Pamięć o Holokauście w najnowszej prozie słowackiej (na przykładzie powieści Silvestra Lavríka "Niedzielne szachy z Tisą")

Abstract

The article presents the main problems connected with Silvester Lavrik’s historical novel Niedzielne szachy z Tisą. The book belongs to an important trend in contemporary Slovak literature, addressing the period of the clerofascist Slovak State during the Second World War. In the first part, selected cultural and historical‑literary contexts have been presented, e.g. the issue of reinterpreting the past in the circumstances of freedom after 1989, or the ways of discussing the problems of Holocaust in Slovak literature. The second, interpretive part, is devoted to the narrative strategies implemented in the novel, various attitudes of characters towards the activities preceding the Extermination, demythologizing the figure of the state leader, Josef Tisa, as well as the way of presenting conditions and circumstances which made the tragedy of Slovak Jews possible. It has been pointed out that submission to state authority and ideology led to losing the sense of individual responsibility and justified an active participation in violence acts or assuming the role of passive spectators. The novel’s engaging character and the potential to provoke reflection concerning the attitude of an individual towards contemporary problems and challenges has been regarded as a significant aspect of Lavrik’s novel as a work dedicated to the condition of the community and its value.