Ethnic minorities in Croatia in the fi rst decade after World War Two (based on archival materials)

Abstract

The article deals with the national question in Croatia in the fi rst decade after the Second World War. The research is based on archival documents from Serbia and Croatia. In Croatia the Italians, Hungarians, Czechs and Slovaks were considered ethnic minorities. Documents show how the ethnic communities were formed, how the Republic’s authorities organised the educational system, how they supported teaching and preservation of traditions in the diffi cult post-war years. However, the main problem in Croatia was not the Czechs, Hungarians and Muslims, but the Serbs who considered themselves a constituent nation on par with the Croats. Relations between the Serbs and the Croats in Croatia was the main national and political issue for the Republic.