SERBIAN SUFFERING IN 20TH CENTURY HIGHLIGHTED IN VIENNA

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 9 /SRNA/ - An international multimedia campaign by the Memorial Center of Republika Srpska, aimed at ensuring that Serbian victims are visible and preserved in European and global memory, was held in Vienna, where members of the large Serb community as well as tourists were able to see content dedicated to Serbian suffering in the 20th century.

Director of the Memorial Center of Republika Srpska Denis Bojić said that the "Learn About Serbian Suffering" campaign was presented in Vienna in German, as the intention is to reach people who may not previously have had the opportunity to hear or read enough about Serbian suffering.

"We are not seeking special treatment. We are seeking the right for our story to be heard, just as every nation has the right to speak about its victims," Bojić said.

The campaign was presented in the immediate vicinity of the Vienna State Opera, the Memorial Center of Republika Srpska said.

Various periods of suffering endured by the Serb people were presented, from the First and Second World Wars, through the genocide against Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/ from 1941 to 1945 and the suffering of Serb children in camps, to the suffering of Serb civilians during the wars of the 1990s, all with the aim of making this part of history accessible to audiences who had previously had no opportunity to learn more about it.

The campaign in Vienna was supported by the Republika Srpska Ministry for European Integration and International Cooperation and the Republika Srpska Representative Office in Austria, as part of efforts to bring the issue of the culture of remembrance and Serbian historical experience to audiences beyond the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

Vienna is the second major stop of the international "Learn About Serbian Suffering" campaign, which was launched in New York. Following Austria, it will continue in Rome, where the digital content will be displayed at several locations in the Italian capital.