Niko Bartulović (23 December 1890 – 1945) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and later Yugoslav writer, publisher, journalist and translator known for being one of the founders and ideologists of the

Organization of Yugoslav Nationalists The Organization of Yugoslav Nationalists (''Organizacija Jugoslavenskih Nacionalista'', ''ORJUNA''; ''Организација Југославенских Националиста'', ''ОРЈУНА''), was a political organization in Yugoslavia ...

in 1921. He joined the

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Before World War II

Bartulović was born on 23 December 1890 in

Stari Grad, Hvar Stari Grad ("Old Town") (Italian: ''Cittavecchia'' or ''Cittavecchia di Lesina'') is a town on the northern side of the island of Hvar in Dalmatia, Croatia. One of the oldest towns in Europe, its position at the end of a long, protected bay and ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

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 ...

(modern-day

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

). Bartulović was the editor of journal "Pučka sloboda". In 1914, after the

assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range whil ...

he was arrested. Bartulović initiated and organized the publishing of the literary magazine '' Književni jug'' in 1918 while Branko Mašić provided financial sources. At the end of 1918, after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he publicly proclaimed in

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 ...

that

would join the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

alone, if Zagreb did not want to do so. Bartulović is known as one of founders of the

(ORJUNA) in 1921, and one of its main ideologists. On 28 May 1933 he was one of the speakers during a great anti-revisionist meeting held in Belgrade against attempts to revise the post-WWI peace agreements which was broadcast by Radio Belgrade, Radio Zagreb and Radio Ljubljana.

During World War II

In spring of 1943 Bartulović and two of his associates from

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

travelled to

Kolašin Kolašin (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Колашин, ) is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 2,989 (2003 census). Kolašin is the centre of Kolašin Municipality (population 9,949) and an unofficial centre of Morača region, named af ...

in the

Italian governorate of Montenegro The Italian governorate of Montenegro ( it, Governatorato del Montenegro) existed from October 1941 to September 1943 as an occupied territory under military government of Fascist Italy during World War II. Although the Italians had intended t ...

and met with the

Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

ideologist Dragiša Vasić. Bartulović eventually joined the Chetniks. When the Chetniks entered

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 ...

at the end of 1943, members of the local ORJUNA established numerous Chetnik detachments that were merged into the Chetnik Battalion ''Lastovo''. It was speculated that Bartulović died as member of Chetnik forces at the end of 1943. Still, Bartulović participated in the

Ba Congress The Ba Congress, also known as the Saint Sava Congress () or Great People's Congress, was a meeting of representatives of Draža Mihailović's Chetnik movement held between 25 and 28 January 1944 in the village of Ba in the German-occupied territ ...

held between 25 and 28 January 1944 where he was elected as member of the committee of the Yugoslav Democratic National Union, a new political party established during the congress. After the capitulation of Italy in late 1943, the German forces occupied Split and put Bartulović to prison because of his contacts with

Yugoslav government-in-exile The Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Exile ( sh, Vlada Kraljevine Jugoslavije u egzilu / Влада Краљевине Југославије у егзилу) was an official government of Yugoslavia, headed by King Peter II. It evacu ...

, and he remained in German prison from 29 March to 26 October 1944.

Death

Many post-war Yugoslav published works contain an inaccurate date of his death as 1943. Some sources state that he was murdered in 1945, based on orders of the

Communist Party of Croatia League of Communists of Croatia ( sh, Savez komunista Hrvatske or SKH) was the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (''Komunistička ...

, with full knowledge and support of

Vladimir Bakarić Vladimir Bakarić (; 8 March 1912 – 16 January 1983) was a Yugoslav and Croatian communist revolutionary and a politician. Bakarić helped to organise the partisan resistance in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. From 1948 ...

and the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

, because he was a

Freemasonry

According to some sources Bartulović was a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Together with

Ferdo Šišić Ferdo Šišić (9 March 1869 – 21 January 1940) was a Croatian historian, the founding figure of the Croatian historiography of the 20th century. He made his most important contributions in the area of the Medieval Croatian state (disambiguation) ...

Grga Novak Grga Novak (2April 18887September 1978) was a distinguished Croatian historian, archaeologist and geographer, and President of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1958 to 1978. Born on the island of Hvar, he was Professor of Ancient Hi ...

and Vasilj Popović, Bartulović allegedly belonged to the influential Freemason lodge ''Dositej Obradović'', which spread ideas about integral

Yugoslavism Yugoslavism, Yugoslavdom, or Yugoslav nationalism is an ideology supporting the notion that the South Slavs, namely the Bosniaks, Croats, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs and Slovenes, but also Bulgarians, belong to a single Yugoslav nation ...

within the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. During World War II, Bartulović belonged to a group of Croats from Dalmatia who wished to establish a "Yugoslav Revolutionary Movement" which would include all Croats who had not aligned themselves with the communists or

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...

and establish military units under the name of the "Yugoslav Legion".:"...групација је постала шира онда када су на њено чело дошли Нико Бартуловић и Радмило Грђић с намером да формирају Југословенски ..."

Bibliography

Bartulović's bibliography includes: * ''Ivanjski Krijesovi. Novele", 1920, Tisak i naklada „Tipografija" D. D. Zagreb * *

References

Sources

* * * * * *