a BRIEF HISTORY:
The conflict that arose
in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s has a long history packed with ethnic and
religious tensions; these issues are too in depth and complex for the scope of
this website. During the Cold War, the area was under Soviet control beyond the
Iron Curtain, and tensions escalated when the Cold War ended. Due to the
complexity of the issue, I will utilize Brendan January’s summary of events
leading to the war and genocide:
“After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, many areas that had once been under the influence of the Soviet Union were rocked by political instability. The nation of
Yugoslavia began to fall apart…Yugoslavia actually consisted of a patchwork of ethnicities and religions that had been united under a strong and often oppressive
Communist government for more than forty years. The people, however, had memories, identities, and rivalries that stretched back for centuries...Slovenia and Croatia declared independence, and war soon erupted between Croatia and neighboring Serbia. When Bosnia also tried to secede, the Serbian army invaded. The war was justified by the Serbs in terms of race and religion. The Serbs were Orthodox Christian, and they declared that they were coming to the aid of fellow Serbs living in Bosnia who were being abused by Muslim forces. Bosnia at the time was a mix of Christians and Muslims (this area had been ruled for centuries by the Ottoman Empire), and the Serbs began to systematically empty villages of Muslims to destroy the mosques” (January 96-97).
War raged for years. The capital city of Sarajevo was closed off, trapping residents. People lived with no electricity (or heat), little water, minimal food supplies, and daily attacks from militants who hid in the mountains that surrounded the city. Those in the rest of the country faced prison camps and execution. Intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) eventually put an end to the war.
The Serbs deny that a genocide occurred. However, the prison camps, mass graves, and staggering number of dead/missing people tell another story.
(My brief outline of these events were summarized (and directly quoted) from Brendan January’s Genocide: Modern Crimes Against Humanity – pages 94-117: “Chapter Six: The Muslims of Bosnia.” See book citations under “Citations” tab.)
“After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, many areas that had once been under the influence of the Soviet Union were rocked by political instability. The nation of
Yugoslavia began to fall apart…Yugoslavia actually consisted of a patchwork of ethnicities and religions that had been united under a strong and often oppressive
Communist government for more than forty years. The people, however, had memories, identities, and rivalries that stretched back for centuries...Slovenia and Croatia declared independence, and war soon erupted between Croatia and neighboring Serbia. When Bosnia also tried to secede, the Serbian army invaded. The war was justified by the Serbs in terms of race and religion. The Serbs were Orthodox Christian, and they declared that they were coming to the aid of fellow Serbs living in Bosnia who were being abused by Muslim forces. Bosnia at the time was a mix of Christians and Muslims (this area had been ruled for centuries by the Ottoman Empire), and the Serbs began to systematically empty villages of Muslims to destroy the mosques” (January 96-97).
War raged for years. The capital city of Sarajevo was closed off, trapping residents. People lived with no electricity (or heat), little water, minimal food supplies, and daily attacks from militants who hid in the mountains that surrounded the city. Those in the rest of the country faced prison camps and execution. Intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) eventually put an end to the war.
The Serbs deny that a genocide occurred. However, the prison camps, mass graves, and staggering number of dead/missing people tell another story.
(My brief outline of these events were summarized (and directly quoted) from Brendan January’s Genocide: Modern Crimes Against Humanity – pages 94-117: “Chapter Six: The Muslims of Bosnia.” See book citations under “Citations” tab.)
Statistics:
- “In 1991, Yugoslavia’s republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina (Bosnia) had a population of 4 million, composed of three main ethnic groups: Bosniak (Bosnian
Muslim, 44%), Serb (31%), and Croat (17%), as well as Yugoslav (8%)” (“Bosnia-Herzegovina”)
- “During the subsequent civil war that lasted from 1992 to 1995, an estimated 100,000 people were killed, 80% of whom were Bosniaks” (“Bosnia-
Herzegovina”)
- “In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed as many as 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from the town of Srebrenica. It was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust” (“Bosnia-Herzegovina”)
The Bosnian Conflict (Perspectives on Modern World History)
Edited by Alexander Cruden
Published: 2012
The history behind the conflict in Bosnia is rather complex and involves disputes that go back centuries. This book of twenty essays is an enlightening resource for people who want to learn about these conflicts and the events leading up to the war and massacres that occurred in the 1990s. The first six essays focus on the historical background of the conflict, including the breaking up of Yugoslavia into five different republics, the elevation of tensions between different groups, and how these tensions led to attacks on Bosnia, the history of the region overall, conflicts that have gone on for hundreds of years, the failure of the UN and world powers to step in sooner, and the aftermath of the war fifteen years later. The next ten essays are about controversies surrounding the conflict: the reasons behind the war, how it was handled by other countries, and war tactics. The final section includes personal narratives from four survivors and witnesses. The end of the book contains a timeline and resources for further information.
Most of the books I have found on this conflict are focused on the Sarajevo area, so this is a wonderful resource to get an idea of what happened beyond the walls of the city. It also helps provide a basic understanding or idea of the overall conflict. While the other books on this list are great books, they are also seen through the eyes of children who do not understand why these horrors are happening. Another important part of this book is that is discusses why the mass murders in this area are not officially recognized as “genocide.”
Edited by Alexander Cruden
Published: 2012
The history behind the conflict in Bosnia is rather complex and involves disputes that go back centuries. This book of twenty essays is an enlightening resource for people who want to learn about these conflicts and the events leading up to the war and massacres that occurred in the 1990s. The first six essays focus on the historical background of the conflict, including the breaking up of Yugoslavia into five different republics, the elevation of tensions between different groups, and how these tensions led to attacks on Bosnia, the history of the region overall, conflicts that have gone on for hundreds of years, the failure of the UN and world powers to step in sooner, and the aftermath of the war fifteen years later. The next ten essays are about controversies surrounding the conflict: the reasons behind the war, how it was handled by other countries, and war tactics. The final section includes personal narratives from four survivors and witnesses. The end of the book contains a timeline and resources for further information.
Most of the books I have found on this conflict are focused on the Sarajevo area, so this is a wonderful resource to get an idea of what happened beyond the walls of the city. It also helps provide a basic understanding or idea of the overall conflict. While the other books on this list are great books, they are also seen through the eyes of children who do not understand why these horrors are happening. Another important part of this book is that is discusses why the mass murders in this area are not officially recognized as “genocide.”
Under the Sun: A Novel Based on True Stories of Survival During War
By Arthur Dorros
Published: 2004
As a young boy, the fact that Ehmet had a Croatian mother and a Muslim father did not matter – they were all Bosnians. But when war breaks out, these differences DO matter. Thirteen-year-old Ehmet doesn’t understand why – he knows that they are all people. As war tears his home of Sarajevo apart, Ehmet and mother find a way to flee the city. This astounding and moving novel follows them through the Bosnian countryside, encountering both hatred and kindness in their search for something everyone needs in times such as these: Hope.
Arthur Dorros was inspired to write this novel after hearing about a village of child refugees in Croatia. He traveled and researched extensively before writing the book, and his research and powers of storytelling shine through and create a powerful story that keeps readers interested and invested. The book starts in Sarajevo and we see the conditions and fear that people lived with for years. Though the novel is narrated in third person, we see the world exclusively through Ehmet’s eyes; like him, readers struggle to grasp the reality behind the conflict.
By Arthur Dorros
Published: 2004
As a young boy, the fact that Ehmet had a Croatian mother and a Muslim father did not matter – they were all Bosnians. But when war breaks out, these differences DO matter. Thirteen-year-old Ehmet doesn’t understand why – he knows that they are all people. As war tears his home of Sarajevo apart, Ehmet and mother find a way to flee the city. This astounding and moving novel follows them through the Bosnian countryside, encountering both hatred and kindness in their search for something everyone needs in times such as these: Hope.
Arthur Dorros was inspired to write this novel after hearing about a village of child refugees in Croatia. He traveled and researched extensively before writing the book, and his research and powers of storytelling shine through and create a powerful story that keeps readers interested and invested. The book starts in Sarajevo and we see the conditions and fear that people lived with for years. Though the novel is narrated in third person, we see the world exclusively through Ehmet’s eyes; like him, readers struggle to grasp the reality behind the conflict.
Zlata’s
Diary: A Child’s Life in Wartime Sarajevo
By Zlata Filipović
Translated by Christina Pribichevich-Zorić
Published: 1994
Some people have called Zlata the “Anne Frank of Sarajevo” because Zlata’s diary reveals the life, terror, and hopelessness of living in Sarajevo as bombs fell on the city. Zlata said being called this scared her, because she didn’t want her fate to be the same as Anne’s. But there is power and wisdom in young Zlata’s words, especially as she struggles to understand why this is happening. “It looks to me as though these politics mean Serbs, Croats and Muslims. But they are all people. They are all the same. They all look like people, there’s no difference. They all have arms, legs and heads, they walk and talk, but now there’s ‘something’ that wants to make them different” (96). In the preface added to the book in 2005, Zlata expresses her ongoing confusion over why these horrors took place. The significance of publishing diaries such as Zlata’s is that they are written as events unfold, not as they are remembered years later, and the fear, confusion, and despair are much more powerful. Books such as these reveal the real cost of war.
The significance and importance of diaries such as Zlata’s is easily summed up in something she wrote in the preface to the 2005 edition: “When we hear of wars, we hear the numbers of dead and wounded, of dates of battles, attacks, names of places that no longer exist. We become numbed by the onslaught of cold facts, and we forget that every event touched individuals, ordinary people, children, young people, grown-ups, grandparents, one by one. If we listen to each and every story, or if we even hear one and imagine all the others, we can get some sense of what the extent of the war really is” (xix). These kinds of works need to continue to be written and published and promoted to expose the world to what the victims of these conflicts are forced to endure.
By Zlata Filipović
Translated by Christina Pribichevich-Zorić
Published: 1994
Some people have called Zlata the “Anne Frank of Sarajevo” because Zlata’s diary reveals the life, terror, and hopelessness of living in Sarajevo as bombs fell on the city. Zlata said being called this scared her, because she didn’t want her fate to be the same as Anne’s. But there is power and wisdom in young Zlata’s words, especially as she struggles to understand why this is happening. “It looks to me as though these politics mean Serbs, Croats and Muslims. But they are all people. They are all the same. They all look like people, there’s no difference. They all have arms, legs and heads, they walk and talk, but now there’s ‘something’ that wants to make them different” (96). In the preface added to the book in 2005, Zlata expresses her ongoing confusion over why these horrors took place. The significance of publishing diaries such as Zlata’s is that they are written as events unfold, not as they are remembered years later, and the fear, confusion, and despair are much more powerful. Books such as these reveal the real cost of war.
The significance and importance of diaries such as Zlata’s is easily summed up in something she wrote in the preface to the 2005 edition: “When we hear of wars, we hear the numbers of dead and wounded, of dates of battles, attacks, names of places that no longer exist. We become numbed by the onslaught of cold facts, and we forget that every event touched individuals, ordinary people, children, young people, grown-ups, grandparents, one by one. If we listen to each and every story, or if we even hear one and imagine all the others, we can get some sense of what the extent of the war really is” (xix). These kinds of works need to continue to be written and published and promoted to expose the world to what the victims of these conflicts are forced to endure.
I Dream of
Peace: Images of War by Children of Former Yugoslavia
Introduction by James P. Grant, Executive Director, UNICEF
Preface by Maurice Sendak
Published: 1994
In this compilation of drawings and poetry by children, and put together by UNICEF, readers are exposed to the unadulterated emotions of children who are trying to comprehend their recent experiences. These drawings were done as part of art therapy, and “represent the healing process at work for some of the war-traumatized children of former Yugoslavia. In dozens of schools and refugee camps throughout the region, children have been encouraged to draw and write as a way to unlock the doors to their inner emotions. Assisted by parents, teachers, psychologists, and art therapists, the children recall not only traumatic events but also happy memories from the past. They also create promising dreams of the future” (9). The artwork, some in black and white and some in explosions of color, present these experiences in a way that is so much more powerful than words. The poetry is expressive and raw, conveying the pain of their experiences.
So many feelings can be expressed in art, and this book is a wonderful representation of the impact of the war. When we, in the rest of the world, hear about conflicts such as this, it is easy to forget about the children and how they are affected. This book serves as a reminder of how deeply they are impacted by war, and it is important not to forget about the children.
Introduction by James P. Grant, Executive Director, UNICEF
Preface by Maurice Sendak
Published: 1994
In this compilation of drawings and poetry by children, and put together by UNICEF, readers are exposed to the unadulterated emotions of children who are trying to comprehend their recent experiences. These drawings were done as part of art therapy, and “represent the healing process at work for some of the war-traumatized children of former Yugoslavia. In dozens of schools and refugee camps throughout the region, children have been encouraged to draw and write as a way to unlock the doors to their inner emotions. Assisted by parents, teachers, psychologists, and art therapists, the children recall not only traumatic events but also happy memories from the past. They also create promising dreams of the future” (9). The artwork, some in black and white and some in explosions of color, present these experiences in a way that is so much more powerful than words. The poetry is expressive and raw, conveying the pain of their experiences.
So many feelings can be expressed in art, and this book is a wonderful representation of the impact of the war. When we, in the rest of the world, hear about conflicts such as this, it is easy to forget about the children and how they are affected. This book serves as a reminder of how deeply they are impacted by war, and it is important not to forget about the children.
My Childhood Under Fire: A
Sarajevo Diary
By Nadja Halilbegovich
Published: 2006
As war raged in Sarajevo in the early-mid 1990s, teenager Nadja Halilbegovich kept a diary. Prominent throughout the diary is her frustration that the world is doing nothing and her anguish over the loss of life, especially children’s lives. At times, it seems that she is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders as she tries to grapple with the events exploding around her. Some of her friends have fled the city, but Nadja and her family remain, and Nadja fears that these friendships will never be the same because her friends did not stay to witness children dying in pools of their own blood. Through her diary, readers glimpse the horror and confusion of these years. But neither words nor images do the experience justice.
Like Zlata’s Diary, Nadja’s account is an important testimony to what people in Sarajevo endured. Though Nadja makes note of the many times she and her family, and others, had minimal food and were without water or electricity, the diary distinctly expresses herconfusion and anguish over the conflict. It is difficult, if not impossible, to understand the reasoning behind the war and the murder of thousands of people. And through a teenager’s eyes, we are reminded that we are all people, no matter our differences.
By Nadja Halilbegovich
Published: 2006
As war raged in Sarajevo in the early-mid 1990s, teenager Nadja Halilbegovich kept a diary. Prominent throughout the diary is her frustration that the world is doing nothing and her anguish over the loss of life, especially children’s lives. At times, it seems that she is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders as she tries to grapple with the events exploding around her. Some of her friends have fled the city, but Nadja and her family remain, and Nadja fears that these friendships will never be the same because her friends did not stay to witness children dying in pools of their own blood. Through her diary, readers glimpse the horror and confusion of these years. But neither words nor images do the experience justice.
Like Zlata’s Diary, Nadja’s account is an important testimony to what people in Sarajevo endured. Though Nadja makes note of the many times she and her family, and others, had minimal food and were without water or electricity, the diary distinctly expresses herconfusion and anguish over the conflict. It is difficult, if not impossible, to understand the reasoning behind the war and the murder of thousands of people. And through a teenager’s eyes, we are reminded that we are all people, no matter our differences.
My Palace of Leaves in Sarajevo
By Marybeth Lorbiecki
Illustrated by Herbert Tauss
Published: 1997
Taken from first-hand accounts, this book is an exchange of letters between 10-year-old cousins: Nadja, who lives in Sarajevo, and Alex, who lives in Minnesota. Through Nadja’s letters, readers see a confusion over the war, fear, and being torn between wanting to flee to safety in American and wanting to remain with family and friends in Sarajevo. Alex’s letters show a desperate desire to help and keep hope alive.
This is a great resource to expose younger readers to the conflict in Bosnia. Nadja relates some of the horrors she witnesses and the fear she has, but it is done in a way that speaks to a younger age group, or to those who might not be ready to handle more raw accounts of the war.
By Marybeth Lorbiecki
Illustrated by Herbert Tauss
Published: 1997
Taken from first-hand accounts, this book is an exchange of letters between 10-year-old cousins: Nadja, who lives in Sarajevo, and Alex, who lives in Minnesota. Through Nadja’s letters, readers see a confusion over the war, fear, and being torn between wanting to flee to safety in American and wanting to remain with family and friends in Sarajevo. Alex’s letters show a desperate desire to help and keep hope alive.
This is a great resource to expose younger readers to the conflict in Bosnia. Nadja relates some of the horrors she witnesses and the fear she has, but it is done in a way that speaks to a younger age group, or to those who might not be ready to handle more raw accounts of the war.