National Report of the Crimes of Communism in Slovenia
Country Report conference “Crimes of the Communist Regimes“ 24-26 February 2010, Prague Damjan Hančič, Boštjan Kolarič, Jernej Letnar Černič, Renato Podbersič, Andreja Valič Study Centre for National Reconciliation, Slovenia NATIONAL REPORT OF THE CRIMES OF COMMUNISM IN SLOVENIA 1. THE PERIOD OF THE COMMUNIST TAKE-OVER DURING THE OCCUPATION (1941-45) For six centuries the Slovenian lands had been the part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which disintegrated after the World War I. According to the will of the Paris Peace Conference and the world super powers the majority of the Slovenian lands in 1918 entered the first Yugoslavia. The western part belonged to Italy and the west-northern part belonged to Austria. During the World War II in Slovenia (1941–1945) there were occupation, resistance, revolution, collaboration and the civil war. After the Axis attack on Yugoslavia on 6th April, 1941, Slovenia was occupied by Italy, Germany and Hungary. After the Italian capitulation in September, 1943, Germany added the Italian Slovenian territory into the Operational Zone Adriatic Littoral. After the German occupation of Hungary, the Third Reich occupied the whole of Slovenia. All three occupying countries had the same goal: to Italianize, Germanize and Hungarize the Slovenians and assimilate the occupied territories. Communism in Yugoslavia, particularly in Slovenia, in contrast to Communism in others eastern countries, came to power without the intervention of the Soviet army. This meant some kind of uniqueness in European space, so it is important to detail the very beginning of the Communists' usurpation of authority within the framework of their organizing resistance. The leadership of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia with Josip Broz Tito as a leader became extremely Stalinistic before the Second World War.
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