b. July 14, 1889, Bradina, Bosnia
d. December 28, 1959, Madrid, Spain
aka: poglavnik ("leader" or fuerher), Anton Pavelitch, Ante Pavelitch, Pedro Gonner
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Ante Pavelic document count: 49 b. July 14, 1889, Bradina, Bosnia d. December 28, 1959, Madrid, Spain aka: poglavnik ("leader" or fuerher), Anton Pavelitch, Ante Pavelitch, Pedro Gonner |
Poglavnik ("leader"; in German, "fuehrer") of the Independent State of Croatia, founder of the Ustase movement and mastermind of the Holocaust in Croatia in which an estimated 600,000 to 1 million Serbs, Jews, Roma and political prisoners perished between 1941 and 1945.
Leader of the extreme right, or "Frankist" faction of Croat Party of Rights after World War I. Following the assassination of Croat Peasant Party leader Stjepan Radic and the imposition of the Royal Dictatorship in Yugoslavia on January 6, 1929, Pavelic went abroad, first to Austria and then to Italy, where the nascent Ustase were provided training camps and afforded protection from the Fascist Italian government. Following the Nazi invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941, proclaimed poglavnik of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH by its Serbo-Croat acronym), but only after Radic's successor, Vladko Macek, declined to lead the puppet state himself. Immediately implemented the Ustase plan for the "purification" of the NDH using the formula coined by his deputy Mile Budak: "kill a third, expel a third, and convert a third" of the Serbian population to Catholicism. Concentration camps such as Jasenovac were established as the Ustase "Black Legion" swept through Serbian villages and arrested Jews and Roma wherever they could be found.
After the collapse of the NDH, Pavelic escaped to Austria and then to Italy, where he linked up with Vatican operatives of the "Ratline," dedicated to shielding accused war criminals from arrest and shuttling them out of Europe. Escaped to Argentina with the help of Catholic priest, Ustase officer and Ratline operative Krunoslav Draganovic. Immediately upon arrival in Buenos Aires, formed a successor movement to the Ustase with other NDH fugitives and accused war criminals, and later the Croatian Liberation Movement, which still exists today as a miniscule political party in Zagreb. Acted as security advisor to Argentine dictator Juan Peron. After an attempt on his life on April 9, 1957, fled to Franco's Spain where he died on December 28, 1959. The Ustase and several splinter organizations of the one he founded would live on, enjoying a renaissance of terrorism in the 1960s and '70s.
Principles of the Ustase Movement
1929: The founding document of the Ustase Movement, presented in full English translation for the first time
1929: The founding document of the Ustase Movement, presented in full English translation for the first time
Pavelic: Ten Years Struggle in the Homeland
January 9-13, 1999: Lengthy excerpts from one of Pavelic's autobiographies, as serialized in a right-wing Croatian paper in 1999
Article: The Conspirator Rediscovered
1990: Interview with IMRO leader Ivan "Vance" Mihailov on the murder of King Alexander
Pavelic's Radio Address to Croatia
April 5, 1941: Excerpt from a radio speech Pavelic broadcast into Croatia on the eve of war, urging the Croatian people to "cleanse" the land of enemies
A Telegram to Mussolini
April 8, 1941: Letter Sent to the Italian Duce on the Invasion of Yugoslavia
Government Decree: On the First Croatian Government
April 16, 1941: Pavelic declares himself head of state and names his closest advisors as ministers
Decree: Declaration of War on the US and Britain
December 14, 1941: Delivered in Zagreb after the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
US Army File: Supreme Allied HQ to 12th and 6th Army (Austria)
June 5, 1945: "Ante Pavelic... may be in your area"
US Army File: Rome Area Allied Command to CIC
August 8, 1945: "Is Pavelic in Rome? Is San Gerolamo Monostery used as a haven..."
US Army File: Judge Advocate General to Army Counter-Intelligence
November 5, 1945: Form Inquiring after Pavelic's Whereabouts
Article: Interview with Marija Pavelic
May 22, 1992: Interview in Croatian newspaper Globus with Pavelic's daughter on his whereabouts in the Summer, 1945
US Army File: Rome Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) Memorandum
August 25, 1945: On News Reports of Pavelic's Arrest in Austria
US Army File: Dr. DRAGANOVIC' Krunoslav
Unknown: Information on Draganovic, Austria, Pavelic, the Vatican and the Krizari
US Army File: Background Material on Krunoslav Draganovic
October 10, 1946: One of the first and most crucial extant files tracing Krunoslav Draganovic's role in the Ratline
US Army File: Unidentified Document (Index Card)
October 12, 1946: Possibly Sent to Confirm that Pavelic Had Been in U.S. Custody in Austria
US Army File: CIC Memorandum from Agent William Gowen
January 17, 1947: Re: article about Pavelic in the Swiss Press
US Army File: CIC Memorandum from Agent Gowen
January 22, 1947: Investigation of Pavelic's Vatican Sanctuary; First Appearance of Krunoslav Draganovic in the Army Dossier
US Army File: CIC Summary from Special Agent Robert Clayton Mudd
January 30, 1947: Overview of Pavelic's Biography to Date; First Allusion to the "Ratline" in the CIC Files
US Army File: Cover Letter by Ass. Chief of Staff G-2 Robert Stuart
February 25, 1947: A moment of equivocation as to the subject's whereabouts when forwarding Agent Gowen's latest report.
US Army File: CIC Memorandum from Agents Caniglia and Zappala
March 15, 1947: "In Rome Pavelic took refuge in a religious institution..."
US Army File: Unknown Document (Index Card)
April 14, 1947: An index card pulled from an unknown source. Interesting that Pavelic is classified in this one in a catagory of "Yugoslav Anti-Communists."
US Army File: Investigation by Capt. Marion Scott
April 18, 1947: Long investigation report on Pavelic and other Ustasa in Italy
US Army File: CIC Cover Letter to Scott Report
April 21, 1947: Note included with Scott report which casts doubt on the key informant's usefulness
CIA File: The Do Marius Report
May 6, 1947: A bizarre tale of a meeting with the Poglavnik
US Army File: Information Sheet
May 19, 1947: What appears to be information acquired from OZNA, the Yugoslav secret police, on Pavelic in Italy
US Army File: Unknown Document (Index Card)
May 25, 1947: Two sentence card, quoting Belgrade Radio as saying the British let Pavelic escape, presumably from their custody in Austria
US Army File: Summary of Information from Agents Gowen and Caniglia
June 9, 1947: Report confirming Pavelic has not, as others have reported, left Rome at all
US Army File: "Ante Pavelic and other Ustasha Personalities"
c.July, 1947: Dated by other researchers in early July, this document appears to have been obtained in final preparation for Pavelic's arrest
US Army File: "Hands Off"
July 7 and 14, 1947: One of the most crucial documents in the archive: a two word, handwritten note appended to the bottom of this otherwise ordinary memo
US Army File: Memorandum from the Political Adviser to Supreme Allied Commander
July 29, 1947: "...military authorities should cooperate with the Italian authorities to the extent necessary and possible..."
US Army File: Memorandum from the British Political Adviser
August 2, 1947: Response to the American Political Adviser listed above
US Army File: G-2 Brief on Pavelic's Background to Allied Headquarters
August 7, 1947: In response to their request
US Army File: Memorandum by Agent William Gowen
August 29, 1947: In just 45 days, Pavelic has gone from a criminal to be captured to a potential collaborator whose chief victims - the Serbs - want him to be free as well
US Army File: Memorandum by Agent William Gowen
September 12, 1947: "...any extradition of Subject would deal a staggering blow to the Roman Catholic Church"
US Army File: Unknown Document
October 17, 1947: Small index card-type file with a few misc claims
US Army File: Telegram Received by G-2
January 7, 1948?: Telegram regarding departure of Ante Pavelic from Rome
US Army File: Unknown Document
February 16, 1948?: Another index card-type file with a quote about the "new" principles of the Ustase
CIA File: Reported Arrival of Ante Pavelic in Argentina
December 2, 1948: Appears to be a microfilm document with information on the arrival of Pavelic and other Ustase in Argentina
US Army File: Unknown Document
December 4, 1950: Index card-type file with contact information for the "Croatian Catholic Union"
US Army File: Unknown Document
1950s: Index card-type file, undated, from some larger file on the Croatian Resistance Movement
News: Tito Asks Peron to Yield Pavelic
May 24, 1951: News report of an early Yugoslav extradition request.
US Army File: Ustasha Resurgence in Europe
December 11, 1951: This document has been pulled by the CIA. The first page is a series of references to the file, but the next two pages are still classified, 51 years later.
US Army File: Unknown Document
June 24, 1953: An index card-type file referring to another report alleging Ustase using Caritas (Catholic refugee service) offices in Austria as an "information collecting agency"
MUNICH REPORT: Croatian Emigrant Movement (1)
August 23, 1954: Report sent from Munich, Germany to the US State Department on activity of the Croatian exile groups, including the fugitive Ustase in Buenos Aires, Argentina
MUNICH REPORT: Croatian Emigrant Movement (2)
c. October 1954: Second report sent from Munich, Germany to the US State Department, including information on Pavelic's meeting with Milan Stojadinovic and promises to cede Croatian territory to Italian and Hungarian rightists
Founding Declaration of the Croatian Liberation Movement
June 8, 1956: English translation of the founding document of Pavelic's Croatian Liberation Movement (HOP), signed by Pavelic and 12 former Ustase ministers in exile in Buenos Aires
News: Pro-Nazi is Hunted
April 26, 1957: News report on the Argentine authorities' decision to revoke Ante Pavelic's asylum after the attempt on his life
News: Ante Pavelic Dies in Madrid at 70
December 29, 1959: Obituary on Ante Pavelic from the New York Times
US Congress: H.Res 235 IH
May 14, 2003: A resolution introduced in the US House of Representatives "urging the Government of Argentina to build upon the steps it has taken to shed light on the relocation to Argentina of Nazis and other war criminals" - including, by name, Ante Pavelic
Memoir: Two Bullets for Pavelic
The Biography of a man who claims to have shot Ante Pavelic in Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Biography of a man who claims to have shot Ante Pavelic in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Essay: The Poglavnik's Family Tree
Unraveling the Ustase Successor Organizations
Exhibition: Top Secret
A Guide to Ante Pavelic's Army File.
Essay: The Lawsuit Against the Vatican and the CIA
Co-lead counsel explains the lawsuit to discover the fate of the Ustase treasury.