The Many Struggles of Anton Kajfež: The Rise and Fall of a Kočevje Merchant from Political and Economic Perspectives

This paper presents a case study of the entrepreneur and landowner Anton Kajfež and his successors, owners of one of the largest companies in Kočevje and Lower Carniola before World War I and during the interwar period. The company focused primarily on the timber and wine trade and became a significant shareholder in many regional companies and banks. Kajfež promoted the local Slovenian economy and used his wealth to strengthen it through a series of projects aimed at surpassing the Gottscheers, a local group of German origin, in the Kočevje economy and politics. In doing so, he attracted the ire of many business competitors, his own workers, and political enemies. The Kajfež family took out large loans and created a deficit, leading to bankruptcy in 1928. Because of the close ties between the Kajfež company, banks, and businesses, the collapse was a major blow to the local Slovenian economy. The Gottscheers celebrated the company’s demise and its negative impact on Slovenian institutions.