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Abbreviation | NS |
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Leader | Emil Hácha |
Chairman | Adolf Hrubý (1939) Josef Nebeský (1939–41) Jan Fousek (1941–42) Tomáš Krejčí (1942–45) |
Founded | March 21, 1939 |
Banned | June 4, 1945 |
Merger of | Party of National Unity, National Labour Party |
Headquarters | Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia |
Youth wing | Board of Trustees for the Education of Youth |
Membership | c. 4,000,000 |
Ideology | Authoritarianism Collaborationism Anti-communism Antisemitism Nazism |
Political position | Far-right |
Colors | Black |
Slogan | Vlasti zdar ('Success to the homeland') |
The National Partnership (Czech: Národní souručenství, NS, German: Nationale Gemeinschaft) was the only authorized political party in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Membership was mandatory for all Czech male full-aged citizens of the Protectorate.[1]
The party was established as a reaction to the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and was the basis for Czech collaboration during World War II. Two parties — the Party of National Unity and the National Labour Party — merged on appeal of President Emil Hácha on 21 March 1939 and established the National Partnership as a nationwide party. On 6 April 1939, the party was declared the only political party in Bohemia and Moravia (except for the Nazi Party, which was exclusively for Germans).
The Prime Minister of Bohemia and Moravia Alois Eliáš was in communication with the Czechoslovak government-in-exile and helped the Czech Resistance movement until he was executed in June 1942.[2]
After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, Emanuel Moravec gained propaganda influence. After 15 January 1943, the party ceased to fulfill the functions of a political party and became a larger propaganda machine of the Nazi regime.[3]