At the beginning of the April war in 1941, immediately after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Royal Army and before the occupation of the Hungarians, a group of Croatian patriots produced the first Croatian WWII local issue. Printing was done with remaining Yugoslav "King Petar" stamps by the "Kraljek & Vezić" printing house in Čakovec between 12th and 15th of April, 1941.
Stamps of this issue were never sold at the post offices nor were they officially recognized. The German army did not allow any postal traffic until the Hungarians occupied Međimurje and reopened postal service on April 21st, 1941. However, it is known that about 20 letters were actually sent from the post office in Varaždin and delivered to addresses in Zagreb as well as locally.
The Easter greeting card shown below is a unique postal item that was actually sent from the post office in Čakovec. From the message on the postcard is obvious that it was written by the owners of the “Kraljek & Vezić" printing house on April 8th, just before the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and before stamps were overprinted.
The postcard was overprinted on top of the previously affixed stamp and mailed through Hungarian postal authorities on April 21th. The stamp was not recognized but postage due was not charged.
1941 Međimurje, unofficial local provisional issue, unique Easter card with the overprint on the previously affixed stamp, sent from Čakovec(21.IV.1941) to Zagreb. Certificates Ercegović & Vilfan.
