On the history of the Holocaust in Komárno

The history of Jewish communities on the territory of the present day Slovakia represent a major topic in the field of domestic and foreign historical production mainly since the fall of communism. Despite the fact that quite a number of works have been published, the issue of the Holocaust in southern Slovakia still remains very slightly processed. It is also related to the fact that, in the long-term horizon, there was relatively little attention paid to the fate of the arbitration territory in the years between 1938–1945. The situation in the same period is similar also in the context of the history of the town of Komárno, respectively of the Komárno County. Neither do the existing synthetic works provide basic data on the life of the town in the years 1938–1945. The present text has been written on the basis of fragmental archival sources stored in the State Archives in Nitra (and its branches in Ivanka pri Nitre and Komárno) and of the periodical press of the time. These are funds without inventory, respectively it seems that many important materials have not been preserved at all. Therefore the author cannot offer a comprehensive review, rather only some new information. A large amount of additional information piecing out the situation in the town in detail from the perspective of the surviving Jewish inhabitants, has been taken out from the digitalized interviews made with observers in the 1990s.

Miroslav Michela       94(=411.16)(437.6)“1938/1945“

On the history of the Holocaust in Komárno         323.12(=411.16)(437.6)“1938/1945“

341.43(=411.16)(437.6)“1938/1945“

343.819.5

Keywords: Jews in Komárno, First Vienna Award, the ghetto in Komárno, the functions of the Komárno fortresses, the Arrow Cross government.