Matija Škerbec

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Matija Škerbec (November 5, 1886 – October 17, 1963) was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, writer, and political figure. He was born in Podcerkev, in what was then Austria-Hungary, to tenant farmers. He studied in Ljubljana, finished theology in 1912, and served as a priest in several towns, including Škocjan, Ljubljana, Tržič, and Kranj. In Kranj he became dean (1936–1941) and oversaw the renovation of the parish church and the expansion of the orphanage.

Škerbec founded and edited parish publications, such as the Tržič Parish Bulletin (1924–1928) and the Kranj Bell (1929–1941). He also started the Runa Leatherworkers’ Association in Tržič in 1925. He was a member of the Slovene People’s Party, focusing on labor and social issues, and worked closely with leaders like Marko Natlačen and Anton Korošec. He was arrested in 1932 for participating in the Šenčur incidents and spent a year in prison (1933).

In 1942 he joined Caritas in Ljubljana to help refugees and support anti-communist efforts. In 1943 he helped form the Anticommunist Committee and assisted in organizing the Home Guard in Upper Carniola. In May 1945 he fled first to Austrian Carinthia and then to the United States, settling in Cleveland, Ohio.

In America, Škerbec wrote about wartime and postwar atrocities, including the Kucja Valley massacre, Kočevski Rog massacre, Bleiburg death marches, and local killings near Babna Gora, Brezje pri Dobrovi, and Žažar. After the death of exiled Bishop Gregorij Rožman in 1959, Škerbec became a leading figure among Slovenian émigrés in both religious and secular affairs. He died on October 17, 1963, at St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland.