The Law Amending the Law on Holidays, Memorial Days and Non-Working Days in the Republic of Croatia adopted in September 2005, established 25 September as a memorial day on the grounds of its importance for preserving the integrity of the Croatian territory. This is the Day of the Decision on the unification of Istria, Rijeka, Zadar and the islands with the Croatian mother country.
On that date in 1943, people representatives from all parts of Istria gathered in an assembly in Pazin to confirm the statement of the National Liberation Committee for Istria of 13 September 1943 on the annexation of Istria to its Croatian mother country and the decision of the Land Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH) of 20 September on the “annexation of Istria, Rijeka, Zadar and other occupied parts to Croatia”.
The Pazin decision on the annexation of Istria to the Croatian mother country was announced to the people of Istria on September 26, 1943.
The decision, announced shortly after the capitulation of Italy on September 8, 1943, is an exceptional historical charter that marks a turning point in the history of Istria, Rijeka, Zadar and the islands. At its Second Session held in Plaški in October 1943, ZAVNOH, as the first supreme representative and legislative body of Croatia in the post-war period, declared the Pazin decision a valid state document.