Okresný úrad Námestovo

The District Office Námestovo was a state administration body. It was established during the period of 1st Czechoslovak Republic (1918 – 1938) and it existed also during the period of the Slovak state/ Slovak Republic (1939 – 1945). This office was originally enforced by the Law No.126/1920 Coll., which entered into effect on 1 January 1923. The District Office in Martin, was subordinated to the Považská County (Považská župa), which was seated in Turčiansky sv. Martin in the years 1923 – 1928, and the Ministry of Interior. After the 1928 reform of state administration in Czechoslovakia resulted in the repeal of counties and County Offices, district offices in the Slovak territory were subordinated to the Country Office in Bratislava (Krajinský úrad v Bratislave). Soon after the creation of the Slovak state (March 14, 1939) its state administration was reorganized and the District Office in Martin was subordinated to the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic (pursuant to the Law No. 190/1939 effective from 1 January 1940). In matters falling within the competence of other ministries, regulations and instructions of these ministries were implemented. Since 1 January 1940, this district was incorporated into the newly established Tatranská County (Tatranská župa) with the seat in Ružomberok. Main representative of the district was called the District Chief (Okresný náčelník) who was responsible for the state administration in the district. From 1 January 1940 District Chief was subordinated to the respected County Office and the Ministry of Interior. District Offices were superior to the notary offices which were the lowest level bodies of the state administration in Slovakia 1938 ¬– 1945. After establishing the District Office in Námestovo there were 8 notary offices with 26 municipalities in its competence and this number rose to 9 notary offices in years 1940 – 1945. Due to the fact that in the period 1938 – 1945 the majority of anti-Jewish measures in Slovakia was put to life by the state administration bodies archival documents of District Offices represent some of the most important sources for the research of Holocaust in Slovakia, both on the state and regional levels.

The documents of the fonds District Office Námestovo were stored in the District Archives in Námestovo since 1954 when it was established by the regulation No. 29/1945 Sb. After 1960 which Námestovo district was cancelled, the fonds was relocated to District Archives in Dolný Kubín. Fonds was processed and inventarized by Etela Czocherová in cooperation with Elena Valeková and Emília Bruncková in 1968 – 1969.