Why go
Ljubljana’s occupation by Fascist Italy and the formation of the Liberation Front provide one entry into the wartime story. German and Hungarian occupation affected other regions. Keeping these experiences together helps explain why accounts of Partisan resistance, collaboration, civilian suffering and subsequent repression require careful attention to place and context.
The full story
Axis forces invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941. Germany, Italy and Hungary occupied and annexed Slovene territory, dividing communities among different regimes. Deportation and forced labour uprooted civilians. People from the Italian-occupied Province of Ljubljana were sent to camps including Rab and Gonars, while others were transported to work in German farms and industry. The Liberation Front formed in occupied Ljubljana in 1941 and developed the Slovene Partisan resistance. War against the occupiers became entangled with revolutionary politics and conflict among Slovenes. Anti-Communist groups collaborated with occupying forces, including the German-sponsored Home Guard. In 1945, Slovenia entered the restored Yugoslav federation as a socialist republic. The end of fighting did not end violence: ideologically and ethnically motivated mass killings followed. These overlapping histories of occupation, resistance, collaboration and reprisal are essential to understanding the period.