MOD officials pay tribute to Slovak generals executed in WWII

At the MOD Reconciliation Memorial today, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko attended a remembrance ceremony in tribute to four Slovak generals who were executed in a Nazi concentration camp in World War II.

Sharing his thoughts, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “The strength and courage which all opponents of the cruel Nazi regime did not miss served as a small glimmer of hope that the suffering the Second World War brought and the atrocities the totalitarian regime perpetrated against innocent people would end one day. Our respect goes out to all those who had no fear to stand up and fight for values thanks to which we can live in a free and democratic country today.”

Since 2015, the Ministry of Defence has annually honoured the memory of the four Slovak generals – Div Gen Rudolf Viest, Brig Gen Ján Golian, 2nd Class Gen Štefan Jurech and 2nd Class Gen Augustín Malár – who were executed in March 1945 in the Flossebürg concentration camp, Germany. The act of remembrance was initiated by the SVK Generals Club and is held annually in close cooperation with the SVK Defence Staff.