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Odon Peterka |
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Karlo Kocjancic |
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Franc Šavli - Medved |
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Card. Jakob Missia |
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Heart of Jesus - A Legacy of Cardinal Jakob Missia (1838 - 1902) |
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Sen. Frank J. Lausche |
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Ciril Zebot |
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Mother Elisabeth |
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TIGR (The Liberation Movement of Primorska) |
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Nora Gregor |
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Ita Rina |
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Admiral Wilhelm Baron von Tegetthoff |
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Field Marshal Svetozar Borojevic von Bojna |
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Admiral Anton Haus |
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Field Marshal Johann Joseph Wenzel Count Radetzky von Radetz |
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Ivan Krstnik Mesar (Slovenian) |
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Remembering Univ. Prof. Dr. Lambert Ehrlich (English) |
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The Commemorative Plaque of Prof. Lambert Ehrlich (English) |
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Prof. Lambert Ehrlich (Slovenian) |
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Svete Visarje (Slovenian) |
| Odon Peterka |
| (1925 - 1945) |
| Young, highly talented Slovenian Poet |
| Slovenian Patriot and Freedom Fighter |
| His vision was the independent fatherland, Slovenia |
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| Samotna pomlad |
| (Lonely Spring) |
| the anthology of Odon's poetry published by Mohorjeva editorial, in 2005. |
| Janez Sušnik |
| Odon Peterka was born in Jesenice on March 13, 1925, to Alojz Peterka (1883 - 1962) and his wife Aneška Štafa (1891 - 1975). His parents were patriotic Slovenians who believed in their country and believed in their cause. After the First World War, his father enlisted in Rudolf Maister's military near Vrbsko Lake (in Carinthia) and fought for Carinthia in an attempt to liberate it from German-Austrian aggression. There he met his wife Aneška Štafa. In 1919, after the unjust Carinthian Plebiscite, Alojz and Aneška moved from Carinthia to Jesenice (Carniola), where they raised a family of two daughters and one son, Jarmila, Erna, and Odon. When Alojz retired from his military career, the young family moved to Domžale (Carniola), where they had relatives, and from there to Lublana in order to obtain better schooling for the children. |
| Odon received his early education first in Domžale and later in Lublana; after primary school he attended the lyceum in Lublana. Outside of school, he was involved with the scouts, became a member of the Maria congregation at St. Joseph parish, but most important, he was also a very gifted poet. His sister Erna describes him as a highly talented young lyricist, who wrote his first poems while in primary school. The longer more serious poems were composed during his lyceum years. |
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| The Peterka family: father Alojz, mother Aneška, son Odon and |
| the two younger sisters, Jarmila and Erna. |
| The Italian occupation of his native country in 1941 strengthened his Slovenian patriotic feelings and he joined the Slovenian patriotic movement against the enemy. This movement worked in-groups of three, where only three people would know each other. Odon and his two friends Cerne and Ambrožic formed such a group.They were an anti-Italian (Fascists) and strictly anti-Communist organization. They were driven by a vision of an independent Slovenian homeland. |
| On the 29th of June 1942, Italian Fascist forces made an all-embracing raid on Slovenian patriots throughout the province of Lublana. They arrested Odon Peterka on that day and incarcerated him in Gonars, the Italian concentration camp. He was only a 17-year old boy at the time. Here is an interesting short note that he left behind around the time of his arrest: |
| »Blockade! Still half asleep I jumped out of bed and realized that several Italian army vehicles full of Italian soldiers came speeding towards our house. I dressed quickly and grabbed some things that looked important, because I suspected that I would not be back for a while. Two days earlier my friends were incarcerated somewhere in Italy. I'm sure, that I will be transported to the same prison. I prepared my briefcase, took a piece of bread, sardines, and knee breeches. Mrs. Cerne, the mother of my comrade France Cerne, asked me to take along knee breeches, handkerchief, and two pieces of toilet-soap for her son France, who was arrested two days ago. I don't know how, but I heard myself saying, "yes, I certainly will", because I was sure that I would see him. At half past nine in the evening Italian soldiers came to the house to arrest me. Then they asked me how old I am and when I answered they said, that they will take me only to the barracks and within half an hour I will be back home. I said goodbye to my family without knowing that this goodbye will be my last for a long time.« |
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Lager Gonars in the province of Friuli (Italy). Many Slovenians were incarcerated here during the WW2, when Fascist Italy occupied Lublana and a part of Slovenia. Among the prisoners was also Odon Peterka. |
| Odon Peterka was detained in Gonars until Italy capitulated on September 8, 1943. Indeed, Odon's presentiment was correct. His friends were in the same concentration camp, and so was his good friend the lyricist France Balantic. |
| Back in Lublana, Odon continued school, but already in December 1943 he joined the Slovenian home-guards (slovensko domobranstvo) out of patriotism and love for Slovenia. |
| Military training took place on the premises of Castle Lublana, then he was allocated to the home-guard fort in Grosuple. There he met Pavle Kogej and Uroš Žitnik, they both shared great interest in poetry. For a short time, the already internationally well-known Slovenian lyricist Stane Bracko was stationed at the same fort. When Odon was relocated from Grosuple to the home-guard fort in Velike Lašce, he still was corresponding with Stane Bracko. |
| In poetry Odon followed the footsteps of traditional Slovenian classic lyricists like France Balantic, Simon Gregorcic, France Prešeren, Dragotin Kette, and Alojz Gradnik. Odon was an extremely talented poet. In his lyrics he experimented with different poetic forms and techniques and he developed an ear for the sound of their poetic voice. In the beginning he wrote four-line lyrics and sonnets. He also created larger poetic compositions, various sonnet wreaths and cycles, some of them were even written with acrostics. |
| His poetry became more lyrical and personal in character while serving his country as a home-guard. The Slovenian home-guard (domobranci) uniform meant everything to him, he was proud to wear it. (This was the period of the last two years of his short life). |
| During the chaos of war and persecutions he lived between life and death while in the line of duty. It gave him an insight into the fatality of life itself, which no one can avoid. His friends France Cerne and France Balantic became innocent victims of Communists; their unnatural and violent death affected him deeply. Odon wrote a touching poem: O, brat (Oh, Brother) dedicated to his dead friend and lyricist France Balantic. |
| Odon Peterka was also a clairvoyant. He had a sixth sense in such matters. All the time he knew that he too would be killed one day. And in his mind he had a precise picture of his own death. |
| Towards the end of the war Odon had black images in his head and horrible thoughts about the approaching catastrophe and his own death. He miraculously described his own approaching death in his poem Moj grob (My Grave). |
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| It is about a death vision which became reality. The vision is connected with the ancient Slovenian image of the Alpine world, an image of paradise high above the lowland, a world of idyllic peace. This symbol appears several times in Slovenian poetry, for example in Simon Gregorcic' lyrics. |
| Peterka announced his own approaching death also in other poems, for example: Vi boste praznovali (You'll be celebrating), Pusti me do dna (Let me down to the bottom), Pa smrt me je dohitela v višinah (Death caught up with me in the highlands), Hevreka, Dan usode (The Day of destiny), Pomlad je tu (Spring is here), Tiho žitje (Still life)... |
| Odon Peterka, together with his comrades Pavle Kogej and Uroš Žitnik, prepared some kind of anthology of Slovenian home-guard (Slovensko domobranstvo) lyrics and poems, but unfortunately this anthology never came into print because of war circumstances. Odon published some of his poems in the Home-guard Revue Slovensko domobranstvo. Among those featured in the Revue was also his patriotic poem, Klic »osvobojene« domovine (The call of the »liberated« homeland). |
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| In the poem appears the call after the saviour, which in Slovenian people's tradition is personified in Kralj Matjaž (King Mathias). The Celjans (Counts of Cilli) represent the Slovenian State of the late Middle Ages. Odon deeply experienced the message of the Slovenian State tradition and the longing for freedom of the Slovenian people, who at that time were fatally menaced by the Communist revolution and ideology. |
| In May 1945, Odon, together with his home-guard unit, was on the march to Koroška (Carinthia), because the British untruthfully assured them, that a Slovenian army post was established in Koroška, which unites all Slovenian patriotic forces. They talked about intensified preparations to liberate Slovenia from Communist Yugoslavia and promised an independent State of Slovenia. But all these English promises were filled with enormous disgusting lies. |
| When the Slovenian home-guards arrived in Koroška they were ordered to hand over their weapons, if they wanted help. The home-guards turned in their weapons, but the English did not keep their promises. Acting on request of Belgrade, the British sent back the disarmed and deceived Slovenian home-guards to Yugoslavia (Srboslavia), where they were facing a brutal death. |
| They were handed over to Tito's forces (JNA), which tortured them in an inhuman way. Then, they were transported by train to Kocevje (Gottschee), south of Ljubljana. From there, in a deadly march, they were led to the nearby woods of Rog. There, they were rounded up and shot to death by the Yugoslav army, then the bodies were thrown into the pit: ca. 12,000 boys and men. Cf. Nicolai Tolstoy: The Pit of Kocevje (chapter 7, p. 176), in: The Minister and the Massacres, London 1986. |
| Somewhere in Rog, also young Peterka and his comrades lost their life. But their message survived. After several decades, when no one could have imagined it, the dream of an independent Slovenia became veracity. |
| Authors Note: This article was written in memory of all Slovenian freedom fighters during the Second World War. Apart from the home-guards, there were also partisans who fought in the frame of the so-called OF (Liberation Front). Many of them, because of their Slovenian patriotism, were liquidated by their Yugoslav Communist comrades. Their descendants are still, today, publicly branding the home-guards as »traitors«. At the same time, they do not mention the killing of patriotic partisans. They too should not be forgotten! |
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| In memory of |
| Karlo Kocjancic |
| 1933 - 2003 |
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| (portrait) |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| At the beginning of May 2003, Karlo Kocjancic, the secreatary of the Association for Cultivation or Patriotic Traditions TIGR, became the victim of a traffic accident in Koper - Capodistria. He died nine days later in hospital. - TIGR was the title of the liberation movement of Littoral and Istria, when these provinces were under Italian leadership. The provinces were mostly settled by Slovenian people, but when the Fascist regime took power in Italy in 1922, they suppressed all Slovenian schools, media, savings banks etc., and violently began to Italianize the territory. |
| In 1924, the Slovenian defence movement called TIGR was founded. Its aim was to fight for the liberation of Littoral and its annexation to Yugoslavia. Indeed, after the WW2, the most part of Littoral's Slovenian territory was annexed. But at the same time it came to an agreement between Belgrade and Rome, in sense of which both parts shall keep silence about committed crimes during and after the WW2. In this way, all relations, articles, publication of any kind of materials concerning TIGR were suppressed, too. Such an anathema lasted over 40 years, this is, during the whole period of Communist Yugoslavia. |
| In 1990, when Slovenia voted on a plebiscite for its independence, it was for the first time possible to publish some materials about TIGR. But so much testifying was lost already, because many of the older generation had died in the meantime, and the young people of three or four generations, who grew up in Littoral, had no knowledge of their parents and grand parents heroic deeds. A small number of patriots founded the aforesaid Association, but only slowly it diffused among the people, who very little or never heart about TIGR. It was necessary to make a fresh start, and Karlo Kocjancic, first chairman and then secretary of the Association became the soul of its activity. |
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The title page of the last issue of the magazine called Primorski rodoljub (Littoral Patriot), which published materials concerning the events of TIGR members. Karlo Kocjancic edited them with special care. |
| Karlo Kocjancic was born in 1933, in the village of Gradišce close to Obrov, located on the road between Trieste and Reka (Fiume). This site pertained to the zoning of Brkini hills on the northern edge of Istria. The people of Brkini are of very particular character: patriotic, open, friendly and sincere. They are people, who are always capable to make sacrifices for the common good, and for the good of all Slovenians. And Karlo was such a man. He laboured for years in the Port of Koper and studied at the same time. After his retirement, he dedicated his time to revive the memories of TIGR. He was editor of the magazine Primorski rodoljub (Littoral Patriot). On his initiative the Association erected monuments for the "tigrovci" (TIGR fighters) and inaugurated them with memorial tables. On the hill of Cerje (343 m), on the edge of the Karst above the Vipava Valley near Gorica, a building was erected in memory for the defenders of Slovenian soil throughout history. |
| His endeavour was untiring. It is very likely, that the memory of TIGR members as well as their great sacrifice and love for freedom was saved mostly on behalf of his impulsive activity. In this regard, he never will be replaced. We bow in front of his image and memory. |
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| Franc Šavli - Medved |
| tolminski domoljub in revolucionar |
| 1903 - 1943 |
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| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| V založbi Humar (Bilje, N. Gorica) je pravkar izšla knjižica, povecena 100-letnici rojstva in 60-letnici smrti Franca Šavlija od Zatolmina (Tolmin), z ilegalnim imenom Medved. Njeni avtorji so njegovi trije otroci, hceri Sonja Šavli por. Tramšek, Nada Šavli por. Beltram in Radko Šavli. Knjižica je posvecena spominu njihovega oceta. Z njo so želeli pocastiti 100-letnico njegovega rojstva in 60-letnico njegove smrti, vendar je knjižica obenem tudi pomemben dokument. V njej so v bistvenih potezah prikazane tudi razmere in vzdušje v Tolminu v casu med obema vojnama, o cemer je bilo nedvomno premalo napisanega in objavljenega, še zlasti v vednost in v spomin mlajšim generacijam. Takšno misel zasledimo tudi v predgovoru in uvodu, ki sta ju prispevala tolminska rojaka Marta Filli in Jožko Šavli. |
| Franc Šavli - Medved, rojen 1903, je bil po prvi svetovni vojni na Tolminskem vodilen narodnjak, protifašist in organizator odpora proti poitalijancevanju. Že od leta 1922 je bil clan KPI, sodelavec Jožeta Srebrnica iz Solkana, po ustanovitvi KPS leta 1937 pa njen prvi pokrajinski tajnik za Tolminsko. Obenem je bil tudi clan osvobodilnega gibanja TIGR. Imel je številne sodelavce in sodelavke, med katerimi je bil izredno priljubljen. Eden izmed njih, Jožef Jermol (Pepi cažov) od Zatolmina, mu je v spomin napisal pesem, ki je objavljena v knjižici. Tudi sodelavka Pavla Leban, Tapolova iz Poljubina, mu je v spomin posvetila svojo pesem. |
| Kot otrok, ki je že zgodaj ostal brez matere, se je Franc Šavli izkazal kot neverjetno ustvarjalen mladenic in mož. Med prvo vojno je služil kot pastircek na gorski kmetiji pri Zastenarju, potem se je izucil za cevljarja, postal mojster z lastno delavnico in trgovino v Tolminu. Komunizem je razumel v pravem tovariškem pomenu. Za delavce, ki so bili zaposleni pri njem, je vzorno skrbel, in jedli so skupaj z njim, za isto mizo, kot clani njegove družine. Ob izbruhu druge svetovne vojne si ni pomišljal delati za partizane, kljub temu, da sta bila s tem ogrožena njegov obstoj in vsa njegova družina. |
| V jeseni 1942 so italijanske oblasti v Tolminu njegovo tajno delovanje odkrile. Vendar se je aretaciji izmaknil in prešel k partizanom. Spomladi, marca 1943, je bil v spopadu z italijansko izvidnico ranjen v nogo. Rana se je zastrupila, in po nekaj dneh je umrl v hiši "pri Štalarju" na Vrsnem. Na tej hiši, kakor tudi na njegovi domaci hiši Zatolminom, sta bili postavljeni spominski plošci. |
| Njegovo delo je bilo sicer že omenjeno v vec clankih, o njem poroca tudi Primorski biografski leksikon (PSBL). Vendar nam šele ta knjižica odkrije njegovo veliko osebnost. Ni nam zapustil kakih književnih ali umetniških del, saj njegov cas in takratne razmere tega niso dopušcale. Zapustil pa je poznejšim rodovom svoj vzor, zgled brezkompromisnega borca za svoj narod in njegove pravico, borca za poštenje in za boljše življenje vseh. Za vse to si ni pomišljal tvegati tudi lastnega življenja. |
| Italijanska in potem nemška zasedbena oblast nista nikoli izvedeli za njegovo smrt. Imeli sta ga na svojem seznamu kot nevarnega "terorista". Listina z notranjega ministrstva v Rimu, dejansko tiralica, ga postavlja zraven najbolj vidnih imen v medvojnem osvobodilnem gibanju, kot so Kardelj, Kidric, Rus, Lubej, Kocbek... cetudi je bil že že dolgo med rajnimi. |
| Njegovo vdovo Mici Klinkon je fašisticni režim poslal v internacijo v lager Freschette, nemški okupator pa potem še v lager Ravensbrück. Pri njeni stari materi "pri Jakšu" Zatolminom, so našli zavetje njuni trije otrocici: Sonja ter dvojcka Nadica in Radko. Mama Mici je preživela taborišce in se vrnila. Ko je šla proti domu, je srecala je svojega Radkota. "Jaz sem tvoja mama", mu je zaklicala, in ga je hotela objeti. Toda otrok, ki je bil med vojno samo pri stari materi, je ni vec prepoznal. Odmaknil se je, in je rekel: "Ti nisi moja mama, moja mama je druga." |
| Knjižica o Francu Šavliju je pricevanje o boju in žrtvi naših ocetov in mater za narodno preživetje. Eno izmed tolikih pricevanj, od katerih morajo biti mnoga še zapisana in objavljena, zato da ne padejo v pozabo. Objava te licne brošure o Francu Šavliju nam znova oživlja zgled in lik njegove osebnosti. Franc Šavli ostaja tako tudi še v prihodnje med nami. |
| Primer Franca Savlija je opisala tudi Marta Filli v svojem predgovoru o domoljubu in revolucionarju Tolminske Franc Savliju in ob 100 letnici njegovega rojstva in 60 letnici njegove smrti. |
| Ga. Marta Filli: |
| "… Tam je koscek sveta, ki mu ne vem imena. Cudovit svet, poln sonca in roz in vonjev in pesmi, ki so kakor roze in imajo svoj vonj, kakor zemlja, kalor jutro, kakor spanec in grob. Nikjer ni zame lepse kakor tam…" |
| Tako je dr. Ivan Pregelj v sanjah in v hrepenenju gledal svoj svet. In ta svet je tudi nas, to je Tolminska dezelica, ki tudi mi o njej cutimo tako in jo nosimo v srcu. Res je tej nasi dezeli tu ob Soci, pod Krnom, bilo dano mnogo lepote, res je pravi mali raj. Zal pa je vseskozi morala sprejemati in prenasati tudi mnogo tezkega in hudega: revscino, vojne, potrese, bolezni, podjarmljenja z vsemi krivicami in se in se! |
| Ko je Simon Gregorcic prerokoval Soci "… in ti mi bos krvava tekla…" je hotel povedati o svoji slutnji, ki se je zal uresnicila. Dve kruti vojni, tisoce padlih, nesteto osirotelih druzin, kdo bi vedel koliko otrok brez starsev. Pa je minila prva svetovna vojna in prav pocasi se je zivljenje zacelo vracati v te vasi, med te s krvjo prepojene gmajne. Tolminci so pac kleni, trdni in uporni ljudje. Upali so in verjeli, da je najhujse za njimi, da bo spet vzcvetelo zivljenje, ko bodo na novo postavili svoje domove in zaceli obdelovati svoja polja, otroke pa vzgajati v postene in delavne ljudi. |
| Zal je upanje kmalu zacelo usihati. Tujec, ki je zagospodoval nad naso tolminsko zemljo, je mislil, v veliki zmoti, da bo nase ljudi z lahkoto spojil s svojimi. Preprican je bil, da bo prav lahko izbrisati slovenski narod. Pa ni bilo tako. Naleteli so na trden odpor, ki je postajal mocnejsi in odlocnejsi vzporedno s silo pritiska. Zatirali so nas jezik, celo prepovedali so ga, tudi v solah. Zatrli so slovensko pesem, pozigali kulturne domove, zapirali ljudi, jih posiljali v internacije, po zaporih so jih neclovesko mucili, mnogi so junasko darovali tudi najdragocenejse, kar jim je ostalo, svoje zivljenje. |
| Tako stanje se je stopnjevalo, saj je tujec, ki ni racunal na tak odpor, postajal cedalje bolj divji in hudoben. Odpor pa se je med nasimi ljudmi siril in vecal. Z vso odlocnostjo so sklenili, da za vsako ceno branijo in ohranijo svojo domovino, svoje ze opustosene domove, svoj jezik in slovensko pesem. Ta jim je bila se posebno ljuba, saj smo Slovenci narod pevcev. Ze Ivan Cankar je napisal da "… Kamor so sli nasi sinovi, so nesli v pesmi svojo domovino...""In nasi fantje, premnogi izmed njih, so imeli s seboj zbircico Gregorcicevih pesmi, ki prej ni manjkala v prav nobeni obsoski domaciji. Bila je del nje tako kot hisna vrata, kot krusna pec, kot javorova miza in kot Bogkov kot nad njo. Tem fantom pa je bilo pri srcu, kot da bi z njimi v boj, pa tudi v smrt, sel koscek doma. |
| Ni potrebno povedati, da se mnogo teh nasih hrabrih fantov ni vrnilo na svoje domove. Sprejela jih je vase domaca zemlja in mnogi se zmeraj spijo tam, kropijo pa jih le zvezde v jasnih noceh. |
| Razmisljam, ali je bilo za te nase drage ljudi, ki so zrtvovali dobrobit svoje druzine ali celo zivljenje, po koncu vojne dovolj narejenega. Razmere v prvih letih "svobode" pac niso bile taksne, kakor so si jih zamisljali, ko so odlocno stopili v boj, gnani od hrepenenja po drugacnem, svobodnem zivljenju. Nekaterim, ki so bolj izstopali in se verjetno tudi pogumneje izpostavljali, in tudi Franc Savli je bil med njimi, so postavili na stene domov spominske plosce z njihovimi imeni in datumi rojstva ter smrti in morda tudi kraji, kjer so padli. Pa vendar, ce posteno pomislimo, ali je to res dovolj? |
| Od tistih casov, ko se je vse to dogajalo, je minilo ze vec kot pol stoletja. Mnoge stvari, mnoge dogodke in mnoge ljudi je zagrnil prah pozabe. Starejsih, ki so pripadali isti generaciji, ze skoraj ni vec ali pa jih je zelo malo. Mlade pa je zajela drugacna miselnost, druge skrbi imajo, gledajo samo naprej. Verjamem, da marsikdo od njih postoji pred neko plosco, prehere in gre neprizadeto naprej. Ne ve, kdo je bil tisi, ki mu je bila postavljena v spomin in zakaj so mu jo sploh namenili. |
| In prav zaradi tega je nujno in pravicno, da se napise kaj vec o the nasih junakih, da se napise nekaj, kar bo ostalo in pricalo, posebno mladim, o tisti nasi temni strani zgodovine in o svetli vlogi, ki so jo odigrali nasi fantje. |
| Franc Savli je bil v odporu vse od prvih dni. Gnalo ga je hrepenenje po svobodni domovini in po boljsih, jasnejsih dneh za svoje otroke. K delu je pritegnil kdo ve koliko prijateljev in znancev, ki so bili istih misli in za katere je vedel, da se lahko nanje zanese. Posredno se bo zato v tem zapisu govorilo tudi o njih, saj so bili eno samo telo, ena sama celota. Tudi o njegovi zivljenski sopotnici Mariji Savlijevi - Mici je prav, da je na tem mestu kaj vec povedanega. Ko je za posledicami rane umrl njen moz Franc, je ostala sama s tremi otroki. Vse tri je lepo vzgojila in jih spravila do poklicev, ceprav je bila med tem dvakrat internirana, prvic v Italijo in drugic v Nemcijo. Marija Savlijeva je bila zavedna slovenska zena, ki je enako ljubila svoje otroke in svojo domovino. V mejah moznosti je nadaljevala, ko se je vrnila domov, z domoljubnim uporniskim delom. |
| Publikacije, kot je ta, naj bodo vsaj majckeno povracilo, predvsem pa priznanje njim, ki so bili zrtve, naj bodo spomin svojcem in vzpodbuda mladim. Upamo in zelimo pa tudi, da ostanejo kot kamencki v mozaiku, ki naj bo osnova za novo, bolj popolno in bolj posteno epopejo o tem nasem malem, a tako junaskem narodu. |
| Naše gledanje |
| V slovenski zgodovini je nedvomno še veliko podobnih primerov, kot je življenjska zgodba Franca Šavlija - Medveda. Na kateri strani se je nekdo znašel kot borec in vojak, ni bilo po volji njega samega. Vse je bilo odvisno od tega, v katerem predelu okupiranega ozemlja je kdo prebival, in kakšne okolšcine so tam prevladovale. Mnogi Slovenci so bili med partizani, drugi med domobranci, mnogi so bili vpoklicani v nemško ali v italijansko vojsko. Toda vsi ti ljudje, pod katero koli zastavo so že bili, so ostajali Slovenci. V tem so si bili vsi enaki. |
| Delitev Slovencev na domovini zveste in nezveste, je prišla po koncani vojni, ko je zacela ena stran nacrtno kršiti pravila mirnega sožitja. Pri drugih narodih v Evropi, ki so bili med drugo vojno prav tako okupirani, takšne delitve ni bilo. Slovence pa je bilo treba kot samostojen narod ocitno razbiti. Tako se je partizanski boj proti okupatorju, med vojno osvobodilen, po vojni nadaljeval. Tokrat odkrito v znamenju komunisticne revolucije stalinisticnega kova, kot "boj proti razrednemu sovražniku", pod nadzorom infiltriranih jugoslovanskih oficirjev. In "razredni sovražnik" so bili vsi, ki so imeli svoje premoženje. Torej vecina slovenskega naroda, ki je bil na takšen nacin, pod krinko jugoslovanske enakosti in bratstva, oropan svojega premoženja in sadov svojega dela. |
| Jugoslovanski oficirji so kljub prenehanju sovraznosti druge svetovne vojne svoje bojevanje nadaljevali z sovrazniki kot tudi z Slovenci. |
| Sanje vseh tistih, ki so med vojno verjeli v samostojno Slovenijo, se zanjo borili in žrtvovali tudi svoja življenja, so bile iznicene. Res je obstajala neka jugoslovanska zvezna republika z imenom Slovenija. Predstavljala naj bi na zunaj uresnicenje njihovih sanj. Vendar je kot država slovenskega naroda ostajala samo na papirju, pod strogim nadzorom jugoslovanske partije, vojske in tajne policije. Papirnata republika Slovenija v totalitarni komunisticni, centralisticni in hegemonisticni Jugoslaviji. |
| Toda tolikšne žrtve vseh tistih, ki so verjeli v svobodno Slovenijo, niso bile zaman. Ko že nihce vec ni verjel, da bi bila mogoca, se je rodila samostojna, neodvisna in mednarodno priznana Slovenija. Ni ravno idealna, vendar je temelj nove prihodnosti za slovenski narod. Danes, ko se oziramo nazaj v pretekle case, se moramo s hvaležnostjo pokloniti spominu vseh tistih, ki so v svobodno Slovenijo neomajno verjeli in se zanjo žrtvovali. Ne glede na to, na kateri strani so se v takratnih razmerah znašli. |
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| Card. Jakob Missia |
| Promoter of the Slovenian Catholic Renewal |
| 1838 - 1902 |
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Jakob Missia (* 1838), Bishop of Ljubljana 1884, Archbishop of Gorica 1898, Cardinal of the Catholic Church 1899 († 1902). He is buried in Mary's basilica of Sveta gora above Gorica. |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| In September of 1987, a symposium was held in Rome in the Slovenian Pontifical College, for the occasion of the 150 birthday of Jakob Missia, Bishop and Archbishop, as well as Cardinal, promoter of the Slovenian Catholic renewal of faith at the turn of the 20th century. The Slovenian Academy in Rome organized the symposium. At its conclusion, Pope John Paul II greeted the participants with the following words: |
| "At the turn of the last century, he represented the Slavs of Central Europe in the Collegian of Cardinals. He was a fearless defender of human rights of various ethnic groups; a tireless promoter of priesthood education and worked on the spiritual renewal of the Catholic faithf. We express our best wishes to Slovenian Ordinaries who can be righteously proud of their compatriot and predecessor. He was so very ardent in the pastoral service and true to the Holy See." |
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| However, the composer of the text, who prepared the speech for the Pope, confused the public mind with a different image of Card. Jakob Missia. In fact, he never represented the Slavs of Central Europe, and he himself did not feel as a "Slav" but as an Austrian and a Slovenian only. He also did not defend the "rights" of ethnic groups, because in his position he was obliged to fulfil other tasks. At that time he was still one of the Austrian bishops and archbishops, and therefore, he cannot be considered a predecessor of "Slovenian" Ordinaries, because in that period Austria (Carantania) and Slovenia were one and the same state. |
| After WW1, when Slovenians entered in the new constituted Yugoslavia, another conception concerning the national state was put into mind of the public. Many Slovenian personalities, who had proven themselves as successful during the Austrian period, were concealed from the public. The Yugoslav policy Slavenized the public mind and even influenced the Catholic circles. Such an orientation, which was imposed upon the Catholic Church in Slovenia in the period of Yugoslavia, continued after the WW2 too, and still has not been overcame today. The Yugoslav regime promoted particularly the worshipping of St. Ciril and Methodius as "Slav" apostles. Such a worshipping should consolidate the Slav and Yugo-Slav ideology among the Slovenian faithful, and that is what really happened. One of the first victims of this policy was the forgotten memorial of Card. Jakob Missia. |
| His Life and Work |
| Jakob Missia was born in the village of Mota, in the parish of Sv. Kriz, near Ljutomer (Luttenberg), in Lower Styria (Slovenia), in 1838. He was the youngest of all children in the family, and was nicknamed Japec (pron. yapetz). The family name Missia is evidently a Latin form of Mislej, a well-known Slovenian family name. Japec was a promising boy, very intelligent. Therefore, after graduating from elementary school, his elder brother, a consecrated Catholic priest since 1842, prepared Japec for the Latin school, and later also for the theological seminar in Graz, the chieftown of Styria and seat of the diocese. |
| There, Japec or Jakob was always an eminent pupil. But he was not a very healthy young lad, therefore, the Bishop of Graz-Seckau (1853 - 1867), Count Otokar Maria Attems, took him in over holidays as a page boy at his castle Seggau near Leibnitz (Lipnica). The bishop was a member of a heigh aristocratic family and was very pious. He made great impression on young Jakob, who ardently adopted his dignity, religiousness and aristocratic behaviour. |
| After an excellent general examination, Jakob decided to enter the priesthood, and he enrolled to study theology. After one year the bishop sent him to Rome, and there, some years later, Jakob Missia took doctorates in theology and philosophy, and was ordained priest, in 1863. When he returned, he practized in responsible positions in the diocese of Graz. But the Church authority was well aware of his capacities. |
| In 1884, Emperor Francis Joseph I nominated Jakob Missia as Bishop of Ljubljana, and the Pope confirmed then the nomination. In his new rank Jakob Missia had plenty of opportunity to show his capacities. His device was "Renew all in Christ!" He became a promoter of the religious life in the bishopric. But his circuit of action was much broader: he was also secretary of the permanent council of Austrian bishops. With this qualification he influenced decisively the policy of the Austrian State toward the Church. |
| His fidelity to Austria and his ardent work for Catholic renewal made him enemies in the so-called liberal Slovenian movement. This movement was undisguised oriented pan-Slav and anti-Catholic. Such orientation was conditioned by its financing through Czech banks, coming from circles in East Europe, mostly from Russia, even though pan-Slavism was not the official policy of the Tsar regime. |
| Because of his zealous Catholic and Austrian orientation, Bishop Missia became a subject of continuous attacks by the liberal press. The most violent was the liberal Slovenski narod (Slovenian people), which accused him of anti-Slovenian and pro-German feeling. But it was the contrary. He was also attacked by the paper Neue Freie Presse, the organ of German liberals in Austria. For example, in 1889, when the Emperor's son Rudolf committed suicide, Bishop Missia did not hoist the black flag on the diocesan palace in Ljubljana, because suicide was against the Church rules. The liberal papers soon accused him of non-dynastic sentiments and incited the crowd to protest in front of the diocesan palace. The crowd shattered the windows of the palace. |
| Certainly, Bishop Missia was not a herald of the Slovenian national idea, which at that time, and still for a long period after, was based on the pan-Slav ideology. His consciousness was Austrian - Slovenian. But under his episcopate, the traditional administration in German language of the See of Ljubljana began to receive a Slovenian image. The diocesan organ Diözesansblatt changed its German title-page to Škofijski list. The former inscriptions, which were only in German at the diocesan offices, became bilingual, Slovenian and German... But his most important occupation was the spiritual and religious life of the people. He promoted particularly the saying of Rosary and the veneration of Jesus' Heart, symbol of God's Love. During his episcopate 13 new monasteries were opened in the bishopric. In 1887, he called anew the Jesuits to Ljubljana. He stimulated and sustained Catholic associations of intellectuals and students, and more and more. |
| Bishop Missia wrote also some pastoral epistles, which have to be considered pearls of the spiritual literature: About the need of the Faith (1885), Against the drunkenness and for sobriety (1887), About renunciation of oneself (1889), About the sacred oath ( 1891), About the consecration of Sunday (1891), About the Christian family (1894), About the sacred matrimony (1895), About honour and good name (1896). He promoted the foundation of St. Mary's associations, the church singing etc. |
| In 1892, the first Slovenian Catholic Meeting (Katoliški shod) took place in Ljubljana, which established the basis of Catholic principles in public life. In fact, it was Bishop Missia, who inspired the meeting, but his name was suppressed by historians in their dealing with Slovenian political and ideological history, controlled by the liberal, Yugoslav and then Communist forces, until today. |
| They only talked about the "division of the spirits" on the turn of the century in the Slovenian national movement. They never mentioned Missia and other great personalities, who gave strength to the Catholic oriented People's Party (in confront to the National one, which was liberal, pan-Slav and Yugo-Slav oriented). However, the political and state history of Slovenians was not researched and presented to the public. No knowledge existed concerning the early Slovenian State called Carantania preceding Austria. |
| Moreover, the pan-German part initiated a tremendous agitation against Slovenians, a people supposedly without a State tradition, a people of serfs and maids. Such point of view entered the general mind of Slovenian intellectuals, because it was spread by university professors. So, Slovenian Catholic intellectuals, too, saw as the only salvation from the menacing Germanization in the Austrian Monarchy in a Yugo-Slav or even in a pan-Slav empire, which should extent "from Trieste to Vladivostok". In their naivety, they could not imagine an independent Slovenia. In this way, as Bishop Missia puts it, no ideological and political programme had been built for a Slovenian State, neither in nor outside the frame of the Monarchy. |
| Archbishop and Cardinal |
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| The arms of Car. Jakob Missia depicted in a cartouche at the archbishop's palace in Gorica |
| In 1898, in Gorica (Gorizia, Görz) died Aloysius Zorn, the Prince Archbishop there, and Emperor Francis Joseph I appointed Bishop Missia on his place. The Pope confirmed the appointment. The title "Prince Archbishop" assured prestige. It was a legacy of the Patriarchal of Aquileia, suppressed in 1750. Because the patriarch was also the duke or prince of the land, the Archbishops of Gorica (for the Austrian part of the former Patriarchal) and of Udine (for the Venetian and later Italian part), as his heirs, bore the title of Princes. |
| In his new environment in Gorica, Archbishop Missia continued his great work. We see that, outside of Ljubljana and in his so important rank, he was no longer exposed to attacks from the liberal press. But on the other hand, he gave support to Anton Mahnic, professor of the seminar in Gorica, who risked his life to preserve Catholic values in the public life of Slovenians. Prof. Mahnic committed himself in true sense of the word for the national idea and for the prevailing of Catholic principles in the public life, because Slovenians were a Catholic people. He was rigorously against liberal and Masonic principles: public life should be subordinated to Catholic principles, which were broader as the national ones. Only in this way could unity be reached among Slovenians. |
| The violent liberal campaign was oriented against Prof. Mahnic, and it was not only violent, but also indecent. It was a seed, which bore "fruits" after WW1 in the first Yugoslavia and then, after WW2, in the Communist Yugoslavia. It was the origin for the gradually moral decadence of Slovenian rule structure. |
| In the Archbishopric of Gorica, Archbishop Missia continued his Renew in Christ. The veneration of Jesus' Heart was spread among the people, and Mary's associations were founded. Religious life was deepened in town and countryside. He also continued to hold the leading position among the Austrian episcopate. At that time the device "Los von Rom" (Away from Rome) was spread among Catholic bishops in the German speaking area, and it reached also Austria. Archbishop Missia in the pastoral epistle of 1899 condemned this movement. He was aware of its consequences for the Catholic world and its religious life. Therefore, Pope Leon XIII granted him the title of Cardinal. |
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| The statue of Card. Missia on his grave in the St. Michael chapel at the pilgrim church of Sveta gora (682 m) above Gorica. |
| In 1902, he had a heart attack and died. The reason of his suddenly death must have been only an exhaustion of his strength. All his life he was put to work for God and for his people, whom he liked so much. He was buried in Mary's shrine at Sveta gora (Monte Santo) above Gorica, in the chapel of St. Michael. In 1915, the shrine was exposed to the war front and was destroyed. It received a new form in 1927, when Gorica and its vicinity came under Italy after the end of the WW1. Mary's shrine at Sveta gora was given in administration to Italian Franciscans, who obviously were not interested to promote the records of Card. Missia. |
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The inscription on Missia's grave carried out in 1924 WW1 by the Minorites from Treviso, who took over the administration of Sveta gora after WW1. |
| In 1947, the most part of the Gorica land came under Slovenia (Yugoslavia), and the administration of Sveta gora was given to the Franciscans from Ljubljana. However, until this time records about Card. Missia were not held alive in Slovenia. The Franciscans from Ljubljana did not point out to the pilgrims the site of his grave in the St. Michael chapel of the shrine. In Communist Slovenia after WW2, there was in course a hysteric campaign against the "Clericalism", which was directed in particular against the role that Catholics played in public life. Card. Missia and his work were however the contrary, and the Church summit in Slovenia, under the regime's pressure, had to avoid his memory. It is but inexcusable, that in so many years after the decline of the Communist regime, his memory has not been revived yet. |
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| Heart of Jesus |
| A Legacy of Cardinal Jakob Missia (1838 - 1902) |
| Pilgrimage Church in Dreznica close to Kobarid (Caporetto, Karfreit) |
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| The pilgrimage church of Dreznica, situated under the picturesque peak of Krn (2245 m), and the great fresco of Jesus in the apses of the same church. Dreznica is to be found in the proximity of Kobarid (Caporetto, Karfreit), where the front of WW1 coursed. In spite of cannon firing the church was not damaged. |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| The pilgrimage church of Heart Jesus in the village of Dreznica is situated on a plateau below the mountain Krn (2245 m), a beautiful peak of the Julian Alps. Below the village, on the western side, the Isonzo (Soca) River opens into the plain of Kobarid, the well-known battlefield of the WW1. Historically seen, the territory belongs to the county and archdiocese of Gorica (Goerz, Gorizia). |
| The present-day pilgrimage and parish-church in Dreznica had its first ground work laid in the period of the Austrian monarchy, in 1911. At Christmas of 1912 its splendid structure was ready for benediction, and from then on mess was celebrated there. The church was completed in 1915; but several refinements were adapted later. The architectural style is called Neo-Romanesque, and a certain architect by the name of Parcher from Graz elaborated the project: the church building is 40 m long, it has a middle nave of 26 m high, and a 52 m high bell-tower, which was completed not earlier then 1986. |
| In 1915, when the Isonzo territory became the scene of raging battles for three years during WW1, the church of Jesus' Heart remained undamaged, which seemed to be a miracle, since the church happened to be in the middle of the war-zone. The Italian grenades destroyed houses and villages all around, but the church spited the war like a sign of Salvation. |
| In March 1942, the church in Dreznica was officially proclaimed a pilgrimage church by the Archbishop of Gorica, and in October of the same year the Pope granted it the title Basilica. It was also the year when the well-known painters Avgust Cernigoj and Zoran Music painted the church in fresco. |
| After WW2 the entire Isonzo area came under Yugoslavia and its communist regime created obstacles for pilgrims, so that the church of Jesus' Heart in Dreznica could not fulfil its destiny as a place of pilgrimage. Only after 1990, in the new independent state of Slovenia it picked up its mission again. |
| The church in Dreznica is among the numerous Slovenian pilgrimage churches the most unique one which is dedicated to Jesus' Heart. But it was originally erected in the spiritual legacy of Jakob (James) Missia, Bishop of Lublana (1884 - 1897), Archbishop of Gorica (1897 - 1902), and Cardinal of the Catholic Church (1899 - 1902). Cardinal Jakob Missia had his roots in Styria, and his Slovenian family name was Misel or Mislej, later on registered as Missia, the Latin way of spelling. He was born 1838 in the village Mota, belonging to the parish of Sv. Kriz, close to Ljutomer. Already as a boy he attended the seminar of theology in Graz. Due to his ill health, he had to spent his vacation as a page in Castle Seggau, where Bishop Ottocar Maria Attems resided. |
| The bishop was of high aristocracy and was very pious, which must have been quite impressive on young Missia, because he adopted from him both, his religiousness and his aristocratic manners. Since he was a very talented student, he had the opportunity to study in Rome, where he achieved his doctor degree of theology and of philosophy. After several years of service he was nominated Bishop of Lublana. However, his religiousness and loyalty to the Catholic Church and to Austria disturbed the liberal pan-Slav and Yugo-Slav circles, who kept the media in uproar with their campaigns against him. Because of their aggressive behaviour and his important role in the Slovenian Church, the personality of Jakob Missia remained overshadowed in the new constituted Yugoslavia after WW1 and WW2, and also in today's independent Slovenia, in which the "Slav" ideology is still predominant. |
| Bishop, Archbishop and Cardinal Jakob Missia reanimated the spiritual life and the religious feelings among Slovenians. He was not only a very educated man, but he was also unique among the bishops of Lublana, skilled in playing the organ and in writing music. He loved the lyric of songs and their meaning gave him, more than others, a much better understanding of the Slovenian soul. Slovenians always liked to sing, and because they are particularly devoted to Mary, they have a small treasure of numerous Marian churches and lyrics. |
| His mission expressed the feeling of a greater piousness toward Jesus, which should come to the forefront and he promoted the veneration of Jesus' Heart, symbol of charity. He died suddenly in 1902, and was buried in the Marian church of Sveta Gora (Monte Santo) above Gorica. A few years later WW1 broke out, and thereafter Gorica and its province came under Italy. The Italian regime was not favourable of his memory nor was the Yugoslav one after WW2. But the church of Jesus' Heart in Dreznica remained and expects to be witness of a new and better era. |
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| Sen. Frank J. Lausche |
| Ohio's Lincoln |
| 1895 - 1990 |
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| Sen. Frank. J. Lausche |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Undoubtedly, he entered history as one of the most prominent personalities in the modern political life of the United States. Among Americans of Slovenian origin he has to be considered the most visible figure. Ironically, in the period after the WW2, while he was on the height of his political career, his personality was totally suppressed in his native country Slovenia, which was under the Yugoslav communist regime at that time. Thus, because Frank J. Lausche was a Catholic and of open anti-Communist principles. And not at least, because he was a Slovenian, whereas the Yugoslav regime tended to present "Yugoslavs" only to the world. |
| After the decline of the Communist regime in Yugoslavia, and after the declaration of independence of Slovenia, in 1991, there were no more hindrances to keep his name and his existence a secret. Indeed, a device of him was published in the Slovenian Encyclopaedia (Lovše, vol. 6/1992). In my opinion, the description of a device is too poor, considering his role as governor of Ohio and US Senator. Moreover, as far as I know, there were no other publications about Frank J. Lausche. Thus, he still seems to be considered a suppressed personality in modern Slovenia. |
| Consequently, this is just one more reason for me, to dedicate this moderate article to him, in which, of course, I cannot present his full life and work, but only expose his great role and his endeavour for the benefit of the public. At the same time, this article shall be a symbolic acknowledgement to the Slovenian Americans and to their life and work based on traditional Slovenian values: diligence, honesty and faith, which they preserved. They also could serve as an example for our compatriots in Slovenia, who, in the period under the Communist regime, were devastated even of those values. |
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| St. Vitus, Slovenian parish church in Cleveland, Ohio |
| Frank J. Lausche was born in Cleveland in 1895 to Slovenian parents. His father, Lojze (Alois) Lausche (Lovše), immigrated to America from Hinje near Kocevje; his mother Francka (Francis) came from Dvorska vas near Velike Lašce. Both villages are located in southern Carniola (Slovenia). The family were parishioners and supporters of St. Vitus church, the Slovenian parish of Cleveland (Ohio). There, young Frank visited also the Slovenian elementary school, maintained by the parish. This parish cherished the Slovenian religious tradition, based on prayer and church song, and in this way made Sunday mass always a beautiful experience. |
| Later, Frank laboured and studied law. He was also a good baseball player. During the WW1 he was drafted in the army. After the war he finished his studies and worked as an attorney, giving also lectures of law. In 1931, he began his political career as city magistrate of Cleveland. In this position he was an advocate for equal status for people before the trial, and he also made considerable contributions to reduce crime in the city. |
| In 1941, he was elected mayor of Cleveland, listed as a Democrat. In this rank, he demonstrated his capacities as a very "miracle-man" for the city, so that in 1943 he was re-elected by over 70 % of votes. |
| Governor and Senator |
| In 1944, he ran for governor of Ohio. Stunning all political prophets and analysts, he became the first Catholic, the first "ethnic" and the first Slovenian governor of Ohio. In January 1945, he was inaugurated as Ohio's governor. - Here is one episode that occurred while being on election tour at that time. It happened in the prestigious Commercial Club of Cincinnati, a fortress of the Republicans: Hardly any Democrat had even been seen within its portals. It ate Democrats for breakfast. Lausche spoke for an hour. A member, who was present, told me, "Before he came, it was a dead sure shot that 90 per cent of the people there would vote against him; when he left, 90 per cent were on his side" (Gunther, Inside U.S.A., 1947, p. 427). |
| In the following period, governor Lausche was re-elected many times, and he entered history as the only Five-Term-Governor of Ohio. But he had to overcome many campaigns against him, capitalised too on prejudice. Indeed, in 1946, Lausche, one of the most determined anti-Communists, was accused of being a communist and of harbouring communists in his administration. While born and educated in America and an ardent American patriot, he was on several occasions falsely pictured as being foreign-born and un-American. |
| Lausche, whether as judge, mayor, or governor, waged a relentless and often a relatively successful war against crime, racketeering and corruption. As early as 1949, he was mentioned for the first time as a possible nominee for president (NY Times, January 22, 1949). |
| In 1956, he was the first Democrat in 22 years to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Ohio. He was re-elected in 1962 receiving the majority of 692,000 votes, the largest number ever received by a senatorial or gubernal candidate in the history of Ohio up to that year. He was a member of the U.S. Senate for twelve years, and in this rank he also assumed several charges. He was, for example, appointed to the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee, on the Interstate and Foreign Commercial Committee, and so on. |
| Economic frugality, a continuous struggle against Communist expansion and subversion, as he saw them, and cultivation of an American patriotism, which, in his book, included respect for morality and legitimate authority and rejection of chaos and illegitimate bossism and lobbies, have characterised his twelve years as senator. |
| Lausche's Tribute to the Knowledge |
| of Slovenian State Tradition |
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Cover and title page of the book "The Genesis of the Contractual Theory and the Installation of the Dukes of Carinthia", written by Prof. Joseph Felicijan, published by Mohorjeva in Klagenfurt - Celovec, in 1967. |
| In 1967, it was a very sensation, when Prof. Joseph Felicijan from St. John's College, Cleveland, published his work called "The Contractual Theory and the Installation of the Dukes of Carinthia". Let us quote an excerption of his speech, he held for this occasion in the U.S. Senate: |
| Mr. Lausche: Mr. President... in this work Dr. Felicijan explores the impact of Bodin's famous "Republic" (Paris, 1576) upon the formulation of the contractual theory of government in general and, in particular, its impact upon Thomas Jefferson and the drafting of the Declaration of the Independence. In Jefferson's copy of Bodin's work Prof. Felicijan discovered that Jefferson had initialled two pages. On one page was Bodin's definition and characterization of tyrant... On the other initialled page was a description of the installation of the dukes of Carinthia (or Carantania), a Slovenian ritual which may have contributed greatly to the founding of our own great country. According to Dr. Felicijan: |
| Jefferson evidently considered the ancient ritual of the Installation of the dukes of Carinthia a common law precedent and the confirmation of the Contractual Theory upon which he based his claim for the American Independence. |
| The theory begins with several assumptions, one being that all men are equal in a political sense, and from this conclusion that no one person has a natural right to rule another... Based on these counterpoised ... there developed the theory that there is a contract between those who are to rule and those who are to be ruled and each party has rights and obligations under this contract... |
| When Jefferson read Bodin's "Republic", he learned of the ancient Slovenian ritual known as the installation of the Duke of Carinthia. This custom was living proof that the social contract did, in fact, exist, at least among the Slovenians. |
| Mr. President, I shall read from Felicijan's book where he quotes Bodin's description of this unique Slovenian custom: There is nothing to compare with this custom observed in Carinthia.... (In French original: Mais il n'y en a point de pareille à celle de Carinthie...) |
| The Slovenians believed that the power to govern rested with the people who were to be governed, not those who were governing. They believed that their rulers should be men of the people. They believed that the true qualities of those in governing should be competency and concern. They believed that their leaders had a solemn duty to the people to be righteous. And we Americans believe in these same principles today. So did Thomas Jefferson during the time of the Revolution. |
| Perhaps Jefferson's convictions were confirmed wen he read Bodin's description of this beautiful Slovenian custom. (Senator Frank J. Lausche, quoted in Congressional Record - Senate, November 28, 1967, p. 33918). |
| In those days, one could not have imagined, that after ca. 30 years US President Clinton, when visiting the independent Slovenia, would make reference to Lausche's speech in the US Senate in his allocation to the Slovenian politicians. |
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Cover and title page of the book "Ohio's Lincoln Frank J. Lausche", edited by Prof. Edward Gobetz and published by the Slovenian Research Center of America, Willoughby Hills, 1985. |
| In 1985, Frank J. Lausche celebrated his 90th anniversary. To this purpose, Prof. Edward Gobetz from the Kent State University issued the excellent book called "Ohio's Lincoln Frank J. Lausche", edited by the Slovenian Research Center of America. The book is a summary of Lausche's productive role in public life. Let us quote only some of the titles from this book: Lausche's Patriotism and Political Philosophy; On Religion, Morality and Law; On Responsible Economic Stewardship and Frugality; Frank J. Lausche, Defender of Human Rights; Frank J. Lausche and Education.... |
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For his 90th anniversary, Sen. Frank J. Lausche received also a letter of congratulations from the White House, signed by Ronald Regan, the then U.S. President. |
| When the broadcast centre "Voice of America" in Washington suspended Slovenian broadcasting, Sen. Frank. J. Lausche proposed in the US Senate a special law for preservation of those broadcasts. The US Senate accepted this "Slovenian" law, first of all out of respect for Lausche's person. |
| On the world scene, Sen. Frank J. Lausche did a lot for Slovenia, albeit he obviously could not have imagined it as an independent State. In general, the Slovenian public at home and abroad was told by the members of the Yugoslav secret service, that Slovenia is to small as to survive as an independent state. Only a few Slovenian individuals nursed the idea of its independence. |
| Anyway, through the work of Sen. Frank J. Lausche the Slovenian national individuality continued to mature, too. In the 80s it had the clear expression of an "independent Slovenia" and could not be kept back any longer. He died in 1990. In the following year of 1991, Slovenia declared its independence. |
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| Ciril Zebot |
| And his Influence on Independent Slovenia |
| 1914 - 1989 |
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| Cyril Zebot |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| In the 60s, precisely in 1967, during my studies at the University of Ljubljana, I spent a day in Trieste. A Slovenian bookstore there, drew my attention to a book written by Ciril Zebot, which was published in the same year. In general it was prohibited in those days to bring Slovenian publications into the then Slovenia (Yugoslavia), but I bought the book and carried it secretly over the border. Yet, a few days later, I read in the central daily of Ljubljana that the import of this book, labelled as "belogardistic libel", was rigorously forbidden by a decree published in the official gazette of Belgrade. |
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Page of the "Sluzbeni list" (Official Gazette) from Yugoslavia, dated June 21, 1967, whereby Belgrade prohibited to bring Zebot's book into Slovenia. |
| It somewhat frightened me, because I had already shown the book around to several people. Some of them were even members of the Communist Party. But nobody reported me. I also read the book with undivided attention, but could not understand it very well. Its content was beyond my horizon of those times. I only understood its main message: Slovenia should decide its own fate by itself, either internal of Yugoslavia or (not excluded) external. - The professional career of Ciril Zebot, the author of the book, was but more than peculiar. He was a professor of economics at Georgetown University in Washington. We never heart of him, and it was beyond our imagination, that a Slovenian could be found at such a place. It sounds ingeniously, that the name "Washington" had something magic not only for me, but also generally in Slovenia, where people felt like in a prison. Therefore, the book found an immense echo in Slovenia. It changed worthy even the thinking of the leading Communist class, composed at that time by numerous members of the young generation. (Nevertheless, this topic I will treat later. First, I will depict Ciril Zebot and his life). |
| Ciril Zebot was born in Maribor, in 1914. His father Franjo was a great Slovenian patriot and a collaborator with the famous priest Edvard Vracko from Št. Illy on the present-day border between Austria and Slovenia. It forms also the ancient linguistic dividing line between the German speaking Upper Styria and the Slovenian speaking Lower Styria. Until WW1 the population there, whether they spoke German or Slovenian, considered themselves Styrians only, but the great-national movements separated them finally in two States. |
| After WW1, Franjo Zebot worked as a deputy in Belgrade, because after Slovenia's separation from Austria, it became part of Yugoslavia. After 1929, he became vice mayor of Maribor, and shortly before the German attack in 1941, his rank was mayor of Maribor. Holding such a position led to his arrest and he was transported to the lager of Dachau, where he died in April 1945. |
| Soon after Franjo's arrest, his wife Marija with family withdrew secretly to Ljubljana, which was occupied by Italy and enjoyed autonomy. Her son, Ciril Zebot, had already taken residence there. In 1932, he graduated from the classical gymnasium in Maribor, and then in 1936 the studied economics at the University of Ljubljana, and thereafter he specialised his studies in Paris and in Milan. In March 1941 he was appointed docent of economics at the University of Ljubljana. |
| In Ljubljana, Ciril Zebot was a close collaborator with Univ. Prof. Lambert Ehrlich, the ideator of independent Slovenia. They prepared several plans concerning Slovenia's future. One of them was the project Intermarium, i.e., the community of nations between Baltic and Adriatic. However, in May 1942, Prof. Ehrlich was shot to death in a Communist attempt on his life. In September 1943, after Italy capitulated, Germany now occupied Ljubljana, too. Prof. Zebot withdrew to Rome and found sanctuary in the Vatican, after he learned, that the Gestapo was looking for him. When in 1944 Rome was liberated, Prof. Ciril Zebot worked together with his connexions for an independent Slovenia addressed to the western Allies. |
| In 1947, Prof. Zebot immigrated to USA and became a professor at the Duquesne University in Pittsburg, Pa. Since 1958, he was holding lectures at the prestigious Georgtown University in Washington. He authored several books in English and in Slovenian; but his papers were published also in Italian, German and Spanish. Many of his articles were published in important American papers, like the Washington Post and the New York Times. In the latter alone, ca. 50 of his articles were issued. |
| In consideration of his political views, Prof. Zebot was a faithful pupil of Prof. Lambert Ehrlich. His endeavours concerning Slovenia were but more "realistic". In Washington, he was very close to the American political summit, which in a decisively measure created the world's politics and situation. He saw that Washington firmly insisted on the integrity of Yugoslavia, albeit the hegemonistic regime of Belgrade, which was directed to create a "Yugoslav" nation (great Serbia). Thus, America considered Yugoslavia like a buffer state between East and West Europe. Therefore, the existence of Yugoslavia should become indispensable for stability in Europe and the world. |
| For this reason, Prof. Zebot did not claim publicly the independence of Slovenia, but he pretended rather its very autonomy, so that Slovenians, although having been in the frame of Yugoslavia, should decide their proper fate. Such a standpoint was totally in conformity with the Yugoslav constitution, which Belgrade with its hegemonistic policy ignored. |
| Zebot's "revolution" |
| It seems that Prof. Zebot's love for his native Slovenia increased with his knowledge concerning the tremendous expropriation by centralistic Belgrade. Consequently, Slovenia under the Communist regime of the great-Serbian Yugoslavia found itself indeed in the greatest state of emergency of its historical existence after WW2. The people in Slovenia, and also the leading Communist class were fully aware of this. However, it was impossible to speak out in a totalitarian Yugoslavia. And even among Slovenians of the free world, Prof. Zebot was one of the very few, who at that time knew and was aware of the critical situation in Slovenia. The Slovenian people were very close to be absorbed in a "Yugoslav" (Serbian) nation. Against the threatening disappearance of Slovenians, he had no other tools but his visible rank, his great knowledge, and his pen. |
| Of course, his books, articles, and even the mentioning of his existence had to be suppressed in the then (Yugoslav) Slovenia. Besides, being a Catholic, who was teaching at an American university, his figure did not fit well in the Communist "scientific" mould, in sense of which the Faith should have been "opium for the people" (Marx). As a man of faith, Prof. Zebot should have been lagging behind, should have been ingenuous and incapable to understand the very social and economic process of development. Thus, a servant of Capitalism only? |
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Cover and title page of Zebot's book "Slovenija, vceraj, danes, jutri" (Slovenia, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 1967), which stirred up Slovenia and Yugoslavia at the end of the 60s. |
| Actually, in the 60s no one in Slovenia believed in the Communist scientific "truth", but there were no examples of a different reality. Thus the fact must have been like a "divine finger" (as Slovenians say), when the knowledge of Prof. Zebot's figure and his endeavours for Slovenia were spread widely throughout the country. In 1967 Zebot's book "Slovenija, vceraj, danes, jutri" (Slovenia, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 1967) was published by the Mohorjeva Publishing House in Klagenfurt - Celovec (Austria). |
| As already mentioned above, the bringing of the book into Yugoslavia was prohibited. But even the suppression provoked a great interest for it. Many people made a trip to Celovec (Austria) and brought the book secretly into Slovenia, like a kind of triumph. And the book was sold out in no time. |
| Among the young generation of Slovenian intellectuals, Zebot's analysis of the political and social situation of Slovenia of that time was very well accepted. It was said, he did not blindly attack Communism and Yugoslavia, albeit he critically took a standpoint toward the leading Communists, whom he called by name (Kardelj, Ribicic...). Prof. Zebot depicted the difficult situation of Slovenia, and in a constructive way he showed the salvation. After his prevision, the Slovenian Communist leaders themselves should have made a stop to the tremendous exploitation that went on in the autonomous Republic of Slovenia by sides of Belgrade. |
| The way he displayed the situation of Slovenia served as an indirect support the endeavours of the then pragmatic Slovenian Communist leader, Stane Kavcic, and his staff. They invited Prof. Zebot to Slovenia, as to discuss its economical and political future. Belgrade was furious and activated its secret agents, so that Prof. Zebot had to departure from Slovenia earlier than originally intended. |
| Nevertheless, since then the idea of a real autonomous Slovenia prevailed among the young Communist generation, too. Therefore, after 1970, Belgrade deposed of the pragmatic Slovenian leader Stane Kavcic and his staff. Belgrade's network of secret agents was reinforced heavily. This network tried to activate into the public mind to have "faith" in Yugoslavia. Because the Slovenian people were prevailingly Catholic, the regime put particularly pressure on the Catholic Church. So in ca. 1977, the Archbishop of Ljubljana, Joze Pogacnik, had to declare publicly: "The worst Yugoslavia is still the best salvation for the Slovenian nation!" |
| It was a desperate attempt to save the failed image of Yugoslavia, in which Slovenians did not believe anymore. But to save it through the authority of the Catholic hierarchy, and to address its message to the faithful "sheep" remained without success! Therefore, in the 80s the Yugoslav regime prepared a new centralistic programme, in sense of which a "Yugoslav" literature was introduced. The Slovenian national identity was meant to disappear even on the cultural field. At the same time, the infiltration of all the political and social structures in Slovenia by Belgrade's agents became complete. A triumph for great Serbian unitarism was the fact, that in the middle of the 80s, a Serbian man became mayor of Ljubljana. |
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| Zebot's last book "Neminljiva Slovenia" (Everlasting Slovenia, 1988), which could be considered his last will to the Slovenian people. |
| Prof. Zebot was watching the situation in Slovenia. In the second half of the 80s - during its greatest critical period since the existence of Yugoslavia - his new book called "Neminljiva Slovenia" (Everlasting Slovenia, 1988) was published in Klagenfurt - Celovec (Austria). In this book he quoted anew the Slovenian endeavours for a national identity, which started already since the WW1, and therefore he stated: Only a non-questionable sovereignty of the Republic of Slovenia must become a guarantee for an "Everlasting Slovenia" (p. 489). |
| In 1991, this message was finally carried out by the Slovenian ruling leadership with the day of the declaration of independence of Slovenia. It was the message, for which Prof. Ehrlich at the beginning of the WW2 was shot in an attempt on his life. Prof. Zebot did not live to see this, because he died in 1989. From then on Slovenia has been gradually internationally acknowledged and was accepted in the UNO. |
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| Mother Elisabeth |
| Her contributions to the Slovenian Cultural World |
| and her Spiritual Poetry |
| 1878 - 1954 |
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| Mother Elisabeth |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Her very name was Ivanka Kremzar, and she was born in Vic, a suburb of Ljubljana. Her father was a blacksmith, and she was the youngest in the family of eight children. At that time, one still could see from Vic the cupola of the Ursuline church of St. Trinity in the centre of Ljubljana. This view, which Ivanka so freely could enjoy, was like a prediction for her future life. At the age of six she started elementary school taught by the Ursulines, and she walked to class every day regardless if the weather was good or bad. Her family was deeply religious. In school, the children were instructed by the Ursulines very well also in religion, and already in elementary school she was convinced to become a nun. |
| In her highschool years, she already felt a poetical inclination. She confided her first poem called "Vigred" (Spring) to her instructor, Mother Stanislava Škvarca. The teacher praised the poem and invited her to write others. Indeed, young Ivanka, under the spiritual leadership of Mother Stanislava, soon mastered the rhythm and rime and began to mature as a poetess. At the same time, she deepened her religious experience. In the prayer book called "Sacred Heart of Jesus" she found so much spiritual beauty, richness and happiness, so that she forever entered the world of longing for God. |
| Every morning, before the school bell rang, she attended mass at the Franciscan church. There she had also her confessor, who was Father Hugolin Sattner, a very spiritual person and also a composer. He became her spiritual leader. In 1894, after graduating from elementary school, she wrote down a poem, which ended with the following strophe: My heart, oh Jesus, I will put on your altar; I will dedicate myself to your service like a burning gift. She showed the poem to her mother, who started to cry from joy. Young Ivanka Kremzar became a monastic candidate. |
| In 1900, the year in which Pope Leo XIII consecrated the human stock to Heart Jesus, Ivanka made her monastic vow, and she became an Ursuline, a member of the order founded by St. Angela Merici. She received the monastic name Mother Elisabeth. One of the many purposes of the Ursuline order was to educate the female youth, and Mother Elisabeth became a teacher. She taught Slovenian language. She liked the school, and the young girls liked her. |
| But the very instrument of her spiritual message was actually her religious poetry. She profited fully from her poetical talent, that God gave her. The poems gushed from her soul, and she unlocked new and new fields of religious experience to mankind. Many of her poems inspired musicians to compose them into church songs: Father Hugolin Sattner OFM, Alojzij Mav, Vinko Vodopivec, Jakob Aljaz, Stanko Premrl, Matija Tomc, Franc Kimovec, Mother Eleonora Hudovernik ... |
| Her poems were like an irradiated melody, which gave inspiration to be composed in very well liked songs. They were performed by church choirs with great enthusiasm all over Slovenian lands. For example, it hits us when we listen to her poem of "Roznovenska" (Holy Rosary), composed then in song by Alojzij Mav, in which she says: |
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| Thereafter, she explains poetically the symbols of the roses. The white roses mean Mary's immaculate, the red roses mean Mary's pains, and the golden ones should radiate in Mary's crown. |
| Her poems were simple, she did not search new poetical forms, originality or variety. Her rimes often are monotone. Therefore, the critics did not rank them on a high level in Slovenian literature. But it is certain that her poetry will preserve a durable value even though it was written in a simple form, but full of sentimental power. Here, in the foreground is not the poetical form or originality, but her expressiveness, or better said, her spiritual message. |
| Her collection of poems "Iz moje celice" (From My Cell, 1916) found a great echo among the people and also among the youth. She opened to the public the happiness of a life connected with prayers and God. One could see that the people, who had faith, found the meaning of life. Her message reached the broad masses once her poems were set in church songs. Her words, done in melodies, pierced mind and soul. |
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The "pearl" (biser) of Mother Elisabeth was the Holy Host. She said: I found the pearl of greatest beauty... Many thanks, Mother Elisabeth, for this great message. Through your poetry many people found it also. |
| I was particularly touched, when I heard for the first time in church the song "Biser" (Pearl), composed, on the text of her poem, by the well-known musician and priest Vinko Vodopivec. During the song, the church seemed to be enchanted in a mystical experience. The pearl, because of its brilliance, was in Catholic tradition a symbol of Christ, and Mother Elisabeth found the most beautiful pearl in the Holy Host. |
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| This is only one example of spiritual and sentimental experience that she transmitted to the people. Indeed, such symbolism was already tradition in the Catholic Church, but through the poem and the melody, it could have been deeply experienced by the faithful. The experiences remained indelible. Most of her poems, like the collections "Moj ideal" (My Ideal) or "V svitu svete hostije" (In the Shine of the Holy Host), are referred to Christ. |
| She was not spared from suffering. We do not know about her psychical suffering, but her corporal ones were known. One time, when she was directress of the teacher's college, she got a liver disease, and she was on the threshold of death, but the situation suddenly took a turn for the better. While suffering her personality still matured, and she offered always refuge to the needy and suffering people. | |
| She received her energy in life from prayers. She prayed Rosary also more than one time a day. She prayed for many hours in front of the tabernacle. The document called Moja lepa pot (My Beautiful Way) reveals her spiritual life. Her adoration of Corpus Christi was close connected with the adoration of Sacred Heart Jesus, the symbol of the divine Love and Mercy. | |
| Already in 1908, at the spiritual exercises she heard of Jesus Heart, and she concluded to give joy to it by good example. She prayed every day at mass: "My Jesus, I will teach the people, that they, instead of the sun, they will give joy to you." She wrote down even a meditation called Bog, vir veselja (God, Source of Joy). The manuscript laid forgotten and was issued not earlier then after her death (1964). | |
| She also gave a great adoration to St. Joseph, and then in particular to St. Mary, to whom she dedicated a great number of her poems. The collection, called Slava bozji Materi, was issued in Klagenfurt - Celovec, in 1969. Slovenian church choirs liked very much to sing her Ko pride majnik cez ravni... (When the May Arrives over the Fields...), set in tune by V. Vodopivec. The month of May is dedicated to Mary's adoration. For Slovenians this was one of the most beautiful months even at the evening of Mary's devotion in the churches. | |
| In 1938, when the Countess Emma of Krka (Gurk) in Carinthia was declared Saint, Mother Elisabeth wrote a very long poem called "Sveta Hema, korotanski biser"(St. Emma, Pearl of Carantania). She stressed the Slovenian roots of this Saint. She often expressed her Slovenian sentiments, like in the poem "Zemlja slovenska" (Slovenian Earth), when saying: Slovenian earth, the beautiful earth, the pearl taken from God's hand... She had before her eyes the one-time idyllic Slovenian country-side with villages and little churches on the wide seen heights... | |
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| Jesus' Heart (Srce Jezusovo), symbol of his love and mercy, and the Immaculate Mary's Heart (Brezmadezno Srce Marijino), symbol of her motherly love to mankind and of her suffering, were very often displayed in the corner of the Slovenian "izba" (living room). Mother Elisabeth venerated them continuously. - "I will protect the people, who disseminate the adoration of my Mercy, all their life. In the hour of death, I will be their Saviour and not their judge... In the last hour, the soul has no other protection than my Mercy..." (Jesus' words to Sister Faustina Kowalska, in the years before the Second World War"). | |
| In 1945, the new Communist regime took over the schools of the Ursulines, and confiscated the edifices. Among them was also the still unfinished building of the new gymnasium, whose construction began in 1940, after it was blessed by Gregorij Rozman, the then bishop of Ljubljana. In 1947 the regime got rid of the Ursulines in Ljubljana. They had to go to Škofja Loka. There, in 1954 Mother Elisabeth died. Before her death she wrote down a Mess in honour of the Immaculate and also a Mess in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Soon after her death also the edifices of the Ursuline monastery in Škofja Loka were confiscated. The mothers had to take refuge in their native houses. |
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| Church of St. Trinity, the Ursuline church, in Ljubljana, built 1726 | |
| In 1966, the regime had even in mind to confiscate the Ursuline church in Ljubljana, the church of St. Trinity, in order to change it into a museum. The then Archbishop Pogacnik founded soon a parish there, as to avoid the confiscation. Not earlier then after the downfall of Yugoslavia and after the proclamation of independence of Slovenia the persecution of the Ursulines ceased. But the confiscated edifices still have not been restored to them. | |
| In 2002 the order of Ursulines celebrated 300 years of their arrival in Ljubljana. In 2003 they also celebrated 300 years, when they opened schools there. Today however, their order enjoys a great number of new candidates, and flourishes. | |
| In the decades after WW2, Mother Elisabeth' great work was suspended in the Slovenian public. The Communist regime did not allow the publishing of her poetry. Her name appeared in the song-books, but one was under the impression that she only prepared texts for church songs. | |
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| In 1947, the Salesian Father, Stanko Zivec, made of the poetry of Mother Elisabeth a doctor's dissertation in Slavistics by Prof. A. Cronia at the University of Padova (Italy), this occurred but outside of Slovenia. A larger summary of her work was called "Utripi vecne luci" (Impulses of Eternal Light, 1974). However, the booklet did not reach the broader public. | |
| Sill in 1996, when in independent Slovenia the lexicon "Slovenska knjizevnost" (Slovenian Literature) was issued, her name and poetry were not mentioned. The ancient Communist structure, which still remained in chief positions, discriminated her literary work, because of its religious character. Obviously, it still disturbed the rest of the ancient regime. In spite of this, the rays of her spiritual richness, inserted in numerous church songs, are trickling anew in the Slovenian world, because she said: Poznam skrivnost: Od jutra v noc je On edini tvoja moc, ki v hostiji te caka ( I know the mystery: From morning to night He is your only power, who in the Host expects you!) |
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| T I G R |
| The Liberation Movement of Primorska (Slovenian Littoral) during Italian Fascism |
| and the Persecution of their Members in Communist Yugoslavia |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| The organization TIGR (tiger) addressed to the Slovenian President Milan Kucan three letters successively (1997, 1998, 1999), requesting him to mediate for a memorial to be erected in honour of the members of TIGR, who were sentenced to death in the second trial at Opcine (Opicina) in Trieste, on the Italian side of the border. The magazine 'Primorski rodoljub' (No 5. Koper, 2001) published these letters, but it is not evident if Mr. Kucan or the Government in Ljubljana replied to them. For this reason it is important that the readers become familiar with further details of the problem in this context (writer's remark). |
| At the end of the First World War, in 1918, the Austro Hungarian Monarchy crumbled. Some of Slovenia's territory, the regions of Kranjska (Krain) and Spodnja Štajerska (Lower Styria) became part of the new state of Yugoslavia. Other parts of Slovenian territory, namely the regions of Istra (Istria) and Primorska (Littoral) were annexed to Italy. The centre of this area was Trieste consisting of a mixed population, where the majority spoke Italian. There were about 80,000 Slovenian speaking people, making up more than one third of the city's population, with a density of 210,000 inhabitants. |
| In Trieste were present all central organizations belonging to Slovenian people from the whole territory. Here were the establishments of well known Slovenian banks, at the forefront the Jadranska banka (Adriatic Bank) and many financial institutes. The Slovenian-Dalmatian boat building company Dalmatia had its head quarters here and so did the Slovenian Shipping Company Oceania, the transport company Balkan and many other businesses. The Czechs had also their capital invested here, which was primarily obvious in the Zivnostenskà Bank. |
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Trieste (Trst), Slovenian National House (Narodni dom) built by the architect Max Fabiani, in 1904. This hall was the seat of the Slovenian Theater and seat of many associations in the city. |
| The centre of Slovenian national and cultural activities was a splendid palace in the downtown core called Narodni dom (National House), containing the administrations of all Slovenian cultural organizations including the Slovenian playhouse. However, in July 1920 the fascists of Trieste attacked Narodni dom and burned it to the ground. This was the signal for persecution of Slovenians in the whole region and received its official sanction in 1922 with the rise of fascism in Italy, which continued from then on. Slovenian banks and companies were officially abolished and their capital confiscated. All Slovenian schools were shut down and it was forbidden to speak Slovenian in public. Some 70.000 Slovenians, being robbed of their existence fled to Yugoslavia. A terror reigned over everything that was called Slovenian. Physical attacks were carried out on national conscious Slovenians. |
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On July 13, 1920, the Slovenian National House was set ablaze by Italian fascists of Trieste, before the fascist regime assumed power in Italy (1920). This arson was the first sign for persecution of Slovenians in Littoral (Venezia Giulia, in Italian) which went on until the WW2. |
| People in the country and in small towns still persisted to make use of the Slovenian language. A revolt and resistance against the fascist terror grew among them. The liberation organization TIGR was established, they fought for Primorska in hope to have it joined with Yugoslavia. Its activities started with acts of sabotage in 1924 especially concentrating on burning former Slovenian schools in country areas, where they served now exclusivly only as Italian education facilities. They smuggled Slovenian literature and books from Yugoslavia and distributed them among the population, etc. TIGR was trying to avoid human casualties, however, they primarily responded to fascist violence. Yet, there were some human sacrifices. Based on those acts of sabotage numerous convictions were made and often innocent people had to suffer. |
| A typical case was the memorial of the Italian soldiers that died at Krn, which was struck by lightning. The fascists blamed the people in the nearby village of Dreznica and accused them to have detonated the memorial. Long court proceedings followed with the intention of subduing the people. |
| The First Court Case in 1930 in Trieste |
| Fascist daily `Il Popolo di Trieste' spread most of the hate and incitement against the Slovenian population. TIGR decided to intimidate the editors by planting a bomb in 1930 into the administration lobby. After the set up, one of the editors by the name of Neri came into the lobby by chance, he got injured and died later on. |
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| Slovenian men condemned to death in the First Court Case of Trieste: |
| Ferdinand Bidovec and Franjo Marusic (above), Zvonimir Milos, and Lojze Valencic (below). |
| They were shot to death on September 6, 1930, in Bazovica (Basovizza). |
| The fascist regime initiated the renowned 'Special Court for Protection of the State' against the members of TIGR. It convicted many persons to long years of incarceration and some of them to death. Those were: Ferdinand Bidovec, Franjo Marušic, Zvonimir Miloš and Alojz Valencic. They were shot on the 6th of September 1930 near the village of Bazovica close to Trieste. After the war a beautiful memorial was erected at the site of the execution. |
| Following these executions the fascist tyranny against the Slovenians increased. Some members of the TIGR association were cooperative with the British Secret Service and were sending them information about the military strength of the fascist regime. There was no shortage of confinements, the torture of prisoners was a 'normal' occurrence, but the resistance did not cease. |
| The Second Court Case in 1941 in Trieste |
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| Slovenian men condemned to death in the Second Court Case of Trieste: |
| Viktor Bobek and Ivan Ivancic (above), Simon Kos, Pinko Tomazic and Ivan Vadnjal (below). |
| They were shot to death on December 15, 1941, in Opcine (Opicina). |
| A special tribunal was sent from Rome to Trieste in 1941 and a second Court Case was in process. After thorough investigations 60 people were arraigned and further 10 were accused in abstentia. Nine were condemned to death but some of them were later on commuted to life imprisonment. On the 15th of December 1941 the following people were shot at the Obcina: Viktor Bobek, Ivan Ivancic, Simon Kos, Pinko Tomazic and Ivan Vadnjal. These victims still have no memorial despite 'good' relations between Italy and the former Yugoslavia as well as today's Slovenia. |
| In the same year fascist Italy did attack Yugoslavia and occupied parts of its territory. The majority of the TIGR members joined the fighters of the Slovenian Liberation Front. However, their Slovenian patriotism was 'dangerous' to the Communist Party, which was at that time totally devoted to Stalin and controlled the Liberation Front. The tragedy was obvious after the war, when Primorska (except Trieste and Gorica) became part of Yugoslavia. |
| In the communist totalitarian Yugoslavia it was not permitted to speak or write about the struggle of the members belonging to the TIGR association. Some of the members were even persecuted and the anti fascist struggle of TIGR members was not recognized. They received no means from the Yugoslav communist regime for their existence and some of them deserted the country and fled to the Italian side of the border or anywhere else in the world. They were accused of treason (for collaborating with the British) and especially of (Slovenian) nationalism vise versa 'internationalism' of the Communist Party. The anathema of TIGR members lasted to the very last day of Yugoslavia. Italy and Yugoslavia came to an agreement immediately after the war, confirming that they would not publicize the wrongdoing of the fascist regime towards the Slovenians and the atrocities of the Yugoslav Communist regime towards the Italians in Istria. |
| In this context it is necessary to understand the relationship of the Slovenian Communist Party towards the TIGR association after WW2, it was only carrying out the directives from Belgrade. After Slovenia's secession from Yugoslavia the anathema of the TIGR members ceased at least to such a degree, that the anti fascist struggle of their fathers could now be openly told to the younger generation. However, since the end of the war more than half a century has past. At least two to three generations of the Littoral population has been raised under the communist Yugoslav regime without teaching them any historical facts and without leaving memories of persons, who were so close to them. |
| Will the initiators, who are pressing for the erection of a great memorial in honour of the TIGR members in the Karst region, be able to resurrect what the regime wanted to stifle and has to a certain degree managed to choke already? Time will tell. |
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| Nora Gregor |
| 1901 - 1949 |
| An Austrian Star from Gorizia |
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| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| We are writing the year 1895, still being the period of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, when a certain Karl Gregor by name resettled from Bohemia to Gorizia (Gorica in Slovenian, Görz in German), and opened a watchmaker's shop in the picturesque street of Rastello (Raštel) below the ancient castle. Here, in 1901 his wife gave birth to their first child, a baby girl by the name of Eleonora Hermina who later on had another brother and sister. Mother Maria Hermina Brunold came originally from Carinthia and was registered in the municipality as "German speaking". In the Italian/Slovenian city of Gorizia at that time, the Gregors pertained to the German speaking community, which was small on population but still very characteristic for the town. |
| In those days Gorizia was the center of the province, a city, in which four linguistic groups lived side by side: Italian, Slovenian, Friulian and German, and each of them kept alive their own tradition, which they expressed in performances, shows, concerts etc. This type of life style spread the sphere of ideas in young generations, to which also Eleonora Hermina belonged. However, with the downfall of the Monarchy at the end of WW1, Gorizia came under Italian occupation and the harmonic world of coexistence was destroyed. A violent nationalistic administration demanded that only Italian had to be spoken in public. |
| In 1919 the Gregors left Gorizia for Vienna and soon after settled down in Graz, where her father died. Her mother, who was longing for her beloved Gorizia, moved back in 1924 and stayed there for a certain time. In 1932 she and the children took up permanent residence in Gorizia until 1944, when they were forced to return to Graz, which now belonged to the "German Reich". Here she died in 1948. |
| Another way of life was foreseen for her daughter Eleonora Hermina, a talented actress. At the end of WW1 she was already engaged in Vienna at the Volksbühne (People's Stage), later at the Stadttheater (City Theatre) of Wiener Neustadt, and then anew in Vienna, at the Raimundtheater and Stadttheater. |
| Eleonora Hermina never abandoned the theater, but it was the film that gave her prestige and fame. She always remained Nora Gregor and never adopted another name while being a film star. She gave to the film a historical imprint. Around 1924 she moved to Berlin, where she together with Karl Theodor Dreyer made the movie Michael. Thereafter she got married for the first time and entered the circles of the famous Max Reinhard, whom she met again in Hollywood in 1932. Albeit she was engaged in movies, she also managed to sparkle in the Burgtheater (City's Theatre) in Vienna between 1933 and 1937. |
| Vienna in those days attracted several film producers. The film industry employed also Czechs, Hungarians, Frenchmen, Italians and others. Living between Vienna and Berlin, Nora shot one film after the other. William Hays, the Czar of Hollywood, started an offensive in the cinema world with the invention of the sound film. Nora happened to be in Hollywood in those days, where she collaborated for the first time in the studios of Metro Goldwin Mayer in The Hoolywood Revue of 1929. However, her love remained in the artistic milieu of Central Europe. |
| In Vienna she made the acquaintance of Prince Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg, whom she married in 1933. He was the chairman of the Heimwehr (Austrian militia). In 1934 he deputized Chancellor Dolfuß and after his tragic death also Chancellor Schuschnigg. When in 1938 Hitler's troops invaded Austria, the Starhembergs were constrained to search refuge first in Switzerland and then in Paris. |
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| Poster of the film Le régle du Jeu (1939) with Nora Gregor |
| It happened at a theater premicre, when the well-known Jean Renoir became aware of the exiled Austrian Prince and his wife Nora. "About the physical state of the expelled could be written a novel", he said in his memoirs. He offered Nora the leading role in Le régle du Jeu (1939). This film brought all her best talents to the surface and has nowadays been declared as Nora's most successful movie. |
| Nevertheless, the Starhembergs moved in 1942 to Argentina. Even in South America Nora continued her role as a movie star, in 1943 she shot a new film in Chile. In 1946 followed another one called Le fruit Mordu. However, it was her last one. Her sensible soul suffered from an incurable wound. She was far away from her beloved Europe with its magical towns and cities, now being devastated by the war. Never again would she be able to live there and enjoy the artistic milieu. |
| In Vina del Mar, on January 20th 1949, on the thirtieth day after her mother's death in Graz, she decided to take her own life. Her husband returned back home to Austria in 1955 and died in 1956. His memoirs Die Erinnerungen (Memories) were published in 1971 (reprinted in 1991). Her son Heinrich, born in Luzern in 1934, became a writer and film producer. In the family castle in Eferding near Linz he founded the Eferding Cultural Institute, which houses the Department of European Culture and Policy. He died in Buenos Aires in 1997. |
| In Nora's native town of Gorizia her rise in the artistic world remained unknown until 1999, by chance she finally was discovered two years after her death. Now a booklet has been published about her by the Kinoatelje Association, an association which unites Slovenian and Italian film friends. |
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| Ita Rina |
| 1907 - 1979 |
| A Slovenian Star, who said no to Hollywood |
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| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Ida Kravanja was her real name, and she was born in 1907 in Divaca, a town close to Trieste, where she spent her childhood. However, at the end of WW1 the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy disintegrated and Trieste came under Italian occupation. Thousands of Slovenes were forced to emigrate, among them was Ida's family , who found refuge in the city of Ljubljana in the new established Yugoslavia, where her father passed away soon after. |
| Her exceptional beauty, photogenic appearance and talent gained young Ida entrance to the film world. It all started in 1926, when she came across an invitation in Slovenski narod (Slovenian Nation), a daily newspaper, to participate in a pageant organized by the American distributor Fanamet. The winner of the competition would receive an offer to play a part in an American movie and would be well rewarded . With some help of friends and journalists Ida persuaded her mother to let her take part in Fanamets' pageant. She did not win, but her photographs were sent to Peter Ostermayer, a film producer in Berlin, who invited her to an audition. Despite her mother's disapproval, Ida was so obsessed with the idea to make her dreams come true, that she ran away from home. |
| She made her first appearance in the film: "Was die Kinder vor den Eltern verschweigen" (What children don't tell their parents) in 1927. The producer asked her to change her family name, and so she adopted the movie star name Ita Rina. In the Czech film "Eroticon" (The Seduction) she played the role of a stirring young woman, under the direction of Machaty, who knew how to use her photogenic appearance and sensuality, and it brought her the greatest success. The "Eroticon" was shot in 1928 and premiered a year later in Belgrade. At that moment a new film star was born in Europe. In the following years she appeared in 18 films, which were mainly in German and Czech. |
| In 1931, she refused an invitation to Hollywood, because she was put before the question to choose between her fiancé, the son of a Belgrade minister, and Hollywood. The couple got married in 1932. Thereafter she accepted fewer and fewer roles, and after WW2 she was no longer as successful as in prewar times. She played her last role in the Yugoslav film "Rat" (war) in 1960, directed by Bulajic. Ita spent her last years in Budva, a sea resort at the Montenegro coast, which was hit by an earthquake in 1979. Sufferings from deep depression caused by the earthquake finally took her life. |
| After WW2, her image was suppressed in Slovenia as a result of Belgrade's great-Serbian policy, that tried to break down Slovenians not only economically but also spiritually in their national consciousness. They should remain convinced for ever, that in their history they were nothing more than a nation of servants. Thus, Belgrade's policy to inoculate an inferiority complex should convince the people that a Slovenian film star, who became famous throughout the European film world, could by no means end in a harmonious way. |
| The example of Ita Rina, whereby the great- Serbian policy of Belgrade tried to spread a feeling of inferior value into the minds of Slovenians by suppressing one of their notables, was not an isolated case. In the sixties, for example, Belgrade's regime did not permit Slovenian newspapers to publish any articles about certain Slovenian beauty queens, who were successful in the outside world, for example: Miss International Surf Hawaii, Miss Australia, Miss Cleveland, Miss Ohio.... And as strange as it may sound for our modern times, Belgrades' regime designated to the Slovenian woman the role of a maid-servant only. |
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| Admiral Wilhelm Baron von Tegetthoff |
| Winner of the Naval Battle of Lissa 1866 |
| His Memorial was Removed in 1919 |
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| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Wilhelm was born in 1872 in Maribor (Marburg an der Drau), Windischgasse 12 (today Slovenska ulica) into a family that belonged to the German speaking citizens of the town. In 1845 he graduated from the College of Cadets in Venice, at that time under the rule of the Austrian Empire. After he gained experience in various employment in the navy he took on a new assignment in 1857, and sailed off on an Austrian vessel to the Red Sea where he undertook studies in building the Suez Canal and some other subjects. In 1859 he returned to the Adriatic Sea, and became assistant to the Archduke Maximilian on the steamer Elisabeth voyaging to Brazil. This promotion followed an appointment to Chief Commander of Levant. |
| It was in 1864, when he had a chance to demonstrate his enormous capacities. On account of Schleswig and Holstein a war broke out in that year between Denkmark, Prussia, and Austria on the other side. Tegetthoff, who was the Commander of the Austrian-Prussian Navy, beat close to Heligoland the Danish fleet under the commando of Admiral Suenson, and rescued the German ports from the Danish blockade. This victory brought fame to his name in the whole world. |
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The battle of Lissa 1866: The frigate Erzherzog Ferdinand Max rammed the Italian frigate Re d'Italia, sinking it into the sea. | |
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Above: Wilhelm Baron von Tegetthoff on a photo. | |
| In 1866 another war broke out, this time between Austria and Italy. On July 18, he received information that the Italians attacked the island of Vis (Lissa). On July 20, Tegetthoff let the Austrian fleet depart from the port of Pola toward Vis and commanded it from the armoured frigate Erzherzog Ferdiand Max. Around 10 in the morning his attack began against the Italian fleet. Soon after his frigate rammed the largest Italian armoured frigate called Re d'Italia and sunk it within minutes. In this battle, which lasted until 2 p.m., he also sunk the Italian armoured gunboat Palestra; some other vessels escaped. The Austrians lost 3 officers and 35 men, the casualties on the Italian side were 38 officers and 574 men. The following day Tegetthoff was promoted to vice-admiral and received the Military Order of Maria Theresa. |
| In 1867 Tegetthoff undertook a sad voyage to Mexico on the frigate Novarra to bring home the corpse of the Archduke Maximilian, whose life came to a sudden end as Emperor of Mexico. In February 1868 he was appointed Commander of the Austrian Fleet and Chief of the Navy Section in the War Department. He was only 43 years old when he died unexpectedly in 1871. It is rumoured, that his nerves were breaking down from trouble and grief persecuting his mind after the battle of Lissa. |
| All Austria was in mourning of the loss of their famous navy commander. The Emperor let erect memorials in his honour in Pola, in Maribor and on the Prater of Vienna. The last one is still at its site. |
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The Tegetthoff Memorial in the town's park of Maribor (Marburg), which was removed in 1919. | |
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Above: Tegetthoff's coat of arms with monogram M(aria) T(heresa). | |
| In his birthplace Maribor (Slovenia) they removed his memorial in 1919, when the city became part of the newly formed state of Yugoslavia. Soon after the declaration of independence of Slovenia in 1991, the question was put forward, if the Tegetthoff memorial should be re-erected. However, the post communist administration let elaborate an "investigation" of public opinions, and concluded from the supposedly honest results, that the public did not desire a new memorial. |
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| Field Marshal Svetozar Borojevic von Bojna |
| Commander of the Isonzo Front in WW1 |
| 1856 - 1920 |
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Portrait of Field Marshal Borojevic, Commander of the Isonzo front in the WW1, honorable freeman of Lublana. After WW1 he became a forgotten person. |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| In the first tome of the Slovenian Encyclopedia (A - Ca), published under the powers of Great Serbia in 1987, one cannot find a device or reference of the once so famous Field Marshal Borojevic, the Commander in Chief of the Isonzo front during the WW1. Why? It is true that he was of orthodox faith, i.e., of Serbian origin, and that he had the rank of an Austrian marshal in the WW1, in which Serbia was an adversary of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy. In the eyes of the Great-Serbian lobby this was an unforgivable and unforgettable "sin". Nevertheless, it is still very unusual, that in the nineteen eighties permission was denied to the Slovenian people to give him his proper place in the encyclopedia. A fact, which sadly confirms the evidence that the Slovenian publicity and thinking was under the absolute control and part of the aforesaid lobby as long as Yugoslavia existed. Unfortunately, this type of control is probably still in use in the nowadays' independent Slovenia. |
| Svetozar Borojevic was born in 1856 in Umetic, a village close to Kostanjevica at the Una River (Croatia). After graduating from public school he furthered his education at the famous Military Academy of Wiener Neustadt, and achieved the rank of a lieutenant. His inclination and talent for military science gave him access to the Chief Staff Academy in Vienna, where he was trained as a chief-staff officer. Soon after, he acquired the title of a general, and as such he was in command of the 42nd Croatian-Hungarian division and the militia of the home front for the defense district of Zagreb. |
| In 1912 he was promoted to Commander over the VI Army Corps and advanced to Field Marshal Lieutenant. At the outburst of WW1 on September 12, 1914, the III Austro-Hungarian Army was entrusted to him; they repulsed the Russians by saving Fort Przemysl in Galicia. There he also defended the Dukla Pass (502 m) in the Carpathian Mountains, and consequently prevented the Russians to invade the lowlands of Pannonia (Hungary). |
| When Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915, the empire was not prepared to fight another front. Conrad von Hötzendorf, the haughty commander of the Austrian headquarters, elaborated a plan of defense, in sense of which it gave Italy unrestricted access to occupy half of Slovenia's territory (Littoral, Istria as well as Carniola). His idea was to lure the Italians into his tongs and then to defeat them. But Marshal Borojevic disputed his plan, because a state has to be defended on its own frontiers. This would be of great importance for Slovenian soldiers, because they would defend the front of their own country with much greater bravery. |
| And so it came! Svetozar Borojevic was the appointed Commander of the Isonzo (Soca) front. The Commander of the Italian army, Count Luigi Cadorna, had at his disposal 336 battalions and 1370 guns covering the entire front line toward Austria, which extended from Tyrol to the Gulf of Trieste (ca. 600 km). A half of those forces were stationed at the front line of the Isonzo. |
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The battle-field in WW1 close to Doberdob on the Karst plateau, south of Goriza (Goerz, Gorizia).- Because a large number of soldiers died here, Doberdob was considered the cemetery of Slovenian boys (Slovenskih fantov grob). |
| With a crew of 30 - 40 battalions Svetozar Borojevic resisted the first Italian attack. During the war altogether 11 offensives occurred. He became the most famous Austrian commander during the WW1, and the Emperor knighted him with the appellative "von Bojna". He was also distinguished with the Maria Theresia Order of second degree. In the break-through of the Italian battle line in October 1917, which took place close to Kobarid (Caporetto) and was supported by German troops, Borojevic played an immensely important role. |
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Coloured postcard of WW1 depicting the Isonzo Field Marshal Borojevic together with the great Slovenian poet Gregorcic, who were considered the defenders of Slovenian soil against the attack of Italians. |
| Slovenians showed Borojevic their respect with gratitude. He defended the Isonzo River, which was a symbol of Slovenian heritage in the Western part of their homeland. Therefore he found a place in the hearts of the Slovenian people right beside their famous Slovenian poet Gregorcic († 1906), who had predicted in his poem "Soci" (to the Isonzo) twenty years ago, that once this river will become a battleground. Lublana (Ljubljana) nominated Borojevic as an "honorable freeman for all times", so did the borough of Sezana, and the village of Kopriva in the Karst inaugurated a memorial for him in the following years. |
| Toward the end of the WW1, the so-called Yugoslav Council, who collaborated during the Western emigration with the Entente, in order to form the new South Slav State called Yugoslavia, invited Borojevic to join the Entente with his army. Borojevic was ready to do so provided, that the London Treaty of 1915 would be invalidated. In this treaty the Entente promised to Italy, if it would assault Austria, the Slovenian provinces of Littoral with Trieste, further Istria, Kvarner (Quarnero) and the city of Zadar in Dalmatia. Borojevic fought for recognition of the ethnic frontiers of Slovenia and Croatia. But the Yugoslav Council made no commitment to keep such noble promises, because it was not in their interest and it was unstable in its competence. |
| Field Marshal Borojevic established his headquarters for the last time in Vrba/Velden at Lake Vrbsko jezero (Wörthersee) near Celovec/Klagenfurt in Carinthia. It is said, that Borojevic proposed to the Slovenian National Government (Narodna vlada), which was founded in Lublana on October 29, 1918, to retain the soldiers who returned from the war front. They should stand guard against the Italian troops, who advanced towards Lublana. He also proposed that the provisions and arms for the war be kept intact in Carinthia. He further asked the Slovenian Government in Lublana to let him pass through Slovenia to Zagreb (Croatia) where he wanted to live after the WW1. The Slovenian government in consultation with the Yugoslav National Council (Narodno vjece) in Zagreb refused his proposal and denied him permission. One can assume that the Slovenian Government was submitted to the aforesaid Council in Zagreb, where Serbians already had a decisive word. |
| After the war Borojevic lived in Klagenfurt/Celovec in Carinthia. His spirit was broken and he felt lonely. He died on May 23, 1920 and was buried in Vienna. The rumor goes, that he committed suicide by drowning himself in Lake Vrbsko jezero. |
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| Admiral Anton Haus |
| The Great Commander of the Austrian Navy |
| 1851 - 1917 |
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| Portrait of Anton Haus, Admiral of the Austrian Fleet |
| (drawing of Oskar Brüch, 1915) |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Anton Haus, born in Tolmin in 1851, was the son of Jozef, at that time a public servant in this town, who had his roots in Slovenj gradec (Windischgraz). Anton was an orphan in his early childhood and was taken in by relatives from Lower Carniola, who made it possible for him to study at the grammar-school in Lublana (Ljubljana). Thereafter, he enrolled at the military academy in Reka (Fiume), and already in 1869 he entered the Austrian Navy. In 1882 he married Ana Trenz, a descendant of Castle Draškovec near Št. Jernej in lower Carniola. |
| In 1892, Anton Haus took part in a voyage around the world on the corvette Saida, and demonstrated on this occasion that he was a man of talents and capabilities, which helped him to advance quickly in the following years. In 1901 he became captain of a warship, and in 1905 a rear-admiral. In 1910 he was already promoted to vice-admiral, and in 1913 he became Commander of the Austrian Navy. In 1916 the Emperor named him Admiral of the Fleet (Großadmiral). |
| In 1914, at the outburst of the WW1, Austria, Germany and Italy still were allies. He recognized soon that the Austrian navy was not a match for its adversary, i.e., the English and French naval powers in the Mediterranean. They had closed the Otranto Strait, meaning the entrance to the Adriatic Sea, which served as a base for shipping material to Montenegro through the Port of Bar. He knew that the Austrian defense on Dalmatian territory had very little chance. Without the navy victory could be won easily. Only the Boka Kotorska (Bocche di Cattaro) Fjord could be safe guarded with 4 warships, 4 cruisers, 4 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats, 3 submarines and 4 hydroplans. But what about the entire Dalmatian territory? |
| His defense strategy encountered great opposition in the hinterland and even in the navy. In a letter addressed to Franc Trenz in Ljubljana, he wrote the following: "I am receiving letters from officers and crew members who want to fight, gain victory or die - and similar follies. I am also receiving anonymous letters from civilians, who hurtfully attack me, and who deride me. But no one thinks about the predominance of the adversary, so that even the wrecking of the French (in the Adriatic) should bring nothing else except glory! If we go either way, we will lose very much. If such a victory would cost us only half of our fleet - and this is an optimistic fool's hope only - our third ally (Italy) would welcome this with open arms, because then they would feel masters of the Adriatic." |
| Vienna and Berlin were not satisfied with the Haus' strategy. "The enemy gives me less troubles than our authorities, departments, and in particular the Germans, who know what they want from the navy," he wrote on April 2, 1915. He elaborated the attack plan on the Italian coast long before Italy broke the alliance and entered the war against Austria, in May 1915. Admiral Haus was aware of the fact that Austria was not ready to fight the battle on two fronts, i.e., in Tyrol and at the Isonzo against Italy. Therefore, Italy's attention had to be deviated, so that Austria could consolidate its strength, in particularly at the Isonzo front. On Whit-Monday, the Austrian fleet started a series of assaults on Italian coastal ports: Brindisi, Bari, Mola, Trani, Molfetta, Barletta, Manfredonia, Viesti, Termoli, Ancona, Fano, Pesaro, Rimini, Carsini and in particular on Venice. |
| The effort of this attack was stunning: a large number of railway installations along the Italian coast were destroyed, a warship and a submarine were sunk, also cargo steamers, a submarine plus additional marines were damaged. Likewise the French lost two warships and a submarine. But the greater effect was the deadlock of the Italian mobilization for the next three weeks. Now it was possible to fortify the Isonzo front from the Austrian site. The attack was led by Admiral Haus in person. Thereafter he continued to protect Dalmatia, and paid attention to the Italian, French and English navy, to keep them away from the Dalmatian coast. The dismemberment of the coast and the mine fields amidst the islands assured a secure defense. With hydroplanes he banished enemy warships. |
| Admiral Haus was also in conflict with Germany because of its zealous militarism. Germany was aware that the Entente, i.e., England and France, could not have survived the German offense without help from America. Since summer 1915 they actuated with their submarines total war against all ships in the Atlantic, which conveyed support to the Entente forces. Driven by this purpose they applied pressure on Admiral Haus and on Emperor Franz Joseph, and later also on Emperor Carl, but all of them were against such war. Germany declared total war on January 31, 1917, however, the Austrian navy rejected to participate. |
| The German Secret Service might have had something to do with the unexpected death of Admiarl Haus. He died on February 8, 1917, while returning from the German - Austrian appointment in Pleß (Bavaria). Officially, pneumonia was the diagnosis of his death, which he apparently caught in the ice cold compartment of the train. His successors in the Austrian admiralty did not change the tactics that were introduced by Admiral Haus, in spite of the pressure from Berlin. |
| Anton Haus was known as the Emperor's secret councilor, honorary doctor of the Technische Hochschule of Vienna, honorary citizen of Reka (Fiume) and Lublana, a friend of General Borojevic and the writer Julius Kugy. He received regularly the daily "Slovenski narod" (Slovenian Nation) and was well informed about the Slovenian national and political positions in the Monarchy. He was an opponent of the total war that Germany requested from his allied Austria, because he knew that the Austrian multinational structure could be destroyed through the ideological fronts of pan-Germanism and pan-Slavism. A fact, that became reality at the end of WW1. |
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| Field Marshal Johann Joseph Wenzel Count Radetzky von Radetz |
| 1766 - 1859 |
| His Personality and Life became a Legend in ancient Austria |
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Radetzky, his potrait and coat of arms (left) | |
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Radetzky and his staff before Milan (by Albrecht Adam) | |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| One could be misled by the German spelling if his name, however, Count Radetzky originated from Bohemian (Czech) aristocracy, and was born in Trebnica, in 1766. He lost his parents early in his young life, and was sent to Prague, where relatives took care of his upbringing and education. Later he pursued his studies at the academies of Brno (Brünn) and Vienna. His favorite reading material were biographies of famous generals and army leaders, and it is not surprising that he joined the military at the age of 18. He distinguished himself, got promoted, and in 1787 he had already the rank of a lieutenant. |
| The battles against Austria's enemies seemed to be endless, and Radetzky had plenty of chance to demonstrate his bravery: There was the fight against the Turks in 1788, and then against the Frenchmen close to Mainz in 1794, and against Italy in 1796, until it came to an armistice in 1797. He got married in 1798 in Goerz (Gorica, Gorizia) to the Countess Francis Strassoldo-Grafenberg. Out of this marriage were born five sons and three daughters. Through his new family he became closely connected and familiar with Inner Austria (ancient Carantania), mainly with the region that made up the Province of Goerz. In fact, he was very fond of the countries which form present-day Slovenia. |
| Around 1800 the fights with France under Napoleon's command, broke out anew. Radetzky again distinguished himself in those fights, so that in 1801 the Emperor conferred him with the Cross of Maria Theresa, i.e., he received the highest military order. However, Napoleon occupied Inner Austria (except Styria) and established in the occupied Slovenian territory the so-called Provinces Illyriennes with its center in Ljubljana. |
| Later, Count Radetzky became prominent anew in the battles against Napoleon's troops. The most important fights were those near Wagram in 1809, near Kulm and Leipzig in 1813. The last one is well-known as the Fight of the Nations, because four forces proceeded against Napoleon: Austria, Prussia, Russia and Sweden. The commander-in-chief was Karl Philipp Prince of Schwarzenberg. The Emperor conferred him with the Great Cross of Maria Theresa. Then he asked: "Where is Radetzky?", who at that point in time had already been appointed to General and Chief of Schwarzenberg's Headquarters. In fact, two horses were shot under Radetzky and he received injuries during the fight. Radetzky was asked to come up front, and Prince Schwarzenberg fastened to his uniform another medal, the Commander Cross of Maria Theresa, which once before had been bestowed to the famous General Laudon, the former owner of this very same Cross. Then, the Emperor decorated Radetzky also with the Leopold Order, and Czar Alexander I. conferred him with the Military Order of St. Georg of Third Degree, and because of his excellent conduct in former battles he received also the Order of St. Anna of First Degree. Even Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 near Waterloo in Belgium. |
| Thereafter a time of peace came also for Radetzky. He dedicated his life to his family. In 1830, however, the fights broke out again, this time on Italian territory, which required his attention and gained him more glory. In 1836 Emperor Ferdinand appointed him to the position of Field Marshal, in 1838 he was decorated with the Order of the Iron Crown. In 1839, the Pope conferred him with the Great Cross of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory. The Russian czar awarded him with the Order of St. Andrew of First Degree, and in 1846 the Diamond Order of St. Andrew... Radetzky received altogether 42 orders and decorations. |
| In 1848, rebellion broke out in Veneto and Lombardy, the Austrian provinces on Italian territory. There were also the invasions of the troops of Albert of Savoy, king of Piedmont and Sardinia, supported by France. Vienna was forced to interfere with its army under the commando of Radetzky. He was already 82 years old, in spite of this he defeated the Italian troops in the battles of St. Luzia near Verona in 1848, and in 1849 in the fights of Vicenza, Mortara and Novara, then conquering Milan. The Emperor conferred him with the greatest Austrian decoration, i.e., the Order of the Golden Fleece. The famous musician Johann Strauß, king of walzer, composed the "Radetzky-Marsch zu Ehren des großen Feldherrn" (The Radetzky March in Honour of the Great General). Count Radetzky became a living legend. |
| The fights in Italy also involved the famous 17th Regiment of Carniola, called Slovenian Regiment. Obviously, Slovenian lads liked Radetzky as a "Slav"General and they were devoted to him. He appreciated their bravery and also their poetical character, because no other soldiers knew how to sing like them. It is said that Radetzky took off his hat when he passed on horse the Slovenian regiment. The township of Ljubljana proclaimed him "honorary freeman of the city", and they invited him to spend his last years in their city. |
| In 1857, Radetzky asked the Emperor to be discharged from the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian troops. The Emperor offered him to choose one of his castels as his residence. He selected the castle Tivoli in Ljubljana. But his days were counted in his old age. In fact, at the end of 1858 he became very feeble and ill, and on January 3, 1859 he passed away in Milan. His body was transferred to Vienna and after the requiem in the Cathedral of St. Stephen, his corpse was brought to Wetzdorf, where he was burried at the Castle. |
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Radetzky Memorial in the park Zvezda (Star) in Ljubljana, erected 1860. | |
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It was removed in 1918 |
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The castle Tivoli in Ljubljana, the last residence of Radetzky (right). | |
| In Ljubljana, in 1860 a monument was erected in his honour in the central park called Zvezda (Star), elaborated by the sculptor Fernkorn. However, at the end of WW1, when the city becam part of the new constituted Yugoslavia, the monument was removed. But Radetzky was remembered by the people for a very long time until after the years of WW2. Then, he was finally concealed by the totalitarian Communist and Yugoslav regime. |
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| Ivan Krstnik Mesar |
| jezuit in misijonar, pozabljen |
| slovenski mucenec 1673 - 1723 |
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Ivan Krstnik Mesar, priklenjen in zaprt v bambusovo kletko, kjer je izmucen umrl od lakote v Hanoju leta 1723 (po Der Neue Welt-Bott I/6, 1728). |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Ni se dolgo tega, odkar je papez razglasil blazenim nad 20 mucencev s Kitajske, ki so bili umorjeni zaradi vere. Med njimi je bilo tudi vecje stevilo evropskih misijonarjev, vendar pa med njimi nismo zasledili tudi misijonarja po imenu Ivan Krstnik Mesar, Slovenca, jezuita in misijonarja, ki je umrl kot mucenec v tej daljni dezeli na zacetku 18. stol. |
| Jezuitski misijonar Mesar je ravzaprav tudi širši slovenski javnosti neznan, in to kljub temu, da imamo Slovenci ze od prve svetovne vojne dalje znova svojo teološko fakulteto, in po drugi vojni tudi lastno provinco jezuitov. O njem vse do danes ni bil posebej napisan vsaj krajši zivljenjepis. Vendar pa ga vsaj na skopo prikazeta PSBL (Primorski slovenski biografsko leksikon, 10. snopic, 1984), kakor tudi Enciklopedija Slovenije (zvezek 7, 1993). Pisec njegovega gesla v PSBL je Ljubomir A. Lisac, arhivar iz Zagreba, onega v enciklopediji pa dr. Zmago Šmitek, s filozofske fakultete v Lublani. Obe gesli pa sta si razlicni v njunem bistvu, to je, glede nacina smrti tega misijonarja. Prikazimo najprej na kratko njegovo zivljenjsko pot. |
| Ivan Krstnik Mesar je bil rojen v zaselku Mesarji, ki se nahaja blizu Rihemberka, prav ob mostu cez Branico, za katerim se cesta zacne vzpenjati na Kras. Bil je sin kmeckih staršev, ocetu je bilo ime Mihael, mati je bila Felicita Štubelj. V Gorici je v letih 1687 - 1692 obiskoval jezuitsko gimnazijo, ali bolje kolegij. Ustanova imela namrec tudi višji studij, ki ga je Ivan K. tudi nadaljeval. Tako je 1993 zakljucil tudi študij logike in 1995 še filozofije. Bil je eden redkih, ce ne edini iz kmeckega stanu, med vecjim številom izobrazencev s tega kolegija, ki so izhajali iz plemiškega in mešcanskega sloja. Njegovi študijski kolegi so zavzeli pomembna mesta v javni upravi, on se je odlocil za nadaljevanje študija, in sicer teologije, ki jo je leta 1699 koncal v Gradcu. |
| Po koncanem študiju teologije je bil posvecen v duhovnika, in je nekaj casa sluzboval v škofiji Sekova (Gradec). Leta 1705 je vstopil v jezuitski red, koncal 1703 noviciat in 1705 preskušnjo, ter se potem odlocil za misijone. Na ladji, ki je 1706 odplula iz španskega Cadiza, je naslednje leto prispel v Macao. Deloval je na obmocju tega mesta do 1712. Ko pa se je podal v pokrajino Cochinchina (juzni Vietnam), so ga oblasti prijele in obsodile na smrt. Vendar je bil pomilošcen, in zatem izgnan. |
| Leta 1715 se je podal v Tonking (severni Vietnam), kjer je deloval n aprej. Toda 1722 je prišlo nova do pregananja kristijanov. Zaprli so tudi njega, vlacili celih deset mesecev od enega do drugega sodišca, ga koncno vkovali v kletko, kjer je umrl muceniške smrti, dne 15. junija 1723. Tako L. A. Lisac (PSBL). - V Enciklopediji Slovenije navaja Z. Šmitek, da je umrl v Hanoju. Glede smrti pa, da je umrl v jeci, zaradi bolezni in izcrpanosti. Kar pa ocitno ni tocno. Napis pod sliko, ki je bila objavljena v Der Neue Welt-Bott, misijonskem listu jezuitov (Augsburg - Gradec 1728, I/6), poroca naslednje: |
| Ven. P. IOANNES BAPTISTA MESSARI Italus Goritiensis olim Convictus Groecensis Soc. IESU Alumnus et Presbyter secularis, postea ejusdem Societatis Missionarius ferro onustus, in carcere arrundineo, aerumnis et fame confectus obijt 15. Junij MDCCXXIII in Regno Tunkinensi. |
| V prevodu: Castiti p. Ivan Krstnik Mesar, Italijan iz Gorice, prej v konviktu goriške Jezusove Druzbe gojenec in svetni duhvnik, in kasneje misijonar iste druzbe zaprt v bambusovo kletko, je umrl izcrpan zaradi muk in lakote dne 15. junija 1723 v kraljestvu Tonking. - Pomota v napisu je v tem, da ga imajo za Italijana iz Gorice. |
| Iz napisa izhaja, nadalje, da gre v Enciklopediji Slovenijev geslu o Mesarju za ponaredbo, sicer majhno, vendar izredne teze. Ce bi namrec p. Mesar zares umrl v jeci samo zaradi bolezni in izcrpanosti, kot navaja Z. Šmitek, bi to pomenilo, da so jetnike še vedno oskrbovali z zivezem in vodo, in bi bila smrt še vedno naravna. Toda misijonarja so prikovali v bambusovo kletko in ga pustili umreti od lakote, kar pomeni usmrtitev oziroma muceniško smrt. |
| Bil je torej mucen in je umrl zaradi vere, in to postavlja p. Mesarja v povsem drugacen polozaj v morebitnem postopku za razglašenje blazenim in za svetnika. Dokaj verjetno pa je, da se bodo odgovorni v slovenski Cerkvi pri prebiranju gesla v Enciklopediji Slovenije zadovoljili s prebranim, ne da bi posumili v ponaredbo, se zavedeli teze tega zgodovinskega primera, in ukrenili, kar je potrebno, da se temu mucencu da priznanje, cešcenje, in da se zacne ustrezen postopek za razglasitev. V sedanjih razmerah pa ni veliko upanja, da se bo kaj zganilo. |
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| Remembering Univ. Prof. Dr. Lambert Ehrlich |
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| On May 26, 1942, Univ. Prof. Dr. Lambert Ehrlich, a Catholic priest, was shot to death in Lublana by a Communist assailant. Since WW 1, Prof. Dr. Ehrlich promoted the idea of an independent Slovenian State. At the end of the WW2, his grave was destroyed by the Yugoslav Communist regime. During the decades of Communist Yugoslavia it was forbidden to mention his name in the media or to talk about him in public. But he continued to be ignored also after Slovenia's declaration of independence, in 1991... His message passed into history under the name Višarsko slovenstvo (the Višarje Slovenian idea). Sv. Višarje is a pilgrim's church above his native village Žabnice (Carinthia), where he, in the years before WW2, many times explained to young students his views on the fate of Slovenia: ... Slovenia must be a turning-point, which associates and connects the South with the North and the East with the West... Slovenia can fulfil this task only in freedom, and not under a master, who is sitting in the South, North, East, or West. God's will is, that we all are working for this freedom, and no one shall shun God's will... In 1992, he caught the attention of the immigration abroad, and a book was published about his life and work. Carantha feels obliged to honour Prof. Ehrlich's Remembrance Day. Regretfully, neither the Archbishopric of Lublana paid respect to his memory, nor did the Theological Faculty honour his name, where he worked as a qualified professor. |
| cf: Current from Slovenia, article The Slovenian State Idea |
| cf: article Ciril Zebot |
| cf: article Univ. prof. Lambert Ehrlich (in Slovenian language) |
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| The Commemorative Plaque of Prof. Lambert Ehrlich |
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| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| After many years of obstacles and intrigues by the post-Communist, anti-Slovenian and anti-Christian circles, the plaque was finally unveiled. It has been displayed on the façade of the famous pilgrimage church Sv. Višarje (1766 m), high above the village and parish of Žabnice (Seifnitz, Camprosso). This region is a part of Carinthia, which after the WW1 went under Italy. Žabnice is Prof. Ehrlich's native village (*1878). First he worked in Carinthia as a priest and national awakener. Soon after the WW1 he went to Lublana (Yugoslavia), where he accepted a professor position at the Theological Faculty. But his very Christian and human message was expressed in his work for the Slovenian people. He gave all his strength to charity, helped the poor and everyone, who was in need. His biggest concern was the education of the Slovenian youth, in particular he paid attention to the young academicians. Not only was he the first one to launch the idea of an independent Slovenia, but he was also fully aware of the fact, that only a proper Slovenian State could restore their national existence. His futuristic visions were especially directed to Slovenian academicians, on their pilgrimage to St. Mary's church on Sv. Višarje. |
| At the beginning of the WW2, Lublana was occupied by Fascist Italy. In spite of the very difficult situation, Prof. Ehrlich did not stop to convey his messages to the public. Evidently, his incessant activity disturbed not only the underground Communist movement in Slovenia, that planed a revolution, but also the Kominform (Communist International) summit in Moscow. The Kominform did not share his view of a world revolution. They did not foresee an independent Slovenia but only a Communist Yugoslavia. Therefore, one has to take into consideration, that the order to eliminate Ehrlich came from the Komintern. Indeed, on May 26, 1942, after mass, a Communist assailant gunned him down in one of Lublana's streets. - In 1945, at the end of the WW2, the Communist rulership was installed in Slovenia and Yugoslavia. However, Ehrlich's idea of an independent Slovenia was so perilous for the Belgrade regime that it let unearth his grave, and scattered his remains in an unknown place. However, some decades later, Prof. Ehrlich with his Christian message and his idea of an independent Slovenia won recognition at last. - The editorial staff and the readers of Carantha are delighted, because the truth has finally prevailed. |
| cf: articles: |
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Remembering Univ. Prof. Dr. Lambert Ehrlich (English) | |
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Prof. Lambert Ehrlich (Slovenian) | |
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Svete Visarje (Slovenian) | |
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Franc Jeza (English) | |
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| Duhovnik,vzgojitelj akademske mladine |
| Univ. prof. Lambert Ehrlich |
| padel za idejo moderne slovenske drzave danes pozabljen |
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| Prof. Lambert Ehrlich, ustreljen 26. maja 1942. |
| Na slovensko bodocnost je treba gledati v luci dosedanje zgodovine slovenskega naroda... "Slovenski problem", Septembra 1941 |
| Dr Jožko Šavli |
| Ljubljana, dne 26. maja 1942 zjutraj, Streliška ulica. Na tleh lezi ustreljen po roki komunisticnega atentatorja univ. prof. dr. Lambert Ehrlich, in ob njem študent Viktor Rojec, ki mu je stregel pri jutranji maši. Podtalna komunisticna organizacija je izvršila svojo »obsodbo« nad enim najbolj plemenitih, pozrtvovalnih in dobrosrcnih ljudi, kar jih je poznala slovenska zgodovina. |
| Komunisticno »pravosodje« je prof. Ehrlichu, bodisi pred kot med partizanstvom in še po drugi vojni, ocitalo narodno »izdajstvo« in »klerofašizem«, ker je dolga leta nastopal proti vsiljevanju komunisticne revolucije med Slovence, kakor so jo nacrtovali pripadniki podtalne komunisticne partije. Takrat še povsem zvesti Stalinu! Revolucija pa ni imela za cilj samo druzbenih sprememb, temvec tudi unicenje kršcanske vere. Vsled tega prof. Ehrlich kot katoliški duhovnik ni mogel ostati ravnodušen nasproti naklepom komunisticne strani. Nasprotoval je vztrajno in javno komunisticni revoluciji, ki se je, še zlasti po zasedbi Ljubljane po Italijanih 1941, prikrivala pod osvobodilnim bojem partizanov in njihovo Osvobodilno fronto. |
| Vsled tega je bil bolj kot kdo drugi delezen nasprotovanja in mrznje ne samo od komunistov temvec tudi od njihovih sopotnikov, zlasti t.i. kršcanskih socialistov. Njihov vodja, pesnik in pisec Edvard Kocbek, se je o umoru tega enkratnega Slovenca duhovnika, dobrotnika, vsega predanega vzgoji mladine, izrazil takole: |
| …»Vidim pred sabo mrtvega Ehrlicha, s katerim sem se svoj cas veliko razgovarjal. Kljub temu, da je vedno bolj drsel v slovenski fašizem, bi lahko ta zanimivi moz še zivel, ce bi nas fašizem ne postavljal pred neizprosno izbiro: zivljenje ali smrt… Likvidacija ni samo pravicna kazen za kolaboracijo z izdajalci, temvec tudi uveljavljenje nove pravice in prava« (po E. Kocbek: Compagnia… Jaca Book, Milan 1975, 39, 246). Gledanje cloveka ki se je imel za „kristjana". |
| Poleg tega, da je dr. Ehrlich odlocno zavracal komunizem, je bil nedvomno edini, ki je javno oznanjal, da je v prihodnje le samostojna Slovenska drzava edina politicna rešitev za Slovence. Tako ze ob koncu dvajsetih let, ko v slovenskem politicnem vrhu na to še nihce ni pomislil. Podtalna belgrajska mreza zaupnikov je namrec vztrajno širila prepricanje, da je neodvisna slovenska drzava utopija. Vendar ni ostala le pri tem, in je skušala ze v kali zatreti vsakršno misel nanjo. Tudi slovenski komunisti, podrejeni jugoslovanski centrali in ta Stalinu v Moskvi, v tem pogledu niso bili izjema. Sklepamo lahko, da so umor prof. Ehrlicha izvršili po ukazu od zunaj. |
| Univ. prof.dr. Lambert Ehrlich je bil rojen leta 1878 v ugledni druzini v zabnicah pod Sv. Višarjami. Gimnazijo je koncal v Celovcu, in bil nato gojenec jezuitskega zavoda Canisium v Innsbrucku. V duhovnika je bil posvecen 1903. Pred prvo svetovno vojno je bil zelo dejaven v slovenski prosveti na Koroškem. Leta 1919 je na mirovni konferenci v Parizu predstavljal narodno vlado v Ljubljani. Pri tem je lahko ugotovil, da Slovencev kot naroda v svetu niso poznali in ne upoštevali. Dogovori na konferenci in sklepi so vsled tega potekali v nepopraljivo škodo Slovencev, še posebej koroških. Napisal zato poseben spis z naslovom La Carinthie. |
| Leta 1922 je prišel na teološko fakulteto univerze v Ljubljani, kjer je ostal do svoje smrti. Poleg številnih spisov in clankov socialne in etnološke vsebine, ki jih je objavljal tudi v tujih glasilih, je v njem ze kmalu dozorelo prepricanje, da je v bodocnosti edino samostojna Slovenska drzava dokoncna rešitev za Slovence. |
| Misel na samostojno slovensko drzavo, ki si je takrat še nihce ni znal predstavljati, je v njem vedno bolj zorela. Redno je hodil na Sv. Višarje, kjer je v viziji samostojne Slovenije navdihoval številne slovenske romarje, naj ostanejo zvesti veri in narodu. Njegovi govori mladini, predvsem študentom, so bili prava prelomnica v dotedanjih politicnih pogledih na obstoj in prihodnost Slovencev. |
| V zgodovino so prešli z nazivom Višarsko slovenstvo. Z vrha Sv. Višarji je namrec slikal svojim študentom in vsem Slovencem njihov polozaj med germanskim, romanskim in slovanskim svetom, in jim dokazoval, da bo Slovenija zmogla svoje poslanstvo izplnjevati samo, ce bo prosta vsakega tujega gospostva in samo v svobodni slovenski drzavi. |
| …Slovenija mora biti mejnik, ki druzi in veze jug s severom in vzhod z zahodom. Sama ne sme biti ne eno ne drugo ne tretje. Ostati mora mejnik, ki druzi kakor Sv. Višarje. To je bozja volja! To nalogo bo mogla Slovenija izpolnjevati samo v svobodi, ne pod gopodarjem, ki bi sedel bodisi na jugu ali na severu na vzhodu ali na zahodu! Bozja volja je, da mi vsi za to svobodo delamo in bozji volji se ne sme nihce izmikati… |
| Tako ze v poletju 1933, ko se na samostojno Slovenijo ni upal še nihce pomisliti. To je bil po mnogih desetletjih prvi klic po samostojni drzavi Sloveniji, potem ko je njegov predhodnik in koroški rojak Matija Majar Zilski iznesel zahtevo po kraljestvu Slovenija v okviru nekdanje monarhije. |
| Jugoslovanski oz. velesrbski podtalni aparat je takrat. in še dolgo potem, vse tja do 80-ih let, popolnoma obvladal mišljenje slovenskih ljudi. Jugoslavija, s Srbi na celu, naj bi Slovence ob koncu prve vojne rešila iz menda „tisocletnega" nemškega jarma. Tako naj bi tudi v prihodnje edinole mocna Jugoslavija lahko zavarovala Slovence in njihov obstoj pred neutešljivim pohlepom Nemcev in Italijanov. |
| V takšnem vzdušju je Samostojna Slovenija izpadla kot utopija, in pri „trezno" mislecih kot nekakšna norost. Toda študentje so v njihovem mladostnem zanosu Ehrlichovo misel sprejemali, ne da razmišljali o tem, ali je njeno uresnicevanje sploh mogoce. Pritegnil jih je predvsem njegov njegov osebni zgled: poleg visoke izobrazbe in vsestranske razgledanosti tudi njegova pozrtvovalnost, askeza, molitev, dobrota do vseh, zlasti do ubogih. |
| To, kar je prof. Ehrlich takrat sejal, je postopoma klilo šele po drugi vojni, v svobodnem svetu. Klilo nenehno, celo proti prevladujocemu mišljenju v slovenskem zdomstvu, cigar politicni cilj je bil zgolj protikomunizem, medtem ko naj bi bili Slovenci tudi v prihodnje najbolje zavarovani samo v neki demokraticni Jugoslaviji. |
| Ob zasedbi Ljubljane po Italijanih se je prof. Ehrlich znašel v Belgradu. Tja ga je bil poklical dr. Kulovec, ki ga je ocitno nameraval postaviti za svojega naslednika, vendar je bil ubit ob nemškem bombandiranju. Prof. Ehrlich je hotel priti na zahod, kjer bi deloval za samostojno Slovenijo, toda na letalu, s katerim so se odpeljali jugoslovanski ministri, zanj ni bilo prostora. |
| Vrnil se je v Ljubljano, in se ves posvetil delu za svoj narod. Pomagal je ljudem na vsah krajih. Ob represalijah italjanske vojske nad slovenskim prebivalstvom, ki so jih povzrocale nenehne akcije partizanov oziroma izzivanja, je sestavil svojo znamenito Spomenico, in jo predlozil italijanski oblasti. V njej je terjal ureditev razmer v zasedeni Ljubljanski pokrajini po nacelih mednarodnega prava. |
| Povojni komunisticni rezim je na temelju te spomenice, ki pa je nikoli ni objavil, utemeljeval Ehrlichovo narodno „izdajstvo". Šel pa še dlje! Takoj po vojni je dal grob prof. Ehrlicha odkopati, in njegove kosti raztresti neznano kje. Ta balkanska poteza, ki jo je bilo opaziti tudi v vojnah ob razpadu Jugoslavije, jasno kaze, da prof. Ehrlich in njegova zamisel samostojne Slovenije ni bila napoti v prvi vrsti slovenskim komunistom, temvec velesrbskemu rezimu, ki je, cetudi pod komunisticno skorjo, obstajal naprej Ukaz za razkop njegovega groba je ocitno prišel z juga. |
| Podtalni balkanski aparat celo na pragu samostojne Slovenije ni dopustil nepristranskega pisanja o delovanju dr. Ehrlicha. Zgodovinar Boris Mlakar, ki je o njem pripravil geslo za Enciklopedijo Slovenije (1989), mu je moral znova naprtiti narodno „izdajstvo", ceš da je italijanskim vojaškim oblastem izrocil spomenico „z analizo polozaja ter predlogi za unicenje partizanstva". VOS OF da ga je zaradi delovanja v okviru bele garde usmrtila. |
| Toda univ. prof. Ehrlich ni bil nikakršen vojaški strokovnjak za „analizo polozaja", namenjeno „unicenju partizanstva". Z belo gardo (domobranstvom) prav tako ni imel nicesar. Ocitno je, da je zgodovinar s takšnim zapisom o njem samo izvajal „naredjenje". |
| Povod za umor prof. Ehrlicha je bilo v prvi vrsti njegovo videnje samostojne slovenske drzave. Samostojna Slovenija je bila vsem napoti, podtalnim drzavnim kot tudi silam, kakor se je videlo ob zapletih pri njenem mednarodnem priznanju (1991/1991). |
| Teološka fakulteta v Ljubljani se prof. Ehrlicha za casa Jugoslavije ni smela spominjati. V samostojni Sloveniji pa si ga ne upa, ker je vezana na financiranje s strani vlade, ki je v rokah jugoslovanskega lobbyja. ce bi bili casi res normalni, bi pricakovali, da mu bodo na tej fakulteti, katere profesor je bil, odkrili vsaj spominski napis - da ne recemo doprsnega kipa. |
| Poleti 2000 so na mestu Ehrlihovega groba na zalah vendarle odkrili spominsko obelezje. Toda pobuda za to je morala priti iz zdomstva. Ni se porodila v Ljubljani, cetudi smo imeli - in še vedno imamo - kar dve stranki, ki naj bi bili kršcanskic Slovenskega metropolita pri odkritju ni bilo. Po njihovih delih jih boste spoznali! |
| Podobno kot spomin na skofa Rozmana vzbuja tudi spomin na prof. Ehrlicha se vedno bojazen. Zaradi neke tihe pretnje iz podtalja. Jugoslovanskega? In prav v tem pogledu se danasnja demokracija v Sloveniji razkriva zgolj kot nekaksna karikatura. |
| Slovstvo: |
| M. Gariup: Lambert Ehrlich Camporosso 1878 - Ljubljana 1942, Cedad 1999 |
| R. Cujes: Dr. Lambert Ehrlich, Strazar nasih svetinj, Antagonish (Kanada) 1992 kjer najdemo tudi precej nadrobno bibliografijo. |
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| Svete Visarje |
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| Dr Jožko Šavli |
| Sv. Visarje (1792 m), Marijina bozja pot, ki se nahaja nad vasjo Zabnice v Kanalski dolini. V tej vasi se je rodil dr. Lambert Ehrlich, duhovnik, bogoslovni profesor, med obema vojnama profesor na univerzi v Ljubljani. Bil je eden najvecjih Slovencev, kar jih je porodila njihova zgodovina, umorjen po komunisticni roki leta 1942. Na tem svetem kraju je zavedni profesor zbiral svoje studente in jim govoril o samostojni slovenski drzavi. Govoril v casu, ko je slovenska drzava v javnem misljenju izstopala zgolj kot predstava zanesenjakov. |
| Njegova misel, ki je presla v zgodovino pod imenom visarsko slovenstvo, je bila plamencek, ki ni ugasnil. Pocasi, a vztrajno je izniceval pregrade in zarote, ki so ovirale uresnicenje slovenske samostojnosti. Neviden plamen bozje previdnosti, v katerem tudi danes izgorevajo naklepi zakulisnih sil, ki bi rade samostojno Slovenijo izvotlile in razrusile. |
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