European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

was the only area in occupied Europe where occupation was thought only a first act.

Slovenia was divided. Ljubljana was the hundredth Italian province.

The Italian right hand, with the bishop Rozman at its lead,

who sent a letter of thanks to Mussolini for accepting this ‘large family’ into fascist Italy.

All the other countries, in this region… The Croatians had some sort of country, fascist, satellite,

but their right to a form of their own was acknowledged nonetheless.

The Serbs had their own heir to the crown and thus the Kingdom of Serbia. Slovakia was a Protectorate.

And Slovenia was divided among the occupiers, which means the Italians…

Hitler came to Maribor and said: Make this land German again for me, the Hungarians took Prekmurje.

There were some villages in Bela krajina that even the Croatians usurped.

We were obliged to constitute ourselves as a nation and as a country; nobody acknowledged us.

Only by strongly determined fighting we forced our allies to understand a people lives here,

a nation with its own language and its own culture and tradition.

That’s why the significance of this fight was so essential and vital.

Had there been no Partisan movement, the Primorje would not be a part of Slovenia now.

Being an individualist in war time

While we waited for the breakthrough, many of the boys under my leadership, cried from fear.

It was a horrific sight.

The same boys, aged 17, 18 or 20 at the most, volunteered for dangerous actions, attacks, within half a year.

When a man has weapons, when he witnesses the deaths of his colleagues,