European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

Well, up to 1955, they were able to learn German and Slovenian in school, as it was a bilingual area.

All of a sudden, with the treaty, it was different again. A state treaty was around 1957.

The teachers went out onto the streets with the children

and protested that they couldn’t teach and learn Slovenian.

Later our children had to be subscribed by their parents, if they wanted them to learn Slovenian.

Only the oldest ones didn’t have to.

But the lessons weren’t the same as the German ones.

They had only a few lessons.

That was another discrimination of the Carinthian Slovenes.

Immediately after the war

Well, after the war the partisans came to Ludmannsdorf on the 10th May

after they had been in Klagenfurt and everywhere before.

They billeted at Boris’, where the police, the constabulary had been,

and we got the order to provide some food.

All of a sudden there was enough food there.

One had brought a piglet, another one brought five hens, another one brought bread, eggs…

We did not know where to leave it all in the end.

Afterwards everybody said: ‘It’s good that we are all Slovenians.’

But there were several people which only said they were Slovenians,

for they were worried the partisans would do something to them otherwise.