slovak republic

 

 

Publications such as Kultura and Pravo naroda continue the revisionist, pro-Tiso trend of almost two decades, fueling Slovak extremism. Leading revisionist writers include Milan S. Durica and Jozef M. Rydlo. There has been a shift in the public discourse in recent years, with growing recognition that a neo-Nazi movement actually exists in the country. Slovakia recorded a low level of antisemitic activity in 2007−8, although the trend of desecrating Jewish sites continued. The situation of the Roma continues to play a major role in the political and public discourse as anti-Roma manifestations, including acts of violence, have continued.

 

the Jewish community

Slovakia has some 3,000 Jews out of a total population of 5.35 million. The largest Jewish community is in the capital Bratislava; smaller communities exist in Kosice, Presov, Komarno and Dunajska Sreda.

The Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities in the Slovak Republic is the main communal organization. In general, the Jewish community is an aging one; however, there are signs of a revival of interest in Jewish roots among many of the younger generation. Various Jewish organizations organize programs and activities in Bratislava and in smaller cities.

The Museum of Jewish Culture, directed by Pavol Mestan, has an impressive collection displaying the rich Jewish heritage of the country. It organizes cultural and educational activities, as well as seminars for teachers, and prepares documentary films featuring Holocaust survivors. It also issues a variety of publications and books on Jewish topics, and takes a leading role in Holocaust-related education and activities in Slovakia. (Prof. Mestan provided the information on Slovak publications mentioned in this report.)

 

POLITICAL organizations and antisemitic activity

The Extreme Right

Slovakia’s entry into the EU in May 2004 changed the internal and external status of the country, which in several years has advanced rapidly from what was considered a “second rate” state of the former communist bloc to the elite club of the first eight former communist states to join the EU. However, as in other post-communist states, this achievement has been overshadowed by the impact of the 2008 economic crisis and the economic downturn preceding it, which has enabled extremists to intensify their propaganda and activities.

Slovakia’s new standing has hardened the position of extremist parties toward the EU as well as toward other European structures of integration. The small extreme left and the more vocal extreme right, as well as some populist groups, have warned against the “march of globalization.” The Roma have become the chief target of violence and hatred of the extreme right, with the support of other segments of society, prompting widespread discussions in the Slovak media and debates in various forums and conferences.

In the June 2006 general elections, the first since the country joined the EU, the Slovak National Party (SNS), long branded an “ultra-nationalist, right-wing extremist” organization, won 11.73 percent of the vote and joined the new coalition government led by Robert Fico’s Smer Party. Although a self-declared “center-left” party, Smer was suspended from membership of the Party of European Socialists (PES), on the grounds that its coalition partner the SNS, “incites or attempts to stir up racial or ethnic prejudices and racial hatred.” It should be noted, however, that since joining the coalition, the SNS has had no record of antisemitic pronouncements. However, it has continued its strongly nationalist line, and rising tensions with neighboring Hungary over the issue of the status of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia has largely been attributed to this party. The SNS was criticized by Roma activists and Slovak liberals after it blamed the Roma for aggravating Slovak-Roma relations.

The Matica Slovenska group has traditionally been behind the campaign to rehabilitate Jozef Tiso, head of the wartime fascist regime, which was responsible for the deportation of the country’s Jews to the death camps. Other ultra-nationalist organizations include the fringe Slovak People’s Party (SLS), which spreads xenophobic hate messages, and the Slovenska Pospolitost (Slovak Community), formed in 1996 by skinheads and other right-wing extremists. Like other organizations of similar ilk, Slovenska Pospolitost publishes bulletins of its activities on the website of the UK-based International Third Position.

The organizational structure and modus operandi of Slovenska Pospolitost bring to mind the wartime fascist Hlinka Guard. For instance, it has adopted the anthem of the Tiso-led state. The movement organizes yearly marches in March commemorating the anniversary of the establishment of that state. The aim of the movement is to “rid ourselves once and for all of enemies and parasites” and its motto is “For the good of the Slovak family, as Jozef Tiso wanted.”

Slovenska Pospolitost registered as a political party in January 2005, prompting calls from liberal segments of Slovak society, and later on in the year, from Prime Minister Robert Fico, for its outlawing (see, for example, Slovak Spectator, August, 6, 2009). The movement's bulletin praises the wartime state and displays its symbols. It opposes the EU and accuses the Jews of harming Slovakia's interests, often warning, “Don't let Slovakia be circumcised.”

            There has been a shift in the public discourse since Slovakia's entry into the EU and the intensification of extremist activity as a result of the economic crisis, with growing recognition that "neo-Nazis" – usually the term used by the Slovak media − are not "abstract groups and persons, representing a sub-culture that eventually will die out," but are "teachers, computer experts, shopkeepers, musicians. They are not just unemployed … alienated youth, they might be your neighbors, even colleagues. Human rights activists have been warning that the neo-Nazi movement is real." This analysis, published by the Slovak Spectator on October 15, 2007, now typifies the discourse in Slovak society. Such recognition seems to indicate that Slovak society and the authorities will eventually take a firmer stand against manifestations of extremism and racism.

            As in other central European countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and Austria, Slovak extremists have been expanding their international contacts, with cross border visits, cooperation, rock concerts marked by racist symbols and lyrics, and joint marches. Such activity has no doubt been facilitated by the EU's open borders. Serbia, Ukraine and Russia were also on the travel itinerary of Slovak extremists, according to the Slovak Spectator (October 15, 2007). In November 2007 the Czech authorities banned a neo-Nazi march through the historic Jewish quarter in Prague in which neo-Nazis from several countries, including Slovakia, were about to participate (Ha'aretz, November 9, 2007).

            The country recorded a low level of antisemitic activity in 2007−8, although the trend of desecrating Jewish sites continued. In early 2008, the memorial to the famous 19th century rabbi Chatam Sofer in Bratislava was damaged; three persons were arrested in April. Some incidents of verbal abuse were recorded against Jewish persons.

 

The Situation of the Roma

The situation of the Roma continues to play a major role in the political and public discourse as anti-Roma manifestations, including acts of violence, have continued. A major aspect of the problem is the degree of their integration or rather non-integration in society. Numbering 400,000−700.000, most live in squalid rural settlements and urban ghettos. Many were moved into segregated areas. Since Slovakia's entry into the EU, and even before, Slovakia was under international pressure supported by local human rights groups to work toward the integration of the Roma. However, the relocation of Roma families into areas branded as "ghettos," outside or on the periphery of towns caused further segregation. In light of acts of violence and other offenses – committed by Slovaks against Roma and vice versa − the dialogue between the communities has become more difficult. One observer noted that "politicians rarely make openly racist statements about Roma, but on the other hand, politicians rarely defend the Roma" ("Anti-Roma Racism in Former Czechoslovakia," www.errc.org, Washington, DC, June 9, 2009). An interesting angle of the anti-Roma xenophobia is the identification by Slovak nationalists of Hungarian-speaking Roma, as "yet another type of Hungarian," a paradoxical perception, since the Roma face a very difficult situation in Hungary, with rising incidents of violence.

            On the governmental level, the Plenipotentiary Government Office for Roma Communities is a "representative consultative body of the Government which seeks to address the problem of the Roma communities in Slovakia" (www.romovia.vlada.gov.sk/).

 

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE HOLOCAUST AND THE NAZI ERA

As in Romania with the Antonescu cult (see Romania), right-wing extremists (including neo-fascists, antisemites and populists) continued their campaign to rehabilitate the wartime Tiso regime. Their attempts to rewrite history took place in a variety of forums, such as “scientific” meetings and publications. The works of leading revisionists were especially praised in the bi-weekly Kultura, which identifies with the Slovak fascist state and its Christian ideals. Its pseudo-intellectual discourse is described by the editors as a forum “dedicated to ethics.”

            In 2007, Durica published three position papers of international authors on Tiso and war-time Slovak history ­­­– Jozef Tiso in the Eyes of Non-Slovak Authors (Bratislava: LUC, 2007; in Slovak). The chapters in this collection continue the myth that Tiso saved Jews, with supposedly thousands of them being put on a "non-persecution list." For example, Rino Cammilleri, in his "Jozef Tiso-Slovak, the Martyr" (originally published by Catholic Studies, Milan), refutes any comparison between Tiso's regime and other forms and movements of European fascism, such as Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, the Belgian Rexist movement or the Hungarian Arrow Cross. Tiso is presented as a martyr, with his final testament: "I die as a defender of Christian culture against civilization."

            In another publication, Getting to the Truth (Bratislava: LUC, 2007), Durica, answers at length criticism by the Historical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences of his book, History of Slovakia and the Slovaks. Adopting the well-known revisionist approach, he claims that Tiso "saved" Jews and that his regime was not fascist, thus distorting the real events of the Holocaust in Slovakia. (For further information on attitudes toward the Holocaust in Slovakia, see the Stephen Roth Institute database.)

            Another pro-Tiso Slovak who distorts the Holocaust is S. Majek, whose Dr. Jozef Tiso, Priest and President (Bratislava: Eko-konzult, 2008; in Slovak) defends the Tiso regime and its legacy, claiming they sought to solve the Jewish problem with justice, in a "Christian" spirit. The book also focuses on his trial and execution by the Communists.

            Another myth perpetuated in Slovakia and elsewhere in the region, is the alleged role, of Jews and Freemasons in particular, in the destabilization of Slovakia and Slovak interests. Durica's book, The Freemasons Yesterday and Today (Bratislava: LUC, 2007) claims that in the interwar period Slovak Jews accounted for 70−80 percent of Freemason lodges; the rest were Czechs, Hungarians , Germans and only a tiny minority of Slovaks.

            The myth of a world wide conspiracy also appeared in another book on the Freemasons, Peter B. Podolsky's Freemasons – Misfortune of Our Age (Bratislava: Magnificat, 2007). Freemasonry is presented as an occult, anti-Christian and Satanist cult, manipulated by Judaism. The author is careful not to equate Jews collectively with the Freemasons, rather Jewish ideals and leaders of Jewish origin, stating that "like most Christians, most Jews suffer at the hands of the Freemasonry's command junta." Freemasons, according to Podolsky, are all powerful: they installed the communist regimes, but it was also in their interests to bring them down. They are behind the UN and the EU, and their present goal is to "wipe out the Catholic Church." He emphasizes the large number of Jews among Freemasons, including in leading positions, noting that as early as 1843 Jews from Germany were present in US Masonic lodges, and that in pre-World War I Slovakia under Hungarian rule, most active members were Jews.

            Among the periodicals covering issues linking the past to the present from a pro-Tiso perspective is the monthly Pravo naroda (Rights of the Nation), mouthpiece of the Slovak Awakening Movement (Slovenske hnutie obrody – SHO), founded in 2001, with a reported circulation of 1,600 copies. This nationalist monthly opposes the EU and NATO and praises Tiso's legacy, while downplaying or denying the Holocaust and the impact of antisemitism in Slovakia (see, for example, its January 2007 issue). It came to media attention in 2007 when the state supported and largely funded the nationalist heritage organization Matica Slovenska, which began publishing its news and activities bulletin as a supplement of Pravo Naroda. Furthermore Pravo Naroda and Matica Slovenska share the same website (see Slovak Spectator, February 5, 2007).

            While the paper attempts to refute the image of SHO as an extremist movement, it continues to use arguments characteristic of the revisionist camp − denial of the Holocaust in the case of Slovakia, the claim that the Tiso regime was not involved in crimes against the Jews, and that others who committed crimes against Jews, such as the Hungarians, were also innocent. The paper does mention the suffering of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis, maintaining that the latter were responsible for the crimes they carried out. It also emphasizes that Hitler carried out a "holocaust" against the Slavs, and that millions of Russians and Poles were killed by the Nazis, implying that Western behavior enabled the Nazis to target the Slavs.

            Such publications continue the revisionist, pro-Tiso trend of almost two decades, fueling Slovak extremism. While its propagators are careful to keep their arguments within the bounds of the law, this approach not only encourages antisemitism, but in defending Tiso's legacy and denying the Holocaust and the true character of the regime, it hinders Slovak society's attempts to face its own history.

 

RESPONSES TO ANTISEMITISM AND RACISM

Members of the Jewish community, together with liberal and democratic forces, have been actively involved in the campaign against rehabilitating the Tiso regime.

Several events commemorating the beginning of the transports to the death camps from Slovakia on March 25, 1942 took place in 2007−8. Traditional memorial services were held in Nitra, Kosice and Poprad, the starting points of the first transport of unmarried girls. Such public events are usually covered by the media, and institutions such as the Museum of Jewish Culture and organs of the Jewish community also publicize, and take a leading part in, organizing them.

Deputy Prime Minister Dusan Caplovic was very active in condemning any type of extremist activities. For example, supporting a ban against the Slovenska Pospolitost (see above), he said, "Zero tolerance should be used against any manifestation of extremism, racism, xenophobia or intolerance."

Excellent relations between Israel and Slovakia contribute to the development of joint plans for programs in both countries to assist educators from Slovakia teach the subject of the Holocaust. As a result, Slovakia became a member of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research in late 2005. In 2008 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic published a review of Slovakia's activities in commemorating and teaching the Holocaust since joining the Task Force (see site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic).

Slovakia took an active part in the events and activities of the international project "Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015," supported by the EU, government agencies and NGOs. Its representative participated in the XIIIth International Steering Committee in June 2008, in Budapest, where regional and all-European representatives discussed the situation facing the Roma and their inclusion in society.