Ustaše in Australia
At the end of World War II in 1945, members of the fascist Croatian ultranationalist and genocidal Ustaše regime from the collapsed Nazi puppet state of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) fled from the Balkan region to avoid imprisonment and execution at the hands of the Yugoslav Partisans. With the help of Western authorities, who now viewed the fiercely anti-communist stance of the Ustaše favourably in the emerging Cold War, thousands of members of the regime were allowed to migrate to other countries, including Australia.
Ustaše in Australia | |
|---|---|
| Local leaders | Fabijan Lovoković Srećko Rover Jure Marić Ljubomir Vuina Geza Pašti Josip Senić Rocque Romac (Stjepan Osvaldi-Toth) Tomislav Lesić Ivica (Ivan) Kokić Blaž Kraljević Nikola Štedul Stjepan Kardum |
| Founded | ~1950 |
| Branches | Croatian Liberation Movement (HOP) Croatian National Resistance (HNO) Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood (HRB) |
| Ideology | Croatian irredentism Croatian ultranationalism Corporate statism Anti-Serb sentiment |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism Islam Cult of the leader |
| Colours | White Blue Red Black |
| Slogan | "Za dom spremni" ("For the Homeland-Ready!") |
| Flags utilised | |
Despite the post-war Menzies government having the knowledge that the Ustaše were responsible for carrying out genocide against Serbs, Jews and Romani, as well as murdering anti-fascist Croats, they were allowed to obtain citizenship and establish themselves during the 1950s and 60s to fund and organise various terrorist activities within Australia and abroad with the aim of destabilising the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
After a crack-down on Ustaše activities in Australia after 1972, their involvement in large-scale violent acts mostly ceased. However, the continued strong infiltration of Ustaša ideology into the Croatian-Australian community assisted significantly to the creation of neo-Ustaše para-military units which were actively utilised in the Yugoslav region during Croatian War of Independence of the early 1990s. These units were involved in mass killings of civilians during that conflict.
Even with the achievement of Croatian independence in 1991, far-right Ustaše ideology has been able to persist as a significant part of Croatian-Australian public society well into the 21st Century. Portraits of the Nazi puppet Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić, known as the Poglavnik, continue to be displayed and the Ustaše slogan "Za dom spremni" (ZDS) continues to be chanted with fascist salutes at social and sporting clubs and events in Australia.