Later that year, on May 1, he distributed leaflets and waved the red flag in the civic high school, now the Humanities Department of the University of Pula.

He then refused to enroll in a fascist union, and thereafter had to change jobs frequently, even though he was a respected blacksmith.

On September 13, 1943, he was among the signatories of the Pazin Declaration, drawn up by Monsignor Božo Milanović, which asked for the annexation of Istria to Yugoslavia and was submitted to the Paris Peace Conference.

On May 5, 1945, the battle for Pula ended with the fall of Muzil, accelerated by two Pula citizens, the communist Romano Kumar and socialist Steno Califfi, who managed to find the pipes that supplied Muzil with water.

On February 10, 1947, with the definitive transfer of Pula to Yugoslavia, he returned as the city's administrator and as President of the national council, a position he held until 1954.