Petra Svoljšak is a researcher at the Milko Kos Historical Institute of ZRC SAZU and its head. In her work, she focuses on World War I history, cultural-memorial landscapes, and the socio-political history of the 19th and 20th centuries.
She earned her PhD in historical sciences from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana.
Her research explores occupations, violence against civilians, refugees, and non-combatants like women, children, and the elderly. She also studies war victims, the disabled, veterans, and remembrance sites such as the Walk of Peace, using an interdisciplinary lens in a European context.
As a project leader and lecturer at ZRC SAZU's Postgraduate School and the University of Nova Gorica's School of Humanities, she shares knowledge and builds research networks.
Petra Svoljšak's primary research focuses on the history of World War I and its cultural-historical context, with emphasis on the Slovenian Isonzo Front in comparison to European experiences. More broadly, she examines the socio-political history of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her work centers on key aspects of civilian war experiences: occupation dynamics, violence against civilians, refugee movements, the status of non-combatants, and the fates of war invalids, veterans, and victims. She also explores the formation of memorial landscapes and the social history of war.
She employs interdisciplinary and comparative methods, including primary source analysis, cultural-demographic studies, heritage inventories, and participatory approaches in national and European research networks.
Key publications include her monograph Soča, sveta reka, co-authored Leta strahote with Gregor Antoličič, and chapters in volumes from ZRC SAZU Publishing House, Berghahn Books, and Routledge. Through INTERREG projects (WALKofPEACE, GoV4Peace, Beyond Walk of Peace), she has co-built research partnerships. With the Foundation Walk of Peace in the Soča Valley, she establishes networks to support the emerging European Walk of Peace, pursuing Council of Europe Cultural Route certification and UNESCO World Heritage listing.
Future goals include in-depth studies of post-imperial transitions, preservation of the Walk of Peace heritage, and European memorial landscapes.
- Slovenski begunci v Italiji med prvo svetovno vojno, Petra Svoljšak. 1991
- Slovenski begunci v Italiji med prvo svetovno vojno, Petra Svoljšak. 1991
- Prva svetovna vojna in Slovenci : 1. del, Petra Svoljšak. 1993
- Prva svetovna vojna in Slovenci : II.1945-1992, Petra Svoljšak. 1993
- V vrtincu oktobrske revolucije, Petra Svoljšak. 1994
- Prva svetovna vojna v slovenskem zgodovinskem spominu. Del 1, Petra Svoljšak. 1994
- Prva svetovna vojna v slovenskem zgodovinskem spominu. Del 2, Petra Svoljšak. 1995
- Neodvisna kočevska republika, Petra Svoljšak. 1995
- Dr. Alojzij Res v prvi svetovni vojni. Resovo vojno dopisništvo, Petra Svoljšak. 1996
- Prva svetovna vojna v slovenskem zgodovinskem spominu. Del 3, Petra Svoljšak. 1996
- La prima guerra mondiale e le sue ripercussioni sul margine occidentale dell'area alpina slovena, Petra Svoljšak
- L' occupazione italiana dell'Isontino dal maggio 1915 all'ottobre 1915 all'ottobre 1917 e gli sloveni, Petra Svoljšak. 1998
- Priprave na leto 1918 : nekateri vidiki italijanske uprave zasedenih slovenskih ozemelj med prvo svetovno vojno, Petra Svoljšak. 1999
- Od strateških načrtov do raznarodovalne politike italijanskega okupanta na zasedenih slovenskih ozemljih med prvo svetovno vojno, Petra Svoljšak. 1999
- Fronta na Soči, Petra Svoljšak. 2004
- Slovensko begunsko šolstvo med prvo svetovno vojno, Petra Svoljšak. 2004
- Nekaj utrinkov iz delovanja veteranske organizacije Zveza bojevnikov : "Organizacija Bojevnikov je trdna in močna, je zveza src in duš. Je temelj prijateljstva in ljubezni med narodi", Petra Svoljšak. 2006
- Kdaj bomo posvojili prvo svetovno vojno?, Petra Svoljšak. 2007
- Čigava ali komu soška fronta : slovensko-hrvaški stiki med prvo svetovno vojno v luči obrambe zahodne slovenske narodne meje, Petra Svoljšak. 2008
- The social history of the Soča/Isonzo region in the First World War, Petra Svoljšak. 2009
- Slovensko ozemlje med italijanskimi strateškimi načrti in italijansko zasedbo v času prve svetovne vojne, Petra Svoljšak. 2006
- Vélika vojna in Slovenci, Petra Svoljšak. 2009
- First World War: a historical memory and an admonishment (research project • January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2014)
- Cultural demography of world war one (fundamental research project • May 1, 2009 - April 30, 2012)
- Basic research of Slovene cultural past 2015-2020 (research programme • January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2021)
- Refugees - a never ending story (fundamental research project • May 1, 2017 - April 30, 2020)
- University of Nova Gorica, Master's Study Programme in Humanities Studies, History of Borderland Spaces (co-lecturer of the course)
- Postgraduate School of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), programme Comparative Study of Ideas and Cultures, module Cultural History, History of Violence (course leader)
- Silver Badge of ZRC SAZU for the most impactful doctoral thesis in the humanities for the year 1998
- Knight's Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit "in recognition of her efforts in developing Hungarian-Slovenian scientific and cultural ties and in organizing commemorative ceremonies for the centenary of the First World War"
- Klio Award of the Union of Historical Societies of Slovenia for the years 2019 and 2020 for the monograph: Petra Svoljšak, Gregor Antoličič, Year of Terror. Slovenes and the First World War. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 2018
- President of the Management Board of the Institute of Contemporary History
- Vice-President of the Management Board of ZRC SAZU
- Member of the Management Board of the Foundation Paths of Peace in the Soča Region (Fundacija Poti miru v Posočju)