ROMANIAN-CROATIAN FORGOTTEN ALLIANCE: NEW AXIS BOORDERLANDS IN THE BALKANS, 1941-1944
ROMANIAN-CROATIAN FORGOTTEN ALLIANCE: NEW AXIS BOORDERLANDS IN THE BALKANS, 1941-1944

Summary/Abstract: Balkan war, launched in April 1941 after Belgrade coup d’état and Italian failure in Greece, noticed the Yugoslavia’s disappear. On April 10, 1941 Croatia proclaimed its own Independence and, at the same time, Serbia requested an ordinary German occupied province, with soft autonomy leaded by General Milan Nedić.. The worst political-military attitude toward Ustaša régime from part of Budapest sprang increasingly anti-Hungarian perceptions in Zagreb: because them, Croats became most radical and incisive in politicaldiplomatic new Little Entente project, in 1941-1943. As small and medium-sized powers, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia had a vital interest in their collective security success. The three states focused more attention to their diplomatic relationships: the increasing geopolitical Marshal Antonescu’s influence in South-Eastern Europe requested a very fast diplomatic recognition between Romania and Croatia: May 6, 1941, soon after Poglavnik Ante Pavelić official recognition from part of Germany, Italy and Hungary (April 11, 1941), Slovakia (April 15, 1941) and Bulgaria (April 22, 1941). On June 1, 1941 Romanian Minister Dimitrie Buzdugan started his diplomatic office in the new Romanian Legation in Zagreb, where he remained until October 1943, soon after the Italian coup d’état against “Il Duce”. Meanwhile, relationships between Romania and Croatia followed strictly geopolitical interests, into the Danube region and, also, in the Balkans. It is a very truism that Croatian autorities made, since the second half of 1941, a large propaganda in favour of Romanian leadership in the region. All Croatian media presented large excerpts from Romanian history, culture and civilisation and Poglavnik Ante Pavelić induced to its collaborators that a strong support for Romania can be able to cut Fascist Italian influence in Zagreb, especially concerning Ustaša internal affairs. On February 23, 1942 in a speech in a Parliment, Mladen Lorković urged the sustaining of Croatian political elites in the way of building a „perfect agreement” with Romania. Lorković argued that the quoted ally represented ”the greatest nation in all European South-East, with an army which followed just general and common interest of the whole new Balkans”. Members and also official partners of Marshal Antonescu regime officialy visited Croatia in 1942-1943. Political radical challenge in Romania, on August 23, 1944, together with Red Army occupation of the Northern Balkans, at the very beginning of the Autumn of 1944, entirely stopped all negotiations between Bucharest and Zagreb.

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