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Intruduction 

On May 20th 1974, a member of the United States Congress announced that she would seek the deportation of "accused war criminal" Andrija Artukovic. Since that time Artukovic has been the subject of a number of articles and programs by the print and electronic media, as well as press releases by the Yugoslav Information Center of New York. Artukovic was the center of much attention during extradition hearings held from 1951 through 1959 on behalf of the Yugoslav government.

This Whitepaper has been prepared to provide documented answers to those questions most frequently asked concerning Artukovic from members of the press, the historical community, and other interested persons. Brief portions of this text may be reprinted without prior written permission.

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Treatment of the opposition

The Croatian State, like the United States and most other belligerents had certain elements thought to be hostile to the state. Many persons of opposition parties were arrested and held ‘‘for the duration." Although such blanket arrests cannot be justified in every case, the fact is that they did take place in nearly every country during the Second World War and continue to take place today. The fact that Vladko Macek wrote about his incarceration by the Ustasa after the war serves to illustrate an important aspect of the Ustasa system. Vladko Macek was the leader of the strong Croatian Peasant Party prior to the war. His party was anti-Nazi, anti-Communist, and anti-Ustasa. If any power in Croatia could bring down the Pavelic government, it was Macek. He was arrested and held first under house arrest, and later in an Ustasa detention center.

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Americans Helping Croatians

In early 1945 an attempt was made to evacuate American pilots from what was soon to be a war zone. Croatian Air Force General Rubcic saw to it that twelve American pilots were trained in the use of Croatian planes, which tepresented the last hope for the air defense of Croatia's capital. After familiarization on the collection of German, Italian, French, and British manufactured aircraft, fourteen Americans and one Croatian liaison officer flew to Italy. There they tried to convince American forces to land on the Dalmatian coast and meet the Red Army at the Drina river.

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The Airmen and the Baroness

Learning the realities of the fate of American airmen in Croatia during World War II proved even more interesting than uncovering the source of the mythology. Between the years of 1973 and 1979, this author undertook primary and secondary research into the subject which resulted in a monograph titled Allied Prisoners of War in Croatia 19411945. Fewer than one hundred airmen, American, British, Russian, South African, and Partizan, were held by the Croatian government during the War. The myth that "dozens" or twenty-five per cent, were executed was significant.

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