Independent State of Croatia
| Independent State of Croatia Nezavisna Država Hrvatska
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| Capital and largest city | Zagreb | |||
| Official languages | Croatian | |||
| Demonym | Croat or Croatian | |||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy (1941 - 1943) Republic (1943 - 1945) |
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The Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; German: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien) was a Croatian state under the rule of the Ustasha movement. It existed from 10 April 1941 to 8 May 1945. From 1941 until 1943 it was a Protectorate of Italy, until it's betrayal of the Axis powers (Fall Achse).
Contents
Government
- King: Tomislav II (1941–1943)
- Poglavnik (leader): Ante Pavelić (1941–1945)
- Prime Minister:
- 1941–1943 Ante Pavelić
- 1943–1945 Nikola Mandić
History
WWII
The establishment of the Independent State of Croatia was proclaimed by Slavko Kvaternik over Radio Zagreb at 4pm on 10 April 1941 in the name of the Poglavnik (leader) of the Ustasha movement, Dr. Ante Pavelić. It was made possible by the penetration by the Tripartite Pact countries (notably National Socialist Germany and the Kingdom of Italy) in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a result, the Independent State of Croatia became a close ally of National Socialist Germany and a member of the Tripartite Pact during its entire existence.
- "Thus on 15 April 1941, Pavelić came to power, albeit a very limited power, in the new Ustasha state under the umbrella of German and Italian forces. On the same day German Führer Adolf Hitler and Italian Duce Benito Mussolini granted recognition to the Croatian state and declared that their governments would be glad to participate with the Croatian government in determining its frontiers."
The country was ruled by the Poglavnik[1] Dr. Ante Pavelić and his Croatian nationalist and fascist movement Ustasha – Croatian Liberation Movement, and from 1941 to 1943, officialy the king was Aimone de Savoia-Aosta under his royal name Tomislav II. Despite a state of war, which lasted for all time of the existence of the Independent State of Croatia, a rich cultural, artistic and scientific activities was developed, and the state provided social protection for its citizens.
Initially divided into Ustasha Militia and Croatian Home Guard, than united in the Croatian Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia was the strongest military force in Southeast Europe during Second World War and they were forced to provide superhuman resistance against rebel troops of communist Yugoslav Partisans and Serbian Chetniks who aspired demolition of the Croatian state. The Partisan commander, Josip Broz Tito, was half Slovene, half Croatian. After Italy abandoned the war in 1943, German forces occupied western Croatia and the NDH annexed the territory ceded to Italy in 1941.
Post-WWII
After the surrender of the Wehrmacht and retreat of the Croatian State Government and senior civil and military officials to Austria in May 1945, blood-thirsty Yugoslav partisans entered in Zagreb on 8 May 1945 and thus marked breakdown of Croatia.
After the reconstruction of Yugoslavia in 1945, controversies over the alleged existence of concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia and plan for extermination of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies in Croatia was occured, but those arguments have not been proven to this day.
Quotes
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler is quoted characterizing the Independent State of Croatia as "ridiculous":
- "Syrmien[2] is the breadbasket of Croatia, and hopefully it and our beloved German settlements will be secured. I hope that the area south of Srem will be liberated by ... the Bosnian division ... so that we can at least restore partial order in this ridiculous state."[3]
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Poglavnik was a term coined by the Ustaše, and it was originally used as the title for the leader of the movement. In 1941 it was institutionalized in the NDH as the title of first the Prime Minister (1941–43), and then the Head of State (1943–45). It was at all times held by Ante Pavelić and became synonymous with him. The translation of the term varies. The root of the word is the Croatian word "glava", meaning "head" ("Po-glav(a)-nik"). The more literal translation is "head-man", while "leader" captures more of the meaning of the term (in relation to the German "Führer" and Italian "Duce").
- ↑ Syrmia/Srem was the home of many Volksdeutsche, mainly Banat Swabians.
- ↑ Independent State of Croatia
