The Strongest Link: An Oral History of Wartime Rape Survivors in Kosovo

Buchpräsentation am 19. Mai 2026 um 18:30 Uhr in der Fachbibliothek Zeitgeschichte.

Programm:

Begrüßung
Markus Stumpf | Fachbibliothek Zeitgeschichte, Universität Wien

Einleitende Worte
Zsófia Lóránd | Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Universität Wien

Buchvorstellung
Anna DiLellio | Soziologin, Journalistin

Podiumsdiskussion
Anna DiLellio | Soziologin, Journalistin
Elissa Helms | Central European University, Wien
Elife Krasniqi | Institut für Geschichte, Universität Graz

Im Anschluss Brot und Wein

About the book:
From February 1998 until June 1999, a war between the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army ravaged Kosovo. The counterinsurgency quickly turned into a state-led campaign of ethnic cleansing that resulted in the killing, deportation, and rape of thousands of Albanian civilians. While it is estimated that over 20,000 women were victims of sexual violence during the war, for nearly two decades after its end, few survivors have come forward to publicly discuss what they endured.
In The Strongest Link, Anna Di Lellio and Garentina Kraja aim to break that silence by presenting an oral history of women who survived weaponized rape during the Kosovo War. In their own voices, twenty women describe the war's terror, as well as the nightmares that still haunt them today. Through these narratives, readers are given a glimpse into what it's like to be a woman whose life has been altered and undone by a violent regime, war, and patriarchal rules. We see how these women suffered, but also how they exhibited immense bravery and an unflagging dedication to their families and communities.
Di Lellio and Kraja contextualize these narratives within a history of state repression, ethnic cleansing, and lack of justice. By weaving these women's stories together and placing them within a chronological storyline, these stories can be read as one might listen to a choir: Each woman's unique voice and story can be heard, but their power lies in a shared song, a story of courage and strength.

Di Lellio, Anna; Kraja, Garentina: The strongest link : an oral history of wartime rape survivors in Kosovo. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2025

About the authors:
Anna Di Lellio is Adjunct Professor at the Master of Arts in International Relations (MAIR) at New York University. An expert on Kosovo, she co-founded the Kosovo Oral History Initiative. She has taught at Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence College, The New School, and the American University in Kosovo.
Garentina Kraja is a researcher, journalist, and former policy adviser. Her career spans over two decades of reporting, research, and policy advising in Kosovo and other countries in the Western Balkans, ranging from coverage of the 1998-99 war in her native Kosovo to the transition to independence.

Kooperationspartner
Fachbibliothek Zeitgeschichte, Universitätsbibliothek Wien
Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Universität Wien
ERC Projekt HERESSEE - The History of Feminist Political Thought and Women’s Rights Discourses in East Central Europe 1929-2001
RECET - Research Center for the History of Transformations

Funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement Nr. 101075661. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ERC. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.