| Wartime Bratislava |
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Hitler’s rising influence in Central Europe culminated in March 1939 with the splitting of Czechoslovakia. In the Czech territory a protectorate under Nazi administration was established. Slovak politicians were called on by Hitler to decide on the future fate of Slovakia. From the two alternatives – the division of Slovakia among Poland, Hungary and the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia, or the creation of an independent state, the political leadership of the time decided on the second alternative. This then saw the establishment of an independent Slovak state, the 6-year existence of which continues to be a controversial and unresolved chapter in the history of the country to the present day. During the period of the Slovak independent state Bratislava became the capital for the first time. The city was the seat of the president, parliament, the government and all state administration authorities. It lost part of its territory, however - Petr¾alka and Devín were annexed to Germany. At the end of the war, as the capital of an allied state of Hitler’s Germany, Bratislava was bombed by US air forces. Bratislava was liberated on 4 April 1945 by the Russian Red Army. The Official Website of the City of Bratislava |