Operation Zone of the Adriatic Littoral

Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral
Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland
1943–1945
Flag Emblem
The Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral ("OZAK").
Capital		Triest
Government		Commissariat
High Commissioner
•	1943–1945	Friedrich Rainer
History
•	Establishment	1943
•	Dissolution	1945
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) Democratic Federal Yugoslavia
Today part of		Italy  Croatia  Slovenia

The Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral (German: Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland (OZAK) or colloquially, Operationszone Adria; Italian: Zona d'operazioni del Litorale adriatico; Croatian: Operativna zona Jadransko primorje; Slovene: Operacijska zona Jadransko primorje) was a Nazi German district on the northern Adriatic coast created during World War II in 1943. It was formed out of territories that were previously under Fascist Italian control until its takeover by Germany. It included parts of present-day Italian, Slovenian, and Croatian territories. The area was administered as territory attached, but not incorporated to, the Reichsgau of Carinthia. The capital of the zone was the city of Trieste.

OZAK was established, with its headquarters in Trieste, on 10 September 1943, by Adolf Hitler, as a response to the Italian capitulation (8 September 1943) following the Allied invasion of Italy. It comprised the provinces of Udine, Gorizia, Trieste, Pula (Pola), Rijeka (Fiume) and Ljubljana (Lubiana). The Operational Zone of the Alpine Foothills, comprising the provinces of Belluno, South Tyrol, and Trentino, was established on the same day. Both operations zones formally belonged to the Italian Social Republic, which governed those areas of Italy not yet occupied by the Allies from Salò at Lake Garda. The name of the zone was a reference to the historical crown land of the Austrian Littoral.