German Zone of Protection in Slovakia
Encyclopedia
The German Zone of Protection in Slovakia, or the Protective Zone was an area established in the in the western parts of the First Slovak Republic after the dissolution and division of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany
during 1939. The special status of the zone was already created in the initial German-Slovak treaty of 23 March 1939, which defined the protective relationship between Germany and the Slovak State. The zone was codified by the German-Slovak treaty of August 28 1939, which was signed in Bratislava .
The treaty gave German Wehrmacht
sole economic and political authority in the designated area in the form of a military occupation, which was demarcated by the ridges of the Little
and White Carpathians
and the Javorníky Mountains
. The zone had the purpose of securing Germany the right to invade Poland from Slovak territory.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during 1939. The special status of the zone was already created in the initial German-Slovak treaty of 23 March 1939, which defined the protective relationship between Germany and the Slovak State. The zone was codified by the German-Slovak treaty of August 28 1939, which was signed in Bratislava .
The treaty gave German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
sole economic and political authority in the designated area in the form of a military occupation, which was demarcated by the ridges of the Little
Little Carpathians
The Little Carpathians are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto nad Váhom, a very small part called Hundsheimer Berge is situated south of Devín Gate in...
and White Carpathians
White Carpathians
The White Carpathians is the westernmost mountain range of the Carpathian Mountains.They are part of the Slovak-Moravian Carpathians, stretching from the Váh river and the Little Carpathians in the south along the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the Morava and the Javorníky range...
and the Javorníky Mountains
Javorníky
Maple Mountains is a mountain range of the Slovak-Moravian Carpathians that forms part of the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia....
. The zone had the purpose of securing Germany the right to invade Poland from Slovak territory.