Dominik Mandić (2 December 1889 – 23 August 1973) was a
Herzegovinian Croat Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
and historian.
Biography
Mandić was born in
Lise near
Široki Brijeg
Široki Brijeg () is a city and the regional capital of West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. the town itself had a population of 6,149 and the municipality of 28,929.
Name
...
in
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...
. He completed his primary education in Široki Brijeg, where he attended the famous Franciscan high school, but graduated from the last two years in
Mostar
Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina.
Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...
. He studied
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
at
Fribourg
or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...
and obtained his PhD in
church history
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...
. When he returned to Mostar, he became a
teacher of religion in the Mostar state high school. The
Franciscan Province of Herzegovina elected him as their head.
In the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...
(established in 1918), Mandić was a member and a supporter of the pro-Yugoslav
Croatian Popular Party (HPS). However, the dominant political party in Herzegovina at the time was
Stjepan Radić's
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
(HSS). The majority of the Herzegovinian Franciscans supported the HSS, while the minority supported the HPS. During the 1927 general election, the HPS got only one seat (won by
Stjepan Barić). After the assassination of Stjepan Radić and the leaders of the HSS in the National Assembly in Belgrade, and Barić's support for the Belgrade government of
Anton Korošec
Anton Korošec (, ; 12 May 1872 – 14 December 1940) was a Yugoslav politician, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a Roman Catholic priest and a noted orator.
Early life
Korošec was born in Biserjane (then Duchy of Styr ...
after the assassination, led to the disintegration of the HPS. Mandić, unlike other HPS members, supported Barić's stay in the government, for which he was decorated with the
Order of Saint Sava 2nd class by King
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC
* Pope Alex ...
. The assassination led to a political crisis, which was the reason why on 6 January 1929, Alexander I proclaimed a dictatorship. Mandić repeatedly congratulated Alexander and was once again decorated with the
Order of the Yugoslav Crown 4th Class.
In the 1930s Mandić was amongst the senior Franciscans who supported Yugoslavia, while younger ones became proponents of Croatian independence. The HSS, now under the leadership of
Vladko Maček
Vladimir Maček (20 June 1879 – 15 May 1964) was a politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) following the 1928 assassination of Stjepan Radić, Maček had been a leading Croatian political figure ...
, also became pro-Yugoslav but supported Croatian autonomy. Mandić, along with
Krešimir Pandžić and
Leo Petrović became its strong supporter.
World War II
In 1939, Mandić was appointed a member of the central administration of the Franciscan Order in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
as the representative of all the Franciscan provinces in Slavic countries, and Chief Economist of the Order. He was in Rome when
war broke out in the Balkans in April 1941.
Immediately after the German
invasion of Yugoslavia
The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...
in April 1941, and after the
Yugoslav government left in exile in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, Mandić established contacts with London through his contacts in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and entered a cooperation with the British
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...
. With the help from other
Herzegovinian Franciscans, including
Leo Petrović and
Bonicije Rupčić, as well as Fr.
Petar Čule he gathered intel from
Mostar
Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina.
Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...
. He also helped the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
.
Upon hearing rumors about the deportation of Serbs and Slovenes in the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
(NDH), Mandić tried to influence the Government of the Independent State of Croatia to stop the deportations and to prevent clergy to participate in such doings. His relationship with the diplomatic mission of NDH was cold, and he never participated in anniversaries of the establishment of NDH organised by the diplomatic mission. Mandić saw
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 ...
as solution for the Croatian question, and opposed the Ustaše government of NDH.
Mandić controlled San Girolamo ratline's finances. He arranged the laundering of Ustasha money likely via the Franciscans' Vatican Bank accounts to which he had access and placed the Franciscan printing presses at the disposal of the Ustasha to print false identity information for war criminals to escape from justice after the Holocaust using
ratline escapes. Other priests involved in the San Girolamo ratline included
Krunoslav Draganović, Dragutin Kamber,
Vilim Cecelja (based in
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
) and Karlo Petranović (based in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
).
Works
''Hrvati i Srbi, dva stara različita naroda'' (''Croats and Serbs, Two Ancient and Different Peoples'')*''Bogumilska crkva bosanskih krstjana'' (''The Bogumil Church of Bosnian Christians'')
*''Crvena Hrvatska'' (''Red Croatia'')
*''Državna i vjerska pripadnost sredovječne Bosne i Hercegovine'' (''State and Religion in Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina'')
*''Etnička povijest Bosne i Hercegovine'' (''Ethnic History of Bosnia and Herzegovina'')
See also
*
Operation Bloodstone
Operation Bloodstone was a covert operation whereby the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sought former Eastern European anti-communist exiles and some former Nazis living in Soviet-controlled areas, to work undercover for U.S. intelligence inside ...
*
Aunt Anna's, a safe house in
Merano
Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its Spa town, spa resorts, it is located within a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to Height above mean sea ...
, Italy
Notes
References
Books
*
*
Journals
*
External links
The Collected Works of Dominik Mandić, fram.ba (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandic, Dominik
1889 births
1973 deaths
Clergy from Široki Brijeg
Croatian people of World War II
20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic priests
Franciscans of the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina
Croat writers from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Place of death missing
Great Officers of the Order of St. Sava
Recipients of the Order of the Yugoslav Crown