Rome and Croatia: The Ustaše Legacy

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/bosnian-protests-mass-croatias-pro-nazi-wwii-regime-134906646.html

Much of Croatia and in particular the Roman Catholic Church of the region has failed to reckon with its fascist past.

Even John Paul II who is false perceived as being somewhat 'liberal', during his 1998 visit to Croatia, beatified the notorious Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac – the pro-fascist Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937-1960 – a move that infuriated the region's Serbs and stoked the fiery memories of the war. This was but one move of many incidents that fueled Serbian nationalism and anti-Westernism that was fully on display in the 1990's.

With the recent ascendance of Right-wing movements it's no surprise that glorified memories of the Ustaše which ruled Croatia from 1941-45 are being rekindled – sparking fear in the region.

Of course in the West, movements such as the Ustaše, the Arrow Cross, the Iron Legion, the Hlinka, the OUN and UPA are little known. The focus has always been on Germany and Italy, with a slight focus on Vichy and a handful of Western Nazi supporters in places like Norway, Britain and America. But the whole history of fascism in Central and Eastern Europe has either been forgotten or ignored.

And as much of that region was put into stasis during the Cold War, the 1990's functioned as a re-awakening period, history being reactivated as it were. The movements simmered somewhat in the 1990's and early 2000's as they had little support. Populations in reaction to Soviet Communism clamoured to embrace Western capitalism and the promise of the EU. But by the 2008 these movements and ideas had failed and the Right had its opening – and now their rise is palpable and obvious to all.

The Roman Catholic Church played a significant role in these war-era movements especially in places like Slovakia, Hungary and of course Croatia. Catholicism is also today playing a role in the rise of Right-wing nationalism in contemporary Poland. Catholicism is such a broad movement that in some respects it wears different faces in different parts of the world – the face in Mitteleuropa is one unfamiliar to many in the West but it bears watching as tensions increase.

In addition to supporting these regimes during the war it must also be remembered that the Catholic hierarchy played no small part in protecting the fleeing regime leaders after 1945. Some found their way to Spain where they could live under the protection of Franco and his Roman Catholic inspired fascism. Others would of course seek haven under the aegis of the various Catholic fascist dictatorships in South America. In every case the Roman hierarchy played a part in helping the fugitives, bolstering the regimes and in every way angling for power.

Some think this chapter of history has ended, the book has been closed so to speak. On the contrary while Rome is torn between different factions and different visions for the overall organisation, the clero-fascist elements are actually growing in strength and finding adherents in not only Europe but in the Americas as well.

And though in many respects it's unrelated, it should also be noted that American Evangelicals are wading into the midst of this history, largely ignorant of it and of the true narrative regarding the Second World War. They are (it must be said) very subject to historical manipulation and 'spin' but in other respects the most effective tactic is to keep them ignorant – keep them focused on the FOX News narratives of the war that focus on the Western Front and the Asian Theatre – narratives that completely ignore what happened in the East – where the history has not been forgotten.