9. maj - Dan Zmage (Victory Day)
Photo: Arrival of partisans in liberated Ljubljana (MNZS archive)
The EU may want to celebrate Europe Day, but we must remember that May 9th is and always should be reserved for the anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945 and the liberation of Europe from nazi-fascism. For the first time in six years Europe woke up to a silent morning, no more cannon thunders shaking the houses and no more war planes shrieking through the skies.
It was a dazzling May morning. The cannons that were thundering the night before [...] were already silent before we woke up. Everything was calm. "Peace," my father said. There was no more war. There was peace. Then people rushed to the street, all those who long ago preferred to huddle in safe apartments behind locked doors, partisans began to pour into the city, people laughed, cried, all of them were overwhelmed by the excitement of peaceful times, which are obviously here, now that the war is over. - Jože Hudeček, Ulice mojega predmestja (2000)
“The news quickly spread through the houses. People found out that the Ljubljana Brigade was coming. The streets were crowded. They were playful and happy. They greeted us and threw flowers. We went from Karlovški bridge and then along the left bank of the Ljubljanica to the City Hall. We stopped in front of the Magistrate. Our joy was indescribable. Many of the fighters were from Ljubljana, they finally met their relatives after a long time. There were also many tears because many did not come back. Some fell just the day before the liberation of Ljubljana. Some meetings were difficult. The arrival of us liberators was solemn and full of joy. During the war, the townspeople suffered, so did we. Ljubljana resisted the occupation, just as a city resists. They supplied us with medicines, they informed us, they made sure that as a nation we survived the war together. The townspeople showed us who we were fighting for. They accepted us as liberators. We went in a column and almost didn’t believe it was true. But it was true " - Alojz Kajin, then 22-year-old commander
Today we celebrate victory against fascism. Today we celebrate the partisans who gave their lives for the liberation of our nation. Today we celebrate that same nation which stood behind the partisans in the struggle against occupation. We are celebrating every man, woman and child who fought against occupiers in any way they could. And we are celebrating all the people who rebuilt our houses and our cities and our countries in the decades after the war.
But we can't have a celebration without renewing the commitment to fight for liberty and peace. History is once again calling Ljubljana and Maribor and Kranj and and Celje and Koper and Velenje and Novo mesto and Ptuj and Nova Gorica and every other city and village in Slovenia to rise up against fascist waves sweeping through the nation.
SMRT FAŠIZMU, SVOBODA VSEM NARODOM SVETA
DEATH TO FASCISM, FREEDOM TO ALL NATIONS OF THE WORLD
