The raid at the Peršmanhof memorial: what it means for Austria’s Slovene minority

On 27 July 2025, police intervened at an international youth education camp held at the Peršmanhof memorial, located in the Karawanks, the Carinthian Alps near Austria's border with Slovenia. The camp, attended by around 60 young adults from Austria, Slovenia and Italy, focused on antifascist education and commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The event was supported by the museum at the Peršmanhof memorial and organised by a Slovene student association based in Vienna.

Authorities cited alleged administrative violations, including unauthorised camping and environmental concerns, as the reason for the intervention. The scale of the response, however, was widely seen as excessive for such a context: over 30 police officers, some heavily armed, along with helicopters, drones and dog units, carried out identity checks and searched the premises. Several individuals were temporarily detained, and one person sustained minor injuries during the confrontation.

Critics argue that the operation was disproportionate and showed a lack of sensitivity to the symbolic significance of the location. The association Peršman has called for a full investigation into the rationale and proportionality of the police action.

The Peršmanhof memorial is more than just a museum – it is a place of profound historical and emotional importance. Originally a remote mountain farm, it became a centre of partisan resistance against Nazi occupation during the Second World War. On 25 April 1945, just days before the end of the war, members of the SS and Police Regiment 13 massacred eleven civilians, including seven children, at the site.

In the decades following the war, the Peršmanhof developed into both a place of remembrance and a centre for historical education. In 2012, it was expanded into a modern, bilingual museum (Slovene and German) that offers interactive exhibitions on persecution and resistance, particularly focusing on the Carinthian Slovene minority.

The museum’s permanent exhibition addresses key themes of the 20th century, including forced assimilation policies, deportations, concentration camps and the partisan struggle. It draws heavily on personal testimonies and multimedia installations, engaging visitors of all ages in critical reflection on Austria’s history and the role of minorities in it.

The events at the Peršmanhof memorial have raised deeper concerns about the sensitivity of state institutions towards issues of remembrance and minority rights. For the Carinthian Slovene community – historically marginalised and subjected to repression – the Peršmanhof memorial represents long-sought recognition and a space for collective memory.

Slovene partisans in Southern Carinthia offered the strongest militant resistance during Second World War against the Nazi Regime and contributed decisively to the re-establishment of an independent Austrian nation-state. The Moscow Declaration on Austria of 1943, in which the Allies for the first time collectively declared the intention to reestablish Austria after the war, called for the Austrian population to contribute towards its own liberation as an incitement to active resistance against the Nazi regime.

In this historical context, the disruption of this site by a forceful police operation has unsettled many and sparked concern beyond the region on European level. The incident highlights the need for respectful and culturally aware engagement at memorial sites, particularly those linked to minority experiences and historical trauma. In the coming weeks, much will depend on whether political and legal institutions respond with transparency and accountability.