Milan Aćimović

Milan Aćimović

Milan Aćimović (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Аћимовић, 1898–1945) was a Serbian politician and Axis collaborator.

Aćimović was an attorney by profession. Prior to World War II he was chief of the Belgrade police and in 1939 he was briefly minister of interior in the pro-Axis Stojadinović government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was a dedicated anti-communist, and was pro-German, having been in contact with the German police before the outbreak of World War II.

On 30 May 1941, a few weeks after the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, Aćimović formed the first puppet government in Serbia, called the Commissary Government. He was the leader of the government until 29 August of that year when it was dissolved.

Aćimović's puppet government was replaced by another puppet government, the Government of National Salvation, headed by former general Milan Nedić. In this government, Aćimović served as minister of the interior. He was sympathetic towards the Chetniks of Draža Mihailović and maintained close contact with Mihailović. The Germans suspected that Aćimović warned Mihailović of the launching of Operation Mihailovic, which was conducted over 6–7 December 1941. The warning, apparently given the day before the offensive began, enabled Mihailović to escape. Despite these actions and the German's suspicions, Aćimović managed to stay on good terms with them, even meeting with Mihailović in March 1942 with German permission. On 10 November 1942, Aćimović was replaced as minister of interior by Colonel Tanasije Dinić, who was seen as more anti-Mihailović than Aćimović. After his replacement and the expulsion of the Germans from Serbia in October 1944, Aćimović acted as liaison between Mihailović and German Envoy Hermann Neubacher in Vienna.

After the German administration in Serbia fell, Aćimović joined a Chetnik column. He was killed by Yugoslav Partisans at the Battle of Zelengora in May 1945.

Notes

References

• Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: The Chetniks 1. San Francisco: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804708576. 
• Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration 2. San Francisco: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804736154.