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Constructing a New Ustasha Man: Education, Social Mobility and Mass Killing in the Militia State
Transcript of Constructing a New Ustasha Man: Education, Social Mobility and Mass Killing in the Militia State
The concept of the new Ustasha man Social politics and the “revolution of the soul”
The origins of the Ustasha army (Ustaška vojnica)
Soldiers, literacy and social mobility Moral education and making “whole men” Educational cadresSport, warriors and the militarisation of the masses
The UV and manufacturing consent
Inter-war Croatian man as weak, liberal and irresolute
New man as warrior of “rugged heart, steely will and iron discipline”
Mladen Lorković (1942): new man epitomised in Ustasha warrior
Prototype of Ustasha man in Lika regionNew Spartan race Elite vanguard of national revolution Fanaticism, dying and violence Anti-intellectualism Cleanliness, morality and pietyUstasha family
Formative Ustasha state and “revolution of blood” Militia state, not a military state Extermination of “undesired elements” and martyrdom as rite of passage
Masculinity and mass murder Colonel Jure Francetić as prototypical new man 1942 – beginning of “revolution of the soul” Internal construction of state and self Inculcating “Ustasha values” New technocratic cadres and affirmative action Social mobility and access to education and culture
Before 1944 regular Croatian army and Ustasha militias
Unification of Croatian army, Ustasha corps, militias
Popularly known as Ustasha army (UV) Solution to question of whether NDH a Croatian state or Ustasha state
Eradication of regional, social, ideological differences
Mass mobilisation and “total war” Poglavnik: “Today, every Croatian is a soldier”Poems and propaganda about brotherhood of new army
Educational department of Ministry of Armed Forces (MINORS)
Ustaška se vojska diže (1944) and Hrvatski vojnik u borbi za dom (1943)
UV life as exciting, adventurous and hazardous Journey of self discovery, new opportunities, rebirth
Antidote to banal urban existence Janko Svibovec, Dnevnik hrvatska vojnika-junaka (1944) Daily evening radio programme “For the Croatian soldier” to communicate with each other, families
Broadcast and public events to mediate between military and population
“Week of the Croatian army”
MINORS educational department Physical and “spiritual” upbringing of soldiers
Mass reading and education campaigns Literature of killing, dying and comradeship Pjesme hrvatska vojnika (1944)Soldier-worker cinemas and special screenings Radio programmes and concerts for soldiers “A soldier to a soldier” concerts UV matinee singers such as Andrija Konč and Viktor Glovacki
Mass mobilisation of actors, artists and musicians
Creation of nationally-integrated new man Boris Pavlek: “holistic and constructed men” pure in mind, body and conduct
Ustasha soldier as vanguard and defender of Croatian nation
Josip Mrmić, Hrvatski časnik i njegov vojnika (1944) Emphasis on chaste private life and sexual purity Self-denial for the salvation of the homeland Ethos of courage, military discipline, brotherhood and comradeship
Spartan cult Cultural and artistic activities important Travelling performance troupes, agit-prop UV theatre
Prosvjetnik journal Weekly educational hour to shape “souls” of Croatian soldiers
Precedence of “spiritual revolution” over physical training Collaborative educational process between officer and cadets
Active agents of national, regional and ideological unityMilitary “national-educational laws” to construct new man Love of native soil, language, homeland, blood of ancestors
Use of music, marching songs, melodies, skits Sincerity, comradeship, “militant élan” “Total war” through educational battalions Constructing fanaticised cadres
Sport central to building of values in UV MINORS emphasis on team sports, bodybuilding and artistic sports
Establishment of football, cycling, athletics and motocross teams
Boxing, athletics, cycling and football stars such as Miroslav Gal, Milan Maglica, August Prozenik and Franjo Lesnik
Sports events for disabled and wounded soldiers Sport linked to martial values – “capable, quick and resolute warriors”
“Best sons” with the “steeliest manly strength” Values of fearlessness, brotherhood, self sacrifice for the unit and heroism
Croatian soldiers in socialist historiographySocial mobility, the culture of consent and popular support
Week of Croatian Armed Forces and interaction between UV and general public
Avoiding collective responsibility Lack of historical research on period of “total war” mobilisation
UV viewed as artificial and linked to crisis of legitimacy
Large, ideologically-committed army History of UV and new man microcosm of Ustasha state