Minister Naď honours victims of burnt-out village of Kalište
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- Date: 15.08.2020
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Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď today honoured the victims of the burnt-out village of Kalište. Marking the 75th anniversary of the village being burnt down by the Nazis during WW2, the annual national commemoration was also attended by Prime Minister Igor Matovič, Parliamentary Chairman Boris Kollár, Deputy Parliamentary Chairmen Peter Pellegrini and Juraj Šeliga, State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Culture Radoslav Kutaš, Chairman of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region Ján Lunter and Mayor of Banská Bystrica Ján Nosko, as well as representatives of the Slovak Anti-Nazi Fighters Association. This occasion also marked the 15th anniversary of the “Meeting of Generations” organised by the Association.
Paying tribute to the Kalište victims, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Even today, the unspeakable atrocities which befell the inhabitants of our country during the Second World War are a reminder of what human evil and the spread of hatred may cause. Today we commemorate together the memory of all those who made the ultimate sacrifice – by losing their lives during the Nazi reprisals. We must never forget them. We also owe this to our heroes who fought to win freedom for us.”
Commenting on the importance of today’s commemoration event, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Nowadays we can often come across different views which lead to questioning historic events and open up the way for far-right extremism in society. This is absolutely inadmissible and unacceptable. It is up to us not to forget this chapter of our history and speak about it with the young generation, so that they can form their own opinion and should not be easily influenced by deceptive information.”
Kalište was a base of the so-called Partisan Republic located in the Low Tatra Mountains during the Slovak National Uprising (SNP). With the SNP insurgents resorting to partisan warfare, it became one of the main centres of partisan activity. The village residents sacrificed themselves by looking after the partisans who were taken ill in the mountains. Nazi military and security forces raided the village several times, but the local partisans fended off the raids successfully.
The mountain village of Kalište was torched and its residents executed by Nazi troops in the early hours of 18 March 1945. A total of 111 villages were burnt down across Slovakia by members of the repressive German forces, with Nazi reprisals claiming over 5,300 victims. Kalište was declared a National Heritage Site in February 1961.
Paying tribute to the Kalište victims, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Even today, the unspeakable atrocities which befell the inhabitants of our country during the Second World War are a reminder of what human evil and the spread of hatred may cause. Today we commemorate together the memory of all those who made the ultimate sacrifice – by losing their lives during the Nazi reprisals. We must never forget them. We also owe this to our heroes who fought to win freedom for us.”
Commenting on the importance of today’s commemoration event, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Nowadays we can often come across different views which lead to questioning historic events and open up the way for far-right extremism in society. This is absolutely inadmissible and unacceptable. It is up to us not to forget this chapter of our history and speak about it with the young generation, so that they can form their own opinion and should not be easily influenced by deceptive information.”
Kalište was a base of the so-called Partisan Republic located in the Low Tatra Mountains during the Slovak National Uprising (SNP). With the SNP insurgents resorting to partisan warfare, it became one of the main centres of partisan activity. The village residents sacrificed themselves by looking after the partisans who were taken ill in the mountains. Nazi military and security forces raided the village several times, but the local partisans fended off the raids successfully.
The mountain village of Kalište was torched and its residents executed by Nazi troops in the early hours of 18 March 1945. A total of 111 villages were burnt down across Slovakia by members of the repressive German forces, with Nazi reprisals claiming over 5,300 victims. Kalište was declared a National Heritage Site in February 1961.
