Freemasonry in Yugoslavia: The Rise, Glory, and Tragedy of South Slavic Masonry

The story of Freemasonry in Yugoslavia is one of unity forged from diversity, brilliance followed by catastrophe, and a phoenix rising from ashes after 50 years of darkness.

For just 21 years, from 1919 to 1940, the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia represented something extraordinary: Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Muslims, and Jews, meeting as equals in lodge rooms across a newly unified kingdom.

They built hospitals, orphanages, and schools. They hosted an international Masonic congress for peace that drew delegations from across Europe. They embodied the ideals their fractious nation desperately needed but could never quite sustain.

Then came the darkness…

World War II, fascist persecution, communist suppression. For half a century, Yugoslav Freemasonry existed only in memory and in exile.

The grand temples became government offices. Lodge records ended up in Nazi anti-Masonic exhibitions. Brothers who survived the war kept silent, their Masonic past a dangerous secret in Tito’s Yugoslavia.

But on June 23, 1990, in a ceremony in Belgrade attended by German Brothers who brought the Light back across borders and decades, the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia was reestablished.

The phoenix had risen. Though Yugoslavia itself would soon fracture into seven nations amid brutal war, Masonic brotherhood survived, adapting to new realities while honoring old traditions.

Before Yugoslavia: Freemasonry Under Three Empires

To understand Yugoslav Freemasonry, you must first understand that “Yugoslavia” unified territories that had spent centuries under different imperial rulers.

Serbs lived partly under Ottoman rule, partly under Austro-Hungarian. Croats and Slovenes belonged to the Habsburg Empire.

Each region developed its own Masonic traditions connected to these empires.

The first documented Masonic lodge on Yugoslav territory was established in 1764 in Glina, Croatia, within the Military Frontier between Habsburg and Ottoman empires.

Count Ivan Drašković VIII founded “War Friendship” lodge (Ratno prijateljstvo), making it the first lodge in the entire Balkans.

The lodge operated until 1795, when Habsburg Emperor Joseph II, responding to Catholic Church pressure, banned Freemasonry throughout his domains.

In Serbian territories under Ottoman rule, Freemasonry developed differently. The legendary “Ali Koç” lodge in Belgrade, established around 1796, gathered Turks, Serbs, Greeks, and Armans during Ottoman times.

Among its members was Hajji Mustafa Pasha alongside Serbian intellectuals.

This remarkable lodge represented Oriental Freemasonry’s unique character, operating with Ottoman tolerance that Habsburg lands lacked.

In 1876, envoys of Giuseppe Garibaldi founded “Luce dei Balcani” (Light of the Balkans) in Belgrade.

This lodge became foundational for modern Serbian Freemasonry, attracting writers, professors, painters, merchants, and politicians committed to enlightenment ideals and Serbian independence.

The Grand Lodge of Serbia was founded in 1912, receiving Light from Greek and English lodges.

The Supreme Council of Serbia was founded the same year by the Supreme Council of Greece, with Brother Đorđe Weifert elected as the first Sovereign Supreme Commander.

Serbian Freemasonry was just establishing itself when World War I erupted, temporarily halting all Masonic activity.

1919: The Creation of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia

The end of World War I brought the collapse of Austria-Hungary and the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later renamed Yugoslavia in 1929).

This new state united territories that had been separated for centuries, bringing together South Slavic peoples into one nation.

Freemasons across these regions recognized the need to unite as well.

On June 9, 1919, an extraordinary assembly of all Serbian, Croatian, and Slovenian lodges convened in Zagreb. Lodges previously operating under the Supreme Council of Serbia and the Grand Symbolic Lodge of Hungary were released from their former authorities.

At this historic meeting, they proclaimed the Grand Lodge of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes “Yugoslavia” (later simply the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia) as the supreme Masonic authority in the newly formed state, with its seat in Belgrade.

The choice to name the organization “Yugoslavia” ten years before the state officially adopted that name demonstrates how forward-thinking these Brothers were.

They envisioned a truly unified South Slavic brotherhood transcending ethnic and religious divisions.

The first Grand Master was Đorđe Weifert, who had led the Supreme Council of Serbia since 1912.

Weifert symbolized the close ties between Serbian and French Freemasonry that had developed during World War I.

Serbian Brothers in exile had established strong connections with the Grand Orient of France and the Grand Lodge of France, relationships that would shape Yugoslav Masonry throughout the 1920s.

Adolf Mihalić from Zagreb and Professor Sveta Stojković from Belgrade served as key organizers.

Historical sources record that the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia had about 300 members at its founding, a number that would grow dramatically over the next two decades.

The Golden Age: 1920s Yugoslavia

The second decade of the twentieth century witnessed Yugoslav Freemasonry’s flourishing.

The Lodge “Dositej Obradović,” named after the Serbian Enlightenment philosopher, included among its 150 members some of the most prominent intellectuals and artists in Yugoslavia.

Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andrić, the greatest Yugoslav writer, was a Brother. Sculptor Ivan Meštrović, whose works stand in cities across Europe and America, belonged to the lodge.

Vladimir Ćorović, historian and professor who became Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia and a member of the Supreme Council of Serbia, contributed both scholarship and leadership. Rastko Petrović, writer and diplomat, brought his literary talents to Masonic work.

The Lodge “Pobratim” (Blood Brothers), established in Belgrade in 1890 and continuing until 1940, represented the heart of Yugoslav Freemasonry.

Among its more than 220 members were:

Jovan Aleksijević, editor of the Masonic newspaper “Neimar” (Builder) and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia.

Stanislav Binički and Stevan Mokranjac, composers who shaped Yugoslav musical culture.

Aleksandar Deroko, architect and academician who designed numerous important buildings. Multiple government ministers including Jovan Jovanović Pižon (Foreign Affairs), Momčilo Ninčić (Foreign Affairs and president of the League of Nations), and Kosta Kumanudi (Mayor of Belgrade).

The Lodge “Sloga, Rad i Postojanstvo” (Unity, Work and Sustainability), established in Belgrade in 1883, passed more than 150 members through its doors, including numerous ministers and the Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of Yugoslavia, Ljubomir Tomašić.

What made Yugoslav Freemasonry remarkable was its diversity.

Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, Muslims, and Jews all participated.

The Grand Lodge included clergy from multiple faiths: Orthodox and Roman Catholic higher priesthood as well as rabbis. This pluralism was revolutionary in a society still largely organized around religious identity.

1926: The Belgrade Congress for Peace

The culmination of Yugoslav Masonry’s golden age came in September 1926, when Belgrade hosted an International Masonic Congress under the name “In the Sign of Peace” (U znaku mira).

The event was organized under the patronage of the International Masonic Association (Association Maçonnique Internationale).

The timing was significant. Hungary had banned Freemasonry in 1919-1920, and Italy would ban it in 1925.

The Belgrade Congress represented a defiant declaration that continental European Freemasonry remained a vital force for peace and international understanding.

Representatives of twenty national obediences from fifteen European countries attended, along with representatives from two overseas obediences.

The congress was held from September 11-16, 1926, and parts of it were open to the general public, an unusual feature demonstrating Yugoslav Masonry’s confidence and transparency.

Grand Master Weifert’s leadership, combined with strong support from French Freemasonry, made this international gathering possible.

The congress condemned persecution of Freemasonry and promoted the Craft as an essential promoter of peace in post-World War I Europe.

The event showcased Yugoslav Freemasonry at its peak: confident, internationally connected, committed to progressive ideals, and unafraid to publicly declare its principles.

Belgrade had become, however briefly, a center of European Masonic activity.

Charitable Work: Masonic Values in Action

Yugoslav Freemasons didn’t just meet in lodge rooms.

They created extensive charitable infrastructure that benefited the entire society.

In Belgrade, they established the “Saint Sava Society,” an orphanage and educational center for children from southern Serbia. The institution “Kralj Dečanski” (King of Dečani) was opened for deaf-mute children.

The “Foundation of Saint George” (Fondacija Sveti Đorđe) was formed specifically to help children and invalids of the war.

A Home for the Blind and an educational center for youth opened in Zemun.

Masons organized action to help the unemployed and formed alliances to fight begging, tuberculosis, and other social ills.

These weren’t token charitable gestures but serious institutional commitments requiring significant resources and ongoing management.

Yugoslav Masons understood that Masonic principles meant nothing if not manifested in concrete service to society.

The Jewish Question and B’nai B’rith

Yugoslav Freemasonry’s relationship with its Jewish members reflected both progressive ideals and persistent prejudices of the era.

The Independent Lodge of the Order B’nai B’rith, a Jewish fraternal organization, established lodges in Belgrade (“Srbija” in 1911), Zagreb (1927), Sarajevo, Novi Sad (“Salamon Alkalaj”), Subotica (“Mantat Jad”), and Osijek (“Menorah”).

The Grand Lodge of the 18th district of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia represented B’nai B’rith’s organizational structure in the country.

These lodges operated alongside mainstream Masonic lodges, creating a parallel but connected fraternal structure for Jewish members.

Tension existed between the National Lodge and Moldavian lodges over Jewish admission. The National Lodge indirectly refused Jews in some contexts, as Jews concentrated in Moldavia.

Yet many prominent Jews belonged to mainstream Yugoslav lodges, and the overall picture was one of greater tolerance than existed in surrounding countries.

This complexity reflected Yugoslavia itself: progressive in aspiration, struggling with ethnic and religious tensions in practice, but genuinely attempting to create a multinational, multi-religious state where all citizens could participate equally.

1934-1940: The Reorientation and Growing Pressure

In 1934, Dušan Miličević (also spelled Militchevitch) became Deputy Grand Master and later Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia. He initiated a significant policy shift: reorientation from French Freemasonry toward the United Grand Lodge of England.

This reorientation reflected geopolitical realities. Italian Fascism had banned Freemasonry in 1925. Nazi Germany would follow in 1935.

The Grand Orient of France, while supportive, couldn’t provide the protection that recognition from the United Grand Lodge of England might offer.

Miličević made three official Masonic visits to Britain between 1933 and 1939, cultivating relationships with English Masonic leadership.

He developed ambitious plans to make the Duke of York (later King George VI), a dedicated Freemason, an honorary past master of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia.

The plan aimed to make Yugoslav Masonry more resistant to internal clerical attacks and external pressure from fascist Italy.

The plan failed. Pressure on Yugoslav Freemasonry mounted from multiple directions: the Catholic Church condemned it, fascist Italy spread anti-Masonic propaganda, and Nazi Germany demanded its suppression.

Yugoslav political leaders, seeking to maintain relationships with Germany and Italy as war approached, gradually withdrew support from Freemasonry.

August 1, 1940: The End

On August 1, 1940, the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia and all its branches ceased operation.

Officially, this was a voluntary dissolution, but the reality was that mounting political pressure made continuation impossible.

The dissolution came from a combination of factors: pressure from Nazi Germany, which had banned Freemasonry in 1935 and demanded its elimination in allied and friendly nations; Catholic Church condemnation, particularly strong in Croatia; and Yugoslav government’s desire to appease the Axis powers as European war intensified.

By mid-1935, Yugoslav Freemasonry had grown to about 1,000 members working in over 20 lodges. All this ended in a single day. Lodge buildings were sealed.

Records were confiscated. Brothers dispersed, their decades of work apparently erased.

Some Brothers maintained contact privately, but organized Masonic activity became impossible.

The golden age of Yugoslav Freemasonry, which had lasted just 21 years, was over.

World War II: Persecution and Survival

What followed dissolution was far worse than mere prohibition.

When Yugoslavia was invaded and dismembered in April 1941, active persecution began.

In the fascist Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a Nazi puppet state, Freemasons faced arrest and murder. Jews, Serbs, and Masons were specifically targeted.

Many were sent to Jasenovac concentration camp, where tens of thousands were killed. Freemasonry was strictly prohibited by law, with membership considered evidence of treason.

In German-occupied Serbia, Nazis organized anti-Masonic exhibitions displaying confiscated regalia and documents.

These propaganda shows presented Freemasonry as part of a Jewish-Masonic-Communist conspiracy against Germany and European civilization.

Card registers of Freemasons, created before World War II and updated during the war by occupation authorities, recorded detailed information on lodge members: names, positions, addresses, photographs, marital status, religion, lodge membership, and family details.

A separate card register tracked Jewish lodge members specifically. These records were used to identify Masons for interrogation, arrest, and worse.

Many Yugoslav Freemasons died during the war: some as partisans fighting against occupation, some in concentration camps, some simply for being Freemasons.

The full toll will never be known, as records were destroyed and many deaths went undocumented amid wartime chaos.

Those who survived kept their Masonic past secret. In Tito’s communist Yugoslavia, Freemasonry was considered a bourgeois, reactionary organization incompatible with socialist society.

Former Masons faced suspicion and potential persecution if their membership became known.

The Silent Years: 1945-1989

For 44 years, Yugoslav Freemasonry existed only in memory and exile.

The buildings stood empty or converted to other uses. The charitable institutions closed or were absorbed into state social services.

The traditions of lodge work, the rituals, the fellowship, all disappeared from public life.

Yet the memory persisted. Yugoslav émigrés in Germany, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere maintained Masonic connections.

Some formed lodges in exile, preserving Yugoslav Masonic traditions in foreign lands. They hoped, perhaps against hope, that one day Freemasonry might return to Yugoslavia.

A tantalizing anecdote suggests some brave souls maintained minimal activity even during this dark period.

A prominent Greek Freemason stated in Belgrade during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Council of Serbia that in the late 1950s, his guarantor went to Belgrade where, in a hotel near the railway station (probably Hotel Astoria), brief Ritual Works were maintained according to Freemasonic ritual.

The Tyler was reportedly a senior officer of the Yugoslav People’s Army who wore his Masonic apron over his uniform.

Whether this account is accurate or embellished, it speaks to the enduring appeal of Masonic fellowship and the courage required to maintain it under communist rule.

1989-1990: The Resurrection

As communist regimes collapsed across Eastern Europe in 1989, Yugoslavia experienced its own transformation. The first free elections in decades were scheduled.

Civil society organizations long suppressed began reemerging. And in this atmosphere of renewal, Yugoslav Freemasonry stirred to life.

In 1989, three Masonic lodges were founded in Belgrade: “Pobratim” (reviving the famous Blood Brothers lodge), “Sloga, Rad i Postojanstvo” (reviving Unity, Work and Sustainability), and “Maksimilijan Vrhovec.” These were the first lodges in Yugoslavia in 50 years.

Brothers who had maintained connections in exile played crucial roles.

Yugoslav Freemasons from Germany, particularly Z. Lemberger and D. Džepina from Düsseldorf, V. Pavlović from Saarbrücken, and others provided essential support.

They brought knowledge of ritual, helped establish contact with international Freemasonry, and provided moral and material support.

On June 23, 1990, a ceremony in Belgrade reestablished the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia.

Grand Master Ernst Walter of the Grand Lodge of Germany participated in the ceremonial installation and “bringing in of the Light.” Brother Zoran Nenezić was elected as the first Grand Master of the renewed Grand Lodge.

After 50 years of darkness, Masonic Light had returned to Yugoslavia.

In November 1991, the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite of Yugoslavia was ceremoniously reestablished in Prague.

Sovereign Grand Commander C. Fred Kleinknecht of the American Southern Jurisdiction performed the ceremony, demonstrating American Freemasonry’s commitment to supporting the revival of European Masonry after communism.

1991-2000: Yugoslavia’s Dissolution and Masonry’s Adaptation

The Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia was reestablished just as Yugoslavia itself began disintegrating. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence in June 1991.

War erupted in Croatia, then spread to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Macedonia declared independence peacefully in 1991.

By 2000, Yugoslavia had fractured into seven nations: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Kosovo.

This political dissolution created complex questions for Freemasonry…

• Should the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia continue?
• Should new national Grand Lodges be established?
• How should Brothers from now-hostile nations relate to each other?
• Could Masonic brotherhood survive when ethnic hatred had driven neighbors to kill each other?

Different solutions emerged in different regions.

Slovenia, Croatia, and other newly independent states eventually established their own Grand Lodges.

Serbia maintained continuity with the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia, later becoming the Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia.

Brother Zoran Nenezić, who had led the revival in 1990, continued serving the Craft with distinction until his death in 2021.

His ceremonial mastery and commitment to Masonic principles helped guide Serbian and regional Freemasonry through extremely difficult transitions.

Legacy and Lessons

The story of Yugoslav Freemasonry teaches profound lessons about the Craft’s potential and its limitations.

At its best, Yugoslav Masonry demonstrated that men of different ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds could meet as equals and work together for social good.

The Brotherhood that included Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish members, that welcomed Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and others, that built hospitals and schools serving all citizens, represented the ideal Yugoslavia struggling to be born.

Yet Yugoslav Masonry couldn’t save Yugoslavia from itself.

When nationalism, fascism, and communism arrived, Masonic brotherhood proved insufficient protection. Brothers who had sat together in lodge rooms ended up on opposite sides of brutal conflicts. The principles of tolerance and universality that guided lodge meetings couldn’t prevent the catastrophes that destroyed millions of lives.

This isn’t a failure of Masonic ideals but a recognition of their limits.

Freemasonry can create spaces where enmities are suspended and shared humanity recognized.

It cannot, by itself, transform societies or prevent historical forces beyond its control. It is, in the end, a fraternity of individual men, not a political movement capable of reshaping nations.

What Yugoslav Freemasonry did accomplish was preserve an alternative vision of what Yugoslavia could have been.

In lodge records, in the list of charitable institutions created, in the roster of prominent Brothers who dedicated themselves to enlightenment and progress, we see the Yugoslavia that might have succeeded if history had been kinder.

Visiting Yugoslav Masonic Heritage Today

For traveling Masons, the remnants of Yugoslav Masonic heritage exist primarily in Serbia, where institutional continuity was maintained.

The Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia, operating from Belgrade, welcomes visiting Brothers from recognized jurisdictions.

Most physical evidence of Yugoslav Freemasonry was destroyed during World War II or lost during the communist period.

The grand temple that hosted the 1926 International Congress no longer exists as a Masonic building. Lodge records were confiscated during Nazi occupation; some ended up in archives, others were destroyed.

What remains is living memory and revived tradition. The lodges reestablished since 1989 carry the names and traditions of their pre-war predecessors.

Brothers who never knew the original “Pobratim” or “Luce dei Balcani” lodges nevertheless maintain their heritage, conducting ritual, performing charitable work, and upholding principles that transcend political borders.

The Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia has about 200 members in a dozen active lodges.

The Grand Orient of Serbia, established in 2016, has around 1,000 members. These numbers are modest compared to the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia’s peak, but they represent genuine growth and commitment.

Freemasonry in Serbia and across the former Yugoslavia still faces prejudice.

Conspiracy theories persist. Public understanding of what Freemasonry actually is remains limited.

But slowly, through humanitarian events, media appearances, and simple persistence, Serbian and regional Masons work to educate the public and restore the Craft’s reputation.

The Enduring Significance

Why does Yugoslav Freemasonry’s story matter? Because it demonstrates both the power and fragility of human fellowship.

For 21 years, men who might otherwise have been divided by ethnicity, religion, or politics met as Brothers. They built institutions serving all citizens regardless of background.

They connected Yugoslav intellectual and cultural life to broader European currents. They embodied, however imperfectly, the universal brotherhood that Freemasonry preaches.

Then it all ended, destroyed by forces that saw brotherhood as weakness and tolerance as treason.

For 50 years, the Light was extinguished. Yet when the opportunity came, Brothers rekindled that Light, proving that Masonic ideals survive persecution, outlast dictatorships, and transcend national boundaries.

Today, as nationalism again rises across the Balkans and old ethnic tensions resurface, the memory of Yugoslav Freemasonry reminds us that alternatives to division exist.

Men who fought on opposite sides of Yugoslavia’s wars can, in principle, meet again as Brothers. The possibility may seem remote, but it exists because Freemasonry exists.

That possibility, that enduring hope for brotherhood transcending conflict, is Yugoslav Freemasonry’s greatest legacy. The physical temples may be gone, the archives scattered, the golden age ended.

But the idea survives: that men of goodwill, regardless of ethnicity or religion, can meet on the level, recognize their shared humanity, and work together for the good of all.

In a region still scarred by the wars of Yugoslavia’s dissolution, that idea matters.

It may not prevent future conflicts or heal all wounds. But it keeps alive the vision of something better than endless division, something worth preserving and rebuilding: the belief that brotherhood is possible, even when history suggests otherwise.