HEŠTEROVÁ, Zdenka: Evacuation and Destruction of Selected Arms Factories During the Retreat of the German Army

In Slovakia, the use of arms production to support the German military was gradually terminated in response to the advancing front, primarily through the evacuation and subsequent destruction of key strategic enterprises, particularly those involved in armaments manufacturing. As early as October 1944, German authorities had formulated plans to transfer production facilities and other assets from Slovakia to the Reich. The program, along with the principal methods for shutting down economic operations, was outlined in the directives issued by the German Industrial Commission in Slovakia in November 1944. These measures included restriction, relocation, paralysis, and ultimately, destruction—not only of industrial infrastructure but also of broader economic functions.

The phased evacuation of Slovakia's largest arms manufacturer, the Škoda Works in Dubnica nad Váhom, began in October 1944. By late 1944 and early 1945, the removal of military production intensified, extending to the arms factory in Považská Bystrica as well. On February 1, 1945, the Slovak-German agreement on the evacuation of economic assets was signed, serving as one of the final appendices to the Secret Protocol of the Treaty on Protection. This agreement officially sanctioned the dismantling and transfer of technical equipment, raw materials, and finished products from Slovakia to Germany.

Following a weeklong evacuation of critical machinery and supplies, the German army destroyed approximately 80% of the Dubnica plant between April 7–8, 1945. Significant damage was also inflicted on the aircraft factory in Trenčianske Biskupice during the German retreat, although the facility in Považská Bystrica suffered only minimal harm. Equipment not destroyed by retreating German forces was later seized by the Soviet army as war booty. Although only Germanowned property was formally designated as such, many machines—composed of German components—were rendered inoperable following their disassembly. The systematic destruction of arms factories constituted the largest portion of Slova kia's wartime industrial losses.