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Historijski Muzej BiH
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“Which Europe?”, postcard edited by “Citoyens, citoyennes pour la Bosnie Herzégovine” in France, 1995. (Archives CHT Nantes, AEC Nantes)
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Cover of the publication “Why”, 1995, with a photo of the destroyed National Library by Gervasio Sanchez
“Why. Publication for human rights and peace”
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Cover of the “New Spektar” magazine, September 1995 (Personal archives Sophie Kepes)
Sarajevo - poem by Czesław Miłosz

“Which Europe?”

Many in Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina were shocked by the passivity and neutral attitude of European governments during the war, particularly because they felt and considered themselves as Europeans and saw Sarajevo and BiH as incarnations of European values. The perception that Europe was betraying its own values was also shared by many who engaged with support and solidarity mobilisations with BiH. Rallying cries such as “Europe is in Sarajevo” (or “Sarajevo is Europe”) and “Europe dies in Sarajevo” were used both in BiH and the rest of Europe.

At the same time, the fight for a free, democratic and multiethnic BiH was also seen by some as a necessity and a chance: a necessity to stop violent nationalism from spreading throughout Europe, and a chance for Europe to rediscover its real values and reinvent itself. The latter idea was most prominently articulated by the slogan “Europe dies or is reborn in Sarajevo”, the title of a campaign launched in several European countries in Spring 1995. At the end, the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina raised for many the question: Which Europe do we want?

Category: Stories Tags: Demonstrations, Europe, Political interventions, Spreading information
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Demonstrations, Europe, Political interventions, Spreading information

Solidarity Map

France

Chronology

1995

Related stories…

“Everyone in Cannes the 26th June, for Bosnia” / “Europe is reborn or dies in Sarajevo”: Public gathering in Barcelona, June 1995. (Photo by Ana Alba, extract of “Força Sarajevo”, Barcelona, 2002)

“Europe is reborn or dies in Sarajevo”

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100 stories about solidarity initiatives in Europe with citizens of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-1995 war.

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