USTASHA NATIONALISM IN CROATIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1941-1945)

The article is on the Ustasha nationalism as an extreme form of Croatian nationalism in the Independent State of Croatia (ISC) (1941-1945). It reveals the national idea as a basic one in the Ustasha ideology and progranrine, mainly - the liberation of the historic Croatian lands from the Serbian dictatorship, and their unification in the framework of a single national state. The article also deals with the role of nationalism in the inter-ethnic relationships in the ISC. Anti-Serbism and anti-Yugoslavism are analyzed as an essence of the Ustasha national ideology and policy. Nazi influence in the introduction of anti-Semitism and racism as a theory and practice in the ISC is also emphasized. Special attention is paid to the causes for the positive attitude of Ustasha authorities towards Muslims. The authoress also investigates the influence of nationalism on the character of international relations of the ISC, mainly with Germany and Italy in 1941-1945. The commitment of the destiny of the country to the policy of the Axis is revealed as one of the main reasons for the collapse of the Ustasha regime and the Independent state of Croatia at the end of World War II.