The principles of the Croatian Ustasha Movement were the main ideological and programmatic document of the Ustasha Movement. They were compiled by the Poglavnik of the Ustasha Movement and later the head of state of the Independent State of Croatia, Dr Ante Pavelić, and were published on June 1, 1933. During the Independent State of Croatia, the Principles of the Croatian Ustasha Movement were considered a norm of constitutional character and as such were one of the foundations of the constitutional order of the Independent State of Croatia.
I) The Croatian people is an independent national (ethnic) unit; it is a people in itself, and in terms of nationality it is not identical with any other people, nor is it a part or tribe of any other people.
II) The Croatian people has its original historic name, Croat, under which it appeared in ancient times, under which it came to its present land 1,400 years ago, and under which it lives to this day. That name cannot and may not be replaced with any other.
III) The Croatian people made its present-day settlement its homeland in ancient times, settled there permanently, merged with it and gave it the original and natural name: Croatia. This name cannot and may not be replaced with any other.
IV) The country which the Croatian people settled in ancient times, and which became their homeland, covers several provinces which had particular provincial names before the arrival of the Croats, with other provincial names being created later, but all these provinces make up one unique homeland of Croatia, and no one else has the right to own any of these provinces.
V) The Croatian people came to its homeland, Croatia, as a completely free people, on its own initiative during the time of the migration of the peoples, and then conquered that land and made it its own forever.
VI) The Croatian people came to its homeland, Croatia, fully organised not only familially but also militarily, and immediately upon its arrival founded its own state with all the hallmarks of statehood.
VII) The Croatian people maintained its own state of Croatia, founded even when many other peoples were still completely disorganised, through the centuries until the end of the World War, and it never, even at the end of the World War, renounced this state by any act or lawful declaration or transferred its right to it to another. It was only at the end of the World War that an alien force prevented it from continuing to exercise its sovereign rights in its own state of Croatia.
VIII) The Croatian people has the right to revive its sovereign authority in its own state of Croatia in its entire national and historic territory, i.e., to re-establish its fully independent and sovereign state. It has the right to carry out this establishment by any means, even by armed struggle. The Croatian people is not bound by any present, or past, international or state obligations which are not in complete compliance with these principles, nor will it pay attention to such in its Independent State of Croatia.
IX) The Croatian people as a whole has the right to happiness and prosperity, and every individual Croat, as a member of this whole, also has that same right. This happiness and prosperity can be brought to life and achieved for the people as a whole, and for individuals as members of the whole, only in a completely autonomous and Independent State of Croatia, which cannot and may not be a composite part of any form of any other state or any other state creations.
X) The Croatian people has its own sovereignty, according to which it is to be the only one to rule in its own country and manage all its state and national affairs.
XI) In the autonomous and Independent State of Croatia, those who are not members of the Croatian people by blood and descent may not make decisions in Croatian national and state affairs, and no foreign nation or state may make decisions on the fate of the Croatian people and the Croatian state.
XII) The peasantry is the foundation and source of all life. It in itself constitutes the Croatian people and, as such, is the bearer and executor of every state authority in the Croatian state. In addition, all the classes of the Croatian people form one national unit, since the other classes of the Croatian people, whose members are of Croatian blood, have not only their roots and origins but also a lasting familial connexion with the village. Those who do not come from a peasant family in Croatia, in 90 cases out of a hundred, are not of Croatian origin or blood but are immigrant foreigners.
XIII) All material and spiritual goods in the Croatian state are the property of the people, and, as such, it is the only one authorised to manage and utilise them. The natural resources of the Croatian Homeland, especially its forests and ores, cannot be the object of private trade. Land can be owned only by the one who cultivates it alone with his family, i.e., the peasant.
XIV) The foundation of every value is work, and the foundation of every right is duty. Therefore, in the Croatian state, work signifies the degree of value of each individual and the foundation of the whole national prosperity. No one can have any special rights; duty to the people and the state solely provides everyone the right to a secure life.
XV) The performance of all public functions is linked to responsibility. Every one who, in the name of the people or of the state, carries out public works of any kind shall be liable with his well-being and with his life for all his deeds and omissions. The duty and responsibility towards the whole must be the basis of all actions in the private life of each individual member of the Croatian people.
XVI) The essence of the moral strength of the Croatian people lies in orderly and religious familial life, its economic strength in the peasant economy, cooperative life and natural wealth, and proven martial virtues. The educational and cultural progress of the Croatian people is based on its natural talent and proven ability in the fields of science and education. Commerce, business, home handicrafts, and trade are to be a helping hand in the overall peasant and general national economy. These branches of life should be a field of honourable work, and a source of a dignified life, and not a means of accumulating national property in the hands of capitalists.
XVII) The harmonious cultivation, promotion, and improvement of all national virtues and branches of national life are the tasks of all efforts of public work and state power as such because they give a full guarantee for the survival, centuries of existence, and prosperity of present and future generations of the entire Croatian people, as well as the survival and security of the Independent State of Croatia.
The Croatian Ustasha movement bases its work and struggle on these principles, and is openly and boldly moving forward towards its goal, i.e., towards the complete liberation of the Croatian people and the establishment of an autonomous and Independent State of Croatia.
Given at the Main Ustasha Headquarters on June 1st, 1933.
Ustasha Poglavnik: Dr Ante Pavelić, mppria