page_title: Independent State of Croatia
section_title: Administrative divisions
hierarchical_section_title: Independent State of Croatia / Geography / Administrative divisions
caption_attribution_description: עברית: דרכון שרות קרואטי מזמן המלחמה - 1941
context_page_description: The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, after the invasion by the Axis powers. Its territory consisted of most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as some parts of modern-day Serbia and Slovenia, but also excluded many Croat-populated areas in Dalmatia, Istria, and Međimurje regions.
  During its entire existence, the NDH was governed as a one-party state by the fascist Ustaša organization. The Ustaše was led by the Poglavnik, Ante Pavelić. The regime targeted Serbs, Jews and Roma as part of a large-scale campaign of genocide, as well as anti-fascist or dissident Croats and Bosnian Muslims. The Independent State of Croatia was one of the most lethal regimes in the 20th century.
  Between 1941–45, 22 concentration camps existed inside the territory controlled by the Independent State of Croatia, two of which housed only children and the largest of which was Jasenovac.
  The state was officially a monarchy after the signing of the Laws of the Crown of Zvonimir on 15 May 1941.
context_section_description: The Independent State of Croatia had four levels of administrative divisions: great parishes (velike župe), districts (kotari), cities (gradovi) and municipalities (opcine). At the time of its foundation, the state had 22 great parishes, 142 districts, 31 cities and 1006 municipalities.
  The highest level of administration were the great parishes (Velike župe), each of which was headed by a Grand Župan. After the capitulation of Italy, NDH were permitted by the Germans to annex parts of the areas of Yugoslavia previously occupied by Italy. To accommodate this, parish boundaries were changed and the new parish of Sidraga-Ravni Kotari was created. In addition, on 29 October 1943, the Kommissariat of Sušak-Krk (Croatian: Građanska Sušak-Rijeka) was created separately by the Germans to act as a buffer zone between the NDH and RSI in the Fiume area to "perceive the special interests of the local population against the [I]talians"
caption: Diplomatic passport issued in 1941 to Ante Šoša, employee of NDH's consulte in Vienna
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