Historic, Scenic VIS

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Vis Island and Vis City, Croatia

As we discover wherever we go, World War II truly left a mark everywhere. During WWII, Vis played a vital role in the anti-fascist movement. It was occupied by Italy in 1941, and after its fall in 1943, the island was never occupied by the German army. Allied forces were stationed on Vis, and an airport was built, which became a symbol of resistance and defiance to the German war machine. Vis was the center of Partisan (Yugoslavian) rule and Allied military missions from 1944. When there was the greatest danger from German landings on Vis, much of the island’s population was temporarily evacuated to the El Shatt camp near the Suez Canal in Egypt. Some 25,000 Dalmatian civilians were sent to the refugee camp in Egypt from 1944 to 46, departing from Vis to Bari and onto the Sinai desert. With the liberation of the country, the role of Vis as an isolated stronghold ceased, its population returned, and reconstruction began.

During socialist Yugoslavia, Vis was home to more than 30 military facilities and was closed to foreigners until 1989 - and the Yugoslav army left Vis only in 1992! Today, the Croatian military is small, but proud and they’re members of NATO. We went on a land rover tour of some military highlights including a submarine cave that hid boats and a tunnel as well as the airstrip where bombers landed after bombing runs to Italy.