Mass violence in Croatia in 1945.

U svibnju 1945. godine u Hrvatskoj, kao i u Jugoslaviji, je došlo do izbijanja masovnog nasilja nad ratnim zarobljenicima, bivšim kolaboracionistima, počinjenog od strane pripadnika Jugoslavenska armija (JA) i tajne službe novih vlasti. U ovom nasilju su mjestimično stradali i civili međutim većina žrtava su bili bivši pripadnici raznih jugoslavenskih kolaboracionističkih jedinica, ustaše, domobrani, četnici itd. Ovo nasilje je bilo uvjetovano ideologijom narodnooslobodilačkog pokreta u kojoj su kolaboracionisti prikazivani kao nacionalni izdajnici i ratni zločinci. Osim toga partizanske jedinice od kojih je naposljetku formirana JA su tijekom rata imale veliku autonomiju u odlučivanju o sudbini ratnih zarobljenika što je zasigurno utjecalo na ovo nasilje. Ipak tijekom cijelog rata kao i u svibnju 1945. i kasnije jedinice JA su nastojale u selekciji zarobljenika odvojiti „narodne neprijatelje“ koje se strijeljalo, od običnih vojnika koji su bili pošteđeni. Nove vlasti 1945. godine nisu imale potpunu kontrolu nad ovim nasiljem, postoje brojni primjeri nasilja koje su pripadnici JA činili iz osobnih razloga. Ipak nasilje nad bivšim kolaboracionistima 1945. godine se uglavnom može smatrati nastavkom politike odnosa prema ratnim zarobljenicima koju je vodstvo NOP-a razvijalo od početka rata u Jugoslaviji 1941. godine.In May of 1945. there was an eruption of mass violence towards prisoners of war, former collaborationists, commited by the Yugoslav Army and its secret police in Croatia and Yugoslavia. Victims of this violence included a small number of civilians but most of the victims were former members of Yugoslav collaborationist military units. This violence was conditioned by the ideology of the National Liberation Movement in which the collaborations were being depicted as national traitors and war criminals. Except for that, partisan units which gradually turned into the Yugoslav Army had a very wide autonomy in the question of the treatment of prisoners of war and local commanders usually decided the fate of the prisoners. During the entire war, as well as after the end of the war in May 1945. Yugoslav Army units were trying to separate „enemies of the people“ from regular soldiers after they capturing members of collaborationist units. The so called „fascists elements“ or „enemies of the people“ were usually killed while regular soldiers were spared. The new government in Croatia and Yugoslavia didn't have complete control over this violence, there were numerous examples of the members of the Yugoslav Army commiting violence from some personal reasons. However violence against former collaborationists in 1945. was mainly a continuation of the policy of the treatment of prisoners of war which the leadership of the National Liberation Movement was developing from the start of the war in Yugoslavia in 1941