The People's Youth of Croatia (PYC) was a so-called socio-political organization, and up to 1946 it bore the designation United Alliance of Anti-Fascist Youth of Croatia (UAAYC) and then after 1946 the People's Youth of Croatia (PYC). It was one of the components of the People's Youth of Yugoslavia (PYY). In 1948, the organization merged with another youth organization that worked with it, and which together with the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) was one of its founders and leaders; the Alliance of the Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (ACYY). Since then, there was a single youth organization called the People's Youth of Yugoslavia. Both organizations acted under the aegis of the CPY and adhered to its program, and were at the same time members of the United People's Liberation Front (JNOF), later the People's Front (PF). The CPY used mass organizations as its intermediaries since it operated covertly until 1948, thus organizing and controlling any public manifestations of mass organizations.

The main tasks of the youth organizations at that time were: to fortify their organizations and to increase their membership, to strengthen 'the people's government', to implement government measures in building socialism and to activate the youth regarding these tasks. At that time there were several important processes in Yugoslavia in which young people were involved within youth organizations. One very important task of the organization was to assure that the ideological guidelines from the Communist Party were implemented and to monitor all oppositional activities among the youth. This was conducted through its many working bodies and was especially vital in the fields of culture, education and ideology. The PYC was a mass organization of the youth and most of the youth were its members. Still, not everybody agreed with its ideological positions but were nonetheless members of the organization because that was just easier. They, as well as the part of the youth outside of the organization, were active in opposition activities.