Nemecká (; ) is a village and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Brezno District Brezno District (; ) is a district in the Banská Bystrica Region of central 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 ...

, in the

Banská Bystrica Region The Banská Bystrica Region (, ; , ) is one of the eight regions of Slovakia. It is the largest of the eight regions by area, and has a lower population density than any other region. The Banská Bystrica Region was established in 1923; its bord ...

of central

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 ...

. The name, which can be translated as "German village", suggests villagers, or part of them, being of German origin. The first written mention of the village is from 1281. The villagers were mostly farmers and forest workers. Later, basic industries like limeworks, brickworks etc. developed in the area. From the 18th century on, many locals took part in door-to-door selling of laces, manufacturing of which also took place in the village. The village was a site of German atrocities 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 ...

aimed to suppress

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 ...

. As many as 900 people were executed and their bodies burned in local

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can tak ...

. The killings took 7 days (January 4–11, 1945). Responsible for the killings were members of German Einsatzkommando 14 led by Obersturmfuhrer Kurt Herbert Deffner and members of Slovak regime's Hlinka Guard led by captain Vojtech Kosovsky. The victims were participants of the uprising, their families and people from "proscribed races", i.e. Roma and Jews. A monument commemorating the massacre was built after World War II with a small exhibition opened to visitors all year long.

References

External links

Slovak article about WWII incident in Nemecká
Villages and municipalities in Brezno District {{BanskáBystrica-geo-stub