Anti-Fascist Struggle Day – June 22, 2024

History of Anti-Fascist Struggle Day

The Croatian Parliament laid the foundation of Anti-Fascist Struggle Day in 1991. The day began in the forests of Brezovica close to the Central Croatian city of Sisak. It follows the creation of the First Partisan Detachment, sworn to oppose German and Italian rule in the then Yugoslavian Empire. Popularly known as the First Sisak Partisan Detachment, this guerilla unit marked the beginning of other uprisings, which mounted a series of guerilla attacks to topple Nazi rule in Yugoslavia in 1941.

When Germany and its allies overtook the Empire, the occurrence came too sudden for Yugoslavians to combat. However, a few months after in 1941, some brave Yugoslavians, seeing how dangerous their towns were becoming, retired to the forests of Brezovica near the city of Sisak. On June 22, they assembled a total number of 77 men, a good number of whom were Croatians, who formed the First Sisak Partisan Detachment — the first out of many future communist-led guerilla units that mounted what came to be known as the largest resistance force in occupied Europe in 1944.

With the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, Yugoslavians became finally free. The number of occupying forces had already begun to dwindle a few years before. The Italians withdrew from the Empire in 1943, whereas the Hungarians retreated a year before. Of the 77 fighters that formed the First Sisak Partisan Detachment, only 38 survived. The deceased were buried in a special memorial park in Sisak.