Exhibits

The Yugoslav postal service issued a stamp in 1992 commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking on April 15, 1912 (painted by Radomir Bojanić). At the bottom is the name of the country that issued the stamp. It was counting its final days.

Leader of the partisan movement and the president of Yugoslavia;
Original author: Antun Augustinčić, slashed, perpetrator unknown;
From Dragan Srdić’s art work “The Anatomy Lesson” (1998)

The symbol of victory (V) was used by Croatian soldiers but also by Albanian politicians and demonstrators in Kosovo. The L symbol was used by supporters of the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro. Three fingers, the most recognisable Serbian symbol today, was popularized after the demonstration on March 9, 1991. The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina introduced its own salute, with the five outspread fingers of the right hand. The symbol of a clenched fist was used by Serbian anti- regime Otpor movement.

Wars and sanctions emboldened organized crime, and many criminals became leaders of paramilitary units. Weapons became a part of everyday life. Since the early 1990s, silicone implants have been approved for use in aesthetic medicine. Silicone breasts became part of the image of many Balkan media and music stars, often associated with the criminal underworld.

The first multiparty elections were conducted in Yugoslavia during 1990. Nationalistic parties and leaders emerged victorious almost everywhere by promising protection to their nations as well as a bright future to their voters.

Photos: Archive photo, author unknown; Toni Hnojčik, “Grgurić House, Budućnost,” 1992; Bojan Mrđenović, “Budućnost,” 2008.

The department store and many shops of The Future, the successful company from Pakrac, were destroyed during the war between 1991 and 1995. The remains and ruins of this once successful company were privatized after the war.

The transition of post-socialist societies to a capitalist economy was accompanied by the creation of a new social class known as tycoons. While most of the population was impoverished, the nouveau riche took advantage of the transition process, war and market instability to accumulate considerable wealth. Golden toilets are a symbol of their arrogance.

Srebrenica was the site of one of the most horrific crimes committed on European soil after WWII. The United Nations International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia recognized the crime as genocide, and Commander of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) General Ratko Mladić and President of the Republika Srpska Radovan Karadžić were sentenced to life imprisonment. DNA analysis has identified 8,372 of those who were killed. “The flower of Srebrenica” is a symbol of remembrance.

During the bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999, NATO targeted infrastructure, particularly bridges. It is estimated that 44 roads and 17 railway bridges were destroyed. The situation was particularly difficult in Novi Sad, where all three bridges over the Danube, connecting the city to Petrovaradin, Fruška Gora and the main roads to Belgrade and the south of the country, were bombed. Despite this, the beaches along the rivers were still full during that summer.

Photo: Miloš Cvetković

The photo was shot in Odžaci, in Vojvodina, close to the border with Croatia, in the autumn of 1991. It depicts members of police units in a tavern close to the Vukovar front. A naked woman from Ukraine or Moldova performs a striptease.

Photo: Pavo Urban

Pavo Urban (1969-1991) was a Dubrovnik-born photographer. On December 6, 1991, the JNA, Serbian volunteers, and Montenegrin reservists launched one of their fiercest attacks on the besieged city of Dubrovnik, severely bombing its core. Urban courageously documented the bombardments and its consequences. These photographs are considered as some of the most significant documents of the war. In the heart of Dubrovnik, near Orlando's column, he captured his final photograph moments before being killed by shrapnel.

Photo: Goranka Matić

During the 1990s, anti-war activists held multiple rallies and protests in Belgrade and other towns in Serbia. On May 31, 1992, Belgrade witnessed the most significant anti-war rally Black Ribbon. It is believed that ten thousand civilians took part in this protest against the siege of Sarajevo and the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Photo: Danilo Krstanović

Sanela and Emir Klarić married in besieged Sarajevo in 1995. In the photograph, the newlyweds are walking down Kulovićeva Street. In the backdrop we see the canvas spread between the buildings for protection from sniper fire from the adjacent hills. The portrait of the happy newlyweds is today considered as one of the most significant photos in the history of war photography. Sanela and Emir have two daughters and are still married.

Photo: Paul Lowe

In the photograph, we see the cast of Waiting for Godot directed by renowned American writer and theorist Susan Sontag in 1993 in besieged Sarajevo.