A year after opening its doors, the Turkish-supported Srebrenica Genocide Museum has become one of the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center’s most significant sites for memory and education, preserving the memory of more than 8,000 Bosnian victims through authentic artifacts, survivor testimonies and multimedia exhibits.
The museum is located on the site of a former battery factory in Potocari, where thousands of Bosniaks took refuge after the fall of the UN-declared safe zone in July 1995. It presents a chronological account of the genocide through victims’ personal belongings, archival documents, photographs, audiovisual evidence and immersive installations.
Opened to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, the museum is the result of years of collecting historical records and artifacts.
Its permanent exhibition traces the events leading up to the genocide, the fall of Srebrenica, mass executions, the search for missing persons and the decades-long struggle of families to return and give a dignified burial to the remains of their loved ones.
Every year on July 11, Bosnia and Herzegovina commemorates the Srebrenica genocide with a collective funeral at the Potocari Memorial Center, where newly identified victims are buried.
This year, the remains of 10 newly identified victims will be buried in ceremonies expected to attract thousands of visitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond.
In 2024, the UN General Assembly declared 11 July as the International Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide, further strengthening international efforts to commemorate the victims.
Artifacts that speak beyond words
Among the museum’s most striking exhibits is a collection of worn-out shoes that were repeatedly repaired by their owners during the war, giving visitors a glimpse into daily life under the siege.
“Sometimes people only need to see these shoes to understand some of the suffering that the people of Srebrenica endure. Details like these often speak louder than words,” said Azir Osmanovic, curator of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre. Anadolu.
According to Osmanovich, the creation of the museum was one of the most important milestones in the history of the memorial center.