World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAnte Pavelić was born north of Konjic in Bradina, a small village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After studying law, he became a political activist and backed the Croatian separatist movement. In Jan 1929, he fled abroad after the establishment of the dictatorship of Aleksandar I, and was sentenced to death in absentia for his assistance of known terrorists. He was arrested at Turin, Italy in 1934, but was released due to the recent assassination of Aleksandar I. He remained in Italy for the following several years.

ww2dbaseWhen WW2 spread to Yugoslavia, the invading German forces intended to set up a separate puppet government to rule the Croatians, and this idea excited Pavelić. Through his political connections, he presented himself to the German invaders as a collaborationist, and was successful in getting himself appointed as the leader of the Independent State of Croatia established by Germany on 10 Apr 1941. As the leader of the puppet state he deported and murdered Serbs and Jews under a mercilessly brutal program. When Germany surrendered in May 1945, he fled to Austria, Rome (where he was hidden by members of the Roman Catholic Church), and finally to Argentina. He was injured in an assassination attempt in Apr 1957, and he never completely healed from the wounds received. He died in Madrid, Spain two years later.

Ante Pavelić Interactive Map

Photographs

Ante Pavelić Timeline