Commemorating Contradictions : Memory Norms and Narrative Discrepancies in Slovak Commemorations of the Holocaust and Slovak National Uprising

Sammanfattning

This thesis explores interpretations of the Slovak role in the Holocaust across two commemorative contexts, the Day of Victims of the Holocaust and Racial Violence and the Slovak National Uprising (SNP). Through a comparison of narratives produced at the two events, this work asks whether narratives stemming from cosmopolitan memory norms associated with Holocaust remembrance extend beyond Holocaust-centred occasions, or whether they remain separate from other historical interpretations of the war period. The analysis is grounded in research on cosmopolitan memory norms. By examining how Slovak political elites navigate a negative chapter of national history during two distinct occasions, this thesis studies potential contradictions in interpretations of the role of the wartime Slovak State and the question of national responsibility. Based on a qualitative content analysis and comparative analysis of twenty-two commemorative speeches given between 2019 and 2024, this text investigates the specific ways in which Slovak politicians incorporate cosmopolitan memory norms into national narratives. The analysis focuses on how responsibility and national identity are negotiated across the two commemorative occasions and how speakers relate the commemorated events to the modern day. The central argument is that the Slovak official commemorative landscape is divided in its interpretations of the wartime past and creates space to both recognise Slovak participation in the Holocaust and maintain narratives of national innocence. Selected representatives of the state recognise the role of the Slovak State in the Holocaust and apologise for it. However, they also rely on the SNP to maintain a positive narrative of national conduct during the Second World War. This work highlights the relevance of including other memory contexts when analysing national approaches to Holocaust memory. It argues that recognition of national wrongdoing can be negotiated and mitigated across multiple adjacent narratives.