The participation of researchers from the Historical Institute at the RetroFest in Ljubljana

Days of Modern History RetroFest were held in Ljubljana from 17 to 19 October 2023, during which experts, researchers and the general public explored a wide range of historical and social topics. The three-day event, which began at the City Museum of Ljubljana, and then the main event continued at the Museum of Recent and Contemporary History of Slovenia, was created at the initiative of the Center for Public History and operates within the framework of the Department of History of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Ljubljana and the Society for the Promotion cultural heritage, research and new technologies - Retrospectives. Researchers from the Historical Institute of UCG participated in several round tables.

The special focus of one round table was on the Rapala border, which was established a century ago and today deeply marks the landscape of western Slovenia. Participants discussed the exploration of imaginary and real borders and discussed their influence on historical events, political relations and other aspects of life. Božo Repe, Uroš Lipušček, Slavko Burzanović, Matija Zorn, Janez Grom and Mojca Drčar Murko participated in the round table, and the moderator was Peter Mikša.

In the panel on monuments, the ways of commemoration in public were discussed, and the important role of monuments in the formation of collective memory and identity was particularly emphasized. The forum on monuments, which was held in the full Knights Hall in the Museum of Recent and Contemporary History of Slovenia, was attended by Hrvoje Klasić, Tatjana Koprivica, Olga Pelcer Vujačić, Peter Mikša as moderator, Božidar Jezernik, Ivan Smiljanić, Darja Kerec, Irena Stefoska and Milan Hladnik.

At RetroFest, the documentary film The Power and Powerlessness of Monuments was publicly screened in the City Museum of Ljubljana. The film was produced by the Center for Public History and shows the state and attitude towards the monuments of the national liberation struggle in Yugoslavia in the former republics and provinces, which today are mostly independent states. The situation in individual countries is different. In some places, the monuments were destroyed in the past, in others they were preserved, but poorly maintained. In some places, new monuments have been added to balance the history.

Božo Repe, Božidar Flajšman, Peter Mikša and Bojan Balkovec participated in the production of the film. You can watch the film at the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQiQk8VlswI