Josip Metzger (17 August 1883 – 21 June 1945) was a member of the fascist

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

movement who rose to the rank of major general in the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was tried, sentenced and executed for war crimes after the war.

Early life

A Danube Swabian who was born in Franzfeld in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now

Kačarevo Kačarevo (Serbian and mk, Качарево) is a village in northern Serbia, situated in the municipality of Pančevo, South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 7,100 peopl ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

), Metzger graduated from the Austro-Hungarian Military Academy in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

World War I

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Metzger served as an Officer in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

, reaching the rank of infantry Captain.

Interwar separatism

After the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...

declared independence on 1 October 1918, however on 1 December 1918, Regent Alexander announced the union of the Kingdom of Serbia with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to form the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. On 5 December 1918, Metzger led a minor revolt of Croat soldiers in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, contemporaneously with other regional uprisings, and continued to lead action into 1919 as commander of the Hungarian-based Croat Legion, the small paramilitary wing of the Croat Committee. Metzger was arrested several times, including for his participation in the so-called ( hr, Afera Diamantstein) of 1919. Acquitted on 7 April 1920, he fled to the Hungarian border village of Vízvár, and distributed political leaflets in the neighbouring Yugoslav Medjimurje region. Metzger worked for the Hungarian Defense Ministry. During 1930, Metzger, then a Hungarian intelligence officer, engaged with other members of the

Party of Rights The Party of Rights ( hr, Stranka prava) was a 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 influenti ...

in organisation of proto-Ustaše activity among Croats in towns along the border of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

. Metzger's German descent was a rarity among the small number of pre-World War II Ustaše members, given the Ustaše's racialist principals. He was allegedly one of the organisers of the 1934 assassination in Marseilles of King

Alexander I of Yugoslavia Alexander I ( sr-Cyrl, Александар I Карађорђевић, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, ) ( – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier, was the prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later the King of Yu ...

World War II

On 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

, the

puppet government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sover ...

was created, headed 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 served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...

. In response to the

June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina In June 1941, Serbs in eastern Herzegovina rebelled against the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH), an Axis puppet state established during World War II on the territory of the defeated and o ...

by Serb rebels, General Vladimir Laxa intended for Metzger (by-then promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel) to command a newly formed special unit to clear the Montenegrin hinterland of any remaining rebels once its border areas had been cleared. In the summer of 1944, the People's Uprising Corps ( hr, Pučko Ustaški Sbor, lit=Ustaše Reserve Corps) was formed with four regiments of older reservists under Metzger, by then a Major-General. The Corps, named after the original corps which fought alongside the

Royal Croatian Home Guard The Royal Croatian Home Guard ( hr, Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo, Hrvatsko-slavonsko domobranstvo or Kraljevsko hrvatsko-ugarsko domobranstvo, often simply ''Domobranstvo'' or ''Domobran'' in singular, in German: ''Croatisch-Slawonische Landw ...

( hr, Hrvatsko Domobranstvo) against

in 1914, was disbanded in March 1945. Metzger then led the 4th Division in the

Battle of Lijevče Field The Battle of Lijevče Field ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Bitka na Lijevča polju, Битка на Лијевча пољу) was a battle fought between 30 March and 8 April 1945 between the Croatian Armed Forces (HOS, the amalgamated Ustashe Militia and Croa ...

between March 30 and April 8, 1945. For his service to the

during World War II, Metzger was awarded the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir 1st Class Cross with Star, which granted him

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

and allowed him the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

''vitez''.

Death

Metzger surrendered on 15 May 1945 to the British and was repatriated to Yugoslavia. Having been convicted as one of the chief organisers of the

Janka-Puszta Janka-Puszta or Jankovac was a training camp set up for the Ustashe terrorist organisation in 1931. The camp was located in the Zala County of Hungary, close to the border of the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia near the villages of Murakeresztúr an ...

training camp in Hungary, he was executed in Zagreb on 21 June 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzger, Josip 1883 births 1945 deaths Ustaše Croatian people of World War I Croatian military personnel of World War II Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Croatian collaborators with Fascist Italy Croatian people of German descent Recipients of the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir Executed Yugoslav collaborators with Nazi Germany Executed Croatian people People from Kačarevo Danube-Swabian people