Milan Aćimović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Аћимовић; 31 May 1898 – 25 May 1945) was a Yugoslav politician and collaborationist with the

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 ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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 ...

Early life

Milan Aćimović was born on 31 May 1898 in Pinosava, in the

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

municipality of

Voždovac Voždovac ( sr-Cyrl, Вождовац, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 174,864 inhabitants. The municipality is located in the south ...

. He finished gymnasium in Belgrade and received a law degree from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

in 1923. On 2 September 1935, he and Velibor Jonić successfully petitioned the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

to legalize the Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor). He became the chief of police in Belgrade in 1938 and was appointed Minister of Interior by

Milan Stojadinović Milan Stojadinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Стојадиновић; 4 August 1888 – 26 October 1961) was a Serbs, Serbian and Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav politician and economist who was the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1935 to 1939. ...

on 21 December 1938. He held this position until 5 February 1939. In April 1939, he was arrested alongside Stojadinović and was detained until August 1940.

World War II

In April 1941,

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

came to

and gave instructions to find loyal collaborators among

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

and to rely on high police officers Milan Aćimović and Dragi Jovanović, with whom Heydrich already worked with. Besides Aćimović and Jovanović, German politics was supported by

Dimitrije Ljotić Dimitrije Ljotić ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Љотић; 12 August 1891 – 23 April 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav fascist politician and ideologue who established the Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor) in 1935 and collaborated with N ...

, leader of the organisation Zbor. The Germans preferred Aćimović over Ljotić, as he was a security expert and was not ideologically burdened like Ljotić. The Commissioner Government was formed by the end of April by the decision of Harald Turner and Helmuth Förster with Aćimović as President of Government and Commissioner of Interior. The government did not even have the status of Quisling government, but rather of an auxiliary organisation to the German military administration of the Military Commander in Serbia. Aćimović tried to maintain the existing state apparatus, but he had to replace officials who were not Serbs or who had left the country, as well as firing those suspected of being anti-German. On 13 July 1941, he ordered a decree to arrest family members of

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

on the run, specifically wives and sons over 16, or if they did not have children, fathers and brothers younger than 60 only if they live together. Aćimović stayed in this position until August of 1941, when the government was taken over by

Milan Nedić Milan Nedić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Недић; 2 September 1878 – 4 February 1946) was a Yugoslav and Serbian army general and politician who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and minister of war in the ...

. The Germans who were unhappy with unrest in Serbia realised that the Commissioner Government was unpopular with the people and without any authority. The government was also divided between supporters of Ljotić and former allies of

, led by Aćimović himself. The Commissioner Government collapsed after Ljotić withdrew two of his ministers from the government. However, Aćimović entered Nedić's government as minister of interior. As both head of Commissioner Government and as Minister of Interior in Nedić's government, Aćimović maintained relations with

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...

's movement. Even though he knew about the Belgrade branch of Mihailović's movement, he did not take any actions against them. In December of 1941 he warned Mihailović about the upcoming operation against him. The Germans found out about this contact, which put Nedić in a difficult position. Nedić succeeded in convincing the Germans that he knew nothing and banned Aćimović from meddling in the Mihailović issue. Aćimović was replaced by Tanasije Dinić as Interior Minister on 10 November 1942 because of his connections to the

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

, whom the Germans did not yet consider necessary or reliable allies in the fight against the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

. After the expulsion of Germans from Serbia in October 1944, Aćimović became a connection between the German envoy for the Balkans Hermann Neubacher and Mihailović. For that purpose he came to Mihailović's headquarters while he was in Bosnia. He died in the Battle of Zelengora while he was retreating from the partisans with the Chetniks.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acimovic, Milan 1898 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Belgrade People from the Kingdom of Serbia Yugoslav civilians killed in World War II Interior ministers of Yugoslavia Serbian collaborators with Nazi Germany People killed by Yugoslav Partisans Yugoslav Radical Union politicians Chetnik personnel killed in World War II