Antun Milovan - victim of the communist "justice"

Abstract

Antun Milovan (1907 - 1945) from the village of Rezanci was known as a provident head of family, progressive peasant, promoter of his nation's rights, opposer of all totalitarian ideologies, fervent Catholic, friend and collaborator of priests, and - finally - victim of communism. Three of his sons later chose the clerical profession, and the youngest of them is the actual Bishop of Porec and Pula. Antun Milovan was not actively involved in the popular liberation movement because it was lead by communists, but he supported it materially. He had friends and acquaintances in the movement. They protected him to a certain extent, so he hadn't expect the murderous epilogue to his life following the night of the 22nd March 1945, when a group of well-armed unindentified partisans surprised him in his not yet locked house. They overcame him and took him into the dark night, after which he was never seen again. Even some leaders of the partisan movement later regretted his tragic fate, but they did nothing to discover and punish the perpetrators of the savage deed. On the contrary, in the post-war years the heavily affected family was subject to pressure and trouble. In the partisan movement press and on meetings, fabricated deceptions and accusations that were uncritically repeated even in later publications and interpretations justified the crime.