Soňa Gyarfašová

Soňa Gyarfašová is a journalist, commentator and documentary filmmaker. For many years she has been documenting the fates of victims of totalitarian regimes, political prisoners and members of the anti-fascist resistance. Through her work she helps preserve historical memory and reminds us of the values of freedom, democracy and human rights.

She was born in Bratislava, where she studied journalism and law at Comenius University. She completed study stays in Regensburg, Germany, and Savonlinna, Finland.

She was one of the first to systematically record and publish the stories of victims of totalitarian regimes and of people who fought against them. For sixteen years she worked in public-service radio and television, where she presented eyewitness testimonies in the programmes Osudy, ktoré písalo 20. storočie (Fates Written by the 20th Century) and Biele miesta 20. storočia (Blank Spots of the 20th Century). She also worked on the investigative television programme Reportéri.

As a screenwriter she has prepared several documentary series and films, among them Osudy – politické procesy a nástup totality (Fates – Political Trials and the Rise of Totalitarianism), Cesta k deportáciám (The Road to the Deportations), Deti vojny (Children of War) and Charta 77 – signatári zo Slovenska (Charter 77 – Signatories from Slovakia).

She pays particular attention to people who, despite persecution and personal sacrifice, managed to resist totalitarian regimes. In many cases she recorded their testimonies towards the end of their lives, helping to preserve stories that might otherwise have been forgotten forever.

Her journalistic work also has a concrete social impact. In reports from 2016 and 2018 she drew attention to gatherings of former members of the border guard who celebrated their service on the borders of communist Czechoslovakia. She recalled the tragic fates of people killed on the border while trying to escape to freedom. Her reports contributed to a public debate, after which the local municipality refused to provide premises for another such gathering and adopted measures against the promotion of extremism.

Soňa Gyarfašová is also the author of the book Nenechali sa zlomiť (They Refused to Be Broken), which describes the fates of political prisoners of the 1950s. She co-authored the publications Socializmus – realita namiesto mýtov (Socialism – Reality Instead of Myths) and Tisovi poza chrbát (Behind Tiso’s Back). For her journalistic and documentary work she has received several important awards, such as the Slovak Academy of Sciences Award for the Popularisation of Science, the Award of the Nation’s Memory Institute and repeated awards from the Literary Fund and the Open Society Foundation.

As a member of the strike committee, she publicly opposed the abolition of RTVS and later criticised conditions at the public broadcaster. In 2026 she was one of the employees dismissed by STVR, with the management justifying her dismissal on the grounds that her post was redundant. Public figures, organisations, representatives of the anti-fascist movement, signatories of Charter 77 and leading historiographical institutions spoke out in her support.

Through her work, Soňa Gyarfašová gives a voice to people whose life stories bear witness to courage, suffering and the struggle for freedom. She reminds us that knowing true and unembellished history is essential for preserving a democratic society.

The 2026 Anton Srholec Freedom Award is conferred on Soňa Gyarfašová for her exceptional contribution to preserving historical memory, documenting the fates of victims of totalitarian regimes, uncovering historical injustices and spreading the values of freedom, democracy and human rights.