Quick Facts
Biography
Josip Šolc or Josip Scholz (Germanised spelling) (30 January 1898 – 19 September 1945) was a Croatian soldier and footballer. He competed for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Born in Zagreb, he played football as midfielder with HŠK Concordia and was known for his good technical skills. He finished the Military Academy and was official in the Yugoslav Royal Army between 1919 and 1940. Besides football he also practiced fencing and was part of the Small Entente team at Bucharest in 1938.
He was a member of the Nazi-backed Croatian Home Guard. Šolc was commander of the Zagreb Garrison Command. In August 1942 he was awarded the Military Order of the Iron Trefoil 4th Class Cross with Oak Wreath. He was promoted to the rank of infantry general on 22 December 1944.
He was captured by the Yugoslav Partisans in May 1945 and in June is encarcerated in the military prison in Belgrade where he was sentenced to death and executed on 19 September 1945.