r/Historians

Hello everyone! Recently ive been digging into my families history and recently i finally broke through the third wall of trouble getting past my 4th great grandfather. i have mainly found out most of what i know by matching dates, census records and siblings/children. i havent done dna yet but let me just get to the point. ive always wanted be a historian/archeologist. The first place i went to start getting my self into is researching my family history. so far i have traced other parts of my family as far back as the year 900. im mainly hear asking for a few suggestions on getting back past the 1660s on the gilmore side, but due to a fire in dublin 1920 most of my family's records were lost/destroyed. Im currently in college for diesel technician associates degree but plan to go to school again afterwards so i can also chase my passion on history, but right now i cant go too deep into because i am close to graduating. i really wanted to seek a professional opinion because my family history is really important to not only me but my family.

The Dissolution of Yugoslavia

Following the conclusion of the Second World War, Josip Broz Tito established a federal state comprising six republics:

1. Serbia

2. Croatia

3. Slovenia

4. Bosnia and Herzegovina

5. North Macedonia

6. Montenegro

Within Serbia, two autonomous provinces were incorporated:

1. Kosovo

2. Vojvodina

Tito governed with a careful balancing act, ensuring that no single nationality predominated over the others.

In 1974, Tito promulgated a constitution that granted the six republics—alongside the two provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina—exceptionally extensive powers. These included:

1. The administration of their own internal affairs.

2. The right of veto.

3. Equal representation within the collective presidency.

At the time, Tito's aim was to reassure the diverse nationalities and to prevent the hegemony of Serbia, which represented the dominant force within the Federation.

Yet the constitution soon revealed its flaws, as it left the federal government considerably enfeebled. This weakness grew only more pronounced after Tito's death in 1980, for the Union now lacked a strong hand to preserve its cohesion. In the years that followed, a host of grave problems arose: mounting foreign debt, soaring inflation, rising unemployment, a deteriorating economy, and—most dangerously—an intensification of nationalist fervour. Each republic began to clamour for greater autonomy or outright secession.

In April 1987, Slobodan Milošević travelled to Kosovo, where he met with protesting Serbs. Albanian-led demonstrations had first erupted in 1981, initially calling for improved conditions, but these soon evolved into demands for Kosovo to be granted the status of a full republic within the Federation. This development deeply unsettled the Serb population within the province, for although Kosovo was legally subordinate to Serbia, the vast majority of its inhabitants were ethnic Albanians.

Milošević proceeded to revoke most of Kosovo's autonomy, placing it under direct Serbian control, and advocated for the reinforcement of Serbia's influence throughout the Federation, while simultaneously curtailing the autonomous status of both Kosovo and Vojvodina. Other republics—particularly Slovenia and Croatia—viewed these moves as a direct threat to their own standing within the Federation, and this perception soon spurred their own declarations of independence.

First: The Independence of Slovenia and Croatia

On 25 June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia proclaimed their independence. The Yugoslav People's Army, whose ranks were overwhelmingly composed of Serbs, intervened in Slovenia in an attempt to block the secession. A brief conflict, known as the Ten-Day War, ensued, but it ended swiftly with the army's withdrawal, owing to the paucity of the Serb population within Slovenia. Slovenia thus became the first republic to secede successfully.

Croatia, however, presented a far more complex case. It contained numerous regions with substantial Serb minorities, who refused to accept the declaration of independence. War consequently broke out between Croatian forces and the Serbs, the latter being supported by the Yugoslav army. The conflict dragged on for four years, concluding with Croatia reclaiming the greater part of its territory.

Second: The Independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia was the most ethnically heterogeneous of all the Yugoslav republics, containing a mosaic of different peoples:

1. The Bosniaks (Muslims).

2. The Serbs (Orthodox Christians).

3. The Croats (Catholic Christians).

Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence in 1992. This proclamation, however, was met not with acquiescence but with fierce resistance. The Bosnian Serbs rejected it outright and proclaimed their own separate entity. The new state was recognised by the European Communities in April 1992, followed shortly thereafter by the United States, and it was admitted to the United Nations on 22 May 1992.

Nevertheless, the Serbs remained obstinate in their opposition. The Bosnian Serbs argued that the independence referendum did not represent them and therefore refused to participate. Even before the declaration of independence, they had already announced the establishment of the Republika Srpska, affirming that they would remain closely tied to Serbia. With the backing of the Yugoslav army, they succeeded in seizing large swathes of Bosnian territory.

In April 1992, the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina officially commenced. Fighting erupted among the Bosniaks (Muslims), the Bosnian Serbs, and the Croats. The conflict was marked by:

1. The Siege of Sarajevo, which lasted for nearly four years.

2. Widespread ethnic cleansing and mass displacement.

3. The Srebrenica massacre, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed—an atrocity later classified by international tribunals as genocide.

The Srebrenica Massacre

On 11 July 1995, the forces of the Army of the Republika Srpska, commanded by General Ratko Mladić, entered the town of Srebrenica after a protracted siege. Thousands of civilians had gathered around the United Nations base in the village of Potočari, seeking protection, but the international contingent there was small in number and lightly armed, and proved unable to prevent the town's fall.

Once the Serb forces had taken control, the Bosniak men and boys—those aged roughly twelve and above—were systematically separated from the women and children. The women, children, and elderly were transported by bus to areas under the control of the Bosnian government.

The thousands of men and boys who had been separated were then taken to schools, warehouses, fields, and various other locations, where they were executed without mercy, shot in groups over the course of several days. The victims were buried in mass graves; later, many of the bodies were exhumed and moved to secondary burial sites in a concerted effort to conceal the evidence of the crime.

Subsequent international investigations, together with extensive exhumations and DNA analysis, established that more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys had been killed and annihilated within the span of just a few days in July 1995. The identification of some victims continues to this day, owing to the dispersal of remains across multiple mass graves and the commingling of body parts.

Months after the massacre, the Dayton Agreement was signed, bringing an end to the Bosnian war. The Srebrenica massacre has since stood as a stark and terrible illustration of the consequences of ethnic hatred and nationalist extremism.

The cascade of independence declarations did not cease with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Further secessions followed:

1. Macedonia declared independence in 1991 (in the same year as Slovenia and Croatia).

2. The name "Yugoslavia" was formally abolished in 2003.

3. Montenegro gained independence in 2006.

4. The province of Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

To promote widespread adoption of the metric system, the National Convention ordered the installation of sixteen standard marble meter markers in the most frequented locations of Paris.

These meter markers were installed between February 1796 and December 1797.

Only two remain in the French capital. The one on Rue de Vaugirard is the only one that has never been moved from its original location. It is still embedded in the wall of a private mansion.

My great grandfather Jean Prissette lived in Paris (close to Parc du Luxembourg) during the occupation and was an avid photographer. He witnessed the street fighting in August 1944 around his neighbourhood.

Most of his photos were never returned when he had them developed and this is all I found when we emptied his house. Thought some might enjoy.

Last photo is him when he was mobilised in 1940 (like many soldiers, he never saw the Germans as the army crumbled before they had a chance catch a glimpse of the enemy).