THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CROATIAN PEASANT PARTY AND THE PEASANT MOVEMENT IN KOPRIVNICA AND THE PODRAVINA REGION FROM 1929-1941

Autor je na temelju pisanja novina, arhivske građe i literature dao pregled djelovanja Hrvatske seljačke stranke i seljačkog pokreta u Koprivnici od početka šestosiječanjske diktature do sloma Kraljevine Jugoslavije i uspostave NDH. Uz organizaciju HSS-a obrađeni su i drugi organizacijski oblici djelovanja seljačkog pokreta u Koprivnici. Ukratko je prezentiran rad Seljačke sloge, Gospodarske sloge, Hrvatskog srca, Hrvatskog radničkog saveza i drugih organizacija.This text provides an overview of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) and the peasant movement in Koprivnica from the beginning of the royal dictatorship in January 1929 to the end of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia. Along with a discussion of the Peasant Party organization, other aspects of peasant activism are probed. The author briefly discusses the The Peasant Co-op, the Economic Co-op, Croatian Heart, The Croatian Workers’ Union and other associations. In Koprivnica and area, the HSS was able to win the widest possible following due to its organizational work. The growth of its popularity can be measured by election results. In elections to the National Assembly in 1935 the HSS won 63.5% of the vote in Koprivnica; in 1938 this rose to 82.5%. In local elections in 1940 the HSS won a landslide victory but was only able to get its candidate into the office of mayor after a protracted political crisis. Of the other organizations, the Croatian Workers’ Union was important. The organization of the Croatian Heart was very important for the inclusion of women into the political life of the Koprivnica area. The HSS also attempted to influence local politics through, among other things, the creation of a hunters’ organization, a sports club and a variety of trade unions. After the break-up of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the formation of the Independent State of Croatia, the membership broke into four factions: 1) the followers of the HSS president Dr. Vlatko Maček, 2) a group that followed the Ustasha movement, 3) a group that joined the anti-fascist struggle (some of these individuals later created the HSS Executive Committee which later formed the Croatian Republican Peasant Party), and 4) individuals who totally abandoned political life