The war against Croatia in 1991 found almost all public services and the whole of population unprepared. Health service, however, was not caught napping. The Central Medical Corps of the Republic of Croatia had secretly been preparing for the war. Still, as the importance of psychiatry and psychology is usually marginalized, they became part of the joint organized effort as late as summer 1991.
Department of Mental Health of the Central Medical Corps started work in July 1991. Prof. Dr. med. Eduard Klain, head of the department: "Looking back, it is hard to believe that we have managed to do so much, in such a short time, without any previous war experience or the knowledge about the function of psychiatry and mental health care in war. Our large group of physicians and psychologists, belonging to different schools, has achieved and retained a strong cohesion.
At the onset of our work we decided to keep records of all our activities, primarily in order to collect data for colleagues who wish to benefit from our experience. We wanted, which is characteristic for mankind, to leave a written sign of ourselves and our work."
The largest number of papers deal with soldiers, including wounded soldiers, psychotraumatized soldiers, and prisoners. Some of the experiences presented are different from the literature data. For example, in this war short hospital stays produced good results.