The so-called Independent State of Croatia or “Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska” (NDH) was established in April 1941 after the German invasion as a puppet state of the German Third Reich and fascist Italy. His leading force became the ultranational Croatian fascist Ustasha movement. It existed until May 1945 and covered the area of today’s Federal Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Zagreb became its capital.
The ethnically diverse country was ruled by nationalists
The original population of the country of almost seven million was historically very diverse: the Croats themselves made up about half (3.3 million inhabitants), there were also about two million Serbs, about 750 thousand Bosnian Muslims, 40 thousand Jews and 30 thousand Roma. The religious composition was similarly varied, reflecting the geographical position of the state on the border of Central and Southern Europe, where the influence of the Middle East is also evident: Croats were predominantly Catholics, Orthodox predominated among Serbs, but Protestants also lived here.