Uloga Ozne u preuzimanju vlasti u Hrvatskoj 1945.
The Role of the OZN in the communist takeover of power in Croatia in 1945

Author(s): Zdenko Radelić
Subject(s): History, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), History of Communism, Historical revisionism, Fascism, Nazism and WW II
Published by: Hrvatski institut za povijest
Summary/Abstract: This paper analyzes the work of the Odjeljenje za zaštitu naroda (OZN – Department of National Defense), the information and intelligence service of the Yugoslavian Armed Forces under the leadership and full control of the Communist Party, in the takeover of government after the conquest of designated areas in the territory of Croatia, especially the larger cities. In the period which preceded the takeover of government, the OZN placed the greatest emphasis on the collection of information about the condition of its enemies and potential opponents, the assignments of the most important officers of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and the Ustaša organization, the members of the Croat Peasant Party (HSS) and other political parties, the supporters of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and collaborators of the Third Reich, as well as the disposition of units of the NDH and the Third Reich. It especially monitored the disposition of units in cities, their streets and buildings and plans of defense. One section of the OZN produced a file listing those who were to be arrested and have their property seized. In cooperation with other state institutions of Federal Croatia, it elaborated plans for the operation of state and municipal bodies and productive and service organizations, in order to ensure the uninterrupted flow of daily life. At the end of the war and during the consolidation of the new government, the most attention was paid to the HSS and the Intelligence Service of Great Britain. The work is based on the reports of the OZN, which are held at the Croatian State Archive.

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