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Utopian Catholic State Or Murderous Racist State? Sacralization, Myth, And Politics In The Croatian Ustasha State 1941-1945, Nika Burja, Michael Gonzales Phd, Kathryn Statler Phd

Research Month

Background Information: Ustasha was the Croatian fascist movement that ruled Independent State of Croatia or NDH from 1941-1945. It was considered a puppet state of Nazi Germany, basing much of its ideology on Nazi racial theory. Like the Nazis, Ustasha deemed Jews, Gypsies, and Slavs to be subhuman and a poison to the pure Croatian nation and thus needed to be removed. In addition to eugenical racial theory, the Ustasha ideology was also heavily influenced by Roman Catholicism.

Research Question: What are the different ways the Ustasha utilized Catholic values, symbols, and rituals, as well as fascist ideas on eugenics …