Some Questions On These Croatian Stamps

This one is issued in 1942 for Croatia in Scott's.



And this one I found on ebay and the seller says it is issued in 1952 for Croatia.


My question is what exactly is the story on Croatia? Was it Yugoslavia in those years or just what? Was it independent in those years? Thanks for any thoughts on this. Jim

Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918. Then it became part of Yugoslavia. In 1941 Yugoslavia was occupied by Germany and Croatia was made a quasi independent puppet state. In 1945 it rejoined Yugoslavia. Full independence was gained in 1991 when Yugoslavia fell apart. In the years that Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, Croatians in exile issued stamps.

The first stamp was issued during the period of independence in WWII. The second stamp was issued by Croatians in exile or for private speculation: http://crostamps.com/old/es_ex_en.htm