The Death of Yugoslavia - Season 1

Episodes

Enter Nationalism

After the death of Josip Broz Tito, rising nationalism gets Yugoslavia in its grips. This is exacerbated after Slobodan Milošević takes power in Serbia and turns against the Kosovar Albanians.

Sep 3, 1995

Season 1Episode 250 min

The Road to War

In April 1990, Croatia holds its first free parliamentary election. Ethnic Serbs in Croatia feel threatened by the nationalist tone of Croatia's newly elected President Franjo Tuđman and they begin a Log Revolution in August 1990. On 19 May 1991, Croatia holds an independence referendum, which is approved by a wide majority. The Battle of Vukovar of August 1991 is the first major battle in the Croatian War of Independence.

Sep 10, 1995

Season 1Episode 350 min

Wars of Independence

Slovenia and Croatia soon declare their independence and ask for international recognition. But Belgrade (the capital of both Serbia and Yugoslavia) does not see it this way because it soon means the collapse of Yugoslavia.

Sep 17, 1995

Season 1Episode 450 min

The Gates of Hell

After the war between Serbia and Croatia ends with the signing of an agreement, Serbia involves itself in Bosnia where a lot of things are at stake. Here begins the longest and the most tragic part of the conflict.

Sep 24, 1995

Season 1Episode 550 min

A Safe Area

The episode starts with Lord Owen coming to Sarajevo in december 1992 saying to the media: "Don't, don't, don't live under this dream that the west is going to come here and solve this problem. Don't dream dreams" Srebrenica had become a refuge for thousands of muslims driven from their homes in other parts of Bosnia. The city was surrounded by Bosnian Serbs and in effect became a huge prison camp. They tried to starve the population by stopping supplies coming into the city. UN General Morillon sets up a base in Srebrenica. Srebrenica is declared a safe area. Concentration camps are set up in different areas of the Bosnia. Outside Yugoslavia people discuss whether what is going on in Bosnia is in fact ethnic cleansing and whether the rest of the world has any responsibility to act. The US gets involved, so does the Russians. US first holds back and Europe needs to act alone, but initiatives are made to engage NATO. The Vance-Owen plan (named after its principal negotiators, former U.S. secretary of state Cyrus Vance and former British foreign minister David Owen) is put forward to the parties in the conflict. This is a new attempt to divide the country between the Bosnian Serbs, The Bosnian Croats and the rest of the Bosnians (muslims). A lot of pressure is put on the parties to accept the plan and only Karadzic holds back. In the end he signs the treaty but it has to be ratified by his co-leaders in the Republika Srpska, which is was not. The episode ends with American NATO military jets bomb the Bosnia Serb positions around Sarajevo.

Oct 1, 1995

Season 1Episode 650 min

Pax Americana

This documentary traces the events leading up to the Dayton peace talks in Ohio. For the first time, the main participants in the peace negotiations tell the inside story on how a resolution was met.

Oct 8, 1995