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German Zone of Protection in Slovakia

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German occupation zone in the First Slovak Republic during the lead up to and in World War 2
1. The zone of protection

The German Zone of Protection in Slovakia, or the Protective Zone (German: Schutzzone) was an area established in the western parts of the First Slovak Republic after the dissolution and division of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany during 1939. The special status of the zone was already created in the initial German-Slovak treaty of 23 March 1939, which defined the protective relationship between Germany and the Slovak State. The zone was codified by the German-Slovak treaty of August 28, 1939, which was signed in Bratislava (German: Pressburg).

The treaty gave German Wehrmacht sole economic and political authority in the designated area in the form of a military occupation, which was demarcated by the ridges of the Little and White Carpathians and the Javorníky Mountains. The zone had the purpose of securing Germany the right to invade Poland from Slovak territory.

The Germans however kept the control over the Schutzzone throughout the whole war, because several weapon factories and important ex-Czechoslovak depots of arms were placed here.

Online Resources

References

  1. V. František. The German Zone of Protection in Slovakia: A Study in Slovak-German Relations in March–August 1939. Slovakia 9, no. 4 (March 1959), pp. 7-23.
  2. ^ A. von Plato,A. Leh,C. Thonfeld (ed) (2010). Hitler's Slaves: Life Stories of Forced Labourers in Nazi-Occupied Europe, Berghahn Books, ISBN 1-84545-698-X, p. 70
  3. J. Bartl (2002), Slovak history: chronology & lexicon, Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, ISBN 0-86516-444-4, p. 140.
  4. R. Lemkin (2008), Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd, ISBN 1-58477-901-2, p. 354
  5. W. Deist (1990), The build-up of German aggression, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-822866-X, p. 339
  6. A. T. Komjáthy (1993), Give peace one more chance!: revision of the 1946 Peace Treaty of Paris, University Press of America, ISBN 0-8191-8905-7, p. 62

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