ONOMÀSTICA 3 (2017): 127–160 | REBUT 27.4.2017 | ACCEPTAT 4.7.2017 German-Slovene relations in the Slovene lands from the mid-19th century until today Matjaž Klemenčič University of Maribor
[email protected] Abstract: This paper traces the development of Slovene-German inter-ethnic relations in the Slovene ethnic territory from the 19th century onwards. After the March Revolu- tion of 1848, the Slovenes in Carinthia and Styria, as minority groups in the Habsburg Empire, clashed with the dominant German-speaking groups and were exposed to a progressive process of Germanization and assimilation. After the 1920 plebiscite, Ca- rinthian Slovenes were exposed to accelerated processes of Germanization, while dur- ing the Second World War the Nazis sought to resolve the Carinthian question once and for all by instigating forced migrations. In the post-war, bilingual schooling was introduced in southern Carinthia, where it was used as tool for defining the bilingual territory. Further, the Austrian State Treaty appeared to offer guarantees of certain minority rights; however, these have been largely unforthcoming. Recent years have been marked by the Ortstafelsturm – a battle against erecting bilingual village signs – and reforms to the Law on Ethnic Groups. Key words: Slovenes, Germans, Styria, Carinthia, Germanization, Slovenisation, Nation- al minorities, Bilingual village signs. Les relacions germanoeslovenes en territoris eslovens des de mitjan segle xix fins avui Resum: En aquest article s’examinen les relacions entre eslovens i alemanys des de mitjan segle XIX fins al moment actual. La primera part abraça fins al final de la Primera Guer- ra Mundial, i planteja com els eslovens −un dels grups ètnics de l’Imperi dels Habsburg, on els parlants alemanys eren el grup dominant− van quedar exposats, especialment després de la revolució de 1848, a un procés progressiu d’assimilació i germanització.