Mirko Beljan (12 October 1899 – 14 October 1959) was an
Ustaše officer in the
Independent State of Croatia during
World War II.
He was born in the village of
Dobrići
Dobrići is a village in the Municipality of Tomislavgrad in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within th ...
, near
Tomislavgrad. On 21 December 1934, he joined the
Ustaše in
Italy. According to a testimony by , in the 1930s Beljan was active in the Ustaše branch in Belgium.
Beljan returned to the Balkans in April 1941, following the
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia and the creation of the
Independent State of Croatia (NDH). In September, he was appointed commander of the Ustaše
Sana
Sana may refer to:
Places
* Sanaa, the capital of Yemen
* Sana (river), a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Sana, Bhutan, a town in Bhutan
* Sana, Haute-Garonne, a commune in France
* Sana, Iran, a village in Iran
* Sana, Mali, a commune in M ...
–
Luka headquarters in
Banja Luka. During his reign, the Ustaše regularly persecuted local
Serbs. They were also particularly anti-Muslim in orientation, and persecuted
Bosnian Muslims as well.
Beljan later served as an officer within the personal bodyguard of Croatian leader
Ante Pavelić ( hr, Poglavnikova tjelesna bojna, PTB). In mid-1945, Beljan and other Ustaše retreated to
Austria to evade capture by the
Yugoslav Partisans. He was captured by
Allied forces and spent time in several
prisoner-of-war camps. He was released from Allied detention following the end of
World War II and emigrated to
West Germany. There, he became the president of an organization known as the ''United Croats of Germany'' ( hr, Ujedinjeni Hrvati u Njemačkoj). He died in
Munich on 14 October 1959.
Notes
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beljan, Mirko
1899 births
1959 deaths
Ustaša Militia personnel
People from Tomislavgrad