Do you find the breakup of Yugoslavia confusing? If so, you’re far from alone. 

This map might help. If you want to know more, you can click here and read the source article, which is a good start. 

Dubrovnik was founded in the 7th century CE (or possibly earlier; archaeologists disagree). From the 1200s to 1800s, the city - known as Ragusa - ruled itself as a vassal city to other nearby empires. It was particularly heavily influenced by Venice, to the point that Venetian and Italian were the common languages. In 1918, Ragusa became part of Yugoslavia and officially changed its name to Dubrovnik.

During the Yugoslav civil wars of the 1990s, the Milošević government in Belgrade declared that Dubrovnik was historically part of Montenegro, and Croatia had no rights to the city. The Yugoslav National Army besieged the city for seven months in 1991 and 1992, resulting in the death of about 90 civilians and extensive damage to the historic city. In May of 1992, the Croatian Army beat back the Yugoslav Army and lifted the siege.

The old city of Dubrovnik was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979, and it remains one of the most popular tourism destinations on the Adriatic.

Pictures from here.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Josip Broz Tito - May 7, 1892 - May 4, 1980

Born Josip Broz in what is now Croatia (but was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), he was one of the most remarkable figures of the Cold War period. He got his start in the military in World War I, fighting for the Austro-Hungarians. But he was captured by the Russians and sent to a work camp in Russia. While he was there, the Russian Revolution broke out, the camp prisoners were freed by the Bolsheviks, and Tito (his chosen nom de guerre) ended up taking part in the Revolution. Upon returning to Yugoslavia, he joined the Yugoslav Communist Party.

During World War II, Tito commanded the Yugoslav Partisans, the guerrillas fighting against the Nazi occupation, and when the war ended, he became prime minister of the new Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Later, he served as president, but regardless of his title, until his death in 1980, Marshal Tito ran Yugoslavia.

A couple things about Tito:

• Under Tito, Yugoslavia was the only country to successfully break from the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. Tito and Stalin did not get on, and in 1955, their alliance ended. Afterwards, Tito was one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement - the group of countries that refused to ally with either of the Cold War’s major players (the United States and the Soviet Union).
• It is generally believed that Tito was one of the major unifying factors that held Yugoslavia together. His rule promoted the idea of a national identity, the concept that it didn’t matter if you were Croatian or Slovenian or Montenegrin - you were a Yugoslav. There was always a certain amount of nationalism regardless, but it increased immensely following Tito’s death in 1980.

A Dalmatian woman, ca. 1939-1940.

The Church of St. George in Oplenac. Topola, Serbia.

Built in 1910, the church contains the mausoleum of the Karađorđević family - the last ruling family of Serbia, and later of Yugoslavia.

A memorial to the Yugsolav Partisans. Nikšić, Montenegro.

During socialist Yugoslavia, modernisation was presented unilaterally like an everyday collective achievement that should reveal the progress of workers’ self-management and make people feel proud of it. The life of Yugoslavs was thus marked by megalomaniacal, almost utopian projects in the fields of industry, energetics, traffic logistics, town planning. On the other hand, today this socialist utopianism is often a synonym for or taken as the “original sin” of unsuitable economic structures, ecological problems and social conflicts.

Upper row, from left: Kolašin, Montenegro; Šibenik, Croatia

Bottom row: Krvavice, Croatia; Ljubljana, Slovenia

(Source: designboom.com)

People welcoming the liberating Soviet army, following World War II.

Top: Yugoslavia, Latvia

Center: Poland, Czechoslovakia

Bottom: Romania, Bulgaria

(Source: retronaut.co)

Many former Yugoslavs believe that life was better and jobs easier to get by in the old days - though Croats and Kosovo Albanians are not as nostalgic as Serbs and Bosniaks.

A survey of attitudes towards the old Yugoslav state by the European Fund for the Balkans shows that many people - Serbs especially - look on the former socialist federation with a distinct feeling of nostalgia.

The survey included two generations of people, one group born in 1971 and the other born in 1991, as Yugoslavia fell apart.

Apart from the younger group in Croatia and Kosovo, most of the other younger people believe life for their parents was better than their lives are today. 

They also feel that there were better employment opportunities in the past than today.

In spite of this nostalgia for the former Yugoslavia, most members of both generations see the disintegration of Yugoslavia as inevitable, with the exception of the older generation of Serbs and Bosniaks.

Asked to choose between returning to the political system of the former Yugoslavia or joining the European Union, most Serbs prefer the old Yugoslavia option.

Bosniaks and Montenegrins viewed either community equally, while citizens of Kosovo said they would prefer life in the EU.

However, the younger group in all countries believe they will get better education within the EU than their parents got under communism.

Most members of both generations say EU membership will not influence their national identity while Kosovars, Albanians and Macedonians believe their identity will be strengthened within the EU.

golden-zephyr:

Roma women and their children, Uštica, camp 1942.

Jasenovac is the third largest, and most horrific Nazi death camp of the Holocaust. The majority of inmates were Roma, Jewish, and Serbian. However, it is barely mentioned and barely remembered.

The accompanying documents did not list their names, only the number of people or freight wagons by which they were transported. 

In July 1942, when the number of Roma arriving in the camp was at its highest, they were separated into two groups. The older men, women and children were separated from the younger men and immediately sent to be liquidated in Donja Gradina. The younger men were accommodated in Camp III C, set up in the open on the site of Camp III (Brickworks). Many died of hunger, dehydration, exhaustion and physical abuse. Some Roma were housed in the so-called Gypsy Camp in the village of Uštica, in the abandoned houses of murdered Serbian families. 

Only a few Roma were assigned to work duties and given the hardest jobs, amongst which was grave-digging in Donja Gradina.

Almost no Roma who entered the camp, regardless of age or gender, survived. The figures of murdered Roma are the most controversial, save figures of Serbian casualties, and they range between 20,000 and 50,000.