German media about education in Serbia and Croatia: Both teach children to hate their neighbors, they pit them against each other

The DPA (Deutsche Presse Agentur), which is transmitted by most of the important media in the German-speaking region, has dealt with school textbooks in Serbia and Croatia, as they said, they are teaching the youth in both countries to hate each other.

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- They barely faced that war 25 years since Yugoslavia broke down. Instead of that, the students in Serbia and Croatia are learning a one-sided and nonhistorical version of the past - DPA is noted at the start.

Quote of Aleksandar Miletic, a historian from Serbia, who thinks that the students are taught of "intolerance and hatred" and he is giving an example from the third-grade textbook where it says that Albanians, Montenegrins, and Bosniaks are rotten to the core, while Serbs always acted with purest moral intentions.

The wars that crushed former Yugoslavia and the problems they brought are still not solved, not even after 25 years. 

- Politicians don't understand that you have to overcome the past for successful future - the leading activist for human rights Natasa Kandic said.

Foto: Tanjug/Oksana Toskić

The status of a victim from 19th century 

- The most important history books in Croatia and Serbia indoctrinate children and pit them against their neighbors. Everything is presented in black and white without gray zones. The position of the people as a victim is shown in the study of the 19th century.

Every guild is always absolutely on the other side. Terrible crimes of the members of their own people are always described as "vengeance acts of individuals". While "we" were always peaceful and we wanted to avoid conflicts, and we exclusively solve them in a diplomatic way, "they" only dealt with aggressive conquers - DPA describes the general tone of history books in Serbia and Croatia. 

It is stated that it is taught in Croatia that the independence of the state is actually the reaction of many centuries of desire of Serbs to rule over Croats, while students in Serbia learn that Serbs just defended themselves against the "fascist Croatian nationalism", and that they would be exterminated without it, reports index.hr.

Foto-ilustracija: Profimedia, Wikipedia

Serbia is presented as a role model of democracy, which is, unfortunately, a constant victim of some "world conspiracy", and a sentence could be found in one textbook: "What fascist Croatia failed to do in World War Two, the Euro-American democracies succeeded". That is the reference to the "missing Serbs" from Croatia. And, of course, the "Austro-German conspiracy" against Serbia is mentioned.

Many problems of the war past remain unsolved: Those are, stolen values, missing citizens, border disputes, war repairs...

Hundreds of thousands of people were forcibly displaced, and that is shown as their voluntary departure. Very few people returned after the war or asked the compensation for lost property.

Foto: Wikimedia /Peter Denton

Fascist criminals are being rehabilitated in Croatia and Serbia

- Both sides are ignoring that they work on deepening problems in mutual relations - DPA writes and reminds that fascist criminals are being rehabilitated in both states and that "historical figures which are an eyesore for the other side" are especially celebrated.

It is not surprising that many problems remain unsolved between two states, like missing people in war, damage payments, border disputes, DPA states and notes that the basic problem is that they refuse to talk about the victims and trauma of the other side. 

Foto: Profimedia/TASS

The article concludes with a reference to the statement by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who said that a lot of time will pass before Serbia and Croatia can become friends. Her statement was described as undiplomatic and it was listed as an example of deepening of the problems between the two neighboring countries.

(Telegraf.co.uk)