Partisan and Communist Repression and Crimes in the Area of South Dalmatia at the End of World War II and in the Post-War Period

Prostor južne Dalmacije kroz razdoblje Drugog svjetskog rata i neposrednog poraća susreo se s teškim okolnostima, gubitkom stanovništva i narušavanjem demografske slike tog kraja. Uspostava komunističkog režima odrazila se na civilno stanovništvo koje u velikom broju život završavaju u progonima ili likvidacijama. Posebno je za to područje vremenski važan listopad 1944. godine kada jedinice narodnooslobodilačke vosjke i partizanskih odreda Jugoslavije (kasnije Jugoslavenska armija) upadaju i zauzimaju gradove po južnoj Dalmaciji. Dubrovačko područje i dolina rijeke Neretve pretrpjeli su velike ljudske gubitke, kao i otok Korčula na kojem se nalazio logor zarobljenika smatranim narodnim neprijateljima i ratnim zločincima. Likvidacije nisu bili jedini oblik represije s kojim se stanovništvo tada susrelo; batinjanje, policijski sat i kontrola privatnog života postaju svakodnevnica. Agresija je dugo ostala u sjeni tišine i prošlosti sve dok nije došlo do prvih naznaka raspada komunističke Jugoslavije. Posebno se tada počinju otkrivati masovna grobišta od kojih je najvažnije istaknuti likvidaciju velikog broja civila na otočiću Daksi. Ono što je zajedničko svim žrtvama je nemogućnost obrane i vansudski progoni, štoviše, svaka odluka stupala je na snagu istog trenutka i nije postojala mogućnost žalbe. Od najznačajnijih mjesta u ovom dijelu Dalmacije valja istaknuti Dubrovnik, Pelješac, Korčulu i dolinu Neretve.During the period of the World War II. and the immediate post-war period, the area of southern Dalmatia faced difficult circumstances, the loss of population and the distortion of the demographic image of that region. The establishment of the communist regime had an effect on the civilian population, who in large numbers ended their lives in persecutions or liquidations. October 1944, when units of the National Liberation Army and partisan detachments of Yugoslavia (later the Yugoslav Army) invaded and occupied towns in southern Dalmatia, is especially important for that area. The Dubrovnik area and the Neretva river valley suffered great human losses, as did the island of Korčula, where there was a camp for prisoners considered enemies of the people and war criminals. Liquidations were not the only form of repression that the population faced at the time; beatings, curfew and control of private life become everyday. The aggression remained in the shadow of silence and the past for a long time until the first signs of the collapse of communist Yugoslavia appeared. In particular, mass graves begin to be discovered, the most important of which is the liquidation of a large number of civilians on the island Daksa. What all victims have in common is the impossibility of defense and extrajudicial persecution, moreover, every decision came into force immediately and there was no possibility of appeal. Dubrovnik, Pelješac, Korčula and the Neretva valley are among the most important places in this part of Dalmatia