Out of the ruins of Yugoslavia in 1941, Croatia emerged as a new state, the Independent State of Croatia, ruled by one of the most radical fascist movements in Europe—the Ustaše. What followed was a campaign of terror, mass violence, and persecution that shocked even their Axis allies. But how did a marginalized party with exiled leaders and hunted members rise to power? Before World War II, Croatia did not exist as a sovereign nation.
Its territory was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, where the Croatian people felt culturally and politically oppressed. Out of this discontent, extreme movements emerged, and one was the ultra-nationalist Ustaše, the Croatian Revolutionary Movement, founded by Ante Pavelić, who called himself the Poglavnik—the leader, first and foremost. The Ustaše portrayed itself as a secret revolutionary army born out of Croatia’s struggle for national liberation. Two key figures emerged: nationalist journalist Gustav Perčec and lawyer-turned-politician Ante Pavelić.
In 1925, Pavelić negotiated with Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić about an agreement that would grant Croatia political and cultural autonomy while remaining inside the kingdom. But in 1928, the assassination of Croatian political leader Stjepan Radić inside the Yugoslav Parliament shocked the country and shattered any hopes of peaceful resolution. From the beginning, the Ustaše aimed to create a greater Croatia that would include both Croatia and Bosnia. In their ideology, groups considered foreign, especially the large Serb population, would have to be removed by force if necessary.
Initially, anti-Semitism was not central to the movement. In 1933, the movement formally outlined its ideology in a document known as the Ustaše Principles. These seventeen principles called for the creation of an independent Croatian state and promoted a society based on traditional Catholic rural values, strong patriarchal families, and strict social hierarchy. Other writers, including historian Milan Šufflay, described Croatia as a western frontier defending Europe from the eastern Balkan world represented by Serbia.
Soon after forming the movement, Pavelić and many of his followers fled Yugoslavia to avoid arrest by the authorities. The real heart of the movement lay in its paramilitary camps, including one on the Italian island of Lipari. The movement also developed a divide between its members abroad and those who remained inside Croatia. Supporters still living in Croatia, sometimes called the home Ustaše, included more students and intellectuals, especially at the University of Zagreb.
Activists inside Croatia mainly organized protests and political agitation. How did a marginalized party whose leaders were exiled and members hunted by the authorities come to power? The answer lies in the shifting alliances of World War II. Germany wanted to use Yugoslavia’s rail network to move against Greece, and Yugoslavia was to become a German ally without committing forces to the German war effort.
Under German pressure, Yugoslavia acquiesced and signed the Tripartite Pact on March 25, 1941. But then, on March 27, Serbian military leaders seized power in a military coup in Belgrade. Hitler was furious. He ordered the invasion of Yugoslavia, and the country was quickly overrun.
Out of the chaos, the Independent State of Croatia was proclaimed, covering most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as parts of modern-day Serbia and Slovenia. From day one, German soldiers were on the streets of Zagreb, and diplomatic representatives occupied important places. Ante Pavelić, who at the time of the declaration was still in Italy, became the leader of the NDH. On April 13, he returned to Croatia after twelve years of exile.
To Italian journalists, he said, “Today’s restoration of Croatian independence has its foundation in historical and ethnic factors. The Pan-Slavist movement spread throughout the entire world the belief that we are one people with the Serbs. This is not true, as the Croats are not Slavs according to race, but rather are Croats by their origin and nothing else. Without repeating the known differences in religion and culture, the two nations are differentiated ethnically even in a somatic sense.
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Most people accepted the resurrection of the Croatian state with the feeling that the war had ended quickly and that the worst had been avoided. But their relief was short-lived. Serbs, Jews, and Roma, as well as Croatian political opponents, were arrested, and the first killings occurred as early as May 1941.
The Ustaše had gained power, and they were ready to use it in the most brutal way imaginable.
