The heroism of the men and women who took part in the Slovak National Uprising should remind us, now more than ever, that extremism and hatred have no place in our society.
Exactly eighty years ago, in the summer of 1944, a segment of the nation rose up against the collaborationist government of the then-Slovak State, led by Jozef Tiso. A state that, prior to the outbreak of the SNP, had deported approximately 57,000 of its own Jewish citizens to concentration camps. Banská Bystrica became the center of the SNP, where people from various corners of the country—partisans, soldiers, and civilians—gathered to stand together against a much stronger enemy.
Despite the legacy of the SNP, in recent years we have faced a significant rise in extremism and mutual intolerance. These pose a serious threat to fundamental democratic values. We believe that it is precisely the university environment that can contribute to the cultivation of society as a whole through a continuous and high-quality educational process.
Since its founding, the educational principles at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava have been based on the legacy of humanism, tolerance, and the joy of discovering other cultures. At our alma mater, we have no doubt that mutual understanding and cooperation lead to excellent results, including in the field of scientific discoveries. That is why we are immensely pleased that our students also embrace these same values.
However, we must remember that the Slovak National Uprising offers us more than just a faded historical example of military resistance against fascism. It was a struggle of freedom against totalitarianism—a struggle of humanity against a perverse fascist ideology. And although it was later suppressed, even after eight decades it remains an example of cooperation, democratic values, active citizenship, and the willingness to become heroic defenders of freedom. Let us strive to follow this legacy today, so that our ancestors did not fight in vain.
