overview
Whose memory ?
New museums and ( political ) narratives in Slovenia
Kaja Širok Historian . Assistant professor at the University of Nova Gorica
In March 2021 , on the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the independent state of Slovenia , Janez Janša ’ s government established the ( national ) Museum of Slovenian Independence . The official reason for its creation was due to criticism from a number right-wing politicians who argued that Slovenian museums neglected the topic of national independence and failed to cultivate the values on which the new country was founded . This was strongly opposed by the historical profession , as at least three Slovenian museums were already dealing with the subject of the twentieth century and created several exhibitions on the subject of independence . Unofficially , the new museum served the needs of the thenruling Slovenian Democratic Party ( SDS ) for the realisation of its own ideological vision of the Slovenian independence effort . According to their line , SDS President Janez Janša was at the forefront of the events of 1991 and chiefly responsible for the separation of Slovenia from Yugoslavia . In January 2023 , the new government , led by Robert Golob , merged the newly created museum with the older National Museum of Contemporary History , establishing a new museum for the research and interpretation of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries . The decision was met with a fierce reaction from the Slovenian right – they threatened civil disobedience and claimed that the new government was pushing the country back towards the old totalitarian model .
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Observing Memories Issue 7