Petar Brzica

Petar Brzica is said to have been a first lieutenant in the fascist Ustaše and mistreated prisoners as a guard of the Jasenovac concentration camp during the Second World War . This information is based on a testimony published in 1946 by Jakov Danon (1918–1985) from Zagreb to the Yugoslav State Commission of Croatia , which was active from 1944 to 1947, to establish the crimes of the occupiers and their assistants ( Zemaljska komisija Hrvatske za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora ) .

"Killing competition"

Brzica is said to have committed a war criminal mass murder of concentration camp prisoners in a "killing competition" on August 29, 1942 . Depending on the source, the number of victims varies between 670 and 1,860.

Without citing the source , the Serbian émigré Branko Miljuš wrote for the first time in 1951 under the pseudonym Hervé Laurière about this "killing competition" and gives the number of victims as 1,360. He names Brzica as a member of the Catholic lay organization Križari ("The Crusaders") and a scholarship holder of the Franciscan monastery of Široki Brijeg . Other sources name Brzica as a law student . The Bosnian Serb Miljuš was a politician ( Yugoslav Radical Union ) and a former minister without portfolio of the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia under Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković . He lived in exile in Paris and later published in Canada as the author of the Serbian emigration.

In 1961 the report by the neurologist Nedo Zec (1899–1971) with the title “Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!” (Do you, child, your work!) Is published for the first time ; further publications followed in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973 and 1992. After the war, Zec was the first health minister of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and founder and first director of the Clinic for Nervous and Mental Diseases in the Medical Faculty of the University of Sarajevo, which also used to be bore his name. Because of his communist activities, Zec was a prisoner in the Jasenovac concentration camp from 1942 to 1943. In his report, Zec says that in January 1943, on the instructions of the concentration camp commander Ivica Matković, he was a neurologist on a newly formed medical committee to examine concentration camp guards. The Ustasha Žile Friganović reported intoxicated to him:

“Yes, Žile, najkrvaviji ustaša u Jasenovcu [...] više mi ne pomaže ni klanje, ni mučenje, ni jauk, ni žene, ni rakija. [...] Tada smo se Pero Brzica, Zrinušić, Šipka i ja opkladili smo se tko će te noći zaklati najviše logoraša. Otpočelo je klanje i ja sam već bio poslije jednog sata po broju zaklanih daleko izmakao ispred ostalih. Obuzeo me te večeri neki neobičan zanos, činilo mi se kao da sam na devetom nebu; nikada u životu nisam osjetio takvo blaženstvo, i već poslije nekoliko sati zaklao sam 1,100 ljudi, dok su ostali jedva stigli da zakolju po 300–400. [...] Ali tada je iu meni nešto prepuklo i te noći više nisam mogao da koljem. Pero Brzica je pobijedio, jer je zaklao 1,350 logoraša i ja sam mu bez riječi platio opkladu. ”

“I, Žile, the most bloodthirsty Ustasha in Jasenovac [...] no slaughter, no torture, no meekness, no women, no more schnapps help me. [...] At that time, Pero Brzica, Zrinušić, Šipka and I were betting on who would slaughter most of the inmates that night. The slaughter began and within an hour I was way ahead of the others in terms of the number of slaughtered people. There was a kind of unusual enthusiasm that night, it seemed to me as if I was in ninth heaven; I have never experienced such bliss in my life, and after a few hours I had slaughtered 1,100 people while the others barely managed to slaughter 300–400 people. [...] But then something broke out in me and I couldn't slaughter any more that night. Pero Brzica won because he slaughtered 1,350 prisoners and I paid him the bet without saying a word. "

The Serbian doctor Nikola Nikolić, who, according to Zec's report, worked with him in the concentration camp doctors' commission, gives the number of deaths in 1969 as 670. A more recent source gives the number of victims as 1,860 and refers to the Croatian weekly newspaper Nedjelja of October 19, 1942, the paper of the Catholic Križari organization. The Ustasha who Zec is said to have made the confession is also referred to by the first name Mile or Ante or the family name Riganović, depending on the source.

Brzica's name is said to have been on the list of 59 fascists who were handed over to the US immigration authorities as extradition requests by Jewish organizations during the 1970s.

The report of Brzica's alleged mass killing has found its way into the literature and was also used by some anti-Catholic authors such as B. Avro Manhattan (pseud. Teofilo Lucifero Gardini , 1914-1990) processed.

Legend of saints

According to Zec, an alleged victim of this "killing competition" was an old man named Vukašin. According to various Serbian sources, he is said to have either carried the family name Toholj or Mandrapa or is also referred to as Vukašin von Klepac (after his alleged place of origin near Čapljina ) or Vukašin von Jasenovac ( Vukašin Jasenovački ). He was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1998 .

criticism

The story about this "killing competition" and the murdered Vukašin is questioned. According to the Serbian philosopher Aleksandar Pražić , Nedo Zec invented the story for the Yugoslav communists. Also to absolve himself of any suspicion, as he was largely allowed to move around the camp as a “free man”.

“Pre svega, zašto bi ustaše imale psihičke problems zbog učešća u likvidaciji Srba '? [...] Ali, čak i ako je bilo tako, tsar je hrvatska država toliko oskudevala u psihijatrima iz vlastitog naroda, koji bi na pravi način priskočili u pomoć tao gde su sveštenici podbacili, da je duševhvo zdravlika s tim i borbenu gotovost hrvatske vojske, poveravala brizi pripadnika omražene manjine? [...] Ako su u Jasenovcu likvidirane stotine hiljada Srba, zar je bilo teško ukloniti i jednog tako nezgodnog svedoka kakav je bio Nedeljko Zec? [...] Ali, čak i ako dopustimo da se sve dogodilo baš tako, mada nam zdrav razum govori da su sve to puke besmislice, nameće se pitanje da li je moguće za nekoliko sati zaklati hiljadu i sto ljudi. [...] Dakle, sve su to budalaštine, u koje niko razuman ne može da poveruje, a ako i poveruje, onda je sigurno posredi neka iracionalna zaslepljenost. [...] Pri tom, sigurno nije bio toliko maštovit da izmisli epizodu sa Srbinom koji koljaču kaže: 'Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!'. "

“First of all, why would Ustashas have psychological problems because of their involvement in the liquidation of the Serbs? [...] But even if it had been so, the Croatian state was so scarce in terms of psychiatrists of its own people, who would have contributed in the right way to the sanctity of their elite warriors and thus the willingness of Croatians to fight Entrust the army to the members of the hated minority? [...] If hundreds of thousands of Serbs were killed in Jasenovac, would it have been difficult to make such an uncomfortable witness like Nedeljko Zec disappear? [...] But even if everything had happened like this, the question arises whether it is possible, when common sense says that it is impossible for a thousand and one hundred people to be slaughtered over hours. [...] So this is all nonsense that no reasonable person can believe in, and if he believes it then it must be irrational blindness. [...] He was certainly not as resourceful when he invented an episode with a Serb who said to the butchers: 'You, child, do your job!' "

The Croatian historian Ivo Rendić-Miočević and the Croatian academic Filip Škiljan also doubt Nedo Zec's story about the mass killing and the historical person of Vukašin. Rendić-Miočević complains that only Zec testifies to this "killing competition" and that it is impossible to literally reproduce a conversation after many years. Vukašin was not a historical person and the inclusion in the list of victims of Jasenovac was made only in 2007, after the Serbian author Marko Ručnov Vukašin in a book (2004) the family name Mandrap have attributed unproven, even without as usual the patronymic naming and origin. Filip Škiljan points out in his book "Logorski sustav Jasenovac: konroverze" (Controversial questions about Jasenovac), edited by Sabrina P. Ramet , that Vukašin is not included in any list of victims in the Jasenovac or Stara Gradiška camps.

supporting documents

1. ↑ DANON, Jacob. Židovski biografski leksikon, accessed on July 16, 2019 (Croatian). 
2. ↑ Zemaljska Komisija Hrvatske za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača: Zločini u logoru Jasenovac . Zagreb 1946, p. 61, 84 (Croatian, archive.org ): "Opijao se sa svojim" oficirima ", dočasnicima i ustašama, pa su te gange upadale noću u zatočeničke barake, mlateći zatočenike letvama, kundacima, šakama i čizmama i goneći ih. Kroz te je 4 noći premlaćeno vrlo mnogo zatočenika, tako da su im tjelesa pocrnila od udaraca, a jedan je zatočenik i podlegao ranama. Svjedok Danon Jakov iz Zagreba ističe, da su kod tih ustaških orgija naročito mahnitali Stojčić Jozo, Brzica Petar i Hirschberger Nikola. (P. 61) [...] Brzica Petar, natporučnik (p. 84) "
3. ↑ Branimir Anzulovic: Heavenly Serbia: From Myth to Genocide . C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1999, ISBN 978-1-85065-530-5 , pp. 106 (English): “The anti-Catholic campaign surged in the 1980s. It was driven by new writings as well as by reissues and translations. [...] An even more virulent anti-Catholic diatribe, Murderers in God's Name , published in Paris in 1951 by a Serb émigré under the very French-sounding pseudonym Hervé Laurière, appeared in Serbian translation in 1987 with the original pseudonym and without any information that the author's real name was Branko Miljuš. "
4. ↑ Hervé Laurière (that's Branko Miljuš): Assassins au nom de Dieu . Éditions La Vigie, Paris 1993, ISBN 2-8251-0414-0 , pp. 140 f . (French, first edition: Éditions l'Age d'Homme , Lausanne 1951): “Armé de cet instrument terrible, l'égorgeur se faisait présenter par un aide la tête renversée de sa victime, et le cou bien tendu était tranché comme au resoir . De temps en temps, les dirigeants du camp organizes the “concours du meilleur égorgeur”. Le champion en fut un certain Petar Brzica, boursier du collège franciscain de Siroki Brijeg, en Hercégovine, et membre de l'organization para-religieuse »Krizari« (Les Croises). Dans la nuit du 29 août 1942, Brzica réussit, en effet, à égorger, 1,360 people. Sacré "roi des égorgeurs", il reç pour récompense une montre en or, un service en argent et, pour son dîner, un cochon de lait rôti avec une bouteille de vin. »
5. ↑ Ferdo Culinovic: Jugoslavija Između dva rata . tape 2 . Jugoslavenske akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, Zagreb 1961, p. 308 (Serbo-Croatian): "[...], te Branko Miljuš (JRZ)."
6. ↑ Стенографске белешке Народне скупштине Краљевине Срба, Хрвата и Словенаца: Редован сазив . Штампарија Саве Раденковића и брата, 1938, p. 333 (Serbian): “Ministar bez portfelja dr. Branko Miljuš ”
7. ↑ Narodna skupština (ed.): Stenografske beleške Narodne skupštine Kraljevine Jugoslavije: Redovan saziv . 1939, p. 201 (Serbian): “Ministar bez portfelja dr. Branko Miljuš ”
8. ^ George Franz Vrbanić: The failure to save the first Yugoslavia: the Serbo-Croatian sporazum of 1939 . Ziral, 1991, p. 49 (English): “According to Dragiša Cetković, Milijuš had served as a minister in his government.”
9. ↑ Serbian Heritage Museum of Windsor (ed.): Serbian literature and jounralism [sic!] In Windsor: May 16 - December 30, 2013 . Windsor (Ontario) (English, serbianheritagemuseum.com [PDF]): “Writers published in Windsor [...] MILJUŠ, Dr. Branko ”
10. ↑ Nedo Zec: "Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!" In: Zdravko Čolić, Aziz Hadžihasanović, Milan Mučibabić (eds.): Da se ne zaboravi . Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo 1961, p. 135-139 (Serbo-Croatian).
11. ↑ Nedo Zec: "Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!" In: Otpor u žicama . tape I . VIZ, Beograd 1969, p. 61-65 (Serbo-Croatian).
12. ↑ Nedo Zec: "Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!" In: Poruke . tape 1 , no. 1 , July 4, 1970 (Serbo-Croatian).
13. ↑ Nedo Zec: "Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!" In: Oslobođenje . 1971 (Serbo-Croatian).
14. ↑ Nedo Zec: "Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!" In: Riječi koje nisu zaklane: Svjedočanstva preživjelih zatočenika logora Jasenovac . tape I . Spomen područje ,, Jasenovac 1973, p. 87-93 (Serbo-Croatian).
15. ↑ Nedo Zec: "Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!" In: Catena mundi . tape II . Beograd / Kraljevo 1992, p. 229-231 .
16. ↑ Nedo Zec: "Radi ti, dijete, svoj posao!" In: Poruke . tape 1 , no. July 1 , 1970. Quoted from Mladen Ivezić: Titov Jasenovac . Zagreb 2014, p. 128 f . (Serbo-Croatian).
17. ↑ Nikola Nikolic: Taborišče smrti Jasenovac . Borec, Ljubljana 1969, p. 293 (Slovenian): “Tisto noč je ustaš Pero Brzica v hitrosti in spretnosti svojega krvniškega posla prekosil vse ustaške klavce. Sam je namreč zaklal 670 internircev jasenovškega taborišča. Med seboj so tekmovali v klavskem poslu Brzica, Bonzo, Šipka, Zrinušić in še nekaj drugi klavci, ki pa so za Brzico znatno zaostajali "
18. ↑ CI Christian: Sângeroasa destrămare: Iugoslavia . Editura Sylvi, București 1994, ISBN 978-973-9175-01-2 , p. 170 (Romanian): “Din timp in timp, se organizează concursuri. Campionul indiscutabil al acestor competiții a fost Petar Brzica, student al institutul teologic franciscan din Siroki Brijeg și membru al “Marii Frățietăți a Cruciaților”. În timpul nopții de 29 august 1942, de pildă, el a reușit să măcelărească, singur, nu mai puțin de 1,860 sărbî. ("Nedjelja", Zagreb, October 19, 1942) "
19. ↑ Aleksandar Pražić: Nacionalno Samoubistvo [National Suicide] . Pesić i sinovi, Belgrade 2009, ISBN 978-86-7540-115-5 (Serbian).
20. ↑ Ivo Rendić-Miočević: Osvrt na kanonizaciju Svetoga Novomučenika Vukašina Jasenovačkoga i blaženoga Alojzija Stepinca . In: Hrvatski tjednik . August 15, 2015 ( hkv.hr ).
21. ↑ Filip Škiljan: Logorski sustav Jasenovac: konroverze . In: Sabrina P. Ramet (ed.): Nezavisna država Hrvatska: 1941. – 1945. : zbornik radova . Alinea, Zagreb 2009, ISBN 978-953-180-155-3 , p. 117-130 .
22. ↑ Damir Šarac: Srbi se protive kanonizaciji Stepinca, a svecima proglašavaju likove iz bajki: pročitajte poremećenu priču o pravoslavnom svecu koji je zaustavio hrvatskog koljača Žilu . In: Slobodna Dalmacija . February 27, 2017 ( slobodnadalmacija.hr ).