Cedomir was the oldest of five children born to Serbian Orthodox parents. The Soraks lived in the multi-ethnic city of Sarajevo, the capital of the region of Bosnia. Cedomir's father, Milan, was an engineer employed by the Yugoslav state railways, and his Hungarian-born mother, Andjelija, was a housewife.

1933-39: The Sorak family moved to Zagreb after Cedomir's father was promoted to the position of assistant director of the rail system in the region of Croatia. He graduated from secondary school in 1938 and enrolled in the University of Zagreb's veterinary school. Cedomir liked the big city and had a Croatian girlfriend.

1940-41: On April 6, 1941, when the Germans invaded Yugoslavia, Cedomir volunteered for the Yugoslav army. Four days later the Germans entered Zagreb. Croatian fascists came to power and began a campaign against Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. On April 27, as Cedomir was returning home from his girlfriend's house, he was rounded up by the Croatian police and incarcerated in the Petrinjska Street prison. He was sent to Koprivnica, Gospic and Jadovno, Croatian-run concentration camps in the south.

In Jadovno, Cedomir was in a large group of prisoners who were chained together, brought to a deep pit outside the camp, bashed with sledge hammers, and then pushed into the pit.

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Cedomir Milan Sorak