On 20 June 1928, Puniša Račić, a representative of the People's Radical Party in the parliament in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovene, assassinated the representatives of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS). The assassination led to political turmoil, eventually leading to the formation of the Croatian nationalist terrorist organization which in 1932 became known as the Ustashe...

In 1938, Nazi Germany annexes Austria and occupies Czechoslovakia. After 1 September 1939 and the invasion of Poland, creation of an empire becomes part of the war aim. This New Europe would be dominated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The Ustashe also see a place for themselves in this New Europe. See how these ideas determines the way in which the Ustashe will rule the Independent State of Croatia (NDH)…

On 25 March 1941, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia joins the Tripartite Pact. Two days later, protests break out in Belgrade, and the military command executes a coup d’etat. Adolf Hitler decides that the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is to be destroyed. On 10 April 1941, the German Army enters Zagreb, and Slavko Kvaternik declares the Independent State of Croatia.

In April 1941, the leader of the Croatian Peasant Party Vladko Maček refused Germany’s offer to proclaim a Croatian puppet state. However, the offer was accepted by the Ustashe. On 10 April, Slavko Kvaternik, leader of the Ustashe in Croatia, proclaimed the Independent State of Croatia. What was the composition of this new Ustashe state?

Little over a month after the creation of the NDH, the new state suffers a significant blow when negotiating the first international agreement. The Treaties of Rome effectively ceded most of the Adriatic coast to Italy. It was only the first of many foreign policy concessions that the NDH had to make. The theme of this episode is who recognized the NDH and what kind of foreign policy did it pursue.