Slovak partisans were fighters in irregular military

Irregular military

Irregular military refers to any non-standard military. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used....

 groups participating in the Slovak resistance movement, including against Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 and collaborationism

Collaboration during World War II

Within nations occupied by the Axis Powers, some citizens, driven by nationalism, ethnic hatred, anti-communism, anti-Semitism or opportunism, knowingly engaged in collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Beginning

Slovak partisans were an anti-fascist militia formed immediately the creation of the First Slovak Republic in 1939, to fight against Nazis and their collaborators. Men and women both fought in the ranks of partisan units, as well as Jews and Christians alike. Slovak partisans had mixed loyalties as many were deeply nationalistic and wanted a to maintain an independent Slovak Republic free of fascism, while many others were socialists who forged strong links with the Soviet Union and Soviet partisans. Slovak partisans mainly carried out acts of sabotage. Their largest anti-Nazi military engagement was the Slovak National Uprising

Slovak National Uprising

The Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso...

 in 1944, in which Slovak partisans were aided by the Slovak Army and Soviet partisans. Jan Golian

Ján Golian

Ján Golian was a Slovak Brigadier General who became famous as one of the main organizers and the commander of the insurrectionist 1st Czecho-Slovak Army in Slovakia during the Slovak National Uprising against the Nazis...

 and Rudolf Viest

Rudolf Viest

Rudolf Viest , was Czechoslovakian division general of Slovakian ethnicity, commander of the partisan army during the Slovak National Uprising and the only Slovak general during the interwar period in the first Czechoslovak republic.In the years 1920-1939 he was...

 generals in the Slovak Army, led the uprising, which was eventually crushed by the Germans and their Hungarian and Polish collaborators. The most famous Slovak partisan brigade was the M.R.Stefanik brigade led by the Slovak partisan hero Viliam Zingor. With 1300 members, it was the largest partisan brigade, and was fiercely nationalistic yet religiously tolerant, with over 300 Jewish members. After the war this brigade, and its leader, fell into disfavour among Czechoslovak Communist politicians, who accused Gustav Husak

Gustáv Husák

Gustáv Husák was a Slovak politician, president of Czechoslovakia and a long-term Communist leader of Czechoslovakia and of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia...

 of being a traitor to the Slovak nation and people. Zingor was eventually executed by Husak and the communist government on the December 18, 1950. The Janosik brigade was another partisan brigade, which fought in the Tatra Mountains

Tatra Mountains

The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...

 and Orava

Orava (region)

Orava is the traditional name of a region situated in northern Slovakia and partially also in southern Poland . It encompasses the territory of the former Árva county.-History:...

.

Jewish Brigades

Slovak Jewish partisans made outstanding accomplishments as members of all-Jewish groups. The most famous Slovak Jewish partisan unit was the Novaky Brigade, formed from the inmates of Novaky concentration camp

Nováky

Nováky is a town in the Prievidza District, Trenčín Region in western Slovakia. Nováky Power Plant, a thermal power plant is located near the town.The town is one of the centres of brown coal mining in Slovakia.-Geography:...

. The Novaky brigade benefited from its strategic locale, as the camp was in a region populated by miners and farmers who had no sympathy for the pro-Nazi government. With the help of these friendly locals, the Novaky brigade made contacts with other partisans, and arranged to receive aid and weapons in the event of an armed uprising. In honor of their service to their country, 166 Jewish partisans were awarded the Order of the Slovak Uprising.

Famous partisans

There were many famous Slovak partisans but none more famous than the famous Jan Nalepka, and Viliam Zingor.

• Jan Nalepka
• Viliam Zingor
• Emil Perko
• Karol Adler
• Haviva Reik
  Haviva Reik
  Haviva Reick was one of 32 or 33 Palestinian Jewish parachutists sent by the Jewish Agency and Britain's Special Operations Executive on military missions in Nazi-occupied Europe....
  
  
• Ludovit Kukorelli
• Jan Fedak
• Viola Valachova
• Katarina Chutkova
• Jan Kovac
• Zelma Steiner
• Egon Roth
• Jan Usiak
• Michal Pavlovic
• Milos Uher

See also

• Slovak National Uprising
  Slovak National Uprising
  The Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso...
  
  
• Novaky Brigade
• M.R.Stefanik Brigade
• Janosik Brigade
• Novaky concentration camp