1. A better view of the bad guys.
- Subjects
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HISTORY education , *OBJECTIVITY , *WORLD War II , *OTTOMAN Empire , *POINT of view (Literature) , *EDUCATION - Abstract
The article reports that children in south-eastern Europe may be taught history from more than one point of view. For most Serbians, Greeks or Bulgarians, the centuries of Ottoman rule constituted a dark night of oppression of Christians who retained their faith and culture only by tenacity. In Turkey, and among the Muslims of Bosnia, Balkan history is viewed from the opposite side. The Ottomans were generous and tolerant towards minority religions and languages--until their Balkan subjects rose up and slaughtered every Muslim in sight. A set of "objective" history manuals--on the Ottoman era, the Balkan wars of 1912-13 and the second world war--have been produced. he first country to incorporate the books into its school system is Serbia. But presenting history from more than one viewpoint is still a hard sell.
- Published
- 2005