Blackwell Reference Online

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On April 6, 1941 Nazi Germany and the Axis powers attacked Yugoslavia, which surrendered on April 17, 1941. Slovenian territory was divided among Germany, Hungary, and Italy, which had already occupied significant parts of Slovenia and Croatia since the end of World War I. The most capable political force organizing the resistance was the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (YCP) led by Josip Broz Tito , who had previously been the most organized and experienced in opposing the oppressive monarchist regime that preceded occupation. The YCP leaders were also a trained military cadre with experience in the Soviet Union and the Spanish Civil War . In Slovenia the uprising and resistance was led by Osvobodilna Fronta (OF), formed on April 26 in Ljubljana by four political groups: the Communist Party of Slovenia (Boris Kidrić, Aleś Bebler, and Boris Ziherl), Christian Socialists (Tone Fajfar), a leftist sporting union Sokol (Josip Rus), and cultural workers (Josip Vidmar, France Šturm, Ferdo Kozak). Initially, the resistance became known as the AntiImperialistic Front, but in June 1941 changed its name to OF. In late 1941 OF declared six objectives and nine Basic Points of Liberation Front , calling on the Slovenian people to join the partisan armed resistance to unify all Slovenians, including those living in Italy or the former Austria, as a right of self-determination. OF proclaimed ... log in or subscribe to read full text