Petar Brzica
Encyclopedia
Father Petar "Pero" Brzica (born ca. 1917) was a Croatian fascist and World War II
war criminal. Before the war he was a scholarship student at the Franciscan college of Široki Brijeg
in Herzegovina
and a member of The Great Brotherhood of Crusaders.
He spent some time studying law in Zagreb
where he became the Ustashe Youth member and later a member of the Croatian fascist Ustaša government (1941-1945) and one of the guards in the Jasenovac concentration camp
. As an Ustashe he held the rank of Lieutenant.
While he is known for having beaten an inmate to death in March 1943, he is notorious for having won a contest in which he used a curve-bladed knife, also called a srbosjek, to kill newly-arrived concentration camp prisoners. Brzica boasted of winning the contest by killing the largest number of prisoners - 1360 people. Some other sources set Brzica's "record" at a lower number, between 670 and 1100.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
war criminal. Before the war he was a scholarship student at the Franciscan college of Široki Brijeg
Široki Brijeg
-Name:The name of the city means "the wide hill" in Croatian . The city is also sometime referred to as "Široki Brig" and among the inhabitants of Herzegovina simply as "Široki" . Between 1945 and 1990, the name was officially Lištica, after the river that flows through it.-Geography:The river...
in Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
and a member of The Great Brotherhood of Crusaders.
He spent some time studying law in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
where he became the Ustashe Youth member and later a member of the Croatian fascist Ustaša government (1941-1945) and one of the guards in the Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp was the largest extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia and occupied Yugoslavia during World War II...
. As an Ustashe he held the rank of Lieutenant.
While he is known for having beaten an inmate to death in March 1943, he is notorious for having won a contest in which he used a curve-bladed knife, also called a srbosjek, to kill newly-arrived concentration camp prisoners. Brzica boasted of winning the contest by killing the largest number of prisoners - 1360 people. Some other sources set Brzica's "record" at a lower number, between 670 and 1100.
See also
- Vjekoslav Luburić
- Ivica Matković
- Ljubo MilošLjubo MilošLjubomir Miloš was an official of the Croatian World War II regime. As an Ustaše, he was the head of the Independent State of Croatia secret service ....
- Miroslav FilipovićMiroslav FilipovicMiroslav Filipović was a Croatian Ustaše and Roman Catholic friar who was convicted of war crimes by both a German military court and a Yugoslav civil court and hanged in Belgrade.-Early life:Filipović's date of birth was 5 June 1915, but little else about his early years has been...
- Independent State of CroatiaIndependent State of CroatiaThe Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...