Heroes of Treca Gimmazija: A War School in Sarajevo FROM THE PUBLISHER
Shelled into ruins at the onset of the Bosnian War (1993), Treca Giminazija, a high school in central Sarajevo, became a "war school," adapting to wartime conditions by conducting classes in the dispersed basement classrooms in neighborhoods across the city. Education scholar David M. Berman, who interviewed many of Treca Giminazija's students, teachers, and administrators during the siege of Sarajevo, 1992-1996, as well as after the war, chronicles the human drama of everyday life in a high school operating under the constant threat of enemy guns and mortar fire. The real story of the siege of Sarajevo, put in educational terms, is the localized adaptation of the staff and students of the school who implemented administrative resolutions and directives to keep the physically damaged school open. These educators and students of Treca Gimnazija, one of 13 secondary schools that were destroyed during the siege, tell the stories of their own personal war in the "battle for the mind" and chronicle their shared experience in this important and inspiring book.
Author Biography: David M. Berman is associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh, where he is also an affiliated faculty member of the Russian and Eastern European Studies Program.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Based on interviews with students, teachers, and administrators, this book depicts life in a wartime school. It describes the adaptation of the staff and students in their efforts to keep the school operating, even after its building had been destroyed. Berman is a member of the Russian and Eastern European Studies Department at the University of Pittsburgh. Maps are included. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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