona. Još kao 18-godišnjak prvi put se susreće za zatvorom, gdje provodi veći dio vremena, a tokom kratkotrajnih boravaka na slobodi bavio se jedinim zanatom koji je izučio – krađom. U jednom od tih perioda, tokom 1933. i 1934. godine, uspio je svojim razbojničkim poduhvatima zaslužiti i hajdučki status. Premda se svojim „podvizima“ ne može mjeriti sa mnogo krvoločnijim savremenicima koji su tokom 20-ih i 30-ih godina XX stoljeća hajdukovali na prostoru Hrvatske (Jovo Stanisavljević Čaruga) ili Srbije (braća Barbulović, Đorđe Stanojević ili Ivan Babejić), Konopka predstavlja zanimljivu figuru vrijednu istraživanja. Njegov sudski spis, oko 1.000 stranica arhivskih dokumenata sakupljenih u dvije arhivske kutije, omogućava nam da priču o Janu Konopki pratimo na dva nivoa. Jedan nivo je prava filmska priča o njegovim hajdučkim „podvizima“ i nesretnom životu, a uporedo sa tom pričom možemo posmatrati i analizirati svakodnevni život poljske manjine u Bosni i Hercegovini, pratiti proces socijalnog raslojavanja, odnosa države i većinskog stanovništva prema Poljacima, te siromaštvo, nepismenost, nepovjerenje, nemoralnost, pohlepu i brutalnost u okolini tzv. „Male Evrope“, kako danas nazivaju Prnjavor i njegovu okolinu.

Enes S. Omerović, JAN KONOPKA – THE LAST BANDIT OF „LITTLE EUROPE“

Turbulent Bosnian history never lacked in one particular point – having outlaws and bandits as part of it. Even during the twentieth century, mainly thanks to the relatively frequent and sudden socio-political breaks, creation of fertile soil for outlaws and bandits was made possible. One of those outlaws, Jan Konopka – kept in fear and alertness population and authorities of Bosanska Krajina, that is to say, areas of Prnjavor, Banja Luka, Bosanska Gradiška, Teslić and Derventa during 1933 and 1934. Jan Konopka, a man of a Polish (Galician) origin, was born and raised in an ambience of a devastated family relations as well as in the area where he might have been stigmatized by local population of the abovementioned area but also by other colonist-compatriots due to his mother’s relatively free lifestyle. Due to said circumstances Konopka quickly moved to the other side of law and order thus becoming known as local bandit. Ever since he was eighteen years old, he was first jailed and spent most of the time in prison for different charges. While being out of custody, Konopka was mainly doing what knew best – stealing. During one of these periods, in 1933 and 1934, Konopka succeeded in gaining his looting image by conducting many robbing attempts. Although he cannot be compared to other much more bloodthirsty contemporaries who acted in Croatia, such as Jovo Stanisavljević Čaruga, or brothers Barbulović, Đorđe Stanojević or even Ivan Babejić, in Serbia, Konopka still presents an interesting figure worth of further research. His court file, some 1000 pages of different documents kept in archival fonds, helps us track back his story at two different levels. One level is more like a real movie story full of his looting and rather unlucky life, while other one is a story of the daily life of the Polish minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina within which we can monitor the process of social deployment of the community, the relationship between the state and the majority population towards the Poles. Moreover, poverty, illiteracy, mistrust, immorality, greed and brutality in the vicinity of so called „Little Europe“ – as Prnjavor area is called even today – are just some of the stories behind the life story of Jan Konopka, the last bandit of „Little Europe“.