The First Slovak Republic received back both the territories lost in 1938 and annexed the territories "lost" in 1920-1924. This re-annexation happened in October 1939  when Slovakia supported Nazi Germany's attack on Poland in September 1939. The annexation by the puppet state of Slovakia saved the Slovak and a smaller Polish population of the area from the naked terror of Nazi Germany as it was practised in the General Government until Slovakia agreed to take part in the Holocaust, but even then the genocidal policy was directed exclusively against the Jews and Gypsies. In January 1945, these border territories were liberated by the Soviet Red Army. The inhabitants of Orava and Spiš  created authorities similar to those in the remaining Czechoslovakia  and sought to prevent Polish authorities, which were trying to recover the territories they had before World War II, from entering the region. The Czechoslovak President Beneš, however, decided to give the territories regained during World War II  to Poland again , although Slovak organised poll on the territories showed support of the population in favour of Czechoslovakia. There were many protests in the form of delegations visiting the president, petitions to Prague and Poland, protests by American Slovaks and protests by the Slovak clergy. Despite these, on 20 May 1945, the pre-World War II borders between Czechoslovakia and Poland were restored.. Across how many years did the First Slovak Republic lose territories?