The State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (''Zemaljsko antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Hrvatske''), commonly abbreviated ZAVNOH, was first convened on 13–14 June 1943 in
Otočac and
Plitvice as the chief political representative body in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Axis
An axis (: axes) may refer to:
Mathematics
*A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular:
** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system
*** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
-occupied Croatia (part of
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
at the time). It was dominated by the
Communist Party of Croatia, a nominally-independent political party active in the territory largely corresponding to present-day
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. Despite its nominal independence, the party was a ''de facto'' branch of the
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
-led
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...
. ZAVNOH also included representatives or former members of peasant organisations, trade unions, the
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
, and the
Independent Democratic Party.
In addition to performing day-to-day regulatory and government tasks in the territory held by
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
within Croatia under the leadership of
Andrija Hebrang, ZAVNOH sought to broaden the appeal of partisan resistance to the Croatian population by presenting it as not entirely communist. It also tried to reconcile
Croat
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
and
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...
equality with the promotion of Croatia's interests, sometimes marginalising the Serbs and triggering conflict with Tito. At its third session, in
Topusko
Topusko is a Municipalities of Croatia, municipality and settlement in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia. Topusko is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the Areas of Special State Concern (Croatia), First Category Are ...
, ZAVNOH upheld the decisions on federal post-war Yugoslavia adopted by the
. In 1945, ZAVNOH was renamed the
People's Sabor of Croatia.
Its work, ideas and decisions contributed to the leadership programme of the
League of Communists of Croatia
League of Communists of Croatia (, SKH) was the Socialist Republic of Croatia, Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (, KPH). The party ...
, culminating in the 1971
Croatian Spring
The Croatian Spring (), or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republics comprising Yugoslavi ...
. ZAVNOH's decisions were then used to justify newly introduced policies seeking to reform the Yugoslav federation and promote Croatian interests. The 1990
Constitution of Croatia
The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia () is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament.
History
While it was part of the socialist Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of Croatia had its own Constitution under the Constitution of Yugoslavia. ...
, adopted shortly before the declaration of
Croatian independence, cites ZAVNOH in its
preamble
A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...
as a foundation of Croatian statehood.
Background
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia

Seeking retribution for their withdrawal from the
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano, and Saburō Kurusu (in that order) and in the ...
after the March 1941
Yugoslav coup d'état,
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
sought to destroy the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
by dismembering it for annexation by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and its allies. The move was supported by Italian leader
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
, who believed that it would help
Fascist Italy
Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
expand their territory by absorbing former Yugoslav territories. German plans for the breakup of Yugoslavia also envisaged some form of autonomy for the
Croats
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
, exploiting Croatian dissatisfaction with the Yugoslav regime. Hitler offered
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
the opportunity to absorb Croatia on 27 March 1941 (apparently referring to the territories largely corresponding to the former
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...
), but Regent
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...
declined his offer. Only days later, Germany determined to establish a Croatian
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
.
The Nazis turned to the
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
(''Hrvatska seljačka stranka'', HSS), the most popular Croatian political party at the time, to set up the state. They offered party leader
Vladko Maček
Vladimir Maček (20 June 1879 – 15 May 1964) was a politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) following the 1928 assassination of Stjepan Radić, Maček had been a leading Croatian political figure ...
the opportunity to govern it, but Maček declined. Its rule was then reluctantly offered to the Italian-based
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
and their leader,
Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and was dictator of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a fasc ...
. Mussolini sought to capitalise on the promises made in a 1927 memorandum submitted by Pavelić and
Ivo Frank, promising territorial concessions to Italy. The
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
(''Nezavisna Država Hrvatska'', NDH) was declared on 10 April, as the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
was approaching
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
. The declaration was made by
Slavko Kvaternik
Slavko Kvaternik (25 August 1878 – 7 June 1947) was a Croatian military general and politician who was one of the founders of the ultranationalist Ustaše movement. Kvaternik was military commander and Minister of the Armed Forces ('' Domobrans ...
at the urging of, and with support from,
SS Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
Edmund Veesenmayer of the
Dienststelle Ribbentrop. Pavelić and the Ustaše were only permitted to leave Italy and Italian-occupied territory in Yugoslavia after Mussolini extracted a written confirmation of the 1927 pledge, allowing him to reach Zagreb in the early morning of 15 April with 195 Ustašas. Yugoslavia surrendered shortly thereafter, on 17 April 1941, with King
Peter II and the government fleeing the country. The decision to abandon armed resistance to the
Axis powers
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
so early placed the
Yugoslav government-in-exile
The Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Exile ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Vlada Kraljevine Jugoslavije u egzilu, Влада Краљевине Југославије у егзилу) was an official government-in-exile of Yugoslavia, headed by King ...
in a poor position, further weakened by quarreling ministers who appeared united only in their opposition to communism.
Partisan resistance
With defeat imminent, the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...
(''Komunistička partija Jugoslavije'', KPJ) instructed its 8,000 members to stockpile weapons in anticipation of armed resistance (which spread throughout the country, except for
Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
, by the end of 1941). Building on its experience in nationwide clandestine operation, the KPJ organised the Partisans into a resistance force led by
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
. The KPJ concluded that the
German invasion of the Soviet Union had created favourable conditions for an uprising, and its politburo established the
Supreme Headquarters of the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (''Narodonooslobodilačka vojska Jugoslavije'', with Tito its commander-in-chief) on 27 June 1941. In the territory largely corresponding to present-day
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, the
Communist Party of Croatia (''Komunistička partija Hrvatske'', KPH) operated as a nominally-independent party but was a ''de facto'' KPJ branch; at the beginning of the war, it had 4,000 members.
The Serb population living in the
NDH was eager to join the Partisan struggle, due to their severe persecution by the Ustaše regime. The KPJ competed for Serb loyalty with the
Chetniks
The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...
: nationalist Serb guerrillas who fought the Partisans and the NDH, backed by Fascist Italy and organised as the
Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia. A major contributor to Croat Partisan recruitment was the transfer of a large portion of the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
coast to Italy through the
Treaties of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...
as fulfilment of Pavelić's promise to Mussolini. By late 1943, Croatia's contribution to the Yugoslav Partisan resistance was disproportionately large: 38 of its 97
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
s.
Establishment of the AVNOJ
In November 1942, the Partisans captured the town of
Bihać
Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...
and secured a large part of western
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
,
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
and
Lika
Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
. On 26 and 27 November, the pan-Yugoslav Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (''Antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Jugoslavije'', AVNOJ) was established in Bihać at the urging of Tito and the KPJ. At its first session, the AVNOJ adopted a
multi-ethnic federal state as the basis for the country's future government but did not determine the post-war system of government. The number of future federal units and their equality were ambiguous.
The AVNOJ elected
Ivan Ribar
Ivan Ribar ( sr-cyr, Иван Рибар, ; 21 January 1881 – 2 February 1968) was a Croatian politician who served in several governments of various forms in Yugoslavia. Ideologically a Yugoslavism, Yugoslavist and Communism, communist, he w ...
president; Ribar, the first president of the
(later renamed Yugoslavia), symbolised continuity with the pre-war government. The 1942 AVNOJ-established bodies were not formally considered a government, and Tito said that international relations precluded the formation of a government at that point; he described AVNOJ as a political instrument designed to mobilise. Despite ambiguity about the number and equality of future federal units, the AVNOJ urged the convening of similar assemblies in future federal units.
Sessions
First session

During the first session of the AVNOJ, Tito tasked KPH central committee member
Pavle Gregorić with setting up a supreme political body of the national liberation movement in Croatia as soon as possible. A working groupAVNOJ Delegates from Croatia (''Vijećnici AVNOJ-a iz Hrvatske'')was set up in Slunj in early December 1942, and the State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (''Zemaljsko antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Hrvatske'', ZAVNOH) was expected to convene in mid-January 1943. However, the Axis
Case White offensive forced the plans to be postponed. The eight-member Initiative Committee of the ZAVNOH (''Inicijativni odbor ZAVNOH-a'') was instead convened in the village of
Ponori, near
Korenica. The Initiative Committee was headed by three-member secretariat consisting of Gregorić, Stanko Ćanica-Opačić, and . Balen, a former HSS member who was persuaded to join the KPJ by KPH central-committee secretary
Andrija Hebrang, later headed the ZAVNOH propaganda department. Another former HSS activist, Nikola Rubčić, was brought in as the editor of ''
Vjesnik
''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained a reputation as Croatia's newspaper ...
'' (the ZAVNOH's official newspaper).
On 17 March 1943, the committee declared that it was assuming all popular authority in Croatia until the ZAVNOH was convened. A 26 May declaration emphasised that the national liberation movement in Croatia was part of the Yugoslav national liberation movement; Croats and
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
would independently decide on internal matters and relations with other peoples after the country's liberation.
After the successful spring 1943 offensive and recapture of most of the
Banija,
Kordun
The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within ...
, and Lika regions by the
1st Corps, the ZAVNOH first convened in
Otočac and
Plitvice as Croatia's supreme representative political body on 13–14 June. The session consisted of 112 members, with an eleven-member executive committee led by president
Vladimir Nazor
Vladimir Nazor (30 May 1876 – 19 June 1949) was a Croatian poet and politician. During and after World War II in Yugoslavia, he served as the first President of the Presidency of the Croatian Parliament (Croatian head of state), and first ...
and three vice-presidents. It adopted the Plivice Resolution, detailing the history of the Croatian people and their struggle for freedom, the backward nature of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the reign of terror of the NDH and the Chetniks, and the betrayal of the royal government in exile. The resolution called for the recovery of Croatian lands seized by foreigners and "full and true democratic freedom and equality of Croats and Serbs".
The first ZAVNOH session recognised a "free Bosnia and Herzegovina", relinquishing control of
Livno
Livno ( Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: ''Ливно'', ) is a town and the administrative center of the Township of Livno and Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bis ...
. In return, it received
Dvor and the coast between the
Neretva
The Neretva (, sr-Cyrl, Неретва), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plants with Dam, large dams (higher than 15 metres) provide flood ...
River and the
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...
originally assigned to the Bosnian or
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...
n Partisans.
Second session

Between the ZAVNOH's first and the second sessions, the
national liberation movement in Croatia
The Croatian Partisans, officially the National Liberation Movement in Croatia (; NOP), were part of the anti-fascist Yugoslav Partisans, National Liberational Movement in the World War II in Yugoslavia, Axis-occupied Yugoslavia which was the mos ...
grew from 25,000 to 100,000 fighters and increased its control – particularly on the coast, after the
surrender of Italy. On 20 September 1943, the ZAVNOH executive committee decided to add
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
,
Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
,
Zadar
Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...
and other Croatian lands previously annexed by Italy to Croatia (and thus to Yugoslavia). The AVNOJ confirmed the decision on 30 September. Tito criticised the ZAVNOH for assuming sovereignty in place of Yugoslavia, seeing the decision as an example of latent nationalism in the KPH leadership (which controlled about fifty percent of the Yugoslav Partisan forces at the time).
The ZAVNOH's second session was held in
Plaški from 12 to 15 October 1943. It expanded by 66 members, largely drawn from the HSS. The HSS splintered early in the war. Vladko Maček led the party's most influential faction, adopting a policy of waiting for liberation by the Allies. Another group, which included former
Ban of Croatia
Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...
Ivan Šubašić
Ivan Šubašić (7 May 1892 – 22 March 1955) was a Croat politician, best known as the last Ban of Croatia and Prime Minister of the royalist Yugoslav Government in exile during the Second World War.
Early life
Ivan Šubašić was born in ...
, fled the country to join the royal government in exile. A third group joined the Ustaše; a fourth group, led by
Božidar Magovac (organised as the
HSS executive committee), joined the KPH-dominated national liberation movement. Magovac saw his HSS faction and the KPH as a coalition of equals. Although some Partisan fighters resented the acceptance of HSS members, the official KPH position was that the newcomers were welcome and free to maintain their political views. This position was taken in the (accurate) belief that a greater involvement of HSS members would lead to broader Croat participation in the Partisan struggle. A group of
Independent Democratic Party (''Samostalna demokratska stranka'', SDS) leaders also agreed to cooperate with the movement. Peasant organisations and trade unions sent representatives to the ZAVNOH, which sought to represent as broad a segment of the population as possible. Participation of the organisations depended on their acceptance of the KPH's lead.
The second session appointed a 15-member executive committee (led by a president and three vice-presidents) to discharge political functions, and a six-member secretariat selected from the executive committee members as a ''de facto'' Croatian government to perform day-to-day tasks. The secretariat retained its function until the People's Government was appointed in
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enter ...
on 14 April 1945.

In his speech to the second session, Hebrang urged the KPH to accept the popular "mass movement" instead of pursuing a leftist agenda. He urged the party to ensure that the Partisan struggle was not perceived as exclusively communist, condemning "fanatics flying only the red flag" and extremism in the KPJ. The ZAVNOH replied that it did not intend to radically change social life, and recognised the status of private property.
On 12 January 1944, the Serbian Club of ZAVNOH Members was established in
Otočac. It was chaired by Rade Pribičević, a member of the pre-war SDS' Main Committee. Despite Pribičević's assertion that Croatian Serbs would pursue Croatia's interests in Yugoslavia, there was some resentment of their actual, perceived or expected position. The principal complaints were that the Serbs were marginalised in Croatia, Ustaše atrocities were overlooked, Serbs were underrepresented in the ZAVNOH, and their
Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...
was discouraged. Although Hebrang insisted on teaching the Cyrillic script in all schools, he also said that Croatia Serbs had to accept their a minority status (albeit with equal rights) in a Croatian state. Hebrang's efforts to emphasise Croat contribution to the Partisan struggle contributed to perceived Croatian Serb marginalisation. As a result of this (and Chetnik propaganda), four ethnic-Serb Partisan commanders and about 90 subordinates defected to Germany in the
Kordun
The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within ...
region in 1944. Hebrang's policies also increased KPJ leadership concern about his effects on Serb Partisan support.
Third session

The AVNOJ's decision on the self-determination of all Yugoslav nations was meant to be confirmed by representative bodies of all future federal units. The ZAVNOH met for this purpose on 8–9 May 1944 in
Topusko
Topusko is a Municipalities of Croatia, municipality and settlement in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia. Topusko is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the Areas of Special State Concern (Croatia), First Category Are ...
. The session convened in a spa restaurant in the evening, and concluded the next morning to minimise exposure to potential air assault. One hundred five of 166 delegates attended, along with AVNOJ president Ivan Ribar and vice-presidents
Moša Pijade
Moša Pijade (, alternate English transliteration Moshe Piade; – 15 March 1957), was a Serbian and Yugoslavia, Yugoslav painter, journalist, Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Communist Party politician, World War II participant, and a close ...
,
Marko Vujačić
Marko may refer to:
* Marko (given name)
* Marko (surname)
* Márkó, a village in Hungary
See also
*Marco (disambiguation)
*Markko (disambiguation)
*Marka (disambiguation)
*Markov
*Marku
*Narko, Queensland
Narko is a rural locality in the ...
and
Josip Rus, and
Ivan Milutinović
Ivan Milutinović (nickname Milutin; sr-cyr, Иван Милутиновић; 27 September 1901 – 23 October 1944) was a Yugoslav Partisan general and an eminent military commander who participated in World War II.
Before the war
In October ...
as a non-Croatian member of the
National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia. The Partisan forces in Croatia were represented by the 4th Corps (previously designated as the 1st Corps) commander and
commissar
Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and ...
,
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
s
Ivan Gošnjak and
Većeslav Holjevac. General
Ivan Rukavina and Colonel Bogdan Oreščanin were also present. The Allied forces in Yugoslavia were represented by
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
Colonels Vladimir Goroshchenko and
Mikhail Bodrov, British
Major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
Owen Reed, and US
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...
Captain George Selvig.
The ZAVNOH adopted four fundamental constitutional acts. It approved the work of the Croatian delegates at the second session of the AVNOJ and, as the representative of the
Federal State of Croatia, approved the establishment of the
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, also known as Democratic Federative Yugoslavia (DF Yugoslavia or DFY), was a provisional state established during World War II on 29 November 1943 through the Second Session of the Anti-Fascist Council for the Natio ...
. It praised the latter as an expression of the wish of Croatian Croats and Serbs to live in a truly democratic
South Slavic state offering full equality, the unification of Croatian lands, and the realisation of Croatian statehood. The declaration of a Croatian federal state was greeted favourably by its general public.
The ZAVNOH declared itself the "true national assembly of democratic Croatia" and its highest authority as a federal unit in Yugoslavia. Its assembly was designated as the legislature, and its 30-person executive committee as the highest executive body.
The third document adopted at the session was the Declaration of the Basic Rights of Peoples and Citizens of Democratic Croatia. In addition to the rights of ownership and property, private enterprise, and the freedom of religion and conscience, speech, the press, assembly, consultation, and association (the latter four within the Partisan movement for the duration of the war), the document specified that the Croats and Serbs of Croatia were equal regardless of politics, ethnicity, race, and religion. Worded in consideration of Ustaše repression against the Serbs, it was considered a contribution to improving Croat–Serb relations. The fourth constitutional decision determined the hierarchy of the regional national liberation committees.
In his speech at the session, Hebrang declared that the struggle was not for communism, but for democracy and national liberation (displeasing the KPJ leadership). A further point of conflict between Hebrang and the KPJ was support of the Magovac-edited HSS publication, ''Slobodni dom''. Hebrang considered the newspaper a useful tool against Maček loyalists, but the KPJ feared the re-establishment of the HSS (although the publication was issued by the ZAVNOH). Magovac wanted to pursue HSS independence from the KPH and, finding this objective unrealistic and receiving no support from other former HSS members, he resigned his editorial and political positions.
Fourth session

The conflict between Tito and the KPJ, on one hand, and Hebrang, ZAVNOH and the KPH gradually deepened. In September 1944, Tito criticised the ZAVNOH regulation introducing religion as a mandatory educational subject in Croatia's Partisan-held territory. Days later, he accused Hebrang of nationalism for establishing the Croatian Telegraphic Agency as an independent
news agency
A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...
. By 20 October, Hebrang was replaced by
Vladimir Bakarić as secretary of the KPH central committee. Due to his popularity in Croatia, however, he was called to
recently captured Belgrade and appointed Yugoslav minister of industry.
In early January 1945, the ZAVNOH moved its seat to
Šibenik
Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...
to prepare for the post-war period. Its executive committee met in Split on 14 April to proclaim the Decision on the People's Government, presided over by Bakarić. The ZAVNOH moved to Zagreb on 20 May, holding its fourth session on 25 July at the Croatian Parliament building in
St. Mark's Square. It renamed itself the
National Parliament of Croatia (''Narodni Sabor Hrvatske''), emphasising the Croatian legislative body's continuity as representative of Croatian state sovereignty.
Legacy
Croatian Spring

Twenty five years after the war, during the 1971 political upheaval known as the
Croatian Spring
The Croatian Spring (), or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republics comprising Yugoslavi ...
, the then-leaders of the
League of Communists of Croatia
League of Communists of Croatia (, SKH) was the Socialist Republic of Croatia, Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (, KPH). The party ...
(''Savez komunista Hrvatske'', SKH) publicly stated that the status of Croats in Yugoslavia had not been resolved in accordance with ZAVNOH decisions, and they advocated a reform of the
Yugoslav federation.
Mika Tripalo cited decisions made at the council's third session as confirmation of the statehood of Yugoslav republics, and the SKH leaders asked for increased powers of the Yugoslav republics to reflect their national sovereignty. They emphasised that the wartime national liberation struggle was not only intended to be a social liberation, but also a reform of relations among the Yugoslav nations.
The SKH leadership borrowed from the nation-related themes employed by the KPH leadership nearly three decades earlier: promoting Croatian unity and its
culture
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
,
language
Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
and
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, and acknowledging the role of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. They sought to address the over-representation of Serbs in public institutions such as the police, the league, and some state-owned enterprises. Although the SKH leadership was forced to resign by Tito and many of their policies were reversed, their efforts to reform Yugoslavia were considered by a federal commission in 1971. The commission introduced constitutional amendments confirming the statehood of the Yugoslav republics which were retained in the
1974 constitution.
Memorial

The Topusko spa restaurant building, where the ZAVNOH's third session was held, was converted into a memorial in 1984 to commemorate the session's 40th anniversary. According to news reports, the building was blown up on 14 September 1991 by the
Croatian armed forces or
police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
as they retreated before the 7th Banija Division of the
armed forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
of the
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Република Српска Крајина, Republika Srpska Krajina, separator=" / ", ; abbr. РСК / RSK), known as the Serbian Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српск� ...
and the
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...
captured Topusko during the
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...
. Although an initiative to restore the building was launched in 2007 by the municipal government (supported by
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
), it had produced no results by 2019.
Constitution of Croatia
The ZAVNOH has been frequently noted as part of the foundations of
Croatia as a republic in Yugoslavia and the independent Republic of Croatia. In its
preamble
A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...
, the Croatian constitution (adopted in 1990) cites decisions adopted by the ZAVNOH as part of the historical foundations of Croatian statehood and its right to national sovereignty. In a speech commemorating the fifth anniversary of the
independence of Croatia
The independence of Croatia was a process started with the changes in the political system and the constitutional changes in 1990 that transformed the Socialist Republic of Croatia into the Republic of Croatia, which in turn proclaimed the Chr ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Franjo Tuđman
Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...
said that it was the ZAVNOH's work which allowed Croatia to declare its independence.
In November 1991, the
Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on Yugoslavia
The Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia (commonly known as Badinter Arbitration Committee) was an arbitration body set up by the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) on 27 August 1991 to provide the co ...
(also known as the Badinter Commission) was established to evaluate candidates for recognition as states after the
breakup of Yugoslavia
After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...
by providing opinions on a set of legal questions. About the question of whether the Serbian populations in Croatia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
have the right to self-determination, acting president of the
Presidency of Yugoslavia
The Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, , , was the collective head of state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was established in 1971 according to amendments to the 1963 Yugoslav Constitution, 1963 Co ...
Branko Kostić said that the ZAVNOH gave the Croats and the Serbs of Croatia the position of "constituent nations". According to Kostić, the Croatian Constitution reduced the Serbs of Croatia to a national minority who should have the right to secede from Croatia if Croatian independence was recognised. In January 1992, the Badinter Commission ruled that the Serbs living in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were entitled to the rights attributed to minorities and ethnic groups under
international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
; however, it did not use the term "constituent nation".
Footnotes
References
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{{AVNOJ
Croatia in World War II
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
Anti-fascism in Croatia
Communism in Croatia
Political history of Croatia
Yugoslav Croatia
1942 establishments in Croatia