Ivan Babić (15 December 1904 – 6 June 1982) was a Croatian soldier and lieutenant-colonel in the Croatian Home Guard and later an emigrant dissident writer against Communist Yugoslavia. He attended gymnasium in

Bjelovar Bjelovar (, , Czech language, Czech: ''Bělovar'' or ''Bělovár,'' Kajkavian dialect, Kajkavian: ''Belovar,'' Latin: ''Bellovarium'') is a city in central Croatia. In the Demographics of Croatia, 2021 census, its population was 36,316 . It is ...

. Babić became a military cadet in the Yugoslav Royal Army and was sent to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to perform further training at the École Superieure de Guerre.

World War II

During the German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Babić served as a major in the 38th Drava Infantry Division. In 1942, he commanded the 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the ''Croatian Legion'', which fought on the Eastern Front. In 1943, he headed the Home Guard Central School. Later that year, Babić became a conspirator in the Lorković–Vokić plot and flew a mission to American troops in Italy to suggest that the Allies invade the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

n coast of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

to prevent the country from falling into communist hands. He claimed the invasion would meet no resistance and that the Croatian army would establish a beachhead for them. The British subsequently held him as prisoner of war in

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. After the war he worked for a period as an engineer in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. He was a frequent contributor to the Croatian emigrant weekly, ''Hrvatska revija'' (Croatian Review). He secured a visa for Croatian writer Bruno Bušić to come to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

; Busić was later assassinated. He published ''U.S. Policy Towards Yugoslavia'', which was translated into English by Mate Meštrović.Mirnim i demokratskim putem ostvariti neotuðivo pravo hrvatskoga naroda na narodni i dravni suverenitet
''

Vjesnik ''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained a reputation as Croatia's newspaper ...

''; Retrieved 2 February 2019.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Babic, Ivan 1904 births 1982 deaths People from Sveti Ivan Žabno People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Royal Yugoslav Army personnel of World War II Expatriates in Venezuela Croatian expatriates in Spain Croatian exiles Croatian Home Guard personnel Nazis in South America World War II prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom