Fascists into Communists

Book project | Czech Science Foundation Project (2026–08) | Senior Research Fellowship, Vienna Wiesenthal Institute (February–July 2026)

This project investigates how mid-level collaborators of the fascist Slovak state successfully transitioned into positions of trust and influence under the communist regime after 1948. Mid-level actors function as intermediaries between state ideology and local realities, wielding significant authority within their communities. I argue that this “mudded middle” is crucial for understanding continuities and ruptures across autocriacies.

Rather than focusing on high-ranking officials or ideological architects, or framing history in binary terms, this project investigates those who embedded themselves in the fascist state and later repositioned themselves under communism. By tracing their personal and professional trajectories, we uncover patterns of adaptation, complicity, and survival, offering a new lens on how individuals navigated shifting political landscapes.

While working on the trajectories of former fascists after 1945, I have increasingly become interested in how we can capture and study political ambiguity across the different ruptures of 20th century East-Central Europe … and this is what I am now obsessing about.