Jure Francetić (3 July 1912 – 27/28 December 1942) was a Croatian Ustaša Commissioner for the Bosnia and Herzegovina regions of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II, and commander of the 1st Ustaše Regiment of the Ustaše Militia, later known as the Black Legion. In both roles he was responsible for the massacre of Bosnian Serbs and Jews. A member of Ante Pavelić's inner circle, he was considered by many Ustaše as a possible successor to Pavelić as Poglavnik (leader) of the NDH. He died of wounds inflicted when he was captured by Partisans near Slunj in the Kordun region when his aircraft crash-landed there in late December 1942.
Early life prior to formation of NDH
Francetić was born in Otočac in the mountainous Lika region of modern-day central Croatia on 3 July 1912. After high school where he was influenced by nationalist teachers, he went to study law at the University of Zagreb, where he joined the Ustaša movement and abandoned his studies. Soon after, he was exiled from Zagreb for five years as a result of his anti-Yugoslav political activities. He stayed in Otočac for a short time before emigrating to Italy in March 1933, where he took the Ustaša oath in the Borgotaro camp on 24 April 1933. He spent the next four years in Austria, Italy and Hungary. In Hungary he joined the Ustaša camp at Jankapuszta under the nom de guerre "Laszlo", became deputy commander of the camp, and developed into a fanatical Ustaša.
After the assassination of King Alexander, Francetić was interned on Sardinia by Mussolini at the request of the Yugoslav government. After a general declaration of amnesty in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Francetić returned to Croatia in November 1937, but was immediately arrested and exiled to his hometown. The next year Francetić returned to Zagreb hoping to complete his study of law but was forced to complete his military service instead. His nationalist activities included greeting all the inhabitants of Otočac with the slogan "Long live Ante Pavelić! Long live the Independent State of Croatia!". In late 1940 he was arrested in Zagreb due to a congratulatory telegraph to Dr Jozef Tiso, president of the newly formed Slovak Republic, signed by a number of Croat nationalists. He was again exiled to his native Otočac. After delivering an inflammatory nationalistic speech at a local school's New Year's celebration in Otočac on 12 January 1941, he escaped to Germany to avoid arrest.
World War II
Commissioner for Bosnia and Herzegovina
After the establishment of the NDH on 10 April 1941, Francetić was appointed as the chief Ustaša delegate in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the role of strengthening the Ustaša regime there. He arrived in Sarajevo on 24 April 1941 with Marshal Slavko Kvaternik, around 800 Ustaša militia, and 300 Ustaša police to establish formal control. Francetić effectively became the most powerful political leader in Sarajevo, and established a reputation for ruthlessness in dealing with Serbs and Jews. Francetić's Ustashe took control over the local administration by dismissing all civil servants and teachers belonging to the category of "Srbijanci" (Serbs), as well as Jews. Killings, arrests, and deportation of Serbs and Jews was a regular duty of Francetić's henchmen—based and justified by the official Ustashe policy which demanded the total extermination of Jews and the murder (1/3) and/or expulsion (1/3) and/or forced conversion to Roman Catholicism by Orthodox Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1/3). "On 23 July 1941 the headquarters of the NDH Ustasha police sent an order to the heads of all regions, including Francetić, to begin with the arrest and transportation of Jews, Serbs and communists to the Gospić concentration camp.
In September 1942, Francetić was removed from his role as the chief government delegate in Bosnia, probably to address the concerns of the Muslims of Bosnia about the atrocities perpetrated by the Ustaše over the last eighteen months.
Black Legion
In August 1941, Ustaša militia under (then Major) Francetić's command were deployed to eastern Herzegovina in order to counter the uprising there.
The 1st Ustaša Regiment () was raised by Francetić and Ante Vokić in Sarajevo in September 1941. When the original commander of the regiment was killed, Francetić took over command, and the regiment grew quickly and gained a reputation for fanaticism and violence. Raised for service in eastern Bosnia, by December it had been dubbed the Black Legion () after adopting a black uniform. It was feared for its fanatical morale and fighting qualities, but also for the atrocities it committed against the Bosnian Serb population. It soon grew to a strength of between 1000–1500 men.