"…Grobovi so zravnani in zaraščeni." (Seznam grobov sovražnikovih vojakov padlih iz časa 2. svetovne vojne na območju občine Ilirska Bistrica)

Author(s): Mitja Ferenc / Language(s): Slovenian / Issue: 1/2004

Julija letos me je poklical višji kriminalistični inšpektor Pavel Jamnik, ki na Generalni policijski upravi (GPU) vodi akcijo "Sprava". Slišal je za dogovarjanja o izkopu okoli 1500 nemških vojakov v Ilirski Bistrici in spraševal, če sem morebiti seznanjen s to informacijo. Ko sva poizvedovala na Sektorju za vojna grobišča na Ministrstvu za delo, družino in socialne zadeve (Ministrstvo za delo), sva med drugim izvedela, da naj bi na Upravni enoti Ilirska Bistrica hranili dokument, na katerem naj bi bil poimenski seznam okoli 1500 padlih nemških vojakov. Za izkop več deset nemških vojakov iz grobišča zasebnika v okolici Ilirske Bistrice naj bi se dogovarjalo podjetje Veking iz Celja. To je sicer podjetje, ki na temelju sporazumov med Slovenijo in Nemčijo ter Slovenijo in Italijo izvaja prekope nemških in italijanskih vojakov na ozemlju Slovenije. Izkop v Ilirski Bistrici bi po dogovorih že moral biti opravljen, a so ga preložili na 22. julij. [...]

"Bleiburg" and the British Treatment of Croatian Collaborators 1945-48

Author(s): Bernd Robionek / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

This article highlights ways in which British military and political personnel acted towards Croatian refugees fleeing the Communist takeover in the final stages of World War II and thereafter. Although events relating to the surrender o f various pro-German and anti-Communist forces at Bleiburg, a town in south Austria near the border with Yugoslavia, and the following quarrel over "war criminals" from Yugoslavia is a complex affair, this contribution examines sources shedding light on British perspectives on the Croatian part, notwithstanding that the developments and problems treated here also affected Serbian, Slovenian and (ethnic) German nationals. As a result of this study, the changes in the intentions of the decision makers in London as well as the principal-agent problem become transparent.

"Continuities and discontinuities. Educational program of The Planned Parenthood Association in Krakow (1957 – 1993)"

Author(s): Barbara Klich-Kluczewska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2014

The article presents the program of sexual education prepared and offered by Krakow Branch of the Planned Parenthood Association in the wider context of socio-political situation in Krakow (1956 – 1989). Since the beginning of the Association’s existence, the special attention was paid to the development of educational program, which concerned the different aspects of „family life“. The article is going to answer the questions about its goals, the educational tools used to achieve them and its social targets. To accurately determine the position of the Association in the city‘s community I will analyse its foundation and activities in wider context of the pre-war traditions of the organisation and the activities regarding premarital counselling undertaken by the Krakow Catholic Church.

"Demokracija je počela" - demokratski izbori u Općini Bjelovar 1990.

Author(s): Željko Karaula / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 2/2008

The downfall of the communist system in Europe in 1989, during a peoples’ awakening of a kind, was very soon reflected upon the events occurring in Socialist Yugoslavia, where the Yugoslav Communist Union had, until that time, exercised absolute power. Under the pressure of the communist system having fallen down in Eastern Europe, the true power takeover happened in 1990, when – after the introduction of a multi-party system – the Communist Union disappeared from the Croatian political scene. Referring to and based upon articles from local newspapers, publications issued by political parties and other written sources, the author notes how hard the way to democracy had been and indicates to the emergence of political parties in the area of the then Bjelovar Municipality. The paper presents the election results in the Bjelovar area in detail.

"Gepredigt wird an einem Sonntag sächsich, am anderen deutsch. Die Predigtsprache der evangelischen Kirche A.B. in Siebenbürgen im 19. Jahrhundert.

Eine Übersicht aufgrund der Protokolle der Gesamtkirchenvisitation von Bischof G.D. Teutsch in den Jahren 1870-1888

Author(s): Gerhild Rudolf / Language(s): German / Issue: 59/2016

Both the German language and the Evangelical A. C. (meaning Lutheran) confession are constitutive components of the identity of the autochthon minority of the Transylvanian Saxons. During Reformation in the 16th century, Latin was replaced by the vernacular languages, which for the Germans in Transylvania was the Saxon dialect. In the middle of the 19th century a change occurred from Transylvanian Saxon to standard German as the language of sermon. This change took place gradually and at a slow pace. The Reports of Bishop Georg Daniel Teutsch on his General Church Visitation during the years 1987–1888 give evidence about this process, which is most interesting from the sociolinguistic viewpoint. The present paper investigates the bishop’s Reports, looking for Teutsch’s comments on the use of languages in the evangelical church and bundles the conclusions of the Saxon church leader.

"Panský dům" v Týnci nad Labem: vzestupy a úpadky jednoho domu

Author(s): Michael Rykl / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 2/2016

The study of small-town houses is not a very common topic among researchers. The analysis of the development of the historical house "Panský dom" (literally house of nobility) in the town of Týnec nad Labem has been highly informative. The aim of the article is to show the individual development phases of house construction according to research into material and written sources. Reconstructions, the building use, as well as individual structural changes can be analysed from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century.On the basis of the research performed, it can be stated that the use and purpose of the building changed with each new owner, related to his social status (suzerain house; inn; house of reeve and aristocratic officers; uninhabited; house of a noble with a regular income that led to the construction of a dance hall; semi-agrarian farmers; the transformation to an apartment building and hotel; bakery; etc.). The function of the courtyard also adapted to the desires of the new owner and the quality of life the residents changed accordingly. The quality of life of its residents illustrates the ability to exploit the potential for the house (including loft, farm buildings in the courtyard, etc.), to express the fashion and trends of the particular period. The vision of the owner, the structural possibilities and especially the methods of modification that embody the fashion of the particular period can be appropriately illustrated. Individual structural modifications describe the ambitions and situation of the owners.In this case, it is not a "great" history, but it is a study of the traces of life left in the house that surrounded its owners. At certain points, general history overlaps with the micro-history of "Panský dom" and together they influenced the form of house construction. The research identified several building phases and reconstructions when the modus operandi accurately corresponded with the social status of the owners. The informative value grows from the early periods to the later periods, in proportion with the number of written sources, as well as the material source – the house itself.

"Rabovačky" v závere prvej svetovej vojny a ich ohlas na medzivojnovom Slovensku

Author(s): Miloslav Szabó / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 2/2015

In the last days of the First World War soldiers returning home, along with civilians, attacked representatives of the Hungarian state and wealthy individuals, especially Jews. They expelled them from their homes and looted them, or they simply destroyed their property. In some places regular Hungarian troops executed the leaders of these rioters. This study seeks to offer an alternative to the prevailing interpretation of the looting, which emphasize the social or ethnic motivations of the economically and nationally oppressed Slovak rioters. Instead, it examines the reversal of the perpetrators and victims that was carried out not only immediately after the looting had occurred, but repeatedly throughout the whole interwar period. This is to be seen as an expression of the growing anti-Semitism, because the Jews were ultimately accused of the murder of allegedly innocent Slovaks.

"Spokojni ludzie" z Hołdunowa

Author(s): Ryszard Kaczmarek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2017

The gloomy events ended with burning down of some buildings, and since then, Hołdunów has been shown as the evidence of the insugrents’ lawlessness for decades to come.

"Substantial progress has taken place in [the]United States-Rumanian relations": The Road to Upgrading the Level of Diplomatic Missions from Bucharest and Washington 1961-1964

Author(s): Letitia Sandu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2018

This study represents an analysis of the United States-Romanian relations during 1961-1964, focusing on the background process that led to the elevation of diplomatic missions to embassy status in June 1964. Primarily based on documents from the American and Romanian archives, it reveals the path to diplomatic ties’ improvement during the Kennedy years and the Johnson Administration’s first year. While Romania was seeking to distance itself from the Moscow’s economic and political control and to strengthen its domestic and foreign position, the United States started to reexamine her relations with the satellite – countries from Eastern Europe. In this regard, the study explains how the US’ perception toward Romania started to change, what gestures and actions influenced this change and how the bilateral relations registered progress amidst Cold War crises and international tensions.

"Terzijarija". Tajna sistematskog obogaćivanja bokeljskih pomoraca

Author(s): Pavao Butorac / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 04+05/1934

Бокељски трговци држали су се, као и млетачки, начeла слободне трговине. Само што ово начела несамо да није било у сукобу са захтјевима трговачке солидарности, неrо ју је учвршћивало, будући да се ју у праксу проводило управ зато да се онемогуће насиља гусара уопће, а Турака у арбанашкоме приморју понапосе.

"Vráťme si mesto!" Prejavy nespokojnosti "mestského občana" v politickom diskurze v Prešove 1918 - 1938

Author(s): Veronika Szeghy-Gayer / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 2/2015

The paper aims to provide an analysis of the politics of two local interest groups of Prešov, the so-called city parties, as specific forms of middle class dissatisfaction in the interwar period. Based on contemporary election results and archival sources, the first part of the study examines the political behaviour of the inhabitants of Prešov between 1920 and 1935, which helps to determine to what extent the city parties were popular among the multilingual and multi-religious voters. The second part investigates the social composition and the political discourse of the city parties. These local political groups were supported by 10-12% of the voters. Most of their followers were organized among the liberal middle classes, who were not able to identity with the politics of the big parliamentary parties. Their members defined themselves mainly against the Communist and Catholic movement. However, they also criticized the measures of the Czechoslovak government. And at the level of discourse they expressed dissatisfaction with the domestic policy of Czechoslovakia in the form of a virtual community of city burghers, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. It is argued that because of the high percentage of Hungarian and Jewish intellectuals and entrepreneurs among the leaders and supporters of the local parties, this type of local politics might have been an alternative to the Jewish and Hungarian national politics at a local level.

"Zelené kádry" jako radikální alternativa pro venkov na západním Slovensku a ve středovýchodní Evropě 1917 - 1920

Author(s): Jakub Beneš / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 2/2015

This article explores the phenomenon of the ‘Green Cadres' at the end of the First World War in Austria-Hungary, with a focus on events in western Slovakia 1918-1920. The Green Cadres were bands of army deserters and radicalized peasants who hid in the forests and mountains of the monarchy during the last year of the war and then violently attempted to topple the social-political order in many localities as the state collapsed. The article suggests that they represented both the last major episode of peasant unrest in the region and a radical new attempt by the rural common people to influence the character of national and social politics in the interwar period. The nationalist dimension of this loose social movement appears to have been particularly strong in western Slovakia and may indicate some affiliation with the leaders of Slovak Catholic populism. On the other hand, the inability of nationalist elites to coopt the Green Cadres was in part responsible for their marginalization in narratives of Czechoslovak liberation as well as in contemporary historiography. On the basis of sources in Slovak, Czech, Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, and German, this study argues that the Slovak case of the Green Cadres fits into a broader transnational phenomenon, which sheds new light on the history of East Central Europe in the twentieth century.

"Свешената книга" в романовата структура на "Хайка за вълци" от Ивайло Петров - релации и трансформации

Author(s): Zapryan Kozludzhov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Ivailo Petrov's novel 'Wolf Hunt' is a dramatic saga with a story covering a long and contradictory period of Bulgarian history, from the first years after World War II to 1965. The fates of Ivan Shibilev, Mona Zhendo, Kalcho, Nikolin, Stoyan Kralev and their sons and daoughters intertwine and grow apart in passions and conflicts. This book is the story of people who are born during a totalitarian regime or die, frequently because of what they love. The hunt is the symbol of their thirst for revenge, the Old Testament 'an eye for an eye', with the outcome/redemption being presented as a pain of the soul caused by the loss of human happiness. The study discusses the presence of biblical motifs and images and the manner in which the author of the novel works with them. The moral categories through which each individual considers his/her life are skilfully woven in the book by the careful use of biblical symbols and messages. The characters in 'Wolf Hunt' fully experience the passions and sufferings of the Old Testament characters, thereby redeeming the original human sin.

"Скорозрейно" и "нетрайно" ли е българското развитие?

Author(s): Hristo Matanov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

This paper analyses the critically well-known thesis of Prof. Peter Moutafchiev about the raises and falls in Bulgaria's development. We know that, counting the studies of the Russian scholar Alexander Hilferding, Prof. Moutafchiev came to the conclusion that Bulgaria's development was erratic and did not have periods of "peace" - everything featured rapid progress and equally rapid decline and crises. The Bulgarian scholar cited Serbia as an example of slower for more regular progrss. The author attempts to question the general validity of this opinion. First of all, it was dedicated by the historical period in which Prof. Moutafchiev lived and worked. Then Bulgarian history itself was transmitted under the influence of the notion that it consisted of a series of successes and failures. Serbia could hardly be a comparison factor as the main sources about its development are the vitas of its rulers written by their sons and close relatives. Third, there are hardly societies and countries on a European or world scale that have not been subject to the "historical sine" of which Moutafchiev speaks. The author of the article appeals for abandoning the romantic approach in reconstructing the Bulgarian past, which demands rapid events with a fatal outcome. Instead, he offers a narration based on Fernand Braudel's idea of continuity and longue duree.

"Я перш за все думав про українську культуру…": Володимир Олександрович Щепотьєв

Author(s): Lyudmila Babenko / Language(s): Ukrainian / Issue: 2/2015

The article reveals the lifespan and professional activity of a well-known poltavian, professor VolodymyrShchepotiev. He is highly acknowledged in history as a talented pedagogue, who experienced the growth from a teacher of the Ukrainian literature to the professor, rector of Poltava institution of Folk Education. Being a person with encyclopedic knowledge, as well as being keen on the history of the Ukrainian language and folklore V. O. Shchepotiev applied the folklore patterns and samples in his work. V. O. Shchepotiev was a talented scholar, researcher, and organizer of scientific lifestyle of the region. He wasthe first who initiated establishing of Poltava scientific society, was on good terms with Ukrainian Academy of Science in Kiev, as well as with scientific establishments in Kharkiv. He was the one who organized and subsequently maintained the regional archive while systematizing documents and ordering personal archives. Professor initiated the onset of local history investigations. He personally headed the department of folklore and language in regional museum and at that time he developed the structures of expositions, and systematized the museum collections. He would numerously visited the villages of Poltava to discover historical and cultural as well as ethnographical items and to convert them into museum display objects. V. O. Shchepotiev played an extremely significant role in establishing and developing the theatre and music arts in Poltava region. He was in charge of one of the part of Poltava drama theatre and was one of the talented stage director. He gave his educational lectures to people before the concert programs of the choir "Boyan" which were devoted to folklore and local history. The contemporaries would estimate V. O. Shchepotiev’s music talent, who wrote music compositions, played different music instruments. He, ultimately, was the first who started the scientific investigation of M.V. Lysenko’s biography and creative heritage. The translations of poetry and prose from French, Polish, in particular the poetry by Beranger, libretto for several operas composed an integral part of his literary heritage. His creative and scientific activity was broken down with political repression of the power of the Soviet Union. He was arrested and convicted to administrative exile according to a trial case of SVU and afterwards he was shot away in 1937.

(Mis)Understanding Russia’s Two ‘Hybrid Wars’

Author(s): Mark Galeotti / Language(s): English / Issue: 49/2018

Formulations such as ‘hybrid war’ that have been used to try and explain Russia’s political campaign against the West have political utility but little scholarly relevance. Apart from the fact that the Russians themselves see gibridnaya voina as a Western approach used against them and their allies, the term also conflates two distinct, even if overlapping Russian concepts. To the military, such non-kinetic means as subversion, hacking, disinformation and sabotage are instruments with which to prepare the battlefield, as in Crimea. However, to the national security establishment, they are an alternative to direct military operations, and it is this kind of ‘political war’ that is being waged on the West. Understanding this distinction is crucial for a proper appreciation of the nature of the challenge and the most effective means with which to resist it.

(Не)познатият език: Гергьовден при бесарабските българи

Author(s): Svetlana Georgieva / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 1/2019

Folk-calendar terminology is an expression of the national specificity of cultures. This makes its studying promising within the framework of the tendencies for ‘European-style thinking’ which have emerged since the beginning of the 21st century. The article examines St. George’s Day customs and rituals in their ethnolinguistic aspect. G’erg’ewd’en (Vch, Cub, Chsh), G’ergyovd’en (A, G, Kam, Dl, Z), G’ergyochd’en (A) , G’ergyouud’en(Kr), Gyorguvd’en (Kul), Gyorguud’en (R), Gerg’ofden (Cyr), G’argyovd’an (DN), Gergiuden (Or) – the largest and richest – in a ritual sense – spring religious vestive-ritual complex of the Bessarabian Bulgarians, which is celebrated on the 6th of May (on the 23rd of April old style) and is dedicated to the Christian saint George, who is – in the folk tradition – the protector of shepherds and flocks. The paper attempts to systematize and explore the peculiarities of the cultural dialect associated with St. George’s Day ritual sequence.

(Не)разбирането на двете „хибридни войни“ на Русия

Author(s): Mark Galeotti / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 47/2017

Formulations such as 'hybrid war' that have been used to try and explain Russia's political campaign against the West have political utility but little scholarly relevance. Apart from the fact that the Russians themselves see gibridnaya voina as a Western approach used against them and their allies, the term also conflates two distinct, even if overlapping Russian concepts. To the military, such non-kinetic means as subversion, hacking, disinformation and sabotage are instruments with which to prepare the battlefield, as in Crimea. However, to the national security establishment, they are an alternative to directmilitary operations, and it is this kind of 'political war' that is being waged on the West. Understanding this distinction is crucial for a proper appreciation of the nature of the challenge and the most effective means with which to resist it.

(С)поделена природа? Природно наследство и местно развитие в един регион от българо-сръбското пограничие

Author(s): Ivaylo Markov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 1/2017

The article is focused on a border region between Bulgaria and Serbia which is geographically dominated by Ruy Mountain (whose ridge is the boundary between Bulgaria and Serbia) and the valley of Erma river forming two huge defiles along its way in this mountainous region – the Lomnishko defile (in Bulgaria) and the Poganovsko defile (in Serbia). The micro region (from natural and geographical point of view) shared until 1919 several cultural, social and economic characteristics (from an anthropological point of view), thus forming a common historical and geographical entity. The demarcation of the boundary between Bulgaria and Serbia as a result of the Treaty of Neuilly split the region between the two countries. The border regime, which was rigid and impermeable through the whole second half of the 20th century, made the zones on the both sides of the border well guarded, but industrially underdeveloped periphery. With the opening of the border in the period after 1989 and especially with the intensification of the European integration processes the character of the Bulgarian-Serbian border is undergoing changes and is gradually turning into a bridge for diverse trans-border initiatives. A great deal of these initiatives are connected with the well preserved ecology of the region, which is evaluated at present as a treasure by the local authorities and communities who believe it to be an important resource and instrument for the overcoming of the peripheral position of the region.

1 DECEMBRIE 1918 ÎN MANUALE DE ISTORIE ȘI GEOGRAFIE DIN PERIOADA 1919-1945

Author(s): Marian Zaloaga / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 21/2018

In my article I discuss the role of the textbooks in shaping the historical consciousness of the pupils in the Romanian school system during interwar years. I concentrate on the way in which, by means of school curricula December 1, 1918 was imposed as a lieux de mémoire in the consciousness of the future Romanian state citizens. Although, I elaborate mostly on selected textbooks used during the interwar time, I go beyond these chronological confines and refer to the textbooks during communist era and to those published during postcommunist. My choice is motivated by the awareness that school textbooks were/are often used as political tools in building a national cleansed and official historical narrative. Implicitly, regime change brings mutations or at least variables when an historical event was/is interpreted, hence, revealing the influence of ideologies in shaping the reconstruction and the dissemination of the knowledges concerning the past of any national community. By crossing the interwar chronological borders, I would be able to highlight how authoritarian manifestations of political power, notable in all regimes I will refer to, tend to privilege a monolithic interpretation of the historical event(s). The simplest way to establish control was through the replacement of a variety of didactic literature with a unique textbook. As I show, this tendency is not linked, as generally expected, to the communist regime but has its antecedents in the 1940’s. Since it reflects upon December 1, 1918 in the context of the celebration of its centenary, my article has a retrospective character. By crossing over the chronological borders, as stated in the title, I hope to highlight some long-term trends, which can be identified at the level of the narratives proposed and their obvious or possible political connotation. Most of the explanatory patterns emerged during interwar period and became recurrent, at least in some respects. The most obvious were the poignant teleological view and the plebiscitary character of the December 1st, 1918. Both features can be traced in interwar, communism and post – communism textbooks. Certain actors as well as specific explicative factors involved in the narrative around the event appear and reappear in close relation with the ideological agenda of the political regimes experienced by Romania during the last 100 years. Admittedly, not all the timespans are covered proportionately when it comes to the discourse analysis of the textbooks. This coerced me to practice an asymmetrical comparison, methodological approach theorised by the social historian Jürgen Kocka. Thus, I rely on the results provided by the secondary bibliography dedicated to the analysis of the communist and post - communist textbooks and relate their results to the pedagogical productions published during interwar time, which, as stated in the title, represent the core documentary material of my demonstration. Therefore, I emphasize the argumentative paths visited in specific textbooks and, where possible, I discuss the public debates they (have)/generated, or, eventually, compare the discourses promoted in textbooks with those visited in contemporary press. In this way, one may gain a better sense about the central role of the textbooks in shaping the historical consciousness of the masses. I could also examine the continuities and discontinuities in the views dissiminated by means of these didactical materials and how they could be shared by different generations. Finally, my study can reveal the consensus or eventual disparities when it comes to the meaning and significance attributed to an event at the level of national historical narrative which had to periodically be reshape as a consequence of the pressures exercised by the change in the political regimes.