Mihailo Olćan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Economy of German-occupied Serbia | |
| In office 29 August 1941 – 11 October 1942 | |
| Prime Minister | Milan Nedić |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Milorad Nedeljković |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1894-09-18)18 September 1894 |
| Died | 21 November 1961(1961-11-21) (aged 67) |
| Political party | Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor) |
| Alma mater | Eötvös Loránd University |
| Profession | Physician |
| Awards | |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  Austro-Hungarian Army Imperial Russian Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1918 |
| Battles/wars | |
Mihailo Olćan (Serbian Cyrillic:Михаило Олћан; 18 September 1894 – 21 November 1961) was a Serbian soldier and politician. DuringWorld War II, he served as the Minister for the Economy inMilan Nedić'sGerman-installedGovernment of National Salvation which operated in theTerritory of the Military Commander in Serbia[1] between 1941 and 1944. He fled Yugoslavia towards the end of the war and emigrated toAustralia, where he died in 1961.
Mihailo Olćan was born on 18 September 1894 inCrepaja,Austria-Hungary. He was a nephew of Serbian inventorMihailo Pupin and finishedgymnasium inNovi Sad, where he joined a number of nationalist student movements. Olćan enrolled to study medicine at the university inPest. He joined theAustro-Hungarian Army with the outbreak ofWorld War I and was sent to fight on theEastern Front, where he defected to the Russians and joined a Serbian volunteer detachment. He distinguished himself while fighting for the Serbs and was awarded theCross of St. George and theOrder of the White Eagle with swords. He later fought on theSalonika front. In the post-war years, he led several volunteer organizations inVojvodina and lived in Petrovgrad (modernZrenjanin). He joined theYugoslav National Movement (Serbian:Jugoslovenski narodni pokret, Zbor) upon its creation in 1935.[2] The movement's leader,Dimitrije Ljotić, came to see Olćan as one of his most trusted lieutenants.[3]
Following theAxisinvasion and occupation ofYugoslavia, Olćan became a member of puppet administration known as theGovernment of National Salvation. On 29 August 1941, he was named to a ministerial position with the government ofPrime MinisterMilan Nedić.[4] Nedić appointed him Minister of Economy.[5]
At a government meeting on 14 September 1941, Olćan suggested that Ljotić's volunteers be armed to suppress an uprising by theYugoslav Partisans. The puppet government conceded and Olćan later established a recruitment office for the Serbian Volunteer Command (Serbian:Srpska dobrovoljačka komanda, SDK). More than 600 volunteers enlisted within the next several days.[6] The following month, Olćan boasted that Serbia "has been allowed what no other occupied country has been allowed [and that is] to establish law and order [...] by means of [its] own armed forces."[5] In the spring of 1942, he commented onThe Holocaust and stated that the Jews had "met the fate they deserved" after being blessed bySerbian Orthodox BishopNikolaj Velimirović.[7] He explained that Serbs should be grateful that "the powerful sledgehammer of Germany had come down not on the heads of the Serbian people but on the heads of Serbia's Jews instead".[7][8]
Olćan was dismissed from Nedić's cabinet in October 1942 and became, on German insistence, ade facto political commissar of theSerbian Volunteer Corps (Serbian:Srpski dobrovoljački korpus, SDK) in October 1943.[3][a] He worked as a direct representative of Dimitrije Ljotić and enjoyed the full confidence of the Germans.[3] In early 1944, Olćan was sent to Montenegro, along with a detachment of the SDK, in order to help establishment of theMontenegrin Volunteer Corps under the command ofPavle Đurišić.[3][10] In December, he and other members of the now-exiled Serbian puppet administration met with Velimirović andSerbian Patriarch Gavrilo V inVienna.[11]
Olćan fled Yugoslavia at the end of the war and moved toAustralia, where he lived until his death in late 1961.[2]
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