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The archaeology of genocide, war crimes, and mass death has become a growing sub-discipline in recent decades, with the most attention given to the locations of National Socialist 'terror and mass death'. Within genocide research, the porajmos, or genocide of Romani people, is not a well-known topic, especially in Slovenia. Contrary to popular belief, the mistreatment of Romani and violence against them was not inflicted only by the Nazis and their allies, but by pro-communist-orientated Slovenian partisans as well. Archaeological traces of three mass executions have provided us with evidence of serious and poignant crimes committed against the Romani ethnic minority. The remains might have a significant role in determining whether these crimes are a part of porajmos or not and represent a unique material testimony of crimes against the Romani population in the Slovenian and the wider European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mt. Rombon, located in north-western Slovenia, was a part of the Soča Front during the First World War. The conflict that lasted from the end of May 1915 until the end of October 1917 left numerous traces in the landscape, whose social meanings and understandings changed as it shifted from a landscape of peace to a place associated with war. Alongside social meanings, the human experiences with the landscape also changed. This is evident through every main episode of the landscapes constructed biography. It also became clear that this alpine landscape has had a great impact on human activities and vice versa, which is noticeable in the nature of anthropogenic features and organization of the landscape itself throughout history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the applicability of a metal detector survey and distribution analysis of mostly metal objects at four post-World War II mass execution sites in Kočevski Rog, Slovenia. All locations were surveyed with the intent to gather the material evidence, reconstruct the events and identify areas of different activities. With the distribution analysis, we were able to reconstruct pathways leading through forest to the execution sites; places of untying, undressing and restricting of the victims; and places of shooting. Locations with discarded and sometimes burned clothing, equipment and personal belongings were also found, containing various metal and non-metal objects. Metal detector survey and distribution analysis of objects proved to be an excellent tool for researching, interpreting and reconstructing poorly documented events, such as World War II and post-war extrajudicial mass executions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jože Arih (1911-1981) was one of just a handful of Slovenians who served in the French Foreign Legion during the 1930s. In his 1953 autobiography are twenty-seven pages that describe his military life in the Legion between 1933 and 1938 and offer an insight into his feelings and his military journey through Algeria, Morocco and other countries of north-western Africa. His autobiography is an almost unique Slovenian record of life in the Legion, as well as the events and fighting in the area of Morocco and Algeria in the period before the Second World War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Josip Košir (1872-1948), a landowner and miller from Škofja Loka, was just one of the many Slovenian soldiers that ended up as POWs in Russia during the Great War. Aged 42, he was called up for the first mobilization and was, as a soldier of the 27th Home Guard Infantry Regiment, sent to the Eastern Front, where he was captured by the Russians during the first battles at Lemberg (Lvov). Based on Josip's legacy and other sources, the article describes his hardships in Russian captivity between 1914 and 1920 and his long journey home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]