Ante Pavelic (1889 – 1959)

Ante Pavelic (1889 – 1959). Croatia was a member of the Axis from 1941-1945. It was led by Ante Pavelic. His ruling political party and movement were called the ‘Ustaše’. In 1941 Pavelic formed the Croatian 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment, a regiment of 9,000 volunteers to help fight the spread of communism. A high level of respect existed between the Croatians and Germans. This esteem went back hundreds of years between the two peoples. The Croatians proved to be extremely dependable and excellent soldiers. Adolf Hitler himself was impressed by their behavior under fire. In 1941, the Axis invaded Yugoslavia and Croatia at last became independent again. Croatia remained a faithful ally to Germany until the bitter end and beyond, as it was the last country fighting the Allies. Pavelic knew that surrendering to the communists was the worst thing that could happen.

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Poster below: ‘Hrvati! Javljajte se u dragovoljacke SS postrojbe’ translates as ‘Croats! Please volunteer for the SS units’.