“Angel of Oblivion” by Maja Haderlap

What historians have known for a long time has reached public awareness in recent years through literary works, namely through the books written by descendants of persecuted Carinthian Slovenes, who faced their own tragic family histories. Of note would be Florjan Lipuš or Andrej Kokot, and also the writer Maja Haderlap, who offers valuable history lessons with her autobiographical novel "Angel of Oblivion".

She writes about the fate of her grandmother, who was deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp, and the story of her father, who at the tender age of twelve was one of the youngest combatants in the ranks of the partisans. The writer also reports on the bureaucratic harassments which her family, like many Nazi victims, were subjected to in the Second Republic. In an impressive manner, Haderlap portrays the sentiment that was present throughout Carinthia after 1945: universal distrust of all those who had fought against National Socialism. Under these conditions, the Slovenian resistance against fascism was never afforded the recognition it deserved.

The recognition by the Bachmann Prize in 2011 enticed many, in Carinthia and beyond, to concern themselves with this part of Carinthian history, and to incorporate it into collective remembrance. However, Haderlap also received criticism, and had to address the question of why she wrote her novel in German instead of her native language. Florjan Lipuš, on the other hand, was nominated for the Grand Austrian State Prize for Literature in 2016. On the first attempt, he was denied the award with the argument that he does not write in German. Only after some fierce protests was the prize eventually presented to him in 2018.