Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.59323/k.15.2.7
Anti-Communist Resistance in Herzegovina: The Actions of the Široki Brijeg Crusader Groups After the Assassination of Mariofil Mandić and the Breakdown of the Zdrug (1946–1947)
Blanka Matković
; Conventry, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo
Sažetak
With the end of the Second World War and the establishment of communist
regime, a new period of modern Croatian history began. This was marked by
various forms of repression, especially towards those perceived by the communist regime as its enemies. Among them, there were armed units, as well as their
supporters, the so-called “jataci”. Nevertheless, the crusader resistance movement survived until the beginning of the 1950s, and the activities of crusader
groups in this period was particularly intense in the Dalmatian and Herzegovinian areas due to the configuration of the terrain and demographic characteristics. The influence of crusader groups was especially strong in the area of Široki
Brijeg, as evidenced by the preserved documents of the Communist Party of
Yugoslavia. Although the beginnings of Croatian post-war anti-communist resistance in Herzegovina are linked to the activities of Stjepan Sičaja Gegan in
the area of Rama, i.e. the mountain of Vran, his death shifted the focus of the
crusaders’ activities in Herzegovina to the Široki Brijeg area where Božo Mandić took command of the surviving Crusaders. He founded the First Herzegovinian Ustasha Crusader Division (“Zdrug”) at the end of June 1946 under his
command. However, in September of the same year, the Yugoslav repressive
organs succeeded in executing one of the Zdrug’s group, which inflicted a heavy blow on the Crusaders of Široki Brijeg. Therefore, the Crusaders spent the
autumn of 1946 mainly preparing supplies for winter and until the beginning of
spring 1947, they mostly stayed near the villages where they were able to count
on the support of the locals. Meanwhile, Božo Mandić was killed at the end of
January 1947. At the beginning of spring 1947, scattered surviving crusader
groups under the command of Benedikt “Benko” Penavić began to reconnect
with the intention of establishing a new “Zdrug”, which occurred during the
summer of 1947. However, there were very few Crusaders left at this point and
due to the communist repression against the local population, it was difficult to
gather food and other necessities. Relying on available documentation in Croatian archives, this paper focuses on the period from the end of 1946 to the death
of Benko Penavić at the end of 1947.
Ključne riječi
Herzegovina ; crusaders ; anti-communist resistance ; Široki Brijeg ; Zdrug
Hrčak ID:
323443
URI
Datum izdavanja:
12.12.2024.
Posjeta: 0 *