| Križari | |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1945 - 1950 |
| Leader | Vjekoslav Luburić |
| Motives | Destruction of Yugoslavia Restablishment of Independent State of Croatia |
| Active region(s) | SR Croatia SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Ideology | Croatian nationalism Anticommunism |
| Status | Dissolved |
| Size | Around 2,000 |
Crusaders (Croatian: Križari, also known as Škripari) were a Croatian anti-communist guerrilla army. Their activity's started after the capitulation of the Independent State of Croatia, which was at the time a Nazi puppet state, in May 1945, toward the end of World War II. The Crusaders' activity ended in 1950.
The crusaders were members of the Croatian Armed Forces, mostly Ustaše, members of the Croatian Home Guard (Domobranstvo), and soldiers of the Croatian Legion. After Croatia's defeat they organized themselves into a guerrilla army,[1] taking the white crosses as a symbol instead of the old Home Guard and Ustasha insignia. There was also support for the Crusaders in anti-Communist emigrant communities, especially in Spain, Argentina, Canada, the United States, and West Germany.[1]
Despite the name, the Crusaders were not a religious movement. Religion was just a banner that they used to distinguish themselves from atheist communists. Most supporters of the Crusaders were Catholic[2] but there were also many Muslim members, including the Crusader commander in Sarajevo, Hasan Biber. They also spread propaganda that Yugoslav partisans were a Serbian, anti-Croat, movement.
The leader of the Crusaders was a former Croatian general, Vjekoslav Luburić, and possibly also Rafael Boban. The Crusaders engaged in similar activity to the Yugoslav partisans, attacking small groups, and sabotaging railways and roads.
The communist government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, especially through the Department for the Protection of the People (OZNA) security agency and Department of State Security (UDBA) secret police fought against the Crusaders mercilessly. In total, the Crusaders killed over 2000 members of OZNA, UDBA and the Yugoslav People's Army.[3]