Mijo Babić

Marijan Babić
Other name(s)	Marjan
Nickname(s)	Mijo and Giovanni
Born	1903 Nova Bukovica, Austria-Hungary (modern-day Croatia)
Died	3 July 1941 Trusina, Berkovići, Independent State of Croatia (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Allegiance	Independent State of Croatia
Service/branch	Ustaše militia
Years of service	1929–1941
Rank	Major
Commands held	The Third Bureau of the Ustasha Surveillance Service
Battles/wars	June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina

Marijan Mijo Babić (1903–1941), nicknamed Giovanni, was a deputy of the Croatian fascist dictator (poglavnik (Croatian: poglavni pobočnik)) Ante Pavelić, and the first commander of all concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia.^[1] He was head of the Third Bureau of the Ustasha Surveillance Service (Croatian: Ustaška nadzorna služba—UNS),^[2] and was also a member of the Main Ustaše Headquarters, one of the two main deputies of Pavelić.^[3]

Murder of Toni Šlegel

On 22 March 1929, Babić and Matija Soldina murdered Toni Schlegel, the chief editor of Novosti and president of "Jugoslovenska štampa", in Zagreb.^[4] At that time Babić was a chauffeur for the Siemens plant in Zagreb and, according to official reports, he murdered one and wounded another of the policemen who came to arrest him, and managed to escape.^[5] Babić fled to Italy where he stayed until Yugoslavia's entry into World War II.^[6] Italian police considered Babić a very dangerous man who was capable of the worst crimes.^[7]

Planning

While in Italy, Ustaše spent years planning for a genocidal campaign in their native country and trained a small band of followers for a takeover. As early as 1932, Babić, as one of the propagandists of Pavelić, had written:

When blood starts to spill it will gush in streams ... the blood of the enemy will turn into gushes and rivers, and bombs will scatter their bones like the wind ... every Ustasha is poised ... to ... cleanse and cut whatever is rotten from the healthy body of the Croatian people.^[8]

Concentration camps

Babić participated in preparations for the establishment of Danica concentration camp.^[9] At the end of May or beginning of June 1941, he went to Pag island, based on the order of Andrija Artuković,^[10] where he established Slana concentration camp.^[11] Babić also organized the Kruščica concentration camp near Travnik.^[12]

Blagaj massacre

Babić had an important role in the Blagaj massacre on 9 May 1941. Against Pavelić's order, Babić brought several trucks of Ustaše from Zagreb to massacre 520 Serb peasants in the region of Kordun, where they had lived together with Croats for many centuries.^[13]

Killing of Serbs in Eastern Herzegovina

Organized by Babić, Ivo Herenčić, Jure Francetić and other Ustaše officers, killings of Serbs were extensive in Eastern Herzegovina.^[14]

In June 1941, Babić and a group of Ustaše officers, based on the order of Andrija Artuković, went to Herzegovina to organize killings of its Serb population.^[15] On 16 or 17 June 1941, Babić came to Čapljina.^[16] He and other Ustaše commanders had been instructed to suppress rebellions and undertake the complete extermination of the Serb population of the region and settle people from other parts who would be loyal to the Ustaše movement.^[17]

June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina

Babić and a group of Ustaše officers were organizing a struggle against rebels during the June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina.^[18]

According to Vladimir Dedijer, Babić was killed by a rebel unit commanded by Dukica Graovac.^[19] Babić's machine gun, a present from Ante Pavelić, was first taken by Vlado Šegrt and later by Spira Srzentić.^[20] Babić held the rank of Major at the time of his death.^[21] The body of Mijo Babić was transported through Sarajevo to Zagreb where Pavelić ordered eight days of mourning for members of his Bodyguard Battalion.^[22] A newspaper in Croatia dedicated a whole page to Babić's "heroic" death in a battle against "Serbian Chetniks".^[23]

References

1. "MIJO BABIĆ GIOVANNI". jusp-jasenovac.hr. JUSP Jasenovac. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
2. (Miletić 1986, p. 16)
3. (Jelić 1982, p. 626)
4. (Basta 1986, p. 45)
5. (Tuđman 1993, p. 45)
6. (Krizman 1983, p. 287)
7. (Krizman 1983, p. 287)
8. (Mojzes 2011, p. 53): "...and his Ustase supporters had already planned the genocide for years while his small band of followers trained for a takeover ... One of Pavelié's propagandists, Mijo Babic', had written in 1932, When blood starts to spill it will gush in streams..."
9. (Goldstein & Goldstein 2001, p. 268)
10. (Bulajić 1988, p. 344)
11. Proceedings in history. Odeljenje za društvene nauke, Matica srpska. 1974. p. 141.
12. (Dedijer 1987, p. 442)
13. (Basta 1986, p. 130)
14. (Basta 1986, p. 130)
15. (Bulajić 1988, p. 410)
16. (Bulajić 1988, p. 410)
17. Vojno-istoriski glasnik. January 1990. p. 68.
18. Nemirna granica. NIO "Pobjeda," OOUR Izdavačko-publicistička djelatnost. 1984. p. 83.
19. (Dedijer 1990, p. 175): "And a week later the Ustase criminal, Mijo Babic, was killed by Dukica's command."
20. (Dedijer 1990, p. 175)
21. (Bulajić 2002, p. 74): "He held the rank of Ustasha major when he was killed in Bcrkovici near Stolac, Herzegovina, on 3 July 1941 "
22. Prilozi. s.n. 1966. p. 225.
23. (Cohen 1998, p. 29): "Most of page five of the paper was dedicated to the death and funeral of an Ustasha officer, Mijo Babic, who had died "heroically" on July 3, 1941, in a battle with "Serbian Chetniks." The Chetniks were originally irregular army units that played ..."

Sources

• Bulajić, Milan (1988). Ustaški zločini genocida i suđenje Andriji Artukoviću 1986. godine. Rad.
• Dedijer, Vladimir (1990). From November 28, 1942, to September 10, 1943. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-10109-2.
• Basta, Milan (1986). Rat je završen 7 dana kasnije. Privredni pregled.
• Miletić, Antun (1986). Koncentracioni logor Jasenovac 1941–1945: dokumenta. Narodna knj.
• Tuđman, Franjo (1993). Hrvatska u monarhističkoj Jugoslaviji 1918–1941: 1929.-1941. Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada. ISBN 978-953-169-001-0.
• Bulajić, Milan (2002). Jasenovac: the Jewish Serbian holocaust (the role of the Vatican) in Nazi-Ustasha Croatia (1941–1945). Fund for Genocide Research.
• Jelić, Branimir (1982). Političke uspomene i rad Dra Branimira Jelića. Izdavač M. Šamija.
• Krizman, Bogdan (1983). Ante Pavelić i ustaše. Globus.
• Mojzes, Paul (16 October 2011). Balkan Genocides: Holocaust and Ethnic Cleansing in the Twentieth Century. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-0665-6.
• Cohen, Roger (1998). Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo. Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-45243-0.
• Dedijer, Vladimir (1987). Vatikan i Jasenovac: dokumenti. Rad.
• Goldstein, Ivo; Goldstein, Slavko (2001). Holokaust u Zagrebu. Novi liber.