Читать книгу The Islands of Croatia. 30 walks on 14 Adriatic islands онлайн

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Germany invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, installing the Ustaše as rulers of the Fascist NDH (Independent State of Croatia), headed by Ante Pavelić, who between 1941 and 1945 implemented a range of decrees against the ‘enemies’ of the regime (primarily Jews, Gypsies and Serbs), including the establishment of several extermination camps. However, the Ustaše drew their support from only a minority of the population, centred around Lika and western Herzegovina, and owed their authority largely to the support of Hitler and Mussolini. That their support would remain minimal in Dalmatia was guaranteed by an agreement to cede large chunks of the coast and islands to Italy. Armed resistance to the Ustaše was taken up by the Četniks, soon to be superseded by the National Liberation Partisans under Josip Broz Tito, to whom Allied support was channelled and who by 1943 controlled much of Croatia. In 1944 Tito made a cave on the remote island of Vis his clandestine base for operations.

Titova špilja, used as a base by Tito during the Second World War, on the slopes of Hum, Vis (Walk 22)