The word Ustaša

The word ustaša (plural: ustaše) is derived from the intransitive verb ustati (Croatian for rise up).

“Pučki-ustaša” (German: Landsturm) was a military rank in the Imperial Croatian Home Guard (1868–1918). The same term was the name of Croatian third-class infantry regiments (German: Landsturm regiments) during World War One 1914–1918.] Another variation of the word ustati is ustanik (plural: ustanici) which means an insurgent, or a rebel.

The name ustaša did not have fascist connotations during their early years in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as the term “ustat” was itself used in Herzegovina to denote the insurgents from the Herzegovinian rebellion of 1875.

The full original name of the organization appeared in April 1931 as the Ustaša – Hrvatska revolucionarna organizacija or UHRO (Ustaša – Croatian revolutionary organization); in 1933 it was renamed the Ustaša – Hrvatski revolucionarni pokret (Ustaša – Croatian revolutionary movement), a name it kept until World War II.