Orden Zasluge Za Narod 3rd class awarded to a Yugoslavian partisan

Leon Kaiser (later, Vladimir Carin, 1913-?) was born in Nova Gradiska, Austria Hungary to Ludwig and Paula Kaiser. He had one sister, Mira. Before the war Vladimir worked as a graphic artist in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. In 1929, he joined the Savez komunističke omladine Jugoslavije (SKOJ, League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia). On April 6, 1941, Germany and Italy, supported by Hungary and Bulgaria, invaded Yugoslavia. The country was partitioned, and central Yugoslavia was formed into the independent State of Croatia, which was governed by the Ustaše and administered by the Germans. The regime enacted anti-Jewish laws, confiscated property and money, forced males to work hard labor and then began deporting Jews to camps. After the invasion, Vladimir fled to Split in the Italian occupied zone, where he was captured by the Italians and transported to the island of Korčula. While on Korčula he organized participation in the sabotage detachment of the island’s partisan group. Vladimir joined the narodnooslobodilački vojska (NOV, People's Liberation Army) and fought in the 3rd Overseas Brigade and Partisan detachments in Yugoslavia. After the surrender of Italy, Vladimir was head of the Agitaciene propaganda department and was a Zemaljsko antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Hrvatske (ZAVNOH, State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia) war correspondent. After the war he worked as a journalist, film and TV director and a writer. Vladimir was married twice, first to Ljubinka Pavlovic, and then to Mira Kaiser.

The medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia