Leo Müller (from 1938 Miler; 1894–1941) was a Croatian industrialist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and second son of well known Croatian industrialist Adolf Müller.

Family and personal life

Müller was born 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

into the wealthy and influential

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish family of Adolf Müller. He had an older brother Alfred Müller, also an entrepreneur. Müller was married to Nada (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Spitzer) with whom he had three sons, Marijan, Rajko and Branko. Müller fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army. He was a member of the National Council of the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( / ; ) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Prečani (Serbs), Prečani) residing in what were the southernmost parts of th ...

. In 1938, on the eve of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Müller, his brother and their families converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and changed their surname to Miler due to the worsening political situation and rising

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

fuelled by

Nazi propaganda Propaganda was a tool of the Nazi Party in Germany from its earliest days to the end of the regime in May 1945 at the end of World War II. As the party gained power, the scope and efficacy of its propaganda grew and permeated an increasing amou ...

. In 1939, with his wife and two older sons, Müller moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, while his youngest son Branko remained in Zagreb with his governess. At the beginning of World War II, Müller returned to Zagreb for his son. Müller arranged for his son and governess to move to

Kosovska Mitrovica Mitrovica (Albanian language, Albanian Definiteness, indefinite Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Mitrovicë''; sr-Cyrl, Митровица, Mitrovica), also referred to as Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-Cyrl, Косовска Митр� ...

where he had a mine. Müller refused to believe that like other Jews he would be arrested and deported to a concentration camp. Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac urged Ante Pavelić to save Müller, but in November, 1941 Müller was killed at the Jasenovac concentration camp. After the war, Müller's wife returned to Zagreb and sought the return of the Müller family’s seized property, but without success. His eldest son, Marijan, made

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the 1940s. Müller’s two other sons, Rajko and Branko stayed in Zagreb with their mother. Both of them were gifted athletes. After graduation at the Faculty of Kinesiology at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

, Branko Müller moved to

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

where he worked as a professor of athletics.

Business career

From his father, Müller inherited the brick factory in Zagreb and brickyard near

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

. In the mid-1930, Müller founded the chemical laboratory which would later become the large plantation for planting fruits and vegetables, known as "Müllerov Brijeg". Müller improved the business of the Zagreb brick factory. He was very loved and popular among his employees, for whom he built the Catholic Church in front of the brick factory, organized and provided night school, kitchen with hot meals, and workers orchestra.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Leo 1894 births 1941 deaths Businesspeople from Zagreb Croatian Jews who died in the Holocaust Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Croatian businesspeople Croatian philanthropists Croatian civilians killed in World War II People who died in Jasenovac concentration camp Croatian people executed in Nazi concentration camps 20th-century philanthropists Yugoslav businesspeople