#NoPlaceforHate: Interview with Sandra Polovková

Have right-wing extremism and antisemitism increased in Slovakia in recent years? Moreover, how does Post Bellum deal with this?

The rise of right-wing extremism and antisemitism in Slovakia is indeed concerning. However, the trend is more complex and not limited to Slovakia alone. We no longer see groups that directly deny the Holocaust in a straightforward manner. They operate in a more refined manner now. They exploit populism and disinformation, particularly around current issues like the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, promoting a distorted narrative of nationalism in a simplistic way. Since October and the new government's rise to power, claiming to be part of the social left but in reality, being radically right-wing, there has been a rapid attempt to undermine democracy in Slovakia. The government's daily narrative includes disinformation, denial of basic facts, and distortion of historical facts. For example, representatives of the Slovak government - nominees of the Slovak National Party (SNS) claim that the earth is flat, deny the existence of COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia, and many other similar instances. Extremely dangerous is the manipulation of the public and incitement to violence, which has been happening in Slovakia for a long time.

For over 12 years, at Post Bellum, we have been striving to bring the real stories of victims of dictatorial regimes. We collaborate with traditional media to spread these stories to the widest possible audience. Annually, we conduct approximately 300 workshops per year in primary and secondary schools as well as universities, working closely with teachers. We create online awareness campaigns that connect topics from recent history to the present, aiming to engage the public. We collaborate with artists, bringing different formats to our work. However, currently in Slovakia, it seems that not just our work but also the work of our colleagues from other similar organizations is perceived as weaker compared to the voices of the powerful and is seriously endangered.

What is the current situation in Slovakia for NGOs and activists? What kind of support are you seeking?

The current situation in Slovakia seems very complicated for the non-profit civil sector. It appears that the current government will divide non-profit organizations into 'good' and 'bad' (in their political dictionary, organizations with foreign interests). Since October, several state grant calls have been canceled, including those Post Bellum applied for support. In December, the Minister of Culture canceled a grant call for combating disinformation, where contracts were ready to be signed because independent committees had made decisions. The Minister announced this via a video on the Ministry of Culture's Facebook and on the disinformation YouTube channel TV Slovan, openly criticizing Post Bellum. In February, in a similar fashion of decision-making, the Minister of Justice of the Slovak Republic canceled the only grant call for the support and protection of human rights, combating antisemitism, and xenophobia. Post Bellum responded to this with a petition along with other civil organizations directly affected. About a week ago, the grant call was announced again.

In June, Parliament passed an amendment to the law against the President of the Slovak Republic's veto on the future of the Fund to support the arts, an independent institution where Post Bellum was a regular successful applicant. The Fund's future will become highly political as the majority of decision-making will be taken over by the Council, where the Ministry of Culture will hold the majority representation. There is a risk that not only Post Bellum but also the majority of civil organizations and cultural entities, including those dealing with queer topics, will receive no state support.

Simultaneously in May, Post Bellum received information that our project for the International Visegrad Fund was not supported. We requested feedback on the project application and were informed that an independent committee had recommended support for an international project (with Post Bellum Slovakia as the lead, collaborating with organizations from the Czech Republic and Poland) for the 80th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. However, the support was halted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, which exercised its veto right. Apart from these direct threats to Post Bellum's operations, we are regularly attacked by government representatives in the media (often through so-called alternative media), linked to the political party PS, and face disinformation campaigns about us or our director.
Despite this, we have not wavered in our activities. So far, we have not canceled any planned activities for the year 2024. It is, however, much more challenging to continuously find new financial resources for our work.

What kind of project did you implement with your organization in our funding program local.history?

We are slowly finalizing a 2-year project supported by the EVZ Foundation. As part of it, we have accomplished: 1.) Following the Traces of the Hidden Children - 4th & 5th edition of the memorial expedition. 2.) Conducting 70 educational experience-based workshops for primary and secondary schools 3.) Production of 16 new podcasts under the "Stories of the 20th Century" podcast series 4.) "History Defines Our Future" exhibition (and complementary activities).
Thanks to the support, we were able to continue our work in primary and secondary schools on topics of modern history, primarily those related to WWII and the Holocaust. Through real stories, we brought closer the events of this historical period and the decisions of the political, then dictatorial power, affecting specific individuals to students. We aimed to strengthen their critical thinking, historical knowledge, the importance of constantly safeguarding human rights and freedoms, and protecting vulnerable minorities. With the project's support, we also targeted broader audiences. We shared real stories of Holocaust survivors and World War II through the "Stories of the 20th Century" podcast. Each episode has over 10,000 listens. In the HISTORY DEFINES OUR FUTURE exhibition, we narrated the story of the rise of Nazi power - the deformation of democracy and the spread of conspiracies, disinformation. It is frightening how many connections between the recent past and the present we still experience, and in an increasingly radicalizing Slovakia, it is becoming more and more apparent.