On 14 March 1939, the Slovak State proclaimed its independence under the protection of Nazi Germany. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the persecution of Jews was "central to the domestic policy of the Slovak state". Between 26 March and 20 October 1942, about 57,000 Jews, two-thirds of the Jews in Slovakia at the time, were deported. Only a few hundred survived the war. In 1943, the defeat at Stalingrad turned many Slovaks against the Axis-aligned regime, and the government refused to continue with deportations. It was now evident to the Slovak population that Germany would not win the war, and high casualties on the Eastern Front caused many ordinary Slovaks and large sections of the army to turn against the fascist regime; many retreated to the mountains and formed partisan groups. Concerned about the increase in resistance and suspecting the loyalty of the Slovaks, Germany invaded Slovakia, precipitating the Slovak National Uprising, which broke out on 29 August 1944.