A poster without text, but with a clear visual message explaining the centuries-old quest of Croatian people to have its own independent state. Slavko Kvaternik's proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia was broadcasted on Radio Zagreb on 10 April 1941. On the same day, the proclamation was published in a special edition of the Croatian People (Hrvatski Narod) newspaper.
This marked the fulfilment of the centuries-old dream of Croatian people - to have its own, independent state. However, the circumstances of its establishment, such as its dependency on the military might of the Axis Powers - Germany and Italy, its general national policy, particularly its racial policy towards Jews and Serbs, contributed to the negative historic reception of this state.
The Jasenovac concentration camp has become a synonym for mass killings and atrocities, primarily of the Serbs, Jews as well as the Roma, Bosnians and others - including those Croats who did not support the Ustashe movement. One should mention also the case of Bleiburg in Austria, as the site of mass execution of the Croats loyal to this state, which was the event that marked the end of the war in Yugoslavia. More than any other place or event, Jasenovac and Bleiburg, as two sites of mass executions, defined the period of the Independent State of Croatia.