Dušan Stefančič
Dušan Stefančič (born August 14, 1927 in Gornji Grad ) is Honorary President of the International Mauthausen Committee and President of the Slovenian Mauthausen Committee. He survived six concentration camps .
Childhood and youth in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Dušan Stefančič, born in Gornji Grad, Slovenia , grew up in Odžaci in Vojvodina in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . His father was a veterinarian and was often transferred to another job, which is why the family often had to move. In addition to his native Slovene, Stefančič also learned Serbian at school and German on the street, because the town of Oaci had a German-speaking majority. After his father was transferred to the Bosnian city of Bihač, where Stefančič witnessed the invasion of the German army and the terror of the NDH (Independent State of Croatia) in 1941 , the family moved to the Slovenian city of Ljubljana , which was under Italian occupation at the time. In spring 1943 Stefančič joined the OF (Slovenian Resistance Organization ). On January 21, 1944, he was arrested in Ljubljana and, after three weeks in prison, transported to the Dachau concentration camp .
concentration camp
In Dachau concentration camp, Stefančič was given prisoner number 63839 and was transported on after a few weeks. On March 10, 1944, he reached the Markirch ( St. Marie aux Mines ) concentration camp , a satellite camp of the Natzweiler concentration camp in Alsace . As a prisoner with the number 8482 he worked on the construction of an underground aircraft factory. Because of his knowledge of German, he was a telephone operator for a while. Because he sustained an injury to his left hand, he stayed in the camp, and was promoted to the porter of the camp a little later. After his recovery, he was sent back to work in the tunnel, where he was used at the cement mixer. Afterwards, they were transferred to the Natzweiler concentration camp together with other underage prisoners . In this camp he became an assistant nurse in the infirmary. In August 1944 he was transferred to the Mauthausen concentration camp , where Stefančič was given the prisoner number 91282. After a few days in the quarantine block, he was sent to Gusen I concentration camp four kilometers away . He worked on a salt bath in a Messerschmitt aircraft manufacturing workshop. In April 1945 Stefančič was transferred to the adjacent Gusen II concentration camp , where he was again used in a salt bath in the “Bergkristall” tunnel.
Homecoming
On May 5, 1945, the concentration camp was finally liberated by American units. In the following weeks they organized a train for the survivors from Perg to Vienna and on to Slovenia. In Vienna they found out that the Semmering Pass was already open, so they boarded a train to Graz . A day later they drove on to Šentilj in Slovenia. The survivors were examined by a doctor in Maribor and arrived in Ljubljana on the same day . Stefančič had to spend the last night there in the Marijanišče (return center). He finally arrived home on June 14th. A fortnight later he had to go back to school.
Life until today
In Ljubljana he continued high school, which he graduated from high school in 1946. He then worked as an industrial mechanic at the Triglav-Film film studio. After a few years he began to study law. As a qualified lawyer, he then worked at Litostroj exporting hydropower plants and at Ljubljanska Banka in the field of communication with other banks. Then he worked for various companies and spent eight years in India in Chennai and New Delhi . He still spends his pension in Ljubljana and Gornji Grad .
Commitment and awards
Dušan Stefančič was President of the International Mauthausen Committee from 2007 to 2011 and has been President of the Slovenian Mauthausen Committee since 2000. Today he is Honorary President of the International Mauthausen Committee. Stefančič is tireless in his work with young people, e. B. in the form of lectures at schools in which he talks about his experiences in the concentration camps. He is also often an honorary speaker at various memorial services.
In 2003 he was honored with the Great Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria . In 2001 he received an award for merit from the International Mauthausen Committee. In 2013 the club awarded him a gold plaque.
literature
- Monika Kokalj Kočevar: Dušan Stefančič. In: Hitlerjeva dolga senca. Mohorjeva založba Celovec, Celovec 2007, ISBN 978-3-7086-0245-5 , pp. 296-303
- Monika Kokalj Kočevar: Dušan Stefančič. In: Pot domov. Muzej novejše zgodovine Slovenije, Ljubljana 2015, ISBN 978-961-6665-37-7 , pp. 71-72
- Monika Kokalj Kočevar: Dušan Stefančič. In: Coming home. Muzej novejše zgodovine Slovenije, Ljubljana 2015, ISBN 978-961-6665-40-7 , pp. 39-40
- Lukas Mair: Dušan Stefančič. CV (written from archive material of the National Museum of Contemporary History, Ljubljana, Slovenia)
swell
- Interview with Dušan Stefančič, 2005 (International project: Documentation of the life stories of former forced and slave laborers )
- Interviews with Dušan Stefančič in 2008, 2012, 2015 ( National Museum of Contemporary History, Ljubljana, Slovenia ).
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stefančič, Dušan |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Yugoslav or Slovenian Nazi victim, honorary president of the International Mauthausen Committee |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 14, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gornji degree |