Otomar Kubala (1906–1946) was a Slovak fascist who served as the commander of the

Hlinka Guard Hlinka (feminine Hlinková) is a Czech and Slovak surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and Catholic priest *Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player and coach *Jaroslav Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player *J ...

during the

Slovak National Uprising The Slovak National Uprising ( sk, Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) was a military uprising organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. This resistance movement was represented mainly by the members of the ...

. After the war, he was tried for treason, convicted, and executed.

Life and Career

Kubala studied at a teacher institution in

Modra Modra (german: Modern, hu, Modor, Latin: ''Modur'') is a city and municipality in the Bratislava Region in Slovakia. It has a population of 9,042 as of 2018. It nestles in the foothills of the Malé Karpaty (Little Carpathian mountains) and i ...

from 1920 to 1924 and then worked as a teacher and principal for 10 years.Kubala joined the Hlinka Guard in November 1938, and was later the local commander in 1939. He was already publishing articles with

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

ideals in the Gardista newspaper in the 1930s and in 1941 became the editor-in-chief of the Gardista newspaper.

Death

Due to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

's gradual advance on Slovakia, Kubala organized a retreat of remaining Slovak units and withdrew to southern

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, where he surrendered to American forces at

Strakonice Strakonice (; german: Strakonitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Strakonice is made up of town parts of Strakonice I and Strakonice II, and villages of Dražejov, ...

. He then was extradited to Czechoslovak authorities, sentenced to

death by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

for

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

, and executed as a war criminal.

References

;Sources * *

Life and Career

Death

References

Further reading