Lazar Bačić

Lazar Bačić (Serbian Cyrillic: Лазар Бачић; January 1865 – 12 May 1941) was a Serbian merchant and philanthropist.Ustashe used his property and industrial facilities to open the Jasenovac concentration camp III (Ciglana camp).He was a prominent benefactor of Privrednik^[1]

Biography[]

Bačić was engaged in trade and owned several stores in Zagreb and Jasenovac, as well as a brickyard.^[2][3]

He was one of the founders of the Serbian Bank in Zagreb, a longtime president of the Serbian Orthodox Church Administration in Jasenovac, a member of the Board of Directors of the Pakrac Savings Bank in Pakrac and the Serbian co-operation for promotion and savings in Okučani, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Serbian Credit Cooperative in Kostajnica and the Serbian Savings Bank as a cooperative in Nova Gradiska.^[4]

High treason accusation[]

As a member of the Central Committee of the Serbian Independent Party, in 1909 Bačić was one of 53 Serbs accused by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy of high treason – conspiracy to overthrow the state and place Croatia-Slavonia under Serbian rule. He spent 16 months in a prison. After that he was tagged as a suspicious person, especially during the World War I.

Privrednik[]

Bačić was a member of the Privrednik's Patronage at the time of his establishment in 1911 and one of its greatest philanthropists.^[5] Each year, on the Lazarus Saturday, he donated ten thousand Yugoslav dinars to Privrednik. In addition to his regular cash payments, in 1921, he handed over a luxurious two-storey building with a shop at the corner of the Gaj Street and the Berislavić Street in the center of Zagreb, as well as hundred thousand dinars.^[6]

Death[]

Bačić died in his apartment in Zagreb on 12 May 1941 and was buried at the Mirogoj Cemetery on 14 May.^[7][8]

His property in Jasenovac was confiscated by Ustashe Militia and used its industrial facilities to open the Jasenovac concentration camp III (Ciglana camp), which existed there until 23 April 1945.^[9][10]

Sedlar controversy[]

Croatian filmmaker Jakov Sedlar in his 2016 documentary film Jasenovac: The Truth accused Bačić for the pre-war murders of Croats in Jasenovac and stated that he and his son Ozren had fled to Serbia where they supported the Milan Nedić's Government.^[7] Ljubica Bačić, a daughter of Ozren Bačić, rejected this accusations and confirmed that Ozren was his nephew and that he died in Zagreb.^[11]

Personal life[]

He had a brother, Jovan, who was a merchant also. He married Dragica Miković, with whom he had no children.

See also[]

• Aleksa Spasić
• Vladimir Matijević

References[]