PARTISANS

My first direct contact with partisans was in the night between June 28 and 29, 1942. Italian army marched us, those slated for the concentration camp  through the streets of Ljubljana around 10 PM June 28, and loaded  into railway cattle cars, 50 per car.  The streets were empty because of curfew. The train pulled out of the Station around 11:30 PM, moving slowly past the houses, the windows were lighted and people watched our departure. Quietly, in one of the cars prisoners started singing ...ay now we go, but we will be back..., all the cars sounded the song, louder and louder. That is how we left Ljubljana. All together about 300 of us, mostly students from the suburb of Bezigrad.  Around midnight the train came to a stop near the town of Verd. From the steep wooded hill to the left of us the attackers opened fire with machineguns and rifles, also they started throwing hand grenades. The prisoners started yelling don's shoot we are prisoners. In our car some were wounded, we were all lying on the floor of the car. Then we heard the partisans breaking the locks on the cars.   Other  Italian soldiers unhooked the front half of the transport, which went on, our half was left. The guards of our cars fled down hill and started shooting up, so we were in crossfire between the partisans and the Italian soldiers . In the dark of the night the car door opened and a partisan ordered us to get out and run up the very steep hill. Italian soldiers were shutting from below as we were running  up. part of the way up a girl partisan was holding her stomach where she was hit.  I don't know what happened to her, they must have evacuated her together with wounded prisoners. Later on I have seen a farm wagon with wounded  'train people'. One was shot through the knees, one in his chest.  

We were walking all night to get out of the reach of Italian soldiers. In a valley over several hills we assembled around a shad where the partisans had several typewriters busy writing our names and answers to a question, whether we wont to stay or return to Ljubljana. In the group was also my friend Marko Kadunc, both of us declared that we wont to return to Ljubljana, which was a very imprudent statement. However, in a strange way found what the partisans really planned to do with those that did not want to stay with them. The two of us were sitting behind a bush at the bottom of a small hill on top of which a partisan  was talking to two of 'freed' prisoners, one asked him  are you stupid to let them go home? The partisan, a Serb in the old Yugoslav uniform, answered, don't be silly we will take care of them. Marko and I quickly decided to change our statements and declare that we would stay, and join their work 'battalion', which was one of two choices, either the fighting or working detachments. That is how I joined partisans. Knowing quite well that my change of answer and the decision to join the working group was a black mark in their books. Later we found out that the 'returnees' were taken to a mountain precipice, shot and dumped in the first of many 'liquidation' points. There were 32 'train people', mostly students from Ljubljana, Marko and I managed to escape the first of partisans radical answers to problems. The name of the cave is Krimska Jama.   However my friend Marko ended up at end of the war in 1945, in one of many caves in the mountain range of Kocevski Rog, with 12,000 of  Homeguards  given over by the British to Tito's executioners.  

Partisans asked us to decide on 'partisan' names, so I don't know why I decided to be Marjan.  A few years ago I noticed in the newspaper the name Stanko Sedlak, he had regular weekly articles.  In my 'partisan' days there was a student with that name with us. We were in the same 'unit'. When I wrote to him, he answered, but did not remember any of my stories. The only thing he remembered was that certain Marjan saved his life for telling him not to say that he wanted to go home.  I must have been the one who warned him.  It is surprising how people forget those who they were with long ago. There was also Milan Dujec, friend from Ljubljana, who did not remember much of those days. Could it be that they blocked certain years from their mind? 

When we were all 'catalogued'  we went over the many hills through the region of Dolenska. One night we stayed hidden near the railway track which we had to cross. On one side were burned out  farm buildings and beyond was Italian bunker for the soldiers guarding the track. The night was clear, fool moon made objects ghostly visible. It was cold as we waited for Italian guards to go by. It must have been 1 AM when the partisans thought it safe to cross the tracks. There were many of us, so we had to run as quiet as possible. Then again up hill through several villages, resting every hour for five minutes. I was sleepy and thirsty  walking all night, on occasions I woke up startled as I was still walking. As we passed bushes I liked leaves covered with dew. On one occasion when we stopped for rest I observed  a partisan, university student removed his booths to wash his bloody foot. He was one of the guards that was delegated to accompanied our group of 'train people'. I admired this young man who obviously suffered for the 'cause'.  Through the day we passed through a number of villages in the region of Suha Krajina, the villagers seemed to be afraid to come out of their houses, only in the village of Hinje the old moms came out with pitchers of milk and pieces of dry bread, knowing that we were hungry.