Fragments on the activities of the Commission for Istrian Issues with the Presidency of the People’s Government of Croatia during 1945

Abstract

Valuable documents on the history of Istria are kept in the fonds and collections of the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb, the central archival institution in the Republic of Croatia. The material for the research of the period of the Second World War and the post-war period contains a small amount of records (one archive folder) created or collected through the Commission for Istrian Issues with the Presidency of the People’s Government of Croatia during 1945. The archives were taken over by the Croatian State Archives ex officio from the Office for General Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian National Parliament in 1998 and formed into a separate archive fonds (HR-HDA-1165). Although preserved in fragments, the records are a valuable source for research on issues related to the organization of government and everyday life in the Croatian part of Istria, which was placed under the Yugoslav military administration pursuant to the Belgrade Agreement of 9 June 1945 concerning the temporary division of the border area between Yugoslavia and Italy into two occupation zones. The acts on the establishment, operation and termination of the Commission were not published in the official gazettes. However, based on the inspection of the archival documents, it can be concluded that it started operating in June 1945 and that it operated during the second half of that year. The Commission performed advisory and coordination tasks in relation to the Regional People’s Committee for Istria, relevant ministries and other bodies concerning the addressing of issues related to the national, cultural and economic interests of the part of Istria which was under Yugoslav military administration. The activities of the Commission were mostly related to mediation in the issuance of travel passes within the territory of Istria and the organization and filling of civil service vacations in the local civil administration. The Commission was also engaged in the supply of food and equipment and resources for work of the institutions within the concerned area. It sought to gain as complete an insight as possible into the political, administrative, judicial, economic, educational, cultural and other circumstances in the area. This is illustrated by three documents whose complete transcripts are given in the article, while respecting the usual principles for publishing archival material. The first document refers to the organization of the financial service in Istria, and the second to the development of tourism and the reconstruction of hotel and catering infrastructure on the Opatija Riviera. The third handwritten document is a written review by Ante Rojnić on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo.