Self-proclaimed republics on Slovenian ground after World War I
In the history of the Balkans there were hundreds of years of disorder, a lot of of spilled blood and many victims. The people who had survived the wars were filled with fear and were barely hoping for a better tomorrow. All of the wars in the Balkan Peninsula badly affected the population, most people were poor and exhausted. Bad living circumstances, especially in the outer regions of the countries, forced the population into going abroad or rebelling against the authorities. The changes of monarchies were not easy for anybody and people were not fond of them. At the end of World War I there was chaos in the Slovenian territory. There was a division between the supporters of the old monarchy and the followers of the new Yugoslav monarchy. The liberals were more open for modern legislation. In a short period of time in 1919 there were four republics proclaimed on Slovenian ground. The Gottschee Germans made a written demand for the autonomy of their region because they felt intimidated by the Slovenians living in the Gottschee area but there was no response to their demand. The Republic of Kandija in Novo mesto boasted its own anthem yet it caused no riots whatsoever. However, the other two self-proclaimed republics emerging at that time were a tougher nut to crack. Both of them were formed in the border areas of today’s Slovenia; the Republic of Vinca emerged in the South and the Republic of Murska Sobota in the East, each contributing its share to the turbulent history of the Slovenian territory. The people of Vinica were torn apart: some of them missed the loyalty to the former monarchy and the others were enthusiastic about the newly formed kingdom. Consequently, this led to many tensions between them. The Republic of Murska Sobota particularly emphasized the need for a better life of its citizens, the locals wanted to express their national identity which they perceived as Slovenian. Both of these republics were crushed by the military. There were several differences between the self-proclaimed republics yet their aim was the same: freedom, justice and the right to belong to the core of the Slovenian nation.
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