Pajica Omčikus


Pavle Omčikus, nicknamed Pajo or Pajica was one of the leaders of Serb rebels during the Srb uprising in July 1941 in the Axis puppet state, the Independent State of Croatia. He later commanded the Chetnik Regiment "King Peter II" and collaborated with the Italian occupiers. He was killed in Partisan custody in March 1942.

Early life

Pavle Omčikus was born in 1912 in Srb in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. His father's name was Gajo and his mother was Marija. Omčikus' family was well-known in the region as Pavle's father and grandfather were presidents of Serb municipality. Omčikus completed elementary school in Srb and gymnasium in Gospić. He served in the Royal Yugoslav Army in Meljine in Kotor Bay during 1933—1934. He was a supporter of the social liberal Independent Democratic Party, but later he joined the far-right Yugoslav Radical Union.

World War II

Uprising

At the beginning of the Srb uprising Omčikus, together with Pera Rajak, Miloš Torbica and other rebels, attacked Srb and destroyed Ustaše garrison. Omčikus used trucks to organize transport of rebels to fighting positions.
In August 1941 the Chetnik Regiment "King Peter II" was established in Lika and Omčikus was appointed as its commander, and publicly disagreed with communist leaders in Lika accusing Communists for division of Serbs.

Italian assistance

Italy used the uprising to try to expand the territory of NDH under Italian control deeper into western Bosnia.Chetnik leaders Omčikus, Radjenović and Major Rašeta claim that the Italians will save the Serbs from the Ustasha terror and that they should be welcomed as liberators. On 26 August 1941 NDH and Italy agreed that Second Italian Army will occupy and pacify rebels in the second and third zone. Italy supported Serb rebels to create an opening to establish Italian influence beyond the zones they occupied per formal agreements.

Death

Some of the post-war communist sources emphasized that Omčikus surrendered to Partisans with intention to join them. Voivode Momčilo Đujić who was commander of Yugoslav Chetnik forces in Lika, sent an ultimatum to communists to release Omčikus.
Some communist sources underlined that Omčikus committed suicide in communist-held prison in Krbavica, while the communist contemporary reports clarified that Omčikus and group of 30 Yugoslav Chetniks were captured and murdered by communists.

Elaborate of Dinara Division

The leaders of the Serb rebels who belonged to Chetnik units of Dinara Division agreed on basic principles of their further struggle, presented in a document composed between 8 and 12 March 1942 and titled "Elaborat of Dinara Division". The main objective of their struggle stipulated in elaborate, signed by Momčilo Đujić, Pavle Popović, Pavle Omčikus, Branko Bogunović and Mane Rokvić, was establishing of the Serb nation-state. On the other hand, the Croatian Communist forces undertook all necessary measures to destroy any attempt to establish Serbian nation-state by "murders of national leaders and Chetniks" and waging against them "a war until extreme limits of life".