The ceremony in the Croatian National Theatre was attended by President Stjepan Mesic, who said that the values of antifascism were built into the foundations of the Croatian state.
Future generations have to learn historical facts about World War II and antifascism so that they would not find themselves in "a chaos of confused values" and would not have to "fight again for the freedom they have today", Mesic said.
Those generations have to realise how evil fascism was and respect the struggle against fascism and its victims, he added.
Mesic said that attempts by some to downplay the importance of the WWII antifascist struggle in Croatia were calculated for daily political purposes and were aimed at keeping the country locked in the embrace of the past.
Mayor Vojko Obersnel said that the struggle for the liberation of Rijeka had a dual role as being the struggle for liberation from the German occupier and for unification with the mother country, Croatia.
Obersnel said that the right to coexistence, diversity and multiculturalism was defended through that struggle and that Rijeka was proud of it.