Authors

Discussion

The Second World War in Slovenia was a three-fold conflict: a world war, a civil war, and a communist revolution. Slovenia became split between the Partisans and the Home Guard. The Partisans quickly became associated with communism, while the Home Guard were armed units collaborating with the Nazi occupier.

When the war ended in 1945, the Partisans killed thousands of Home Guard in extra-judicial executions. The ideological division between the various actors of the war impacted the post-war killings. The Home Guard supported the Nazi regime, which aimed at destroying Slovenia, while the Partisans became predominately led by Communists, which changed the nature of the resistance movement. However, the Home Guard began collaborating because they feared a communist takeover more than the Nazi regime. The post-war killings of the Home Guard were done with an ideological and political purpose but also veiled behind a rhetoric of revenge and justice. This presentation will aim to explain the post-war extra-judicial killings of the Home Guard by analysing the different actors of the civil war.