The Catholic Church and Totalitarianism in Yugoslavia, 1941-1958

This volume is dedicated to an in depth examination of the complex and often tumultuous history of the Catholic Church’s relationship with two significant political entities: firstly, the Independent State of Croatia, a fascist puppet state created by Italy and Germany in Yugoslavia during the Second World War; and secondly, Communist Yugoslavia, which emerged from the civil war and as a result of the arrival of the Soviet Red Army in Yugoslavia. In both cases, the Catholic Church faced totalitarian regimes whose attitudes towards the Church were markedly different. The Ustasha, the extreme Croatian nationalist movement that governed wartime Croatia, regarded Catholicism as the cornerstone of their national identity. Conversely, the communists would not accept the presence of an organised religious structure that remained independent of their control and, moreover, possessed an international character and backing.