Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia

The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia, known more commonly by its Yugoslav abbreviation AVNOJ, (Serbo-Croatian: Antifašističko Vijeće Narodnog Oslobođenja Jugoslavije, AVNOJ) was the political umbrella organization for the national liberation councils of the Yugoslav resistance against the Axis occupation during World War II. It eventually became the Yugoslav provisional wartime deliberative body. It was established on November 26, 1942 to administer terrorities under the control of the Partisans.

First session of the AVNOJ

After the Yugoslavian army capitulated on April 17, 1941, Yugoslavia was distributed between Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and the newly formed puppet states: Independent State of Croatia, Independent State of Montenegro, Albanian Kingdom and Nedić Serbia. Opposition to these occupation regimes caused the formation of resistance movements, resulting in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY), then only active in the underground but fast gaining popularity, assuming the role of leading the forces in the Yugoslavian resistance. The CPY as an organisation comprised people from, and drew support from, the whole of Yugoslavia; as such, it represented a single Yugoslav identity.