Đuro Vilović (11 December 1889 22 December 1958) was a Yugoslav publicist, one of the most widely read and controversial writers of Croatian interwar literature and a member of the

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

. Initially, a

Croatian nationalist Croatian nationalism is nationalism that asserts the nationality of Croats and promotes the cultural unity of Croats. Modern Croatian nationalism first arose in the 19th century after Budapest exerted increasing pressure for Magyarization of Cro ...

and a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest, Vilović left the Roman Catholic church, joining a

Serbian nationalist Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, ...

Chetnik movement during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and becoming a close ally of

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 ...

, for which he was sentenced to 7 years in prison at the

Belgrade Process Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1946 by the new communist regime. He died on 22 December 1958 in

Bjelovar Bjelovar (, , Czech language, Czech: ''Bělovar'' or ''Bělovár,'' Kajkavian dialect, Kajkavian: ''Belovar,'' Latin: ''Bellovarium'') is a city in central Croatia. In the Demographics of Croatia, 2021 census, its population was 36,316 . It is ...

Biography

Vilović completed gymnasium high school in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

and theology program in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. Between 1913 and 1915 he was a Roman Catholic priest after which he went to study philosophy in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He was prosecuted for World War II collaboration after the end of the war.

Literature works

Vilović was a significant author of Croatian literature. During the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, he was one of the most popular writers in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Novels

* ''Aesthete'' (1919) * ''Međumurje'' (1923) * ''Three Hours'' (1925) * ''The Master of the Soul'' (1931) * ''The Bell Mourned the Virgin'' (1938)

Short stories

* ''A Stale Life'' (1923) * ''Mandorlato'' (1924) * ''Croatian North and South'' (1930).

References

1889 births 1958 deaths People from Makarska Yugoslav Roman Catholics Croatian writers Yugoslav prisoners and detainees Croatian Chetnik personnel of World War II Croatian nationalists People convicted of treason against Yugoslavia {{Croatia-writer-stub