ARHIVSKI VJESNIK 44. (ZAGREB, 2001.)

Strana - 225

R. Bućin, Prilog poznavanju institucija: zakonski okvir rada velikih župa NDH, Arh. vjesn., god. 44 (2001), str. 209-225 tricts moved from one county to another. The second big change happened on the territory of counties Gora and Prigorje, which merged into the county Gora-Prigorje. By these measures the number of counties was diminished to 21: Baranja, Bilogora, Bribir, Cetina, Dubrava, Gora-Prigorje, Hum, Krbava-Psat, Lašva-Rama, Lika-Gacka, Livac-Zapolje, Modruš, Pokupje, Posavje, Sana-Luka, Sidraga-Ravni Kotari, Usora-Soli, Vinodol-Podgorje, Vrhbosna, Vuka, Zagorje. In May of 1944 the extraordinary situation was proclaimed in Croatian Coastland and its hinterland, and to the end of the same year in Slavonia and Western Bosnia too. In the second half of 1944 partisans took control of Dalmatia. In the circumstances of war operations during 1944 and 1945 certain number of the county residences was transferred to other cities or regions. All these things made the ability of counties to do their job questionable and probably enlighten the causes of their rationalization and reorganization in summer of 1944. Key words: Independent State of Croatia, counties, administrative history 225