Viktor Gutić
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Viktor Gutić (23 December 1901 – 20 February 1947) was 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 ...
commissioner for
Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...
and the Grand Prefect of
Pokuplje Pokuplje is the name for the Kupa river basin in Croatia. Major settlements are Karlovac, Sisak, Petrinja, Glina and Topusko Topusko is a Municipalities of Croatia, municipality and settlement in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia. Topusko is an ...
in 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), an
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 ...
puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
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 was responsible for the persecution of
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 ...
,
Jews 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
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
in the
Bosanska Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-Cyrl, Босанска Крајина, , ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by several rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...
region between 1941 and 1942. Having returned to his hometown of Banja Luka a week after the NDH's establishment on 10 April 1941, Gutić was summoned to Zagreb several days later by Ustaše leader
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 ...
and placed in charge of the territory of the former
Vrbas Banovina The Vrbas Banovina or Vrbas Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Vrbaska banovina, Врбаска бановина), was a province (Banovinas of Yugoslavia, banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was named after the ...
. Gutić subsequently initiated a campaign of Croatianizing Banja Luka—banning the
Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...
, prohibiting Serbs and Jews from using public transportation, and initiating a series of massacres of Serbs so brutal that they shocked and alienated the NDH's German allies, as well as certain other Ustaše officials. In August 1941, after the Germans complained about his brutality, Pavelić transferred Gutić to Zagreb, but he continued to wield influence in Banja Luka and its surroundings. This culminated in the
Drakulić massacre The Drakulić massacre was the mass killing of 2,300 Serbs, Serb civilians by the Croatian fascist Ustaše movement on 7 February 1942, during World War II in the villages of Drakulić, Banja Luka, Drakulić, Šargovac and Motike, Banja Luka, Mo ...
of 7 February 1942, which Gutić helped plan, and which resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 Serb civilians. The following month, he was appointed as the Grand Prefect of
Pokuplje Pokuplje is the name for the Kupa river basin in Croatia. Major settlements are Karlovac, Sisak, Petrinja, Glina and Topusko Topusko is a Municipalities of Croatia, municipality and settlement in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia. Topusko is an ...
, centred in
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 ...
. By August 1942, partly due to his excesses and partly due to those of his brother, whom he had appointed as Banja Luka's police chief, Gutić fell out of favour with the Ustaše leadership and tendered his resignation. He subsequently moved to
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 ...
, remaining there until the NDH collapsed in May 1945. After the Allied victory, Gutić fled first to
Allied-occupied Austria Austria was occupied by the Allies of World War II, Allies and declared independence from Nazi Germany on 27 April 1945 (confirmed by the Berlin Declaration (1945), Berlin Declaration for Germany on 5 June 1945), as a result of the Vienna offen ...
and then to
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 ...
. He was arrested in Venice several months later after a Jewish refugee from Banja Luka recognized him and reported him to the authorities. He was subsequently imprisoned at an Allied prison camp in
Grottaglie Grottaglie (; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Taranto, Apulia, in southern Italy. Geography Grottaglie is located in the Salento peninsula, dividing the Adriatic Sea from Ionian Sea. The countryside around the city is scatter ...
before being extradited to Yugoslavia in 1946. In February 1947, he was found guilty of
collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...
and
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, sentenced to death, and executed by
hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
in Banja Luka.


Early life

Viktor Gutić was born in
Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...
on 23 December 1901. He completed his
secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
in his hometown. In his teenage years, he was one of the founders of the Croatian National Youth (, HANAO), the youth arm of the
Party of Rights The Party of Rights () was a Croatian nationalism, Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influ ...
. Following the creation of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...
in late 1918, he joined the
Croatian Peasant Party The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
(, HSS) and became its local branch secretary. He subsequently enrolled in 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 ...
's
Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...
. After graduating from
law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...
and completing his
doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
, he returned to Banja Luka and opened his practice. Among his law clerks was Vilko Butorac, who would later become one of his closest confidants. In 1925, Gutić left the HSS and joined
Ante Trumbić Ante Trumbić (17 May 1864 – 17 November 1938) was a Yugoslav and Croatian lawyer and politician in the early 20th century. Biography Trumbić was born in Split in the Austrian crownland of Dalmatia and studied law at Zagreb, Vienna and G ...
's Croatian Federalist Peasant Party (, HFSS). Gutić soon left the HFSS because he considered it too moderate. In the early 1930s, Gutić became a supporter of the
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
, Croatian nationalist
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 ...
movement and its leader
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 ...
. Gutić's political activities—which included distributing Ustaše propaganda materials—led to several criminal convictions, most of which resulted in
fines Fines may refer to: *Fines, Andalusia, Spanish municipality *Fine (penalty) * Fine, a dated term for a Lease#Leases_of_land, premium on a lease of land, a large sum the tenant pays to commute (lessen) the rent throughout the term * Fines, ore or oth ...
. In 1932, he was jailed for 15 months at
Sremska Mitrovica prison Sremska Mitrovica Prison ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Казнено-поправни завод у Сремској Митровици, Kazneno-popravni zavod u Sremskoj Mitrovici) is the biggest prison in Serbia, consisting of two facilities. It is situated ...
. There, he shared a cell with other Ustaše, including Juco Rukavina and Jurica Frković. After his release, he continued engaging in Ustaše activities. He was arrested again in 1938. Following his release, he organized the first Ustaše cell on the territory of the
Vrbas Banovina The Vrbas Banovina or Vrbas Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Vrbaska banovina, Врбаска бановина), was a province (Banovinas of Yugoslavia, banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was named after the ...
. For much of the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
, Gutić lived on the margins of society. According to the scholars Goran Latinović and Nikola Ožegović, he "was known only for his drinking and unpaid bills, and he was exposed to
ridicule Mockery or mocking is the act of insulting or making light of a person or other thing, sometimes merely by taunting, but often by making a caricature, purporting to engage in imitation in a way that highlights unflattering characteristics. Mocke ...
due to his
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
." In the lead-up to the outbreak of
World War II in Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was Invasion of Yugoslavia, invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis powers, Axis forces and partitioned among Nazi Germany, Germany, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), It ...
, he was reportedly fond of saying that he was "thirsty for
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...
blood". During this time, he maintained regular contact with Ustaše members outside the country. Among the Ustaše sympathizers he made contact with in Yugoslavia was the
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
friar
Miroslav Filipović Miroslav Filipović (5 June 1915 – 29 June 1946), also known as Tomislav Filipović and Tomislav Filipović-Majstorović, was a Croatian Franciscan friar and Ustaše military chaplain who participated in atrocities during World War II in ...
, who joined the movement in 1940.


World War II


Creation of the NDH

During 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 ...
invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...
in April 1941, Gutić was mobilized as a reserve
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in a rear unit near the town of
Bihać Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...
, in northwestern
Bosnia 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 ...
. On 11 April, the day the Germans bombed Bihać,
Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it had a population of 80,916 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in the northwestern part of the Bosanska ...
and Banja Luka, Gutić was in Ripač along with another rear lieutenant, Adem Haračić, and ordered that
white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...
s be flown to signify surrender to the Germans. After hearing
Slavko Kvaternik Slavko Kvaternik (25 August 1878 – 7 June 1947) was a Croatian military general and politician who was one of the founders of the ultranationalist Ustaše movement. Kvaternik was military commander and Minister of the Armed Forces ('' Domobrans ...
's proclamation of the establishment of the Axis
puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
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), he and Haračić went to Bihać, where they connected with Ustaše sympathizers and began laying the groundwork for Ustaše rule over the town and the surrounding region. On 13 April, while units of 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 ...
were still active between Ripač and Bihać, Gutić issued a declaration on behalf of the NDH authorities that the government in the four '' kotars'' of Bihać,
Bosanska Krupa Bosanska Krupa ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крупа) is a city located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 29,659 inhabitants. It is situat ...
,
Cazin Cazin ( sr-cyrl, Цазин) is a city located in Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bosanska Krajina region, near the border ...
and
Bosanski Petrovac Bosanski Petrovac ( sr-cyrl, Босански Петровац) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a p ...
, was to be overtaken by Ustaše functionary Ivan Bunić and his associates Osman Kulenović and Murat Ibrahimpašić. Gutić and Haračić then proceeded to Bosanska Krupa, where they tasked Šefik Tatlić and Ivan Holub with taking over the ''kotar''. This was followed by stops in
Bosanski Novi Novi Grad (Serbian Cyrillic: ), formerly Bosanski Novi ( sr-cyrl, Босански Нови), is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Situated in the far northwest of the country, it lies across the Una from th ...
and Prijedor, where Gutić and Haračić laid the foundations of Ustaše rule in those towns. Similar steps were taken in
Velika Kladuša Velika Kladuša ( sr-Cyrl, Велика Кладуша, ; literal translation, lit. "Great Kladuša") is a town in the Una-Sana Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the far northwest of Bosnia, located on the border with Croatia. As o ...
. On 15 April, Butorac and Gutić's brother Blaž welcomed elements of the German 183rd Division as they entered Banja Luka. Gutić himself arrived in the town two days later. The same day, after only 11 days of resistance, representatives of the Yugoslav government surrendered unconditionally to the Axis. Pavelić and his inner circle considered Gutić politically reliable and ideologically committed to the Ustaše cause. On 20 April, Pavelić summoned him to Zagreb and appointed him as the Ustaše commissioner () of the former Vrbas Banovina, which had previously encompassed all of northwestern Bosnia and parts of
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
. Feliks Neđelski was named as his deputy. Gutić was directly subordinated to Colonel ()
Jure Francetić Jure Francetić (3 July 1912 – 27/28 December 1942) was a Independent State of Croatia, Croatian Ustaša Commissioner for the Bosnia (region), Bosnia and Herzegovina regions of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II, and co ...
, who had been appointed the principal commissioner for Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the words of scholar Tomislav Dulić, "the Ustashe looked upon the Serbs, particularly those living in Bosnian Krajina, Lika,
Kordun The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within ...
and
Banija Banovina or Banija is a geographical region in central Croatia, between the Sava, Una, Kupa and Glina rivers. The main towns in the region include Petrinja, Glina, Kostajnica, and Dvor. There is no clear geographical border of the region tow ...
, very much like the Ottoman administrators perceived the
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
in 1915, namely as a potential threat living in the heart of the country." The Vrbas Banovina alone, according to the 1931 Yugoslav census, had more than one million inhabitants, of whom 600,000 were Serbs, 250,000 were
Bosnian Muslims The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who share a common ancestry, culture, history and the ...
and only 170,000 were
Croats 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 ...
. Accordingly, Pavelić instructed Gutić to commence with the territory's "liquidation". While in Zagreb, Gutić also met with several high-ranking Ustaše officials, including the NDH Minister of Internal Affairs,
Andrija Artuković Andrija Artuković (19 November 1899 – 16 January 1988) was a Croatian lawyer, politician, and senior member of the fascist Ustaše movement, who served as the Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Justice in the Government of the ...
, and the Minister of the Armed Forces, Slavko Kvaternik. Shortly after the NDH's establishment, Gutić appointed his brother Blaž as Banja Luka's police chief. On 24 April, despite receiving no order from Zagreb to do so, Gutić decreed that "all persons" who were born or had roots in "the former Serbia and Montenegro" had to leave the NDH within five days. Several days later, he issued a clarification stating that Catholics and Muslims born in those countries were exempt.


Murder of Bishop Platon

To ameliorate the anti-Serb measures and convince him to postpone his five-day deadline,
Platon Platon is a masculine given name and surname which may refer to: Given name * Plato (exarch) (), romanized as Plátōn, Exarch of Ravenna in the Byzantine Empire from 645 to 649 * Platon, obscure ancient Greek writer of uncertain date, whose a ...
, the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Banja Luka, Bishop of Banja Luka, decided to arrange a meeting with Gutić. He selected Dušan Mačkić, a priest from Ključ, Una-Sana Canton, Ključ, to act as his intermediary. On 27 April, Mačkić met with Gutić and Butorac at the Ustaše headquarters in Banja Luka. During this meeting, Gutić spoke openly about his intentions and stated that his forthcoming measures were "God's punishment for you Serbs". Ultimately, he agreed to postpone the deportations by ten days. He also unexpectedly decided to appoint Mačkić as Platon's successor, given that the latter was scheduled to be deported. Mačkić complained that he was not second in rank to Platon. Still, Gutić insisted, reasoning that Platon's deputy, Bishop Sava, had been born in Montenegro and would be deported. Mačkić reluctantly accepted the appointment. After a Sarajevo newspaper printed the news of the decision, local Serbs began to gather outside Mačkić's home, pleading with him to intervene on behalf of their friends and relatives. Despite being born in Serbia, Platon refused to leave his diocese. On 1 May, he wrote Gutić a letter pledging not to "abandon his flock". The Ustaše arrested Platon on the night of 4–5 May. His arrest was overseen by Asim Đelić, who in addition to being Gutić's bodyguard, was also his homosexual lover. The bishop was imprisoned with another cleric in a local jail, which locals dubbed the Black House. Together with two other Ustaše, Mirko Kovačević and Nino Čondrić, Đelić forced the two clerics into the back of a car and drove out with them. They were subsequently dragged to the banks of the Vrbas (river), Vrbas, near the village of Rebrovac at the outskirts of town. Đelić, Kovačević and Čondrić first beat the two clerics. Platon's beard was torn off, his eyes gouged out, and his nose and ears cut off. Pieces of his flesh were removed with a knife, and salt was poured on his wounds. Platon's body was found on the confluence of the Vrbanja (river), Vrbanja and Vrbas later that month.


Anti-Serb and anti-Semitic decrees

Gutić created the Commissar of Jewish Property and Apartments position in late April, which would collect all rent previously paid to Jewish landlords. He also forbade the buying of property from Serbs and Jews or looking after their property, except on behalf of the NDH authorities. By May, he had appointed at least ten prominent Ustaše members as powerbrokers in northwestern Bosnia, often promising them expropriated property in return for accepting the position. In one of his first acts, he ordered Banja Luka's wealthiest Serb citizens to bring him large sums of money within twenty-four hours or face "dire consequences". Speaking at the Franciscan friary at Petrićevac on 12 May, Gutić stated that "every Croat who today takes the side of our former enemies is not only not a good Croat but an enemy and saboteur of our planned and well-thought-out blueprint for the purification of Croatia from all unwanted elements." Through his newspaper, ''Hrvatska Krajina'' (Croatian Frontier), Gutić began issuing public orders and declarations "delineating new lines of inclusion and exclusion along an ethnic axis". On 17 May, he decreed that all adherents of the Serbian and Russian Orthodox Churches would now be classified as "Greek Easterners" (). This decree effectively annulled the use of the ethnic identifier "Serb" in Ustaše parlance, and preceded a similar declaration by the NDH government by nearly two months. All writing in the
Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...
, which the Ustaše considered a symbol of "Serbdom, Balkanism and Byzantism", was banned. Flags, emblems and photographs that had any association with Yugoslavia, Serb politicians or the deposed Karađorđević dynasty were removed from public spaces. Streets that had once been named after Serb historical figures were renamed after Ustaše leaders or historical figures whom the Ustaše regarded as Croats, irrespective of whether they were Catholic or Muslim. One such Banja Luka street was renamed after Gutić himself. Evening curfews were established for Serbs and Jews. Large numbers of Serbs working in the public sector, as well as others considered "enemies of the state", lost their government jobs. It was decreed that Croats were to be given preference in public transportation. ''Hrvatska Krajina'' printed articles on the "anti-Croat" behaviour of individual Serbs and other non-Croats "whose presence is unwanted in our lands". Under statewide laws adopted in late April, he ordered that Jewish people had to wear an yellow badge, identifying yellow patch with a Star of David and prominent letter ''Ž'' designating them as Jews (). From 20 to 24 May, Gutić participated in additional discussions in Zagreb with senior NDH officials. On 23 May, Pavelić instructed him to begin the process of transforming Banja Luka into the capital of the NDH. It was envisioned that the town would be renamed Antingrad, after the ''Poglavnik'' Ante Pavelić. Two days later, Gutić announced that the town and its surroundings "should be cleansed of Serbs, Jews and Roma" to make way for government officials, as well as Croat émigrés and construction workers, to settle it. In Gutić's words, it would be transformed "from a small regional town into a real city of the future" through the construction of new roads and railway lines, the redesign of streets and the creation of a public building program. Around this time, it was decided that the company Soravija would be awarded the contract for demolishing the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Banja Luka, which had been damaged by ''Luftwaffe'' bombs during the previous month's invasion.


Incitement to violence

On 27 May, while passing through Prijedor on his way to Banja Luka, Gutić became indignant that there were no Serbs hanging in the town's square, unlike in nearby Sanski Most. Upon returning to Banja Luka on 28 May, he announced: On this same occasion, Gutić was also quoted as saying: "These Serbian Gypsies will be sent to Serbia, part by trains and part through the river Sava, without boats ... All Serbian pests older than 15 will be killed and their children will be put to monasteries and turned into good Catholics." Two days later, Gutić continued in the same vein at an Ustaše rally in Sanski Most. "The Serbian army is no more. Serbia is no more ... our bloodsuckers, the gypsy Karađorđević dynasty has vanished." He added: On 6 June, Gutić was appointed as the commissioner of the districts of Sana (river), Sana–Luka and Krbava–Psat. Alija Omanović was named as his deputy. After Serb rebels killed several Ustaše in early June as part of that month's June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina, uprising in eastern Herzegovina, Gutić called for retribution against the Serb population and urged for Serbs not to be shown any mercy. Nevertheless, he offered Serbs and Jews the opportunity to escape to the Italian occupation zone in exchange for a considerable bribe.


Ethnic cleansing operations

On 14 June, ''Wehrmacht'' officer Arthur Heffner sent a confidential report to the German plenipotentiary general to the NDH, Edmund Glaise-Horstenau, in which he identified Gutić as the primary initiator of the anti-Serb atrocities in northwestern Bosnia: "All the Serbs who did not manage to hide in the woods or to cross the border were slaughtered without mercy. Thus, often neither women nor children were spared." Ustaše violence prompted some of Banja Luka's Catholics and Muslims to join, or at least aid, the Anti-fascism, anti-fascist resistance, and over the course of the war, some hid their Serb and Jewish neighbours and provided them with other types of assistance. ''Generalmajor'' Johann Fortner, commander of the German 118th Jäger Division headquartered in Banja Luka, also opposed Gutić's actions because he felt they would only fuel the Serb opposition to the NDH and the Axis occupiers. Gutić remained indifferent to such appeals, saying, "If, by some mishap, Yugoslavia were reintegrated, at least we would have reduced the statistical numbers [of Serbs] in favour of the Croats." By the first half of July, Gutić and his inner circle had reaped considerable plunder from those whom the Ustaše had deported, with some expropriated properties and businesses given to Gutić's associates and others sold for his gain. Gutić's actions appear to have come to the attention of the authorities in Zagreb, and in July, the State Office for Renewal issued a memorandum warning against such behaviour. Due to the open embezzlement of officials such as Gutić, the authorities in Zagreb attempted to force those targeted for resettlement to first register their property with the central government. These efforts were largely unsuccessful, and expropriations by local Ustaše officials continued largely unabated. In late July 1941, Fortner and Gutić openly argued about the latter's actions, and the German general threatened to have Gutić and his associates arrested. In August, for "aesthetic" reasons and so that a statue of Croatian politician Ante Starčević could be constructed in its place on the newly renamed Square of April 10, Gutić oversaw the demolition of Banja Luka's damaged Serbian Orthodox cathedral, which he derided as a "former Greek Eastern ... house of spite". Gutić later praised Emil Soravia, the contractor tasked with demolishing the cathedral, for making quick work of its removal. On 5 August, Gutić was granted an audience with Pavelić. During this meeting, he was told he would be transferred to the Ministry of the Interior in Zagreb. On 9 August, a farewell banquet was held for Gutić in Banja Luka, and he departed the following day. News of his new role was publicly announced on 25 August. On 17 September, Lieutenant Mirko Beljan was appointed as his successor. The following month, Gutić's brother Blaž was removed from his position as police chief and replaced by Božo Dražić. Despite these setbacks, Gutić had indebted many local officials and thus retained his position of influence in Banja Luka. He continued to visit and spend time there even after August 1941, for example, from December 1941 to April 1942. To take part in an offensive against Serb insurgents in eastern Bosnia, the ''Wehrmacht'' called back its units from Banja Luka on 7 January 1942. On Gutić's initiative, a battalion of the Poglavnik's Bodyguard Brigade, which was made up of Croats from Herzegovina and commanded by Captain Nikola Zelić, was transferred from Zagreb to Banja Luka shortly thereafter. Although he officially had no authority in Banja Luka—the local ''stožernik'' was now Mirko Beljan, and the Grand Prefect () was Colonel , a former Austro-Hungarian officer—Gutić remained the primary decision-maker in the town and its surroundings, and the decision to Drakulić massacre, kill the Serbs of Drakulić, Banja Luka, Drakulić, Šargovac and Motike, Banja Luka, Motike, villages just north of the city, was made in his house. According to a contemporary German report, on 6 February 1942, a meeting was held at Petrićevac between Gutić, the jurist Ferdo Stilinović, and many Catholic priests, among them Miroslav Filipović. The planners reasoned that gunfire would alert the inhabitants of the targeted villages and help them flee, so it was decided that the killings would be done with blunt instruments and bladed weapons. Between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on 7 February, the Ustaše attacked the villages, as well as the nearby Rakovac mine. An estimated 2,370 Serbs were killed in the ensuing massacre. The killings were so brutal that reportedly even some local Ustaše officials were left horrified. "For Gutić," Latinović and Ožegović write, "this crime was the culmination of his entire policy since April 1941."


Transfer to Karlovac and slide into disfavour

In March 1942, Gutić was named the Grand Prefect of
Pokuplje Pokuplje is the name for the Kupa river basin in Croatia. Major settlements are Karlovac, Sisak, Petrinja, Glina and Topusko Topusko is a Municipalities of Croatia, municipality and settlement in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia. Topusko is an ...
, whose administrative centre was situated in
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 ...
. He formally assumed the position on 10 April, the first anniversary of the NDH's establishment. His predecessor in the role was Ante Nikšić. Gutić soon began persecuting the Serb population there, prompting the Germans to warn him against such actions. On 10 August, Gutić requested to be relieved of his duties on health grounds. Around this time, his brother Blaž was arrested for disorderly conduct by the NDH authorities and taken to Zagreb. After spending three days in jail, he was released on the understanding that he would not return to Banja Luka. The historian Nikica Barić speculates that Gutić's sudden departure due to ill health was merely a pretence to disguise the fact that he had been forced to resign. In early September, Gutić formally relinquished his post as Grand Prefect of Pokuplje. He was succeeded in this capacity by the lawyer Nikola Tusun, who had previously overseen the Grand Prefecture of Lašva–Glaž, centred around Travnik. Gutić's brother soon convinced the authorities to allow him to return to Banja Luka, but his unruly behaviour once again led him into conflict with local officials. In October 1942, Gutić sent a letter to the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Marko Došen, protesting the treatment to which his brother had been subjected by the newly appointed Grand Prefect, Dragutin Hadrović, and complaining that their mother had been evicted from her Banja Luka apartment. Shortly thereafter, the Catholic Roman Catholic Diocese of Banja Luka, Bishop of Banja Luka, Josip Stjepan Garić, Josip Garić, wrote Došen a similar letter appealing for the Gutić brothers to be granted a reprieve because of their devotion to the Ustaše cause. In March 1943, Gutić was promoted to the rank of colonel within the Croatian Armed Forces (Independent State of Croatia), Croatian Armed Forces. On 8 July, Hadrović was killed by a mail bomb. Speculation was rife at the time that the assassination had been organized by Gutić and his followers. Despite German intelligence reports which suggested Pavelić would appoint Gutić to succeed Hadrović, the position instead went to Husein Alić, a secondary school teacher from Sarajevo. In September 1944, Gutić's brother Blaž was captured by the Yugoslav Partisans, Partisans near Banja Luka and court-martialled by the Partisan 5th Corps (Yugoslav Partisans), 5th Corps, which found him guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to death. He was hanged in Sanski Most on 16 October. After the Independent State of Croatia evacuation to Austria, collapse of the NDH in May 1945, Gutić fled first to
Allied-occupied Austria Austria was occupied by the Allies of World War II, Allies and declared independence from Nazi Germany on 27 April 1945 (confirmed by the Berlin Declaration (1945), Berlin Declaration for Germany on 5 June 1945), as a result of the Vienna offen ...
and then to
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 ...
.


Arrest, trial and execution

In July or August 1945, a Jewish refugee named Mosko Kabiljo, who before the war had been a registry clerk in the County Financial Directorate in Banja Luka, recognized Gutić and Butorac sitting in a restaurant on the Piazza San Marco in Venice. Kabiljo then alerted a group of patrolling Allied soldiers, who promptly arrested the two men. Gutić was then transferred to an Allied prison camp in
Grottaglie Grottaglie (; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Taranto, Apulia, in southern Italy. Geography Grottaglie is located in the Salento peninsula, dividing the Adriatic Sea from Ionian Sea. The countryside around the city is scatter ...
, where he was held alongside Slovene general Leon Rupnik and Chetnik commander Dobroslav Jevđević. The British were initially hesitant to extradite Gutić, but came under increasing pressure after the Yugoslav press published a picture of Gutić and Butorac on the Piazza San Marco, which led to a diplomatic spat between the two countries. Ultimately, the British relented and agreed to hand Gutić over. The exact date of his extradition is unclear, though all sources agree it occurred in the first half of 1946. Unlike Gutić, Butorac escaped custody—reportedly by bribing his guards. He later settled in Argentina. Upon reaching Banja Luka, Gutić was placed in solitary confinement at the local headquarters of the Directorate for State Security (Yugoslavia), Directorate for State Security (, UDBA), and restrained to keep him from committing suicide. Two UDBA officials, Šemso Tabaković and Mikan Marjanović, conducted the interrogation. Gutić told the two men that "here and there he was placed in awkward situations—but he committed no acts which should, in his opinion, be subjected to criminal prosecution." He maintained that his earlier incitements to violence were not directed at all Serbs, but against the Serbian bourgeoise, prompting one of his incredulous interrogators to joke that it was a wonder he had not joined the Partisans. Gutić's final statement for the record was a rambling political tirade that ended with a pessimistic prediction about the fate of the South Slavs in a future third world war. At a hearing held on 22 September 1946, Gutić denied any involvement in the Drakulić massacre, attributing it to Filipović and claiming only to have found out about it the following day. In June, Filipović had been convicted of war crimes and hanged. In November, Gutić's case was merged with those of two of his former subordinates, Feliks Neđelski and Nikola Bilogrivić. On 25 December, the Banja Luka county prosecutor's office charged Gutić, Neđelski and Bilogrivić with crimes against the people, cooperation with the occupying forces, terrorism and treason. The charges against Gutić mentioned his "intent to destroy the Serbian people" of Drakulić and its surroundings. The same day, prosecutor Veljko Đorđević requested that the Supreme Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina appoint a special tribunal to try Gutić, Neđelski and Bilogrivić. On 24 January 1947, the Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction. On 1 February 1947, Gutić, Neđelski and Bilogrivić's trial commenced at the former headquarters of the Sokol movement, Sokol recreational society, one of the few buildings in Banja Luka large enough to host the proceedings, which attracted a considerable amount of public interest. Gutić pleaded not guilty, claiming "he did not remember much" and that he had been "a mere tool at the hands of those above him, often unaware of the actions of those below him." On 9 February, the prosecution rested its case. Two days later, Gutić, Neđelski and Bilogrivić were found guilty and sentenced to death—Gutić by
hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
, and Neđelski and Bilogrivić by Execution by firing squad, firing squad. The verdict was met with "wild applause". A police officer who witnessed the three men being led out of the courtroom later recalled: "The whole town was there ... They wanted the sentence to be carried out then and there, on the street, with their own feet!" The defendants appealed their convictions, but on 17 February, their appeals were rejected. Gutić was brought to the scaffold at the break of dawn, at 5:00 a.m. on 20 February 1947, on the grounds of the former military barracks in what is now the Borik, Banja Luka, Borik neighbourhood of Banja Luka; his fear was so great that he had to be carried to the gallows. Many citizens of Banja Luka had come to witness his execution, and after he was hanged, one of the executioners exclaimed: "It's finished. Gutić came from the abyss. We have thrown him back into it."


Legacy

Dulić describes Gutić as "one of the most infamous" Ustaše leaders. He was, in the words of author Slavko Goldstein, "a resolute advocate and strident executor of genocidal terror". Gutić is noted for being among the first on record to use the term "ethnic cleansing, cleansing" () as a euphemism for mass murder. The scholar Rebecca Knuth comments that the memory of his atrocities still resonated with many Serbs in the lead-up to the Yugoslav Wars, decades after World War II had ended. Most modern historians agree that, throughout the war, the Ustaše killed more than 300,000 Serbs, or about 17 percent of all Serbs living in the NDH. The street in Banja Luka which during the war carried Gutić's name had several different names under Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, socialist Yugoslavia before finally being renamed ''Jevrejska ulica'' (Jewish Street) after the country's Breakup of Yugoslavia, dissolution in the 1990s. In 1993, construction began on the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Banja Luka, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Banja Luka, which stood at the exact location as the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity which Gutić had ordered demolished. On 21 May 2000, Bishop Platon—whom Gutić's subordinates had murdered in May 1941―was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was officially consecrated in 2004.


Footnotes


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutic, Viktor 1901 births 1946 deaths 20th-century Croatian LGBTQ people 20th-century LGBTQ people Anti-Serbian sentiment Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Croatian Peasant Party politicians Croatian people of World War II Executed Bosnia and Herzegovina people Executed Croatian people Executed Yugoslav collaborators with Nazi Germany Holocaust perpetrators in Yugoslavia People extradited from Italy People extradited to Yugoslavia People from Banja Luka People from the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina People of the Independent State of Croatia Ustaše members