Following the footsteps of the anti-fascist resistance in Banská Bystrica

The resistance in the town of Banská Bystrica, and in Slovakia generally, during the late 1930s was only in its cradle.^[1] Up until 1938, Slovakia was a part of the democratic 1^st Czechoslovak Republic, but in the late stages of its existence one could already perceive the problems which the country would be facing in a short time. The Munich dictate, which came as a direct result of Adolf Hitler´s aggressive policies in Europe, had the effect that the republic found itself internationally isolated and severally crippled by loss of its territories. Finally, during March 1939 the country ceased to exist owing to further German pressure and inner political problems resulting from territorial losses. During these very late stages of its existence and the first months following the collapse, one could already perceive the reactions of members of forbidden political parties (democrats, social-democrats, communists etc.) and the general population. These were understandably mostly critical of the current direction of events. Greater concentrations of negative reactions can be perceived regarding the creation of the Slovak state on the 14^th of March 1939. The Slovaks were in many terms bipolar with regard to their “new” state. In the beginning they viewed the state as the final stage of their hundreds of years long process of emancipation and self-determination. On the other hand, they perceived the situation under, which the state was “created”, the pressure from Nazi Germany, the open collaboration of the government and the territorial loss, which left hundreds of thousands of Slovaks under control of foreign powers, especially Hungary. The destruction of the democratic system in Slovakia was also viewed critically among an increasing amount of people.

Not all Slovak citizens accepted the Declaration of Autonomy on the 6^th of October, 1938 and the Slovak State on the 14^th of March, 1939 with joy and enthusiasm.^[2] Many of them had reasons for disagreement. The creation of a single political party system - The Party of Slovak national unity, the suspension and then dissolution of all pre-Munich political parties, the prohibition of free print. The dissolution of federations, unions, organizations, the creation of unified trade unions, the uniform organization of youth, the existence of paramilitary formation of  Hlinka´s Guards^[3]. A strong anti-Czech and anti-Jewish campaign, the orientation of the country leaning towards fascist states, and the political, military and economic dependence on Hitler's Germany.  All of this was disconcerting news for the Slovak citizens of other political thoughts, people with a Czechoslovak state concept, all-Slavic-oriented individuals, democratically and anti-totalitarian thinkers, about the further development of Slovakia.

                This was fertile ground for opposition and resistance groups formed from these circles, especially for former members of political parties such as the communists, democrats and social democrats.

                In Bratislava on the 5^th November 1938 a meeting of MPs and officials of the agrarian party took place and its main point was the question of whether to join the Party of Slovak National Unity or not. The consensus, in the spirit of preserving the Czechoslovak unity, was the creation of a new party, and if it did not, it was the dissolution of the agrarian party.^[4] If the negotiations would not have a positive outcome, the agrarian party must dissolve. The delegates have failed in this task. On the contrary its members agreed to join the Agrarian party with the Party of Slovak National Unity. Many local agrarian organizations (such as in Liptov and Upper Nitra) did not agree and refused to enter the HSPP.^[5]

The Enlarged Executive Committee of the Slovak National Party, which met on the 23^rd November 1938 in Zilina, almost unanimously opposed the association with the HSPP. Long negotiations followed and on the 15^th of December 1938, the executive committee of the Slovak National Party met again. After a bitter debate, it was decided to join the Party of Slovak National Unity. Six members of the executive committee voted against  merging with the HSPP - Ľ. Šenšel, O. Škrovina, J. Paulíny-Tóth, M. Kvetko, J. Kada and Š. Adamovič, who pronounced the dissolution of the Slovak National Party. Many members of the SNP from different parts of the country (Liptov, Turiec, Novohrad, Pohronie), also did not join.^[6]

Neither the Slovak Communists nor Social Democrats participated in similar negotiations because HSPP did not cooperate with them. The prominent agents of the social-democratic party in Slovakia tried to replace the forbidden party in November 1938 with a new, Workers Party or the National Party of the Slovak Working People. Even these attempts failed. In Slovakia, the only legitimate Slovak political party was the HSPP, or as it was called in those days, the Party of Slovak National Unity. For the other political parties, there was nothing else to do but to join the HSPP or move into passivity and take a wait-and-see position, to eventually start an oppositionist and resistance stance towards the new political and social conditions in Slovakia. Members and officials of former political parties, associations, organisations and societies moved into opposing the regime not only for their political convictions and differing opinions, their pro-Czechoslovak thinking and continuity with political developments in the Czechoslovak Republic. But also because of existential sanctions, loss of functions, employment, exclusion from political life, the untrustworthiness of the news regime. In addition, members and officials of dissolved societies and organizations, scouts and former legionaries were also involved in the opposition and the resistance.^[7]

The difficulty in establishing cooperation between the various groups of resistance (Democrats, Social Democrats and Communists) was in particular their differing views on the form and ways Czechoslovakia or Slovakia should be re-established after the war. The Communist Party held a very radical view - the sovietisation of Slovakia – thus Slovakia will become part of the USSR.^[8] The democratic resistance promoted the renewal of Czechoslovakia on the original national and political foundations, which, of course, did not suit the Slovak representatives. The most proactive idea in this sense was promoted by representatives of the social democracy, namely the renewal of the Czechoslovak Republic in the sense that both peoples - the Czechs and Slovaks - would be politically equal in the country (the Democrats took over this idea relatively quickly, unlike the Communists). Finally, the development led to the fact that, after the Christmas Agreement and the creation Slovak National Council at the end of 1943, all representatives of the resistance had agreed to pursue this idea of ​​renewing the Czechoslovak Republic.^[9] 

For the needs of this study, we will concentrate on the beginnings of the resistance movement, a time when many groups had their own aims and ideas regarding the events which happened during 1938-1939 and the situation in the country as a whole. After the dissolution of democratic political parties there were only few means to present the aims of these first resistance representatives. These were chiefly whispered propaganda, organizing similarly thinking individuals and the production and distribution of visual material (leaflets, posters etc.). If we are talking about targeted anti-propaganda or the organisation of the resistance, paradoxically the first activities do not come from either Czech or Slovaks lands, but from foreign Czech and Slovaks, for whom the fate of the country was important. A very nice example is the pamphlet with the name “The new Ten Slovak commandments”.^[10] An increasing number of copies emerged in April 1939, while at the same time parts of this text were copied, shortened and presented in various forms and can be seen in reports of various state officials. That such activities were seen as dangerous by the ruling government can be directly inferred from orders kept in the Slovak National Archive in the section of the Ministry of the Interior. These state that “…those who are spreading such texts, must be captured as soon as possible”.^[11]

The time frame between March and April 1939 and the time preceding the elections to the Slovak assembly is especially rich in foreign anti-propaganda. One of the most active was Hungarian propaganda, which included a targeted campaign aimed towards the enemies of the Czechoslovak government in Slovakia. The text was supposedly created by “The Club of Loyal Ugrian Slovaks” or “The Club of the supporters of Jehlicska”^[12]. It is interesting because the leaflet addressed many aspects and very aggressively stylised and supported the Hungarian irredenta against the Slovak State.^[13] It must be said that such anti-propaganda was never really successful as can be seen in the outcome of the elections and any further influence was hampered by the outbreak of the Little War between Slovakia and Hungary. The influence of Hungarian propaganda basically stops here.  Although there were attempts to re-invigorate it, the situation between Slovakia and Hungary, during the war simply did not allow for any support to be maintained. In the area that was annexed by Hungary in November 1938, the situation was different but is not the focus of this article. The time frame of the distribution of the leaflet (May 1939 and earlier), led to some investigations by the government, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

The resistance in Slovakia went through its own evolution, which was related to the supply, the political and the general situation in the country. Even though it is too early to talk about any form of “visual resistance”, the poster with the name “Czechoslovak news” is quite interesting. It was distributed in Slovakia during august 1939, and contained several articles two of which called “Corrupt Slovakia” and “How to organise the resistance” were of special significance. The second article basically gave a general outline on how to organise groups with similar thinking even before the start of the Second World War. In this case we are not talking about foreign propaganda, but rather a compatriot one, because the origin of the leaflet was from Czechoslovak groups in exile from France and London.^[14]

Targeted propaganda or “resistance” can be seen very early not only in compatriotic circles, but also at home. One of the groups that became active early on were the Communists. The resistance formed from the supporters of this party, was one of the best organized groups, although it was also the smallest in number. Of course, in the beginning one cannot talk about a bigger concentration of activity, nevertheless its propaganda was active from the beginning. An example is the leaflet called “Get rid of the traitorous triple TISO – HENLEIN – ESTERHÁZY. It was published in Prague, and is a typical anti-autonomist print, which aimed to support the existence of the Czechoslovak republic. Of course, it called for the election of communists during the polls of 1938. What is interesting are the anti-Semitic references in the leaflet.^[15]

Even inhabitants of Banská Bystrica and the surrounding area, in their regional conditions, responded to the nation-wide political events of the late thirties and, in connection with the narrative criticism of the regime, the first forms of resistance began to be organized on its soil. This did not deviate from the general situation and according to this criterion, we distinguish the resistance in Banská Bystrica to: communist, democratic, clerical, army and youth groups.

The resistance in the ranks of the Communists was one of the most organized forms of resistance in Slovakia during 1938-1945. At the same time, it can be said that it suffered many repressive acts committed by state authorities as well as German police and security forces. In Banská Bystrica, after the dissolution and bans of individual political parties and their trade unions, the local Communist leaders pass into illegality. The organization of communist illegal activity consisted of the rapid creation of the Central leadership committee in Slovakia, with Karol Černocký at the head of the group in Banská Bystrica. Particularly, during the first years of existence of the Slovak state, the resistance activity in Banská Bystrica was mainly aimed to the buildup of an organizational network, production and collation of illegal leaflets, material and financial support of arrested resistance members and their closest family. It was also important to stir and attract new members willing to engage in resistance activities. In connection with the distribution of leaflets, the building of the former Rosenthal Company on the SNP Square – currently a restaurant -where orthopaedic footwear was originally sold, was important.^[16]

It can be assumed that the owner was a Jewish family, and that is why the secret purpose of this company is all the more special. In the building of the Rosenthal company, there was a printing machine on which leaflets were produced. Interestingly, the flyers that came out from here supplied the entire district of Banská Bystrica. The printing company was supplied by the printing works in Harmanec, which represent a separate chapter in resistance history. Also, workers working on the construction of the railway line Banská Bystrica – Diviaky, were active in the resistance. They joined with the workers of the papermaking works, and as many of them were living in the nearby village of Špania Dolina, they could build a very close cooperation. Likewise, the leaflets were printed in the local wheel workshop on Radvanská Street - from where they were distributed to Sásová, Malachov, Podlavice and Rudlová. Up to 15 kinds of leaflets of regional and even nationwide character came from a printing machine located in Medený Hámor. Leaflets had to be numbered, and after reading, they had to go back to their originators in order not to reach the security authorities. Leaflets of this kind have begun to spread more widely in Banská Bystrica since the spring of 1939. To lesser extent leaflets began to appear already during autumn 1938, especially with connection to the elections. A campaign was launched by spreading leaflets that called on the local population to boycott these elections, or advised them to cast blank envelopes in the polls to vote against the HSPP.^[17] Leaflets or inscriptions were most often placed in busy places and public buildings such as the Town House, the National House, as well as Lazovná Street, on the sidewalks in front of the Regional Court, the Calvary under Urpín, Medený Hámor, Radvanská Street and the like.^[18]

Leaflets mostly provided information on the regime and its satellite position towards Germany, reacting readily to important political, economic, military events not only at home but also abroad. The period of their dissemination was intensified by the outbreak of World War II when the Slovak army, on Germany's side, participated in the aggression against Poland. At the same time, this act was the first major shock to the stability of the regime in Slovakia. The leaflets included, in particular, the calls for the Slovak people and soldiers to refuse to fight the fraternal Polish nation, but also with various references to the economic exploitation of the Slovak state and resistance to militarization, thus engaging Slovakia in Germany's conquest plans. The participation of the Slovaks in the war against the Soviet Union on the side of Germany definitely deepened the regime's crisis and eventually caused the break-up of its most important support - the Slovak army whose soldiers and officers began to join the ranks of the resistance. Overall, the idea of ​​Slavic reciprocity in the years of the Second World War, especially in Slovakia, was specific in character and was a demonstration of both solidarity and future political commitment and the search for a new ally, following the experiences of the Munich Agreement and the collapse of the Western Powers in relation to Czechoslovakia. The main newspaper of the Communists was an illegal magazine - Voice of the People. The resistance in Banská Bystrica also contributed with the regional magazines Jánošík - which was later renamed to Iskra. It was prepared in Podlavice, in J. Klinčok's apartment. Professor J. Telúch contributed most.^[19]

County House - the seat of Mayor Viliam Paulini

A nice example of a personal revolt against the new conditions during the period of the declaration of Slovakia's autonomy - during the autumn crisis in October 1938 - was the  Mayor of Banská Bystrica, Viliam Paulíni. According to the records of the city chronicle, an incident that occurred accompanied by celebrated manifestations on the occasion of the proclamation of the autonomy on October 6^th, 1938. The SNP Square, then Masaryk Square, became the centre of celebrations. The main issue was the dispute between the current mayor Viliam Pauliny and the disgraced mayor, who was unsuccessful in the mayoral elections in the city council - Michal Samuhel, a member of HSPP. Mayor Paulini refused to stand up and join the singing of the anthem – Hej, Slováci!, and also to attend the celebration and talk to its participants. A conflict ensued between the Mayor and Samuhel, Paulini was suspended by the government and the implementation of the general agenda was thus assigned to Samuel, who replaced the Mayor, but in an unlawful manner. Since the State Office allowed such interventions to self-governing bodies through the new political conditions only by the order from 19^th October 1938. Paulini´s clear attitude, not only the protest against the autonomous establishment of the country, was clearly directed against the secondary actions that accompanied the celebrations of autonomy - pillage, insultations, theft, breaking of windows of shops belonging to Jews and Czechs. Who according to the newspaper Pohronský hlásník denoted as “...elements, which ruin that, what the nation rejoices upon.”^[20]. He also felt badly about the creation of the Slovak state in the current situation, which he also reflects upon in his journal: "It looks worse for us as time passes. The authoritarian regime of the Hlinka´s Sloveka People's Party, by the spurning of the Czechs and the Czechoslovak idea drives the nation into the arms of Hitler, who at the cost of tearing the Slovaks from the Czechs gives the Slovaks a separate Slovak state and takes it under the protection of the German Reich." - he wrote in his diary on the 6^th of April 1939. His democratic thinking was also often the target of youth attacks by the Hlinka´s Guards, calling him a "Jewish Bolshevik," and recommending him for Ilava (a prison), to Prague, or the best option the gallows. In spite of this, he remained unconcerned and was actively involved in the Slovak National Uprising. He co-operated with the illegal group of Vavro Šrobár and became a member of the presidency of the Insurrectional Slovak National Council. After the suppression of the Uprising and his departure with the remnants of the army to the mountains, he briefly returned to Banská Bystrica, where he was arrested by the German security police. He was transferred to Bratislava, and from there he was transported together with general Golian and general Viest to Berlin, where his trail ends. There is no further information about his fate. At the time of the Uprising he had been 67 years old and most likely ended, like the generals, at the Flosenburg concentration camp.^[21] He is an important person in the history of the city, whose leadership he held in his hands and an important member of the resistance.

Anti-fascist activity of the Evangelical Church in Banska Bystrica

There were thousands of members of the Evangelical Church in Slovakia, among them dozens of evangelical priests who were active in the resistance.^[22] Open and organized manifestations of disagreement are related to protests against HG's activities (Commemoration of the Evangelical Priests Association from the 21^st of November, 1939) and against the persecution and deportations of the Jewish population (The Standpoint of Evangelical Bishops and Priests from May 1942). The anti-ľudák and pro-Czechoslovakian notions were showed by the organized pilgrimage to Bradlo on  the anniversary of the tragic death of general M. R. Štefánik, but also the first meeting of the Unity of evangelical youth in Banská Bystrica (1939) and Liptovský Mikuláš (1940). Other meetings were forbidden by the authorities and for similar reasons some of the evangelical youth camps were abolished.^[23] In 1940 the newspaper Church letters was abolished and in 1943 the Tranoscius association and publisher in Liptovsky Mikulas met with the same fate. Many Slovak citizens of evangelical faith had been active in the resistance as leaders of the non-communist resistance in particular: J. Lichner, M. Zibrin, D. Ertl, J. Kapinai, A. Bahurinsky, P. Zaťko, J. Ursin, J. Lettrich. It was not by accident that Central Slovakia was actively involved in the SNP, in particular, in Turiec, Liptov, Gemer, Novohrad and Lower Orava. The towns of Banská Bystrica, Brezno and Zvolen. In  western Slovakia Myjava, Brezova pod Bradlom and Turej Lúky, Pod-javorie and Uhrovská dolina, where the continual and numerous enclaves of the Evangelical population lived.

Members of the Evangelical church were the most active of all religious groups. Since the declaration of the Slovak State, they had been unable to identify with the existence of the new regime. As advocates of the Czechoslovak idea, they had many reservations about the undemocratic nature of the new state and of course, they were the greatest critics of political abuse of Catholicism. This meant in particular that Jozef Tiso became the head of state, a Catholic priest and authority for many believers. Their disagreement with the political and social situation was revealed from the very first days of independence, especially from the evangelical youth, in the form of organized processions and summer camps, which had a distinct anti-ľudák and anti-Nazi character. Instead they emphasized the idea of ​​Czechoslovakism by reminding people that general M. R. Štefánik was one its advocates. In this spirit, Banská Bystrica where the Evangelical youths were equally involved in the Evangelical Youth Association, they voiced their protest against the regime and the collaboration with Germany. This was made public at an event held in 1939 in the city. Another similar protest was organized in Liptovský Mikuláš, but others had already been forbidden and strictly punished by the state authorities. From the evangelical clergy in Banská Bystrica, the priest Ján Bakoss had a special place in anti-fascist activities. He became active shortly after the Munich Dictate in September 1938, through various articles and preaching. He was one of the signatories of the Evangelical Priests' Memorial Record, dated the 21^st November 1939, which was directed against the radical activities of the Hlinka´s Guard's. Later on, he also signed a protest note against the persecution and deportations of the Jewish population.^[24] His activity was very closely related to the building of the Evangelical Society on Horná Street, also known as the "House of Enlightenment". Even in these places, Ján Bakoss devoted himself to his resistance activity, from the baptism of Jews to the provision of financial assistance to the poor, who were persecuted for various political, religious or racial reasons. At the end of 1944, this building was provided for the purpose of the Slovak National Uprising, where on the 30^th of August 1944, the Free Slovak Radio was heard for the first time. Today the memory of Ján Bakoss in Banská Bystrica is honoured also by the so-called       stolperstein - located on Lazovná Street in front of the entrance of the Evangelical Church.

Youth in the Resistance Movement

A clear attitude towards the regime of the Slovak state, which was in sharp contrast with democratic thinking, and the effort to remain bonded with Czechoslovakia, was also a centrepiece of the youth movement. This was very much the situation in Banská Bystrica. High school and college students, members of forbidden youth societies such as scouts, Evangelical youth, or members of other youth organizations of pre-Munich political parties all became part of the resistance. In Banská Bystrica, the two largest resistance movements with members all-around Slovakia, the Revolutionary Youth of Slovakia and the Revolutionary Organization of the Czechoslovakia, were formed in 1938. However, due to the discovery of the its activities, it did not succeed in completing its organizational network in the city. The most stable organisation was known under the name “The Anti-fascist Youth”.^[25] It was formed by students of the State Teaching Institute, and their activities began in May 1939. This group was founded by Professor J. Styk. The core of the group was called Mor ho!,^[26]. The resistance in this form, worked as follows: It was divided into cells, each of which consisted of 4 members. Each cell had its leader, who coordinated the activities of the cell. The other cell members did not know each other and communicated only through its leader. From 1939 these resistance groups conceived and distributed various flyers in Banská Bystrica, which most often carried phrases like - "The Czechoslovak republic is alive!" All leaflets, published by the group, included a fragment from the poem by Ján Chalupka - Mor ho! Most often they attacked the government, Nazi Germany and supported the idea of Slavism.^[27]

One of the lesser known anti-fascist groups was active in secondary schools under the leadership of prof. Ladislav Sára - Professor of the Higher State Industrial School in Banská Bystrica. Its resistance activities were detected by the authorities shortly after its inception, but thanks to the work of the attorney's office of J. Brot, the members of the group were not sentenced and could continue to work.

Especially after the establishment of the Slovak state, from 1939 another part of the resistance was activated in Banská Bystrica. This represented the biggest group – the civic democratic resistance, namely the group Legality, whose core was composed mainly of Czech citizens working in Banská Bystrica, Slovak officers and employees of various companies, whose main activity was the restoration of Czechoslovakia. From a political point of view it was composed mainly of members of the former agrarian and national parties. In particular, they contributed to the organization of escapes of persecuted persons and produced propaganda, trying to harass and work against the HSPP regime.

The featured study presents the findings of research aimed at identifying the beginnings of organized and unorganized resistance in Slovakia, with a major focus on the city of Banská Bystrica. It is not, of course, an exhaustive presentation of the facts but rather a popularization of the period that stood in the shadow of the great events of 1939. The story of "little history" on the background of larger events appropriately shows the everyday reality of people dissatisfied with the Slovak state and indicates their ability to correctly trace the real series of events that had severely and negatively influenced Slovakia from 1939 until 1945. Their sincere effort in very difficult conditions, to group like-minded individuals, under the constant risk of being discovered, eventually led to the greatest military fights of the Slovaks in their history - to the Slovak National Uprising in 1944.

[1] Banská Bystrica later became the centre of the largest military action of the Slovaks in history during 1944, and from the beginning it was the venue where resistance activists and members of military circles met in order to prepare for the rebellion.

[12]František Jehlicska (January 20, 1879, Kuta, January 3, 1939, Vienna) was a Slovak Roman Catholic priest, politician and journalist, a pro-Hungarian advocate during the interwar period.