By: Andrej Žitnik (Nova24TV.si)
“Today, as we remember our departed on All Saints’ Day, let’s light candles also in memory of that partisan who took up arms because the occupiers burned his home or killed his parents. He believed that he was defending his home, his family, and his homeland. He did not turn the other cheek, and on a personal level, he acted rightly. Likewise, we light a candle for that Home Guard member, whose ideologically blinded partisans killed his father and sister and burned his home. He did not turn the other cheek, and on a personal level, he acted rightly. He defended his family and his home.”
On All Saints’ Day, when we remember the departed, the leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party, Janez Janša, also expressed his views. He particularly touched upon those who still do not have their own graves and lie in one of the many Slovenian mass graves. During the funeral speeches, Janša often heard the famous phrase from the Holy Bible about “turning the other cheek”, a sentence that miraculously brought sorrow and tears to the few survivors.
As he emphasised, quoting this sentence from the Holy Bible at such mournful ceremonies was highly inappropriate. “It would be equally inappropriate to hear it at a memorial service for slain partisans, hostages, or anyone who, with weapons or in any other way, defended their parents, siblings, children, their home, or themselves when in mortal danger.” According to Janša, you can only turn the other cheek when it comes to yourself, while you are obligated to defend your spouse, children, or parents. Therefore, in his opinion, it is right that today we also light candles for those slain partisans whose homes were burned by the occupiers, and their families were killed, as well as for Home Guard members whose fathers and sisters were killed, and their homes were set on fire by ideologically blinded partisans. “They did not turn the other cheek, and on a personal level, they acted rightly. They defended their families and their homes.”
Janša condemned those who exploited the time of war and occupation for a bloody rise to power. Those who banned any resistance against the occupiers beyond their control because they saw their own brother and his rifle as a greater obstacle to seizing power than the occupier and his weapons.
As Janša further stated, reconciliation in the Slovenian nation can only be based on truth and an understanding of the weight of individuals’ personal decisions on both sides. “And in acknowledging that both acted rightly when they did not turn the other cheek.” He emphasised again that there is a growing understanding of this kind among the younger generation and that dangerous times are approaching.
Read the entire record below:
Do we really need to turn the other cheek if we are struck on one?
Today, we remember that part of our community made up of our deceased, especially our loved ones and those who still do not have their own graves. Since 1990, we can publicly light a candle for the latter at one of the hundreds of known mass graves in Slovenia. For over three decades now, when we gather in places like Kočevski Rog, Teharje, Huda Jama, and elsewhere, we mostly listen to solemn eulogies and sermons by Catholic priests and bishops. Unfortunately, we often hear the famous phrase from the Holy Bible: “If someone strikes you on the left cheek, turn the right one as well.” Or vice versa.
In the first decade after gaining independence, there were many older individuals at memorial services who had experienced the cruel times of occupation and the communist revolution first-hand. Some miraculously survived but did not turn the other cheek at that time; they defended themselves in one way or another. Many times, while listening to this statement, I saw bitterness, sorrow, and tears on their faces. Bitterness at the realisation that even after all these decades, the world around them still did not understand the weight of their decisions or the depth of their pain. In the mid- ‘90s, in Rog pod Krenom, you could also hear the loud murmurs and semi-audible exclamation of a man who said, “They did not hit me because I was not at home. They came in the middle of the night, took, and killed my father, mother, and older sister. What should I have waited for, that they come for me, my younger brother, and sister next time?”
At that time, I first thought that quoting this sentence from the Holy Bible at such mournful ceremonies was highly inappropriate. It would be equally inappropriate to hear it at a memorial service for slain partisans, hostages, or anyone who, with weapons or in any other way, defended their parents, siblings, children, their home, or themselves when in mortal danger. Yes, you can turn the right cheek as well if you are struck on the left one. But it is your choice. However, if they are beating your wife, children, or parents, then you do not have that right. Not before yourself and not before God. You are obligated to defend them.
Therefore, today, on All Saints’ Day, as we remember our departed, we light candles in memory of that partisan who took up arms because the occupiers burned his home or killed his parents. He believed that he was defending his home, his family, and his homeland. He did not turn the other cheek, and on a personal level, he acted rightly. Likewise, we light a candle for that Home Guard member whose father and sister were killed by ideologically blinded partisans, and their home was set on fire. He did not turn the other cheek, and on a personal level, he acted rightly. He defended his family and his home.
However, we condemn those who exploited the time of war and occupation for a bloody rise to power. Those who banned any resistance against the occupiers beyond their control because they saw their own brother and his rifle as a greater obstacle to seizing power than the occupier and his weapons.
Reconciliation in the Slovenian nation can only be based on truth and an understanding of the weight of individuals’ personal decisions on both sides. It also involves acknowledging that both acted rightly when they did not turn the other cheek. I am pleased to see that even among the younger generation, more and more people consider this to be self-evident. In the dangerous times ahead, this is incredibly important.