Bjelovar in the Homeland War

Krajem 1980-ih i početkom 1990-ih godina dolazi do pada komunizma u istočnoj Europi, te se i u tadašnjoj Socijalističkoj Republici Hrvatskoj počinju osnivati političke stranke. Hrvatska demokratska zajednica osnovana je među prvima, a jedan od prvih ogranaka te stranke osnovan je u Bjelovaru. Na prvim višestranačkim izborima pobjeđuje Hrvatska demokratska zajednica koja preuzima vlast u državi, a i u Općini Bjelovar. Ubrzo nakon izbora, dio Srba u Hrvatskoj počinje oružanu pobunu pod izgovorom navodne ugroženosti Srba u Hrvatskoj. Uvidjevši da je velikosrpska agresija neizbježna, lokalne vlasti u Bjelovaru počinju pripreme za obranu grada kojima rukovodi Krizni štab Općine Bjelovar. Okupljaju se dragovoljački odredi Narodne zaštite, popunjavaju se djelatni i pričuvni sastavi policije mladićima hrvatske nacionalnosti, te se ustrojavaju prve veće vojne postrojbe koje su u početku bile slabo naoružane, a koje su nakon obrane grada kasnije prošle gotovo sva ratišta na području Hrvatske. Nakon proglašenja hrvatske samostalnosti pobuna se pretvorila u otvorenu agresiju srpskih snaga i Jugoslavenske narodne armije, a jedina prilika za obranu bila je blokada vojarni JNA kako bi se hrvatske snage domogle prijeko potrebnog naoružanja. Vojni objekti u Bjelovaru također su bili blokirani, a nakon dugih i bezuspješnih pregovora oslobođeni su 29. rujna 1991. Tog tragičnog dana živote je izgubilo 17 hrvatskih branitelja i civila, najviše prilikom eksplozije vojnog skladišta na Barutani, a sam grad je pretrpio veliku materijalnu štetu. Osim toga rat je ostavio posljedice i na gospodarstvo i institucije kulture u Bjelovaru.In the late 1980s and early 1990s, communism fell in Eastern Europe, including Yugoslavia, after which democracy and multi-party system began to be introduced. The Croatian Democratic Union was among the first political parties to be established and one of the first branches was established in Bjelovar. In the first multi-party elections, it is the CDU that has taken power in the country, as well as in the Municipality of Bjelovar. Shortly after the elections, part of the Serbs in Croatia began to protest under the pretext of the alleged threat to Serbs in Croatia. The rebellion began to spread to other areas in Croatia where the serbian population lived, and even to the Municipality of Bjelovar. Realizing that the enemy aggression was inevitable, the local authorities in Bjelovar began preparations for the defense of the city, led by the Crisis Staff of the Bjelovar Municipality. Volunteer detachments of the National Protection Unit were being formed. Young men of Croatian nationality were being recruited into the active and reserve police force. Also the first larger military units were formed, which were initially very poorly armed. Those military units later passed almost all battlefields during the war in Croatia. After the proclamation of Croatian independence, the armed rebellion turned into an open aggression and the only chance for defense was to blockade the Yugoslav People's Army barracks in order to obtain much-needed weapons. After a long and unsuccessful negotiations, military facilities in Bjelovar were liberated on September 29, 1991. On that day, 17 Croatian soldiers and civilians lost their lives and the city itself suffered great material damage