Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J14110, Katyn, Öffnung der Massengräber, Abschlussbericht

Edward L. Miloslavich or Eduard Miloslavić (December 20, 1884 – November 11, 1952) was a Croatian-American professor of

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

. A descendant of Croatian emigrants to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, he was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. His father Luko had moved from

Župa Dubrovačka A župa (or zhupa, županija) is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "parish", later synonymous "kotar", commo ...

( from

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

) to Dubrovnik in 1878. In the same year he married Vica Milković. A few years later the couple emigrated to the United States. The entire family—Luko, Vica, Eduard and his brothers and sisters—returned to Dubrovnik in 1889, at the time in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Miloslavić studied medicine in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he became a professor of pathology. In 1920, an invitation came from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

in Wisconsin, to take the chair of pathology,

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

and

forensic medicine Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, assa ...

. In subsequent years "Doc Milo", as colleagues called him, inaugurated criminal pathology in the United States. As an outstanding specialist he was involved in investigations of crimes perpetrated by the

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

gang. He was one of the founders of the International Academy for Forensic Medicine, member of many American and European scientific societies and academies, and vice president of the

Croatian Fraternal Union The Croatian Fraternal Union ( hr, Hrvatska bratska zajednica) (CFU), the oldest and largest Croatian organization in North America, is a fraternal benefit society of the Croatian diaspora based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US. History and ...

(CFU) in the United States. In 1932, he moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, at the time in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, where he was a full professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb. He also lectured in pastoral medicine in the faculty of theology in Zagreb and was known as an ardent adversary of abortion and euthanasia. In 1940, he was elected a member of the prestigious "Medico-Legal Society" in London. In 1941, he was made a full member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

in Germany, and was awarded doctor "honoris causa" by the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, where he had started his scientific career. After his initiative in 1941 the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo was founded in 1944 during the

NDH The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

regime. During his time in Zagreb, in 1943, Miloslavić was among those invited by the

Government of Nazi Germany The government of Nazi Germany was totalitarian, run by the Nazi Party in Germany according to the Führerprinzip through the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany began with the fact that the Enabling Act was enacted to give Hitler's gover ...

to participate in the

Katyn Commission The Katyn Commission or the International Katyn Commission was a committee formed in April 1943 under request by Germany to investigate the Katyn massacre of some 22,000 Polish nationals during the Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland, mostly pri ...

investigating the massacre of 12,000 Polish officers at the Katyn Forest in 1940. This investigation concluded that the Soviet Union had been responsible for the massacre. Fischer, Benjamin B.,
The Katyn Controversy: Stalin's Killing Field
. "Studies in Intelligence", Winter 1999–2000. Retrieved on 10 December 2005. Miloslavić moved back to the United States in 1944.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miloslavic, Eduard Croatian pathologists American pathologists People sentenced to death in absentia 1884 births 1952 deaths Katyn massacre investigators University of Zagreb faculty