Ribar lost his entire family during World War II: his two sons, Jurica and Ivo, and his wife, Tonica.[clarification needed] His sons fought for the Partisans against the Italian Fascists. Ivo Lola Ribar, his younger son, was in charge of the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) during the war, and was proclaimed posthumously a People's Hero of Yugoslavia.[1]