Camp Baza (Base) 20 was one of the numerous camps in the woods of Kočevski Rog which were once the commanding structures of the National Liberation Movement of Slovenia in the Second World War.
Already in August 1941, the first resistance against Italian and German occupational forces was organised there. This region was the first zone to be liberated in Slovenia under partisan command as early as May 1942 and Kočevski Rog became the logistic centre of the armed resistance. Partisan hospitals, workshops, schools, printing works, and warehouses were erected in these deep woods.
From April 1943 the most important headquarters were in Baza 20: the seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovenia and the Executive Committee of the Liberation. At the end of 1943, 26 barracks housed some 140 fighters and politicians, among them also Edvard Kocbek and Boris Kidrič. Numerous secretively built partisan structures and settlements scattered in the Kočevski Rog forest, had the code name Baza (Base) plus number: 15, 15a, 21, 80, etc. Only Baza 20 and the field hospitals Jelendol and Zgornji Hrastnik are preserved. They have had the status as cultural and historical monuments of national importance since 1952. The Dolenjska Museum administers Baza 20. In 1995 a permanent exhibition in Barrack 16 was set up, presenting the history, significance, and role of this memorial site. Since 1998 another exhibition is on display in Barrack 22 presenting partisan workshops, health care, and the operation of the Slovene National Liberation Council in Kočevski Rog. By appointment visitors can also view a short introductory documentary on Baza 20 in Lukov Dom (Luka's Inn) near the site.
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