The siege of Sarajevo lasted 1,425 days. "Being under siege" meant accepting the fact that the former way of living has disappeared and that the abnormal is becoming normal. Over time, the citizens of Sarajevo discovered methods of survival through innovations and creations, repurposing objects that were available to them, surviving despite permanent terror and destruction. Continuing a normal life, creating even in limited circumstances, for all citizens of Sarajevo under siege was as important as water, bread or medicine.
“During our rehearsals, we had a little battery, which powered a cassette player so that we could train and work on choreography. Today, when I think about it, I can see that the way that we put on the play 'Hair' is some kind of miracle. Finally, in the winter of '92. We had the premiere, which was, from my point of view, a cult event, and as long as we performed 'Hair' it was a relief, a tranquilizer for the people in this city, as I would say. We knew that people came all the way from Dobrinja and other remote parts of the city that were being shelled at the time, just to see ‘Hair', so we had two or three shows per day just for the audience.” - Amila Glamočak, singer
© FAMA Collection; Oral History: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
Sarajevo under siege defends itself with culture and thus survives. Groups and individuals created and worked in impossible conditions, without electricity, without water, with limited movement. In life-threatening circumstances, the citizens of Sarajevo showed a desire for cultural events, among other things, for music. Despite the bombing and shelling, artists held concerts, dance shows, choirs met for rehearsals. Citizens attended cultural events, at constant risk of death.
“We have thought that maybe by using music, with something nice, noble, with something with human spirit we can send the message to the enemy that we are here, and that we will remain alive under the brutality of its shelling. So, in agreement with Radio BH, as that was the only TV station that was operating at the time, we have made a plan that exactly at noon, which slightly associated on Gary Cooper’s film ‘High Noon’, so exactly at noon to call upon the citizens of Sarajevo to turn all of their available radios against the enemy’s brutality and its shelling. While at that moment the radio plays some of the finest and noble songs that were supposed to warn them about what they are doing. We have organized it and that is how it was, I think that could be the June 6, 1992, I may be wrong about the date, but I am sure about the month and the year and that we made it. That we were playing some songs like ‘Do not give up, Bosnia’, the ones that were being played at the time to enhance people’s moral helped them go through all of that. As all that was intended for our people to provide them with the encouragement to endure all that. As that was the time when it was quite easy to fall in despair, depression, and easy to surrender.” - Zlatan Hrenovica, Chief of Information Services for the BH Army’s First Corps
© FAMA Collection; Oral History: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
The City Hall was destroyed already in August 1992. In June 1994, a concert by the Sarajevo Philharmonic under the baton of the great Zubin Mehta was held in the ruined City Hall. Maestro Mehta conducted Mozart's "Requiem" under the constant threat of shelling, siren alarms and sniper fire. Jose Carreras, Ruggero Raimondi, Cecilia Gasdia and Ildiko Komlosi performed as soloists. Then, from the heart of Sarajevo, a strong message for peace, dignity and civilizational values was sent to the world. Thirty years later, on July 13, 2024, Maestro Mehta visited Sarajevo again and conducted under the now changed, normal conditions.
Survival becomes the basic need of every individual during the siege of the city. The citizens of Sarajevo learn new skills, acquire new knowledge - inventiveness and creativity have become the law of survival in everyday life. After the citizens of Sarajevo realized that the siege would last longer than anyone could have imagined, there was a real need to defend the city and its citizens from the aggressors through culture. That's how music became a powerful tool for maintaining mental health. Performers and musicians adapted their work to new conditions. In the dark, under candles and most often under loud detonations in all parts of the city, artists resisted hopelessness with music.
“Because it was easier to go over to the TV station and stay there for ten days in the studio, then to travel there and back every day. And so, they opened up a little campground there. Luckily, the studio was 300, 400, and maybe even 500 square meters large. And the TV building is also a large and safe structure, and I think that at one point there were about 50 or 60 musicians there at the same time, which would have been hard to get together in one place before the war. Ranko Rihtman, Fadil Redzic, Davorin Popovic, the groups Indexi, Crvena Jabuka, Bombaj stampa, Djuro, and many more. And we all sat down and worked together as we had practically never done before, due to the fact that there is usually quite a lot of vanity going around in artistic circles. And before the war, musicians would practically hide what they were working on at the moment until they taped it. But all at once we got closer to each other and started to play our songs for each other to hear, and seek each other’s opinions, which was something that had never happened before. And because of this, many songs were born during that short period when 50 or 60 people were living at the TV building.” - Zlatan Fazlić Fazla, Composer
© FAMA Collection; Oral History: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
“In my example, there was often a case by just simply wanting to participate at those rare rehearsals I would risk of colliding with my military obligation. To be more precise to my obligations at the front line, sometimes I would run away from it, sometimes find different ways to deal with the command, with people that I have shared those war years with. I would exempt a situation concerning a premiere of Bolero that was actually one ballet premier, very serious premier during the war. It was the time when we had to work with such intensity, very close to ones that was required for normal work. It had to be done every day for a month, which was a problem in itself. I know I would, for example, be in a night shift for several hours, as I have to be awake, until dawn around six or seven o’clock and from there on, under already established agreement with the commanding officer, head for the theatre.” - Jasenko Matković, Dancer
© FAMA Collection; Oral History: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
© FAMA Collection; Encyclopaedia: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
“The 'Give peace a chance', concert took place on March the 23rd 1993. At Chamber Theatre 55. It was a gathering of almost all of the musicians that were in the city at that time. It was organized, you might say, illegally. It was the first concert that I organized under such circumstances, because we could not put posters up to let people know when the concert would be. It is obvious why. Shells were falling all over city and if we had advertised where the gathering was going to take place, it might have been targeted. For this reason, information about the concert 'Give peace a chance', was spread by word of mouth. The hall was crowded with people. About 300 or 400 people fit in that hall but I'm sure that the same number was outside, unable to enter. A lot of people that visited the concert, including some of the musicians, were not able to go home because of the heavy shelling, and were forced to spend the night at their friends' that lived near Chamber Theatre 55.” - Želimir Altarac Čičak, Art Manager
© FAMA Collection; Oral History: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
„We never failed to celebrate Christmas at the Cathedral, to decorate Christmas trees, to dress festively and have the choir singing Christmas carols. It meant a lot to all the citizens, it gave them strength because it showed that the town was still living.“
© FAMA Collection; 'The Art of Survival' Guide
© FAMA Collection; Encyclopaedia: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
“One of our biggest projects during the war was the concert that we performed at the end of April 1994, which was dedicated to the work of Frederick Chopin. We had great trouble organizing it, I would say that we succeeded because we put heroic energy into it, because it was held in an unbelievably cold room. It was about 4 degrees Celsius in the Chamber Theatre 55. My students played for almost 180 minutes. Unfortunately, due to the terrible conditions, we played by candlelight, and that event was not recorded for a radio or TV broadcast. Working with music for my whole life, and especially when I learned the spirituality and strength of music, which is something that I discovered during my work with my students during the war, I realized that when you are working with music you are concentrated on yourself, but at the same time you are learning about the reality that surrounds you.” - Neda Stanković, Professor at the Music Academy
© FAMA Collection; Oral History: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
Did you attend any of the cultural events in the city or organize your own events in the hallways of the buildings?
I used to attend local groups' concerts who did their best to help us stay sane and to gather us in one place.
year of birth: 1976
profession: Goldsmith
gender: Male
city district: Švrakino selo
© FAMA Collection; 'The Art of Survival' Guide
„In honor of the children, a Christmas celebration was organized with the participation of a children’s ballet group, a dance group, Funky Beat and Vanja, Vlado Podany, Amra Daka i Seha, Tifa, Pipi Longstocking. It was a story about this girl, Dalila, and the children enjoyed it. So, besides the presents, which they got, they also got that program. And the French battalion returned the favor by an exceptionally well prepared, well rehearsed choir which sang Sarajevo my love in our language. Naturally, after all that there was a kind of ‘happening’, everybody danced, everybody sang and it was very pleasant. I remember the concert, I remember that those peacekeepers took it to their hearts and realized that there was no reason for crocodile tears while we wanted peace. And we wanted to sing. That was our message.” - Gordana Magaš, Choreographer
© FAMA Collection; Oral History: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
The citizens of Sarajevo realized that they had to create an alternative way of life in order to survive. One of the important aspects of this new way of life was the repurposing of objects in order to replace everything that was not available during the siege. Inventions and recycled objects became survival tools. During the siege, concerts were held, music was recorded. Musicians were devising ways to record their material during power outages. Improvisation became an indispensable element of creating music.
“It was very difficult to record music; quite often there was no electricity. It could happen that after 5 or 6 hours work the electricity simply went out, the computer stopped working, and everything was wiped out - all to do again. We relied on improvisation a lot, which in my opinion was an excellent thing which people don’t think of as much as they should. I’m thinking for example of the ‘Greenhorn’ group, the ‘Greenhorn’ approach was that people just borrowed a studio, people rented the studio of Marin Meštrović, took it home on their backs to somewhere where there wasn’t a power cut and then made music. The idea wasn’t to sell to the radio. Just to record.” - Igor Čamo, Musician
© FAMA Collection; Oral History: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
The siege of Sarajevo showed that a person can survive a disaster and remain a human being. Sarajevo chose culture as its weapon of defence against terror. Citizens walked the streets under the impact of grenades and snipers to perform their daily tasks of survival, went to theatre performances and exhibitions as a way of resistance and defence of the human civilization. A new normal has set in. One civilization disappeared, and a completely new one was simultaneously established in its wake.
© FAMA Collection; 'The Art of Survival' Guide
„I used to make hard hitting drum sounds, trying to be louder than the noise of the demolition of the city. No one ever complained.“
© FAMA Kolekcija; 'Sarajevo LIFE' magazin
When and where were you happiest?
When I recognized man in war.
Describe your day at work.
Get up at 6, preparation for work. I leave home at 8. Rehearsal from 9-13. Home, lunch. Practicing until 19. Dinner. Reading and practicing until 23.
Sarajevo?
My happiness, my fate.
How have you survived?
By thinking and listening to „Eine kleine Nachtmusik“ by W. A. Mozart.
How would you like to die?
Playing.
In Memoriam (21.4.1945-10.5.2024)
-Dževad Šabanagić, Violinist
The need to establish some kind of balance in the midst of chaos arose spontaneously. In order to maintain mental health, every citizen of the besieged Sarajevo tried to keep himself in balance by bringing his old way of life to the now changed conditions.
Photo of Srđan Jevđević and Amila Glamočak from 1992, during the performance of the musical "Hair" in besieged Sarajevo.
© FAMA Collection; Encyclopaedia: 'The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996'
"The man first painted in the cave. So, then it occurred to him to go outside.
When the man first came out of the cave and saw his neighbour in that other cave how he had a bigger cave, how he had a younger wife, how he was doing a little better, he hit him on the head with a club and took his cave and everything he had. That's when civilization came into being. Then civilization followed its order of slavery, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, capitalism again, socialism, capitalism again, then slavery again, then capitalism and so on. In that war, we witnessed the disappearance of that civilization. The disappearance of civilization as such. And it was very logical to conclude that when the civilization would disappear, it would disappear in inversely proportional order, because it was logical and normal. We witnessed this in Sarajevo during the war, when all the things that were expendable were absolutely scarce, and the things that were upgrades were available. Not only available, but desirable. People wanted it, loved it. Before the war, you could not force people into the theatre with a rifle. And during the war, you couldn't force them out of the theatre. People definitely risked their lives to go to the theatre, to go to concerts, to participate not only in the public, but art life.
That is gone now. We're part of the world now. In the worst possible sense. Competition Who has the bigger one? How much better am I than you? Look how big I am, look how small you are! This all together, in my eyes, is a very unnatural way of thinking and an unnatural state. When you put things in an unnatural state, they have to end. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but all of this has to eat itself. I am still optimistic and I think we will go back to the cave. And that we would paint in that cave the way we painted before we went out and hit our neighbour on the head with a club. Because there is salvation in the cave. There is salvation in painting. There is salvation in art. Yeah, Yeah, well, well, it is a utopia, but nice to me. What can I tell you?" - Srđan Jevđević, Musician (July 2024)
© FAMA Collection; Macro Story: 'The Siege of Sarajevo - Then & Now'