Anton Fister: postępowy ksiądz między słoweńską pamięcią kulturową a zbiorowym zapomnieniem
Anton Fister: revolutionary priest between Slovenian cultural memory and collective amnesia

Author(s): Andraž Jež
Subject(s): Cultural history, Culture and social structure
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Springtime of Nations; progressive priests; Slovenian emigrees in USA; national cultural memory; science in SFR Yugoslavia
Summary/Abstract: Why, despite his extraordinary biography, is Anton Fister (1808–1881) hardly remembered today? This progressive Catholic priest from Radovljica, an acquaintance, in different periods of his life, of France Prešeren and Matija Čop, was a pioneer of animal rights activism, one of the central figures of the bourgeois revolt in Vienna, and a co-signatory of a political appeal also signed by Karl Marx. Fister spent over 30 years in exile in the United States and was almost completely forgotten, both by Slovenian society in general and by most experts. While pondering his present-day oblivion, we should bear in mind that Fister, though never a universally known figure, was nevertheless an object of interest for some experts decades ago – and it is solely in this context that we can discuss the development of notions about this unique historical figure. In the paper I examine the evolving reception of Anton Fister and attempt to find the reasons for his disappearance from the Slovenian collective memory.

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