Stage 1- Classification In 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina merged with Yugoslavia and Bosnian Serbians proclaimed that they were superior over the non- Serbians.
Stage 2- Symbolization There were three groups of people in the genocide: the Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks. People who were Roman Catholic, Muslims, or non Orthodox Catholic Christians were viewed as Croats or Bosniaks. They had to be “ethnically cleansed”.
Stage 3- Dehumanization There were many media outlets that used hate speech. In one particular example, Richard Rorty stated that, “the Serbs were not doing these things to fellow human beings, but to Muslims,” (bosniangenocide).
Stage 4- Discrimination People were divided into two groups: Serbs and non-Serbs. Serbs used hate speech towards the non-Serbs as well as propaganda to demote the non-Serbs and raise awareness against them.
Stage 5- Organization Serbs had concentration camps and the military at their disposal. Many of the soldiers went into designated villages to destroy them and hold the people hostage. They took the dead bodies and buried them in mass graves without giving them a proper burial.
Stage 6- Polarization The genocide was split into 2 groups: the Serbs and the non-Serbs. The Serbs “ethnically cleansed” the non-Serbs.
Stage 7- Preparation There was no preparations that were found in the Bosnian Genocide, but one can infer that the 677 concentration camps were established and prepared to receive any prisoners. In addition, when the Croats and Bosniaks seceded, they were instantly overpowered by the Serbs.
Stage 8- Persecution Many people were taken from their homes and put into concentration camps. There was an estimated one million evacuated non-Serbs.
Stage 9- Extermination The first killings started when Serbs opened fire on peaceful protesters in 1992. There were many concentration camps that held prisoners in small spaces and neglected them. Many women were raped in separate camps or in the exact moment they were captured.
Stage 10- Denial The dead were buried in holes without proper burial and burned to attempt to remove the evidence. There are people denying that the Bosnian Genocide did not happen, and some say that the Bosnian Genocide was exaggerated.
Bosnian Genocide 