Independent State of Croatia

During World War II, in April 1941, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded. The forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy set up the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Dr?ava Hrvatska, NDH), encompassing most of Croatia.

Ethnical issues

Much of the population of the Independent State of Croatia was not Croat, mostly because of the inclusion of Bosnia. It had significant populations of Serbs (about 19% of the population of Croatia at the time, over 30% of the population of NDH), Slavic Muslims, Germans, Hungarians and others. The Catholics (mainly Croats, Germans and Magyars) constituted just over 50% of the 6.3 million population.

Related Topics:
Croat - Serbs - Slavic Muslims - Germans - Hungarians

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The puppet regime almost immediately enacted racial laws that reflected the acceptance of the ideology of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, with an emphasis placed on Croatian national issues.

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The first "Legal order for the defence of the people and the state" dated April 17, 1941 ordered the death penalty for "infringement of the honour and vital interests of the Croatian people and the survival of the Independent State of Croatia". It was soon followed by the "Legal order of races" and the "Legal order of the protection of Aryan blood and the honour of the Croatian people" dated April 30, 1941, as well as the "Order of the creation and definition of the racial-political committee" dated June 4, 1941. The enforcement of these legal acts was done not only through normal courts but also new out-of-order courts as well as mobile courts-martial with extended jurisdictions.

Related Topics:
Death penalty - Courts-martial

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The normal jails could no longer sustain the rate of new inmates and the Usta?a government started preparing the grounds what would become the Jasenovac concentration camp by July 1941. The regime would eventually form a total of eight concentration camps.

Related Topics:
Jasenovac concentration camp - Concentration camp

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The Usta?e started conducting a deliberate campaign of mass murder, deportation and forced religious conversion in an attempt to remove the undesirables: Serbs, Jews, Gypsies, dissenting Croats and others. The atrocities against non-Croats started on April 27, 1941 when a newly formed unit of Usta?a army massacred the largely Serbian thorp of Gudovac near Bjelovar.

Related Topics:
Mass murder - Deportation - Religious conversion - Jew - Gypsies - April 27 - Bjelovar

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The previously important civic factors, the Peasant Party (HSS) and the Catholic Church, were reasonably uninvolved. All who opposed and/or threatened the Usta?e were eventually outlawed.

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The HSS was banned on June 11, 1941 in an attempt of the Usta?e to take their place as the primary representative of the Croatian peasantry. Vladko Ma?ek was sent to Jasenovac concentration camp, but later released to serve a house arrest sentence due to his popularity among the people. Ma?ek was later again called upon by the foreigners to take a stand and counteract the Paveli? government, but refused.

Related Topics:
HSS - June 11 - Vladko Ma?ek - Jasenovac concentration camp - House arrest

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The main branches of the Catholic Church stopped participating in religious conversions as they were obviously a merely lesser form of punishment for the undesirable population, though a number of priests joined the Usta?e ranks. (See also: Involvement of Croatian Catholic clergy with the Usta?a regime.)

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