This page features selected public appearances, interviews, op-eds, and podcasts related to my work on the Holocaust, democratic backsliding, and the legacy of fascism and communism in Central Europe. My recent public engagements span my book on Christian nationalism and the Holocaust in Slovakia, and the growing threats to democratic institutions and academic freedom across the region.
Op-Eds
Nejdřív přijdou pro vědce. Jako historička vím, co následuje pak,Deník N, 16 March 2026
Spor o Petra Pavla: co s minulostí, kterou nelze odložit,Deník N, 25 February 2026
Holokaust je aj náš slovenský príbeh, Denník N, 9 September 2025 (with Monika Vrzgulová)
Otázky z izraelského krytu, Salon Práva, 7 August 2025
Arizovaný majetok, ale aj ženské oblečenie či ‘očista do krajnosti’ – na čo všetko si Slováci nárokovali v 40. rokoch?, Denník N, 7 May 2025
Dezinformácie, kritické čítanie a Židia, Denník N, 20 March 2025
Hlavne, že susedovi zdochla koza! Sloboda slova pre extrémistov, Denník N, 4 February 2025
Hrozby demokracie: ako pomenovať nebezpečenstvo a nájsť cestu k porozumeniu, Denník N, 18 November 2024
Polčas víťazstva nad fašizmom, Denník N, 8 May 2024
Proti erózii demokracie potrebujeme spojencov, Denník N, 3 April 2024
Fico, Tiso a iné historické paralely, Denník N, 14 March 2024
Vojnové zločiny na Ukrajine a historická pamäť Slovenska, Denník N, 6 April 2022
Kotlebovci a ich právo na lož, Denník N, 10 September 2020
Proč potřebujeme sociální vědy,Salon Práva, 14 July 2020; with Ondřej Císař
Sedem historických lekcií pre dnešný zápas s fašizmom, Denník N, 4 February 2020
Slovenské národné povstanie zaväzuje, Denník N, 27 August 2018
“My nie sme historici.” Alebo ako Slováci za Tisa udávali, Denník N, 18 April 2017
Interviews & Talks & Podcasts
My public engagements range across three areas: the history and memory of the Holocaust; current threats to democratic institutions and academic freedom in Central Europe; and the politics of historical memory. Below I have grouped them accordingly.
The Holocaust, Complicity, and the Book
Argument.sk: “Svietnik po Židoch a zabudnutá pravda: Hana Kubátová odhaľuje osobný príbeh našich dejín.” A conversation about life in wartime Slovakia, historical revisionism, and what personal histories reveal about collective responsibility; 14 September 2025.
Aktuality.sk: “Už Tisova sestra sa počas jeho vlády obohatila.” On power, complicity, and the personal benefits drawn from fascist rule in wartime Slovakia; 1 June 2025.
SME Dejiny.sk Podcast: “Kolaboráciu s nacistami si obyčajní ľudia ospravedlňovali vykosteným kresťanstvom.” On the moral justifications and cultural frameworks that enabled everyday collaboration; 11 May 2025.
Knižná revue: “Ľudia za Slovenského štátu nemuseli veriť fašistickej ideológii, aby ju realizovali v praxi.” On how ordinary people carried out fascist policies without deep ideological conviction – motivated instead by routine, careerism, or fear; 16 April 2025.
Denník N: “Slovenská odnož fašizmu mala stáť na vetchých, ale o to hlasnejšie prízvukovaných heslách o disciplíne a jednote.” On complicity and collaboration in wartime Slovakia, book interview, 16 March 2025
Jakub Ferencik Podcast: “The Making of the Holocaust in Slovakia.” An English-language conversation on state-building, religion, and genocide in Slovakia; 26 February 2025.
Podcast De Facto: “Antisemitismus bude vždy součástí společnosti.” On the persistence of antisemitism in democratic societies, its emotional and political functions, and the risks of both overusing and underestimating the term.
Democratic Backsliding, Academic Freedom, and the Present
Milion chvilek pro demokracii: “Nenecháme si ukrást budoucnost.” Letná Park, Prague, 21 March 2026. Speaker at the largest Czech civic demonstration since 1989, attended by an estimated 250,000 people. Drawing on comparative evidence from Slovakia and Hungary, I argued that proposed NGO registration legislation reshapes academic and civic life before it even takes force, and that this law has its relatives in Moscow, Budapest, and Bratislava.
Jaký život je ještě možné žít, Respekt 7/2026, 8 February 2026. On how to live an ordinary life when the boundaries of the self-evident are dissolving. Reading Irmgard Keun, Joseph Roth, and Stefan Zweig alongside research on the 1930s and 1940s.
Denník N: “Vracia sa fašizmus?” A debate with Martin M. Šimečka and Tomáš Nociar on the limits and uses of historical analogies with fascism; 8 October 2025.
History and the Present
Science Cafe: Paměť a válka. 80 let od války. A conversation with Petr Koura and Filip Rambousek on what we remember, and what we suppress, when we remember the end of World War II; 25 May 2025.
Television
Večera s Havranom: Koniec vojny na Slovensku (STVR Kultúra). A televised discussion with Samuel Abrahám on the fragile end of WWII in Slovakia and the uneasy path toward postwar political transformation, moderated by Michal Havran.
Author Readings & Book Debates
Selected presentations of Kde líšky dávajú dobrú noc (Slovak edition) and Christian Nationalism, Nation-Building, and the Making of the Holocaust in Slovakia (Oxford University Press)
Czechia
Jewish Museum in Prague (28 November 2025)
Austria
University of Vienna (7 May 2026)
Slovakia
Zvolen – Víkend atraktívneho divadla (13–17 November 2025)
Banská Bystrica (7 October 2025) Lučenec (6 & 7 October 2025)
Žilina – Žilinský literárny festival (18 September 2025)
Trenčín – KC Hviezda (17 September 2025)
Bratislava – Artforum Bratislava (7 April 2025)
Poprad – Kníhkupectvo Christiania (25 April 2025)
Košice – Artforum Košice (28 March 2025)