Ján Ševčík (

Brezolupy Brezolupy () is a village and municipality in Bánovce nad Bebravou District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia. History In history, historical records the village was first mentioned in 1323. Geography The municipality lies at a ...

, 13 February 1896 -

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, 6 March 1965) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

politician. Ševčík participated in the

Czechoslovak Legion The Czechoslovak Legion ( Czech: ''Československé legie''; Slovak: ''Československé légie'') were volunteer armed forces consisting predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I and the ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war he studied law and from 1926 to 1934 represented the

Slovak People's Party Andrej Hlinka, Hlinka's Slovak People's Party (), also known as the Slovak People's Party (, SĽS) or the Hlinka Party, was a far-right Clerical fascism, clerico-fascist political party with a strong Catholic fundamentalism, Catholic fundamental ...

(incl. as secretary of the faction). After that, he worked in the agrarian sector. From 1939 to 1942 he was the head of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

administration in

. Ševčík was an opponent of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

and therefore joined the Slovak résistance movement. The Slovak résistance opposed the nominally independent

Slovak republic 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 ...

that was established in 1939 by monseigneur

Jozef Tiso Jozef Gašpar Tiso (, ; 13 October 1887 – 18 April 1947) was a Slovaks, Slovak politician and Catholic priest who served as president of the Slovak Republic (1939–1945), First Slovak Republic, a client state of Nazi Germany during World War ...

but to a large extent controlled by Germans. In 1944 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 ...

took place, in which Ševčík participated. The résistance forces met an early success in fighting with Slovak fascists and German troops, but later had to retreat. After

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 ...

Ševčík joined the Democratic Party (DS). The DS won the 1946 election in the Slovak part of

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 thereafter had to share power with the

Communist Party of Slovakia The Communist Party of Slovakia (, KSS) is a communist party in Slovakia, formed in 1992 through the merger of the Communist Party of Slovakia – 91 and the Communist League of Slovakia. The party is observer of the Party of the European Lef ...

(KSS). Ševčík became a deputy once more. The communists carried out a 'great purge' of DS members in 1946–1948. After the communist coup d'état in February 1948, the DS was banned and replaced by the Party of Slovak Revival (SSO), a pro-communist

satellite party Satellite Party was an alternative rock band formed by Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell following the break-up of Jane's Addiction in 2004. Other members included Carl Restivo (bass) and Farrell's wife, Etty Lau Farrell (backing singer a ...

. Ševčík became the chairman of the SSO. He served as State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense in

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953 – titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman f ...

's second cabinet and later vice-premier in

Antonín Zápotocký Antonín Zápotocký (; 19 December 1884 – 13 November 1957) was a Czech communist politician and statesman in Czechoslovakia. He served as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953, and then as President of Czechoslovakia from 1 ...

's cabinet. In 1952 Ševčík was arrested and accused of opposition to the socialist development of Czechoslovakia. He was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment, but was released in 1960. On 6 March 1965 Ševčík died. He was rehabilitated soon after.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sevcik, Jan 1896 births 1965 deaths People from Bánovce nad Bebravou District People from the Kingdom of Hungary Slovak People's Party politicians Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants politicians Democratic Party (Slovakia, 1944) politicians Party of Slovak Revival politicians Members of the Interim National Assembly of Czechoslovakia Members of the Constituent National Assembly of Czechoslovakia Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1948–1954) YMCA leaders Czechoslovak Legion personnel Czechoslovak Socialist Republic rehabilitations