Tensions between Croats and Serbs have been steadily rising for over a century.
They’ve had several wars, religious conflicts, accusations of ethnic cleansing, border disputes,
and country dissolutions.
Today, the two nations are constantly at odds.
So, why do Croatia and Serbia hate each other?
Well, without getting bogged down in geographic details, it’s probably easiest to say that
Serbs and Croats are very closely related ethnic groups who’ve lived next to each
other for hundreds of years in Eastern Europe.
Serbs are predominantly Orthodox Christians while Croats are predominantly Catholics.
During the post WWI restructuring of Europe, the two groups, along with a few others, were
sandwiched into what we now call Yugoslavia.
Early on, the ruler of that kingdom was a Serb, and attempted to outlaw and minimize
Croatian influence.
When World War II broke out, and the region of Croatia became a Nazi puppet state.
Under the new fascist government, hundreds of thousands of Serbs were killed in what
has been called a genocide.
Around the 1990s, Yugoslavia began to break apart and Croatians declared their independence.
Serbs in the area opposed the secession and used the Yugoslav army to invade Croatia.
The attempts by Serbian forces to overrun and subjugate Croatia was so significant that
a special international court was created to prosecute Serbian leaders for genocidal
war crimes.
Serbians were also accused of mass killings in nearby Bosnia. in 1999, Croatia filed a
genocide lawsuit against Serbia for the mass killings.
In turn, Serbia filed one against Croatia for the mass expulsion of Serbs at the end
of the war.
Both lawsuits were dismissed by the UN court.
By the late 90s, nearly all fighting had stopped, and the newly formed Serbia and Croatia continued
their animosity.
Today, they even have a dispute over their shared border at the Danube river.
Serbia says that the river as it stands today is the border, while Croatia says that the
original river path, which has since changed, is the real border.
In short, Serbia and Croatia hate each other because of hundreds of years of conflict,
coupled with significant war crimes and differences in religious ideology.
Unfortunately it’s likely that with the relative recentness of the Yugoslav Wars,
their opposition will continue for generations to come.
To get a wider view of the ethnic conflicts in the region, make sure you check out our
video about the relationship between Serbia and Albania.
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