Exhibition on Nazism and Communism Coming to Ljubljana

Ljubljana, 3 March

An exhibition on totalitarian regimes in two Slovenian and Austrian regions which have been historically connected, has arrived in Ljubljana after visiting several cities in both countries.

"Under the Swastika and the Red Star" opened on 3 March, enabling visitors to get to know the reasons for the rise of National Socialism and Communism in Austria's Carinthia and Slovenia's Korosko, respectively.
The multimedia show was conceived by the Korosko Regional Museum and the Slovenian publisher in Austria's Klagenfurt, Mohorjeva druzba, on the basis of the research carried out by two historians.
Joze Dezman of Slovenia and Alfred Elste of Austria researched several "chapters of ideological violence" which were traumatic for people on both sides of the border.
They collected a number of documents from the Slovenian archives, including a "black list" of people who were deported or executed by partisans after WWII.
Dezman and Elste further focussed on the Nazi deportations of ethnic Slovenians from Carinthia and the seizure of their property, which has never been returned.
The exhibition was first put on at the Korosko Regional Museum in Slovenj Gradec in November 2002, whereupon it travelled on to Maribor and Kranj, and then to Austria's Villach and Klagenfurt.
While there was some opposition to the project in its initial phase in both countries, the general public and historians in Slovenia and Austria have accepted it very well. So far, more than 15,000 people have visited it.
Apart from the show, the Phare-funded project also includes a Slovenian-German presentation on the Internet, a book, a CD and a survey. The survey asked visitors about their reaction to a black swastika depicted against the backdrop of a red star.
The show visiting Ljubljana will be held at the National Museum until 15 April.

Exhibition on Nazism and Communism Coming to Ljubljana

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