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Ljubomir "Ljubo" Miloš (25 February 1919 – 20 August 1948) was a Croatian
public official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...
who was a member of the
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
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, ...
(NDH) during
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 ...
. He served as
commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...
of the
Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia durin ...
on several occasions and was responsible for various atrocities committed there during the war. He was responsible for the deaths of thousands. He fled Yugoslavia in May 1945 and sought refuge in Austria. In 1947, he returned to Yugoslavia with the intention of starting an
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
uprising. He was soon arrested by Yugoslav authorities and charged with
war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...
. Miloš was found guilty on all counts and hanged in August 1948. Ljubo Miloš has been described as an "extremely sanguine fanatic and sadist. While Matkovic Ivica was a refined killer, Milos Ljubo was a brutal butcher." He is noted as being "one of the worst Ustase murderers".


Early life

Miloš was born in
Bosanski Šamac Bosnian may refer to: *Anything related to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina or its inhabitants *Anything related to Bosnia (region) or its inhabitants * Bosniaks, an ethnic group mainly inhabiting Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of three constit ...
on 25 February 1919. Miloš attended
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
in
Orašje Orašje ( sr-cyrl, Орашје) is a city and the capital of Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of river ...
and Bosanski Brod and finished
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in
Subotica Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...
. He stayed in Subotica and worked as a municipal clerk.


World War II

On 6 April 1941,
Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
forces invaded Yugoslavia. Poorly equipped and poorly trained, the
Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal Army, ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of ...
was quickly defeated. The country was then dismembered and the extreme
Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
nationalist and fascist
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 was dictator of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a fasc ...
, who had been in exile in
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, was appointed '' Poglavnik'' (leader) of an Ustaše-led Croatian state – 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, ...
(often called the NDH, from the ). The NDH combined almost all of modern-day
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, all of modern-day
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
and parts of modern-day
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
into an "Italian-German quasi-protectorate". NDH authorities, led by the
Ustaše militia The Ustaše Militia () was the military branch of the Ustaše, established by the Fascism, fascist and Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia, genocidal regime of Ante Pavelić in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), an Axis pow ...
, subsequently implemented genocidal policies against the Serb,
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and Romani population living within the borders of the new state. Miloš arrived 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 ...
in June 1941 and met with his first cousin, Ustaše commander
Vjekoslav Luburić Vjekoslav Luburić (6 March 1914 – 20 April 1969) was a Independent State of Croatia, Croatian Ustaše official who headed the system of concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during much of World War II. Luburić al ...
. Luburić made him his right-hand man and used his influence to get Miloš a position within the Ustaše Supervisory Service (, UNS), which ran the
Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia durin ...
. In October, Miloš was named camp commander and promoted to the rank of
First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
. Miloš was personally responsible for the safety of Croatian politician
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 figure ...
during his imprisonment, from 15 October 1941 to 15 March 1942. Maček seeing Miloš, before going to bed, always made the sign of the cross, asked him if he "feared God's punishment" for the atrocities he committed in the camp. Miloš replied, "Say nothing to me. I know I will burn in hell for what I have done. But I will burn for Croatia." Miloš was transferred to the Đakovo concentration camp in early 1942, but returned to Jasenovac and reassumed the position of camp commander in the spring. He seemed to compete with the other commanding officers in the camp to see who could torture and kill the most inmates. A witness reported that Miloš stabbed a man twice with a big knife due to the man hiding money. Another time Miloš took 25 prisoners from a line, grabbed a rifle and shot all of them. Miloš was often dressed in a white robe and pretended to be a doctor in front of sick inmates. He would sometimes take those applying to be hospitalized, line them up against a wall and slit their throats with a slaughtering knife. He seemed "very proud" of this "ritual slaughter of the ews..". Witness Milan Flumiani recalled:
ssoon as the seventeen of us arrived at Jasenovac, Ustaše beat us with rifle butts and took us to the Brick Factory, where Ljubo Miloš had already lined up two groups, while we arrived as a special third group. Maričić asked Ljubo Miloš, "who should I aim at first?", and Miloš replied, "where there’s more of them", and both of them pointed automatic rifles at the 40 men from the first two groups and shot them all. After that, he asked the first man from our group why he came here, and when that man replied that he was guilty of being born a Serb, he shot him on the spot. Then he picked out Laufer, a lawyer from Zagreb, and asked him what he was, and when he replied, he called him out like this — "I like lawyers very much, come closer" — and killed him right away. Then he found out that a third man was a doctor from Zagreb, and he ordered him to examine the first two men and to establish whether they were dead. When the doctor confirmed that they were, he turned to the fourth man and when he found out that he too was a doctor, he "forgave" the whole group.
Miloš also raised a wolfhound and trained it to assault inmates. During the summer of 1942, he travelled to Italy to complete a law enforcement course in
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, but returned to the NDH after only ten days. In September, he returned to Jasenovac and assumed the role of assistant-camp commander. Troops under Miloš's command raided several villages near Jasenovac in October 1942, looted countless homes, arrested hundreds of Serb peasants and deported them to the camps. NDH authorities learned about the raids shortly after and arrested Miloš. He was not imprisoned long, as Luburić ordered his release on 23 December 1942. In January 1943, Miloš joined the Croatian Home Guard (''Hrvatsko domobranstvo'') and was stationed in
Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...
. He returned to Zagreb in April 1943, where he remained until spring the following year. In September, he was named commander of Lepoglava prison. A witness, Danon Jakob, reported about the killing of newly arrived victims on Christmas Day, stating that:


Capture and death

By the end 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 ...
, Miloš had attained the rank of
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
. He fled Yugoslavia at the beginning of May 1945, and withdrew through Austria to Allied-controlled northern Italy with help from the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church. He soon returned to Austria and established links with Croatian émigrés there. He illegally crossed the Yugoslav–Hungarian border in 1947 with the intention of infiltrating Croatia with
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
guerrillas known as
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
(''križari''). Miloš was arrested by Yugoslav authorities on 20 July 1947, charged with
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s and tried the following year. During his trial, he confessed to killing Jasenovac inmates and testified that the Ustaše had drawn up plans for the extermination of Serbs long before 1941. Miloš was found guilty on all counts on 20 August 1948 and sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of the People's Republic of Croatia. He was hanged in Zagreb the same day.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milos, Ljubo 1919 births 1948 deaths Anti-Serbian sentiment Croatian nationalists Croatian Roman Catholics Croatian mass murderers Croatian neo-fascists Executed Croatian collaborators with Fascist Italy Executed Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Fugitives Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia perpetrators Holocaust perpetrators in Yugoslavia People from Šamac, Bosnia and Herzegovina People executed by Yugoslavia by hanging Romani genocide perpetrators Ustaše concentration camp personnel Yugoslav anti-communists Executed Nazi concentration camp commandants Executed mass murderers Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Home Guard personnel