Kontakty medzi slovenským exilom (Peter Prídavok) a českým exilom v okolí generála Leva Prchalu v rokoch 1943 – 1952
Contacts between Slovak (Peter Prídavok) and Czech (General Lev Prchala) exiles around 1943–1952

Summary/Abstract: This study focuses on the prominent Slovak Catholic journalist and political activist in exile, Peter Prídavok, and his activities abroad during and after World War II. Initially based in France, he advocated for autonomy; subsequently, in Britain, he campaigned for Slovak independence. This cooperation included working with General Lev Prchala and the groups he led: the Czech National Unity from 1943 to 1945, and the Czech National Committee from 1945 onwards. During the war, these groups opposed Edvard Beneš, the leader of the Czechoslovak resistance recognised by the Allies, and after the war, they opposed the authoritarian regime of the Czechoslovak coalition government of the National Front. They warned against the impending Sovietisation of the state and society. Prídavok and Prchala criticised Beneš and his supporters for the autocratic leadership of the exile government and the Provisional State System of the Czech Republic abroad. They also criticised them for not respecting the Slovaks’ right to decide on their statehood and for their primary political orientation towards the Soviet Union. After the war, they criticised the undemocratic developments in the restored Czechoslovakia, such as the impossibility of opposing the governing coalition, widespread human rights violations, and the state’s foreign policy orientation towards the East. The author documents Prídavok’s long-term collaboration with Prchala and others in various activities, including a coordinated effort in early 1944 against the Czechoslovak-Soviet treaty within the Central European Federal Club and anti-communist resistance.

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