Bosnian Genocide
Oliver Goschow
The Bosnian Genocide and How It Changed Society
The Bosnian Genocide is one of the most horrific events of our modern history. Under the former Yugoslavia, different ethnicities were all compressed under the regime of Josip Broz “Tito”, who managed to keep them united for 35 years, however after the death of Tito, violence escalated. Under General Ratko Mladić’s leadership, neighbors started killing neighbors, and changed the way Serbs, Bosnians and Croats treat each other up until now. Forgiveness for the killings is still hard to find, though more people are beginning to see the benefit in forgiving, and slowly the ethnic groups affected by the Bosnian Genocide are started to move toward each other.
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was not the perfect country. It had its faults but people in Yugoslavia were better off than people in other Communist countries. What Marshal Tito succeeded in doing was plain genius. He managed to unite 6 republics and many different ethnicities under one nation, and he managed to keep it running smoothly most of the time1. In 1950, economic control was given to each of the separate republics which helped start an economic boom. During the 1950s, employment doubled and unemployment fell to 6%. Even though more people were employed, wages still increased by more than 6%2. The Yugoslavian regime was more humane than other communist regimes in Easter Europe, however it wasn’t that liberal. The League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) had all the power and was the only party in the country. The State Security Administration, which was the secret police, was a dreaded tool of the government and there are many cases of when Tito used the secret police to eliminate people who were becoming too nationalistic and threatened to destroy the peace in Yugoslavia3. Starting in the 70s, the LCY allied with many smaller nationalistic political parties to give more power to the individual parties. In 1971,
The Bosnian Genocide and How It Changed Society
The Bosnian Genocide is one of the most horrific events of our modern history. Under the former Yugoslavia, different ethnicities were all compressed under the regime of Josip Broz “Tito”, who managed to keep them united for 35 years, however after the death of Tito, violence escalated. Under General Ratko Mladić’s leadership, neighbors started killing neighbors, and changed the way Serbs, Bosnians and Croats treat each other up until now. Forgiveness for the killings is still hard to find, though more people are beginning to see the benefit in forgiving, and slowly the ethnic groups affected by the Bosnian Genocide are started to move toward each other.
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was not the perfect country. It had its faults but people in Yugoslavia were better off than people in other Communist countries. What Marshal Tito succeeded in doing was plain genius. He managed to unite 6 republics and many different ethnicities under one nation, and he managed to keep it running smoothly most of the time1. In 1950, economic control was given to each of the separate republics which helped start an economic boom. During the 1950s, employment doubled and unemployment fell to 6%. Even though more people were employed, wages still increased by more than 6%2. The Yugoslavian regime was more humane than other communist regimes in Easter Europe, however it wasn’t that liberal. The League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) had all the power and was the only party in the country. The State Security Administration, which was the secret police, was a dreaded tool of the government and there are many cases of when Tito used the secret police to eliminate people who were becoming too nationalistic and threatened to destroy the peace in Yugoslavia3. Starting in the 70s, the LCY allied with many smaller nationalistic political parties to give more power to the individual parties. In 1971,