Between 1991 and 1999, several wars took place in the former Yugoslavia, leading to the flight and expulsion of many people and ultimately to the collapse of the former state.
At that time, the Yugoslav state consisted of seven different republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Macedonia. The Yugoslav Wars refer to the 10-day war of 1991, the Croatian War of 1991-1995, the Bosnian War of 1992-1995, and finally the Kosovo War of 1999.
At that time, the Yugoslav state consisted of seven different republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Macedonia. The Yugoslav Wars refer to the 10-day war of 1991, the Croatian War of 1991-1995, the Bosnian War of 1992-1995, and finally the Kosovo War of 1999.
Slovenia and Croatia were the first to declare their independence. The Yugoslav leadership attempted to put an end to the independence movements in Slovenia and Croatia by military means. The wars, which were based on nationalist and racist forces, forced many people to flee. Between 1989 and 1994, more than half a million refugees from the former Yugoslavia lived in Germany alone. The Dayton Peace Agreement of 1995 ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the Dayton Agreement, the German authorities have been exerting considerable pressure on all refugees from the states of the former Yugoslavia, especially those from Kosovo, to leave the country. Faced with the constant fear of deportation and a lack of means of subsistence, many saw no other option but to leave. For Kosovars who remained in Germany, Kosovo's “supervised independence” by the EU could mean that refugees will soon have to return to Kosovo, even though there are hardly any prospects for them there (LINK, readmission agreement between the German government and the Republic of Kosovo, 2011).
