How many Ustasha were there?

“Wild Ustashe” In the first months after Independent State of Croatia has been established, most of Ustashe groups were not under centralized control: besides 4,500 regular Ustasha Corps troops, there were some 25,000-30,000 “Wild Ustasha” (hrv. “divlje ustaše”).

What was Croatia’s name before?

It was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1929, the name of this new nation was changed to Yugoslavia. After World War II, the former prewar kingdom was replaced by a federation of six equal republics.

How did the Ustaše come to power in Croatia?

When the Ustaše came to power in the NDH, a quasi-protectorate puppet state established by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany during World War II, its military wings became the Army of the Independent State of Croatia and the Ustaše militia (Croatian: Ustaška vojnica).

What did the Ustaše believe in?

The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span the Drina River and extend to the border of Belgrade. The movement emphasized the need for a racially “pure” Croatia and promoted genocide against Serbs, Jews and Romani people, and persecution of anti-fascist or dissident Croats and Bosniaks .

What was the original name of the Ustaša in Croatia?

The full original name of the organization appeared in April 1931 as the Ustaša – Hrvatska revolucionarna organizacija or UHRO (Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Organization); in 1933 it was renamed the Ustaša – Hrvatski revolucionarni pokret (Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Movement), a name it kept until World War II.

Who was the leader of Croatia during the Nazi invasion?

On April 6, the Nazis invaded Yugoslavia. Although they preferred to install a puppet government that had the public’s support, the popular Croatian political leader Vladko Maček refused to collaborate. So, they had no choice but to install Pavelic as the leader of the new Independent State of Croatia.