| Abstract | Savezničko bombardiranje Zadra u Drugom svjetskom ratu zaista je jedna zanimljiva,
kompleksna i politički osjetljiva povijesna tema. Kroz svoju burnu prošlost, Zadar nikada nije
gubio na važnosti, to dokazuje činjenica da je za dugogodišnje austrijske vladavine u
Dalamciji započete u 19. stoljeću, i kratkotrajne francuske vladavine, Zadar bio glavno
upravno i političko središte Dalmacije sve do njezina sloma u drugom desetljeću 20. stoljeća.
U prvoj polovici 20. stoljeća odnosno u razdoblju između dva svjetska rata Zadar je bio pod
vlašću Kraljevine Italije koja je uspjela sebi osigurati pravo na Dalmaciju i Istru i to na
temelju potpisanog Londonskog sporazuma iz 1914. godine, a nešto kasnije i Rapallskog
ugovora. Rapallskim ugovorom 1920. godine Zadar je dodijeljen Kraljevini Italiji i taj status
zadržao je do 1941. godine. Tim ugovorom, Zadar je ostao odvojen od svog prirodnog i
etničnkog zaleđa, našao se pod upravom Kraljevine Italije i time on faktički prostaje
talijanska kolonija.
Tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata, veliku važnost imala je zadarska luka u kojoj su Nijemci,
koji su zamijenili Talijane, u Zadru su stvorili središnju opskrbnu luku. Tada su započeli i
intenzivni planovi i vojno odnosno zračno djelovanje zapadnih Saveznika na područje oko
Zadra. Uslijedili su zračni napadi započeti u studenom 1943. godine, a bombardiranje grada
od strane savezničkih snaga trajalo je do listopada 1944. godine.
Na pitanja koliko Zadar pretrpio zračnih napada u tom razdoblju, koliko je toni bomba
bačeno te koliko je nedužnih civila poginulo, teško je dati precizan odgovor. Posljedice su
bile katastrofalne, a kontroverze oko utvrđivanja uzroka sve se više gomilaju. Na jednoj
strani, talijanski autori žele dokazati kako napadi na Zadar „nisu imali ni taktičko ni
strategijsko značenje“, dok na drugoj strani neki hrvatski autori tvrde da je Zadar uništen
upravo zbog iznimno velikoga ''operativno-strateškog značenja''. |
| Abstract (english) | Allied bombing of Zadar in World War II is really an interesting, complex and politically
sensitive historical subject. Throughout its turbulent history, Zadar has never lost its
relevance, proved by the fact that the Austrians ruled for many years in Dalmatia, starting
their impact in the 19th century, as well as the French empire that ruled only for shorter period
of time in which Zadar remained the main administrative and political center of Dalmatia
until its collapse in the second decade of the 20th century. In the first half of the 20th century,
between the two world wars, Zadar was under the authorization of the Kingdom of Italy and
its rules. Kingdom of Italy managed to secure its right to Dalmatia and Istria by firstly signing
the London Pact in 1914, and afterwards the Treaty of Rapallo. By the Treaty of Rapallo,
signed in 1920, Zadar was assigned to the Kingdom of Italy and kept that status until the year
of 1941. With that Treaty, Zadar remained detached from its natural and ethnic background
and under the authorization of the Kingdom of Italy, actually becoming an italian colony.
During the World War II, the port of Zadar had great significance, where the Germans,
who replaced the Italians, created central supply port. This was the time when all the intensive
plans began, as well as the Western Ally military and air force actions in Zadar surroundings.
After that, the air-raid began in november 1943, and the city bombing lasted until the October
1944.
It is difficult to answer strictly how much Zadar really suffered from all the air attacks,
how many bombs have been thrown and how many innocent civilians were killed. The
consequences were catastrophical and the questions about necessity of the attack are starting
to accumulate. On one side, the italian authors want to prove that all the attacks on Zadar
didn’t have any tactical or strategic meaning, while on the other side, some of the croatian
authors claim that the city of Zadar was destroyed exactly because of the extremely high
operational and strategic importance. |
