Anti-public memory in Banjaluka - how ethnocracy destroyers pluralism, community and unity
The article by Društvena Istorija Banjaluke (Banjaluka Public History) explores how street and neighborhood names in Banja Luka were systematically changed during and after the Bosnian War to erase its multicultural past and promote an ethnonationalist Serbian identity. This process involved the removal of anti-fascist, Yugoslav, and Muslim-linked references from public space and coincided with mass expulsions and mosque destruction. For me, this is deeply personal: I spent my childhood in Banja Luka during the war and the text resonates with my lived experiences of memory, loss, identity, and the dangers of historical manipulation.
The article describes a deliberate campaign in Banja Luka during the 1990s to rename streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces as part of a broader project of ethnic homogenization.
While not directly a warzone, Banja Luka saw the forced removal of over 75,000 non-Serbs, as well as the politically orchestrated destruction of mosques and symbolic architecture. Street names linked to Yugoslav partisans, anti-fascists, and communists — once symbols of multiethnic resistance and civic unity — were erased and replaced by names rooted in Serbian nationalist mythology.
This behavior, often called urbicide, sought to kill the city's pluralistic identity by controlling its symbolic language. Democracy was redefined as majoritarian dominance, not shared citizenship. The article argues that this transformation wasn’t merely a rejection of communism, but a rejection of coexistence and community.
The text is also very personal for me. I lived in Banja Luka during the war with my cousins, in a Yugoslav army housing block called the Pentagon. My father’s uncles, once proud Partisans and Yugoslav army officers, were disillusioned by the new nationalist order. The stories they believed were dismantled not just politically, but through everyday spaces.
Concluding Reflections
Reading this article reminds me why history matters not just as memory, but as moral responsibility. The transformation of Banja Luka’s public space is a warning: when we let identity override citizenship, or ideology distort memory, we invite exclusion and loss. It’s about resisting revisionism, preserving pluralism, and insisting that historical truth serve all people, not just the dominant group. That’s why I support initiatives like Društvena Istorija Banjaluke they help us remember what community and democracy should mean.
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