Understanding Ustaša violence

Abstract

The Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945) was a multi-ethnic entity in which a range of political and military powers cooperated with and fought against one another. No less complicated were the ruling Ustaša movement and its relationship with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The persecution of the Serbs, the Jews, and the Roma in the Independent State of Croatia was marked by differences and similarities, which were reflected the decision-making process within the Ustaša leadership. Over time, this mass violence (and Ustaša decisions) moderated due to a variety of factors: the interethnic civil war, victim reactions, local factors, and the harvest. The Italians and Germans, however, also played a role in the persecution of the Serbs, Jews, and Roma in Croatia. Simplifying narratives of the Ustaša as marginal collaborationists and state-centered concepts of genocide are inadequate when it comes to explaining Ustaša violence.