Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia

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Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II

What happened
- In 1941, after Axis forces invaded Yugoslavia, a fascist group called the Ustaše created the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a puppet state run with the aim of creating an ethnically pure Croatian country.
- The main target was Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Jews, Roma and political opponents were also attacked.
- The Ustaše used death camps, mass shootings, village massacres, deportations, forced conversions to Catholicism, and other brutal acts to try to remove Serbs from the land they imagined as Croatian.
- The regime also banned the Cyrillic alphabet, shut Serbian schools, expelled many Serbs from churches, and tried to change people’s religious and national identities.

How the violence was carried out
- Camps and killings: The best known camp complex was Jasenovac (along with Stara Gradiška and other sites). In Jasenovac and nearby camps, thousands of Serbs, and many Jews and Roma, were murdered in brutal ways. Guarded by the Ustaše, inmates faced starvation, disease, torture, and mass executions. Some victims were killed by being burned, stabbed, or drowned; others were put into pits or trenches.
- Local massacres: Across many towns and villages, Serb men, women and children were killed in mass razings, burned in churches, or shot in pits. Some families were wiped out in days-long killings in places like Glina, Otočac, Vukovar-area towns and numerous villages in Lika, Banija, Posavina and Bosnia.
- Expulsions: The regime tried to empty Serbs from large areas by forcing them to leave, sending many to German-occupied Serbia or into other parts of the NDH. By 1941–1943, hundreds of thousands of Serbs were displaced or deported.
- Forced conversions: The regime sought to "Croatize" Serbs by forcing conversions to Catholicism or Islam. A large number of Serbs were compelled to convert; many did so temporarily, and many who converted were still killed or persecuted. The regime also created a Croatian Eastern Orthodox Church to replace the Serbian Orthodox Church as part of its plan to suppress Serbian religious and national life.
- Religion and identity: The Ustaše viewed Catholicism, Islam and Orthodox Christianity in ways that fit their Croatian nationalist project. They attacked churches, destroyed religious buildings, persecuted clergy, and pressured people to change or denounce their faith.

Who was behind it
- The Ustaše, led by Ante Pavelić (the regime’s head), were the main organizers. They were a ultranationalist, fascist movement with strong anti-Serb and anti-Yugoslav aims.
- The regime received support from some Italian and German authorities and shared Nazi racial ideas, but the Ustaše pursued many acts of violence that went beyond the German plan, driven by homegrown hatred as well.
- The state also organized a violent home army, the Ustaše Militia, and other armed units that carried out many of the killings and expulsions.

Numbers and scale
- Estimates of Serb victims vary because records were destroyed and estimates come from different scholars. Most sources place Serb deaths in the hundreds of thousands.
- Common ranges given by historians:
- Deaths: roughly 200,000 to 500,000 Serbs killed.
- Expulsions: about 300,000 Serbs forced from their homes.
- Forced conversions: around 200,000 to 250,000 Serbs converted, mostly to Catholicism.
- About 90,000 Serbs died in camps, with a large share of those in Jasenovac. Some estimates put total Serb deaths connected to the NDH higher, depending on whether deaths in battles and related violence are included.
- Jasenovac was the largest and most infamous camp complex in the Balkans, with estimates of victims often cited around 100,000, most of them Serbs, though exact numbers are debated.

Religious and cultural dimensions
- The NDH pursued a policy of religious and cultural erasure against Serbs. Cyrillic script was banned, Serb schools and churches were closed or destroyed, and clergy were persecuted.
- The regime worked with some Catholic authorities and priests who supported or tolerated its actions, while others protested or resisted. The Vatican’s stance and actions during this period are debated by historians.
- In some areas, the regime created or supported religious structures meant to replace Serbian Orthodox institutions, as part of the broader effort to Croatianize the population.

What happened to the leaders and survivors
- After the war, many Ustaše leaders fled. Some were tried and executed or imprisoned in Yugoslavia; others escaped to South America, Europe or elsewhere.
- Trials of some key figures took place in the postwar period and later years. For example, some commanders and ministers were tried for war crimes, while others lived in exile for years.
- The memory of the NDH and its crimes was complicated for decades. The postwar Yugoslav authorities suppressed some information, fearing ethnic tensions. In the 1990s, nationalist movements in the region revived debates and controversy over the war’s crimes.

How the world remembers
- Historians consistently describe the Ustaše regime’s killings of Serbs as genocide. International bodies and researchers, including Yad Vashem and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, recognize the Serb victims as part of a genocide, alongside crimes against Jews and Roma.
- The memory of Jasenovac and other sites remains a focal point for Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Jews alike. Several memorials and museums exist, including the Jasenovac Memorial Site, and annual commemorations take place in Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- In Croatia and Serbia, commemorations are held on different dates, sometimes reflecting political disputes about responsibility and interpretation. The fight over how to teach and remember these events has continued into the present.

Why it matters
- The genocide in the NDH shows how ethnic hatred, total war, and state-sponsored violence can devastate civilians and communities. It also helps explain some of the long-lasting tensions and wars in the region after World War II.
- Studying these events aims to honor victims, teach future generations about the dangers of extremism, and promote remembrance and accountability.

In summary
During World War II, the Ustaše-led NDH waged a brutal campaign against Serbs, along with Jews, Roma and others, attempting to erase Serbs from large parts of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They used camps, mass killings, expulsions, and forced religious conversions to pursue a goal of an ethnically pure Croatian state. The scale of the killings and the cruelty of methods like those seen at Jasenovac are among the most studied and debated aspects of the war in the Balkans, with ongoing efforts to remember and understand the full scope of these crimes.