In 1946. he was sentenced to 16 years of hard labor for alleged treason in collaborating with the Nazis in World War II. These charges. as we know. were absolutely false since the cardinal was an outspoken opponent of both Nazi and Communist practices and had always been a stanch champion of minority groups. During the war years. he was credited with successfully arranging the flight to freedom of many Jewish refugees who were forced to flee from Nazi tyranny. Since 1951. the cardinal had been under house arrest in his native village and was refused permission to exercise his official duties as archbishop and religious leader of Croatia. He was the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church in Yugoslavia and was the obvious target for Red Dictator Titos policy of persecution.
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refugees