6. October 2021 in Völkermarkt
Memorial words from KHD chairman Josef Feldner
Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen
We are unveiling a plaque today, on which fallen fighters are named by both sides, but not according to national, state or military affiliation, but according to the alphabet. With this we are writing a new chapter in the cross-border culture of remembrance and have been setting an act of reconciliation that is unique in Austria in the pursuit of overcoming both sides 100 Years of aversion and distrust.
But there is still a long way to go, especially in 100 Years ago, here and there, branded nationalisms, combined with a one-sided view of history, nipped in the bud any attempt at reconciliation.
As beautiful and important as it is, at workshops, to advocate understanding and reconciliation in seminars or other events, it is so ineffective, if the important scientific findings are not put into practice.
We in the Carinthian Consensus Group didn't just talk, we have acted and nailed our heads:
Starting with the compromise on the signposts sixteen years ago, which has become the basis for a finite place-name sign solution, up to our joint events in memory of the victims of both warring parties, which have been held every October for years.
With great success, that after initial hesitation, in the year 2016 for the first time also top representatives of the "General Maister Association" – Descendants of our former military opponents from Slovenia - took part.
But we don't want to be satisfied with that either! With our plaque we want to take this important step towards reconciliation, visible and tangible for everyone, publicly document as a permanent monument of a successful chapter in the field of coming to terms with the past.
Yet: We must not let up in our reconciliation work. Too many people with both tongues have yet to be convinced of the necessity, overcome linguistic and ethnic barriers. Not just to consolidate peaceful coexistence, but also to face the enormous challenges that threaten the world together. In addition, we also want to set an example across Europe and encourage imitation.
Ladies and gentlemen!
Even if a lot, there is a lot to do, so we can already say in view of a largely conflict-free coexistence of the people in the once hotly contested Carinthian border region:
The defensive battle is over!
Today we can increasingly use our forces away from opposing one another for a fruitful togetherness. This also benefits the Slovene ethnic group in their striving to consolidate and develop their linguistic and ethnic characteristics.
Even after the First World War, the minorities in all of Europe did not do well for much too long. But also after the National Socialist terror regime was smashed, in which the minority has been threatened with extinction, In the Second Republic, too, the development opportunities of our Slovenian fellow citizens were not satisfactory.
I say that quite self-critically as someone, who has always seen ethnic group rights in the civil society area static and not dynamic, which, for example, has contributed to a decade-long standstill in the question of place-name signs.
Today there is a departure from static adherence to the letter of Article 7 of the State Treaty 1955 The Slovene ethnic group also has new opportunities for linguistic and cultural development. A willingness to engage in dialogue and a sense of proportion should be demonstrated:
For further development in a biotope, in which majority as minority freed from mutual accusations and free from mistrust and aversions can cultivate their language and culture.
Ladies and gentlemen!
When today we celebrate the common commemoration of the victims as an important act of reconciliation, as documented on a memorial plaque, then for the Carinthian Heimatdienst this does not mean turning away from its sense of tradition. In addition to maintaining our common culture and our German mother tongue, we will continue to honor the Carinthian defensive fighters in the future, just as we show understanding, for the memory in Slovenia of the fighters around the northern border.
With mutual respect, without any pretense, free from aversions and distrust, we can also adopt the words of the Slovenian national poet France Prešeren from his toast Zdravljica as a common cultural asset:
"Long live all peoples, who longingly wait for the day, that under this sun the world renounces the old strife! Then everyone is free, not enemy, only neighbor from now on!
image: fritzpress
