Upon signing the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia became a member of the Axis powers. In spite of this, after the coup Yugoslavia was invaded by Axis forces on 6 April 1941 and was subsequently occupied and partitioned. Between 1941 and 1945, Međimurje was occupied and annexed by Hungary. At this time some re-settlement of ethnic Croats who were settled in the region after 1918 occurred. Bulgarian troops within the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front captured the region in the spring of 1945, and the region became part of the socialist Croatia within restored Yugoslavia.