After the Second World War, Croatian emigrants moved to overseas countries such as America, Canada and Australia. In their new countries, they felt the need to maintain the traditions of their native land. They were helped in this by the Catholic Church, which founded missions, parishes and Croatian language and culture schools in the places where they settled. Gathered around the Church, emigrants developed their social life, nurtured the folklore, music and customs of Croatia, and founded Croatian communities and various associations. The school organization HIŠAK - Croatian Overseas Schools of America and Canada was founded in 1974 in New York at the initiative of a group of Croatian priests and intellectuals from America and Canada, as an umbrella institution for Croatian schools in overseas countries. It assumed the role of connecting and coordinating Croatian schools overseas, and later in some European countries. HIŠAK's task was, among others, to provide support to teachers through the organization of professional seminars and training, as well as to organize the production and printing of textbooks, manuals and other teaching materials for learning Croatian language and culture, and to coordinate and connect Croatian schools with each other, as well as to establish a connection with the motherland.
