Revolutionism in 1941

Abstract

On the basis of the published documents and newspapers, the author presents the degrees of revolutionism in Slovene political life in 1941. These revolutionary elements were manifested as a national revolution, in which emancipation themes such as the liberation from the occupiers, the right to self-determination and the change in the status of the Slovene nation in a future Yugoslav state were emphasized. The national liberation movement associated the national revolution with social revolution and, especially, a change in government. With this aim the Slovene National Liberation Committee (SNLC) was founded in September 1941, which embodied the emerging aspirations for a Slovene state and symbolized national self-determination. The Liberation Front programme article envisaging the unification of the Slovene nation was of revolutionary nature, as it required the change of the state borders and the liberation of the Slovene ethnic lands in Italy and Germany (Austria). This can be interpreted as the anti-imperialist policy of the LF. Its stance towards a future Yugoslav state and its structure was also revolutionary, as was its way of protecting the national liberation movement. Due to the collaboration of its adversaries with the occupiers, this gained the character of revolutionary terrorism, which manifested itself through the persecution and punishment of the occupiers' spies and informers.