Nikola Vaptsarov was a Bulgarian poet and revolutionary who lived from 1909-1942. Despite working full-time in manual labor jobs, he wrote poetry in his spare time and published one book of poems. He joined the armed resistance movement against the Nazis after they occupied Bulgaria in 1941. Vaptsarov was arrested in 1942 for his activities and died under torture in custody later that year. Though he only published one collection of poems, he is considered one of the most important Bulgarian poets for his moving works addressing humanity, justice, and peace.