White Hand, or Bela Ruka, was a secret, unofficial military organization in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (and later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). White Hand was opposed to an another, similar organization called Black Hand, and it was formed for this purpose in 1912 by Colonel Petar Zivkovic (who was, along with the Black Hand, involved in the 1903 coup against Alexander Obrenovic), with blessings from Prince Alexandar Karadjordjevic (later King Alexander I of Yugoslavia). With the demise of the Black Hand in the Salonika Trial (Solunski proces), White Hand steadily gained control of the young and ambitious Prince Alexander. Zivkovic was made the head of the Palace Guard in 1921, and started amassing power. In 1929 King Alexander I, along with officers of the White Hand orchestrated a coup in attempt to control the growing nationalist tensions (especially in Croatia) and the instability of the Parliament. Zivkovic, now a general, was appointed Prime Minister. The autocracy was eased in 1931, when the King re-instated some constitutional rights after his reforms completely failed in their purpose, and Zivkovic lost his position in 1932 after organizing numerous show trials against minority leaders, ultra-nationalist groups, and communists. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state which existed from December 1, 1918 to mid-April 1941. ... Black Hand, or Crna Ruka (Црна Рука), officially Ujedinjenje ili Smrt (Ујединјеје или Смрт) (Unification or Death) was a secret association founded in Serbia by pan- Serbian nationalists in May 1911 with the intention of uniting all of the territories containing Serb populations (notably Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed by Austria... Alexander Obrenovich (Aleksandar Obrenović (Roman), Александар Обреновић (Cyrillic)) (August 14, 1876 - June 11, 1903), was king of Serbia. ... Aleksandar I Karađorđević King Alexander I of Yugoslavia - Serbian Kralj Aleksandar I Karađorđević, in Cyrillic Краљ Александар I Карађорђевић (Cetinje, Montenegro, 16 December 1888 - France, 9 October 1934) of the Royal House of Karadjordjevic was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929-1934) and before that king of...

The members of White Hand are also suspected of being involved in the abdication of heir-apparent Prince George in favour of Alexander (1909), the installment of Alexander as a regent during the reign of Peter I, as well as the coup of March 27, 1941 which placed the underage Prince Peter II Karadjordjevic on the throne, effectively putting Yugoslavia in a state of war with Germany. Peter I of Serbia Peter (Petar) I, King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (July 11, 1844-1921) of the House of Karađorđević became Serbias first constitutional monarch in the aftermath of the 1903 military coup that resulted in the overthrow of the Obrenović dynasty, returning from exile to... HM King Peter II (6 September 1923 - 3 November 1970) was the last King of Yugoslavia. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

With the victory of the communist forces of Josip Broz Tito in the subsequent civil war in Yugoslavia, members of the White Hand were either executed by the new regime, or fled to the Allies. Josip Broz Tito  listen (May 7, 1892 – May 4, 1980) was the ruler of Yugoslavia between the end of World War II and his death in 1980. ...