Abgeschickt von J. Tschinkel am 01 Januar, 2003 um 18:11:55
Antwort auf: Re: More on AVNOJ von Beobachter am 29 Dezember, 2002 um 20:03:51:
Dear Jim,
On a re-read of your letter I realized that it might have been written by the
AG. If not in fact, certainly in spirit.
You chastise me for "one sided attacks". But you really chastise me for speaking out against the line disseminated by the AG for the last 40 years. You dutifully repeat this line by stating their reasons why we left and what would have happened had we stayed. And, in typical fashion, words fail you when it comes to relevant current issues where suddenly you are not "sufficiently versed".
You, like most descendants are not aware of (or wish to acknowledge) the persuasion of the individuals who have been crafting and disseminating this line through the Gottscheer Zeitung since its publication resumed in 1955 in Klagenfurt. It's first Editor Fritz Högler, was against re-politicizing the paper and was replaced in 1962. His replacement was Herbert Erker, a former Nazi, an inner circle member of Lampeter's VGL (Volksgruppenleitung) and the Editor and propaganda chief of the GZ during '38-'41. The Gottscheer Zeitung was the newspaper Lampeter used to coerce the Gottscheer into leaving their homeland.
On Erker's retirement in 1971, the editor became Ludwig Kren. Kren was (and still is) an intimate friend of both Lampeter, Lackner and was Erker's assistant on the GZ between '38- '41. Richard Lackner was Lampeter's Chief of Staff and after WW2 became Chairman of the Landsmannschaft in Germany. Surrounding this inner circle is the retinue of lesser members of the VGL; most of them again leaders in Gottscheer organizations within the AG. All committed to justify the resettlement, deflect any blame from themselves and place the blame entirely on the Slovene. Certainly not the Nazis. To paraphrase your words; "… would anyone expect them to say anything else?"
YES! An apology
to the Gottscheer people whom they deliberately misled and lied to and an apology
to those Slovene whose homes we occupied and whose lives were destroyed as a
result. (They would have been left in place had we not resettled). We Gottscheer
could have, long ago, cast off the pervasive taint of Nazism had we forced such
a catharsis. But for obvious reasons this was not to be.
I discussed this with Klagenfurt, but was forcefully rebuffed. (Deviants are
not tolerated). But again, as in 1941, they judged correctly the Gottscheer
as gullible people, easy to be misled. And they were successful. I, however,
decided to expose them.
Their 'Blame the Slovene' effort went into high gear and became extortive when the former SS officer emerged from East Germany in 1989. Lampeter was welcomed by all the leaders of the AG at a special meeting in Munich on Oct. 15 and promptly made an "Ehrenmitglied", a "Kulturreferent" and given a medal. Erker, Lackner and Kren had been so honored long before that.
I visited Lampeter in Leipzig in Nov. 1994, when he was not yet aware of my deviant perspectives. He called himself the savior ("Retter") of the Gottscheer people and if "he" had not moved us, we all would have been killed. He also defined for me his version of truth: " a logical formulation of certain facts". (Used by the AG for over four decades. It does work well with those who need an excuse, are ignorant of facts and those who don't think).
But Herr Lampeter, I am puzzled; in 1941, at the peak of Nazi power and success in Europe, you already knew that Germany was going to loose the war in 1945 and that is why you moved us? And that the Partisans were going to kill us all in 1945 if we did not move in 1941? Is this not hindsight, I asked? His angry reply was: "I see we are opponents"! (not a follower because I would not accept hindsight as facts)!
"We had to either leave Gottschee or give up our Gottscheer traditions" was another piece of his wisdom, nearly identical to the one used by you.
Not much of an
excuse from either of you, considering that in 1941 resettlement was no longer
necessary. We no longer lived in Yugoslavia, but in Mussolini's Italy, a country
that was the closest ally of Hitler who was in a position to guarantee our traditions
as a Minority for the next 1000 years.
By the way, Yugoslavia was formed in 1918, not in 1917, as you state. With such
prowess in historical facts, including hindsight, your are hardly a credible
critic to claim: "All I know is that your reasoning on past history is illogical
and less than factual enough to make me wonder about the rest of your assertions".
The published Ingathering Policy of the Third Reich is never mentioned. But
in the schools after the resettlement into ethnically cleansed Slovenia, we
kids (I was there) were no longer allowed to converse in Gottscheer. The paragraphs
of the Ingathering Policy forbade that and the teachers enforced it. Only German
was allowed. The VGL knew all this in advance and this fact alone proves it
is they who brought to an end the Gottscheer as an Ethnic Group, to disappear
forever into the Germany of the 1000 Year Reich.
But all this and
much more, is the past and useful only as a more factual historical perspective.
The deed was done, let’s draw a line, get rid of those who betrayed our heritage,
make peace with the Slovene and go honorably forward.
Instead, we allow the atrophied members of the traitorous VGA cling to their
discredited beliefs, perpetuate the racial hatred and seek renewed confrontation.
I, however, would not tolerate the use of aggressive politics (based on hindsight,
manipulated facts and lies) toward the new Slovenia by those who facilitated
our end as an Ethnic Group. Conscience bound, I reacted with a campaign to expose
them and their efforts, a task in which I was very successful.
As said above, their effort went into high gear after the return of former SS officer Lampeter into the leadership ranks. Demands of the AG were brought to the EU, the German Government and the Austrian Government via Jöerg Haider, the leader of the FPO who publicly praised the SS. (nice company the AG keeps). Germany and Austria were asked to prevent the entry of Slovenia into the EU unless the demands of the AG are met. The demands were restitution (after already having been compensated by Germany) and Minority recognition for less than 50 Gottscheer Slovene, i.e. some of those who stayed. (State paid German schooling, separate voting rights, election of a representative in Parliament, road signs in German, etc). Non of these demands were taken seriously by anyone, anywhere.
Needless to say,
the AG was making a fool of itself throughout Europe, especially once the political
orientation and make-up of the AG leadership became known. I believe that I
contributed to this awareness through extensive correspondence with all the
involved governments including the EU. My widely distributed booklet; The End
of the Gottscheer as an Ethnic Group in English, German and Slovene was, among
other items, a vehicle toward this goal. And now, that all Europeans are again
aware of the history of the Gottscheer and their leaders, the AG has become
known as an obsolete and irrelevant anachronism.
The final drive by the AG, to have Slovenia abolish the AVNOJ decrees has, like
all the other drives also come to nothing. As you may know, on Dec. 14, '02,
the EU announced that Slovenia met all requirements for membership and will
enter the Union in 2004. In spite of the AG and the GHGA. Slovenia also recently
became a full member of NATO.
When I joined the GHGA as a Life member, I had hoped it would remain non-political
as it claimed to be. When it joined the AG, I resigned. And when the GHGA cosigned
the Resolution of August 2002, petitioning Austria to press Slovenia to invalidate
AVNOJ, I realized that even this part of the Gottscheer community has subordinated
itself to the self deceptive slogans of the former Nazis. I do not wish to be
part of any such community.
Fortunately there
is the another half of my ancestral line of which I am proud and able to fall
back on for an honorable heritage. I am very happy that this little country
of Slovenia, which struggled throughout the 19th and part of the 20th Century
against the germanizing colonialism of the Empire, was under the thumbs of the
Serbs until overrun by brutal Fascists, and after that, having lived another
53 years under another form of totalitarianism, finally found its place in the
sun.
But you only see it as part of a regime that "killed thousands and thousands"
to get rid of the super race invader. Of its history you appear to know little.
You have a blind eye for the "thousands and thousands" of Slovene who were killed
by the invading Nazis while defending their country. (no matter under what banner
and the fact that defender of the country was communist is to me [the Slovene
and other Europeans], irrelevant). That fact that you mention the killing by
one side and not the other, betrays your leaning.
You see it only as a "place to visit in peace and quiet" oblivious to the fact that as a member of the AG (via the GHGA) you approve of the extortive demands on the citizens of the state you visit and whose only sin was that they expelled a brutal invader. The Slovene are fully aware that it was the Nazis not the Germans who were the invaders, a concept understood everywhere but one that still escapes the Gottscheer. But they are a generous and tolerant people, ready to forgive and forget and let you "visit in peace and quiet". And the Slovene we displaced have made no demands on either the Germans or the Gottscheer for pain and suffering.
The AG, most Gottscheer
and now the GHGA could have cleansed themselves of the "taint" if they were
so inclined. This taint may disappear on its own after several generations die
out. But by then the Gottscheer will be even more irrelevant than they are today.
Not even background noise. We will have disappeared without honor into the dustbin
of history, remembered, if at all, only for our self delusion.
For myself, I have accomplished what I set out to do. I helped bring to naught
the extortive demands of those who once succeeded to betray us and twice to
deceive us. The land of my maternal ancestry has been accepted into the family
of nations in spite of the AG, and I am proud of them. I wish I could say the
same for the other half of my heritage.
Sincerely, John
Tschinkel