Branimir Jelić
Encyclopedia
Branimir "Branko" Jelić (Donji Dolac, 28 February 1905 – 31 May 1972, West Berlin
) was a Croatian nationalist exile and doctor of medicine.
n interior. Already as a pupil he contributed to the 1922/23 election campaign of the Croatian bloc, opposing the Serbian-dominated Yugoslav centralism. During his studies of medicine in Zagreb he supported the ultranationalist Croatian Party of Right (Hrvatska Stranka Prava, HSP). In early 1926 his father died in police custody.
In summer 1927 he became president of the HSP student organization and thus a junior partner of Ante Pavelić
who was a Zagreb deputy for the HSP. In autumn 1928 Jelić took a lead in the foundation of the militant youth organization Hrvatski Domobran (Croatian Home Defender) with the aim of establishing a Greater Croatia
. He became chief editor of the affiliated paper. Meanwhile, the political climate in the South Slav state roughened due to the assassination of the Croatian Peasant Party
leader Stjepan Radić
. King Alexander
suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament.
in early 1929 for Austria where he finished his doctorate in Graz. He continued his efforts for Croatian national independence, resulting in political pressure from Belgrade passed on by the Austrian government. In the early 1930s Pavelić sent him to South America for agitation among the Croatian émigrés. In this time Jelić edited the Croatian nationalist exile paper Nezavisna Hrvatska Država (The Independent Croatian State) which was also distributed in the US through a middleman. Jelić's mission in the Americas was to establish branches of the Hrvatski Domobran. He frequently consulted Pavelić in Italy and became his right-hand man overseas. The Hrvatski Domobran developed into an organizational backbone of Pavelić's Ustaša underground militia in Europe (for which Jelić recruited personnel). Throughout the 1930s Jelić sojourned in South America, Austria again (in mid-1932), Berlin (July 1932 – spring 1934), USA (until October 1934), Italy (until April 1936), Germany (until early 1939), USA (until September 1939) and Gibraltar (October 1939 – June 1940). On his way back from the US in autumn 1939, Jelić was intercepted by the British Navy at Gibraltar and taken into custody. This was a service of the British government to demonstrate its goodwill for Royal Yugoslavia. Jelić's activities abroad were linked with Nazi Germany
, giving rise to keep him prisoner.
where he rested until late 1945. Thus, he was prevented from taking a high position among the leadership of the Axis-allied Independent State of Croatia
(Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH).
After being released he continued his nationalist networking in London and established contacts to like-minded Croats as well as personalities of anti-Communist leanings. The Security Service
(MI5) came to the conclusion that he served as "a focal point" for worldwide Croatian exile activities. He tried to intervene at the British government in favour of Croatian political refugees, most of them Ustaše
and their kin, who were threatened by Tito's Yugoslavia
. Finally in May 1949 Jelić was allowed to enter West Berlin.
) and died a sudden death after he had returned from a fundraising tour to North America.
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
) was a Croatian nationalist exile and doctor of medicine.
Political Activities in Croatia
Jelić was raised among seven siblings on his parents' estate in the DalmatiaDalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n interior. Already as a pupil he contributed to the 1922/23 election campaign of the Croatian bloc, opposing the Serbian-dominated Yugoslav centralism. During his studies of medicine in Zagreb he supported the ultranationalist Croatian Party of Right (Hrvatska Stranka Prava, HSP). In early 1926 his father died in police custody.
In summer 1927 he became president of the HSP student organization and thus a junior partner of Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelic
Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist leader, revolutionary, and politician. He ruled as Poglavnik or head, of the Independent State of Croatia , a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia...
who was a Zagreb deputy for the HSP. In autumn 1928 Jelić took a lead in the foundation of the militant youth organization Hrvatski Domobran (Croatian Home Defender) with the aim of establishing a Greater Croatia
Greater Croatia
Greater Croatia is a term applied to certain currents within Croatian nationalism. In one sense, it refers to the territorial scope of the Croatian people, emphasising the ethnicity of those Croats living outside Croatia...
. He became chief editor of the affiliated paper. Meanwhile, the political climate in the South Slav state roughened due to the assassination of the Croatian Peasant Party
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
leader Stjepan Radić
Stjepan Radic
Stjepan Radić was a Croatian politician and the founder of the Croatian Peasant Party in 1905. Radić is credited with galvanizing the peasantry of Croatia into a viable political force...
. King Alexander
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I , also known as Alexander the Unifier was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:...
suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament.
In exile (first decade)
Jelić, alongside Pavelić, left YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in early 1929 for Austria where he finished his doctorate in Graz. He continued his efforts for Croatian national independence, resulting in political pressure from Belgrade passed on by the Austrian government. In the early 1930s Pavelić sent him to South America for agitation among the Croatian émigrés. In this time Jelić edited the Croatian nationalist exile paper Nezavisna Hrvatska Država (The Independent Croatian State) which was also distributed in the US through a middleman. Jelić's mission in the Americas was to establish branches of the Hrvatski Domobran. He frequently consulted Pavelić in Italy and became his right-hand man overseas. The Hrvatski Domobran developed into an organizational backbone of Pavelić's Ustaša underground militia in Europe (for which Jelić recruited personnel). Throughout the 1930s Jelić sojourned in South America, Austria again (in mid-1932), Berlin (July 1932 – spring 1934), USA (until October 1934), Italy (until April 1936), Germany (until early 1939), USA (until September 1939) and Gibraltar (October 1939 – June 1940). On his way back from the US in autumn 1939, Jelić was intercepted by the British Navy at Gibraltar and taken into custody. This was a service of the British government to demonstrate its goodwill for Royal Yugoslavia. Jelić's activities abroad were linked with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, giving rise to keep him prisoner.
In exile (second decade)
In June 1940 he was taken to a camp on the Isle of ManIsle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
where he rested until late 1945. Thus, he was prevented from taking a high position among the leadership of the Axis-allied Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
(Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH).
After being released he continued his nationalist networking in London and established contacts to like-minded Croats as well as personalities of anti-Communist leanings. The Security Service
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
(MI5) came to the conclusion that he served as "a focal point" for worldwide Croatian exile activities. He tried to intervene at the British government in favour of Croatian political refugees, most of them Ustaše
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
and their kin, who were threatened by Tito's Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. Finally in May 1949 Jelić was allowed to enter West Berlin.
In Germany (1949–1972)
Together with prominent Croatian exiles, mostly belonging to the former NDH-elite, Jelić founded the Munich-based Croatian National Committee (Hrvatski narodni odbor, HNO), trying to draw the attention of Western politicians to the Croatian Cause. In search for political support the HNO came to an agreement with representatives of the former German minority in Croatia. By the late 1950s the HNO underwent an ongoing crisis. Nevertheless, Jelić, as an exile of the first generation and the publisher of Hrvatska Država (The Croatian State), continued to be an outstanding spokesman among the Croatian independence activists abroad. He obtained German citizenship and participated in right-wing party politics. At the beginning of the 1970s he attracted wider attention by claiming Soviet support for his plans of an independent Croatian state. In the early 1970s he survived two assassination attempts in West Berlin (most probably organized by the Yugoslav secret service known as UDBAUDBA
The Department of State Security was the secret police organization of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.Although it operated with more restraint than other secret...
) and died a sudden death after he had returned from a fundraising tour to North America.