The Chambers and the Associations in Slovenia 1918-1945

Abstract

The author offers a clear presentation of the compulsory organizations for the protection of professional interests, which operated in Slovenia between 1918 and 1945. These interests were protected by general and special chambers as well as the associations of merchants, craftsmen, industrialists and banking institutions. The general chambers were the Chamber of Commerce, Trade and Industry, which represented the interests of employers, the Workers' Chamber which protected those of employees, and the Peasants' Chamber safeguarding the interests of the peasantry. Apart from these, there were a number of special chambers for particular activities and professions, such as engineers, pharmacists, lawyers and notaries. Membership in these chambers was subject to special regulations, while the membership in the associations of merchants and craftsmen was regulated by the law on trade. Under the occupation during the Second World War the character of these professional organizations changed, as did the nature of their work. On the German occupied territory they were either incorporated into the system of the German commercial chambers or abolished. In the Ljubljana Province they were integrated into the Fascist system under the name of the Employers' Association, together with the Provincial Workers Association and the Farmers' Association.