Others claim that the roots of the war in Bosnia lie in more current history. They state that they began with Tito's Yugoslavia--in the frailty of Tito's state and in three distinct sorts of nationalism that sprouted as his odd form of communism collapsed. A clue to the violence of the break-up may lie also in the balance of weaponry inside Yugoslavia. Serb officers dominated the federal army with its tanks, howitzers, and mortars. Almost every Yugoslav household, especially in the countryside, had small arms and men trained in the militia to use them. Those that share the view that the latest Balkan war has more recent roots point out that, while it is true that old feuds exist and that under Hitler's occupation Croatian and Bosnian fascists murdered Serbs, Jews, and Muslims, Yugoslav history is not entirely bleak. It is too simplistic to assume that old hatreds are surfacing. For example, after the first world war, Croats, Bosnians, Serbs, and Slovenes united freely. For all the horrors of the second world war, they lived in peace under Tito. Serbs and Croats used the same language, and readily intermarried, especially in the cities. Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital, was cosmopolitan. By Eastern European standards, communist Yugoslavia was modern and international. In conclusion, while many believe that the war in Bosnia has deep historical roots and was inevitable, given the longstanding ethnic hatred of the region, others point to the collapse of communism as its starting point. According to this view, economics and a false sense of patriotism played a larger role. This pattern continued as recently as World War II, when the Nazi conquerors not only encountered collaborators and resisters, but where the resistance itself was split along ethnic and political lines. Hideous atrocities from that era are still living memories that inflame the passions, producing more atrocities today. t of the continent for slaves. Bosnians were among the vast n |
