Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Grigorij Mesežnikov: National Populism in Slovakia - Defining the Character of the State and Interpreting Select Historic Events
Grigorij Mesežnikov caucus in 2006 argued it was misleading to use not only the term of ‘clerical fascism’ but even the term of fascism as such with respect to the Slovak State’s regime; according to him, the term was made up by the communist propaganda that used it to refer to “everything that stands against communism in any way”.43 Perhaps the most overt attempt to excuse the so-called solution to the Jewish issue during World War II in Slovakia was presented by late MP Bartolomej Kune (SNS), former Chairman of the SNS Professional Club for Christian Policy. In an interview for TV Nova in May 1996, Kune resorted to ‘explanatory’ arguments of socio-economic nature by stating: “The Slovak Republic was not based on racist laws. Those economic aspects that you apparently have in mind, those were brought to force even before adopting the Jew Code that later paved the way for such things as deportations. It was an attempt to correct in some way an unfortunate state of affairs when too big a share of national wealth was controlled by too few people - only 3.6 percent of the population. This concentration of wealth in Jewish hands had its specifics. Those who did not live here and did not study the issue have no idea about this. The point is that the Slovak people were exploited and impoverished, which was a way to transfer ownership of national wealth into the hands of that small group of citizens”.44 In 2000 Slota defended a decision by the Žilina municipal council to unveil a plaque in honour of Jozef Tiso, arguing that other countries also honoured their fascist leaders: “In Hungary’s capital [they have a statue of] Horthy, who was a big time fascist, on a big horse,” Slota said. “All around Italy you see countless busts of the fascist Mussolini, in Germany and Austria you see loads of various plaques celebrating or commemorating Hitler.”45 Two years later, Slota demanded that “all circumstances and true information on the execution of Tiso be made available to the Slovak public”. He declared that if political meddling with the trial and abuse of justice is established, Tiso should be rehabilitated. Slota called conviction and execution of Tiso a “vendetta” and a “murder commissioned by the Czechs and communists”.46 Slota came up with a truly peculiar interpretation of the wartime Slovak State, calling it an important survival factor of the Slovaks. “[This state] saved the nation from liquidation by German and Hungarian anti-Slavic fascism,” he said. In 2005, Rafaj declared that “time has come to [proclaim] and socially accept March 14, 1939, as the date of establishing historically first Slovak statehood”, placing the wartime Slovak State onto the “conti-56
