Dolenjski muzej

The first idea for a museum collecting material about the history of Novo mesto and Dolenjska was born in 1865, when the town celebrated its 500th anniversary. After several years of efforts by the Museum Society (founded in 1941) – an association of intellectuals from Dolenjska who began to systematically collect museum material – the long-awaited museum was finally founded in 1950, exactly 85 years after the first initiative. On June 1, 1950, the museum was handed over to the District People’s Committee Novo mesto by a decision of the People’s Committee of the Ljubljana government. Since then, this day has been considered the birthday of the Museum of Dolenjska.

The Dolenjska Museum in Novo Mesto is a general regional museum with three permanent exhibitions (archeological, ethnological, recent history) and two dislocated units: the Jakac House and the Kočevski rog – Base 20.

The permanent contemporary history exhibition of the Museum of Dolenjska was established in 1981. It covers the period from the first organized proletarian activities before the Second World War to the liberation of Novo mesto on 8 May 1945, with a focus on activities during the war – the National Liberation Struggle (NOB) in this part of Slovenia. The exhibits from the pre-war period relate to the economy or various aspects of club life. The exhibits from the war period consist of objects that belonged to the occupying troops or internees, weapons and equipment of the partisans, remains of bombs from the air raids on Novo mesto, products from the partisan workshops, propaganda posters, surgical and dental instruments from the partisan hospitals. Also on display are the partisan buildings in Kočevski Rog and Novo mesto, which are surrounded by a wire fence. Another special feature of the exhibition are photo albums and the memorial hall with the names of almost 3,000 fallen partisans, activists and victims of the occupation from the inner Dolenjska region. The exhibition site is one of the few museum buildings built in Slovenia after the Second World War specifically for this purpose.

Regarding the persecution of Jews living in Dolenjska, the museum has an object relating to Ernest Bock (1922-1943) and a scan of his portrait photo. Ernest Bock fled with his parents from Maribor to Novo mesto shortly before the outbreak of war in Slovenia at the beginning of April 1941. He wrote his short diary entries in a concentration camp in Italy (1942-1943-Monigo and Gonars), where he was taken together with his classmates from the grammar school in Novo mesto for collaborating with the NOB. After his return from internment, he joined the partisans. He was killed on September 10, 1943 near the village of Mršeča. His name is on the list in the museum's memorial hall. His parents were not in a concentration camp and survived the war.

The Dolenjska Museum does not have any archive or object material or witness testimonies on the subject of Porajmos.