While Croatia was still part of the KuK monarchy, the Bay of Cotor was part of Croatian Dalmatia.

The Serbian domination in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia tried to dismember the Croatian territory, and the former Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Serb Nikola Pašić, gave large parts of Croatian Dalmatia to the Italians, for which the local traitors, Chetnik partisans and other red bandits later accused Chief Dr. Ante Pavelić.

In the spirit of this policy, Boka Kotorska was annexed to Zeta Banovina in 1929. Before that, Boka Kotorska was also in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1918-1929 part of Dalmatia.

With Italy's capitulation, which took place on September 8, 1943, all areas annexed by Italy were to be returned to the Independent State of Croatia.

On the basis of the law of June 20, 1944, the Great County of Dubrava was established, which included the Bay of Kotor with the town of Sutomore, areas that were controlled by the Germans after the capitulation of Italy.

After the capitulation of Italy in Montenegro, the Germans established a military administration in Cetinje. At the beginning of 1943, the Montenegrin government was established with Montenegrin nationalists and federalists.

At the same time, the Independent State of Croatia undertook efforts to return the historically Croatian area of the Bay of Kotor to the Croatian state. On September 23, 1943, Ante Buić, prefect of the Greater Dubrava parish in Dubrovnik, asked Zagreb to join the Bay of Cotor with Croatia. In response, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Independent State of Croatia sent Ante Buić a list of persons proposed for mayors in: the municipality of the Bay of Kotor - Nikola Biskupović or Ferdo Ribić, the municipality of Pračanj - Gracijo Brguljan, the municipality of Krtole - Ivo Ivošević, the municipality of Muo - Gracio Janković, the municipality Rišan - Stevan Jovanović, Grbalj municipality - Marko Lazarević, Donja Lastva municipality - Anđelko Marković, Stoliv municipality - Josip Marković, Herceg Novi municipality - retired teacher Miljević, Perast municipality - Josip Montan, Dobrota municipality - Ripo Petričević, Budva municipality - Pavle Slovinić, municipality of Tivat - Šime Skanat and for the municipality of Lustica - Joso Zambelić.

Ante Buić was given the opportunity to propose his own people capable of these duties.

On September 24, 1943, the President of the Croatian Government, Nikola Mandić, called on the Croatian armed forces to guarantee Croatian rule in the Bay of Kotor.

The Croats in the Bay of Cotor were waiting for their liberation, and there the so-called Serbs were preparing for an action against the impending annexation of the Bay of Kotor to the Independent State of Croatia. There was real psychosis in the Bay of Kotor.

Professor Mladen Kaštelan therefore proposed that the Ustasha formations should not enter the Bay of Kotor, but the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia.

At the end of September and the beginning of October 1943, the Bay of Kotor question had not yet been resolved. The Great County of Dubrava informed Zagreb that the administration in Boka Kotorska cannot be carried out without the army and the police. The Railway Administration of the Independent State of Croatia also could not take over their work on the railway, because the Germans prevented them from doing so.

On October 5, representatives of the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia came to the Bay of Kotor, where they learned from the decision of the German commander in Cetinje that the Bay of Kotor is currently part of the territory of Montenegro.

The next day, October 6, Croatian customs officers came to the Bay of Kotor and the police from Mostar, but the German military authorities demanded that the Croats withdraw to the border that existed before Italy's capitulation.

On October 5, the Government of the Independent State of Croatia requested the German Ambassador to the Independent State of Croatia, Edmund Glaise von Horstenau, that the Bay of Kotor should be returned to the control of the Independent State of Croatia.

The German army had other intentions with the Bay of Kotor. Since the military situation worsened for the Germans as well, they wanted to keep the Bay of Kotor under German control and return the Bay of Kotor and Sandžak to the Independent State of Croatia only after the positive end of the war.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Independent State of Croatia, Mladen Lorković, in a conversation with German military officials, suggested that, if the Independent State of Croatia gained complete control over the entire Velika župa Dubrava, German troops could use the Grude airport.

However, the Croatian side recognized the need for German troops in the Bay of Kotor, as well as the German administration, until the last question about the fate of the Bay of Kotor between the Independent State of Croatia and the German Reich was clarified.

On October 21, 1943, Minister Mladen Lorković issued an order to include the liberated part of Konavle, i.e. Grude, the Bay of Kotor , the city of Kotor and the city of Herceg Novi, in the territory of the Great County of Dubrava.

On December 3, 1943, the German Minister in the Independent State of Croatia, Edmund Glaise von Horstenau, confirmed to Minister Lorković the need for German troops in the Bay of Kotor and recognized the Independent State of Croatia's request to annex Boka Kotorska.

The Germans appointed Croatian Niko Vukić as the mayor of Kotor. He was killed on March 25, 1944, probably by Serbian Chetniks. There were still 5-6 Croatian policemen in Grude.

Finally, the German military authorities also expressed their opinion. On April 26, 1944, the German Wehrmacht handed over part of Konavale, which had been under its control until then, to the Independent State of Croatia, and the Croatian army entered Grude.

Due to the catastrophic supply in the Bay of Kotor, the Independent State of Croatia took care of the famine and sent wagons full of beans and grain to Kotor and Herceg Novi. Food worth 3.000.000 Kuna was delivered within a few days.

The population was grateful that the Independent State of Croatia was taking care of all nationalities in the Bay of Kotor and expected a quick accession to the Independent State of Croatia, which quelled their hunger and significantly improved their living situation.

The Croats insisted that the food be distributed by the Independent State of Croatia so that the Serbian propaganda would have run into a gap if these humanitarian supplies had arrived from Serbia.

For strategic reasons, the Germans maintained control over Sandžak and the Bay of Kotor until the war ended positively for the Axis powers, and only then returned Bay of Kotor and Sandžak to the Independent State of Croatia.

Since that did not happen, the Bay of Kotor remained as a historical Croatian area to this day in a foreign country, which is called Montenegro.

But Montenegro is also based on the historical Croatian land of Duklja, and thanks to genetics it is known that Montenegrins have Croatian genetics till the city of Ulcinj.

The seat of the Great County of Dubrava was in Dubrovnik, and it operated from June 30, 1941 to July 5, 1945. The civil administration in the county was led by the great prefect as a confidant of the government appointed by the Poglavnik Dr. Ante Pavelić.

Dr. Ante Nikolić was appointed as the prefect of the Great County of Dubrava from 1941 to 1943.

Great County of Dubrava had the following districts :

     Bileća

     Egret

     Dubrovnik

     Gacko

     Ljubinje (from September 15, 1941)

     Ravno (from September 15, 1941)

     Stolac

     Trebinje

     the city of Dubrovnik

and since March 1, 1943, Janjina.

The fall of Italy changes the borders of this Great County of Dubrava. In addition to the districts mentioned above, the large parish included:

     districts of Kotor and Korčula

     the cities of Herceg Novi and Kotor; municipalities of Kotor, Prčanj, Krtole, Muo, Risan, Grbalj, Donja Lastva, Stoliv, Herceg Novi, Perast, Dobrota, Budva, Tivat and Luštica.

     administrative municipalities of Lastovo and Babino Polje

and the liberated part of the Konavle-Gruda administrative municipality.

The establishment of the government was a problem. The German military and Montenegrin civil administration took part in Konavle, and there was also a large presence of partisan forces. At the beginning of 1944, the partisans were suppressed, and they returned in May of the same year. It was not implemented in the area of Bay of Kotor due to conflicts with German and Montenegrin interests.

On May 20, 1944, a state of emergency was declared in the coastal area. The proclamation also applied to this Great County, so the military government replaced the civilian one. The duties of the civil administration were taken over by the military commander of the coastal section of the Neretva.

On July 5, 1944, the districts of Stolac, Čapljina and Gacko from the Great County of Hum parish were annexed to the Great County of Dubrava.

On March 28, 1945, a special head was appointed for civil administration affairs, despite the declared state of emergency. The head was assigned to the military commander of the coastal section of the Neretva.

On the occasion of the reorganization of Great Countys on July 5, 1944, the following almost unknown postage stamps of the Great County of Dubrava were issued with the overprint "N.D. Croatia" with "Boka je naša!" and "Kn. 3.50".

A similar reprint was issued for Great County of Raša (Istria).

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Sandžak :

The Sandžak was from the April, 29th, 1941 for 6 months part of the Independent State of Croatia. At this date a stamp set, limited to 99 copies, was issued and given to the some members of the croatian customs members and Ustaša (all croatian muslims).

To honour this annexion, local patriots from the Sandžak who haven´t forgot this event have issued a set of 24 stamps with landscape-motives from the Sandžak at April, 29th, 2024.

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Veterans Association Handschar :

The german Veterans Association Handschar have issued in 1955 two overprinted stamp-sets and between 1989-1994 80 stamp sets to help Croatians in emigration and in the 1990´s to collect money for croatian defense against the serbian aggression against Croatia.

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The “Omoti”-sets :

In 1993 32 music-cover sets were issued from the emigration of the Independent State of Croatia. Every set contains 16 stamps.

8 sets are dedicated bands :
- 3 sets of Depeche Mode.
- 1 set of Kraftwerk.
- 1 set of Front 242.
- 1 set of Nitzer Ebb.
- 1 set of Front Line Assembly.
- 1 set of Skinny Puppy.

24 sets are dedicated to music styles :
- 8 sets of 70s/80s/90s Synthie Pop, Darkwave, Dark Electro, Italo Disco, Neofolk, ... .
- 2 sets of Electronic Body Music.
- 2 sets of Neue Deutsche Welle.
- 2 sets of House, Dance, ... .
- 3 sets of Hip Hop, Miami Bass, Freestyle, ... .
- 3 sets of Heavy Metal, Rock, Hard Rock, ... .
- 1 sets of Punk, Oi, ... .
- 3 sets of Italo Disco, Euro Disco, Hi NRG, ... .

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In 1994 four music-cover sets were issued from the emigration of the Independent State of Croatia :

- 1 set of Erasure
- 1 set of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
- 1 set of Pet Shop Boys
- 1 set of The Cure

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In 2022 three more music-cover sets were issued from the emigration of the Independent State of Croatia :

- 3 sets of Neofolk, Industrial ...

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In 2024 three band-sets of the band Rammstein were issued from the emigration of the Independent State of Croatia :

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In 2024 nine music-cover sets were issued from the emigration of the Independent State of Croatia :

- 1 set of Adele
- 1 set of Ariana Grande
- 1 set of Beyoncé
- 1 set of Christina Aguilera
- 1 set of Lady Gaga
- 1 set of Miley Cyrus
- 1 set of Pink
- 1 set of Rihanna
- 1 set of Taylor Swift

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Counties “Raša” and “Dubrava” :

After the italian capitulation in the year 1943 the croatian territories, occupied by fascistic Italy, returns to the Independent State of Croatia.

Overprints at italian stamps were issued from the Great County of Dubrava for the planed return of the Bay of Kotor and the planned foundation of the Great County of Raša (today known as Istria).

Read more about the [ Great County of Raša ] and the [ Great County of Dubrava ].

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Prince Eugen Gau :

Before the war III. Reich against the in theeses days existing Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Germans threatened the Hungarians that if they did not participate in that war, the Volksdeutsche would declare a German state at the territory of Bačka, Banat and eastern Syrmia all the way to Belgrade. That German state was supposed to be connected with a corridor that would go partly around the Danube river to the territory of III. Reich, that is, to the Slovenian Prekomurje, which was then part of III. Reich.

After the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia April 10, 1941 this plans didn´t stop and the Volksdeutsche planed the proclamation of that state at the birthday of Adolf Hitler
April 20, 1941. They had prepared 3 stamps with overprints on hungarian stamps, but the III. Reich didn´t support this plans, because they don´t want to have problems with the new state, the Independent State of Croatia and also not with Hungary.

The Hungarians were afraid of a possible realisation of such a exteritorial german territory and annexed first the Bačka at the April 11, 1941 and some days later Međimurije of the Independent State of Croatia at the April 16, 1941 so that a corridor between a possible "Prince Eugen Gau" and the III. Reich couldn´t be realized without a war between the Allies Hungary and the III. Reich.

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HOS :

On April 10, 1993, the Croatian Defense Forces (Hrvatske Obrambene Snage = HOS) issued set of 16 stamps.

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OZAK :

The "Operation Zone Adriatisches Küstenland" ("Operations Zone Adriatisches Küstenland" or "OZAK") existed from September 10, 1943, and consisted of the Croatian and Slovenian territories occupied by the Kingdom of Italy, as well as the territories in northern Italy, which from October 8, 1943 fell under the control of the German III. Reich, which had the meaning as an operational zone of the German Wehrmacht, means exclusively military.

After the capitulation of Italy on September 8, 1943, the Great County of Raša were established by the Independent State of Croatia from the Croatian areas of Istria, the Kvarer Islands, the city of Rijeka, which was donated to the Kingdom of Italy by Serbian Minister Pasić of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia under the Treaty of Rapala in 1920, the city of Trieste and the present-day Slovenian coast.

The Independent State of Croatia could only formally establish the Great County of Raša, because since the capitulation of Italy on the territory that the Kingdom of Italy got from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia the III. Reich took control since October 1, 1943 over the entire Istrian peninsula, the cities of Rijeka, Sušak, Bakar, Kastav, Čabra and the island of Krk. Those Croatian territories were included in the "Operational Zone of the Adriatic Coast" ("OZAK") together with the Italian provinces of Friuli, Trieste and Gorica, and until the capitulation of Italy to the occupied Slovenian province of Ljubljana from the Italians.

From some German activities, such as the ban of the teaching of the Italian language in schools and the introduction of the Croatian language, it can be concluded that the III. Reich planned the reintegration of the "Operational Zone of the Adriatic Coast" into the Velika župa Raša (Great County of Raša) of the Independent State of Croatia.

The course of the war prevented that return, as well as the return of Sandžak and the Bay of  Kotor from the III. Reich (which controled both areas) to the Independent State of Croatia.

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Prince Eugen Division :

The Volksdeutsche from the Independent State of Croatia issued overprints on German stamps of the “Day of Wehmacht” in 1943 and 1944, which was given to the new members of the division "Prince Eugen".

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Other stamp-series :

The emigration of the Independent State of Croatia has issues also in the year 1999 stamp series of Pope John Paul II.

In 2024 four Independent State of Croatia / Ukraine stamp-series were isued :
Slava Ukraini / Putler

In 2024 the Independent State of Croatia issued seven stamp-series :
- 2 stamp-series of landscapes of the Independent State of Croatia.
- 2 stamp-series with croatian food-motives.
- 3 stamp-series with croatian football fans

Other stamp series :

- Beware of Yugoslavs
- Communist bandit Josip Broz Tito
- Croatian coat of arms.
- Erich von Däniken
- Fazlagića kula
- History of the Croats
- King and Queen of the Independent State of Croatia
- Mother
- Sandžak 2024 in two sizes.
- Ustasha
- Zvonimir Boban