US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA874

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000874 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, LO 
SUBJECT: Slovak National Uprising (SNP): Commemorating 60 
Years of Slovak-American Partnership 
 
 
1.   August 29 was the 60th anniversary of the commencement 
of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) - the largest (on a 
per capita basis) popular uprising against Nazi forces 
during World War II.  The U.S. Embassy in Slovakia used the 
occasion to highlight both American involvement in the 
uprising against fascism and the continuing story of 
Americans and Slovaks fighting together against tyranny. 
Activities included the visit of six veterans and numerous 
family members and academics, a book translation, a speaker 
program, and two receptions.  Embassy staff and visitors 
from the Indiana National Guard participated in over a dozen 
wreath-layings throughout the country.  The extensive press 
coverage surrounding the American presence, plus the high- 
level Slovak government involvement, further contributed to 
the success of the series of activities, which took place 
August 26 through September 1. This significant historical 
and cultural exchange was especially beneficial since the 
involvement of Americans in the 1944 Slovak National 
Uprising had received little attention during the years when 
the Communists controlled the writing of history. 
 
American SNU Veterans Return to Slovakia 
---------------------------------------- 
 
2.   The six veterans and their families who returned to 
Slovakia met with the families who hid and aided them during 
the Uprising, visited their airplane crash sites and 
Prisoner of War camps, provided pictures and oral histories 
to the Slovak National Uprising Museum, gave multiple media 
interviews, and attended embassy receptions.  Major General 
Jozef Dunaj, Commander-in-Chief of the Slovak Air Force, 
presented the veterans with "Golden Wings" for their heroic 
efforts in aiding the Uprising.  Private fundraising paid 
for the transportation of the veterans within Slovakia and a 
commemorative flight over the partisans' escape route sixty 
years ago.  Private fundraising will also boost the American 
content of the SNP Museum webpage. 
 
Political Involvement 
--------------------- 
 
3.   President Ivan Gasparovic, Prime Minister Mikulas 
Dzurinda, National Council Chairman Pavol Hrusovsky, and 
Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross addressed a standing- 
room only event on SNU Day in Banska Bystrica, the central 
Slovakian city where the SNP was headquartered.  Thirty-two 
countries' representatives paid their solemn respects to 
those fallen at the same ceremony, including the U.S. 
Charge.  President Bush's Presidential Statement appealed to 
an audience the mission usually finds more difficult to 
reach.  The older group that vocally expressed disapproval 
of PM Dzurinda's remarks against the former communist regime 
seemed to welcome Bush's comments and recognize the U.S. 
involvement in the SNU. 
 
Receptions and Book Launch 
------------------------- 
 
4.   The embassy translated into Slovak a book by an 
American historian, Jim Downs, on U.S. involvement in the 
SNU.  One reception in Bratislava and one in Banska 
Bystrica, the SNU headquarters in central Slovakia, honored 
the veterans and launched Downs' book.  Downs presented his 
research in two speeches at a two-day conference at the SNU 
Museum, which brought together mainly Czech, Slovak, and 
German historians.  200 copies of the book are being 
distributed to Slovak libraries, universities, academics, 
and political figures; Downs personally presented signed 
copies to President Gasparaovic, Prime Minister Dzurinda, 
and Parliament President Hrusovsky. 
 
Press Coverage 
-------------- 
 
5.   All major Slovak television stations, Slovak 
newspapers, the Armed Forces Network, and several foreign 
European journalists covered the events.  Press content 
related to the U.S. was all positive and focused on the U.S. 
veterans who fought in the SNU who returned to Slovakia for 
the events, a public affairs-supported historian who wrote 
about the U.S. involvement in the SNU, and the remarks of 
the Charge, who drew the parallels between Slovaks and 
Americans supporting each other both in 1944 and today. The 
embassy-sponsored receptions, as well as wreath layings and 
smaller ceremonies, also received substantial coverage. 
 
WEISER 
 
 
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