JAK TO BYLO S ČESTNOU VOJENSKOU STRÁŽÍ JOZEFA TISA?

The study deals with the topic of the guard of honour of President Jozef Tiso. On a relatively large space, the author describes the circumstances of the origin of this Army unit and provides information on its functioning in 1939 – 1940. The author states that Jozef Tiso’s guard of honour was supposed to fulfil two tasks, in particular the ultimate guard and security service at the seat of the head of the state and the task of the honorary unit with special mandate for welcoming important personalities. The military guard of honour should have symbolised the position of Jozef Tiso as the head of the Slovak state and as the commander in chief of the Slovak military power. Did the military Guard of Honour fulfil this mission in the first months of its existence? There are no doubts that it did, outwardly, since the public accepted it. However, it remains a question whether it symbolised and represented the Slovak Army itself. The military Guard of Honour was a selective rather than a professional unit, therefore to a certain extent. It copied the common infantry divisions it was dependent on, including their maladies. The author states that the uncertainties around the origin, inclusion into the military organism, the name and unsuccessful steps in filling the commander posts do not indicate an exclusive and prestigious position inside the military organism.