Cultural silence () was the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

, ordered in January 1942 by the communist-dominated Slovene Liberation Front (OF), of all cultural activities and events connected with the German and Italian annexation of Slovenia because the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

authorities limited or forbade cultural activities in Slovene. It was symbolically announced at a concert in the Union Hall 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 ...

with the popular song '' The Lime Tree Is in Leaf'' (). After the capitulation of Italy in 1943, it meant a complete stop to all cultural activity outside the OF. On 23 January 1943, it was breached by the Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 1944, 110

anticommunist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

authors published the almanac '' Help in the Winter'' () in protest against the policy. The cultural silence postponed the release of the 1941 documentary film '' O, Vrba'' until August 1945. The "cultural silence" was never precisely defined, and after the war the communist authorities used it as a weapon to exact revenge on cultural figures that were deemed undesirable while turning a blind eye to the wartime activity of other cultural figures.Dolgan, Marjan, Jerneja Fridl, & Manca Volk. 2014. ''Literarni atlas Ljubljane. Zgode in nezgode 94 slovenskih književnikov v Ljubljani''. Ljubljana: ZRC, pp. 62, 70, 135, 175.

References

{{reflist 1942 protests January 1942 in Europe Boycotts Political history of Slovenia Slovenia in World War II 1942 in Slovenia Cultural history of Slovenia Cultural politics Slovene Resistance Cultural history of World War II Ljubljana in World War II