After the end of the First World War and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, Yugoslavia was created as a federal state, despite the reaction of Croats, Bosniaks and Slovenes, who wanted their independence. In Croatia the pro-independence movement quickly took on an extremist form, led by the notorious Ustaše leader Ante Pavelic.
Aided by Mussolini, who sought the breakup of Yugoslavia, eyeing Dalmatian lands, the Ustasi assassinated Yugoslavia's King Alexander in 1934.
During the German invasion the Croats serving in the Yugoslav Army either deserted or joined the Germans. In return, in April 1941, Hitler and Mussolini agreed to the creation of an independent Croatian kingdom, the king of which was appointed a nephew of the Italian king and the prime minister assumed by the fanatic Pavelic.
As soon as Pavelic was initiated, with the close cooperation of the Croatian Catholic Church, under Cardinal Aloisius Stepinac , began the persecution of the 2,000,000 Serbs living in the lands of the new Croatian state. This persecution, which lasted until the beginning of 1945, has nothing to envy from the age of the Huns of Attila and the Inquisition – perhaps Attila and the inquisitors could even be described as more philanthropic.
The Ustasi, with the blessings of Stepinac and the tolerance, at least, of the Vatican, committed unspeakable crimes against the Serbs. Even less fanatical Croats, such as the politician Prvoslav Grizogono, could not stand such brutality and sent a letter, in 1942, to Cardinal Stepinac, asking him to intervene to stop the massacre – to no avail.
Grizogono writes in his letter:"The massacre of Serbs began on the first day of the establishment of the independent state of Croatia and continues to this day. Horror is not just about killing. The slaughter includes everything and everyone, old men, women, children. The Sava and Drava rivers, the Danube and its tributaries have transported thousands of Serb corpses...
“The case of Mileva Bozinic is particularly horrific. Her child was torn from her bowels. There is also the case of the roasted heads (of Serbs) in Bosnia, of the vessels filled with Serbian blood, the case of Serbs who were forced to drink the warm blood of their murdered relatives... There were rapes even in the sanctuaries of the Orthodox churches. In the city of Petrinia, a child was forced to rape his mother...
“There are detailed reports of the crimes. The Italians and Germans were stunned by these crimes...The Italians photographed a container containing more than 3 kilograms of Serb eyes, a Croat wearing a necklace of Serb eyes, another Croatian, from Dubrovnik, wearing a belt with hanging languages of Serbs…
“There are no similar cases in European history. We should run to Asia, the time of Tamerlane or Jenkins Khan...to meet a similar situation" (Marco Aurelio Rivelli, "The Archbishop of Genocide", Proskenio Publications, Athens 2000).
It is also worth noting that the commander of the largest extermination camp of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies, in Jasenovac, where tens of thousands of people of all ages and sexes were murdered, was a Catholic priest, Miroslav Majstorovic, who personally slaughtered hundreds .
Speed-killing "contests" were held in the camp, with the winner being the Croat who, in a given time, would slaughter the most. The champion was a Croatian guard who, within about six hours, slaughtered 1,386 Serbs.
In 1998, however, the Vatican declared Stepinac a saint. While Ante Pavelic, was protected by the Vatican, in 1945 and finally, after wandering in Franco's Spain and Peron's Argentina, Pavelic will die in peace and prosperity, in Santo Domingo, protected by the dictator Trujillo. In total, the Croats exterminated, with horrific torture, at least 700,000 Serbs, 50,000 Jews and 30,000 Gypsies.
The "holy" cardinal with the fascist Croatian leader Pavelic.
Croats are photographed with the severed head of a Serb.
