Ján Nálepka (20 September 1912 in Szepessümeg,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

– 16 November 1943 in

Ovruch Ovruch (, ) is a city in Korosten Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine, first mentioned as Vruchiy in 977. It was the capital city of the Drevlians in the 900s, later conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, then later part of the Grand D ...

, Axis powers-occupied

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) was a Slovak

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

who organized and led an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

Slovak partisan detachment in the

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Nálepka was born into a peasant family in the village of Szepessümeg. From 1931, he worked as a teacher in Stupava,

Poruba pod Vihorlatom Poruba pod Vihorlatom () is a village and municipality in Michalovce District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1418. Geography The village lies at an altitude of 193 me ...

Dolná Mariková Dolná Mariková () is a village and municipality in Považská Bystrica District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1321. Geography The municipality lies at an al ...

and

Horná Mariková Horná Mariková () is a village and municipality in Považská Bystrica District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia. History In historical records the village as Horná Mariková was first mentioned in 1828 but first sign of exis ...

. From 1934 he served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Czechoslovak Army The Czechoslovak Army (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá armáda'') was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary. History In t ...

, and since 1939 he served in the Slovak armed forces. In 1939 he took part in the Slovak advance into Poland. In 1941, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-allied

Slovak State Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...

participated in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, Nazi Germany's attack on the Soviet Union, and the military unit in which Nálepka served was sent to fight against the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on the Eastern Front. In 1942, while he was chief of staff of a Slovak regiment stationed in the town of Yel’sk, Nálepka started organizing an underground

group inside the army. For example, Nálepka's group would give the local population information about the situation on the front lines, sabotage railway tracks, and give false information to German military aviators, so that they would bomb uninhabited forest areas instead of towns and villages. The same year, Nálepka also established contacts with

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of Resistance during World War II, resistance movements that fought a Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war against Axis powers, Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Territories of Poland an ...

. On the night between 14 and 15 June 1943, Nálepka and several other Slovak officers and soldiers defected from the Slovak Army and joined the partisans. They formed a partisan detachment and fought against the German troops, and called for Slovak soldiers to join them. Nálepka was made commander of the detachment, and was given the nickname ''Repkin'' by the Soviet partisans. Early in November 1943, Nálepka joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. On 16 November 1943, Nálepka's detachment tried to liberate the town of

from German occupation, together with Soviet partisans and troops of the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

. However, Nálepka and several other Slovak anti-fascist fighters were attacked and killed during an assault on the town's railway station. He was buried in a mass grave in

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

Awards and honours

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

(May 2, 1945;

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

— making him the only Slovak to be awarded this title) * Hero of the

Slovak National Uprising Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak: ''Slovenské národné povstanie'', abbreviated SNP; alternatively also ''Povstanie roku 1944'', English: ''The Uprising of 1944'') was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War, directed ag ...

(May 5, 1945) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(May 2, 1945; posthumously) *

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion () is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia having no civilian decoration for its citizens in the 192 ...

, I Class (October 28, 1948) *

Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

, 1st class *

Order of Ľudovít Štúr The Order of Ľudovít Štúr () is the third highest Slovak state decoration (after the Order of the White Double Cross and the Orders, decorations, and medals of Slovakia#Andrej Hlinka Order, Order of Andrej Hlinka) conferred by the President ...

, 2nd Class (August 31, 1996) * rank of brigadier general by the

President of Slovakia The president of the Slovak Republic () serves as the head of state of Slovakia and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The people directly elect the president for five years, for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The presidency is essent ...

Rudolf Schuster Rudolf Schuster (born 4 January 1934) is a Slovak politician, who served as the second president of Slovakia from 1999 to 2004. He was elected on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated on 15 June. In the presidential elections of April 2004, in which he so ...

(May 7, 2004; posthumously)

Memorials

Statue of Ján Nálepka, 3d scan
The village Vondrišel in

Gelnica District Gelnica (district) (, ) is a district in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. It was established in 1923. Between 1960–1996 the district has been a part of the Spišská Nová Ves District Spišská Nová Ves District () is a district in the ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, was renamed Nálepkovo in 1948. Towns where streets have been named after Ján Nálepka include

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

Piešťany Piešťany (; , , , ) is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its Piešťany District, own district. It is the biggest and best known spa town in Slovakia and has around ...

and

Pezinok Pezinok (; in the local dialect ''Pezinek''; ; ; ) is a town in southwestern Slovakia. It is roughly northeast of Bratislava and, as of December 2023, had a population of 24,443. Pezinok lies near the Little Carpathians and thrives mainly on vi ...

. A

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

has been placed on the house in

Smižany Smižany (, ) is a large village and municipality in the Spišská Nová Ves District in the Košice Region of central-eastern Slovakia. With a population of over 8,500 people as of 2021, Smižany is the largest village in Slovakia (a village bei ...

where he was born, and a street there has also been named after him. Overall, more than a hundred streets in former

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, and several in the former

, bear Nálepka's name. A school in Stupava, where Nálepka worked as a teacher, has been named after him, and there is an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...

of him in the same town. A statue of Nálepka also stands in the center of

Spišská Nová Ves Spišská Nová Ves (; ; ) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the biggest town of the Spišská Nová Ves Distric ...

. There is also a monument to Nálepka in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, the town where he perished. In Yel’sk,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, a commemorative plaque has been placed on the house where Nálepka lived from 1942 until 1943. A movie about Ján Nálepka, titled ''Zajtra bude neskoro'' (''Tomorrow It Will Be Too Late''), was made in 1972. It was a joint Soviet-Czechoslovak production, and casts Slovak actor

Milan Kňažko Milan Kňažko (born 28 August 1945) is a Slovak actor and politician. He was one of the leading personalities of the Public against Violence movement in November 1989 and one of the most popular faces of the Velvet Revolution in Slovakia. Ac ...

as Nálepka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nalepka, Jan 1912 births 1943 deaths People from Spišská Nová Ves District Soviet partisans in Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Lenin Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Slovak anti-fascists Slovak communists Slovak military personnel of World War II Czechoslovak military personnel killed in World War II Czechoslovak defectors Defectors to the Soviet Union Foreign Heroes of the Soviet Union