There is a modest cemetery next to the village church at high Rebrca / Rechberg. The bodies of four fallen partisans rest here. The original wooden cross (on which there was the inscription: In memory of the fallen partisans of 9 May 1945. Glory to them!) is no more. It has been replaced by an iron cross, which bears only a German inscription:
3 unknown Yugoslavians
Additionally this cross is right next to the wall. However, the island of remembrance in Rebrca / Rechberg is now marked by an artist-made stone monument, which reads:
Partisans killed in the fight against fascism 1941-1945
Mirko Gerdej-Vinko, couriers Skala and Vinko and 1 unknown.
The Rebrca / Rechberg pulp mill was one example of the anti-fascist sentiment that also permeated the working class. During the war, the workers in the pulp factory set up committees of a trade union organisation called "Workers' Unity". These committees organised help for the partisans and sent worker volunteers into the ranks of the fighters.
Death in the last days of the war …
The last remnants of the German army came via Jezersko, through Železna Kapla / Bad Eisenkappel and past Rebrca / Rechberg to Podjuna / Jauntal. Their servants, mainly Russian vlasovers, were also retreating with them. They were all in a hurry to surrender to the English, just to avoid falling into the hands of the partisan army.
A partisan trio - a patrol - left Černezln homestead under Rebrca / Rechberg with the quest to provide horse-drawn carriages for the intendancy. However, the trio encountered a heavily armed unit of vlasovers at the Miklavec bridge. The couriers Janko and Skala were shot on the spot, while the third one barely escaped. Both fallen fighters were buried at Rebrca. Despite inquiries, no more precise identity has been established to date. However, it is believed that one of the fallen was from Solčava and the other from Mežica.
The name of the third partisan buried at Rebrca / Rechberg is also unknown. The fourth partisan, who was also buried at Rebrca / Rechberg, but at a different time, is believed to be Mirko Gerde-Vink, who fell at Bukovnik, Plaznica / Blasnitzenberg, near Rebrca / Rechberg.
Location:
Rebrca / Rechberg lies on the right side of the road from Celovec / Klagenfurt to Železna Kapla / Bad Eisenkappel, on quite a high plateau, and reigns majestically over Bela valley.