Slavko Štancer was the commander-in-chief

Commander-in-Chief

A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

 and inspector-general of "Domobranstvo

Croatian Home Guard

Croatian Home Guard or also, known as the "Homeland Defenders," was the name used for the armed forces of the Independent State of Croatia which existed during World War II.- Formation :...

" (or Domobrani), the regular army of 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...

 during the Second World War.

Stanzer served under the poglavnik 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...

 and was awarded the honorary title Vitez ("knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

") when he received the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir

Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir

The Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir was order awarded by the Independent State of Croatia . It is established as a "visible sign of decoration for merits done, in peace or in war, for Croatian people and Independent State of Croatia" It was established by Croatian leader Ante Pavelić on May...

. His surname is also sometimes written "Stancer". Stanzer was appointed commander-in-chief of the ground forces on April 16, 1941. Later, Stanzer headed the Croatian Military court.

After the fall of 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...

 and its vassal Independent State of Croatia, Stanzer was captured, tried and sentenced to death by the communist Partisans. Stanzer managed to escape the gallows by dying in his cell from natural causes the night before his intended execution.