Jurij Fikfak Images of Postojna through Time. This book presents the historical development of the economy and administrative and territorial organization of the region between Ljubljana, Trst/Trieste, Gorica/Gorizia, and Reka/Rijeka from the mid-eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. With the arrival of the railroad in the mid-nineteenth century, road haulage shifted to rail transport. Consequently, settlements with developed restaurant and teamster services (e.g., Planina and Razdrto) lost their most important source of income and began to stagnate. At the same time, the railroad enabled a greater influx of tourists to visit the “natural wonders” of Postojna Cave. The numerous visitors to Postojna Cave and other tourists, Governor Anton Globočnik’s conscientious administration, and the prominent Adelsbergerhof Hotel owned by the Swiss hotelier Franz Progler facilitated Postojna’s rapid development. Factors such as Postojna’s status as the seat of the provincial governorship, its position as a tourist destination, the population size, the ratio between the rural and non-rural population, and location contributed to the imperial decree on 9 May 1909 elevating Postojna to a town with its own coat of arms featuring the cave salamander. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, people in the Pivka area lived in four different countries: AustriaHungary, Italy, Yugoslavia, and finally Slovenia. Each of these affected and shaped the population in its own way; however, they clearly suffered the most during the Italian Fascist repression of the interwar period and during the Second World War. The Fascist authorities presented themselves as the bearers of civilization and culture to the “Slavic barbarians.” By imprisoning and deporting Slovenians and settling Italians in the area (whose share in Postojna alone was nearly 30%), the authorities “ethnically cleansed” the area. They exhausted the economy, Italianized the names of people and places, and used violence to prevent any opportunity for the Slovenians to express their identity. The Fascist nature of the authorities was first pointed out by members of the TIGR organization, which was one the first organized forms of anti-Fascist resistance in Europe. Its members were also the first victims of Fascism, executed after the First (1930) and Second (1941) Trieste Trials. In the Second World War, many victims died in concentration camps. According to the Institute of Contemporary History, 566 people died in the Municipality of Postojna and 361 in the Municipality of Pivka from 1941 to 1945, which accounted for approximately 5% of the total population. After 1945, the communist sociopolitical system was introduced to Yugoslavia. It nationalized the property of large landowners, determined the general ideological discourse and the relationship towards the Church through the secret police (OZNA) and the Communist Party (later the League of Communists), and also governed company management. The postwar period was characterized by industrialization and deagrarization. The majority of farmers found employment and worked at factories in the morning and at home in the afternoons. Even in 1961, approximately 30% of the working population was involved in agriculture, whereas today the share of agricultural labor is below 5%. Industrialization also changed the relationship between the sexes and gave women a more equal status. Many workers moved in from other Yugoslav republics, as well as many Yugoslav Army military staff members. “Working organizations” (as companies were termed) saw to the living standards of the working class. The communist period of high employment, relatively easily available housing, evenly distributed and generally limited access to certain goods, and so on – that is, the days when “you didn’t have to worry about tomorrow” – is still remembered by many people as one of the best social systems. In the 1990 plebiscite, many immigrants voted in favor of Slovenian independence and obtained Slovenian citizenship. In 1991, much of the Serbian military staff left the country. Slovenia’s independence affected the economy, resulting in reduced demand in other Yugoslav republics and necessitating reorientation to western markets. The short period of hostilities significantly reduced the flow of visitors to Postojna Cave. On the other hand, new economic concepts found a place in new companies at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the twenty-first century. By restructuring old companies and establishing new ones, this area remains open to many initiatives.
30