GABČO, Martin. “To live free under the Tatras!” Attempted leafleting action by the anti-communist resistance group Young Guard of Freedom in the spring 1952

The study outlines the circumstances surrounding the creation of two leaflets authorized by the partially formed and primarily future-planned anti-communist resistance group Young Freedom Guard. At the same time, the author attempted to analyze their message in the light of that time's domestic and foreign political-social situation. The creation of these documents and the four-member group itself was significantly influenced by the Czechoslovak Radio Free Europe broadcasts. The first series of Young Freedom Guard leaflets was created in March 1952, and the second series was made after a limited personnel expansion of the planned anti-regime group in May 1952. In line with the slogan "To live freely under the Tatras!", these texts contained criticism of communist propaganda, as well as mobilization calls to fight against the totalitarian regime. Their creators relied on the vision of the early collapse of the communist dictatorship. Although the demonstrable activities carried out on the platform of the Young Freedom Guard ended in mid-1952, in the last quarter of 1953, State Security revealed the identity of the creators of the leaflets through agency channels. On June 1, 1954, the Regional Court in Nitra sentenced seven people to prison terms of varying lengths, while as a result of amnesties, four political prisoners – active members of the Young Freedom Guard – were prematurely released in the first half of 1955. Three convicts, who were not directly involved in the activities of the forming group but were aware of the leaflet action, did not have to serve their sentence in the end.