The resistance of the Carinthian-Slovenian partisans and the development of its national and transnational memory in Austria, Slovenia, and Germany remain significantly under-researched, despite the fact that this movement constituted the largest and longest-lasting organised resistance against National Socialism within the borders of the German Reich and its civil administration zones. A major obstacle to research has been the fragmented preservation and limited accessibility of archival sources, resulting from both insufficient research infrastructure and persistent language barriers. Moreover, neither Austria, Slovenia, nor Germany has established a comprehensive museum exhibition or public history initiative dedicated to this resistance movement, which involved approximately 3,000 partisans and hundreds of civilian supporters.
The project addresses these gaps through four closely interconnected strands of activity:
- Building a transnational network by connecting research institutions, archives, museums, and memory organisations in Austria and Slovenia that preserve sources on the Carinthian-Slovenian resistance and seek to integrate them into research, education, and public history.
- Creating a shared digital research infrastructure by identifying, cataloguing, digitising, translating, and publishing archival sources in an open-access digital database for scholarly and public use.
- Promoting new research by encouraging and supporting early-career scholars working on the history, memory, and transnational significance of the partisan resistance.
- Writing an integrated history of resistance and remembrance that examines both the wartime experiences of the Carinthian-Slovenian partisans and the evolving politics of memory in Austria, Slovenia, and Germany.
The aim is to submit an international research proposal.
Head of Project: Peter Pirker
Duration: 01/07/2026-30/06/2029
Funding: ÖAW