Liberation80: Tiso's Last Refuges - Skalica and Holic, Liberated 80 Years Ago

Skalica/Holic, April 19 (TASR) - The towns of Skalica and Holic (Trnava region) close to the border with the Czech Republic, were among the westernmost locations in Slovakia that the Red Army and Romanian troops managed to liberate before the end of World War II on April 11, 1945. The then president Jozef Tiso hid in one of the towns before the liberation of Bratislava, and the Slovak government temporarily moved to the other one. Although these were the westernmost locations of Slovakia, they were not the last ones in the country to be liberated. This concerned several villages in Cadca district (Zilina region) at the beginning of May 1945. "Due to its location, Skalica was chosen as an area suitable for evacuating civilians, especially from Bratislava. Even the Slovak government, headed by its then premier Stefan Tiso, took refuge in the town for a few days at the turn of March and April 1945," head of the Zahorie Museum in Skalica Martin Hoferka told TASR. In the same period, between March 25 and April 5, 1945, the German command headquarters headed by General Hermann Hofle were based in Skalica. Although the town of Skalica was occasionally bombed from April 5 onwards, it remained relatively untouched. Nor did it suffer major material damage during its liberation. am/df