Opatrenia štátu, aby veriaci mučení komunistickým režimom, o tom nehovorili ani v rodine
State measures to prevent believers tortured by communist regime from speaking, even to the family

Summary/Abstract: Even before coming to power in February 1948, the Communist Party made no secret of its ideology, which aimed to eliminate religion and subjugate the Church. It seized control of the security forces, transforming them into an instrument of its political power. Doing this, it followed the Soviet model under the guidance of Soviet instructors. Once in power, the regime created the legal space for state terror by enshrining the leading role of the party in the constitution and by introducing a broadly worded penal code under which anyone could be punished with heavy prison sentences for any reason. Torture of prisoners became part of the practice of the State Security which could bind an interrogated person to secrecy and threaten them with further severe punishment. Even when released under an amnesty, the unjustly convicted were forced to sign an oath of secrecy. This was further reinforced by harsh experiences of their families, which discouraged them from speaking in detail about the torture they had suffered. They were released from prison in poor health, being under constant surveillance by the security services, and only occasionally did they tell their loved ones about this phase of their personal Calvary. It is all the more important to supplement these important pieces with the information obtained from other cases and comprehensive studies of the methods of the State Security, so that these people can be considered not only as victims of the communist regime, but also as martyrs for their faith, which is the purpose of our study.

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