From Annihilation of the Elites to Total Annihilation: Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia, 1941–1942

Abstract

The Independent State of Croatia (isc) was created as a result of the aggression of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It occupied the central part of Yugoslavia, an area that far exceeded ethnic Croatian territories. Although formally it was in the sphere of influence of Fascist Italy, the isc was much closer to the national-socialist Third Reich in terms of its organization and foreign policy position. The isc’s internal organization was an expression of acceptance of the Nazi ideological-political principle of “blood and soil”, by which an area could be Germanized (in the case of the isc – Croatianized), but not the people who lived there. This led to the destruction of nationally, racially and religiously undesirable population groups – primarily the Serbs, who accounted for nearly a third of the population of the country, as well as Jews and, for the most part, the Roma. The first to be attacked were the most prominent Serbs, the bearers of national and political identity, and often the wealthiest citizens. Priests, monks and indeed the entire organization of the Serbian Orthodox Church also came under concerted attack.