{"id":44866,"date":"2025-09-29T16:25:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/the-rallying-cry-for-home-ready-does-not-originate-from-the-austro-hungarian-period-but-from-the-ustasa-movement"},"modified":"2025-09-29T16:25:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:25:50","slug":"the-rallying-cry-for-home-ready-does-not-originate-from-the-austro-hungarian-period-but-from-the-ustasa-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/the-rallying-cry-for-home-ready-does-not-originate-from-the-austro-hungarian-period-but-from-the-ustasa-movement","title":{"rendered":"The rallying cry \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d does not originate from the Austro-Hungarian period but from the Usta\u0161a movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although several months have passed since its reappearance at the center of public attention, interpretations of the salute \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d are still present in public discourse and often call into question its historical meaning from the time of the Usta\u0161a movement, i.e., the Independent State of Croatia. Recently, such a claim appeared in a text by Vlatka Vukeli\u0107, lecturer at the Department of History and unsuccessful candidate for the position of dean of the Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb, originally posted on her Facebook profile (available here<\/g>), and later republished in article form by several smaller media outlets (for example here<\/g> and here<\/g>). There, among other things, Vukeli\u0107 states: <\/p>\n

\u201cThe military context and For Home \u2013 Ready have a much longer tradition and are connected with a series of conflicts, especially throughout the 20th century. Of course, these are variations, modifications, etc., but always within the context of military defense of one\u2019s home. Even during the First World War we find a version of the salute, then adapted to the political system \u2013 the Croatian historical lands as part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. At that time the salute went: \u2018For the King and for the Home!\u2019 (\u2026) The military salute during the Second World War was modified, not \u2018invented,\u2019 and was used in new wars according to the new political circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, this claim does not correspond to available historical facts. First, the reference to an older salute from the time when most of present-day Croatia was under the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy most likely refers to the motto of the Royal Croatian Home Guard: \u201cFor the King and the Homeland.\u201d[1<\/g>] This, however, was never considered a salute, since it generally appeared only in written form, most often as an integral part of the Monarchy\u2019s coat of arms, in the form of a wreath with inscribed text placed below the shield, used on Home Guard officers\u2019 caps, unit flags, or, during the First World War, on extremely popular postcards depicting home guardsmen. Furthermore, it was never elevated to the level of a greeting, as was the case with \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d in the Independent State of Croatia, where it was used in numerous official documents, private correspondence of Usta\u0161a officials as a closing phrase, upon entering state administration premises, at the beginnings and\/or ends of public addresses, etc. [2]<\/a><\/p>\n

It is also important to emphasize that the Home Guard motto was not an (exclusively) Croatian expression, since it was in fact borrowed, i.e. literally translated, from the original Austrian phrase \u201cF\u00fcr Kaiser und Vaterland\u201c,[3]<\/a> which, with unchanged meaning, was also present among Hungarians as \u201cKir\u00e1ly\u00e9rt \u00e9s a haz\u00e1\u00e9rt\u201c[4]<\/a> where it was used by the Honv\u00e9d (Hungarian Home Guard). In Czech units the phrase \u201cZa kr\u00e1le a vlast\u201c[5]<\/a>, appeared on cap insignia next to the monarchical coat of arms, in Polish units \u201cZa Kr\u00f3la i Ojczyzn\u0119\u201c,[6]<\/a> and in Slovenian \u201cZa kralja in domovino\u201c,[7]<\/a> all with identical meaning. This shows that it was not a unique phrase but rather part of a general monarchical outlook on the inseparability of ruler and state. A clear example is the motto \u201cFor the King and the Fatherland\u201d used in the military units of the Kingdom of Serbia and the first Yugoslavia, later adopted by the Chetnik movement, which included it on their flag, which is why it remains tied primarily to sympathizers of their ideology [8]<\/g> to this day. The German Empire, from the first half of the 19th century, used the motto \u201cMit Gott, f\u00fcr K\u00f6nig und Vaterland\u201c[9]<\/g> (\u201cWith God, for the King and the Fatherland\u201d). Similarly, British propaganda materials from the First World War connect the fight for King and homeland in nearly identical ways, such as \u201cFor the King \/ For the Flag \/ And the dear Homeland\u201c,[10]<\/a> \u201cCome into the ranks and fight for your King and Country\u201c[11]<\/a> or \u201cUnited we stand for Faith, King and Empire.\u201c.[12]<\/a> <\/p>\n

It should be noted that, although in Slavic languages the words \u201cdom\u201d (home) and \u201cdomovina\u201d (homeland) share the same root and sometimes serve as synonyms, they are not identical. The official Home Guard motto in Austria-Hungary always contained the phrase \u201cfor the homeland\u201d, inseparably tied to the preceding \u201cfor the king.\u201d By contrast, the Usta\u0161a salute was always in the form \u201cfor the home\u201d, usually followed by \u201cready\u201d in official correspondence. A version in which \u201chomeland\u201d was replaced by \u201chome\u201d appeared only in less formal expressions or allusions to the phrase. The clearest examples are wartime postcards depicting Croatian soldiers in Austro-Hungarian ranks during the First World War, which featured various modifications derived from the original motto:[13]<\/g> \u201cFor the King and the Home\u201d, \u201cFor the Home and the King we must shed blood\u201d, \u201cEverything for the King and the Home\u201d, \u201cFor the grey-haired King and our Home\u201d, \u201cFor the Home and our King\u201d, \u201cFor the salvation of the Homeland and the grey-haired King\u201d, \u201cFor Freedom, Faith, the King and our Home.\u201d The wartime addition of a tricolor ribbon to the official cap insignia carried the expanded motto \u201cInto battle for King and Homeland\u201c.[14]<\/g> Shortening \u201chomeland\u201d to \u201chome\u201d also appeared earlier in artistic interpretations, as seen in the title of Eugen Kumi\u010di\u0107\u2019s work \u201cFor the King \u2013 for the Home\u201d, written at the end of the 19th century, set in the late reign of Emperor Joseph II. [15]<\/a> <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, a form containing \u201cfor the home\u201d during the Habsburg and Austro-Hungarian periods never represented an official version, nor was the word \u201cready\u201d ever attached to \u201cfor the home(land)\u201d in official mottos or their interpretations.<\/p>\n

The Usta\u0161a\u2019s use of the salute \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d in official channels almost always appeared in this exact form, only very rarely shortened into the acronym ZDS.[16]<\/a> Fragmented versions, where only \u201cFor Home\u201d or only \u201cReady\u201d appeared, also existed, but, as with Home Guard motto variations in Austria-Hungary, only in artistic or media depictions \u2013 on posters, in literature, in newspaper memoranda, etc. The circumstances of the origin of \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d were explained by Ante Paveli\u0107 himself during his years in exile, in the summer of 1957, later published eleven years afterwards by the journal Croatian Guard \u2013 the bulletin of the Croatian Liberation Movement in Europe, and in modern times discovered and republished by the portal Index.hr.[17]<\/a> In that text, Paveli\u0107 unambiguously presents himself as the creator of the salute \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d, citing as inspiration various mythic-historical moments important to Croatia\u2019s past, but without any mention of Austria-Hungary, its Home Guard, or their salute. <\/p>\n

In conclusion, the motto \u201cFor the King and the Homeland\u201d and the salute \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d cannot, according to available sources, be directly correlated. What connects them is only the fact that both begin with the preposition \u201cfor\u201d, and the coincidence that they contain the words \u201chomeland\u201d and \u201chome\u201d derived from the same root, which, due to the symbolic weight associated with both, could be used as near-synonyms in artistic or propaganda formats. The scope of use of \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d as a salute and greeting within the Usta\u0161a movement and the Independent State of Croatia far exceeded the use of the motto \u201cFor the King and the Homeland\u201d in Austria-Hungary, as has already been detailed on this portal in previous months.[18]<\/a> Nevertheless, given the authoritative position from which Vlatka Vukeli\u0107 speaks, an additional clarification and precisely grounded response was necessary to provide readers and the public with a clear and verified historical picture. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[1]<\/a> Stubli\u0107, Zlatko. The Croatian Home Guard 1868\u20131993 (Zagreb: Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia, 1994), 29.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Compare: Krizman, Bogdan. Paveli\u0107 and the Usta\u0161e (Zagreb: Globus, 1978), 198\u2013200; https:\/\/www.telegram.hr\/politika-kriminal\/ovih-13-slika-trebale-bi-biti-dovoljan-dokaz-svim-idiotima-koji-zagovaraju-rehabilitaciju-za-dom-spremni\/ (accessed September 24, 2025) and https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131203004838\/http:\/\/www.tjedno.hr\/index.php\/categoryblog\/4042\/ (accessed September 24, 2025).<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> According to: Stauf, Christian. For Emperor and Fatherland \u2013 My Experiences During the First World War Until the End of My Captivity in 1921 (Berlin: Buchschmiede, 2021).<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> According to: Barcy, Zolt\u00e1n, and Gy\u0151z\u0151 Somogyi. For King and Homeland \u2013 The Organization, Uniforms, and Armament of the Royal Hungarian Honv\u00e9d Army, 1868\u20131918 (Budapest: Corvina, 1990).<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Sl\u00e1dek, Josef V\u00e1clav. \u201cFor King and Country\u201d in Peasant Songs and Czech Sonnets (Prague: J. Otto Printing House, 1890), 70. (available at: https:\/\/kramerius5.nkp.cz\/view\/uuid:364c12b0-baaa-11e5-b5dc-005056827e51?page=uuid:27f3c650-c175-11e5-af02-001018b5eb5c) <\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> According to: https:\/\/muzeum.gliwice.pl\/images\/upload\/ksiazki\/fragmenty_publikacji\/z_bogiem_za_krola\/1-12.pdf<\/a> (accessed 24.9.2025)<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> According to: \u010clekovi\u010d, Jozko. Rost\u00e1s P\u00e1l – obnova spomenika<\/em>. Ljudska univerza Ajdov\u0161\u010dina, 2013 (Available at: https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20150619175403\/http:\/\/www.lu-ajdovscina.si\/mma\/rostas\/2013111307440301\/<\/a>, accessed 24.9.2025) <\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> For a more detailed discussion, see: Tomasevich, Jozo. The Chetniks in the Second World War 1941\u20131945 (Zagreb: Globus, 1979).<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> According to: Ortenburg, Georg. With God for King and Fatherland (Munich: Bertelsmann, 1979).<\/p>\n

[10] <\/a>According to: British sailor and British soldier shaking hands (colour litho), Look and Learn History Picture Library, accessed September 24, 2025. <\/a><\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> https:\/\/www.iwm.org.uk\/collections\/item\/object\/30494<\/a> (accessed 24.9.2025)<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> https:\/\/collections.museumsvictoria.com.au\/items\/1722035<\/a> (accessed 24.9.2025)<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> https:\/\/hismus.hr\/hr\/zbirke\/online-zbirke-pretrazivanje\/?zbirka_id=31<\/a> (accessed 24.9.2025)<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> According to: https:\/\/www.hismus.hr\/hr\/izlozbe\/virtualne-izlozbe\/uzajamnost-i-vjera-u-buducnost-za-kralja-i-domovinu\/<\/a> (accessed 24.9.2025)<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> According to: https:\/\/katalog.kgz.hr\/pagesresults\/bibliografskiZapis.aspx?selectedId=11000334\u00a4tPage=3&searchById=10&sort=0&age=0&spid0=10&spv0=Tomi%C4%87%2C+Josip+Eugen&mdid0=0&vzid0=0&xm0=1<\/a> (pristup 24.9.2025)<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> Compare: Krizman, Bogdan. Paveli\u0107 and the Usta\u0161e (Zagreb: Globus, 1978), 198\u2013200; https:\/\/www.telegram.hr\/politika-kriminal\/ovih-13-slika-trebale-bi-biti-dovoljan-dokaz-svim-idiotima-koji-zagovaraju-rehabilitaciju-za-dom-spremni\/ (accessed September 24, 2025) and https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131203004838\/http:\/\/www.tjedno.hr\/index.php\/categoryblog\/4042\/ (accessed September 24, 2025).<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a> Vojkovi\u0107, Goran. \u201cAnte Paveli\u0107 Is the Author of the Greeting \u2018Za dom spremni\u2019.\u201d https:\/\/www.index.hr\/vijesti\/clanak\/foto-ante-pavelic-je-autor-pozdrava-za-dom-spremni-sam-je-to-rekao-u-jednom-razgovoru\/990422.aspx<\/a> (accessed 24.9.2025) <\/p>\n

[18]<\/a> According to: https:\/\/p-portal.net\/sto-govore-cinjenice-o-porijeklu-pozdrava-za-dom-spremni<\/a> (accessed 24.9.2025)<\/p>\n

Funded by the European Union \u2013 NextGenerationEU.<\/em><\/p>\n

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission, nor the positions of the Agency for Electronic Media. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission, nor the Agency for Electronic Media can be held responsible for them. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The claim that \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d is merely a variation of older military salutes is incorrect. Historical sources show that this rallying cry first appeared within the Usta\u0161a movement and the Independent State of Croatia, not in the Austro-Hungarian period or earlier times. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":44867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[392],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-check-en","infinite-scroll-item","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Grafit-ZDS.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Grafit-ZDS.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Leon \u0106evani\u0107","author_link":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/author\/leon"},"rbea_author_info":{"display_name":"Leon \u0106evani\u0107","author_link":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/author\/leon"},"rbea_excerpt_info":"The claim that \u201cFor Home \u2013 Ready\u201d is merely a variation of older military salutes is incorrect. Historical sources show that this rallying cry first appeared within the Usta\u0161a movement and the Independent State of Croatia, not in the Austro-Hungarian period or earlier times. ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}