Ante Pavelic

A significant portion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was divided among the major Axis nations, including Germany, Italy, Romania, Hungary, etc., when Hitler's armies invaded it successfully in 1941. However, due to the recent emergence of the Ustashe within its borders—a far-right, pro-Nazi movement headed by Ante Pavelic—Croatia was transformed into a puppet state directly under German administration.

The current state of Croatia, nearly all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a small portion of Serbia were all included in the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 until the end of the war in 1945. It was a crucial ally in the Axis war effort because it not only provided them with military support on almost every front in the Western Theater, but the Ustashe also played a key role in suppressing the Yugoslav Partisans, who were arguably one of the most successful anti-fascist uprising movements in history.

Up until the 1945 conclusion of the war, the puppet state persisted. Although we would never know the full depth of the catastrophe, Pavelic was directly responsible for the genocide of between 300,000 and 700,000 Serbs, Romas, Jews, partisans, prisoners of war, and other political opponents during that time. Pavelic, however, was never brought to justice for his crimes since he fled to Argentina using the same means as many other fascist and Nazi war criminals during the post-war period.