State Secretary of SVK MOD Marian Majer pays tribute to memory of Jozef Gabčík in Žilina and Poluvsie

To mark the 78th anniversary of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a commemoration in honour of Major General (in memoriam) Jozef Gabčík was held today in Poluvsie. State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence Marian Majer paid tribute to his memory on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. He opened a symbolic run which took place instead of the cancelled 26th Jozef Gabčík Memorial Run. Along with Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko, he participated in a ceremony marking the change of responsibility for Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL) of the 5th Special Forces Regiment Žilina and the appointment of Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL) for the Slovak Special Operations Forces Command (SOCOM).

State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Marian Majer said: "The elite 5th Special Forces Regiment bears an honorific title of "Jozef Gabčík Regiment Žilina" – the name of a hero who showed no hesitation to stand up against evil in WW2. His legacy of fighting for national liberation earned him a permanent record in our contemporary history." He went on to acknowledge the significance of this landmark event thanks to which today's generations can learn more about his life and sacrifice.

As part of the commemoration, Olympian Matej Tóth, of the DUKLA Banská Bystrica Military Sports Centre, gave a lecture at the 5th Special Forces Regiment and met with new candidates preparing for the SOF selection process.

Major General (in memoriam) Jozef Gabčík was born on 8 April 1912 in Poluvsie in Žilina County. In the summer of 1941, Jozef Gabčík, ranked Staff Sergeant of Infantry, agreed to undertake training for special missions [by Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE)]. After passing several courses, as one of the first Czechoslovak paratroopers he volunteered for special tasks in his Nazi-occupied homeland. In October 1941, he became the leader of the Anthropoid team, tasked with the assassination of Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich.