Model from Republic of Croatia

Archival Documentation

  1. In general
  2. Documentation of Holocaust in Croatia
  3. HDA, projekt Dotršina-Zagreb, 1941 – 1945
  4. Ministry of State Treasury, the Department of Finance, State Property, and Debts, the Office for Nationalized Property (Revision) – Zagreb, 1941-45
  5. Records microfilmed for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D. C., USA

In General

Croatian State Archives (HDA) in Zagreb possess about 19,500 linear metres of the archives, with about 2,500 record groups and collections of the period from 12th century to nowadays. For the years now HDA collects documentation about all victims of the Second World War and after war periods i.e. of all victims of the totalitarian systems - fascism, nacism as well as of communism.

The following connected with Holocaust has been done till now:

  1. Evidence and list of the archives (record groups) in Republic of Croatia and HDA about Holocaust
  2. Project of the place of execution "Dotrš¥ina" which includes all victims of the city of Zagreb, but in which there was also made a separated register of Jews with short biographies, and where sources and leaflets are listed too.
  3. Cooperation of HDA with:
    1. Yad Vashem, for which the copies of data of the vicitimised Jews were made
    2. Holocaust Museum, to which the lists of the suffered Jews were given and for which over 326,000 microfilm frames were made
    3. Jewish community, in the protection of their archives and cooperation in all actions of researching Holocaust (See: Dotrš¥ina)
  4. Taking part in the confences on the Holocaust in the country and abroad

Documentation of Holocaust in Croatia

During the World War II the Croatian people found itself devided between two opposite political options: Pavelic's Independent State of Croatia (ISC) which was presumed to insure the independence of Croatia with the help of National Socialist Germany and Fascist Italy, and antifascist option which got its form in the partisan movement and in the establishment of separate government as a part of antifacist coalition. This marked the beakup of the first Yugoslavian Kingdom established after World War I by the Paris Peace Conference, "The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes."

Anti-Semitism was a constituent part of the policy of Pavelic's ISC. He accepted it as a part of his alliance with Germany, in spite
the fact that anti-Semitism was practically unknown in Croatia up to that time. According to the figures given by Croatian demograph V. Yerjavic, during the World War II in the territory of the Independent State of Croatia, which included today's territory of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Sirmium, there were 19,800 Jewish victims, and of that number in Croatia there were 9.900 victims, in BiH 8.900, and in Sirmium 1000 victims. According to the same source 13,000 of those victims were executed in the notorious concentration camp Jasenovac.

These numbers are the testimony of the dreadful crime with no excuse. Itis difficult to assess, at this point whether there was widespread support by the Croats were against those crimes, they were executed by the individuals from the Croatian government.. On the other hand, documents show also that there was some resistance by the Croatian people against repressive Ustasha policy directed against the Jews, Gypsies and Serbs.

Documentation about the Holocaust in Croatia can be divided into several different groups:

The first and the most important group consisted of the official documents of ISC (laws, provisions of law, archives of Ustasha administration), mostly stored in the Croatian State Archives (SCA) in Zagreb which is obliged to collect documents of central state institutions, but they are stored in the regional state archives, too. The part of those documents is now also housed in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. This group contains lists of Jews, data about camps, victims, treatment of the Jews in public life, lists of Jewish properties and data about confiscation of their properties.

The second group is made of documents produced by the activities of the Anti-Fascist Partisan Movement, especially the ZAVNOH (Anti-Fascist Council of the National Liberation of Croatia), with details about the efforts of anti-fascists in assisting the Jews.

The third group is represented by the documents which came out after 1944 as a result of the activities of the Commission for the Determination of Crimes Committed by the Occupiers and their Supporters in the People's Republic of Croatia. It includes the documents of the State Commission, stored in CSA, and of district, community and city commissions stored in regional state archives. This group contents detailed figures about victims and crimes committed in camps in various sites in Croatia.

The fourth group is made of documents produced after 1945 as a result of legal proceedings conducted by the State Security Office against those accused of crimes committed during the Wold War II. These archives, acquiesced in CSA after 1990, show in the summarized form the atrocities committed against Jews because they were just a part of the after war investigation documentations. This group contents also original documents of different provenance from war period, chosen to serve as the evidence in legal proceedings.

Finally, the fifth group is represented by different collections of printed materials, photos, memoirs, archives of the Jewish communities and private archives.

The most important part of the archives on Holocaust is stored in the Croatian State Archives, and in many ways it summarizes the documentation of subordinated administrative bodies.

Documentation about Jews, nowdays stored in the Croatian Historical Museum, was collected by the Museum of the Revolution of the People of Croatia, founded in 1945 and attached to the Croatian Historical Museum in 1991.

Issues about World War II is Yugoslavia often follow disturbing nationalist historiographies. For example, Serbia was viewed as an ally of the Western Powers, while Croatia and BiH were viewed as supporters on Nazi Germany. BiH even had a Muslim Legion (Hanjar) in the Waffen SS. During the 1990s, with Milosovic's attempt to maintain Serbian dominance over the then Yugoslav state, Serbia became a perpetrator nation and was guilty of genocide at Srebrenica as the Yugoslav state broke apart. The Catholic Church as also a player on the side of the Croatian Ustashe during World War II. Extensive research about this era in a serious way is only now beginning. The Concentration camp as Jasenovic in Croatia has been the site of extensive research, as well as leaders of Croatia in the 1990s. Franjo Tudjman had extensive involvement with the Ustashe regime and this was also true of Bosnian leader Alija Izetbegovic.

Analysis of there personalities demands very critical reading of materials and authentication of sources.

Croatian State Archives: Record Groups and Collections on the Holocaust

Ustasha Supervisory Office (UNS) - Zagreb (1941-1943); 1941-1943: 5 boxes, app. 5,000 pages
(USTAŠKA NADZORNA SLU¥BA (UNS). ¥IDOVSKI ODSJEK. UPRAVA LOGORA-ZAGREB (1941-1943); 1941/1943; 5 kut; oko 5.000 listova).

Ustasha Supervisory Office - Directorate of the Usatsha Protective Office-Jewish Section-Zagreb (-1941-1943); 1941/1942: 10 boxes, 13,500 pages
(UNS - RAVNATELJSTVO USTAŠKOGA (ZAŠTITNOG) REDARSTVA. ¥IDOVSKI ODSJEK-ZAGREB (1941-1943); 1941/1942; l0 kut.).

Branch-Office of the Ustasha Intelligence Service in Zagreb - Jewish Section (1941-1942); 1941-1942: 8 boxes, 4,220 items.
(ISPOSTAVA USTAŠKOG REDARSTVENOG POVJERENIŠTVA U ZAGREBU. ¥IDOVSKI ODSJEK. - ZAGREB (1941-1942); 1941-1942; 8 kut.).

Ustasha Supervisory Office for the City and the District of Koprivnica (1941-1943); 1941; 1 box, 989 pages.
(UNS- USTAŠKO POVJERENIŠTVO ZA GRAD I KOTAR KOPRIVNICU-KOPRIVNICA (1941-1943); 1941; 1 kut.)

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Independent State of Croatia- Cheif Directorate for Public Order and Safety - Jewish Section (MUP NDH) -Zagreb (1942-1945); 2 boxes, 1,950 pages. Partially preserved.
(MINISTARSTVO UNUTARNJIH POSLOVA NDH-GLAVNO RAVNATELJSTVO ZA JAVNI RED I SIGURNOST. ¥IDOVSKI ODSJEK (MUP NDH)-ZAGREB (1942-1945); 1942; 2 kut.).

Ministry of Health and Social Services - The Head Directorate for Social Services and Social Welfare (MU) – Zagreb (1941-1945); 1941-1945: 24 boxes, about 23,000 pages. App. 5 per cent of the material relates to the Jewish issue.
(MINISTARSTVO ZDRAVSTVA I UDRU¥BE. GLAVNO RAVNATELJSTVO ZA UDRU¥BU I DRUŠTVENU SKRB (MU) - ZAGREB (1941-1945); I941-1945; 24 kut.).

Ministry of the State Treasury. The Department of State Property, Misappropriations and Debts. The Office for Nationalized Property (REVISION)-Zagreb (1941-1945): 1941-1945: 751 sheaves, about 720,000 pages. App. 50 per cent of the material relates to the Jewish issue.
(MINISTARSTVO DR¥AVNE RIZNICE. ODJEL ZA DR¥AVNU IMOVINU, NAVJERE I DUGOVE. URED ZA PODR¥AVLJENI IMETAK (PONOVA) - ZAGREB (1941-1945); 1941-I945; 751 sve¥anj.).

State Commission for the Determination of the Crimes Committed by the Occupiers and Their Supporters in the People's Republic of Croatia (ZKRZ) - Zagreb (1944-1947): 1944-1947: There are 9 boxes relating exclusively to the Jews and 9 boxes of lists of victims arranged according to the site of crime (including Jews): app. 18,000 pages.
(ZEMALJSKA KOMISIJA ZA UTVR¥IVANJE ZLO¥INA OKUPATORA I NJIHOVIH POMAGA¥A NARODNE REPUBLIKE HRVATSKE (ZKRZ) –ZAGREB  (1944-1947); 1944-1947.).

The district, community and city commissions were submitted to the State Commission.

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the People's Republic of Croatia (MUP NRH) - Zagreb (1945-1953): 1941-1953: 4 boxes, 17,500 pages, about 2,500 page's.
(MINISTARSTVO UNUTRAŠNJIH POSLOVA NARODNE REPUBLIKE HRVATSKE (MUP NRH) - ZAGREB (1945-1953); 1941-1953: 4 kut: Dokumentacija Slu¥be dr¥avne sigurnosti o stradanjima ¥idova u NDH od 1941-1945.).

Public Prosecuter's Office of the People's Republic of Croatia -Zagreb (1945-1953); 1941-1953: 8 boxes.
(JAVNO TU¥ILAŠTVO NRH - ZAGREB (1945-1953); 1941-1953: 8 kut: Optu¥nica Paveli¥ Artukovi¥.).

Collection of the Archival Materials on the History of the Labour Movement of Zagreb (Zb. PRP): 1945-1950; 24 boxes, app. 17,500 pages. App. 45 % of the archival material relates to the Jews.
(ZBIRKA GRA¥E ZA POVIJEST RADNI¥KOG POKRETA ZAGREBA (Zb.PRP): 1945-1950; 24 kut.).

Collection of Printed Material: 1941-1945; 7,000 pieces of which approximately 200 relate to the Jews.
(ZBIRKA TISKOVINA: 1941-1945; oko 200 kom.).

In the regional state archives there are in smaller quantities kept archives produced in the period of ISC. The fragments of those archives are stored in several different museums, too.

In the State Archives Split the record group "Jewish Religious Communnity Split" (1861-1943), 8 boxes, contains, among others, correspondance with "Delasse" from Genua, about taking care and help to the Jews during the war.

At the territory of ex-Yugoslavia there were often situations of manipulating the number of victims of the Second World War, and now it is necessary to explore all victims of the war by their name and surname. The attempt of such exploration was the Project "Dotrš¥ina", which had for its aim to establish all the victims of the fascist terror as well as antifascists, all those who were in any way connected with Zagreb, and who perished or were killed in concentration camps and prisons or were killed at the side of antifacists in the period from April 10th 1941 to May 15th 1945. In that project special attention was given to the exploration of Jewish victims, all those who were, according to used criteria, citizens of Zagreb.

HDA, projekt Dotršina-Zagreb, 1941 – 1945

Projekt "Dotrš¥ina", odnosno istra¥ivanje podataka o ¥rtvama Drugog svjetskog rata sa podru¥ja Zagreba i okolice zapo¥eo je u Hrvatskom dr¥avnom arhivu još 1967. godine i trajao je, s prekidima, do travnja 1985. godine.

Sam naziv projekta potje¥e od imena lokaliteta nedaleko Zagreba na kojemu je stradao najve¥i broj ¥rtava.

U okviru toga rada istra¥eno je gradivo kojim je Hrvatski dr¥avni arhiv raspolagao, te arhivsko gradiva srodnih institucija (Arhiv Instituta za historiju radni¥kog pokreta, Muzej revolucije u Zagrebu, Muzej revolucije u Zagrebu, Povijesni arhiv grada Zagreba, Institut za sudsku medicinu u Zagrebu, groblje Mirogoj u Zagrebu, zatim u institucije bivše SFRJ u Beogradu: Arhiv Jugoslavije, Vojnoistorijski institut i Institut za vojnomedicinsku dokumentaciju). Pored istra¥ivanja arhivskog gradiva, korištena je i literatura na temu narodnosolobodila¥ke borbe i koncentracijskih logora, pregledan suvremeni tisak, te prikupljeni iskazi svjedoka.

Na temelju prikupljenih i temeljito provjerenih podataka (svi su prona¥eni podaci evidentirani na karticama - napisano je preko 50.000 kartica) za svaku osobu izra¥en je mati¥ni list, koji sadr¥i osnovne podatke o ¥ivotu, radu, te mjestu, na¥inu i vremenu pogibije, s naznakom svih izvora iz kojih su podaci crpljeni. Na taj je na¥in napisano 18. 627 mati¥nih listova - kratkih biografija. Svi su mati¥ni listovi, radi lakšeg rukovanja, uvezani u knjige i slo¥eni po abecednom redu (ukupno 113 knjiga).

Ovdje je potrebno istaknuti da je prilikom rada na sre¥ivanju osobnih podataka o pojedinim ¥rtvama bilo znatnih teško¥a. Naime, ¥esto se nije moglo sa sigurnoš¥u utvrditi ¥ak ni to¥no ime i prezime ¥rtve, jer su se imena ¥rtava javljala u više ina¥ica. Osobni podaci za pojedine ¥rve ponekad su ili potpuno manjkavi, ili toliko razli¥iti da ih je bilo nemogu¥e uskladiti. U mnogo slu¥ajeva ne samo da se nisu slagali datumi smrti za jednu istu ¥rtvu, nego ¥ak ni mjesto smrti.

Projektom "Dotrš¥ina" evidentirano je i obra¥eno 6.537 zagreba¥kih ¥idova od kojih je 86 poginulo u partizanskim jedinicama. Najve¥i broj ¥idova stradao je na podru¥ju Hrvatske, a manji dio izvan teritorija Hrvatske (najviše u logoru Auschwitz).

Istra¥ivanje ¥rtava sa podru¥ju grada Zagreba i okolice ne mo¥e se smatrati završenim, obzirom na neke nove izvore, i obzirom da je u  posljednje vrijeme na prikupljenim podacima izvršena analiza i ra¥unalna obrada podataka, ali samo od slova A do slova Hi. U dobijenoj bazi podataka, izra¥enoj u programu za izradu baza podataka Microsoft Acces 97, unešeni su do sada podaci za 5282 osobe. Podaci su unošeni prema sljede¥a 22 parametra – redni broj, prezime, ime, ro¥eno prezime, ime oca, spol, datum ro¥enja, mjesto ro¥enja, dr¥ava ro¥enja, mjesto prebivališta, dr¥ava prebivališta, nacionalnost, vjeroispovijest, zanimanje, pripadnost oru¥anim snagama, datum smrti, mjesto smrti, dr¥ava smrti, uzrok smrti, po¥initelj smrti, napomena i izvori.

Ministry of State Treasury, the Department of Finance, State Property, and Debts, the Office for Nationalized Property (Revision) – Zagreb, 1941-45

Ministarstvo dr¥avne riznice, Odjel za nov¥arstvo, dr¥avnu imovinu i dugove, Ured za podr¥avljeni imetak (Ponova)

One of the most important fonds, holdings of the Croatian State Archives, relevant for the Holocaust, acquiesced in 1997, from the State Archives Zagreb. Primary size about 250 meters, still not completely arranged.

From the original accumulation of records, following fonds have been separated: Ponova Branch-office Osijek; Ponova Branch-office Sarajevo; Ponova Branch-office Banja Luka; Emigration and Immigration Camp Caprag – Sisak; Emigration Camp Požega, Emigration Camp Bjelovar; Ponova Office in Brodski Šamac, Ponova Office in Koprivnica; Tax office Sremski Karlovci; Tax office Slavonski Brod; Tax office Slatina; and Tax Office Donji Miholjac.

Ponova is made of documents (records, registers, indexes, other books, card files and forms), important sources for the removal of the non-Croat elements from the Independent State of Croatia territory, respectively elimination of Jews from the Croatian economy.

Office for the Economy Renewal has been established on May 3, 1941. Its duties were: supervision and examination of business enterprises, management of business enterprises, buying and selling of business enterprises, shares, immovable and other objects for the state, appointment and dismissal of business enterprises managers, giving guidelines for the management of the business enterprises.

State directorate for revision has been established on June 24, 1941, for the whole teritory of the ISC. It has mainly dealed with the property of the persons who have left or have been removed from the ISC territory.

State directorate for economy revision has been established on July 1, 1941. It has taken over the Office for the Economy Renewal's duties, and was the only office authorised to buy Jews property and enterprises. Also, directorate could manage property and Jewish enterprises thathave been declared according to the Provision on of the law on an obligatory registration of Jewish properties and Jewish companies. Directorates have been united on September 15, 1941, and duties remained the same.

Office has changed the name several times, till on August 17, 1943, reached its last name: Ministry of State Treasury, the Department of Finance, State Property, and Debts, the Office for Nationalized Property.

Office had its branch-offices in Osijek, Sarajevo and Banja Luka. Emigration camps were also under its authority, and have operated during the 1941, till the Serbs had not been removed from the ISC territory.

The most important and the biggest series relevant for the Jews is Files of confiscated Jewish movable and immovable property (DKM). Office has managed all the Jews properties, first nationalized by the Provision of law on nationalization of Jews and Jewish companies' property (October 9, 1941). By the Provision of law on nationalization of Jewish property (October 30, 1942) all the Jewish property has become the ISC property. Serie contains card files, registers and indexes and dossiers.

There are some 20.000 dossiers (468 boxes, 46,8 m), one for each Jew, from the territory of the ISC, that has declared his / hers property. All the documents, that Ponova has created or received, concerning particular Jew, or anything of his / hers property, were filled in his / hers dossier. Dossiers may contain:

Form I – obligatory declaration of Jew property, with following sections: personal data; immovable; physician (as profession, not person's health careers); engineers, constructors, vice notaries, builders and representatives of other free professions; mining rights; rents and options; patents and licenses; copyrights; valuables; shares in enterprises; claims; exchange value of tools, instruments and devices that person owns for his profession; furniture, food, clothes and other household property; other property that results from any other legal business; debts.

Form II – obligatory declaration of Jewish enterprises, respectively enterprises that completely or partly belonging to Jews

Procedure was following: after that particular person had declared its property, property has been nationalized to the credit of the ISC. Ponova has sold most of the property to the citizens of the ISC, some property, especially immovable, remained the state property, used by its various offices and some have been managed by the managers.

Thus the ISC has nationalized the completely property of its Jews. The value of nationalized property is still unknown, due to the fact that there is no census about a number of the Jews who lived on the ISC territory. The Ponova records will surely help historians, sociologists and other researchers to come to the more precise numbers.

Records microfilmed for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D. C., USA

Till the July 1999 the Croatian State Archives has microfilmed and send to the Museum some 326.000 microfilm frames, containing records of the following fonds:

Alphabetical list of biographies of Jewish victims from the letter A to Z
(microfilm roll 1-10)
Abecedni popis biografija stradalih ¥idova od slova A-Z
(mikrofilmski svitak 1-10)

Branch-Office of the Ustasha Police Commission in Zagreb – Jewish
section (Independent State of Croatia (ISC) 1941-1945)
(microfilm roll 10-19)
Ispostava ustaškog redarstvenog povjereništva Zagreb – ?idovski odsjek
(mikrofilmski svitak 10-19)

Ustasha Police Directorate – Jewish section (ISC)
(microfilm roll 20-27)
Ravnateljstvo ustaškog redarstva – ?idovski odsjek
(mikrofilmski svitak 20-27)

Ustasha Police Commission - Zagreb (ISC)-questionaries
(microfilm roll 28-30)
Ustaško redarstveno povjereništvo - Zagreb
(mikrofilmski svitak 28-30)

Concentration Camps: Ðakovo, Lobor Grad, Gornja Rijeka, Jasenovac, Krušcica, Kupari (ISC)
(microfilm roll 31-33)
Sabirni logori: Ðakovo, Lobor Grad, Gornja Rijeka, Jasenovac, Krušcica, Kupari
(mikrofilmski svitak 31-33)

Miscellanies about the Jews:

Ministry of Health and Social Services, the Head Directorate for the Social Services and Social welfare (ISC)

Ustasha Supervisory Office for the City and the District of Koprivnica (ISC)

State Commission for the Determination of the Crimes Comitted by the Occupiers and their Supporters in the People's Republic of Croatia (ZKRZ) (1944-1947)
(microfilm roll 34-41)

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Independent State of Croatia
Republic Secretariat of the Internal Affairs of the Socialistic Republic of Croatia, State Security Service (1945-1953)
(microfilm roll 41-44)
Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova NDH
Republi¥ki sekretarijat za unutarnje poslove Socijalisti¥ke Republike Hrvatske, Slu¥ba dr¥avne sigurnosti
(mikrofilmski svitak 41-44)

Public Prosecutor's Office of the Socialistic Republic of Croatia
(microfilm roll 45)
Javno tu?ilaštvo NRH
(mikrofilmski svitak 45)

Public Prosecutor's Office of the Socialistic Republic of Croatia, Bill of Indictment dr. Ante Pavelic – dr. Andrija Artukovic (1951-1959)
(microfilm roll 46-49)
Javno tu¥ilaštvo SRH, optu¥nica Pavelic – Artukovic
(mikrofilmski svitak 46-49)

Ministry of State Treasury, the Department of Finance, State Property, and Debts, the Office for Nationalised Property (Revision) (ISC)
(microfilm roll 50-68, 73-190)
Ministarstvo dr¥avne riznice, Odjel za novcarstvo, dr¥avnu imovinu i dugove, Ured za podr¥avljeni imetak (Ponova)
(mikrofilmski svitak 50-68, 73-190, 191-356)

Archival records stored in the Croatian Historical Museum, 20th Century Work of Arts Collection
(microfilm roll 69-72)
Hrvatski povijesni muzej, Arhivska grada o ¥idovima iz Zbirke likovnih djela 20. st.
(mikrofilmski svitak 69-72)

Microfilming is not over yet, due to the fact that the Ponova fond is still not completely arranged, and that some other fonds, like the Collection of Printed Materials, also have to be microfilmed.