Refugees from Central Europe in the Sava Banovina and the Banovina of Croatia from 1933 to 1941

Povijest dvadesetog stoljeća protkana je mnogobrojnim sukobima i ratovima koji su generirali izbjegličke krize. Kao odgovor na probleme koji su se vezali uz te krize, međunarodna zajednica odgovorila je zakonima i sustavom zaštite koji su obavezivali države da reguliraju izbjegličko pitanje. Sustav je u trenutku nacističkog uspona zakazao, a izbjeglice iz Srednje Europe većinom su ostale zarobljene u limbu između domicilne zemlje koju su bile prisiljene napustiti i zemalja prihvata koje su provodile antiimigrantsku politiku. Cilj ovog rada jest prikazati izbjegličku politiku koju su banske vlasti provodile nad izbjeglicama iz Trećeg Reicha u razdoblju od 1933. do 1941. Analizom službenih odredbi i preporuka iz Beograda i Zagreba, podataka iz osobnih kartona izbjeglica te memoarskih zapisa utvrdili smo dvije faze izbjegličke politike koje su opisane u razdobljima prije i poslije Anschlussa. Vladine odluke predstavljaju temelj oko kojeg se gradila izbjeglička politika, no osobni kartoni i svjedočanstva prikazuju nam kako je ista politika na teritoriju Savske banovine, odnosno Banovine Hrvatske, u praksi pratila i prilagođavala se prilikama na terenu i karakteristikama izbjegličkih valova. Usporedbom sudbina židovskih i nežidovskih stranih izbjeglica utvrđena je razlika u odnosu vlasti prema dvjema skupinama, a koja se ogledala u relativno slobodnijim odredbama tranzita i boravka za nežidovske strance.The history of the twentieth century is interwoven with many conflicts and wars that have generated refugee crises. In response to the problems associated with these crises, the international community has responded with laws and protection systems that have obliged states to regulate the refugee issue. The system failed at the time of the Nazi rise, and refugees from Central Europe were mostly trapped in a limbo between the domicile country as they were forced to leave and the host countries pursuing anti-immigrant policies. The aim of this paper is to present the refugee policy pursued by the Sava banovina (later the Banovina of Croatia) authorities over refugees from the Third Reich in the period from 1933 to 1941. By analyzing official regulations and recommendations from Belgrade and Zagreb, data from refugee identity cards and memoirs, we identified two phases of refugee policy, which are described in the periods before and after the Anschluss. Even though government decisions were foundations on which the refugee policy was built, personal records and testimonies show us how the same policy in the territory of the Sava Banovina, later the Banovina of Croatia, in practice was adapted based on the situation on the field. A comparison of the fates of Jewish and non-Jewish foreign refugees revealed a difference in the government's attitude towards the two groups, which was reflected in the relatively freer regulations of transit and residence for non-Jewish foreigners