Violence as a generative force : identity, nationalism, and memory in a Balkan community / Max Bergholz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bergholz, Max, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Massacres--Bosnia and Herzegovina--Kulen Vakuf--History.

Massacres.

Ethnic conflict--Bosnia and Herzegovina--Kulen Vakuf--History.

Ethnic conflict.

Violence--Bosnia and Herzegovina--Kulen Vakuf--History.

Violence.

Nationalism and collective memory--Bosnia and Herzegovina--Kulen Vakuf--History.

Nationalism and collective memory.

Communalism--Bosnia and Herzegovina--Kulen Vakuf--History.

Communalism.

History.

Kulen Vakuf (Bosnia and Herzegovina)--Ethnic relations.

Kulen Vakuf (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

World War, 1939-1945--Bosnia and Herzegovina.

World War, 1939-1945.

Ethnic relations.

Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina--Kulen Vakuf.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 441 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2016.

Summary:

"During two terrifying days and nights in early September 1941, the lives of nearly two thousand men, women, and children were taken savagely by their neighbors in Kulen Vakuf, a small rural community straddling today's border between northwest Bosnia and Croatia. This frenzy--in which victims were butchered with farm tools, drowned in rivers, and thrown into deep vertical caves--was the culmination of a chain of local massacres that began earlier in the summer. In Violence as a Generative Force, Max Bergholz tells the story of the sudden and perplexing descent of this once peaceful multiethnic community into extreme violence. This deeply researched microhistory provides provocative insights to questions of global significance: What causes intercommunal violence? How does such violence between neighbors affect their identities and relations? Contrary to a widely held view that sees nationalism leading to violence, Bergholz reveals how the upheavals wrought by local killing actually created dramatically new perceptions of ethnicity--of oneself, supposed "brothers," and those perceived as "others." As a consequence, the violence forged new communities, new forms and configurations of power, and new practices of nationalism"-- Publisher's Web site.

Contents:

Vocabularies of community

A world upended

Killing and rescue

Rebellion and revenge

The challenge of restraint

Forty-eight hours

Sudden nationhood.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-430) and index.

ISBN:

9781501704925

1501704923

OCLC:

951465455