Liberation80: Zvolen Commemorates 80th Anniversary of Town's Liberation

Zvolen, March 14 (TASR) - The town of Zvolen in Banska Bystrica region on Friday commemorated the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the town by the Soviet and Romanian armies, with mayor Vladimir Manka paying tribute to the fallen soldiers at the Red Army Memorial on SNP Square in Zvolen. The mayor said that this is a significant anniversary, when the aforementioned armies, by entering the town, secured the first day of freedom for its people. "We must not forget the anti-fascist tradition, and we can't allow these forces to revive myths and untruths. This also applies to the present," he noted, adding that propaganda during the Second World War still works in society today. "We must work together to prevent vulgar language and to calm the situation in Slovakia," he said. On its website, the local government states that after Lucenec, Zvolen was the next town in the region to become a focus of the liberation struggle. "Several hundred soldiers were killed in the fiercest and most difficult fighting in its history," it states, noting that Zvolen used to be an important railway and road junction and a strategic point, so the fascists were keen to defend it. am/df