Tias Mortigjija (7 April 1913 – 14 September 1947) was a Croatian journalist, publicist, and member of the Croatian Historical Revolution, best known for his activities during the existence of the Independent State of Croatia. During this period he was chief editor of the most important Croatian newspaper and magazine, Spremnost. Early life Mortigjija was born in Dubrovnik, then part of the Austria-Hungary, on 7 April 1913. He attended elementary school and high school in his native town. As a high school student, he began to publish poems, reviews, articles and debates in several Croatian newspapers and magazines. After completing high school in 1931, he enrolled in University of Zagreb, studying history and geography. He completed study in 1940, just before World War II. During his study at the University of Zagreb he continued publishing and served as the editor of various journals between 1933 and 1936. Mortigjija was appointed as an assistant in the department of economic history at the High Economic and Commercial school in Zagreb, but never worked in the position because he was too busy doing editorial work. In his autobiography, Mortigjija said that in his youth he was a keen Yugoslavian, but his opinion changed in 1928 after Puniša Račić's attack in the Yugoslav Parliament. The assassinations turned Mortigjija to Croatian nationalism. Mortigjija was inspired by the ideas of Ante Starčević who argued in the mid-1800s for an independent Croatian state. Career during the Independent State of Croatia Beginning with the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia in April 1941, Mortigjija was editor of the most important national newspaper, Hrvatski narod. In February 1942 he left the newspaper to work as director and chief editor of the newly founded weekly magazine Spremnost, a journal of the Ustaše movement. Mortigjija was a member of the Ustaše movement since 1941, serving as a reserve sergeant and later captain, although he never did subscribe to Ustaše ideology. Hrvatski narod and Spremnost were typical puppet papers that followed the policy of the Axis powers and in particular the Third Reich. They published anti-Jewish propaganda which quoted text from Deutsche Zeitung—German language newspapers printed by the Nazi Party through Franz Eher Nachfolger. The papers also printed articles about the Serbs, Roma and other "inferior" races. In December 1944 Martigjiga was dismissed from Spremnost, replaced by Franjo Nevistić. When the collapse of the Independent State of Croatia was imminent, Mortigjija