Destruction of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Archives

by Christina Stephenson

“A Nation that forgets its past has no future”
Winston Churchill

Throughout the history of Bosnia, the archives of the country collected and protected the manuscripts and documents of the region. Unfortunately, in 1992 the archives and libraries were systematically attacked with incendiary grenades from the Serbians in their brutal quest to “cleanse” the region of all non-Serbians and evidence of their lives and history. Many one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable manuscripts were forever lost. Nearly every original source document and manuscript in the country was destroyed and the recorded history and legacy of an entire populace was effectively erased from existence.

In the National Archives alone, some 155,000 rare books and manuscripts were lost. The Oriental Institute lost one of the worlds finest collections of middle-eastern manuscripts. This collection consisted of over 5,263 manuscripts and over 7,000 Ottoman government documents. There are sad, but inspiring stories of librarians attempting to save what little they could from the destruction. On August 25, 1992, the night the National Library and Archive was bombed, 32 year old librarian Aida Buturovic went immediately to the library to rescue what materials from special collections could be reached. After being able to salvage a handful of items from the inferno, she was killed by a shell blast while returning home.

Considering all of the destroyed archives in Bosnia, the loss is staggering, and yet heroic efforts are currently underway to rebuild and reform as much of the collection as possible. While nearly all of the original documents in the country are lost forever, microfiche and other facsimiles made for scholars around the world exist for some of the material. These are being sought out and painstakingly copied. In a fortunate event, some 300 manuscripts were on loan to other institutions around the world, and are expected to be returned to National Archives when they are safely rebuilt. The efforts are slow going, but bit by bit the history of the Bosnian people is being recovered and restored to the people.

References:

• Abid, Abdelaziz (2003), UNESCO, Library Development and the World Summit on the Information Society, World Library and Information Congress: 69th IFLA General Conference and Council, August 1-9, 2003, Berlin.
  Asian Classics Input Project, http://asianclassics.org, last accessed June 15, 2005.
• Carroll, James (1994), Saving the Soul of Sarajevo, The Boston Globe, October 25, 1994.
• Riedlmayer, Andras (1993). A Brief History of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Harvard University, http://www.kakarigi.net/manu/briefhis.htm, last accessed July 30, 2005.
• Riedlmayer, Andras (2002). Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1992-1996: A Post-War Survey of Selected Municipalities, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Riedlmayer, Andras (1993). Fighting the Destruction of Memory, Harvard University, http://www.kakarigi.net/manu/ingather.htm, last accessed July 31, 2005.
• Riedlmayer, Andras (1995). Libraries are NOT for Burning: International Librarianship and the Recovery of the Destroyed Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 61st IFLA General Conference.
• Sarajevo Library Photo (2003), http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/gallery/sa_library.jpg, last accessed August 3, 2005
• Schork, Kurt (1992). Jewel of the City Destroyed by Fire, the London Times, August 27, 1992.
• Shimmon, Ross (2003). The Blue Shield: the Cultural Red Cross?, World Library and Information Congress: 69th IFLA General Conference and Council, July 31 – August 1, 2003.
• Sweet, Kimberly (1999). Volumes of Hope, College Report, University of Chicago.

(photo: Sarajevo Library Photo courtesy New York Times, 2003)

How to cite this document:

Stephenson, C. A. (2005). Destruction of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Archives. BiblioTech, 3(1). Retrieved [insert date here], from: http://www.sir.arizona.edu/lso/bibliotech/2005sep_vol3_no1/christina1.htm