Cultural silence ( sl, kulturni molk) was the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

, 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, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

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

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

with the popular song ''

The Linden Tree Became Green ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' (). After the

capitulation of Italy The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

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 and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

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 events Boycotts Political history of Slovenia Slovenia in World War II 1942 in Slovenia Cultural history of Slovenia Cultural politics Slovene Resistance