African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1546 Yugoslav Federation
Within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia was a very unique region. For a long time, Croatia was administratively part of Hungary, but it also had a certain degree of autonomy. Croatia's relationship with Hungary was similar to Hungary's relationship with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Croatia has its own parliament, government, education, legal and religious administration system, making it essentially a state within a state, similar to Hungary.

The irony is that Austria once attempted to assimilate other regions of the empire, with Hungary being the biggest obstacle. However, Hungary then promoted the Hungarian language and culture within its own regions, including Croatia, which was met with strong opposition from the Croatians.

As time went on, Croatia's sense of national independence grew stronger.

Zagreb.

This was the political and cultural center of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1933, Zagreb had a population of approximately 180,000. Zagreb expanded rapidly from the late 19th to the early 20th century and continued to grow in the 1930s, but the growth rate slowed down due to the Great Depression.

The economic crisis had a relatively small impact on Zagreb and Croatia as a whole, as Croatia was arguably one of the least economically developed regions within the empire.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a semi-industrialized country, with the Hungarian part being primarily agricultural. In the previous plans of the Hungarian government, Croatia was intended to be a supplier of raw materials and agricultural products to Hungary.

Therefore, Croatia as a whole is still an agricultural society, which can be seen from the fact that Croatia's largest political party is the Croatian Peasants' Party, whose main supporters believe that farmers should have a middle class.

However, the main focus in Croatia today is not the Croatian Peasants' Party, but other smaller parties in Croatia.

A joint secret meeting is being held in the suburbs of Sabugler.

"This is Mr. Stojadinovic, the leader of the Yugoslav National Party. This meeting was chaired by Stojadinovic, and the representatives come from all over Yugoslavia, including Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. We have also invited members of the Power Party, Ustaše, and the Workers Party to attend the meeting."

At the meeting, Vladimir Vlatko, one of the representatives of the Yugoslav National Party, introduced himself to the crowd, saying that he had given up his seat to let Stojadinovic speak.

Stojadinovic stepped forward and addressed the group with a serious expression: "This Croatian political parties coalition meeting will play a decisive role in the future of Croatia. Therefore, we hope that everyone can put aside their prejudices, sit down, and calmly discuss the future of Croatia."

In fact, Stojadinovich didn't need to say much; everyone present knew the purpose of their gathering. Every single participant in this meeting was considered a "traitor" in Vienna's eyes.

Ustasha's representative, Mirko, said bluntly, "Mr. Stojadinovic, if I may be so bold, we all know why you've brought us here for this meeting. However, your party has set the bar too low, letting even people from the Labour Party in."

"This directly lowers the level of our meeting. The Labour Party is nothing but a lackey of the Soviets. They might just sell us all out."

The Ustaša is essentially a Croatian radical nationalist party, similar in nature to the Italian National Party and the German National Party. In fact, the Ustaša received funding from the Italian National Party.

Therefore, Ustaše is aligned with both the Italian National Party and the German National Party, but this has led to a minor ideological problem for them.

Ustaše's goal is to establish an ethnically "pure" Croatia.

However, Croatians are Slavic, which, according to the standards of the German National Party, would make them an inferior race. Therefore, Ustaše theorists had to fabricate a theory to prove that Croatians originated from a "non-Gothic culture," thus placing themselves among the Aryans.

In short, Ustaše is definitely not a good word in Croatia; it would be an understatement to describe it as infamous. In recent times, the organization has been particularly known for its "terrorist attacks."

3. It is quite abstract that the Yugoslav National Party could bring them into the meeting, since the Yugoslav National Party's name itself reveals that their goal is to establish an independent and unified "Yugoslav State".

The "Yugoslavia" naturally included Slovenia, Serbia, and even Montenegro.

Ustaše, on the other hand, is an extreme "Croatian" party that does not consider Slovenes, Serbs, and Montenegrins as their compatriots.

"You bastard, what right do you have to slander our Croatian Workers' Party? You bunch of terrorists are the real cancer in Croatia, and if we're talking about lackeys, don't think everyone doesn't know you have close ties with Italy..."

Mirko's remarks immediately provoked the dissatisfaction of the Croatian Workers' Party representative, who pointed at Mirko and said, "Our Croatian Workers' Party has always prioritized Croatian interests. At most, we had a cooperative relationship with the Soviet Union. But you Ustaše are the vicious dogs raised by the Italian National Party."

Mirko, the Ustaše representative, looked at the exasperated young man before him, a smirk playing on his lips, and said disdainfully, "Young man, you must be Croatian! As someone who's been there, let me give you a piece of advice: don't let the Soviets brainwash you. The Soviet Union is the biggest sabotage force in all of Europe."

"They support you only so that they can become the masters of Europe and ride on the backs of the whole continent. I think you are still young. Pulling back now can prevent you from going astray."

The young man Mirko was referring to was Tito, the representative of the Croatian Workers' Party. At this time, Tito was actually 41 years old, but he did look younger than the older men present.

As for why Mirko spoke to Tito so "amiably," it's because Tito fit his image of a "pure Croat"—he naturally possessed an aura of "toughness."

Tito was not fond of Mirko, and he had no good impression of Ustasha behind him.

“Representative Mirko, your Ustaše can only fool some brainwashed extremists into joining. You have no positive effect on Croatia or Yugoslavia as a whole, and you are destined to fail because the Ustaše is a terrorist organization that is completely anti-human…”

Seeing that the two were about to continue arguing, Stojadinovic had no choice but to step in and mediate.

"Alright, everyone, give me some face. The purpose of this meeting is not to argue."

"Whether you are a nationalist, a worker's party, or any other party, there is absolutely no need for confrontation right now."

"Because we are now facing a common enemy, the Habsburg family of Vienna. If we cannot overthrow the Habsburg rule and promote the independence of the entire Yugoslav region, then no matter what we believe in or what great ideals we have, they will all be impossible to achieve, and the Austrians and Hungarians will throw us into prison."

Stojadinovic didn't care about the beliefs or preferences of the people in front of him. His goal had always been the same: to unite these mixed-race individuals and overthrow the Habsburg family's rule in Croatia.

Of course, it would be even better if Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro could also join the Yugoslavian family.

He said, "Right now, there is intense turmoil in Bohemia, the former territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This is an opportunity for Croatia to break away from the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

"However, Croatia is weak. If we were to become independent from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, we would inevitably face severe repression from the Habsburgs. Therefore, we should join hands for the time being and solve this problem first."

Croatian Power Party representative Pavelic was very interested in Stojadinovic's suggestion and was the first to stand up and support it.

"I agree with Mr. Stojadinovic's view that if Croatia cannot break away from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then it is meaningless for any of us to discuss the future fate of Croatia."

Among the Croatian political parties present, the Power Party was one of the more influential. They are actually a nationalist party, but not as radical as Ustaše, making them more acceptable to the public.

However, the Power Party is quite divided, with radicals and moderates. The former have close ties with Ustasha, and some of them are also enthusiastic about terrorist activities.

In a sense, it is the existence of the Croatian Power Party that has squeezed out the Ustaše organization's niche in Croatia and curbed its spread in Croatia, but in reality, the relationship between the two is actually quite good.

Pavelic, who belonged to the radical wing of the Power Party, nodded after he spoke and said, "Leaving aside other matters, we Ustaše are certainly willing to participate in dealing with the Habsburg government."

Stojadinovic then looked at Labour Party representative Tito and asked, "What are your Labour Party's thoughts?"

Although Tito didn't get along with most of the people present, he didn't voice any objections at this point. He said, "The Habsburgs are one of the obstacles to Croatia's development, so our Labor Party also supports dealing with the Habsburg government."

Stojadinovic was naturally very pleased that the Croatian Workers' Party was willing to join the anti-Habsburg camp. In fact, Stojadinovic was not fond of the Croatian Workers' Party either, but now that it was a special period, he didn't care whether the Workers' Party was among his partners.

Afterwards, Stojadinovic had friendly exchanges with representatives from Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia and other regions.

Thus, Stojadinovich brought together a mixed and diverse Yugoslav alliance against the Habsburgs and Austro-Hungarian Empire.

This so-called Yugoslav Federation included a people's party like the Yugoslav National Party, a nationalist party like the Croatian National Party, an extremist terrorist organization like the Ustaše, the unpopular Labor Party, and other various forces.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was an exaggerated, stitched-together monster, and the thread that bound them together was the hostile attitude towards the Austro-Hungarian government under Habsburg rule.

Stojadinovic excitedly announced to everyone present: "The ultimate goal of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is to lead Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, and Serbia out of Austro-Hungarian rule. All our actions from now on will be carried out with this goal in mind. Now, I will assign tasks to each party..."

……

The convergence of anti-Habsburg forces across Yugoslavia further exacerbated the already precarious situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

However, the Yugoslav Federation was not the whole story. Throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including its core region of Austria, there were efforts to end Habsburg rule or to break away from the empire.

Within the Austro-Hungarian Empire's territory, only three regions remained relatively loyal to the Habsburg family and the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Hungary, the Kingdom of Dalmatia, and Slovenia.

Indeed, although Slovenes belong to the South Slavic people and a small number of them went to Zagreb for a meeting, the vast majority of Slovenes do not resent the Austro-Hungarian Empire under Habsburg rule because they are beneficiaries of that empire.

Overall, the biggest political demand of Slovenes is "autonomy," but they have no intention of breaking away from the empire and the rule of the Habsburg family.

Although Hungary frequently opposed Austria, they did not oppose the Habsburgs and the Empire, and were one of the maintainers of the Empire.

Finally, there is the Kingdom of Dalmatia, a region with a majority of mixed German ancestry. The Kingdom of Dalmatia naturally leans towards the Habsburgs because they are outsiders and need the Habsburgs' endorsement. At the same time, they are at odds with the neighboring Yugoslavia, and the conflict between the two sides has long been intensified.

In February 1933, following the unrest in Bohemia, Eastern Lombardy became the second region to experience riots. Shortly after, with Polish support, Galicia experienced unrest, with some Polish nationalists inciting the local population to secede from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and join Poland.

Meanwhile, large-scale anti-Habsburg activities also occurred in Croatia and Bosnia, and even Romania was showing signs of taking action.

For a time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was in dire straits, with riots breaking out almost daily in various places. Negative news kept pouring into Vienna, and Emperor Rudolf's desk was covered with messages from local governments pleading for help.

Emperor Rudolf even felt that he was about to become a "king of a fallen kingdom." His opponents included not only the Labour Party, but also various nationalists, and even the Austrian bourgeoisie wanted to end the monarchy.

It could be said that Rudolf could only trust the "army" now. He declared a state of "martial law" throughout the country and ordered nobles in various regions to suppress the rebellion in the cities.

Deploying troops was essentially the Habsburg family's last resort, which meant that since 1867, the balance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a country built on compromise, had been completely broken, and all the contradictions had erupted.

If Rudolf wanted the empire to continue to exist, his only option was to suppress all opposition through ruthless means and establish a new political order. However, if military suppression failed, the empire would come to an end.

(End of this chapter)