Yugoslav Front (World War II)

The German and Italian invasion of 6 April 1941 achieved victory over the Royal Yugoslav Army in little more than ten days, ending with the unconditional surrender of the Royal Yugoslav Army on April 17. The territory of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region of Syrmia became a puppet state of Nazi Germany[32][33] called the Independent State of Croatia. Istria, the port city of Rijeka, and a portion of Dalmatia up to Split were occupied by Italy. Baranja and Medjumurje were occupied by Hungary. Although the recently returned exiled Ustashe was in charge of the new regime, the Axis occupiers initially offered the state leadership to Vladko Maček, the leader of the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), but he refused.

Only one day after entering Zagreb, on April 17, 1941, Ante Pavelić proclaimed that all people who offended, or tried to offend against the Croatian nation were guilty of treason — a crime punishable by death.[34] The Ustashe regime introduced anti-Semitic Nuremberg-style[citation needed] laws, and also conducted massacres of mostly Serbs and other non-Croats,[35] as well as running concentration camps such as the one at Jasenovac and Stara Gradiska where opponents of the Ustashe regime and other 'undesirables' were held.[36] The Ustase murdered Serbs, Jews, Roma, as well as Croats who opposed Ustase rule.[37]
Croat Josip Broz Tito was the leader of the Yugoslav communist resistance

Pavelić's Ustase regime was highly unpopular in Croatia at the time and lacked popular support due to Pavelić's cessation of the largely Croat-populated region of Dalmatia to Fascist Italy and cessation of territory to Hungary.[38] In contrast Croatian politician Vlatko Macek held widespread support of a strong majority of Croatians.[38] During this time, 200,000 Croats were sent as labourers to Nazi Germany while Germany exploited the state's natural resources.[38]

Catholic priests who were involved in the Ustashe movement, particularly the notorious Father Miroslav Filipović were defrocked. However, others such as the Archbishop of Zagreb Alojzije Stepinac not only condemned Ustashe crimes in his sermons but also offered refuge and protection to persecuted Serbs and Jews. The Jewish Virtual Library estimates that between 45,000 and 52,000 Croatian Serbs were killed at Jasenovac and that between 330,000 and 390,000 Serbs were victims of the entire genocide campaign

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