Visions of Annihilation: The Ustasha Regime and the Cultural Politics of Fascism, 1941–1945 (Russian and East European Studies)

I came away from this study with rather mixed feelings in terms of what the author has accomplished. While I can respect the sheer labor Yeomans put forth in trawling through the cultural detritus of the Croatian fascist experience I found myself wishing that I had a little more historical context to further my understanding of what was driving the Ustashe. I don't normally think of the royal Yugoslavian state as being a machine for producing urban modernity and secular humanist culture but such was apparently the case if you believe the cultural theorists of the Croatian fascist party. The resulting impression is their fear was that Croatian national character would evaporate before it had the chance to achieve its own essential show more culture; thus justifying the lethal and brutal measures the party instituted once it achieved power. This ties into my other main point I take away from this book in that never have I read such reactionary and bombastic drivel originating from a messianic political movement, at least until we had the example of the American "Alt-Right," it makes one embarrassed to be of Croatian descent. show less