the organization, which has been dedicated to documenting the stories of the 20th century for a long time, was outraged that at the last congress of the KSS in Banská Bystrica, not only traditional communist symbols were displayed on the stage, but also portraits of criminals responsible for thousands of human lives.
“It is unacceptable that in a country that got rid of totalitarianism more than thirty years ago, where the law on the immorality and illegality of the communist system applies and the promotion of groups that suppress human rights and freedoms is prohibited, portraits of mass murderers and leaders are displayed at political party events criminal regimes. We must not have a double standard for fascism and communism. Just as we must not accept the adoration of Hitler, we must not accept the adoration of Stalin either,” stated the director of Post Bellum SK, Sandra Polovková.
On May 20, 2023, the 10th Congress of the Communist Party of Slovakia was held in Banská Bystrica. From the visual material that was spread after this event on the social networks Facebook, YouTube, as well as in the media, it follows that on the podium, behind the president’s table, banners with images of Soviet communist dictators were displayed during the convention – e.g. JV Stalin, as well as representatives of the immoral and illegal communist system in the former Czechoslovakia (according to Act No. 125/1996 Coll. on the immorality and illegality of the communist system) – e.g. K. Gottwalda.
JVStalin, according to conservative estimates of historians, is responsible for the death of approximately 7 million people in the territory of the former USSR alone. However, Stalin’s criminal communist policy had a direct negative impact on the former Czechoslovakia as well. At least 7,422 Czechoslovak citizens were illegally taken to the gulags – while the largest part of them were Slovaks. Stalin and his politics also helped the implementation of the communist coup and the establishment of a totalitarian system in the former Czechoslovakia (1948).
According to the Czech Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism, 248 people were executed for political reasons during communism in Czechoslovakia, over 4,500 people died in communist prisons, and at least 282 people were killed trying to leave the republic. More than 205,000 people were sentenced for political reasons to serve their sentences, and approximately 20,000 more of our fellow citizens were sent to forced labor camps without trial.
“We are convinced that since on May 20, 2023 in Banská Bystrica, it was not a scientific, educational, or lay event commemorating our history, but the 10th congress of a registered political party – it can be assumed that the display of portraits of top representatives of criminal communist regimes from Czechoslovakia and USSR and their dissemination in image form on social networks and in the media fulfilled the factual essence of the crime,” added Sandra Polovková.
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