Jože Možina: “What happened to me is that I wrote the book Slovenski razkol (The Slovenian divide) about our history during the time between the Wars, but when I started paying attention to current events, it gave me a painful feeling that the ideology, which was based on a lie and was the cause for such a bloody and unfair past, is on the rise again. Many readers have also brought this to my attention. Every crisis is an opportunity for them.”
It was a Sunday evening, January 26th of this year, in the parish hall in Brezovica, where we were waiting, with a number of visitors with some still arriving, for the launch of the book Slovenski razkol (The Slovenian divide). The room was very crowded, people were bringing extra chairs from somewhere, and the crowd grew bigger until some people were standing right in front of me. There was something special in the air, something almost solemn. In front of me, I could see the pleasant faces of the elderly, the young, even some adolescents were waiting for me to “plant” the first word, and beside me stood the local priest. And in that moment, a beautiful butterfly, a large, colorful, spring creature, with a black, red and white pattern, for which we can read in the literature that it usually only appears in May, floated from behind my back to the crowd. We were all amazed, and someone exclaimed: “Look, spring is coming!”
The spell had been broken
Much like the surprising arrival of the butterfly, my book, The Slovenian divide, the result of 20 years of research, collecting materials and testimonies, a monograph for which dr. Mitja Ferenc wrote that this was the book we had been waiting for, for decades, recently came to see the light in the Slovenian public. Ferenc’s words turned out to be prophetic. The first edition was gone in six days, the second one was gone in a similar time frame, and the third one was no longer available at the bookstores a week after it was published, but as the author, I retained part of the books for the presentation. The invitations from people asking me to present my book were piling up. After the first presentation, in Kosovel’s Hall of the Cankarjev dom, when the outside observers were particularly shocked by the high number of attendees, as part of the crowd remained outside of the hall, it was becoming clear that something special was happening. Something rarely seen and worthy of respect, but not because of the author, perhaps only indirectly. The main thing, the main reason for the people to be there, was the great Theme of the book – the highly anticipated truth about the Slovenian divide that happened between the two Wars, which is covered up with thousands of lies and even more innocent corpses. It had been waiting for decades to come to light in this form.
This winter, the spell had been broken for many people who, by reading the book or attending the presentations, were given the opportunity to see, recognize and reinforce the truth of the most fatal and bloodthirsty period of Slovenia’s recent history, which paved the way for the great divide in our nation, which runs throughout the post-war period and continues to this day. The makers of it, those who started the fire of the divide, have never been interested in the fact that by dividing the members of the nation, both living and dead, into “ours” – privileged, and “others” – silenced, humiliated; the valuable uniting energy that raises the nation’s cultural and wealth levels and helps us all survive during trying times, is being lost. And the current situation with the infectious virus is a very trying time for us all. It is quite clear, and the instincts of a man with common sense confirm this, that the path to progress and unity leads only through the true image of history, because our reality is built on it …
A malicious mentality as a persistent virus
It quickly became clear that such a strong echo and success of the book were caused by the fascinating facts and documents that can be seen in the book for the first time ever, and also by the fact that the work speaks of history, but one that is still so alive and painful, that it actually speaks of the present. That is why there were not only a few dozen people at the presentations of the book, but several hundred, and extra seats had to be set up almost everywhere. The invitations were piling up, many of which I declined or postponed, we were running out of books, we postponed the presentations and planned them for February, March, April, May, June, even for the fall. We managed to hold some of them: from Ljubljana and Maribor to Gorica and Kranj, many places that are suffering, such as Dobrepolje, Brezovica, Škocjan … We were running out of space everywhere, so many people came; this was something special, a very blessed time, I cannot put it into words. Meeting hundreds of people, having hundreds of conversations while signing their books, all of which stay with me forever. I have experienced contact with the genuine Slovenian soul, suffering, and, at the same time, persistent, unwavering in search of the truth. The virus that came from China has stopped all of our presentations, as well as almost all aspects of our lives and work. But all of this is temporary. The epidemic has really shaken us up, and it is threatening, but when it passes, I will get back on my feet and get back on my way to visit many Slovenian places.
In spite of the crisis and precisely at its outbreak, with the reactions of some of the politicians and the media, it has become perfectly clear that covid-19 will pass, but the problems of the ideological damage that was done to the value essence of our nation and the malicious mentality that came with it will remain. Sort of like a persistent virus that killed, shut down, intimidated, harassed, and divided during the war and after it, and it continues to intimidate, instigate violence and divide, regardless of the damage and the casualties that come with it and pose a threat to everyone. It blames others for what it does itself. It warns of authoritarianism and violence from the opposing, now ruling side of the politics, even though they themselves came to power with violence and continue to worship the biggest bullies.
The people who lied the most, have the biggest monuments in the capital
A colleague of mine, a university professor, wrote to me a few days ago, and regarding the current conflictive politics in Slovenia, he asked: “Haven’t these people learned anything from your book yet?!” I got chills because I have also noticed the threatening anti-Slovenian parallels in the words and actions of quite a few politicians and the media who all uncritically worship the revolutionary ideology. The times of the 1941/1942 were completely different from 2020, but certain phenomena, especially the ideological mentality, based on lies and propaganda, are threateningly being repeated. And it begs the question: is the extremely perverse mentality that led the Slovenian Communists in the years after the outbreak of was really coming back? At the time, they saw the foreign occupation as an opportunity, and at the time of national distress, they fanatically attacked the Slovenian democratic side, which did not expect it, least of all, from its fellow countrymen. Thus, for months, it was completely hesitant, and the Communists tried to compromise it in public as much as they possibly could, with murders and nasty propaganda. The resulting casualties, which grew on all sides because of the Communist action, did not stop the revolutionaries from following their subversive intentions. This is presented in shocking detail in the book The Slovenian divide, based on the newly discovered documents and testimonies. And what I wish to point out is: many parts of history can be used to understand the present.
The Communists lived in their own world of ideological deception, but their leaders knew it was a lie; after all, they experienced it themselves in the Soviet Union, but without a second thought, they continued to deceive and lie to people, thus directly damaging the nation. The people who lied the most, have the biggest monuments in the capital, and in direct contradiction with common sense – they still have many imitators in politics, media, culture … Often occupying leadership and privileged positions.
The consequences of the negative personnel choices
The negative, ideologically driven personnel choices and juggling with new faces in politics, even at a time when the fragile, young Slovenian democracy has started to crumble, are bringing less and less capable people to the key positions. The dominant media, with their uncritical support, kept them afloat, but as soon as any small trial came, they were washed away to the political underground. This devastating model of generating marionettes in leadership positions, which help maintain the deep state, has proven to be extremely dangerous in the face of the current epidemic. Former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec’s general political vision of the left, concentrated in the slogan “as long as it’s not Janša,” clouded his judgment to the point when he, along with the media that followed, made a number of fatal mistakes and omissions, all on behalf of his mentors. He ignored the suggestions and warnings of doctors, SDS champion, and the opposition media; instead, along with the dominant media, he underestimated the threat that the pandemic represented for Slovenia. In the end, he gave up, left, and with his resignation, led the deep state’s elite to bankruptcy, but more importantly, both Šarec, as well as the deep state, abandoned Slovenian citizens.
After the winter holiday, Slovenian tourists were returning from Italy without any control (unlike the Croatian ones) and brought covid-19 to many places in Slovenia, it was already too late for a more effective containment of the virus, which could have saved many lives. Slovenia was late with its measures, thanks to the media-constructed new faces and the damage already is and will continue to be, indescribably big. Even on the global scale, the consequences of the pandemic are so unpredictable, that we can only hope that individual parts of the world, even Europe, do not fall into chaos and violence, deprivation, even famine or, consequently, the accelerated beginning of the end of the European civilization.
What really worries the far left?
Slovenia and the world will soon be faced with a trial that we have not seen since the Spanish flu that happened one hundred years ago. With one difference – we now have much more than we had after World War I, and as a society, we are much less sturdy and incomparably less willing/prepared to have less. The times ahead of us will be very challenging. Nothing can compare the threat to security and life that happened after World War II and the revolution. So the period ahead of us is in great need of smart leadership, closeness, and active support for everything, including the new Government, which is facing a threat responsibly. And this is where the extreme part of the left comes into play, with its influential media support, which has been trying to overthrow the government from day one. The same Government that has been extremely busy with trying to solve what the left themselves have messed up, taken, and then escaped from the scene of the crime. We do not know of any country where similar things are happening. From the words and actions of many, it seems obvious that the main concern of the extreme left is not the fight against the virus, but the attack on the barely-established Government, which is thus fighting two battles at the same time. And in this fight, starting from the first hour of the new Government, all means are allowed, including lies, and especially incitement and manipulations. The Slovenian left is not afraid of the possibility that Janša’s Government would fail; they are afraid that the Government will be successful. That is the reason for all the obstacles, media lynching, and propaganda. And therein lies the great perversity of their operation during this critical time. I remember that Kardelj once let it slip that in the wake of the possibility of an attack by the Axis forces on Yugoslavia, the Communists obstructed the Royal Government’s connection with the Western allies. To them, the revolution was more important than the salvation of the country.
The extremists want to compromise the Government and attack it again
In the face of such actions, I am drawn to the parallels with the time that The Slovenian divide deals with. This is an aggressive mindset that does not choose the means for its domination and presents an actual danger to democracy and the well-being of us all. How else can we understand the opposition to the involvement of the Slovenian Armed Forces in the protection of the southern border, where a new wave of migrants is coming to our country? The involvement of the Armed Forces would relieve the police, which is urgently needed to control the fight against the virus in our country. The arguments against the involvement of the Slovenian Armed Forces are based on lies; the extremists are aware of this, but they continue to lie. Just like their role models did during and after the war. They say that: they are worried about the possible militarization of our society and the restraining of democracy, all the while proclaiming themselves the proud successors of the Communist Party of Slovenia (Komunistična partija Slovenije – KPS), a party that was able to do everything it did, especially all that was evil, through dictatorship and extreme militant violence. Of course, they are not worried about the presence of the Slovenian Armed Forces at the southern border, which at most, give citizens a sense of security. They want to hinder the efforts to block the south border; they want to hinder the protection of our country. They want to put the Government in an even more difficult position, compromise it, and then attack again. These are their intentions, taking into account the parallels with the turning point of World War II, as revealed in the book The Slovenian divide. The chances of them succeeding are smaller this time. Partly, thank God, also because many have read and understood this book.
A time for civic courage
What happened to me is that I wrote the book The Slovenian divide about our history during the time between the Wars, but when I started paying attention to current events, it gave me a painful feeling that the ideology, which was based on a lie, that was the cause for such a bloody and unfair past, is on the rise again. Many readers have also brought this to my attention. Every crisis is an opportunity for them. This is an extreme and ruthless mentality that fatally divided the Slovenian nation during the war and afterward. In times to come, behavior and a timely recognition of this mentality will be required. Much more timely civic courage will also be needed in order to prevent this from happening again. There is no need to think about it, let’s fill the time in which we live with a loud presence so that the authentic Slovene and Christian values that shaped this nation won’t die. We all need to make an effort and try to ensure that the butterfly that had emerged in the middle of the winter evening in Brezovica will continue to fly on, all the way to the ripe spring, which is his time.
Jože Možina, Družina