Zbrojovka v Dubnici nad Váhom (S01E04)

This episode from the six-part television series Constructing Slovakia highlights important, significant as well as marginalized moments and stories from the rich history of the manufacture and storage of arms at the Dubnica nad Váhom Arms Factory. The seemingly active operation of today is a mere muffled echo of the former glory and economic significance of the weapons industry. Over time, the factory’s production has changed according to the military or defence needs of our “homeland” –more specifically, in relation to the number of gun-carrying, combat-ready soldiers in our armed forces or those sympathetic to the same causes. As these causes have changed, so have the weapons, the types of ammunition and the people. An unflattering reminder of one particular period stands in the factory’s shadow: a memorial to the Roma victims of the Holocaust, who perished in a camp just metres away at a time when the arms factory, along with its economic significance, had begun to expand. (Art Film Fest)