Ciril Kotnik
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Ciril Kotnik (20 December 1895 – 29 June 1948) was a Yugoslav diplomat of Slovene ethnicity. He was born in
Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...
, then part the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
, to
Carinthian Slovene Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians (; ; ) are the indigenous minority of Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of the minority group is guaranteed in principle b ...
parents. He attended the Ljubljana Classical Gymnasium, where he became a member of the radical student association '' Preporod'' ("Rebirth"), which advocated the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and the creation of a common state for all
South Slavic peoples South Slavs are Slavs, Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs ...
. At the outbreak of the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
in 1912, Kotnik volunteered in the Serbian army. After the war, he was awarded the Karadjordje's star, one of the highest military awards in the
Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...
. After the creation of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...
in 1918, Kotnik was included in the diplomatic service of the new state. He was sent to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where he worked at the Yugoslav embassy to the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
. He lived and worked in Rome for more than two decades and married a local woman, Maria Tommassetti. After the
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Fü ...
in April 1941, the Yugoslav embassy was closed down and its personnel dismissed. Kotnik was put into
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
in his home in Rome. At the end of 1941, the Royal Yugoslav Government-in-Exile decided to include Kotnik in the Yugoslav diplomatic delegation to the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
. He maintained close contacts with the Yugoslav government in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the
monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
resistance movement of general
Draža Mihajlović Draža or Draza is a given name. Those bearing it include: * Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb g ...
, but was hostile to the
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
-led
Yugoslav partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
of
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
. After the
Italian armistice The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...
in September 1943, Kotnik took advantage of his position of ambassador to the Holy See in order to help many
anti-fascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
and
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
to escape
Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
persecution. During this time, he established contacts with the political activist Janko Kralj, and Slovene emigrant from
Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
, who also helped many anti-Nazis and Jews to escape persecution. On October 28, 1943, the Nazis arrested Kotnik and jailed him in the prison on Via Tasso. He was submitted to heavy torture, but did not reveal his sources. After the war, he collaborated with the Slovene political emigrants
Miha Krek Miha Krek (28 September 1897 – 18 November 1969) was a Slovenian lawyer and conservative politician. Between 1941 and 1969, he was the informal leader of the Slovenian anti-Communist emigration. Born in the Upper Carniolan village of Lesko ...
and
Ivan Ahčin Ivan Ahčin (March 9, 1897 – February 14, 1960) was a Slovene sociologist, journalist, author, and politician. Ahčin was born in Spodnje Domžale (now part of Domžale) and baptized ''Janez Ahčin''. He studied theology at the University of ...
in helping Slovene refugees fleeing from
Socialist Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
. Kotnik died in 1948 because of the lesions suffered under torture. In 2007, members of the Jewish community of Rome proposed to erect a monument in his memory. Ciril Kotnik was the cousin of the Slovene philologian and literary historian Franc Kotnik and of the linguist Janko Kotnik. His half-brother is the missionary Jaroslav Kotnik from
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
. He had three daughters, including the
Italian Canadian Italian Canadians or Italo-Canadians (; ) are Canadian-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who migrated to Canada as part of the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Canada. Accordin ...
journalist Dara Kotnik Mancini and Ivanka Kotnik, mother of the Italian politician
Walter Veltroni Walter Veltroni (; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, film director, journalist and politician. He served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the Italian centre-left opposition until his resignation on 17 February 2009. H ...
, former
Mayor of Rome The mayor of Rome () is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Rome, Rome City Council () of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a ''Comune, comune speciale'' since 2009, the office is d ...
and former president of the Democratic Party.


Sources


Ivo Jevnikar: Il nonno sloveno di Walter Veltroni
* *Walter Veltroni, ''La bella politica'' (Milano: Rizzoli, 1996). {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotnik, Ciril 1895 births 1948 deaths Diplomats from Ljubljana Slovenian Roman Catholics People of Carinthian Slovene descent Diplomats from Rome Torture victims