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105-624: Like in the original TV series Otpisani , the subject of Potpisani is the underground partisan resistance in Belgrade during World War II . In addition, the targets of this parody are many famous Hollywood movies like Star Wars , The Matrix , Superman III , Home Alone , Charlie Chaplin's and Bruce Lee's films, and also many of famous Serbian movies and TV shows, such as The Marathon Family , Balkan Spy , Nacionalna klasa , Vratice se rode etc. Podbradak potpisanih ( Serbian Cyrillic : Подбрадак потписаних , English: The Double Chin of

210-634: A guerrilla campaign which enjoyed gradually increased levels of success and support of the general populace, and succeeded in controlling large chunks of Yugoslav territory. These were managed via the "People's committees", organized to act as civilian governments in areas of the country controlled by the communists, even limited arms industries were set up. At the very beginning, Partisan forces were relatively small, poorly armed and without any infrastructure. They had two major advantages over other military and paramilitary formations in former Yugoslavia: Occupying and quisling forces, however, were quite aware of

315-707: A multi-ethnic federal state . By 1944, the Western Allies and the Yugoslav government-in-exile recognised the AVNOJ as the all-Yugoslav legislative body. The third session of the AVNOJ was convened in preparation of the Constituent Assembly when the Yugoslav Parliament was convened again in 1945. Decisions of the AVNOJ determined there would be six units in the federation and defined their borders. It also took over

420-562: A central political body for all Yugoslavia to direct all these committees [former local authorities] and to relieve the High Command of various political functions which had been constantly piling up through the force of circumstance. It was decided to convene an Antifascist Veće, or assembly, of the People's Liberation Movement of Yugoslavia. It will be remembered that the Veće met on November 26, 1942, in

525-440: A commitment to forming a democratic federation; and recognised the equal standing of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia in the future federation. Only Sandžak was listed with other lower-ranked regional entities, even though its land council was still included among the "seven basic bodies of people's government". Though the position of individual nations and regions were not further elaborated,

630-501: A corresponding body of Vojvodina met on 30 and 31 July; both bodies decided the region they represented would join Serbia. All of these decisions were confirmed at the third session of the AVNOJ in August 1945. By the end of the month, the AVNOJ discussed and decided on changes to the borders of all Yugoslav federal units based on corresponding pre-1941 and pre-1918 borders. The third session of

735-654: A defeat of Serbian nationalism . In the pre-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Serbia was in a dominant position. In comparison to the pre-war situation as well as the territory held by the Kingdom of Serbia before World War I , Serbia lost Macedonia and Montenegro. The AVNOJ established Bosnia and Herzegovina as an equal member of the Yugoslav federation, establishing and confirming borders separating Serbs living in those regions and in Croatia from Serbia. Those borders are sometimes referred to as

840-472: A heroic resistance against formidable odds and in doing so you are proving true to your great traditions. Serbs, we know you. You were our allies in the last war and your armies are covered with glory. Croats and Slovenes, we know your military history. For centuries you were the bulwark of Christianity. Your fame as warriors spread far and wide on the Continent. One of the finest incidents in the history of Croatia

945-743: A joint operation known as the Belgrade Offensive . At the onset of winter, the Partisans effectively controlled the entire eastern half of Yugoslavia – Serbia, Vardar Macedonia and Montenegro , as well as the Dalmatian coast. In 1945, the Partisans, numbering over 800,000 strong defeated the Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia and the Wehrmacht , achieving a hard-fought breakthrough in

1050-473: A loose Yugoslav federation where communist parties and bodies established in federal units would be sovereign. In contrast, Tito's vision for the federal units was as administrative divisions only. Hebrang was replaced in late 1944 by Vladimir Bakarić , who aligned the KPH's views on federalism to Tito's. The AVNOJ also denied the legitimacy of the Yugoslav government-in-exile and forbade the return of King Peter II to

1155-569: A mountain village, the Partisans formed the Kopaonik Partisan Detachment Headquarters. The area they controlled, consisting of nearby villages, was called the "Miners Republic" and lasted 42 days. The resistance fighters formally joined the ranks of the Partisans later on. At the September 1941 Stolice conference , the unified name partisans and the red star as an identification symbol were adopted for all fighters led by

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1260-526: A political body solely to liberate the country and not to oppose the Yugoslav monarchy. The Soviets asked the AVNOJ not to openly advance a communist agenda in order to avoid antagonising the Western Allies, and cautioned against appointing Tito president of the AVNOJ. AVNOJ delegates represented specific parts of Yugoslavia: seventeen for Bosnia and Herzegovina , fifteen for Croatia , fourteen each for Serbia and Montenegro , eight for Slovenia , six for

1365-404: A weak position, further eroded by political differences between ministers. The government, an extension of the post-coup government led by Simović, based its legitimacy on the 1931 Yugoslav Constitution , which made it responsible to the king. It lost three Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) ministers including the party's leader and the deputy prime minister Vladko Maček , who resigned and stayed in

1470-466: Is the one when, in the 16th Century, long before the French Revolution, the peasants rose to defend the rights of man, and fought for those principles which centuries later gave the world democracy. Yugoslavs, you are fighting for those principles today. The British Empire is fighting with you, and behind us is the great democracy of the U.S.A., with its vast and ever-increasing resources. However hard

1575-777: The AVNOJ , was a deliberative and legislative body that was established in Bihać , Yugoslavia , in November 1942. It was established by Josip Broz Tito , the leader of the Yugoslav Partisans , an armed resistance movement led by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to resist the Axis occupation of the country during World War II . The AVNOJ reconvened in Jajce in 1943 and in Belgrade in 1945, shortly after

1680-639: The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ), the Yugoslav wartime deliberative assembly , was to fight the occupying forces. Until British supplies began to arrive in appreciable quantities in 1944, the occupiers were the only source of arms. The other objective was to create a federal multi-ethnic communist state in Yugoslavia. To this end, the KPJ attempted to appeal to all

1785-459: The Axis powers invaded and quickly occupied Yugoslavia . Parts of the country were annexed by its neighbours, and the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was carved out as a Ustaše -ruled Axis puppet state . With the country's defeat imminent, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) instructed its 8,000 members to stockpile weapons in anticipation of armed resistance. By the end of 1941,

1890-586: The Balkans where the Greco-Italian War was in progress. In response to the pact, Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces generals staged a coup d'état deposing the government and Prince Regent Paul . Royal Yugoslav Air Force General Dušan Simović became the Prime Minister and the regency was abolished by declaring Peter II of Yugoslavia of age and thus the king even though he was only seventeen. On 6 April 1941,

1995-626: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded from all sides by the Axis powers, primarily by German forces, but also including Italian, Hungarian and Bulgarian formations. During the invasion, Belgrade was bombed by the Luftwaffe . The invasion lasted little more than ten days, ending with the unconditional surrender of the Royal Yugoslav Army on 17 April. Besides being hopelessly ill-equipped when compared to

2100-477: The National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia , was the communist -led anti-fascist resistance to the Axis powers (chiefly Nazi Germany ) in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II . Led by Josip Broz Tito , the Partisans are considered to be Europe's most effective anti- Axis resistance movement during World War II. Primarily a guerrilla force at its inception,

2205-583: The Sandžak , and three for Vojvodina . This distribution reflected the number of Partisans from each part of the country taking part in the armed struggle. Some of the selected delegates, including all of those representing Slovenia and Vojvodina and twelve others, did not arrive. The Slovene delegation informed the AVNOJ of its support by telegram. Macedonia was not represented at all. The AVNOJ elected its presidency with Ivan Ribar as president and Pavle Savić and Nurija Pozderac as vice-presidents. Ribar had been

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2310-785: The Syrmian front in late winter, taking Sarajevo in early April, and the rest of the NDH and Slovenia through mid-May. After taking Rijeka and Istria , which were part of Italy before the war, they beat the Allies to Trieste by two days. The "last battle of World War II in Europe", the Battle of Poljana , was fought between the Partisans and retreating Wehrmacht and quisling forces at Poljana, near Prevalje in Carinthia , on 14–15 May 1945. The Axis invasion led to

2415-511: The Ustaše militias and the German army. Amid the relative chaos that ensued, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia moved to organize and unite anti-fascist factions and political forces into a nationwide uprising. The party, led by Josip Broz Tito , was banned after its significant success in the post-World War I Yugoslav elections and operated underground since. Tito, however, could not act openly without

2520-507: The Wehrmacht , the Army attempted to defend all borders but only managed to thinly spread the limited resources available. The terms of the capitulation were extremely severe, as the Axis proceeded to dismember Yugoslavia. Germany occupied the northern part of Drava Banovina (roughly modern-day Slovenia ), while maintaining direct military occupation of a rump Serbian territory with a puppet government. The Independent State of Croatia (NDH)

2625-554: The Western Allies ; Soviet leader Joseph Stalin did not wish to antagonise the Allies by supporting the Partisans. Shortly before the Bihać session, Tito added the expression "Anti-Fascist" to the original name of the AVNOJ to emphasise its temporary and anti-Axis nature. These steps were made in response to Soviet positions expressed in correspondence in July–November 1942 between the KPJ and Moscow. The Comintern urged Tito to establish

2730-402: The breakup of Yugoslavia . Serbian irredentism across the AVNOJ borders was a contributing factor in the 1990 Serb revolt in Croatia and the 1992–1995 Bosnian War . The second session of the AVNOJ was celebrated in post-war Yugoslavia as the birth of the country and the event was commemorated annually on 29 and 30 November as a two-day national holiday. Museums have been established in

2835-573: The war in Europe ended . Between the sessions, it operated through its presidency, its executive council, and the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia . The committee was granted authority normally wielded by cabinets . While Tito presided over the committee, the AVNOJ sessions and its presidency were chaired by Ivan Ribar . The second session of the AVNOJ proclaimed itself Yugoslavia's new legislative body and decided that it should be

2940-425: The "AVNOJ borders". In 1945, this situation caused concerns among Serbs who feared being divided among multiple Yugoslav constituent republics. In response, Tito and the Yugoslav regime employed rhetoric designed to diminish the apparent significance of the intra-Yugoslav borders. Although the AVNOJ borders were originally drawn as administrative boundaries, they gained importance with subsequent decentralisation and

3045-457: The "Partisans" (capitalized), and stuck henceforward (the adjective "Yugoslav" is used sometimes in exclusively non- Yugoslav sources to distinguish them from other partisan movements). Between January 1942 and November 1942, the movement's full official name was briefly National Liberation Partisan and Volunteer Army of Yugoslavia ( Narodnooslobodilačka partizanska i dobrovoljačka vojska Jugoslavije, NOP i DVJ). The changes were meant to reflect

3150-648: The AVNOJ also drew a response from the Chetnik leadership. At the Ba Congress held in January 1944, they proposed an alternative solution for the post-war government. The congress also condemned the AVNOJ in line with the contemporary Chetnik propaganda as a product of collaboration of Communists and Ustaše against Serbs. On 21 November 1944, the presidency of the AVNOJ declared the Germans of Yugoslavia to be collectively guilty for

3255-536: The AVNOJ delegates were non-Communists so the presidency included some non-Communist members of the pre-war HSS and the Independent Democratic Party . The NKOJ was confirmed in the role of the government. Tito was appointed the president of the NKOJ and had three vice-presidents. Two were KPJ members Edvard Kardelj and Vladislav S. Ribnikar  [ sr ] , and the remaining one was Božidar Magovac of

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3360-533: The AVNOJ was held in Belgrade between 7 and 26 August 1945 as a part of preparation of the Constitutional Assembly. It was again presided over by Ribar, and held in the Yugoslav Parliament building . A parliamentary election was held on 11 November and the Constitutional Assembly convened on 29 November 1945. The Assembly went on to ratify the decisions previously made by the AVNOJ. The AVNOJ resulted in

3465-635: The Army, Navy and Air Forces. At the same time, the government promoted Mihailović to Army General and formally renamed the Chetniks the "Yugoslav Army in the Homeland". In June 1943, Jovanović resigned, unable to reunite the ministers, and his replacement Miloš Trifunović also resigned after less than two months. In August, Božidar Purić was appointed the prime minister of a largely administrative government mostly composed of civil servants, although Mihailović retained his ministerial position. In November 1942,

3570-468: The Balkans. (... ) Considering that the Partisans had given us such a generous measure of assistance at almost no cost to ourselves, it was of high importance to ensure that their resistance was maintained and not allowed to flag. The partisan army had long since grown into a regular fighting formation comparable to the armies of other small States, and infinitely superior to most of them, and especially to

3675-510: The Brezovica woods between Sisak and Zagreb, forming the 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment . The first uprising led by Tito occurred two weeks later, in Serbia. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia formally decided to launch an armed uprising on 4 July, a date which was later marked as Fighter's Day – a public holiday in the SFR Yugoslavia . One Žikica Jovanović Španac shot the first bullet of

3780-508: The Chetniks from carrying out overt resistance, however the Partisans were not fazed and continued overt resistance which disrupted Axis forces, but led to significant civilian casualties. Later in the conflict the Partisans were able to win the moral, as well as limited material support of the western Allies , who until then had supported General Draža Mihailović 's Chetnik Forces, but were finally convinced of their collaboration fighting by many military missions dispatched to both sides during

3885-618: The Communist Party of Yugoslavia arrived in Belgrade in late May, and this was of great importance for the development of the resistance in Yugoslavia. After their arrival, the Central Committee held conferences with local party officials. The decision for preparing the struggle in Serbia issued on June 23, 1941 at the meeting of the Provincial Committee for Serbia. On July 5, a Communist Party proclamation appeared that called upon

3990-406: The Communist Party of Yugoslavia. In 1941, Partisan forces in Serbia and Montenegro had around 55,000 fighters, but only 4,500 succeeded to escape to Bosnia. On 21 December 1941 they formed the 1st Proletarian Assault Brigade ( 1. Proleterska Udarna Brigada ) – the first regular Partisan military unit, capable of operating outside its local area. In 1942 Partisan detachments officially merged into

4095-508: The German retreat forced by the Soviet-Bulgarian offensive in Serbia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo in the autumn of 1944, the conscription of Serbs, Macedonians, and Kosovar Albanians increased significantly. By late 1944, the total forces of the Partisans numbered 650,000 men and women organized in four field armies and 52 divisions , which engaged in conventional warfare . By April 1945, the Partisans numbered over 800,000. The movement

4200-662: The HSS. Finally, the AVNOJ formally praised and thanked Tito's Supreme Headquarters, and the Partisan forces for their armed struggle. On 15 January 1944, the AVNOJ introduced multilingualism to its proceedings, deciding to publish its official work in Serbian , Croatian , Slovene and Macedonian . In February, the AVNOJ and the NKOJ adopted a new emblem of the future federation at Tito's request. The emblem consisted of five lit torches burning as one flame representing five united nations; this

4305-408: The Liberation of Yugoslavia (NKOJ), an all-Yugoslav executive body, appointed to perform the role of an interim government. The AVNOJ reconvened in Jajce on 29 and 30 November 1943; Ribar chaired the meeting as president of the executive council. The KPJ originally planned for the second session of the AVNOJ to be attended by 250 delegates elected by regional land councils. The number of delegates

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4410-672: The Muslims, with thousands of them killed. A rebellion began in June 1941 in Herzegovina . On 27 July 1941, a Partisan-led uprising began in the area of Drvar and Bosansko Grahovo . It was a coordinated effort from both sides of the Una River in the territory of southeastern Lika and southwestern Bosanska, and succeeded in transferring key NDH territory under rebel control. On 10 August in Stanulović,

4515-418: The NKOJ and his elevation to the rank of Marshal. He thought that this would signal to the Western Allies that the KPJ was actually fighting for a revolution. Stalin was further angered by the fact that he received no prior notice of the decisions. To Stalin's surprise, the Western Allies did not strongly oppose the AVNOJ's decisions. The flow of British equipment and arms to the Partisans, which had started in

4620-616: The National Liberation Army ( Narodnooslobodilačka vojska ). The name change also reflects the fact that the latter superseded in importance the partisan detachments themselves. Shortly before the end of the war, in March 1945, all resistance forces were reorganized into the regular armed force of Yugoslavia and renamed Yugoslav Army. It would keep this name until 1951, when it was renamed the Yugoslav People's Army . On 6 April 1941,

4725-451: The National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia with Tito as commander-in-chief on 27 June 1941 and the Partisans waged war against the occupying powers until 1945. d. King Peter II and the government fled Yugoslavia in April 1941 when it became apparent the royal army would not be able to defend the country. The decision to abandon organised armed resistance put the Yugoslav government-in-exile in

4830-403: The Partisan threat, and attempted to destroy the resistance in what Yugoslav historiographers defined as seven major enemy offensives. These are: It was the nature of partisan resistance that operations against it must either eliminate it altogether or leave it potentially stronger than before. This had been shown by the sequel to each of the previous five offensives from which, one after another,

4935-482: The Partisans captured Bihać and secured control over a large part of western Bosnia , Dalmatia and Lika , which they called the Bihać Republic . On 26 and 27 November, the pan-Yugoslav Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) was established in the town at the initiative of Tito and the KPJ. At its founding session, the AVNOJ adopted the principle of a multi-ethnic federal state as

5040-412: The Partisans developed into a large fighting force engaging in conventional warfare later in the war, numbering around 650,000 in late 1944 and organized in four field armies and 52 divisions . The main stated objectives of the Partisans were the liberation of Yugoslav lands from occupying forces and the creation of a federal, multi-ethnic socialist state in Yugoslavia. The Partisans were organized on

5145-554: The Partisans. The amnesty would be offered again after German withdrawal from Belgrade on 21 November 1944 and on 15 January 1945. By the middle of 1943 partisan resistance to the Germans and their allies had grown from the dimensions of a mere nuisance to those of a major factor in the general situation. In many parts of occupied Europe the enemy was suffering losses at the hands of partisans that he could ill afford. Nowhere were these losses heavier than in Yugoslavia. The Partisans staged

5250-556: The People's Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia (NOV i POJ) with an estimated 236,000 soldiers in December 1942. Partisan numbers from Serbia would be diminished until 1943 when the Partisan movement gained upswing by spreading the fight against the axis. Increase of number of Partisans in Serbia, similarly to other republics, came partly in response to Tito's offer of amnesty to all collaborators on 17 August 1944. At that point tens of thousands of Chetniks switched sides to

5355-609: The Serbian people to struggle against the invaders. Western Serbia was chosen as the base of the uprising , which later spread to other parts of Serbia. A short-lived republic was created in the liberated west, the first liberated territory in Europe. The uprising was suppressed by German forces by 29 November 1941. The Main National Liberation Committee for Serbia is believed to have been founded in Užice on 17 November 1941. It

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5460-670: The Tito–Šubašić Agreement. At the Yalta Conference , Churchill and Stalin discussed the decisions made by the AVNOJ; they agreed to demand ratification of all AVNOJ's decisions by the future Yugoslav Constitutional Assembly. In February 1945, the presidency of the AVNOJ concluded that the Sandžak should not be one of federal units of Yugoslavia. In turn, the Anti-Fascist Council for the People's Liberation of Sandžak divided

5565-543: The Undersigned ) is a sequel of Potpisani which parodies the name of Povratak otpisanih , the sequel of Otpisani . This is a list of characters who have appeared in the Potpisani film serial. Yugoslav partisan Former Axis powers: Other Allied factions: Other Allied support: Other Axis collaborators: Other opponents: The Yugoslav Partisans , or the National Liberation Army , officially

5670-416: The armed resistance spread to all areas of the country except Macedonia . Building experience in clandestine operation across the country, the KPJ proceeded to organise the Yugoslav Partisans as resistance fighters led by Josip Broz Tito . The KPJ believed that the German invasion of the Soviet Union had created favourable conditions for an uprising. The KPJ politburo founded the Supreme Headquarters of

5775-419: The backing of the USSR , and as the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact was still in force, he was compelled to wait. During the April invasion of Yugoslavia, the leadership of the Communist Party was in Zagreb , together with Josip Broz Tito. After a month, they left for Belgrade . While the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union was in effect, the communists refrained from open conflict with

5880-411: The basis for the country's future government but did not officially determine what system of government would be implemented after the war. There was a degree of ambiguity regarding the number of future federal units and whether they would all have equal status within the federation. The AVNOJ also did not mention the international recognition of the London-based Yugoslav government-in-exile, backed by

5985-440: The campaign on 7 July in the Bela Crkva incident . The first Zagreb- Sesvete partisan group was formed in Dubrava in July 1941. In August 1941, 7 Partisan Detachments were formed in Dalmatia with the role of spreading the uprising. On 26 August 1941, 21 members of the 1st Split Partisan Detachment were executed by firing squad after being captured by Italian and Ustaše forces. A number of other partisan units were formed in

6090-419: The combined Anglo-American forces were holding in Italy south of Rome. The Germans had been thrown into some confusion after the collapse of Italy and the Patriots had gained control of large stretches of the coast. We had not, however, seized the opportunity. The Germans had recovered and were driving the Partisans out bit by bit. The main reason for this was the artificial line of responsibility which ran through

6195-418: The country until its people could decide on the future of the monarchy after the war. It also declared all agreements previously concluded by the government-in-exile to be subject to review and approval, renegotiation or cancellation while declaring any further agreements concluded by the government-in-exile void. Furthermore, the AVNOJ declared that Yugoslavia had never accepted the 1941 partition. Finally, Tito

6300-466: The country. The HSS thus split and lost influence. Džafer Kulenović , the only minister drawn from the Yugoslav Muslim Organization , also resigned. The government-in-exile was split along an ethnic line separating the HSS from a bloc of Serb ministers drawn from several disunited parties. The divisions deepened because the HSS ministers were reluctant to publicly discuss and condemn Ustaše atrocities against Serbs in late 1941. In January 1942, Simović

6405-488: The course of the war. To gather intelligence , agents of the western Allies were infiltrated into both the Partisans and the Chetniks. The intelligence gathered by liaisons to the resistance groups was crucial to the success of supply missions and was the primary influence on Allied strategy in Yugoslavia . The search for intelligence ultimately resulted in the demise of the Chetniks and their eclipse by Tito's Partisans. In 1942, although supplies were limited, token support

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6510-410: The creation of the NDH, Italian governorate of Montenegro and Nedic's Serbia and the annexations of Yugoslav territory by the various Axis countries were incompatible with international law in force at that time. The occupying forces instituted such severe burdens on the local populace that the Partisans came not only to enjoy widespread support but for many were the only option for survival. Early in

6615-404: The division of Yugoslavia between the Axis powers and the Independent State of Croatia . The largest part of Serbia was organized into the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia and as such it was the only example of military regime in occupied Europe. The Military Committee of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party for Serbia was formed in mid-May 1941. The Central Committee of

6720-448: The early stage of the war the initial preponderance of Serbs in the Partisans meant in effect a Serbian civil war had broken out. A similar civil war existed within the Croatian national corpus with the competing national narratives provided by the Ustaše and Partisans. In the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the cause of Serb rebellion was the Ustaše policy of genocide, deportations, forced conversions and mass killings of Serbs , as

6825-407: The enemy. After Italy defected to the Allies and Western Allied forces advanced towards Yugoslavia, Tito announced another session of the AVNOJ. Since the previous session, the Western Allies began to support the Partisans, and Tito considered a British landing in Yugoslavia likely. In October 1943, just before the second session, the KPJ central committee established the National Committee for

6930-399: The entire country as well as Trieste and Carinthia . After the war, the Partisans were reorganized into the regular armed force of the newly established Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia . One of two objectives of the movement, which was the military arm of the Unitary National Liberation Front (UNOF) coalition, led by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) and represented by

7035-460: The executive council of the AVNOJ announced the "People's Liberation Loan", an attempt to raise half a billion kuna for the Partisan cause. The NDH's Ustaše regime launched a propaganda campaign in November 1942 to discredit the AVNOJ and portray the Partisans' struggle as pro-Serb and anti-Croat. The campaign, which declined after March 1943, involved the publication of brochures and newspaper articles as well as several rallies. Serb participation in

7140-699: The fight, our victory is assured. His reports contained two important observations. The first was that the Partisans were courageous and aggressive in battling the German 1st Mountain and 104th Light Division, had suffered significant casualties, and required support. The second observation was that the entire German 1st Mountain Division had traveled from Russia by railway through Chetnik-controlled territory. British intercepts (ULTRA) of German message traffic confirmed Chetnik timidity. All in all, intelligence reports resulted in increased Allied interest in Yugoslavia air operations and shifted policy. In September 1943, at Churchill's request, Brigadier General Fitzroy Maclean

7245-535: The first President of the Constitutional Assembly of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , which was later renamed Yugoslavia. The AVNOJ also appointed an executive council presided by Ribar. It had three vice-presidents— Edvard Kocbek , Nurija Pozderac , and Pavle Savić —and six other members: Mladen Iveković (social affairs), Veselin Masleša (propaganda), Simo Milošević (health), Ivan Milutinović (economy), Mile Peruničić (internal affairs), and Vlada Zečević (religious affairs). The executive council

7350-453: The government-in-exile recognised the AVNOJ in return for the NKOJ's pledge to postpone the decision on the constitution of Yugoslavia until after the war. Tito and Šubašić concluded another agreement on 1 November in Belgrade ; Šubašić confirmed AVNOJ as Yugoslavia's legislative body and agreed to form a new 18-person government. Six of the members would come from the government-in-exile and twelve would be NKOJ members. The second session of

7455-427: The highly mobile Partisans and their leadership. By late 1943, the Allies had shifted their support from Mihailović to Tito as the extent of Chetnik collaboration became evident, and the Partisans received official recognition at the Tehran Conference . In Autumn 1944, the Partisans and the Soviet Red Army liberated Belgrade following the Belgrade Offensive . By the end of the war, the Partisans had gained control of

7560-553: The influence and suggestion of Brigadier-General Fitzroy Maclean) with the aim to provide increased supplies and tactical air support for Marshal Tito's Partisan forces. During a meeting with Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Combined Chiefs of Staff of 24 November 1943, Winston Churchill pointed out that: It was a lamentable fact that virtually no supplies had been conveyed by sea to the 222,000 followers of Tito. ... These stalwarts were holding as many Germans in Yugoslavia as

7665-592: The initiative of Tito following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, and began an active guerrilla campaign against occupying forces after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June. A large-scale uprising was launched in July, later joined by Draža Mihailović 's Chetniks ; this led to the creation of the short-lived Republic of Užice . The Axis mounted a series of offensives in response but failed to completely destroy

7770-461: The movement's character as a "volunteer army". In November 1942, the movement was renamed into the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia ( Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odredi Jugoslavije, NOV i POJ), a name which it held until the end of the war. This last official name is the full name most associated with the Partisans, and reflects the fact that the proletarian brigades and other mobile units were organized into

7875-454: The new regime of the Independent State of Croatia . In these first two months of occupation, they extended their underground network and began amassing weapons. In early May 1941, a so-called May consultations of Communist Party officials from across the country, who sought to organize the resistance against the occupiers, was held in Zagreb. In June 1941, a meeting of the Central Committee of KPJ

7980-503: The newly created Italian governorate of Montenegro , and was granted the kingship in the Independent State of Croatia, though wielding little real power within it. Hungary dispatched the Hungarian Third Army and occupied and annexed the Yugoslav regions of Baranja, Bačka, Međimurje and Prekmurje . Bulgaria , meanwhile, annexed nearly all of Macedonia , and small areas of eastern Serbia and Kosovo. The dissolution of Yugoslavia,

8085-690: The occupation, German forces would hang or shoot indiscriminately, including women, children and the elderly, up to 100 local inhabitants for every one German soldier killed. While these measures for suppressing communist-led resistance were issued in all German-occupied territory, they were only strictly enforced in Serbia. Two of the most significant atrocities by the German forces were the massacre of 2,000 civilians in Kraljevo and 3,000 in Kragujevac . The formula of 100 hostages shot for every German soldier killed and 50 hostages shot for every wounded German soldier

8190-443: The partisan brigades and divisions had emerged stronger in experience and armament than they had been before, with the backing of a population which had come to see no alternative to resistance but death, imprisonment, or starvation. There could be no half-measures; the Germans left nothing behind them but a trail of ruin. What in other circumstances might possibly have remained the purely ideological war that reactionaries abroad said it

8295-522: The position of the legitimate ruling body of Yugoslavia from the government-in-exile in dealings with the Allies. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia acceded to the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941 under pressure from the Nazi Germany . The latter sought to protect its southern flank before the planned invasion of the Soviet Union , while ensuring the availability of transport routes and economic resources in

8400-574: The pre-war Jugoslav army, in tactical skill, fieldcraft, leadership, fighting spirit and fire-power. With Allied air support ( Operation Flotsam ) and assistance from the Red Army , in the second half of 1944 the Partisans turned their attention to Serbia, which had seen relatively little fighting since the fall of the Republic of Užice in 1941. On 20 October, the Red Army and the Partisans liberated Belgrade in

8505-475: The region along the pre-1912 Serbia – Montenegro border and dissolved itself. The Anti-Fascist Parliament for the People's Liberation of Serbia (ASNOS) held its first regular session between 7 and 9 April, and voted in favour of annexation of Vojvodina, Kosovo and a part of Sandžak. The People's Liberation Council for the Kosovo-Metohija Oblasts held its first regular session between 8 and 10 July, and

8610-646: The second half of 1943 on the basis of the Churchill's Mediterranean strategy , continued. Only days after the AVNOJ's second session, the Allies recognised the Partisans as an Allied force at the Tehran Conference , and cut off further aid to the Chetniks. On British Prime Minister Winston Churchill 's urging, the government-in-exile led by Ivan Šubašić and the Tito-led NKOJ signed the Treaty of Vis on 16 June 1944;

8715-480: The second session of the AVNOJ determined the type of federal system to be introduced in Yugoslavia, modelling it on the Soviet Union. Tito's views prevailed over the model adopted by the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia and the Communist Party of Croatia (KPH), a nominally independent part of the KPJ established in Croatia. The KPH leader Andrija Hebrang advocated

8820-605: The summer of 1941, including in Moslavina and Kalnik . An uprising occurred in Serbia during the summer, led by Tito, when the Republic of Užice was created, but it was defeated by the Axis forces by December 1941, and support for the Partisans in Serbia thereafter dropped. It was a different story for Serbs in Axis occupied Croatia who turned to the multi-ethnic Partisans, or the Serb royalist Chetniks. The journalist Tim Judah notes that in

8925-514: The town of Bihać and was attended by delegates representing all the peoples of Yugoslavia. Far-reaching historical decisions were adopted and an executive committee was elected. The Veće represented all anti-fascist parties and united all political trends, regardless of religion and nationality. The Veće was charged with mobilizing all means for helping the People's Liberation Army and with continuing to organize People's Liberation Committees, not only in liberated sectors but in territory still occupied by

9030-480: The two movements were uneasy from the start, but from October 1941 they degenerated into full-scale conflict. To the Chetniks, Tito's pan-ethnic policies seemed anti-Serbian, whereas the Chetniks' royalism was anathema to the communists. In the early part of the war Partisan forces were predominantly composed of Serbs. In that period names of Muslim and Croat commanders of Partisan forces had to be changed to protect them from their predominantly Serb colleagues. After

9135-425: The uprisings was highlighted while Croat or Bosnian Muslim AVNOJ participants were either not mentioned, labelled traitors, or misnamed. Ribar's name was misrepresented as Slovene -sounding "Janez Ribar". Tito describes the purpose of AVNOJ in his work The Yugoslav peoples fight for freedom in 1944: In the autumn of 1942, when the greater part of Yugoslavia had been liberated, the necessity arose for establishing

9240-481: The various ethnic groups within Yugoslavia, by preserving the rights of each group. The objectives of the rival resistance movement, the Chetniks , were the retention of the Yugoslav monarchy , ensuring the safety of ethnic Serb populations, and the establishment of a Greater Serbia through the ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs from territories they considered rightfully and historically Serbian. Relations between

9345-610: The war and enemies of Yugoslavia. Germans in Partisan-controlled areas were interned. Prior to 1944, about half a million Germans lived in Yugoslavia. About 240,000 were evacuated before the arrival of the Red Army , another 150,000 were later deported to the USSR to work as forced labour, 50,000 died in Yugoslav-run labor camps and 15,000 were killed by the Partisans. Most of the others were expelled from Yugoslavia and German property

9450-588: Was (and German propaganda did their utmost to support them) became a war for national preservation. So clear was this that no room was left for provincialism; Serbs and Croats and Slovenes, Macedonians, Bosnians, Christian and Moslem, Orthodox and Catholic, sank their differences in the sheer desperation of striving to remain alive. Partisans operated as a regular army that remained highly mobile across occupied Yugoslavia. Partisan units engaged in overt acts of resistance which led to significant reprisals against civilians by Axis forces. The killing of civilians discouraged

9555-457: Was also held, at which it was decided to start preparations for the uprising. Operation Barbarossa , the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941. The extent of support for the Partisan movement varied according to region and nationality, reflecting the existential concerns of the local population and authorities. The first Partisan uprising occurred in Croatia on 22 June 1941, when forty Croatian communists staged an uprising in

9660-409: Was awarded the rank of Marshal of Yugoslavia . The AVNOJ elected a new presidency consisting of sixty-three members, chaired by Ribar. Five vice-presidents were appointed: Antun Augustinčić , Moša Pijade , Josip Rus  [ sl ] , Dimitar Vlahov , and Marko Vujačić  [ sr ] . Radonja Golubović and Rodoljub Čolaković were appointed secretaries of the presidency. Some of

9765-452: Was confiscated. By the time of 1948 census , fewer than 56,000 ethnic Germans remained. At Allied suggestion, in February 1945 the AVNOJ was expanded to include members drawn from Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo - Metohija , which had not been represented at its second session. The AVNOJ was expanded again in late March to include 54 members of the pre-war Yugoslav Parliament as required by

9870-514: Was consistently referred to as the "Partisans" throughout the war. However, due to frequent changes in size and structural reorganizations, the Partisans throughout their history held four full official names (translated here from Serbo-Croatian to English): The movement was originally named National Liberation Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia ( Narodnooslobodilački partizanski odredi Jugoslavije, NOPOJ) and held that name from June 1941 to January 1942. Because of this, their short name became simply

9975-419: Was cut in one-half in February 1943 and removed altogether in the fall of that same year. Furthermore, Yugoslavia experienced a breakdown of law and order, with collaborationist militias roaming the countryside terrorizing the population. The government of the puppet Independent State of Croatia found itself unable to control its territory in the early stages of the occupation, resulting in a severe crackdown by

10080-533: Was established under German direction, which extended over much of the territory of today's Croatia and as well contained all the area of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and Syrmia region of modern-day Serbia . Mussolini's Italy occupied the remainder of Drava Banovina (annexed and renamed as the Province of Lubiana ), much of Zeta Banovina and large chunks of the coastal Dalmatia region (along with nearly all its Adriatic islands). It also gained control over

10185-404: Was framed by sheaves, topped by a red five-pointed star, and crossed by a blue stripe bearing the name of the country, Democratic Federal Yugoslavia . Stalin was enraged by the AVNOJ's rejection of Soviet advice in its establishment of the NKOJ as an interim government and explicit repudiation of the government-in-exile. Stalin was specifically worried about Tito's assumption of the presidency of

10290-423: Was not formally considered a government, and Tito told the Bihać session of the AVNOJ that a government could not be formed for international reasons. Instead, he described the executive council as a political instrument to mobilise people. After the Bihać meeting, land councils were established as political bodies representative of what was expected to be individual parts of the future federation. In January 1943,

10395-479: Was parachuted to Tito's headquarters near Drvar to serve as a permanent, formal liaison to the Partisans. While the Chetniks were still occasionally supplied, the Partisans received the bulk of all future support. Thus, after the Tehran Conference the Partisans received official recognition as the legitimate national liberation force by the Allies, who subsequently set up the RAF Balkan Air Force (under

10500-462: Was replaced by Slobodan Jovanović and his decision to support the Chetniks widened the rift with the HSS ministers. Jovanović saw the Chetniks as a guerrilla force promising the restoration of the monarchy after the war. In combination with fear of communism, this led him to ignore information about Chetnik collaboration with the Axis powers, and appoint their leader Draža Mihailović the Minister of

10605-500: Was sent equally to each. The new year would bring a change. The Germans were executing Operation Schwarz (the Fifth anti-Partisan offensive), one of a series of offensives aimed at the resistance fighters, when F.W.D. Deakin was sent by the British to gather information. On April 13, 1941, Winston Churchill sent his greetings to the Yugoslav people. In his greeting he stated: You are making

10710-751: Was subsequently increased by 53 to include delegates from Macedonia and the Sandžak. In total, 78 delegates were to be elected in Croatia, 53 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 53 in Serbia, 42 in Slovenia, 42 in Macedonia, 16 in Montenegro, 11 in Sandžak, and 8 in Vojvodina. Of the planned 303, 142 delegates arrived by the start of the session and 163 deputy delegates also attended the session. No deputies from Sandžak or Macedonia were present. The Main National Liberation Committee for Serbia

10815-425: Was the body of the Partisan resistance in Serbian territory. The Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Serbia was held 9–12 November 1944. Tito's post-war government built numerous monuments and memorials in Serbia after the war. Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia , commonly abbreviated as

10920-566: Was the case elsewhere in the NDH. Resistance to communist leadership of the anti-Ustasha rebellion among the Serbs from Bosnia also developed in the form of the Chetnik movement and autonomous bands which were under command of Dragoljub Mihailović. Whereas the Partisans under Serb leadership were open to members of various nationalities, those in the Chetniks were hostile to Muslims and exclusively Serbian. The uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina started by Serbs in many places were acts of retaliation against

11025-490: Was unable to hold elections because of the German occupation of Serbia . Instead, the Serbian delegates were appointed by individual Partisan units originally from Serbia; as a result, eastern Yugoslavia was underrepresented. The AVNOJ made several decisions of the highest political and constitutional significance. It declared itself the supreme legislative body in the country and the representation of Yugoslav sovereignty; affirmed

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