In, he was hired as an assistant professor at the University, but in 1952 he was removed by the Yugoslav Communist authorities and forcibly transferred to Nova Gradiška.
[2] Through Hedeggerian phenomenology, Sutlić engaged in reflections on the modern epoch, which he frequently referred to as "the world of Work".
In dialogue with the philosophies of Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, he reflected on the meaning of modern nihilism, and the possibilities of its overcoming.
[3] Sutlić's thought influenced several Yugoslav philosophers, including the Slovenes Ivo Urbančič, Veljko Rus and Tine Hribar, and the Serb Mihailo Đurić.
His son, also called Vanja Sutlić, is a film director and former chairman of the Croatian Radiotelevision.