The major “Sahara” event recently took place for the 20th time in Slovakia near the town of Senica (Senitz in German). It is a must-attend event for people interested in military technology from all over Europe and is also a large public and family festival. “Militär Aktuell” took a look around on site.
Reenactment is the staging of specific historical events as authentically as possible. That is the common definition. This form of living history is particularly popular in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA, while in Austria and Germany, like many military events, it was not very popular, at least before the turn of the century, as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine (-> current news from the Ukraine war), was viewed skeptically by parts of society and politics. There is also a large scene in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia that deals with military technology and the re-enactment of military events – from the Middle Ages to more recent history.
In 2002, an event called “Sahara” was held for the first time in Slovakia on a military training area near the town of Senica – just under two hours’ drive from Vienna. The event owes its name to the fact that parts of the military training area in Zahorie have a desert-like character. The “Sahara” has been held every year since then, with the exception of 2020 (peak of the coronavirus pandemic) and 2023, when the festival had to be canceled at short notice for organizational reasons. Originally launched as a meeting of owners of historic military vehicles and military history clubs, the “Sahara” soon blossomed into a real folk festival attended by entire families. The organizers speak of “more than 10,000 annual visitors”. Both the participants and the spectators come not only from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but also from Hungary, Poland, Germany, Austria and Serbia, for example. This year, the “Sahara” took place for the 20th time and, although it was a little smaller in terms of organization than in previous years, it was still an impressive event. Incidentally, the event is traditionally held in August despite the extreme heat, and for good reason, as the organizers explain: “In August, we commemorate the anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. Slovakian National Uprising against the Nazis. The motivation for the event is based on this historic milestone in Slovakian history.” https://militaeraktuell.at/bae-systems-updates-fuer-boeing-f-15ex-und-f-a-18e-f/ This uprising of the “1st Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia” was directed on the one hand against the occupation of Slovakia by the German Wehrmacht, which began on August 29, 1944, and on the other against the Slovak collaborationist regime under Jozef Tiso. The Slovakian national uprising was, alongside the Warsaw Uprising one of the largest uprisings in the Nazi hegemony area and is still honored in Slovakia today as an act of resistance. The “Sahara 2024” took place on August 23 and 24 – in temperatures of over 30 degrees. Nomen est omen, after all. Friday was initially dominated by a rally of historic vehicles through the desert-like terrain, which presented a major challenge for the drivers and the technology. At the same time, there were guided tours of the historic encampments of the various units and armies. The participating reenactor groups presented themselves as the “French Foreign Legion”, “1st Czechoslovakian Army in Slovakia”, “US Marine Corps”, “US Army”, “Red Army” or “German Wehrmacht”, among others. The uniforms and weapons correspond to the historical originals down to the smallest detail and are mostly bought online, but some are also specially made. Sometimes the actors invest several hundred euros out of their own pockets in this equipment. A lot of money, as average wages in Slovakia and the Czech Republic are lower than in Austria. Incidentally, it is by no means only men who indulge in this passion, but also many women.
They represent nurses, anti-aircraft helpers, intelligence assistants (German Wehrmacht) or soldiers (Red Army) or partisans (Slovak National Uprising).
The German soldiers on the “Sahara” were mainly played by groups from the Czech Republic. When the author asked one of the actors how it felt for him, as a Czech whose people had suffered under the Nazis, to take on the role of a member of the German armed forces on the Second World War the reenactor initially reacted rather surprised (meaning: “I don’t know what you mean”), then replied in a very sober and analytical manner: “Of course we are all aware of the terrible crimes committed by the Nazis. But this is not about politics. We are simply depicting the everyday life of a soldier as well as military events, and we are doing this as accurately as possible. This also includes the badges and insignia of the time. With this professional background, I have no problem at all wearing this uniform at such a serious event.” His Slovakian colleagues echoed similar sentiments. Incidentally, all of the performers are members of officially registered military history clubs called “Kluby vojenskej histórie”, of which there are more than 200 in the Czech Republic alone. Anyone who engages in any form of political activity there risks losing their membership. These associations therefore enjoy the full confidence of the state. Both the Slovakian Ministry of Defense and the country’s army are therefore official partners of the “Sahara”, as are the SNP Museum, the Museum of the Slovakian National Uprising and the Forensic Institute of the Slovakian Police. Saturday was the “main day” of this year’s “Sahara”, to which families with children also made a pilgrimage in droves. In addition to the encampments of the various “armed forces”, there were also stalls selling everything a military technology or outdoor fan could possibly want: spare parts for historic vehicles and motorcycles, uniform parts, T-shirts, sun hats, caps, tents, military boots from all over the world and from all eras – from the imperial era to the present day. Of course, the vintage car fans also had the opportunity to do all kinds of netting. Particularly popular among the items of clothing this year were those commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day – the Allied landing in Normandy. allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944which heralded the start of the liberation of Europe from the horrific Nazi terror.
Throughout the day, visitors could not only view the historic and modern military vehicles (sidecar motorcycles, trucks, tanks, jeeps, …) statically (or in the case of the tanks, climb into them), but also take a ride in them free of charge, which triggered storms of enthusiasm, especially among the youngest guests, and brought a smile to their faces. The parents also visibly enjoyed it and sometimes it was not quite clear whether the father or the son on the Kettenkrad was having more fun. However, the two highlights of Saturday were undoubtedly the two dynamic and extremely elaborately and professionally staged combat demonstrations. The first took place from 11.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. and depicted the battle between the Slovakian insurgent army and German troops in August 1944. There was not only a lot of pyrotechnics, historical vehicles, an eight-eighth anti-aircraft gun in ground combat as a Pak, but even an airplane and a tank were used. After an hour of fighting with many “casualties” on both sides, the surviving Slovakian insurgents were captured by the Germans. Thunderous applause from the audience. https://militaeraktuell.at/gdls-us-army-kauft-weitere-m10-booker/ The second presentation in the afternoon was even more extensive. A Czech tank driving towards a German Panzerkampfwagen III as well as two beautifully restored Russian T-34 battle tanks. Russian T-34 main battle tank took part. This time, the clubs depicted the battle of German troops against the Red Army – including an air battle! From the nearby airfield in Senica (Letisko Senica), two Zlín Z-226s, painted in the colors of the German Luftwaffe, took off and suddenly appeared in close formation over the battlefield and flew attacks on the advancing Red Army in support of the German infantry – again including massive use of pyrotechnics. Soon the thousands of spectators (the wind was somewhat unfavorable) were standing in a cloud of dust, sand and gunpowder vapor. Right in the middle of it instead of just being there – it couldn’t have been more authentic. The audience visibly enjoyed it. After a while, a lone Soviet fighter in the form of a Yakovlev Yak-52 with a large red star on its fuselage suddenly appeared in the sky, intervened in the action and engaged in a spectacular dogfight with the two German fighters, sometimes at treetop level, which were eventually “shot down” (with a trail of smoke behind them), whereupon the Red Army soldiers first overran the German Pak position with their eight-eighth anti-aircraft guns and then, amid loud shouting, a hand-to-hand fight broke out between the Germans and Russians. In the end, the “surviving” German soldiers were simply shot by the Russians. This brutal reality of the war (in Ukraine, by the way, Russian soldiers are once again regularly shooting prisoners of war, this time Ukrainians) was not ignored. And that is also the motto of “Sahara” and the participating associations. Their aim is to offer “living history lessons”.
To thunderous applause from the audience, the German and Russian performers left again and were soon spotted enjoying a cool Pivo (beer) or a refreshing Kofola together.
In any case, the visitors were thrilled by the “Sahara” – despite the slimmed-down program. People were constantly filming and taking photos – selfies with the performers were particularly popular. The historic German BMW and Zündapp sidecars and the numerous old JAWA motorcycles were also photographed particularly often. JAWA was founded in Czechoslovakia in 1929 and was once one of the leading motorcycle manufacturers, whose machines were exported to 120 countries. Although classic 2-stroke motorcycles are still produced in the Czech Republic, they can no longer be registered as new vehicles in the EU. But that’s another story. Most visitors will certainly come back to the “Sahara” in Slovakia next year – and/or visit one of the numerous other re-enactment events in Eastern Europe in the meantime.
