Vukovar, Croatia

 

Vukovar means castle by the Var river. The Croat people her have been part of various empires (primarily, until World War I when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was created and after WW II, the Republic of Yugoslavia. After Tito died, Slobodan Milošević became president, but Croatia declared their independence. We heard the story of the Croatian War of Independence starting in 1991. The Serbs attacked Croatia determined to create a greater Serbia. The 1700 defenders here held off the Serbian army for 87 days, delaying their March thru Croatia. Every night a boy would climb the town water tower to raise the Croatian flag to signal to the defenders that the town was not conquered. Our guide, Romina, was 5 years old at the time and traveling with her father in Stuttgart. On their return, they smuggled guns for the Croats to defend themselves. She remembers her 11-year-old brother sleeping close to her so they would die together if a shell hit their house. The town was heavily bombed, and we could see evidence of the shelling throughout the town. Before the war, the city was 42000, 15000 employed by the shoe industry. After the war, only 23,000 remain and only 1000 are in the shoe industry. We also visited the memorial Cemetery where a mass grave was found of 938 people.

Vukovar Train Station

We had lunch at the home of Lydia, Dominic, and their daughter Yvonne. We had some home-made Rakia liquor, cherry brandy, and white wine to drink and a simple salad, pork sausages, and mashed potatoes to eat. Dominic is retired, Lydia owns a hair salon, and Yvonne is in high school. They have lots of sheep, geese, and hens in their yard and breed parrots.

Lunch with Dominic, Yvonne, and Lydia

In the afternoon, we heard from a former high school teacher on how the school system in this city segregates Serbian and Croat children, even 26 years after the end of the war. While there is only one high school, they still have separate classes in one building. Teachers in the school share a lounge but sit on opposite sides! This is maintained even though 75% of the Serbians and 80% of the Croats would prefer to integrate. It’s become a political issue. Norway even proposed to fund an integrated school, but the proposal died.

That night we were entertained by a Slavonian musical group featuring a tamburica