Osudy jezuitov v Spišskej Novej Vsi v časoch druhej svetovej vojny

Abstract

After the First Vienna Award and the occupation of southern Slovakia by the Hungarians in 1938, the Jesuits from Košice had to move from the newly built house to a new residence in Spišská Nova Ves. The small community repaired the church and the habitation in which it lived. The order took over the rights and duties of the vicariate, so it had to teach religion in the city and its surroundings. The Jesuits often had to deal with personnel issues and especially the problematic figure of Father Ján Guga, who had a close relationship with the Orthodoxia and Russia. In the city, they watched the movements of the troops and experienced the atmosphere of war. The most unpleasant situations were connected with the persecution and deportation of the Jewish population, whom the superior of the house, Štefan Kramár, tried to help by baptizing them. The documents of the house were preserved in the Michal Lacko´s Centre of Spirituality East-West, where they are stored, only until August 1943. For this reason, we only know detailed information about the life of the Jesuits in Spišská Nová Ves until this period.