Preserving the memory of the victims of the post war communist period in Slovenia

European Parliament resolution of 8 July 2025 on preserving the memory of the victims of the post-war communist period in Slovenia (2025/2575(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the Treaty on European Union, particularly Article 2 thereof, which upholds respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and human rights,

–having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related United Nations resolutions,

–having regard to Resolution 1481 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 26 January 2006 on the need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes,

–having regard to the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism of 3 June 2008, which calls for Europe-wide condemnation of, and education about, the crimes of communism,

–having regard to its declaration of 23 September 2008 on the proclamation of 23 August as European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism,

–having regard to the Vilnius Declaration of the OSCE of July 2009 condemning totalitarianism and supporting the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism,

–having regard to its resolution of 2 April 2009 on European conscience and totalitarianism,

–having regard to the Commission report of 22 December 2010 entitled ‘The memory of the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes in Europe’ (COM(2010)0783),

–having regard to its resolution of 19 September 2019 on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe,

–having regard to its resolution of 17 January 2024 on European historical consciousness,

–having regard to Petition No 0718/2023,

–having regard to Rule 233(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas European history, in all its complexity, should be respected and addressed through an objective, inclusive and evidence-based dialogue that promotes understanding and reconciliation and that should be conducted by professional historians and not be subject to political influence;

B.whereas preserving the memory of Europe’s tragic past and remembering all victims of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes is essential for honouring the dignity of those victims, promoting reconciliation, human rights and the rule of law, and fostering a culture of peace and mutual respect;

C.whereas Parliament has adopted a resolution on European consciousness and totalitarianism and has always been committed to preserving the memory of victims of all totalitarian regimes;

D.whereas the crimes committed during the Second World War in Slovenia and other republics of the former Yugoslavia must never be forgotten;

E.whereas in the aftermath of the Second World War, more than 100 000 Slovenian residents who resisted the communist system and its ideological repression were victims of violence in various forms; whereas these acts constituted serious violations of fundamental human rights, including the right to life, a fair trial and a decent burial;

F.whereas tens of thousands of civilians and prisoners of war were extrajudicially executed by the Yugoslav communist regime in Slovenia; whereas in 1945 alone, thousands were executed right after the end of the war;

G.whereas the Slovenian Government Commission on Concealed Mass Graves has identified over 750 locations of hidden gravesites, revealing a systematic effort to conceal these crimes, yet the places of execution have not been located and the victims have not been properly buried;

H.whereas mass graves were covered up for decades and public discussion of these crimes was strictly prohibited under the totalitarian regime, thus burying historical truth and hindering the process of reconciliation;

I.whereas the Slovenian Government abolished the National Day of Remembrance for victims of communist violence in 2023, which represents a serious backward step in efforts to ensure historical justice, reconciliation and respect for victims;

J.whereas European history should be remembered and discussed objectively, and whereas the victims of the communist massacres in Slovenia therefore deserve remembrance and respect; whereas respect for the historical memory of the victims of all totalitarian regimes contributes to the building of a just and democratic society;

K.whereas the Slovenian National Assembly passed a law in December 2024 banning the use of symbols of Nazism, fascism and their collaborationist organisations from the Second World War, but not the symbols of communism;

L.whereas forced labour camps existed in all former Yugoslav republics; whereas these camps were used by the totalitarian communist regime in the country as a tool for suppressing all political opposition;

1.Takes the view that the memory of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes should form part of the collective memory that makes up modern European history; acknowledges the crimes committed by Nazi, fascist and communist totalitarian regimes and the role these crimes have played in shaping historical perceptions in Europe;

2.Underlines the importance of including historical facts in educational programmes and history textbooks to ensure that young people understand the importance of democracy and human rights;

3.Reaffirms its condemnation of all forms of totalitarianism and authoritarianism, including communism, in line with its previous resolutions on historical memory and human rights;

4.Reaffirms that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations and should all be judged and handled against the same scale; reaffirms its unequivocal condemnation of historical revisionism and the glorification of Nazi collaborators and other wartime actors responsible for atrocities during and after the Second World War, including the trivialisation of crimes perpetrated by the Nazi and Fascist regimes and their allies, as well as the actions of collaborationist forces and the Yugoslav communist authorities; reiterates the importance of accurate and inclusive historical remembrance that recognises the full scale of totalitarian violence; emphasises the moral responsibility to preserve the memory of all innocent victims of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in a spirit of reconciliation, truth and democratic values, while rejecting any exploitation of history for political gain and urging continued scholarly engagement with this complex legacy;

5.Calls for the preservation of the memory of all innocent victims of the communist regime in Slovenia, from its inception to its downfall;

6.Underlines the importance of the dedicated work taking place on the full disclosure of historical facts, and the continuation of the official investigative mission to uncover the sites of mass graves in Slovenia in order to document and verify historical evidence of crimes committed;

7.Highlights that many of those responsible for post-war crimes were not held accountable for their actions;

8.Believes that the victims of Second World War and post-war retribution violence by the Yugoslav communist authorities in Slovenia must be buried properly and with dignity; calls on the Slovenian authorities to continue to do their utmost to guarantee the universal right to burial, and to maintain supporting institutions that contribute to a scholarly and evidence-based understanding of historical events;

9.Notes that Member States have established memorials to commemorate totalitarian atrocities; calls on Slovenian authorities to continue investigating concealed graves, conduct dignified burials, and establish memorial sites to serve as reminders for future generations;

10.Reiterates that the official day of remembrance for the millions of victims of totalitarian regimes, known as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of All Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes, is 23 August;

11.Stresses the importance of keeping the memory of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes alive, as there can be no reconciliation without remembrance; recalls that remembrance policies fall under the competence of the Member States and therefore do not fall within the scope of EU law; encourages all Member States to actively support remembrance policy projects that foster reconciliation rather than division or political instrumentalisation;

12.Recalls that the Commission is providing funding under the citizens, equality, rights and values programme to support remembrance actions and research and education projects that reflect on the causes of totalitarian regimes, in particular Nazism, but also fascism, Stalinism and communist regimes, and to commemorate the victims of their crimes;

13.Believes that a National Day of Remembrance in Slovenia should commemorate victims of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, including communism, to respect historical justice and contribute to reconciliation;

14.Calls on the Commission to continue the programme of historical remembrance taking into account all tragedies, to support projects across Europe that address the history of totalitarian crimes, encourage remembrance and serve reconciliation; Reiterates that the crimes of the totalitarian Yugoslav communist regime are not limited to Slovenia and that victims exist in all former Yugoslav republics and autonomous regions;

15.Calls for a comprehensive examination of the archives of the Yugoslav secret services, in particular KOS and UDBA;

16.Underlines that all totalitarian regimes should be condemned and that their symbols should not be promoted;

17.Calls on Slovenia and the other Member States to strive to strengthen historical memory, mutual understanding and reconciliation based on truth and respect for all victims of totalitarian regimes;

18.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the Slovenian Government and parliament, and the governments and parliaments of the other Member States.