DOCSLIB.ORG

Slovak Society, the Second World War, and the Search for Slovak "Stateness"

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Slovak Society, the Second World War, and the Search for Slovak Slovak Society, the Second World War, and the Search for Slovak "Stateness" J. Luke Ryder Department of History, McGill University, Montreal February 2017 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Ph.D. in History © J. Luke Ryder, 2017 i Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………….... iii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………….. v List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………….……..... vii Introduction………………………………………………………………....…….. 1 Chapter I. From the First Czechoslovak Republic to the Slovak State: Elite Politics and State Formation in Between the Wars….….... 12 Chapter II. The Slovak State, 1939-1943: "Construction Work" Unfinished……………………….…..…… 52 Chapter III. Maturing Resistance: Slovak Society from Dislocation to Rupture………….……… 104 Chapter IV. The Slovak Uprising of 1944: Slovak Society from Rupture to Re-Articulation………...….. 150 Chapter V. The Afterlives of the Slovak National Uprising in Postwar Czechoslovakia, 1945-1989………………….…...….. 191 Conclusion…………………………………...…………...………….….……. 244 Bibliography……………………..……………………………………….…... 255 ii Abstract Positioning the Second World War as a pivotal juncture in modern Slovak history, this study argues that the emergence of a Nazi-Allied Slovak State (1939-1945) and the 1944 rebellion launched to overthrow it (known as the Slovak National Uprising [SNU]) were episodes critical to the formation of collective sociopolitical ideals in postwar Slovakia. Under- explored and inadequately understood in Anglo-American scholarship, the Slovak State and the SNU represent uniquely Slovak responses to the major societal ruptures induced by geopolitical fragmentation and war, first following the Munich Agreement of 1938, and then the collapse of German hegemony in Europe in late 1944. Since 1945, these events and their putative legacies have become divisive and heavily mediated constructs, deployed to advance particular political agendas, as well as to challenge or reaffirm existing arrangements of power. Furthermore, because they imply discrete articulations of Slovak state- and nationhood, the State and the SNU have come to support opposing positions in contemporary debates over Slovakia's political future. This research also illuminates some of the ways in which the war initiated transformations in demography, economy, and social practices in Slovakia. More broadly, it suggests that the uses of wartime history in today's East-Central Europe remain both manifold and insufficiently researched. iii Abstrait En positionnant la Deuxième guerre mondiale comme un moment clé de l’histoire slovaque contemporaine, cette étude soutient que l’émergence d’un état slovaque allié aux nazis (1939 – 1945) mais aussi la révolte de 1944 (connue sous le nom de « Soulèvement national slovaque » [SNS]) furent deux épisodes essentiels pour la formation d’idéaux sociopolitiques dans la société slovaque d’après-guerre. Peu étudiés et mal compris dans l’historiographie anglo-américaine, la création de l’état slovaque et le SNS représentent les seules réponses slovaques aux ruptures sociétales majeures introduites par la fragmentation géopolitique et la guerre, d’abord à la suite des accords de Munich de 1938, puis suite à l’effondrement de l’hégémonie allemande en Europe à la fin de l’année 1944. Depuis 1945, ces événements et leur héritage présumé sont devenus des concepts donnant matière à controverse et fréquemment manipulés afin d’être utilisés pour appuyer certains programmes politiques, mais aussi pour défier ou conforter les régimes en places. De plus, puisqu’ils impliquent une articulation différente entre les notions d’état et de nation, l’état slovaque et le SNS ont été utilisés pour soutenir des positions opposées dans les débats contemporains sur le futur politique de la Slovaquie. La présente analyse met également en lumière les conséquences de la guerre sur la démographie, l’économie et les pratiques sociales en Slovaquie. De manière plus générale, elle suggère que, tout en étant largement utilisée, l’histoire de la guerre ne fait pas l'objet de recherches suffisamment approfondies dans l’Europe centrale et orientale d’aujourd’hui. iv Acknowledgements I could not have completed this dissertation project without the vital support of friends, family members, institutions, and mentors. I owe a debt to my parents for encouraging my childhood fascination with the past, and in later years, with all things Mitteleuropa. Friends in North America and Europe have schooled me with the sort of humor and pathos rarely found in books; their insights and belief in the historical craft have also sustained me through the peaks and valleys of this long trek. Many generously offered more concrete kinds of sustenance; I am thankful to Andreas Winkler, Ned Richardson-Little and Julia Sittmann, Carolynn McNally, Anna Thier, and Petra Svardová for their hospitality, whether with a plate of Flamkuchen, a glass of slivovica, or a mooring in a foreign port. Languages have posed a hurdle in my research, one I scarcely could have cleared without the patience and skill of teachers, tutors, and translators. Thanks are due to the Czech linguist and pedagogue Christian Hilchey, German instructor Heidi Wetz-Kubach, and Slovak tutor Michal Gendiar. My friend Gabriela Hlavová rightfully insisted that my spoken Slovak go beyond the barroom basics; she offered crucial assistance translating everything from legal documents to conference papers, as well. I have also gratefully received language grants and instruction from the American Council of Learned Societies, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Indiana University, Palacký University, and the Goethe Institute. Archival work for this project required several stays in Germany and the Slovak Republic. I'd like to thank the Fulbright Commission in Bratislava, McGill University, and the Centre for German and European Studies at the University of Montreal for making these trips possible. I have benefited considerably from the expertise of my Slovak colleagues. v Historians Marek Syrný and Anton Hruboň provided valuable sources that would have otherwise escaped my attention; Miroslav Michela offered a window into the present-day controversies surrounding Slovak historiography. The Mandel Center fellowship program at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum also exposed me to rare source materials and some of the finest scholars I have encountered in the field. Absent the tireless commitment of my doctoral supervisor, Professor James Krapfl, this project would have never moved past its infancy. His emphasis on critical rigor in interpreting primary sources, careful methodological reasoning in history writing, and a general mastery of secondary literature, have spurred me toward higher standards in academic work. I hope that his infectious enthusiasm for the peoples and cultures of East- Central Europe and singular dedication to documenting their experiences of struggle and triumph have found a voice in my own writing. I am grateful to Professor Judith Szapor, as well as my colleagues and former students at McGill, for regularly reminding me of the larger social import in "doing history." Any achievement reflected in the following pages must above all be shared with my wife and partner, Liz. She has offered unflagging support at every step, buoying me in defeat and cheering me in success. Her wit, groundedness, and generosity of spirit have modeled a rare kind of inspiration—the courage to overcome self-imposed impasses and habits of spiritual abnegation. She has often challenged me with the wisdom captured in French high- wire artist Philipe Petit's aphorism: “Les limites existent seulement dans l'esprit de ceux qui ne savent pas rêver." Whatever errors or oversights that appear in the following are of course mine alone. vi List of Abbreviations AMSNP – Archive of the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising BArch – Bundesarchiv Berlin CDM – Christian Democratic Movement CMD – Czechoslovak Ministry of Defense CNC – Czechoslovak National Council CPC – Communist Party of Czechoslovakia CPS – Communist Party of Slovakia CSS – Central State Security DP – Democratic Party EBHG – Emergency Battalions of the Hlinka Guard FP – Freedom Party GS – General Secretariat HG – Hlinka Guard HSPP – Hlinka's Slovak People's Party HY – Hlinka Youth MC – Military Center MENE – Ministry of Education and National Enlightenment NC – National Committee PP–OS – People's Party–Our Slovakia PSNU – Party of Slovak National Unity RNC – Revolutionary National Committee RTVS – Slovak Radio and Television SCPC – Soviet Central Partisan Command SCTO – Slovak Christian Trade Organization SD – Reich Security Service SDP – Social Democratic Party SMER – Direction–Social Democracy Party SNA – Slovak National Archives SNC – Slovak National Council SNU – Slovak National Uprising SPP – Slovak People's Party USHMM – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum USNA – United States National Archives USP – Union of Slovak Partisans vii viii Introduction At a recent ceremony commemorating wartime Nazi atrocities, Slovakia's Premier Robert Fico offered an unsettling admission: “Some people say that fascism is creeping here [again].... It’s not creeping here, it’s present here."1 Illiberalism at home and abroad have indeed beset Fico and his Direction–Social Democracy party (SMER) over the past year. A few months after a Slovak neo-Nazi party gained several seats in parliament, the Slovak Republic assumed the presidency of a European Union facing right-wing
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Territorial Autonomy and Self-Determination Conflicts: Opportunity and Willingness Cases from Bolivia, Niger, and Thailand
    ICIP WORKING PAPERS: 2010/01 GRAN VIA DE LES CORTS CATALANES 658, BAIX 08010 BARCELONA (SPAIN) Territorial Autonomy T. +34 93 554 42 70 | F. +34 93 554 42 80 [email protected] | WWW.ICIP.CAT and Self-Determination Conflicts: Opportunity and Willingness Cases from Bolivia, Niger, and Thailand Roger Suso Territorial Autonomy and Self-Determination Conflicts: Opportunity and Willingness Cases from Bolivia, Niger, and Thailand Roger Suso Institut Català Internacional per la Pau Barcelona, April 2010 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 658, baix. 08010 Barcelona (Spain) T. +34 93 554 42 70 | F. +34 93 554 42 80 [email protected] | http:// www.icip.cat Editors Javier Alcalde and Rafael Grasa Editorial Board Pablo Aguiar, Alfons Barceló, Catherine Charrett, Gema Collantes, Caterina Garcia, Abel Escribà, Vicenç Fisas, Tica Font, Antoni Pigrau, Xavier Pons, Alejandro Pozo, Mònica Sabata, Jaume Saura, Antoni Segura and Josep Maria Terricabras Graphic Design Fundació Tam-Tam ISSN 2013-5793 (online edition) 2013-5785 (paper edition) DL B-38.039-2009 © 2009 Institut Català Internacional per la Pau · All rights reserved T H E A U T HOR Roger Suso holds a B.A. in Political Science (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB) and a M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies (Uppsa- la University). He gained work and research experience in various or- ganizations like the UNDP-Lebanon in Beirut, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights to the Maghreb Elcàlam in Barcelona, and as an assist- ant lecturer at the UAB. An earlier version of this Working Paper was previously submitted in May 20, 2009 as a Master’s Thesis in Peace and Conflict Studies in the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Swe- den, under the supervisor of Thomas Ohlson.
    [Show full text]
  • Slovakia's Righteous Among the Nations
    Slovakia’s Righteous among the Nations Gila Fatran Slovak-Jewish relations, an important factor in the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, were influenced in no small part by events that took place in the latter third of the 19th century. That century saw the national awakening of oppressed nations. The Slovak nation, ruled by the Hungarians for 1,000 years, was struggling at the time for its national existence. The creation of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy led in 1867 to the granting of equal civil rights to the Jews in the empire in the assumption that they would assimilate nationally and culturally into the state. At the same time the Hungarian leaders stepped up their suppression of the Slovak nation. The integration of the Jews into the developing economic and cultural life and the continued improvement in their situation alongside the suppression of the aspirations of the Slovaks, were used by the political and church representatives of the Slovak nation to fan the flames of Jew-hatred and to blame the Jews for the difficult lot of the Slovak People. During this period many Slovak publications also addressed the existence of a “Jewish Question” in a negative sense: blaming the Jews for all of the Slovak society’s ills. During this era, one of the central reasons behind the rise of Slovak antisemitism was the economic factor. At the same time, the slogan “Svoj k svojmu,” which, freely translated, means “Buy only from your own people,” registered a series of “successes” in neighboring countries. However, when nationalists, using this motto, launched a campaign to persuade Slovaks to boycott Jewish-owned shops, their efforts proved unsuccessful.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of the Slovak-Hungarian “Little War” and Its Interpretations in National Histories
    The History of the Slovak-Hungarian “Little War” and Its Interpretations in National Histories István Janek Before tackling the events of the “Little War”, let us take a brief outlook on the study of it in Hungarian and Slovak historical literature. A great number of Slovak histori- ans have written on this issue producing many articles and conference publications in Slovakia. Here I would like to highlight the most important ones from four his- OPEN ACCESS torians: Ladislav Deák, František Cséfalvay, Zoltán Katreba and Ján Petrik. A lot has been written on the air warfare between the two armies as well: Juraj Rejninec and Ján Petrik from Slovakia and Iván Pataky, László Rozsos together with Gyula Sárhidai and Csaba B. Stenge from Hungary must be mentioned.1 A thorough study of the dip- lomatic aspect has been done only by István Janek in Hungary.2 Ján Petrik has worked at the local history level and he also published a short but detailed monograph on the Hungarian bombing of Spiška Nová Ves.3 Cséfalvay and Katreba are military histori- ans who work for the Slovak Institution of Military History. They focus on the mili- tary events and publish in various Slovakian historical periodicals.4 Cséfalvay has also shown the political connections of military events.5 It is the merit of the works 1 J. RAJNINEC, Slovenské letectvo 1939/1944, Vol. 1, Bratislava 1997; I. PATAKY — L. ROZ- SOS — G. SÁRHIDAI, Légi háború Magyarország felett, Vol. 1, Budapest 1992; B. C. STENGE, A magyar légierő 1938–1945, in: Rubicon, Vol. 23, No.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019 European Elections the Weight of the Electorates Compared to the Electoral Weight of the Parliamentary Groups
    2019 European Elections The weight of the electorates compared to the electoral weight of the parliamentary groups Guillemette Lano Raphaël Grelon With the assistance of Victor Delage and Dominique Reynié July 2019 2019 European Elections. The weight of the electorates | Fondation pour l’innovation politique I. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THE WEIGHT OF ELECTORATES AND THE ELECTORAL WEIGHT OF PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS The Fondation pour l’innovation politique wished to reflect on the European elections in May 2019 by assessing the weight of electorates across the European constituency independently of the electoral weight represented by the parliamentary groups comprised post-election. For example, we have reconstructed a right-wing Eurosceptic electorate by aggregating the votes in favour of right-wing national lists whose discourses are hostile to the European Union. In this case, for instance, this methodology has led us to assign those who voted for Fidesz not to the European People’s Party (EPP) group but rather to an electorate which we describe as the “populist right and extreme right” in which we also include those who voted for the Italian Lega, the French National Rally, the Austrian FPÖ and the Sweden Democrats. Likewise, Slovak SMER voters were detached from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group and instead categorised as part of an electorate which we describe as the “populist left and extreme left”. A. The data collected The electoral results were collected list by list, country by country 1, from the websites of the national parliaments and governments of each of the States of the Union. We then aggregated these data at the European level, thus obtaining: – the number of individuals registered on the electoral lists on the date of the elections, or the registered voters; – the number of votes, or the voters; – the number of valid votes in favour of each of the lists, or the votes cast; – the number of invalid votes, or the blank or invalid votes.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Community Museum As a Result of Citizen Activities
    4 63 • 2015 ESSAY JEWISH COMMUNITY MUSEUM AS A RESULT OF CITIZEN ACTIVITIES PETER SALNER PhDr. Peter Salner, DrSc., Institute of Ethnology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Klemensova 19, 813 64, e-mail: [email protected] The study focuses on circumstances under which the Jewish Community Museum was established and officially opened in the Bratislava synagogue in 2012. Already prior to WWII, a respected architect and collector Eugen Barkány came with the idea of opening a museum consisting of Slovak judaica. He followed up his project after the liberation, too. In the second half of the sixties, it seemed that thanks to the Jewish Religious Community (JCR/ŽNO) Bratislava support there would be created a Slovak branch of the Prague Jewish Museum within the premises of the Neolog Bratislava synagogue. However, the project implementation had to be postponed for many years to come: first of all due to Bárkány’s death (1967), demolition of the sy - nagogue giving place to the construction of a new bridge, and the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968. In the beginning of the next millenium, it was Maroš Borský, Art historian and Judaist , who undertook this project. He persuaded the board members of the JCR (ŽNO) Bra - tislava to vacate the already abandoned female gallery of the only preserved synagogue for presentation of Barkány’s collection. Apart from the permanent exhibition, the museum already offered three exhibits entitled: The Shadow of the Past (2013); We Are Here (2014); and Engerau – a Forgotten Story of Petržalka in 2015. Key words: The Jewish Community Museum, E.
    [Show full text]
  • Between Denial and "Comparative Trivialization": Holocaust Negationism in Post-Communist East Central Europe
    Between Denial and "Comparative Trivialization": Holocaust Negationism in Post-Communist East Central Europe Michael Shafir Motto: They used to pour millet on graves or poppy seeds To feed the dead who would come disguised as birds. I put this book here for you, who once lived So that you should visit us no more Czeslaw Milosz Introduction* Holocaust denial in post-Communist East Central Europe is a fact. And, like most facts, its shades are many. Sometimes, denial comes in explicit forms – visible and universally-aggressive. At other times, however, it is implicit rather than explicit, particularistic rather than universal, defensive rather than aggressive. And between these two poles, the spectrum is large enough to allow for a large variety of forms, some of which may escape the eye of all but the most versatile connoisseurs of country-specific history, culture, or immediate political environment. In other words, Holocaust denial in the region ranges from sheer emulation of negationism elsewhere in the world to regional-specific forms of collective defense of national "historic memory" and to merely banal, indeed sometime cynical, attempts at the utilitarian exploitation of an immediate political context.1 The paradox of Holocaust negation in East Central Europe is that, alas, this is neither "good" nor "bad" for the Jews.2 But it is an important part of the * I would like to acknowledge the support of the J. and O. Winter Fund of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York for research conducted in connection with this project. I am indebted to friends and colleagues who read manuscripts of earlier versions and provided comments and corrections.
    [Show full text]
  • ESS9 Appendix A3 Political Parties Ed
    APPENDIX A3 POLITICAL PARTIES, ESS9 - 2018 ed. 3.0 Austria 2 Belgium 4 Bulgaria 7 Croatia 8 Cyprus 10 Czechia 12 Denmark 14 Estonia 15 Finland 17 France 19 Germany 20 Hungary 21 Iceland 23 Ireland 25 Italy 26 Latvia 28 Lithuania 31 Montenegro 34 Netherlands 36 Norway 38 Poland 40 Portugal 44 Serbia 47 Slovakia 52 Slovenia 53 Spain 54 Sweden 57 Switzerland 58 United Kingdom 61 Version Notes, ESS9 Appendix A3 POLITICAL PARTIES ESS9 edition 3.0 (published 10.12.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Denmark, Iceland. ESS9 edition 2.0 (published 15.06.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden. Austria 1. Political parties Language used in data file: German Year of last election: 2017 Official party names, English 1. Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) - Social Democratic Party of Austria - 26.9 % names/translation, and size in last 2. Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) - Austrian People's Party - 31.5 % election: 3. Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) - Freedom Party of Austria - 26.0 % 4. Liste Peter Pilz (PILZ) - PILZ - 4.4 % 5. Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne) - The Greens – The Green Alternative - 3.8 % 6. Kommunistische Partei Österreichs (KPÖ) - Communist Party of Austria - 0.8 % 7. NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS) - NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum - 5.3 % 8. G!LT - Verein zur Förderung der Offenen Demokratie (GILT) - My Vote Counts! - 1.0 % Description of political parties listed 1. The Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is a social above democratic/center-left political party that was founded in 1888 as the Social Democratic Worker's Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei, or SDAP), when Victor Adler managed to unite the various opposing factions.
    [Show full text]
  • Portugal, Slovakia, and the Political Counter- Reformation of the Twentieth Century (1910- 1939)
    23 ZuZana Poláčková – Pieter C. van Duin Portugal, Slovakia, and the political Counter- reformation of the twentieth century (1910- 1939) This essay tries to make a comparative analysis of the political dynamics of Portugal and Slovakia in the first half of the twentieth century (1910-1939) in terms of the significance of conservative political Catholicism. The two countries belonged to a group of nations in Europe in which there was a strong reaction to political liberalism, progressive republicanism, cultural secularism, and socialism. This an- tagonism can arguably be seen as a modern continuation of the historic conflict between the Protestant and humanist Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Its twentieth-century manifestation was of course somewhat different from the original sixteenth- and seventeenth-century conflict. After the eighteenth century the historic force of anti-Catholic Reformation was mainly expressed in the form of intellectual Enlightenment, anti-clericalism, and social and cultural progressivism. But it would seem that in many ways the dynamics and aggressive energy of this great cultural confrontation was continued during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although in a modified ideological and political shape. The years between 1910 and 1940 were the period when the conflict between political progressivism and Catholic conservatism reached its culmination. In Portugal the forces of cultural secularism and liberal republicanism were defeated by the new authoritarian regime led by Salazar. In Slovakia the foundation and then the end of the First Czechoslovak Republic brought the rise and then the victory of the Catho- lic opposition movement, the Slovak People’s Party of Andrej Hlinka and Jozef Tiso.
    [Show full text]
  • Legal Foundations, Structures and Institutions of Autonomy in Comparative Law
    Legal Foundations, Structures and Institutions of Autonomy in Comparative Law Markku Suksi 1 Introduction Autonomies around the world1 as a form of organization at the sub-national level show a number of common features or dimensions that offer a basis for comparisons. The comparisons, in turn, can be used for the purposes of explaining the legal effects of various forms of autonomy and for outlining the reasons for differences and similarities. What are the key features of autonomy, how could different autonomies be compared with each other and what is the future of autonomy as a form of organization? How could the different autonomies and their relations to each other be illustrated in the visual form, as a chart, so as to make it possible to identify the mul- titude of different models of autonomy on the basis of their normative features? For such a comparative exercise to take place, a common framework or platform of comparison should be designed. In other words, a so-called tertium comparationis should be developed. For the purposes of our discussion of autonomy, it is proposed that this tertium comparationis is created against the background of the right to participation in a broad sense, encompassing both the general right to participation as identified in article 25 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the one hand and the right to self-determination as a meta-right of participation as pointed at in article 1 of the same Covenant. 2 Participation and Self-Determination Article 25 of the CCPR deals with participation and covers participation not only at the national level but also at the sub-national and local government level.
    [Show full text]
  • Vienna-Bratislava Relationships. Living Apart Together. from the Long 19Th Century up to Now.“
    MASTERARBEIT Titel der Masterarbeit „Vienna-Bratislava relationships. Living apart together. From the long 19th Century up to now.“ Verfasserin Mirjam de Klepper angestrebter akademischer Grad Master (MA) Wien, 2015 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 067 805 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Individuelles Masterstudium: Global Studies – a European Perspective Betreuerin / Betreuer: Ass.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Walter Matznetter, MSc MASTERARBEIT / MASTER THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit /Title of the master thesis Vienna-Bratislava relationships. Living apart together. From the long 19th Century up to now. Verfasser /Author Mirjam de Klepper angestrebter akademischer Grad / acadamic degree aspired Master (MA) Wien, 2015 Studienkennzahl : A 067 805 Studienrichtung: Individuelles Masterstudium: Global Studies – a European Perspective Betreuer/Supervisor: Ass.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Walter Matznetter, MSc TABLE OF CONTENT Preface 1 Chapter 1 About territoriality, borders and cities 4 1.1 The extraordinary case of Vienna and Bratislava 6 1.2 Territoriality, the example of Burgenland in the late 1940s 9 1.3 The production of space and others in the borderlands 13 1.4 Set up of this thesis 15 Chapter 2 From Pressburg to Bratislava: The development of a city's identity in the late 19th 17 and early 20th century 2.1 The basis of the Slovak nation 18 2.1.1 Ethnic awareness 18 2.1.2 Language development 19 2.2 From Pressburg to Bratislava 21 2.2.1 The people 21 2.2.2 The city's self perception 24 2.3 The Slovak road to the first Czechoslovak Republic 28 2.3.1 Conditions
    [Show full text]
  • The Political and Symbolic Importance of the United States in the Creation of Czechoslovakia
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2014 Drawing borders: the political and symbolic importance of the United States in the creation of Czechoslovakia Samantha Borgeson West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Borgeson, Samantha, "Drawing borders: the political and symbolic importance of the United States in the creation of Czechoslovakia" (2014). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 342. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/342 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DRAWING BORDERS: THE POLITICAL AND SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE CREATION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA Samantha Borgeson Thesis submitted to the Eberly College of Arts And Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
    [Show full text]
  • APPENDIX .A. Note on the Present Position of the Munich Agreement of 29 September 1938
    APPENDIX .A. Note on the Present Position of the Munich Agreement of 29 September 1938 THE Munich Agreement, concluded between Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy for the cession of the Sudeten German territory by Czecho­ slovakia, although officially dated 29 September 1938, was in reality signed in the small hours of the morning of 30 September. l To it was annexed a declaration by the British and French Governments guaranteeing the new boundaries of the Czechoslovak state against unprovoked aggression. Germany and Italy also agreed to give a similar guarantee to Czechoslovakia 'when the question of the Polish and Hungarian minorities in Czechoslovakia had been settled'. It was further declared that the problems of these minorities in Czechoslovakia, if not settled within three months by agreement between the respective Governments, 'shall form the subject of another meeting of the Heads of the Governments of the four Powers here present'. Because of its nature, the Munich Agreement was not subject to the usual forms of ratification, and no provision for such procedure was included in its text. Parliamentary approval was accorded to Mr Chamberlain and to M. Daladier, on 6 and 5 October respectively, by means of votes of confidence but by the time these had been given in the House of Commons and the Chamber of Deputies the terms of the Munich Agreement were already a fait accompli. On 2 November 1938 the German and Italian Foreign Ministers, Ribben­ trop and Ciano, handed down the First Vienna Award, which, without consultation with, or reference to, the British and French Governments, adjudicated the fate of the Polish and Hungarian minorities in Czechoslovakia, in violation of the annexe to the Munich Agreement.2 The structure set up by the Munich Agreement was destroyed on 15 March 1939 when Hitler proclaimed that 'Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist'.
    [Show full text]