Protection of the Endangered National Workers and their Families in the Independent State of Croatia, 1944-1945

Abstract

The paper describes the establishment and activities of a service called the Protection of the Endangered National Workers and Their Families. This service was established in the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) in October 1944 and operated within the framework of the ruling Ustasha movement. Božidar Kavran, a senior Ustasha official, was appointed as plenipotentiary for the protection of the endangered national workers.

In October 1944, Yugoslav Partisans and Soviet troops took Belgrade, and the Partisans also gained control of eastern Syrmia, which was part of the NDH. At the same time, the German army began its withdrawal from Dalmatia, which then fell under Partisan control. A number of people loyal to the NDH and the Ustasha movement fled areas taken by the Partisans. The NDH authorities designated these individuals „national workers,” and the Protection of the Endangered National Workers and Their Families was tasked with securing their housing, food and other necessities.

One important duty of the Protection Service was also to prepare for the resettlement of national workers to the German Reich. This plan was based on assumption that Germany would eventually be forced to completely withdraw its troops from the NDH. In this scenario, Berlin was prepared to accommodate NDH leadership, armed forces, and parts of the population on German territory. During late 1944 and early 1945, a number of people from the NDH were resettled in Germany. However, the planned large-scale resettlement from the NDH to German territory never took place, as in the spring of 1945 Allied forces advanced so deep into German territory that such a resettlement could no longer be implemented.