Alexander Mach

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Alexander Mach
Deceased
Conviction(s)Treason
Criminal penalty30 years imprisonment

Alexander Mach (11 October 1902 – 15 October 1980) was a

far right wing of Slovak nationalism and became noted for his strong support of Nazism and Germany
.

Early years

Mach joined the

Nazi of the party's two factions.[2] He also served as chief executive of the Rodobrana during that group's mid-1920s heyday.[1] An influential figure on party policy, an editorial he wrote in 1938 calling for the establishment of a paramilitary arm to the party led directly to the formation of the Hlinka Guard.[1] Mach would succeed Karol Sidor as commander of this group in March 1939 with Karol Murgaš serving as his chief of staff.[3]

Slovak Republic

Mach came to the fore in 1938 after the Munich Agreement and subsequent upsurge in Slovak nationalism as a close associate of Vojtech Tuka and Ferdinand Ďurčanský.[4] Known for his rabble-rousing, Mach played a leading role in orchestrating the violence that followed the collapse of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 in his role as head of the Slovak Office of Propaganda.[1] He served initially as Propaganda Chief the first Slovak Republic before holding the position of Interior Minister in the government of Tuka from 29 July 1940 until the state's collapse in 1944.[1]

Like Tuka, whom Mach often deputised for during the Prime Minister's regular spells of illness, he supported a pro-Nazi policy and the speedy establishment of a

concentration camps in Slovakia for the Germans although the plan was abandoned when they decided to concentrate on Poland and the east as the location for such initiative.[1]

Later life

A staunch supporter of

Second World War he was tried before a People's Court and sentenced to thirty years imprisonment for his role in collaboration.[1] He was also ordered to forfeit his civil rights for 15 years and had a quarter of his property confiscated.[5] Mach was released from prison in 1968 and settled in Bratislava, living on a state pension until his death in 1980.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Philip Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890, Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 245
  2. ^ Shari J. Cohen, Politics without a past, 1999, p. 68
  3. ^ Richard S. Levy, Antisemitism, 2005, p. 310
  4. ^ Stanislav J. Kirschbaum, A history of Slovakia, 1996, p. 182
  5. ^ Ph.D, Mgr Jakub Drábik (2018-12-14). "Alexander Mach bol srdcom fašista - HistoryLab" (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-04-17.

External links

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