He was born in 1898.

At the age of 17 he was drafted 1915 with his brother into the austrian army and fought against the italian army in the Dolomites.

First picture when he moved in to the army in 1915. (He stands right)


This is a picture from his fight time on the Dolomites. In the photo he is leaning against the door.


Here you can see the a photo of the work on the rail network to the Dolomits. It was important to expand the rail network for the supply. In addition to fighting, the soldiers also had to take part in construction projects.


Here is another photo of his comrades and friends. In the Austro-Hungarian army they fought with people from different countries. There were also different religions to deal with. In my great-great-grandfathers unit there were also Bosniaks of Muslim faith. In the canteen there was an extra kitchen and food distribution for them. They ate together and not separately. Only the officers are among themselves in a separate area.


Another friend of Franc


During a fight a grenade shrapnel shredded his right leg. In the hospital they wanted to amputate it, but he refused. The leg was saved, but he was never able to walk properly again.
Throughout his life he needed a walking stick because his right leg was stiff.

Photo after his treatment. His head was also shave to prevent lice infestation. The hygienic measures at the front were bad. (He is on the right side)


Photo of his comrades in the hospital.


He received the bravery medal.


After his recovery, he was classified as unfit for action. He was transferred to the army music corps in which he played the violin. (The X marks his position)


But that didn't stop him from living his life. He had modified a bicycle so that he could ride it with one leg. After the war he opened a cinema and married my great-great-grandmother Maria and had 2 children.


Photo of my great-great-grandmother Maria.


Photo of my great-great-grandmother Maria with her sister and her 2 children Ivan and Franc. Fun Fact: In 3 generation people in my Family had the name Franc with the exact same surnames. On family outings in other countries where you stood in line and had to show your ID on the border, they drive the inspectors into madness.

Unfortunately, my great-great-grandmother Maria died early of tuberculosis. After a few years he married a second time and adopted his new wife's child. But it was more of an arranged marriage because of the children. As a single person it was very difficult at that time to go to work and take care of the children at the same time.


Photo of him in 1920 at a veterans meeting in Slovenia. (He sits right)


When the stock market crashed in 1929, he also lost his cinema. He invested in railroad stocks that went worthless overnight. He had to work in the fields for a while. Later he opened a small tobacconist and a small library. For the books, he sewed some of the old film tapes together and used them as protective covers.

During World War II he lived in Slovenia, which was once part of Austria-Hungary.
When the Italians marched in, his situation worsened.
The Italians were paranoid about the partisan issue.
Anyone could be arrested and deported for no reason.

My great-great-grandfather Franc, his brother and his two children were arrested and sent to the Italian concentration camp in Gonars.
Until the end of the war they had to try to survive under the worst circumstances.

The fact that he once fought on the Austrian side against the Italians was not an advantage in this situation.


Here you can see 4 ration coupons that he received in the concentration camps.
At first he was imprisoned in a civilian concentration camp in Renicci.
He was then transferred to a concentration camp for prisoners of war in Gonars.


Translated version of the camp ration coupons (Renicci: left side) (Gonars: right side)


He made this cross during his captivity in the concentration camp Gonars. The plaque bears the inscription "spomin na Gonars" which meens "memory of Gonars". He had the plaque engraved after the war. It is originally a name badge. On the back he scratched his name in.

All 4 also survived the 2nd World War.