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https://doi.org/10.22586/csp.v58i1.40708
Nutrition of the Population in the Croatian Territories during the War Months of 1941
Marica Karakaš Obradov
; Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb, Hrvatska
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* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
This article examines the provision of food during wartime, an issue of fundamental importance that profoundly shaped both state policy and everyday life. Ensuring an adequate food supply was a complex and demanding task, particularly under conditions of political instability, military conflict, and economic disruption. Measures such as food rationing and the compulsory procurement of agricultural surpluses, commonly introduced in times of crisis and war, had already been implemented in the Croatian territories before the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Established in 1939, the Banovina of Croatia sought to improve food supply and nutritional conditions, which had been adversely affected by natural disasters and livestock diseases.
The disintegration of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia in April 1941 created additional challenges for agricultural production, the procurement of foodstuffs, and the supply of the population, particularly workers, civil servants, and inhabitants of underdeveloped, non-grain-producing regions. A variety of factors disrupted the regular provision of food, including the presence of numerous military formations, the repressive policies of the Ustaša regime, peasant dissatisfaction with official purchase prices, limited support for the new authorities, and the activities of communist- and Chetnik-led insurgent groups. Even when food was successfully procured, transport and distribution were frequently hindered by military operations and acts of sabotage.
Food smuggling and black-market trading became widespread phenomena. In response, the authorities combined intensive propaganda campaigns with punitive measures, including the use of summary courts. Already during the first year of the war, state officials recognised that inadequate supplies and deteriorating living conditions could become a powerful source of social discontent and a factor capable of uniting diverse groups in resistance to the regime - an opportunity particularly exploited by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. According to reports by German representatives in Zagreb, the Ustaša regime achieved little success in winning over the Croatian peasantry during 1941, which remained largely indifferent towards the regime.
In the Croatian territories annexed by the Kingdom of Italy, the Italian authorities attempted to secure popular support through more regular food supplies and the organisation of public works programmes. However, these efforts met with only limited success, not least because of the activities of the communist led insurgents.
Ključne riječi
Second World War; Independent State of Croatia; territories annexed by the Kingdom of Italy; food rationing; food procurement; black market; smuggling; Communist Party of Yugoslavia
Hrčak ID:
350874
URI
Datum izdavanja:
10.9.2026.
Posjeta: 0 *