Lepa was born in 1925 in a village near Bosanska Gradiška, in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. She came from a family of communists who opposed the fascist regime of the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state of Nazi Germany that controlled most of Yugoslavia. In 1941, when the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia, Lepa and her relatives were arrested by the Ustaše, the Croatian fascist militia. She managed to escape from prison with the help of undercover partisans, the communist-led resistance movement that fought against the occupiers.
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Lepa joined the partisans and became a member of the 7th company of the 2nd Krajina Detachment. She participated in several guerrilla operations, sabotaging enemy infrastructure, transporting injured fighters, and delivering weapons and ammunition. She was known for her bravery, skill, and dedication to the cause.
In February 1943, Lepa took part in a daring mission to rescue 150 women and children who were trapped in a village surrounded by German troops. She and her comrades engaged in a fierce firefight with the enemy, but Lepa was captured and taken to Bosanska Krupa, where she was sentenced to death by hanging.
For three days, she was tortured by the Nazis, who tried to force her to reveal the names and locations of her fellow partisans. Lepa hardened the pain and humiliation with remarkable fortitude, and refused to give any information. She said that she was proud to be a partisan and a communist, and that she would never betray her people.
On the day of her execution, she was brought to the gallows in front of a large crowd of spectators. The German officer who was in charge of her hanging offered her a chance to save her life, if she would only tell him who her comrades were hers. Lepa responded with a defiant and memorable statement: “I am not a traitor to my people. Those whom you inquire about will reveal themselves once they have eradicated every single one of you evildoers.”
She was then hanged, but not before she shouted: “Long live the Communist Party, and partisans! Fight, people, for your freedom! Do not surrender to the evildoers! I will be killed, but there are those who will avenge me!”
Lepa’s last words echoed in the ears of the people who witnessed her death, and soon spread across Yugoslavia and beyond. She became a symbol of resistance and heroism, and a source of inspiration for many who continued the struggle against fascism and oppression. In 1951, she was posthumously awarded the Order of the People’s Hero, the highest decoration of Yugoslavia, for her extraordinary contribution to the liberation of her country.