European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

It was the morning or maybe afternoon of May 16th when I arrived here at Kropa.

That’s just how things were at Kropa after the war; people were gone.

I went back to Celje too; with the bicycle. Our brigade had already left.

Mesic had said to me that he had heard we would be moving out of Celje.

I said that if they move before I return, for them to leave a message at this woman’s house.

There was an old woman, perhaps she was in her 60s or 70s.

Upon my return with that bicycle, I got the message and it wrote Mali –

that was my Partisan name – we went to Zagreb, to Maksimir.

Coming to Slovenia with the brigade

Our brigade stepped onto Slovenian soil at Sedlarjevo without a fight.

The Germans were retreating and we went right on in.

Then we came down to Podcetrtek.

There were people standing along the road in Podcetrtek.

We passed by, I was riding my horse – because now I was already a commanding officer of the ‘rear support unit’ –

so I was riding my horse and someone calls out Ivo!

I felt a shudder of fear. Who could possibly know me here? I had never been to Podcetrtek or anywhere hereabouts.

And then a second time Ivo, Ivo, come here!

I looked around and recognized the girl. She was a former classmate of mine. She’s still alive today.

She came to me and invited me to come over to eat. I told her Thank you,

but if I come anywhere near there will be a crawling carpet all over the floor.