Why?

Generally the history of a war is still taught from the viewpoint of either historians or the military. But those wo are hit hardest by modern warfare are hardly ever heard. This is the reason why it was tried here to describe war in a new manner, from the perspective of civilians, and more specific the children.

The stories told here are not new, but worse, the keep on repeating every day. But those who are affected worse are silent, unless it does help the military or the governement. Why are they not talking? For once they do it because they are told that there are those who suffer even more, or they are told to be quiet just to allow a new beginning not to be spoiled with old memories.Or maybe just not to arise further anger.So these memories are sleeping until they either do create further rage, or even a cry for retaliation.

That was one of the main reasons why even europe was thrown into another war, though the last big conflict was yet not forgotten. We were shocked and numb in disbelief that people with whom we spent our last holidays with were engaging themselves in a full scale war, just because there was a mood of revenge and retaliation encapsulated in old memories. And again we saw pictures that looked very much like those fading pictures that we remembered from our historybooks. Destroyed cities and villages, pillaged farmyards, mass rapes,refugees in fear of death and ...concentration camps....

But what the hell can we all do to make it stop? That was what two fellow students, finishing off their diplomas while photographing the war on the balcan.

Why do people have to do all that to each other, after all that what we went through? That was what my mother, who was six years old when WW2 was over, asked me.

My son died because his father lied! That was what Rudyard Kipling wrote after his son was reported missing on the Western Front in 1915. No, were were not lied to. But we were not even told what happened in the last war. Of course we knew some specific datas(And we were taught some nursery rhymes to remember them even better). But what taught us about how wars were was mainlly the Hollywood school of John Wayne (there were some odd movies, who hinted that war was nothing like an adventure, but those hints were few).But it is very easy to imagine that what ever was shown in these movies had liitle to do with that what makes my mother fall into numb fear, almost 60 years later. We were not lied to but we were not told much either. No one ever told us, that wars are a good thing. But we were never encouraged to ask why, either....

Civilians are one of the main target in modern warfare. But they don't have a lobby. They are used for the propaganda of either side, whenever they are considered to be useful. I told the Childhoodstories to remember and to make one thing certain: Whatever story is told here, it happens everyday, anywhere, til this day.