Slovenian Veterans Decry Italian War Film
Slovenian veterans denounced a controversial Italian film about post-war killings of Italians as they held a remembrance ceremony on Sunday for soldiers who died during an 1945 attack by occupying forces on a small village on the Slovenian coast.
The annual commemoration of the events at Borst, where occupying forces overran local defence positions, turned into a protest against the Italian film "Il cuore nel pozzo" (The Heart in a Pit).
The film, which tells a story about post-WWII killings of Italian civilians by Slovenian Partisans in 1943, sparked an angry response from Slovenian veterans, who claim it is an attempt to change history.
The film's title is a reference to "foibe", Karst pits near Trieste where Yugoslav partisans buried a still unknown number of people mainly connected to the occupying forces.
According to Slovenian veteran groups, the film depicts Slovenia as the genocidal nation and Italians as the innocent victims of World War II.
Janez Stanovnik, the head of the Association of Veterans of the National Liberation Struggle, the largest veteran association in the country, said the film was more about science-fiction than truth.
Claiming that this was part of a wider plot to brainwash the people of Italy and alter history, Stanovnik said there was no doubt about who was the aggressor during WWII. "It was Italy that attacked Yugoslavia and not the other way around."
Stanovnik also spoke about "foibe", saying that reprisals led to crimes in the post-war period. "I'm not going to claim today that what happened with foibe was right or lawful. That's not the case. Unfortunately, the conditions were such that crimes took place and we're ready to talk about that."
"We're not only ready to recognise but also express regret for any crimes that might have taken place," he added.
The first part of the film is set to be screened on Italian public television this evening, in what will be its television premiere.
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