President Pahor unveils the memorial plaque at Vidmar’s villa where, 80 years ago today, the Liberation Front was founded

Today, on the eve of the Day of Uprising against Occupation, Borut Pahor, President of the Republic of Slovenia, attended the ceremony at Vidmar’s villa in Rožna dolina where, on this day exactly 80 years ago, the Liberation Front of the Slovenian Nation was founded. At the initiative of Ambassadors Natalie Kauther and Adrian Pollmann, a plaque was unveiled to commemorate this historical event as an homage to the legacy of the villa used today as the residence of the Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Germany to Slovenia.


Photo: Bor Slana/STA

On this occasion, the President of the Republic of Slovenia together with Ambassador Natalie Kauther unveiled the memorial plaque to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Liberation Front and its role in the resistance against the occupying forces.

"Your act is symbolic, but it also has a realistic significance in the light of the future. It denotes the spirit on which our common European homeland has been founded – reconciliation," emphasised the President in his address, and expressed gratitude to Ambassadors Kauther and Pollmann on his own behalf and that of the country for their decision to commemorate the history of the villa and place a memorial plaque. President Pahor recollected that the famous meeting in Vidmar’s villa was a breaking point. The partisan movement was an irreplaceable element of the historic events that enabled democratic and independence processes at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of 1990s, which led to the establishment of our own country, a sovereign and independent Republic of Slovenia. The President expressed his desire that young generations would remember that period with pride as we, the Slovenians, defended our freedom yet again on our own and in cooperation with our allies. He highlighted the importance of understanding that the establishment of our own country depended on the foundations of the relevant resistance.

In conclusion, the President called on the celebration of the Day of Uprising against Occupation. Tomorrow, on 27 April, the national holiday, Borut Pahor, President of the Republic of Slovenia, will lay a wreath at the Liberation Front monument in Rožna dolina. Together with Mr Marijan Križman, President of the Union of the Associations for the Values of the National Liberation Movement of Slovenia, the President will also address the citizens from the Presidential Palace. In the afternoon, the President of the Republic of Slovenia will attend the state ceremony.


Photo: Bor Slana/STA