Ustaše

Ustaše is the Croatian fascist organization founded by Ante Pavelić, who later became dictator of the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state of the Third Reich. The novel names the movement in a concise biographical account of Pavelić, situating it within the network of political violence and collaboration that persists into the postwar world.

Origins and Leadership

The text identifies Pavelić as both the founder of Ustaše and the dictator of the state established under its political order. Its description links the organization’s identity directly to his leadership rather than offering a broader account of its membership, internal structure, or activities.

Relationship to the Third Reich

Ustaše’s significance in the passage is also defined by the state Pavelić ruled: the Independent State of Croatia is characterized as a puppet of the Third Reich. The organization is therefore presented within the novel’s wider account of fascist regimes and their connections to Nazi power.

War-Crime Context and Narrative Significance

Pavelić is explicitly described as a war criminal. This compact identification places Ustaše among the political movements implicated in the novel’s historical landscape of fascist rule and wartime criminality, though the passage does not detail particular crimes or attribute specific actions to the organization itself.