The myth of martyrdom and return among Argentine Slovenes

V diplomskem delu avtorica predstavi skupnost Slovencev, ki so po drugi svetovni vojni odšli v Argentino. Najprej opiše vse tri slovenske migracije, nato pa spremlja težko pot t. i. argentinskih Slovencev, ki so se po drugi svetovni vojni, zaradi groženj komunističnega režima, umaknili v taborišča v Avstriji in Italiji, nato pa imigrirali v Argentino. Kljub temu, kot opisuje avtorica, niso izgubili poguma in so že takoj organizirali pestro kulturno in versko življenje – ustanovili so slovenske šole ter začeli tiskati slovenske časopise in knjige. Delo so takoj nadaljevali tudi v Argentini, še posebno pa so se začeli posvečati ohranjanju slovenstva, saj so spoznali, da se v domovino ne bodo morali vrniti. Avtorica se posveti »mitu o mučeništvu in vrnitvi,« saj je bila to nekakšna rdeča nit njihovega življenja, mučeništvo jih je namreč močno zaznamovalo, povezovalo pa jih je tudi začetno upanje na vrnitev, ki je počasi bledelo. Ostal je le še spomin na mučeništvo, ki je še zdaj osrednja tema njihovih kulturnih prireditev. Po osamosvojitvi Slovenije pa se je začela dogajati drugačna »vrnitev«, ko so v domovino svojih staršev začeli prihajati argentinski Slovenci, za katere ne moremo več reči, da so se vrnili, saj tukaj niso nikoli živeli. Avtorica posebej razloži besedo mit, ki je njene argentinske sogovornike najprej močno prizadela, saj so si predstavljali, da je z njo izničena resničnost njihovega trpljenja. Zato je čutila potrebo, da pove, kaj mit v resnici pomeni in kako se ta beseda sklada z resničnostjo, ki so jo argentinski Slovenci doživeli in (do danes) preživeli.In her bachelor’s thesis, the author presents the community of Slovenes, who went to Argentina after the Second World War. Firstly, she describes all three Slovene migrations, and then follows the difficult path of the so-called Argentine Slovenes, who after the Second world war, due to the threats of the communist regime, withdrew to camps in Austria and Italy, and later immigrated to Argentina. Even so, as the author describes, they did not lose courage and immediately organized a diverse cultural and religious life, they also established Slovenian schools and began to print Slovenian newspapers and books. In Argentina they immediately continued their work, and especially began to dedicate themselves to the preservation of Sloveneness, because they realized that they will not be able to come back to their homeland. The author focuses on the »myth of martyrdom and return«, as it was a recurring theme in their lives, as martyrdom strongly marked them, but linked by the initial hope of a return, which was slowly fading. All that remains is the memory of martyrdom, which still is the central theme of their cultural events. After the independence of Slovenia, however, a different »return« began to take place, when Argentine Slovenes started moving to their parents homeland, which we can no longer say, that they have returned, since they never lived here. The author specifically explains the word myth, which at first severely affected her Argentina interlocutors, as they imagined that it nullified the reality of their suffering. Because of that, she felt the need to say, what the myth really means and how the word fits in with the reality that Argentine Slovenes have experienced and (to this day) survived