Overview
In this lesson, students will learn a shortened history of the war and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina which lasted from 1992-1995. Students will examine the destruction of the Stari Most Bridge during the war, and its reconstruction which is viewed by many as a symbol of peace. They will watch and listen to a dialogue ore read a quote by, twenty year old Melina, a youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina and what the bridge represents to her. They will then work in groups to identify a symbol of peace for their generation.
Teacher Notes
Country: Bosnia And Herzegovina
“In 1991, Yugoslavia’s republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia) had a population of 4 million, composed of three main ethnic groups: Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim, 44 percent), Serb (31 percent), and Croat (17 percent), as well as Yugoslav (8 percent). In June 1991, the republics of Slovenia and Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, beginning the country’s break up. The next month, the Yugoslav army—largely composed of Serbs and controlled by Slobodan Milosevic—invaded Croatia, justifying the act to protect the Serbian minority there. The city of Vukovar fell, and the Serbs conducted mass executions of hundreds of Croat men, burying them in mass graves. On April 5, 1992, the government of Bosnia declared its independence from Yugoslavia. When Bosnia’s independence was recognized by the United States and the European Union on April 7, 1992, Bosnian Serb forces backed by the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army immediately launched offensives to control areas they coveted. During the subsequent war that lasted from 1992 to 1995, an estimated 100,000 people were killed, 80 percent of whom were Bosniaks. In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed as many as 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from the town of Srebrenica. It was the first genocide inEurope since the Holocaust.
Behind the front lines, Bosniak and Croatian civilians bore the brunt of Serbian assaults in what became known as “ethnic cleansing”: torture, rape, murder, robbery, and forced displacement. The Bosnian government army tried to defend its territory, at times in alliance with, and other times in opposition to, Croatian forces. While all sides committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, Bosnian Serb forces systematically perpetrated abuses throughout the areas they controlled. The conflict included an intensive bombing campaign of Bosnia’s capital in “the Siege of Sarajevo”—in which snipers in hills around the city shot at civilians as they tried to get food and water—as well as roundups and mass executions, confinement in concentration camps, torture, and systematic rape.
Fighting ended after a NATO bombing campaign forced Bosnian Serbs to the negotiating table, and a peace agreement, the Dayton Accords, was signed in 1995.” (USHMM, 2021) (Imagine: Reflection on Peace, 2020).
Grade Level
8th - 12th Grades
Essential question the lesson will address:
● Can artifacts representing past events, places, or things become symbols of peace?
● Does your generation have a symbol of peace?
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to....
● Articulate why people view the Stari Most Bridge as a symbol of peace.
● Work within small groups to identify a symbol representing their generation.
Common Core State Standards (11th grade)
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.B Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.D Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined https://www.infocore.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/def_post-conflict.pdfexperiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
Glossary and Concept
● Post-conflict environments: Literally, post-conflict is an adjective, which serves to describe the period immediately after a conflict is over. (INFOCORE)
Formative Assessment Strategies
The teacher can make a note of…
● Student participation in partner and whole-class discussion about the Stari Most Bridge
● Class attention in listening to and discussing Melina’s quote about the Stari Most Bridge.
● Group engagement while identifying their generation’s symbol of peace.
Materials for Instructor
● Laptop
● Projector
● Mostar Bridge Photo Worksheet
● Youth Dialogue with Melina about her Peace Artifact
Materials for Students
● Imagine Journals and writing utensil
Lesson Plan
I. Opening Discussion (10 min)
Introduce students to the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the description provided below. Depending on the grade level of your class, edit the information as you feel is appropriate. The war and genocide that occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina are quite complex to simply refer to in one lesson. Taking that into account, focus on the fact that the country’s current youth were born in the aftermath of the war and genocide.
The main historical points that can be shared with the students include:
● In 1991 the country of former Yugloslavia began to dissolve and its republics, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia (including the regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina) and Slovenia, declared independence at separate times.
● “On April 5, 1992, the government of Bosnia declared its independence from Yugoslavia. When Bosnia’s independence was recognized by the United States and the European Union on April 7, 1992, Bosnian Serb forces backed by the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army immediately launched offensives to control areas they coveted. During the subsequent war that lasted from 1992 to 1995, an estimated 100,000 people were killed, 80 percent of whom were Bosniaks. In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed as many as 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from the town of Srebrenica. It was the first genocide in Europe since the Holocaust.” (Imagine: Reflections on Peace, 2020).
● The war was ended by the Dayton Peace Accord which divided the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina into two separate parts, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska.
● This division has made it extremely complex for the people to unite as citizens living in one country.
The lesson will focus on the hopes of the current generation to live in a united peaceful country. The background is the set up in order for students to have a basic understanding of the complexities.
II. The Stari Most Bridge (10 min.)
Introduce students to the Stari Most Bridge (also called the Mostar Bridge)
Stari Most Bridge, also referred to as the Mostar Bridge, is a 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that connects the two parts of the city. After standing for 427 years, it was destroyed on 9 November 1993. In 2004, the bridge was rebuilt.
Step 1:
● DiscProject the provided PDF with three images of bridge onto a screen; one a historical photo of the bridge from 1896, two the photo of the bridge after it was destroyed, and the third the bridge as it stands now after being re-bemnants of the bridge when it was destroyed and the other when it was rebuilt.
● Explain that the bridge was destroyed in 1993 during the war, but was later rebuilt in 2004. Rubble from the destroyed bridge was excavated out of the river and used to rebuild the structure. There are many who view the rebuilding of the bridge, out of the rubble of war, a symbol for rebuilding friendships and trust between the different factions in the region; a bridge to peace.
● Engage in a short discussion with students about the rebuilding of the bridge. Prompt questions can include:
○ Do you think the act of rebuilding the bridge from the stones pulled from the waters as symbolic?
○ Do you think a bridge can represent peace?
■ If yes, what do you think it symbolized?
○ Do you think a bridge can represent peace?
■ If yes, why?
■ If not, why?
III. Meet Melina (15 min.)
Step 1:
Share with the class that it is time to watch a video interview with Melina, a 20 year old university student in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is a member of the generation born after the war which ended in 1995. Though the war ended 26 years ago, Melina talks about how it still affects the current youth of BiH, and what the Stari Most Bridge represents to her.
Step 2:
Watch the video.
Step 3:
Lead a quick check-in discussion with students. Sample guiding questions can include:
What surprised you about what Melina shared?
Was there anything Melina shared that you would like to comment on?
Step 4:
Break students into group of 3 or 4. Ask each group to choose one scribe to keep notes on their discussion.
● Ask students to discuss the following in their groups:
○ Why do you think Melina chose the Stari Most Bridge as a symbol of peace for her generation?
If students would like a print out of Melina’s quote about the bridge here it is below:
“This here is the old bridge. And it is located in Mostar, which is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And the story behind it is very important for me to share and why I believe it's a symbol of peace. It was first built during the Ottoman Empire, and then it was destroyed during the war in the 90s. It was rebuilt in 2003. And many people stated that it is a symbol of peace and togetherness. The reason for that is because in Mostar, there are two predominant ethnic groups. One lives on one side of the city, the other lives on the other, and they never mixed, they never interacted, no one crossed the bridge to the other side. And these rare few individuals that would do that, they would be either verbally or physically abused. And up until 2015, this was a very, very slow process. But then as the new generation, younger generation started coming, people were more free and relaxed, to go over there and befriend people on the other side. And that's why many people believe that it's the best symbol of peace in Bosnia, and it's admired by many. And just like, you know, the bridges connect to shores they connect to peoples as well. And yeah, that's what I wanted to share with you, because I believe, although the history of it is a bit sad, it still sends a very powerful message.”
○ Do you think there is a symbol that represents your generation here in the United States? (Insert the country you are in.)
■ If the answer is yes, what is it?
■ If the answer is no, explain why not.
III. Sharing Group Reflections (15 min)
Ask students to come back together as a class and have each group’s scribe share what they discussed and if they identified a symbol they feel represents their generation.
If additional time, have students reflect in their Imagine Journals about symbols that represent peace to them and in their lives. Students can write or draw depending on what feels comfortable.
Optional Homework
Read Bridge Over Still Troubled Water to prepare for a follow up class discussion:
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/07/22/bridge-over-still-troubled-waters-rises-anew-in-split-bosnian-city/678a13b8-1f9d-4617-ab62-8d6112255bb3/)
Resources
**All links and excerpts required for the lesson are embedded into the above lesson plan. Note: You may need to print out and prepare materials in advance depending on the lesson.**