Original scientific paper
ŠIBENIK UNDER THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF CROATIA
Nikica Barić
; Croatian Institute of History, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Using the archival and published sources and the existing literature, the author presents the establishment and activities of the Independet State of Croatia’s (ISC) administration in the Dalmatian town of Šibenik. Axis invasion on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was followed by the Ustasha proclamation of ISC in the Croatian capital Zagreb on April 10, 1941 and shortly after that Ustasha supporters in Šibenik and Croatian elements in the Yugoslav army’s Šibenik garrison gained control of the town. Soon Italian army entered Šibenik and abolished Croatian administration. As a result of Roman agreements signed on May 18, 1941 between Mussolini and Croatian leader Ante Pavelić, large parts of Dalmatia, including Šibenik, were annexed by the Kingdom of Italy. In September 1943 Italy capitulated and German troops occupied Šibenik. Hitler allowed integration of the annexed parts of Dalmatia into ISC. Croatian civilian and military administration was established in Šibenik and it lasted until late 1944 when German troops withdrew from Dalmatia which came under the control of Tito’s partisans. The article mainly concentrates on life conditions of the Šibenik population which were very harsh (allied aerial bombardments, lack of food, poor traffic connections with other parts of ISC), various problems and weaknesses of the local ISC administration and its relations with the German army and Serb Chetniks.
Keywords
World War II; Šibenik; Independent State of Croatia; Wehrmacht; Yugoslav partisans; Serbian chetniks
Hrčak ID:
101947
URI
Publication date:
20.10.2003.
Visits: 6.116 *