Anti-Serb Austro-Hungarian Empire Propaganda (1914)

 

The Balkans during the 1910s was a region of ethnic tension and racial hatred. The Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to stop its diverse ethnic groups from breaking away into their own nations states. The tension been Slavs and Germanic peoples was evident with the imperial order. The  Austro-Hungarian Empire annex Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908. The Serb population there went from being ruled by the Ottoman Empire to Austrian rule. Serbia was enraged by this action and it motivated Serbian nationalist to become more extreme. The Black Hand was responsible for the assassination of Archduke  Franz Ferdinand. The propaganda at the time depicted Serbs as ape like creatures. The image shows a fist crushing a Serb saying "Serbia must die." The drawing implies all Serbs are terrorists and that the country and people should be attacked. This was published after the murder of Franz Ferdinand. His death was used as a justification for war. Anti-Serb riots broke out in Sarajevo. The anti-Serb violence then spread throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The acts of violence were not random. They were encouraged by the government. The governor of  Bosnia-Herzegovina Oskar Potiorek organized violence against Serbs. The ethnic tension, rival alliance systems, and European colonial imperialism would spark World War I. 

The Breakdown Of Peace Talks In Yugoslavia (1991)

 

Yugoslavia was facing civil war and ethnic conflict. Around 1991 Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia were on the verge of a massive war. The truce talks broke down between Serbia and Slovenia. The biggest concern was about border crossings into western Europe. Customs fees were the dispute and there was a proposal that Slovenia could run the border on the behalf of the Yugoslav government. Economics was playing a role in the tension and hatreds. Slobodan Milosevic no longer was opposing the break-up of the country, but wanted all Serbs united in a single state. The problem was that Serbs were in enclaves located in Croatia and Slovenia. The European Community and the U.S.S.R came to act as mediators in the dispute. It was clear that the EC was not really trying to stabilize the situation. If that were the case Croatia and Slovenia would not have been given recognition as independent states. A unified Germany wanted influence in the Balkans and recognition of Croatia was the first step. Recognition of Slovenia was to follow. Germany's push to recognize both break away republics in 1992 only exacerbated the conflict. The result was a war on European soil not seen since World War II and ethnic cleansing.