“We Will Not Close Down an Institution With Such Remarkable Cultural Accomplishments!” Education of the Blind and Partially Sighted in Graz, Kočevje, and Ljubljana Between 1914 and 1945

Abstract

Although quite a lot had been written about the history of the Centre for Education, Rehabilitation, Inclusion, and Counselling for the Blind and Partially Sighted in Ljubljana
(the Centre IRIS), we, as typhlo-pedagogues, did not know much about it. I became interested in the topic because, on the occasion of the centenary of the Institute for the Blind in 2019, only the head of the school, Josip Kobal, and his achievements in the field of the education of the blind were presented. He had worked with the blind for as little as one year.

While researching the history of the Centre IRIS, I discovered that Franica Vrhunc had been very much involved in its beginnings. Her efforts in the field of the education of the blind and visually impaired were crucial in the pivotal times during and after World War I when blind Slovenians were transferred from Austrian educational institutions to Ljubljana or the newly established Institute for the Blind there. After the Institute moved to Kočevje, Vrhunc contributed significantly to keeping this institution in Slovenia. She also played a prominent role during World War II when the blind returned to Ljubljana. Her efforts were vital for the education of the blind, and she was the first teacher to consider the question of social security
for the blind in Slovenia.