Museum and Memorial Peršmanhof
Museum Memorial site Peršmanhof
Koprivna pod Peco/Koprein-Petzen 3
9135 Bad Eisenkappel/Železna Kapla
Tel: +43 4238 25060
Contact Person:
Društvo/ Peršman Association
Mag.a Gudrun Blohberger
E-Mail: [email protected]
Tel: +43 664 4891776
An imposing bronze-colored monument, beside a nondescript house, a Kaša, a utility shed and a
hunting lodge. The Peršmanhof, located in an idyllic tributary of Bad Eisenkappels/Ţeleţna kapla
— or what is left of it. More than sixty years ago this area was home to one of the region‘s largest
farmsteads — the place of residence of an extended family of fifteen consisting of grandparents,
parents, children, nephews and nieces, and an aunt. During the war years, it served as a partisan
stronghold, where whole battalions were supplied and cared for.
A few decades following the Nazi dictatorship a small museum was erected at this site for the
following reasons: the lives of the extended family were brutally ended here in the last days of the
war; only three children survived the massacre carried out by the SS and Police Regiment 13;
eleven people — of which seven were children — died; the farmstead was burnt to the ground.
At the same location a memorial would (again) be erected as the first — that is, the 1947 erected
Partisan Memorial of Völkermarkt/Velikovec — was blown up. In its full seclusion, the Peršmanhof
would become a commemorative and memorial site — presumably because it stands as the only
location that reminds of the massacre and as the only place where the Carinthian partisans story can
be remembered.
The Peršmanhof Museum
In 1981 the Association of Carinthian Partisans /Zveza koroških partizanov rented the former
residential home of the Sadovnik family and since 1982 it houses a small exhibition which presents
the following topics:
1. the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany and the expulsion policy of National Socialism
2. the resistance movement of the Carinthian Partisans
3. the persecution/expulsion/deportation of the Carinthian-Slovenians
4. the massacre of the Sadovnik family and the crimes against the civil population
5. the resistance activities in Austria (an overview)
With its anti-fascist resistance memorial, which was erected in the forecourt of the home in 1983,
the Peršmanhof represents a unique commemorative ensemble with a rich culture of
commemoration.
The Peršmanhof and the Sadovnik Family
Life as a Mountain Farmer
The Peršmanhof of the Sadovnik family was the region‘s largest farmstead until 1945. Among those
who lived here were Mr. and Mrs. Luka and Ana Sadovnik and their six children, Luka‘s sister
Katharina Dobravc (born Sadovnik) and her four children, the matron [Altbäuerin] Franziska (born
Dlopst), as well as, maidservants and farm hands. There were familial ties to the inhabitants of the
neighboring farmyards of vulgo Čemer and vulgo Peternel, and the families characteristically
offered and received help from each other. Marija Kogoj, the farmer‘s wife [Bäuerin] of the Čemer
farm, was the half-sister of Ana Sadovnik. The Peršmanhof and the Peternelhof originally belonged
together, but were divided when the farm was passed down to the brothers Luka and Anton
Sadovnik in 1932. The Peršmanhof consisted of one alpine farmyard [Almwirtschaft], at least nine
residential and farm buildings, fields, meadows, pastures, forests, and even its own blacksmith‘s
shop. Activities such as forestry, cattle, swine, and chicken farming, as well as the cultivation of
potatoes, peas, and flax seeds were typical for this region. The life of a mountain farmer was a
meager existence and labor power was essential—even the children were bound to daily heavy
labor. Owing to their busy work schedule and a long and dangerous school route, regular class
attendance was not always possible for the children of the farm.
With the commencement of the Second World War, the life of the family changed. Luka, the father,
was called into military service and the women would take over the responsibilities of the house and
the farm; as was the case with many other farms in the region. Foreign domination would also
deliver a second blow: many people from the neighborhood as well as their close relatives were
deported to work and/or concentration camps.
Beginning in the autumn of 1942, the Peršmanhof, due to its isolation and to the goodwill of the
women, became an important stronghold in the fight of the partisans. Various partisan units met at
this location and were supplied with rations and at times cared for medically. In addition, laundry
was cleaned, and information exchanged.
Supporting the partisan movement was a life-threatening danger for the occupants of the
Peršmanhof, as the risk was great to be discovered by Nazi authorities.
To be sure, Nazi authorities began performing daily and nightly checks against enemy attack and
made the assisting of partisans [―Bandenbegünstigung‖] punishable by deportation, imprisonment,
and assassination.
In the winter of 1945, Luka Sadovnik—who was afflicted with a lung disease—returned home from
the front. With the approaching of spring the War‘s end drew near. Both the family and the partisans
were optimistic and hoped that things would return to normalcy.
The Massacre at the Peršmanhof
On the 25th of April 1945 the partisans arrived at the Peršmanhof for some discussion and respite;
much like on previous occasions. Due to a complaint filed with the police that announced the
seizure of livestock by the partisans, a police action was carried out against the Peršmanhof. To the
surprise of its encamped occupants, sections of the 4th Company of the 1st Battalion of the SS and
Police Regiment 13 made its way from Globzsnitz/Globasnica to the Peršman farmstead. The police
unit overwhelmed the partisans with an unexpected gun fight thereby causing the latter to retreat
into the forests. Following the withdrawal of the police‘s largest segment, a smaller one returned to
the farmyard—for reasons still unknown today—and killed four adults and seven children of the
Sadovnik and Kogoj families. The unit then proceeded to burn the farmhouse and several other
adjoining buildings to the ground.
The victims of the massacre include the following individuals:
Franciska Sadovnik (born Dlopst; matron [Altbäuerin]) * 26.1.1868
Luka Sadovnik (Bauer) * 6.10.1906
Ana Sadovnik (geb. Haberc; farmer [Bäuerin]) * 15.06.1909
Franciska Sadovnik (daughter) *4.2.1932
Viktor Sadovnik (son) *4.4.1941
Bogomir Sadovnik (son) *25.4.1944
Katarina Sadovnik (sister of the farmer) * 25.4.1901
Albina Sadovnik (niece) *11.2.1938
Filip Sadovnik (nephew) * 20.5.1940
Stanislav Kogoj (nephew *13.11.1935
Adelgunda Kogoj (niece) *28.01.1942
Because they were left for dead by their attackers, a nephew and two daughters of the Sadovnik
family survived the assault, but with major injuries. Also present during the attack were two
children from the Kogoj family of the Čermerhof. The children had been in the custody of their aunt
as their mother had fled to the partisans, their father sent to Dachau, and a brother and a sister
detained in the youth concentration camp of Moringen and in a female concentration camp,
respectively. Both children were murdered.
The SS and Police Regiment 13
In addition to other units, the SS and Police Regiment 13 was deployed to combat the partisans in
Carinthia and in Oberkrain in 1944. The 4th Company of the 1st Battalion consisted of troops from
a variety of backgrounds; there were Germans, Hungarians, and Lithuanians, for instance. The
troops were stationed in Globasnitz/Globasnica and their assignment—which required them to take
action against the Peršmanhof—was not unusual. Indeed, they had already created a murderous trail
of destruction during their battles against the partisans and the civilian population in Russia. They
resumed their bloody handwork in Carinthia and in the neighboring Slavic regions. The killings at
the Peršmanhof were one of the last campaigns they carried out before the War‘s end.
Legal Investigations
Police first began questioning the survivors, witnesses, and perpetrators of the Peršman massacre in
March of 1946. Upon request of the Allies, the investigations were to be carried out rather urgently.
Initially, they lasted until 1949, but were resumed again in the 1960s—ineffectively, for the most
part. They did make clear, however, that the murderers were to be found amongst the members of
the SS and Police unit.
One of the accused was convicted in Budapest and faced lifelong forced labor. There is no
information, however, as to whether the verdict ever went into effect.
The Peršmanhof post-1945
With money from the orphan‘s pension and the labor power of the surviving children and others in
the neighborhood, the former Sadovnik family home was scantily rebuilt in 1945. This was done in
order to enable the children to return to their childhood home when they were of full age.
Unfortunately however, the devastated property barely yielded enough profits to make a living.
Thus, in the 1960s, Luka Sadovnik was forced to sell the once great and flourishing farm.
By contacts made through the Carinthian partisans, a buyer—a Carinthian-Slovene gunsmith from
Ferlach—was found. As part of the deal Ana Sadovnik—who, because of her invalidity, was
supported merely by a small pension—was appointed lifelong right of residence at the Peršmanhof.
It was not until 1964 that the Austrian State decided to award the surviving victims of the Peršman
massacre a one-time compensatory payment. And in the meantime—as a result of the multiple
threats that she had received—Ana Sadovnik discontinued living at the Peršmanhof.
The transformation of the Peršmanhofs into an inhabited memorial site began in 1965 with the
unveiling of a commemorative plaque—the inscription of which is written in Slovenian—and with
the site‘s first commemoration. The events took place on the 25th of April 1965, twenty years after
the massacre. The ceremonies were characterized by personalized scenes dedicated to the Sadovnik
family and by the remembrance of the final days leading up to the massacre.
It was not until ten years later—in June of 1975—that a second memorial service was held at the
Peršmanhof. What is more, the decision to have annual memorials was not reached until the
beginning of the 1980s. When they began, the services primarily took place during the development
of the Peršmanhof into a memorial site and into a historical area for learning and reflection. The
starting point came in the form of a small museum established in 1982 and the reconstruction of the
monument in Völkermarkt, which had been destroyed by explosion in 1953. Due to the political
climate in Carinthia, the monument‘s reconstruction—which commemorates anti-fascist
resistance—could not be erected at its original place. In the past, and even now, the Peršmanhof and
its museum are areas of attack for Carinthia‘s German nationalist forces. For instance, a series of
commentaries in the Krone by Ingomar Pust Mitte in the 1990s provoked a sensation. In them the
Peršman museum was described as a ―museum of lies‖ [―Lügenmuseum‖] and as a ―Foreign Body
in Kärnten‘s Countryside‖ [―Fremdkörper in der Kärntner Landschaft‖]. Furthermore, the
massacre‘s culprits, that is, the SS and Police regiment 13, were explicitly exonerated. As a result,
the partisans were themselves held responsible for the crime and a demand was made that the
‗spook‘ be ended [―ein Ende des ‗Spuk[s] um den Perschmannhof‘ [wurde] gefordert‖]. This smear
campaign had a juridical repercussion: the partisan association and Dr. Marjan Sturm sued the
Krone and the author. In the sentence hearing, the court was able to determine without a doubt that
it was ―the police unit 13 and not the partisans that were responsible for the massacre‖ [―daß für das
Massaker die Polizeieinheit 13 und nicht die Partisanen verantwortlich war‖].
As hostile as the official memory of the state of Carinthia may be in regard to the resistance fight
and the partisans (and the Peršmanhof as their central site of commemoration), the developments
made over the past two decades indicate that the Peršmanhof—and with it the history of the
resistance and the memory of the Carinthian-Slovenian victims of the National Socialist Regimes—
increasingly encroaches on the ―Austrian‖ memory. To be sure, primary schools and youth groups
from both within and outside of Austria visit the Peršmanhof, continuing education seminars take
place there, and notable Austrian politicians have made appearances at the commemoration
services.
Minority Politics before 1938
In its Austrian half, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy ensured that the nationalities in Article XIX of
the Constitution of 1867 were equal before the law. All the same, the developmental possibilities for
the Slovenian nationality were different in each Kronland. Political collaboration and cultural
development was thus hardly possible for the Slovenian nationality; this was particularly the case in
schools. After First World War began, the situation worsened after SlowenInnen fell under
unfounded suspicion of high treason.
The dissolution of the Habsburg monarchy and the defeat in the war in 1918 are inextricably bound
together. With the creation of a new state, it was now possible to have both the national and the
internal boundaries of the old Austria at one‘s disposal. Southern Slovenian troops occupied the area
which they proclaimed as national territory, but neither the new Austria nor the new Carinthia
would renounce it. The fight over the borders—named ―defense fight‖ [―Abwehrkampf‖] and ―the
fight for the northern border‖ [―Kampf um die Nordgrenze‖] in Carinthia and Slovenia,
respectively—ended in May of 1919 with the occupation of the aforementioned area by southern
Slovenian troops. But the peace conference of Paris would not rule in accordance with the outcome
of the border fights, and decided that the localization of the national border would be determined by
popular vote. This was the first time that women were included in the vote. The Slovenian
population that resided in the voting districts did not vote uniformly. Many favored the Republic
and the state of Carinthia, which had ensured the security of their national rights. The vote went to
Austria. Henceforth, the Slovenian minority in Austria came under the protection of the treaty of
Saint Germain. The protection, however, was quite modest and the policy rather unsympathetic
toward minorities. The previous promises were quickly forgotten and many wanted to divide the
Slovenian population with the term ―Windische.‖ Now more than ever, the school became the
instrument for Germanization [Germanisierung].
The homeland alliance of Carinthia [der Kärntner Heimatbund] was the guarantor of this antiSlovenian policy. With support from the German Empire, the Heimatbund pushed for an aggressive
settlement policy by German colonists in the Slovenian region Carinthia; not even the Austrian
fascist policy [austrofaschistische Politik], which was more sympathetic toward Slovenian minority,
could make changes. With the national socialist seizure of power in Austria in March of 1938, the
Carinthian Heimatbund and its leader Alois Maier-Kaibtische emerged at the center of the illegal
Nazism. The Germanization policy [die Germanisierungspolitik] was once more strengthened in
Carinthia.
The Austrian “Anschluss”:
Annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany
With the Austrian Anschluss by Nazi Germany in 1938 the German Yugoslav policy protected the
Slovenian minority in Carinthia from the worst. After the attack on Yugoslavia in 1941, however,
the Slovenian region was divided and the Karawanken border was no longer regarded as a natural
one. Carinola [German: Krain] and the Lower Styria [German: Untersteiermark] became part of the
German nation and its Kulturboden. As a result, those who were deemed impossible to be
Germanized or who were of a dissimilar political orientation were deported from the region and
their property was confiscated.
A segment of the Slovenian population complied with the rules of the National Socialists. The other
went underground to join the political and military resistance, which continued to grow stronger.
Deportations
According to the German-nationalist ideology [die nationalsozialistische Politik] Jews and nonGermans were regarded as inferior. This was also the case with Slovenians, provided that they were
seen as impossible to Germanize. Those who failed to fit the National Socialist race categories were
either, like members of the national intelligence, relocated outside the country or condemned to an
enslaved life as a ―Schutzangehöriger.‖
With the dismantling of Yugoslavia and the disbanding of German occupation in many parts of
Slovenia, the last barriers fell in the handling of Slovenians in Carinthia. Preparations for their
deportation from Carinthia were supposed to have begun in 1940, but it was not until 1941 that
Heinrich Himmler—who served as the SS Reichsführer, the Chief of the German Police, and the
Reich Commissioner for the consolidation of German Nationhood—put the mission into action. The
deportations were carried out on the 14th and 15th of April in 1942. Around a thousand of
Carinthia‘s Slovenians were brought to a holding camp in the Ebenthalerstraße in Klagenfurt—917
would be deported to Germany and detained in camps.
In the years between 1941 and 1945, a total of 63,000 Slovenians were deported from the Slovenian
regions. Approximately 17,000 escaped forced expulsion. This corresponds to about 10 percent of
the total population and represents the highest percentage of all the lands occupied by National
Socialist Germany.
The fight of Partisans
One of the first forms of resistance by the Carinthian Slovenians was their refusal to military
service. The Carinthian Slovenians fled out of or away from the German Armed Forces over the
Green Line to Yugoslavia. Many of them originated from the areas around Eisenkappel/Ţelezna
Kapla and Zell Pfarre/Sele. After the occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941, several joined the partisans
and returned to Carinthia in order to take up arms there. People such as Ivan Ţupanc-Johan from
Ebriach/Obirsko and Jozef Šorli from Lobnig/Lobnik created the first resistance cell
[Widerstandszellen] with relatives and friends of the family. While Jurij Pasterk, Karl PrušnikGašper, Franci Pasterk-Lenart, Joţef Weinzirl and Joţe Blajs took part in one of the OF‘s
(Osvobodilna fronta = liberation front [Befreiungsfront]) first village committees in Lobnig/Lobnik.
The first conflict between the partisans and German troops on Carinthian soil (in Robesch/Robeţ)
took place on the 25th of August 1942. The partisans succeeded in fending off the NS unit‘s attack;
albeit at the cost of several losses. News of the partisan victory contributed to the diffusion of the
resistance amongst the local population. During the course of 1942, the Carinthian Slovenian civil
population joined the resistance in the ranks of the fighting units of the OF.
Because the partisans fought against the National-Socialist regime, the segment of the civil
population which supported the latter was against the partisans from the very beginning. However,
the more the inevitable defeat of NS Germany and its allies appeared the more people began
distancing themselves from the NS regime. In the end, life as a partisan—hidden in the forests and
mountains—was characterized by a fight for one‘s life. The fight for survival was made possible by
a well-coordinated ground organization [Bodenorganisation], which—under great danger itself—
cared for the troops by providing nourishment, pharmaceutical drugs, and information about
particular regional and political occurrences and developments. In order to prevent taking advantage
of the emergency services that were provided, it was necessary to mutually organize the provisions.
Despite their efforts, it was not uncommon that the scarceness of provisions and the cold and wet
conditions of winter led to the complete exhaustion and death of many.
The significance of women for the PartisanInnenkampf was rather great. Women and men were
fundamentally considered equal in all matters. The individuals who took part in the struggles of the
Carinthian partisan movement were not only from Carinthia, but stemmed from several countries
and were of various nationalities. In many cases, prisoners of war camps and forced laborers
escaped and joined the resistance. Similarly, several detainees of the Loibl South and North
concentration camps were able to flee and join the partisans.
The Fight against the Partisans
From the very beginning, the fight against the partisans in the occupied regions of Slovenia was
jointly led by the SS and the Armed Forces and the Police. In the early phase, the local security
forces—that is, the Gestapo and the Gendarmerie—appeared sufficient to combat the resistance and
the burgeoning PartisanInnenbewegung. Later on the Stadt and Landwacht—instituted by the SS
Reichsführer and Chief of German Police Heinrich Himmler—came to act as the auxiliary police.
With the withdrawal of Italy from the war, the fear of the encroaching PartisanInnenbewegung
became stronger in all of Carinthia.
In August of 1944, the Police Regiment 13 was transferred to Carinthia and Oberkrain. In addition
to police officials, recruits from various countries were given admission. Members of the unit who
had participated in the Peršman massacre remained at their location in Feistritz and Beliburt until
the first days of May. The unit then relocated north in order to avoid falling into the hands of the
Yugoslavian army. After Germany‘s capitulation the unit was taken into captivity by the British.
Several stayed in Carinthia for a longer period of time; that is, until they returned to their homeland
or emigrated abroad after the proceedings against them ended.
Društvo/Verein Peršman und
Verband der Kärntner Partisanen/Zveza koroških partizanov
Als Pächter des Areals der Gedenkstätte zeichnet der Partisanenverband verantwortlich für die
Erhaltung und Pflege des Gebäudes und des Außenareals, sowie für das Museum und die Betreuung
von BesucherInnen während der Öffnungszeiten. Die Mitglieder des Partisanenverbandes sind
mittlerweile Großteils in sehr fortgeschrittenem Alter.
Im Jahr 2001 gründeten zeitgeschichtlich Interessierte und Engagierte unterschiedlicher Herkunft
(aus Kärnten, aus Wien und aus dem benachbarten Ausland) und Profession (Kunst- und
Kulturschaffende, WissenschafterInnen und LehrerInnen) den Verein der Freunde und Freundinnen
des Peršmanhofes (der Vereinsname wurde später auf Društvo/Verein Peršman geändert) mit dem
Ziel, den Fortbestand der Gedenkstätte zu unterstützen. Finanziert vom Nationalfonds der Republik
Österreich arbeitete ab 2003 ein Team von HistorikerInnen und PädagogInnen an einem Konzept
zur Neugestaltung der Gedenkstätte am Peršmanhofes, das bei der Gedenkfeier 2005 der
Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt wurde.
2009 schlossen der Partisanenverband und der Društvo/Verein Peršman einen Kooperationsvertrag,
der einerseits die Zuständigkeiten beider Organisationen klärt, andererseits festhält, gemeinsam an
der Realisierung der Neugestaltung zu arbeiten.
Demnach bleiben im Aufgabenbereich des Partisanenverbandes weiterhin die Sicherung der
Infrastruktur und des regelmäßigen Betriebes. Die Gedenkfeier wird – wie bereits seit einigen
Jahren – gemeinsam ausgerichtet. Der Kontakt zu BesucherInnen, deren Betreuung, sowie die
Konzeption (mehrtägiger) Besuchsprogramme liegen im Aufgabenbereich des Društvo/Verein
Peršman.
Öffnungszeiten und BesucherInnen
Das Museum am Peršmanhof ist in den Sommermonaten von Anfang Mai bis Ende Oktober an drei
Tagen/Woche (FR, SA, SO) und an Feiertagen von 10-17.00 Uhr geöffnet. Gegen Voranmeldung
werden BesucherInnen auch außerhalb der Öffnungszeiten durch die Ausstellung begleitet.
Erstmals wurde im Sommer 2000 eine Erhebung der Besucherzahlen durchgeführt. Weiters liegen
Zahlen aus den Jahren 2005, 2007 und 2009 vor. Waren es im Sommer 2000 100 BesucherInnen,
die den Weg zum Peršmanhof fanden, erhöhte sich die Zahl bis zum Jahr 2005 auf 250, im Jahr
2007 waren es 640, 2009 knappe 700.
Die beachtliche Erhöhung der Besucherzahlen innerhalb von kaum 10 Jahren erklärt sich daraus,
dass mit Gründung des Društvo/Verein Peršman und in Kooperation mit dem Partisanenverband
verschiedenste Initiativen gestartet wurden, der Geschichte des Peršmanhofes und von ihr
ausgehend, der Geschichte der Kärntner SlowenInnen, einen entsprechenden Platz in der
Landesgeschichte einzuräumen.
Die Zusammenarbeit mit Kunst- und Kulturschaffenden (mit Literaten, Theaterschaffenden,
Journalisten etc.) erwies/erweist sich dabei als besonders fruchtbringend. Ebenso die
Zusammenarbeit mit WissenschafterInnen, LehrerInnen und ErwachsenenbildnerInnen.
Es ist aber auch die zunehmende zeitliche Distanz, die es vor allem Menschen aus der Region
ermöglicht, sich für verschiedene Aspekte der Landesgeschichte zu interessieren und sich mit ihr
auseinander zu setzen. Denn: Kamen vor zehn Jahren noch hauptsächlich BesucherInnen, die
aufgrund ihrer eigenen Familiengeschichte eine Nähe zur Geschichte des Peršmanhofes
mitbrachten, nimmt die Zahl jener, die den Peršmanhof als Ort zeitgeschichtlicher und politischer
Bildung sehen und ihn deswegen aufsuchen, stetig zu.
Kooperationen
Der Društvo/Verein Peršman kooperiert mit Gedenkinitiativen in Österreich und dem benachbarten
Ausland. Er ist im Mauthausen Komitee Österreich sowie im vom Bundesministerium für
Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur eingerichteten Netzwerk „Nationalsozialismus und Holocaust:
Gedächtnis und Gegenwart― vertreten. Er führt/e Bildungsprojekte mit Gedenkinitiativen in
Deutschland und mit Instituten in Slowenien durch. Seit 2009 beteiligt sich die Gedenkstätte
Peršmanhof in Kooperation mit der Galerie Vorspann und dem Forum Zarja (beide in Bad
Eisenkappel/Ţelezna Kapla) an der Langen Nacht der Museen. Weiters kooperiert der Verein mit
regionalen Kunst- und Kultureinrichtungen.