Mostar: Tale of Two Sides of A River

As the bus rolled into the city of Mostar, the small cafes along the streets where many locals gathered for a cup of Bosnian coffee posed a dramatic contrast to the skeletons of buildings that were just right across. These skeletons were markings (and to some extent, the legacies) of a horrific conflict that was 100% preventable in the first place. In the background,  the tall minarets of Mosques hinted the centuries of Ottoman influence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, when you just turned around your head at that very same spot, you would find catholic cathedrals - some were historic, whereas some others were still under construction.

Mostar today is a peaceful town located in a surreal setting deep in the mountains

Ruins in Mostar caused by the war

"Sniper Tower" in Mostar - an abandoned building that was once used by snipers to shoot innocent civilians from above

A destroyed building in Mostar

That was my first impression of Mostar: A city of juxtapositions. On two opposing banks of a river, you found two communities differentiated each other by religion. On two sides of the same street, you found harmony on one side, and signs of war on the other. 

Nerevta River and the City of Mostar

A destroyed building beside the Ottoman style Mostar City Hall building

A mural painted on the side wall of a ruin next to a public toilet

A ruin in Mostar

A ruin standing in the middle of the city reminding everyone the consequence of war

Destroyed residential buildings next to new residential buildings

In Mostar, ruins can be found in many corners of the city, as seen in this picture

On the left bank: the Croat neighborhood (you can tell by looking at the Catholic Cathedral). On the right bank, the Muslim Bosniak neighborhood (where you can spot the minaret of a mosque. I actually took this photo from the minaret of another one)

The center piece and the key to understand the complexity of Mostar is the Old Bridge (Stari Most) that straddled over River Neretva. The original bridge was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent aiming to connect  two sides of Neretva's banks in the 16th century with a permanent structure. Since then, the bridge, which also gave the city of Mostar its name, became the symbol of unity between the Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosniaks residing at the each end of the bridge. That unity was broken in the 1993 when the war between ethnic Bosniaks and Croats started. The bridge of unity was also sunk by the Croats, who were backed by the government of Croatia. This action drew criticisms from the international society and the United Nations, as the bridge had significant historical and cultural value to people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region itself. 

Old town Mostar

Ottoman period architecture in Mostar

Old Bridge of Mostar

Old town Mostar- a well preserved example of an Ottoman city

Following the conclusion of the war, the UNESCO, together with nations like Italy, Turkey, and Croatia, funded the reconstruction of the bridge. Most of the materials used in the reconstruction were parts of the original bridge sitting at the bottom of the Nerevta River after the destruction of 1993. Today, the reconstructed bridge of unity is not a symbol of reconciliation between the Croats and Bosniaks, but also Mostar's number one tourist attraction. 

A speaker at a local public remembrance of the war

Mostar

A Mosque in Mostar

Old Bridge (Stari Most) of Mostar

One thing Mostar impressed me the most was the warm smiles of the locals there. It was hard to imagine that not long ago many of these good people suffered through a very tragic war, which led to the deaths of their beloved friends and family members. Putting away the sadness, which was written inside people's hearts rather than on their faces, when I looked at residents of Mostar, I saw the most sincere and welcoming smiles I've seen anywhere in the world.....

Old town Mostar

Just like its people, the city of Mostar itself is stunning

Some of the ruins are actually in the process of being restored, which is sign that people of Mostar, regardless of their religious beliefs and ethnicities, are willing to move forward together

All the best to Mostar. All the best to the beautiful people of Bosnia. All the best to the world. Long Live Peace.  

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The following story is dedicated to the heroic resistance against Nazi aggression of all ethnic groups in former Yugoslavia during World War Two. 

The story is an adoption of the film of same name produced by Bosna Film first released in 1972. 


                                                                       Prologue
 
                                                                 Germany, 1944

War planes thundered through the grey sky, dumping bombs to the ground on a non-stop basis. Moments after these metal balls were let go, farms were engulfed in fire, roofs of factories were damaged, and façades of buildings in densely populated cities collapsed. 

All these happened seemingly without any efforts, but in the eyes of the people,  it was both unbelievable and horrendous. 

The Reich was advancing just one year ago, but now the total defeat is imminent. 

.........................

Inside the long but dim tunnel that led to the underground conference room, the sound of the Commander and his guards' rather busy steps was echoing around the narrow walls which sealed the place like a can of tuna. After handing over their weapons and hats to the security personnels, the door to the conference room opened. Everyone was already sitting there waiting for the arrival of the Commander. Upon seeing him, everyone in the room stood up. The Commander strode straight to the end of the conference table where a bronze statue of the Fuhrer gazed at the long, oval shaped table like he were present in the meeting. 

"Gentlemen, I'm here to announce something very important", the Commander cleared his throat, "The commander of the Southeast Europe Group, Colonel General Löhr, has executed the order for the complete withdrawal of Army Group E from the Balkans back to Germany. Now gentlemen, have a seat please."

After everyone sat down, the Commander continued:

"The loss of Belgrade, the advance of Soviet troops from the north, and the partisan movement across Yugoslavia had put our position in the Balkans into a jeopardy. As of right now we only have the control of roads along the southern bank of the Danube. If these roads are taken by the enemies before Colonel General Löhr's troops could retreat, then the entire Army Group E will be trapped and cut off. If that's the case, we will lose 20 divisions! These 20 divisions will be crucial to the defense of Germany in latter stage of the war. This is our current situation, gentlemen! Now let's take a look at what our assigned mission is."

The Commander stood up, and then walked towards the map board behind him without making any eye contact.

"Our top priority right now is to make sure that Army Group E can quickly and safely withdraw from Greece and Yugoslavia. However....."

The Commander paused for a second:

"However, the biggest challenge as of right now is that Army Group E won't even have enough fuel to make it back to Germany."

The whole room was in dead silence.

"But don't worry, gentlemen! There is a solution!"

The Commander pointed at a city not far from the Adriatic Sea, surrounded by mountains on its four sides.

"This is Sarajevo. This city once led to the breakout of the previous World War. Now it will also play a significant role in ending this World War we are fighting. The city of Sarajevo will serve as a base for supplying fuel to Army Group E. We have named this whole mission Operation "Läufer". Now I am going to give the floor to Lieutenant Colonel Hagen who will explain Operation "Läufer" in details."

The mid-aged man beside the Commander stood up, and walked up to the map board.

"The panzer divisions will begin to withdraw from Salonica. Then they will pass through Skopje, Užice, and eventually reach Višegrad - where the tanks will refill the fuel and continue towards Germany. However, the nearest fuel depot to Višegrad is located in Sarajevo. Operation "Läufer"'s main objective is to transport the fuel from Sarajevo to Višegrad via the railway between the two cities."

Hagen paused, and then walked back to his seat.

"We must maintain the secrecy of this operation so our enemies won't know about it. At the same time, we need to have enough soldiers on the ground to guard the railway."

As Lieutenant Colonel Hagen was speaking, a giant explosion took place on the surface above the underground conference room. However, nobody seemed to be bothered by it.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hagen" said the Commander, “You will go to Sarajevo personally and  be in charge of guarding the railway route. Any questions gentlemen?"

The officer sitting beside Hagen raised his hand.

"So who will be in charge of making sure that the enemy won't know anything about Operation "Läufer"?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Weiland, do you want to answer this question?"

The man with grey hair beside Hagen spoke:

"Mr. Commander, can I speak my honest opinion?"

The Commander lightened up a cigarette, then nodded at Weiland.

Weiland began to express what he truly believed:

"Sir, I don't think the current situation in Sarajevo is  suitable for Operation "Läufer". The resistance movement in this city is very strong. This movement is completely underground, and we still don't know much about it. The leader of this movement is a very experienced partisan. People refer to him as "Walter"."

"Why don't we simply get rid of this "Walter" figure and his resistance movement before the implementation of Operation "Läufer"? Doesn't it solve your problem?" asked  the Commander rhetorically.

"We won't have enough time. Even if we do, it will be an extremely difficult task." said Weiland.

"Do you think it will even be a difficult case to someone very experienced like SS Colonel von Dietrich?" asked the Commander.

"Von Dietrich? The SS Colonel? If he could be there, he might actually have a shot. However, isn't Colonel von Dietrich in Norway right now as we speak on a very important mission?"

A smirk appeared on the face of the Commander.

"You are so wrong! Colonel von Dietrich, my dear Lieutenant Colonel, is already in Sarajevo."