Gottscheer Culture today - Ein echter Gottscheer

[Forum 2002 - 2013]

Abgeschickt von Ein echter Gottscheer am 24 Juni, 2003 um 18:26:43

Dear fellow Gottscheers, John Tschinkel is the Anti-Gottscheer.He has the audacity to attack the very Gottscheers, who are the itellectuals of our Gottscheer community,who carry on the traditions,writings and poetry of Gottschee. Ludwig Kren is one of the few people living who can actually write in the Gottscheer language and he writes wonderful stories about his life in Gottschee written in the actual Gottscheer language.John Tschinkel is only concerned with the georaphical significance of Gottschee but he cannot understand that the surviving Gottscheers are what Gottschee is all about they carry on the culture. As long as there are people who continue to learn and gain knowledge about the history and traditions of our people there will always be a Gottschee in this world. Our seperation from the geographical Gottschee is only temporary with the new democratic Gottschee our rights that were taken away at the end of world war one will be restored and we may actually be able to buy property and live in Gottschee again.The Gottscheers who have been living in Gottschee and never left can now rejoice in their new freedom and and do not have to hide their Gottscheer-German background (they actually had to change their names to avoid prosecution because of the communist AVNOJ law decrees).Today with the help of the Gottscheer intellectuals our culture is being revitalized in the publications of the various Gottscheer groups who have united under the "Arbeits Gemeinschaft",although we are scattered around the globe ,we are now one people.

[Forum 2002 - 2013]

Abgeschickt von Sophia Stalzer-Wyant am 21 Juli, 2003 um 01:17:56


In response to the recent message by the Echter Gottscheer I must say that I am in complete agreement with his excellent analysis when he writes:

"....John Tschinkel is only concerned with the georaphical significance of Gottschee but he cannot understand that the surviving Gottscheers are what Gottschee is all about they carry on the culture. As long as there are people who continue to learn and gain knowledge about the history and traditions of our people there will always be a Gottschee in this world...."

I further applaud the writer when he states:

"...The Gottscheers who have been living in Gottschee and never left can now rejoice in their new freedom and and do not have to hide their Gottscheer-German background (they actually had to change their names to avoid prosecution because of the communist AVNOJ law decrees).Today with the help of the Gottscheer intellectuals our culture is being revitalized in the publications of the various Gottscheer groups who have united under the "Arbeits Gemeinschaft",although we are scattered around the globe ,we are now one people..."

I am not familiar enough regarding the issue of being able to purchase properties in the former Gottschee to comment . Time will tell the outcome of that desire on the part of some.

I would also like to comment on the fact that there is a wonderful spirit of cooperation between the Gottscheer offspring's living in Slovenia, whose families did not resettle in 1941, and their Slovenian neighbors. They work side by side in restoring many of the remaining Gottscheer structures that survived the war. These have included chapels, churches, cemeteries etc. They have contributed hundreds and hundreds hours of volunteer labor and great financial support. Also, let us not forget that the government of Slovenia, through their Cultural Heritage Office, has contributed generously by their funding of the many excellent publications about Gottschee and the Gottscheers. An finally let us applaud and appreciate the outstanding work of Dr. Mitja Ferenc, and others, who have played an enormous role in bringing much needed awareness, particularly to the younger generation of Slovenians, through research and publications about our ancestors and former homeland,

In my opinion the joint efforts between the Gottscheers and their neighbors in Slovenia, the Government of Slovenia, the individual icons like Dr. Ferenc and others, and the individual Gottscheers, scattered throughout the worlds have been, and continue to be, TEAM WORK AT ITS FINEST. It makes me extremely proud to be a Gottscheerin.

It is also important to know many Slovenians, whose ancestors lived and worked alongside their Gottscheer neighbors during the 630 year Gottscheer presence support our efforts of preservation but they also see the need, desire and justice in doing so. Lets face it, our former homeland will continue to be part of Slovenia's history and it is only proper that the contributions and hard work of our ancestors, "who lived, worked and loved the land" be honored and acknowledged.

Thank you Echter Gottscheer for sharing your thoughts on the subject.

[Forum 2002 - 2013]

Abgeschickt von John Tschinkel am 21 Juli, 2003 um 17:26:15:

Message to Sophia Stalzer-Wyant, Board Member; GHGA

Dear Trix,

Thank you for bringing the Gottschee.de website to the attention of visitors in the Gottscheer chat room. Gottschee.de is an independent site that allows honest and free reporting, a site that brings true and accurate information on our Gottscheer past to the new generation which most of the old and many of the new try to suppress.

When the anonymous writer calls me Anti-Gottscheer, he is partially right. I am "anti" to those who continue to defend the young Nazis who deceived their fellow Gottscheer into abandoning their homeland. The individuals mentioned by the "Echter Gottscheer" are among them. (These former Nazis are now Honored Members in the AG, an organization to which Trix belongs). I will continue to work for those who were betrayed by them and who encourage me to preserve the truth.

The anonymous writer calls himself a true Gottscheer. But a true Gottscheer would not hide and be ashamed to state his name.