Ján Golian (26 January 1906 – 1945) was a Slovak Brigade GeneralAt that time, this rank corresponded to major general. who became famous as one of the main organizers and the commander of the resistance ''

1st Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia The First Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia was an ad-hoc military formation formed by the insurgents of the Slovak National Uprising (August – October 1944) against Nazi Germany. It was destroyed by German and pro-German Slovak forces as part of the ...

'' during the

Slovak National Uprising Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak: ''Slovenské národné povstanie'', abbreviated SNP; alternatively also ''Povstanie roku 1944'', English: ''The Uprising of 1944'') was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War, directed ag ...

Biography

Golian was born on 26 January 1906 in

Dombóvár Dombóvár (; ) is a town in Tolna County, Hungary. Dombóvár ( German :Dombowa) is a town in Tolna County , the seat of Dombóvár District . It is the third largest settlement in Tolna County , the county seat, after Szekszárd and Paks . Ar ...

in today's territory of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. His parents were native Slovaks who came from

Šurany Šurany (until 1927, ''Veľké Šurany'') is a town and a railroad hub in the Nové Zámky District, Nitra Region, southern Slovakia. Alongside the main settlement, it has the boroughs of Kostolný Sek and Nitriansky Hrádok, both annexed 1976. ...

. He studied at the Military Academy in Hranice, in 1927 received the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

of artillery. In 1937 he received the rank of captain. He served as a staff officer in

Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a List of towns in Slovakia, city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech Republic, Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a populati ...

. Golian belonged to a group of anti-Nazi-oriented officers. In January 1944 he was appointed chief of staff of the Slovak Ground Forces in

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

, where he gathered a group of influential anti-Nazi-oriented officers maintaining contact with the

Czechoslovak government-in-exile The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia (; ), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechoslovak National Liberation Committee (; ), initially by Government of the Unit ...

in London. He was the supreme military leader of the uprising from 27 April 1944 (while the uprising was still in preparation) until the arrival of Division General

Rudolf Viest Rudolf Viest (24 September 1890 – 1945) was a Slovak military leader, member of the Czechoslovak government in exile, member of the Slovak National Council and the commander of the 1st Czechoslovak army during the Slovak National Uprising. He ...

on 7 October 1944. After the start of the Slovak National Uprising on 29 August 1944 Golian took command of the Slovak forces in central Slovakia, from the headquarters in

. His units were intended to serve only as support for two Slovak divisions in eastern Slovakia that were supposed to secure a connection with the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. However, organization of the resistance army in eastern Slovakia failed and German forces disarmed both Slovak divisions without resistance. From the beginning of September Golian along with his staff organized the defence of the Slovak units encircled in central Slovakia. According to the testimony of his chief of staff Major Július Nosko, Golian assumed that the resistance defence against the German attacks could not last more than 14 days. On 7 October 1944 Golian was replaced in command of the resistance army forces by General Viest. Afterwards, General Ján Golian served as Viest's deputy. Despite fierce fighting, the outnumbered and surrounded resistance army could not resist the well-equipped and better-trained German forces. When Viest and Golian ordered their remaining units to start a guerrilla war on 27 October 1944, they did not know that it would be the last order they issued. Both generals were captured by German special forces on 3 November 1944 in Pohronský Bukovec. He was detained in the

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flos ...

, but all information about what happened to him in the last days of the war vanished.Jablonický, J., 2004, Samizdat o odboji. Štúdie a články. 1. (Samizdat about resistance. Articles and studies. 1) Kalligram, Bratislava, 528 pp. (in Slovak) It is believed that he was tortured and then murdered in Flossenbürg together with General Viest. Golian was officially listed as missing for 2 years after the war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golian, Jan 1906 births 1940s missing person cases 1945 deaths Czechoslovak military personnel killed in World War II People from Dombóvár Czechoslovak soldiers Slovak people of World War II Slovak military personnel of World War II Slovak National Uprising People who died in Flossenbürg concentration camp Executed Czechoslovak people Czechoslovak prisoners of war Military personnel who died in Nazi concentration camps Missing in action of World War II Executed military leaders Recipients of the Milan Rastislav Stefanik Order Slovak people executed by Nazi Germany

Biography

See also

References