Serbian Studies: Journal of the North American Society for Serbian Studies

Abstract:

The European Union’s commemoration of the start of World War I occurred on the wrong date and 1800 kilometers away from where the first shots were fired, referring to the event as “sleepwalkers blindly marching to the abyss.” Yet the Treaty of Versailles had accurately defined the war as one of aggression, and post-Versailles international law defined aggression as the “greatest international crime.” In a context in which strong states are increasingly committing aggression, the EU thus unremembered the lessons of the war by misrepresenting its start. The commemoration also differentially valued victims, thus increasing perceptions of injustice, in the name of human rights.