This summer, 11 Students and two faculty members are traveling to Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia to learn about the 20th-century history of the countries formerly known as Yugoslavia and begin to unravel the complex reverberations of Conflict. Please enjoy these blog posts below from Anais ’26 and Travis ’26 where they share how through powerful museum exhibits and conversations with locals, students explored the emotional toll of war on children and gained insight into the ongoing challenges of reconciliation and unity in post-war Bosnia.
By Anais ’26:
Our first stop today was the War and Childhood Museum in central Sarajevo. Nikola, one of the museum’s primary curators, led our group through a series of interactive activities where we reflected on our childhoods. We answered questions about how we preferred to spend our time as children and what smells and sounds reminded us of our early years. Travis noted that the sound of a chaotic school gym brought back memories of pre-school. This activity prepared us well for the multitude of wonderful stories we would go on to read about children’s experiences during wartime. The layout of this museum was similar to the Museum of Broken Relationships as a variety of personal objects were placed in glass boxes, accompanied by both short and long texts that explained their significance. The objects ranged from clothing items to books and toys, and even a pair of skis and poles. Additionally, someone donated a multicolored wooden swing with a little bell attached as a reminder of how her parents weren’t able to take care of her during the war: whenever the bell would ring, the child’s mother knew that she was in the swing without having to watch her. The individual donated the swing as a way to rid themselves of all the negative memories of war and hope that their children wouldn’t have to experience the same tragedies they did. During the visit, we recorded on provided iPads answers to a survey regarding our experience in the museum. We were asked to choose certain objects that fit into categories like happiness, sadness, disappointment or hope. After reading the stories, we gathered together with Nikola to discuss what we had learnt about the children’s intense emotional and physical isolation during the war. Luca, Ava and Joanna all chose to talk about the swing as a representation of both hope and sadness. One of my favorites was titled “When I miss my sister,” and consisted of a jar with small notes of affection and comfort. This reminded me of my close relationship with my sister, as well as allowing me to understand the toughness of maintaining bonds while separated by distance. Next, Nikola split us into two groups of five or six students, where we filled out poster boards with categories of people whose responsibility it was to build peace and what obstacles could appear along the way. This hands-on activity was a great way to get our minds flowing in a creative discussion that helped us realize the importance of spreading awareness during conflict and hardship. Overall, our group thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the War and Childhood Museum, enhanced by Nikola’s great sense of humor and passion for learning.
By Travis ’26:
After stopping for a classic Bosnian lunch of special cevapi sausages, pita, and onions, we went to meet up with our guide Arna for a history and culture tour of Sarajevo. Listening to Arna’s perspective on the old Yugoslavia that no longer exists was super interesting: you could travel from this nonaligned country to others in both the eastern and western blocs of the Cold War – she remembered going on ski trips even though life wasn’t “extravagant.” Arna also provided her viewpoint on Bosnia’s current political and economic state, and mentioned that the pause on USAID would have a big impact on development NGOs. During the tour, we got to see the spot where over 100 years ago, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated, providing the spark that would start the First World War. Arna also seemed to know everyone in the town and brought us into several shops and stores to try “burek” and sweets and examine goods produced in the region.
After finishing our tour with Arna (who was in her late teens during the siege of Sarajevo) we met for coffee with Mak, a friend of Atlas Workshops, the company that organized our itinerary. Mak, born just before Bosnia Herzegovina declared independence, provided some additional insights from yet another, generational, perspective. One thing we’ve been told throughout this trip is how separated the education system is for different ethnicities. Croat and Bosniak children can attend the same school but be separated by completely different schedules and classes…the same is true in towns with Bosniak and Serb children. This total separation troubled Mak because in small towns in Bosnia (some with as few as 10,000 residents), future generations would not grow up getting to talk to people with different opinions or ethnic backgrounds if they only went to school with like-minded people. Thus, rebuilding after the war would continue to be difficult for all groups involved. Additionally, Mac told us about how the political system contributes to the separation of ethnicities in the different regions of Bosnia. Upon gaining the right to vote, one must choose one party to register with- Croat, Bosnian, or Serbian- and can only vote for that party. The political system of the different regions was complex and hard to understand, but talking to Mak about the political state and learning about his work on the war tribunals was invaluable. All in all, we learned so much about Sarajevo and Bosnia in our conversations with Arna and Mac. Learning from the locals was a great way to learn more about the region that we wouldn’t necessarily learn from a secondary source.
