Location

• Tivolska cesta 42, Slovenia 1000
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Languages

• Slovene

Website

• http://www.scnr.si/en/

Name of collection

• Collection of Testimonies at the Study Centre for National Reconciliation in Ljubljana

Provenance and cultural activities

• The Multimedia Collection of Testimonies (Arhiv pričevanj – Archive of Testimonies) at the Study Centre for National Reconciliation in Ljubljana was established at the same time as the Centre in May 2008. The Centre is a government institution working under the Ministry of Justice. Prior to the establishment of the Centre as a separate scholarly and research institution, it operated as the Sector for Redressing of Injustices and National Reconciliation within the framework of the Ministry of Justice. The Centre was established with the intention of researching the totalitarian systems that existed in Slovenia in the 20^th century – fascism, national socialism and communism. Given that fascist and Nazi repression in Slovenia has been more explored, the Centre is primarily focused on researching human rights violations in the communist era.

  In the Collection of Testimonies, there are about 350 audio or video recordings of testimonies collected since 2009. Recorded testimonies are from people who have experienced some form of violence or human rights violations in World War II and its aftermath. The main purpose of this collection is to memorialise, but also bring catharsis and reconciliation to individuals, ideological opponents and Slovenian society as a whole. The Centre actually helps to deal with the trauma on families and the Slovenian society as a whole left by the totalitarian systems of the 20^th century. The majority of the oral testimonies refer to victims who spoke about what happened, mostly after the war in 1945, while the smaller part is about everyday life under socialism.

  Andreja Valič Zver believes that the "culture of silence" dominated in Yugoslavia because the discussion of wartime and post-war suffering was prohibited, and that is why there is an even greater need today to research and write about these issues. The Centre is particularly focused on getting young people familiar with and aware of the suffering in the 20^th century by holding workshops at the Centre and in schools and organizing excursions for young people to visit prisons, all aimed at providing young people with a clearer picture of what democracy is and what human rights are (Valič Zver, interview, July 6, 2017).

  The Study Centre for National Reconciliation engages in wide-ranging activities to present the contents of the Archive of Testimonies. This activity largely consists of publishing the results of research in the form of scholarly monographs and collections of documents, organizing scholarly and professional conferences in Slovenia and participating in conferences abroad, organizing workshops and forums open to the public, and excursions to places of suffering in the territory of Slovenia and the former Yugoslavia (e.g., Goli otok in Croatia). Andreja Valič Zver emphasizes that one of the key roles of the Centre is helping to confront the traumas of totalitarian systems in Slovenia. The collection of testimonies is available to researchers and the interested public by prior arrangement.

Description of content

• The Collection of Testimonies (Archive of Testimonies – Arhiv pričevanj) in the Study Centre for National Reconciliation in Ljubljana contains about 350 audio and video recordings of testimonies about totalitarian regimes in Slovenian territory in the 20^th century. A small part of the testimonies is also in written form. The Collection is arranged in alphabetical order in an Excel table, starting from 2009. For each year there is a digital version and printed version in the form of a folder.

Content

• video recordings (including oral history recordings): 100-499

Operator(s)

• Study Centre for National Reconciliation

Owner(s)

• Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia

Stakeholder(s) of the collection

• Hančič, Damjan
• Jurjevčič, Mirjam
• Piškurić, Jelka
• Valič Zver, Andreja

Geographical scope of recent operation

• international

Topics

• democratic opposition

Founder(s)

• Study Centre for National Reconciliation

Date of founding

• 2008

Place of founding

• Ljubljana, Tivolska cesta 42, Slovenia
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Creator(s) of content

• Aplenc, Andrej

Collector(s)

• Study Centre for National Reconciliation

Supporters

• Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia

Important events in the history of the collection

• Event (general): Trip to the island of Goli, 2010.
• Event (general): Trip to the island of Goli, 2011.

Featured items

• Testimony of Andrej Aplenc about imprisonment on the island of Goli, August 27, 2014.

Access type

• visits by appointments

Publications

• 1) Mikola, Milko, editor. Dokumenti in pričevanja o povojnih delovnih taboriščih v Sloveniji. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2006.

  2) Mikola, Milko, editor. Dokumenti in pričevanja o povojnih koncentracijskih taboriščih v Sloveniji. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2007.

  3) Hančič, Damjan, and Renato Podbersič, editors. Dokumenti o rudarski stavki v Zasavju leta 1958. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2007.

  4) Mikola, Milko, editor. Dokumenti in pričevanja o povojnih koncentracijskih taboriščih v Sloveniji, II. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2008.

  5) Zupanič, Katja. Četništvo na Štajerskem. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2008.

  6) Keršič, Marta, and Neža Stres, editors. Dokumenti o privilegijih političnih in državnih funkcionarjev v Sloveniji v obdobju socializma. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2008.

  7) Čoh, Mateja, editor. Totalitarizmi – vprašanja in izzivi: Ob dvajsetletnici padca železne zavese v Evropi. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2009.

  8) Štesl, Jurij. Pohorska afera: krvavi izpadi štajerskih partizanov med jesenjo 1943 in pomladjo 1944. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2009.

  9) Mikola, Milko, editor. Dokumenti in pričevanja o povojnih izgonih prebivalstva v Sloveniji. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2010.

  10) Čoh, Mateja. "Za svobodo, kralja in domovino": ilegalne skupine v Sloveniji med letoma 1945 in 1952. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2010.

  11) Hančič, Damjan, editor. Totalitarizmi na slovenskem v 20. stoletju. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2010.

  12) Hančič, Damjan. Revolucionarno nasilje na vzhodnem Gorenjskem, 1941-1945. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2011.

  13) Podbersič, Renato. Revolucionarno nasilje na Primorskem: Goriška in Vipavska 1941-1945. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2012.

  14) Čoh, Mateja, and Milko Mikola, editors. Kulaški procesi v Sloveniji med letoma 1949 in 1951. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2012.

  15) Čoh, Mateja, and Jelka Piškurić, editors. Represivne metode totalitarnih režimov – Zbornik prispevkov z mednarodnega znanstvenega posveta. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2012.

  16) Hančič, Damjan. Revolucionarno nasilje na osrednjem in zahodnem Gorenjskem, 1941-1945. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2013.

  17) Valič Zver, Andreja. Demos – Slovenska osamosvojitev in demokratizacija. Maribor: Študijski center za narodno spravo - Zgodovinsko društvo dr. Franca Kovačiča v Mariboru, 2013.

  18) Hančič, Damjan, Gregor Jenuš, and Neža Strajnar, editors. Odstiranje zamolčanega: zbornik prispevkov. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2013.

  19) Čoh Kladnik, Mateja, editor. Zbornik Revolucionarno nasilje, sodni procesi in kultura spominjanja. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2014.

  20) Hančič, Damjan, editor. Refleksije – zbornik prispevkov. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2014.

  21) Hančič, Damjan. Revolucionarno nasilje v Ljubljani, 1941-1945. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2015.

  22) Čoh Kladnik, Mateja, editor. Brezpravje “v imenu ljudstva”. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo, 2016.

Part of network

• Platform of European Memory and Conscience

Author(s) of this page

• Bencetić, Lidija

References

Piškurić, Jelka, interview by Bencetić, Lidija , Shek Brnardić, Teodora , July 06, 2017. COURAGE Registry Oral History Collection

Jurjevčič, Mirjam, interview by Bencetić, Lidija , Shek Brnardić, Teodora , July 06, 2017. COURAGE Registry Oral History Collection

Valič Zver, Andreja, interview by Bencetić, Lidija , Shek Brnardić, Teodora , July 06, 2017. COURAGE Registry Oral History Collection

Hančič, Damjan, interview by Bencetić, Lidija , Shek Brnardić, Teodora , July 06, 2017. COURAGE Registry Oral History Collection