31 May, following reports of massacres in Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav authorities moved the prisoners on forced marches throughout the country to internment and labor camps. Mass executions were carried out, the largest of which were in Tezno (estimated at 15,000 Croatian prisoners of war), Kočevski Rog, and Huda Jama. In the ensuing Communist rule in Yugoslavia, these massacres and other abuses after the repatriations were a taboo topic and information about the events was suppressed. Public and official commemoration of the victims, which included civilians, did not begin until several decades later. Historians have been unable to accurately ascertain the number of casualties during and after the repatriations; exact numbers have been the subject of much debate, and assessments are typically in the ranges of tens of thousands. Historians and investigations in Slovenia and Croatia indicate that most of the victims were members of Croatian, Slovene, Montenegrin and Serb collaborationist armed forces. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, an annual commemoration for the victims has been held in Bleiburg, but has drawn considerable controversy due to Ustaše symbols at the event. Croatian authorities have variously either endorsed that commemoration or initiated other commemorations in Slovenia, while the Austrian authorities have increasingly made moves to prevent it from further happening. Terminology Commonly used terms such as Bleiburg massacre, Bleiburg tragedy, Bleiburg crime, Bleiburg case, and also simply Bleiburg, are used in Croatia to refer to the events in question. The term 'tragedy' has also been used in English-language works of authors of Croatian origin. The term Way of the Cross () is a common subjective term, used mostly by Croatians, regarding the events after the repatriations. The latter have been described as "death marches". The term death marches, unlike many others, is used by international literature on the topic, and Croatian historian Martina Grahek Ravančić discusses the topic of "Bleiburg and the Death Marches". Among Slovenes, the term Viktring tragedy () is commonly used. Viktring was a British camp where the largest number of Slovene prisoners were interned before repatriations took place. Background When World War II broke out in 1939, the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia declared its neutrality. By the beginning of 1941, most of its neighbors joined the Tripartite Pact. Yugoslavia came under strong pressure to join the Axis and the Yugoslav government signed the Pact on 25 March 1941, the year that Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet