Deep in the woods: The majestic Monument of the Uprising

The road leads through the fertile Van Valley between the White Carpathians and the Inovets Mountains, the blossoms of hazel bushes and cornelian cherries herald early spring. It is imaginable that 80 years ago people fought here with arms in hand for the freedom of their country. Deep in the woods we found a majestic Monument of the Uprising in 1944.

But it is true, as confirmed by numerous monuments that can be found all over Slovakia. One of the largest is here at Dolná Lehota, known as the Monument SNP Krpáčovo. What at first glance looks like a pile of cement lost in the forest is the monument to the Slovak National Uprising: It depicts three large parachutes lying on the ground after the jump.

The idea for the original and daring work from the mid-1970s came from the sculptor and painter Jaroslav Kubiëka. He placed it at the place where the staff of the 11th Slovak Airborne Brigade landed in October 1944. It was Slovaks, Hungarians and Russians who proved to the Slovak nation with their fight against German superiority that they deserved national existence.

The Monument collapsed

Sad that suitable and durable material was not used in the construction of the monument. In May 2011, major damage was noticed, entire blocks of the monument collapsed and the main panel was destroyed. Holes were discovered in parachutes, but the young nation, which only gained independence from its big brother the Czech Republic in the early 1990s, poured money into restoring the memory of this important part of its history.

At that time, in 1944, there were 1,100 partisans living in the Topolcany area alone. Just imagine: all the workers of the "Partisansky" shoe factory went to the mountains as partisans during the days of the Slovak national uprising on August 29, 1944.

Emil Ducky, for example, says: "I was nineteen when I went into the mountains after the order to revolt came." Emil Ducky's father had been murdered in the Mauthausen concentration camp. Ducky also had a personal score to settle.

The fight was fought from the unmanageable mountains that the Germans could not control. Up there you can also find the many memorial plaques and monuments to the fighters against fascism, who often jumped out with a parachute.

The very special white monument high up in the mountains, which is close to a road but receives little attention these days, is a reminder of this. It's hard to see what the artist wants to say with the huge structure: it's a laid-down parachute, portrayed at the moment of landing.

Fighting for a Nation

It stands for the SNP, the abbreviation of the Slovenske Narodni Povstani, the uprising of the Slovaks against the hated Tiso regime that Hitler had installed. On August 29, 1944, German troops crossed the Slovakian border. The National Council then gave the signal for an armed uprising. The survey temporarily covered two thirds of the Slovak territory with the center in Banska Bystrica.

The uprising tied down up to eight fascist divisions, interrupted the connection between the German northern and southern fronts, and removed around 20,000 square kilometers of area near the front from the reach of the Hitler army. In addition to members of 26 nations, more than 3,000 Soviet citizens took part in the fighting of the uprising. To support the total of 70,000 insurgents, the Soviet Army and the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps under General Ludvik Svoboda began the attack on the Hitler army across the Carpathians.

German Partisans too

The timing seemed right; the government had long since lost control of the country and even of its own means of power such as the army. In fact, most of their units later went over to the people's side. In addition, the Soviet army was getting closer. But what followed was almost two months of sacrifice-filled fighting, during which the Slovakians were supported by around 200 Germans.

One of the first German partisan units was formed in eastern Slovakia under the leadership of William Müller. In April 1944, the coordinating body of resistance in the army, the "military center", was created. Partisan brigades were often formed in the mountains with Soviet help.

But the end was cruel. In October the Slovak patriots had to give way to the superior strength of fascist elite units. On October 27, Banska Bystrica fell. In November 1944, the insurgents had to retreat into the almost inaccessible mountains of central Slovakia before the overwhelming strength of the war-experienced SS units.

The last remain

Only a small area in the mountains could be held against all the enemy's furious attacks. In other parts of the country, the fascists retaliated: by the time they were finally liberated by the Soviet army in March/April 1945, the fascists had wiped out more than 100 villages, mostly including their inhabitants.

All that remains as a reminder of these people are the monuments along the way, the plaques high in the mountains and the small gravestones in some cemeteries.

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