The article tries to present the, until now, only briefly researched events in the interwar and occupied Ljubljana in the years 1941 and 1942 – it tries to present the revolutionary violence. This was the period in which the Slovene Communists Party (Komunistična partija Slovenije) in Ljubljana used the “Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation” (“Osvobodilna fronta”) (OF) and its “executive” Security and Intelligence Office (Varnostno-obveščevalna služba) (VOS) to act as a “state within a state”, and a period in which the citizens’ everyday lives were, considering the almost daily attacks of the armed revolutionary divisions (the Security and Intelligence Office security guards and Partisans) on civilians, made even harder. On the basis of archive materials and other literature the treatise presents the number of victims and the timeline of the revolutionary violence in Ljubljana in the period between July 1941 and the end of October 1942, for this is the period in which there haven’t been any active armed anti-revolutionary divisions (village militias and the Ljubljana security guards) yet. The above mentioned facts show that in the period between July 1941 and the end of October 1942 the revolutionary party conducted attacks on, assassinations or kidnappings of 207 individuals, of which 173 were also killed until the end of October 1942. 161 of them were civilians or not a military members, 12 were Partisans and Partisan deserters. 90 (53 %) of these 173 victims of the revolutionary violence in Ljubljana and its surroundings were in this period killed by the Partisan divisions, 80 (47 %) were killed by the Security and Intelligence Office members. Three victims were killed by the communists even before the Security and Intelligence Office or the Partisans were active. The latter were active in the city centre or in the area within the barbed wire; in the suburbs of Ljubljana and in the villages right at the outskirts of the city (outside the barbed wire) the revolutionary violence was executed by the Partisan divisions. Looking at Ljubljana within the barbed wire we can determine that in the discussed period the revolutionary party killed eight members of the occupying forces: three soldiers, three Italian police agents, a driver of the German Boundary Commission, and one Italian female Fascist. Just as a comparison let us state that in the same time and in the same area around 80 Slovenes were killed by the revolutionary party.
B.06 Other
COBISS.SI-ID: 85195777Peace, democracy, freedom, safety, stability, rule of law etc. are not simply given or set in stone. These values should be actively sought and built, instead of taken for granted. New crisis spots have been arising all over the world time and again, while the globalization requires our concern not just for local challenges but for the stability of broader regions and area. We need to strengthen the sense of active citizenship and the will to implement the democratic culture among youth. This enables us to reach the level of tolerance needed for mutual respect, cohabitation and empathy. A quarter of a century after the fall of the Iron Curtain it is clearly visible that some parts of European politics tend to repeat the totalitarian and authoritarian patterns of the past. Not only democracy but also the European reconciliation process as a precondition for democratic future have been threatened. Education is the key factor in these processes. The Platform of European Memory and Conscience and the Study Centre for National Reconciliation have been very active in the field of education (projects, conferences, educational materials etc.). It is essential to use the dark side of our common historical experience as an educational tool to promote human rights, fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and other values on which our society is based.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 38517037Slovenia is the only EU country that has never carried out lustration. Opposition proposal lustration act was refused by the majority in the Parliament. During WWII, Slovenia was occupied and divided betwen Germans, Italians and Hungarians. During the resistance against the occupators, civil war began in 1941, because the Communist established so called Liberal Front and proclaimed the legal act, that the resistance against the occupators is possible only under the rule of Liberal Front. Punishment for breaching the law was dead. Communist have started to liquidate anticommunist Slovenes. After WWII, because of the fear of the new regime multitude of refugees left Slovenia and surrendered to British Army in Austria. After the end of the WWII, in May and June 1945, more than 130,000 were executed at the territory of Slovenia. They were returned to Yugoslavia by British authorities between 18–24 May 1945, where any trace of many returnees was lost. Around 15,000 of those executed were of Slovenian nationality, while others included Croats, Serbs and Germans. More than 620 hidden mass graves have been found in Slovenia thus far. Massacres in the Slovenian territory after WWII can be legaly qualified as crimes against humanity and genocide. On March 2009, one of the biggest murder site of unarmed people after Second World War (estimated 3.500 victims) were found in abandoned mine (mine Huda jama- Cave of Evil). After the Independence of Slovenia, there were only two indictments against the alleged perpetrators. Both cases were dismissed due to a lack of evidences. Today we are facing with the revival of the communist symbols.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 38682669From the autumn of 1941 in Slovenia, in addition to the occupation and the resistance against the occupation, there was developing also another level, the level of the Communist revolution and Anticommunist resistance, led primarily by representatives of the prewar legal parties. So: in parallel with the war, foreign troops against Yugoslavia and thus also against the Slovenian people, civil war between Slovenians, broke out. The monopolization or claiming for the Liberation Front (OF) the exclusive right to organize the resistance poisoned the atmosphere among Slovenians during the time when it would have been necessary to unite all forces against the occupiers: socialist, Christian and liberal. On September 16, 1941, at the III. meeting of the Front’s Supreme Plenum in Ljubljana the following decrees were issued: “The decision of the Supreme Plenum of the Liberation Front to be constituted as the Slovene National Liberation Committee (SNOO)”, “The Decree of the Slovene National Liberation Committee about inclusion of Slovene partisan troops into National Liberation Partisan divisions of Yugoslavia”, “Decree of the Slovene National Liberation Committee for the protection of the Slovenian nation and his movement for the liberation and unification” and the 'Ordinance on the national tax-SNOO' and 'Liberty Loan'. Of particular importance were the first three decrees. Supreme plenum OF changed the name to 'Slovene National Liberation Committee' and declared a ban on the operation of all organizations and resistance groups outside the Liberation Front. In addition to te decision of monopolization of the resistance and the integration of the partisan units, had far-reaching consequences the 'Decree of the Slovene National Liberation Committee (SNOO) concerning the protection of the Slovenian nation and its movement for the liberation and unification,' which introduced strict disciplinary and penal system. This decree was the foundation of the so-called 'revolutionary justice' and this till the Decree of the Supreme Headquarters of the national liberation army and Partisan Units concerning the military courts were passed on May 24, 1944, that entered into force on August 30, 1944. The provisions of September 16, 1941 were, at the second session of the Slovene National Liberation Committee on November 1, 1941, supplemented with another seven articles – on December 21 they finally added articles 8 and 9. These nine articles stood as the “nine Basic Articles” of the OF.
B.06 Other
COBISS.SI-ID: 38309933