Although the resistance movement in Prekmurje differed significantly from development in the rest of Slovenia in terms of development, four smaller armed groups also formed on the left bank of the Mura River during the occupation. The first resistance organization, led by Štefan Kovač, was part of a united movement organized by the Communist Party of Slovenia and began operations after the Axis forces attacked the Soviet Union. After the break-up of the resistance movement in October 1941, there was no armed resistance in Prekmurje until the autumn of 1944. In early October 1944, two smaller armed units operated in Prekmurje. The Džems Company arrived in Prekmurje from Styria to establish a Partisan movement and political organizations, while the Šumenjak and Kramar group tried to seize power while Hungary was expected to capitulate. Neither of the two groups achieved their goals. The fourth organization operating in Prekmurje was the Prekmurje Company, established in January 1945. In early April of the same year, they helped the Red Army liberate Prekmurje.
Hanging of Evgen Kardoš and Štefan Cvetko on October 31, 1941, in the courtyard of the Murska Sobota Castle. PMMS.
A sketch drawn by the Hungarian gendarmes (csendőrség) shows 13 sabotage and propaganda actions by the resistance movement and their perpetrators from April to October 1941. MNL ZML, IV. 401. b. 50/1941.
National hero Dane Šumenjak (first from right) with fellow fighters; on October 22, 1944, he was killed in combat at Vaneča. PMMS.
Štefan Kovač, national hero and organizer of the first resistance movement, in the first year of occupation; in October 1941, he was killed in a fight at the village of Gančani. PMMS.
Vogler's cottage in Bukovnica, where in early 1945, the Prekmurje Company was staying. PMMS.
Danijel Halas. The last victim of the Hungarians or the first victim of the new government? PMMS. Danijel Halas was ordained as a priest in 1933. After a brief service in Ljutomer, he was appointed as a chaplain in Dolnja Lendava. From 1938 until he died in 1945, he served in the newly-created parish of Velika Polana; as a pastor from 1939. He was imprisoned by the Hungarian authorities in the autumn of 1941 and charged for collaboration with the Communists. After nine months, he was released from prison and was allowed to return to his congregation. When he was returning from Dolnja Lendava in the evening hours of March 16, 1945, strangers grabbed him near Hotiza, brutally beat him and dragged him to Mura, where he was shot in the head and thrown into the river.
