What was Yugoslavia?

0:00 Welcome to History's Not Boring by kidopoly.com. I'm Mira! And I'm Finn. Before we jump in, a massive shout out to Nora, who lives in Bosnia. Nora wrote in after our Anne Frank episode to ask about the Yugoslav war that happened where she lives.

0:17 That is a really thoughtful and brave question, Nora. So this entire episode is for you.

0:23 We also want to say a big hello to nine-year-old Layla in Jakarta, Indonesia, who listens to the show every single day. Keep listening and exploring, Layla. And if you haven't already, tap follow wherever you're listening so you never miss an episode.

0:38 So, Mira, what kind of history are we exploring today? Is it ancient Romans? Pirates?

0:45 Today, we are investigating a gigantic disappearing act.

0:49 Wait, like a magic trick? Did somebody hide a monument?

0:53 Even bigger! Did you know there was a huge country in Europe that existed for over 70 years, with over 23 million people living there? But if you look at a map today, it's completely gone?

1:08 What? An entire country just vanished. Did it sink into the ocean?

1:14 No, the land is still exactly where it was. But the country itself split apart into six completely different nations. Today we are exploring the amazing, beautiful, and sometimes sad story of Yugoslavia. Okay, so where exactly was Yugoslavia? It was in South East Europe, right across the sparkling Adriatic Sea from Italy.

1:38 The name Yugoslavia literally translates to Land of the South Slavs. When did it become a country? It was first formed in 1918, right after the First World War. Before that, the people there had been ruled by massive empires that eventually collapsed. So, they decided to join together to be stronger.

1:59 That makes sense. Team up and form an Avengers-style mega country. Exactly.

2:05 But Yugoslavia wasn't just one simple piece of land. Think of it like a giant puzzle made of six main pieces, called republics. Those six were Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia.

2:22 Six different republics in one country. That sounds really complicated to run.

2:28 It was, because it wasn't just one culture. Across those six republics, people spoke multiple languages, used two different alphabets, called Latin and Cyrillic, and practiced three major religions. You had Catholic Christians, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims all living side by side as neighbours.

2:48 That sounds awesome! Imagine all the different festivals and food you'd get to experience just walking down the street.

2:55 It was incredibly vibrant. You had freezing snowy Alps in the north and warm, sunny beaches in the south. After the Second World War, the country was led by a man named Jossip Broz Tito. He ruled for 35 years, from 1945 until he died in 1980.

3:14 35 years? Did he do a good job holding the puzzle together?

3:19 He was a very strict ruler, what we call a dictator, meaning people didn't get to vote against him. But he did keep all those different republics united. Under Tito, Yugoslavia was unique. People there could travel freely across Europe, which many other countries in Eastern Europe couldn't do at the time.

3:38 So if everything was holding together, what was the best moment for Yugoslavia?

3:42 Many people say the absolute high point was February 1984. Because guess what happened in the Yugoslav city of Sarajevo?

3:51 A giant pizza party. Wait, no. The World Cup? Close!

3:58 It was the 14th Winter Olympic Games! It was the very first time a socialist country ever hosted the Winter Olympics. Fortnine different countries sent over 1,200 athletes to compete. Whoa! I bet the whole country was so proud! They were! Everyone pitched in to build ski jumps and ice rinks. They even had a super cute mascot named Vuchko, which was a little wolf who wore a red scarf and went skiing.

4:29 It felt like Yugoslavia was the centre of the whole world.

4:33 But since Yugoslavia isn't on the map anymore, things must have gone wrong.

4:38 You're right. After President Tito died in 1980, the economy started to struggle. Prices for basic things like food went way up. When people get scared about money and their future, they sometimes stop trusting each other.

4:54 Oh no. Did the puzzle pieces start pulling apart?

4:58 Yes. By the early 1990s, leaders in the different republics started arguing. Some politicians used angry words to make the different groups fear each other. In June 1991, two of the republics, Slovenia and Croatia, officially declared that they wanted to leave Yugoslavia and be their own independent countries.

5:21 Were they allowed to just leave like that?

5:24 That was the big problem. The government in the capital city didn't want them to go. They sent the National Army to try to stop them, and that's when the fighting began. The peaceful puzzle was officially breaking. What happened to all those neighbours who used to be friends? It was incredibly sad, Finn.

5:43 From 1991 to 2001, a series of fierce conflicts called the Yugoslav Wars broke out. The worst fighting happened in Croatia, and then in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

5:56 That sounds really scary for the kids living there.

6:00 It was. For ordinary civilians, just families trying to live their lives, it was terrifying. Cities were surrounded. People lost electricity and running water for years. It is important to say plainly that terrible things were done to ordinary civilians during this time, and that is always wrong. But people are brave, right?

6:22 Did they help each other? Yes, they were incredibly brave. Neighbours often risked their lives to share food and protect each other, no matter what their religion was. And eventually, the world stepped in to help stop the fighting. In December 1995, leaders signed the Dayton Peace Agreement, which brought an end to the worst of the war in Bosnia.

6:48 Oh, thank goodness. So they could finally start fixing things.

6:52 Exactly! And I have to tell you my favourite story of rebuilding. In the city of Mostar, there was a beautiful ancient stone bridge called Stari Most. It was built in 1566 and stood for over 400 years before it was destroyed in the war in 1993. Oh no! A 400-year-old bridge? But wait! After the war, people from all different backgrounds decided to rebuild it exactly as it was.

7:23 They even sent scuba divers plunging into the freezing river to rescue pieces of the original bridge from the riverbed. No way! Did they finish it? They did! Using over 1,000 hand-carved blocks of stone, some weighing over a thousand pounds, they reopened the bridge in 2004. Today it stands as a massive symbol of peace and putting the pieces back together.

7:49 So what does that part of the world look like today? Are they still six pieces?

7:54 Yes. Today, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are all their own independent countries. Children there grow up in peace, go to school, and share a lot of the same wonderful traditions, like eating chavapi, which are amazing little grilled meat sausages served in flatbread.

8:16 Okay, since Yugoslavia was so huge, there must be some weird and wild facts about it. Hit me with them.

8:24 You know I have some. Have you ever heard of the Yugo car? Nope. Was it fast? Oh, definitely not. Yugoslavia built a tiny car called the Yugo, and in the 1980s they sold it in America. It was the cheapest car you could buy, costing just $3,990. But it was famous for being terrible. It only had 55 horsepower and broke down constantly.

8:53 People literally made up jokes about it.

8:56 Haha, a brand new car for under 4 grand. I guess you get what you pay for. Here's a nature fact.

9:03 In Croatia, there's a place called Plitvitz Lakes. It has 16 different glowing blue and green lakes, all connected by 90 cascading waterfalls.

9:13 It's like something out of a fairy tale. 90 waterfalls in one place. That sounds beautiful.

9:19 And in Slovenia, there's a cave so big it has an underground train. Inside, there are blind salamanders that live in the dark. Hundreds of years ago, when heavy rains washed them out of the cave, local people thought they were literal baby dragons.

9:36 Baby dragons? Okay, I officially want to visit every single one of these countries now.

9:42 Alright, Finn, it's time for the quiz.

9:44 Are you ready to test your knowledge? Okay, baby dragons and giant bridges. I think I'm ready. Let's do this. First question.

9:54 What year was Yugoslavia first formed after the First World War? Next one. How many main republics or puzzle pieces made up Yugoslavia? Question three. What was the name of the skiing wolf muscot from the 1984 Winter Olympics? Here's number four. What was the name of the incredibly cheap tiny car built in Yugoslavia?

10:28 Last question. Scuba divers rescued pieces of the Starry Moss Bridge from a river in which city? Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is it was formed in 1918. For question two, there were six main republics. Number three, the answer is the cute little wolf was named Vuchko. Question four, it was the famous Yugo car.

10:59 And the final answer is, the bridge is in the city of Mostar.

11:04 You know, Mira, this story was a little sad in the middle, but I really love how they rebuilt that stone bridge together at the end.

11:11 Me too, Finn. History has tough moments, but the people who rebuild and make peace are the real heroes.

11:19 Hey listeners, if you love learning about Yugoslavia today, you can build a bridge to us by leaving a five-star review. Just scroll down on your podcast app and tap those five stars.

11:31 And please follow this show right now, wherever you're listening, so new episodes pop up automatically. Oh, and we have sister shows too. Science and philosophy is not boring, and maths is not boring.

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11:54 Thanks for exploring with us today. See you next time on History's Not Boring. Bye!