About the Italian Spy Anton Kravanja – Koc

SLOVENIA, January 31 - During the turbulent times following the end of the Great War and the region’s transition to a new autonomous administration within the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the first Slovenian National Government established a Department of Internal Affairs (renamed the Commission for Internal Affairs after January 1919), which was headed by the Commissioner Dr. Janko Brejc. The Department assumed responsibility for all matters previously handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Vienna and by the provincial political authorities. As had been the practice at the Vienna Ministry, the newly established department continued to divide its records into two groups: general records, handled by different sections’ officers, and presidential records, which were of a more sensitive nature and were processed by the Commissioner of the Department himself or, on his behalf, by Dr. Janko Kremenšek. Most of these presidential records have been preserved and are now held at the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia in the archival fonds SI AS 61.  

Throughout this transitional period at the end of the First World War, the internal political administration of the new state faced a complex situation and numerous challenges. It had to handle the retreat of the defeated Austro-Hungarian Army across the territory of the newly created state, while also addressing the population’s poor living conditions, which sometimes led to strikes and civil unrest. At the same time, it needed to deal with the Italian occupation of the Littoral and part of the Inner Carniola which had been declared part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as well as conduct military operations with Austria along the northern border. The Department of Internal Affairs thus handled files related to these issues on a daily basis. With the support of the Office for the Occupied Territory, it regularly monitored events in the regions occupied by Italian Army and alerted its subordinate offices and services to potential dangers, including spies sent to Slovenian territory to gather information for the army. Based on one such report from the occupied territory, a notice was issued on July 23, 1919, to all the district administrative units, political branch offices, and police offices, warning of three spies from the Bovec region: Anton Kravanja and Anton Hrovat from Soča and Ivan Berginc-Štrukelj from Trenta Valley.

The living conditions of the inhabitants of the Bovec region at the end of the Great War were far from ideal. Two and a half years of warfare on the front left the region devastated: its fields and meadows ruined and littered with the remains of war, entire towns demolished and almost uninhabitable. The war also left its traces in the hinterland of the front along the Trenta Valley. Life was hard for many people, and the shortage of food was a constant concern. Italy’s military occupation of this territory was initially seen as a positive change due to its ability to ensure food supplies. For many people, the food distributed by the Italian Army mattered more than the administration under which they found themselves. Although those who were more politically and nationally conscious warned of the “Lah” danger – a derogatory term for Italians -, both men and women continued to seek opportunities for better provisions or earnings with the occupying Italian forces. As a result, some quickly found themselves on the list of those believed to be spying for the Italian Army. 

On October 22, 1919, members of the gendarmerie in Bezuljak near Cerknica arrested a person described as follows:

“Anton Kravanja from Soča, 24 years of age, who may possess false identification documents. He is short and of stout built; he has thick pitch-black hair, a low forehead, black eyebrows, piercing black eyes, and extraordinarily intense, fiery gaze. He is tanned. In general, he is a boy of fiery, sanguine behaviour. He usually wears a green, hairy hat (sometimes a small cap) and a black suit. His shirt is open at the collar. He speaks Slovenian, German well, and a pretty good Italian – Trieste dialect (he is the chief and the most dangerous spy).”

Based on the notice of the Department of Internal Affairs and the orders of the investigative judge, Kravanja was sent to prison on November 6, and the investigation into his guilt continued.

Kravanja remained in prison until January 24, 1920, while the investigative judge attempted to gather evidence proving that the suspect was indeed a spy for the Italian Army. No such evidence was found, and the proceedings were terminated under Article 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the former Austrian state. Kravanja’s case was then transferred to the Police Directorate in Ljubljana. Although there was still no proof of his espionage, the Directorate sent him to a forced labour workshop while further out-of-court investigation continued. The Department of Internal Affairs turned to the Office for the Occupied Territory to locate someone who might know more about Kravanja. Dr. Slavko Fornazarič, Head of the Office, suggested consulting Andrej Flajs, a teacher in Borovlje and another native of Soča. Following this recommendation, the Commissioner instructed the District Governor in Borovlje to interrogate Flajs.

Andrej Flajs visited the District Governor’s office in Borovlje on March 17, 1920, but could provide no positive information about Andrej Kravanja, locally known as Koc. Apparently, Kravanja had a poor upbringing from a very early age and a bad reputation among the locals in the village. Flajs learnt from the wife of Fran Vidmar, the district judge in Bovec, that even after the Italian occupation, Kravanja was considered unreliable by the locals and was believed to have been bribed by the Italian authorities to go and spy for them across the border. He was unable to provide any further information about Kravanja, but suggested contacting his brother Mirko, who was attending school in Ljubljana. 

Meanwhile, on March 18, Kravanja himself submitted a petition to the Provincial Government, stating that the investigation had taken too long. He requested to be released from the forced labour workshop and asked for a chance to work in a mine. He did not want to return to the Italian-occupied territory, as he believed the Italian authorities were seeking for him there. He insisted that the accusations of his espionage were mistaken, which he claimed could clearly be proved by his meagre belongings, consisting of little more than his torn clothes. If his request to remain and work in Yugoslavia was denied, he asked the government to deport him to Germany, where he had worked before the war. 

The investigation continued, but Kravanja received no response. On April 14, 1920, after weeks of waiting, he decided to take matters into his own hands. At around nine o clock in the evening, after leaving the toilets, he took advantage of a moment of negligence on the part of Franc Okiček, the guard at the forced labour workshop, and made a theatrical escape. Holding a bottle in his hand, he carried a ladder to the courtyard wall, climbed over it, and disappeared without a trace. As a result of his negligence, the guard became the subject of internal investigation. A wanted notice was issued for Kravanja, and the Department closed his case. One might conclude that, although the investigation dragged on, Kravanja’s escape was indeed “smooth and swift”. 

Jernej Komac