Premier: Kaliste Shows that Living in Peace Is Not Matter of Course
Banska Bystrica, August 14 (TASR) – The burnt down village of Kaliste (Banska Bystrica region) shows that living in peace is not a matter of course, Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) said on Saturday in a speech he delivered at an event called Meeting of Generations in Kaliste.
“This is a place that shows the cruelty of World War II, the cruelty of Nazism and Fascism. This is the time when we can look at this beautiful place and think about what people had to go through here,” stated the premier, adding it’s a place where people showed immense heroism that we must never forget. “We came to this place to honour the memory of the heroes of this village, who risked their lives and eventually paid for their courage with them. They were murdered and their houses were burnt down,” he said.
According to Heger, Kaliste isn’t just a place for memories. “It is also a place of strong legacy for us, for our children, so that we never allow such cruelty to repeat in our lives,” he stressed.
Parliamentary Vice-chair Milan Laurencik (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS), Banska Bystrica regional governor Ondrej Lunter and ombudswoman Maria Patakyova delivered speeches at the commemorative event, too.
Kaliste was burnt down on March 18, 1945. German units killed 39 people, including locals and sick and wounded partisans outside the village. Today, the village is a national cultural monument containing a memorial dedicated to the victims, a preserved chapel and two renovated houses.
