Although personal stories of the Second World War are numerous, timeless stories such as this are particularly apropos our present struggle over the tyranny of terrorism. Czechoslovakia during the dreadful years of the Second World War is the setting of this epic and harrowing Holocaust thriller, written by a retired General of the Slovak Army who personally witnessed and lived through the wartime events he writes about. The book's central focus is how Democratic Czechoslovakia, a fledging nation geographically trapped between two tyrannical powers destined for war and determined to dominate this small, yet historically strategic land, was repeatedly betrayed by her allies and left helplessly to herself. As Slovakia is presently turning a new chapter in her rich history by denouncing her 50-year affair with Marxism and embracing Western Democracy, we find slowly emerging from the dusty dungeons of her memory a new and honest appraisal of the agonizing and shameful events she endured between 1938 and 1948. General Vlčko plainly and truthfully presents the long-suppressed, poorly known, and often-misunderstood facts of this tumultuous decade in Czechoslovakia.

From the bloody Russian front to a military uprising in the Slovak mountains and a Communist putsch, the Vlčkos live through two of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century-Nazism and Communism. This historical thriller has all the elements of a timeless story: intrigue; espionage; war; racism; genocide; political tyranny; forbidden romance; imprisonment; daring escapes; and freedom. In addition to the events in Czechoslovakia during the turbulent decade of 1938-1948, the second edition includes a novel examination of the origins of the Nazi and Communist movements, the history and etiology of modern anti-Semitism, the Russian Revolution and civil war, the "Jewish Question" in Slovakia, the Soviet Union's role in the Slovak National Uprising, the 1948 Communist putsch in Czechoslovakia, and war crimes trials and amnesty. In addressing these issues, the second edition explores the inextricable nexus between theology, philosophy, political theory, art, historiography, and culture. These subjects, presented in an integrated and holistic approach, are of particular interest to historians, political theorists, philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and other scholars in the humanities. Closing out this sweeping, landmark magnum opus, the reader is left with a provocative examination of how humanity in all its progressive modernity could have produced such enormous tragedies as Nazism and Communism, the timeless lessons, thereof, and a challenge to all citizens to explore under what ethical circumstances one may and must revolt against a tyrannical government. The second edition has an extensive bibliography with over 600 citations.

Preserved from the original edition is the moving story of a love affair between a young, beautiful, hunted, and condemned Jew trapped in the lion's den and a handsome, well-positioned Aryan Slovak Army officer in the Ministry of National Defense whose unlikely fates and disparate backgrounds amalgamate in symbiotic harmony. Their story is the perfect antithesis to, yet microcosm in the thunderous backdrop of war and genocide. The stark contrast of these two settings epitomizes the two extremes of the human experience: the insanity and chaos of war and the blissful serenity of love.

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À propos de l’auteur

Born in 1912 in the mountainous Slovak village of Brehý, once part of Austro-Hungary, Peter Emilius Vlčko was a lieutenant colonel in the Czechoslovak Army serving in the Military Office of the President under Edvard Benes after the war. After graduation from gymnázium in 1931, he attended military academy in Hranice, Czechoslovakia, where he was commissioned as first lieutenant of the cavalry in 1934. Higher equestrian school in Pardubice followed by War College in Bratislava after the outbreak of war concluded his formal military education.After Slovakia's declaration of independence and establishment of a Fascist government aligned with Nazi Germany in 1939, Peter Vlčko risked and devoted his life to opposing Nazi tyranny. Forced to serve on the bloody Russian Front in Operation Barbarossa, he was wounded in combat. At risk to his own life, he helped save dozens of Jews destined for deportation to extermination camps in Poland. Falling in love with a young Jewish woman, he secretly married her against his oath and the prevailing racist laws forbidding such relationships. During the Slovak National Uprising in autumn 1944, he served as field artillery officer and chief of staff to regional commanders. He was captured three times-twice by the Nazis and once by the Soviets-under the suspicion he was an enemy combatant or spy. Each time, Vlčko managed to either escape or persuade his captors of his innocence.After the war, Vlčko served the president of the newly restored Czechoslovak Republic in Prague. In preparation for the post of military attaché to Washington, D.C., he was assigned as Chief of the American Section of Military Intelligence. Near this time, Soviet influence in Czechoslovakia resulted in the February 1948 coup d'état. Facing relentless pressure to swear loyalty to Moscow, Vlčko saw no alternative other than escape to the West. With great difficulty, he later managed to bring his wife and two young sons out of Communist Czechoslovakia.The Vlčkos arrived in New York Harbor in November 1949 and began to build a life in the new, free world of their dreams. They settled in Michigan, where Peter became a testing design engineer for Ford Motor Company. Together with his wife Georgina, they raised four children. After more than thirty years working for Ford, Peter retired and dedicated his life to writing his memoirs and fighting the tyrannies of Communism and anti-Semitism. After peaceful division of Czechoslovakia in 1991, he was promoted to major general, in retirement, in the Slovak Army in 1994 by Slovakia's first Democratic president Michál Kovač. In 1998, he and his wife Georgina were granted Slovak citizenship. He peacefully died in his wife's arms in January 2004 at the age of 91-years. On 9 September 2004, the Slovak government facilitated a state funeral for Peter E. Vlčko with full military honors. Present at the funeral were political and military dignitaries from the United States and Europe. Peter E. Vlčko's legacy lives on in memoriam in national and Holocaust memorial museums throughout the world.

Born in 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Peter B. Vlčko is the fourth child of post-WW2 Czechoslovak refugees Peter E. and Georgina A. Vlčko. Peter Boris attended parochial middle and secondary school where his studies included Christian theology. His undergraduate post-secondary education was at the University of Michigan where he studied cell and molecular biology. His studies at the University of Michigan included courses in physics, calculus through linear algebra, chemistry through physical chemistry, and cellular and molecular bioengineering, all with an engineering focus. His post-graduate education was at Nova University Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine. His clinical training began in Miami, Florida and completed in Detroit, Michigan, and focused on internal medicine and dermatologic surgery. After years of practicing clinical general medicine, Dr. Peter Vlčko limited his practice to medico-legal consulting on matters of quality standard of care and forensic examination of medical negligence. Since his retirement, Dr. Vlčko has spent his time traveling, writing, and enjoying his children and grandchildren.

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In the Shadow of Tyranny

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