its Language Department (editor Anton Augustín Baník). At the General Assembly of Slovak Matica in Prešov on May 12, Jozef Škultéty became a lifelong honorary administrator. The Slovak Matica Assembly elected Jozef Cíger Hronský as the new administrator of Matica, and Ján Marták, Stanislav Mečiar and Jozef Cincík as secretaries. The report of the Slovak Matica rejected the government's proposal that the Matica's membership be automatically reflected in the political membership in Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. 1941 On the initiative of Slovak Matica, the Slovak National Library was established on May 1 in Martin. Its main task was to acquire and preserve the books in relation to Slovaks and Slovakia. 1943 On behalf of the Slovak Matica Committee, the Neografia participant association was founded in Martin as one of the most modern printing companies in Europe. 1944 On August 29, 1944, the Slovak National Uprising broke out as one of the most important armed resistances in Nazi Germany-occupied Europe. Thousands of members and officials of Slovak Matica took part in the insurgent events, likes Jan Barták, Alexander Hirner, František Oktavec, Vavro Šrobár, Laco Novomeský and from youngers such as Vladimír Mináč, Roman Kaliský and Eva Kristínová. 1945 On January 25, several leading employees and officials left the Slovak Matica in Martin: Jozef Cíger Hronský (administrator), František Hrušovský (secretary of scientific departments), Stanislav Mečiar, Jozef Cincík (both secretaries) and clerks Koloman Geraldini, Dezider Nágel, Ján Okáľ and Jozef Kobella, who supported to the official culture of the regime of the then Slovak Republic (1939–1945). Later, they remained in foreign exile for life. Their names were to be erased not only from the Slovak Matica tradition but also from the collective memory of the nation. Based on the decision of the Commission of the Slovak National Council for Education and Enlightenment of April 11, Ján Marták took over the interim administration of Slovak Matica. At the General Assembly in August 1945 in Martin, they elected Laco Novomeský and Jur Hronec as the new chairmen. 1948 The communist regime nationalizes the Slovak Matica´s publishing company Neografia. Between 1949 and 1953, the political authorities gradually took over Slovak Matica's scientific activity, dissolved its membership base and reduced the institution to the headquarters of enlightenment work. The previous scientific activity was transferred from the Slovak Matica departments to the relevant institutes of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts in Bratislava. 1954 In April, the