The Independent State of Croatia (Serbo-Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, Независна Држава Хрватска, NDH; German: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; Italian: Stato Indipendente di Croazia), often referred to simply by the abbreviation NDH, was a World War II puppet state of Germany and Italy, which was established in parts of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. The NDH consisted of most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with some parts of modern-day Serbia. The regime targeted Serbs, Jews, Muslims, Roma people and anti-fascist or dissident Croatians, as part of a large-scale genocide campaign in places such as the Jasenovac concentration camp.
In its judgement in the Hostages Case, the Nuremberg Military Tribunal concluded that NDH was not a sovereign state. According to the Tribunal, "Croatia was at all times here involved an occupied country".
The state was officially a monarchy since the signing of the Laws of the Crown of Zvonimir on 15 March 1941. and an Italian protectorate from the signing of the Treaties of Rome on 18 May 1941 until the Italian capitulation on 8 September 1943. Appointed by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta initially refused to assume the crown in opposition to the Italian annexation of the Croat-majority populated region of Dalmatia. He later accepted the throne upon being pressured to do so by Victor Emmanuel III and was titled Tomislav II of Croatia, but never moved from Italy to reside in Croatia.
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over the territory. The opposite of independence is a dependent territory. Independence does not necessarily mean freedom.
Whether the attainment of independence is different from revolution has long been contested, and has often been debated over the question of violence as a legitimate means to achieving sovereignty. While some revolutions seek and achieve national independence, others aim only to redistribute power — with or without an element of emancipation, such as in democratization — within a state, which as such may remain unaltered. Nation-states have been granted independence without any revolutionary acts. The Russian October Revolution, for example, was not intended to seek national independence (though it merely transformed government for much of the former Russian Empire, it did result in independence for Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia). However, the American Revolutionary War was intended to achieve independence from the beginning.
Coordinates: 45°10′N 15°30′E / 45.167°N 15.500°E / 45.167; 15.500
Croatia (i/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska, listen ), is a sovereign state at the crossroads of Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. Its capital city is Zagreb, which forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, along with its twenty counties. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.28 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.
The Croats arrived in the area of present-day Croatia during the early part of the 7th century AD. They organised the state into two duchies by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the unrecognised State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs which seceded from Austria-Hungary and merged into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A fascist Croatian puppet state existed during World War II. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a constitutionally socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.
Croatian wine (vino, pl. vina) has a history dating back to the Ancient Greek settlers, and their wine production on the southern Dalmatian islands of Vis, Hvar and Korčula some 2,500 years ago. Like other old world wine producers, many traditional grape varieties still survive in Croatia, perfectly suited to their local wine hills. Modern wine-production methods have taken over in the larger wineries, and EU-style wine regulations have been adopted, guaranteeing the quality of the wine.
There are currently over 300 geographically defined wine regions, and a strict classification system to ensure quality and origin. The majority of Croatian wine is white, with most of the remainder being red, and only a small percentage is rosé wines. In 2010, Croatia ranked 30th in wine producing countries with an estimated 50,000 tonnes.
Wine is a popular drink in Croatia, and locals traditionally like to drink wine with their meals. Quite often, the wine is diluted with either still or sparkling water - producing a drink known as gemišt (a combination of white wine and carbonated water), and bevanda (a combination of red wine and still water).
In European elections, Croatia is a constituency of the European Parliament, currently represented by twelve MEPs. It covers the member state of Croatia.
Members are elected by proportional representation using open lists.