Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Future of Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Efforts Of Hlinka´S Slovak Peoples Party to Control Public Spaces: Case of Town Nitra 1939 – 1945
Alena Mikulášová
ABSTRACT:
Public spaces have undergone large changes in the period of WWII and are considered important research background for historians. Leading political party in Slovakia in this period was Hlinka´s Slovak Peoples Party. The party considered itself to be the unique political representative of the Slovak nation, yet its election results in the previous 20 years never reached a majority. Representatives of the party used number of tools to seize public spaces and push out opponents (political, ideological, social, and racial). Various regulations were adopted. Paper will present the effort of regional state apparatus to control public spaces. Highlighted will be several aspects: terminological occupation of public spaces manifested by large renaming of streets, parks and other utilities, physical occupation demonstrated by introduction of new holidays and festivities accompanied by countless marches, parades, speeches as well as symbolic occupation represented by removal of unsuitable symbols and statues connected to previous regime or undesirable personalities. Significant were also regulations in public spaces based on social and racial arguments. Text is based on detailed archival research and will focus on town Nitra.
keywords: history, political party, Slovakia, totalitarian regimes, WWII