Croatia, Europe and the Twilight of Heroes

Part of ORF’s BALKAN EXPRESS documentary series:

After Yugoslavia’s breakup, Croatia was torn apart by fighting, and Serbian troops occupied a considerable portion of the country’s territory. Croatian forces were then able to retake it by 1995, and the country was considered a victor of the war. A caste of politicians around President Tudjman made him out to be the father of the nation. 

But just a short time later, the reality of Europe caught up with the war heroes: The international court in The Hague brought charges for war crimes and large-scale expulsions of the Serbian population, and extradition of the responsible parties was made the main criterion for Croatian EU membership.

The film tells the story of these godfathers of the nation – and how the forces working for a civil society struggle to deal with this blood-stained past.