The partisan movement in the province of Eastern Slovakia had its impetus from several diverse sources. One major source of organization was the Slovak Communist Party. In the months preceding the outbreak of World War II, the charge d'affaires to the United States embassy in Prague, George Kennan, viewed the communist sentiment in Eastern Slovakia as being "a bird of different color [which] in former circumstances would have little chance of success." He went on to say, however, that, owing to guidance from Moscow, the Communists could become the most formidable opposition group of all arrayed against the Tiso regime.

Kennan's prognosis was largely accurate, though certain qualifying features most be noted. The Communists did not have a monopoly on the resistance movement. In prewar Czechoslovakia they were strongest in the eastern province known as Podkarpatska Rus'(also known alternatively as Transcarpathia, Ruthenia, Subcarpathian Rus' and Carpatho-Ukraine). Yet many Carpatho-Rusyns also lived in Eastern Slovakia. The Communists were never able to muster more than 7 percent of the vote among them during elections in the interwar period. Not wishing to be isolated from other Rusyns in organized resistance to the Tiso regime, local Communists opted to join the Carpatho-Russian Council for National Liberation (KRASNO), which shall be introduced in due course.

The view of the autonomous and later independent Slovak state on the Rusyns was that the latter were "Slovaks of Greek Catholic faith." This view was exemplified by Andrej Dudas, who in 1940 was appointed regional administrator of Eastern Slovakia. He was convinced that the idea of a Rusyn nationality was created by the Hungarians, a position he maintained a full three decades later as an emigre in Argentina. In early 1939, the Rusyn National Committee and Carpatho-Rusyn National Council were banned by the Slovak government, and the activity of the Dukhnovych Society--which considered Rusyns to be Russian--was restricted. The Ukrainian movement among the Rusyns was particularly loathed by the Slovak nationalist leadership. Slovak police reports up until November 1938 indicate that Rusyns in the Presov Region supported union with their brethren east of the Uzh River. Yet, in November, the same police reports indicate a significant change. The Ukrainian movement was even more alien to the Presov Region Rusyns than was Slovak nationalism, and they were henceforth opposed to a revision of borders which was favorable to Carpatho-Ukraine.

Rusyns shared in the economic prosperity of the Slovak Republic which characterized the first half of World War II. Workers in Germany sent money home to their families, while locally a number of Rusyns profited from the expropriation of Jewish property. Yet once it became obvious that the Slovak Republic was on the losing side of the war, a number of Rusyns began to organize. The Carpatho-Russian Autonomous Council for National Liberation (Karpatorusskii avtonomyi sovet natsional'nogo osvobzhdenii--KRASNO) was founded in Presov in September 1943. Its goals were to aid escaped Soviet prisoners of war and partisans and to cooperate with other underground organizations opposed to what it considered a clerico-fascist regime. Its members envisioned a restored Czechoslovakia in which Rusyns would be an equal partner with Czechs and Slovaks. Although its orientation was pro-Soviet and decidedly leftist, KRASNO was not a Communist front organization. It was founded by civic and cultural leaders of varied political orientations.

KRASNO rapidly expanded its network. In the same year as its founding the first partisan unit was organized in the Presov Region. By the following year the movement was so widespread that 26 villages in a triangle encompassing the towns of Stropkov, Hummene and Medzilaborce constituted a partisan republic. This is not to assume that Rusyns participated in partisan groups exclusively of their own nationality. Jozef Rodak, director of the Vojenske Muzeum in Svidnik, asserts that the area was characterized by partisan groups of mixed Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn volunteers. Many people of Eastern Slovakia to this day have a dual sense of identity: they regard themselves as Rusyns by heritage and Slovaks by citizenship.

Eastern Slovakia was also characterized by the presence of exported Soviet partisan units. Most noteworthy among them was the Chapayev Brigade, which caused the German military considerable inconvenience during the autumn 1944 uprising. Even after the Soviet 38th Army and the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps stormed through Dukla Pass on October 6, the Germans were committed to holding on in Eastern Slovakia. They were particularly harsh in response to guerrilla activity in their rear, burning numerous villages. They were particularly intent on destroying the Chapayev Brigade. Somehow they perceived that the village of Tokajik extended hospitality to the Chapayev partisans.

Tokajik is a small village in a valley in the hill country north of Lake Domasa, south of the town of Stropkov. The exact nature of the tragedy which transpired on November 19, 1944 has yet to be fully examined. There is no evidence that Soviet partisans of the Chapayev Brigade ever entered the village. Two facts, however, appear discernable: 1) Two Communist organizers, Michal Medvedz and Andrej Stropkovsky, earlier formed a group called "Za rodina," but its members were dispatched to the central highlands to aid the uprising in the most critical area; and 2) The remaining villagers of Tokajik--possibly excepting a few newcomers--had nothing to do with partisan activity. This did not dissuade German soldiers from escorting approximately 30 male villagers out into the woods and downhill into a ravine for execution.

Among those taken were Medvedz and Stropkovsky. A group which had been led down before them had fallen forward after being shot from behind. Medvedz and Stropkovsky likewise fell forward, while behind them other villagers were shot. Sandwiched among the bodies, Medvedz and Stropkovsky managed to survive by playing dead, smeared with the blood of their compatriots. During the night rain fell, causing brain matter from those above them who had been shot in the head to soak them even further with gore.

As Soviet forces pressed down on the village, the Nazis torched Tokajik and evacuated, as they were now doing with other villages in Eastern Slovakia. Soviet troops under General Ivan Petrov entered Tokajik on November 29. On the following day Medvedz and Stropkovsky materialized for the exhumation of the bodies of friends, neighbors and relatives. Among the dead were 11 members of the Medvedz family alone. Two members of the Krisko family--father and brother of the prodigal currently serving in Svoboda's 1st Army Corps--were also included. The Kriskos had come into Tokajik from outside, and were directly involved in resistance to the Nazis and the Tiso regime.

Unquestionably and regrettably, there were worse atrocities committed by either side in World War II than that of the Tokajik massacre. In former Czechoslovakia, the most outstanding example was the fate of the Czech village Lidice. In response to the assassination of second in command of the SS and Reichsprotector of Bohemia and Moravia Reinhard Heydrich, the entire adult male population of Lidice was executed on June 10, 1942. Here again, a village which had not assisted the anti-Nazi resistance was singled out for retribution. Lidice, like Tokajik later, was burned. The remains were dynamited and the ground was ploughed with salt so that nothing would grow there again. And there were worse atrocities than Lidice. In light of the entire spectrum, one may ask why or whether Tokajik is deserving of attention in the first place.

To answer this question, the author wishes to compare the fate of the two villages in the postwar era. Lidice was rebuilt, albeit not on the same site. A memorial and a museum commemorating its predecessor was established. The village of Tokajik was rebuilt on the same site. An attractive memorial was built on the hillside where the massacre occurred, and the community center became a museum. Both the Lidice and Tokajik memorials and museums received funding under the Communist regime. Following the collapse of the Communist system in 1989, this common denominator no longer held true. Tourists from around the world continue to visit Lidice in the Czech Republic, which still enjoys public funding. Tokajik, on the other hand, is virtually forgotten. Deprived of public funding, the museum of Tokajik again descended to the level of an impoverished community center. Much of its collection was transferred to the Vojensky Muzeum in Svidnik. A site which represents the history and culture of Eastern Slovakia stands neglected.

Recently there has been discussion of elevating the community center of Tokajik to the status of a state museum once again. The FRIENDS OF DUKLA PASS support such an endeavor, and is willing to make a financial contribution. It is also willing to subsidize the landscaping of the massacre site--now sadly eroded--for the 60th anniversary. Yet the support of Slovaks and Carpatho-Rusyns alike who cherish their common heritage in Eastern Slovakia is also essential. Inquiries concerning aid should be made to the following:

Friends of Dukla Pass
P.O. Box 20437
Tallahassee, Fl 32316

R. VLADIMIR BAUMGARTEN, chair
FRIENDS OF DUKLA PASS