Živko Topalović (21 March 1886 – 11 February 1972) was a Serbian andYugoslavsocialist politician. Topalović became a leading figure in theSocialist Party of Yugoslavia, founded in 1921.[1][2] DuringWorld War II he became a prominent member ofDraža Mihailović'sChetniks.
Topalović graduated from the Užice high school in 1904. During his time in Užice, he metDimitrije Tucović,Radovan Dragović andDragiša Lapčević, the founders of socialism inSerbia and started on the path of a life-long socialist.[3] By the age of 18, he became a union instructor and secretary of the Alliance of Textile Workers of Serbia.[4]
He leaves forBelgrade to successfully pursue his studies in law, obtaining aPhD incriminal law. Between 1910 and 1912 he was inParis andBerlin, studying further. His studies were cut short by the outbreak of theFirst Balkan War. As a mobilised reserve officer, he participated in both of theBalkan Wars, most notably the battles ofKumanovo andBregalnica. After the end of theSecond Balkan War, he continued his studies.
During theFirst World War, Topalović served as a sublieutenant. He participated in theCer andKolubara battles. He was one of the soldiers in the burial detail of Dimitrije Tucović on Vrapče Brdo, after Tucović was killed in action.
Topalović was heavily wounded in the 1914 fights around Belgrade and captured byvon Mackensen's forces.[5] Most of the time in captivity, he spent at the K. u. k. KriegsgefangenenlagerAschach an der Donau concentration camp.[6] He was exchanged in late 1917 in a mass exchange of wounded officers between Serbia andAustria-Hungary.[4] At the behest of theSerbian Red Cross, he held a lecture onCorfu about the conditions that the SerbianPOWs faced in Austro-Hungarian captivity, as he served as a liaison between the POWs and the authorities.[7]
Topalović was leader of the 'centralist' faction in theCommunist Party of Yugoslavia, which opposed theworker's revolution. During the party's congress inVukovar, Topalović argued that the situation inYugoslavia was not revolutionary and that the principles of theSecond International should not be followed. Not a single centralist was elected in the party's leadership during the congress, so they left the party and founded their own.[8] Topalović represented Yugoslavia in the executive of theLabour and Socialist International between May 1923 and January 1929. He shared his seat with theBulgarian socialist leaderYanko Sakazov until August 1925, then sharing it withBolesław Drobner of theIndependent Socialist Labour Party ofPoland until June 1928 and from June 1928 to January 1929 withJoseph Kruk.[9] During1930s Topalović had good relations with at the time Belgrade police chiefMilan Aćimović. He was jokingly nicknamed 'gazda(boss) Živko', as he enriched himself during interwar period. He was lawyer by profession.[8]
During theSecond World War, Topalović became a close associate with theChetnik leaderDraža Mihailović. Topalović became the president of theBa Congress held in villageBa and assembled by Mihailović.[10][11] During this congress Topalović proposed that Bosnia should be fourth federal unit, besides Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, but this was opposed byDragiša Vasić andStevan Moljević.[12] On the last day of the Ba Congress, Topalović presented his work againstYugoslav Partisans, which was made in reaction to theSecond AVNOJ meeting. At the end he made a 'call' to the Partisans to put themselves under Mihalović's command, as 'communists should end civil war they began'.[13]
In the village of Trbušani nearČačak in the end of April 1944, Topalović alongsideMiroslav Trifunović andPredrag Raković met withMilan Aćimović and representative ofHermann Neubacher, Nazi delegate for Southeastern Europe. During the meeting, a joint fight against the Partisans was discussed, as well as, arming Chetniks.[14] On 31 May 1944, Topalović left for Italy with his wife alongsideCharles Armstrong, British officer on liaison mission to Chetniks. His mission was to help Chetniks through diplomacy, as it was clear that the allies were going to win the war, and the Chetnik position was desperate.[15] Topalović praised Chetniks and attacked Partisans in a report, advising allies to rely on Mihalović.[16] During September Topalović formed the board ofCentral National Committee in Italy.[17]
His books were banned by the Yugoslav government in 1947.[18]
