U kolovozu i rujnu 1946. u Varaždinu su provedeni istraga i suđenje desetorici osoba iz Međimurja, među kojima su bila četiri svećenika: Dragutin Gazivoda, Ivan Kolenko, Josip Lukša i Norbert Žalig. Svi optuženi proglašeni su krivim zbog navodnog podpomaganja terorista, tzv. “križara”. Iako je sudski predmet nazvan po kapelanu iz Nedelišča, Dragutinu Gazivodi, istražitelji i tužitelji imali su cilj osuditi ponajprije djelovanje franjevačkoga samostana u Čakovcu, a neizravno i cjelokupno svećenstvo u Međimurju. Štoviše, dio istražnog materijala i osobito medijska prezentacija suđenja optuživali su i cijelu Katoličku crkvu u Jugoslaviji, na čelu s Alojzijem Stepincem. Naime, suđenje u Varaždinu poklopilo se s pripremama za suđenje zagrebačkom nadbiskupu, a presuda je donesena samo nekoliko dana prije njegova uhićenja. S obzirom na donekle neočekivane razmjere koje je postupak u Varaždinu poprimio, sačuvani arhivski materijal o istome je vrlo velik, a i posljedice su bile višestruke. Osuđeni u postupku kažnjeni su vrlo teškim kaznama, neki od njihovih prijatelja i poznanika su također kasnije bili uhićeni, a nekoliko njih je čak i ubijeno bez suda od strane vlasti. Dio iznuđenih i konstruiranih izjava osuđenih, dugo se, krajnje propagandistički, koristio za opisivanje navodne političke i moralne odgovornosti Katoličke crkve u vremenima neposredno nakon Drugoga svjetskog rata, a čak ni danas ta stigma nije do kraja uklonjena u javnosti. Autor u članku raščlanjuje različite vrste izvora kako bi utvrdio svu slojevitost postupka u Varaždinu, pokušavajući ih objasniti u širem političkom, vremenskom, teritorijalnom i moralnom aspektu.

Ključne riječi: Stepinac, franjevački samostan, Međimurje, Čakovec, Varaždin, Nedelišče, Selnica, križari, suđenje, komunizam. 

Summary:  Clerical proceedings in Međimurje in September 1946 – introduction to the trial of archbishop Stepinac

 p. 75.

In August and September of 1946 in Varaždin, an investigation and trial has been conducted to ten people from Međimurje, among them, four were clergymen: Dragutin Gazivoda, Ivan Kolenko, Josip Lukša and Norbert Žalig. Everyone accused was convicted guilty for allegedly helping the terrorists, so called “crusaders”. Although the court trial was named after the chaplain from Nedelišče, Dragutin Gazivoda, the investigators and plaintiffs pursued their goal of accusing primarily the activities of the Franciscan monastery in Čakovec, while indirectly the entire clergy in Međimurje. Moreover, a part of the judicial investigation and especially the media presentation of the proceedings accused the entire Catholic Church in Yugoslavia and the head Alojze Stepinac. Namely, the proceedings in Varaždin coincided with the preparations for the trial of the archbishop of Zagreb, and the judgment was made only a few days prior to his arrest. Considering the somewhat unexpected proportions that the process in Varaždin has taken, the preserved archive material about it is quite large, and also the consequences were multiple. Those sentenced to the process were punished with severe retributions, also, some of their friends and acquaintances were later on arrested, and some were even killed from the authorities without court of law proceedings. A part of extorted and constructed declarations of the convicted were long after used for extreme propaganda in order to describe the allegedly political and moral responsibilities of the Catholic Church, and even today this stigma has not been entirely eradicated from the public. The author analyzes the different sources in order to determine the entire stratification of the proceedings in Varaždin, trying to explain them in a wider political, time, territorial and moral aspect.

Key words: Stepinac, Franciscan monastery, Međimurje, Čakovec, Varaždin, Nedelišče, Selnica, crusaders, proceedings, communism.

(Objavljeno u godišnjaku „Tkalčić“, 15./2011., br. 15.)