Press releases
Exhibition about Slovak partisans in Belarus opens in Bratislava
Photo courtesy of the Belarusian Embassy in Slovakia
MINSK, 11 April (BelTA) – An exhibition “Slovaks in the partisan movement in the territory of Belarus: 1941-1944” has opened in the University Library in Bratislava, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in Slovakia.
In his welcoming speech Belarus’ Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Leshchenya emphasized the relevance of this exhibition that opened in the run-up to two important anniversaries – the 75th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation from the Nazi invaders and the 75th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising.
The exposition was prepared by the National Historical Archives of Belarus and the Institute of Military History in Bratislava at the initiative of the Belarusian diplomatic mission. The exposition is based on a unique collection of archive documents, including orders, record books, personnel records, performance reviews, commendation lists and autobiographies of Slovak partisans.
Attending the opening ceremony was Director of the Archives and Paperwork Management Department at the Justice Ministry of Belarus Viktor Kurash. He told the attendees about the scale of the partisan movement in Belarus and the contribution of Belarusian partisans to the defeat of Nazism. One of the focal points of the exposition was collaboration between Slovaks and Belarusian partisans and Slovaks’ participation in the partisan movement in Belarus.
A separate section of the exposition was dedicated to Jan Nalepka who organized and led a Slovak detachment who defected from the Nazis and joined Belarusian partisans. Another highlight was the joint Soviet-Czechoslovak movie Tomorrow It Will Be Too Late made in the territory of Belarus in 1972. Another draw of the event was the speech by the famous Slovak actor and politician Milan Knazko who played captain Nalepka in this movie.
Taking part in the presentation were State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic Olga Nachtmannova, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Slovak MPs, including Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Slovakia and head of the Group of Friendship with Belarus in the Parliament of Slovakia Robert Madej and Head of the Slovak Delegation to the OSCE PA Petr Osusky.
The embassy underlined that the exhibition drew a lot of public attention. It brought together representatives of regional authorities, universities and mass media, public associations, the business community, as well as heads of the diplomatic missions accredited in Bratislava.
During the exhibition, the Institute of Military History in Bratislava received a list of about 300 Slovaks who took part in the partisan movement in the territory of Belarus in 1941-1944.
print version
make home page
add to bookmarks
