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Kremsmünster Abbey ( German : Stift Kremsmünster ), a Benedictine monastery, is located in Kremsmünster , Upper Austria .

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73-536: Founded in 777 AD by Tassilo III , Duke of Bavaria , the monastery is steeped in legend. It is said that Tassilo established the abbey on the spot where his son, Gunther, was fatally wounded by a wild boar during a hunt. The first colony of monks came from Lower Bavaria , under Fateric, the first abbot. The new foundation received generous endowments from the founder, as well as from Charlemagne and his successors. The abbey soon gained enough position and reputation that its abbots exercised episcopal jurisdiction. In

146-1057: A breach of the Munich agreement and pledged not to acknowledge the territorial changes. Similar notes – though without reference to Munich – were sent by the USSR and the USA. Some non-Axis states, like Switzerland , Poland, and the Vatican , recognized Slovakia in March and April 1939. The Great Powers soon changed their position. In May, British diplomacy asked for (and received) a new exequatur for its former consul in Bratislava, which marked de facto recognition of Slovakia. France followed suit in July 1939. However, Czechoslovak legations kept operating in London and Paris. Some international organizations like

219-409: A company of combat engineers , all commanded by Antonín Pulanich. The second group was a mobile formation that consisted of two battalions of combined cavalry and motorcycle recon troops along with nine motorized artillery batteries, all commanded by Gustav Malár. The two groups reported to the headquarters of the 1st and 3rd Slovak Infantry Divisions. The two combat groups fought while pushing through

292-581: A diet in the Imperial Palace Ingelheim in 788, when Tassilo was finally deposed and then entered a monastery. In 794, Tassilo was again compelled, at the Synod of Frankfurt , to renounce his and his family's claims to Bavaria . He formally handed over to the king all of the rights that he had held. Tassilo died reportedly on 11 December 796 at Lorsch Abbey, to which he had been banished by Charlemagne. A lost chronicle of Tassilo's reign

365-708: A possible declaration of independence. Some of the deputies were skeptical of making such a move, among other reasons, because some worried that the Slovak state would be too small and with a strong Hungarian minority . The debate was quickly brought to a head when Franz Karmasin , leader of the German minority in Slovakia, said that any delay in declaring independence would result in Slovakia being divided between Hungary and Germany. Under these circumstances, Parliament unanimously voted to secede from Czecho-Slovakia, thus creating

438-406: A publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Kremsmünster ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. 48°03′18″N 14°07′50″E  /  48.05500°N 14.13056°E  / 48.05500; 14.13056 Tassilo III Tassilo III ( c. 741 – c. 796) was the duke of Bavaria from 748 to 788, the last of the house of

511-797: A study trip in Slovak lands where ethnic Germans were present and reported to Himmler that the Slovak Germans were in danger of disappearing. Pancke recommended that action should be taken to fuse the racially valuable part of the Slovaks into the German minority and remove the Romani and Jewish populations. He stated that this would be possible by "excluding" the Hungarian minority of the country and by settling some 100,000 ethnic German families in Slovakia. The racial core of this Germanization policy

584-541: Is the " Codex Millenarius ", a Gospel Book written around 800 in Mondsee Abbey . Facsimiles of this codex may be found in the libraries of a number of universities throughout the world. The most famous item of the treasury of the monastery is the Tassilo Chalice , donated to the monastery by its founder, Tassilo III. The copper and silver-gilt goblet (25.5cm high, weighing 3kg and holding 1.75 litres)

657-693: The Agilolfings . He was the son of Duke Odilo of Bavaria and Hitrud , daughter of Charles Martel . Tassilo, then still a child, began his rule as a Frankish ward under the tutelage of his uncle, the Carolingian Mayor of the Palace Pepin the Short (later king ) after Tassilo's father, Duke Odilo of Bavaria , had died in 748 and Pepin's half-brother Grifo had tried to seize the duchy for himself. Pepin removed Grifo and installed

730-741: The Czechoslovak Federal Republic . However, some nationalists celebrate 14 March as a day of independence. The official name of the country was the Slovak State (Slovak: Slovenský štát ) from 14 March to 21 July 1939 (until the adoption of the Constitution ), and the Slovak Republic (Slovak: Slovenská Republika ) from 21 July 1939 to its end in April 1945. The country is often referred to historically as

803-661: The First Slovak Republic (Slovak: prvá Slovenská Republika ) to distinguish it from the contemporary (Second) Slovak Republic , Slovakia, which is not considered its legal successor state . "Slovak State" was used colloquially, but "First Slovak Republic" was used even in encyclopedias written during the post-war Communist period. After the Munich Agreement , Slovakia gained autonomy inside Czecho-Slovakia (as former Czechoslovakia had been renamed) and lost its southern territories to Hungary under

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876-975: The First Vienna Award . As Hitler was preparing a mobilization into Czech territory and the creation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia , he had various plans for Slovakia. The Hungarians initially misinformed German officials that the Slovaks wanted to join Hungary. Germany decided to make Slovakia a separate puppet state under German influence and a potential strategic base for German attacks on Poland and other regions. On 13 March 1939, Hitler invited Monsignor Jozef Tiso (the Slovak ex- prime minister who had been deposed by Czechoslovak troops several days earlier) to Berlin and urged him to proclaim Slovakia's independence. Hitler added that if Tiso had not consented, he would have allowed events in Slovakia to take place effectively, leaving it to

949-611: The German minority . However, those two parties formed part of a coalition with the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party; for all intents and purposes, Slovakia was a one-party state. The state advocated excluding women from the public sphere and politics. While promoting "natural" maternal duties of women, the regime aimed to restrict women's space to the privacy of family life. Slovakia's pro-natalist programs limited access to previously available birth-control methods and introduced harsher punishments for already criminalized abortions. Although

1022-405: The German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia . It controlled most of the territory of present-day Slovakia , without its current southern parts, which were ceded by Czechoslovakia to Hungary in 1938. The state was the first formally independent Slovak state in history. Bratislava was declared the capital city. A one-party state governed by the far-right Hlinka's Slovak People's Party ,

1095-656: The Jews from participation in public life and later supported their deportation to concentration camps erected by Germany on occupied Polish territory . The only political parties permitted were the dominant Hlinka's Slovak People's Party and two smaller openly fascist parties, these being the Hungarian National Party which represented the Hungarian minority and the German Party which represented

1168-815: The League of Nations or the International Labour Union still considered Czechoslovakia their member, but some – like the Universal Postal Union – admitted Slovakia. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the British and French consulates in Slovakia were closed, and the territory was declared under occupation. However, in September 1939, the USSR recognized Slovakia, admitted a Slovak representative, and closed

1241-516: The Left , and the opposition. By a decree issued on October 29, 1938, the Hlinka Guard was designated as the only body authorized to give its members paramilitary training, and it was this decree that established its formal status in the country. Hlinka guardsmen wore black uniforms and a cap shaped like a boat, with a woolen pompom on top, and they used the raised-arm salute. The official salute

1314-694: The Nowy Sącz and Dukla Mountain Passes , advancing towards Dębica and Tarnów in the region of southern Poland. The Slovak military participated in the war on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union . The Slovak Expeditionary Army Group of about 45,000 entered the Soviet Union shortly after the German attack . This army lacked logistic and transportation support, so a much smaller unit,

1387-661: The Reformation . From the Reformation period onwards a succession of able abbots kept the abbey on track. Abbot Gregor Lechner (1543–1558), towards the middle of the 16th century, made the monastic school, previously private, into a public school, and did much to preserve Catholicism in the district, where the Protestant doctrines had become widely prevalent - to the extent that his successor, Abbot Weiner (1558–1565) favoured them and thus introduced dissension into

1460-437: The 10th century the abbey was destroyed. It was later restored and recovered its property under the emperor Henry II , when Saint Gotthard became abbot. Kremsmünster, in common with other religious houses, then fell into a decline, which was halted by the action of bishop Altmann of Passau , who brought a community from Gottesau and introduced the reformed observance of Cluny into the abbey. After it became known as one of

1533-578: The 1100th anniversary of the foundation, became Archbishop of Vienna in 1881 and was raised to the cardinalate in 1884. In the 20th century, Leander Czerny , the entomologist , was abbot from 1905 to 1929. Since 1625 Kremsmünster has been a member of the Austrian Congregation , now within the Benedictine Confederation . The abbey also played a role in the end of World War II , as it was here that on May 8, 1945,

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1606-735: The 17th Army through July 1941, including at the Battle of Uman . At the beginning of August 1941, the Slovak Mobile Command was dissolved, and instead, two infantry divisions were formed from the Slovak Expeditionary Army Group. The Slovak 2nd Division was a security division , but the Slovak 1st Division was a front-line unit that fought in the campaigns of 1941 and 1942, reaching the Caucasus area with Army Group B . The Slovak 1st Division then shared

1679-406: The 18th century the most prominent and distinguished was Alexander Fixlmillner (1731–1759), who built the great observatory , constructed many roads on the monastic estate, and was a man of edifying life and great charity to the poor. His nephew Placidus Fixlmillner , the first astronomer to compute the orbit of Uranus , was later appointed the director of the observatory. Towards the end of

1752-690: The 18th century the policy of Emperor Joseph II with regard to the religious houses of his empire threatened to close Kremsmünster, like many others, but it was fortunate enough to escape. The abbey suffered a great deal during the Napoleonic wars , and was slow in recovering its position. It was not until the abbacy of Thomas Mitterndorfer (1840–1860) that, having recovered its material security and re-established learning and discipline, Kremsmünster regained its former prestige. 19th-century abbot Cölestin Ganglbauer (died 1889), who celebrated in 1877

1825-466: The 1939 borders of the Slovak State, and 85 percent had declared Slovak nationality on the 1938 census. Minorities included Germans (4.8 percent), Czechs (2.9 percent), Rusyns (2.6 percent), Hungarians (2.1 percent), Jews (1.1 percent), and Romani people (0.9 percent). Seventy-five percent of Slovaks were Catholics. Most of the remainder belonged to the Lutheran and Greek Catholic churches. 50% of

1898-430: The 1960s and Father Altman Kellner before and during the 1950s. In July 2013 an Austrian court found Mandorfer guilty in 24 documented cases of child abuse and sexual violence, and sentenced the now defrocked priest to twelve years in prison. In March 2015, a research team led by the German sociologist Heiner Keupp presented the results of a scientific study on the topic Sexual Abuse, psychological and physical Violence at

1971-602: The Aquitanians in light of an earlier alliance, made between Tassilo's father and the Aquitanian duke Hunoald I during his conflict with Pepin in 743. Whatever the motivations behind Tassilo's abandonment of the campaign, the Royal Frankish Annals for that year are particularly scathing of him, saying that he "brushed aside his oaths and all his promises and sneaked away on a wicked pretext". Working on

2044-596: The Austrian Baroque. The church also contains the celebrated Grave of Gunther , a cenotaph which originally had been placed in front of the high altar, and in its current form dates from sometime prior to 1304. The monastery school has existed since at least 1549. The poet and writer Adalbert Stifter was educated here. The monks still work today in education and maintain a school, as well as in pastoral care. In March 2010 several monks were suspended for severe allegations of sexual abuse and physical violence,

2117-578: The Jews!". Vatican undersecretary Domenico Tardini complained: "Everyone understands that the Holy See cannot stop Hitler. But who can understand that it does not know how to rein in a priest?" By the end of the Holocaust, more than two-thirds of the Jews living in Slovakia had been murdered. The Slovak Republic was divided into 6 counties and 58 districts. The extant population records are from

2190-575: The Kremsmünster boarding school , which identified a total of 16 violent and 8 sexual abusers within a period from 1945 until 2000. In 2013, it was revealed that the school had paid approximately €700,000 in compensation since the scandal erupted. The magnificent monastery library was built between 1680 and 1689, also by Carlo Antonio Carlone. It is one of the great libraries of Austria and contains about 160,000 volumes, besides 1,700 manuscripts and nearly 2,000 incunabula . The most valuable book

2263-547: The Netherlands, and Sweden, as well as some beyond Europe (like Ecuador, Costa Rica, Liberia). In some cases, Czechoslovak legations were closed (e.g., in Switzerland), but some countries opted for a somewhat ambiguous stand. The states that maintained their independence ceased recognizing Slovakia in the late stages of World War II. However, some (e.g., Spain ) permitted operations of semi-diplomatic representation until

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2336-528: The Slovak Mobile Command (Pilfousek Brigade), was formed from units selected from this force; the rest of the Slovak army was relegated to rear-area security duty. The Slovak Mobile Command was attached to the German 17th Army (as was the Hungarian Carpathian Group also) and shortly thereafter given over to direct German command, the Slovaks lacking the command infrastructure to exercise effective operational control. This unit fought with

2409-746: The Slovak Republic is primarily known for its collaboration with Nazi Germany, which included sending troops to the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the Soviet Union in 1941. In 1940, the country joined the Axis when its leaders signed the Tripartite Pact . In 1942, the country deported 58,000 Jews (two-thirds of the Slovak Jewish population) to German-occupied Poland, paying Germany 500 Reichsmarks each. After an increase in

2482-499: The Slovak Republic" elected for five years, was the highest legislative body (no general elections took place, however), and the "State Council" performed the duties of a senate. The government, which had eight ministries, was the executive body. The Slovak Republic was an authoritarian regime where German pressure resulted in the adoption of many elements of Nazism . Some historians characterized Tiso's regime as clerical fascism . The government issued many antisemitic laws prohibiting

2555-562: The Slovak Republic's geographical extent in the areas of Orava and Spiš , absorbing previously Polish-controlled territory. In July 1940, at the Salzburg Conference , the Germans forced a reshuffle of the Slovak cabinet by threatening to withdraw their protection guarantees. On 24 November 1940, Slovakia joined the Axis when its leaders signed the Tripartite Pact . The Slovak- Soviet Treaty of Commerce and Navigation

2628-632: The Slovak Republic, and appointed Vojtech Tuka as Prime Minister. After 1942, President Tiso was also styled Vodca ("Leader"), an imitation of German Führer . Mainly as a Catholic priest, he was moral and natural authority for the majority of Slovaks. Tiso collaborated with Germany in deportations of Jews, deporting many Slovak Jews to extermination and concentration camps in Germany and German-occupied Poland , while some Jews in Slovakia were murdered outright. Deportations were executed from 25 March 1942 until 20 October 1942. In August 1942, after

2701-603: The South-East. Jozef Tiso began his career as a Catholic priest in Austro-Hungary . As such, he operated primarily in the Hungarian language. Yet, immediately after the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia , Tiso transformed himself into a Slovak nationalist and career politician. After declaration of Slovak independence from Czecho-Slovak Republic , Tiso

2774-412: The abbey, dissension which risked developing into serious disruption. This was prevented by succeeding abbots: Abbot Wolfradt especially (1613–1639) brought the monastery into so highly flourishing a condition that he was known as its third founder. Its reputation as a house of studies and learning was increased still further under his successor, Placid Buchauer (1644–1669). Among the abbots of

2847-457: The activity of anti-Nazi Slovak partisans , Germany invaded Slovakia, triggering a significant uprising in 1944. The Slovak Republic was abolished after the Soviet liberation in 1945, and its territory was reintegrated into the recreated Third Czechoslovak Republic . The current Slovak Republic does not consider itself a successor state of the wartime Slovak Republic, instead a successor to

2920-418: The bishops of Passau and of the dukes of Bavaria, and the chronicles of the abbey itself. Schrodl gives a list of writers connected with Kremsmünster from the eleventh to the 16th centuries, and of their literary labours. One of the most distinguished abbots was Ulrich Schoppenzaun (1454–1484), to whom, and to his disciple and successor Johann Schreiner (1505–1524), it is due that Kremsmünster survived

2993-722: The court of his grandfather, Desiderius, and to be baptised by Pope Adrian I in Rome on 19 May. In 773, Tassilo sent an embassy to the pope, but it was blocked by Charles, who was suspicious of the duke's alliances with Saxons , Wends , and Avars . In 788 Tassilo was accused by the Franks of defaulting on his military obligations to Pepin, leaving the Frankish campaign in Aquitaine on grounds of ill health way back in 763. Roper Pearson suggests that he left because he felt an obligation to

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3066-626: The designs of Melk Abbey . Kremsmünster reached its greatest extent in the south wing, which is about 290 meters long. The most important rooms were situated here: the refectory, the library and the Emperor's Hall. The wing terminates to the east in the Mathematical Tower, 51 meters high, where the observatory is located (the Kremsmünster Sternwarte ). There is an interesting collection of objects of natural history in

3139-482: The duchy of Bavaria and the greater independency he displayed, Airlie compares the duchy of Bavaria was similar to Aquitaine in the independent nature and threat to Carolingian rule. The incident was the linchpin in Charlemagne and Pope Adrian's argument that Tassilo was not an independent prince but a rebellious vassal, deserving punishment. The punishment was carried out, after much political maneuvering, during

3212-469: The exiled Slovak government capitulated to General Walton Walker leading the XX Corps of the 3rd US Army . From the middle of the 17th century, thanks to an extensive programme of construction largely reusing older building materials, the premises grew so large that in the whole of Austria they were second only to Melk . The architect and builder was Jakob Prandtauer , who was also responsible for

3285-479: The fate of the German southern forces, losing their heavy equipment in the Kuban bridgehead , then being badly mangled near Melitopol in southern Ukraine. In June 1944, the remnant of the division, no longer considered fit for combat due to low morale, was disarmed, and the personnel were assigned to construction work. This fate had already befallen the Slovak 2nd Division earlier for the same reason. The Hlinka Guard

3358-663: The first Slovak state in history. Jozef Tiso was appointed the first Prime Minister of the new republic. The next day, Tiso sent a telegram (composed the previous day in Berlin) announcing Slovakia's independence, asking the Reich to take over the protection of the newly minted state. The request was readily accepted. Germany and Italy immediately recognized the emergent Slovak state a few weeks later. Britain and France refused to do so; in March 1939, both powers sent diplomatic notes to Berlin protesting developments in former Czechoslovakia as

3431-600: The highly legalistic account is quite out of character for the period. K. L. Roper Pearson has suggested that it probably represents a reworking of the original document by the annalist to emphasise Charlemagne's overlordship over Tassilo during the period of hostilities between the two rulers. Around 760, Tassilo married Liutperga , daughter of the Lombard king, Desiderius , continuing a tradition of Lombardo-Bavarian connections. He made several journeys to Italy to visit his father-in-law and to establish political relations with

3504-579: The hitherto operational Czechoslovak legation in Moscow. Official Soviet-Slovak diplomatic relations were maintained until the outbreak of the German-Soviet war in 1941, when Slovakia joined the invasion on Germany's side, and the USSR recognized the Czechoslovak government-in-exile ; Britain recognized it one year earlier. In all, 27 states either de jure or de facto recognized Slovakia. They were either Axis countries (like Romania, Finland, Hungary) or Axis-dominated semi-independent states (like Vichy France , Manchukuo ) or neutral countries like Lithuania,

3577-478: The impending invasion planned for September 1939, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) requested the assistance of Slovakia. Although the Slovak military was only six months old, it formed a small mobile combat group consisting of several infantry and artillery battalions. Two combat groups were created for the campaign in Poland alongside the Germans. The first group was a brigade-sized formation that consisted of six infantry battalions, two artillery battalions, and

3650-444: The interior of the church was redecorated with splendid Baroque ornamentation to designs by Carlo Antonio Carlone , Giovanni Battista Colomba and Giovanni Battista Barberini . Of especial note is the Baroque high altar , created by Johann Andreas Wolf in 1712, after twelve years of design and preparation. The angels by Johann Michael Zürn the younger, who kneel and stand at the numerous side-altars, are also impressive examples of

3723-419: The late 1950s. The United States never recognized Slovak independence. It remained consistent in their initial approach, as they never recognized the Munich Agreement , the extinction of Czechoslovakia , or any territorial changes made to Czechoslovak territory in the period 1938–1939. From the beginning, the Slovak Republic was under the influence of Germany. The so-called "protection treaty" ( Treaty on

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3796-437: The lower part of the observatory, which is eight stories high; and features a series of fish-tanks decorated with statues and a colonnade. The main church is dedicated to "Christ the Saviour and St. Agapitus " ( Zum Heiligen Erlöser und zum Heiligen Agapitos ). Construction was completed in 1277, in the late Romanesque and early Gothic styles. After 1613 the church was remodelled in the Baroque style. Between 1680 and 1720,

3869-406: The majority of Slovak Jews had been sent to German-occupied Poland and it became clear that the deportees were being systematically murdered, Tiso gave a speech in Holič in which he called for Slovaks to "cast off your parasite [the Jews]" and justified continuing deportations of Jews from Slovakia. On 30 August, Hitler commented "It is interesting how this little Catholic priest Tiso is sending us

3942-474: The mercies of Hungary and Poland. During the meeting, Joachim von Ribbentrop passed on a report claiming that Hungarian troops were approaching the Slovak borders. Tiso refused to make such a decision himself, after which he was allowed by Hitler to organize a meeting of the Slovak parliament ("Diet of the Slovak Land"), which would approve Slovakia's independence. On 14 March, the Slovak parliament convened and heard Tiso's report on his discussion with Hitler and

4015-496: The monastery in 2010 revealed that the accused teacher also owned a pump-action shotgun amongst other weapons. According to investigations by several victims, the Kremsmünster Abbey has a long criminal tradition in systematic child abuse. Decades before the currently reported cases around Father Alfons and in addition to the already expired charges against Father Benedikt and Father Petrus there exists strong evidence for severe previous instances of sexual abuse involving Father Georg in

4088-434: The most flourishing houses in Germany , "excelling all other abbeys" stated an anonymous chronicler, "in observance and piety, also in respect to its lands, buildings, books, paintings, and other possessions, and in the number of its members prominent in learning and in art". The monastic library was famous, and drew eminent scholars to Kremsmünster, where several important historical works were written, including histories of

4161-409: The official policy of the Nazi regime was in favor of an independent Slovak Republic dependent on Germany and opposed to any annexations of Slovak territory, Heinrich Himmler 's SS considered ambitious population policy options concerning the German minority of Slovakia , which numbered circa 130,000 people. In 1940, Günther Pancke , head of the SS RuSHA ("Race and Settlement Office"), undertook

4234-425: The pope against Lombard expansions, which has been seen as a reason for Rome's lack of support for him during his later conflict with Charlemagne. Still, there is a consensus among historians that Tassilo, despite acting as a kingly sovereign, did not intend to become king himself. Tassilo nevertheless undertook such kingly duties as founding Kremsmünster Abbey . In 772, Tassilo sent his son Theodo to Italy to visit

4307-407: The pope. It is reported that Tassilo had gained such a reputation that he was regarded as a kingly ruler when his cousins Charles and Carloman assumed power in the Frankish realm in 768. That year, he founded Gars Abbey on the Inn River , in southern Bavaria. In the following year, 769, Tassilo issued in Bolzano the foundation charter of the Innichen Abbey . He was, however, not able to protect

4380-410: The population were employed in agriculture. The state was divided in six counties ( župy ), 58 districts ( okresy ) and 2659 municipalities. The capital, Bratislava, had over 140,000 inhabitants. The state continued the legal system of Czechoslovakia, which was modified only gradually. According to the Constitution of 1939, the "President" (Jozef Tiso) was the head of the state, the "Assembly/Diet of

4453-416: The premise that the annals may have been revised to emphasise Tassilo as a vassal, Roper Pearson suggests that to be the beginning of a campaign to depict Tassilo as an oath-breaker and someone unprepared to carry out the main function of his office, to fight, which would make him unfit for rule. Stuart Airlie has argued that the reason why Charlemagne removed Tassilo from power was the greater power he had in

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4526-424: The protective relationship between Germany and the Slovak State ), signed on 23 March 1939, partially subordinated its foreign, military, and economic policy to that of Germany. The German Wehrmacht established the so-called " Protective Zone " ( German : Schutzzone ) in Western Slovakia in August 1939. Following Slovak participation in the invasion of Poland in September 1939, border adjustments increased

4599-426: The reported incidences that range over a period from the 1970s until the late 1990s have been subject to police investigation. While further charges against two of the three accused priests were dropped due to expiration of the statute of limitations , there followed three years of investigations in almost 30 cases against August Mandorfer (Father Alfons), the former director of the boarding school. Search and seizure at

4672-402: The same time: On 23 March 1939, Hungary, having already occupied Carpatho-Ukraine , attacked from there, and the newly established Slovak Republic was forced to cede 1,697 square kilometres (655 sq mi) of territory with about 70,000 people to Hungary before the onset of World War II. Slovakia was the only Axis nation other than Germany to take part in the Invasion of Poland . With

4745-413: The young Tassilo as duke, but under Frankish overlordship in 749. In 757, according to the Royal Frankish Annals , Tassilo became Pepin's vassal and the lord for his lands at an assembly held at Compiegne . There, he is reported to have sworn numerous oaths to Pepin and, according to reports that may have been written much later, promised fealty to him and his sons, Charles and Carloman . However,

4818-478: Was " Na stráž !" ("On guard!"). Throughout its existence, the Hlinka Guard competed with the Hlinka party for primacy in ruling the country. In 1941 Hlinka Guard shock troops were trained in SS camps in Germany, and the SS attached an adviser to the guard. At this point many of the guardsmen who were of middle-class origin quit, and thenceforth the organization consisted of peasants and unskilled laborers , together with various doubtful elements. A social message

4891-503: Was a paramilitary organization of the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party . It was created in 1938, and it was built according to the Nazi model. Even though there was an attempt to establish it as an organization with compulsory membership for all adult citizens (except Jews) in 1939, this idea was soon changed, and membership in the Guard was voluntary. The Hlinka Guard was Slovakia's state police and most willingly helped Hitler with his plans. It operated against Jews , Czechs , Hungarians ,

4964-508: Was created in May 1942 to stop further Hungarian expansion. It can be compared to the Little Entente . The state's most difficult foreign policy problem involved relations with Hungary, which had annexed one-third of Slovakia's territory by the First Vienna Award of 2 November 1938. Slovakia tried to achieve a revision of the Vienna Award, but Germany did not allow it. There were also constant quarrels concerning Hungary's treatment of Slovaks living in Hungary. 2.6 million people lived within

5037-500: Was created some time between 768/769 and 788, possibly in Mondsee or Salzburg. The two Tassilo Candlesticks were originally thought to have been worked from the sceptre of Tassilo, but today are recognized as works of the mid 10th century. The Tassilo Chalice, the candlesticks and the Codex Millenarius are still used in religious services to this day, though only on special occasions. ^ Schrodl, Kirchenlex. , VII, 1053 [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

5110-404: Was initially Prime Minister from 14 March 1939 until 26 October 1939. Tiso not only supported Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, but also contributed Slovak troops, which the Germans rewarded by allowing Slovakia to annex 300 square miles of Polish territory. On 1 October 1939, Tiso officially became chairmen of the Slovak People's Party . On 26 October, he became President of

5183-612: Was kept by his chancellor, Creontius . It was partially preserved in the 16th century, when Johannes Aventinus incorporated some of its material into his Bavarian history. Slovak Republic (WWII) The ( First ) Slovak Republic ( Slovak : (Prvá) Slovenská republika ), until 21 July 1939 known as the Slovak State (Slovak: Slovenský štát ), was a partially-recognized clerical fascist client state of Nazi Germany which existed between 14 March 1939 and 4 April 1945 in Central Europe . The Slovak part of Czechoslovakia declared independence with German support one day before

5256-600: Was signed at Moscow on 6 December 1940. Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941 and on 25 November 1941 signed anti-communist the Anti-Comintern Pact . The Slovak military participated in the war on the Eastern Front since Operation Barbarossa . In 1942, Slovakia declared war on the United Kingdom and the United States . The Croatian–Romanian–Slovak friendship proclamation

5329-695: Was to be gained from the Hlinka Guard , which was to be further integrated into the SS shortly. The Red Army entered Slovakia from multiple sides at once. The units of the 1st Ukrainian Front together with the members of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps crossed the Dukla Pass after Battle of the Dukla Pass on 6 October 1944. Units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and the Romanian Army came from

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