National Uprising Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Slovakia

The Slovak National Uprising Anniversary is observed annually on August 29 to commemorate the beginning of the Slovak National Uprising on August 29, 1944, during World War II. It is also a day to honour Democratic Party, Communist Party of Slovakia, and Czech Social Democratic Party members who participated in the resistance movement against Nazi rule.

The background of National Uprising Day

The origins of the Slovak National Uprising can be traced back to the signing of the Munich Agreement in September 1938. This agreement, ratified by European powers, effectively ceded the Czechoslovak territory of Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. As a consequence of German military attacks and diplomatic pressure from the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, Czechoslovakia agreed to this.

When Czechoslovakia was newly established in 1918, Sudetenland, also known as the Sudeten German territory, was incorporated into the country’s borders. However, this was done without the consent of the Germans residing in Sudeten, who were subsequently accorded less regard than the Czechs and Slovaks. Germans comprised sixty percent of the unemployed in Czechoslovakia in 1936. This appeared to be Germany’s motivation for asserting Sudetenland.

German military forces began occupying Czechoslovakia in June 1944, with the assistance of Slovakia’s pro-Nazi leader, Jozef Tiso. Czechoslovakia’s exiled government, deserters from the Slovak army, and other Slovak partisans established a resistance movement. This uprising endured approximately two months until Germany partially suppressed it in October 1944.

In Slovakia, the anniversary of the uprising is not widely observed, as some perceive it as a pro-communist movement. Catholic nationalists frequently criticise the insurrection because the president at the time, Jozef Tiso, was also Catholic. In Bratislava, the nation’s capital, however, some commemorate the day by placing wreaths on a memorial dedicated to the insurrection.

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5 fascinating facts about Slovakia

The International Ice Hockey Federation rates Slovakia as the fifteenth best ice hockey team in the world.

Slovakia has the highest concentration of castles and chateaux per capita in the globe.

Children, students under the age of 26, widowed or incapacitated pensioners under the age of 62, and those over the age of 62 ride trains for free.

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is the only capital city in the world to be located on the borders of two countries, namely Austria and Hungary.

In Slovakia, over 6,000 caves and caverns have been discovered!

NATIONAL UPRISING DAY DATES