Vilko Begić (20 January 1874 – 1946?) was a Croatian military officer.

Biography

Begić was born in

Čazma Čazma is a town in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. It is part of Moslavina. Geography Čazma is situated 60 kilometers east of Zagreb and only 30 kilometres from the center of the region - Bjelovar. Čazma is situated on the slopes of Mosl ...

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 ...

, that today is in

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 ...

. He was quartermaster colonel in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. 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 was a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. He was often attacked by the Yugoslav gendarmerie. In 1924 he was arrested because of an illegal border pass, in 1929 he was accused of terrorism, then he was judged together with

Vladko Maček Vladimir Maček (20 June 1879 – 15 May 1964) was a politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) following the 1928 assassination of Stjepan Radić, Maček had been a leading Croatian political fig ...

. In 1933 he was arrested because of spreading leaflets. He was a close associate of

After the proclamation of the

Independent State of Croatia 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 (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

he joined the Croatian Domobranstvo, a regular army of the Croatia at the time. He was promoted to the rank of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

of the infantry and on 14 August 1941 he was named state secretary in the Ministry of Defence. He was advisor to

Poglavnik () was the title used by Ante Pavelić, leader of the World War II Croatian movement Ustaše and of the Independent State of Croatia between 1941 and 1945. Etymology and usage The word was first recorded in a 16th-century dictionary compiled ...

Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...

. In April 1943 he escorted Pavelić in a visit to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. At the beginning of September 1943 he was named as Doglavnik (deputy of Poglavnik) and thus became a member of Doglavničko vijeće (in English Doglavnik Council). In May 1944 he became commander of the Coastal Section "Neretva". In August and in September 1944 he was commissioner of

RAVSIGUR RAVSIGUR, a shortening of ' ('Directorate for Public Order and Security'), later known as GRAVSIGUR in 1943, was a Croatia, Croatian supervisory department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The purpose of the department was to supervise police ...

( hr, Ravnateljstvo sigurnosti, 'Directorate of Security') for the protection of the grand counties of Cetina, Usora, Soli, Vrhbosna, Hum and Dubrava. In February 1944 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and in April 1945 he was promoted to colonel general, the highest rank in the

Croatian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Oružane snage Republike Hrvatske – OSRH) is the military service of Croatia. The President is the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, and exercises administrative powers in times of war by giv ...

on the authority of

. He also had the title of "vitez" (knight). In May 1945, when Croatian forces retreated to Austria to surrender to British, he disappeared The former Minister of the Interior of the

First Slovak Republic First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Alexander Mach who was being held as a prisoner of war in a US camp in Natternberg near

Deggendorf Deggendorf () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the Deggendorf district. It is located on the left bank approximately in the middle between the Danube cities of Regensburg and Passau. The Danube forms the town's natural border towards th ...

in 1945 recounts Vilko Begić’ remarks in his diaries, e. g. in the entry for 31 July 1945, which implies that Vilko Begić was still arrested in the camp in Natternberg at that time. Mach, Pred rozsudkom. Denníky 1945-47, 2017, p. 76, Some say that US military authorities extradited him to the Communist Yugoslav military authorities, after which he was shot, but also, other versions say he was seen at an Allied camp near

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

in 1946, after that everything is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begic, Vilko 1874 births People from Čazma Austro-Hungarian generals Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Croatian people of World War I Croatian Home Guard personnel Croatian military personnel of World War II Croatian collaborators with Fascist Italy Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Recipients of the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir 1940s deaths 19th-century Croatian military personnel 20th-century Croatian military personnel