“The forces of war don’t
know anything about love
and desire to save something.
They just know how to
destroy, burn, take things
away.”
Zlatas Diary
History
• In 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared
its independence from Yugoslavia.
• More than 150,000 residents fled Sarajevo
and more than 10,500 residents were killed
in the Sarajevo area between 1992 and
1995.
Summary
• The life of a 13 year old girl during a war.
We get an intimate look at her feelings and
emotions along with the feelings and
emotions of her family. We are taken
through hardships and struggles and see
what it is like to live in a time of war.
• Through out the book she looses many
loved ones not only to death, but also due to
separation by the war.
• As she ages from an 11 year old girl to a 13
year old young adult she matures and grows
with the wisdom and insight of her parents
as her childhood is taken away from her.
• At the end of the book she is taken to Paris
to live a better life.
Background
• This book was written by Zlata Filipovic
when she was between the ages of 11 and
13 years old.
• The book in itself is a biography of Zlata.
She was born on December 3, 1980.
• We learn many things about her from
reading the book.
• She is now 20 years old.
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Major Characters
Cici- the cat
Cicko- bird
Malik-her father
Alica- her mother
Melica - her father’s sister
Bobar Family- next door neighbors
Irena- summer school teacher
Mirna- Zlata’s best friend
Nedo- 27 year old refugee, friend and
neighbor
Historical Significance
• The historical significance of Zlata’s Diary
is that there was a war between the Bosnian
Serbs and Bosnian Croats and Muslims
were having a war. The book shows the
hardships and emotional struggles that Zlata
and other young people went through
during that time which wasn’t more than 10
years ago.
• The political significance of this book is
that many things in the economy were going
wrong during the time of the diary. Not
having water is economically incorrect.
• Zlata’s Diary shows that the government
was politically corrupt. How could anyone
want to kill someone else just because of a
disagreement? That is basically what these
governments were doing and it was very
corrupt.
Setting
• The story takes place in Sarajevo, the
capital city of the Republic of Bosnia and
Herezegovina. Since ancient times it has
acted as a gateway for the people of Greece
and Asia Minor migrating towards the
Midwest of Europe. Sarajevo is also
situated on the crossroads which runs along
the valleys of the Bosnia and Neretva rivers.
• Sarajevo is 19,741.02 square miles which is
slightly smaller than West Virginia.
• There are approximately 3,835,777 people living
in Bosnia.
• The major religions are Muslim, Orthodox, Roman
Catholic, and Protestant.
• Major languages spoken:
– Croatian
– Serbian
– Bosnian