Meta REMEC
“He Should Be a Soldier!”
The emergence and disintegration of the ideal soldier image in World War I
The article focuses on the emergence, development, and disintegration of the prevalent image of the perfect soldier from the pre-World War I period. It describes the education and retraining of young men within the family and at school, which aimed to raise a new generation of strong and sturdy men, willing to sacrifice and fight. A new hierarchy appeared among men, based on the body and physical abilities. The conscript system and the outbreak of World War I drew a clear dividing line between real men, who were sent to the front, and the washouts, who spent wartime at home. Next, the article presents the everyday life of soldiers, which was in stark contrast to the expectations, because they frequently felt degraded to the level of children. Humiliation continued after the war, when they returned home not as heroes but as invalids and losers, which in combination with the devastating social conditions and widespread alcoholism, resulted in many cases of family violence in the years immediately after the war.
Andrej STUDEN
On “Damned Women and Men”
Reflections of everyday life in the records of the Konjice Local Court during the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy
The article examines everyday life among the residents of Slovenske Konjice and the surrounding municipalities as reflected in the records of the Konjice Local Court after the end of the Dual Monarchy in 1918. During the transition and transformation into a new Yugoslav state, the area of Slovenske Konjice witnessed major change. Having bid farewell to the “decaying Austria”, imposing mass manifestations were organized.
Slovenian replaced German as the official language. The introductory part presents in detail how the processes of Slovenization and de-Austrization developed. The overturn affected the operations of the Konjice Local Court, which now operated in Slovenian instead of German. Well-preserved records about numerous minor criminal offences comprise a mosaic of brief stories portraying an authentic picture of illegal practices among the local population. These stories reflect the most trivial and even banal situations and aspects of everyday life after the war. Based on these, the study aims to show how the routine and the everyday life of the common person was affected by the Great War, shortages and supply problems at the time. The article concludes that the war and the post-war crisis created a special atmosphere, in a way triggering several illegal and unwanted acts, including criminal offences.
Damir GLOBOČNIK
Memorial Plaque for the Missionary Ignacij Knoblehar in Škocjan na Dolenjskem
The initiative to raise a monument in memory of the missionary Ignacij Knoblehar (1819–1858) and to relocate his body from Naples to Slovenia came from an unknown author in Laibacher Zeitung. Zgodnja Danica published the lists of donors (money was primarily gathered by priests) and various suggestions about the location of Knoblehar’s monument. Some thought it would be better to send the money to the missions in Africa instead of erecting a monument. A memorial plaque for Ignacij Knoblehar was unveiled in 1867 in the parish church of St. Cantianus and His Companions in Škocjan na Dolenjskem, the missionary’s birthplace. The marble medallion with the missionary’s portrait was the work of the sculptor Franc Zajec.
Stanislav JUŽNIČ
Marian Koller : Famous astronomer from Bohinj
The Bohinj native, astronomer Marian Koller (1792-1866), was a star of the 19th century. Today, his work is gaining in importance again, focusing on the Dalton Minimum of sunspots as a counterbalance to other explanations
for global warming. Apart from Hallerstein, Koller was unparalleled among Slovenian astronomers. Above all, he enabled the success of Jožef Stefan.