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Kronika: časopis za slovensko krajevno zgodovino

Germanization of toponyms under the German occupation of Upper Carniola between 1941 and 1945


Author(s):Damjan Hančič
Co-author(s):Miha Preinfalk (odg. ur.), Barbara Šterbenc Svetina (teh. ur.), Manca Gašperšič (prev.), Rok Janežič (lekt.)
Leto:03. 02. 2026
Publisher(s):Zgodovinski inštitut Milka Kosa ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana
Language(s):slovenščina
Type(s) of material:text
Identifier:COBISS.SI-ID: 271468035
Rights:
CC license

This work by Damjan Hančič is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

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The article presents the process of Germanizing Slovenian toponyms or place names in Upper Carniola under the German occupation between 1941 and 1945. In undertaking this task, the occupation authorities largely relied on German place names from the time of Austria–Hungary and in some areas by introducing entirely new German designations. This usually occurred in cases where the former German designation was derived from the Slovenian original and too difficult to pronounce for German speakers, or it bore an excessively Catholic connotation. In major Upper Carniolan towns, where the system of street addresses had already been in place, the practice of (re)naming streets and squares reflected not only the tendency to Germanize but also to reinforce the political hegemony of the German National Socialist Party (NSDAP) by introducing designations after famous German historical and cultural figures as well the leaders of the German National Socialist movement. 

Metadata (13)
  • identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/11686/72090
    • title
      • Germanizacija toponimov pod nemško okupacijo Gorenjske 1941–1945
      • Germanization of toponyms under the German occupation of Upper Carniola between 1941 and 1945
    • creator
      • Damjan Hančič
    • contributor
      • Miha Preinfalk (odg. ur.)
      • Barbara Šterbenc Svetina (teh. ur.)
      • Manca Gašperšič (prev.)
      • Rok Janežič (lekt.)
    • subject
      • toponimi
      • Gorenjska
      • nemška okupacija
      • druga svetovna vojna
      • germanizacija
    • description
      • Avtor v prispevku prikaže proces ponemčevanja slovenskih krajevnih imen (toponimov) na Gorenjskem v času nemške okupacije med letoma 1941 in 1945. Okupacijske oblasti so se pri uradnem preimenovanju krajev iz slovenskih v nemške večinoma oprle na nemška poimenovanja krajev iz časa Avstro-Ogrske, ponekod pa so uvedle povsem nova nemška poimenovanja. To je bilo največkrat v primerih, ko je bodisi dotedanje nemško poimenovanje temeljilo na slovenskem izvirniku in je bilo zato nemško govorečemu preveč težavno za izgovorjavo bodisi je imelo preveč katoliško konotacijo. V večjih gorenjskih krajih, kjer so že imeli uveden ulični sistem naslovov, pa pri po-/pre-/imenovanjih ulic in trgov ob splošnih ponemčevalnih težnjah zaznavamo še težnjo po utrjevanju politične hegemonije nacistične stranke (NSDAP), saj poleg poimenovanj po znamenitih osebnostih iz nemške zgodovine in kulture uvajajo poimenovanja po vodilnih možeh nacionalsocialističnega gibanja.
      • The article presents the process of Germanizing Slovenian toponyms or place names in Upper Carniola under the German occupation between 1941 and 1945. In undertaking this task, the occupation authorities largely relied on German place names from the time of Austria–Hungary and in some areas by introducing entirely new German designations. This usually occurred in cases where the former German designation was derived from the Slovenian original and too difficult to pronounce for German speakers, or it bore an excessively Catholic connotation. In major Upper Carniolan towns, where the system of street addresses had already been in place, the practice of (re)naming streets and squares reflected not only the tendency to Germanize but also to reinforce the political hegemony of the German National Socialist Party (NSDAP) by introducing designations after famous German historical and cultural figures as well the leaders of the German National Socialist movement.
    • publisher
      • Zgodovinski inštitut Milka Kosa ZRC SAZU
    • date
      • 03. 02. 2026
    • type
      • besedilo
    • identifier
      • identifier: COBISS.SI-ID: 271468035
      • identifier: https://doi.org/10.56420/Kronika.74.1.10
    • language
      • Slovenščina
    • isPartOf
    • rights
      • license: ccBySa