You probably don't know where the anti-fascist resistance was born

06 May 2025

80 years ago, World War II engulfed Europe. One of its most remarkable stories: how a group of partisans liberated an entire country.

It began in the forests of (today's) Croatia on 22 June 1941. Just hours after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, 79 brave souls gathered in Brezovica forest near the town of Sisak and formed the Sisak People's Liberation Partisan Detachment. 

It was the first armed anti-fascist resistance group in occupied Europe – a full year before the famed French Maquis or Italian partisans took up arms.

The Partisan movement quickly grew under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, a communist former metalworker, who would become one of WWII's most cunning guerrilla commanders, and then the leader of Yugoslavia. By 1943, the Yugoslav Partisans had liberated entire territories and created a government-in-waiting.

Their decentralised, multi-ethnic, and highly mobile guerrilla tactics stunned the Nazis – and inspired resistance movements across Europe. Their operations included sabotage, ambushes, and the creation of "liberated zones" with their own schools, hospitals, and local councils. 

Winston Churchill had initially backed another prominent resistance movement – that later collaborated with the Axis powers – the monarchist Chetniks. But he was so impressed by Tito's effectiveness that he famously switched British support to the Partisans in 1943, recognising them as the true force fighting Axis occupation in the Balkans.

British and Soviet advisors alike studied and supported Tito's approach, which later influenced Greek, Albanian, and even Italian resistance efforts. By 1944, the Partisans fielded over 650,000 troops and engaged in regular warfare against the Nazis, and liberated Belgrade along with the Soviet Red Army.

After finally winning the "last battle of World War II in Europe", the Battle of Odžak, on 14–15 May 1945, the Partisans under Tito would establish Yugoslavia, the country governing the Balkans until the 1990s.

But the story doesn't end there – it made its way to culture and every other facet of life in the most unexpected ways. Christopher Lee, best known for his movie roles as Dracula and Saruman, served with British intelligence during the war and spent time with Tito in the trenches.

Years later, Pablo Picasso was so moved by the story of the Partisan struggle that he designed the movie poster for the 1969 epic "Battle of Neretva" (starring Orson Welles and Yul Brynner) – allegedly accepting payment in the form of a few casks of Yugoslav wine.