Kosta Mušicki
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Konstantin "Kosta" Mušicki ( sr-Cyrl, Константин Коста Мушицки; 7 April 1897 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslav brigadier general who commanded the collaborationist Serbian Volunteer Corps during World War II. He was captured by the British Army at the end of the war, but was subsequently handed over to the Yugoslav authorities, who tried and executed him for war crimes.


Early life

Kosta Mušicki was born on 7 April 1897 in Slavonski Brod, Austria-Hungary (now in Croatia) to Milutin and Jelena Mušicki (''née'' Mihailović). An ethnic Serb, he began his military service in the Austro-Hungarian Army. He later married and had two children. During the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
, Mušicki served as an aide to King Alexander and Queen Maria. He joined the fascist Yugoslav National Movement ( sr, Југословенски народни покрет, Збор, ''Jugoslovenski narodni pokret'', ''Zbor'') following the king's assassination in 1934.


World War II

Mušicki was stationed in Slavonski Brod at the time of the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941 and served as the Royal Yugoslav Army commander responsible for the railroad between
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
and Zagreb in the rank of colonel. He demonstrated his support for the Germans by helping their forces during the invasion. Yugoslavia was quickly conquered by the Axis powers and Mušicki remained in Slavonski Brod for several months after the conquest. He attempted to join the Ustaše Militia there, but was rejected. He went to Belgrade in mid-August, where he was received by Zbor leader Dimitrije Ljotić. On 6 October, Milan Nedić, the Prime Minister of the Axis-installed puppet Government of National Salvation, appointed Mušicki to lead the Serbian Volunteer Command ( sr, Srpska dobrovoljačka komanda, SDK). Mušicki was involved in executing Serb civilians in the town of Čačak in December 1941. He and
Milan Aćimović Milan Aćimović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Аћимовић; 31 May 1898 – 25 May 1945) was a Yugoslav politician and collaborationist with the Axis in Yugoslavia during World War II. Early life Milan Aćimović was born on 31 May 1898 in Pinos ...
contacted
Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
leader
Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...
on 5 December, possibly in an effort to warn him in advance of the assault the Germans had planned, codenamed
Operation Mihailovic Operation Mihailovic was the final World War II German anti-guerrilla offensive to suppress the Serbian Chetniks, Chetnik detachments of the Yugoslav Army, headed by Colonel Dragoljub Mihailović. The offensive took place from 4 to 9 December 19 ...
. This action prompted the Germans to question Mušicki's loyalty. He was removed from command at the end of 1941 and imprisoned by the Germans, but was later freed at Nedić's intervention. In early 1943, the Serbian Volunteer Command was renamed the Serbian Volunteer Corps ( sr, Srpski dobrovoljački korpus, SDK), and placed under the direct command of ''General der Artillerie'' Paul Bader, the commanding general in Serbia. The SDK was not part of the SS, nor was it formally a part of the '' Wehrmacht''. It was fed and clothed to German standards, with these expenses reimbursed to the Germans by the puppet government, who also paid the troops at the same rates as the Serbian police. The service oath of this latter SDK was amended to state that the members of the SDK would fight, to the death if necessary, both the Yugoslav Partisans and the Chetniks. Neither organisation was able to infiltrate the SDK due to its indoctrination with the ideas of Ljotić. Mušicki was re-appointed as its commander in the rank of general. The SDK was the only Serbian armed force that the Germans trusted during the war, and its units were often praised by German commanders for their bravery in combat. Mušicki attempted to flee Yugoslavia towards the end of the war, but was captured by the British. He was extradited to Yugoslavia and placed on trial. At his trial, he gave testimony about the involvement of Serbian volunteers in the
Kragujevac massacre The Kragujevac massacre was the mass murder of between 2,778 and 2,794 mostly Serb men and boys in Kragujevac, by German soldiers on 21 October 1941. It occurred in the German-occupied territory of Serbia during World War II, and came as a r ...
. He was found guilty of collaborating with the Germans, sentenced to death, and was executed in Belgrade on 17 July 1946.


Notes


References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Musicki, Kosta 1897 births 1946 deaths People from Slavonski Brod Serbs of Croatia Executed Yugoslav collaborators with Nazi Germany Serbian collaborators with Nazi Germany Serbian fascists Serbian people convicted of war crimes Yugoslav people convicted of war crimes People executed by Yugoslavia by firing squad Executed military personnel Serbian soldiers Executed Serbian people Royal Yugoslav Army personnel