My AP Euro teacher is Bosnian and says he fought in the Bosnian Civil war of the latter 20th-century. I didn't want to ask him since that may dredge up bad memories for him.
Thanks in advance!
In a nut shell, there were three group during the Bosnian War (1992-1995): the Croats (Catholic), Serbs (Orthodox), and Bosniack Muslims. Each group has a sizeable population within Bosnia-Herzegovina. Relevant to the war in Croatia, many Serbs also lived there as well. The Bosnian War principally involved each ethnic group, but also with support from the countries Croatia and Serbia. Each country had interests in Bosnia because of the heterogeneous ethnic makeup of the Former Yugoslavia. There were also a number of paramilitary groups operating within the country.
These sides shifted overtime, but generally the Bosnian Serbs and the Bosniak Muslims didn't get along. The Croats attempted to carve out territory in the southern part of the country, which was home to many Muslims. This caused conflicts between them. At other times, the Croats and Bosniaks fought against the Bosnian Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs operated on the periphery of Bosnia along the borders of eastern Croatia and western Serbia, which is currently the Republic of Srpska following the Dayton Accords: the treaty that ended the war. The Muslims and Croats primarily occupy the Federation in the central and south. There is still tension between the three groups for a variety of reasons.
It is late where I currently live so I apologize for not giving more citations and for over simplifications. This is directly within my area of expertise, so if you have more questions or want clarifications, please ask. It took me a very long time to get the basic timeline of who was doing what to who. It was a complicated conflict, so I can relate to difficulties in wrapping your mind around it.
If your teacher was willing to disclose his past, it may not be a bad idea to inquire a bit further. He may be willing and perhaps excited to talk about it. He may not. However, it never hurts to show interest in a topic, especially one that I am sure he has deep insight and knowledge about. If you feel it may be inappropriate to ask in front of everyone, you could approach him after class or after school to gauge his receptiveness.
This question straddles our 20-year rule. We've been allowing things that straddle the line like this one, which occurred before, during, and after 1994. However, the answers have been...mixed. Please remember to avoid:
Thanks!
What part of the country is your teacher from? If you provide his last name (not here but maybe to somebody via direct message) they'll likely be able to tell you his nationality, or at least his father's nationality, which could provide a clue for what side he fought.
If he's in the US I would suspect he's Bosniak or Croatian