„Veľké sociálne poslanie v prevýchove dorastajúceho národa“: Prázdninová starostlivosť Slovenského ústredia starostlivosti o mládež v období Slovenskej republiky (1939 – 1945)

The Slovak Youth Care Center in Bratislava, together with its subordinate District Youth Care Centers, represented the most important institution dealing with social and social-health care for children and youth during the Slovak Republic (1939 – 1945). They organized and implemented a wide range of activities to improve social and health care for children. Among them was the so-called holiday, or recreational care implemented in recovery centers. The aim of the study is to find out how this care was organized, what it looked like in practice, what was its meaning and, last but not least, what kind of children participated in it. The study is based on original archival research and research on contemporary literature. Recreational care pursued several goals that were directly and indirectly connected to each other. This care was supposed to pursue health, social, educational and national goals. Considering the health importance of holiday care, the study also outlined the morbidity an mortality of children in the period of the Slovak Republic (1939 – 1945). During these years, state recreation care was also added, but the youth care center in Bratislava also took part in it.