A Witness to Genocide

by Roy Gutman

A compilation of reports from the front lines of Bosnia provides firsthand evidence of the genocide perpetrated against Bosnia's Muslim population.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History, Journalism, Politics, War

180 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

Journalist and author. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, the George Polk Award for foreign reporting, the Selden Ring Award for investigative reporting, and a special Human Rights in Media Award from the International League for Human Rights.

Reviews

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have to do a project or essay on ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, or just wish to learn more about it, I highly suggest reading this book because it is very informative. The book itself is only about 180 pages, but it is full of helpful information.

The Bosnian War is not something they cover in history class. At least, not in my schools. Teachers tend to skip over it and discuss the Holocaust. Not to say that the Holocaust isn't important, but it is covered so much that we already know a lot about it. But there were other genocides. I mean, there is still genocide going on today depending on how you look at it. I can't say that I know too much about Nazi soldiers and how violent they were, but Roy Gutman presents Serbian soldiers as being savages that truly hated Muslims and wanted to bring pain to as many as they could.

Another reason I think we should lean away from Holocaust discussion in schools is because it was a long time ago. Yes, the body count was probably the highest of any genocide. But the Bosnian Genocide (and others, like the Rwandan Genocide) was a lot more recent. And I'm willing to bet it was just as violent as the Holocaust, if not more.

Here are some examples of atrocities committed against the Bosnian Muslims I noted:

-A woman said she was raped about 100 times in the two months she was imprisoned in a Serb-run concentration camp.

-A man had his genitals tied to a motorcycle with a wire and then it took off at high speeds. He died of blood loss, but imagine the agony he experienced.

-Children impaled on spikes.

-Guards took electric drills to the chests of prisoners.

-Prisoners were forced to eat each other's flesh and perform sex acts on each other.

And the list goes on and on.
Why is it that when people get power, weapons, and no consequences that they lose their humanity? Yes, it happened in Nazi Germany, it happened in Rwanda, and it has happened elsewhere.

Some of the books I've been reading for my project on ethnic cleansing in Bosnia are very dry and boring. Not this one. Gutman provides short interesting chapters that switch subjects enough to prevent boredom but also keep the book well organized. He is a very good journalist and his work definitely deserves the Pulitzer Prize it was given.

[David Groves · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading several books on the breakup of Yugoslavia and suffering from their convoluted, unpolished prose, this was a breath of fresh air. Not only was Roy Gutman in the right place and time in history (Bosnia, 1993) to witness a modern version of the Nazi mass viciousness, but he also had the skill and the ear to tell the story well.

Gutman captures jaw-dropping moments, such as the guard at Omarska who told UN authorities that they planned to kill their 8,000 prisoners by exposing them to the elements.

"We won't waste our bullets on them. They have no roof. There is sun and rain, cold nights, and beatings two times a day. We give them no food and no water. They will starve like animals."

The book is filled with such horrific details. In essence, Gutman stepped aside and let the story tell itself. Wonderful, horrifying, vivid, heartbreaking, historical, history making.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a pulitzer prize winner and it is clear why: I wanted nothing more than to cry through the whole thing for how depressing it is. Great information and I'm glad it moved Americans to push for action in the Balkans. However, it is not light reading and will certainly make your stomach turn.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowing read that covers the genocide that occurred in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the ‘90s. The writing and coverage were/are excellent. But, given the subject matter and detail, it’s definitely an emotional slog.

[Riccardo Mazzocchio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le ragioni del genocidio in Bosnia. Agghiacciante..verità non pervenute

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense book. The Serbian genocide of Croat and Muslims in Bosnia. Just horrifying what human do to each other. Discussion and evidence of the rape camps.

[Dr Eman Sonnet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sve što ste pamti nestaje

A što se zapiše ostaje

[Michael VanZandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Total buzzkill to any positive momentum in your day. Gutman chronicles the growing number of atrocities committed against Bosnian civilians from 1991 to 1993. His writing made the pages of Newsday, and won a Pulitzer, but his audience (at least the most influential) were deaf or indifferent. Reading these accounts of the "ethnic cleansing" of this region forced me to stop reading on several occasions. They are every bit as brutal as the accounts I've read of Nazi internment of Jews, gypsies, et al. Though this campaign was also systematic, there was is an element of subversion and capriciousness. Brutality knew no bounds. The killings bore little logistical reasoning. Chaos reigned, yet it was on schedule and carried on, similarly, throughout the entire Bosnian countryside. Extremely sad, especially in light of the optimism which is born out of the fall of the Berlin Wall. For those who thought that humanitarian operations would take precedence in the foreign policy of the global powers, Bosnia eradicated any such wishful thinking.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a firsthand account of the atrocities committed against Bosnia and Bosnian Muslims during the wars in Yugoslavia. While some background is given, this timely book takes a journalistic approach.

[Karla]

Probably would be better if I had more uniterrupted time to read. I don't know enough about the subject matter to be able to be able to read it in the short spurts that my kids allow me.