[ad_1]
Rarely did the Serbs play a bigger or more important role than World War I, says historian Predrag Markovic, speaking of the celebration of Reconciliation Day in that war. He also claims in Dan that there are not many examples of fascist behavior in Serbia, but that the state does not encourage critical thinking through broader education. “If you had started educating young people on critical thinking in time, fascism probably would have been less,” he says.
Today, Serbia and the world mark the Day of Reconciliation in World War I in memory of November 11, 1918, when the Entente forces signed an armistice with Germany and thus ended the First World War. Serbia joined the celebration of this day in 2012.
“We are a renewed old state, we have been fighting for a long time about what our holidays should be, what symbols, remember the new anthem, the color of the flag. We forget our statehood and when we are alone, we rediscover it. This holiday is” Well, because it is international, it is celebrated in all the allied countries in the First World War. It also has a noble message, and it coincides with Veterans Day in America. In England, it’s called Poppy Day, “Markovic said.
In most countries, wreaths are placed on the graves of unknown heroes, found throughout the world.
“The United States had many wars after World War I and this day is celebrated as Veterans Day, when veterans of all wars go in procession … In the countries of the English area, this is an ancient holiday, It was celebrated for the first time in England in 1919, and in our country it was supposed to replace November 29, because it is close to the calendar, so what was November 29, will now be Armistice Day ”, Markovic states.
Previously, Markovic said that the Serbian war in World War I was a footnote that is often omitted from world history books.
“World history is centered in the west, little is known about, say, the Eastern Front, it was much bloodier. We know about the fighting in Flanders, and we don’t know about the millions killed on the Eastern Front, much less about our losses. And we ourselves have only three of our books on World War I have been translated into English, “says interlocutor H1.
We blame ourselves and the educational system for our ignorance.
“It is very difficult to put something in textbooks. Textbooks are scarce material, there is not enough space for serious interpretations, we should have material outside the school curriculum, which is scarce. You know that history classes are constantly decreasing , the teachers are reviewing the material, because they cannot reach everything. General education subjects are decreasing, “says Markovic.
He sees the reason for that in the intention to collapse education.
“It is ideal that some politicians divide the students into the privileged, who will study, and the less privileged, who will be a simple workforce in the factories. I think that is wrong, everyone should have access to a broader education ”, he emphasizes.
Due to problems in education, he adds, there are also problems with extremism.
“For those children who spread fascist slogans, if they had passed the general educational program, it would not have occurred to them to do that. There are not many, but for them it is a countercultural trick, like the Satanists or … the teenage rebellion. Dangerous path “said the historian.
As he himself says, fascism has many shades, from xenophobia to outright fascism.
“What everyone should know is that we are a nation that has never had a significant number of fascists … almost no nation in Europe has been more committed to liberation and democratic traditions than the Serbs,” he added.
And on the outbreaks of extremists, such as the actions of right-wing groups or the attack on the exhibition in Zemun, he says it is a great dilemma.
“Because, on the one hand, the State cannot act as a censor that punishes for an offense of opinion. It is a failure of the educational system, the State does not have so many means, except criminals, to act on that basis. if you educate yourself in the spirit of critical thinking, then it would probably be less, ”says Markovic.
And Serbia, he adds, is not the only country that has a problem with extremism today.
“Many countries are struggling with that today, including countries like Germany, where the law prohibits being an extremist,” he said.
[ad_2]
