OZNA was founded on 13 May 1944 according to decision of Josip Broz Tito and under the leadership of Aleksandar Ranković, a top member of the Politburo until his downfall in 1966, and a close associate of Josip Broz Tito. On 24 May 1944, only a day before the Operation Rösselsprung, Tito signed the Military Courts Regulations which in article number 27 stated that court reaches its decisions whether the accused are guilty or not based on its free evaluation, regardless of the evidence. Based on the investigations performed by OZNA the Military courts reached their decisions.
Function
Until OZNA was established, intelligence and security tasks were carried out by several organizations. In spring 1944, the tasks were carried out by the Section for Protection of People in central and western Bosnia, part of Croatia, and Vojvodina; the centers of territorial intelligence in Croatia, Vojvodina and Montenegro; the intelligence division of the Internal Affairs Section within the Slovene National Liberation Committee presidency in Slovenia; and the intelligence service of the partisan detachments in Central Serbia, Macedonia, and Kosovo.
Organization
The reorganization of intelligence and security could not satisfy the growing needs of the Supreme Staff. OZNA was created as an autonomous entity, a military organization whose unitary structure and centralized leadership were to ensure a tough political line in the intelligence and counter-intelligence services. All OZNA tasks were divided into four groups, each comprising an organizational unit:
The first section organised intelligence activity in other countries, enemy state institutions, and occupied territory. It recruited agents and sent them to work outside the borders of the liberated territory. It collected intelligence on enemy agent networks, police, quislingstate machinery, and quisling military units. This was essentially an offensive intelligence service, directed against foreign countries and occupied territory. The second section collected information from trusted informers on political groups which had either joined the national liberation movement or stayed outside it, on enemy agent activities, and on armed groups of national traitors and fifth columnists. The third section organized counter-intelligence protection of armed forces and was active only in the NOVJ & PO. The fourth section performed statistical and technical tasks, processed information, and kept records. This section also included special photography, secret writing, radio centers, and decoders. A fifth and sixth section were formed in OZNA in March and April 1945. The fifth section was formed as a counterintelligence service against foreign agent networks in Yugoslavia; that is, foreign intelligence services.. The sixth section performed tasks dealing with counter-intelligence protection of transportation, but was absorbed soon after its establishment by the second sector.
Activities
When the National Liberation Army changed its name into the Yugoslav People's Army on March 1, 1945, the OZNA of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia proclaimed by special directive a new organization of the JNA – OZNA. OZNA was in direct command of counter-intelligence protection of military command posts, institutions, and units. Sections were set up within independent corps. This third OZNA section was in force until the end of July, 1945. The "military" and "civil" part of OZNA began to separate in 1945 and split in March, 1946. At that time, the new splinter organizations, the Administrative Directorate for Security of JNA – KOS was formed from the military part and the Administrative State Security Directorate from its civilian counterpart. Since OZNA was actually left without its third section after the military counter-intelligence service became independent, it formed a new third section unconnected to the previous one. It focused initially on reconstruction and operations of the German intelligence service. Later, the third section assumed operations for all foreign intelligence services, borders, and traffic of foreigners. The fourth section continued filing information they had been collected within the OF VOS since 1941. From initial information files on 4,000 people, by the end of the war the number had increased to 17,750. OZNA was led by a chief who was directly subordinate to the Supreme Commander of the Yugoslav People's Army, Marshal Josip Broz Tito.
Mass killings of the "enemies of the people"
During the entire period of its existence OZNA used illegal practicies which included occasional mass murders of the "enemies of the people" having a notion of conducting the "revolution". The "enemies of the people" included not only local anti-communist forces but also notable individuals who did not support Communists, wealthy and prosperous individuals, POWs and all representatives of the Church regardless of the religion. In combating armed anti-communist groups, the OZNA and KNOJ, murdered prisoners without any investigation or trial, sometimes also murdering the civilian associated with them. The majority of the atrocities committed by communists were hidden from the public during the period of SFRJ. The Government of Serbia and its Ministry of Justice established the commission to research atrocities that were committed by members of the Yugoslav Partisan Movement after they gained control over Serbia in Autumn 1944. The report of this commission presente a list of 59,554 registered deaths after communist victory in Serbia since Autumn 1944 who died from various reasons.
