CROATIA - Croatia and Slovenia - page 62

served in the army as a paratrooper. You've likely never heard of the beloved Croa-
tiansculptor Ivan Meštrovi ć , butyou'llseehisexpressiveworksalloverthecountry
(see here ) . Inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)—who, as a rival of Thomas Edison's,
invented alternating current (AC)—was a Croatian-born Serb. And a band of well-
dressed 17th-century Croatian soldiers stationed in France gave the Western world a
new fashion accessory—the cravat, or necktie (for the full story, see here ) .
The Ottomans conquered most of inland Croatia by the 15th century and challenged the
Venetians—unsuccessfully—for control of the coastline. Most of the stout walls, fortresses,
and other fortifications you'll see all along the Croatian coast date from this time, built by
theVenetianstodefendagainstpotentialOttomanattack.Inthe17thcentury,theHabsburgs
forced the Ottomans out of inland Croatia. Then, after Venice and Dubrovnik fell to Na-
poleon in the early 19th century, the coast also went to the Habsburgs—beginning a long
tradition of Austrians basking on Croatian beaches.
The Yugoslav Era, World War II, and the Ustaše
When the Austro-Hungarian Empire broke up at the end of World War I, the Croats banded
togetherwiththeSerbs,Slovenes,andBosniansintheunionthatwouldbecomeYugoslavia.
But virtually as soon as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was formed, many Croats began to fear
that the Serbs would steer Yugoslavia to their own purposes.
The parliamentarian Stjepan Radi ć spoke out passionately for Croat rights within the
kingdom—until he was assassinated by a Serb on the morning of June 20, 1928, during a
parliamentary session. This outbreak of violence alarmed Yugoslavia's Serb king, Alexan-
der Kara đ or đ evi ć , who abolished the parliament and declared himself absolute ruler of the
kingdom—squelching the Croats' fervently desired autonomy.
It was in this political climate, during the 1930s, that the Ustaše (“Uprisers”)—a na-
tionalistic, fascist movement bent on creating an ethnically pure “Greater Croatia”—gained
popularity among a small but dangerous fringe of Croats who were chafing under Yugoslav
rule. On September 9, 1934, Ustaše operatives assassinated King Alexander during a diplo-
matic visit to Marseilles, France.
On April 6, 1941, Hitler's Luftwaffe began aerial bombardment of Belgrade; less than
twoweekslater,NaziGermanycontrolledYugoslavia.Hitlerdivvieduptheterritoryamong
his Italian, Hungarian, and Bulgarian allies, and created the misnamed “Independent State
of Croatia”—encompassing much of today's Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and parts
of Serbia—to be led by Ante Paveli ć and the Croatian Ustaše Party. Under the watchful
eye of the Nazis, the Ustaše operated one of the most brutal Nazi puppet states during