01 kol Ustaše
The Ustaše (or ‘Ustashe’) are commonly referred to as a Nazi puppet regime, in English language historical texts. They were in place during the Second World War and fought alongside the Axis, against Tito’s Communist Partisans with what is commonly recorded as being a ruthless anti-Serbian agenda. See Ustashe genocide. Officially designated as Nezavisna Država Hrvatska (NDH), or the ‘Independent State of Croatia’, this state, whose territories stretched into Bosnia, was headed by Poglavnik (‘Leader’) Ante Pavelić. It provided some troops to support the German army’s efforts on their eastern front. See 369th Croatian Reinforced Infantry Regiment (Wehrmacht) for more details. For a worthwhile introduction in English about those complex times that is relevant to the Štambuk family and the destruction of their property during the Second World War, ‘Empire on the Adriatic: Mussolini’s Conquest of Yugoslavia 1941-1943’ by H. James Burgwyn is suggested reading. The Ustaše lost the war along with Germany and Pavelić fled for Argentina. He died in Spain in 1959.
