A photo of him taken shortly before his execution became a symbol of resistance against fascism in the Second World War, and was, among others, exhibited in the United Nations building in New York.

[2] The Filipović family moved throughout the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, so he lived in Županja, Mostar and Kragujevac.

In Kragujevac, he studied locksmithing and mastered the basics of electrical wiring, carpentry and bookbinding.

When World War II in Yugoslavia started, the Partisans organized a Tamnava-Kolubara unit in Valjevo (modern-day Serbia) in 1941, and Filipović became its commander.

[6] As the rope was put around his neck, Filipović raised his arms and shouted Smrt fašizmu, sloboda narodu!