No future? Narrating the past in Bosnian history museums

Abstract

Recent unrest and the 2014 elections have corroborated the impression of Bosnia as a failing state, one that is constantly being undermined by the three-way impasse between constituent ethnic groups of Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs. Major history museums in Bosnia, however, provide a more complex picture. This paper analyzes museums and exhibitions on twentieth-century history in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Jajce, with regard to their narrative strategies, their aesthetic appearance, and the commemorative practices in their respective locations. From this perspective, the use of history in building group identity in Bosnia is far from coherent. Although museums are one means to assert firmly entrenched national identities both old and new, they compete at the same time with nostalgic commemorations of socialist Yugoslavia and with equally nostalgic references to the Austrian occupation. Various civic groups struggle to assert their visions of belonging, mostly with rather modest financial means. Based on these findings, this paper will explore not only the underlying assumptions of what history and, in particular, museums are all about, but also how visions of the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina are inscribed in these uses of history – if indeed they are.

Keywords:

• history
• Bosnia
• museum
• Yugoslavia

Acknowledgements

This article is based on a paper presented at the Association for the Study of Nationalities World Convention, Columbia University, 23–25 April 2015. I would like to thank Nataša Jagdhuhn, formerly Tevapčević, and Dennis Dierks (both Jena) for generously sharing their research and expertise with me, and for their inspiring and helpful comments and remarks. I also thank Paul Hanebrink (Rutgers) for his comments at the ASN convention, and William Martin for his diligent editorial revision of the manuscript.

Notes

1. http://www.cultureshutdown.net/historijski-muzej-bih/ (retrieved 17 July 2015).

2. http://www.muzej.ba/index.php?lang=en&sel=2 (retrieved 25 March 2015).

3. http://galerija110795.ba/ (retrieved 25 March 2015).

4. http://muzejsarajeva.ba/bs/depandansi/muzej-sarajevo (retrieved 25 March 2015).

5. http://www.muzej.ba/index.php?lang=en&sel=5&cat=8 (retrieved 25 March 2015).

6. Petrović-Ziemer, Ljubinka. Sarajevo und seine (Ge)Schichten von (un)erhörtem Leid. Unpublished manuscript, to be published at http://www.cultures-of-history.uni-jena.de.

7. http://sr.wikipedia.org/sr-el/Народно_позориште_Републике_Српске (retrieved 19 March 2015).

8. http://tkojetko.irb.hr/znanstvenikDetalji.php?sifznan=3054&podaci=biografija (retrieved 19 March 2015).

9. http://www.ibar.ba/katalog/place/muzej-republike-srpske-banja-luka/#gallery/86348e55306de784af4502ec1396b807/513/0 (retrieved 4 July 2015). I am grateful to Dennis Dierks for drawing my attention to the portrait gallery and for sharing his expertise with me.

10. http://pressrs.ba/info/vesti/foto-u-banjaluci-otkriven-spomenik-stefanu-nemanji-10-10-2014 (retrieved 4 July 2015).

11. http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=1154247 (retrieved 24 March 2015); http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mc.kcbor.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Josip-Broz-na-Drugom-zasedanju-AVNOJ-a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mc.kcbor.net/2011/11/29/29-novembar-praznik-kojeg-vise-nema/&h=307&w=485&tbnid=tadcsDiXhEpUyM:&zoom=1&tbnh=118&tbnw=186&usg=__6zVTsmNVhgv4fTE8VZa_MN2h1hI=&docid=VHbaE-IscVccHM&sa=X&ei=Z4sRVdWHEdfWaoeXgdAO&ved=0CCcQ9QEwAQ (retrieved 24 March 2015).

12. See also the virtual tour: http://www.muzejavnoj.ba/virtuelna-tura/sala/ (retrieved 20 March 2015).

13. Dani Avnoj-a u Jajcu 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIS0L9hktLc; 70 godina AVNOJ-a u gradu Jajcu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ii8iJ72hhs; Dani Avnoj-a Jajce 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSqxAkkGa88 (all retrieved 25 March 2015).