Mile Budak
Encyclopedia
Mile Budak was a Croatian
Ustaše
and writer, best known as one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian clerofascist Ustaše
movement, which ruled the Independent State of Croatia
, or NDH, from 1941-45 and waged a genocidal campaign against its Serb, Roma and Jewish minorities, and against Croatian anti-fascists
. He created the Croatian national plan to get rid of Orthodox Serbs by killing one third, expelling one third and assimilating the rest.
, in Lika
, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He attended gymnasium in Sarajevo
and studied law at University of Zagreb
. In 1912 he was arrested by Austro-Hungarian authorities over his alleged role in attempted assassination of Croatian ban (vice-roy) Slavko Cuvaj
. In 1914, after the start of World War I
, he was drafted in Austro-Hungarian Army
where he received the rank of non-commissioned officer. In 1915 he will be captured by the Serbian Army and witnessed the Serb retreat through Albania
in 1915-16.
After the end of war Mile Budak returned to Zagreb. In 1920 he received a law degree at University of Zagreb in 1920 and became clerk in the office of Ante Pavelić
. He became active in Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and was elected in Zagreb City Assembly. In 1920s he was the editor of political magazines close to HSP.
. After, he emigrated to Italy, in order to join Ustaše and to become commandant of an Ustaše training camp. In 1938 he returned to Zagreb, where he started Hrvatski narod, a weekly newspaper. In 1940 authorities had that magazine banned, and Budak arrested. On March 31, 1941 - in a joint letter to Hitler, Pavelić and Budak asked him "to help Croatian people establish an independent Croatian state that would encompass the old Croatian regions, among them Bosnia and Herzegovina."
When the Independent State of Croatia was formed, Mile Budak became chief propagandist and Minister of Education and Culture. As such he publicly stated that forcible conversion, expulsion and extermination of the ethnic Serb minority was the official national policy. Croatian novelist Miroslav Krleža
marked Budak as "a minister of culture with a machine gun". For instance in a widely documented speech at Gospić on 22 July 1941 he declared: "The movement of the Ustashi is based on religion. For the minorities we have three million bullets. We shall kill one part of the Serbs, expell the second part, and covert to Catholicism the third part of them " This exposition of Ustaše policy is attributed to Budak. He spoke in similar terms on several other occasions.
He later became Croatian ambassador to Nazi Germany
(November 1941 - April 1943) and foreign minister (May 1943 - May 1945). When the Independent State of Croatia collapsed, Mile Budak was captured by English military authorities and handed to Josip Broz Tito
's Partisans
- on May 18, 1945. Court-martialed (before the military court of the 2nd Yugoslav army) in Zagreb on June 6, 1945, sentenced to death the same day and executed next day. During the trial, Budak claimed that he was not guilty of anything.
After the war his books were banned by Yugoslav
Communist
authorities. Because of that, many Croatian nationalists viewed Mile Budak as great figure of Croatian literature
, equal, if not superior to left-wing Miroslav Krleža
. Following Croatian independence in early 1990s, in Croatia, where the ruling Croatian Democratic Union badly wanted to reinterpret the fascist Ustasha quislings of World War II as a Croatian patriotic force. Hence, the reissue in early 1993 of the collected works of Mile Budak,the second-in-command in the Ustasha regime. Commenting, at the time of this reissue, Croatian writer Giancarlo Kravar wrote: "... Ustashism, in its history, was undoubtly also a positive political movement for the state-building affirmation of Croatianism, the expression of the centuries-long aspiration of the Croatian people"
. Croatian Radiotelevision
aired a dramatization of Budak's autobiographical account of the 1915-16 Serb retreat through Albania. The official line was that Budak should be viewed as an important literary figure, independently of his controversial role in World War II
. This caused reaction from the left-wing, liberal minority of the Croatian public, most notably Feral Tribune
, which launched a year's long campaign to have Budak-named streets renamed.
In 2003, Ivo Sanader
's government decided to finally deal with the issue which resulted in renaming all the streets bearing Budak's name save one; the Mile Budak street in Slavonski Brod
. .
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
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 writer, best known as one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian clerofascist 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...
movement, which ruled the 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...
, or NDH, from 1941-45 and waged a genocidal campaign against its Serb, Roma and Jewish minorities, and against Croatian anti-fascists
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
. He created the Croatian national plan to get rid of Orthodox Serbs by killing one third, expelling one third and assimilating the rest.
Youth and early political activities
Mile Budak was born in Sveti RokSveti Rok
Sveti Rok is a small village in the Lovinac municipality, in Lika–Senj County, Croatia. Sveti Rok has a population of 292. The majority of the population are Croats....
, in Lika
Lika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...
, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He attended gymnasium in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
and studied law at University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
. In 1912 he was arrested by Austro-Hungarian authorities over his alleged role in attempted assassination of Croatian ban (vice-roy) Slavko Cuvaj
Slavko Cuvaj
Baron Slavko Cuvaj de Ivanska was a Croatian politician who used to be the ban of Croatia-Slavonia and royal commissioner for Austria-Hungary....
. In 1914, after the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was drafted in Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
where he received the rank of non-commissioned officer. In 1915 he will be captured by the Serbian Army and witnessed the Serb retreat through Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
in 1915-16.
After the end of war Mile Budak returned to Zagreb. In 1920 he received a law degree at University of Zagreb in 1920 and became clerk in the office 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...
. He became active in Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and was elected in Zagreb City Assembly. In 1920s he was the editor of political magazines close to HSP.
Ustashe period
In 1932 he survived an assassination attempt from men close to the Kingdom of YugoslaviaKingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
. After, he emigrated to Italy, in order to join Ustaše and to become commandant of an Ustaše training camp. In 1938 he returned to Zagreb, where he started Hrvatski narod, a weekly newspaper. In 1940 authorities had that magazine banned, and Budak arrested. On March 31, 1941 - in a joint letter to Hitler, Pavelić and Budak asked him "to help Croatian people establish an independent Croatian state that would encompass the old Croatian regions, among them Bosnia and Herzegovina."
When the Independent State of Croatia was formed, Mile Budak became chief propagandist and Minister of Education and Culture. As such he publicly stated that forcible conversion, expulsion and extermination of the ethnic Serb minority was the official national policy. Croatian novelist Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža was a leading Croatian and Yugoslav writer and the dominant figure in cultural life of both Yugoslav states, the Kingdom and the Republic . He has often been proclaimed the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Miroslav Krleža was born in Zagreb, modern-day...
marked Budak as "a minister of culture with a machine gun". For instance in a widely documented speech at Gospić on 22 July 1941 he declared: "The movement of the Ustashi is based on religion. For the minorities we have three million bullets. We shall kill one part of the Serbs, expell the second part, and covert to Catholicism the third part of them " This exposition of Ustaše policy is attributed to Budak. He spoke in similar terms on several other occasions.
He later became Croatian ambassador to 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...
(November 1941 - April 1943) and foreign minister (May 1943 - May 1945). When the Independent State of Croatia collapsed, Mile Budak was captured by English military authorities and handed to Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's Partisans
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
- on May 18, 1945. Court-martialed (before the military court of the 2nd Yugoslav army) in Zagreb on June 6, 1945, sentenced to death the same day and executed next day. During the trial, Budak claimed that he was not guilty of anything.
Literary work
Budak was also known for his literary work, especially novels and plays in which he had glorified Croatian peasantry. The best known of his work are: "Ognjište" (The Hearth), "Opanci dida Vidurine" (Granpa Vidurina's Shoes), "Rascvjetana trešnja" (The Blossoming Cherry Tree). About his writing, E. E. Noth wrote: Here we find the stubborn, spiritual-realistic conception of man and his relation to the soil on which he lives and which Mile Budak symbolizes as "the hearth".After the war his books were banned by Yugoslav
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,...
Communist
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
authorities. Because of that, many Croatian nationalists viewed Mile Budak as great figure of Croatian literature
Croatian literature
Croatian literature is a definition given to the compilation of novels, dramas, short stories, poems and other various work of written kind entirely attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats and the Croatian language....
, equal, if not superior to left-wing Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža was a leading Croatian and Yugoslav writer and the dominant figure in cultural life of both Yugoslav states, the Kingdom and the Republic . He has often been proclaimed the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Miroslav Krleža was born in Zagreb, modern-day...
. Following Croatian independence in early 1990s, in Croatia, where the ruling Croatian Democratic Union badly wanted to reinterpret the fascist Ustasha quislings of World War II as a Croatian patriotic force. Hence, the reissue in early 1993 of the collected works of Mile Budak,the second-in-command in the Ustasha regime. Commenting, at the time of this reissue, Croatian writer Giancarlo Kravar wrote: "... Ustashism, in its history, was undoubtly also a positive political movement for the state-building affirmation of Croatianism, the expression of the centuries-long aspiration of the Croatian people"
Legacy
As of August 2004, there were seventeen cities in Croatia which streets named after Budak. The archbishopric of Zagreb, declared at one point that it had no objection to the erection of a monument to the dead UstašeUstaše
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...
. Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...
aired a dramatization of Budak's autobiographical account of the 1915-16 Serb retreat through Albania. The official line was that Budak should be viewed as an important literary figure, independently of his controversial role in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This caused reaction from the left-wing, liberal minority of the Croatian public, most notably Feral Tribune
Feral Tribune
Feral Tribune was a Croatian political weekly magazine. Based in Split, it first started as a political satire supplement in Nedjeljna Dalmacija before evolving into an independent satirical weekly paper in 1993...
, which launched a year's long campaign to have Budak-named streets renamed.
In 2003, Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader |Split]]) is a Croatian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009.Sanader obtained his education in comparative literature in Austria, where he also later worked in the 1980s. He worked as a journalist, in marketing, publishing and also as a private...
's government decided to finally deal with the issue which resulted in renaming all the streets bearing Budak's name save one; the Mile Budak street in Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod is a city in Croatia, with a population of 59,507 in 2011. The city was known as Marsonia in the Roman Empire, and as Brod na Savi 1244–1934. It is the sixth largest city in Croatia, after Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek and Zadar. Located in the region of Slavonia, it is the...
. .
See also
- Vjekoslav Luburić
- Ivica Matković
- Jure FrancetićJure FranceticJure Francetić was an World War II Ustaše Commissioner of Bosnia and Herzegovina, responsible for the massacre of Bosnian Serbs and Jews.-Early life and activities prior to formation of NDH:...
- Ante PavelićAnte PavelicAnte 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...
- Petar BrzicaPetar BrzicaFather Petar "Pero" Brzica was a Croatian fascist and World War II war criminal. Before the war he was a scholarship student at the Franciscan college of Široki Brijeg in Herzegovina and a member of The Great Brotherhood of Crusaders....
- Ljubo MilošLjubo MilošLjubomir Miloš was an official of the Croatian World War II regime. As an Ustaše, he was the head of the Independent State of Croatia secret service ....
- Miroslav FilipovićMiroslav FilipovicMiroslav Filipović was a Croatian Ustaše and Roman Catholic friar who was convicted of war crimes by both a German military court and a Yugoslav civil court and hanged in Belgrade.-Early life:Filipović's date of birth was 5 June 1915, but little else about his early years has been...
- Srbosjek
- Magnum CrimenMagnum CrimenThe Magnum Crimen is a book about clericalism in Croatia from the end of 19th century until the end of the Second World War. The book, whose full title is Magnum crimen - pola vijeka klerikalizma u Hrvatskoj , was written by a former Catholic priest and professor and historian at Belgrade...
- Yugoslav Front of World War II