Liberation80: President Honours Victims of Bloody Sunday in Klak and Ostry Grun

Ostry Grun/Klak, January 19 (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini on Sunday commemorated the victims of the so-called Bloody Sunday in the villages of Ostry Grun and Klak (Banska Bystrica region), where Nazis killed 148 people and burnt both villages in January 1945, calling the event the most brutal war crime committed on Slovak territory 80 years ago. "Bloody Sunday, January 21, 1945, is a tragic chapter in our national history, especially considering that the unimaginable suffering of the residents of Ostry Grun and nearby Klak was sadly contributed to by fellow Slovaks," stated Pellegrini. The president stated that this year will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of Slovakia. "Unfortunately, we will mark this anniversary at a time when war is again raging beyond our eastern borders and our society is once again filled with hatred. "I warn everyone who sees stirring up hatred as a tool for gaining political power — you're playing with fire, and it won't stop in places like Ostry Grun or Klak," said Pellegrini. lin