The Vienna Arbitral Award in November 1938 adjudicated southern and eastern parts of Slovakia, an area of 10.400 km² and 860.000 inhabitants, to the Horthy Hungary (Miklós Horthy was the Hungarian Prime Minister until 1944). In March 1939, Hungarian soldiers began the occupation of these territories, which significantly influenced the living conditions of all residents in this area. Among other things, the Hungarian officials started registering “enemy elements”. Members of other ethnic groups, especially all the Jews and the Roma, were considered such “enemy elements”.

… For instance In southern Gemer, already at the beginning of 1939, public notary offices started registering Romani abodes and creating name registers of their inhabitants. In May 1939, these name registers were made more exact by including names of children below 14 years of age…

Nečas, C.: Českoslovenští Romové v letech 1938 – 1945 [Czechoslovak Roma in years 1938 – 1945]. Masarykova univerzita, Brno 1994, s.95.

Besides the registering, the living conditions of the people were also getting worse, which naturally led to fear and insecurity. Gradually, the Roma were pushed out of social life; they were not allowed to enter public spaces or attend schools. The Hungarian legislation allowed the gendarmerie to make “order raids” in Romany abodes, to take “suspects” into custody, to check the health situation, or to order disinfection.

Steadily, the situation radicalized, and various politicians and newspapers started to advertise ideas about establishing labour camps for the Roma, or even deportations beyond Hungarian borders.

The situation deteriorated rapidly at the beginning of 1944, after Regent Miklós Horthy was forced to resign and the German army occupied Hungary. During this occupation, the country was governed by the nacist Nyilaskeresztés Part Hungarista Mosgalom (the Arrow Cross Party). After Ferenc Szálasi became the Prime Minister of Hungary, a large portion of the Romani population was incarcerated in labour camps and later deported to concentration camps. An estimated 20.000 to 30.000 Romani men and women were deported from Hungary and the areas annexed to Hungary through the Vienna Arbitral Award.

The Roma from the occupied territories in eastern Slovakia were first assembled in Košice and later transported to Komárno. The Roma from southern Slovakia were transported directly to a military base in Komárno. Later, several trains were sent from Komárno to the Dachau concentration camp. However, only small groups of Roma stayed in this camp; most of them were transported to other camps.

By the end of the War, the terror had increased and entire Romani communities were murdered. One such tragic event occurred in Slatina.

In the first half of December 1944, the village was liberated by the Soviet Army, but one day before Christmas, the German soldiers returned. They herded the local Roma into a house of Koloman Fizik, shot them dead and burnt down the house. More than 50 Roma men, women and children died.

Another tragedy happened on Žitný Ostrov....

When retreating west, the “Nyilashs” dragged a group of Roma from the Hurbanovo area. Around March 30, 1945 they stopped at an estate in Trhovo Mýto. They forced all Roma men, women and children to the Small Danube, pushed them into water and shot them down. The wild river carried corpses of 53 adults and 7 children. Only Alžbeta Lakatošová survived the massacre…
Nečas, C.: Českoslovenští Romové v letech 1938 – 1945[Czechoslovak Roma in years 1938 – 1945]. Masarykova univerzita, Brno 1994, s.97.

Although specific in-depth research is yet to be conducted, from the few sources we have, it is clear that the Roma living in the eastern and southern parts of Slovakia, annexed to Horthy’s Hungary during the period of 1938 – 1945, also faced discrimination, repressions, terror, deportations and mass murders.