Examines the crucial postwar period in Slovakia, following Nazi occupation and ending with the Communist coup of February 1948. Centered on the major political role of the Catholic Church and its leaders, it offers a fascinating study of the interrelationship of Slovak Catholics, Democrats, and Communists. Felak views Communist policies toward Catholics and their strategies to court Catholic voters, and he chronicles the variety of political stances Catholics maintained during Slovakia's political turmoil.

James Ramon Felak is Newman Center Term Professor in Catholic Christianity at the University of Washington and the author of At the Price of the Republic: Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, 1929-1938 and After Hitler, Before Stalin: Catholics, Communists, and Democrats in Slovakia, 1945-1948.