European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

kept quiet and did not keep in touch with us.

But only about 10 % weren’t with us.

First contact with partisans

We had already heard in 1942 that partisans were staying in our area.

But the first contact was at Easter 1943

when the first partisans came and knocked at the door:

“Mother, open!

The partisans are here; the army of the Slovenian people.

We will destroy fascism and you will be free once more.”

Afterwards we had regular contact. We sang a song I will never forget.

There was a woman who had a harmonica.

We were friends straight away.

Afterwards we had to help them every day.

Into the forest, delivering food. In the evenings they came again.

That was the way the resistance was organised and kept getting stronger.

Anschluss, persecution, propaganda for resistance

The father, Wasilij, was still young.

He kept saying of National Socialism: “That will be no good.”

Afterwards, the authority was taken over by the Nazis,

they immediately locked up a number of people of the Slovenian minority