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Freedom's Road

Freedom's Road

(Cesta naděje), Kristina Vlachová / ČR, 2005
28 min

In the production of the Slovak Nation’s Memory Institute a Czech documentary filmmaker Kristina Vlachová made a medium-length film belonging to the cycle Crimes of Nazism and Communism, describing fates of hundreds of Jews from the Slovak town of Medzilaborce – the home of Jewish communities that came to Slovakia from Halitch in 18th century. Under the influence of the Third Empire, the independent Slovak state acceded to curbing rights and freedom of citizens of Jewish nationality. The perverted theory of blood and race brought about also so-called “arization” – Slovaks taking over the property of Jews.

In March 1942, first transports heading for concentration camps started leaving Slovakia … The atmosphere of the Slovak newsreels at that time is the first key to the situation. Besides the external presence of the Third Empire claiming the final solution of the Jewish issue, there is a system of local organisation, despotism of state and church, in which a great number of Slovak population took part. The “arizators” knew that by taking over the property of Jews sent to death camps, they get power, which is an ethnic privilege – envy was to be replaced by domination.

The Slovak regime which gave way to the nationalistic agony copied the behaviour of the German fascists power, which, however, was not determining but inspiring. The grotesque element lies in the copying: the Slovaks wanted to become seductive Slavs in the eyes of the Germans. Out of gratefulness they played their role of free fascists in order to appeal to them, paying them at the same time for their mournful performance - 500 imperial marks for each deported Jew (officially this was called a settlement fee).

The fate of Slovaks and Jews had to be decided by battles fought by others. What an irony that some nations were on the side of the victorious nations. Those in particular that exploited their freedom to deprive of it the others.

(source: catalogue MFDF Jihlava)