Mijo Babić
| Marijan Babić | |
|---|---|
| Other name(s) | Marjan |
| Nickname(s) | Mijo and Giovanni |
| Born | 1903 Nova Bukovica, Austria-Hungary (modern-day Croatia) |
| Died | 3 July 1941 Trusina, Berkovići, Independent State of Croatia (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) |
| Allegiance |
 Independent State of Croatia
|
| Service/ |
Ustaše militia |
| Years of service | 1929–1941 |
| Rank | Major |
| Commands held | The Third Bureau of the Ustasha Surveillance Service |
| Battles/wars | June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina |
Marijan Mijo Babić (1903–1941), nicknamed Giovanni, was a deputy of the Croatian fascist dictator (poglavnik (Croatian: poglavni pobočnik)) Ante Pavelić, and the first commander of all concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia. He was head of the Third Bureau of the Ustasha Surveillance Service (Croatian: Ustaška nadzorna služba—UNS), and was also a member of the Main Ustaše Headquarters, one of the two main deputies of Pavelić.
On 22 March 1929, Babić and Matija Soldina murdered Toni Schlegel, the chief editor of Novosti and president of "Jugoslovenska štampa", in Zagreb. At that time Babić was a chauffeur for the Siemens plant in Zagreb and, according to official reports, he murdered one and wounded another of the policemen who came to arrest him, and managed to escape. Babić fled to Italy where he stayed until Yugoslavia's entry into World War II. Italian police considered Babić a very dangerous man who was capable of the worst crimes.
While in Italy, Ustaše spent years planning for a genocidal campaign in their native country and trained a small band of followers for a takeover. As early as 1932, Babić, as one of the propagandists of Pavelić, had written:
When blood starts to spill it will gush in streams ... the blood of the enemy will turn into gushes and rivers, and bombs will scatter their bones like the wind ... every Ustasha is poised ... to ... cleanse and cut whatever is rotten from the healthy body of the Croatian people.
Babić participated in preparations for the establishment of Danica concentration camp. At the end of May or beginning of June 1941, he went to Pag island, based on the order of Andrija Artuković, where he established Slana concentration camp. Babić also organized the Kruščica concentration camp near Travnik.
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