On January 19th, 2010 the City of Košice commemorated the 65th anniversary of its liberation before the definitive end of the Second World War. The participants of resistance, World War II veterans, Mayor of the City of Košice, the representatives of the City Government, public administration, the Košice Self-governing Region and Ministry of Defence of the SR; the military delegations from Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, the representatives of the Police Forces of the SR and Košice City Police and the mayors of the city wards took part in the solemn act of laying wreaths at the Soviet Army Monument on Námestie Osloboditeľov Square. The part of the celebrations was the award ceremony where the commemorative medals of the Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic for taking part in fight against fascism and liberation of homeland were awarded to 124 direct participants of resistance and World War II veterans.
According to historical sources, the whole German army retreated from Košice without a fight until midnight 18th January 1945.
Forces of the Fourth Ukrainian Front under the command of General Ivan Jefimovič Petrov entered Košice on January 19th, 1945. The units of the 318th Novorossijsk Mountain Rifle Division were entering the city from Southeast between 5 and 6 a.m. and the units of the 237th Piryatin Rifle Division from South almost parallel with them.They encountered no military opposition.
Even a few minutes after the arrival of the Red Army the Revolutionary Czechoslovak National Committee was formed which was ready to take over civil administration of the city. On January 20th, 1945 the Hungarian National Provisional Government annulled the Vienna Award, whereupon Košice became again the part of Czechoslovakia. The Administrative Commission of the City of Košice as a civilian board of the city was formed on January 23rd. From January 30th the Slovak National Council started to govern the liberated territory politically from Košice: it abolished the old security authorities, police and gendarmerie and established Public Safety Police, it began to build up an administrative machinery.
Among the liberators of Košice were also two men whose names are associated with a recent history of the former Soviet Union. The first one was Leonid Brezhnev, at that time the main politruk of the 18th Army who brought a decision of the Soviet and Hungarian government about the annulment of the Vienna Award into the city. The other was Sergei Gorbachev, father of the later initiator of Perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev.
Source: Ministry of Defence of the SR
TASR
