The small Slovenian nation fought the battle of Drazgose and destroyed the myth about the invincible army of the Third Reich long before the Allies did, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said at Sunday's ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the battle.
Some politicians believe that today we should distance ourselves from the Partisan movement. However, we have be aware that it will be hard to provide for a good future if we fail to accept the past with all its truth, Erjavec said.
How will we raise patriots if we can not fix the mistakes of the past, which are still dividing Slovenians. The decision of Slovenians to rebel was the only right decision, Erjavec told the crowd estimated by the organisers at 10,000 .
Erjavec believes that Slovenia has a bright future, however there should more cooperation and unity among its people. We should not forget that the future was paved also in Drazgose 65 years ago. Forgetting that would destroy our pride, he added.
Meanwhile, the event was marked by an incident as members of the Young Forum, the youth wing of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), staged a protest holding banners and handing out leaflets saying: "Do not watch the government TV, it lies" and "The government is more humane to the capital that to the workers".
They took down the banners at the request of the organisers.
The Drazgose battle, which was one of the bloodiest on Slovenian soil and the biggest in the northern Gorenjsko region during WWII, was fought out between some 200 Partisan fighters and around 2,000 German soldiers from 9 to 12 January 1942.
After three days of unsuccessfully trying to bring down the Partisans, German troops retreated having lost over a hundred soldiers.
They took revenge for the defeat on the residents of the village Drazgose, killing 41 civilians on the spot. The village was then raised to the ground, and all the remaining inhabitants were driven out.
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