The three groups in Yugoslavia were the Serbs, Croats, and the Slovenes. All three groups were from Slavic backgrounds, there were many differences between them. The Serbs were of the Eastern Orthodox religion, spoke the Serbian language, and used the Cyrillic alphabet. They held the biggest territory and were also the largest of the three. The Croatians were Catholic and spoke the Croatian language. They were the second largest group and had the greatest amount of natural resources. Slovenians were also Catholic and spoke the Slovenian language.
At the end of World War I these three groups joined together and formed a country in December of 1918. The reasons the three to united and formed a country of their own, included gaining human rights, enhancing protection from larger foreign empires and countries, and obtaining security. They believed that in order to obtain freedom after centuries under the different empires would be to unite and create a country of their own. The country of Yugoslavia was formed in 1929. During the first few years of the new country, dissatisfaction began to grow between the three groups. Many of the problems were between the different cultural and religious backgrounds of the groups, which led to political separations. Croatians didn't like the idea of centralism, they preferred a federalist state. The Croatians and Slovenians disliked the Serbian domination in government and military affairs. Different political parties began to form and along came more problems
Bosnia, located in southeastern Europe along the Balkan peninsula, with a population of about 3.8 million, was caught in the middle of this rising tension. About half of the country of Bosnia is composed of Bosniaks (also known as Bosnian Muslims), thirty-seven percent are Serbs, and fourteen percent are Croatian.
During World War II, Josip Broz, known as “Tito,” successfully held the country together under a communist/socialist dictatorship. Tito worked to ensure that neither group dominated the federation and made sure there was a multi-ethnic peaceful co-existence. He did everything in his power to make sure everything stayed under control. He was one of the greatest political leaders of World War II because he was able to keep the country united.
After Tito’s death in 1980, many old tensions began again and disrupted the thirty-five year peace that existed under Tito’s reign. Without him, the “strings that tied the nation together were broken.” His death left power ambitious politicians such as Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and Franjo Tudjman of Croatia to compete for power. Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in 1987. His view of a “Greater Serbia,” he began a propaganda campaign that provoked hatred among the people of Yugoslavia. Milosevic’s vision of a Serb-dominated state scared the other six regions (Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Vojvodina).
Independence began to be an important topic between the six republics. Slovenia and Croatia were the first to declare independence. Slovenia left Yugoslavia peacefully, but this was not the case for the other regions. The hatred between the Croats, Serbs, and others were exposed and was a very delicate topic to deal with. War broke out. Bosnia was the most ethnically diverse of Yugoslavia’s republics, with 43 percent Muslims, 35 percent Orthodox Serbs, and 18 percent Catholic Croatians, and suffered the worst. The multi-ethnic republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina became the site of the deadliest warfare and the main target of ‘ethnic cleansing.’
At the end of World War I these three groups joined together and formed a country in December of 1918. The reasons the three to united and formed a country of their own, included gaining human rights, enhancing protection from larger foreign empires and countries, and obtaining security. They believed that in order to obtain freedom after centuries under the different empires would be to unite and create a country of their own. The country of Yugoslavia was formed in 1929. During the first few years of the new country, dissatisfaction began to grow between the three groups. Many of the problems were between the different cultural and religious backgrounds of the groups, which led to political separations. Croatians didn't like the idea of centralism, they preferred a federalist state. The Croatians and Slovenians disliked the Serbian domination in government and military affairs. Different political parties began to form and along came more problems
Bosnia, located in southeastern Europe along the Balkan peninsula, with a population of about 3.8 million, was caught in the middle of this rising tension. About half of the country of Bosnia is composed of Bosniaks (also known as Bosnian Muslims), thirty-seven percent are Serbs, and fourteen percent are Croatian.
During World War II, Josip Broz, known as “Tito,” successfully held the country together under a communist/socialist dictatorship. Tito worked to ensure that neither group dominated the federation and made sure there was a multi-ethnic peaceful co-existence. He did everything in his power to make sure everything stayed under control. He was one of the greatest political leaders of World War II because he was able to keep the country united.
After Tito’s death in 1980, many old tensions began again and disrupted the thirty-five year peace that existed under Tito’s reign. Without him, the “strings that tied the nation together were broken.” His death left power ambitious politicians such as Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and Franjo Tudjman of Croatia to compete for power. Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in 1987. His view of a “Greater Serbia,” he began a propaganda campaign that provoked hatred among the people of Yugoslavia. Milosevic’s vision of a Serb-dominated state scared the other six regions (Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Vojvodina).
Independence began to be an important topic between the six republics. Slovenia and Croatia were the first to declare independence. Slovenia left Yugoslavia peacefully, but this was not the case for the other regions. The hatred between the Croats, Serbs, and others were exposed and was a very delicate topic to deal with. War broke out. Bosnia was the most ethnically diverse of Yugoslavia’s republics, with 43 percent Muslims, 35 percent Orthodox Serbs, and 18 percent Catholic Croatians, and suffered the worst. The multi-ethnic republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina became the site of the deadliest warfare and the main target of ‘ethnic cleansing.’