After Peršmanhof Operation: Consequences and Apology Demanded

The argument that the operation was not directed against the ethnic group but against the camp was rejected. Meanwhile, the state of Carinthia filed a complaint against the district governor.

The attempt to separate the antifascist camp from the museum and the ethnic group by the Ministry of the Interior and Carinthian Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) does not work, said the chairman of the Peršmanhof Association, Markus Gönitzer, at a press conference on Friday. The history of the museum is strongly connected with the ethnic group and antifascist educational work.

Disappointment Over Initial Reactions

She had never read "such a devastating report," said former Ombudswoman Terezija Stoisits (Green) and expressed her highest respect for the commission appointed by the Ministry of the Interior. The report was "pleasantly clear and explicit," said Klagenfurt lawyer Rudolf Vouk, who represents those affected. Nevertheless, the initial reactions were again a disappointment, as an apology from Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) was absent. The reactions from the FPÖ and Carinthian ÖVP, who continued to speak of an action against left-wing extremist activists, were "a scandal," said Vouk.

Alarmed by "the specter of Antifa as a violent terrorist cell" as propagated internationally in the USA or Hungary and domestically by the FPÖ, was also the head of the Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance (DÖW), Andreas Kranebitter. Antifascism is not left-wing extremism, but non-partisan and the democratic fundamental attitude of the republic.

The Peršmanhof is not only important for the Slovenian minority but for society as a whole, as the memorial documents the only relevant Austrian resistance against National Socialism, which was the foundation for the Republic of Austria.

Complaint Filed Against District Governor

Recently, the state of Carinthia announced that the office inspection had filed a report with the public prosecutor's office against the district commissioner of Völkermarkt to examine any potentially criminally relevant facts. The district commissioner was also asked to provide an additional statement on the report. Depending on the decision of the public prosecutor's office, the state will then initiate disciplinary proceedings to discuss any further internal consequences regarding the role of the district commissioner.

Furthermore, following the recommendations contained in the final report, necessary awareness measures, particularly concerning memorial sites, are to be implemented, according to Governor Kaiser. Additionally, the Peršmanhof Museum is to receive a three-year subsidy contract for long-term financial security.

Peršmanhof Operation: Retraumatization for Ethnic Group

The operation was an attack on the Slovenian minority and triggered retraumatization among those present as well as within the ethnic group, said one of the camp organizers, Yara Palmisano. 'In the spirit of building trust,' representatives of the state of Carinthia, the Ministry of the Interior, as well as the Republic of Austria and Slovenia, were invited by the two operating associations of the museum - the Association of Carinthian Partisans and the Peršmanhof Association - to the symbolic reopening of the museum in May 2026.

As further consequences, it is expected that the two proceedings for resistance against state authority will also be dropped, according to lawyer Vouk. Additionally, the overdue implementation of minority protection, such as in bilingual jurisdiction, in the education sector, or the installation of additional bilingual place-name signs, would be important.

The Peršmanhof is one of the important memorial sites for Carinthian Slovenes. The remote farm was the scene of a massacre by an SS police regiment on April 25, 1945, where eleven people - including seven children - were killed.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.