^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Croatian Antifascist Movement (1941-1945)

by Janko Ehrlich - Zdvorak, 21 September 2001

Overview

See also:

Overview

On the meeting of Highest Command of the People's Liberation Movement of Liberation of Yugoslavia (NOPOJ) and volunteer units in Stolice (Serbia) on September 26, 1941 (confirmed by the decree of Highest Command of the NOPOJ of October 1, 1941) was decided that: "All headquarters and commandants of Partisan units on their area must immediately find responding national flags. In the middle of the flag and stretched over whole width must be a five-pointed red star.".
According to this, members of the Croatian antifascist movement (Partisans) were using as their flags Croatian red-white-blue tricolour with a red star in the middle, touching edges of upper and lower stripe.

First Partisan flag in Lika
by Janko Ehrlich - Zdvorak, 21 September 2001

However, the first Partisan flag showed-up in Croatia was one in Lika (Lika is a part of Croatia situated between Dalmatia and the rest of Croatia (main city is Gospić (Gospic). There is population mixed (Croats and Serbian minority).
but it was made half of Croatian and half of Serbian colours, without any star.

Later, in 1943 at the third congress of United Antifascist Council of People's Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH, kind of
parliament) was adopted and confirmed that Croatian flag is tricolour with the red star. Of course, at that time there were not any specific regulations related with dimensions. It is to assume that old Bannate or Independent State of Croatia civil flag were used with applied red star. Anyway, many examples were made in other ratios.
Janko Ehrlich - Zdvorak, 21 September 2001

Reagring this stright-forward wouldn't it meant that the star is reaching the top and bottom edges of the flag? Certainly this was not the meaning.
Regarding the Lika flag, even if I havent done much research - this was a one-time "incident" (though important, since it was the first flag). Otherwise the traditonal tricolour flags defaced with red stars were used - and usually both Croatian and Serb tricolour were hoisted side by side. (I don't have any firm sources to back up this, but at least I remember that a number of propaganda posters made by Partisans in Croatia during and imidiately after the War showed both flags.)
In some of the encyclopedias of JLZ (lexicographic institute in Zagreb) once I have seen a flag that was suposedly the first partisan naval ensign - that consisted of the Yugoslav tricolour with star and canchor in its midde and wit