a nation that had people of many ethnic groups, languages, religions, alphabets and other catagories live together under one flag and one ruler. It was formed after
World War I as a kingdom. The name "Yugoslavia" technically means the "Land of the South Slavs". It was later ruled in a
dictatorial manner and during
World War II the country was torn apart partially due to actions by the
Axis powers. One example of this calamity is that the
Utashe, a
Croatian fascist group established a Croatian puppet state and waged a campaign of extermination against the
Serb ethnic group. A Croatian
Communist, Josef "Tito" Broz, managed to reunite Yugoslavia at the war's end and he ruled the entire land under his version of
Communism (independent of the influence of the
Soviet leaders) until his death in
1980. The communist glue lost its hold on the country by the end of the decade, opening the way for fascists like
Slobodan Milosevic and nationalists like
Franjo Tudjman and others to stir up ethnic tensions. The Communist government resigned and voted itself out of existance in early
1990 and elections were soon held.
Milosevic the son-of-a-bitch wanted control of the land for himself and his policies led to several years of secession,
wars and "
ethnic cleansing" and a new
Holocaust. The nation fell apart in a raging cauldron of violence and now Yugoslavia is no more. There are now several ethnically-based countries, although
Bosnia is a mixed bag republic consisting of people in the Croat, Serb and
Muslim ethnic groups. "Yugoslavia" is now a word that refers to a country torn apart by hatred and violence between ethnic groups.
1. Rwanda and the Sudan (Darfur region) have experienced ethnic
genocide just like Yugoslavia.
2. Some ignorant
bigots with their attitudes concerning a certain
black Presidential candidate and
racist mythology about immigrants (legal and not) and post-
9/11 fears stemming from
terrorist actions are talking of "
America for the
Americans" and "RAHOWA". They use these issues to justify their hate. They want to turn this great nation into another Yugoslavia. That way is NOT the answer.