Efforts of Hlinka´s Slovak Peoples Party to Control Public Spaces in Slovakia (1939–1945): The Example of the City of Nitra

Authors:

Pages: 159-167
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/TLEN8639

Abstract:

Public spaces underwent significant changes during WWII. The leading political power in Slovakia at that time was the Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party. Although it had never achieved a majority in the elections over the previous 20 years, it considered itself the unique political representative of the Slovak nation. Representatives of the party employed various tools to seize control of public spaces and to exclude opponents defined according to political, ideological, social, and racial elements. This paper presents the effort of the regional state apparatus to control public spaces, focusing on the city of Nitra. The research is based on archival sources and focuses on the renaming of streets and other utilities, the introduction of new holidays and festivities, and the removal of symbols and statues connected to the previous regime.

Keywords:

public spaces; Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party; Slovakia (1939–1945); authoritarian regimes.

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