For several reasons, the multi-perspective processing of the Bosnian war is of continuing relevance, also with regard to broader layers of society in Germany, BiH and other European countries. On the one hand, the events of the Bosnian war cannot be considered to „have been dealt with“ or „settled“, as unfortunately, the given state of peace (rather: non-war) in the Western Balkans appears to be highly fragile. The initiators of this book project are convinced that awareness raising on the effects of the Bosnian war deeply into personal biographies is a basic prerequisite for a sustainable, peaceful coexistence. Even if this book cannot „come to terms“ with the Bosnian war — it can contribute to this process in a practical sense.
Secondly, the authors of the book can also deliver a contribution to the documentation of contemporary history, which, especially for interested students and younger people of today, provides insights into a temporal context that these students have not experienced themselves (and be it through medial transmission). While history and non-fictional books are bound to the level of events and verifiable facts, the more personal (and also narrative) perspectives of this book project can provide insights into how lives, personal decisions, and the thinking and writing of indiciduals are still shaped by the events from more than 25-30 years ago. In other words: how these events and experiences are being processed under conditions where the war has not been „settled“ or „dealt with.“
Thirdly, these contributions, which cross linguistic, generational, and national boundaries, also reflect another crucial development of the broader society(ies) involved: sometimes, the word „post migrant“ is used for grapsing this development, another time, we may refer to „cosmopolitanization“ (Kosmopolitisierung) (Ulrich Beck). However we term the development, what is meant is that the „national container“ as the limiting perspective of the perception of society, has become too narrow for grasping social reality. The social reality of the present-day includes the narratives and stories that are told, whether in families, at schools, at universities — or summarized under the large concept of „German memory culture“. Insofar as the post-migrant society is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan and interwoven with places outside the old „container“, the same should apply to memory culture.
[Cover picture: Emina Haye, Mostar 2018.]
