Nikola Kalabić


Nikola Kalabić was a Serbian Chetnik commander during World War II.

Early life

He was born to father Milan and mother Joka in Podnovlje in present-day Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He had a sister named Angelina.
Nikola's father separated from Joka after World War I and proceeded to get married three times. Nikola lived with his father at first so he attended school in places where his father served with the Serbian army. He eventually finished six grades of gymnasium before becoming a student of geodesy in Belgrade. During his studies, he met Borka who was born in Rajkovići near Valjevo in present-day Serbia into a family of old supporters of the People's Radical Party and Nikola Pašić. Borka and Nikola married in 1929 and on 3 August 1930 they had twins Mirjana and Milan. Their first service was in Belgrade. They then moved to Aranđelovac and finally back to Valjevo. Nikola Kalabić worked in Land-registry management in Valjevo.

World War II

During World War II, Nikola Kalabić was commander of Draža Mihailović's elite formation named Mountain Guard Corps. On 26 November 1943, together with the General Inspector of Chetnik Troops Colonel Simić, he concluded a formal collaboration agreement with the representative of the German Military Commander in Southeast Europe, General der Infanterie Hans Felber.

Capture and alleged collaboration with the OZNA

Near the very end of the war, Kalabić and many other Chetniks tried to hide in rural areas of the country, awaiting an attempt to overthrow the new government. The OZNA had a plan to capture former members of the Chetnik movement and other military organizations outside of Yugoslavia. There, OZNA agents infiltrated the support network of Kalabić and arrested him in a covert operation on 5 December 1945.
After a few days, Kalabić agreed to collaborate with the OZNA in their efforts of locating and arresting Draža Mihailović, in return for immunity from prosecution. This claim however has been brought into question by family members of Kalabić claiming that he did not surrender Mihailović. Kalabić was then executed by Yugoslav Partisans although this claim has also been questioned.

Rehabilitation attempts

Kalabić was rehabilitated by the High Court in Valjevo in May 2017. This decision however was overturned by an appellate court in Belgrade in May 2018. The procedure is ongoing at the High Court in Valjevo.