Overview

Background

The lands that today form Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia.  Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal Tito. As Croatia's economy surpassed the other republics of Yugoslavia, Croatia demanded greater autonomy, which resulted in a series of purges in the 1970s.  Tito...