SNP80: First Partisan Group in East Commemorated by Memorial near Vinne

Vinne, August 3 (TASR) - The legacy of the resistance of Slovak National Uprising (SNP) partisan groups that operated near the village of Vinne in Kosice region is symbolised by a memorial below Pirnagov vrch Hill, with the monument dedicated to a partisan group know as Janosik fellowship, chronicler of the village Alena Holubova has told TASR, adding that it was the first partisan group that was formed in eastern Slovakia. "It was based in the woods above the village of Vinne and it gradually gained 19 members, with a significant part of them being persecuted Jews. It was of a military nature and followed strict discipline," Holubova said, adding that there were several partisan groups active in the vicinity of Vinne. "The inhabitants of Vinne, but also of surrounding villages, supported the partisan movement, as there were quite a few men from Vinne in the partisan groups. People baked bread for the partisans, which they took to the forest with other foodstuffs, supplied clothes, sewed shoes, provided shelter, treated the wounded and brought news," claimed the chronicler. At the time of an expected attack of the Red Army on the town of Michalovce, the partisans undertook combat actions, capturing a number of German soldiers with cars and combat equipment near the villages of Vinne, Kaluza, Kusin and Trnava pri Laborci. In October 1944, the Germans attacked Vinne, with the partisans retreating back into the forest together with locals. The Germans occupied the village, expelled those who stayed, plundered and then burned it. A total of eight people died in the process. "Even after this event, the Germans came back to the village to loot and attack the partisans in the woods, so locals couldn't return to their homes. They had a very hard time because the autumn was cold and rainy," added the chronicler. The memorial was designed by Julius Machaj and unveiled in August 1969. There's one more memorial directly in the village that is dedicated to fallen heroes of the Second World War, commemorating specifically October 30, 1944, when the Germans burned the village. zel