The Strongest Link: An Oral History of Wartime Rape Survivors in Kosovo

Beschreibung

Programm:

Begrüßung

Markus Stumpf | Fachbibliothek Zeitgeschichte, Universität Wien

Einleitende Worte

Zsófia Lóránd | Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Universität Wien

Buchvorstellung

Anna DiLellio | Soziologin, Journalistin

Garentina Kraja | Politologin

Podiumsdiskussion

Anna DiLellio | Soziologin, Journalistin

Garentina Kraja | Politologin

Elissa Helms | Central European University, Wien

Elife Krasniqi | Institut für Geschichte, Universität Graz

Im Anschluss Brot und Wein

About the book:

From February 1998 until June 1999, a war between the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army ravaged Kosovo. The counterinsurgency quickly turned into a state-led campaign of ethnic cleansing that resulted in the killing, deportation, and rape of thousands of Albanian civilians. While it is estimated that over 20,000 women were victims of sexual violence during the war, for nearly two decades after its end, few survivors have come forward to publicly discuss what they endured.

In The Strongest Link, Anna Di Lellio and Garentina Kraja aim to break that silence by presenting an oral history of women who survived weaponized rape during the Kosovo War. In their own voices, twenty women describe the war's terror, as well as the nightmares that still haunt them today. Through these narratives, readers are given a glimpse into what it's like to be a woman whose life has been altered and undone by a violent regime, war, and patriarchal rules. We see how these women suffered, but also how they exhibited immense bravery and an unflagging dedication to their families and communities.

Di Lellio and Kraja contextualize these narratives within a history of state repression, ethnic cleansing, and lack of justice. By weaving these women's stories together and placing them within a chronological storyline, these stories can be read as one might listen to a choir: Each woman's unique voice and story can be heard, but their power lies in a shared song, a story of courage and strength.

Di Lellio, Anna; Kraja, Garentina: The strongest link : an oral history of wartime rape survivors in Kosovo. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2025

Zur Webseite der Veranstaltung

Veranstalter

Fachbibliothek Zeitgeschichte

Kontakt

Marc Drews
Fachbibliothek Zeitgeschichte der Universität Wien
+43.1.4277.16714
marc.drews(at)univie.ac.at

Erstellt am Dienstag, 28. April 2026, 13:15
Letzte Änderung am Mittwoch, 29. April 2026, 08:57