Location

Zagreb Trg Marka Marulića 21, Croatia 10000
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Languages

Croatian
English
German
Serbian
Slovene

Name of collection

HR-HDA-1561. The State Security Service of the Republic Internal Affairs Secretariat of the Socialist Republic of Croatia. Intelligence Files.

Provenance and cultural activities

The collection contains approximately 68,800 intelligence files produced by the State Security Service of the Republic Internal Affairs Secretariat of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, the civilian security and intelligence service in Croatia in the period from 1946 to 1990. Its content is entirely relevant to cultural opposition topics. It documents the methods employed by the Yugoslav secret services, the extent of intelligence and counter-intelligence activities, as well as state repression of individuals and the organisations to which they belonged at home and abroad. Several scholarly papers and publications have been published so far on the basis of collection's documents.

The Service monitored all persons whose activities were assessed as a threat to the state's political and security system. Among the groups under surveillance were officials of former civic political parties, members of the Ustasha regime, supporters of the Cominform Resolution, members of renegade groups, members of Masonic organisations as well as illegal border defectors. A significant number of files pertains to members of religious communities, political émigrés, participants in the Croatian Spring, other political and intellectual dissidents, i.e. all persons considered some form of opposition by the communist regime.

The Ordinance of the State Security Service issued in 1967 stipulated that an intelligence file should be open when it was ascertained that “a certain person acts undercover and in concert to commit hostile offences, and contains data on such activities, as well as the State Security Service's activities.” For individuals employed in foreign institutions in Yugoslavia, a file could be opened even before such data collection, which was subject to a decision by the head of the relevant unit in the federal or a republic-level State Security Service (Article 49) (“Ordinance of the State Security Service”, in: Leljak 2016, p. 398). According to further provisions, collected documents were classified as permanent or limited-time materials. Regularly, classification could be determined when a document was completed or received. Every January audits were conducted, whereby all non-essential documents would be destroyed after a commission report was submitted (Article 55)(“ Ordinance of the State Security Service,” in: Leljak 2016, p. 399-400). Intelligence files and other permanent materials on which work was completed or cancelled for longer periods were supposed to be kept in the State Security Service's archives (Article 56) (“Ordinance of the State Security Service”, in: Leljak 2016, p. 400).

The collection was handed over to the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb on an ex officio basis from the public authorities on several occasions during the period 1991-2015 (mostly from the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Croatia, a minor part from the Counterintelligence Agency and from the Security and Intelligence Agency of the Republic of Croatia, and Hebrang's file from the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia).

It is difficult to say how complete the collection in the Croatian State Archives is, i.e. are there some intelligence files which were not handed over to Archives or were destroyed. In fact, the Croatian State Archives did not receive the original lists of persons who were under surveillance and on whom files were opened by the State Security Service, but rather only a subsequently compiled list of intelligence files which were actually handed over to Archives. This topic has been widely covered by in Croatian media, in particular after the “opening of the collection” under the Amendments to the Archives Act of May 2017. For instance, in a text from July 2017, journalist Darko Hudelist stated that “after 1990 the Service kept about 2,000 intelligence files for professional and operational reasons.” He added that these were “the files of individuals who were close to the Service, the files of the highest-ranking state officials, individuals from public and cultural life, etc.” (Hudelist, Darko. 2017. “Kako je politički očišćen državni arhiv. Hrvatski državni arhiv prepun je 'rupa' koje ni novi zakon ne može zakrpati.” Jutarnji.hr, 23 July). Speaking to Jutarnji list in November 2017, Smiljan Reljić, the deputy interior minister and director of Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order from 1992 to 1997, said that in the 1990s some intelligence files “had been manipulated and there were attempts to do so.” He also stated that “406 files of individuals who were politically important before the 1990s had been taken from the Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order.” As mentioned hereinafter, Reljić “did not want to talk about who took files and how it was done” (Toma, Ivanka. 2017. “Slučaj Vladimira Šeksa: razgovarali smo s bivšim šefom službe nastale transformacijom UDBE.” Jutarnji.hr, 27 November).

It should be noted that in the Croatian public sphere, considerable importance has been accorded to this collection and to other documents produced by socio-political organizations and the repressive apparatus up until 1990, i.e. their importance for understanding the history of the Yugoslav communist regime is greatly emphasized. Besides the professional (academic) community, those documents are often used in daily political debates. Many media pronouncements and headlines that focus on “the dossier war” (Mikuličin, Ivana. 2017. “Rat oko dosjea 'Bez obzira na Mostov zakon o arhivima Udbe, u saborsku proceduru ide naš prijedlog zakona'.” Jutarnji.hr, 25 May), “manipulation of the State Security Service archives” (Jurasić, Marinko. 2017. “'Tko manipulira arhivom Udbe? Pitajte one kadrove koji su upravljali bivšim, a prikrili se u ovom sustavu'.” Vecernji.hr, 23 March), “secrets of the state archives” (Zagrebacki.hr. 11 June 2017, “Tajne državnog arhiva: Dostupno 60.000 dosjea Udbe – nedostaje popis suradnika”), the problem of “equating victims and perpetrators” (Hrvatska demokratska zajednica. 24 March 2017,. “Tražimo da se otvore komunistički arhivi, ali ćemo dotjerati Mostov zakon koji izjednačava žrtve i udbaše!”), etc. illustrate this point.

The majority of documents were initially classified by the State Security Service. In September 2015, all documents were declassified. Under the Amendments to the Archives Act of May 2017, the documents became publicly available without any particular restrictions.

Description of content

The collection contains around 68,800 intelligence files created by the OZNA, UDBA and State Security Service in period 1945-1991 as a result of surveillance of persons whose activities were deemed a threat to the state's political and security system. A significant number of files pertains to members of religious communities, which the communist authorities considered opposition organisations. Thus, it contains intelligence files on the archbishops of Zagreb, Aloysius Cardinal Stepinac, Franjo Cardinal Kuharić, Split-Makarska Bishop Kvirin Klement Bonefačić, Krk Bishop Josip Srebrnić, the bishop of Hvar, Brač and Vis, Mihovil Pušić, Senj-Modruš Bishop Viktor Burić, Lutheran Bishop Church Philipp Popp and his son Edgar Popp, as well as intelligence files on priests and other clergy from different religious communities in Croatia. It also contains intelligence files of important cultural and political émigrés such as Bogdan Radica, Nikola Čolak and others. There is also a significant number of intelligence files on participants in the Croatian Spring, such as Dražen Budiša, Ivan Zvonimir Čičak, Šime Đodan, Vlado Gotovac, Petar Šegedin, Marko Veselica and others. It also includes intelligence files on other political and intellectual dissidents, i.e. all persons which communist rule considered some form of opposition.

The intelligence files include various biographical details, chronological reports on the activities of persons under surveillance by the State Security Service, criminal charges, written records of hearings, judgements and other court decisions, operational notes on conversations with third parties about persons under the surveillance, periodical reports on activities at home and abroad, transcripts of telephone conversations and letters, etc.

The intelligence files are preserved on paper or microfiche. Upon receipt of the request for use, the intelligence files are digitized and can be used in digital format offline in the reading room of the CSA. Altogether, the collection includes approximately 134 linear metres of documents. A complete list of contents is also available in digital format for offline searches in the reading room of the CSA.

The content of the collection is fully relevant to cultural opposition topics. It documents the methods employed by the Yugoslav secret services, the extent of intelligence and counter-intelligence activities, as well as state repression of individuals and the organisations to which they belonged at home and abroad. Several scholarly papers and publications have been published so far on the basis of the collection's documents.

Content

grey literature (regular archival documents such as brochures, bulletins, leaflets, reports, intelligence files, records, working papers, meeting minutes): 1000-

Operator(s)

Croatian State Archives

Owner(s)

Geographical scope of recent operation

international

Topics

Founder(s)

State Security Service of the Republic Internal Affairs Secretariat of the Socialist Republic of Croatia

Place of founding

Zagreb, Croatia
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Important events in the history of the collection

Featured items

Access type

completely open to the public

Author(s) of this page

Bukvić, Nenad

References

Angeleski, Z. 2015. „Svog sam oca doživljavala kao tatu, ali i kao heroja“. GlasIstre.hr, December 8. Accesed on March 2, 2018.

Direktno.hr. 11 December 2015. „Banac: Preskaču se ključna pitanja o Gotovcu, posebno u vezi komunizma“. Accesed on March 2, 2018.

Habek, Miroslav Edvin. 2017. „Tajna državnog arhiva: Dostupno 60.000 dosjea Udbe – nedostaje popis suradnika“. Zagrebacki.hr, June 11. Accesed on October 6, 2017.

Heđbeli, Živana. 2011. Institucije državne uprave Republike Hrvatske od osamostaljenja do članstva u Europskoj uniji. I. dio 1990. – 2004. Zagreb: Documenta – Centar za suočavanje s prošlošću.

Hrvatska demokratska zajednica. 24 March 2017. „Tražimo da se otvore komunistički arhivi, ali ćemo dotjerati Mostov zakon koji izjednačava žrtve i udbaše!“. Accesed on October 6, 2017.

Hrvatski biografski leksikon online. „Gotovac, Vlado“. Accesed on March 2, 2018.

Hr.wikipedia.org. „Vice Vukojević“. Accesed on March 2, 2018.

Hudelist, Darko. 2015. „Vice Vukojević 'Liberali su nanijeli više štete novoj hrvatskoj državi nego komunisti'“. Jutarnji.hr/Globus, June 3. Accesed on March 2, 2018.

Hudelist, Darko. 2017. „Kako je politički očišćen državni arhiv. Hrvatski državni arhiv prepun je 'rupa' koje ni novi zakon ne može zakrpati“. Jutarnji.hr, July 23. Accesed on February 28, 2018.

Jurasić, Marinko. 2017. „'Tko manipulira arhivom Udbe? Pitajte one kadrove koji su upravljali bivšim, a prikrili se u ovom sustavu'”. Vecernji.hr, March 23. Accesed on February 28, 2018.

Mikuličin, Ivana. 2017. „Rat oko dosjea 'Bez obzira na Mostov zakon o arhivima Udbe, u saborsku proceduru ide naš prijedlog zakona'“. Jutarnji.hr, May 25. Accesed on October 6, 2017.

Kovačević, Anto. 2012. Čovjek i njegova sjena. Zagreb: Kigen

Marijačić, Ivica. 2015. „Vice Vukojević: Udba me je pratila 35 godina, 14 puta hapsila, robijao sam u 13 zatvora“. Maxportal.hr, March 23. Accesed on March 2, 2018.

Mikšić, Diana. 2015. „HR-HDA-1561 Služba državne sigurnosti Republičkog sekretarijata za unutrašnje poslove Socijalističke Republike Hrvatske“. In: Iseljeništvo. Vodič kroz fondove i zbirke Hrvatskoga državnog arhiva, Zagreb: Hrvatski državni arhiv, 405-415.

Mikšić, Diana. 2016. „HR-HDA-1561 Služba državne sigurnosti Republičkog sekretarijata za unutrašnje poslove Socijalističke Republike Hrvatske“. In: Prvi svjetski rat. Vodič kroz fondove i zbirke Hrvatskoga državnog arhiva, Zagreb: Hrvatski državni arhiv, 175-179.

Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova RH. June 2016. „Godišnje izvješće o radu za 2015. godinu“. Accesed on September 22, 2017.

„Pravila Službe državne bezbednosti (SSUP, 1967. godine)”. In: Leljak, Roman. 2016. Predpisi o metodah in sredstvih dela Udbe in Kosa = Propisi o metodama i sredstvima rada Udbe i Kosa 1944. – 1990. Radenci: Društvo za raziskovanje zgodovine.

Proleksis enciklopedija online. „Gotovac, Vlado“. Accesed on March 2, 2018.

Radelić, Zdenko. 2015. „KPJ i sigurnosno-obavještajni sustav u Hrvatskoj (1941.-1951.)“. Historijski zbornik (Zagreb), 68, no. 1, 73-105.

Sigurnosno-obavještajna agencija. „Služba za zaštitu ustavnog poretka“. Accesed on April 24, 2017.

Sigurnosno-obavještajna agencija. „Protuobavještajna agencija“. Accesed on September 22, 2017.

Sigurnosno-obavještajna agencija. „Sigurnosno-obavještajna agencija“. Accesed on September 22, 2017.

Sigurnosno-obavještajna agencija. 2016. „Javno izvješće 2016“. Accesed on April 27, 2017.

Sigurnosno-obavještajna agencija. 2017. „Javno izvješće 2017“. Accesed on September 21, 2017.

Sigurnosno-obavještajna agencija. 25 September 2015. „SOA predala arhivsko gradivo bivše Službe državne sigurnosti Hrvatskom državnom arhivu“. Accesed on April 27, 2017.

Spehnjak, Katarina i Tihomir Cipek. 2007. „Disidenti, opozicija i otpor – Hrvatska i Jugoslavija 1945. – 1990.“. Časopis za suvremenu povijest (Zagreb), 39, no. 2, 255-297.

Toma, Ivanka. 2017. „Slučaj Vladimira Šeksa: razgovarali smo s bivšim šefom službe nastale transformacijom UDBE“. Jutarnji.hr, November 27. Accesed on February 28, 2018.

Vecernji.hr. 23 March 2017. „'Tko manipulira arhivom Udbe? Pitajte one kadrove koji su upravljali bivšim, a prikrili se u ovom sustavu'“. Accesed on October 6, 2017.

Zagrebacki.hr. 11 June 2017. „Tajne državnog arhiva: Dostupno 60.000 dosjea Udbe – nedostaje popis suradnika”. Accesed on February 28, 2018.

Zakon o sigurnosno-obavještajnom sustavu Republike Hrvatske [The Law on security and intelligence system in the Republic of Croatia], Narodne novine RH, no. 79 and 105, 2006.

Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o arhivskom gradivu i arhivima [The Law amending and supplementing the Law on Archival Records and Archives], Narodne novine RH, no. 46, 2017.

Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o unutarnjim poslovima [The Law amending and supplementing the Law on internal affairs], Narodne novine RH, no. 19, 1991.

Zoričić, Filip. 2015. „Vlado Gotovac, rođen na današnji dan“. Regionalexpress.hr, September 18. Accesed on March 2, 2018.

COURAGE

connecting collections

68 000 Intelligence Files of the State Security Service for Croatia