The Holocaust in the Independent State of Croatia

The Holocaust in the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Holokaust u Nezavisnoj Državi Hrvatskoj; Hebrew: השואה במדינת קרואטיה העצמאית) involved the genocide of Jews, Serbs and Romani within the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH), a fascist puppet state that existed during World War II, led by the Ustaše regime, which ruled an occupied area of Yugoslavia including most of the territory of modern-day Croatia, the whole of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and the eastern part of Syrmia (Serbia). Of the 39,000 Jews who lived in the NDH in 1941, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum states that more than 30,000 were murdered.^[1] Of these, 6,200 were shipped to Nazi Germany^[2][3] and the rest of them were murdered in the NDH, the vast majority in Ustaše-run concentration camps, such as Jasenovac. The Ustaše were the only quisling forces in Yugoslavia who operated their own extermination camps for the purpose of murdering Jews and members of other ethnic groups.

Of the minority, 9,000 Jews, who managed to survive, 50% of them did so by joining the Partisans or escaping to Partisan-controlled territory.^[4] The Partisans welcomed 10 Yugoslav Jews who were named National Heroes, the highest WWII award,^[5] including Jews from Croatia. Croatian civilians were also involved in saving Jews during this period. As of 2020, 120 Croats have been recognized as Righteous among the Nations.^[6]