The Lost Children of Slovenia association (Izgubljeni otroci Slovenije), based in Novo mesto and led by Simona Š. Kalanj, continues their efforts to uncover the story of the stolen children. They publish many stories of mothers on their website (available in Slovenian here), and a special commission of inquiry has been set up in the National Assembly for this purpose.
They have recently posted a shocking story related to the burial place of one of the newborns on their Facebook page.
They explained that some time ago, they had sent a question to the Žale cemetery in Ljubljana about one of the graves of a baby who had allegedly died shortly after birth. On the 15th of November 2023, the Žale cemetery replied with an explanation that the newborn they had asked about was buried at Žale, and even gave the number of the burial site.
The association did not stop there. Further research revealed that the burial place the representatives of the Žale cemetery had mentioned is actually the burial place of a lady who had died in 1985 in Germany. Her body was transported from Germany to Žale, where it still lies. The person who paid for and ordered the burial was a man, for whom the cemetery also provided the name and telephone number, so that the association could contact him.
The Lost Children of Slovenia association also found out that the coffin was hermetically sealed due to the transport of the body from Germany. In relation to this, the Žale funeral company was asked to explain how it was possible that the deceased newborn baby, whose grave they had asked for, had been buried together with the deceased woman.
A relative of the deceased lady from Germany who was buried at Žale assured them that the grave had been empty before the deceased’s burial. They were also informed that the grave was to be redug this year.
The association added that, given the circumstances, they would propose to the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Slovenia, which already has a case pending and is conducting proceedings in relation to this, that the grave should not be redug until the competent prosecutor had ordered it to be done.
The management of Žale was asked to provide further clarification on the above findings, and to forward any documents that might shed light on the course of events concerning the grave site in question. However, the cemetery Žale remains silent. Two months on, they have still not found the time to reply to the association. Time is running out, and it may be that the grave will have been dug up, and all traces will have disappeared.
Therefore, in accordance with the Media Act, we have sent questions about this to Žale’s management from our editorial office. We will publish their response as soon as we receive it.
You can find out more about the association (in Slovenian) here: https://izgubljeniotroci.si/about/
Moja Dolenjska
