European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

Of course, in a war the units are under strict discipline,

all organized according to a military structure quite necessary for leading into any type of combat.

It wasn’t for me though; it didn’t suit my character. There was another aspect of human character.

Even out in the open, wherever we managed to get some sleep, I always liked to sleep in a bit, I’m a bit lazy in the morning.

When I was in the brigade, we’d usually march at night.

We walked all night long just to get a little bit further, for instance from the Karst to the Trnovski gozd via the Vipava valley,

where the ambushes and outposts were. I often thought these actions were dangerous or just too straining.

So I often volunteered for various new tasks that would arise amidst a battle.

These were more dangerous, but at least I could channel my individualism this way.

So I became an informer. I would travel alone to Trieste with forged documents.

It was highly risky, but I felt that my life was at my own disposal.

Later I was with the miners. That was just a small unit, maybe there were 13 or 15 of us. It was easy to command.

One year I worked in the educational system

organizing the school system and appointing teachers who didn’t even exist.

I was alone in appointing these teachers and without Slovenian schools.

I decided to call a meeting for all the women who stayed home alone so I could present them with a dictation of a text.

I had some knowledge of the Slovene language I reviewed the results

and decided that the one who made the fewest mistakes would be the teacher.

The children needed someone to present them with at least the basics of the language and a little math and reading.

They couldn’t just go through the war without any schooling … The official schooling system had disintegrated.