1941 Croatian (NDH) Service-Passport

WW2 passport issued to a consulate official.

 

The Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was founded on April 10^th of 1941 after the Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia. The small “new” country was actually never truly independent, it was a puppet state which was controlled or heavily influenced by both Germany and Italy, with the latter even controlling portions of its land further south, Dalmatia. Its borders were recognized by both axis countries a month after its formation.

 

The regime was run by the racial and fascist Ustaše movement headed by Ante Pavelić. After its formation, the state began to target its Muslim, Serb, Roma and Jewish population with many being shipped to its own concentration camps (over 20) that were built on its soil with Jasenovac concentration camp being one of the most notorious of all (see image of a postcard sent from the camp by a Jewish prisoner to his family).

 

The Holocaust in the Independent State of Croatia

 

Service Passport number 251 (booklet No.23) was issued on July 18^th 1941 at Zagreb, the capital (most likely official samples were not printed yet so this one here was hand-applied by rubber stamp “SERVICE” (službena) on its title). The holder, Ante Sosa, was an official serving at their diplomatic mission in Vienna, and the passport was issued to him for traveling to the newly established consulate. According to additional material that came with the passport, most likely he was in an administrative position connected to accounting.

 

The passport is full of official and service visas issued by the German & Slovakian legations, with several passport extensions and return visas by the Croatian consulate in Vienna. Though the passport is used up to 1942, we can assume that a new one was issued later on because his stay in Vienna lasts even into 1944.

 

This is one of the earliest official Croatian passports that I have seen in a long time, and I have added sample images of it here.

 

Thank you for reading “Our Passports”.