It is a complex issue and it would require pages and pages of explaining, before it made any sense.
In a nutshell, Croats hate Serbs, because Serbs have dominant the region since 1917. As the winners in both world wars, Serbs were able to dictate the politics in the region. All rights were guaranteed under different constitutions to all nationalities and their respective religions. Serbs are Christian Orthodox and Croats are Catholic.
Croats always wanted an independent state, and end the centuries of foreign rule ( mainly Habsburgs).
Before the ww2, the Croatian nationalist movement was particularly strong and it culminated in the assassination of the Yugoslav King ( Serb) in France in 1934.
In 1941, Croats welcomed Germans with open arms, while Serbs were bombed for refusing to surrender to Hitler. Soon after the capitulation of Yugoslavia in 1941, the Nazi puppet state of Independent State of Croatia was created.
The official policy of that horrific creation towards Serbs living on the territory of Croatia was to convert 1/3, deport 1/3 and eliminate 1/3. One of the most horrific crimes against humanity took place in that state between 1941 - 1945.
After the war ended, Serbs were the victors again. Many Croatian fascist fled, new country was created and the life was good until the war President Tito died in 1980. He held the ethnic divisions together.
In 1991, the Croatians took opportunity to create an Independent State again. They brought in their nationalists and their offsprings from overseas and recreated the environment similar to the one from 1941. Serbs took up arms and the war between the now Independent Croatia and the local Serb population went on for 4 years. Serbs lost and were forced out of Croatia, their home for centuries. The end.
The events from the ww2 and mass extermination of Serbs led to the reaction of the local Serbs in 1991. The politicians on both sides played the emotions and fears really well , for the maximum impact.
So, the events of 1941 - 1945, when Croats went on a murderous campaign against Serbs ( even SS was outraged by the savage behavior of Croats), and the modern Croatia’s inability to accept the responsibility to what its people did back then has been the unclimbable mountain in the relations between Serbs and Croats. There has not been a proper closure for the victims and their families, in order for both nations to move forward. We are all stuck in the past. Generationally.
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