Fascism, Sport, and Youth - Idea and Role of Physical Education and Sport in Educating and Organizing the Ustasha Youth, 1941-1945

In this paper, the author analyzes the Ustasha Youth organization and especially its relation to physical education and sports as envisioned by the Ustasha leaders, ideologues, and officers within the youth organization. Based on the premise of contamination and degradation of Croatian youth during the interwar period, the Ustashas set up the path of regenerating and re-building the Croatian youth according to their vision and ideas. The author argues that due to the Ustashas' apocalyptic vision of the past, in which the Croatian youth was neglected and contaminated by foreign elements, especially with regard to their physical education and training, they established a utopian path of re-molding and creating the 'new', stronger, physically and intellectually superior Croatian youth. This was to be accomplished through the Ustasha Youth organization within which physical education and sports were given a primary role. The author argues that two sports were especially prominent: athletics, especially track and field sports, which had the role of creating and molding physically healthy new Croat, and chess, which was to provide intellectual upgrading and development of youth. The main driving force was the Ustashas' utopian socio-anthropological vision of creating a new Croatian man and woman. The Ustashas aspired towards creating and molding the new generation which was supposed to be a healthy, powerful, uncompromising, superior to its enemies and belligerent, and which would without any hesitation accept the role of guardians of the Ustashas achievements under any cost. Despite the fact that the Ustashas' utopian vision remained unfulfilled, it nevertheless shows their aim for a complete, total transformation of Croatian society. Their main pillar in this attempt was youth which was regarded as an element most susceptible, flexible, and responsive to certain ideas, in this case the Ustashas' utopian idea of creating something 'new', 'better', and long-lasting.