Robert Waltl, director of Mini teater and the Jewish Cultural Centre, has been awarded the Order of Merit for his outstanding contribution to Holocaust remembrance and awareness-raising and the importance of tolerance, as well as for his long-standing work in the theatre arts, has been announced by the President's Office.
Robert Waltl is a puppeteer, actor, director, dramaturge and artistic director
But above all, Robert Waltl is a man who turns his good ideas into great benefits for everyone - for his street and his city and the world around him. In the end, it seems as if we have always had them, but in reality, without Robert Waltl, there would not be the many theatre performances, festivals and artistic actions, the Mini teater, the House of Tolerance and the Jewish Cultural Centre Ljubljana.
Even Križevniška Street, considered by many to be the most beautiful street in Ljubljana, would not be what it is without him. It is now photogenic for tourists and inspiring for all who celebrate beauty and art and know that it was once a street of Templars, then fishermen and later literary salons. At the turn of the millennium, the Mini teater, founded by Robert Waltl and Ivica Buljan, began to operate there. The result is a democratic and critical artistic forum that invites spectators to express their views and allows artists to thematise important social issues that have not yet attracted widespread interest, but which are predicted to be the inevitable problems of future society.
Today, Križevniška Street is also a home for humanity and tolerance. Robert Waltl has made it so with his programmes to promote Jewish culture and the memory of the Jews in Slovenia, with educational methods that draw attention to the Holocaust, with exhibitions on the Holocaust and, last but not least, with the high-profile House of Tolerance festival, which has attracted the most distinguished guests from all over the world to Ljubljana.
By placing stumbling blocks, paving stones of remembrance, Waltl, together with German artist Günter Demnig and Boris Hajdinjak from the Maribor Synagogue, showed that tolerance can reach into other streets and cities, and that everyone can stop and open their hearts to the memory of people who should be our neighbours, but are not. Because when they came forward and were taken to the camps, their neighbours were silent. With such thoughtful dramaturgies, Waltl achieved resounding successes and inextricably intertwined artistic creativity and civic responsibility. "The stumbling stones are visible-invisible monuments," he says, "their purpose is to stir our sleepy souls."
At the initiation of the Slovenian Jewish community and supporters of Jewish culture, Robert Waltl and a group of individuals from Mini teater created and founded the Jewish Cultural Centre Ljubljana in 2013. With a combination of theatre, education, museum, commemorative programmes and spontaneous initiatives, the centre is open every day, from morning to evening, all days of the week. Its educational mission, which includes curatorial projects, exhibitions and practical research, is to study and present aspects related to the Holocaust that have profound effects on society. Waltl says: "We believe that a thorough study of the Holocaust will help people understand the use and abuse of power, as well as the role and responsibility of any individual, organisation or nation facing human rights violations. This will contribute to a greater understanding of history in order to prevent the recurrence of genocide in the modern world."
Robert Waltl in the Slovenian theatre and social space breaks down taboos, opens up possibilities, heals human feelings and reminds us of the power of memory. For all this, the Republic of Slovenia thanks him with a state decoration.
