Edit: this was originally posted in Cafe Society, not sure why it was moved.
He sounds like an urban legend, or a villain from some 90s Gothic thriller. But he was real. Aleksandar Milles was a Satanist and a prolific book thief, active in Croatia (then Yugoslavia) from mid to late 80s. For years, he and his accomplices would steal books from the National Library in Zagreb. Old, valuable books, first editions, some dating back to the 16th century. They also plotted to eventually burn down the library and the state archive, containing over 2.5 million books (?!). Milles would allegedly burn some books during the Satanic rituals, but he would sell most of them on the black market. He opened a video rental store called “666” and used it as a money laundering front. He and his friends stole over a thousand books in a five-year period. He made six million deutschmarks.
Milles and his accomplices were finally captured in 1988. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, where he committed suicide five years later (after multiple failed suicide-and escape-attempts). He was only 31 years old. Many of the stolen books have never been found, but til this day, some of those books still turn up every now and then, all over the world.
But why? Surely there were/are easier ways to make money, even illegally. And why would anyone want to burn down the library after stealing from it for years, and the state archive? Though multiple acts of vandalism and arson have been linked to Satanism, the targets are usually churches or other religious buildings.
Was it some weird backlash against cultural heritage/tradition? After all, many writers throuhout history (especially in Europe in Medieval and post-Medieval times) were religious, some of them even clergy (since that was the best way to get education).
Maybe this article, written by the reporter that used to work at his store, can shed some light.
Two important tidbits from the article, translated into English:
"Aleksandar Milles and I are the children of Zagreb’s Cvjetni settlement. I grew up in skyscrapers, and he grew up in one of the houses in the settlement itself. He had already finished elementary school when I was just starting it. The school was called Red October, today it is Flower Village. We didn’t cross paths in the neighborhood before, or at least I didn’t pay attention to it. Video stores were popular at that time. In my free time, I would visit a friend who worked at a local video store there. Aleksandar Milles would often come over and check out a dozen movies at a time. That’s when I first saw him. My friend and I commented that it was unusual. Milles would watch all those movies quickly; sometimes, he would return them all after one day. He told us that he was just rewinding the movies and “gathering information in such a way”. He did not really enjoy the movies, but tried to get as much information as possible. But he didn’t really say much.
Soon, our mutual friend (his first neighbor and my classmate) asked me if we could work together at Milles’ video store during the summer, and earn pocket money. I agreed. The store was located right next to Krešimir Square, and it was called 666. It was a long time ago, I don’t remember if anyone actually came there to borrow movies, but maybe they did. The name wasn’t strange to me, as naive as that sounds. I didn’t even know what it meant at the time, but they warned me later.
Aleksandar Milles was tall, pale, with black hair and long fingers, withdrawn and quiet. The team (his accomplices) would also come to the store, they would retreat to the back room. I don’t know what they were talking about. I found out later, from the media. There, in that apartment, there were many unpacked boxes. We were not allowed to enter one room; it was a room marked by a family tragedy.
That, in brief, is my recollection of my neighbor Alexander Milles, who later filled the pages of newspapers as the person who organized the “robbery of the century,” as it was called, stealing valuable property from the National and University Libraries. Later, the investigation revealed that he was responsible for many arsons at my then elementary school Crveni oktobar, and Kockica, the then headquarters of the CK SKH, which is in the immediate vicinity.
Could I sense anything about him? I don’t know, I was a child. However, I know that after meeting him, my parents decided that I would no longer work for him. Something didn’t sit well with him, they never told me what.
I worked there for a week or two. It was my first job. Many books that he stole from NSK still have not been found. However, some books that they sold on the black market are slowly being traced. And that is the reason why Aleksandar Milles case is in the spotlight again, and why I remembered that story from my childhood."
And
"Aleksandar Milles was the child of the famous journalist, Konstantin Milles. His [Aleksandar’s] older sister Maja committed suicide. It was a great tragedy which Milles had a hard time dealing with it. Later, after several attempts, Milles also took his own life. Konstantin did not live to witneaa his son’s death, but he was alive during his arrest.
Konstantin Milles conducted interviews with the most important protagonists of politics, science and culture. He was an editor at Globus, and also wrote for Start and Studio. Among others, he interviewed John Lennon and Yoko Ono when they were protesting for world peace. When describing his work, colleagues said that “the charm of Miles’ conversation is based on subtle cynicism.” Konstantin studied law, intending to follow in his father’s footsteps, but after the WWII started, he joined NOB. He later got married and got a job as a reporter. He once explained that “journalism is the profession of failed students”.
His daughter Maja also followed in his footsteps, though she was, admittedly, more involved in investigative journalism, most often in the field of the judiciary and police investigations. She was sixteen years older than her brother. It is not clear why she took her own life at the age of 36, but the family was never the same. It left its mark on then lost twenty-year-old Aleksandar Milles.
In the newsroom, Milles’ father reportedly bragged about his son’s intelligence. However, it was also reported that Aleksandar Milles suffered from psychosis at an early age. During the trial, Milles claimed that he had worked for an “organization”, the secret services, but that has never been proven. He kept changing his statements. And the whereabouts of many valuable books dating back to the 16th century are still unknown."
Thoughts? Maybe some psychologists or true crime buffs on here can shed some light on this.