A comment from KHD chairman Andreas Mölzer

So the Slovenian Foreign Minister has now visited the Carinthian Perschmann Hof, Locked a wreath and youngest participants in the youngest “Antifa Camp”, The as is well known that the goal of a police operation has become, Your sympathy expressed. Although she let us know , dass in der österreichischen Bevölkerung offenbar noch zusätzliche „Bewusstseinsbildung“ in Hinblick auf die NS-Verbrechen geschaffen werden müsse.

Now you can say with fug and right, that especially in the commemorative year 2025 In this regard, some things have happened in Carinthia. The not entirely undisputed exhibition in the Carinthia Museum and those in the state archive are probably enough for that. And when it comes to the police operation on the Perschmann Hof, So the report to an examination committee will soon show, Who was responsible for the escalation, die Nachwuchs -Antifaschisten oder die Polizeibeamten.

And in terms of historical awareness of consciousness, the Slovenian side would have some catching up to do: The numerous murder- and skull sites in Slovenia, on which the Tito partisans their opponents – Croats, Slovenian cathedral chances, Displaced folk Germans, Prisoners of war and mostly civilians - straightened, one would have to put it into public awareness as well. And Austria's busy Foreign Minister Beate Meindl Reisinger would have a variety of occasions in the event of a visit to Slovenia, ebenso Kränze nieder zu legen und Worte des Bedauerns zu sprechen.

We are also in Carinthia – The responsible policy, But also the patriotic civil society - honestly for the preservation of the Slovenian ethnic group, their culture and language endeavors, während den Altösterreichern deutscher Muttersprache in Slowenien selbst noch alle Minderheitenrechte vorenthalten werden.

So good neighborhood demands mutual honesty – auch in Bezug auf die jüngere leidvolle Geschichte.

image: Wikipedia/Euranet_plus license: CC BY-SA 2.0

On the occasion of the Europe -wide memorial day on 23. August reminds the Carinthian home service with his chairman Andreas Mölzer the need for one comprehensive and fair memory.

“Especially in the light of current debates, How they are led around the Peršmanhof, it is important, to point out the European dimension ", so Mölzer. since 2009 this day is celebrated in many EU countries, To commemorate the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regime. "Such an official commemoration would have long been appropriate in Austria."

The Carinthian home service emphasizes, that All victims of injustice and violence would earn equally. “If in the souvenir year 2025 the victims of National Socialism are commemorated, Then the victims of communism and Stalinism may not be forgotten like those of the Tito Partisans ", erklärt Mölzer.

It is about Justice in memory: Non -selective, but must be remembered all -round. “This is not just a question of historical truthfulness, but above all one humanitarian duty.“

Klagenfurt (OTS) – In response to the latest media and political debate after the events on the South Carinthian Perschmann Hof, the chairman of the Carinthian home service Andreas Mölzer expressed his deep concern for peace in the country: When an anti-fascist youth camp is under the motto on the site of a memorial for Nazi victims, "The establishment of an anti -fascist movement", want to serve, “That is able, To overcome rule and hierarchy "and the supposedly" continued fascist legacy of the Carinthian population " (So on the homepage of the Antifa) want to fight, müsse man wohl von verfassungsfeindlichen Bestrebungen ausgehen.

So far, it was assumed in the district of the Carinthian home associations, that such efforts only exist in small left -wing extremists. The somewhat critical defense of these groups in the current case, From the Federal President, About the governor, To most media, scheine aber die davon ausgehenden Gefahren doch zu unterschätzen.

You know, that of these marginalized groups, even in the past, interference against peace in the country, Like the recurring description and smearing of patriotic monuments, have expired. Man habe aber von Seiten der Heimatverbände – eben zur Wahrung des Friedens im Lande – stets nur verhalten reagiert.

If the Carinthian executives are made the beating of politics and the media because of their procedure at the Perschmann-Hof, Delicate this to the home associations great incomprehension. Auch Gedenkstätten für die Opfer vergangener Gewaltregime seien kein rechtsfreier Raum.

In this context, Mölzer pointed out, that the memorial for the victims of the Tito-Partisans on the Klagenfurt cathedral square also requires the same respect and the same sensitivity, wie dies für den Perschmann-Hof gefordert wird.

In addition, the chairman of the Carinthian home service expressed, who is still the communication- and reconciliation work of the Carinthian consensus group feels committed, His concern for the future and the continued existence of the Slovenian ethnic group in the country: If the impression increases, that a small militant edge group, as the, which organizes the Antifa camp at the Perschmann-Hof, Speak for the ethnic group, wäre der Frieden in der Kärntner Volksgruppenfrage in Gefahr.

Those forces, which would still focus on confrontation and conflict to secure the livelihood of the Slovenian ethnic group, Could turn out to be a dead grave in the long term. The continued existence of the Slovenian ethnic group, ihrer slowenischen Muttersprache und ihres kulturellen Erbes könne nämlich – so Andreas Mölzer – wohl nur in enger Kooperation und in einem positiven Miteinander mit der Deutschkärntner Mehrheitsbevölkerung gesichert werden.

Every Tuesday at 21 watch 15 on "Krone.tv“:

“The Duel”

between Andreas Mölzer & Eva Glawischnig

image: krone.tv

1. In the glowing lava of hate
2. Tito's "murderous power"
3. Genocide on the Sava
4. Mass murder in the karst caves
5. The end of the Danube Swabians

After eight years of elementary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith in Klagenfurt, um später bei den Wietersdorfer Duritwerken zu arbeiten.
However, he found his professional fulfillment at Maschinenfabrik Zimmer in Klagenfurt as head of the development department. In the course of his work he came up with several inventions, which have been protected by patents worldwide, close. In der Pension kam noch die Erfindung eines Holzverbindungssystems dazu.
His great leisure passions were environmental protection and historical research. 1983, in the impression of forest dieback and the construction of the Klagenfurt bypass, He began to get involved in the green movement and became a founding member of the VGÖ (United Greens of Austria).
The first successes occurred 1985 with a seat in the Klagenfurt municipal council. A second one was added later and finally a city council seat (2003). Thanks to him, the Green Party also went uphill in the state – 2004 Entry into the state parliament, 2013 The Greens even achieved a government mandate, 2015 - after 30 Years on the Klagenfurt municipal council, wurde sein politisches Wirken unschön beendet.
During his time on the local council, he brought in more than 1.700 applications, of which more than a third have been realized!

NATURE and HISTORY

He has also made an important name for himself as an amateur historian. Many publications in various newspapers and two books – “Klagenfurt History and Stories” – bear witness to this, Many memorial plaques and street names were his initiative. He named the settlement wall on Ulrichsberg as his most important discoveries, the aluminum forms for the Oman artworks of the Klagenfurt indoor swimming pool and the coat of arms stone of the St. Veiter Torres (is now at the beginning of Wienergasse).

22 At his instigation, natural monuments were placed under protection. As a passionate cyclist, he was very committed to expanding Klagenfurt's patchy cycle path network, he put more than himself 200.000 Kilometer am Fahrrad zurück.

As a passionate joke teller and April Fool's inventor, he never missed out on humor (a selection: 1995 – “Abduction of the Lindworm/ 1990 – “Bamboo bike for testing”/2011 – “The shot tower fell over”/2001 – “Test sitting on the Herzogstuhl”).

Bis zuletzt hielten ihn das Verfassen von Leserbriefen und das Schreiben von Artikeln zum Thema „Kärntner Abwehrkampf“ geistig fit.

Reinhold Gasper died a few days ago 86. age. He leaves behind a wife, drei erwachsene Kinder und sechs Enkelkinder.

no commemoration, nowhere?

The Bleiburg massacre was the largest war crime in Europe after the 8. May 1945. The victims were mainly Croats. Doch der Umgang damit spaltet die kroatische Gesellschaft bis heute.

By Michael Martens, Zagreb

Bleiburg is located in the south of the Austrian state of Carinthia and belongs to less than 5000 inhabitants certainly not to the places, that you must have heard of. Nevertheless, the name Bleiburg is so common, at least in Croatia, as if the small town near the Slovenian border were a metropolis of millions. After Vienna, Bleiburg is probably the Austrian town, whose name is mentioned most frequently by the Croatian media – at least every year in May. Dann jährt sich nämlich seit mehr als sieben Dekaden das größte Verbrechen der europäischen Nachkriegsgeschichte.

It is often said, the Srebrenica genocide, by troops commanded by Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladić in July 1995 more than 7000 Bosnian Muslims killed, was the largest massacre in Europe since the end of the Second World War. That is true - but only then, if the end of the war in Europe is not dated to the day of the German capitulation on 8. May 1945 dated. Because the systematic mass murder, whose story at 15. May 1945 began in Bleiburg and lasted for several weeks, übertrifft in seinen Ausmaßen das Geschehen von Srebrenica deutlich.

While Europe was officially at peace, were at the "tragedy of Bleiburg", as it is often called in Croatia, Tens of thousands of defenseless by Josip Broz's Yugoslav partisans („Tito“) murdered and buried in mass graves in Slovenia and Croatia. If there had already been an international war crimes tribunal for Yugoslavia back then, as it was later set up in The Hague, Tito should have been indicted there as supreme commander of the perpetrators and thus politically responsible for these crimes. Based on the case law of the Tribunal, wäre er dabei zu lebenslänglicher Haft verurteilt worden.

But 1945 other standards applied, at least for the victors of World War II, to which Tito belonged. Im May 1945 were tens of thousands of Croats and several thousand Slovenes, Serbs and Montenegrins fled from the partisans to Carinthia, there to surrender to the British troops. Among the refugees were many "Ustasha" - supporters of the Croatian fascist regime, that between 1941 and 1945 as an ally of the Germans around the 350.000 Menschen ermordet hatte.

The victims of the Ustasha were mainly Serbs, Jews and Roma, but also communist-minded or otherwise politically unwelcome Croats. In the Croatian concentration camp Jasenovac alone, according to the broad consensus of reputable researchers, more than 80.000 Häftlinge getötet.

Among those, who had fled to Bleiburg, were also former camp guards from Jasenovac and other Ustascha perpetrators. They hoped that the British would protect them from the revenge of the partisans. But the British, who wanted to be on good terms with their then ally Tito, sent the refugees, also women and children, back to Yugoslavia. For many it was a journey to death, they were executed without trial. Exact figures are not available, since the perpetrators in socialist Yugoslavia had almost half a century to spare, to cover their tracks and stifle any debate about the crimes. Dennoch hat sich in der Forschung in den vergangenen Jahren ein Konsens über die ungefähre Opferzahl herausgebildet.

The nationalist Croatian historian and later President Franjo Tudjman had 1989 still from about 30.000 written to those killed, who died in the course of the Bleiburg tragedy. But when he wrote that, the mass graves were still closed. The experts are now in agreement, that Tudjman's number is too low. According to the latest research, at least 70.000 people from the mass killings of May and June 1945 to the victim. The bodies were thrown into karst caves, buried in anti-tank ditches or taken to abandoned mines and walled in. Erst nach dem Zerfall Jugoslawiens konnte in Slowenien und Kroatien offen über die Verbrechen gesprochen werden.

Witnesses ventured out to the public, some perpetrators eased their conscience. Hundreds of mass graves were discovered. The largest skull site of Yugoslav communism was found in the year 1999 during construction work for a highway in Tezno, a suburb of Maribor (Marburg). Alone in a former tank ditch were on a length of 70 meters almost 1200 people buried. Overall, the mass graves not far from the second largest city in Slovenia are said to contain the remains of almost 15.000 salvage victims. Die meisten waren Kroaten.

As it was banned in socialist Yugoslavia, Even to mention the crimes of the partisans - let alone, to commemorate them publicly –, wurde Bleiburg, where the tragedy began, a place of remembrance as early as the 1950s, where at least the emigrants could come together. However, this commemoration was not unproblematic from the start. Of the 1953 officially founded "Bleiburger Ehrenzug", who organized the commemorations and the associated service, was shaped by former Ustasha fighters, die selbst in die Verbrechen des faschistischen Regimes in Kroatien verstrickt waren.

On Tuesday – The presence: The children of the war still hold the East collective under their spell. Meanwhile, the younger generations are trying, den Westen zum großen Buhmann zu machen.

That is still the crux of the commemoration today: All the victims of Bleiburg were defenseless - but by no means all were innocent. All suffered a terrible injustice, because they would have been entitled to treatment as prisoners of war under the law of the time. That many of those killed defenseless had themselves killed defenseless people, does not justify her murder, belongs to the historical context. This context was often ignored at the commemorations in Bleiburg. The dead were played down as "martyrs for Croatianness"., as irreproachable resistance fighters against communism. Your story has been told, as if she had only 1945 started. Am Rande der Veranstaltung wurden T-Shirts mit Porträts des kroatischen Faschistenführers Ante Pavelić und ähnliche Devotionalien des Rechtsextremismus verkauft.

True, it was unfair and inaccurate, to denigrate the commemoration in southern Carinthia in its entirety as "Europe's largest fascist meeting"., as some media did. That didn't do justice to the many families, who actually came to Bleiburg only in silent remembrance of their murdered relatives or ancestors. But there was definitely a right-wing instrumentalization of the meeting – and that helped those forces, die am liebsten jegliches Gedenken an Bleiburg und andere Verbrechen von Titos Partisanen unterbinden möchten.

The right-wing extremist impact of the Bleiburg meeting also resulted, that the responsible diocese of Carinthia of the commemoration event in the year 2019 refused her blessing. The trade fair near Bleiburg is politically exploited and is part of “a political-national ritual”, which serves a selective interpretation of history, it was said. The event harms the reputation of the church, could even conjure up the insinuation, the diocese "lacks the appropriate distance to fascist ideas", so die Begründung.

In Croatia, leftists cheered about the church's cross-shot against the "fascist meeting". The Croatian Bishops' Conference, on the other hand, accused the Catholic brothers in Carinthia of "disrespect for the victims".. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb denied the allegation, Fascism is celebrated in Bleiburg, als „empörende Unterstellung“.

In Croatia, many people continue to be harshly unforgiving when it comes to debates about the Bleiburg case. The question comes up, how the small country should deal with the memory of the greatest massacre, that happened in Europe after the German surrender. The right-wing extremist misrepresentation of history is just one of the problems. The reactions of the left spectrum also raise questions. Is this really the only reason certain circles are opposed to a Bleiburg commemoration?, because in the past it was often accompanied by right-wing extremist distortions and trivializations? Or they basically don't want to, that “left-wing” crimes of the Yugoslav partisans are remembered? They want to prevent it, that the image of the radiant partisan hero Tito is smeared with blood, that was shed in his name? Do they want to keep the memories of the crimes from the early days of Tito's rule out of the European memory culture?? That's what it says: no commemoration, nowhere?

The Croatian writer and columnist Miljenko Jergović, whose political stance is difficult to summarize, but he is definitely not a right-winger, distinguishes in conversation between the events of 1945 and the memory of it. What happened in Bleiburg and in Yugoslavia in May and June 1945 happened, he calls it a “mass crime” and a “terrible revenge” by the partisans. “But what is remembered on the Bleiburger Feld itself?“, he asks, answering himself: Since the fifties- and sixties would have been there, with the kind toleration of the Austrian authorities, Commemorated right-wing extremists of the fascist Ustasha regime. The organizers of the commemoration were never concerned with historical facts. “They were never interested in the truth about Bleiburg, not even for the columns, who returned to Yugoslavia from the Bleiburg field. They don't care about the victims, for their number, nor for the places and circumstances of their suffering.” Instead, that was what mattered to them, the dictator Pavelić and his Ustasha as well, But to portray Tito and the partisans as evil: “Bleiburg was neither before nor after 1990 a place of remembrance for the victims.”

At the same time, Croatia's most famous writer condemns the attempts, to put the crime into perspective. The former Croatian president and former Yugoslav socialist Stjepan Mesić has commented on the Bleiburg case 2008 said a sentence that is still controversial today: “Not a single victim in the Jasenovac concentration camp had any responsibility for the victims in Bleiburg, However, many victims of Bleiburg were responsible for the victims in Jasenovac.” He never liked this sentence, says Jergović. “In a more subtle way, he justifies one crime with another. I don't understand, why you should do that.”

Martina Grahek Ravančić, Historian at the Croatian Institute of History in Zagreb, wrote a book about the bloodshed in Bleiburg that was widely acclaimed in Croatia. It applies, she says, that there were many in the refugee column to Austria and then in the prisoner column on the way back to Yugoslavia, who took part in crimes committed by the Ustasha dictatorship. Reputable historians in Croatia did not doubt this. However, even under the law of the time, the prisoners had the right to a trial. Instead there were mass shootings. “It may not have been realistic to expect, that everyone will be brought to justice, and it is clear, that every end of war is accompanied by revenge - but the time frame, The number of victims and the programmatic implementation of the liquidations in several stages indicate this, that it wasn’t just about revenge.”

In fact, the evidence is overwhelming, that “Bleiburg” was not a case of isolated, spontaneous acts of revenge by the partisans, as it was sometimes downplayed later. Rather, everything points to a systematic one, von oben angeordnete Menschenvernichtungsaktion der siegreichen Partisanen an ihren gefangenen Gegnern hin.

However, an objective debate about this is still difficult in Croatia today. “Neither the extreme right nor the extreme left are contributing to solving this problem. None of them are really interested in what happened in May 1945, and their behavior shows no human respect for the victims.", sagt Grahek Ravančić. For many, “Bleiburg” is just a political space to defend their worldview: “They firmly believe in it, that only they have the monopoly on the truth and only their attitude is correct.”

This makes the debate more difficult, that the perpetrators of Bleiburg were never brought to justice. There was no Nuremberg for the crimes of communism. Some perpetrators could still have been charged, are Grahek Ravančić. You know, which military units were involved in the crimes, the chain of command is also known. Nevertheless, none of the perpetrators ever had to fear imprisonment or even a trial. Bleiburg remains an open wound. Dealing with the biggest war crime in Europe after 8. May 1945 spaltet die kroatische Gesellschaft bis heute.

The picture (Those: Wikipedia/Rollroboter/CC BY-SA 3.0) shows the Lenten cloth from Deutsch-Griffs. This is a one-scene Lenten veil – you can find more information about this here.

The Carinthian homeland service decides on a resolution for understanding, preservation of cultural traditions, as well as environment- and homeland security

At the well-attended annual general meeting of the Carinthian
home service (KHD), the today, on Saturday, the 11. March 2023 took place at the Gasthaus Fruhmann in Wernberg, wurde unter der Leitung von KHD-Obmann Andreas Mölzer eine Entschließung für die kommenden Arbeitsschwerpunkte des Heimatdienstes in der näheren und weiteren Zukunft beschlossen.

The resolution reaffirms KHD's commitment to reconciliation- and communication work, which is more important than ever. "Not only, when it comes to, all Carinthians of different ethnic groups into one, but also, if it
about it, to overcome the divisions in our society after the corona pandemic and in times of severe economic upheaval, KHD will continue to increase its commitment,“ so der KHD-Obmann Andreas Mölzer.

Other focal points of the resolution are the KHD's commitment to the environment- and climate protection, which at the same time also means service at home. “The preservation and protection of our Carinthian home from an ecological point of view as an intact habitat for us, our children and grandchildren is the Carinthian homeland service
a special concern", wird in der Entschließung ausgeführt.

Last but not least, the home service is also responsible for this, To preserve Carinthia's culture and traditions. This is how it is done, that the understanding of the homeland of the Carinthian homeland service “is very central to Carinthia’s own traditions, on our historically grown culture, our mother tongue and our local customs
ausgerichtet“ ist.

The resolution of the annual general meeting of the KHD can be found here here.

Also in the “Small newspaper dated 14. March 2023, reports on the decision of the KHD:

at the picture: Mayor Christian Scheider,Deputy Mayor Alois Dolinar, KHD – Honorary Chairman Josef Feldner, KD chairman Andreas Mölzer, Marjan storm , City Councilor Sandra Wassermann (v.l.n.r.)

In a very dignified ceremony, framed by the singing of a Klagenfurt choir, Mayor Christian Scheider emphasized Feldner's and Sturm's great contribution to peace in the country. Der Laudator das geehrten KHD Ehrenobmanns Andreas Mölzer zeichnete ein Bild eines für Kärnten typischen Lebensweges.
Feldner headed the Carinthian Home Service for five decades, from the days of confrontation in the 1970s to the consensus of recent times. He and Marjan Sturm made a significant contribution to pacifying the Carinthian ethnic group dispute. Die Klagenfurter Ehrung trägt dem in würdevolle Art und Weise Rechnung.