Description

Kulturno-propagandni odsek Jugoslovanskega narodnega odbora v koncentracijskem taborišču Dachau
[Cultural-Propaganda Detachment of the Yugoslav National Committee in the Dachau Concentration Camp]

Nekaj partizanskih
[A Selection of Partisan Songs]

Dachau: May 1945.

12°. [1] mimeographed illustrated title page, 30 pp. mimeographed text, original thin card wrappers, coloured in red, original linen spine (medical tape?), originally bound with a string. (Very good, with minimal staining).

 

The booklet comprises 18 partisan and revolutionary songs, most in Slovenian, with several in Serbo-Croatian. Many remain popular to this day. Several texts appear here in variants differing from the versions now most widely known. Some songs were composed by songwriters from the resistance movement, while others were adapted from Soviet and Spanish tunes.

Songs included are:

1. Partizanska – A Slovenian version of the Soviet song “Po dolinam i po vzgoriam,” a popular Red Army song, also known as the “Partisan Song.” It was exceedingly popular among Serbian and Croatian partisans in a translation ”Po šumama i gorama” and was also referred to as the “Partisan Anthem.”

2. Partizanska – Different lyrics to the same tune as above.

3. Lanci nam se kuju – A Serbo-Croatian version of the text to the tune of the previously mentioned song. The text was written by Montenegrin lawyer, author and partisan Puniša Perović in 1939.

4. Zora rudi – A Serbo-Croatian partisan song.

5. Hej brigade – one of the most recognizable anthems of the Slovene Partisans. Written by Matej Bor (1913-1993) in 1942 and first performed in September 1943, the song quickly became one of most popular Partisan songs. Original music was written by Franc Šturm (nom de guerre Josip Vihar, 1881-1944), who was shot by collaborators.
Preserved here is the first version of the song, which was later altered to the now-known version.

6. Hej Slovenci! – A Slovenian song and a version of “Hej Slovani!”, which would later become the Yugoslav national anthem. The melody is the same as the Polish national anthem “Mazurek Dąbrowskiego”. The lyrics are adapted to resistance in World War II.

7. V partizane – Slovenian Partisan song, encouraging people of all classes and professions, even the church, to join the movement.

8. Na juriš – one of most popular Slovenian partizan songs, still sung today. The text was written by Tone Seliškar (1900-1969) and music by Karol Pahor (1896-1973) in 1943.

9. Slovenci kremeniti – also known as “Svobodna Slovenija,” is a Slovenian version of a popular partisan song that likely originated from North Macedonia and has texts in various Yugoslav languages.

10. Gubčeva – A Croatian song about Matija Gubec, a leader of the 16th-century peasant rebellion in Croatia and Slovenia.

11. Kosec koso brusi – A Slovenian partizan song, written by Radovan Gobec (1909-1995).

12. Nabrusimo kose – A Slovenian revolutionary song was written by Miran Apih (1906–1992) in 1936 during his imprisonment as a political prisoner in Sremska Mitrovica.

13. Kovači – A Slovenian revolutionary song, sung to a Soviet tune.

14. Omladinska – A Serbo-Croatian revolutionary song for youths.

15. Bilečanka – written in 1940 by the Slovenian political prisoner Miran Apih (1906–1992) in the Bileća prison camp in Herzegovina, where opponents of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were incarcerated on the eve of the Second World War. Referring to the troop of the detainees from Bileća, the song was among the earliest original resistance songs in Yugoslavia. It was translated into Serbo-Croatian by a fellow prisoner, the future general Todor Vujasinović (1904–1988). A memorable and melancholy marching song, it spread across the country even before the prisoners themselves were released, aided by their singing it as they marched through the town. The song, sung in Slovenian or Serbo-Croatian, became part of the standard repertoire of resistance songs in Yugoslavia during World War II and remains known today.

16. Žrtvam – A Slovenian translation of the Russian song “Vy žertvoju pali” (Вы жертвою пали), from 1878, is dedicated to fallen friends and comrades. The song gained popularity among political prisoners in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, it was frequently sung at funerals of partisans.

17. Črnolaska – is a Slovenian adaptation of a Spanish song from the Asturian Revolution that tells the story of a girl with black hair. Later, the song was rewritten as “Na oknu glej obrazek bled,” which many people mistakenly believe to be a Slovenian WWII folk song.

18. Katjuša – The songbook concludes with a Slovenian version of a popular Russian song “Katyusha”, a song at once hopeful and melancholy, centered on a faithful young woman waiting for her soldier’s return. Written in 1938 by the Soviet composer Matvey Isaakovich Blanter (1903–1990), it spread rapidly in many languages and became widely adopted as a women’s song of anti-fascist resistance. It is still traditionally performed, most famously by the Red Army Choir.

A Note on Rarity

The booklet is extremely rare. It was brought home by Slovenian and Croatian survivors of the Dachau Concentration Camp as a form of ephemera and seldom appears on the market. In 2017, we acquired another copy of this book. On Worldcat we could trace only six institutional examples all of which are owned by Slovenian institutions.

 

Dachau Concentration Camp Printing

The Slovenian and other ex-Yugoslav prisoners at Dachau were predominantly political detainees. After the camp’s liberation, and before they were permitted to leave its grounds, Slovenian and several other Yugoslav internees undertook an extraordinary creative effort: they produced the largest known series of prints made within the premises of the Dachau concentration camp. This remarkable initiative coincided with the prolific wartime printing activity of the Yugoslav resistance, which had relied on the press as a vital instrument of communication and endurance.

Before liberation, unique handwritten booklets and clandestine newspapers circulated among the prisoners, preserving fragments of thought and resistance.

When American forces arrived and liberated the camp on April 28, 1945, they worked to improve living conditions dramatically; yet most former prisoners were required to remain in the camp for several weeks while being processed. The Americans needed to identify potential security risks and manage outbreaks of infectious disease, which necessitated a quarantine period. During this time, they encouraged creative and recreational pursuits. A small number of internees appreciated materials to produce newsletters and visual works, mimeographed on inexpensive wartime paper likely left behind by the departing German staff.

In the weeks immediately following liberation, prisoners printed sporadic newspapers. Slovenian internees proved particularly active, issuing a daily publication and also creating artistic prints and maps. Some articles appeared in Serbo-Croatian, reflecting the multilingual character of the Yugoslav contingent.