World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMilan Nedić (Милан Недић) was born in Grocka, Serbia. He enlisted in the army in 1904, made major by 1910, and fought and honored in the Balkan Wars. As the youngest colonel in the Serbian Army, he fought during WW1. After WW1, Serbia was merged into a greater Yugoslavia, and his career continued to grow. He was made division general in 1923 and army general in 1930. Between 1934 and 1935, he commanded the general staff of the Yugoslav Army. In 1939, he was appointed the Minister of Army and Navy of Yugoslavia, but was dismissed on 6 Nov 1940 for his open support for Adolf Hitler. After German occupation of Yugoslavia, Nedić was named the Prime Minister of the German puppet government of Yugoslavia on 29 Aug 1941. He attempted to balance German demands and Yugoslav nationalism; partisan fighters pestered him, but he was able to assert general control over the country until 4 Oct 1944 when his government was overthrown in the face of successive German military defeats on both western and eastern fronts. He was captured in Austria by Allied troops and was turned over to Yugoslav authorities on 1 Jan 1946. He committed suicide a month later.

Photographs

Milan Nedić Timeline