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December 2021
World War I Military Cemeteries, Gravesites and Graves
Document on WWI military cemeteries, gravesites and graves, created in May 1974, was commissioned by the Republic Secretariat for Urban Planning and compiled based on the reports sent in by municipal assemblies. It was an attempt to apply provisions of the Geneva conventions in regard to military cemeteries, gravesites and graves, whose locations were known, but were abandoned and unkept, while locations of WWII gravesites were at that time still not precisely determined. The data gathered refers to all WWI military cemeteries, gravesites and graves in Slovenia recorded at that time.
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November 2021
Attempt at Reconciliation During the Maelstrom of War
This month’s archivalia is a transcript of the letter written by lawyer Lojze Ude (1896-1982) to his lawyer colleague Albin Šmajd (1904-1946), a prominent member of the Slovenian People’s Party. This letter of April 21, 1943 is not the only letter that Ude wrote to try and reconcile the two Slovenian opposing sides, but it is a very informative one and has great symbolical significance. The letter, which at the time when it was written met with no success, managed to be preserved in two copies (transcripts) among the records of the "archives of the former Yugoslav Secret Police".
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October 2021
Good or wicked?
420 years ago, on October 19, 1601, Georg Paradeiser and some of his accomplices were executed in Vienna. This nobleman from a prominent Carinthian family was found guilty of treason for his surrender of the strategically important border fortress of Kanizsa, which he was commander of, after the fortress had been besieged by the Turks for a longer period of time. Considerably less known than Paradeiser's fatal two-year affair of Kanizsa, is his work in the seaside town of Senj. While working as the Captain of Senj, Paradeiser sent to Carniola two interesting alerts against the oncoming Turks in January 1596. The so-called Turkish alerts are presented here as this month's archivalia.
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September 2021
Instruction for Sugar-Free Canning of Fruit
Long war and bad harvest lead to shortage of food, high prices, requisitions, food coupons etc. In such state of general shortage, the Imperial and Royal Office for Public Nutrition in Vienna turned its attention to fruit as well. In May 1917, it issued a regulation on fruit trade, allowing the trade to be conducted only by those who obtained special permission. In mid-June, the office sent letters to all major agricultural corporations in the monarchy and enclosed a set of instructions on how to can fruit without any sugar. The recipients of the letter were urged to pay special attention to the issue in question, since sugar was an increasingly rare commodity in any household. One copy of the letter was also received by the Agricultural Society for Carniola and we have chosen it for this month’s archivalia.
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August 2021
The Library of the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia and Interesting Books Stored on its Shelves
The Library of the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia is a special library operating in the field of archival science. Although its primary mission is to meet the needs of those employed at the Archives, its books and newspapers can also be viewed by external users. The beginnings of the library go back to 1953, when the then State Archives of the People’s Republic of Slovenia moved out of the National Museum of Slovenia.While searching among the shelves of the library, one can often come across a publication, which can be seen as a “hybrid” between library and archival material. One such publication is a 32 double pages long booklet titled Traffic and Police Regulation for the Provincial Capital of Ljubljana.
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July 2021
July 22 – the Shot Fired in Tacen
Eighty years ago, more precisely on July 22, 1941, a few minutes before 8 am, a single shot was fired on the Tacen-Šmartno road. The shot, whose echo continued to be heard even a decade later, when it became to be regarded by the Slovenian people as the shot that started its armed uprising. The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia keeps the criminal charge issued by the Commander of the Security Police and Security Service in the Occupied Territory of Carinthia and Upper Carniola against two suspects, two young men, who were believed to have fired the shot from a bush and wound a bike-riding Franc Žnidaršič, an interpreter at the German gendarmerie station.
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June 2021
Employing of Close Relatives by the Same Organization
Based on a complaint received from a "concerned" citizen, who expressed his concern about the increased corruption risk in public administration because of the employment of a married couple by the same organizational unit, and based on a general need to legally regulate such issues, in June 1963 the Office for Applications and Complaints at the Executive Board of the Assembly of the SRS ordered the Republic Secretariat for Budget and General Administration of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia to verify the truth of the statement and pass their judgement on the matter in question. Bureaucracy wheels whirled into motion and came to - bureaucratic conclusions.
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May 2021
Lawsuit by Primož Mešnjak against Josip Jurčič for Libel and Neglect of his Duties as an Editor
On April 28, 1875, newspaper Slovenski narod published a notice titled »Murder«, which cautioned people against seeking overnight accommodation at homes of »compassionate people« by reporting about the murder of a peddler, who travelled through Carinthia, selling »goods with blade«. The initial suspect pub owner Primož Mešnak felt deeply wronged by the accusations and addressed a lawsuit against the editor of the newspaper Slovenski narod Josip Jurčič. The court acquitted Juričič and referred the plaintiff to a civil lawsuit in regard to his claim for damages. Presented here as this month's archivalia are some of the more interesting documents from the court file.
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April 2021
Rainbow below Velika Planina Plateau
In 2019, Photo, Cinema and Video Club Mavrica in Radomlje celebrated its 50th anniversary. Members of the film section Mavrica captured on film numerous events that took place mostly in and around Domžale, Kamnik, Mengeš, Moravče and Lukovica, as well as in Ljubljana. In addition to films documenting various events, they also made feature and even experimental films. In 2016, 2018 and 2019, the club transferred to the Slovenian Film Archives 161 films, and excerpts from six of the transferred films are presented here as this month's archivalia.
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March 2021
Poltergeist or a Show for the Neighbours?
Although belief that souls of the dead keep returning to the world of the living has its roots in pagan times and has managed to remain planted in folk memory up to this day, documents describing events of such nature are not frequently found among our archival holdings. An interesting report made by the clerk of the district commissariat in Senožeče in February 1842 revelas how one such "ghost" was swiftly exorcised from the house of Nikolaj Doles.
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February 2021
Gustav Tönnies (1814–1886) and His Legacy
Gustav Tönnies, founder of one of the most enterprising and successful families in the territory of the 19th century Slovenia, was a successful businessman, who took good advantage of the opportunities offered by the expansion of major infrastructural projects in the second half of the 19th century. His sons carried on his work, but were after the disintegration of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy faced with new problems and challenges arising from newly created states. The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia keeps extensive probate records of Gustav Tönnies, which contain as many as 54 documents, including several property inventories.
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January 2021
Social Events During the Congress of Laibach
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the Congress of the Holy Alliance, probably the most important diplomatic event Ljubljana has ever had the pleasure to host. Carniolan authorities and citizens of Ljubljana were not part of high politics, but were included mainly in the organizational aspect of the congress, providing accommodation and entertainment for their distinguished guests during their stay in Ljubljana. Compared to the significance of the event, the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia keeps relatively few documents related to the congress. The records preserved refer mainly to the arrival and accommodation of the attendees, as well as organization of evening ballroom dances. Exhibited here is an invitation to four pre-carnival balls at the Ljubljana dance hall.
