1 50 18 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/59cded19d5d79de6a2a55f29c1c4c871.pdf 5335cc1c6b5a20d65effeae39f3ed97a PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 143 CURRENT ISS UES Senator Hugh Scott's Speech Before Slovak League of America in Washington Following are the remarks made by Senator Hugh Scott, (R-Pa.) at the Sheraton-Park Hotel, Washington, D.C., May 24, 1969: It is a special pleasure to be with you tonight, for I feel that an important part of Pennsylvania has come to Washington, in the form of the Slovak League of America. Yes, I am aware that all Slovak Americans do not live in Pennsylvania, but I am also aware that many of your League members do live in my state and have contributed greatly to its growth and diverse strength. Besides that, the real drama of Slovaks in America - the opening wedge toward recognition of an independent state of Slovakia - occurred in Pittsburgh in 1918 with the signing of the Pittsburgh Pact. If that did not bring immediate independence, it was not the fault of the Slovak League of America which has been fighting through the years, since 11 years before the Pittsburgh Pact, to realize the Slovakian dream of independence. Today, you finally see Slovakia independence of the Czechs to the extent of being a so-called Socialist Repub1ic, equal in stature to the Czech Socialist Republic. But the tragedy of domination persists, in the form of the Soviet tyranny ov·e r all of Eastern Europe, including Czecho-Slo,vakia. The history of the spirit of independence in Slovakia and among Slovaks in America is all the more remarkable because the fire of your spirit is fed by the barest sparks of realized freedom. Thus, in 1918, there was jubilation at the Pittsburgh Pact, which was quickly snuffed out; in 1938, another period of joyful independence, which the Nazis crushed; and in 1968, a moment of rebellion, which the Soviets put a halt to. In each of these magic moments, however, the world could recognize �144 SLOVAKIA the spirit of the Slovaks as the spirit of freedom, and it is a spirit the world envies. So great is your love of freedom and your pride in your nation and peoples, that Slovak Americans, through the Slovak League made a memorable effort to aid the United States cause during World War II. Not only did many fight in the American uniform, many more helped to forge the weapons of defense in the factories of Pennsylvania, and still others conducted immensely successful war bond drives and airplanebuying fund raising campaigns. Even the ladies pitched in, with their ladies auxiliary organization. As one who served both in Congress and in the military during the war years, I believe I can express the thanks of a grateful nation for the efforts of the Slovak Americans. Yes, you have much to be proud of, and you are to be commended for keeping your heritage and your pride in it alive through the Slovak League of America. We have all noted much about pride in recent news stories. Black pride is viewed as an emerging force in the United States, and in a context of pride in the Negro's contribution to America in history, and pride in one's race and self, it is a wonderful thing. Because I also believe in pride in language, I co-sponsored the Bilingual Education Act which passed in 1968 and which helps Spanish-speaking children learn in their own tongue before and during the time they are learning English. The culture of the Slovaks is equally a part of our diverse American heritage. I mention these efforts to give certain citizens of the United States greater opportunity because I think it shows that Congress and the people of the United States are generally coming to a realization that you and your group has held for a long time: That we as a people are strengthened by our heritage and are culturally richer in our diversity. Slovaks, through the Slovak League of America, put great emphasis on education, convey the importance of pride in the Slovak language, and see to it that generation after generation keeps the flame of liberty alive in their hearts. It is a matter of perpetuating a heritage. and it is an important thing. Even today the Slovak League of America seeks a righteous path for the Slovak people, when it requests a.n independent �145 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- Slovak sedion in the State Department, a Slovak Desk with the Voice of America, and a general Consulate in Bratislava. I support these requests and will help you in these endeavors. I commend the Slovak League of America for setting an example through its organization, and I thank the Slovak League for its contribution to this nation and to the ideal of liberty among men. The Slovaks of Detroit ( August 1968 - August 1969) In the early months of 1968 Detroit was undergoing a transitional change which led Slovak people into moving out of older neighborhoods surrounding the Slovak parishes to the suburbs, literally become "afraid" to return to the neighborhood for church and lodge meetings, which led to a noticable decrease in lodge membership and presence of Slovak people at major functions. The lodges were desperately trying to hold their organizations together and attempted to get the Slovak people out and united again. There was also a search for young Slovak blood to help carry out the Slovak cause to the next generation. Recent shake-ups in the structure of Czecho-Slovakia gave a new hope to us. In January a new leader, a Slovak, took rule. Alexander Dubcek gave new hope and once again offered new courage in the fight for a democracy and a "Free Slovakia". Once again children began to wonder who Father Tiso was. A Slovak Language Class was instituted and attracted many members from all over. Slovak picnics gathered large encouraging crowds. People returned for Slovak masses and began enrolling in the lodges and fraternal groups. In Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia, the sense of freedom was felt even greater. But as if a fairytale, it was crushed. They had been invaded by the same Russian "Liberator", the one who had already destroyed Slovak freedom 22 years earlier. The Slovaks of Detroit felt equally as crushed. United, we planned to voice our emotions. Many had relatives or friends in Slovakia, or remembered the Communist tyranny they felt after World �146 SLOVAKIA War II. Throughout the United States a brutal portrayal of the invasion was given, referring it as one against Czechs, calling Slovaks the lower and less intelligent class, and even calling Alexander Dubcek a Czech. On August 26, 1968, the Slovaks of Detroit gathered at the Federal Building to hold a peaceful demonstration against the Soviet Aggression. Appearing before nationwide television and press, Michigan vice-president of the Slovak League of America Jan Beliansky denounced the invasion saying "We abhor the brutal aggression against Czecho-Slovakia by the Russians and their occupation of the country. They are killing young people for no reason at all." He also called upon the United States to take a stand in support of the Liberal policies of Alexander Dubcek. The entire nation now knew that the invasion could not be dismissed without any action. Within the next month after the invasion another noticable increase of membership in the Slovak League took place. Slovaks were ready once again to stand up "FOR GOD AND FOR COUNTRY". With fall rapidly approaching the Dominican Nuns of Oxford were busy making plans for their bi-annual "Fall Festival". With the help of the Slovak League of America and many Slovak Parishes, the festival, held on Sunday September 22, was a big success. Over 10,000 Slovaks attended. The second week of October brought about the "OLD WORLD MARKET" at the International Institute, where the Slovaks aided other nationalities in setting up booths selling Art Work, Clothes, Books, Dolls and other forms of ethnic art. Aside from our booth, we had a Slovenska Kuchyna serving Slovak food and pastries to the public. On the final day of the Old World Market, a troop of Slovak Violinists, Dancers and Musicians performed for the Institute. THE DETROIT FREE PRESS also carried an article in the vicinity of a full page specifically about the Slovaks. November 8, 1968 marked the first airing date for the Slovak Radio Program on station WABX 99.5 FM DETROIT. Independently financed, it plays beloved Slovak songs and reports Slovak History, Geography, and Current Events. During this time the Slovak Language Class was en- �SLOVAKIA 147 route to a second successful year. People young and old came to study lessons in grammar, music and history. The large turnout also aided in another measurable step towards preserving Slovak Heritage. The "Slovak Village Entertainers" was created, composed of Slovak singers, dancers, commedians and musicians. After their debut at Sacred Heart Center on the first of December, they were flooded with requests to perform for banquets, installations and parties for many organizations. Dance Choreographers Veronica Uhrin and Mary Hric are constantly searching for new Slovak talent, as is the recently added Music Choreographer Professor John M. Demchak, in order to preserve Slovak Culture. Two members have recently received scholarships to attend the world-famous music school INTERLOCHEN. January 1, 1969 was an eventful day for Slovaks of the World. It marked the official creation of CzechoSlovakia, two independent but united nations. Around this t ime the Slovaks felt a need to get together and celebrate. In order to compensate, the two Detroit branches of the Slovak League of America gathered at Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Detroit to hold a "Family Affair", featuring an afternoon of Slovak Entertainment, Movies and Socializing. March 14, 1969 was the 30th anniversary of Slovak Independence and t he creation of the Slovak Republic. To commemorate this bumper stickers bearing the slogan 1939 FREEDOM FOR SLOVAKIA 1969 were printed and distributed. Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary of the Slovak League of America, came to Detroit to give the major address. He was then interviewed by CBS television concerning recent developments in Czecho-Slovakia. In order to further promote Slovak socializing and entertainment, Branch 15 of the Slovak League instituted in what is now known as "Slovakia Saturday Nights" featuring continuous entertainment, Slovak sing-a-longs, games and a dinner. From the large turnout they have decided to have possibly four or five a year. With summer approaching Slovak youths were involved in either practicing for the NATIONAL SLET of the SOKOLS or school track teams. Joseph Smetanka, a sophomore at Wayne State University, broke records �148 SLOVAKIA in relay races against other top Universities and made headlines coaching the Wayne State team and a private team of youths to nationwide victories. Joseph, a member of many Slovak organizations, hopes to oneday teach gym classes or receive a Masters Degree in Physical Education. On May 20, 1969 the Slovak Village Entertainers, leading a float draped with the Slovak Flag, marched with other Slovak youths and twenty different nationalities in a "Nationalities Day Parade". Four days later a Detroit delegation attended the Slovak League of America Conference in Washington, D. C. During the summer, many Detroit Sokols took first place in the SLET and brought home their awards. To remember the first anniversary of the Russian Invasion, over 250 Slovaks gathered in Kennedy Square to hold a "peaceful demonstration", receiving press coverage from 3 television networks, J radio and two newspapers. Our protest should undoubtedly be felt, with our proclamation of "A DAY OF SHAME", by all the bureaucrats in Washington, the leaders of the U. N. and the tyrants at the Kremlin. The Slovak struggle for recognition in a liberal world will be felt! Being only sixteen years of age and newcomer to the Slovak scene politically and physically I hope one day to take over in the same pattern of which our Slovak leaders left off. A trail has been blazed: Slovak Youth must follow . A Slovak "Renaissance" is taking place. The work has been started. It is now up to the people to continue it. Edward M. Zelenak A Slovak In11nigrant - Master of Arts By WINN GALLEGHER ( Pottstown Mercury Staff Writer) A skilled representative of a lost art, woodcarver, and cabinetmaker, Karl M. Pacanovsky, Douglasville RD 2, is head of the arts and crafts department at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa. Born in Slovakia in 1894, Pacanovsky was apprenticed to a woodworker in the old world fashion at the age 11. �149 SLOVAKIA His father was a farmer who believed his sons should have the benefits of a craft. His three boys were sent to the city to receive their training. Recalling his early years, Pacanovsky said, "In our village, I was always the one who whittled, so it was natural for me to receive training in this field. I studied for three years, and by the time I was 17, I was doing altars for various churches." A local example of the ecclesiastical work of the artist is the pulpit of St. Aloysius Catholic church. It is typical of the Gothic style of most of Pacanovsky's work. Also created items for the Holy Trinity Slovak Catholic Church . * • The desire to come to America followed extensive travel, through Europe, largely by foot. "The decision to come to the United States came after my fascination with the port of Hamburg and the ocean liners I saw there," reminisces Pacanovsky. "After borrowing the money from my father, I sailed for this country, arriving at Newark, N. J., in 1913." The craftsman then was employed by several woodworking firms, including Tiffany and company. This was accompanied by attending nigh~ schoo\ classes in English and drawing and design for seven years. A combination of the depression and Pacanovsky's own love for schooling made him decide to enter Rutgers university, New Brunswick to prepare himself for the teaching profession. "After completing my studies there I taught at various public and private schools, coming to The Hill in 1944." He is heading the arts and crafts department there since 1952. This includes the studio and metal divisions as well as the carving and mechanical drawing taught by the artist himself. Clearly loving his teaching duties, Pacanovsky is articulate in discussing them. "The role of woodworking in education is a creative �150 SLOVAKIA one. I endeavor not to confine the work to merely carving, but to make it an experience including vision, skill, and aesthetics," asserts the teacher. "My purpose is not to make woodcarvers out of all the boys," he continues, "because it is not so much what the boy does to the wood as what the wood does to the boy." Pacanovsky laments the inroads industrialization has made into rapidly disappearing arts such. as his own. "Modern society wants everything done quickly and simply, and the old crafts are vanishing in the Western World, perhaps with the exception of Scandinavia, where they are frequently subsidized by the government," he said, "and they manage to unite modern art to the craft tradition." Pacanovsky has a very flexible attitude on today's artistic expression. "I am very much a traditionalist, but enjoy many of approaches, perhaps because there is no such modern the thing as pure originality," he theorizes. "The experience of all men are rooted in tradition and common to all generations." * * He finds the reward of his own skill lied in the work itself. "It is only through fine creative expression that we are able to develop character. One must know the feeling of making something," he said. Pacanovsky is respectful of the artistic endeavors of all men, and refused to critize the message in another's work. "All art should have meaning, but I never condemn a work because I personally cannot extract it," he declares. He considers the basic requirements for the field of art are of design, line, and proportion, and finds the biggest handicap to be symptomatic of the times. "People today, for instance my students, have an �SLOVAKIA 151 attitude of mediacrity being good enough. I always illustrate that this is not so by pointing out that the surgeon cannot do a slipshod job on a patient on the grounds that it isn't his best, but it's good enough." Pacanovsky's teaching requires most of his time during the school term, but during the Summertime he makes cabinets and cases for The Hill, as well as executing beautifully lettered signs. One of his most unusual projects recently was the designing and executing of a mace for the school which is used in processionals. Pacanovsky occasionally is commissioned to make new pieces of furniture, both in traditional and modern design, but finds his academic duties restrict outside professional work. Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius 50 Years in Danville, Pa. June 19, 1969 mairked 50 yeaas that the Slovak Siste['s of SS. Cyril and Methodius arrived wt Danville, Pa. Their first words were the scriptuiral, "Lord, it is good fo[' us to be he['e." Ten year,s oJd, the Conwreg:wtion of the Sisteirs of SS. Cyiril and Methodius had been established in 1909 by F1aither Matthew Jankola, a Sloviak immigranit pries,t, under the guidance of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate He,a,r,t of Mall'y, of Marywood, Scranton. Its firsit Sisters had received their training at Macywood, which also served as the young Communiity's headquarters. All its retreats aaid profoession ceremooies burt one had been held wt M,airywood . By June, 1919, the mem~ship of the new community numbe['ed 57 professed Si,s,teirs, 30 novices and 9 postulants. Lt had reached the stage where Lt was able lo assume its own leadership and establish its own administration , functioning under Church law. Its first chapte•r , held at Marywood in 1915, had resulrted in the election of Mother Macy Mihalik as first superioir general. At her d e a th within a yeair she was repl,aced by Mother M. Emmanuel Pauly, whose term extended over six years until 1922. The community of Religious had already assumed cha,r g,e of pa,rish schools in Pennsylvania and Connecticut and of an o,r phanag,e of the Fiirst CaJtho1ic Slovak Union (Jednota) in Middletown, Pa. What �152 SLOVAKIA it needed more than anything was a motherhouse kom which to admini.Siter the congregation and a residence for the training of novices and postulants by canonical standards. As the young community outgrew the facilities at Mairywood, its administration had transferred to the large parish convent in Plymouth, Pa., where Mather Mary resided. The novices and postulants were divided among the Plymouth, Pittston and Olyphant, (Pa.) convents. 1n 1917 a lairge house was leased to the community on t he Jednota premises at Middletown, Pa., which accomcxfated the novices and postulants and also served as a temporary motherhouse for the community. It soon became inadequate. Meanwhile Mother M. Emmanuel Pauly was alert to any prospects of acquiring a motherhouse for the community. Through Father Julius C. Foin, pastor at Middletown and a Danville, Pa., native, she learned about Castle Grove, vacant at the time for 14 years. She informed Bishop Philip R. McDevitt of Harrisburg, Pa., who in turn communicated with Father 1-' ran c is X. Dougherty, pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Danville, asking him to investigate the property. This was in the fuU of 1918. Negotiations were set in motion and by the spring of 1919 the transaction was completed. 'J.'lhe Sis,te,rs of SS. Cyril and Methodius acquired Castle Grove and took possession of it on June 19, 1919. The estate was renamed Villa Saored Heart because the date of the Sisiters' arrival from Jednota in Middletown, Pa., coincided with the season of the Sacred Heart in Catholic liturgy. The Sisters recalled that they arrived by train from Hairrisburg, Pa., before noon on June 18, only to find that a technicality still barrnd them from entering Castle Grove. A signature was lacking on the deed. The Sisters we-r e meanwhile offered hospi,tali,ty and night's lodging by the Immaculate Hca'l"t Sisters a,t St. Joseph's Convent on Bloom Road. The following morning a f t c r Mass at St. Joseph's Church the novitiate gr{)IUp, which included Rev. Mother M. Emmanuel and l\Iother M . Monica, an Immaculate Heart Sister \Vho had been retained as d1rector of novices for the community, walked sile!l!tly d own Route 11 towaird their new home. Passing under the archway over the e!l!trance and up the narrow fo()lj; path, they surveyed the broad expanse of high grass and majestic trees and glimpsed at the mansion beyond. The cry which burst from their lips was "Lord , il is good for us to be here." The property was deteriorated, but graduaJ!y through the weeks that followed the house was resLored somewha,t to its original splendor and modified to convent specifications, and the campus recovered some of its beauty and design . By July 7, feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius, the lairge salon on the first floor was furnished as a chapel and Bishop McDevi.ltt offered the first Mass for the community at Villa Sacred Heart. The work of intensive cleaning and restoration both indoors and out continued through July. The professed Sisters returned from their pa;rish missions to make their annual retreat in August, the first a,t Vil1a Sacred Heart. It was fol- �SLOVAKIA lowed by the first reception and profession ceremonies, at which 15 novices were professed and 9 postulaints received the habit and white veil of a novice. This brought the community members hip to 72 professed Sisters and 24 novices. By the end of Augus,t . ix new candidates had entered the community and they were ready to begin their training as postulants. Within fi.f,t,y years the face of Villa Sacred Heart has changed, showing expansion and growth. As the community membership increased and additional projects were undertakoo, St. Cyril AcadPmy for girls was opened in 1922 and a new building was erected in 1929. For its religious ceremonies and worship, a chapel was added in 1939. A three-story wing, conn eoted with the academy and matching it in architecture and design, was completed and dedicated in the fall of 1957. Maria Joseph M-anoc wa-s erected on a site bordering the mOitherwise property in 1962. M,ari-a Hall, a home for retired Sisters, is presently rising and will be completed by the summer of 1970. professed Sisters. 13 novice and 3 postulan ts. An add Ltional 55 Sis ters lie buried in the community's cemetery. The Sisters teach in 36 Slovak parish schools in the archdiocese of Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and the dioceses of Harrisburg, Bridge port, Charleston, Gary, Hartford, Greensburg, Steubenville, Scranton , Syracuse and Trenton. They also are on the staffs of six Catholic central high schools. Every summer and throughout the school year, the Sisters engage in r-atechetical work, and in recent years have intensified their efforts in this field. The Sisters also conduct a ?SY· chological and reading clinic in Wilkes-Barre. Bes ides St. Cyril Academy they also teach at Blessed Sacrament Academy in Yonkers, New York and Andrean Hi g h School in Gary, Ind . The congregation is in warge of t he Jednota Orphanage in Middletown, Pa., and besides Maria Joseph Manor it comducts Villa SL Cyril, a home for the aged, in Highland Park. UL The Sisters have worked with Headst a:rt and other special programs for underprivileged groups. This summer these and similar programs are in operation here in Danville, and in Bridgeport, Conn., Chairleston. S.C., Chicago, and Gary. In the 60 years the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Meth-odius has been serving the Church and the Slovak people, it has reached a membership of 425 • 153 • THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States. �154 - - - -- SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - · - - - - - AS OTHERS "You may be assured of my continued interest in a free and independent Slovakia." - Richard Schweiker, United States Senate "Our country has been vastly enriched by the contributions which your membership and your fellow Slovak Americans have made down through the years." - Edward W . Brooke, United States Senate "I appreciate your thoughtfulness in sending me the latest issue of your publication Slovakia. 1 found it most interesting." - John Sherman Cooper, U. S. Senate "Slovaks in my area and throughout the nation are known as a proud, talented, industrious, and deeply religious people who continue to aspire to the attainment of freedom and liberty despite the many years of Communist rule of their ancestral homeland." -John P . Saylor, Member of Congress "Long have I known of the grand work the American Slovak League has done over the years of its existence. "The Slovak people have a glorious history and a noble tradition. For over a thousand years they have fought continuously for their national independence. Today that tradition is still carried on proudly by your League which struggles unremittingly for the human and national rights of the Slovak people. In that struggle you have my full support for I have always stood behind the right of every nation, large and small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. "Your civic and cultural contributions to America also stand as a great tribute to your organization. The immigrants from Slovakia in SEE IT years past have made many wonderful and inspiring contributions to the American way of life. The League has played a great part in encouraging them to be alert and loyal citizens. "By continuing the good work of the Slovak League, you are doing a service for the United States, for the people of Slovakia, and for all humanity." - Michael A. Feighan, Member of Congress "Be sure of my continued support for a free and independent Slovakia." - Clement J. Zablocki, Member of Congress "I want to extend to the Slovak League of America and its membership my regards and sincere commendation for their outstanding achievements in the interest of all freedom loving people."-John W . Wydler, Member of Congress "These are trying times for all who are interested in the welfare of your homeland, which means all who love freedom and liberty. I k n o w that your activities give strength to the freedom-loving people in Slovakia in their continuing struggle to regain control of their destiny."-Frank T . Bow, Member of Congress "As citizens the Slovak-Americans have contributed immeasurably to the religious, cultural, educational, industrial, and civic growth and betterment of our cities, and our country. "I want to take this opportunity to commend those of Slovakian heritage for their courage and forebearance."-Guy Vander Jagt, Member of Congress "My greetings and v e r y b e s c w i s h e s to my Slovak-American �SLOVAKIA friends for whom I am constantly striving in the Congress to make this a truly free world for all people. " - William E . Mi nshall, Member of Congress 155 to make the best of their opportunities. "There is nonetheless a note of sadness as your thoughts inevitably turn to those of your brethren who remain in your a n c e s t r a I homeland. It is a paradox of the twentieth century that while more than sixty nations on other continents have gained their independence from colonial powers since World War II, a number of the ancient lands of Europe have been swallowed up by the Soviet Empire."-Harold R. Colli er, Member of Congress "I do wish to assure you that I shall continue my interest in the affair of your League and look forward to another opportunity to join with you. " -Martin B . McKneally , Member of Congress "I am pleased once again to have the opportunity to salute your untiring efforts toward freedom and your unailing patriotism and courage." - Willi am S. Moorehead, Member of Congress "I am well aware of the immense contribution to American life which has been made by our Slovak-American citizens. They have brought to us in this country the same religious strength and the same love of freedom which they learned in their motherland. Even today that same spirit of freedom can be seen in the establishment of the Slovak Republic in a federated CzechoSlovakia. This is the culmination of years of effort by a great people who wish to keep their own identity. "-Joseph M . McDade, Member of Congress "I heartily support the efforts of the Slovak League of America to keep alive the torch of freedom for so many who must remain behind the Iron Curtain of oppression."Charles A . Vanik, Member of Congress "Congratulations on many con"I wish to comp l i m e n t you r League on the superb work you are tributions to international underdoing." - Seymour Halpern, Mem- standing and cultural exchange."Margaret M . Heckler, Member of ber of Congress Congress "I received the latest issue of "I would like you to know that Slovakia which you recently sent receive Slovaki a, and find th~ did I me, and have enjoyed reading it." of interest." - John B . publication - Charles W. Whalen, Jr., Member Anderson, Member of Congress of Congress 'Thank you for the book entitled "Many of the people whom I am edited by Dr. Joseph PauSlovakia, naprivileged to represent in the to read this book planning am I co. tional House of Representatives for it will be possible as soon as either came to the United States resource."-William useful very a from Slovakia or are the descendMember of Congress ants of immigrants from that na- T . Mtirphy, " The s t r u g g l e continues for tion. Through the years they have proved themselves to be loyal Ame- equal representation and national ricans and good citizens of their rights which the Slovak League beadopted country, serving it with gan more than 50 years ago. I share equal diligence through war and your concern about the Soviet oppeace, and inspiring their children pression of the Slovak people. I �156 SLOVAKIA pray we will see the day when the Slovak people will be permitted to establish their o w n independent nation in Europe, with freedom to select their own leaders and their own path of government." - John Myers, Member of Congress "I command the efforts of the Slovak League of America to maintain culture and traditions of Slovakia here in United States. We must be confident of the f u tu re and continue to work for the day when legitimate independence and true freedom is enjoyed by people of Slovakia and all other captives of Communism."-Edward J . Derwinski, Member of Congress "Every Slovak American is extremely p r o u d of the League's years of interest in the cultural and historical betterment of all American Slovaks." - Joseph M . Gaydos, Member of Congress "The yearning for liberty and independence among Slovaks will continue until they will be able to determine their own destiny; and, I am ceritain, as an independent nation, will constructively contribute to the well being and peace of the world. You may be assured of my continuing efforts for selfdetermination of all Captive Nations and of my warm and special interest for the Slovak nation." Michael A. F eighan, M. C., 20th District, Ohio "I am aware of the constant struggle of Slovak people to regain their independence and live side by side with other free nations of the world. It is my desire and hope that the spirit and determination of the Slovak people will not be broken and that the Slovak nation will once again have the right to choose its own destiny. In these just aspirations of Slovak people all of us should help. I pledge my support in this respect. '' William E. Minshall, M. C., 23rd District, Ohio "Slovak nationalism was an important element in the early days of the reform movement. Mr. Novotny, the former President, who was passionately disliked in Slovakia for his discriminatory poli. cies, paid the penalty for ignoring it. " (The Times, October 31, 1968) . "For all the pride and satisfaction with which Czecho-Slovakia has introduced federalization of the Czech and Slovak nations, real equality still remains a promise rather than a practical accomplish ment ... many stormy sessions lie ahead with the Slovaks pressing for even greater autonomy. At the roots of the conflict is the fact that, since its inception 50 years ago, the republic has boasted of having established unity with equality for the two nations without the Slovaks ever having actually achieved this equality." (The Times, October 28, 1968). "Although lip service has been paid to ethnic equality by both the pre-World War II Masaryk republic and the post-war Communists, the Slovaks have always, with considerable justice, felt that they were getting the short end of the stick. Before the war, Slovak nationalists demanded virtual national independence." (John P . Roche, San Francisco Examiner. July 3, 1969) . - "The main tourist centers (in the High Tatra Mountains, Slovakia ) are Stary Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica and Strbske Plesoeach more scenically beautiful than the other. "The 17-mile mountain range with some 300 ragged peaks, romantic valleys and ice-blue small lakes can compete with any Alpine �SLOVAKIA 157 area. The width of the range is removed the country's most popu10 miles." (The New York Times; lar liberal from the domestic political scene, thereby placating the October 31, 1969. "Americans teens are lucky be- ultras. At the same time, he won cause 'they don't have to worry plaudits from the liberals by reabout politics like we do', said fusing to place Dubcek balked, Michael, 18, of Bratislava . .. There protesting that he would return are two 'nations' in Czecho-Slova- to his old job of factory machinist kia, they said-the Czechs and the rather than leave the country. But Slovaks. Because they are Slovaks, in the end he bowed to the party the boys don't like our tendency order, knowing full well that his to shorten "Czechoslovakian' to refusal would only further inflame 'Czech'. That, they said, is incor- political passions in Prague." rect because almost half the people (Newsweek, December 29, 1969). "Father Hlinka insisted that the in their country are not Czechs, they're Slovaks." (The Times Un- Czechs and Slovaks were not one ion, Rochester, N. Y., July 26, nation , but two distinct nations, 1968). and therefore the Slovaks had as much right to self-government as "Slovak painters and graphic artists, among them Milan Laluha, any other self-respecting nation. " Ladislav Guderna and M. Brunov- (Thaddeus V. Gromada , siavic Resky, were acclaimed in Italy, view, September 1969). France and Canada. The works of sculptors Uher and Bartfay became known . . . The operas of Eugen Suchoii. were performed throughout Europe, and the music of Jan Cikker and Alexander Moyzes were heralded in many parts of the world. Viliam Bukovy's modernist compositions were honored at international music and film festivals. He also wrote music for several Hollywood films. Another composer, Ilja Zelienka, won first prizes at several European modern music festivals. "Slovaks also made important medical contributions. The Slovak Institute of Biochemistry became known for its discoveries of antibiotics and work in concer research. The Microbiological Institute, headed by Dr. Dionyz Blazkovic, was hailed for its achievements bi iinmunobiology and allergiology." (Jan Samak, East Europe. Vol. 18, No. 7). "By naming Dubcek to the post of ambassador to Turkey, Husak "Not even the closest associates of Gustav Husak, the new party chief, are likely to be sure about how to proceed. Politically, Husak has to fight on two fronts and many think that the threat from the extreme left is far more dangerous to him than that from the "right-wing opportunists", as the new jargon refers to supporters of his reform-minded predecessor, Alexander Dubcek. "The party is rocked by expulsions and mass resignations. According to some private estimates it has already lost 300,000 of its 1.7 million members. Those who stayed can be divided into at last four different wings fighting each other. Purges have assumed bizarre proportions, extending from secret police to sports federations, from the foreign service to the Communist-led children organization. "Husak had pleaded not to turn the party into a "slaughter-house,'' but some top radicals openly en- �158 SLOVAKIA courage neo-Stalinists in the lower ranks to push even harder. Evidence of the struggle for power in the party is ample even in the press, which is now tightly controlled again. "In the economic field, the situation is nearly chaotic. The new leadership has canceled almost all of the reforms, but also has announced it will not return to preDubcek concepts. Except for "work harder" appeals, the regime has yet to disclose which panacea it will propose. Some of the top industry managers have been fired for liberal leanings, many others are uncertain about their fate. Thousands of employees and workers now have had marks for political unreliability in their personnel files, hampering prospects for better pay and promotion. The working morale of others is hardly any better; their unions which started developing some muscle during the Dubcek era have again been reduced into tools of the party. " 'Sick rates' are running double those last years and workers take it easy. Husak estimates that 20 per cent of the working time now is idled away. Stringest penalties have been introduces for loafers but that is hardly likely to boost their spirits. "Party leaders allege that rightwing calls for passive resistance also hurt the economy. 'The worse the better' is a slogan actually proposed by one though seemingly small school of thought. " 'Economic crisis have toppled Novotny', explained one veteran party member and anti-Stalinist referring to the old guard leader Antonin Novotny who was replaced by Dubcek. Maybe this will force a change again. "Average wages have increased but so have prices, setting off a Western-style inflationary spiral. That, in turn, and despite official denials, fueled rumors of an impending currency reform. Shops, already, undersupplied, were beleaguered. 'He who hesitates will not buy well' was the superfluous warning on a Prague display window. "Vexing shortages, from prams to pajamas, have become a fact of life in the million-population capitol. The pantie problem became so prickly that special hardcurrency funds were pried loose to pay for emergency imports. The hard currency may have come increased meat exports to the West which have helped dry up supplies of pork, a stample food of Czechs and Slovaks. "Now laws threaten court punishment to hoarders and even sales clerks who talk a customer into buying more than he actually needs. The man in the street will readily blame part of the shortages on the Russian occupation troops. Stories make the round of a Red Army man entering a store and asking for 'five kilograms of panties.' " ( Associated Press, February 22, 1970) . "I returned to Vienna with mixed emotions about the status of the people in Czecho-Slovakia but I also brought a brand new Slovak diet for reducing. The Slovaks call it the 'American diet.' Here it is : "You can eat all the chicken and drink all the Sliwowitz you can manage. But no bread, no pastries, no vegetables. Just chicken and wine. "I always suspected that the Slovaks have a spark\ of genius in them and now their 'American Diet' confirms my belief." (Theodore Andrica, The Cleveland Press, July 14, 1969) . �SLOVAKIA 1511 COMMENTS TWO CZECH PROFESSORS ABOUT SLOVAK-CZECH RELATIONS It happens very rarely that Czech intellectuals in the Free World comment objectively on the relations between Slovaks and Czechs or on books published on Slovakia. For many years not only Czech politicians in exile but also Czech scholars and professors at various universities wrote with bias about Slovak history, politics and cultural achievements. There is no doubt that such writings harmed the image of the Slovak nation but great harm was also done to the relations between the Slovaks and Czechs. Many Czech intellectuals apparently did not look at the problem from this point of view. We welcome, therefore, a new sober voice from Prof. Stanley Z. Pech from the University of British Columbia. He commented in the siavic Review on the book by John Gellner, a Czech newspaperman, and John Smerek, a former Slovak civil servant. The book was published under the title The Czechs and Slovaks in Canada and was published by Masaryk Memorial Institute in Toronto. Professor Pech wrote before about Slovak and Czech relations with much more objectivity than we are accustomed to read from Czech intellectuals. In connection with this book, he had the following to say: "Although one of the authors is of Slovak origin, the book does not appear to do justice to the Slovak viewpoint. Slovak grievances against Czechoslovakia are dismissed as 'separatism', and the First Republic is given what amounts to a clean bill of health. Some 'mistakes' were made, but these were 'largely cured' by the late 1920s. The Administrative Law of 1927 established a desirable degree of decentralization by setting up selfgoverning provinces 'on lines broadly similar to Canadian provinces', each province having 'its provincial president and its provincial assembly'. After this, 'Czechoslovakia seemed on the way toward co-operative, equitable solutions to whatever domestic problems there still were.' It was the Slovak People's Party and the rise of Nazi Germany that later reversed this trend. "ls it possible to present the issues so simply? The First Republic had indeed an outstanding record, and its democratic structure proved more durable than that of most European states. However, it was unquestionably a centralist state even after 1927, and this was the essence of Slovak objections. The authors fail to note that according to the Jaw of 1927 the provincial president and one-third of the provincial assembly were appointed by the central government and that both de jure and de facto the provincial president was an agent of the central government. The jurisdiction of the provinces was limited to social services and similar activities, and the assemblies could be dissolved at any time by a decree issued in Prague. Do the authors really believe that a province so conceived resembles a province in Canada or a state in the United States? Was this situation not bound to feed discontent among the Slovaks? "This situation has important �160 SLOVAKIA implications for the history of the Slovaks in Canada . (and in the United States). Many Slovaks who came to the New World after 1918 were disenchanted with Czechoslovakia and refused to associate themselves with Czech groups. Today their numbers are larger, and their hostility to everything Czech is implacable and chauvinistic. This phenomenom has many roots, but it cannot be understood without reference to the failure of the Czechs to regard the Slovaks as their equals and to give the consideration to their national sentiment. Yet this appreciation is wholly lacking in the present book. With what lack of respect influential segments of the Czech community regarded the Slovaks is illustrated by a secret memorandum on Slovakia, which was drawn up by the Czech Socialist Party in 1946 and published in Bratislava in 1968. The memorandum is a chilling blueprint for depriving the Slovaks of their national identity by any means necessary, not excluding the use of force (see text in Historicky casopis, vol. 16, 1968, pp. 191-93). Gellner and Smerek are two competent observers, and their book will be a standard work for many years. Was the nature of the Slovak problem so far beyond their pale of vision that they could not come to grips with it? Until the Czechs are prepared to take a critical look at their own attitudes, their contribution to a Czech-Slovak dialogue will be only a limited one." This approach is in great contrast with another Czech, Prof. Joseph S. Roucek from Queensborough Community College. He wrote on the same book in the International Migration Review (III 9, Summer 1969) and compared the book with the work by Prof. J. M. Kirschbaum Slovaks in Canada. Prof. Roucek had to admit that: "In general, Kirschbaum's study, in spite of its weaknesses, is much better and more exhaustive than Gellner-Smerek' s work, since it is better documented (as shown by its bibliography, pp. 441-455) and contains reprints of 24 memoranda, petitions, pleas, and resolutions either to the Canadian authorities or to the United Nations by the Slovak Canadian organizations, as well as by individual members of the Canadian Slovak League and the First Catholic Slovak Union during the past three decades." However, Roucek was unable to write without -the anti-Slovak bias in his further remarks. Even though the book Slovaks in Canada is not a political book but strictly a scholarly work on the history of Slovaks in Canada. Prof. Roucek commented on the book as follows: overcertainly "Kirschbaum stresses his Slovak filiopietism which has been glaringly evident in his previous works and which is the ideology of his group of American and Canadian Slovaks promoting Slovak separatism. We learn that 'from the First World War until the present time, Slovak Canadians have been the victims of political activities in their homeland .. .' (p. 9) and that the Canadian Slovaks were discriminated against during World War II because they 'refused to support the policy od Dr. E. Benes, who resigned in October 1938 but who in 1941 set up his government-inexile in London, England, and insisted on his right to represent Czechs and Slovaks in the West. Members and representatives of the Canadian Slovak League were , particularly denounced as enemies �SLOVAKIA of Canada because they advocated the right to self-determination and self-government for the Slovak people.' (p. 6) . But we must also note that even a greater number of Canadian Slovaks supported Dr. Benes and that the Slovak Republic was formed as the first satellite state under Hitler's blessing and auspices. This 'pro-Czech' tendency is, in fact, admitted by Kirschbaum: "The pro-Czech attitude of Slovak Protestants, many of whom were descendants of Czech refugees who came to Slovakia during the Counter-Reformation, accounts for various peculiarities of the Slovak political, cultural and religious life not only in Slovakia, but also among Canadians or Americans of Slovak origins." (p. 32). It is hard to understand, unless we are accustomed to the writings of Czech intellectuals, why Prof. Roucek made such comments on a history book concerning Slovaks in Canada unless one knows the tense relations which existed among the Slovaks and the Czechs for the past 50 years and the bias of many Czech intellectuals who followed the political line of Dr. Benes condemned at the present time not only by many Czechs but by the whole Slovak nation. "SLOVAK NEWS" or COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA For the past two years Slovaks in the Free World received from a Slovak Cultural and Tourist News Agency Tatrapress a mimeographed publication called "Slovak News." After being separated for over a quarter of a century by the Iron Curtain from their homeland, 161 many Slovaks welcomed the fact that finally they can receive information on their country of origin from Bratislava. Unfortunately, the "Slovak News" is not published in the spirit which triggered the liberalization in 1968 and the picture of Slovakia is not one which we could accept. The periodical is published in English, sometimes in good and at other times in very poor English indeed. It was a good step on the part of the regime in Bratislava to try to acquaint the outside world with Slovakia, but the bad side of this enterprise is the biased presentation of Slovak politics and cultural, economic, and social life. For many decades, Slovakia was presented in a distorted light, more often than not unfavorably, to the Western world. All the efforts of Slovak intellectuals in the Free World could not successfully overcome the adverse propaganda from either Czech or other camps opposed to Slovak national aspirations. In 1968, there were great hopes among the Slovaks in the Free World that the tide had changed and that from Slovakia efforts will come to present Slovakia in a true light. Looking objectively at the issues of "Slovak News" which have up to date come to this Continent, we must say with regret that it is again a very biased picture which the so-called Slovak government portrays for the West and hundreds of thousands of Slovaks who are still interested in the good name of their country of origin and work for a free and democratic Slovakia. J . K. �162 SLOVAKIA BOOK REVIEWS BOOKS ON THE EVENT IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA IN 1968 The events in Czecho-Slovakia stirred the attention of scholars in many Western countries and some 50 books were published according to Robert F. Lamberg (Svedectvi, X, No. 37, Paris, 1969). Most of these books are in English, some in French and the rest in the German language. Among the authors are not only specialists in international affairs or in Eastern Europe, but also the Czech exiles and writings by two exiles from Slovakia, Eugene Loeb! and Ladislav Miiacko. The writings of both these authors were published in English as well as in German. One of Loebl's books, Svedectvo o Procese, was published in Slovak and appeared subsequently in English as well as German translation. Many of these books just presented the sequence of events and did not bring any scholarly analysis or political conclusions. Other books are analytical and there is also a score of books which are close to the sensational writings and were designed for the large public and money making. Among those which are worthwhile reading are the following books : Robert Rhodes James, ed., The Czechoslovak Crisis 1968. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson (Toronto: Ryerson), 1969, XII, 203 pp., $7.95. Roger Garaudy, La liberte en sursis: Prague, 1968. Paris. Fayard, 156 pp. Eugen Loeb!, Sentenced and Tried: The Stalinist Purges in Czechoslovakia. London: Elek (Toronto: Ryerson), 1969, 272 pp., $8.50: in Slovak, Svedectvo o procese, Bratislava, 1968, 200 pp.: in German, Die Revolution rehabilitiert ihre Kinder, Vienna: Europa, 1968, 228 pp. Eugen Loeb} and Leopold Grunwald , Die intellektuelie Revolution, Hintergrunde and Auswirktmgen des " Prager Frilhiings". Dusseldorf: Econ, 1969, 308 pp. Ladislav Miiacko, The Seventh Night. New York: Dutton (Toronto : Clarke, Irwin), 1969, 220 pp., $7.25. Also in German. Harry Schwartz, Prague's 200 Days: The Struggle for Denwcracy in Czechoslovakia. New York, Washington, and London: Praeger (Toronto: Burns & MacEachern) , 1969, 274 pp., $7.25. Joseph Wechsberg, The Voices Garden City, N. Y.: Toronto : Doubleday, 1969, 113 pp. $5.95. Philip Windsor and Adam Roberts, Czechoslovakia, 1968: Refo rm, Repression and Resistance. London: Chatto and Windus for the Institute for Strategic Studies (Toronto : Clarke Irwin) , 1969, vm, 200 PP- ' $3.0o. Z. A. B. Zeman, Prague Spring: A Report on Czechoslovakia, 1968. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin (Toronto: Longmans) , 1969, 169 pp., $8.50. Not all of these books are of the ·s ame academic value and one of them by Robert Rhodes James, The Czechoslovak Crisis 1968, has put the invasion by the Warsaw Pact armies in a debatable position, as we will see later. The three books by the writers from Slovakia, Loeb! and Mnacko, gave an insight into the crisis of communism in �SLOVAKIA Slovakia and Mnacko's book is rather a series of reportages than a book on history. From the political point of view, some of the books condemned the invasion and their analysis of the events before the invasion and after is in line with a democratic point of view. The most surprising are the views of Robert Rhodes James who is a specialist in international relations. In his view, the Soviet occupation was "defensive and reluctant" and did not provide evidence of "Soviet aggressiveness or expansionism" and represented "no threats to NATO interests." James also thinks that the United Nations "acquitted itself reasonably effectively" by protesting only and that NATO was quite right in its reactions by not making any attempt to include Rumania or Yugoslavia under its protection. It is certainly hard to accept such views from a western "specialist in international affairs" on an act of brutal aggressiveness and violation of the independence of a country which wanted only to build "communism with a human face". This defeatist view is hardly acceptable by any western scholar or politician. Even the Italian, Rumanian and Yugoslav communists condemned the invasion and protested against it and there is no doubt that all the Western Powers, even if they remained inactive, looked with concern to the presence of Russian armies on the West German and Austrian border. In all these books there is, of course, not much about the events in Slovakia and there is rarely mentioned the fact that the liberalization was forced upon Novotny's regime by the Slovak writers and was lead by a Slovak-Alexander Dubcek-who is sometimes even 163 presented as a Czech leader. Only the Canadian Slavonic Papers (Vol. IX, 4, 1968) published a chapter on the role of Slovaks in the deStalinization period. A good book presenting not only the Czech views or information received in Prague, but also giving justice to the Slovaks, seems to be very necessary to give an objective picture of the events of 1967 and 1968. J . M . Kirschbaum Heinri c h Kuhn: Handbuch der Tschechoslowakei (Verlag Robert Lerche, Mtinchen), 1966, pp. 1,024, Price 142.00 D. M. This reference book on CzechoSlovakia by Dr. Heinrich Kuhn will be appreciated not only by scholars but by all who are interested in the political, social and economic development in CzechoSlovakia after the Second World War. With the typical German "puenktlichkeit" Dr. Kuhn prepared a highly technical study which required years of systematk research and data collecting. The Collegium Carolinum published in the past years several valuable books on Bohemia and Slovakia. Kuhn's volume seems to be the most useful. The volume is divided into four parts. The first part deals with the territory of today's Czecho-Slovakia and her population which by the rude and often criminal expulsion of 3 million Sudeten Germans and by the "voluntary" cession of Subcarpathian Ruthenia by Prague to the U. S. S. R. was substantially reduced in comparison to its size in pre-war times. Kuhn's work gives the basic statistics on the territorial organization, th~ movements of the population and its ethnic composition as well as �164 SLOVAKIA the social structure and education of the Czechs and Slov,a ks during the 20 years following the Second World War. The author avoided political comments either in his introductory notes or in explaining the statistics, leaving the judgment on, among other things, the expulsion of Germans, on the transfer of hundreds of thousands of Slovaks to the Sudeten territories, where they have been denationalized, to historians and political scientists. In the second part of this huge volume (1,024 pages) Dr. Kuhn deals with the constitutional and organizational structure of CzechoSlovakia under the post-war "people's democracy" and Communist regimes. The tense relation between the Czechs and Slovaks and the tendency of Prague's governments to reduce Slovakia to a province administered by Prague rather than by Slovaks, is clearly apparent from the constitutional changes, partly politics, government appointments and statistical data in this part of the book. We also can find in this chapter basic information and statistics on cultural institutions, schools and church organizations. For those who know from other sources about the rule of terror, the Stalinization of the system, the anti-Slovak policy of Prague governments and the persecution of the Church, especially in Slovakia, Dr. Kuhn's statistical evidence of the changes during this period will be of great value. An interesting picture of changes and inner struggles in the government, cultural and other organizations is also given in the third part of Kuhn's work. To read properly the statistical data in this part it is, however, necessary to be well acquainted with the rela- tions between the Czechs and Slovaks. Behind all the changes in the high positions of the CzechoSlovak state was a systematic attempt at exclusion of Slovaksexcept those who were willing tools of Gottwald or Novotnyfrom the decision making organs and institutions. During the Novotny era the anti-Slovak complex was also extended to the cultural field . The accusations of "bourgeois nationalism" was but a cover, as we learned during the short period of liberalization in 1968. The last part of the book gives us names of those who after the Second World War held positions in the political and cultural organizations of Czecho-Slovakia. The value of Dr. Kuhn's works can be justly judged only if we take into consideration that great part of the information he gives in his book was not easily or at all accessible in the West for many years. There was an "Iron Curtain" preventing an exchange of scholars and of publications, and there was for many a language barrier, since the Prague Government did not publish the statistical data in Western languages. Looking from this point at Dr. Kuhn's reference book, not only scholars but also Slovaks in the Free World cannot but welcome it. Dr. J . M . Kirschbaum Rudolf Sturm, CZECHOSLOVAKIA -A Bibliographic Guide, (Library of the Congress, Washington), 1967, 157 pp. Professor Sturm's Bibliographic Guide on Czecho-Slovakia is the first work of its kind in which the author made the attempt of presenting a bibliography on CzechoSlovakia without the usual bias. He included scores of books on �SLOVAKIA 165 Slovakia which other bibliogra- scholars and specialists in Eastern phers usuall y bypass. Therefore, Europe will find in these works it is hard to say whether it is by a new picture of the Slovak past omission of the author or because and cultural life. A better representation of Slowe did not publish in the Free World a bibliography of books on vak books can be found in Prof. Slovak history, culture, and litera- Sturm's Bibliographic Guide as far ture, if we do not find in this as books and bibliographies in bibliography some books which Slovak language are concerned. There he has listed the main should be mentioned. The book is divided into 15 bibliography sources as well as the chapters which deal with the land , most important books on Slovak the people, history, politics and history, language, and literature government, Jaw, economy, social which were published either beconditions, religion and philosophy, fore 1945 or during the Communist languages, literature and the arts. period. Jn his introduction, Prof. Sturm '.J'1>c work includes both forei gn language books and reference mentions that he would be "gratcbooks and bibliographies in the ful to users for informing him of Czech and Slovak languages. Need- any error or shortcoming in the less to say that the number of text" and he admits that the Guid e publications on the Czechs, their is "imperfect" and hopes that history, language and culture is "im perfect as it is, it fills a need and will help to promote Czech considerably higher. We note, however, that for the and Slovak studies outside Czechofirst time in a bibliography pre- slovakia." There is no doubt that. pared by a Czech scholar, there are ' the Guide will help scholars and books which do not agree with th~ specialists and we hope that in the official ideology of Prague govern- next edition the author will not ments or Czechs in exile. Prof. omit books by Slovak writers in Sturm included forei gn language the Free World , namely, the writbooks by Slovak authors who clear- ing by Pauco , Franti§ek Vnuk, J . ly advocate an independent Slova- Rekem , M. Lacko , S. Nahalka, M. kia or, in cultural matters, disagree Sprinc, T. Zubek, some more imwith the Czech tendency to present portant books by !lurcansky than Slovak language and literature as he listed, several other publicaa part of the Czech or "Czechoslo- tions by this reviewer, as well as vak" language and literature. As the quarterly Most, Slowakei, the a result, we find in this Biblio- Literarny Almanach Slovaka v A graphic Guide books and publica- merike, and the academic publications in major European langueges tion by the University of Montreal by Prof f>urica , f>urcansky , Hru- Etudes Slav es in which there have !iovsky, Kirschbaum , Mikus, Skul- been many articles on Slovak lantety. Sister Woytko, Yurchak, Hro- guage and literature. In view of bak's linguistic works and Palic- the fact that Prof. Sturm displayed kar's work on Slovak culture. Even scholarly objectivity we should though the books by these authors help him with the necessary inforpresent only a part of the books mation in case he will publish a and publications which have been reviewed edition of his Bibliopublished abroad on Slovak politi- graphic Gurde. J . M. Kirschbaum cal history or cultural matters, the , I �166 SLOVAKIA Stefan G 1 e j du r a: Los Grandes in Argentina. The fact that Dr. Problemas del Este Europeo, Glejdura contributes to an inter(Separata de la Revista de Poli- nationally known political review, tica Internacional, Madrid, 1968-· gives ·his work a particular impor1969) tance. The series would deserve to be A series of studies on the policy re-printed in book form because of the Soviet Union and the prob- the author gives a whole picture lems of Eastern Europe by Dr. of the political scene in the Soviet Stefan Glejdura deserve the atten- orbit, not only as a competent tion of scholars as well as special observer but also as a specialist ists interested in the vicisitudes of who thoroughly followed the evoEastern Europe. For more than a lution behind the Iron Curtain decade Dr. Glejdura wrote learned since the end of the Second World studies on this subject for the War until the present time. There is hardly any Slovak intelhighly regarded periodical "Revista de Politica Internacional," pub- lectual who wrote so many reviews lished in Madrid. Several of these of books published on the probstudies have been published in re- lems of Eastern Europe in several prints and should be considered as European languages as Dr. Glejdua serious contribution to the re- ra did during the past two decades. search of the great political prob- His vast knowledge prepared him lems of Eastern Europe. The au- for a competent analysis and prethor analyzed not only the foreign sentation of the political, social as policy of the Soviet Union but also well as economic problems of the of the individual countries like nations subjugated by Moscow. In Hungary, Rumania, Slovakia, Czech- the hope that Dr. Glejdura will o-Slovakia, Poland, etc. and their publish his studies in book form, relations with the Soviet Union. we are refraining from analyzing He drew his conclusions on the at this time his studies on individbasis of his knowledge of foreign ual Eastern European countries language documents and literature even though each of them would in several European languages. As deserve a separate review. We recommend especially the a result, the series of his studies is a valuable contribution to the following studies to the scholars knowledge and contemporary Eu- and specialists interested in Eastern Europe: ropean problems. La Politica Exterior de la U.R.S.S., From a Slovak point of view, we (Madrid) , 1969. welcome the studies by Dr. Glejdura because they complete our Vicisitudes del Este Europeo, (Madrid), 1968. political literature on the world problems by publications in the Los Grandes Problemas del Este Spanish language. There have been Europeo: Hungria-Magyarorszag many studies in English, French, (Madrid) , 1969. Italian or German by Slovak intel- Los Grandes Problemas del Este lectuals who established themEuropeo: Rumania, (Madrid), selves in the West after the Second 1969. World War. In the Spanish lan- Los Grandes Problemas del Este guage, however, we did not have Europeo : Eslovaquia, (Madrid), scholarly writings except for a few 1968. publications which were published J. M . Kirschbaum �SLOVAKIA Thaddeus V. Gromada, "Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists" Slavic Review, Vol. September 1969, pp. 445-462, Washington University. The Polish-Slovak relations between 1918 and 1939 are undoubtedly one of the most interesting chapters in the history of modern Slovakia. The Slovaks, dissatisfied with their position in the centralized Czecho-Slovakia ruled from Prague, did not have among their neighbours any support for preserving their distinctive nationality except the Poles. There also have been friendly cultural ties with the Polish nation for many centuries and from the religious point of view Poland was closer to the hearts of the majority of Slovaks than any other nation in Central Europe. This situation led, naturally, the Slovak leaders to look for co-operation with Poland. On the Polish side there was some understanding for the Slovak desire to preserve their nationality and political autonomy, but there also were considerations for cultivating the Polish-Slovak relations and at times to support the political struggle of the Slovak nation for an equal status with other Central European nations. There are studies on this subject in Slovak language but it is the first time that a thorough analysis of these relations has been published in English. Prof_ Gromada presents in his extensive article "Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists" a scholarly analysis and brought to light many details and many documents which have been unknown even to some Slovak historians or persons involved in politics in Slovakia during that period. The presentation is undoubtedly academic and it im- 167 presses by the mass of literature and unpublished documents which Prof. Gromada perused before writing his study. Except for the help which Msgr. Andrew Hlinka received from the Polish government in 1919 when he decided to go to the Paris Peace Conference, many important facts of the Polish-Slovak relations have been very little known. However, Prof. Gromada presents even Hlinka's efforts to obtain guarantees for Slovak autonomy and incorporation of the Pittsburgh Pact into the Peace Conference documents partly in a new light. At the same time, he reveals to historians documents from Polish archives which were unpublished or unresearched by other historians in the West. The most interesting part of Prof. Gromada's study refers to the relations of the period 19351939. At that time, there was in Slovakia a strong political current called "Polonophilism" headed by one of the leaders of Hlinka's Slovak populist party, Karol Sidor, and the relations between Poland and Slovak autonomists obtained a political colour. On the Slovak side these relations were also prompted not only by the traditional "Polonophilism" but also by political considerations. While in the international sphere the Slovak struggle for autonomy was more or less unknown or presented in an unobjective light by the official Czech policy, it found in Poland the most sympathetic ear among all neighbours of Slovakia. Even though in this period the official policy of the Prague government spoke about the necessity of good relations between all Slavs, the Slovak "Polonophilism" was attacked and condemned. Quite illogically it was accepted by Prague that good relations with the Soviet �168 SLOVAKIA Union or Yugoslavia were neces- help us to have an objective look sary but the efforts of Slovaks for at the Polish-Slovak relations. good relations with Poland were These remarks are not inteded condemned. This did not, however, to diminish the value or shed a deter Slovak autonomists from doubt on Prof. Gromada's highly cultivating the relations with Po- competent and well documented land. On the contrary, they grew study. In fact, Slavists and esstronger and also extended into pecially Slovak historians and cultural fields with the result that scholars should welcome his valu there were dozens ~f Slovak in~el- able account which, as we underlec_tuals_ . who studi_ed at Pohsh stand, is only a part of his larger umversibes or received g:ants to study on Slovak-Polish relations. foster cu~tural co-operabo~ b~-1 This reviewer is searching for doct~een Po_lish_ an_d Slovak umversi• 1 uments which would either support ties and msbtutwDs. . or reject some details in Prof. P_rof. Groma~a present~d this Gromada's study such as his stateperiod as seen m the Pohsh _doc- ment about the periodical Nast-up. uments and partly as descnbed He also will endeavor to clear by Slovak or Czech sch?lars. Since some statements published by Polwe do not have ac~ess !n th e Fr~e ish diplomats or the Foreign MinWo:ld to the ~c~ives m Slovakia, ister, Joseph Beck, which Prof. or m Prag_ue, it _is har_d even for Gromada used among his sources. someone hke this reviewer, who Until p of Gromada ublishes his was involved in ~he autonomist whole s~dy of Slovaf-Polish relamovement _ and Pohsh Slovak cul- tions, we hope to be able to answer t~ral rel~tlons, !o state how far the these questions. At the present picture is unbiased or complete. time, we cannot but give recogniVeD'. recently so~e doc~ments or tion to the author for his scholarly s~udies were pubh_shed ~n commu- efforts and well-written chapter of mst Czecho-Slovak1a which shed a Polish-Slovak relations between new light on this period but only the two World Wars. an unbiased study of the archives J. M . Kirschbaum in Prague and Bratislava could THE 1970 LITERARY ALMANAC A noteworthy characteristic of the true Christian Slovak intellectual is that he writes with professional skill and objectivity, and with an ideal practicality-in contrast to many slippery writers of today who deliberately manipulate words in order to confuse. And because this Slovak is a Christian and an intellectual, he ordinarily produces a masterpiece in his choice of subject and his handling of his material, as the contents of the 1970 LITERARNY ALMANACH testify. Owned and edited by Dr. Joseph Pauco in Middletown, Pennsylvania, the LITERARNY ALMANACH is the yearbook of the SLOVAK V AMERIKE, the oldest Slovak newspaper in America, which observed its 80th birthday in the Cyrillian Year of 1969. The new 1970 ALMANACH offers its readers a choice, wellbalanced assortment of literary gems. Here one will find scholarly studies; historical, political, and biographical sketches; short stories and briefer essays; narrative po- �SLOVAKIA ems revealing the hopes, joys and sufferings of the Slovak soul, and a number of deep, difficult poems. Each of the authors endears himself to the reader for each has shared what is dearest to him-his soul's choicest thoughts on a specific topic for the enrichment of Slovak culture and Slovak life. Father Theodoric Zubek highlights a most timely truth in his ''Man Penetrates the Cosmic Atmosphere." Graphically he points out that whatever discoveries man may make in his rendezvouz with the moon, they can in no way alter the wonders of REVELATION. They can but confirm what God has already made known to man for his salvation and sanctification. To those deluded souls who taxied around the moon and " missed seeing God" the author has some telling lines on God's infinity and man's infinitesimality. In a well-documented study entitled "Slovak Presence in Europe Before the 6th Century After Christ," Msgr. John Rekem ably and successfull y proves his thesis. He takes the reader on a mammoth archeological tour that begins in Bratislava and traverses nearly the entire Eastern Hemisphere. He describes artifacts uncovered around Bratislava which date back to 3000 years before Christ. Monsignor is no novice at archeology. In 1968 he spent several weeks in Jericho where he witnessed and personally studied some marvelous excavations. For example, spread out before his eyes were the remains of an ancient city dating back to 8000 B. C., surrounded by a stone wall. Of special interest to the group was a long canal bored into stone running through the city. Monsignor further points out the role of archeology in the study of 169 ancient culture. From excavations in Slovakia, for example, it has been possible to trace the course of languages . . . with the astonishing deduction made that our ancestors already occupied Central Europe some 2000 years before the dawn of history. Recent studies by Slavic scholars indicate also that it is at least probable that our ancestors spoke Sanskrit. Msgr. Rekem's bibliography is impressive, composed as it is of Slovak, French, English, Latin, Ukrainian, and Polish references. His study demonstrates that the latest archeological excavations have opened the world to the existence of ancient cultures and civilizations such as no scientist had ever imagined . " Slovakia in the 20th Centucy (1919-1945 )" is the title of a book authored by L. Liptak and published in Slovakia. A review of part one by Frantisek Vnuk, a competent historian, can be found in the 1970 JEDNOTA KALENDAR. Here in the ALMANACH Vnuk incisively evaluates the second part of a study which purports to be history. But is it genuine histocy? It is not surprising, Vnuk declares, that Liptak's book, spawned by a Communist and issued under a Communist regime, contains some truth, more half truths, and a generous supply of fiction. Liptak blandly states in his book, for example, that a citizen of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945)-unless he was a member of the Hlinka Party-was automatically excluded from political life. This of course is a bald lie. Liptak is definitely biased , as no historian can afford to be. He sees the mote marring the Slovak Republic but is completely blind to the beam crushing the lives of the Slovaks. With fine scorn, Vnuk describes some of �170 SLOVAKIA Liptiik's claims as written with "uncritical senility" and as "degrading history to the level of a Communist tool. " Dr. Joseph Mistrik's contribution in the 1970 ALMANACH is "Prophetical Groups or a New Church?" The article bears out the title and as such is a challenge to anyone following the changes current in the Church today. He rightfully criticizes the underground church - those new-bread sects and deluded Catholics, who aUenate themselves from the true Church and arrogate to themselves its authority. At one point Canon Mistrik refers briefly to Archbishop Helder Camara of Recife, Brazil, calling him the sadly-famous archbishop. May I interpose a personal comment here : Archbishop Camara has identified himself with the, one might say, scum of humanity in Northeastern Brazil where his diocese is located. He is determined to put an end to the new slavery market operating in Brazil where a man is sold to a rich buyer for the price of $25.00 and only young, strong, and healthy men are accepted by the slave-drivers. ( cf. LATIN AMERICA CALLS, March 1969 ). With Dr. Mistrik, however, all faithful Catholics continue to pray, to hope, knowing for a certainty that Christ and His Church will triumph. As a living organism, the Church must shed all dead branches-the prophetical groups -and so rejuvenate herself. "A Salute to Stanislav Meciar" on his 60th birthday by Jan E . Bor contains this beautiful statement: •·Dr. Meciar received from God not only exceptional intellectual gifts, but also a firm, forthright character together with an uncompromising spirit." And this writer begs to add : Also an enormous, divinelike capacity for work. Bor proceeds to tell how Dr. Meciar brought these gifts to fruition in the various responsible positions he held in the Slovak Republic, and in the diversified Ii terary productions that flowed from his pen: books, critical analyses, reviews, commentaries, magazine articles, comparative studies of literature and personalities, evaluations of poetry, of scientific and historical works. Bor points out that Dr. Meciar's publication of the collected works of noted authors places us under real obligation to him . As editor of several literary magazines and newspapers, Dr. Meciar demonstrates that nothing is alien to him so long as it touches the human person. Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum, a competent historian and profilic writer, has contributed two pertinent articles in the 1970 ALMANACH. One of them bears -the title, "The Purloined Last Manuscript of Constantine culen". Its mission is to fulfill the request of the author Constantine culen, who on his deathbed had entrusted him with a certain manuscript on the cult of SS. Cyril and Methodius among Slovak immigrants in the United States and Canada. To fulfill his promise to a dying friend Dr. Kirschbaum prepared culen's manuscript and it now appears in the 1970 ALMANACH under the title : "The Cyril-Methodian Cult Among Slovak Immigrants in the United States and Canada". In this historical study culen makes some pithy comparisons between the Slovaks and the Irish. Both nations were exploited culturally, economically and politically. From both nations thousands migrated to America after crop failures. �SLOVAKIA Culen's study features both lights and shadows, with shadows predominating. Through it runs the bitter thread of Magyar oppression of the Slovaks; their cruel and relentless efforts to magyarize the Slovaks. But here also one sees the golden thread, the adamant resistance of the Slovaks to magyarization. The study further portrays the Slovaks as eager to organize parishes and build churches as soon as they were settled in Americ-a in the latter half of the 19th century. And now also by a natural but too-long suppressed instinct they began freely to venerate their patrons, SS. Cyril and Methodius who had been forcefully excluded from public devotion in Slovakia under the Magyars. The first church in America dedicated to our Slovak holy patrons was erected in 1891 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cult took root and spread throughout Slav America so that ttoday there are 36 churches, many schools, institutions, and two seminaries dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius. The saints are venerated also by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius who continue the apostolate of their patrons for God and His Church. As regards Canadian immigrants from Slovakia, Culen points out, they arrived in Canada in large numbers only after the second World War, differing greatly from the farm folk that came to the United States in an earlier era. Many are professionals who weathered ,the evils of Czech imperialism and Communism. Most are highly educated. Today Canada has 6 churches dedicated to our patrons, but Canadian Slovaks are as deeply devoted to their apostles as good Slovaks anywhere. 171 It is a joy to learn here that a Lutheran priest, Rev. Daniel Zaboj Laucek, propagated the Cyril-Methodian cult in Europe and America and at his personal expense he published a book in 1885 on the significance of our saints for all Slavic peoples. "Dr. Joseph Buday in the Service of Church and Nation," is Jan Mest'ancik's exeellent contribution to the ALMANACH. In it the author introduces his subject as a theologian, philosopher, sociologist, writer, editor, an authority on the Cyril-Methodian cult, and a capable political servant. Before treating the issue at hand, however, Mest'ancik sketches the setting in which Dr. Buday found himself at the beginning of the 20th century. The false religious ideas of Tolstoy were being disseminated among the masses by the renegade Dr. Srobar and his group, the Hlasists. Electioneering maneuvers and pressures of the Hungarian authorities kept the country politically in turmoil. The Slovaks were being discriminated against at every level of endeavor and especially in education. The situation demanded not only wisdom, prudence and patience, but also planned determination and persistent, coordinated action. This challenging atmosphere suited Dr. Buday to a T. Dr. Buday early joined Msgr. Andrew Hlinka in his efforts to wrest from the government the civil and human rights 0f the Slovaks. He used his pen to inform the people. In a series of articles, which appeared in Literarne listy, he routed the pretensions of -Srobar and his Hlasists. With Hlinka he undertook the colossal tesk of improving economic conditions in the villages. They organized cooperatives for the pro- �172 SLOVAKIA duction and sale of fann products and home crafts. lit was this system, adopted throughout Slovakia, which improved the standard of living in Slovak villages. The schools being what they were, Magyar indoctrination centers, Buday - with Hlinka - used the theater to educate the people on how best to serve their own best interests, cultural as well as social and economic. This intensive educational activity bore abundant fruit, says Mest'ancik. In 1901-an unheard of thing-the Slovaks were able to seat 4 representatives in the Hungarian Parliament, and in 1906 the number rose to 7. In 1919, after the Slovak People's Party was organized, Dr. Buday was elected to the Czecho-Slovak Parliament, serving 8 years as a deputy and 11 years as a senator. During the latter term he was also vice-president of Parliament and later of the Senate. In Parliament Dr. Buday proved himself a statesman of the highest caliber. He confronted problems with fine logic and with a keen grasp of the details involved. He preferred to negotiate rather than appeal to emotion, yet he was ready to compromise provided no principle or right was sacrificed. It is easy to see why he gained the respect even of his opponents. Mest'ancik is careful to remind the reader that the Czecho-Slovak Republic did not bring freedom to the Slovaks. The battle for civil and human rights continued. Under the Czechs it was still necessary to press for self-identity and now also for the preservation of the Catholic faith . As nearly all the bishops had been Magyars, they emigrated to Hungary. The situation was explosive in many ways. Assisted by members of the Priests' Council, which Hlinka had speedily organized, Dr. Buday and Blinka, two men with opposite temperaments, achieved the seemingly impossible. Before long the Church was peacefully functioning under its own bishops. . . yet awaiting the inevitable: the ridicule and jeers of Czech unbelievers as they tried to undermine the Catholic Church. In the political sphere the turbulence was even more pronounced. Thousands of Czechs had flocked into Slovakia, ostensibly to assist in organizing affairs of State, but actually they attacked the main arteries of Slovak life like vultures. In no time they occupied the leading positions in the country. Slovak resistance was steadfast and persistent . . . and it continued its Carvary march for 20 years. A new chapter in the hi story of Slovakia was introduced iu 1939 when the Republic of Slovakia was proclaimed, but that is another story. In 1924 Dr. Buday addressed Parliament in a compelling speech , in which he accused the Czech regime of gross injustice against Slovakia. He pointed out that Slo-vak prisons were filled with innocent citizens whose only "crime" was adhering to their national and political convictions and God-given rights. He claimed that thousands of Slovaks, and chiefly the intelligentia, were forced to emigrate because the occupying army of Czech exploiters prevented them from making a living. . . that the h!xing system was unjust, partial and impossible to accept, . . . that Czech propaganda was impressing Europe with false ideas regarding conditions in Slovakia ... and that every call for justice and improvement was answered with cold cynicism. He issued a warning that the Slovak nation would certainly �SLOVAKIA victoriously overcome Czech imperialism as it had weathered centuries of Magyar oppression. Dr. Buday had a hand in any project that contributed to the welfare of the Slovak people. His influence played a role in preventing the Czech effort to equate the Slovak language with theirs and to label it a Czech dialect. Before his death in November 1939, this good and faithful servant of God and country was accorded two unique honors: He was privileged to welcome to Slovakia the American Slovak Delegation, headed by Dr. P. P. ffietko , which triumphantly exhibited the original draft of the famous 1918 Pittsburgh Agreement. The other, which was probably the happiest moment in Dr. Buday's life, occured January 18, 1939, when as a senior member of the National Assembly he opened the first session of the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava with a memorable classical address. One last contribution. All of us who loved Philip Hrobak and revere his memory are grateful to Dr. Pauco for his article, "In What Did Hrobak's Greatness Consist?" Dr. Pauco presents an excellent evaluation of Hrobak as a person. He notes his indefatigable zeal, his extraordinary capacity for work, his kindness of heart. Mention is made of his voluminous carrepondence to inform the English speaking public about the injustice suffered by our people in Slovakia; and to correct the distorted facts published in the U.S. press, usually supplied by Czech propaganda. Dr. Pauco stresses the fact that it was through Hrobak's persistent efforts that at long last the State Department in Washington accepted the distinction between Czechs and Slovaks. No small accomplish- 173 ment for Philip Hrobak or for the Slovak nation. There are many other splendid articles in the 1970 ALMANACH. The more I paged through this issue the more humble I felt in the face of the heroism, the grandeur of character, the erudition, the honest pride, and the deep love for Slovakia of each of its contributors. And so I warn you, gentle reader, that this ALMAN ACH can disturb your conscience, it can thrill you, it can challenge you. Reading it you can lose yourself in the Elysian atmosphere of Slovakia, Communism notwithstanding, until suddenly you realize that you have been carried away to ... what? Try it. If you are fortunate to be able to read and understand Slovak, even just fairly, it is smart to keep the ALMANACH within arm's reach. Sister M. Gabriel Hricko, SS.C.M. I:alendar Jednota 1970: The 73rd edition of the Jednota annual in the Slovak language ... Jednota Press, 1970; 244 pp., Middletown, Pa. , Ed. by Jozef C. Krajsa. The 1970 publication of the Jcdnota annual commemorates 80 years of the Society's function not only in preserving and extending the Slovak heritage in America, but also in furthering wherever possible the various apostolic works of the Church throughout the Slovak world. Laudatory and enthusiastic articles to the fact are written by the Si!preme president, John A. Sabol aud by Msgr. John Senglar, the Society's chaplain. Readers familiar with Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic's erudition and with tht: intellectual beauty of his writtings will find here another �174 SLOVAKIA gem of his poetic prose, "The Human Family-a Masterpiece of Love." Dr. J. M. Kirschbaum, once diplomatic representative of the Slovak Republic to Switzerland, writes from his own rich experience of the suspenseful days prior to the War's end (1944). He highlights the grave responsibilities that faced the delegation and the leaders of Slovakia in those days of crisis. He includes a conversation held with Archbishop P. Bernardini, then Papal Legate to Switzerland, about the future of Europe and concludes his writing with the last diplomatic communique sent to Slovakia from Bern. Msgr. Andrew Hlinka's last will and testament published here for the first time "in toto" should be of great interest to many. A rather lengthy article, but worth the space allotted, is Imrich Kruzliak's development of the Slovak language. He points out that it was principally in the rectories ( both Catholic and Lutheran) throughout Slovakia that the torch of the Slovak spirit and language was first kindled and from there carried afar. Religious articles include: news from the mission fields; statistically backed items on religions and rites in various parts of the world; an exhortation for a better understanding between Greek and Roman rite Catholics; and the Holy Father's address to a Slovak audience upon the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the death of St. Cyril. Several shorter but timely articles stem from Vatican II influence and include recent changes in the Church ( diaconate, Mass, marriage ceremonies, etc.); these topics appear in the Catholic press generally today. Worth mentioning are: Father A. Zan's scholarly report refuting the theory that Sacred Scripture is merely a collection of stories and myths devoid of historic or religious value; the history and purpose of the International Labor Organization; the problem of feeding a future world (a statistical report); and some interesting prove1 bs and maxims culled from the writings of India neatly categorized into various topics and bearing resemblance to the Book of Wisdom. Msgr. J . Rekem reviews the poetry of Gorazd Zvonicky whom he designate as a kindred spirit to Peguy, Verlaine and Rimbalt. Extracts from the poet's works indeed testify that he merits such praise. The J ednota includes a highly informative biographical sketch of Alojz Macek (now living in Argentina). Editor, writer, and active patriot of Slovakia, Macek was founder of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Slovakia and of the "Hlinka Youth." Today his Spanish writings made known to a larger public the historical and cultural background of the Slovaks. Frantisek Vnuk reviews and refutes ~ubomir Luptak's history, Slovakia in the 20th Century. He points out the author's falsification of historical fact, his half tru,ths or truths told "with bad intent". Presenting statistics and historical documentation, Vnuk shows how Luptak ignores and intentionally omits whatever does not serve to further Communistic propaganda. This distorted or "rewritten" history centers on events leading to tht> separation of Slovakia from Austra-Hungary , the Pittsburgh Pact, politics prior to World War II and ,t he Warsaw Pact of 1968. Included in the publication are �SLOVAKIA several fine poetic selections by living Slovak poets and a few short stories. Following a long established custom, the annual features protographs, many of which may interest only members of the society. Other photographs, such as some very fine pictures commemorating the centennial of the death of the poet Jan Holly, which would interest readers in general, are lost among the former. Si ster M . Alfred Massura, SS.C.M. Jednota Annual FURDEK 1970: Published by the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota Press, Middletown, Pa. 1970, 200 pp.) Edited by Joseph C. Krajsa. The 1970 FURDEK is an event as well as a publication. It is a treasure of information as well as a reservoir of delight and diversion. At a glance one notices the diversified appeal of its contents. From the first several pages beam the a•t tractive faces of the young "Promise of the future," collegebound students, subsidized in their course with JEDNOTA scholarships. These young people know from personal experience that the First Catholic Slovak Union is a wide-awake, alert, generous, truly fraternal society of the second half of the twentieth century. An installment of "Who's Who Among Slovak Priests" introduces the reader to some of the ministers of the Gospel called from the Slovak population to proclaim the Good News to the world. Such a Roll-Call of S 1 o v a k - A m e rican priests serves a useful purpose: it satisfies the reader's curiosity and, more importantly, it informs him of the resources of SJovak 175 American culture, its accomplishments, its possibilities, and its blessings. The first title that caught my eye in the FURDEK Almanach was "The Clergy in Slovak History and Culture," by Father Theodoric Zubek, 0 . F . M. I am familiar with the leading role played by clergymen in the history of our nation, but having the spotlight placed on it in a single article is particularly valuable today when our own American clergymen are venturing into leadership roles in government and politics. What combination of circumstances makes this advisable ? What makes it necessary? Whait makes it imperative? How did Bishop Moyses, for example, become President of the Matica Slovenska, the leading cultural society in Slovakia? What conditions brought Monsignor Andrej Hlinka into the limelight? How did Monsignor Jozef Tiso get to be President of the Slovak Republic in 1939? Two articles on St. Cyril were very welcome to me as a Sister of SS. Cyril and Methodius. One was written by Mother M. Emerentia, SS. C. M. , and is a fine scholarly study of the character and accomplishments of our patron. The other is a discourse delivered at a Centenary Assembly of bishops and priests in Greece by Archbishop Maury of Rheims, who was head of the papal delegation at the ceremony. It is a masterpiece in its insight into the holiness, the scholarliness, the universality of St. Cyril, who challenges us eleven hundred years later to promote the best interests of the Church with the mind of Christ. The article on Slovak pioneers show their self-sacrificing spirit and their enthusiastic zeal during the organization of the first Slovak �176 SLOVAKIA parishes. Their experiences in the mines are timely, coinciding with current interest in the Molly Maguires. The stories by Michael Simko are human-interest episodes that delight the reader. "Christmas in Slovakia" and "Slovak Easter Customs" by the Rev. Andrew Pier, 0. S. B. not only fascinate the reader with the wide variety of traditional practices of our ancestors, but also portray to him the rich culture, the deep faith and the joyous spirit so characteristic to our Slovak people. The articles are of particular interest to me since I learned of these customs from my immigrant parents, through our observance of them in our home. In "Slovakia-A Veritable Gem of Central Europe" one is carried to the scenic sights of the Tatras and the shores of the beautiful Danube, the Gothic churches and cathedrals, the ancient castles, the fishing and hunting grounds, and the historic cities of the country. The article is a source of valuable information, both cultural and historical and practical, mentioning as it does also the famous health resorts and modern tourist facilities. We are fully aware that the immigrants who came to the shores of America from every European country contributed to the rapid growth and progress of this nation. I wonder, however, whether any other ethnic group has knowledge of its very first immigrant. Sister Martina, SS. C. M. has enriched us with her fine article on the "First Slovak Immigralllt-Samuel Francis Figuly," portraying him as an individual of unusual caliber, wide and daring experiences, good education, and strong convictions. In the scholarly article, "Slovaks and the Upheavals of Czecho-Slovakia" by J. M. Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., the reader sees a change in the attitude to the West toward Slovaks; namely, that they do exist. He is also enlightened on the many causes of dissatisfaction and discrimination against them since 1918, when the Czecho-Slovak Republic was established. Sister M. Evangela's presentation of the "Organization of the Slovak Catholic Students Fraternity" and iits publication of FURDEK is interesting. In dialogue from Sister gives the reader a vivid picture of the enthusiasm of the Fraternity's first members, its aims and its progress. Though their publication of FURDEK in Slovak ceased in 1941, the English publication is a highly cultural and literary annual, as this issue substantiates. Sister M. Clotil,da Omasta, SS. C. M., M.A. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union. �SLOVAKIA 177 Our Contributors historian; professor, Institute of Technology, Francis Vnuk, M.A . - Adelaide, Australia. Sr. M. Martina Tybor, SS. C. M . John T . Van Sant - teacher and author, Danville, Pa. Senator of Pennsylvania and Majority Whip. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LL. D., Ph.D. - former diplomat, professor, historian, author, Toronto, Ontario. former professor at Bratislava University, prominent Slovak historian and educator. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. (late) - Konstantin Culen (late) - outstanding newspaperman, author, politi- cian. Joseph A . Mikus, M. CL., J. D. professor, historian, author, former diplomat, Washington, D. C. newspaperman, political prisoner under Stalinists in Slovakia; now editor of Kanadsky Slovak, Toronto, Ontario. Marian Jankovsky - Joseph C. Krajsa - Slovak American Fraternalist, Editor, Jednota, Middletown, Pa. Sister M . Gabriel Hricko, SS. C. M., Sister M . Alfred Massura, SS. C. M., Sister M. Clotilda Omasta, SS. C. M., M. A. - teachers, Danville, Pa. �178 SLOVAKIA Contents F. Vnuk . - Slovak Language and Literature Will the Phoenix Rise Again? - 3 Sister M. Martina Tybor - John T. Van Sant Slovaks Have Repaid Their Adopted Country WelZ - - 11 28 Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum - The Political Message of Matus Cernak This Is Slovakia - Francis Hrufovsky - Dr. Francis Hrusovsky - the Man - 42 K. tulen 70 Joseph A. Mikus Ruzena Svobodova's "Feuilletons on Slovakia" - 76 I Was a Communist - J. V. - 90 Marian Jankovsky - Powers of Darkness and Powers of Truth The Development of Slovak Literature Matica Slovenska - Joseph S. Kost - Our Cyrilo-Methodian Heritage - Karen Ann Syzdek - 94 105 113 Patricia Revetta - American Slovaks on the Home and War Fronts - 116 122 The Centenary of Bishop S. Moyses - J. M. Kirschbaum - The Slovak League Firmly Believes - 139 Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia - 35 Joseph C. Krajsa - 131 141 Current Issues (Senator Hugh Scott's Speech Before Slovak League of America in Washington. - Edward M. Zelenak: The Slovaks of Detroit. - Winn Gallegher: A Slovak Immigrant - Master of Arts. - 50 Years in Danville, Pa.) - 143 As Others See It - 154 Comments (Two Czech Professors about Slovak°Czech Relations "Slovak News" or Communist Propaganda) - - 159 Book Reviews (J.M. Kirschbaum: Books on the Event in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968 - Heinrich Kuhn: Handbuch der Tschechoslowakei Rudolf Sturm: Czechoslovakia - A Bibliographic Guide - Stefan Glejdura: Los Grandes Problemas dei Este Europeo - Thaddeus V. Gromada: Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists - Sister M. Gabriel Hricko, SS. C. M.: The 1970 Literary Almanac. - Sister M. Alfred Massura, SS. C. M.: Kalendar Jednota 1970. - Sister M. Clotilda Omasta, SS. C. M.: Jednota Annual Furdek 1970) - 162 �SLOVAKIA ~ V .;::-v ~~ 4."'<~':r-, 0 sAsnK o BAN, STIA VN'lc'A TRNAVA 0 'Q: Q: (.;~ $ ��PRI NTI D IN U.S. A. JIDN OTA PlllN TER Y, MID DLli TOW N, PA. � SLOVAKIA 143 CURRENT ISS UES Senator Hugh Scott's Speech Before Slovak League of America in Washington Following are the remarks made by Senator Hugh Scott, (R-Pa.) at the Sheraton-Park Hotel, Washington, D.C., May 24, 1969: It is a special pleasure to be with you tonight, for I feel that an important part of Pennsylvania has come to Washington, in the form of the Slovak League of America. Yes, I am aware that all Slovak Americans do not live in Pennsylvania, but I am also aware that many of your League members do live in my state and have contributed greatly to its growth and diverse strength. Besides that, the real drama of Slovaks in America - the opening wedge toward recognition of an independent state of Slovakia - occurred in Pittsburgh in 1918 with the signing of the Pittsburgh Pact. If that did not bring immediate independence, it was not the fault of the Slovak League of America which has been fighting through the years, since 11 years before the Pittsburgh Pact, to realize the Slovakian dream of independence. Today, you finally see Slovakia independence of the Czechs to the extent of being a so-called Socialist Repub1ic, equal in stature to the Czech Socialist Republic. But the tragedy of domination persists, in the form of the Soviet tyranny ov·e r all of Eastern Europe, including Czecho-Slo,vakia. The history of the spirit of independence in Slovakia and among Slovaks in America is all the more remarkable because the fire of your spirit is fed by the barest sparks of realized freedom. Thus, in 1918, there was jubilation at the Pittsburgh Pact, which was quickly snuffed out; in 1938, another period of joyful independence, which the Nazis crushed; and in 1968, a moment of rebellion, which the Soviets put a halt to. In each of these magic moments, however, the world could recognize �144 SLOVAKIA the spirit of the Slovaks as the spirit of freedom, and it is a spirit the world envies. So great is your love of freedom and your pride in your nation and peoples, that Slovak Americans, through the Slovak League made a memorable effort to aid the United States cause during World War II. Not only did many fight in the American uniform, many more helped to forge the weapons of defense in the factories of Pennsylvania, and still others conducted immensely successful war bond drives and airplanebuying fund raising campaigns. Even the ladies pitched in, with their ladies auxiliary organization. As one who served both in Congress and in the military during the war years, I believe I can express the thanks of a grateful nation for the efforts of the Slovak Americans. Yes, you have much to be proud of, and you are to be commended for keeping your heritage and your pride in it alive through the Slovak League of America. We have all noted much about pride in recent news stories. Black pride is viewed as an emerging force in the United States, and in a context of pride in the Negro's contribution to America in history, and pride in one's race and self, it is a wonderful thing. Because I also believe in pride in language, I co-sponsored the Bilingual Education Act which passed in 1968 and which helps Spanish-speaking children learn in their own tongue before and during the time they are learning English. The culture of the Slovaks is equally a part of our diverse American heritage. I mention these efforts to give certain citizens of the United States greater opportunity because I think it shows that Congress and the people of the United States are generally coming to a realization that you and your group has held for a long time: That we as a people are strengthened by our heritage and are culturally richer in our diversity. Slovaks, through the Slovak League of America, put great emphasis on education, convey the importance of pride in the Slovak language, and see to it that generation after generation keeps the flame of liberty alive in their hearts. It is a matter of perpetuating a heritage. and it is an important thing. Even today the Slovak League of America seeks a righteous path for the Slovak people, when it requests a.n independent �145 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- Slovak sedion in the State Department, a Slovak Desk with the Voice of America, and a general Consulate in Bratislava. I support these requests and will help you in these endeavors. I commend the Slovak League of America for setting an example through its organization, and I thank the Slovak League for its contribution to this nation and to the ideal of liberty among men. The Slovaks of Detroit ( August 1968 - August 1969) In the early months of 1968 Detroit was undergoing a transitional change which led Slovak people into moving out of older neighborhoods surrounding the Slovak parishes to the suburbs, literally become "afraid" to return to the neighborhood for church and lodge meetings, which led to a noticable decrease in lodge membership and presence of Slovak people at major functions. The lodges were desperately trying to hold their organizations together and attempted to get the Slovak people out and united again. There was also a search for young Slovak blood to help carry out the Slovak cause to the next generation. Recent shake-ups in the structure of Czecho-Slovakia gave a new hope to us. In January a new leader, a Slovak, took rule. Alexander Dubcek gave new hope and once again offered new courage in the fight for a democracy and a "Free Slovakia". Once again children began to wonder who Father Tiso was. A Slovak Language Class was instituted and attracted many members from all over. Slovak picnics gathered large encouraging crowds. People returned for Slovak masses and began enrolling in the lodges and fraternal groups. In Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia, the sense of freedom was felt even greater. But as if a fairytale, it was crushed. They had been invaded by the same Russian "Liberator", the one who had already destroyed Slovak freedom 22 years earlier. The Slovaks of Detroit felt equally as crushed. United, we planned to voice our emotions. Many had relatives or friends in Slovakia, or remembered the Communist tyranny they felt after World �146 SLOVAKIA War II. Throughout the United States a brutal portrayal of the invasion was given, referring it as one against Czechs, calling Slovaks the lower and less intelligent class, and even calling Alexander Dubcek a Czech. On August 26, 1968, the Slovaks of Detroit gathered at the Federal Building to hold a peaceful demonstration against the Soviet Aggression. Appearing before nationwide television and press, Michigan vice-president of the Slovak League of America Jan Beliansky denounced the invasion saying "We abhor the brutal aggression against Czecho-Slovakia by the Russians and their occupation of the country. They are killing young people for no reason at all." He also called upon the United States to take a stand in support of the Liberal policies of Alexander Dubcek. The entire nation now knew that the invasion could not be dismissed without any action. Within the next month after the invasion another noticable increase of membership in the Slovak League took place. Slovaks were ready once again to stand up "FOR GOD AND FOR COUNTRY". With fall rapidly approaching the Dominican Nuns of Oxford were busy making plans for their bi-annual "Fall Festival". With the help of the Slovak League of America and many Slovak Parishes, the festival, held on Sunday September 22, was a big success. Over 10,000 Slovaks attended. The second week of October brought about the "OLD WORLD MARKET" at the International Institute, where the Slovaks aided other nationalities in setting up booths selling Art Work, Clothes, Books, Dolls and other forms of ethnic art. Aside from our booth, we had a Slovenska Kuchyna serving Slovak food and pastries to the public. On the final day of the Old World Market, a troop of Slovak Violinists, Dancers and Musicians performed for the Institute. THE DETROIT FREE PRESS also carried an article in the vicinity of a full page specifically about the Slovaks. November 8, 1968 marked the first airing date for the Slovak Radio Program on station WABX 99.5 FM DETROIT. Independently financed, it plays beloved Slovak songs and reports Slovak History, Geography, and Current Events. During this time the Slovak Language Class was en- �SLOVAKIA 147 route to a second successful year. People young and old came to study lessons in grammar, music and history. The large turnout also aided in another measurable step towards preserving Slovak Heritage. The "Slovak Village Entertainers" was created, composed of Slovak singers, dancers, commedians and musicians. After their debut at Sacred Heart Center on the first of December, they were flooded with requests to perform for banquets, installations and parties for many organizations. Dance Choreographers Veronica Uhrin and Mary Hric are constantly searching for new Slovak talent, as is the recently added Music Choreographer Professor John M. Demchak, in order to preserve Slovak Culture. Two members have recently received scholarships to attend the world-famous music school INTERLOCHEN. January 1, 1969 was an eventful day for Slovaks of the World. It marked the official creation of CzechoSlovakia, two independent but united nations. Around this t ime the Slovaks felt a need to get together and celebrate. In order to compensate, the two Detroit branches of the Slovak League of America gathered at Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Detroit to hold a "Family Affair", featuring an afternoon of Slovak Entertainment, Movies and Socializing. March 14, 1969 was the 30th anniversary of Slovak Independence and t he creation of the Slovak Republic. To commemorate this bumper stickers bearing the slogan 1939 FREEDOM FOR SLOVAKIA 1969 were printed and distributed. Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary of the Slovak League of America, came to Detroit to give the major address. He was then interviewed by CBS television concerning recent developments in Czecho-Slovakia. In order to further promote Slovak socializing and entertainment, Branch 15 of the Slovak League instituted in what is now known as "Slovakia Saturday Nights" featuring continuous entertainment, Slovak sing-a-longs, games and a dinner. From the large turnout they have decided to have possibly four or five a year. With summer approaching Slovak youths were involved in either practicing for the NATIONAL SLET of the SOKOLS or school track teams. Joseph Smetanka, a sophomore at Wayne State University, broke records �148 SLOVAKIA in relay races against other top Universities and made headlines coaching the Wayne State team and a private team of youths to nationwide victories. Joseph, a member of many Slovak organizations, hopes to oneday teach gym classes or receive a Masters Degree in Physical Education. On May 20, 1969 the Slovak Village Entertainers, leading a float draped with the Slovak Flag, marched with other Slovak youths and twenty different nationalities in a "Nationalities Day Parade". Four days later a Detroit delegation attended the Slovak League of America Conference in Washington, D. C. During the summer, many Detroit Sokols took first place in the SLET and brought home their awards. To remember the first anniversary of the Russian Invasion, over 250 Slovaks gathered in Kennedy Square to hold a "peaceful demonstration", receiving press coverage from 3 television networks, J radio and two newspapers. Our protest should undoubtedly be felt, with our proclamation of "A DAY OF SHAME", by all the bureaucrats in Washington, the leaders of the U. N. and the tyrants at the Kremlin. The Slovak struggle for recognition in a liberal world will be felt! Being only sixteen years of age and newcomer to the Slovak scene politically and physically I hope one day to take over in the same pattern of which our Slovak leaders left off. A trail has been blazed: Slovak Youth must follow . A Slovak "Renaissance" is taking place. The work has been started. It is now up to the people to continue it. Edward M. Zelenak A Slovak In11nigrant - Master of Arts By WINN GALLEGHER ( Pottstown Mercury Staff Writer) A skilled representative of a lost art, woodcarver, and cabinetmaker, Karl M. Pacanovsky, Douglasville RD 2, is head of the arts and crafts department at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa. Born in Slovakia in 1894, Pacanovsky was apprenticed to a woodworker in the old world fashion at the age 11. �149 SLOVAKIA His father was a farmer who believed his sons should have the benefits of a craft. His three boys were sent to the city to receive their training. Recalling his early years, Pacanovsky said, "In our village, I was always the one who whittled, so it was natural for me to receive training in this field. I studied for three years, and by the time I was 17, I was doing altars for various churches." A local example of the ecclesiastical work of the artist is the pulpit of St. Aloysius Catholic church. It is typical of the Gothic style of most of Pacanovsky's work. Also created items for the Holy Trinity Slovak Catholic Church . * • The desire to come to America followed extensive travel, through Europe, largely by foot. "The decision to come to the United States came after my fascination with the port of Hamburg and the ocean liners I saw there," reminisces Pacanovsky. "After borrowing the money from my father, I sailed for this country, arriving at Newark, N. J., in 1913." The craftsman then was employed by several woodworking firms, including Tiffany and company. This was accompanied by attending nigh~ schoo\ classes in English and drawing and design for seven years. A combination of the depression and Pacanovsky's own love for schooling made him decide to enter Rutgers university, New Brunswick to prepare himself for the teaching profession. "After completing my studies there I taught at various public and private schools, coming to The Hill in 1944." He is heading the arts and crafts department there since 1952. This includes the studio and metal divisions as well as the carving and mechanical drawing taught by the artist himself. Clearly loving his teaching duties, Pacanovsky is articulate in discussing them. "The role of woodworking in education is a creative �150 SLOVAKIA one. I endeavor not to confine the work to merely carving, but to make it an experience including vision, skill, and aesthetics," asserts the teacher. "My purpose is not to make woodcarvers out of all the boys," he continues, "because it is not so much what the boy does to the wood as what the wood does to the boy." Pacanovsky laments the inroads industrialization has made into rapidly disappearing arts such. as his own. "Modern society wants everything done quickly and simply, and the old crafts are vanishing in the Western World, perhaps with the exception of Scandinavia, where they are frequently subsidized by the government," he said, "and they manage to unite modern art to the craft tradition." Pacanovsky has a very flexible attitude on today's artistic expression. "I am very much a traditionalist, but enjoy many of approaches, perhaps because there is no such modern the thing as pure originality," he theorizes. "The experience of all men are rooted in tradition and common to all generations." * * He finds the reward of his own skill lied in the work itself. "It is only through fine creative expression that we are able to develop character. One must know the feeling of making something," he said. Pacanovsky is respectful of the artistic endeavors of all men, and refused to critize the message in another's work. "All art should have meaning, but I never condemn a work because I personally cannot extract it," he declares. He considers the basic requirements for the field of art are of design, line, and proportion, and finds the biggest handicap to be symptomatic of the times. "People today, for instance my students, have an �SLOVAKIA 151 attitude of mediacrity being good enough. I always illustrate that this is not so by pointing out that the surgeon cannot do a slipshod job on a patient on the grounds that it isn't his best, but it's good enough." Pacanovsky's teaching requires most of his time during the school term, but during the Summertime he makes cabinets and cases for The Hill, as well as executing beautifully lettered signs. One of his most unusual projects recently was the designing and executing of a mace for the school which is used in processionals. Pacanovsky occasionally is commissioned to make new pieces of furniture, both in traditional and modern design, but finds his academic duties restrict outside professional work. Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius 50 Years in Danville, Pa. June 19, 1969 mairked 50 yeaas that the Slovak Siste['s of SS. Cyril and Methodius arrived wt Danville, Pa. Their first words were the scriptuiral, "Lord, it is good fo[' us to be he['e." Ten year,s oJd, the Conwreg:wtion of the Sisteirs of SS. Cyiril and Methodius had been established in 1909 by F1aither Matthew Jankola, a Sloviak immigranit pries,t, under the guidance of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate He,a,r,t of Mall'y, of Marywood, Scranton. Its firsit Sisters had received their training at Macywood, which also served as the young Communiity's headquarters. All its retreats aaid profoession ceremooies burt one had been held wt M,airywood . By June, 1919, the mem~ship of the new community numbe['ed 57 professed Si,s,teirs, 30 novices and 9 postulants. Lt had reached the stage where Lt was able lo assume its own leadership and establish its own administration , functioning under Church law. Its first chapte•r , held at Marywood in 1915, had resulrted in the election of Mother Macy Mihalik as first superioir general. At her d e a th within a yeair she was repl,aced by Mother M. Emmanuel Pauly, whose term extended over six years until 1922. The community of Religious had already assumed cha,r g,e of pa,rish schools in Pennsylvania and Connecticut and of an o,r phanag,e of the Fiirst CaJtho1ic Slovak Union (Jednota) in Middletown, Pa. What �152 SLOVAKIA it needed more than anything was a motherhouse kom which to admini.Siter the congregation and a residence for the training of novices and postulants by canonical standards. As the young community outgrew the facilities at Mairywood, its administration had transferred to the large parish convent in Plymouth, Pa., where Mather Mary resided. The novices and postulants were divided among the Plymouth, Pittston and Olyphant, (Pa.) convents. 1n 1917 a lairge house was leased to the community on t he Jednota premises at Middletown, Pa., which accomcxfated the novices and postulants and also served as a temporary motherhouse for the community. It soon became inadequate. Meanwhile Mother M. Emmanuel Pauly was alert to any prospects of acquiring a motherhouse for the community. Through Father Julius C. Foin, pastor at Middletown and a Danville, Pa., native, she learned about Castle Grove, vacant at the time for 14 years. She informed Bishop Philip R. McDevitt of Harrisburg, Pa., who in turn communicated with Father 1-' ran c is X. Dougherty, pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Danville, asking him to investigate the property. This was in the fuU of 1918. Negotiations were set in motion and by the spring of 1919 the transaction was completed. 'J.'lhe Sis,te,rs of SS. Cyril and Methodius acquired Castle Grove and took possession of it on June 19, 1919. The estate was renamed Villa Saored Heart because the date of the Sisiters' arrival from Jednota in Middletown, Pa., coincided with the season of the Sacred Heart in Catholic liturgy. The Sisters recalled that they arrived by train from Hairrisburg, Pa., before noon on June 18, only to find that a technicality still barrnd them from entering Castle Grove. A signature was lacking on the deed. The Sisters we-r e meanwhile offered hospi,tali,ty and night's lodging by the Immaculate Hca'l"t Sisters a,t St. Joseph's Convent on Bloom Road. The following morning a f t c r Mass at St. Joseph's Church the novitiate gr{)IUp, which included Rev. Mother M. Emmanuel and l\Iother M . Monica, an Immaculate Heart Sister \Vho had been retained as d1rector of novices for the community, walked sile!l!tly d own Route 11 towaird their new home. Passing under the archway over the e!l!trance and up the narrow fo()lj; path, they surveyed the broad expanse of high grass and majestic trees and glimpsed at the mansion beyond. The cry which burst from their lips was "Lord , il is good for us to be here." The property was deteriorated, but graduaJ!y through the weeks that followed the house was resLored somewha,t to its original splendor and modified to convent specifications, and the campus recovered some of its beauty and design . By July 7, feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius, the lairge salon on the first floor was furnished as a chapel and Bishop McDevi.ltt offered the first Mass for the community at Villa Sacred Heart. The work of intensive cleaning and restoration both indoors and out continued through July. The professed Sisters returned from their pa;rish missions to make their annual retreat in August, the first a,t Vil1a Sacred Heart. It was fol- �SLOVAKIA lowed by the first reception and profession ceremonies, at which 15 novices were professed and 9 postulaints received the habit and white veil of a novice. This brought the community members hip to 72 professed Sisters and 24 novices. By the end of Augus,t . ix new candidates had entered the community and they were ready to begin their training as postulants. Within fi.f,t,y years the face of Villa Sacred Heart has changed, showing expansion and growth. As the community membership increased and additional projects were undertakoo, St. Cyril AcadPmy for girls was opened in 1922 and a new building was erected in 1929. For its religious ceremonies and worship, a chapel was added in 1939. A three-story wing, conn eoted with the academy and matching it in architecture and design, was completed and dedicated in the fall of 1957. Maria Joseph M-anoc wa-s erected on a site bordering the mOitherwise property in 1962. M,ari-a Hall, a home for retired Sisters, is presently rising and will be completed by the summer of 1970. professed Sisters. 13 novice and 3 postulan ts. An add Ltional 55 Sis ters lie buried in the community's cemetery. The Sisters teach in 36 Slovak parish schools in the archdiocese of Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and the dioceses of Harrisburg, Bridge port, Charleston, Gary, Hartford, Greensburg, Steubenville, Scranton , Syracuse and Trenton. They also are on the staffs of six Catholic central high schools. Every summer and throughout the school year, the Sisters engage in r-atechetical work, and in recent years have intensified their efforts in this field. The Sisters also conduct a ?SY· chological and reading clinic in Wilkes-Barre. Bes ides St. Cyril Academy they also teach at Blessed Sacrament Academy in Yonkers, New York and Andrean Hi g h School in Gary, Ind . The congregation is in warge of t he Jednota Orphanage in Middletown, Pa., and besides Maria Joseph Manor it comducts Villa SL Cyril, a home for the aged, in Highland Park. UL The Sisters have worked with Headst a:rt and other special programs for underprivileged groups. This summer these and similar programs are in operation here in Danville, and in Bridgeport, Conn., Chairleston. S.C., Chicago, and Gary. In the 60 years the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Meth-odius has been serving the Church and the Slovak people, it has reached a membership of 425 • 153 • THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States. �154 - - - -- SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - · - - - - - AS OTHERS "You may be assured of my continued interest in a free and independent Slovakia." - Richard Schweiker, United States Senate "Our country has been vastly enriched by the contributions which your membership and your fellow Slovak Americans have made down through the years." - Edward W . Brooke, United States Senate "I appreciate your thoughtfulness in sending me the latest issue of your publication Slovakia. 1 found it most interesting." - John Sherman Cooper, U. S. Senate "Slovaks in my area and throughout the nation are known as a proud, talented, industrious, and deeply religious people who continue to aspire to the attainment of freedom and liberty despite the many years of Communist rule of their ancestral homeland." -John P . Saylor, Member of Congress "Long have I known of the grand work the American Slovak League has done over the years of its existence. "The Slovak people have a glorious history and a noble tradition. For over a thousand years they have fought continuously for their national independence. Today that tradition is still carried on proudly by your League which struggles unremittingly for the human and national rights of the Slovak people. In that struggle you have my full support for I have always stood behind the right of every nation, large and small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. "Your civic and cultural contributions to America also stand as a great tribute to your organization. The immigrants from Slovakia in SEE IT years past have made many wonderful and inspiring contributions to the American way of life. The League has played a great part in encouraging them to be alert and loyal citizens. "By continuing the good work of the Slovak League, you are doing a service for the United States, for the people of Slovakia, and for all humanity." - Michael A. Feighan, Member of Congress "Be sure of my continued support for a free and independent Slovakia." - Clement J. Zablocki, Member of Congress "I want to extend to the Slovak League of America and its membership my regards and sincere commendation for their outstanding achievements in the interest of all freedom loving people."-John W . Wydler, Member of Congress "These are trying times for all who are interested in the welfare of your homeland, which means all who love freedom and liberty. I k n o w that your activities give strength to the freedom-loving people in Slovakia in their continuing struggle to regain control of their destiny."-Frank T . Bow, Member of Congress "As citizens the Slovak-Americans have contributed immeasurably to the religious, cultural, educational, industrial, and civic growth and betterment of our cities, and our country. "I want to take this opportunity to commend those of Slovakian heritage for their courage and forebearance."-Guy Vander Jagt, Member of Congress "My greetings and v e r y b e s c w i s h e s to my Slovak-American �SLOVAKIA friends for whom I am constantly striving in the Congress to make this a truly free world for all people. " - William E . Mi nshall, Member of Congress 155 to make the best of their opportunities. "There is nonetheless a note of sadness as your thoughts inevitably turn to those of your brethren who remain in your a n c e s t r a I homeland. It is a paradox of the twentieth century that while more than sixty nations on other continents have gained their independence from colonial powers since World War II, a number of the ancient lands of Europe have been swallowed up by the Soviet Empire."-Harold R. Colli er, Member of Congress "I do wish to assure you that I shall continue my interest in the affair of your League and look forward to another opportunity to join with you. " -Martin B . McKneally , Member of Congress "I am pleased once again to have the opportunity to salute your untiring efforts toward freedom and your unailing patriotism and courage." - Willi am S. Moorehead, Member of Congress "I am well aware of the immense contribution to American life which has been made by our Slovak-American citizens. They have brought to us in this country the same religious strength and the same love of freedom which they learned in their motherland. Even today that same spirit of freedom can be seen in the establishment of the Slovak Republic in a federated CzechoSlovakia. This is the culmination of years of effort by a great people who wish to keep their own identity. "-Joseph M . McDade, Member of Congress "I heartily support the efforts of the Slovak League of America to keep alive the torch of freedom for so many who must remain behind the Iron Curtain of oppression."Charles A . Vanik, Member of Congress "Congratulations on many con"I wish to comp l i m e n t you r League on the superb work you are tributions to international underdoing." - Seymour Halpern, Mem- standing and cultural exchange."Margaret M . Heckler, Member of ber of Congress Congress "I received the latest issue of "I would like you to know that Slovakia which you recently sent receive Slovaki a, and find th~ did I me, and have enjoyed reading it." of interest." - John B . publication - Charles W. Whalen, Jr., Member Anderson, Member of Congress of Congress 'Thank you for the book entitled "Many of the people whom I am edited by Dr. Joseph PauSlovakia, naprivileged to represent in the to read this book planning am I co. tional House of Representatives for it will be possible as soon as either came to the United States resource."-William useful very a from Slovakia or are the descendMember of Congress ants of immigrants from that na- T . Mtirphy, " The s t r u g g l e continues for tion. Through the years they have proved themselves to be loyal Ame- equal representation and national ricans and good citizens of their rights which the Slovak League beadopted country, serving it with gan more than 50 years ago. I share equal diligence through war and your concern about the Soviet oppeace, and inspiring their children pression of the Slovak people. I �156 SLOVAKIA pray we will see the day when the Slovak people will be permitted to establish their o w n independent nation in Europe, with freedom to select their own leaders and their own path of government." - John Myers, Member of Congress "I command the efforts of the Slovak League of America to maintain culture and traditions of Slovakia here in United States. We must be confident of the f u tu re and continue to work for the day when legitimate independence and true freedom is enjoyed by people of Slovakia and all other captives of Communism."-Edward J . Derwinski, Member of Congress "Every Slovak American is extremely p r o u d of the League's years of interest in the cultural and historical betterment of all American Slovaks." - Joseph M . Gaydos, Member of Congress "The yearning for liberty and independence among Slovaks will continue until they will be able to determine their own destiny; and, I am ceritain, as an independent nation, will constructively contribute to the well being and peace of the world. You may be assured of my continuing efforts for selfdetermination of all Captive Nations and of my warm and special interest for the Slovak nation." Michael A. F eighan, M. C., 20th District, Ohio "I am aware of the constant struggle of Slovak people to regain their independence and live side by side with other free nations of the world. It is my desire and hope that the spirit and determination of the Slovak people will not be broken and that the Slovak nation will once again have the right to choose its own destiny. In these just aspirations of Slovak people all of us should help. I pledge my support in this respect. '' William E. Minshall, M. C., 23rd District, Ohio "Slovak nationalism was an important element in the early days of the reform movement. Mr. Novotny, the former President, who was passionately disliked in Slovakia for his discriminatory poli. cies, paid the penalty for ignoring it. " (The Times, October 31, 1968) . "For all the pride and satisfaction with which Czecho-Slovakia has introduced federalization of the Czech and Slovak nations, real equality still remains a promise rather than a practical accomplish ment ... many stormy sessions lie ahead with the Slovaks pressing for even greater autonomy. At the roots of the conflict is the fact that, since its inception 50 years ago, the republic has boasted of having established unity with equality for the two nations without the Slovaks ever having actually achieved this equality." (The Times, October 28, 1968). "Although lip service has been paid to ethnic equality by both the pre-World War II Masaryk republic and the post-war Communists, the Slovaks have always, with considerable justice, felt that they were getting the short end of the stick. Before the war, Slovak nationalists demanded virtual national independence." (John P . Roche, San Francisco Examiner. July 3, 1969) . - "The main tourist centers (in the High Tatra Mountains, Slovakia ) are Stary Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica and Strbske Plesoeach more scenically beautiful than the other. "The 17-mile mountain range with some 300 ragged peaks, romantic valleys and ice-blue small lakes can compete with any Alpine �SLOVAKIA 157 area. The width of the range is removed the country's most popu10 miles." (The New York Times; lar liberal from the domestic political scene, thereby placating the October 31, 1969. "Americans teens are lucky be- ultras. At the same time, he won cause 'they don't have to worry plaudits from the liberals by reabout politics like we do', said fusing to place Dubcek balked, Michael, 18, of Bratislava . .. There protesting that he would return are two 'nations' in Czecho-Slova- to his old job of factory machinist kia, they said-the Czechs and the rather than leave the country. But Slovaks. Because they are Slovaks, in the end he bowed to the party the boys don't like our tendency order, knowing full well that his to shorten "Czechoslovakian' to refusal would only further inflame 'Czech'. That, they said, is incor- political passions in Prague." rect because almost half the people (Newsweek, December 29, 1969). "Father Hlinka insisted that the in their country are not Czechs, they're Slovaks." (The Times Un- Czechs and Slovaks were not one ion, Rochester, N. Y., July 26, nation , but two distinct nations, 1968). and therefore the Slovaks had as much right to self-government as "Slovak painters and graphic artists, among them Milan Laluha, any other self-respecting nation. " Ladislav Guderna and M. Brunov- (Thaddeus V. Gromada , siavic Resky, were acclaimed in Italy, view, September 1969). France and Canada. The works of sculptors Uher and Bartfay became known . . . The operas of Eugen Suchoii. were performed throughout Europe, and the music of Jan Cikker and Alexander Moyzes were heralded in many parts of the world. Viliam Bukovy's modernist compositions were honored at international music and film festivals. He also wrote music for several Hollywood films. Another composer, Ilja Zelienka, won first prizes at several European modern music festivals. "Slovaks also made important medical contributions. The Slovak Institute of Biochemistry became known for its discoveries of antibiotics and work in concer research. The Microbiological Institute, headed by Dr. Dionyz Blazkovic, was hailed for its achievements bi iinmunobiology and allergiology." (Jan Samak, East Europe. Vol. 18, No. 7). "By naming Dubcek to the post of ambassador to Turkey, Husak "Not even the closest associates of Gustav Husak, the new party chief, are likely to be sure about how to proceed. Politically, Husak has to fight on two fronts and many think that the threat from the extreme left is far more dangerous to him than that from the "right-wing opportunists", as the new jargon refers to supporters of his reform-minded predecessor, Alexander Dubcek. "The party is rocked by expulsions and mass resignations. According to some private estimates it has already lost 300,000 of its 1.7 million members. Those who stayed can be divided into at last four different wings fighting each other. Purges have assumed bizarre proportions, extending from secret police to sports federations, from the foreign service to the Communist-led children organization. "Husak had pleaded not to turn the party into a "slaughter-house,'' but some top radicals openly en- �158 SLOVAKIA courage neo-Stalinists in the lower ranks to push even harder. Evidence of the struggle for power in the party is ample even in the press, which is now tightly controlled again. "In the economic field, the situation is nearly chaotic. The new leadership has canceled almost all of the reforms, but also has announced it will not return to preDubcek concepts. Except for "work harder" appeals, the regime has yet to disclose which panacea it will propose. Some of the top industry managers have been fired for liberal leanings, many others are uncertain about their fate. Thousands of employees and workers now have had marks for political unreliability in their personnel files, hampering prospects for better pay and promotion. The working morale of others is hardly any better; their unions which started developing some muscle during the Dubcek era have again been reduced into tools of the party. " 'Sick rates' are running double those last years and workers take it easy. Husak estimates that 20 per cent of the working time now is idled away. Stringest penalties have been introduces for loafers but that is hardly likely to boost their spirits. "Party leaders allege that rightwing calls for passive resistance also hurt the economy. 'The worse the better' is a slogan actually proposed by one though seemingly small school of thought. " 'Economic crisis have toppled Novotny', explained one veteran party member and anti-Stalinist referring to the old guard leader Antonin Novotny who was replaced by Dubcek. Maybe this will force a change again. "Average wages have increased but so have prices, setting off a Western-style inflationary spiral. That, in turn, and despite official denials, fueled rumors of an impending currency reform. Shops, already, undersupplied, were beleaguered. 'He who hesitates will not buy well' was the superfluous warning on a Prague display window. "Vexing shortages, from prams to pajamas, have become a fact of life in the million-population capitol. The pantie problem became so prickly that special hardcurrency funds were pried loose to pay for emergency imports. The hard currency may have come increased meat exports to the West which have helped dry up supplies of pork, a stample food of Czechs and Slovaks. "Now laws threaten court punishment to hoarders and even sales clerks who talk a customer into buying more than he actually needs. The man in the street will readily blame part of the shortages on the Russian occupation troops. Stories make the round of a Red Army man entering a store and asking for 'five kilograms of panties.' " ( Associated Press, February 22, 1970) . "I returned to Vienna with mixed emotions about the status of the people in Czecho-Slovakia but I also brought a brand new Slovak diet for reducing. The Slovaks call it the 'American diet.' Here it is : "You can eat all the chicken and drink all the Sliwowitz you can manage. But no bread, no pastries, no vegetables. Just chicken and wine. "I always suspected that the Slovaks have a spark\ of genius in them and now their 'American Diet' confirms my belief." (Theodore Andrica, The Cleveland Press, July 14, 1969) . �SLOVAKIA 1511 COMMENTS TWO CZECH PROFESSORS ABOUT SLOVAK-CZECH RELATIONS It happens very rarely that Czech intellectuals in the Free World comment objectively on the relations between Slovaks and Czechs or on books published on Slovakia. For many years not only Czech politicians in exile but also Czech scholars and professors at various universities wrote with bias about Slovak history, politics and cultural achievements. There is no doubt that such writings harmed the image of the Slovak nation but great harm was also done to the relations between the Slovaks and Czechs. Many Czech intellectuals apparently did not look at the problem from this point of view. We welcome, therefore, a new sober voice from Prof. Stanley Z. Pech from the University of British Columbia. He commented in the siavic Review on the book by John Gellner, a Czech newspaperman, and John Smerek, a former Slovak civil servant. The book was published under the title The Czechs and Slovaks in Canada and was published by Masaryk Memorial Institute in Toronto. Professor Pech wrote before about Slovak and Czech relations with much more objectivity than we are accustomed to read from Czech intellectuals. In connection with this book, he had the following to say: "Although one of the authors is of Slovak origin, the book does not appear to do justice to the Slovak viewpoint. Slovak grievances against Czechoslovakia are dismissed as 'separatism', and the First Republic is given what amounts to a clean bill of health. Some 'mistakes' were made, but these were 'largely cured' by the late 1920s. The Administrative Law of 1927 established a desirable degree of decentralization by setting up selfgoverning provinces 'on lines broadly similar to Canadian provinces', each province having 'its provincial president and its provincial assembly'. After this, 'Czechoslovakia seemed on the way toward co-operative, equitable solutions to whatever domestic problems there still were.' It was the Slovak People's Party and the rise of Nazi Germany that later reversed this trend. "ls it possible to present the issues so simply? The First Republic had indeed an outstanding record, and its democratic structure proved more durable than that of most European states. However, it was unquestionably a centralist state even after 1927, and this was the essence of Slovak objections. The authors fail to note that according to the Jaw of 1927 the provincial president and one-third of the provincial assembly were appointed by the central government and that both de jure and de facto the provincial president was an agent of the central government. The jurisdiction of the provinces was limited to social services and similar activities, and the assemblies could be dissolved at any time by a decree issued in Prague. Do the authors really believe that a province so conceived resembles a province in Canada or a state in the United States? Was this situation not bound to feed discontent among the Slovaks? "This situation has important �160 SLOVAKIA implications for the history of the Slovaks in Canada . (and in the United States). Many Slovaks who came to the New World after 1918 were disenchanted with Czechoslovakia and refused to associate themselves with Czech groups. Today their numbers are larger, and their hostility to everything Czech is implacable and chauvinistic. This phenomenom has many roots, but it cannot be understood without reference to the failure of the Czechs to regard the Slovaks as their equals and to give the consideration to their national sentiment. Yet this appreciation is wholly lacking in the present book. With what lack of respect influential segments of the Czech community regarded the Slovaks is illustrated by a secret memorandum on Slovakia, which was drawn up by the Czech Socialist Party in 1946 and published in Bratislava in 1968. The memorandum is a chilling blueprint for depriving the Slovaks of their national identity by any means necessary, not excluding the use of force (see text in Historicky casopis, vol. 16, 1968, pp. 191-93). Gellner and Smerek are two competent observers, and their book will be a standard work for many years. Was the nature of the Slovak problem so far beyond their pale of vision that they could not come to grips with it? Until the Czechs are prepared to take a critical look at their own attitudes, their contribution to a Czech-Slovak dialogue will be only a limited one." This approach is in great contrast with another Czech, Prof. Joseph S. Roucek from Queensborough Community College. He wrote on the same book in the International Migration Review (III 9, Summer 1969) and compared the book with the work by Prof. J. M. Kirschbaum Slovaks in Canada. Prof. Roucek had to admit that: "In general, Kirschbaum's study, in spite of its weaknesses, is much better and more exhaustive than Gellner-Smerek' s work, since it is better documented (as shown by its bibliography, pp. 441-455) and contains reprints of 24 memoranda, petitions, pleas, and resolutions either to the Canadian authorities or to the United Nations by the Slovak Canadian organizations, as well as by individual members of the Canadian Slovak League and the First Catholic Slovak Union during the past three decades." However, Roucek was unable to write without -the anti-Slovak bias in his further remarks. Even though the book Slovaks in Canada is not a political book but strictly a scholarly work on the history of Slovaks in Canada. Prof. Roucek commented on the book as follows: overcertainly "Kirschbaum stresses his Slovak filiopietism which has been glaringly evident in his previous works and which is the ideology of his group of American and Canadian Slovaks promoting Slovak separatism. We learn that 'from the First World War until the present time, Slovak Canadians have been the victims of political activities in their homeland .. .' (p. 9) and that the Canadian Slovaks were discriminated against during World War II because they 'refused to support the policy od Dr. E. Benes, who resigned in October 1938 but who in 1941 set up his government-inexile in London, England, and insisted on his right to represent Czechs and Slovaks in the West. Members and representatives of the Canadian Slovak League were , particularly denounced as enemies �SLOVAKIA of Canada because they advocated the right to self-determination and self-government for the Slovak people.' (p. 6) . But we must also note that even a greater number of Canadian Slovaks supported Dr. Benes and that the Slovak Republic was formed as the first satellite state under Hitler's blessing and auspices. This 'pro-Czech' tendency is, in fact, admitted by Kirschbaum: "The pro-Czech attitude of Slovak Protestants, many of whom were descendants of Czech refugees who came to Slovakia during the Counter-Reformation, accounts for various peculiarities of the Slovak political, cultural and religious life not only in Slovakia, but also among Canadians or Americans of Slovak origins." (p. 32). It is hard to understand, unless we are accustomed to the writings of Czech intellectuals, why Prof. Roucek made such comments on a history book concerning Slovaks in Canada unless one knows the tense relations which existed among the Slovaks and the Czechs for the past 50 years and the bias of many Czech intellectuals who followed the political line of Dr. Benes condemned at the present time not only by many Czechs but by the whole Slovak nation. "SLOVAK NEWS" or COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA For the past two years Slovaks in the Free World received from a Slovak Cultural and Tourist News Agency Tatrapress a mimeographed publication called "Slovak News." After being separated for over a quarter of a century by the Iron Curtain from their homeland, 161 many Slovaks welcomed the fact that finally they can receive information on their country of origin from Bratislava. Unfortunately, the "Slovak News" is not published in the spirit which triggered the liberalization in 1968 and the picture of Slovakia is not one which we could accept. The periodical is published in English, sometimes in good and at other times in very poor English indeed. It was a good step on the part of the regime in Bratislava to try to acquaint the outside world with Slovakia, but the bad side of this enterprise is the biased presentation of Slovak politics and cultural, economic, and social life. For many decades, Slovakia was presented in a distorted light, more often than not unfavorably, to the Western world. All the efforts of Slovak intellectuals in the Free World could not successfully overcome the adverse propaganda from either Czech or other camps opposed to Slovak national aspirations. In 1968, there were great hopes among the Slovaks in the Free World that the tide had changed and that from Slovakia efforts will come to present Slovakia in a true light. Looking objectively at the issues of "Slovak News" which have up to date come to this Continent, we must say with regret that it is again a very biased picture which the so-called Slovak government portrays for the West and hundreds of thousands of Slovaks who are still interested in the good name of their country of origin and work for a free and democratic Slovakia. J . K. �162 SLOVAKIA BOOK REVIEWS BOOKS ON THE EVENT IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA IN 1968 The events in Czecho-Slovakia stirred the attention of scholars in many Western countries and some 50 books were published according to Robert F. Lamberg (Svedectvi, X, No. 37, Paris, 1969). Most of these books are in English, some in French and the rest in the German language. Among the authors are not only specialists in international affairs or in Eastern Europe, but also the Czech exiles and writings by two exiles from Slovakia, Eugene Loeb! and Ladislav Miiacko. The writings of both these authors were published in English as well as in German. One of Loebl's books, Svedectvo o Procese, was published in Slovak and appeared subsequently in English as well as German translation. Many of these books just presented the sequence of events and did not bring any scholarly analysis or political conclusions. Other books are analytical and there is also a score of books which are close to the sensational writings and were designed for the large public and money making. Among those which are worthwhile reading are the following books : Robert Rhodes James, ed., The Czechoslovak Crisis 1968. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson (Toronto: Ryerson), 1969, XII, 203 pp., $7.95. Roger Garaudy, La liberte en sursis: Prague, 1968. Paris. Fayard, 156 pp. Eugen Loeb!, Sentenced and Tried: The Stalinist Purges in Czechoslovakia. London: Elek (Toronto: Ryerson), 1969, 272 pp., $8.50: in Slovak, Svedectvo o procese, Bratislava, 1968, 200 pp.: in German, Die Revolution rehabilitiert ihre Kinder, Vienna: Europa, 1968, 228 pp. Eugen Loeb} and Leopold Grunwald , Die intellektuelie Revolution, Hintergrunde and Auswirktmgen des " Prager Frilhiings". Dusseldorf: Econ, 1969, 308 pp. Ladislav Miiacko, The Seventh Night. New York: Dutton (Toronto : Clarke, Irwin), 1969, 220 pp., $7.25. Also in German. Harry Schwartz, Prague's 200 Days: The Struggle for Denwcracy in Czechoslovakia. New York, Washington, and London: Praeger (Toronto: Burns & MacEachern) , 1969, 274 pp., $7.25. Joseph Wechsberg, The Voices Garden City, N. Y.: Toronto : Doubleday, 1969, 113 pp. $5.95. Philip Windsor and Adam Roberts, Czechoslovakia, 1968: Refo rm, Repression and Resistance. London: Chatto and Windus for the Institute for Strategic Studies (Toronto : Clarke Irwin) , 1969, vm, 200 PP- ' $3.0o. Z. A. B. Zeman, Prague Spring: A Report on Czechoslovakia, 1968. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin (Toronto: Longmans) , 1969, 169 pp., $8.50. Not all of these books are of the ·s ame academic value and one of them by Robert Rhodes James, The Czechoslovak Crisis 1968, has put the invasion by the Warsaw Pact armies in a debatable position, as we will see later. The three books by the writers from Slovakia, Loeb! and Mnacko, gave an insight into the crisis of communism in �SLOVAKIA Slovakia and Mnacko's book is rather a series of reportages than a book on history. From the political point of view, some of the books condemned the invasion and their analysis of the events before the invasion and after is in line with a democratic point of view. The most surprising are the views of Robert Rhodes James who is a specialist in international relations. In his view, the Soviet occupation was "defensive and reluctant" and did not provide evidence of "Soviet aggressiveness or expansionism" and represented "no threats to NATO interests." James also thinks that the United Nations "acquitted itself reasonably effectively" by protesting only and that NATO was quite right in its reactions by not making any attempt to include Rumania or Yugoslavia under its protection. It is certainly hard to accept such views from a western "specialist in international affairs" on an act of brutal aggressiveness and violation of the independence of a country which wanted only to build "communism with a human face". This defeatist view is hardly acceptable by any western scholar or politician. Even the Italian, Rumanian and Yugoslav communists condemned the invasion and protested against it and there is no doubt that all the Western Powers, even if they remained inactive, looked with concern to the presence of Russian armies on the West German and Austrian border. In all these books there is, of course, not much about the events in Slovakia and there is rarely mentioned the fact that the liberalization was forced upon Novotny's regime by the Slovak writers and was lead by a Slovak-Alexander Dubcek-who is sometimes even 163 presented as a Czech leader. Only the Canadian Slavonic Papers (Vol. IX, 4, 1968) published a chapter on the role of Slovaks in the deStalinization period. A good book presenting not only the Czech views or information received in Prague, but also giving justice to the Slovaks, seems to be very necessary to give an objective picture of the events of 1967 and 1968. J . M . Kirschbaum Heinri c h Kuhn: Handbuch der Tschechoslowakei (Verlag Robert Lerche, Mtinchen), 1966, pp. 1,024, Price 142.00 D. M. This reference book on CzechoSlovakia by Dr. Heinrich Kuhn will be appreciated not only by scholars but by all who are interested in the political, social and economic development in CzechoSlovakia after the Second World War. With the typical German "puenktlichkeit" Dr. Kuhn prepared a highly technical study which required years of systematk research and data collecting. The Collegium Carolinum published in the past years several valuable books on Bohemia and Slovakia. Kuhn's volume seems to be the most useful. The volume is divided into four parts. The first part deals with the territory of today's Czecho-Slovakia and her population which by the rude and often criminal expulsion of 3 million Sudeten Germans and by the "voluntary" cession of Subcarpathian Ruthenia by Prague to the U. S. S. R. was substantially reduced in comparison to its size in pre-war times. Kuhn's work gives the basic statistics on the territorial organization, th~ movements of the population and its ethnic composition as well as �164 SLOVAKIA the social structure and education of the Czechs and Slov,a ks during the 20 years following the Second World War. The author avoided political comments either in his introductory notes or in explaining the statistics, leaving the judgment on, among other things, the expulsion of Germans, on the transfer of hundreds of thousands of Slovaks to the Sudeten territories, where they have been denationalized, to historians and political scientists. In the second part of this huge volume (1,024 pages) Dr. Kuhn deals with the constitutional and organizational structure of CzechoSlovakia under the post-war "people's democracy" and Communist regimes. The tense relation between the Czechs and Slovaks and the tendency of Prague's governments to reduce Slovakia to a province administered by Prague rather than by Slovaks, is clearly apparent from the constitutional changes, partly politics, government appointments and statistical data in this part of the book. We also can find in this chapter basic information and statistics on cultural institutions, schools and church organizations. For those who know from other sources about the rule of terror, the Stalinization of the system, the anti-Slovak policy of Prague governments and the persecution of the Church, especially in Slovakia, Dr. Kuhn's statistical evidence of the changes during this period will be of great value. An interesting picture of changes and inner struggles in the government, cultural and other organizations is also given in the third part of Kuhn's work. To read properly the statistical data in this part it is, however, necessary to be well acquainted with the rela- tions between the Czechs and Slovaks. Behind all the changes in the high positions of the CzechoSlovak state was a systematic attempt at exclusion of Slovaksexcept those who were willing tools of Gottwald or Novotnyfrom the decision making organs and institutions. During the Novotny era the anti-Slovak complex was also extended to the cultural field . The accusations of "bourgeois nationalism" was but a cover, as we learned during the short period of liberalization in 1968. The last part of the book gives us names of those who after the Second World War held positions in the political and cultural organizations of Czecho-Slovakia. The value of Dr. Kuhn's works can be justly judged only if we take into consideration that great part of the information he gives in his book was not easily or at all accessible in the West for many years. There was an "Iron Curtain" preventing an exchange of scholars and of publications, and there was for many a language barrier, since the Prague Government did not publish the statistical data in Western languages. Looking from this point at Dr. Kuhn's reference book, not only scholars but also Slovaks in the Free World cannot but welcome it. Dr. J . M . Kirschbaum Rudolf Sturm, CZECHOSLOVAKIA -A Bibliographic Guide, (Library of the Congress, Washington), 1967, 157 pp. Professor Sturm's Bibliographic Guide on Czecho-Slovakia is the first work of its kind in which the author made the attempt of presenting a bibliography on CzechoSlovakia without the usual bias. He included scores of books on �SLOVAKIA 165 Slovakia which other bibliogra- scholars and specialists in Eastern phers usuall y bypass. Therefore, Europe will find in these works it is hard to say whether it is by a new picture of the Slovak past omission of the author or because and cultural life. A better representation of Slowe did not publish in the Free World a bibliography of books on vak books can be found in Prof. Slovak history, culture, and litera- Sturm's Bibliographic Guide as far ture, if we do not find in this as books and bibliographies in bibliography some books which Slovak language are concerned. There he has listed the main should be mentioned. The book is divided into 15 bibliography sources as well as the chapters which deal with the land , most important books on Slovak the people, history, politics and history, language, and literature government, Jaw, economy, social which were published either beconditions, religion and philosophy, fore 1945 or during the Communist languages, literature and the arts. period. Jn his introduction, Prof. Sturm '.J'1>c work includes both forei gn language books and reference mentions that he would be "gratcbooks and bibliographies in the ful to users for informing him of Czech and Slovak languages. Need- any error or shortcoming in the less to say that the number of text" and he admits that the Guid e publications on the Czechs, their is "imperfect" and hopes that history, language and culture is "im perfect as it is, it fills a need and will help to promote Czech considerably higher. We note, however, that for the and Slovak studies outside Czechofirst time in a bibliography pre- slovakia." There is no doubt that. pared by a Czech scholar, there are ' the Guide will help scholars and books which do not agree with th~ specialists and we hope that in the official ideology of Prague govern- next edition the author will not ments or Czechs in exile. Prof. omit books by Slovak writers in Sturm included forei gn language the Free World , namely, the writbooks by Slovak authors who clear- ing by Pauco , Franti§ek Vnuk, J . ly advocate an independent Slova- Rekem , M. Lacko , S. Nahalka, M. kia or, in cultural matters, disagree Sprinc, T. Zubek, some more imwith the Czech tendency to present portant books by !lurcansky than Slovak language and literature as he listed, several other publicaa part of the Czech or "Czechoslo- tions by this reviewer, as well as vak" language and literature. As the quarterly Most, Slowakei, the a result, we find in this Biblio- Literarny Almanach Slovaka v A graphic Guide books and publica- merike, and the academic publications in major European langueges tion by the University of Montreal by Prof f>urica , f>urcansky , Hru- Etudes Slav es in which there have !iovsky, Kirschbaum , Mikus, Skul- been many articles on Slovak lantety. Sister Woytko, Yurchak, Hro- guage and literature. In view of bak's linguistic works and Palic- the fact that Prof. Sturm displayed kar's work on Slovak culture. Even scholarly objectivity we should though the books by these authors help him with the necessary inforpresent only a part of the books mation in case he will publish a and publications which have been reviewed edition of his Bibliopublished abroad on Slovak politi- graphic Gurde. J . M. Kirschbaum cal history or cultural matters, the , I �166 SLOVAKIA Stefan G 1 e j du r a: Los Grandes in Argentina. The fact that Dr. Problemas del Este Europeo, Glejdura contributes to an inter(Separata de la Revista de Poli- nationally known political review, tica Internacional, Madrid, 1968-· gives ·his work a particular impor1969) tance. The series would deserve to be A series of studies on the policy re-printed in book form because of the Soviet Union and the prob- the author gives a whole picture lems of Eastern Europe by Dr. of the political scene in the Soviet Stefan Glejdura deserve the atten- orbit, not only as a competent tion of scholars as well as special observer but also as a specialist ists interested in the vicisitudes of who thoroughly followed the evoEastern Europe. For more than a lution behind the Iron Curtain decade Dr. Glejdura wrote learned since the end of the Second World studies on this subject for the War until the present time. There is hardly any Slovak intelhighly regarded periodical "Revista de Politica Internacional," pub- lectual who wrote so many reviews lished in Madrid. Several of these of books published on the probstudies have been published in re- lems of Eastern Europe in several prints and should be considered as European languages as Dr. Glejdua serious contribution to the re- ra did during the past two decades. search of the great political prob- His vast knowledge prepared him lems of Eastern Europe. The au- for a competent analysis and prethor analyzed not only the foreign sentation of the political, social as policy of the Soviet Union but also well as economic problems of the of the individual countries like nations subjugated by Moscow. In Hungary, Rumania, Slovakia, Czech- the hope that Dr. Glejdura will o-Slovakia, Poland, etc. and their publish his studies in book form, relations with the Soviet Union. we are refraining from analyzing He drew his conclusions on the at this time his studies on individbasis of his knowledge of foreign ual Eastern European countries language documents and literature even though each of them would in several European languages. As deserve a separate review. We recommend especially the a result, the series of his studies is a valuable contribution to the following studies to the scholars knowledge and contemporary Eu- and specialists interested in Eastern Europe: ropean problems. La Politica Exterior de la U.R.S.S., From a Slovak point of view, we (Madrid) , 1969. welcome the studies by Dr. Glejdura because they complete our Vicisitudes del Este Europeo, (Madrid), 1968. political literature on the world problems by publications in the Los Grandes Problemas del Este Spanish language. There have been Europeo: Hungria-Magyarorszag many studies in English, French, (Madrid) , 1969. Italian or German by Slovak intel- Los Grandes Problemas del Este lectuals who established themEuropeo: Rumania, (Madrid), selves in the West after the Second 1969. World War. In the Spanish lan- Los Grandes Problemas del Este guage, however, we did not have Europeo : Eslovaquia, (Madrid), scholarly writings except for a few 1968. publications which were published J. M . Kirschbaum �SLOVAKIA Thaddeus V. Gromada, "Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists" Slavic Review, Vol. September 1969, pp. 445-462, Washington University. The Polish-Slovak relations between 1918 and 1939 are undoubtedly one of the most interesting chapters in the history of modern Slovakia. The Slovaks, dissatisfied with their position in the centralized Czecho-Slovakia ruled from Prague, did not have among their neighbours any support for preserving their distinctive nationality except the Poles. There also have been friendly cultural ties with the Polish nation for many centuries and from the religious point of view Poland was closer to the hearts of the majority of Slovaks than any other nation in Central Europe. This situation led, naturally, the Slovak leaders to look for co-operation with Poland. On the Polish side there was some understanding for the Slovak desire to preserve their nationality and political autonomy, but there also were considerations for cultivating the Polish-Slovak relations and at times to support the political struggle of the Slovak nation for an equal status with other Central European nations. There are studies on this subject in Slovak language but it is the first time that a thorough analysis of these relations has been published in English. Prof_ Gromada presents in his extensive article "Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists" a scholarly analysis and brought to light many details and many documents which have been unknown even to some Slovak historians or persons involved in politics in Slovakia during that period. The presentation is undoubtedly academic and it im- 167 presses by the mass of literature and unpublished documents which Prof. Gromada perused before writing his study. Except for the help which Msgr. Andrew Hlinka received from the Polish government in 1919 when he decided to go to the Paris Peace Conference, many important facts of the Polish-Slovak relations have been very little known. However, Prof. Gromada presents even Hlinka's efforts to obtain guarantees for Slovak autonomy and incorporation of the Pittsburgh Pact into the Peace Conference documents partly in a new light. At the same time, he reveals to historians documents from Polish archives which were unpublished or unresearched by other historians in the West. The most interesting part of Prof. Gromada's study refers to the relations of the period 19351939. At that time, there was in Slovakia a strong political current called "Polonophilism" headed by one of the leaders of Hlinka's Slovak populist party, Karol Sidor, and the relations between Poland and Slovak autonomists obtained a political colour. On the Slovak side these relations were also prompted not only by the traditional "Polonophilism" but also by political considerations. While in the international sphere the Slovak struggle for autonomy was more or less unknown or presented in an unobjective light by the official Czech policy, it found in Poland the most sympathetic ear among all neighbours of Slovakia. Even though in this period the official policy of the Prague government spoke about the necessity of good relations between all Slavs, the Slovak "Polonophilism" was attacked and condemned. Quite illogically it was accepted by Prague that good relations with the Soviet �168 SLOVAKIA Union or Yugoslavia were neces- help us to have an objective look sary but the efforts of Slovaks for at the Polish-Slovak relations. good relations with Poland were These remarks are not inteded condemned. This did not, however, to diminish the value or shed a deter Slovak autonomists from doubt on Prof. Gromada's highly cultivating the relations with Po- competent and well documented land. On the contrary, they grew study. In fact, Slavists and esstronger and also extended into pecially Slovak historians and cultural fields with the result that scholars should welcome his valu there were dozens ~f Slovak in~el- able account which, as we underlec_tuals_ . who studi_ed at Pohsh stand, is only a part of his larger umversibes or received g:ants to study on Slovak-Polish relations. foster cu~tural co-operabo~ b~-1 This reviewer is searching for doct~een Po_lish_ an_d Slovak umversi• 1 uments which would either support ties and msbtutwDs. . or reject some details in Prof. P_rof. Groma~a present~d this Gromada's study such as his stateperiod as seen m the Pohsh _doc- ment about the periodical Nast-up. uments and partly as descnbed He also will endeavor to clear by Slovak or Czech sch?lars. Since some statements published by Polwe do not have ac~ess !n th e Fr~e ish diplomats or the Foreign MinWo:ld to the ~c~ives m Slovakia, ister, Joseph Beck, which Prof. or m Prag_ue, it _is har_d even for Gromada used among his sources. someone hke this reviewer, who Until p of Gromada ublishes his was involved in ~he autonomist whole s~dy of Slovaf-Polish relamovement _ and Pohsh Slovak cul- tions, we hope to be able to answer t~ral rel~tlons, !o state how far the these questions. At the present picture is unbiased or complete. time, we cannot but give recogniVeD'. recently so~e doc~ments or tion to the author for his scholarly s~udies were pubh_shed ~n commu- efforts and well-written chapter of mst Czecho-Slovak1a which shed a Polish-Slovak relations between new light on this period but only the two World Wars. an unbiased study of the archives J. M . Kirschbaum in Prague and Bratislava could THE 1970 LITERARY ALMANAC A noteworthy characteristic of the true Christian Slovak intellectual is that he writes with professional skill and objectivity, and with an ideal practicality-in contrast to many slippery writers of today who deliberately manipulate words in order to confuse. And because this Slovak is a Christian and an intellectual, he ordinarily produces a masterpiece in his choice of subject and his handling of his material, as the contents of the 1970 LITERARNY ALMANACH testify. Owned and edited by Dr. Joseph Pauco in Middletown, Pennsylvania, the LITERARNY ALMANACH is the yearbook of the SLOVAK V AMERIKE, the oldest Slovak newspaper in America, which observed its 80th birthday in the Cyrillian Year of 1969. The new 1970 ALMANACH offers its readers a choice, wellbalanced assortment of literary gems. Here one will find scholarly studies; historical, political, and biographical sketches; short stories and briefer essays; narrative po- �SLOVAKIA ems revealing the hopes, joys and sufferings of the Slovak soul, and a number of deep, difficult poems. Each of the authors endears himself to the reader for each has shared what is dearest to him-his soul's choicest thoughts on a specific topic for the enrichment of Slovak culture and Slovak life. Father Theodoric Zubek highlights a most timely truth in his ''Man Penetrates the Cosmic Atmosphere." Graphically he points out that whatever discoveries man may make in his rendezvouz with the moon, they can in no way alter the wonders of REVELATION. They can but confirm what God has already made known to man for his salvation and sanctification. To those deluded souls who taxied around the moon and " missed seeing God" the author has some telling lines on God's infinity and man's infinitesimality. In a well-documented study entitled "Slovak Presence in Europe Before the 6th Century After Christ," Msgr. John Rekem ably and successfull y proves his thesis. He takes the reader on a mammoth archeological tour that begins in Bratislava and traverses nearly the entire Eastern Hemisphere. He describes artifacts uncovered around Bratislava which date back to 3000 years before Christ. Monsignor is no novice at archeology. In 1968 he spent several weeks in Jericho where he witnessed and personally studied some marvelous excavations. For example, spread out before his eyes were the remains of an ancient city dating back to 8000 B. C., surrounded by a stone wall. Of special interest to the group was a long canal bored into stone running through the city. Monsignor further points out the role of archeology in the study of 169 ancient culture. From excavations in Slovakia, for example, it has been possible to trace the course of languages . . . with the astonishing deduction made that our ancestors already occupied Central Europe some 2000 years before the dawn of history. Recent studies by Slavic scholars indicate also that it is at least probable that our ancestors spoke Sanskrit. Msgr. Rekem's bibliography is impressive, composed as it is of Slovak, French, English, Latin, Ukrainian, and Polish references. His study demonstrates that the latest archeological excavations have opened the world to the existence of ancient cultures and civilizations such as no scientist had ever imagined . " Slovakia in the 20th Centucy (1919-1945 )" is the title of a book authored by L. Liptak and published in Slovakia. A review of part one by Frantisek Vnuk, a competent historian, can be found in the 1970 JEDNOTA KALENDAR. Here in the ALMANACH Vnuk incisively evaluates the second part of a study which purports to be history. But is it genuine histocy? It is not surprising, Vnuk declares, that Liptak's book, spawned by a Communist and issued under a Communist regime, contains some truth, more half truths, and a generous supply of fiction. Liptak blandly states in his book, for example, that a citizen of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945)-unless he was a member of the Hlinka Party-was automatically excluded from political life. This of course is a bald lie. Liptak is definitely biased , as no historian can afford to be. He sees the mote marring the Slovak Republic but is completely blind to the beam crushing the lives of the Slovaks. With fine scorn, Vnuk describes some of �170 SLOVAKIA Liptiik's claims as written with "uncritical senility" and as "degrading history to the level of a Communist tool. " Dr. Joseph Mistrik's contribution in the 1970 ALMANACH is "Prophetical Groups or a New Church?" The article bears out the title and as such is a challenge to anyone following the changes current in the Church today. He rightfully criticizes the underground church - those new-bread sects and deluded Catholics, who aUenate themselves from the true Church and arrogate to themselves its authority. At one point Canon Mistrik refers briefly to Archbishop Helder Camara of Recife, Brazil, calling him the sadly-famous archbishop. May I interpose a personal comment here : Archbishop Camara has identified himself with the, one might say, scum of humanity in Northeastern Brazil where his diocese is located. He is determined to put an end to the new slavery market operating in Brazil where a man is sold to a rich buyer for the price of $25.00 and only young, strong, and healthy men are accepted by the slave-drivers. ( cf. LATIN AMERICA CALLS, March 1969 ). With Dr. Mistrik, however, all faithful Catholics continue to pray, to hope, knowing for a certainty that Christ and His Church will triumph. As a living organism, the Church must shed all dead branches-the prophetical groups -and so rejuvenate herself. "A Salute to Stanislav Meciar" on his 60th birthday by Jan E . Bor contains this beautiful statement: •·Dr. Meciar received from God not only exceptional intellectual gifts, but also a firm, forthright character together with an uncompromising spirit." And this writer begs to add : Also an enormous, divinelike capacity for work. Bor proceeds to tell how Dr. Meciar brought these gifts to fruition in the various responsible positions he held in the Slovak Republic, and in the diversified Ii terary productions that flowed from his pen: books, critical analyses, reviews, commentaries, magazine articles, comparative studies of literature and personalities, evaluations of poetry, of scientific and historical works. Bor points out that Dr. Meciar's publication of the collected works of noted authors places us under real obligation to him . As editor of several literary magazines and newspapers, Dr. Meciar demonstrates that nothing is alien to him so long as it touches the human person. Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum, a competent historian and profilic writer, has contributed two pertinent articles in the 1970 ALMANACH. One of them bears -the title, "The Purloined Last Manuscript of Constantine culen". Its mission is to fulfill the request of the author Constantine culen, who on his deathbed had entrusted him with a certain manuscript on the cult of SS. Cyril and Methodius among Slovak immigrants in the United States and Canada. To fulfill his promise to a dying friend Dr. Kirschbaum prepared culen's manuscript and it now appears in the 1970 ALMANACH under the title : "The Cyril-Methodian Cult Among Slovak Immigrants in the United States and Canada". In this historical study culen makes some pithy comparisons between the Slovaks and the Irish. Both nations were exploited culturally, economically and politically. From both nations thousands migrated to America after crop failures. �SLOVAKIA Culen's study features both lights and shadows, with shadows predominating. Through it runs the bitter thread of Magyar oppression of the Slovaks; their cruel and relentless efforts to magyarize the Slovaks. But here also one sees the golden thread, the adamant resistance of the Slovaks to magyarization. The study further portrays the Slovaks as eager to organize parishes and build churches as soon as they were settled in Americ-a in the latter half of the 19th century. And now also by a natural but too-long suppressed instinct they began freely to venerate their patrons, SS. Cyril and Methodius who had been forcefully excluded from public devotion in Slovakia under the Magyars. The first church in America dedicated to our Slovak holy patrons was erected in 1891 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cult took root and spread throughout Slav America so that ttoday there are 36 churches, many schools, institutions, and two seminaries dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius. The saints are venerated also by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius who continue the apostolate of their patrons for God and His Church. As regards Canadian immigrants from Slovakia, Culen points out, they arrived in Canada in large numbers only after the second World War, differing greatly from the farm folk that came to the United States in an earlier era. Many are professionals who weathered ,the evils of Czech imperialism and Communism. Most are highly educated. Today Canada has 6 churches dedicated to our patrons, but Canadian Slovaks are as deeply devoted to their apostles as good Slovaks anywhere. 171 It is a joy to learn here that a Lutheran priest, Rev. Daniel Zaboj Laucek, propagated the Cyril-Methodian cult in Europe and America and at his personal expense he published a book in 1885 on the significance of our saints for all Slavic peoples. "Dr. Joseph Buday in the Service of Church and Nation," is Jan Mest'ancik's exeellent contribution to the ALMANACH. In it the author introduces his subject as a theologian, philosopher, sociologist, writer, editor, an authority on the Cyril-Methodian cult, and a capable political servant. Before treating the issue at hand, however, Mest'ancik sketches the setting in which Dr. Buday found himself at the beginning of the 20th century. The false religious ideas of Tolstoy were being disseminated among the masses by the renegade Dr. Srobar and his group, the Hlasists. Electioneering maneuvers and pressures of the Hungarian authorities kept the country politically in turmoil. The Slovaks were being discriminated against at every level of endeavor and especially in education. The situation demanded not only wisdom, prudence and patience, but also planned determination and persistent, coordinated action. This challenging atmosphere suited Dr. Buday to a T. Dr. Buday early joined Msgr. Andrew Hlinka in his efforts to wrest from the government the civil and human rights 0f the Slovaks. He used his pen to inform the people. In a series of articles, which appeared in Literarne listy, he routed the pretensions of -Srobar and his Hlasists. With Hlinka he undertook the colossal tesk of improving economic conditions in the villages. They organized cooperatives for the pro- �172 SLOVAKIA duction and sale of fann products and home crafts. lit was this system, adopted throughout Slovakia, which improved the standard of living in Slovak villages. The schools being what they were, Magyar indoctrination centers, Buday - with Hlinka - used the theater to educate the people on how best to serve their own best interests, cultural as well as social and economic. This intensive educational activity bore abundant fruit, says Mest'ancik. In 1901-an unheard of thing-the Slovaks were able to seat 4 representatives in the Hungarian Parliament, and in 1906 the number rose to 7. In 1919, after the Slovak People's Party was organized, Dr. Buday was elected to the Czecho-Slovak Parliament, serving 8 years as a deputy and 11 years as a senator. During the latter term he was also vice-president of Parliament and later of the Senate. In Parliament Dr. Buday proved himself a statesman of the highest caliber. He confronted problems with fine logic and with a keen grasp of the details involved. He preferred to negotiate rather than appeal to emotion, yet he was ready to compromise provided no principle or right was sacrificed. It is easy to see why he gained the respect even of his opponents. Mest'ancik is careful to remind the reader that the Czecho-Slovak Republic did not bring freedom to the Slovaks. The battle for civil and human rights continued. Under the Czechs it was still necessary to press for self-identity and now also for the preservation of the Catholic faith . As nearly all the bishops had been Magyars, they emigrated to Hungary. The situation was explosive in many ways. Assisted by members of the Priests' Council, which Hlinka had speedily organized, Dr. Buday and Blinka, two men with opposite temperaments, achieved the seemingly impossible. Before long the Church was peacefully functioning under its own bishops. . . yet awaiting the inevitable: the ridicule and jeers of Czech unbelievers as they tried to undermine the Catholic Church. In the political sphere the turbulence was even more pronounced. Thousands of Czechs had flocked into Slovakia, ostensibly to assist in organizing affairs of State, but actually they attacked the main arteries of Slovak life like vultures. In no time they occupied the leading positions in the country. Slovak resistance was steadfast and persistent . . . and it continued its Carvary march for 20 years. A new chapter in the hi story of Slovakia was introduced iu 1939 when the Republic of Slovakia was proclaimed, but that is another story. In 1924 Dr. Buday addressed Parliament in a compelling speech , in which he accused the Czech regime of gross injustice against Slovakia. He pointed out that Slo-vak prisons were filled with innocent citizens whose only "crime" was adhering to their national and political convictions and God-given rights. He claimed that thousands of Slovaks, and chiefly the intelligentia, were forced to emigrate because the occupying army of Czech exploiters prevented them from making a living. . . that the h!xing system was unjust, partial and impossible to accept, . . . that Czech propaganda was impressing Europe with false ideas regarding conditions in Slovakia ... and that every call for justice and improvement was answered with cold cynicism. He issued a warning that the Slovak nation would certainly �SLOVAKIA victoriously overcome Czech imperialism as it had weathered centuries of Magyar oppression. Dr. Buday had a hand in any project that contributed to the welfare of the Slovak people. His influence played a role in preventing the Czech effort to equate the Slovak language with theirs and to label it a Czech dialect. Before his death in November 1939, this good and faithful servant of God and country was accorded two unique honors: He was privileged to welcome to Slovakia the American Slovak Delegation, headed by Dr. P. P. ffietko , which triumphantly exhibited the original draft of the famous 1918 Pittsburgh Agreement. The other, which was probably the happiest moment in Dr. Buday's life, occured January 18, 1939, when as a senior member of the National Assembly he opened the first session of the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava with a memorable classical address. One last contribution. All of us who loved Philip Hrobak and revere his memory are grateful to Dr. Pauco for his article, "In What Did Hrobak's Greatness Consist?" Dr. Pauco presents an excellent evaluation of Hrobak as a person. He notes his indefatigable zeal, his extraordinary capacity for work, his kindness of heart. Mention is made of his voluminous carrepondence to inform the English speaking public about the injustice suffered by our people in Slovakia; and to correct the distorted facts published in the U.S. press, usually supplied by Czech propaganda. Dr. Pauco stresses the fact that it was through Hrobak's persistent efforts that at long last the State Department in Washington accepted the distinction between Czechs and Slovaks. No small accomplish- 173 ment for Philip Hrobak or for the Slovak nation. There are many other splendid articles in the 1970 ALMANACH. The more I paged through this issue the more humble I felt in the face of the heroism, the grandeur of character, the erudition, the honest pride, and the deep love for Slovakia of each of its contributors. And so I warn you, gentle reader, that this ALMAN ACH can disturb your conscience, it can thrill you, it can challenge you. Reading it you can lose yourself in the Elysian atmosphere of Slovakia, Communism notwithstanding, until suddenly you realize that you have been carried away to ... what? Try it. If you are fortunate to be able to read and understand Slovak, even just fairly, it is smart to keep the ALMANACH within arm's reach. Sister M. Gabriel Hricko, SS.C.M. I:alendar Jednota 1970: The 73rd edition of the Jednota annual in the Slovak language ... Jednota Press, 1970; 244 pp., Middletown, Pa. , Ed. by Jozef C. Krajsa. The 1970 publication of the Jcdnota annual commemorates 80 years of the Society's function not only in preserving and extending the Slovak heritage in America, but also in furthering wherever possible the various apostolic works of the Church throughout the Slovak world. Laudatory and enthusiastic articles to the fact are written by the Si!preme president, John A. Sabol aud by Msgr. John Senglar, the Society's chaplain. Readers familiar with Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic's erudition and with tht: intellectual beauty of his writtings will find here another �174 SLOVAKIA gem of his poetic prose, "The Human Family-a Masterpiece of Love." Dr. J. M. Kirschbaum, once diplomatic representative of the Slovak Republic to Switzerland, writes from his own rich experience of the suspenseful days prior to the War's end (1944). He highlights the grave responsibilities that faced the delegation and the leaders of Slovakia in those days of crisis. He includes a conversation held with Archbishop P. Bernardini, then Papal Legate to Switzerland, about the future of Europe and concludes his writing with the last diplomatic communique sent to Slovakia from Bern. Msgr. Andrew Hlinka's last will and testament published here for the first time "in toto" should be of great interest to many. A rather lengthy article, but worth the space allotted, is Imrich Kruzliak's development of the Slovak language. He points out that it was principally in the rectories ( both Catholic and Lutheran) throughout Slovakia that the torch of the Slovak spirit and language was first kindled and from there carried afar. Religious articles include: news from the mission fields; statistically backed items on religions and rites in various parts of the world; an exhortation for a better understanding between Greek and Roman rite Catholics; and the Holy Father's address to a Slovak audience upon the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the death of St. Cyril. Several shorter but timely articles stem from Vatican II influence and include recent changes in the Church ( diaconate, Mass, marriage ceremonies, etc.); these topics appear in the Catholic press generally today. Worth mentioning are: Father A. Zan's scholarly report refuting the theory that Sacred Scripture is merely a collection of stories and myths devoid of historic or religious value; the history and purpose of the International Labor Organization; the problem of feeding a future world (a statistical report); and some interesting prove1 bs and maxims culled from the writings of India neatly categorized into various topics and bearing resemblance to the Book of Wisdom. Msgr. J . Rekem reviews the poetry of Gorazd Zvonicky whom he designate as a kindred spirit to Peguy, Verlaine and Rimbalt. Extracts from the poet's works indeed testify that he merits such praise. The J ednota includes a highly informative biographical sketch of Alojz Macek (now living in Argentina). Editor, writer, and active patriot of Slovakia, Macek was founder of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Slovakia and of the "Hlinka Youth." Today his Spanish writings made known to a larger public the historical and cultural background of the Slovaks. Frantisek Vnuk reviews and refutes ~ubomir Luptak's history, Slovakia in the 20th Century. He points out the author's falsification of historical fact, his half tru,ths or truths told "with bad intent". Presenting statistics and historical documentation, Vnuk shows how Luptak ignores and intentionally omits whatever does not serve to further Communistic propaganda. This distorted or "rewritten" history centers on events leading to tht> separation of Slovakia from Austra-Hungary , the Pittsburgh Pact, politics prior to World War II and ,t he Warsaw Pact of 1968. Included in the publication are �SLOVAKIA several fine poetic selections by living Slovak poets and a few short stories. Following a long established custom, the annual features protographs, many of which may interest only members of the society. Other photographs, such as some very fine pictures commemorating the centennial of the death of the poet Jan Holly, which would interest readers in general, are lost among the former. Si ster M . Alfred Massura, SS.C.M. Jednota Annual FURDEK 1970: Published by the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota Press, Middletown, Pa. 1970, 200 pp.) Edited by Joseph C. Krajsa. The 1970 FURDEK is an event as well as a publication. It is a treasure of information as well as a reservoir of delight and diversion. At a glance one notices the diversified appeal of its contents. From the first several pages beam the a•t tractive faces of the young "Promise of the future," collegebound students, subsidized in their course with JEDNOTA scholarships. These young people know from personal experience that the First Catholic Slovak Union is a wide-awake, alert, generous, truly fraternal society of the second half of the twentieth century. An installment of "Who's Who Among Slovak Priests" introduces the reader to some of the ministers of the Gospel called from the Slovak population to proclaim the Good News to the world. Such a Roll-Call of S 1 o v a k - A m e rican priests serves a useful purpose: it satisfies the reader's curiosity and, more importantly, it informs him of the resources of SJovak 175 American culture, its accomplishments, its possibilities, and its blessings. The first title that caught my eye in the FURDEK Almanach was "The Clergy in Slovak History and Culture," by Father Theodoric Zubek, 0 . F . M. I am familiar with the leading role played by clergymen in the history of our nation, but having the spotlight placed on it in a single article is particularly valuable today when our own American clergymen are venturing into leadership roles in government and politics. What combination of circumstances makes this advisable ? What makes it necessary? Whait makes it imperative? How did Bishop Moyses, for example, become President of the Matica Slovenska, the leading cultural society in Slovakia? What conditions brought Monsignor Andrej Hlinka into the limelight? How did Monsignor Jozef Tiso get to be President of the Slovak Republic in 1939? Two articles on St. Cyril were very welcome to me as a Sister of SS. Cyril and Methodius. One was written by Mother M. Emerentia, SS. C. M. , and is a fine scholarly study of the character and accomplishments of our patron. The other is a discourse delivered at a Centenary Assembly of bishops and priests in Greece by Archbishop Maury of Rheims, who was head of the papal delegation at the ceremony. It is a masterpiece in its insight into the holiness, the scholarliness, the universality of St. Cyril, who challenges us eleven hundred years later to promote the best interests of the Church with the mind of Christ. The article on Slovak pioneers show their self-sacrificing spirit and their enthusiastic zeal during the organization of the first Slovak �176 SLOVAKIA parishes. Their experiences in the mines are timely, coinciding with current interest in the Molly Maguires. The stories by Michael Simko are human-interest episodes that delight the reader. "Christmas in Slovakia" and "Slovak Easter Customs" by the Rev. Andrew Pier, 0. S. B. not only fascinate the reader with the wide variety of traditional practices of our ancestors, but also portray to him the rich culture, the deep faith and the joyous spirit so characteristic to our Slovak people. The articles are of particular interest to me since I learned of these customs from my immigrant parents, through our observance of them in our home. In "Slovakia-A Veritable Gem of Central Europe" one is carried to the scenic sights of the Tatras and the shores of the beautiful Danube, the Gothic churches and cathedrals, the ancient castles, the fishing and hunting grounds, and the historic cities of the country. The article is a source of valuable information, both cultural and historical and practical, mentioning as it does also the famous health resorts and modern tourist facilities. We are fully aware that the immigrants who came to the shores of America from every European country contributed to the rapid growth and progress of this nation. I wonder, however, whether any other ethnic group has knowledge of its very first immigrant. Sister Martina, SS. C. M. has enriched us with her fine article on the "First Slovak Immigralllt-Samuel Francis Figuly," portraying him as an individual of unusual caliber, wide and daring experiences, good education, and strong convictions. In the scholarly article, "Slovaks and the Upheavals of Czecho-Slovakia" by J. M. Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., the reader sees a change in the attitude to the West toward Slovaks; namely, that they do exist. He is also enlightened on the many causes of dissatisfaction and discrimination against them since 1918, when the Czecho-Slovak Republic was established. Sister M. Evangela's presentation of the "Organization of the Slovak Catholic Students Fraternity" and iits publication of FURDEK is interesting. In dialogue from Sister gives the reader a vivid picture of the enthusiasm of the Fraternity's first members, its aims and its progress. Though their publication of FURDEK in Slovak ceased in 1941, the English publication is a highly cultural and literary annual, as this issue substantiates. Sister M. Clotil,da Omasta, SS. C. M., M.A. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union. �SLOVAKIA 177 Our Contributors historian; professor, Institute of Technology, Francis Vnuk, M.A . - Adelaide, Australia. Sr. M. Martina Tybor, SS. C. M . John T . Van Sant - teacher and author, Danville, Pa. Senator of Pennsylvania and Majority Whip. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LL. D., Ph.D. - former diplomat, professor, historian, author, Toronto, Ontario. former professor at Bratislava University, prominent Slovak historian and educator. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. (late) - Konstantin Culen (late) - outstanding newspaperman, author, politi- cian. Joseph A . Mikus, M. CL., J. D. professor, historian, author, former diplomat, Washington, D. C. newspaperman, political prisoner under Stalinists in Slovakia; now editor of Kanadsky Slovak, Toronto, Ontario. Marian Jankovsky - Joseph C. Krajsa - Slovak American Fraternalist, Editor, Jednota, Middletown, Pa. Sister M . Gabriel Hricko, SS. C. M., Sister M . Alfred Massura, SS. C. M., Sister M. Clotilda Omasta, SS. C. M., M. A. - teachers, Danville, Pa. �178 SLOVAKIA Contents F. Vnuk . - Slovak Language and Literature Will the Phoenix Rise Again? - 3 Sister M. Martina Tybor - John T. Van Sant Slovaks Have Repaid Their Adopted Country WelZ - - 11 28 Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum - The Political Message of Matus Cernak This Is Slovakia - Francis Hrufovsky - Dr. Francis Hrusovsky - the Man - 42 K. tulen 70 Joseph A. Mikus Ruzena Svobodova's "Feuilletons on Slovakia" - 76 I Was a Communist - J. V. - 90 Marian Jankovsky - Powers of Darkness and Powers of Truth The Development of Slovak Literature Matica Slovenska - Joseph S. Kost - Our Cyrilo-Methodian Heritage - Karen Ann Syzdek - 94 105 113 Patricia Revetta - American Slovaks on the Home and War Fronts - 116 122 The Centenary of Bishop S. Moyses - J. M. Kirschbaum - The Slovak League Firmly Believes - 139 Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia - 35 Joseph C. Krajsa - 131 141 Current Issues (Senator Hugh Scott's Speech Before Slovak League of America in Washington. - Edward M. Zelenak: The Slovaks of Detroit. - Winn Gallegher: A Slovak Immigrant - Master of Arts. - 50 Years in Danville, Pa.) - 143 As Others See It - 154 Comments (Two Czech Professors about Slovak°Czech Relations "Slovak News" or Communist Propaganda) - - 159 Book Reviews (J.M. Kirschbaum: Books on the Event in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968 - Heinrich Kuhn: Handbuch der Tschechoslowakei Rudolf Sturm: Czechoslovakia - A Bibliographic Guide - Stefan Glejdura: Los Grandes Problemas dei Este Europeo - Thaddeus V. Gromada: Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists - Sister M. Gabriel Hricko, SS. C. M.: The 1970 Literary Almanac. - Sister M. Alfred Massura, SS. C. M.: Kalendar Jednota 1970. - Sister M. Clotilda Omasta, SS. C. M.: Jednota Annual Furdek 1970) - 162 �SLOVAKIA ~ V .;::-v ~~ 4."'<~':r-, 0 sAsnK o BAN, STIA VN'lc'A TRNAVA 0 'Q: Q: (.;~ $ ��PRI NTI D IN U.S. A. JIDN OTA PlllN TER Y, MID DLli TOW N, PA. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 143 CURRENT ISS UES Senator Hugh Scott's Speech Before Slovak League of America in Washington Following are the remarks made by Senator Hugh Scott, (R-Pa.) at the Sheraton-Park Hotel, Washington, D.C., May 24, 1969: It is a special pleasure to be with you tonight, for I feel that an important part of Pennsylvania has come to Washington, in the form of the Slovak League of America. Yes, I am aware that all Slovak Americans do not live in Pennsylvania, but I am also aware that many of your League members do live in my state and have contributed greatly to its growth and diverse strength. Besides that, the real drama of Slovaks in America - the opening wedge toward recognition of an independent state of Slovakia - occurred in Pittsburgh in 1918 with the signing of the Pittsburgh Pact. If that did not bring immediate independence, it was not the fault of the Slovak League of America which has been fighting through the years, since 11 years before the Pittsburgh Pact, to realize the Slovakian dream of independence. Today, you finally see Slovakia independence of the Czechs to the extent of being a so-called Socialist Repub1ic, equal in stature to the Czech Socialist Republic. But the tragedy of domination persists, in the form of the Soviet tyranny ov·e r all of Eastern Europe, including Czecho-Slo,vakia. The history of the spirit of independence in Slovakia and among Slovaks in America is all the more remarkable because the fire of your spirit is fed by the barest sparks of realized freedom. Thus, in 1918, there was jubilation at the Pittsburgh Pact, which was quickly snuffed out; in 1938, another period of joyful independence, which the Nazis crushed; and in 1968, a moment of rebellion, which the Soviets put a halt to. In each of these magic moments, however, the world could recognize 144 SLOVAKIA the spirit of the Slovaks as the spirit of freedom, and it is a spirit the world envies. So great is your love of freedom and your pride in your nation and peoples, that Slovak Americans, through the Slovak League made a memorable effort to aid the United States cause during World War II. Not only did many fight in the American uniform, many more helped to forge the weapons of defense in the factories of Pennsylvania, and still others conducted immensely successful war bond drives and airplanebuying fund raising campaigns. Even the ladies pitched in, with their ladies auxiliary organization. As one who served both in Congress and in the military during the war years, I believe I can express the thanks of a grateful nation for the efforts of the Slovak Americans. Yes, you have much to be proud of, and you are to be commended for keeping your heritage and your pride in it alive through the Slovak League of America. We have all noted much about pride in recent news stories. Black pride is viewed as an emerging force in the United States, and in a context of pride in the Negro's contribution to America in history, and pride in one's race and self, it is a wonderful thing. Because I also believe in pride in language, I co-sponsored the Bilingual Education Act which passed in 1968 and which helps Spanish-speaking children learn in their own tongue before and during the time they are learning English. The culture of the Slovaks is equally a part of our diverse American heritage. I mention these efforts to give certain citizens of the United States greater opportunity because I think it shows that Congress and the people of the United States are generally coming to a realization that you and your group has held for a long time: That we as a people are strengthened by our heritage and are culturally richer in our diversity. Slovaks, through the Slovak League of America, put great emphasis on education, convey the importance of pride in the Slovak language, and see to it that generation after generation keeps the flame of liberty alive in their hearts. It is a matter of perpetuating a heritage. and it is an important thing. Even today the Slovak League of America seeks a righteous path for the Slovak people, when it requests a.n independent 145 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- Slovak sedion in the State Department, a Slovak Desk with the Voice of America, and a general Consulate in Bratislava. I support these requests and will help you in these endeavors. I commend the Slovak League of America for setting an example through its organization, and I thank the Slovak League for its contribution to this nation and to the ideal of liberty among men. The Slovaks of Detroit ( August 1968 - August 1969) In the early months of 1968 Detroit was undergoing a transitional change which led Slovak people into moving out of older neighborhoods surrounding the Slovak parishes to the suburbs, literally become "afraid" to return to the neighborhood for church and lodge meetings, which led to a noticable decrease in lodge membership and presence of Slovak people at major functions. The lodges were desperately trying to hold their organizations together and attempted to get the Slovak people out and united again. There was also a search for young Slovak blood to help carry out the Slovak cause to the next generation. Recent shake-ups in the structure of Czecho-Slovakia gave a new hope to us. In January a new leader, a Slovak, took rule. Alexander Dubcek gave new hope and once again offered new courage in the fight for a democracy and a "Free Slovakia". Once again children began to wonder who Father Tiso was. A Slovak Language Class was instituted and attracted many members from all over. Slovak picnics gathered large encouraging crowds. People returned for Slovak masses and began enrolling in the lodges and fraternal groups. In Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia, the sense of freedom was felt even greater. But as if a fairytale, it was crushed. They had been invaded by the same Russian "Liberator", the one who had already destroyed Slovak freedom 22 years earlier. The Slovaks of Detroit felt equally as crushed. United, we planned to voice our emotions. Many had relatives or friends in Slovakia, or remembered the Communist tyranny they felt after World 146 SLOVAKIA War II. Throughout the United States a brutal portrayal of the invasion was given, referring it as one against Czechs, calling Slovaks the lower and less intelligent class, and even calling Alexander Dubcek a Czech. On August 26, 1968, the Slovaks of Detroit gathered at the Federal Building to hold a peaceful demonstration against the Soviet Aggression. Appearing before nationwide television and press, Michigan vice-president of the Slovak League of America Jan Beliansky denounced the invasion saying "We abhor the brutal aggression against Czecho-Slovakia by the Russians and their occupation of the country. They are killing young people for no reason at all." He also called upon the United States to take a stand in support of the Liberal policies of Alexander Dubcek. The entire nation now knew that the invasion could not be dismissed without any action. Within the next month after the invasion another noticable increase of membership in the Slovak League took place. Slovaks were ready once again to stand up "FOR GOD AND FOR COUNTRY". With fall rapidly approaching the Dominican Nuns of Oxford were busy making plans for their bi-annual "Fall Festival". With the help of the Slovak League of America and many Slovak Parishes, the festival, held on Sunday September 22, was a big success. Over 10,000 Slovaks attended. The second week of October brought about the "OLD WORLD MARKET" at the International Institute, where the Slovaks aided other nationalities in setting up booths selling Art Work, Clothes, Books, Dolls and other forms of ethnic art. Aside from our booth, we had a Slovenska Kuchyna serving Slovak food and pastries to the public. On the final day of the Old World Market, a troop of Slovak Violinists, Dancers and Musicians performed for the Institute. THE DETROIT FREE PRESS also carried an article in the vicinity of a full page specifically about the Slovaks. November 8, 1968 marked the first airing date for the Slovak Radio Program on station WABX 99.5 FM DETROIT. Independently financed, it plays beloved Slovak songs and reports Slovak History, Geography, and Current Events. During this time the Slovak Language Class was en- SLOVAKIA 147 route to a second successful year. People young and old came to study lessons in grammar, music and history. The large turnout also aided in another measurable step towards preserving Slovak Heritage. The "Slovak Village Entertainers" was created, composed of Slovak singers, dancers, commedians and musicians. After their debut at Sacred Heart Center on the first of December, they were flooded with requests to perform for banquets, installations and parties for many organizations. Dance Choreographers Veronica Uhrin and Mary Hric are constantly searching for new Slovak talent, as is the recently added Music Choreographer Professor John M. Demchak, in order to preserve Slovak Culture. Two members have recently received scholarships to attend the world-famous music school INTERLOCHEN. January 1, 1969 was an eventful day for Slovaks of the World. It marked the official creation of CzechoSlovakia, two independent but united nations. Around this t ime the Slovaks felt a need to get together and celebrate. In order to compensate, the two Detroit branches of the Slovak League of America gathered at Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Detroit to hold a "Family Affair", featuring an afternoon of Slovak Entertainment, Movies and Socializing. March 14, 1969 was the 30th anniversary of Slovak Independence and t he creation of the Slovak Republic. To commemorate this bumper stickers bearing the slogan 1939 FREEDOM FOR SLOVAKIA 1969 were printed and distributed. Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary of the Slovak League of America, came to Detroit to give the major address. He was then interviewed by CBS television concerning recent developments in Czecho-Slovakia. In order to further promote Slovak socializing and entertainment, Branch 15 of the Slovak League instituted in what is now known as "Slovakia Saturday Nights" featuring continuous entertainment, Slovak sing-a-longs, games and a dinner. From the large turnout they have decided to have possibly four or five a year. With summer approaching Slovak youths were involved in either practicing for the NATIONAL SLET of the SOKOLS or school track teams. Joseph Smetanka, a sophomore at Wayne State University, broke records 148 SLOVAKIA in relay races against other top Universities and made headlines coaching the Wayne State team and a private team of youths to nationwide victories. Joseph, a member of many Slovak organizations, hopes to oneday teach gym classes or receive a Masters Degree in Physical Education. On May 20, 1969 the Slovak Village Entertainers, leading a float draped with the Slovak Flag, marched with other Slovak youths and twenty different nationalities in a "Nationalities Day Parade". Four days later a Detroit delegation attended the Slovak League of America Conference in Washington, D. C. During the summer, many Detroit Sokols took first place in the SLET and brought home their awards. To remember the first anniversary of the Russian Invasion, over 250 Slovaks gathered in Kennedy Square to hold a "peaceful demonstration", receiving press coverage from 3 television networks, J radio and two newspapers. Our protest should undoubtedly be felt, with our proclamation of "A DAY OF SHAME", by all the bureaucrats in Washington, the leaders of the U. N. and the tyrants at the Kremlin. The Slovak struggle for recognition in a liberal world will be felt! Being only sixteen years of age and newcomer to the Slovak scene politically and physically I hope one day to take over in the same pattern of which our Slovak leaders left off. A trail has been blazed: Slovak Youth must follow . A Slovak "Renaissance" is taking place. The work has been started. It is now up to the people to continue it. Edward M. Zelenak A Slovak In11nigrant - Master of Arts By WINN GALLEGHER ( Pottstown Mercury Staff Writer) A skilled representative of a lost art, woodcarver, and cabinetmaker, Karl M. Pacanovsky, Douglasville RD 2, is head of the arts and crafts department at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa. Born in Slovakia in 1894, Pacanovsky was apprenticed to a woodworker in the old world fashion at the age 11. 149 SLOVAKIA His father was a farmer who believed his sons should have the benefits of a craft. His three boys were sent to the city to receive their training. Recalling his early years, Pacanovsky said, "In our village, I was always the one who whittled, so it was natural for me to receive training in this field. I studied for three years, and by the time I was 17, I was doing altars for various churches." A local example of the ecclesiastical work of the artist is the pulpit of St. Aloysius Catholic church. It is typical of the Gothic style of most of Pacanovsky's work. Also created items for the Holy Trinity Slovak Catholic Church . * • The desire to come to America followed extensive travel, through Europe, largely by foot. "The decision to come to the United States came after my fascination with the port of Hamburg and the ocean liners I saw there," reminisces Pacanovsky. "After borrowing the money from my father, I sailed for this country, arriving at Newark, N. J., in 1913." The craftsman then was employed by several woodworking firms, including Tiffany and company. This was accompanied by attending nigh~ schoo\ classes in English and drawing and design for seven years. A combination of the depression and Pacanovsky's own love for schooling made him decide to enter Rutgers university, New Brunswick to prepare himself for the teaching profession. "After completing my studies there I taught at various public and private schools, coming to The Hill in 1944." He is heading the arts and crafts department there since 1952. This includes the studio and metal divisions as well as the carving and mechanical drawing taught by the artist himself. Clearly loving his teaching duties, Pacanovsky is articulate in discussing them. "The role of woodworking in education is a creative 150 SLOVAKIA one. I endeavor not to confine the work to merely carving, but to make it an experience including vision, skill, and aesthetics," asserts the teacher. "My purpose is not to make woodcarvers out of all the boys," he continues, "because it is not so much what the boy does to the wood as what the wood does to the boy." Pacanovsky laments the inroads industrialization has made into rapidly disappearing arts such. as his own. "Modern society wants everything done quickly and simply, and the old crafts are vanishing in the Western World, perhaps with the exception of Scandinavia, where they are frequently subsidized by the government," he said, "and they manage to unite modern art to the craft tradition." Pacanovsky has a very flexible attitude on today's artistic expression. "I am very much a traditionalist, but enjoy many of approaches, perhaps because there is no such modern the thing as pure originality," he theorizes. "The experience of all men are rooted in tradition and common to all generations." * * He finds the reward of his own skill lied in the work itself. "It is only through fine creative expression that we are able to develop character. One must know the feeling of making something," he said. Pacanovsky is respectful of the artistic endeavors of all men, and refused to critize the message in another's work. "All art should have meaning, but I never condemn a work because I personally cannot extract it," he declares. He considers the basic requirements for the field of art are of design, line, and proportion, and finds the biggest handicap to be symptomatic of the times. "People today, for instance my students, have an SLOVAKIA 151 attitude of mediacrity being good enough. I always illustrate that this is not so by pointing out that the surgeon cannot do a slipshod job on a patient on the grounds that it isn't his best, but it's good enough." Pacanovsky's teaching requires most of his time during the school term, but during the Summertime he makes cabinets and cases for The Hill, as well as executing beautifully lettered signs. One of his most unusual projects recently was the designing and executing of a mace for the school which is used in processionals. Pacanovsky occasionally is commissioned to make new pieces of furniture, both in traditional and modern design, but finds his academic duties restrict outside professional work. Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius 50 Years in Danville, Pa. June 19, 1969 mairked 50 yeaas that the Slovak Siste['s of SS. Cyril and Methodius arrived wt Danville, Pa. Their first words were the scriptuiral, "Lord, it is good fo[' us to be he['e." Ten year,s oJd, the Conwreg:wtion of the Sisteirs of SS. Cyiril and Methodius had been established in 1909 by F1aither Matthew Jankola, a Sloviak immigranit pries,t, under the guidance of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate He,a,r,t of Mall'y, of Marywood, Scranton. Its firsit Sisters had received their training at Macywood, which also served as the young Communiity's headquarters. All its retreats aaid profoession ceremooies burt one had been held wt M,airywood . By June, 1919, the mem~ship of the new community numbe['ed 57 professed Si,s,teirs, 30 novices and 9 postulants. Lt had reached the stage where Lt was able lo assume its own leadership and establish its own administration , functioning under Church law. Its first chapte•r , held at Marywood in 1915, had resulrted in the election of Mother Macy Mihalik as first superioir general. At her d e a th within a yeair she was repl,aced by Mother M. Emmanuel Pauly, whose term extended over six years until 1922. The community of Religious had already assumed cha,r g,e of pa,rish schools in Pennsylvania and Connecticut and of an o,r phanag,e of the Fiirst CaJtho1ic Slovak Union (Jednota) in Middletown, Pa. What 152 SLOVAKIA it needed more than anything was a motherhouse kom which to admini.Siter the congregation and a residence for the training of novices and postulants by canonical standards. As the young community outgrew the facilities at Mairywood, its administration had transferred to the large parish convent in Plymouth, Pa., where Mather Mary resided. The novices and postulants were divided among the Plymouth, Pittston and Olyphant, (Pa.) convents. 1n 1917 a lairge house was leased to the community on t he Jednota premises at Middletown, Pa., which accomcxfated the novices and postulants and also served as a temporary motherhouse for the community. It soon became inadequate. Meanwhile Mother M. Emmanuel Pauly was alert to any prospects of acquiring a motherhouse for the community. Through Father Julius C. Foin, pastor at Middletown and a Danville, Pa., native, she learned about Castle Grove, vacant at the time for 14 years. She informed Bishop Philip R. McDevitt of Harrisburg, Pa., who in turn communicated with Father 1-' ran c is X. Dougherty, pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Danville, asking him to investigate the property. This was in the fuU of 1918. Negotiations were set in motion and by the spring of 1919 the transaction was completed. 'J.'lhe Sis,te,rs of SS. Cyril and Methodius acquired Castle Grove and took possession of it on June 19, 1919. The estate was renamed Villa Saored Heart because the date of the Sisiters' arrival from Jednota in Middletown, Pa., coincided with the season of the Sacred Heart in Catholic liturgy. The Sisters recalled that they arrived by train from Hairrisburg, Pa., before noon on June 18, only to find that a technicality still barrnd them from entering Castle Grove. A signature was lacking on the deed. The Sisters we-r e meanwhile offered hospi,tali,ty and night's lodging by the Immaculate Hca'l"t Sisters a,t St. Joseph's Convent on Bloom Road. The following morning a f t c r Mass at St. Joseph's Church the novitiate gr{)IUp, which included Rev. Mother M. Emmanuel and l\Iother M . Monica, an Immaculate Heart Sister \Vho had been retained as d1rector of novices for the community, walked sile!l!tly d own Route 11 towaird their new home. Passing under the archway over the e!l!trance and up the narrow fo()lj; path, they surveyed the broad expanse of high grass and majestic trees and glimpsed at the mansion beyond. The cry which burst from their lips was "Lord , il is good for us to be here." The property was deteriorated, but graduaJ!y through the weeks that followed the house was resLored somewha,t to its original splendor and modified to convent specifications, and the campus recovered some of its beauty and design . By July 7, feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius, the lairge salon on the first floor was furnished as a chapel and Bishop McDevi.ltt offered the first Mass for the community at Villa Sacred Heart. The work of intensive cleaning and restoration both indoors and out continued through July. The professed Sisters returned from their pa;rish missions to make their annual retreat in August, the first a,t Vil1a Sacred Heart. It was fol- SLOVAKIA lowed by the first reception and profession ceremonies, at which 15 novices were professed and 9 postulaints received the habit and white veil of a novice. This brought the community members hip to 72 professed Sisters and 24 novices. By the end of Augus,t . ix new candidates had entered the community and they were ready to begin their training as postulants. Within fi.f,t,y years the face of Villa Sacred Heart has changed, showing expansion and growth. As the community membership increased and additional projects were undertakoo, St. Cyril AcadPmy for girls was opened in 1922 and a new building was erected in 1929. For its religious ceremonies and worship, a chapel was added in 1939. A three-story wing, conn eoted with the academy and matching it in architecture and design, was completed and dedicated in the fall of 1957. Maria Joseph M-anoc wa-s erected on a site bordering the mOitherwise property in 1962. M,ari-a Hall, a home for retired Sisters, is presently rising and will be completed by the summer of 1970. professed Sisters. 13 novice and 3 postulan ts. An add Ltional 55 Sis ters lie buried in the community's cemetery. The Sisters teach in 36 Slovak parish schools in the archdiocese of Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and the dioceses of Harrisburg, Bridge port, Charleston, Gary, Hartford, Greensburg, Steubenville, Scranton , Syracuse and Trenton. They also are on the staffs of six Catholic central high schools. Every summer and throughout the school year, the Sisters engage in r-atechetical work, and in recent years have intensified their efforts in this field. The Sisters also conduct a ?SY· chological and reading clinic in Wilkes-Barre. Bes ides St. Cyril Academy they also teach at Blessed Sacrament Academy in Yonkers, New York and Andrean Hi g h School in Gary, Ind . The congregation is in warge of t he Jednota Orphanage in Middletown, Pa., and besides Maria Joseph Manor it comducts Villa SL Cyril, a home for the aged, in Highland Park. UL The Sisters have worked with Headst a:rt and other special programs for underprivileged groups. This summer these and similar programs are in operation here in Danville, and in Bridgeport, Conn., Chairleston. S.C., Chicago, and Gary. In the 60 years the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Meth-odius has been serving the Church and the Slovak people, it has reached a membership of 425 • 153 • THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States. 154 - - - -- SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - · - - - - - AS OTHERS "You may be assured of my continued interest in a free and independent Slovakia." - Richard Schweiker, United States Senate "Our country has been vastly enriched by the contributions which your membership and your fellow Slovak Americans have made down through the years." - Edward W . Brooke, United States Senate "I appreciate your thoughtfulness in sending me the latest issue of your publication Slovakia. 1 found it most interesting." - John Sherman Cooper, U. S. Senate "Slovaks in my area and throughout the nation are known as a proud, talented, industrious, and deeply religious people who continue to aspire to the attainment of freedom and liberty despite the many years of Communist rule of their ancestral homeland." -John P . Saylor, Member of Congress "Long have I known of the grand work the American Slovak League has done over the years of its existence. "The Slovak people have a glorious history and a noble tradition. For over a thousand years they have fought continuously for their national independence. Today that tradition is still carried on proudly by your League which struggles unremittingly for the human and national rights of the Slovak people. In that struggle you have my full support for I have always stood behind the right of every nation, large and small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. "Your civic and cultural contributions to America also stand as a great tribute to your organization. The immigrants from Slovakia in SEE IT years past have made many wonderful and inspiring contributions to the American way of life. The League has played a great part in encouraging them to be alert and loyal citizens. "By continuing the good work of the Slovak League, you are doing a service for the United States, for the people of Slovakia, and for all humanity." - Michael A. Feighan, Member of Congress "Be sure of my continued support for a free and independent Slovakia." - Clement J. Zablocki, Member of Congress "I want to extend to the Slovak League of America and its membership my regards and sincere commendation for their outstanding achievements in the interest of all freedom loving people."-John W . Wydler, Member of Congress "These are trying times for all who are interested in the welfare of your homeland, which means all who love freedom and liberty. I k n o w that your activities give strength to the freedom-loving people in Slovakia in their continuing struggle to regain control of their destiny."-Frank T . Bow, Member of Congress "As citizens the Slovak-Americans have contributed immeasurably to the religious, cultural, educational, industrial, and civic growth and betterment of our cities, and our country. "I want to take this opportunity to commend those of Slovakian heritage for their courage and forebearance."-Guy Vander Jagt, Member of Congress "My greetings and v e r y b e s c w i s h e s to my Slovak-American SLOVAKIA friends for whom I am constantly striving in the Congress to make this a truly free world for all people. " - William E . Mi nshall, Member of Congress 155 to make the best of their opportunities. "There is nonetheless a note of sadness as your thoughts inevitably turn to those of your brethren who remain in your a n c e s t r a I homeland. It is a paradox of the twentieth century that while more than sixty nations on other continents have gained their independence from colonial powers since World War II, a number of the ancient lands of Europe have been swallowed up by the Soviet Empire."-Harold R. Colli er, Member of Congress "I do wish to assure you that I shall continue my interest in the affair of your League and look forward to another opportunity to join with you. " -Martin B . McKneally , Member of Congress "I am pleased once again to have the opportunity to salute your untiring efforts toward freedom and your unailing patriotism and courage." - Willi am S. Moorehead, Member of Congress "I am well aware of the immense contribution to American life which has been made by our Slovak-American citizens. They have brought to us in this country the same religious strength and the same love of freedom which they learned in their motherland. Even today that same spirit of freedom can be seen in the establishment of the Slovak Republic in a federated CzechoSlovakia. This is the culmination of years of effort by a great people who wish to keep their own identity. "-Joseph M . McDade, Member of Congress "I heartily support the efforts of the Slovak League of America to keep alive the torch of freedom for so many who must remain behind the Iron Curtain of oppression."Charles A . Vanik, Member of Congress "Congratulations on many con"I wish to comp l i m e n t you r League on the superb work you are tributions to international underdoing." - Seymour Halpern, Mem- standing and cultural exchange."Margaret M . Heckler, Member of ber of Congress Congress "I received the latest issue of "I would like you to know that Slovakia which you recently sent receive Slovaki a, and find th~ did I me, and have enjoyed reading it." of interest." - John B . publication - Charles W. Whalen, Jr., Member Anderson, Member of Congress of Congress 'Thank you for the book entitled "Many of the people whom I am edited by Dr. Joseph PauSlovakia, naprivileged to represent in the to read this book planning am I co. tional House of Representatives for it will be possible as soon as either came to the United States resource."-William useful very a from Slovakia or are the descendMember of Congress ants of immigrants from that na- T . Mtirphy, " The s t r u g g l e continues for tion. Through the years they have proved themselves to be loyal Ame- equal representation and national ricans and good citizens of their rights which the Slovak League beadopted country, serving it with gan more than 50 years ago. I share equal diligence through war and your concern about the Soviet oppeace, and inspiring their children pression of the Slovak people. I 156 SLOVAKIA pray we will see the day when the Slovak people will be permitted to establish their o w n independent nation in Europe, with freedom to select their own leaders and their own path of government." - John Myers, Member of Congress "I command the efforts of the Slovak League of America to maintain culture and traditions of Slovakia here in United States. We must be confident of the f u tu re and continue to work for the day when legitimate independence and true freedom is enjoyed by people of Slovakia and all other captives of Communism."-Edward J . Derwinski, Member of Congress "Every Slovak American is extremely p r o u d of the League's years of interest in the cultural and historical betterment of all American Slovaks." - Joseph M . Gaydos, Member of Congress "The yearning for liberty and independence among Slovaks will continue until they will be able to determine their own destiny; and, I am ceritain, as an independent nation, will constructively contribute to the well being and peace of the world. You may be assured of my continuing efforts for selfdetermination of all Captive Nations and of my warm and special interest for the Slovak nation." Michael A. F eighan, M. C., 20th District, Ohio "I am aware of the constant struggle of Slovak people to regain their independence and live side by side with other free nations of the world. It is my desire and hope that the spirit and determination of the Slovak people will not be broken and that the Slovak nation will once again have the right to choose its own destiny. In these just aspirations of Slovak people all of us should help. I pledge my support in this respect. '' William E. Minshall, M. C., 23rd District, Ohio "Slovak nationalism was an important element in the early days of the reform movement. Mr. Novotny, the former President, who was passionately disliked in Slovakia for his discriminatory poli. cies, paid the penalty for ignoring it. " (The Times, October 31, 1968) . "For all the pride and satisfaction with which Czecho-Slovakia has introduced federalization of the Czech and Slovak nations, real equality still remains a promise rather than a practical accomplish ment ... many stormy sessions lie ahead with the Slovaks pressing for even greater autonomy. At the roots of the conflict is the fact that, since its inception 50 years ago, the republic has boasted of having established unity with equality for the two nations without the Slovaks ever having actually achieved this equality." (The Times, October 28, 1968). "Although lip service has been paid to ethnic equality by both the pre-World War II Masaryk republic and the post-war Communists, the Slovaks have always, with considerable justice, felt that they were getting the short end of the stick. Before the war, Slovak nationalists demanded virtual national independence." (John P . Roche, San Francisco Examiner. July 3, 1969) . - "The main tourist centers (in the High Tatra Mountains, Slovakia ) are Stary Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica and Strbske Plesoeach more scenically beautiful than the other. "The 17-mile mountain range with some 300 ragged peaks, romantic valleys and ice-blue small lakes can compete with any Alpine SLOVAKIA 157 area. The width of the range is removed the country's most popu10 miles." (The New York Times; lar liberal from the domestic political scene, thereby placating the October 31, 1969. "Americans teens are lucky be- ultras. At the same time, he won cause 'they don't have to worry plaudits from the liberals by reabout politics like we do', said fusing to place Dubcek balked, Michael, 18, of Bratislava . .. There protesting that he would return are two 'nations' in Czecho-Slova- to his old job of factory machinist kia, they said-the Czechs and the rather than leave the country. But Slovaks. Because they are Slovaks, in the end he bowed to the party the boys don't like our tendency order, knowing full well that his to shorten "Czechoslovakian' to refusal would only further inflame 'Czech'. That, they said, is incor- political passions in Prague." rect because almost half the people (Newsweek, December 29, 1969). "Father Hlinka insisted that the in their country are not Czechs, they're Slovaks." (The Times Un- Czechs and Slovaks were not one ion, Rochester, N. Y., July 26, nation , but two distinct nations, 1968). and therefore the Slovaks had as much right to self-government as "Slovak painters and graphic artists, among them Milan Laluha, any other self-respecting nation. " Ladislav Guderna and M. Brunov- (Thaddeus V. Gromada , siavic Resky, were acclaimed in Italy, view, September 1969). France and Canada. The works of sculptors Uher and Bartfay became known . . . The operas of Eugen Suchoii. were performed throughout Europe, and the music of Jan Cikker and Alexander Moyzes were heralded in many parts of the world. Viliam Bukovy's modernist compositions were honored at international music and film festivals. He also wrote music for several Hollywood films. Another composer, Ilja Zelienka, won first prizes at several European modern music festivals. "Slovaks also made important medical contributions. The Slovak Institute of Biochemistry became known for its discoveries of antibiotics and work in concer research. The Microbiological Institute, headed by Dr. Dionyz Blazkovic, was hailed for its achievements bi iinmunobiology and allergiology." (Jan Samak, East Europe. Vol. 18, No. 7). "By naming Dubcek to the post of ambassador to Turkey, Husak "Not even the closest associates of Gustav Husak, the new party chief, are likely to be sure about how to proceed. Politically, Husak has to fight on two fronts and many think that the threat from the extreme left is far more dangerous to him than that from the "right-wing opportunists", as the new jargon refers to supporters of his reform-minded predecessor, Alexander Dubcek. "The party is rocked by expulsions and mass resignations. According to some private estimates it has already lost 300,000 of its 1.7 million members. Those who stayed can be divided into at last four different wings fighting each other. Purges have assumed bizarre proportions, extending from secret police to sports federations, from the foreign service to the Communist-led children organization. "Husak had pleaded not to turn the party into a "slaughter-house,'' but some top radicals openly en- 158 SLOVAKIA courage neo-Stalinists in the lower ranks to push even harder. Evidence of the struggle for power in the party is ample even in the press, which is now tightly controlled again. "In the economic field, the situation is nearly chaotic. The new leadership has canceled almost all of the reforms, but also has announced it will not return to preDubcek concepts. Except for "work harder" appeals, the regime has yet to disclose which panacea it will propose. Some of the top industry managers have been fired for liberal leanings, many others are uncertain about their fate. Thousands of employees and workers now have had marks for political unreliability in their personnel files, hampering prospects for better pay and promotion. The working morale of others is hardly any better; their unions which started developing some muscle during the Dubcek era have again been reduced into tools of the party. " 'Sick rates' are running double those last years and workers take it easy. Husak estimates that 20 per cent of the working time now is idled away. Stringest penalties have been introduces for loafers but that is hardly likely to boost their spirits. "Party leaders allege that rightwing calls for passive resistance also hurt the economy. 'The worse the better' is a slogan actually proposed by one though seemingly small school of thought. " 'Economic crisis have toppled Novotny', explained one veteran party member and anti-Stalinist referring to the old guard leader Antonin Novotny who was replaced by Dubcek. Maybe this will force a change again. "Average wages have increased but so have prices, setting off a Western-style inflationary spiral. That, in turn, and despite official denials, fueled rumors of an impending currency reform. Shops, already, undersupplied, were beleaguered. 'He who hesitates will not buy well' was the superfluous warning on a Prague display window. "Vexing shortages, from prams to pajamas, have become a fact of life in the million-population capitol. The pantie problem became so prickly that special hardcurrency funds were pried loose to pay for emergency imports. The hard currency may have come increased meat exports to the West which have helped dry up supplies of pork, a stample food of Czechs and Slovaks. "Now laws threaten court punishment to hoarders and even sales clerks who talk a customer into buying more than he actually needs. The man in the street will readily blame part of the shortages on the Russian occupation troops. Stories make the round of a Red Army man entering a store and asking for 'five kilograms of panties.' " ( Associated Press, February 22, 1970) . "I returned to Vienna with mixed emotions about the status of the people in Czecho-Slovakia but I also brought a brand new Slovak diet for reducing. The Slovaks call it the 'American diet.' Here it is : "You can eat all the chicken and drink all the Sliwowitz you can manage. But no bread, no pastries, no vegetables. Just chicken and wine. "I always suspected that the Slovaks have a spark\ of genius in them and now their 'American Diet' confirms my belief." (Theodore Andrica, The Cleveland Press, July 14, 1969) . SLOVAKIA 1511 COMMENTS TWO CZECH PROFESSORS ABOUT SLOVAK-CZECH RELATIONS It happens very rarely that Czech intellectuals in the Free World comment objectively on the relations between Slovaks and Czechs or on books published on Slovakia. For many years not only Czech politicians in exile but also Czech scholars and professors at various universities wrote with bias about Slovak history, politics and cultural achievements. There is no doubt that such writings harmed the image of the Slovak nation but great harm was also done to the relations between the Slovaks and Czechs. Many Czech intellectuals apparently did not look at the problem from this point of view. We welcome, therefore, a new sober voice from Prof. Stanley Z. Pech from the University of British Columbia. He commented in the siavic Review on the book by John Gellner, a Czech newspaperman, and John Smerek, a former Slovak civil servant. The book was published under the title The Czechs and Slovaks in Canada and was published by Masaryk Memorial Institute in Toronto. Professor Pech wrote before about Slovak and Czech relations with much more objectivity than we are accustomed to read from Czech intellectuals. In connection with this book, he had the following to say: "Although one of the authors is of Slovak origin, the book does not appear to do justice to the Slovak viewpoint. Slovak grievances against Czechoslovakia are dismissed as 'separatism', and the First Republic is given what amounts to a clean bill of health. Some 'mistakes' were made, but these were 'largely cured' by the late 1920s. The Administrative Law of 1927 established a desirable degree of decentralization by setting up selfgoverning provinces 'on lines broadly similar to Canadian provinces', each province having 'its provincial president and its provincial assembly'. After this, 'Czechoslovakia seemed on the way toward co-operative, equitable solutions to whatever domestic problems there still were.' It was the Slovak People's Party and the rise of Nazi Germany that later reversed this trend. "ls it possible to present the issues so simply? The First Republic had indeed an outstanding record, and its democratic structure proved more durable than that of most European states. However, it was unquestionably a centralist state even after 1927, and this was the essence of Slovak objections. The authors fail to note that according to the Jaw of 1927 the provincial president and one-third of the provincial assembly were appointed by the central government and that both de jure and de facto the provincial president was an agent of the central government. The jurisdiction of the provinces was limited to social services and similar activities, and the assemblies could be dissolved at any time by a decree issued in Prague. Do the authors really believe that a province so conceived resembles a province in Canada or a state in the United States? Was this situation not bound to feed discontent among the Slovaks? "This situation has important 160 SLOVAKIA implications for the history of the Slovaks in Canada . (and in the United States). Many Slovaks who came to the New World after 1918 were disenchanted with Czechoslovakia and refused to associate themselves with Czech groups. Today their numbers are larger, and their hostility to everything Czech is implacable and chauvinistic. This phenomenom has many roots, but it cannot be understood without reference to the failure of the Czechs to regard the Slovaks as their equals and to give the consideration to their national sentiment. Yet this appreciation is wholly lacking in the present book. With what lack of respect influential segments of the Czech community regarded the Slovaks is illustrated by a secret memorandum on Slovakia, which was drawn up by the Czech Socialist Party in 1946 and published in Bratislava in 1968. The memorandum is a chilling blueprint for depriving the Slovaks of their national identity by any means necessary, not excluding the use of force (see text in Historicky casopis, vol. 16, 1968, pp. 191-93). Gellner and Smerek are two competent observers, and their book will be a standard work for many years. Was the nature of the Slovak problem so far beyond their pale of vision that they could not come to grips with it? Until the Czechs are prepared to take a critical look at their own attitudes, their contribution to a Czech-Slovak dialogue will be only a limited one." This approach is in great contrast with another Czech, Prof. Joseph S. Roucek from Queensborough Community College. He wrote on the same book in the International Migration Review (III 9, Summer 1969) and compared the book with the work by Prof. J. M. Kirschbaum Slovaks in Canada. Prof. Roucek had to admit that: "In general, Kirschbaum's study, in spite of its weaknesses, is much better and more exhaustive than Gellner-Smerek' s work, since it is better documented (as shown by its bibliography, pp. 441-455) and contains reprints of 24 memoranda, petitions, pleas, and resolutions either to the Canadian authorities or to the United Nations by the Slovak Canadian organizations, as well as by individual members of the Canadian Slovak League and the First Catholic Slovak Union during the past three decades." However, Roucek was unable to write without -the anti-Slovak bias in his further remarks. Even though the book Slovaks in Canada is not a political book but strictly a scholarly work on the history of Slovaks in Canada. Prof. Roucek commented on the book as follows: overcertainly "Kirschbaum stresses his Slovak filiopietism which has been glaringly evident in his previous works and which is the ideology of his group of American and Canadian Slovaks promoting Slovak separatism. We learn that 'from the First World War until the present time, Slovak Canadians have been the victims of political activities in their homeland .. .' (p. 9) and that the Canadian Slovaks were discriminated against during World War II because they 'refused to support the policy od Dr. E. Benes, who resigned in October 1938 but who in 1941 set up his government-inexile in London, England, and insisted on his right to represent Czechs and Slovaks in the West. Members and representatives of the Canadian Slovak League were , particularly denounced as enemies SLOVAKIA of Canada because they advocated the right to self-determination and self-government for the Slovak people.' (p. 6) . But we must also note that even a greater number of Canadian Slovaks supported Dr. Benes and that the Slovak Republic was formed as the first satellite state under Hitler's blessing and auspices. This 'pro-Czech' tendency is, in fact, admitted by Kirschbaum: "The pro-Czech attitude of Slovak Protestants, many of whom were descendants of Czech refugees who came to Slovakia during the Counter-Reformation, accounts for various peculiarities of the Slovak political, cultural and religious life not only in Slovakia, but also among Canadians or Americans of Slovak origins." (p. 32). It is hard to understand, unless we are accustomed to the writings of Czech intellectuals, why Prof. Roucek made such comments on a history book concerning Slovaks in Canada unless one knows the tense relations which existed among the Slovaks and the Czechs for the past 50 years and the bias of many Czech intellectuals who followed the political line of Dr. Benes condemned at the present time not only by many Czechs but by the whole Slovak nation. "SLOVAK NEWS" or COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA For the past two years Slovaks in the Free World received from a Slovak Cultural and Tourist News Agency Tatrapress a mimeographed publication called "Slovak News." After being separated for over a quarter of a century by the Iron Curtain from their homeland, 161 many Slovaks welcomed the fact that finally they can receive information on their country of origin from Bratislava. Unfortunately, the "Slovak News" is not published in the spirit which triggered the liberalization in 1968 and the picture of Slovakia is not one which we could accept. The periodical is published in English, sometimes in good and at other times in very poor English indeed. It was a good step on the part of the regime in Bratislava to try to acquaint the outside world with Slovakia, but the bad side of this enterprise is the biased presentation of Slovak politics and cultural, economic, and social life. For many decades, Slovakia was presented in a distorted light, more often than not unfavorably, to the Western world. All the efforts of Slovak intellectuals in the Free World could not successfully overcome the adverse propaganda from either Czech or other camps opposed to Slovak national aspirations. In 1968, there were great hopes among the Slovaks in the Free World that the tide had changed and that from Slovakia efforts will come to present Slovakia in a true light. Looking objectively at the issues of "Slovak News" which have up to date come to this Continent, we must say with regret that it is again a very biased picture which the so-called Slovak government portrays for the West and hundreds of thousands of Slovaks who are still interested in the good name of their country of origin and work for a free and democratic Slovakia. J . K. 162 SLOVAKIA BOOK REVIEWS BOOKS ON THE EVENT IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA IN 1968 The events in Czecho-Slovakia stirred the attention of scholars in many Western countries and some 50 books were published according to Robert F. Lamberg (Svedectvi, X, No. 37, Paris, 1969). Most of these books are in English, some in French and the rest in the German language. Among the authors are not only specialists in international affairs or in Eastern Europe, but also the Czech exiles and writings by two exiles from Slovakia, Eugene Loeb! and Ladislav Miiacko. The writings of both these authors were published in English as well as in German. One of Loebl's books, Svedectvo o Procese, was published in Slovak and appeared subsequently in English as well as German translation. Many of these books just presented the sequence of events and did not bring any scholarly analysis or political conclusions. Other books are analytical and there is also a score of books which are close to the sensational writings and were designed for the large public and money making. Among those which are worthwhile reading are the following books : Robert Rhodes James, ed., The Czechoslovak Crisis 1968. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson (Toronto: Ryerson), 1969, XII, 203 pp., $7.95. Roger Garaudy, La liberte en sursis: Prague, 1968. Paris. Fayard, 156 pp. Eugen Loeb!, Sentenced and Tried: The Stalinist Purges in Czechoslovakia. London: Elek (Toronto: Ryerson), 1969, 272 pp., $8.50: in Slovak, Svedectvo o procese, Bratislava, 1968, 200 pp.: in German, Die Revolution rehabilitiert ihre Kinder, Vienna: Europa, 1968, 228 pp. Eugen Loeb} and Leopold Grunwald , Die intellektuelie Revolution, Hintergrunde and Auswirktmgen des " Prager Frilhiings". Dusseldorf: Econ, 1969, 308 pp. Ladislav Miiacko, The Seventh Night. New York: Dutton (Toronto : Clarke, Irwin), 1969, 220 pp., $7.25. Also in German. Harry Schwartz, Prague's 200 Days: The Struggle for Denwcracy in Czechoslovakia. New York, Washington, and London: Praeger (Toronto: Burns & MacEachern) , 1969, 274 pp., $7.25. Joseph Wechsberg, The Voices Garden City, N. Y.: Toronto : Doubleday, 1969, 113 pp. $5.95. Philip Windsor and Adam Roberts, Czechoslovakia, 1968: Refo rm, Repression and Resistance. London: Chatto and Windus for the Institute for Strategic Studies (Toronto : Clarke Irwin) , 1969, vm, 200 PP- ' $3.0o. Z. A. B. Zeman, Prague Spring: A Report on Czechoslovakia, 1968. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin (Toronto: Longmans) , 1969, 169 pp., $8.50. Not all of these books are of the ·s ame academic value and one of them by Robert Rhodes James, The Czechoslovak Crisis 1968, has put the invasion by the Warsaw Pact armies in a debatable position, as we will see later. The three books by the writers from Slovakia, Loeb! and Mnacko, gave an insight into the crisis of communism in SLOVAKIA Slovakia and Mnacko's book is rather a series of reportages than a book on history. From the political point of view, some of the books condemned the invasion and their analysis of the events before the invasion and after is in line with a democratic point of view. The most surprising are the views of Robert Rhodes James who is a specialist in international relations. In his view, the Soviet occupation was "defensive and reluctant" and did not provide evidence of "Soviet aggressiveness or expansionism" and represented "no threats to NATO interests." James also thinks that the United Nations "acquitted itself reasonably effectively" by protesting only and that NATO was quite right in its reactions by not making any attempt to include Rumania or Yugoslavia under its protection. It is certainly hard to accept such views from a western "specialist in international affairs" on an act of brutal aggressiveness and violation of the independence of a country which wanted only to build "communism with a human face". This defeatist view is hardly acceptable by any western scholar or politician. Even the Italian, Rumanian and Yugoslav communists condemned the invasion and protested against it and there is no doubt that all the Western Powers, even if they remained inactive, looked with concern to the presence of Russian armies on the West German and Austrian border. In all these books there is, of course, not much about the events in Slovakia and there is rarely mentioned the fact that the liberalization was forced upon Novotny's regime by the Slovak writers and was lead by a Slovak-Alexander Dubcek-who is sometimes even 163 presented as a Czech leader. Only the Canadian Slavonic Papers (Vol. IX, 4, 1968) published a chapter on the role of Slovaks in the deStalinization period. A good book presenting not only the Czech views or information received in Prague, but also giving justice to the Slovaks, seems to be very necessary to give an objective picture of the events of 1967 and 1968. J . M . Kirschbaum Heinri c h Kuhn: Handbuch der Tschechoslowakei (Verlag Robert Lerche, Mtinchen), 1966, pp. 1,024, Price 142.00 D. M. This reference book on CzechoSlovakia by Dr. Heinrich Kuhn will be appreciated not only by scholars but by all who are interested in the political, social and economic development in CzechoSlovakia after the Second World War. With the typical German "puenktlichkeit" Dr. Kuhn prepared a highly technical study which required years of systematk research and data collecting. The Collegium Carolinum published in the past years several valuable books on Bohemia and Slovakia. Kuhn's volume seems to be the most useful. The volume is divided into four parts. The first part deals with the territory of today's Czecho-Slovakia and her population which by the rude and often criminal expulsion of 3 million Sudeten Germans and by the "voluntary" cession of Subcarpathian Ruthenia by Prague to the U. S. S. R. was substantially reduced in comparison to its size in pre-war times. Kuhn's work gives the basic statistics on the territorial organization, th~ movements of the population and its ethnic composition as well as 164 SLOVAKIA the social structure and education of the Czechs and Slov,a ks during the 20 years following the Second World War. The author avoided political comments either in his introductory notes or in explaining the statistics, leaving the judgment on, among other things, the expulsion of Germans, on the transfer of hundreds of thousands of Slovaks to the Sudeten territories, where they have been denationalized, to historians and political scientists. In the second part of this huge volume (1,024 pages) Dr. Kuhn deals with the constitutional and organizational structure of CzechoSlovakia under the post-war "people's democracy" and Communist regimes. The tense relation between the Czechs and Slovaks and the tendency of Prague's governments to reduce Slovakia to a province administered by Prague rather than by Slovaks, is clearly apparent from the constitutional changes, partly politics, government appointments and statistical data in this part of the book. We also can find in this chapter basic information and statistics on cultural institutions, schools and church organizations. For those who know from other sources about the rule of terror, the Stalinization of the system, the anti-Slovak policy of Prague governments and the persecution of the Church, especially in Slovakia, Dr. Kuhn's statistical evidence of the changes during this period will be of great value. An interesting picture of changes and inner struggles in the government, cultural and other organizations is also given in the third part of Kuhn's work. To read properly the statistical data in this part it is, however, necessary to be well acquainted with the rela- tions between the Czechs and Slovaks. Behind all the changes in the high positions of the CzechoSlovak state was a systematic attempt at exclusion of Slovaksexcept those who were willing tools of Gottwald or Novotnyfrom the decision making organs and institutions. During the Novotny era the anti-Slovak complex was also extended to the cultural field . The accusations of "bourgeois nationalism" was but a cover, as we learned during the short period of liberalization in 1968. The last part of the book gives us names of those who after the Second World War held positions in the political and cultural organizations of Czecho-Slovakia. The value of Dr. Kuhn's works can be justly judged only if we take into consideration that great part of the information he gives in his book was not easily or at all accessible in the West for many years. There was an "Iron Curtain" preventing an exchange of scholars and of publications, and there was for many a language barrier, since the Prague Government did not publish the statistical data in Western languages. Looking from this point at Dr. Kuhn's reference book, not only scholars but also Slovaks in the Free World cannot but welcome it. Dr. J . M . Kirschbaum Rudolf Sturm, CZECHOSLOVAKIA -A Bibliographic Guide, (Library of the Congress, Washington), 1967, 157 pp. Professor Sturm's Bibliographic Guide on Czecho-Slovakia is the first work of its kind in which the author made the attempt of presenting a bibliography on CzechoSlovakia without the usual bias. He included scores of books on SLOVAKIA 165 Slovakia which other bibliogra- scholars and specialists in Eastern phers usuall y bypass. Therefore, Europe will find in these works it is hard to say whether it is by a new picture of the Slovak past omission of the author or because and cultural life. A better representation of Slowe did not publish in the Free World a bibliography of books on vak books can be found in Prof. Slovak history, culture, and litera- Sturm's Bibliographic Guide as far ture, if we do not find in this as books and bibliographies in bibliography some books which Slovak language are concerned. There he has listed the main should be mentioned. The book is divided into 15 bibliography sources as well as the chapters which deal with the land , most important books on Slovak the people, history, politics and history, language, and literature government, Jaw, economy, social which were published either beconditions, religion and philosophy, fore 1945 or during the Communist languages, literature and the arts. period. Jn his introduction, Prof. Sturm '.J'1>c work includes both forei gn language books and reference mentions that he would be "gratcbooks and bibliographies in the ful to users for informing him of Czech and Slovak languages. Need- any error or shortcoming in the less to say that the number of text" and he admits that the Guid e publications on the Czechs, their is "imperfect" and hopes that history, language and culture is "im perfect as it is, it fills a need and will help to promote Czech considerably higher. We note, however, that for the and Slovak studies outside Czechofirst time in a bibliography pre- slovakia." There is no doubt that. pared by a Czech scholar, there are ' the Guide will help scholars and books which do not agree with th~ specialists and we hope that in the official ideology of Prague govern- next edition the author will not ments or Czechs in exile. Prof. omit books by Slovak writers in Sturm included forei gn language the Free World , namely, the writbooks by Slovak authors who clear- ing by Pauco , Franti§ek Vnuk, J . ly advocate an independent Slova- Rekem , M. Lacko , S. Nahalka, M. kia or, in cultural matters, disagree Sprinc, T. Zubek, some more imwith the Czech tendency to present portant books by !lurcansky than Slovak language and literature as he listed, several other publicaa part of the Czech or "Czechoslo- tions by this reviewer, as well as vak" language and literature. As the quarterly Most, Slowakei, the a result, we find in this Biblio- Literarny Almanach Slovaka v A graphic Guide books and publica- merike, and the academic publications in major European langueges tion by the University of Montreal by Prof f>urica , f>urcansky , Hru- Etudes Slav es in which there have !iovsky, Kirschbaum , Mikus, Skul- been many articles on Slovak lantety. Sister Woytko, Yurchak, Hro- guage and literature. In view of bak's linguistic works and Palic- the fact that Prof. Sturm displayed kar's work on Slovak culture. Even scholarly objectivity we should though the books by these authors help him with the necessary inforpresent only a part of the books mation in case he will publish a and publications which have been reviewed edition of his Bibliopublished abroad on Slovak politi- graphic Gurde. J . M. Kirschbaum cal history or cultural matters, the , I 166 SLOVAKIA Stefan G 1 e j du r a: Los Grandes in Argentina. The fact that Dr. Problemas del Este Europeo, Glejdura contributes to an inter(Separata de la Revista de Poli- nationally known political review, tica Internacional, Madrid, 1968-· gives ·his work a particular impor1969) tance. The series would deserve to be A series of studies on the policy re-printed in book form because of the Soviet Union and the prob- the author gives a whole picture lems of Eastern Europe by Dr. of the political scene in the Soviet Stefan Glejdura deserve the atten- orbit, not only as a competent tion of scholars as well as special observer but also as a specialist ists interested in the vicisitudes of who thoroughly followed the evoEastern Europe. For more than a lution behind the Iron Curtain decade Dr. Glejdura wrote learned since the end of the Second World studies on this subject for the War until the present time. There is hardly any Slovak intelhighly regarded periodical "Revista de Politica Internacional," pub- lectual who wrote so many reviews lished in Madrid. Several of these of books published on the probstudies have been published in re- lems of Eastern Europe in several prints and should be considered as European languages as Dr. Glejdua serious contribution to the re- ra did during the past two decades. search of the great political prob- His vast knowledge prepared him lems of Eastern Europe. The au- for a competent analysis and prethor analyzed not only the foreign sentation of the political, social as policy of the Soviet Union but also well as economic problems of the of the individual countries like nations subjugated by Moscow. In Hungary, Rumania, Slovakia, Czech- the hope that Dr. Glejdura will o-Slovakia, Poland, etc. and their publish his studies in book form, relations with the Soviet Union. we are refraining from analyzing He drew his conclusions on the at this time his studies on individbasis of his knowledge of foreign ual Eastern European countries language documents and literature even though each of them would in several European languages. As deserve a separate review. We recommend especially the a result, the series of his studies is a valuable contribution to the following studies to the scholars knowledge and contemporary Eu- and specialists interested in Eastern Europe: ropean problems. La Politica Exterior de la U.R.S.S., From a Slovak point of view, we (Madrid) , 1969. welcome the studies by Dr. Glejdura because they complete our Vicisitudes del Este Europeo, (Madrid), 1968. political literature on the world problems by publications in the Los Grandes Problemas del Este Spanish language. There have been Europeo: Hungria-Magyarorszag many studies in English, French, (Madrid) , 1969. Italian or German by Slovak intel- Los Grandes Problemas del Este lectuals who established themEuropeo: Rumania, (Madrid), selves in the West after the Second 1969. World War. In the Spanish lan- Los Grandes Problemas del Este guage, however, we did not have Europeo : Eslovaquia, (Madrid), scholarly writings except for a few 1968. publications which were published J. M . Kirschbaum SLOVAKIA Thaddeus V. Gromada, "Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists" Slavic Review, Vol. September 1969, pp. 445-462, Washington University. The Polish-Slovak relations between 1918 and 1939 are undoubtedly one of the most interesting chapters in the history of modern Slovakia. The Slovaks, dissatisfied with their position in the centralized Czecho-Slovakia ruled from Prague, did not have among their neighbours any support for preserving their distinctive nationality except the Poles. There also have been friendly cultural ties with the Polish nation for many centuries and from the religious point of view Poland was closer to the hearts of the majority of Slovaks than any other nation in Central Europe. This situation led, naturally, the Slovak leaders to look for co-operation with Poland. On the Polish side there was some understanding for the Slovak desire to preserve their nationality and political autonomy, but there also were considerations for cultivating the Polish-Slovak relations and at times to support the political struggle of the Slovak nation for an equal status with other Central European nations. There are studies on this subject in Slovak language but it is the first time that a thorough analysis of these relations has been published in English. Prof_ Gromada presents in his extensive article "Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists" a scholarly analysis and brought to light many details and many documents which have been unknown even to some Slovak historians or persons involved in politics in Slovakia during that period. The presentation is undoubtedly academic and it im- 167 presses by the mass of literature and unpublished documents which Prof. Gromada perused before writing his study. Except for the help which Msgr. Andrew Hlinka received from the Polish government in 1919 when he decided to go to the Paris Peace Conference, many important facts of the Polish-Slovak relations have been very little known. However, Prof. Gromada presents even Hlinka's efforts to obtain guarantees for Slovak autonomy and incorporation of the Pittsburgh Pact into the Peace Conference documents partly in a new light. At the same time, he reveals to historians documents from Polish archives which were unpublished or unresearched by other historians in the West. The most interesting part of Prof. Gromada's study refers to the relations of the period 19351939. At that time, there was in Slovakia a strong political current called "Polonophilism" headed by one of the leaders of Hlinka's Slovak populist party, Karol Sidor, and the relations between Poland and Slovak autonomists obtained a political colour. On the Slovak side these relations were also prompted not only by the traditional "Polonophilism" but also by political considerations. While in the international sphere the Slovak struggle for autonomy was more or less unknown or presented in an unobjective light by the official Czech policy, it found in Poland the most sympathetic ear among all neighbours of Slovakia. Even though in this period the official policy of the Prague government spoke about the necessity of good relations between all Slavs, the Slovak "Polonophilism" was attacked and condemned. Quite illogically it was accepted by Prague that good relations with the Soviet 168 SLOVAKIA Union or Yugoslavia were neces- help us to have an objective look sary but the efforts of Slovaks for at the Polish-Slovak relations. good relations with Poland were These remarks are not inteded condemned. This did not, however, to diminish the value or shed a deter Slovak autonomists from doubt on Prof. Gromada's highly cultivating the relations with Po- competent and well documented land. On the contrary, they grew study. In fact, Slavists and esstronger and also extended into pecially Slovak historians and cultural fields with the result that scholars should welcome his valu there were dozens ~f Slovak in~el- able account which, as we underlec_tuals_ . who studi_ed at Pohsh stand, is only a part of his larger umversibes or received g:ants to study on Slovak-Polish relations. foster cu~tural co-operabo~ b~-1 This reviewer is searching for doct~een Po_lish_ an_d Slovak umversi• 1 uments which would either support ties and msbtutwDs. . or reject some details in Prof. P_rof. Groma~a present~d this Gromada's study such as his stateperiod as seen m the Pohsh _doc- ment about the periodical Nast-up. uments and partly as descnbed He also will endeavor to clear by Slovak or Czech sch?lars. Since some statements published by Polwe do not have ac~ess !n th e Fr~e ish diplomats or the Foreign MinWo:ld to the ~c~ives m Slovakia, ister, Joseph Beck, which Prof. or m Prag_ue, it _is har_d even for Gromada used among his sources. someone hke this reviewer, who Until p of Gromada ublishes his was involved in ~he autonomist whole s~dy of Slovaf-Polish relamovement _ and Pohsh Slovak cul- tions, we hope to be able to answer t~ral rel~tlons, !o state how far the these questions. At the present picture is unbiased or complete. time, we cannot but give recogniVeD'. recently so~e doc~ments or tion to the author for his scholarly s~udies were pubh_shed ~n commu- efforts and well-written chapter of mst Czecho-Slovak1a which shed a Polish-Slovak relations between new light on this period but only the two World Wars. an unbiased study of the archives J. M . Kirschbaum in Prague and Bratislava could THE 1970 LITERARY ALMANAC A noteworthy characteristic of the true Christian Slovak intellectual is that he writes with professional skill and objectivity, and with an ideal practicality-in contrast to many slippery writers of today who deliberately manipulate words in order to confuse. And because this Slovak is a Christian and an intellectual, he ordinarily produces a masterpiece in his choice of subject and his handling of his material, as the contents of the 1970 LITERARNY ALMANACH testify. Owned and edited by Dr. Joseph Pauco in Middletown, Pennsylvania, the LITERARNY ALMANACH is the yearbook of the SLOVAK V AMERIKE, the oldest Slovak newspaper in America, which observed its 80th birthday in the Cyrillian Year of 1969. The new 1970 ALMANACH offers its readers a choice, wellbalanced assortment of literary gems. Here one will find scholarly studies; historical, political, and biographical sketches; short stories and briefer essays; narrative po- SLOVAKIA ems revealing the hopes, joys and sufferings of the Slovak soul, and a number of deep, difficult poems. Each of the authors endears himself to the reader for each has shared what is dearest to him-his soul's choicest thoughts on a specific topic for the enrichment of Slovak culture and Slovak life. Father Theodoric Zubek highlights a most timely truth in his ''Man Penetrates the Cosmic Atmosphere." Graphically he points out that whatever discoveries man may make in his rendezvouz with the moon, they can in no way alter the wonders of REVELATION. They can but confirm what God has already made known to man for his salvation and sanctification. To those deluded souls who taxied around the moon and " missed seeing God" the author has some telling lines on God's infinity and man's infinitesimality. In a well-documented study entitled "Slovak Presence in Europe Before the 6th Century After Christ," Msgr. John Rekem ably and successfull y proves his thesis. He takes the reader on a mammoth archeological tour that begins in Bratislava and traverses nearly the entire Eastern Hemisphere. He describes artifacts uncovered around Bratislava which date back to 3000 years before Christ. Monsignor is no novice at archeology. In 1968 he spent several weeks in Jericho where he witnessed and personally studied some marvelous excavations. For example, spread out before his eyes were the remains of an ancient city dating back to 8000 B. C., surrounded by a stone wall. Of special interest to the group was a long canal bored into stone running through the city. Monsignor further points out the role of archeology in the study of 169 ancient culture. From excavations in Slovakia, for example, it has been possible to trace the course of languages . . . with the astonishing deduction made that our ancestors already occupied Central Europe some 2000 years before the dawn of history. Recent studies by Slavic scholars indicate also that it is at least probable that our ancestors spoke Sanskrit. Msgr. Rekem's bibliography is impressive, composed as it is of Slovak, French, English, Latin, Ukrainian, and Polish references. His study demonstrates that the latest archeological excavations have opened the world to the existence of ancient cultures and civilizations such as no scientist had ever imagined . " Slovakia in the 20th Centucy (1919-1945 )" is the title of a book authored by L. Liptak and published in Slovakia. A review of part one by Frantisek Vnuk, a competent historian, can be found in the 1970 JEDNOTA KALENDAR. Here in the ALMANACH Vnuk incisively evaluates the second part of a study which purports to be history. But is it genuine histocy? It is not surprising, Vnuk declares, that Liptak's book, spawned by a Communist and issued under a Communist regime, contains some truth, more half truths, and a generous supply of fiction. Liptak blandly states in his book, for example, that a citizen of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945)-unless he was a member of the Hlinka Party-was automatically excluded from political life. This of course is a bald lie. Liptak is definitely biased , as no historian can afford to be. He sees the mote marring the Slovak Republic but is completely blind to the beam crushing the lives of the Slovaks. With fine scorn, Vnuk describes some of 170 SLOVAKIA Liptiik's claims as written with "uncritical senility" and as "degrading history to the level of a Communist tool. " Dr. Joseph Mistrik's contribution in the 1970 ALMANACH is "Prophetical Groups or a New Church?" The article bears out the title and as such is a challenge to anyone following the changes current in the Church today. He rightfully criticizes the underground church - those new-bread sects and deluded Catholics, who aUenate themselves from the true Church and arrogate to themselves its authority. At one point Canon Mistrik refers briefly to Archbishop Helder Camara of Recife, Brazil, calling him the sadly-famous archbishop. May I interpose a personal comment here : Archbishop Camara has identified himself with the, one might say, scum of humanity in Northeastern Brazil where his diocese is located. He is determined to put an end to the new slavery market operating in Brazil where a man is sold to a rich buyer for the price of $25.00 and only young, strong, and healthy men are accepted by the slave-drivers. ( cf. LATIN AMERICA CALLS, March 1969 ). With Dr. Mistrik, however, all faithful Catholics continue to pray, to hope, knowing for a certainty that Christ and His Church will triumph. As a living organism, the Church must shed all dead branches-the prophetical groups -and so rejuvenate herself. "A Salute to Stanislav Meciar" on his 60th birthday by Jan E . Bor contains this beautiful statement: •·Dr. Meciar received from God not only exceptional intellectual gifts, but also a firm, forthright character together with an uncompromising spirit." And this writer begs to add : Also an enormous, divinelike capacity for work. Bor proceeds to tell how Dr. Meciar brought these gifts to fruition in the various responsible positions he held in the Slovak Republic, and in the diversified Ii terary productions that flowed from his pen: books, critical analyses, reviews, commentaries, magazine articles, comparative studies of literature and personalities, evaluations of poetry, of scientific and historical works. Bor points out that Dr. Meciar's publication of the collected works of noted authors places us under real obligation to him . As editor of several literary magazines and newspapers, Dr. Meciar demonstrates that nothing is alien to him so long as it touches the human person. Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum, a competent historian and profilic writer, has contributed two pertinent articles in the 1970 ALMANACH. One of them bears -the title, "The Purloined Last Manuscript of Constantine culen". Its mission is to fulfill the request of the author Constantine culen, who on his deathbed had entrusted him with a certain manuscript on the cult of SS. Cyril and Methodius among Slovak immigrants in the United States and Canada. To fulfill his promise to a dying friend Dr. Kirschbaum prepared culen's manuscript and it now appears in the 1970 ALMANACH under the title : "The Cyril-Methodian Cult Among Slovak Immigrants in the United States and Canada". In this historical study culen makes some pithy comparisons between the Slovaks and the Irish. Both nations were exploited culturally, economically and politically. From both nations thousands migrated to America after crop failures. SLOVAKIA Culen's study features both lights and shadows, with shadows predominating. Through it runs the bitter thread of Magyar oppression of the Slovaks; their cruel and relentless efforts to magyarize the Slovaks. But here also one sees the golden thread, the adamant resistance of the Slovaks to magyarization. The study further portrays the Slovaks as eager to organize parishes and build churches as soon as they were settled in Americ-a in the latter half of the 19th century. And now also by a natural but too-long suppressed instinct they began freely to venerate their patrons, SS. Cyril and Methodius who had been forcefully excluded from public devotion in Slovakia under the Magyars. The first church in America dedicated to our Slovak holy patrons was erected in 1891 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cult took root and spread throughout Slav America so that ttoday there are 36 churches, many schools, institutions, and two seminaries dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius. The saints are venerated also by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius who continue the apostolate of their patrons for God and His Church. As regards Canadian immigrants from Slovakia, Culen points out, they arrived in Canada in large numbers only after the second World War, differing greatly from the farm folk that came to the United States in an earlier era. Many are professionals who weathered ,the evils of Czech imperialism and Communism. Most are highly educated. Today Canada has 6 churches dedicated to our patrons, but Canadian Slovaks are as deeply devoted to their apostles as good Slovaks anywhere. 171 It is a joy to learn here that a Lutheran priest, Rev. Daniel Zaboj Laucek, propagated the Cyril-Methodian cult in Europe and America and at his personal expense he published a book in 1885 on the significance of our saints for all Slavic peoples. "Dr. Joseph Buday in the Service of Church and Nation," is Jan Mest'ancik's exeellent contribution to the ALMANACH. In it the author introduces his subject as a theologian, philosopher, sociologist, writer, editor, an authority on the Cyril-Methodian cult, and a capable political servant. Before treating the issue at hand, however, Mest'ancik sketches the setting in which Dr. Buday found himself at the beginning of the 20th century. The false religious ideas of Tolstoy were being disseminated among the masses by the renegade Dr. Srobar and his group, the Hlasists. Electioneering maneuvers and pressures of the Hungarian authorities kept the country politically in turmoil. The Slovaks were being discriminated against at every level of endeavor and especially in education. The situation demanded not only wisdom, prudence and patience, but also planned determination and persistent, coordinated action. This challenging atmosphere suited Dr. Buday to a T. Dr. Buday early joined Msgr. Andrew Hlinka in his efforts to wrest from the government the civil and human rights 0f the Slovaks. He used his pen to inform the people. In a series of articles, which appeared in Literarne listy, he routed the pretensions of -Srobar and his Hlasists. With Hlinka he undertook the colossal tesk of improving economic conditions in the villages. They organized cooperatives for the pro- 172 SLOVAKIA duction and sale of fann products and home crafts. lit was this system, adopted throughout Slovakia, which improved the standard of living in Slovak villages. The schools being what they were, Magyar indoctrination centers, Buday - with Hlinka - used the theater to educate the people on how best to serve their own best interests, cultural as well as social and economic. This intensive educational activity bore abundant fruit, says Mest'ancik. In 1901-an unheard of thing-the Slovaks were able to seat 4 representatives in the Hungarian Parliament, and in 1906 the number rose to 7. In 1919, after the Slovak People's Party was organized, Dr. Buday was elected to the Czecho-Slovak Parliament, serving 8 years as a deputy and 11 years as a senator. During the latter term he was also vice-president of Parliament and later of the Senate. In Parliament Dr. Buday proved himself a statesman of the highest caliber. He confronted problems with fine logic and with a keen grasp of the details involved. He preferred to negotiate rather than appeal to emotion, yet he was ready to compromise provided no principle or right was sacrificed. It is easy to see why he gained the respect even of his opponents. Mest'ancik is careful to remind the reader that the Czecho-Slovak Republic did not bring freedom to the Slovaks. The battle for civil and human rights continued. Under the Czechs it was still necessary to press for self-identity and now also for the preservation of the Catholic faith . As nearly all the bishops had been Magyars, they emigrated to Hungary. The situation was explosive in many ways. Assisted by members of the Priests' Council, which Hlinka had speedily organized, Dr. Buday and Blinka, two men with opposite temperaments, achieved the seemingly impossible. Before long the Church was peacefully functioning under its own bishops. . . yet awaiting the inevitable: the ridicule and jeers of Czech unbelievers as they tried to undermine the Catholic Church. In the political sphere the turbulence was even more pronounced. Thousands of Czechs had flocked into Slovakia, ostensibly to assist in organizing affairs of State, but actually they attacked the main arteries of Slovak life like vultures. In no time they occupied the leading positions in the country. Slovak resistance was steadfast and persistent . . . and it continued its Carvary march for 20 years. A new chapter in the hi story of Slovakia was introduced iu 1939 when the Republic of Slovakia was proclaimed, but that is another story. In 1924 Dr. Buday addressed Parliament in a compelling speech , in which he accused the Czech regime of gross injustice against Slovakia. He pointed out that Slo-vak prisons were filled with innocent citizens whose only "crime" was adhering to their national and political convictions and God-given rights. He claimed that thousands of Slovaks, and chiefly the intelligentia, were forced to emigrate because the occupying army of Czech exploiters prevented them from making a living. . . that the h!xing system was unjust, partial and impossible to accept, . . . that Czech propaganda was impressing Europe with false ideas regarding conditions in Slovakia ... and that every call for justice and improvement was answered with cold cynicism. He issued a warning that the Slovak nation would certainly SLOVAKIA victoriously overcome Czech imperialism as it had weathered centuries of Magyar oppression. Dr. Buday had a hand in any project that contributed to the welfare of the Slovak people. His influence played a role in preventing the Czech effort to equate the Slovak language with theirs and to label it a Czech dialect. Before his death in November 1939, this good and faithful servant of God and country was accorded two unique honors: He was privileged to welcome to Slovakia the American Slovak Delegation, headed by Dr. P. P. ffietko , which triumphantly exhibited the original draft of the famous 1918 Pittsburgh Agreement. The other, which was probably the happiest moment in Dr. Buday's life, occured January 18, 1939, when as a senior member of the National Assembly he opened the first session of the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava with a memorable classical address. One last contribution. All of us who loved Philip Hrobak and revere his memory are grateful to Dr. Pauco for his article, "In What Did Hrobak's Greatness Consist?" Dr. Pauco presents an excellent evaluation of Hrobak as a person. He notes his indefatigable zeal, his extraordinary capacity for work, his kindness of heart. Mention is made of his voluminous carrepondence to inform the English speaking public about the injustice suffered by our people in Slovakia; and to correct the distorted facts published in the U.S. press, usually supplied by Czech propaganda. Dr. Pauco stresses the fact that it was through Hrobak's persistent efforts that at long last the State Department in Washington accepted the distinction between Czechs and Slovaks. No small accomplish- 173 ment for Philip Hrobak or for the Slovak nation. There are many other splendid articles in the 1970 ALMANACH. The more I paged through this issue the more humble I felt in the face of the heroism, the grandeur of character, the erudition, the honest pride, and the deep love for Slovakia of each of its contributors. And so I warn you, gentle reader, that this ALMAN ACH can disturb your conscience, it can thrill you, it can challenge you. Reading it you can lose yourself in the Elysian atmosphere of Slovakia, Communism notwithstanding, until suddenly you realize that you have been carried away to ... what? Try it. If you are fortunate to be able to read and understand Slovak, even just fairly, it is smart to keep the ALMANACH within arm's reach. Sister M. Gabriel Hricko, SS.C.M. I:alendar Jednota 1970: The 73rd edition of the Jednota annual in the Slovak language ... Jednota Press, 1970; 244 pp., Middletown, Pa. , Ed. by Jozef C. Krajsa. The 1970 publication of the Jcdnota annual commemorates 80 years of the Society's function not only in preserving and extending the Slovak heritage in America, but also in furthering wherever possible the various apostolic works of the Church throughout the Slovak world. Laudatory and enthusiastic articles to the fact are written by the Si!preme president, John A. Sabol aud by Msgr. John Senglar, the Society's chaplain. Readers familiar with Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic's erudition and with tht: intellectual beauty of his writtings will find here another 174 SLOVAKIA gem of his poetic prose, "The Human Family-a Masterpiece of Love." Dr. J. M. Kirschbaum, once diplomatic representative of the Slovak Republic to Switzerland, writes from his own rich experience of the suspenseful days prior to the War's end (1944). He highlights the grave responsibilities that faced the delegation and the leaders of Slovakia in those days of crisis. He includes a conversation held with Archbishop P. Bernardini, then Papal Legate to Switzerland, about the future of Europe and concludes his writing with the last diplomatic communique sent to Slovakia from Bern. Msgr. Andrew Hlinka's last will and testament published here for the first time "in toto" should be of great interest to many. A rather lengthy article, but worth the space allotted, is Imrich Kruzliak's development of the Slovak language. He points out that it was principally in the rectories ( both Catholic and Lutheran) throughout Slovakia that the torch of the Slovak spirit and language was first kindled and from there carried afar. Religious articles include: news from the mission fields; statistically backed items on religions and rites in various parts of the world; an exhortation for a better understanding between Greek and Roman rite Catholics; and the Holy Father's address to a Slovak audience upon the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the death of St. Cyril. Several shorter but timely articles stem from Vatican II influence and include recent changes in the Church ( diaconate, Mass, marriage ceremonies, etc.); these topics appear in the Catholic press generally today. Worth mentioning are: Father A. Zan's scholarly report refuting the theory that Sacred Scripture is merely a collection of stories and myths devoid of historic or religious value; the history and purpose of the International Labor Organization; the problem of feeding a future world (a statistical report); and some interesting prove1 bs and maxims culled from the writings of India neatly categorized into various topics and bearing resemblance to the Book of Wisdom. Msgr. J . Rekem reviews the poetry of Gorazd Zvonicky whom he designate as a kindred spirit to Peguy, Verlaine and Rimbalt. Extracts from the poet's works indeed testify that he merits such praise. The J ednota includes a highly informative biographical sketch of Alojz Macek (now living in Argentina). Editor, writer, and active patriot of Slovakia, Macek was founder of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Slovakia and of the "Hlinka Youth." Today his Spanish writings made known to a larger public the historical and cultural background of the Slovaks. Frantisek Vnuk reviews and refutes ~ubomir Luptak's history, Slovakia in the 20th Century. He points out the author's falsification of historical fact, his half tru,ths or truths told "with bad intent". Presenting statistics and historical documentation, Vnuk shows how Luptak ignores and intentionally omits whatever does not serve to further Communistic propaganda. This distorted or "rewritten" history centers on events leading to tht> separation of Slovakia from Austra-Hungary , the Pittsburgh Pact, politics prior to World War II and ,t he Warsaw Pact of 1968. Included in the publication are SLOVAKIA several fine poetic selections by living Slovak poets and a few short stories. Following a long established custom, the annual features protographs, many of which may interest only members of the society. Other photographs, such as some very fine pictures commemorating the centennial of the death of the poet Jan Holly, which would interest readers in general, are lost among the former. Si ster M . Alfred Massura, SS.C.M. Jednota Annual FURDEK 1970: Published by the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota Press, Middletown, Pa. 1970, 200 pp.) Edited by Joseph C. Krajsa. The 1970 FURDEK is an event as well as a publication. It is a treasure of information as well as a reservoir of delight and diversion. At a glance one notices the diversified appeal of its contents. From the first several pages beam the a•t tractive faces of the young "Promise of the future," collegebound students, subsidized in their course with JEDNOTA scholarships. These young people know from personal experience that the First Catholic Slovak Union is a wide-awake, alert, generous, truly fraternal society of the second half of the twentieth century. An installment of "Who's Who Among Slovak Priests" introduces the reader to some of the ministers of the Gospel called from the Slovak population to proclaim the Good News to the world. Such a Roll-Call of S 1 o v a k - A m e rican priests serves a useful purpose: it satisfies the reader's curiosity and, more importantly, it informs him of the resources of SJovak 175 American culture, its accomplishments, its possibilities, and its blessings. The first title that caught my eye in the FURDEK Almanach was "The Clergy in Slovak History and Culture," by Father Theodoric Zubek, 0 . F . M. I am familiar with the leading role played by clergymen in the history of our nation, but having the spotlight placed on it in a single article is particularly valuable today when our own American clergymen are venturing into leadership roles in government and politics. What combination of circumstances makes this advisable ? What makes it necessary? Whait makes it imperative? How did Bishop Moyses, for example, become President of the Matica Slovenska, the leading cultural society in Slovakia? What conditions brought Monsignor Andrej Hlinka into the limelight? How did Monsignor Jozef Tiso get to be President of the Slovak Republic in 1939? Two articles on St. Cyril were very welcome to me as a Sister of SS. Cyril and Methodius. One was written by Mother M. Emerentia, SS. C. M. , and is a fine scholarly study of the character and accomplishments of our patron. The other is a discourse delivered at a Centenary Assembly of bishops and priests in Greece by Archbishop Maury of Rheims, who was head of the papal delegation at the ceremony. It is a masterpiece in its insight into the holiness, the scholarliness, the universality of St. Cyril, who challenges us eleven hundred years later to promote the best interests of the Church with the mind of Christ. The article on Slovak pioneers show their self-sacrificing spirit and their enthusiastic zeal during the organization of the first Slovak 176 SLOVAKIA parishes. Their experiences in the mines are timely, coinciding with current interest in the Molly Maguires. The stories by Michael Simko are human-interest episodes that delight the reader. "Christmas in Slovakia" and "Slovak Easter Customs" by the Rev. Andrew Pier, 0. S. B. not only fascinate the reader with the wide variety of traditional practices of our ancestors, but also portray to him the rich culture, the deep faith and the joyous spirit so characteristic to our Slovak people. The articles are of particular interest to me since I learned of these customs from my immigrant parents, through our observance of them in our home. In "Slovakia-A Veritable Gem of Central Europe" one is carried to the scenic sights of the Tatras and the shores of the beautiful Danube, the Gothic churches and cathedrals, the ancient castles, the fishing and hunting grounds, and the historic cities of the country. The article is a source of valuable information, both cultural and historical and practical, mentioning as it does also the famous health resorts and modern tourist facilities. We are fully aware that the immigrants who came to the shores of America from every European country contributed to the rapid growth and progress of this nation. I wonder, however, whether any other ethnic group has knowledge of its very first immigrant. Sister Martina, SS. C. M. has enriched us with her fine article on the "First Slovak Immigralllt-Samuel Francis Figuly," portraying him as an individual of unusual caliber, wide and daring experiences, good education, and strong convictions. In the scholarly article, "Slovaks and the Upheavals of Czecho-Slovakia" by J. M. Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., the reader sees a change in the attitude to the West toward Slovaks; namely, that they do exist. He is also enlightened on the many causes of dissatisfaction and discrimination against them since 1918, when the Czecho-Slovak Republic was established. Sister M. Evangela's presentation of the "Organization of the Slovak Catholic Students Fraternity" and iits publication of FURDEK is interesting. In dialogue from Sister gives the reader a vivid picture of the enthusiasm of the Fraternity's first members, its aims and its progress. Though their publication of FURDEK in Slovak ceased in 1941, the English publication is a highly cultural and literary annual, as this issue substantiates. Sister M. Clotil,da Omasta, SS. C. M., M.A. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union. SLOVAKIA 177 Our Contributors historian; professor, Institute of Technology, Francis Vnuk, M.A . - Adelaide, Australia. Sr. M. Martina Tybor, SS. C. M . John T . Van Sant - teacher and author, Danville, Pa. Senator of Pennsylvania and Majority Whip. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LL. D., Ph.D. - former diplomat, professor, historian, author, Toronto, Ontario. former professor at Bratislava University, prominent Slovak historian and educator. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. (late) - Konstantin Culen (late) - outstanding newspaperman, author, politi- cian. Joseph A . Mikus, M. CL., J. D. professor, historian, author, former diplomat, Washington, D. C. newspaperman, political prisoner under Stalinists in Slovakia; now editor of Kanadsky Slovak, Toronto, Ontario. Marian Jankovsky - Joseph C. Krajsa - Slovak American Fraternalist, Editor, Jednota, Middletown, Pa. Sister M . Gabriel Hricko, SS. C. M., Sister M . Alfred Massura, SS. C. M., Sister M. Clotilda Omasta, SS. C. M., M. A. - teachers, Danville, Pa. 178 SLOVAKIA Contents F. Vnuk . - Slovak Language and Literature Will the Phoenix Rise Again? - 3 Sister M. Martina Tybor - John T. Van Sant Slovaks Have Repaid Their Adopted Country WelZ - - 11 28 Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum - The Political Message of Matus Cernak This Is Slovakia - Francis Hrufovsky - Dr. Francis Hrusovsky - the Man - 42 K. tulen 70 Joseph A. Mikus Ruzena Svobodova's "Feuilletons on Slovakia" - 76 I Was a Communist - J. V. - 90 Marian Jankovsky - Powers of Darkness and Powers of Truth The Development of Slovak Literature Matica Slovenska - Joseph S. Kost - Our Cyrilo-Methodian Heritage - Karen Ann Syzdek - 94 105 113 Patricia Revetta - American Slovaks on the Home and War Fronts - 116 122 The Centenary of Bishop S. Moyses - J. M. Kirschbaum - The Slovak League Firmly Believes - 139 Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia - 35 Joseph C. Krajsa - 131 141 Current Issues (Senator Hugh Scott's Speech Before Slovak League of America in Washington. - Edward M. Zelenak: The Slovaks of Detroit. - Winn Gallegher: A Slovak Immigrant - Master of Arts. - 50 Years in Danville, Pa.) - 143 As Others See It - 154 Comments (Two Czech Professors about Slovak°Czech Relations "Slovak News" or Communist Propaganda) - - 159 Book Reviews (J.M. Kirschbaum: Books on the Event in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968 - Heinrich Kuhn: Handbuch der Tschechoslowakei Rudolf Sturm: Czechoslovakia - A Bibliographic Guide - Stefan Glejdura: Los Grandes Problemas dei Este Europeo - Thaddeus V. Gromada: Pilsudski and the Slovak Autonomists - Sister M. Gabriel Hricko, SS. C. M.: The 1970 Literary Almanac. - Sister M. Alfred Massura, SS. C. M.: Kalendar Jednota 1970. - Sister M. Clotilda Omasta, SS. C. M.: Jednota Annual Furdek 1970) - 162 SLOVAKIA ~ V .;::-v ~~ 4."'<~':r-, 0 sAsnK o BAN, STIA VN'lc'A TRNAVA 0 'Q: Q: (.;~ $ PRI NTI D IN U.S. A. JIDN OTA PlllN TER Y, MID DLli TOW N, PA.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43) Description An account of the resource includes Current Issues; As Others See It; Comments; Book Reviews; Contributors Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/eaf8cd33fe36b1b52de2f48125723f4a.pdf 282ee0138479eabcbb48a62b3b40bd7b PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 141 The Face of a Thousand-Year-O ld-City Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia Since the Stone Age, the narrow neck of land connecting the last foot hills of the Europe's famous mountain ranges, the Carpathian Mountains and Alps, has been a natural area for man to settle. Situated along the central part of the Danube River, it has become the crossroads of two famous commercial routes-the Danube and Amber routes-which gave access between the West and the East and between South and North. In this area today is the sprawling city of Bratislava, the Capital of Slovakia. Before the time of Christ, several settlements developed in this area along the Danube and in the course of centuries, they belonged to different nations. The land was occupied by the Celts, the Germans and the Romans, but ever since the 6th century it has become the home of the Slovaks. In the second part of the 10th century it became an important Slovak town and it was named Bratislava. In the early part of the 16tbi century Bratislava grew in importance, especially after the Turks occupied a great part of Hungary. Bratislava became the capital of Hungary instead of Budapest for a period of over 200 years. Through the centuries, Bratislava maintained its position of importance. In the middle of the last century, it became the center of Slovak national enlightenment as the Slovaks sought to free themselves from the feudal aristocracy of the Hungarian regime. In the 1800's Bratislava had a population of 42 thousand and was the largest city in Slovakia. After World War I, with the fall of the Austria-Hungarian Monarchy, Bratislava became the real capital of Slovakia when the Czecho-Slovak Republic was formed comprising the Czechs of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovaks of Slovakia. With over a hundred thousand inhabitants, Bratislava became the actual center of the political, economical and cultural life in Slovakia. In 1939 Slovakia declared its independence from the �142 SLOVAKIA domination of the Czechs and this move created the Republic of Slovakia with Bratislava as the capital. Now a thriving metropolis, Bratislava was the seat of government for six years for the first President of the Slovak Republic, Msgr. Joseph Tiso. When the Communists restored the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1945 after World War II, Bratislava had progressed to the position of being the undisputable seat of Slovak political, governmental, economical, cultural, scientific and educational life. Here were the cultural organs and mass organizations and institutions. Its University of Bratislava was world-famous and the position of the city on the Danube River marked it as a center of communication and an important harbor. In January of 1969 Slovakia again became a Republic, this time in the federated country of Czecho-Slovakia. Today the capital city of Slovakia has a population of over 300,000 and soon it is expected it will be the second largest city in the political entity of Czecho-Slovakia. The image of Bratislava is changing every day-and it is more beautiful than ever. This metropolis of Slovakia, with a thousand-year-old face, is getting younger every day and it shines in the setting of time as a precious gem. Joseph C. Krajsa 8LOVAK1A is published annually by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Amerjcaus of Slovak descent. One of the purposes of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better tmdel'standing ru1d appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedom and independence. Subsc1·iption to Slo ,-akia $3.00 per year in the u.S.A.. - $4.00 elsewhe1·c. Send sub. cription to: SLOVAKIA 313 Ridge A venue Mid<l1eto,v71, Pa. 17057 � SLOVAKIA 141 The Face of a Thousand-Year-O ld-City Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia Since the Stone Age, the narrow neck of land connecting the last foot hills of the Europe's famous mountain ranges, the Carpathian Mountains and Alps, has been a natural area for man to settle. Situated along the central part of the Danube River, it has become the crossroads of two famous commercial routes-the Danube and Amber routes-which gave access between the West and the East and between South and North. In this area today is the sprawling city of Bratislava, the Capital of Slovakia. Before the time of Christ, several settlements developed in this area along the Danube and in the course of centuries, they belonged to different nations. The land was occupied by the Celts, the Germans and the Romans, but ever since the 6th century it has become the home of the Slovaks. In the second part of the 10th century it became an important Slovak town and it was named Bratislava. In the early part of the 16tbi century Bratislava grew in importance, especially after the Turks occupied a great part of Hungary. Bratislava became the capital of Hungary instead of Budapest for a period of over 200 years. Through the centuries, Bratislava maintained its position of importance. In the middle of the last century, it became the center of Slovak national enlightenment as the Slovaks sought to free themselves from the feudal aristocracy of the Hungarian regime. In the 1800's Bratislava had a population of 42 thousand and was the largest city in Slovakia. After World War I, with the fall of the Austria-Hungarian Monarchy, Bratislava became the real capital of Slovakia when the Czecho-Slovak Republic was formed comprising the Czechs of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovaks of Slovakia. With over a hundred thousand inhabitants, Bratislava became the actual center of the political, economical and cultural life in Slovakia. In 1939 Slovakia declared its independence from the �142 SLOVAKIA domination of the Czechs and this move created the Republic of Slovakia with Bratislava as the capital. Now a thriving metropolis, Bratislava was the seat of government for six years for the first President of the Slovak Republic, Msgr. Joseph Tiso. When the Communists restored the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1945 after World War II, Bratislava had progressed to the position of being the undisputable seat of Slovak political, governmental, economical, cultural, scientific and educational life. Here were the cultural organs and mass organizations and institutions. Its University of Bratislava was world-famous and the position of the city on the Danube River marked it as a center of communication and an important harbor. In January of 1969 Slovakia again became a Republic, this time in the federated country of Czecho-Slovakia. Today the capital city of Slovakia has a population of over 300,000 and soon it is expected it will be the second largest city in the political entity of Czecho-Slovakia. The image of Bratislava is changing every day-and it is more beautiful than ever. This metropolis of Slovakia, with a thousand-year-old face, is getting younger every day and it shines in the setting of time as a precious gem. Joseph C. Krajsa 8LOVAK1A is published annually by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Amerjcaus of Slovak descent. One of the purposes of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better tmdel'standing ru1d appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedom and independence. Subsc1·iption to Slo ,-akia $3.00 per year in the u.S.A.. - $4.00 elsewhe1·c. Send sub. cription to: SLOVAKIA 313 Ridge A venue Mid<l1eto,v71, Pa. 17057 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 141 The Face of a Thousand-Year-O ld-City Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia Since the Stone Age, the narrow neck of land connecting the last foot hills of the Europe's famous mountain ranges, the Carpathian Mountains and Alps, has been a natural area for man to settle. Situated along the central part of the Danube River, it has become the crossroads of two famous commercial routes-the Danube and Amber routes-which gave access between the West and the East and between South and North. In this area today is the sprawling city of Bratislava, the Capital of Slovakia. Before the time of Christ, several settlements developed in this area along the Danube and in the course of centuries, they belonged to different nations. The land was occupied by the Celts, the Germans and the Romans, but ever since the 6th century it has become the home of the Slovaks. In the second part of the 10th century it became an important Slovak town and it was named Bratislava. In the early part of the 16tbi century Bratislava grew in importance, especially after the Turks occupied a great part of Hungary. Bratislava became the capital of Hungary instead of Budapest for a period of over 200 years. Through the centuries, Bratislava maintained its position of importance. In the middle of the last century, it became the center of Slovak national enlightenment as the Slovaks sought to free themselves from the feudal aristocracy of the Hungarian regime. In the 1800's Bratislava had a population of 42 thousand and was the largest city in Slovakia. After World War I, with the fall of the Austria-Hungarian Monarchy, Bratislava became the real capital of Slovakia when the Czecho-Slovak Republic was formed comprising the Czechs of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovaks of Slovakia. With over a hundred thousand inhabitants, Bratislava became the actual center of the political, economical and cultural life in Slovakia. In 1939 Slovakia declared its independence from the 142 SLOVAKIA domination of the Czechs and this move created the Republic of Slovakia with Bratislava as the capital. Now a thriving metropolis, Bratislava was the seat of government for six years for the first President of the Slovak Republic, Msgr. Joseph Tiso. When the Communists restored the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1945 after World War II, Bratislava had progressed to the position of being the undisputable seat of Slovak political, governmental, economical, cultural, scientific and educational life. Here were the cultural organs and mass organizations and institutions. Its University of Bratislava was world-famous and the position of the city on the Danube River marked it as a center of communication and an important harbor. In January of 1969 Slovakia again became a Republic, this time in the federated country of Czecho-Slovakia. Today the capital city of Slovakia has a population of over 300,000 and soon it is expected it will be the second largest city in the political entity of Czecho-Slovakia. The image of Bratislava is changing every day-and it is more beautiful than ever. This metropolis of Slovakia, with a thousand-year-old face, is getting younger every day and it shines in the setting of time as a precious gem. Joseph C. Krajsa 8LOVAK1A is published annually by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Amerjcaus of Slovak descent. One of the purposes of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better tmdel'standing ru1d appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedom and independence. Subsc1·iption to Slo ,-akia $3.00 per year in the u.S.A.. - $4.00 elsewhe1·c. Send sub. cription to: SLOVAKIA 313 Ridge A venue Mid<l1eto,v71, Pa. 17057  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia Description An account of the resource Joseph C. Krajsa Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 141-142 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Krajsa, Joseph C. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a1dab0e556764d40525d3613569b260f.pdf ac569b85f5e09475c0b34e435d909ac2 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 139 Gracious Majesty's favour-in deepest reverence, Your Imperial Royal Apostolic Majesty's most loyal subject and submissive chaplain, Stephen Moyses, Bishop of Banska Bystrica Vienna, December 5, 1861. (Translated from "Petitionen der Serben und Slowaken von Jahre 1861", Vienna, 1862, and published in Scotus Viator, Raciai Probiems in Hungary, Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd., London, 1908.) The Slovak League Finnly Believes ... Our primary interest is the welfare and security of the United States of America. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. We recognize the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism as the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as a political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. We have fought consistently and resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, are more determined than ever to persevere in our fight against it with all possible means at our command until the plague of Communism is completely wiped off the face of the earth. We strongly recommend that all official, semi-official and private American institutions desiring any information on problems affecting the Slovak nation, consult with the Slovak League of America, an American institution which since 1907 has been advancing the cause of freedom and national rights of the Slovak nation. We heartily commend all efforts on the part of our Government, its agencies and Congressional Committees to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all communists and fellow-travelers, which propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy. All persons and organizations, who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism, .s hould be thoroughly investigated by the proper organs of our Government. We approve the idea of a United Nations Organization which shall promote and preserve peace and prosperity in all countries of the world, as far as humanly possible. �14-0 SLOVAKIA The UNO at the present time is not really an organization of United Nations, but an organization of governments, several of which definitely are not representative of the political will and the national interests of the nations they claim to represent. We subscribe wholeheartedly to the principle that all nations have the right to determine by their own free choice the state or form of political organization under which they wish to live. The principle of selfdetermination -the fundamental principle of American policy in Europe since the administration of President Woodrow Wilsonmust apply without reservations even to the Slovak nation from which we are descended. We endorse the principle that the Government of the United States shall refuse to recognize any government imposed upon any nation by the force of an alien power and urge that this principle be made operative even in the case of the Slovak nation, which is in fact dominated today by the Communist regime of Prague in violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations Organization and the fundamental principle of American policy of self-determination. As Christians and adherents of the democratic way of life, we resolutely oppose the domination and exploitation of any nation by any other nation or political state. The Slovak nation did not want to be dominated by the Magyars prior to 1918 and, today, does not want to be ruled by the Czech nation. We firmly believe that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own Slovak Republic. We seek no special favors or grants for the nation we are descended from. We only plead for the recognition of and respect for its inherent and fundamental rights, because it cannot voice itself freely today. These rights are predicated on the elementary democratic and Christian principle that all peoples, wherever they may be found and however few their numbers, are morally entitled to speak in the council of nations, there to defend the right of their nation to survival and self..'.f ulfillment. ( Platform of the Slovak League of America) � SLOVAKIA 139 Gracious Majesty's favour-in deepest reverence, Your Imperial Royal Apostolic Majesty's most loyal subject and submissive chaplain, Stephen Moyses, Bishop of Banska Bystrica Vienna, December 5, 1861. (Translated from "Petitionen der Serben und Slowaken von Jahre 1861", Vienna, 1862, and published in Scotus Viator, Raciai Probiems in Hungary, Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd., London, 1908.) The Slovak League Finnly Believes ... Our primary interest is the welfare and security of the United States of America. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. We recognize the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism as the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as a political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. We have fought consistently and resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, are more determined than ever to persevere in our fight against it with all possible means at our command until the plague of Communism is completely wiped off the face of the earth. We strongly recommend that all official, semi-official and private American institutions desiring any information on problems affecting the Slovak nation, consult with the Slovak League of America, an American institution which since 1907 has been advancing the cause of freedom and national rights of the Slovak nation. We heartily commend all efforts on the part of our Government, its agencies and Congressional Committees to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all communists and fellow-travelers, which propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy. All persons and organizations, who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism, .s hould be thoroughly investigated by the proper organs of our Government. We approve the idea of a United Nations Organization which shall promote and preserve peace and prosperity in all countries of the world, as far as humanly possible. �14-0 SLOVAKIA The UNO at the present time is not really an organization of United Nations, but an organization of governments, several of which definitely are not representative of the political will and the national interests of the nations they claim to represent. We subscribe wholeheartedly to the principle that all nations have the right to determine by their own free choice the state or form of political organization under which they wish to live. The principle of selfdetermination -the fundamental principle of American policy in Europe since the administration of President Woodrow Wilsonmust apply without reservations even to the Slovak nation from which we are descended. We endorse the principle that the Government of the United States shall refuse to recognize any government imposed upon any nation by the force of an alien power and urge that this principle be made operative even in the case of the Slovak nation, which is in fact dominated today by the Communist regime of Prague in violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations Organization and the fundamental principle of American policy of self-determination. As Christians and adherents of the democratic way of life, we resolutely oppose the domination and exploitation of any nation by any other nation or political state. The Slovak nation did not want to be dominated by the Magyars prior to 1918 and, today, does not want to be ruled by the Czech nation. We firmly believe that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own Slovak Republic. We seek no special favors or grants for the nation we are descended from. We only plead for the recognition of and respect for its inherent and fundamental rights, because it cannot voice itself freely today. These rights are predicated on the elementary democratic and Christian principle that all peoples, wherever they may be found and however few their numbers, are morally entitled to speak in the council of nations, there to defend the right of their nation to survival and self..'.f ulfillment. ( Platform of the Slovak League of America) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 139 Gracious Majesty's favour-in deepest reverence, Your Imperial Royal Apostolic Majesty's most loyal subject and submissive chaplain, Stephen Moyses, Bishop of Banska Bystrica Vienna, December 5, 1861. (Translated from "Petitionen der Serben und Slowaken von Jahre 1861", Vienna, 1862, and published in Scotus Viator, Raciai Probiems in Hungary, Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd., London, 1908.) The Slovak League Finnly Believes ... Our primary interest is the welfare and security of the United States of America. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. We recognize the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism as the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as a political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. We have fought consistently and resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, are more determined than ever to persevere in our fight against it with all possible means at our command until the plague of Communism is completely wiped off the face of the earth. We strongly recommend that all official, semi-official and private American institutions desiring any information on problems affecting the Slovak nation, consult with the Slovak League of America, an American institution which since 1907 has been advancing the cause of freedom and national rights of the Slovak nation. We heartily commend all efforts on the part of our Government, its agencies and Congressional Committees to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all communists and fellow-travelers, which propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy. All persons and organizations, who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism, .s hould be thoroughly investigated by the proper organs of our Government. We approve the idea of a United Nations Organization which shall promote and preserve peace and prosperity in all countries of the world, as far as humanly possible. 14-0 SLOVAKIA The UNO at the present time is not really an organization of United Nations, but an organization of governments, several of which definitely are not representative of the political will and the national interests of the nations they claim to represent. We subscribe wholeheartedly to the principle that all nations have the right to determine by their own free choice the state or form of political organization under which they wish to live. The principle of selfdetermination -the fundamental principle of American policy in Europe since the administration of President Woodrow Wilsonmust apply without reservations even to the Slovak nation from which we are descended. We endorse the principle that the Government of the United States shall refuse to recognize any government imposed upon any nation by the force of an alien power and urge that this principle be made operative even in the case of the Slovak nation, which is in fact dominated today by the Communist regime of Prague in violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations Organization and the fundamental principle of American policy of self-determination. As Christians and adherents of the democratic way of life, we resolutely oppose the domination and exploitation of any nation by any other nation or political state. The Slovak nation did not want to be dominated by the Magyars prior to 1918 and, today, does not want to be ruled by the Czech nation. We firmly believe that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own Slovak Republic. We seek no special favors or grants for the nation we are descended from. We only plead for the recognition of and respect for its inherent and fundamental rights, because it cannot voice itself freely today. These rights are predicated on the elementary democratic and Christian principle that all peoples, wherever they may be found and however few their numbers, are morally entitled to speak in the council of nations, there to defend the right of their nation to survival and self..'.f ulfillment. ( Platform of the Slovak League of America)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Slovak League Firmly Believes... Description An account of the resource Platform of the Slovak League of America Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 139-140 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/f8b7d7b39fabe52b38da5be643a5af68.pdf 23b85fe4fa9f0ab3c6b7b736f656811a PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 131 The Centenary of Bishop S. J\Ioyses J . M . Ki rs c h b au m Among all the prominent Slovaks of the 19th century, the Catholic Bishop Stephen Moyses seems to be the strongest personality even if the least known. He overI, shadowed Slovak leaders of previous decades not only by his education but also by his experience as a university professor, delegate to the ~ (~~ ) Diet, member of the diplomatic mission to the Impe~ rial Court and last but not least by his courage in the fight against the wave of -Magyarization. The reason for his relegation to obscurity between 1918 and 1938 was the official tendency of the inter-war Czecho-Slovak governments to recognize as good Slovaks and patriots only those who subscribed to the ideology of the "Czechoslovak nation" and belonged to the' Protestant church. Great figures of the Slovak past like Bernolak, Holly or even :Cudovit stlir, who was a Protestant but represented together with Bernolak and Holly the Slovak national aspirations for a distinct cultural, linguistic and political identity of Slovaks, were to be sent into oblivion. Bishop Moyses who waged a fierce struggle against the Hungarian policy of assimilation in the 1860's and was the first and the most successful President of Matica Slovenska, the institution which represented the best Slovak traditions, was not a person to be recognized by Prague and her representatives in Slovakia as a great figure of Slovak history. Even though he was a promoter of the Catholic-Protestant co-operation in Slovakia, his name, his activities and his patriotism were to be belittled or forgotten. ~7\f - �132 SLOVAKIA After the Second World War the atmosphere did not change for the better for the recognition of Slovak leaders who came from and represented the Catholic majority of Slovakia. Slovakia was ruled not only from Prague but for a short time by a coalition from which Catholics were practically excluded, and later by Communists. As a result, only after the 1968 political Spring, Moyses was accepted as one of the prominent figures of Slovak history and his centenary was duly remembered. 1 Before 1918 Moyses had been recognized even by the Slovak Protestant leaders as the most prominent national leader of his time. Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky, a prominent poet, writer and leader of the struggle for Slovak national rights at the turn of the 20th century, wrote about Bishop Moyses that Moyses was "the most outstanding head among Slovaks and possessed such an erudition and experience in life that prominent Slovak leaders had accepted his moderate, but definitive leadership without any resistance ... Not even the most radical Slovaks were more dedicated to the Slovak cause than Moyses ... " Vajansky wrote even more favourable statements about Moyses in the only biography which was until recently published in Slovakia. The recognition of Moyses' great personal qualities and dedication to the Slovak cause by Vajansky was of great importance if we take into consideration the fact that Vajansky was a prominent Protestant and Moyses a Catholic Bishop. However, Moyses fully deserved this recognition. He overlooked the confessional differences in the Slovak national life and forgot the quarrels of the past decades and together with the Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany laid foundation to an exemplary co-operation of Slovak Catholics and Protestants in national offices. Each Slovak generation since the 1860's was reminded of the "Moyses-Kuzmany" tradition. In the 1930's this tradition was renewed for a short period by the prominent Slovak leaders, Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus. Unfortunately it was abandoned after 1945 by the Protestants. Several other Protestant leaders of the past century also expressed great admiration for Moyses and recognized that he helped the Slovak cause a long time before he returned to Slovakia from Zagreb, Croatia, where he was �SLOVAKIA 133 a university professor and representative of the Croats at the Diet and at the Imperial Court in Vienna. According to Jan Francisci and M. Dohnany, the leaders of the Slovak uprising of 1848 received support from the Croatian "ban" Jelacic only thanks to the intervention of Bishop Moyses. 2 It was, however, during the period of his presidency of Matica Slovenska that Bishop Moyses became the most respected personality in Slovakia. When he was attacked by Magyar newspapers after his successful audience with the Emperor, prominent Slovaks of all walks of life expressed in hundreds of letters their admiration of and gratitude to Bishop Moyses. The role which Bishop Moyses played in Slovak national life at one of the crucial periods of Slovak history, deserved his nation's recognition. He gave an example of a courageous leadership in national, cultural and educational affairs at a time of concentrated efforts of the Hungarian Government to suppress Slovak political and cultural life and assimilate Slovaks. Among the most memorable actions of Bishop Moyses in this period was his protest to the Emperor Francis Joseph I in December 1861. In May of the same year, Slovak leaders adopted a "Memorandum of the Slovak Nation" in which they requested political, indicial and linguistic rights as a distinct national entity. The Budapest government disregarded the Memorandum and Moyses, hurt in his national feelings, decided to lead a delegation to the Emperor. He presented to the Emperor not only the Memorandum, but also his own "Memorial" which was later considered by historians as an example of great diplomatic skill. In spite of Magyar protests, Moyses obtained from Emperor the permission to organize a national cultural institution MATICA SLOVENSKA and even a gift of 1000 crowns for that purpose. 3 Moyses fought against great odds, but never discouraged he helped to organize Slovak schools, supported publications defending Slovak cultural heritage and renewed the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition which gave the Slovak nation moral strength and resistance in their struggle for survival. Honoured and respected until his death on July 6, 1869, Moyses passed in to the gallery of great Slovak figures of the 19th century. Only the anti-Slovak �134 SLOVAKIA and anti-Catholic policy of Prague government could temporarily deny him the place of honour among Slovaks. In 1969 even the Communist regime had to "rehabilitate" and revive this outstanding figure of the Slovak past. Bishop Moyses ' Role in the Views of Non-Slovaks While in the past fifty years the activities of Bishop Moyses on behalf of the Slovak nation were not recognized by the rulers of pre-war Czecho-Slovakia or by the Regime which was imposed on the Slovaks after the Second World War, we find in foreign languages an objective valuation of his work, especially of the period when he was the President of Matica Slovenska. Seton Watson, writing under the pseudonym Scotus Viator, was the first to praise the role which Bishop Moyses played amongst Slovaks in the 1860's. Moreover, Bishop Moyses had received recognition even from the Emperor Francis Joseph who appointed him in 1863 to the Imperial Court Council. In September 1863 Moyses led another delegation to Vienna and was received by the Emperor. The delegation assured the Emperor that the Slovak nation will contribute in the spirit of the "October Diploma" to the "strengthening of the empire internally as well as externally." On the same occasion the delegation was received by the Chancellor for Hungary, Count Forgach, whom Bishop Moyses greeted in Slovak. Seton Watson recorded the recognition given to Bishop Moyses, and as a historian praising Moyses' Memorial to the Emperor 4 as an example of good diplomacy wrote: "Roused by such unwarrantable action ( of the Magyars), Dr. Stephen Moyses, the Bishop of Banska Bystrica, one of the truest of Slovak patriots, decided to appeal to the monarch direct on behalf of his unfortunate countrymen; and on December 12, 1861, a Slovak deputation headed by the Bishop was actually received by Francis Joseph in the Hofburg at Vienna, and presented an address of grievances and requests. This address, and the memorial submitted by Bishop Moyses himself at the same time, mark a decided advance upon the manifestos of May 1848, and June 1861.5 They are at once more lucid and dignified, they avoid the verbosity and provocative tone of the Memorandum, show far more respect for existing institu- �SLOVAKIA 135 tions, and base their case upon law and fact. They lay stress upon the racial equality and concord which had prevailed in Hungary during former centuries, and contrast him with the Magyar hegemony which the legislation of the past seventy years established. The non-Magyars, they assert, are quite content to recognize the Magyar language in the higher administration, but they demand free play for their own tongues in church, school and local affairs, and in their direct contact with the authorities. The Magyars will not allow this, and try to 'cut off from the Slovaks every road to culture, and thus to let them languish in a condition of moral and social atrophy, as the prey of a future Magyarizing policy.' In effect, they put forward. the same claims as the Memorandists--the formation of Slovak Okolie, with a Slovak local assembly: the introduction of Slovak within this district as the official language of administration, justice and education: free control of the schools by 'the Slovak nation'-but at the same time they are careful to define the new territory of their dreams as 'an integral part of Hungary,' which would be subject to the central Parliament and to the supreme authorities. Moreover, they repair the most regrettable omission of the Memorandum: for while claiming Slovak as the official language of the Okolie, they specially exclude all places of other nationality, and express the wish that their communal affairs should be conducted without hindrance in the language of the majority. Bishop Moyses was inundated with addresses of thanks from the Slovak villages and corporations of North Hungary for his courageous advocacy of the Slovak cause." 6 FOOTNOTES 1) See Historicky casopis, No. 4, 1969 and Nove Slov o, June 26, 1969. The regime also allowed a public celebration of the centenary and a conference on the work and life of Moyses. 2) Moyses was born in Slovakia on October 27, 1797 and spent bis young years in his native country, but as a young priest he was sent by bis bishop first to Budapest and later he was appointed professor at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, where he spent 21 years. Both Slovakia and Croatia were parts of the Kingdom of Hungary and of the Hahsburg Empire. 3) For more details on the life and activities of Bishop Moyses in Slovakia see J. M. Kirschbaum, "K storocnici biskupa Stefana Moysesa", Ncirodny Americko-slovensky Kalendcir, (Pittsburgh, Pa. 1970) , p. 39-44. �136 SLOVAKIA 4) See the text at the end of this article and commentary by Seton Watson (Scotus Viator) on the following pages. 5) The documents were published in Petitionen der Serben und Slo waken von Jahre 1861. (Vienna, 1862). 6) The Pe~tbudinske Vedomosti published no fewer than sixty-five of these addresses in the early months of 1862. And yet Bela Grunwald calmly asserted (Felvidek, p. 41) that "the majority of the Slovak population showed the greatest antipathy and indignation" toward Slovak national programme. MEMORIAL OF BISHOP STEPHEN MOYSES OF BANSKA BYSTRICA TO HIS MAJESTY EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH I Your Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty! Most gracious sovereign lord: It is an undoubted historic fact that the kingdom of Hungary was not founded by Saint Stephen upon any one special nationality, but rather upon the Christian faith and upon the laws borrowed from pre-Christian peoples. So far as the written records of this kingdom show us, history knows nothing of a special privileged position of the Magyar people. Even the conquerors under Arpad were not Magyars alone, but came in company with Cumanes and Russians, who all spread themselves throughout the country. At the real foundation of the kingdom under Stephen, the predominant--our native history says, the exclusive-influence was exercised by foreigners, Italians, Germans and Slavs. King Stephen expressly declares himself for the equal rights of all the languages in use in the country. The various divisions of the country as well as the highest dignities of the kingdom have preserved even to the present day their Slav names. After the country had been completely Christianized, the various races, inhabiting it lived in brotherly concord, without any trace of a privileged position for the Magyars. Indeed, the Germans and Slavs from time to time gained the upper hand •to such an extent that the Magyars felt it necessary to seek the protection of the Diet against this. Even on such occasions the Diet always proclaimed the most complete equality, without the slightest privilege for the Magyars. This did not, however, prevent the Magyars from being either completely or at least parlially excluded from the magistracy of several municipalities, in accordance with the Royal privileges to the latter. Above all was this the .!ase in the city of Buda. The Latin language, which was employed for over eight hundred years in the legislature, administration and judicature, was specially qualified to arrest the jealousy of the various nationalities. This was, moreover, recognized by the municipalities* of the ~oul)try, .and w&s specially cited in defence of the Latin language against , *) Here used in the legal sense, to include town councils and county assemblies. �SLOVAKIA 137 the Germanizing efforts of the Emperor Joseph II of glorious memory. But it was the very efforts of the Emperor Joseph which awakened the national movements in Hungary: among the Slovaks, it is true, only in the field of literature: among the Magyars politically as well. Naturally the non-Magyar inhabitants of the country have no objection to raise against the efforts of the Magyars to develop their language on their own territory. Indeed, they are even ready to recognize cheerfully the privileged position of the Magyar language in the higher administrative spheres of the state, within limits prescribed by Your Majesty; they wish, however, free play for their own languages in church, school, communal and municipal administration, as well as in direct communication with ,t he organs of the public administration, in so far as is necessary for the assertion of their rights as men and as citizens. The Magyars, however, will not take into consideration these just and inalienable claims, but employ every means of violence in order to cut off the Slovak people from every path to culture and thus to let it languish in a state of moral and national unconsciousness, as a prey to future Magyarization. No wonder that the county committees and magistrates who have been active since October 20 of the last years up to the present day have by excesses of all kinds ruthlessly terrorized the unsuspecting Slovak people. The same is true of the Diet which assembled in the course of this year. It has none the less caused a painful impression upon your Majesty'., devoted servant, the petitioner, that even the Royal Palatinal Council has committed a similar injustice. Despite the clear wording of the Royal Rescript of October 20, 1860, addressed to the Chancellor of Hungary and providing for the protection of the various nationalities, the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council, by its decree of October 20, 1861 (No. 61, 917) , none the less threatens all Slovak and German Catholic elementary schools with the introduction of the Magyar language. Considering the circumstance that the diocese of Banska Bystrica which is entrusted to Your Majesty's most devoted petitioner contains thirteen parishes with pure German, ninety-three with pure Slo,ak, four with Slovak-German, and not a single one with Magyar population, the result of this threatened measure of the Royal Palatinal Council would be to reduce to zero the progress of the elementary schools within this diocese-which has in any case been slight, owing to the circumstances of the past eleven months--without the intended Magyarization of the people being thereby attained. Although 1he Royal Hungarian Chancellory by two separate decrees of October 5, 1861 (No. 13,583) solemnly enjoined the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council to satisfy so far as possible the claims of the various non-Magyar nationalities of the country, when provisionally reorganizing the Catholic gymnasiums (highschools); none the less the decree of October 21, 1861, issued to the governing bodies of the gymnasiums had the exact opposite effect, and indeed so far as the gymnasium of Banska Bystrica is concerned, stood in direct conflict with the opinions expressed (in compliance with official instructions), both by the diocesan court and the governing body of that gymnasium. As a result this gymnasium-as also those others where similar linguistic con- �138 SLOVAKIA ditions prevai:-has become involved in such incredible confusion. that alike the expenditure of the parents and the time of the pupils -time which can never be made good-are robbed of all their fruits. The regrettable partiality of the provisional organization of the gymnasiums is clearly shown, among other things, by the fact that though capable and well qualified men who have been employed for years as teachers but are free from ultra-Magyar tendencies, cannot be dispensed with altogether, they are placed in the lowest category in the matter of salary; while persons of doubtful and entirely untested capacity, if only they appear reliable in respect of such tendencies, are provided with the highest salaries. Since, moreover, the county officials show practically no consideration towards the non-Hungarian population, and in open violation of the already mentioned Rescript of H. M. sent on October 20, 1860, to the Royal Hungarian Chancellor, orders and instructions are sent to non-Magyar communes drawn up in Magyar only and hence wholly incomprehensible to the people; and since, moreover, protection against such excesses is to be found neither with the counties nor with the Hungarian Palatinal Council ; it is thus clear that the county authorities which are influenced by extremists and enemies of the harmless non-Magyar people, and also the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council, unscrupulously violate the most sacred rights of the non-Magyar peoples-among whom the Slovaks alone far exceed two million souls -although these peoples have ever shown inviolable loyalty to their king and although their rights have been asserted by solemn pronouncements of the sovereign. It is further clear that the intention unhappily prevails, of condemning -these non-Magyar inhabitants to the country to perpetual ignorance and brutalization by depriving them of every suitable instrument of culture, and thus to tread under foot their feelings of human dignity, in defiance not only of the whole course of our country's history in the days preceding the present terrorism, but also in defiance of that boastful ostentation with which the late Diet in Pest saught to acquire abroad an undeserved reputation of liberalism by employing the hollow phrase of "Equality". Since then Your Majesty's most devoted petitioner-in virtue of the Divine appointment to the Episcopal dignity, as expressed through the most gracious act of your I. R. A. Majesty-feels bound to regard himself as the natural advocate of the spiritual possessions of those committed to his charge: he therefore ventures-resting upon the inalienable rights of his diocesans and upon the services which they have rendered to the country alike in peace and before the enemy, calling to mind the country's history previous to the last twenty-five years, relying the sanctity of Your Most Gracious Majesty's word-to take refuge at the foot of Your Most Gracious Majesty's throne in the most unbounded confidence, most humbly being Your I. R. A. to deign to order, that in the sense of Your Majesty's Rescript of July 21, 1861, to the Hungarian Diet, the rights of nationality of the loyal non-Magyar people, both in regard to the development of their language and nationality and to their administrative conditions, be laid down and clearly formulated, and no less effectually and permanently assured. For the rest recommending himself most earnestly to Your Most �SLOVAKIA 139 Gracious Majesty's favour-in deepest reverence, Your Imperial Royal Apostolic Majesty's most loyal subject and submissive chaplain, Stephen Moyses, Bishop of Banska Bystrica Vienna, December 5, 1861. (Translated from "Petitionen der Serben und Slowaken von Jahre 1861", Vienna, 1862, and published in Scotus Viator, Raciai Probiems in Hungary, Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd., London, 1908.) The Slovak League Finnly Believes ... Our primary interest is the welfare and security of the United States of America. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. We recognize the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism as the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as a political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. We have fought consistently and resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, are more determined than ever to persevere in our fight against it with all possible means at our command until the plague of Communism is completely wiped off the face of the earth. We strongly recommend that all official, semi-official and private American institutions desiring any information on problems affecting the Slovak nation, consult with the Slovak League of America, an American institution which since 1907 has been advancing the cause of freedom and national rights of the Slovak nation. We heartily commend all efforts on the part of our Government, its agencies and Congressional Committees to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all communists and fellow-travelers, which propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy. All persons and organizations, who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism, .s hould be thoroughly investigated by the proper organs of our Government. We approve the idea of a United Nations Organization which shall promote and preserve peace and prosperity in all countries of the world, as far as humanly possible. � SLOVAKIA 131 The Centenary of Bishop S. J\Ioyses J . M . Ki rs c h b au m Among all the prominent Slovaks of the 19th century, the Catholic Bishop Stephen Moyses seems to be the strongest personality even if the least known. He overI, shadowed Slovak leaders of previous decades not only by his education but also by his experience as a university professor, delegate to the ~ (~~ ) Diet, member of the diplomatic mission to the Impe~ rial Court and last but not least by his courage in the fight against the wave of -Magyarization. The reason for his relegation to obscurity between 1918 and 1938 was the official tendency of the inter-war Czecho-Slovak governments to recognize as good Slovaks and patriots only those who subscribed to the ideology of the "Czechoslovak nation" and belonged to the' Protestant church. Great figures of the Slovak past like Bernolak, Holly or even :Cudovit stlir, who was a Protestant but represented together with Bernolak and Holly the Slovak national aspirations for a distinct cultural, linguistic and political identity of Slovaks, were to be sent into oblivion. Bishop Moyses who waged a fierce struggle against the Hungarian policy of assimilation in the 1860's and was the first and the most successful President of Matica Slovenska, the institution which represented the best Slovak traditions, was not a person to be recognized by Prague and her representatives in Slovakia as a great figure of Slovak history. Even though he was a promoter of the Catholic-Protestant co-operation in Slovakia, his name, his activities and his patriotism were to be belittled or forgotten. ~7\f - �132 SLOVAKIA After the Second World War the atmosphere did not change for the better for the recognition of Slovak leaders who came from and represented the Catholic majority of Slovakia. Slovakia was ruled not only from Prague but for a short time by a coalition from which Catholics were practically excluded, and later by Communists. As a result, only after the 1968 political Spring, Moyses was accepted as one of the prominent figures of Slovak history and his centenary was duly remembered. 1 Before 1918 Moyses had been recognized even by the Slovak Protestant leaders as the most prominent national leader of his time. Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky, a prominent poet, writer and leader of the struggle for Slovak national rights at the turn of the 20th century, wrote about Bishop Moyses that Moyses was "the most outstanding head among Slovaks and possessed such an erudition and experience in life that prominent Slovak leaders had accepted his moderate, but definitive leadership without any resistance ... Not even the most radical Slovaks were more dedicated to the Slovak cause than Moyses ... " Vajansky wrote even more favourable statements about Moyses in the only biography which was until recently published in Slovakia. The recognition of Moyses' great personal qualities and dedication to the Slovak cause by Vajansky was of great importance if we take into consideration the fact that Vajansky was a prominent Protestant and Moyses a Catholic Bishop. However, Moyses fully deserved this recognition. He overlooked the confessional differences in the Slovak national life and forgot the quarrels of the past decades and together with the Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany laid foundation to an exemplary co-operation of Slovak Catholics and Protestants in national offices. Each Slovak generation since the 1860's was reminded of the "Moyses-Kuzmany" tradition. In the 1930's this tradition was renewed for a short period by the prominent Slovak leaders, Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus. Unfortunately it was abandoned after 1945 by the Protestants. Several other Protestant leaders of the past century also expressed great admiration for Moyses and recognized that he helped the Slovak cause a long time before he returned to Slovakia from Zagreb, Croatia, where he was �SLOVAKIA 133 a university professor and representative of the Croats at the Diet and at the Imperial Court in Vienna. According to Jan Francisci and M. Dohnany, the leaders of the Slovak uprising of 1848 received support from the Croatian "ban" Jelacic only thanks to the intervention of Bishop Moyses. 2 It was, however, during the period of his presidency of Matica Slovenska that Bishop Moyses became the most respected personality in Slovakia. When he was attacked by Magyar newspapers after his successful audience with the Emperor, prominent Slovaks of all walks of life expressed in hundreds of letters their admiration of and gratitude to Bishop Moyses. The role which Bishop Moyses played in Slovak national life at one of the crucial periods of Slovak history, deserved his nation's recognition. He gave an example of a courageous leadership in national, cultural and educational affairs at a time of concentrated efforts of the Hungarian Government to suppress Slovak political and cultural life and assimilate Slovaks. Among the most memorable actions of Bishop Moyses in this period was his protest to the Emperor Francis Joseph I in December 1861. In May of the same year, Slovak leaders adopted a "Memorandum of the Slovak Nation" in which they requested political, indicial and linguistic rights as a distinct national entity. The Budapest government disregarded the Memorandum and Moyses, hurt in his national feelings, decided to lead a delegation to the Emperor. He presented to the Emperor not only the Memorandum, but also his own "Memorial" which was later considered by historians as an example of great diplomatic skill. In spite of Magyar protests, Moyses obtained from Emperor the permission to organize a national cultural institution MATICA SLOVENSKA and even a gift of 1000 crowns for that purpose. 3 Moyses fought against great odds, but never discouraged he helped to organize Slovak schools, supported publications defending Slovak cultural heritage and renewed the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition which gave the Slovak nation moral strength and resistance in their struggle for survival. Honoured and respected until his death on July 6, 1869, Moyses passed in to the gallery of great Slovak figures of the 19th century. Only the anti-Slovak �134 SLOVAKIA and anti-Catholic policy of Prague government could temporarily deny him the place of honour among Slovaks. In 1969 even the Communist regime had to "rehabilitate" and revive this outstanding figure of the Slovak past. Bishop Moyses ' Role in the Views of Non-Slovaks While in the past fifty years the activities of Bishop Moyses on behalf of the Slovak nation were not recognized by the rulers of pre-war Czecho-Slovakia or by the Regime which was imposed on the Slovaks after the Second World War, we find in foreign languages an objective valuation of his work, especially of the period when he was the President of Matica Slovenska. Seton Watson, writing under the pseudonym Scotus Viator, was the first to praise the role which Bishop Moyses played amongst Slovaks in the 1860's. Moreover, Bishop Moyses had received recognition even from the Emperor Francis Joseph who appointed him in 1863 to the Imperial Court Council. In September 1863 Moyses led another delegation to Vienna and was received by the Emperor. The delegation assured the Emperor that the Slovak nation will contribute in the spirit of the "October Diploma" to the "strengthening of the empire internally as well as externally." On the same occasion the delegation was received by the Chancellor for Hungary, Count Forgach, whom Bishop Moyses greeted in Slovak. Seton Watson recorded the recognition given to Bishop Moyses, and as a historian praising Moyses' Memorial to the Emperor 4 as an example of good diplomacy wrote: "Roused by such unwarrantable action ( of the Magyars), Dr. Stephen Moyses, the Bishop of Banska Bystrica, one of the truest of Slovak patriots, decided to appeal to the monarch direct on behalf of his unfortunate countrymen; and on December 12, 1861, a Slovak deputation headed by the Bishop was actually received by Francis Joseph in the Hofburg at Vienna, and presented an address of grievances and requests. This address, and the memorial submitted by Bishop Moyses himself at the same time, mark a decided advance upon the manifestos of May 1848, and June 1861.5 They are at once more lucid and dignified, they avoid the verbosity and provocative tone of the Memorandum, show far more respect for existing institu- �SLOVAKIA 135 tions, and base their case upon law and fact. They lay stress upon the racial equality and concord which had prevailed in Hungary during former centuries, and contrast him with the Magyar hegemony which the legislation of the past seventy years established. The non-Magyars, they assert, are quite content to recognize the Magyar language in the higher administration, but they demand free play for their own tongues in church, school and local affairs, and in their direct contact with the authorities. The Magyars will not allow this, and try to 'cut off from the Slovaks every road to culture, and thus to let them languish in a condition of moral and social atrophy, as the prey of a future Magyarizing policy.' In effect, they put forward. the same claims as the Memorandists--the formation of Slovak Okolie, with a Slovak local assembly: the introduction of Slovak within this district as the official language of administration, justice and education: free control of the schools by 'the Slovak nation'-but at the same time they are careful to define the new territory of their dreams as 'an integral part of Hungary,' which would be subject to the central Parliament and to the supreme authorities. Moreover, they repair the most regrettable omission of the Memorandum: for while claiming Slovak as the official language of the Okolie, they specially exclude all places of other nationality, and express the wish that their communal affairs should be conducted without hindrance in the language of the majority. Bishop Moyses was inundated with addresses of thanks from the Slovak villages and corporations of North Hungary for his courageous advocacy of the Slovak cause." 6 FOOTNOTES 1) See Historicky casopis, No. 4, 1969 and Nove Slov o, June 26, 1969. The regime also allowed a public celebration of the centenary and a conference on the work and life of Moyses. 2) Moyses was born in Slovakia on October 27, 1797 and spent bis young years in his native country, but as a young priest he was sent by bis bishop first to Budapest and later he was appointed professor at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, where he spent 21 years. Both Slovakia and Croatia were parts of the Kingdom of Hungary and of the Hahsburg Empire. 3) For more details on the life and activities of Bishop Moyses in Slovakia see J. M. Kirschbaum, "K storocnici biskupa Stefana Moysesa", Ncirodny Americko-slovensky Kalendcir, (Pittsburgh, Pa. 1970) , p. 39-44. �136 SLOVAKIA 4) See the text at the end of this article and commentary by Seton Watson (Scotus Viator) on the following pages. 5) The documents were published in Petitionen der Serben und Slo waken von Jahre 1861. (Vienna, 1862). 6) The Pe~tbudinske Vedomosti published no fewer than sixty-five of these addresses in the early months of 1862. And yet Bela Grunwald calmly asserted (Felvidek, p. 41) that "the majority of the Slovak population showed the greatest antipathy and indignation" toward Slovak national programme. MEMORIAL OF BISHOP STEPHEN MOYSES OF BANSKA BYSTRICA TO HIS MAJESTY EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH I Your Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty! Most gracious sovereign lord: It is an undoubted historic fact that the kingdom of Hungary was not founded by Saint Stephen upon any one special nationality, but rather upon the Christian faith and upon the laws borrowed from pre-Christian peoples. So far as the written records of this kingdom show us, history knows nothing of a special privileged position of the Magyar people. Even the conquerors under Arpad were not Magyars alone, but came in company with Cumanes and Russians, who all spread themselves throughout the country. At the real foundation of the kingdom under Stephen, the predominant--our native history says, the exclusive-influence was exercised by foreigners, Italians, Germans and Slavs. King Stephen expressly declares himself for the equal rights of all the languages in use in the country. The various divisions of the country as well as the highest dignities of the kingdom have preserved even to the present day their Slav names. After the country had been completely Christianized, the various races, inhabiting it lived in brotherly concord, without any trace of a privileged position for the Magyars. Indeed, the Germans and Slavs from time to time gained the upper hand •to such an extent that the Magyars felt it necessary to seek the protection of the Diet against this. Even on such occasions the Diet always proclaimed the most complete equality, without the slightest privilege for the Magyars. This did not, however, prevent the Magyars from being either completely or at least parlially excluded from the magistracy of several municipalities, in accordance with the Royal privileges to the latter. Above all was this the .!ase in the city of Buda. The Latin language, which was employed for over eight hundred years in the legislature, administration and judicature, was specially qualified to arrest the jealousy of the various nationalities. This was, moreover, recognized by the municipalities* of the ~oul)try, .and w&s specially cited in defence of the Latin language against , *) Here used in the legal sense, to include town councils and county assemblies. �SLOVAKIA 137 the Germanizing efforts of the Emperor Joseph II of glorious memory. But it was the very efforts of the Emperor Joseph which awakened the national movements in Hungary: among the Slovaks, it is true, only in the field of literature: among the Magyars politically as well. Naturally the non-Magyar inhabitants of the country have no objection to raise against the efforts of the Magyars to develop their language on their own territory. Indeed, they are even ready to recognize cheerfully the privileged position of the Magyar language in the higher administrative spheres of the state, within limits prescribed by Your Majesty; they wish, however, free play for their own languages in church, school, communal and municipal administration, as well as in direct communication with ,t he organs of the public administration, in so far as is necessary for the assertion of their rights as men and as citizens. The Magyars, however, will not take into consideration these just and inalienable claims, but employ every means of violence in order to cut off the Slovak people from every path to culture and thus to let it languish in a state of moral and national unconsciousness, as a prey to future Magyarization. No wonder that the county committees and magistrates who have been active since October 20 of the last years up to the present day have by excesses of all kinds ruthlessly terrorized the unsuspecting Slovak people. The same is true of the Diet which assembled in the course of this year. It has none the less caused a painful impression upon your Majesty'., devoted servant, the petitioner, that even the Royal Palatinal Council has committed a similar injustice. Despite the clear wording of the Royal Rescript of October 20, 1860, addressed to the Chancellor of Hungary and providing for the protection of the various nationalities, the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council, by its decree of October 20, 1861 (No. 61, 917) , none the less threatens all Slovak and German Catholic elementary schools with the introduction of the Magyar language. Considering the circumstance that the diocese of Banska Bystrica which is entrusted to Your Majesty's most devoted petitioner contains thirteen parishes with pure German, ninety-three with pure Slo,ak, four with Slovak-German, and not a single one with Magyar population, the result of this threatened measure of the Royal Palatinal Council would be to reduce to zero the progress of the elementary schools within this diocese-which has in any case been slight, owing to the circumstances of the past eleven months--without the intended Magyarization of the people being thereby attained. Although 1he Royal Hungarian Chancellory by two separate decrees of October 5, 1861 (No. 13,583) solemnly enjoined the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council to satisfy so far as possible the claims of the various non-Magyar nationalities of the country, when provisionally reorganizing the Catholic gymnasiums (highschools); none the less the decree of October 21, 1861, issued to the governing bodies of the gymnasiums had the exact opposite effect, and indeed so far as the gymnasium of Banska Bystrica is concerned, stood in direct conflict with the opinions expressed (in compliance with official instructions), both by the diocesan court and the governing body of that gymnasium. As a result this gymnasium-as also those others where similar linguistic con- �138 SLOVAKIA ditions prevai:-has become involved in such incredible confusion. that alike the expenditure of the parents and the time of the pupils -time which can never be made good-are robbed of all their fruits. The regrettable partiality of the provisional organization of the gymnasiums is clearly shown, among other things, by the fact that though capable and well qualified men who have been employed for years as teachers but are free from ultra-Magyar tendencies, cannot be dispensed with altogether, they are placed in the lowest category in the matter of salary; while persons of doubtful and entirely untested capacity, if only they appear reliable in respect of such tendencies, are provided with the highest salaries. Since, moreover, the county officials show practically no consideration towards the non-Hungarian population, and in open violation of the already mentioned Rescript of H. M. sent on October 20, 1860, to the Royal Hungarian Chancellor, orders and instructions are sent to non-Magyar communes drawn up in Magyar only and hence wholly incomprehensible to the people; and since, moreover, protection against such excesses is to be found neither with the counties nor with the Hungarian Palatinal Council ; it is thus clear that the county authorities which are influenced by extremists and enemies of the harmless non-Magyar people, and also the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council, unscrupulously violate the most sacred rights of the non-Magyar peoples-among whom the Slovaks alone far exceed two million souls -although these peoples have ever shown inviolable loyalty to their king and although their rights have been asserted by solemn pronouncements of the sovereign. It is further clear that the intention unhappily prevails, of condemning -these non-Magyar inhabitants to the country to perpetual ignorance and brutalization by depriving them of every suitable instrument of culture, and thus to tread under foot their feelings of human dignity, in defiance not only of the whole course of our country's history in the days preceding the present terrorism, but also in defiance of that boastful ostentation with which the late Diet in Pest saught to acquire abroad an undeserved reputation of liberalism by employing the hollow phrase of "Equality". Since then Your Majesty's most devoted petitioner-in virtue of the Divine appointment to the Episcopal dignity, as expressed through the most gracious act of your I. R. A. Majesty-feels bound to regard himself as the natural advocate of the spiritual possessions of those committed to his charge: he therefore ventures-resting upon the inalienable rights of his diocesans and upon the services which they have rendered to the country alike in peace and before the enemy, calling to mind the country's history previous to the last twenty-five years, relying the sanctity of Your Most Gracious Majesty's word-to take refuge at the foot of Your Most Gracious Majesty's throne in the most unbounded confidence, most humbly being Your I. R. A. to deign to order, that in the sense of Your Majesty's Rescript of July 21, 1861, to the Hungarian Diet, the rights of nationality of the loyal non-Magyar people, both in regard to the development of their language and nationality and to their administrative conditions, be laid down and clearly formulated, and no less effectually and permanently assured. For the rest recommending himself most earnestly to Your Most �SLOVAKIA 139 Gracious Majesty's favour-in deepest reverence, Your Imperial Royal Apostolic Majesty's most loyal subject and submissive chaplain, Stephen Moyses, Bishop of Banska Bystrica Vienna, December 5, 1861. (Translated from "Petitionen der Serben und Slowaken von Jahre 1861", Vienna, 1862, and published in Scotus Viator, Raciai Probiems in Hungary, Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd., London, 1908.) The Slovak League Finnly Believes ... Our primary interest is the welfare and security of the United States of America. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. We recognize the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism as the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as a political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. We have fought consistently and resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, are more determined than ever to persevere in our fight against it with all possible means at our command until the plague of Communism is completely wiped off the face of the earth. We strongly recommend that all official, semi-official and private American institutions desiring any information on problems affecting the Slovak nation, consult with the Slovak League of America, an American institution which since 1907 has been advancing the cause of freedom and national rights of the Slovak nation. We heartily commend all efforts on the part of our Government, its agencies and Congressional Committees to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all communists and fellow-travelers, which propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy. All persons and organizations, who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism, .s hould be thoroughly investigated by the proper organs of our Government. We approve the idea of a United Nations Organization which shall promote and preserve peace and prosperity in all countries of the world, as far as humanly possible. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 131 The Centenary of Bishop S. J\Ioyses J . M . Ki rs c h b au m Among all the prominent Slovaks of the 19th century, the Catholic Bishop Stephen Moyses seems to be the strongest personality even if the least known. He overI, shadowed Slovak leaders of previous decades not only by his education but also by his experience as a university professor, delegate to the ~ (~~ ) Diet, member of the diplomatic mission to the Impe~ rial Court and last but not least by his courage in the fight against the wave of -Magyarization. The reason for his relegation to obscurity between 1918 and 1938 was the official tendency of the inter-war Czecho-Slovak governments to recognize as good Slovaks and patriots only those who subscribed to the ideology of the "Czechoslovak nation" and belonged to the' Protestant church. Great figures of the Slovak past like Bernolak, Holly or even :Cudovit stlir, who was a Protestant but represented together with Bernolak and Holly the Slovak national aspirations for a distinct cultural, linguistic and political identity of Slovaks, were to be sent into oblivion. Bishop Moyses who waged a fierce struggle against the Hungarian policy of assimilation in the 1860's and was the first and the most successful President of Matica Slovenska, the institution which represented the best Slovak traditions, was not a person to be recognized by Prague and her representatives in Slovakia as a great figure of Slovak history. Even though he was a promoter of the Catholic-Protestant co-operation in Slovakia, his name, his activities and his patriotism were to be belittled or forgotten. ~7\f - 132 SLOVAKIA After the Second World War the atmosphere did not change for the better for the recognition of Slovak leaders who came from and represented the Catholic majority of Slovakia. Slovakia was ruled not only from Prague but for a short time by a coalition from which Catholics were practically excluded, and later by Communists. As a result, only after the 1968 political Spring, Moyses was accepted as one of the prominent figures of Slovak history and his centenary was duly remembered. 1 Before 1918 Moyses had been recognized even by the Slovak Protestant leaders as the most prominent national leader of his time. Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky, a prominent poet, writer and leader of the struggle for Slovak national rights at the turn of the 20th century, wrote about Bishop Moyses that Moyses was "the most outstanding head among Slovaks and possessed such an erudition and experience in life that prominent Slovak leaders had accepted his moderate, but definitive leadership without any resistance ... Not even the most radical Slovaks were more dedicated to the Slovak cause than Moyses ... " Vajansky wrote even more favourable statements about Moyses in the only biography which was until recently published in Slovakia. The recognition of Moyses' great personal qualities and dedication to the Slovak cause by Vajansky was of great importance if we take into consideration the fact that Vajansky was a prominent Protestant and Moyses a Catholic Bishop. However, Moyses fully deserved this recognition. He overlooked the confessional differences in the Slovak national life and forgot the quarrels of the past decades and together with the Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany laid foundation to an exemplary co-operation of Slovak Catholics and Protestants in national offices. Each Slovak generation since the 1860's was reminded of the "Moyses-Kuzmany" tradition. In the 1930's this tradition was renewed for a short period by the prominent Slovak leaders, Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus. Unfortunately it was abandoned after 1945 by the Protestants. Several other Protestant leaders of the past century also expressed great admiration for Moyses and recognized that he helped the Slovak cause a long time before he returned to Slovakia from Zagreb, Croatia, where he was SLOVAKIA 133 a university professor and representative of the Croats at the Diet and at the Imperial Court in Vienna. According to Jan Francisci and M. Dohnany, the leaders of the Slovak uprising of 1848 received support from the Croatian "ban" Jelacic only thanks to the intervention of Bishop Moyses. 2 It was, however, during the period of his presidency of Matica Slovenska that Bishop Moyses became the most respected personality in Slovakia. When he was attacked by Magyar newspapers after his successful audience with the Emperor, prominent Slovaks of all walks of life expressed in hundreds of letters their admiration of and gratitude to Bishop Moyses. The role which Bishop Moyses played in Slovak national life at one of the crucial periods of Slovak history, deserved his nation's recognition. He gave an example of a courageous leadership in national, cultural and educational affairs at a time of concentrated efforts of the Hungarian Government to suppress Slovak political and cultural life and assimilate Slovaks. Among the most memorable actions of Bishop Moyses in this period was his protest to the Emperor Francis Joseph I in December 1861. In May of the same year, Slovak leaders adopted a "Memorandum of the Slovak Nation" in which they requested political, indicial and linguistic rights as a distinct national entity. The Budapest government disregarded the Memorandum and Moyses, hurt in his national feelings, decided to lead a delegation to the Emperor. He presented to the Emperor not only the Memorandum, but also his own "Memorial" which was later considered by historians as an example of great diplomatic skill. In spite of Magyar protests, Moyses obtained from Emperor the permission to organize a national cultural institution MATICA SLOVENSKA and even a gift of 1000 crowns for that purpose. 3 Moyses fought against great odds, but never discouraged he helped to organize Slovak schools, supported publications defending Slovak cultural heritage and renewed the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition which gave the Slovak nation moral strength and resistance in their struggle for survival. Honoured and respected until his death on July 6, 1869, Moyses passed in to the gallery of great Slovak figures of the 19th century. Only the anti-Slovak 134 SLOVAKIA and anti-Catholic policy of Prague government could temporarily deny him the place of honour among Slovaks. In 1969 even the Communist regime had to "rehabilitate" and revive this outstanding figure of the Slovak past. Bishop Moyses ' Role in the Views of Non-Slovaks While in the past fifty years the activities of Bishop Moyses on behalf of the Slovak nation were not recognized by the rulers of pre-war Czecho-Slovakia or by the Regime which was imposed on the Slovaks after the Second World War, we find in foreign languages an objective valuation of his work, especially of the period when he was the President of Matica Slovenska. Seton Watson, writing under the pseudonym Scotus Viator, was the first to praise the role which Bishop Moyses played amongst Slovaks in the 1860's. Moreover, Bishop Moyses had received recognition even from the Emperor Francis Joseph who appointed him in 1863 to the Imperial Court Council. In September 1863 Moyses led another delegation to Vienna and was received by the Emperor. The delegation assured the Emperor that the Slovak nation will contribute in the spirit of the "October Diploma" to the "strengthening of the empire internally as well as externally." On the same occasion the delegation was received by the Chancellor for Hungary, Count Forgach, whom Bishop Moyses greeted in Slovak. Seton Watson recorded the recognition given to Bishop Moyses, and as a historian praising Moyses' Memorial to the Emperor 4 as an example of good diplomacy wrote: "Roused by such unwarrantable action ( of the Magyars), Dr. Stephen Moyses, the Bishop of Banska Bystrica, one of the truest of Slovak patriots, decided to appeal to the monarch direct on behalf of his unfortunate countrymen; and on December 12, 1861, a Slovak deputation headed by the Bishop was actually received by Francis Joseph in the Hofburg at Vienna, and presented an address of grievances and requests. This address, and the memorial submitted by Bishop Moyses himself at the same time, mark a decided advance upon the manifestos of May 1848, and June 1861.5 They are at once more lucid and dignified, they avoid the verbosity and provocative tone of the Memorandum, show far more respect for existing institu- SLOVAKIA 135 tions, and base their case upon law and fact. They lay stress upon the racial equality and concord which had prevailed in Hungary during former centuries, and contrast him with the Magyar hegemony which the legislation of the past seventy years established. The non-Magyars, they assert, are quite content to recognize the Magyar language in the higher administration, but they demand free play for their own tongues in church, school and local affairs, and in their direct contact with the authorities. The Magyars will not allow this, and try to 'cut off from the Slovaks every road to culture, and thus to let them languish in a condition of moral and social atrophy, as the prey of a future Magyarizing policy.' In effect, they put forward. the same claims as the Memorandists--the formation of Slovak Okolie, with a Slovak local assembly: the introduction of Slovak within this district as the official language of administration, justice and education: free control of the schools by 'the Slovak nation'-but at the same time they are careful to define the new territory of their dreams as 'an integral part of Hungary,' which would be subject to the central Parliament and to the supreme authorities. Moreover, they repair the most regrettable omission of the Memorandum: for while claiming Slovak as the official language of the Okolie, they specially exclude all places of other nationality, and express the wish that their communal affairs should be conducted without hindrance in the language of the majority. Bishop Moyses was inundated with addresses of thanks from the Slovak villages and corporations of North Hungary for his courageous advocacy of the Slovak cause." 6 FOOTNOTES 1) See Historicky casopis, No. 4, 1969 and Nove Slov o, June 26, 1969. The regime also allowed a public celebration of the centenary and a conference on the work and life of Moyses. 2) Moyses was born in Slovakia on October 27, 1797 and spent bis young years in his native country, but as a young priest he was sent by bis bishop first to Budapest and later he was appointed professor at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, where he spent 21 years. Both Slovakia and Croatia were parts of the Kingdom of Hungary and of the Hahsburg Empire. 3) For more details on the life and activities of Bishop Moyses in Slovakia see J. M. Kirschbaum, "K storocnici biskupa Stefana Moysesa", Ncirodny Americko-slovensky Kalendcir, (Pittsburgh, Pa. 1970) , p. 39-44. 136 SLOVAKIA 4) See the text at the end of this article and commentary by Seton Watson (Scotus Viator) on the following pages. 5) The documents were published in Petitionen der Serben und Slo waken von Jahre 1861. (Vienna, 1862). 6) The Pe~tbudinske Vedomosti published no fewer than sixty-five of these addresses in the early months of 1862. And yet Bela Grunwald calmly asserted (Felvidek, p. 41) that "the majority of the Slovak population showed the greatest antipathy and indignation" toward Slovak national programme. MEMORIAL OF BISHOP STEPHEN MOYSES OF BANSKA BYSTRICA TO HIS MAJESTY EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH I Your Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty! Most gracious sovereign lord: It is an undoubted historic fact that the kingdom of Hungary was not founded by Saint Stephen upon any one special nationality, but rather upon the Christian faith and upon the laws borrowed from pre-Christian peoples. So far as the written records of this kingdom show us, history knows nothing of a special privileged position of the Magyar people. Even the conquerors under Arpad were not Magyars alone, but came in company with Cumanes and Russians, who all spread themselves throughout the country. At the real foundation of the kingdom under Stephen, the predominant--our native history says, the exclusive-influence was exercised by foreigners, Italians, Germans and Slavs. King Stephen expressly declares himself for the equal rights of all the languages in use in the country. The various divisions of the country as well as the highest dignities of the kingdom have preserved even to the present day their Slav names. After the country had been completely Christianized, the various races, inhabiting it lived in brotherly concord, without any trace of a privileged position for the Magyars. Indeed, the Germans and Slavs from time to time gained the upper hand •to such an extent that the Magyars felt it necessary to seek the protection of the Diet against this. Even on such occasions the Diet always proclaimed the most complete equality, without the slightest privilege for the Magyars. This did not, however, prevent the Magyars from being either completely or at least parlially excluded from the magistracy of several municipalities, in accordance with the Royal privileges to the latter. Above all was this the .!ase in the city of Buda. The Latin language, which was employed for over eight hundred years in the legislature, administration and judicature, was specially qualified to arrest the jealousy of the various nationalities. This was, moreover, recognized by the municipalities* of the ~oul)try, .and w&s specially cited in defence of the Latin language against , *) Here used in the legal sense, to include town councils and county assemblies. SLOVAKIA 137 the Germanizing efforts of the Emperor Joseph II of glorious memory. But it was the very efforts of the Emperor Joseph which awakened the national movements in Hungary: among the Slovaks, it is true, only in the field of literature: among the Magyars politically as well. Naturally the non-Magyar inhabitants of the country have no objection to raise against the efforts of the Magyars to develop their language on their own territory. Indeed, they are even ready to recognize cheerfully the privileged position of the Magyar language in the higher administrative spheres of the state, within limits prescribed by Your Majesty; they wish, however, free play for their own languages in church, school, communal and municipal administration, as well as in direct communication with ,t he organs of the public administration, in so far as is necessary for the assertion of their rights as men and as citizens. The Magyars, however, will not take into consideration these just and inalienable claims, but employ every means of violence in order to cut off the Slovak people from every path to culture and thus to let it languish in a state of moral and national unconsciousness, as a prey to future Magyarization. No wonder that the county committees and magistrates who have been active since October 20 of the last years up to the present day have by excesses of all kinds ruthlessly terrorized the unsuspecting Slovak people. The same is true of the Diet which assembled in the course of this year. It has none the less caused a painful impression upon your Majesty'., devoted servant, the petitioner, that even the Royal Palatinal Council has committed a similar injustice. Despite the clear wording of the Royal Rescript of October 20, 1860, addressed to the Chancellor of Hungary and providing for the protection of the various nationalities, the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council, by its decree of October 20, 1861 (No. 61, 917) , none the less threatens all Slovak and German Catholic elementary schools with the introduction of the Magyar language. Considering the circumstance that the diocese of Banska Bystrica which is entrusted to Your Majesty's most devoted petitioner contains thirteen parishes with pure German, ninety-three with pure Slo,ak, four with Slovak-German, and not a single one with Magyar population, the result of this threatened measure of the Royal Palatinal Council would be to reduce to zero the progress of the elementary schools within this diocese-which has in any case been slight, owing to the circumstances of the past eleven months--without the intended Magyarization of the people being thereby attained. Although 1he Royal Hungarian Chancellory by two separate decrees of October 5, 1861 (No. 13,583) solemnly enjoined the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council to satisfy so far as possible the claims of the various non-Magyar nationalities of the country, when provisionally reorganizing the Catholic gymnasiums (highschools); none the less the decree of October 21, 1861, issued to the governing bodies of the gymnasiums had the exact opposite effect, and indeed so far as the gymnasium of Banska Bystrica is concerned, stood in direct conflict with the opinions expressed (in compliance with official instructions), both by the diocesan court and the governing body of that gymnasium. As a result this gymnasium-as also those others where similar linguistic con- 138 SLOVAKIA ditions prevai:-has become involved in such incredible confusion. that alike the expenditure of the parents and the time of the pupils -time which can never be made good-are robbed of all their fruits. The regrettable partiality of the provisional organization of the gymnasiums is clearly shown, among other things, by the fact that though capable and well qualified men who have been employed for years as teachers but are free from ultra-Magyar tendencies, cannot be dispensed with altogether, they are placed in the lowest category in the matter of salary; while persons of doubtful and entirely untested capacity, if only they appear reliable in respect of such tendencies, are provided with the highest salaries. Since, moreover, the county officials show practically no consideration towards the non-Hungarian population, and in open violation of the already mentioned Rescript of H. M. sent on October 20, 1860, to the Royal Hungarian Chancellor, orders and instructions are sent to non-Magyar communes drawn up in Magyar only and hence wholly incomprehensible to the people; and since, moreover, protection against such excesses is to be found neither with the counties nor with the Hungarian Palatinal Council ; it is thus clear that the county authorities which are influenced by extremists and enemies of the harmless non-Magyar people, and also the Royal Hungarian Palatinal Council, unscrupulously violate the most sacred rights of the non-Magyar peoples-among whom the Slovaks alone far exceed two million souls -although these peoples have ever shown inviolable loyalty to their king and although their rights have been asserted by solemn pronouncements of the sovereign. It is further clear that the intention unhappily prevails, of condemning -these non-Magyar inhabitants to the country to perpetual ignorance and brutalization by depriving them of every suitable instrument of culture, and thus to tread under foot their feelings of human dignity, in defiance not only of the whole course of our country's history in the days preceding the present terrorism, but also in defiance of that boastful ostentation with which the late Diet in Pest saught to acquire abroad an undeserved reputation of liberalism by employing the hollow phrase of "Equality". Since then Your Majesty's most devoted petitioner-in virtue of the Divine appointment to the Episcopal dignity, as expressed through the most gracious act of your I. R. A. Majesty-feels bound to regard himself as the natural advocate of the spiritual possessions of those committed to his charge: he therefore ventures-resting upon the inalienable rights of his diocesans and upon the services which they have rendered to the country alike in peace and before the enemy, calling to mind the country's history previous to the last twenty-five years, relying the sanctity of Your Most Gracious Majesty's word-to take refuge at the foot of Your Most Gracious Majesty's throne in the most unbounded confidence, most humbly being Your I. R. A. to deign to order, that in the sense of Your Majesty's Rescript of July 21, 1861, to the Hungarian Diet, the rights of nationality of the loyal non-Magyar people, both in regard to the development of their language and nationality and to their administrative conditions, be laid down and clearly formulated, and no less effectually and permanently assured. For the rest recommending himself most earnestly to Your Most SLOVAKIA 139 Gracious Majesty's favour-in deepest reverence, Your Imperial Royal Apostolic Majesty's most loyal subject and submissive chaplain, Stephen Moyses, Bishop of Banska Bystrica Vienna, December 5, 1861. (Translated from "Petitionen der Serben und Slowaken von Jahre 1861", Vienna, 1862, and published in Scotus Viator, Raciai Probiems in Hungary, Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd., London, 1908.) The Slovak League Finnly Believes ... Our primary interest is the welfare and security of the United States of America. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. We recognize the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism as the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as a political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. We have fought consistently and resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, are more determined than ever to persevere in our fight against it with all possible means at our command until the plague of Communism is completely wiped off the face of the earth. We strongly recommend that all official, semi-official and private American institutions desiring any information on problems affecting the Slovak nation, consult with the Slovak League of America, an American institution which since 1907 has been advancing the cause of freedom and national rights of the Slovak nation. We heartily commend all efforts on the part of our Government, its agencies and Congressional Committees to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all communists and fellow-travelers, which propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy. All persons and organizations, who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism, .s hould be thoroughly investigated by the proper organs of our Government. We approve the idea of a United Nations Organization which shall promote and preserve peace and prosperity in all countries of the world, as far as humanly possible.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Centenary of Bishop S. Moyses Description An account of the resource J. M. Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 131-139 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Jozef M., 1913-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/bf2cce36d2d33788baaafc590a2b2bfc.pdf 21ed57bd8068d09b5812cc3c53d98723 PDF Text Text 122 J,' SLOVAKIA H O M 'l' H E R E C O R D A1n erican Slovaks on the Honie and War Fronts Speech of HON. RAY J. MADDEN of Indiana IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESE NTATIVE S January 13, 1944 MR. MADDEN . Mr. Speaker, in the midst of war, upon the result of which the whole future of civilization depends, I can speak with a deep sense of satisfactio n and pride at the manner in which the Slovaks of America have comported themselves on the war front and on the home front. I refer particularl y to the Slovak response to our Governme nt's request for the Third War Loan. As Representa tive of the First District of Indiana, I wish to extend my hearty congratula tions to the Slovaks of America and the American-S lovak War bond committee , of which Rev. John J. Lach, of Whiting, Ind., is the national chairman, for the outstandin g success of their patriotic effort and cooperatio n with our military forces. This committee appointed by Secretary Morgentha u set out to reach a bond-sale quota of 6,000,000 but at the close of their drive, were happy to announce an oversubscr iption of more than 90 percent, the same totaling approxima tely $11,000,000. These patriotic Americans have thus demonstrated once again their depth of loyality to the United States, its Governme nt, and people, and the sincerity of their desire to see America carry on the war to victory. Their task was hard and difficult as this bond drive covered all communiti es in the United States. Enthusiast ic local committee s with th~ help of devoted Slovak priests were untiring in bringing their parishes to the realization of their Governme nt's needs in this crisis. Special commenda tion and praise should be given the following Slovak newspaper s of America for their untiring �SLOVAKIA 123 effort in this campaign: Slovenska Obrana, Catholic Falcon, Jednota, Osadne Hlasy, Sloboda, zenska Jednota, Pennsylvania Slovak Jednota, Slovensky Obcan, Na.rod, Narodne Noviny and Slovak v Amerike. Also the various State chairmen who assisted in making this drive a success, namely: Rev. Clement Mlynarovich, Indiana Harbor, Indiana State chairman; Rev. John Fedor, Chicago, Illinois State chairman; Rev. Casimir Cvercko, Milwaukee, Wisconsin State chairman; Rev. Joseph Zalibera, Detroit, Michigan State chairman; Rev. Leo Rehak, 0. S. B ., Cleveland, Ohio State chairman; Rev. Martin Rubicky, Clairton, Pennsylvania State chairman; Rev. Florian Billy, 0 . M. C., Schenectady, New York State chairman; Rev. John Rura, Perth Amboy, New Jersey State chairman; Dr. Michael Simko, Bridgeport, Connecticut State chairman; Rev. Joseph Ferenz, Webster, Massachusetts State chairman; Mr. Michael Marcak, Lisbon Falls, Maine State chairman; Mr. Michael M. Vargo, Lakefield, Minnesota State chairman; Mr. Stephen Strecansky, Benwood, West Virginia State chairman; Rev. J . A. Hurcik, St. Louis, Missouri State chairman. The above-stated chairmen worked in cooperation with the national executive committee, consisting of the Right Reverend Francis J. Dubosh, Paul Jamriska, Mrs. Julia Krajcovic, and John A. Kocur. It is by no means the first time this group of citizens has responded generously to the call of the Government for war funds, for the records show that Slovak-Americans have more than met their quotas each time there has been a demand for funds to prosecute the war, and I venture to predict that in the Fourth War Loan drive there will be no let down in their enthusiastic response . The Slovak citizens of the United States, though comparatively small in number, yield to no other racial groups in loyal devotion to our flag and all' that it stands for in the eyes of the world. They have a double interest in the winning of the war by America and her allies of the United Nations-first, their prime interest as patriotic Americans, and, secondly, a very special interest, because their kindred in Europe lie prostrate under the steel-shod heel of nazism. Hence, their youth is serving in all the �124 SLOVAKIA armed forces of the United States; their young women are found in the Army and Navy auxiliaries. The Slovaks of America and their ancestors have advocated freedom for centuries and they looked with nationalistic fervor on this, the promised land of civil and religious liberty. Thanks be to Him who doeth all things well, they found here in the United States the conditions for which their souls longed. They found not only the perfect religious liberty which enabled them forthwith to build their own churches and schools, establish their own priesthood, and worship freely as they wished, but also the civil liberties which gave them the long-suppressed feeling of freemen. They were emancipated from the inhibitions and terrors of the European system of domination by minorities. They became an integral part of the American commonwealth. The record of their race in this country has been one of steady progress in Americanization and good citizenship. In every community in which Slovaks have settled, their sterling character, their industry and integrity have left a deep and lasting impression. They are intensely relie-ious by nature and tradition. Their church is to them the center and hub of the community, and they are inva-riably law-abiding. They observe the laws of man, because their lives and conduct are soundly based upon the eternal laws of God. Their religious faith and practice help them to enrich the community with the moral and spiritual leaven of practical Christianity, with model citizenship as its inevitable development, and so they have become thoroughly asimilated into the great family of American citizens and find a welcome wherever they make their homes . They know the duties and responsibilities of citizenship as well as they recognize and appreciate its rights and privileges. And in such national emergencies as the present, they will always be found ready and anxious to do their patriotic part. But it is not only by buying bonds that the Slovaks of America are again cooperating with the United States Government to the fullest extent of their ability and their resources. They are engaged in every field of activity connected with the equipment and maintenance of our armed forces on land, on the sea, and in the air, and they work �SLOVAKIA 125 with greater zeal and assiduity because they have sons and brothers serving in each and every one of those forces, which are scattered around the globe today as no nation's army and navy ever were scattered before. Whatever their work on the home front, whether it be the farm, in the factory, or in the depths of the mine, Slovak-Americans are putting forth their utmost effort, spurred by the everpresent thought that they are working to maintain their brethren in the field and camp, and working, too, to win the war. The very idea of a war for human freedom captivates the Slovak mind. Centuries of oppression and persecution by ruthless tyrants in Europe have engrained the hopeful prospect of a free world in the subconsciousness of every member of the race. The possibility of its realization through present hostilities against the forces of aggression and domination leaves but one burning desire in the Slovak heart, the desire for victory, complete and speedy as possible. With victory now on the horizon, our Government can rest with great contentment on the fact that our numerous races and various nationalities in this country have not only contributed their money, but have cooperated by enduring bitter hardships and inconveniences that America, this great land of the "four freedoms" can continue to endure. SLOVAKS BUY $11 ,386,700 IN WAR BONDS TO TOP $6,000,000 GOAL Extension of Remarks of HON. RAY J. MADDEN of Indiana IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Friday, December 17, 1943 MR. MADDEN. Mr. Speaker, under leave to extend my remarks in the RECORD, I include the following article from the Hammond (Ind.) Times of December 15, 1943: SLOVAKS BUY $11,386,700 IN WAR BONDS TO TOP $6,000,00 GOAL The Reverend John J. Lach, pastor of the Immaculate �126 SLOVAKIA Conception Church of Whiting, Ind., and National War bond chairman for the Slovaks of America, announced today that the Slovaks went over the top in their Nationwide drive by purchasing $11 ,386,700 in war certificates to top the $6,000,000 goal in the Third War Loan campaign. The drive closed last Armistice Day, but it was not until yesterday that final tabulation was made from practically every city in the United States. * * * In recognition of his leadership and success in directing the bond sale, the distinguished sedvice of Reverend Lach was hailed by Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury, in citing the Whiting priest and presenting him with a Minute Man citation. Another citation was presented the priest by Wm. C. FitzGibbon, chief of the United Nationalities section. It read: "In token of appreciation for distinguished services rendered on behalf of the war savings program, it is my pleasure to present to you the United States Treasury Department's citation of award. "While this citation is for outstanding patriotic work well done, it also serves as a commission for you to lead the Slovaks of America in a crusade to support the Treasury Department's Fourth War Loan drive which starts January 18, 1944." Father Lach said that the success of the campaign resulted from a carefully laid-out program that was studied for 3 months before a contract was made on a Slovak in the country to make a purchase. First, approval was obtained from the United States Treasury, Henry J. Morgenthau, Secretary, and William C. FitzGibbon, chief of the United Nationalities Section of the War Finance Division, Washington, D. C. Father Lach was chosen to lead the campaign by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, president of the Slovak League of America, Cleveland, Ohio. �127 SLOVAKIA The chairman explained that the money is to be used for the construction of Liberty ships, Father Lach stated: "When a small racial group of American citizens responds to an appeal by our Government for war funds by oversubscribing its quota, it is an exhibition of good citizenship and loyalty. When its quota exceeded it demonstrates an eager desire to support the Government in its war effort. When the quota is oversubscribed to the splendid extent of 90 percent, it is a striking •evidence of patriotic generosity. "Meanwhile," the priest continued, "let me congratulate my fellow workers upon the happy result of their labors in the recent drive. I wish to thank: them all in the name of the American Slovak War Bond Committee for their invaluable zeal and persistence in bringing home the facts of the Nation's need to every adult Slovak, and also to the children of Slovak families who responded as freely in the purchase of War Savings stamps as the enthusiastic youngsters of larger racial groups. Our Slovak workers could not have been more faithful and loyal than they were throughout the period of the drive. From the bottom of my heart I thank them, as well as the many citizens of other races who assisted us by voice and pen in the sale of bonds." * * Tribute was paid to the Slovak-Americans serving in the various branches of the armed forces and the young women in the WAVES, WACS, and other auxiliary branches. REPORT OF THE FIFTH WAR LOAN DRIVE AMONG THE SLOVAKS OF AMERICA Extension of Remarks of HON. B. W. (PAT) KEARNEY of New York IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, November 27, 1944 Mr. KEARNEY. Mr. Speaker, under leave to extend my remarks in the RECORD, I include a report on the Fifth War loan drive among the Slovaks of America as �128 SLOVAKIA reported to the Slovak League Congress held at Pittsburgh, Pa., on October 17-18, 1944, as follows: Mr. Chairman, it is now my pleasant duty to submit to you my report of the result of the campaign among the Slovaks of America in behalf of the Fifth War Loan requested by the United States Treasury for the purpose of carrying on the war against the aggressors who succeeded in unsetting the world, but are now definitely doomed to utter defeat. In order to relieve any anxiety you may have felt as to the probable nature of this report, I am happy to state at the outset that I do not have to start with the old familiar millitary phrase, "I regret to report," for there is nothing to regret in the result of any Slovak drive for war funds. On the contrary, we of the Slovak League of America have every reason to felicitate ourselves upon the magnificent manner in which our people have ever responded to the call of our adopted and beloved country. As the figures which I shall present to you will show, our Slovak share in the Fifth War Loan was generously borne; and as chairman of the Slovak League of America War Bond Committee, operating under the auspieces of this league, I can address you today upon a note of patriotic cheer and congratulation. We Slovaks have once more justified our American citizenship. The provision of essential war funds at this time is of tremendous importance to America and her allies of the United Nations, for we stand at the threshold of our greatest enemy, and a mighty effort will be necessary to accomplish our great purpose of crushing the fanatical forces of Hitler and stamping out the nazi-ism which has held Europe in chains. Hence we must continue in our patriotic duty of supporting the Government. There must be no let-up on the home front while our gallant lads across the sea continue to battle their way forward. The result of the Fifth War Loan drive as in the similar drives that preceded it, reflects great credit upon our national group in America, demonstrating its loyalty and patriotism; and every such campaign helps to consolidate the Slovaks in this country and to increase the esteem and respect of our fellow citizens of other racial �SLOVAKIA 129 ongms. That is a consummation for which we can be devoutly thankful. Our Slovak successes in these drives are due to close cooperation which your committee has enjoyed in its work of promoting the sale of War bonds. This cooperation has come from all elements of our people--from the devoted Slovak Catholic clergy, from the patriotic Slovak forces, and all our Slovak societies and organizations of men and women; while the executive members of the Slovak League of America have been particularly helpful in matters of organization and supervision; and a fine spirit of unselfish cooperation has prevailed among the members of the American Slovak War Bond Committee. To all these elements of our scattered Slovak communities I desire to extend my warmest thanks and gratitude for their valuable aid in making the Fifth War Loan drive a success, thus adding anothed feather to the cap of American-Slovak patriotism, loyalty, and good citizenship. Where Slovak activities in this country's great war effort are concerned, the leadership of the Slovak League of America has always proved invaluable, because it truly represents and typifies the attitude of our nationality toward the problems of our adopted country. And it is not forgetful of the critical situation of our brethren in Europe, who are living in hope of a better day for our race in the old homeland. That hope, we trust, will be soon fulfilled and in expectation that the great influence of the United States will be exerted in their behalf when the time comes settling the affairs of Europe justly and peaceably, with due regard to the past sufferings of the persecuted and their burning desire for an equitable measure of freedom and independence. In that reliance upon the justice of America, my friends, let us continue to demonstrate, upon every possible occasion, our devotion to the Government and institutions of this country, our patriotism, loyalty, and liberality whenever we are called upon for our racial support. And now I will proceed to give you some of the official statistics of the Fifth War Loan drive among our Slovak people: �130 SLOVAKIA Slovak League of America Fifth War Loan campaign June 12 to August 21 , 1944 Fifth War Loan committee Fifth War Loan individuals Fifth War Loan deduction 50 Arkansas ......... . 50 $ .......... $ 3,000 4,400.00 California .. . .... . . $ 300 500 Colorado ......... . .. . ... . ... 1,475 161 ,300 293,850.00 Connecticut ...... . 1,145,217 7,100 1,646,786.60 Illinois ........... . 128,900 173,987 357,745 .00 Indiana ... . .... . . . 200 250 Iowa .... . ....... . . . . ...... . . 6,250 200 250.00 Kansas ...... .. .. . 8,000 11,118.75 Maine .. .. . . ...... . 21,000 35,665.00 Massachusetts .... . 232,450 3,475 190,900.00 Michigan .. ....... . 7,600 150 11,525.00 Minnesota . . . ... . . . 12,500 26,400 .00 Montana ....... . . . 152,450 2,475 423,005.35 New Jersey . ...... . 349,150 7,175 541,295.00 New York .. . . ... . . 1,287,115 229,700 2,301,732.25 Ohio . .. ...... . . . . . 11,700 801 ,715 3,619,997.50 Pennsylvania ..... . 50 . . . ..... Rhode Island . . ... . . .. . . . .... 3,425 7,950.00 Virginia ...... . . . . . 300 2,075 .00 West Virginia .... . . 127,775 6,075 122,550.00 Wisconsin ........ . 12,000 29,745.00 Wyoming . .. ..... . . 175 . . .. . . . . Washington, D . C .. . . ... .. . ... - - - - - - - - -- -- - - Total . . . . . . . . . 9,626,990 .45 399,450 4,565,784 Outright purchases as per committees $9,626,990.45 Outright purchases as per individuals . . . . . 399,450.00 - -- - - Total outright purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,026,440.45 Pay-roll deduction (factory ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,505,784.00 Grand total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be added: Bridgeport, Conn. . .. . ... . .. . . .... .... . . Donora, Pa . .... . ..... .. . .. ..... . . . .. .. . Hostetter, Pa. . . .... . ... .. . . ... . .. . ... . Grand total Fifth War Loan bond sales 14,532,224.45 1,000,000.00 99,625.85 1,260.00 1,110,885.85 15,633,110.30 � 122 J,' SLOVAKIA H O M 'l' H E R E C O R D A1n erican Slovaks on the Honie and War Fronts Speech of HON. RAY J. MADDEN of Indiana IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESE NTATIVE S January 13, 1944 MR. MADDEN . Mr. Speaker, in the midst of war, upon the result of which the whole future of civilization depends, I can speak with a deep sense of satisfactio n and pride at the manner in which the Slovaks of America have comported themselves on the war front and on the home front. I refer particularl y to the Slovak response to our Governme nt's request for the Third War Loan. As Representa tive of the First District of Indiana, I wish to extend my hearty congratula tions to the Slovaks of America and the American-S lovak War bond committee , of which Rev. John J. Lach, of Whiting, Ind., is the national chairman, for the outstandin g success of their patriotic effort and cooperatio n with our military forces. This committee appointed by Secretary Morgentha u set out to reach a bond-sale quota of 6,000,000 but at the close of their drive, were happy to announce an oversubscr iption of more than 90 percent, the same totaling approxima tely $11,000,000. These patriotic Americans have thus demonstrated once again their depth of loyality to the United States, its Governme nt, and people, and the sincerity of their desire to see America carry on the war to victory. Their task was hard and difficult as this bond drive covered all communiti es in the United States. Enthusiast ic local committee s with th~ help of devoted Slovak priests were untiring in bringing their parishes to the realization of their Governme nt's needs in this crisis. Special commenda tion and praise should be given the following Slovak newspaper s of America for their untiring �SLOVAKIA 123 effort in this campaign: Slovenska Obrana, Catholic Falcon, Jednota, Osadne Hlasy, Sloboda, zenska Jednota, Pennsylvania Slovak Jednota, Slovensky Obcan, Na.rod, Narodne Noviny and Slovak v Amerike. Also the various State chairmen who assisted in making this drive a success, namely: Rev. Clement Mlynarovich, Indiana Harbor, Indiana State chairman; Rev. John Fedor, Chicago, Illinois State chairman; Rev. Casimir Cvercko, Milwaukee, Wisconsin State chairman; Rev. Joseph Zalibera, Detroit, Michigan State chairman; Rev. Leo Rehak, 0. S. B ., Cleveland, Ohio State chairman; Rev. Martin Rubicky, Clairton, Pennsylvania State chairman; Rev. Florian Billy, 0 . M. C., Schenectady, New York State chairman; Rev. John Rura, Perth Amboy, New Jersey State chairman; Dr. Michael Simko, Bridgeport, Connecticut State chairman; Rev. Joseph Ferenz, Webster, Massachusetts State chairman; Mr. Michael Marcak, Lisbon Falls, Maine State chairman; Mr. Michael M. Vargo, Lakefield, Minnesota State chairman; Mr. Stephen Strecansky, Benwood, West Virginia State chairman; Rev. J . A. Hurcik, St. Louis, Missouri State chairman. The above-stated chairmen worked in cooperation with the national executive committee, consisting of the Right Reverend Francis J. Dubosh, Paul Jamriska, Mrs. Julia Krajcovic, and John A. Kocur. It is by no means the first time this group of citizens has responded generously to the call of the Government for war funds, for the records show that Slovak-Americans have more than met their quotas each time there has been a demand for funds to prosecute the war, and I venture to predict that in the Fourth War Loan drive there will be no let down in their enthusiastic response . The Slovak citizens of the United States, though comparatively small in number, yield to no other racial groups in loyal devotion to our flag and all' that it stands for in the eyes of the world. They have a double interest in the winning of the war by America and her allies of the United Nations-first, their prime interest as patriotic Americans, and, secondly, a very special interest, because their kindred in Europe lie prostrate under the steel-shod heel of nazism. Hence, their youth is serving in all the �124 SLOVAKIA armed forces of the United States; their young women are found in the Army and Navy auxiliaries. The Slovaks of America and their ancestors have advocated freedom for centuries and they looked with nationalistic fervor on this, the promised land of civil and religious liberty. Thanks be to Him who doeth all things well, they found here in the United States the conditions for which their souls longed. They found not only the perfect religious liberty which enabled them forthwith to build their own churches and schools, establish their own priesthood, and worship freely as they wished, but also the civil liberties which gave them the long-suppressed feeling of freemen. They were emancipated from the inhibitions and terrors of the European system of domination by minorities. They became an integral part of the American commonwealth. The record of their race in this country has been one of steady progress in Americanization and good citizenship. In every community in which Slovaks have settled, their sterling character, their industry and integrity have left a deep and lasting impression. They are intensely relie-ious by nature and tradition. Their church is to them the center and hub of the community, and they are inva-riably law-abiding. They observe the laws of man, because their lives and conduct are soundly based upon the eternal laws of God. Their religious faith and practice help them to enrich the community with the moral and spiritual leaven of practical Christianity, with model citizenship as its inevitable development, and so they have become thoroughly asimilated into the great family of American citizens and find a welcome wherever they make their homes . They know the duties and responsibilities of citizenship as well as they recognize and appreciate its rights and privileges. And in such national emergencies as the present, they will always be found ready and anxious to do their patriotic part. But it is not only by buying bonds that the Slovaks of America are again cooperating with the United States Government to the fullest extent of their ability and their resources. They are engaged in every field of activity connected with the equipment and maintenance of our armed forces on land, on the sea, and in the air, and they work �SLOVAKIA 125 with greater zeal and assiduity because they have sons and brothers serving in each and every one of those forces, which are scattered around the globe today as no nation's army and navy ever were scattered before. Whatever their work on the home front, whether it be the farm, in the factory, or in the depths of the mine, Slovak-Americans are putting forth their utmost effort, spurred by the everpresent thought that they are working to maintain their brethren in the field and camp, and working, too, to win the war. The very idea of a war for human freedom captivates the Slovak mind. Centuries of oppression and persecution by ruthless tyrants in Europe have engrained the hopeful prospect of a free world in the subconsciousness of every member of the race. The possibility of its realization through present hostilities against the forces of aggression and domination leaves but one burning desire in the Slovak heart, the desire for victory, complete and speedy as possible. With victory now on the horizon, our Government can rest with great contentment on the fact that our numerous races and various nationalities in this country have not only contributed their money, but have cooperated by enduring bitter hardships and inconveniences that America, this great land of the "four freedoms" can continue to endure. SLOVAKS BUY $11 ,386,700 IN WAR BONDS TO TOP $6,000,000 GOAL Extension of Remarks of HON. RAY J. MADDEN of Indiana IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Friday, December 17, 1943 MR. MADDEN. Mr. Speaker, under leave to extend my remarks in the RECORD, I include the following article from the Hammond (Ind.) Times of December 15, 1943: SLOVAKS BUY $11,386,700 IN WAR BONDS TO TOP $6,000,00 GOAL The Reverend John J. Lach, pastor of the Immaculate �126 SLOVAKIA Conception Church of Whiting, Ind., and National War bond chairman for the Slovaks of America, announced today that the Slovaks went over the top in their Nationwide drive by purchasing $11 ,386,700 in war certificates to top the $6,000,000 goal in the Third War Loan campaign. The drive closed last Armistice Day, but it was not until yesterday that final tabulation was made from practically every city in the United States. * * * In recognition of his leadership and success in directing the bond sale, the distinguished sedvice of Reverend Lach was hailed by Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury, in citing the Whiting priest and presenting him with a Minute Man citation. Another citation was presented the priest by Wm. C. FitzGibbon, chief of the United Nationalities section. It read: "In token of appreciation for distinguished services rendered on behalf of the war savings program, it is my pleasure to present to you the United States Treasury Department's citation of award. "While this citation is for outstanding patriotic work well done, it also serves as a commission for you to lead the Slovaks of America in a crusade to support the Treasury Department's Fourth War Loan drive which starts January 18, 1944." Father Lach said that the success of the campaign resulted from a carefully laid-out program that was studied for 3 months before a contract was made on a Slovak in the country to make a purchase. First, approval was obtained from the United States Treasury, Henry J. Morgenthau, Secretary, and William C. FitzGibbon, chief of the United Nationalities Section of the War Finance Division, Washington, D. C. Father Lach was chosen to lead the campaign by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, president of the Slovak League of America, Cleveland, Ohio. �127 SLOVAKIA The chairman explained that the money is to be used for the construction of Liberty ships, Father Lach stated: "When a small racial group of American citizens responds to an appeal by our Government for war funds by oversubscribing its quota, it is an exhibition of good citizenship and loyalty. When its quota exceeded it demonstrates an eager desire to support the Government in its war effort. When the quota is oversubscribed to the splendid extent of 90 percent, it is a striking •evidence of patriotic generosity. "Meanwhile," the priest continued, "let me congratulate my fellow workers upon the happy result of their labors in the recent drive. I wish to thank: them all in the name of the American Slovak War Bond Committee for their invaluable zeal and persistence in bringing home the facts of the Nation's need to every adult Slovak, and also to the children of Slovak families who responded as freely in the purchase of War Savings stamps as the enthusiastic youngsters of larger racial groups. Our Slovak workers could not have been more faithful and loyal than they were throughout the period of the drive. From the bottom of my heart I thank them, as well as the many citizens of other races who assisted us by voice and pen in the sale of bonds." * * Tribute was paid to the Slovak-Americans serving in the various branches of the armed forces and the young women in the WAVES, WACS, and other auxiliary branches. REPORT OF THE FIFTH WAR LOAN DRIVE AMONG THE SLOVAKS OF AMERICA Extension of Remarks of HON. B. W. (PAT) KEARNEY of New York IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, November 27, 1944 Mr. KEARNEY. Mr. Speaker, under leave to extend my remarks in the RECORD, I include a report on the Fifth War loan drive among the Slovaks of America as �128 SLOVAKIA reported to the Slovak League Congress held at Pittsburgh, Pa., on October 17-18, 1944, as follows: Mr. Chairman, it is now my pleasant duty to submit to you my report of the result of the campaign among the Slovaks of America in behalf of the Fifth War Loan requested by the United States Treasury for the purpose of carrying on the war against the aggressors who succeeded in unsetting the world, but are now definitely doomed to utter defeat. In order to relieve any anxiety you may have felt as to the probable nature of this report, I am happy to state at the outset that I do not have to start with the old familiar millitary phrase, "I regret to report," for there is nothing to regret in the result of any Slovak drive for war funds. On the contrary, we of the Slovak League of America have every reason to felicitate ourselves upon the magnificent manner in which our people have ever responded to the call of our adopted and beloved country. As the figures which I shall present to you will show, our Slovak share in the Fifth War Loan was generously borne; and as chairman of the Slovak League of America War Bond Committee, operating under the auspieces of this league, I can address you today upon a note of patriotic cheer and congratulation. We Slovaks have once more justified our American citizenship. The provision of essential war funds at this time is of tremendous importance to America and her allies of the United Nations, for we stand at the threshold of our greatest enemy, and a mighty effort will be necessary to accomplish our great purpose of crushing the fanatical forces of Hitler and stamping out the nazi-ism which has held Europe in chains. Hence we must continue in our patriotic duty of supporting the Government. There must be no let-up on the home front while our gallant lads across the sea continue to battle their way forward. The result of the Fifth War Loan drive as in the similar drives that preceded it, reflects great credit upon our national group in America, demonstrating its loyalty and patriotism; and every such campaign helps to consolidate the Slovaks in this country and to increase the esteem and respect of our fellow citizens of other racial �SLOVAKIA 129 ongms. That is a consummation for which we can be devoutly thankful. Our Slovak successes in these drives are due to close cooperation which your committee has enjoyed in its work of promoting the sale of War bonds. This cooperation has come from all elements of our people--from the devoted Slovak Catholic clergy, from the patriotic Slovak forces, and all our Slovak societies and organizations of men and women; while the executive members of the Slovak League of America have been particularly helpful in matters of organization and supervision; and a fine spirit of unselfish cooperation has prevailed among the members of the American Slovak War Bond Committee. To all these elements of our scattered Slovak communities I desire to extend my warmest thanks and gratitude for their valuable aid in making the Fifth War Loan drive a success, thus adding anothed feather to the cap of American-Slovak patriotism, loyalty, and good citizenship. Where Slovak activities in this country's great war effort are concerned, the leadership of the Slovak League of America has always proved invaluable, because it truly represents and typifies the attitude of our nationality toward the problems of our adopted country. And it is not forgetful of the critical situation of our brethren in Europe, who are living in hope of a better day for our race in the old homeland. That hope, we trust, will be soon fulfilled and in expectation that the great influence of the United States will be exerted in their behalf when the time comes settling the affairs of Europe justly and peaceably, with due regard to the past sufferings of the persecuted and their burning desire for an equitable measure of freedom and independence. In that reliance upon the justice of America, my friends, let us continue to demonstrate, upon every possible occasion, our devotion to the Government and institutions of this country, our patriotism, loyalty, and liberality whenever we are called upon for our racial support. And now I will proceed to give you some of the official statistics of the Fifth War Loan drive among our Slovak people: �130 SLOVAKIA Slovak League of America Fifth War Loan campaign June 12 to August 21 , 1944 Fifth War Loan committee Fifth War Loan individuals Fifth War Loan deduction 50 Arkansas ......... . 50 $ .......... $ 3,000 4,400.00 California .. . .... . . $ 300 500 Colorado ......... . .. . ... . ... 1,475 161 ,300 293,850.00 Connecticut ...... . 1,145,217 7,100 1,646,786.60 Illinois ........... . 128,900 173,987 357,745 .00 Indiana ... . .... . . . 200 250 Iowa .... . ....... . . . . ...... . . 6,250 200 250.00 Kansas ...... .. .. . 8,000 11,118.75 Maine .. .. . . ...... . 21,000 35,665.00 Massachusetts .... . 232,450 3,475 190,900.00 Michigan .. ....... . 7,600 150 11,525.00 Minnesota . . . ... . . . 12,500 26,400 .00 Montana ....... . . . 152,450 2,475 423,005.35 New Jersey . ...... . 349,150 7,175 541,295.00 New York .. . . ... . . 1,287,115 229,700 2,301,732.25 Ohio . .. ...... . . . . . 11,700 801 ,715 3,619,997.50 Pennsylvania ..... . 50 . . . ..... Rhode Island . . ... . . .. . . . .... 3,425 7,950.00 Virginia ...... . . . . . 300 2,075 .00 West Virginia .... . . 127,775 6,075 122,550.00 Wisconsin ........ . 12,000 29,745.00 Wyoming . .. ..... . . 175 . . .. . . . . Washington, D . C .. . . ... .. . ... - - - - - - - - -- -- - - Total . . . . . . . . . 9,626,990 .45 399,450 4,565,784 Outright purchases as per committees $9,626,990.45 Outright purchases as per individuals . . . . . 399,450.00 - -- - - Total outright purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,026,440.45 Pay-roll deduction (factory ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,505,784.00 Grand total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be added: Bridgeport, Conn. . .. . ... . .. . . .... .... . . Donora, Pa . .... . ..... .. . .. ..... . . . .. .. . Hostetter, Pa. . . .... . ... .. . . ... . .. . ... . Grand total Fifth War Loan bond sales 14,532,224.45 1,000,000.00 99,625.85 1,260.00 1,110,885.85 15,633,110.30 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 122 J,' SLOVAKIA H O M 'l' H E R E C O R D A1n erican Slovaks on the Honie and War Fronts Speech of HON. RAY J. MADDEN of Indiana IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESE NTATIVE S January 13, 1944 MR. MADDEN . Mr. Speaker, in the midst of war, upon the result of which the whole future of civilization depends, I can speak with a deep sense of satisfactio n and pride at the manner in which the Slovaks of America have comported themselves on the war front and on the home front. I refer particularl y to the Slovak response to our Governme nt's request for the Third War Loan. As Representa tive of the First District of Indiana, I wish to extend my hearty congratula tions to the Slovaks of America and the American-S lovak War bond committee , of which Rev. John J. Lach, of Whiting, Ind., is the national chairman, for the outstandin g success of their patriotic effort and cooperatio n with our military forces. This committee appointed by Secretary Morgentha u set out to reach a bond-sale quota of 6,000,000 but at the close of their drive, were happy to announce an oversubscr iption of more than 90 percent, the same totaling approxima tely $11,000,000. These patriotic Americans have thus demonstrated once again their depth of loyality to the United States, its Governme nt, and people, and the sincerity of their desire to see America carry on the war to victory. Their task was hard and difficult as this bond drive covered all communiti es in the United States. Enthusiast ic local committee s with th~ help of devoted Slovak priests were untiring in bringing their parishes to the realization of their Governme nt's needs in this crisis. Special commenda tion and praise should be given the following Slovak newspaper s of America for their untiring SLOVAKIA 123 effort in this campaign: Slovenska Obrana, Catholic Falcon, Jednota, Osadne Hlasy, Sloboda, zenska Jednota, Pennsylvania Slovak Jednota, Slovensky Obcan, Na.rod, Narodne Noviny and Slovak v Amerike. Also the various State chairmen who assisted in making this drive a success, namely: Rev. Clement Mlynarovich, Indiana Harbor, Indiana State chairman; Rev. John Fedor, Chicago, Illinois State chairman; Rev. Casimir Cvercko, Milwaukee, Wisconsin State chairman; Rev. Joseph Zalibera, Detroit, Michigan State chairman; Rev. Leo Rehak, 0. S. B ., Cleveland, Ohio State chairman; Rev. Martin Rubicky, Clairton, Pennsylvania State chairman; Rev. Florian Billy, 0 . M. C., Schenectady, New York State chairman; Rev. John Rura, Perth Amboy, New Jersey State chairman; Dr. Michael Simko, Bridgeport, Connecticut State chairman; Rev. Joseph Ferenz, Webster, Massachusetts State chairman; Mr. Michael Marcak, Lisbon Falls, Maine State chairman; Mr. Michael M. Vargo, Lakefield, Minnesota State chairman; Mr. Stephen Strecansky, Benwood, West Virginia State chairman; Rev. J . A. Hurcik, St. Louis, Missouri State chairman. The above-stated chairmen worked in cooperation with the national executive committee, consisting of the Right Reverend Francis J. Dubosh, Paul Jamriska, Mrs. Julia Krajcovic, and John A. Kocur. It is by no means the first time this group of citizens has responded generously to the call of the Government for war funds, for the records show that Slovak-Americans have more than met their quotas each time there has been a demand for funds to prosecute the war, and I venture to predict that in the Fourth War Loan drive there will be no let down in their enthusiastic response . The Slovak citizens of the United States, though comparatively small in number, yield to no other racial groups in loyal devotion to our flag and all' that it stands for in the eyes of the world. They have a double interest in the winning of the war by America and her allies of the United Nations-first, their prime interest as patriotic Americans, and, secondly, a very special interest, because their kindred in Europe lie prostrate under the steel-shod heel of nazism. Hence, their youth is serving in all the 124 SLOVAKIA armed forces of the United States; their young women are found in the Army and Navy auxiliaries. The Slovaks of America and their ancestors have advocated freedom for centuries and they looked with nationalistic fervor on this, the promised land of civil and religious liberty. Thanks be to Him who doeth all things well, they found here in the United States the conditions for which their souls longed. They found not only the perfect religious liberty which enabled them forthwith to build their own churches and schools, establish their own priesthood, and worship freely as they wished, but also the civil liberties which gave them the long-suppressed feeling of freemen. They were emancipated from the inhibitions and terrors of the European system of domination by minorities. They became an integral part of the American commonwealth. The record of their race in this country has been one of steady progress in Americanization and good citizenship. In every community in which Slovaks have settled, their sterling character, their industry and integrity have left a deep and lasting impression. They are intensely relie-ious by nature and tradition. Their church is to them the center and hub of the community, and they are inva-riably law-abiding. They observe the laws of man, because their lives and conduct are soundly based upon the eternal laws of God. Their religious faith and practice help them to enrich the community with the moral and spiritual leaven of practical Christianity, with model citizenship as its inevitable development, and so they have become thoroughly asimilated into the great family of American citizens and find a welcome wherever they make their homes . They know the duties and responsibilities of citizenship as well as they recognize and appreciate its rights and privileges. And in such national emergencies as the present, they will always be found ready and anxious to do their patriotic part. But it is not only by buying bonds that the Slovaks of America are again cooperating with the United States Government to the fullest extent of their ability and their resources. They are engaged in every field of activity connected with the equipment and maintenance of our armed forces on land, on the sea, and in the air, and they work SLOVAKIA 125 with greater zeal and assiduity because they have sons and brothers serving in each and every one of those forces, which are scattered around the globe today as no nation's army and navy ever were scattered before. Whatever their work on the home front, whether it be the farm, in the factory, or in the depths of the mine, Slovak-Americans are putting forth their utmost effort, spurred by the everpresent thought that they are working to maintain their brethren in the field and camp, and working, too, to win the war. The very idea of a war for human freedom captivates the Slovak mind. Centuries of oppression and persecution by ruthless tyrants in Europe have engrained the hopeful prospect of a free world in the subconsciousness of every member of the race. The possibility of its realization through present hostilities against the forces of aggression and domination leaves but one burning desire in the Slovak heart, the desire for victory, complete and speedy as possible. With victory now on the horizon, our Government can rest with great contentment on the fact that our numerous races and various nationalities in this country have not only contributed their money, but have cooperated by enduring bitter hardships and inconveniences that America, this great land of the "four freedoms" can continue to endure. SLOVAKS BUY $11 ,386,700 IN WAR BONDS TO TOP $6,000,000 GOAL Extension of Remarks of HON. RAY J. MADDEN of Indiana IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Friday, December 17, 1943 MR. MADDEN. Mr. Speaker, under leave to extend my remarks in the RECORD, I include the following article from the Hammond (Ind.) Times of December 15, 1943: SLOVAKS BUY $11,386,700 IN WAR BONDS TO TOP $6,000,00 GOAL The Reverend John J. Lach, pastor of the Immaculate 126 SLOVAKIA Conception Church of Whiting, Ind., and National War bond chairman for the Slovaks of America, announced today that the Slovaks went over the top in their Nationwide drive by purchasing $11 ,386,700 in war certificates to top the $6,000,000 goal in the Third War Loan campaign. The drive closed last Armistice Day, but it was not until yesterday that final tabulation was made from practically every city in the United States. * * * In recognition of his leadership and success in directing the bond sale, the distinguished sedvice of Reverend Lach was hailed by Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury, in citing the Whiting priest and presenting him with a Minute Man citation. Another citation was presented the priest by Wm. C. FitzGibbon, chief of the United Nationalities section. It read: "In token of appreciation for distinguished services rendered on behalf of the war savings program, it is my pleasure to present to you the United States Treasury Department's citation of award. "While this citation is for outstanding patriotic work well done, it also serves as a commission for you to lead the Slovaks of America in a crusade to support the Treasury Department's Fourth War Loan drive which starts January 18, 1944." Father Lach said that the success of the campaign resulted from a carefully laid-out program that was studied for 3 months before a contract was made on a Slovak in the country to make a purchase. First, approval was obtained from the United States Treasury, Henry J. Morgenthau, Secretary, and William C. FitzGibbon, chief of the United Nationalities Section of the War Finance Division, Washington, D. C. Father Lach was chosen to lead the campaign by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, president of the Slovak League of America, Cleveland, Ohio. 127 SLOVAKIA The chairman explained that the money is to be used for the construction of Liberty ships, Father Lach stated: "When a small racial group of American citizens responds to an appeal by our Government for war funds by oversubscribing its quota, it is an exhibition of good citizenship and loyalty. When its quota exceeded it demonstrates an eager desire to support the Government in its war effort. When the quota is oversubscribed to the splendid extent of 90 percent, it is a striking •evidence of patriotic generosity. "Meanwhile," the priest continued, "let me congratulate my fellow workers upon the happy result of their labors in the recent drive. I wish to thank: them all in the name of the American Slovak War Bond Committee for their invaluable zeal and persistence in bringing home the facts of the Nation's need to every adult Slovak, and also to the children of Slovak families who responded as freely in the purchase of War Savings stamps as the enthusiastic youngsters of larger racial groups. Our Slovak workers could not have been more faithful and loyal than they were throughout the period of the drive. From the bottom of my heart I thank them, as well as the many citizens of other races who assisted us by voice and pen in the sale of bonds." * * Tribute was paid to the Slovak-Americans serving in the various branches of the armed forces and the young women in the WAVES, WACS, and other auxiliary branches. REPORT OF THE FIFTH WAR LOAN DRIVE AMONG THE SLOVAKS OF AMERICA Extension of Remarks of HON. B. W. (PAT) KEARNEY of New York IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, November 27, 1944 Mr. KEARNEY. Mr. Speaker, under leave to extend my remarks in the RECORD, I include a report on the Fifth War loan drive among the Slovaks of America as 128 SLOVAKIA reported to the Slovak League Congress held at Pittsburgh, Pa., on October 17-18, 1944, as follows: Mr. Chairman, it is now my pleasant duty to submit to you my report of the result of the campaign among the Slovaks of America in behalf of the Fifth War Loan requested by the United States Treasury for the purpose of carrying on the war against the aggressors who succeeded in unsetting the world, but are now definitely doomed to utter defeat. In order to relieve any anxiety you may have felt as to the probable nature of this report, I am happy to state at the outset that I do not have to start with the old familiar millitary phrase, "I regret to report," for there is nothing to regret in the result of any Slovak drive for war funds. On the contrary, we of the Slovak League of America have every reason to felicitate ourselves upon the magnificent manner in which our people have ever responded to the call of our adopted and beloved country. As the figures which I shall present to you will show, our Slovak share in the Fifth War Loan was generously borne; and as chairman of the Slovak League of America War Bond Committee, operating under the auspieces of this league, I can address you today upon a note of patriotic cheer and congratulation. We Slovaks have once more justified our American citizenship. The provision of essential war funds at this time is of tremendous importance to America and her allies of the United Nations, for we stand at the threshold of our greatest enemy, and a mighty effort will be necessary to accomplish our great purpose of crushing the fanatical forces of Hitler and stamping out the nazi-ism which has held Europe in chains. Hence we must continue in our patriotic duty of supporting the Government. There must be no let-up on the home front while our gallant lads across the sea continue to battle their way forward. The result of the Fifth War Loan drive as in the similar drives that preceded it, reflects great credit upon our national group in America, demonstrating its loyalty and patriotism; and every such campaign helps to consolidate the Slovaks in this country and to increase the esteem and respect of our fellow citizens of other racial SLOVAKIA 129 ongms. That is a consummation for which we can be devoutly thankful. Our Slovak successes in these drives are due to close cooperation which your committee has enjoyed in its work of promoting the sale of War bonds. This cooperation has come from all elements of our people--from the devoted Slovak Catholic clergy, from the patriotic Slovak forces, and all our Slovak societies and organizations of men and women; while the executive members of the Slovak League of America have been particularly helpful in matters of organization and supervision; and a fine spirit of unselfish cooperation has prevailed among the members of the American Slovak War Bond Committee. To all these elements of our scattered Slovak communities I desire to extend my warmest thanks and gratitude for their valuable aid in making the Fifth War Loan drive a success, thus adding anothed feather to the cap of American-Slovak patriotism, loyalty, and good citizenship. Where Slovak activities in this country's great war effort are concerned, the leadership of the Slovak League of America has always proved invaluable, because it truly represents and typifies the attitude of our nationality toward the problems of our adopted country. And it is not forgetful of the critical situation of our brethren in Europe, who are living in hope of a better day for our race in the old homeland. That hope, we trust, will be soon fulfilled and in expectation that the great influence of the United States will be exerted in their behalf when the time comes settling the affairs of Europe justly and peaceably, with due regard to the past sufferings of the persecuted and their burning desire for an equitable measure of freedom and independence. In that reliance upon the justice of America, my friends, let us continue to demonstrate, upon every possible occasion, our devotion to the Government and institutions of this country, our patriotism, loyalty, and liberality whenever we are called upon for our racial support. And now I will proceed to give you some of the official statistics of the Fifth War Loan drive among our Slovak people: 130 SLOVAKIA Slovak League of America Fifth War Loan campaign June 12 to August 21 , 1944 Fifth War Loan committee Fifth War Loan individuals Fifth War Loan deduction 50 Arkansas ......... . 50 $ .......... $ 3,000 4,400.00 California .. . .... . . $ 300 500 Colorado ......... . .. . ... . ... 1,475 161 ,300 293,850.00 Connecticut ...... . 1,145,217 7,100 1,646,786.60 Illinois ........... . 128,900 173,987 357,745 .00 Indiana ... . .... . . . 200 250 Iowa .... . ....... . . . . ...... . . 6,250 200 250.00 Kansas ...... .. .. . 8,000 11,118.75 Maine .. .. . . ...... . 21,000 35,665.00 Massachusetts .... . 232,450 3,475 190,900.00 Michigan .. ....... . 7,600 150 11,525.00 Minnesota . . . ... . . . 12,500 26,400 .00 Montana ....... . . . 152,450 2,475 423,005.35 New Jersey . ...... . 349,150 7,175 541,295.00 New York .. . . ... . . 1,287,115 229,700 2,301,732.25 Ohio . .. ...... . . . . . 11,700 801 ,715 3,619,997.50 Pennsylvania ..... . 50 . . . ..... Rhode Island . . ... . . .. . . . .... 3,425 7,950.00 Virginia ...... . . . . . 300 2,075 .00 West Virginia .... . . 127,775 6,075 122,550.00 Wisconsin ........ . 12,000 29,745.00 Wyoming . .. ..... . . 175 . . .. . . . . Washington, D . C .. . . ... .. . ... - - - - - - - - -- -- - - Total . . . . . . . . . 9,626,990 .45 399,450 4,565,784 Outright purchases as per committees $9,626,990.45 Outright purchases as per individuals . . . . . 399,450.00 - -- - - Total outright purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,026,440.45 Pay-roll deduction (factory ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,505,784.00 Grand total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be added: Bridgeport, Conn. . .. . ... . .. . . .... .... . . Donora, Pa . .... . ..... .. . .. ..... . . . .. .. . Hostetter, Pa. . . .... . ... .. . . ... . .. . ... . Grand total Fifth War Loan bond sales 14,532,224.45 1,000,000.00 99,625.85 1,260.00 1,110,885.85 15,633,110.30  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Slovaks on the Home and War Fronts Description An account of the resource Speech of Hon. Ray J. Madden of Indiana, in the House of Representatives, January 13, 1944 Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 122-130 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/270c93e3e60f065f6181d508cce0626e.pdf de49570fc8bc753fe01d7b451ec8e72a PDF Text Text 116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political �SLOVAKIA 117 heritage of Slovakia. The Cyrilo-Methodian tradition has helped to revitalize Slovak national consciousness and to inspire hope for a better future for the Slovaks. This hope and faith in the future can best be understood and appreciated by journeying back in time to Great Moravia under the leadership of Rastislav. This Slovak monarch was at that time, 860, already devoted to the Christian faith and realized fully Christianity's effect on the moral and cultural fibre of his people. But he also realized the danger of his country's falling under the complete domination of alien rule. He noted the influence of the Bavarian Church's organization and activities and the political strength of the Frankish empire. Therefore , Rastislav initiated his religious-political plan for establishing the foundation for the Slovak people to offset the Frankish-Bavarian coalition. In 862 Rastislav sent a special delegation to Byzantium requesting Emperor Michael III to send a bishop and teacher to the Slovak kingdom. He was not merely asking for regular missionary priests to aid his plan. And he was not, as is often stated, asking only for missionaries who spoke the Slovak language. German (Frankish) missionaries were already ministering to his people, and no doubt . some of them spoke Slavic. Furthermore, the Catholic faith was sufficiently widespread throughout his kingdom . What he really needed was a bishop who could carry out plans for a new religious-political system. Although he had first made this same request of Pope Nicholas in Rome, he has not turning from Rome in his special mission to Byzantium. The schism between Rome and the Byzantine world was not actually in effect at this time. The Byzantine Church was united with Rome and professed the same Catholic faith as well as allegiance to Rome. Acceding to Rastislav's request, Emperor Michael III sent the Holy Brothers, Cyril and Methodius of Thessalonica. In the ninth century this city was the center of a major Byzantine district and the second largest city in the Byzantine empire. There was a large Slav population around Thessalonica. Some authorities believe the family of Cyril and Methodius were "Graecized Slavs" . They were educated �118 SLOVA KIA in Greek school s and religio usly trained in the Byzant ine Rite of the Cathol ic Church accord ing to Byzant ine life and custom s. At any rate, these brothe rs of a socially disting uished family of the Byzant ine Imperi al Court spoke the Slavon ic tongue since the majori ty of inhabit ants in the outlyin g distric ts were Slavs. No better qualifi ed individ uals than tlley could have been chosen by Emper or Michae l III for the missio nary work among the Slovak s. Althou gh Cyril had prepar ed for missio nary work and the priesth ood, Method ius had prepar ed for law and politica l office in the service of the empero r. Method ius, tutored in law by his father in Thessa lonica, had been appoin ted by the empero r as admin istrato r of a certain distric t in the Byzant ine empire where the majori ty of inhabi tants were Slavs. The Life of Saint Method ius comme nts: "The Emper or appoin ted him admin istrato r of this distric t . . . as though he already foresaw that later he would send him to the Slavs as their teache r and first archbis hop." Here Method ius had an opport unity to learn all the custom s of the Slavs and to adapt himsel f to them. After ten years as govern or of this distric t, he sudden ly left politica l office to enter a monas tery on Mt. Olymp us. Here he studied theolog y, thf' scriptu res, paintin g, and later was ordain ed to the priesth ood. Cyril, on the other hand, devote d his life from its very beginn ing to acquiri ng wisdom by the study of philoso phy and theolog y. From his earlies t youth, he chose as his patron in studies the great Father of the Church , the belove d theolog ian, Saint Gregor y Nazian zen. After leaving his positio n as profes sor of philoso phy at the imperi al school in Consta ntinopl e, he remain ed in solitar y seclusi on and later joined Method ius on Mt. Olymp us, very likely as a guest at the monas tery, not as a monk. Realizi ng how import ant it is for missio naries to have the Sacred Scriptu res in the langua ge of the people to whom they were ministe ring, Cyril began to constru ct and organiz e a Slavon ic alphab et and to transla te and put into Slavon ic written form the essenti al liturgic al books. The alphab et which he devised (the Glagol itic) was based on the Greek alphab et and accoun ts for the use of Church Slavon ic in the liturgy of Easter n Rite church es, �SLOVAKIA 119 one numbering 150,000,000 faithful. This Glagolitic alphabet is the most important cultural achieveme nt of the brothers for, in one form or another, it has endured throughou t time and was one capital factor in maintainin g spiritual sustenance for large numbers of Slovaks. After their arrival in Slovak Great Moravia, Cyril envisioned the training of young Slavs for the priesthood as one of his major responsibil ities, for it would take a native clergy to perpetuate their work. For this task, he organized an educationa l program and school to train young Slovaks in their national culture as a preliminar y to advanced study. The Life of Saint Cyril reads: "Soon be translated the entire Ecclesiasti cal Order and taught them (his young disciples) Matins, the Little Hours, Vespers, Compline, and the Eucharisti c Liturgy. And the ears of the deaf were opened, according to the words of the prophet, to hear the words of Scripture, and the tongue of the stutterer was loosened." And Nestor in his Chronicle says: "When they arrived (in Great Moravia) they began to write with Slavonic letters and translated the 'Apostol' (Acts and Epistles of the Apostles) and the Gospel. And the Sloveni (Slovaks) rejoiced that they heard the praise of God in their own language." His teaching of these ritual texts and offices of th~ Byzantine Rite to the young men was so well organized that in only forty months the young disciples were prepared to be ordained. The Eulogy o t Saint Cyril says: "Having translated the entire liturgical ritual into Slavonic, he went to Rome, taking with him chosen ones of his flock for perfection (to be ordained ) and he ended his course (of life) with joy, because it pleased God that here (in Rome) his venerable body should rest." Following Cyril's death in 869, the newly consecrate d Bishop Methodius continued his missionary endeavors in Slovak Great Moravia and was later imprisoned by Bavarian bishops. They opposed the independe nt Slavonic hierarchy, responsible directly to Rome, that Saint Cyril and Methodius achieved along with the Slavonic liturgy. Although he was later released, Methodius ' suffering and humiliatio n for the sake of the independen ce of Slovaks has served as an inspiration for all suppressed Slovaks from the ninth century to the present twentieth century. �120 SLOVAKIA At the beginning of the twentieth century the political situation in Slovakia again suppressed any cultural and political activities aimed at keeping alive Slovak national consciousness and historical traditions. Budapest officialdom and Magyar nationalists viewed the Cyrilo-Methodian tradition as an anti-Hungarian and Pan-Slav conspiracy and often used oppressive and repressive measures to destroy cultural and political activities in Slovakia and even to thwart religious manifestations among the people. In spite of persecution and pressure, the dawning of the twentieth century brought a new generation of dedicated men who did not hesitate to accept at great personal cost and anguish the leading role of allegiance to their cultural heritage and Slovak national life. With the creation of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918, this spirit whetted the desire of Slovak patriots to serve their country as qualified statesmen and leaders and to prevent Czech shemers from asserting themselves as the ruling element of the Slovak nation. They were likewise determined not to permit the socialist government of Prague to impose foreign Czech traditions in place of cherished Slovak Cyrilo-Methodian and Catholic traditions. The first Slovak bishops in new Slovakia were consecrated in Nitra in 1921. The Slovak people at home and abroad viewed this great event as the fruit of devotion and patience which finally matured for them as the true heirs of the magnificent works of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The declaration of Slovakia's independence in 1939 by the Slovak Parliament was considered yet another revival of the first Slovak statehood of the ninth century. The Cyrilo-Methodian tradition was the keystone in the arch which the Slovak nation has built within the temple of its national life founded on authentic spiritual principles. Slovaks again under the cross of oppression since the 1968 August invasion of Czecho-Slovakia by the Soviets must again rely upon the Christian national past of Slovakia to support them through these dark days and to build anew their Slovak state in a happier time for which we fervently pray. The spirit of true religious freedom and the Slovak �SLOVAKIA 121 political and cultural autonomy established in the CyriloMethodian tradition cannot be lost sight of today. It is especially essential to all of us, Slovaks by birth and by ancestry, at this crucial time when Slovakia is threatened by godless and God-defiant Communists. Our vital and vitalizing tradition must become actively operative to promote a wise and intrepid manifestation of Slovak national consciousness both in Slovakia and in America. Saints Cyril and Methodius valiantly labored and heroically suffered for Slovak independence both in ecclesiastical and political spheres. They laid for us the foundations of our Catholic faith and national culture. United in love of God and our Slovak nation we humbly pray- "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us 0 Lord!" Patricia Revetta BIBLIOGRAPHY Kirschbaum, Joseph. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York, 1960. Kirschbaum, Joseph. "The Role of the Cyrilo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life," Slovak Studies, III (1963), 153-173. Lacko, Michael. "The Cyrilo-Methodian Origin of the Byzantine-Slavonic and the Roman-Slavonic Liturgy," Slovak Studies, m (1963), 79-89. Lacko, Michael. "The Cyrilo-Methodian Mission and Slovakia," Slovak Studies, I (1961) , 23-47. Oddo, Gilbert. Slovakia and Its People. New York, 1960. Palickar, Stephen. Slovakia: From Hungarian Despotism to Atheistic Czech Communism. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1948. Skultety, Joseph. Sketches from Slovak History. Middletown, Pennsylvania, 1930. Yurchak, Peter. The Slovaks: Their History and Traditions. Whiting, Indiana, 1947. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America. � 116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political �SLOVAKIA 117 heritage of Slovakia. The Cyrilo-Methodian tradition has helped to revitalize Slovak national consciousness and to inspire hope for a better future for the Slovaks. This hope and faith in the future can best be understood and appreciated by journeying back in time to Great Moravia under the leadership of Rastislav. This Slovak monarch was at that time, 860, already devoted to the Christian faith and realized fully Christianity's effect on the moral and cultural fibre of his people. But he also realized the danger of his country's falling under the complete domination of alien rule. He noted the influence of the Bavarian Church's organization and activities and the political strength of the Frankish empire. Therefore , Rastislav initiated his religious-political plan for establishing the foundation for the Slovak people to offset the Frankish-Bavarian coalition. In 862 Rastislav sent a special delegation to Byzantium requesting Emperor Michael III to send a bishop and teacher to the Slovak kingdom. He was not merely asking for regular missionary priests to aid his plan. And he was not, as is often stated, asking only for missionaries who spoke the Slovak language. German (Frankish) missionaries were already ministering to his people, and no doubt . some of them spoke Slavic. Furthermore, the Catholic faith was sufficiently widespread throughout his kingdom . What he really needed was a bishop who could carry out plans for a new religious-political system. Although he had first made this same request of Pope Nicholas in Rome, he has not turning from Rome in his special mission to Byzantium. The schism between Rome and the Byzantine world was not actually in effect at this time. The Byzantine Church was united with Rome and professed the same Catholic faith as well as allegiance to Rome. Acceding to Rastislav's request, Emperor Michael III sent the Holy Brothers, Cyril and Methodius of Thessalonica. In the ninth century this city was the center of a major Byzantine district and the second largest city in the Byzantine empire. There was a large Slav population around Thessalonica. Some authorities believe the family of Cyril and Methodius were "Graecized Slavs" . They were educated �118 SLOVA KIA in Greek school s and religio usly trained in the Byzant ine Rite of the Cathol ic Church accord ing to Byzant ine life and custom s. At any rate, these brothe rs of a socially disting uished family of the Byzant ine Imperi al Court spoke the Slavon ic tongue since the majori ty of inhabit ants in the outlyin g distric ts were Slavs. No better qualifi ed individ uals than tlley could have been chosen by Emper or Michae l III for the missio nary work among the Slovak s. Althou gh Cyril had prepar ed for missio nary work and the priesth ood, Method ius had prepar ed for law and politica l office in the service of the empero r. Method ius, tutored in law by his father in Thessa lonica, had been appoin ted by the empero r as admin istrato r of a certain distric t in the Byzant ine empire where the majori ty of inhabi tants were Slavs. The Life of Saint Method ius comme nts: "The Emper or appoin ted him admin istrato r of this distric t . . . as though he already foresaw that later he would send him to the Slavs as their teache r and first archbis hop." Here Method ius had an opport unity to learn all the custom s of the Slavs and to adapt himsel f to them. After ten years as govern or of this distric t, he sudden ly left politica l office to enter a monas tery on Mt. Olymp us. Here he studied theolog y, thf' scriptu res, paintin g, and later was ordain ed to the priesth ood. Cyril, on the other hand, devote d his life from its very beginn ing to acquiri ng wisdom by the study of philoso phy and theolog y. From his earlies t youth, he chose as his patron in studies the great Father of the Church , the belove d theolog ian, Saint Gregor y Nazian zen. After leaving his positio n as profes sor of philoso phy at the imperi al school in Consta ntinopl e, he remain ed in solitar y seclusi on and later joined Method ius on Mt. Olymp us, very likely as a guest at the monas tery, not as a monk. Realizi ng how import ant it is for missio naries to have the Sacred Scriptu res in the langua ge of the people to whom they were ministe ring, Cyril began to constru ct and organiz e a Slavon ic alphab et and to transla te and put into Slavon ic written form the essenti al liturgic al books. The alphab et which he devised (the Glagol itic) was based on the Greek alphab et and accoun ts for the use of Church Slavon ic in the liturgy of Easter n Rite church es, �SLOVAKIA 119 one numbering 150,000,000 faithful. This Glagolitic alphabet is the most important cultural achieveme nt of the brothers for, in one form or another, it has endured throughou t time and was one capital factor in maintainin g spiritual sustenance for large numbers of Slovaks. After their arrival in Slovak Great Moravia, Cyril envisioned the training of young Slavs for the priesthood as one of his major responsibil ities, for it would take a native clergy to perpetuate their work. For this task, he organized an educationa l program and school to train young Slovaks in their national culture as a preliminar y to advanced study. The Life of Saint Cyril reads: "Soon be translated the entire Ecclesiasti cal Order and taught them (his young disciples) Matins, the Little Hours, Vespers, Compline, and the Eucharisti c Liturgy. And the ears of the deaf were opened, according to the words of the prophet, to hear the words of Scripture, and the tongue of the stutterer was loosened." And Nestor in his Chronicle says: "When they arrived (in Great Moravia) they began to write with Slavonic letters and translated the 'Apostol' (Acts and Epistles of the Apostles) and the Gospel. And the Sloveni (Slovaks) rejoiced that they heard the praise of God in their own language." His teaching of these ritual texts and offices of th~ Byzantine Rite to the young men was so well organized that in only forty months the young disciples were prepared to be ordained. The Eulogy o t Saint Cyril says: "Having translated the entire liturgical ritual into Slavonic, he went to Rome, taking with him chosen ones of his flock for perfection (to be ordained ) and he ended his course (of life) with joy, because it pleased God that here (in Rome) his venerable body should rest." Following Cyril's death in 869, the newly consecrate d Bishop Methodius continued his missionary endeavors in Slovak Great Moravia and was later imprisoned by Bavarian bishops. They opposed the independe nt Slavonic hierarchy, responsible directly to Rome, that Saint Cyril and Methodius achieved along with the Slavonic liturgy. Although he was later released, Methodius ' suffering and humiliatio n for the sake of the independen ce of Slovaks has served as an inspiration for all suppressed Slovaks from the ninth century to the present twentieth century. �120 SLOVAKIA At the beginning of the twentieth century the political situation in Slovakia again suppressed any cultural and political activities aimed at keeping alive Slovak national consciousness and historical traditions. Budapest officialdom and Magyar nationalists viewed the Cyrilo-Methodian tradition as an anti-Hungarian and Pan-Slav conspiracy and often used oppressive and repressive measures to destroy cultural and political activities in Slovakia and even to thwart religious manifestations among the people. In spite of persecution and pressure, the dawning of the twentieth century brought a new generation of dedicated men who did not hesitate to accept at great personal cost and anguish the leading role of allegiance to their cultural heritage and Slovak national life. With the creation of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918, this spirit whetted the desire of Slovak patriots to serve their country as qualified statesmen and leaders and to prevent Czech shemers from asserting themselves as the ruling element of the Slovak nation. They were likewise determined not to permit the socialist government of Prague to impose foreign Czech traditions in place of cherished Slovak Cyrilo-Methodian and Catholic traditions. The first Slovak bishops in new Slovakia were consecrated in Nitra in 1921. The Slovak people at home and abroad viewed this great event as the fruit of devotion and patience which finally matured for them as the true heirs of the magnificent works of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The declaration of Slovakia's independence in 1939 by the Slovak Parliament was considered yet another revival of the first Slovak statehood of the ninth century. The Cyrilo-Methodian tradition was the keystone in the arch which the Slovak nation has built within the temple of its national life founded on authentic spiritual principles. Slovaks again under the cross of oppression since the 1968 August invasion of Czecho-Slovakia by the Soviets must again rely upon the Christian national past of Slovakia to support them through these dark days and to build anew their Slovak state in a happier time for which we fervently pray. The spirit of true religious freedom and the Slovak �SLOVAKIA 121 political and cultural autonomy established in the CyriloMethodian tradition cannot be lost sight of today. It is especially essential to all of us, Slovaks by birth and by ancestry, at this crucial time when Slovakia is threatened by godless and God-defiant Communists. Our vital and vitalizing tradition must become actively operative to promote a wise and intrepid manifestation of Slovak national consciousness both in Slovakia and in America. Saints Cyril and Methodius valiantly labored and heroically suffered for Slovak independence both in ecclesiastical and political spheres. They laid for us the foundations of our Catholic faith and national culture. United in love of God and our Slovak nation we humbly pray- "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us 0 Lord!" Patricia Revetta BIBLIOGRAPHY Kirschbaum, Joseph. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York, 1960. Kirschbaum, Joseph. "The Role of the Cyrilo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life," Slovak Studies, III (1963), 153-173. Lacko, Michael. "The Cyrilo-Methodian Origin of the Byzantine-Slavonic and the Roman-Slavonic Liturgy," Slovak Studies, m (1963), 79-89. Lacko, Michael. "The Cyrilo-Methodian Mission and Slovakia," Slovak Studies, I (1961) , 23-47. Oddo, Gilbert. Slovakia and Its People. New York, 1960. Palickar, Stephen. Slovakia: From Hungarian Despotism to Atheistic Czech Communism. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1948. Skultety, Joseph. Sketches from Slovak History. Middletown, Pennsylvania, 1930. Yurchak, Peter. The Slovaks: Their History and Traditions. Whiting, Indiana, 1947. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political SLOVAKIA 117 heritage of Slovakia. The Cyrilo-Methodian tradition has helped to revitalize Slovak national consciousness and to inspire hope for a better future for the Slovaks. This hope and faith in the future can best be understood and appreciated by journeying back in time to Great Moravia under the leadership of Rastislav. This Slovak monarch was at that time, 860, already devoted to the Christian faith and realized fully Christianity's effect on the moral and cultural fibre of his people. But he also realized the danger of his country's falling under the complete domination of alien rule. He noted the influence of the Bavarian Church's organization and activities and the political strength of the Frankish empire. Therefore , Rastislav initiated his religious-political plan for establishing the foundation for the Slovak people to offset the Frankish-Bavarian coalition. In 862 Rastislav sent a special delegation to Byzantium requesting Emperor Michael III to send a bishop and teacher to the Slovak kingdom. He was not merely asking for regular missionary priests to aid his plan. And he was not, as is often stated, asking only for missionaries who spoke the Slovak language. German (Frankish) missionaries were already ministering to his people, and no doubt . some of them spoke Slavic. Furthermore, the Catholic faith was sufficiently widespread throughout his kingdom . What he really needed was a bishop who could carry out plans for a new religious-political system. Although he had first made this same request of Pope Nicholas in Rome, he has not turning from Rome in his special mission to Byzantium. The schism between Rome and the Byzantine world was not actually in effect at this time. The Byzantine Church was united with Rome and professed the same Catholic faith as well as allegiance to Rome. Acceding to Rastislav's request, Emperor Michael III sent the Holy Brothers, Cyril and Methodius of Thessalonica. In the ninth century this city was the center of a major Byzantine district and the second largest city in the Byzantine empire. There was a large Slav population around Thessalonica. Some authorities believe the family of Cyril and Methodius were "Graecized Slavs" . They were educated 118 SLOVA KIA in Greek school s and religio usly trained in the Byzant ine Rite of the Cathol ic Church accord ing to Byzant ine life and custom s. At any rate, these brothe rs of a socially disting uished family of the Byzant ine Imperi al Court spoke the Slavon ic tongue since the majori ty of inhabit ants in the outlyin g distric ts were Slavs. No better qualifi ed individ uals than tlley could have been chosen by Emper or Michae l III for the missio nary work among the Slovak s. Althou gh Cyril had prepar ed for missio nary work and the priesth ood, Method ius had prepar ed for law and politica l office in the service of the empero r. Method ius, tutored in law by his father in Thessa lonica, had been appoin ted by the empero r as admin istrato r of a certain distric t in the Byzant ine empire where the majori ty of inhabi tants were Slavs. The Life of Saint Method ius comme nts: "The Emper or appoin ted him admin istrato r of this distric t . . . as though he already foresaw that later he would send him to the Slavs as their teache r and first archbis hop." Here Method ius had an opport unity to learn all the custom s of the Slavs and to adapt himsel f to them. After ten years as govern or of this distric t, he sudden ly left politica l office to enter a monas tery on Mt. Olymp us. Here he studied theolog y, thf' scriptu res, paintin g, and later was ordain ed to the priesth ood. Cyril, on the other hand, devote d his life from its very beginn ing to acquiri ng wisdom by the study of philoso phy and theolog y. From his earlies t youth, he chose as his patron in studies the great Father of the Church , the belove d theolog ian, Saint Gregor y Nazian zen. After leaving his positio n as profes sor of philoso phy at the imperi al school in Consta ntinopl e, he remain ed in solitar y seclusi on and later joined Method ius on Mt. Olymp us, very likely as a guest at the monas tery, not as a monk. Realizi ng how import ant it is for missio naries to have the Sacred Scriptu res in the langua ge of the people to whom they were ministe ring, Cyril began to constru ct and organiz e a Slavon ic alphab et and to transla te and put into Slavon ic written form the essenti al liturgic al books. The alphab et which he devised (the Glagol itic) was based on the Greek alphab et and accoun ts for the use of Church Slavon ic in the liturgy of Easter n Rite church es, SLOVAKIA 119 one numbering 150,000,000 faithful. This Glagolitic alphabet is the most important cultural achieveme nt of the brothers for, in one form or another, it has endured throughou t time and was one capital factor in maintainin g spiritual sustenance for large numbers of Slovaks. After their arrival in Slovak Great Moravia, Cyril envisioned the training of young Slavs for the priesthood as one of his major responsibil ities, for it would take a native clergy to perpetuate their work. For this task, he organized an educationa l program and school to train young Slovaks in their national culture as a preliminar y to advanced study. The Life of Saint Cyril reads: "Soon be translated the entire Ecclesiasti cal Order and taught them (his young disciples) Matins, the Little Hours, Vespers, Compline, and the Eucharisti c Liturgy. And the ears of the deaf were opened, according to the words of the prophet, to hear the words of Scripture, and the tongue of the stutterer was loosened." And Nestor in his Chronicle says: "When they arrived (in Great Moravia) they began to write with Slavonic letters and translated the 'Apostol' (Acts and Epistles of the Apostles) and the Gospel. And the Sloveni (Slovaks) rejoiced that they heard the praise of God in their own language." His teaching of these ritual texts and offices of th~ Byzantine Rite to the young men was so well organized that in only forty months the young disciples were prepared to be ordained. The Eulogy o t Saint Cyril says: "Having translated the entire liturgical ritual into Slavonic, he went to Rome, taking with him chosen ones of his flock for perfection (to be ordained ) and he ended his course (of life) with joy, because it pleased God that here (in Rome) his venerable body should rest." Following Cyril's death in 869, the newly consecrate d Bishop Methodius continued his missionary endeavors in Slovak Great Moravia and was later imprisoned by Bavarian bishops. They opposed the independe nt Slavonic hierarchy, responsible directly to Rome, that Saint Cyril and Methodius achieved along with the Slavonic liturgy. Although he was later released, Methodius ' suffering and humiliatio n for the sake of the independen ce of Slovaks has served as an inspiration for all suppressed Slovaks from the ninth century to the present twentieth century. 120 SLOVAKIA At the beginning of the twentieth century the political situation in Slovakia again suppressed any cultural and political activities aimed at keeping alive Slovak national consciousness and historical traditions. Budapest officialdom and Magyar nationalists viewed the Cyrilo-Methodian tradition as an anti-Hungarian and Pan-Slav conspiracy and often used oppressive and repressive measures to destroy cultural and political activities in Slovakia and even to thwart religious manifestations among the people. In spite of persecution and pressure, the dawning of the twentieth century brought a new generation of dedicated men who did not hesitate to accept at great personal cost and anguish the leading role of allegiance to their cultural heritage and Slovak national life. With the creation of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918, this spirit whetted the desire of Slovak patriots to serve their country as qualified statesmen and leaders and to prevent Czech shemers from asserting themselves as the ruling element of the Slovak nation. They were likewise determined not to permit the socialist government of Prague to impose foreign Czech traditions in place of cherished Slovak Cyrilo-Methodian and Catholic traditions. The first Slovak bishops in new Slovakia were consecrated in Nitra in 1921. The Slovak people at home and abroad viewed this great event as the fruit of devotion and patience which finally matured for them as the true heirs of the magnificent works of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The declaration of Slovakia's independence in 1939 by the Slovak Parliament was considered yet another revival of the first Slovak statehood of the ninth century. The Cyrilo-Methodian tradition was the keystone in the arch which the Slovak nation has built within the temple of its national life founded on authentic spiritual principles. Slovaks again under the cross of oppression since the 1968 August invasion of Czecho-Slovakia by the Soviets must again rely upon the Christian national past of Slovakia to support them through these dark days and to build anew their Slovak state in a happier time for which we fervently pray. The spirit of true religious freedom and the Slovak SLOVAKIA 121 political and cultural autonomy established in the CyriloMethodian tradition cannot be lost sight of today. It is especially essential to all of us, Slovaks by birth and by ancestry, at this crucial time when Slovakia is threatened by godless and God-defiant Communists. Our vital and vitalizing tradition must become actively operative to promote a wise and intrepid manifestation of Slovak national consciousness both in Slovakia and in America. Saints Cyril and Methodius valiantly labored and heroically suffered for Slovak independence both in ecclesiastical and political spheres. They laid for us the foundations of our Catholic faith and national culture. United in love of God and our Slovak nation we humbly pray- "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us 0 Lord!" Patricia Revetta BIBLIOGRAPHY Kirschbaum, Joseph. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York, 1960. Kirschbaum, Joseph. "The Role of the Cyrilo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life," Slovak Studies, III (1963), 153-173. Lacko, Michael. "The Cyrilo-Methodian Origin of the Byzantine-Slavonic and the Roman-Slavonic Liturgy," Slovak Studies, m (1963), 79-89. Lacko, Michael. "The Cyrilo-Methodian Mission and Slovakia," Slovak Studies, I (1961) , 23-47. Oddo, Gilbert. Slovakia and Its People. New York, 1960. Palickar, Stephen. Slovakia: From Hungarian Despotism to Atheistic Czech Communism. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1948. Skultety, Joseph. Sketches from Slovak History. Middletown, Pennsylvania, 1930. Yurchak, Peter. The Slovaks: Their History and Traditions. Whiting, Indiana, 1947. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Our Cyrilo-Methodian Heritage Description An account of the resource Patricia Revetta Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 116-121 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Revetta, Patricia Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1083d6d498234d7874c406ae540dc203.pdf 47e2fdd7c39c9fd2079a1811941768a0 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan �114 SLOVAKIA Moyses of Banska Bystrica. Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany was elected Vice President. The Matica commenced the comprehensive activities in the sphere of educationissuing books, school publications and newspapers, providing support for students and giving prizes for literary and scientific works. The Emperor Francis Joseph himself gave a donation to this fund, while the foundation of its resources was laid by gifts from the broad masses of the Slovak people. During the years 1863 to 1875, the Matica represented the culmination of the Slovak cultural effort and united all elements of the nation, irrespective of religious influence or political conviction. The years 1875 to 1918, on the other hand, marked a period of silence, for the Matica was prohibited by the Hungarian government and its property was entirely confiscated. It was not until the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 that its activities could be renewed. It is of interest that at the very outset of their national "reawakening" at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Slovaks had their literary societies, and at the Lyceum in the city of Bratislava (now Capitol of Slovakia), they had a society for scientific research. The activities of these organizations, however, were limited to a small number of educated persons. There was a definite call for a popular academy. For that reason the Matica Slovenska, a Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences, was found . Before 1870, the Slovaks had a large number of elementary schools and three higher schools. These schools were founded and maintained with the funds provided for by the broad masses of the Slovak people. After 1870, there commenced among the Magyars a system of forcible alienation of all the non-Magyars from their own particular nationalities. The most oppressive period was the era of the government under Count Koloman Tisza (1875-1890), when the non-Magyar races were deprived of all their national, linguistic, and cultural rights. Even their national institutions were destroyed. Thus, in the year 1875, the Magyar government closed the three Slovak higher schools and by a decision of the Cabinet Council all the activities of Matica �SLOVAKIA 115 Slovenska were prohibited once and for all. In destroying the Matica and confiscating its property, the Magyar government perpetrated one of the most barbarous acts, and one which has done them the most injury in the eyes of public opinion in Europe. Even a well known Hungarian publicist, Ladislaus Domokos, wrote many years ago that there was no ground whatever for the dissolution of the Matica Slovenska when he stated that "Poor and starving Slovak peasants built up the funds of the Matica Slovensk:i mite by mite-and this considerable sum of more than one hundred thousand florin was taken from them by the Hungarian State in an entirely arbitrary way." Count Tisza, however, insisted that "a Slovak nation does not exist" and threatened to crush all these who would say otherwise. In 1914, the World War started, which spelled death to tyrants and freedom to the oppressed nations. In 1918 the Slovaks were liberated mainly through the efforts of the American Slovaks. One of the first steps taken by the liberated Slovaks was to restore the activities of the Matica Slovenska, which was done on the first of January, 1919. Hviezdoslav, one of the great poets in the history of Slovak literature, was chosen as the first President of the resurrected Matica. The Matica Slovenska erected in Turciansky Svaty Martin a building in which over 300,000 Slovak books were gathered. It issued a series of Slovak classics, a large bibliography of Slovak literature, a register of folklore , tales, customs, and libraries of books for school children and youth in general. The Institute collected antiques and specimens of peasant art, made ethnographical researches on a broad scale, even employing a film titled "Zem Spieva" ("The Earth Sings"), for this purpose. It has also gathered over 40,000 folksongs. Of the seven sections of the Matica, the Language Section is the one which accomplished the most work, carrying out researches about the Slovak dialects and working on the compilation of an etymological dictionary of the Slovak language. The Matica thus pro• vided a wealth of material for the learned and scientific societies and universities. The activities of the Matica in the sphere of popular �116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political � SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan �114 SLOVAKIA Moyses of Banska Bystrica. Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany was elected Vice President. The Matica commenced the comprehensive activities in the sphere of educationissuing books, school publications and newspapers, providing support for students and giving prizes for literary and scientific works. The Emperor Francis Joseph himself gave a donation to this fund, while the foundation of its resources was laid by gifts from the broad masses of the Slovak people. During the years 1863 to 1875, the Matica represented the culmination of the Slovak cultural effort and united all elements of the nation, irrespective of religious influence or political conviction. The years 1875 to 1918, on the other hand, marked a period of silence, for the Matica was prohibited by the Hungarian government and its property was entirely confiscated. It was not until the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 that its activities could be renewed. It is of interest that at the very outset of their national "reawakening" at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Slovaks had their literary societies, and at the Lyceum in the city of Bratislava (now Capitol of Slovakia), they had a society for scientific research. The activities of these organizations, however, were limited to a small number of educated persons. There was a definite call for a popular academy. For that reason the Matica Slovenska, a Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences, was found . Before 1870, the Slovaks had a large number of elementary schools and three higher schools. These schools were founded and maintained with the funds provided for by the broad masses of the Slovak people. After 1870, there commenced among the Magyars a system of forcible alienation of all the non-Magyars from their own particular nationalities. The most oppressive period was the era of the government under Count Koloman Tisza (1875-1890), when the non-Magyar races were deprived of all their national, linguistic, and cultural rights. Even their national institutions were destroyed. Thus, in the year 1875, the Magyar government closed the three Slovak higher schools and by a decision of the Cabinet Council all the activities of Matica �SLOVAKIA 115 Slovenska were prohibited once and for all. In destroying the Matica and confiscating its property, the Magyar government perpetrated one of the most barbarous acts, and one which has done them the most injury in the eyes of public opinion in Europe. Even a well known Hungarian publicist, Ladislaus Domokos, wrote many years ago that there was no ground whatever for the dissolution of the Matica Slovenska when he stated that "Poor and starving Slovak peasants built up the funds of the Matica Slovensk:i mite by mite-and this considerable sum of more than one hundred thousand florin was taken from them by the Hungarian State in an entirely arbitrary way." Count Tisza, however, insisted that "a Slovak nation does not exist" and threatened to crush all these who would say otherwise. In 1914, the World War started, which spelled death to tyrants and freedom to the oppressed nations. In 1918 the Slovaks were liberated mainly through the efforts of the American Slovaks. One of the first steps taken by the liberated Slovaks was to restore the activities of the Matica Slovenska, which was done on the first of January, 1919. Hviezdoslav, one of the great poets in the history of Slovak literature, was chosen as the first President of the resurrected Matica. The Matica Slovenska erected in Turciansky Svaty Martin a building in which over 300,000 Slovak books were gathered. It issued a series of Slovak classics, a large bibliography of Slovak literature, a register of folklore , tales, customs, and libraries of books for school children and youth in general. The Institute collected antiques and specimens of peasant art, made ethnographical researches on a broad scale, even employing a film titled "Zem Spieva" ("The Earth Sings"), for this purpose. It has also gathered over 40,000 folksongs. Of the seven sections of the Matica, the Language Section is the one which accomplished the most work, carrying out researches about the Slovak dialects and working on the compilation of an etymological dictionary of the Slovak language. The Matica thus pro• vided a wealth of material for the learned and scientific societies and universities. The activities of the Matica in the sphere of popular �116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan 114 SLOVAKIA Moyses of Banska Bystrica. Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany was elected Vice President. The Matica commenced the comprehensive activities in the sphere of educationissuing books, school publications and newspapers, providing support for students and giving prizes for literary and scientific works. The Emperor Francis Joseph himself gave a donation to this fund, while the foundation of its resources was laid by gifts from the broad masses of the Slovak people. During the years 1863 to 1875, the Matica represented the culmination of the Slovak cultural effort and united all elements of the nation, irrespective of religious influence or political conviction. The years 1875 to 1918, on the other hand, marked a period of silence, for the Matica was prohibited by the Hungarian government and its property was entirely confiscated. It was not until the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 that its activities could be renewed. It is of interest that at the very outset of their national "reawakening" at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Slovaks had their literary societies, and at the Lyceum in the city of Bratislava (now Capitol of Slovakia), they had a society for scientific research. The activities of these organizations, however, were limited to a small number of educated persons. There was a definite call for a popular academy. For that reason the Matica Slovenska, a Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences, was found . Before 1870, the Slovaks had a large number of elementary schools and three higher schools. These schools were founded and maintained with the funds provided for by the broad masses of the Slovak people. After 1870, there commenced among the Magyars a system of forcible alienation of all the non-Magyars from their own particular nationalities. The most oppressive period was the era of the government under Count Koloman Tisza (1875-1890), when the non-Magyar races were deprived of all their national, linguistic, and cultural rights. Even their national institutions were destroyed. Thus, in the year 1875, the Magyar government closed the three Slovak higher schools and by a decision of the Cabinet Council all the activities of Matica SLOVAKIA 115 Slovenska were prohibited once and for all. In destroying the Matica and confiscating its property, the Magyar government perpetrated one of the most barbarous acts, and one which has done them the most injury in the eyes of public opinion in Europe. Even a well known Hungarian publicist, Ladislaus Domokos, wrote many years ago that there was no ground whatever for the dissolution of the Matica Slovenska when he stated that "Poor and starving Slovak peasants built up the funds of the Matica Slovensk:i mite by mite-and this considerable sum of more than one hundred thousand florin was taken from them by the Hungarian State in an entirely arbitrary way." Count Tisza, however, insisted that "a Slovak nation does not exist" and threatened to crush all these who would say otherwise. In 1914, the World War started, which spelled death to tyrants and freedom to the oppressed nations. In 1918 the Slovaks were liberated mainly through the efforts of the American Slovaks. One of the first steps taken by the liberated Slovaks was to restore the activities of the Matica Slovenska, which was done on the first of January, 1919. Hviezdoslav, one of the great poets in the history of Slovak literature, was chosen as the first President of the resurrected Matica. The Matica Slovenska erected in Turciansky Svaty Martin a building in which over 300,000 Slovak books were gathered. It issued a series of Slovak classics, a large bibliography of Slovak literature, a register of folklore , tales, customs, and libraries of books for school children and youth in general. The Institute collected antiques and specimens of peasant art, made ethnographical researches on a broad scale, even employing a film titled "Zem Spieva" ("The Earth Sings"), for this purpose. It has also gathered over 40,000 folksongs. Of the seven sections of the Matica, the Language Section is the one which accomplished the most work, carrying out researches about the Slovak dialects and working on the compilation of an etymological dictionary of the Slovak language. The Matica thus pro• vided a wealth of material for the learned and scientific societies and universities. The activities of the Matica in the sphere of popular 116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Matica Slovenská Description An account of the resource Joseph S. Kost Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 113-116 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kost, Joseph S. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/fee02645415ed7d6f3abc8cd471655d1.pdf a5f128b4d915d9e05afc54e1fe2aaa38 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 105 Winning Essays-Slovak League Scholarship Awards Karen Ann S y z d e k : The Developm e nt of Slovak Literature It has been said that the literary activitv of a country is dependent upon the economic stability, educational opportunity, political liberty and intellectual capability of its people. 1 For centuries, the oppressive rule of the Magyars had so deprived the Slovaks of the first three factors that their literature was given no chance to grow. The artistic ability of the people of Slovakia was expressed mainly in their folk songs and dances, folk poetry, sagas and ballads, but did not often reach a more formal levely until about 1650. Finally, with the coming of the Baroque period, the University of Trnava became a source of Slovak Catholic literature. The works which came from this university were written in the native Slovak and in Latin. One of the professors, a Jesuit priest, Martin Szentivanyi ( 16331705) was the author of 65 works including an encyclopedia, Curiosiora et Selectoria Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea (1686-1702 ) and Dissertationes (1689 ) 2 Political issues became very much a part of Slovak literature with the work of Jan Baltazar Magin ( 1682-1735) who wrote a defense of Slovaks and of their rights. Another literary defender of his country was Alexander Macsay (d. 1721) who battled for the Slovak language in Panes Primitiarium (1718 ) . Also a milestone in Slovakia's literary history was the appearance of the first Slovak novel Rene Mlddenca Prihody a Skusenosti (1783 ) written by Jozef Ignac Bajza (1755-1836) .3 With the beginning of the age of Enlightenment, there was an upsurge of national consciousness in Slovakia. As the people became aware of their linguistic and racial individuality they sought to eliminate the variance between the language of books and the vernacular. One of the main proponents of this movement was Anton Bernolak ( 1762- �106 SLOVAKIA 1813) who codified the Slovak language in his linguistic works Dissertatio Philologico-Critic a de Litteris Slavorum and Orthographia (1787), Grammatica Slavica (1790), Etymologia Vocum Slavicarum (1791) and in a dictionary published posthumously (1825). Bernolak also began several societies which encouraged work in the field of Slovak literature. 4 Bernolak's advocation of Slovak as a literary language was opposed by the Protestant writers, including Jan Kollar (1793-1852) and Pavel Jozef safarik 0795-1861) . Although these two men used Czech in all of their writings, they contributed much to the literary activity in Slovakia. Jan Kollar was the forerunner of all of Slovakia's poets. His enthusiasm in Sldva's Daughter inspired the Slavs in their fight for nationalism and for their language. He was also a supporter of pan-Slavism because he mistakenly believed that since the Slovaks were so few in number, they could best achieve their independence through an understanding with the other Slavic people. Kollar's pride in his native country is apparent in many of his poems and he often expressed the belief that the past had belonged to the Romans, the present to the Teutons and the future to the Slavs. He hoped to see the Slavic nations living in peaceful but self-ruling cooperation.5 The work of Pavel Jozef safarik is of a more permanent value than that of Kollar, however. safarik was a poet and scientist who dealt with the theme of Slav Antiquities, the history of Slav literature and the origins of the Slavs.6 He encouraged the Slovaks to develope a literary style of their own in order to increase their national pride and to create a national literature. For exactly these reasons, I.:udovit sttir (1815-1856) founded the modern Slovak literary language. The use of Slovak in literature, stur believed, would unite the people in a struggle against the Magyars, and also bring education to the common people, who spoke only Slovak. sttir was not involved only with the beginning of the standard Slovak literary language but also worked to organize all aspects of Slovak national life in accordance with enlightened humanism. 7 In 1845 stur began to publish the first Slovak language �SLOVAKIA 107 periodical, Slovenskje Ndrodnje Novini. The publication of $tur's work Ndrecia Slovenskuo a Potreba Pisanja V Tomto Ndreci 0846) together with Nduka Reci Slovenskej (1846) caused the final acceptance of Slovak as the literary language by all Slovak intellectuals. In 1849 $tur succeeded in having Slovak recognized as the language to be used in secondary schools.8 Writing at the same time as $tur was Jan Holly (1785-1849) whose Slovak hexameters about Svatopluk, Cyril and Methodius, and Slavdom made him a beloved and famous poet. He was also the greatest follower of Bernolak's literary school. A more versatile writer who lived in this period was Miloslav Hurban (1817-1888). He wrote for the magazine Nitra. He also wrote botn lyric poetry and prose and his most famous work is a historical story from the fourteenth century entitled Olejkdr and a story of his own time called Slovak Pupils. 9 A. Sladkovic (1820-1872), was another talented Slovak poet who wrote lyric-epics and displayed the influence of the Russian author Puskin and of the English Byron. He wrote a poem entitled Marina which is pan-Slavistic and a religious allegory. An epic poem founded on local tradition is Detvan which speaks of the soul of the Slovak nation. His work is sentimental and romantic, but contains enough realism to counterbalance these traits. 10 Janka Kral' (1822-1876) and Jan Botto (1829-1881 ) wrote ballads and romances and in their works display the character of the Slovak peasants. Many nature descriptions also can be found in their writings. Kral' wrote in the style of the romantics; his poems are melancholy. The source of Botto's most popular wor:kl was the Slovak ballad about Janosik. His verse is harmonious and descriptive, but plaintive. A poet very similar to Kral' and Botto is Samo Chalupka (1812-1883 ) , but his epic poems from ancient Slav history have a style which is much more terse and less romantic.0 1 The careers of all of these writers were aided by a halt in the Magyar persecutions. The freedom given to the Slovak authors enabled them to be more productive. At this time (1860) the first Slovak novels appeared. �108 SLOVAKIA Janko Kalincak (1822-1871) for example, wrote both historical stories and also realistic stories from contemporary Slovak life. His story Restoration is typical of his style and is about Magyar elections. The influence of Byron and of Polish literature can be found in his work. 12 In 1863 the Emperor allowed the Slovaks to form a scientific and literary organization, the Matica Slovenska, which was headed by Bishop Moyses. This organization published collections of proverbs and folk-songs, and also novels, scientific books, and poems. It was a vital center for Slovak intellectual activity. But soon new persecutions began and the literary progress of the Slovaks was impeded by the Magyars. Magyar was declared as the only state language and Slovak leaders who protested were imprisoned. All Slovak Journals and Societies, including the Matica, were suppressed . The only publications which survived the end of the nineteenth century and which maintained the national spirit were the N<irodnie Noviny and Slovenske Pohl'ady. The Slovenslce Pohl'ady soon attracted a new generation of writers. In 1881 one of the editors was Svetozar Hurban Vajansky (1847-1916 ). In the magazine he published the works of the Russian realists, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Turgenev. The writings of these authors had a profound effect upon the Slovaks. Previous to this time the age of national romanticism had prevaded in Slovak literature_ Now the younger writers were coming under the influence of the Russian realists and soon put an end to the era of pseudo-romantic mannerisms. A new interest in the subjective experience of the artist arose ; his own individuality was most important and he expressed boldly his view of life. Besides starting the realist movement as editor of the Slovenslce Pohl'ady, Vajansky also wrote prose and poetry which belonged to the new age of realism. His work shows the influence of the Russians, yet he maintains some measure of conservativism and like stur his writings show his great pride in his Slovak nationality. The best of his books is Tatry a More. His prose works dealt with the political and social life of the Slovak intelligentsia. 13 Two other realists who helped, this type of literature gain in victory in Slovakia were Pavel Orszagh-Hviezdoslav �SLOVAKIA 109 (1849-1922) and Martin Kukucin (1860-1927). Hviezdoslav can be considered the greatest Slovak poet up to the early twentieth century. His works were influenced by Sladkovic and Kollar. His poems display his rich imagination, his sensitivity and his patriotism. He wrote lyrics and also epics, the greatest of which is H djnikova zena. This epic gives valuable descriptions of nature and also of the Slovak culture, traditions and religion. He often wrote with a Biblical theme . Although his form was that of a skilled and sophisticated poet, the soul which he displayed in his works remained that of a simple Slovak peasant. This is what makes his work so valuable: he reveals the spirit of the Slovak people to the world.14 Kukucin also wrote of the lives of the peasants but with an even greater realism and less sentimentality. His novel Dom v Strdni is good and is typical of his work. In general, he is more progressive than Vajansky. 15 About 1900, several more publications began which were supported entirely by younger writers. In these the students expressed quite radical beliefs and again a new type of literature was begun. The progressive realism of Kukucin was abandoned by the new generation of writers and critical realism became the new literary style. As the name implies, the new style of writing observed the political, social and moral world "objectively" , reported the faults that were seen, and demanded improvement. This literary school included writers like B . Slancikova 0867-1951) , L. Nadasi-Jege 0866-1940), T. G. Tajovsky 0874-1940 ) , J. Jesensky (1874-1945) and others. The leading poet of the Slovak Modernist is Ivan Krasko (1886-1958 ) . He was a lyrist and impressionist who wrote symbolically. He mourned the slavery of the Slovaks, and the effects which it had upon them. Although he wrote of the sadness and despair which he saw, the most lasting influence which he had upon his nation was to give it hope. Krasko influenced several generations of poets. He not only expressed the national life of Slovakia, but also all aspects of the life of modern man.16 The advent of World War I brought a temporary halt to the production of Slovak literature. Immediately after the war there was also a silence; the older writers were involved in organizing the political activities of the new �110 SLOVAKIA Czecho-Slovak Republic, and the younger writers had not developed their talents to any great extent. But finally in 1922 the publications Slovenske Pohl'ady and Prudy began again. The young writers grouped around these magazines and soom were publishing highly polished works in them which greatly contributed to Slovak literature. Hviezdoslav, the greatest Slovak poet died in 1921. But very soon after his death Slovak literature was teeming literary names, both old and new. In addition to the established writers who were reaching their artistic maturity (M. Razus, I. Grebac-Orlov, J. Jesensky, J. GregorTajovsky, T. Milkin, V. Roy etc.) the most significant event was the appearance of young authors who were soon to change the character and tempo of the Slovak literary life. They include such well known names as J . Smrek, v . Beniak, A. zarnov, E . B. Lukac, T. J . Gaspar, J. Niznansky, L. Novomesky, S . Krcmery, J . c. Hronsky, M. Urban, J. Ponican, J . Branecky, G. Va.mos, etc. These young writers were cosmopolitan in outlook, no longer satisfied with the events in their native village or even in Bratislava or Prague, but keenly following the artistic development in Paris, London, Rome, Berlin and Moscow . They formed artistic school and literary groups eagerly trying to catch up with the rest of the intellectual world. But in spite of this absorbing attention they paid to the world outside the Slovak writers were acutely aware of the wrongs and injustices to which their nation was exposed in the Czech-dominated Czecho-Slovakia. Many of them warningly lifted their voices of protest against this unequal partnership (e.g. A. zarnov, M . Razus, I. GrebacOrlov, J. C. Hronsky ) and demanded a more just and equitable deal for their nation. Stresses and strains, both internal and external, led in 1938-39 to gradual disappearance of Czecho-Slovakia and out of its ruins grew an independent Slovakia. Slovak writers almost without exception warmly greeted this dawn of a new epoch. The duration of the Slovak state ( 19391945 ) was, indeed, a golden age of Slovak literature. 17 The Slovak Writers Association numbered abou 400 members and their literary output in 1939-45 amounted to some 1,000 books of verse, novels and drama. Far more important �SLOVAKIA 111 than this quantity was the quality of their work which reached unsurpassed heights. This brief essay permits only a few names to be mentioned from an extensive catalogue of literary personalities. The most successful writers of novel and short stories were: J . C. Hronsky, M. Urban, M. Figuli, s. Rysura, D. Chrobak, L. Ondrejov, P . H . Jurina, s. Graf. Valentin Beniak, A. zarnov, K . Strmen, J. Kostra, R. Dilong, J . Haranta, J. Silan, J. Smrek, V. Reisel excelled as poets. The best known playwrights were I. Stodola and J . BarcIvan. The revolutionary changes which took place in Slovak politics after World War II were paralleled by equally drastic changes in the literature. The Communist occupation of Slovakia stopped the publication of the works of all those authors who were Catholic and who would not compromise their ideals and beliefs and take up the cause of the proletariat. The trend of Slovak literature changed but the best of the Slovak writers, Urban, Hronsky, Gaspar, Smrek, Lukac, and Beniak were not involved in the new trend. Many of these authors sought exile in other countries where they would be permitted to write and publish without government oppression or restriction. Some of the Slovak authors who are now living and writing in countries other than their native land are Karol Strmen (1921- ) who translated the New Testament into Slovak ( 1954), Milos K. Mlynarovic ( 1887-) who it the oldest living Slovak poet, Marian ziar, ~udo Besenovsky, Gorazd Zvonicky, Jan Okal' and Marusa Juskova.18 Msgr. Milos K. Mlynarovic, who is now living in the United States is a mature and productive writer who has authored books of poetry, n~vels, and religious writings. The main themes of his work are God, Church and the Slovak nation. In this sense Mlynarovic is a traditional poet since these have been the predominant themes of Slovak writers since the mid-1800's. His first book of verse was entitled Sldvia (1919) . After its publication, several prose works were written by him. The second book of poetry, showing the influence of Krasko, was Veliky Boh Malych ( 1934). In 1948 a volume entitled Boha Hl'adam �SLOVAKIA 112 was published in Slovakia and with optimism in man, provided a great Slovak literature which dwelt upon ing of war. Two other volumes of then are Testament Krdl'a Sfdc, prayer, and Dejiny Srdca. 19 its theme of hope and contrast to the native the horror and sufferverse published since meditative poems of All of these authors and countless other Slovak writers not mentioned have contributed greatly to the culture of the world and to the artistic development of their country. In the light of objective examination they have certainly represented their native land well. It has been said that "The Slovak literature of the present .. . wants to express its basic raison d'etre and its great mission among the people-the propagation of love of life, love of man, active desire for freedom, respect for the work of the people and faith in their future." 20 It can only be hoped that someday Slovakia will be given its complete freedom so that the achievement of these noble goals may be carried out, and the authors now in exile may return to their native land to achieve further progress in Slovakia's literary world. ( First Prize Award) FOOTNOTES 1) Vavro Srobar, "Cultural Progress in Slovakia," Slovakia Then And Now (Prague, 1931), 107. 2) "Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia, XIII (New York, 1966) , 293. 3) "Slovak Literature," 293. 4) William E. Harkins, Czech and Slovak Literature (New York, 1950), 30. 5) Vladimir Nosek, The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak History, Music, and Literature (London, 1926), 142. 6) Vladimir Nosek, p. 144. 7) William E. Harkins, p. 32. 8) "Slovak Literature," p. 292. 9) Vladimir Nosek, p. 304. 10) Vladimir Nosek, p. 305. 11) Vladimir Nosek, p. 305. 12) Vladimir Nosek, p. 306. �SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan � SLOVAKIA 105 Winning Essays-Slovak League Scholarship Awards Karen Ann S y z d e k : The Developm e nt of Slovak Literature It has been said that the literary activitv of a country is dependent upon the economic stability, educational opportunity, political liberty and intellectual capability of its people. 1 For centuries, the oppressive rule of the Magyars had so deprived the Slovaks of the first three factors that their literature was given no chance to grow. The artistic ability of the people of Slovakia was expressed mainly in their folk songs and dances, folk poetry, sagas and ballads, but did not often reach a more formal levely until about 1650. Finally, with the coming of the Baroque period, the University of Trnava became a source of Slovak Catholic literature. The works which came from this university were written in the native Slovak and in Latin. One of the professors, a Jesuit priest, Martin Szentivanyi ( 16331705) was the author of 65 works including an encyclopedia, Curiosiora et Selectoria Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea (1686-1702 ) and Dissertationes (1689 ) 2 Political issues became very much a part of Slovak literature with the work of Jan Baltazar Magin ( 1682-1735) who wrote a defense of Slovaks and of their rights. Another literary defender of his country was Alexander Macsay (d. 1721) who battled for the Slovak language in Panes Primitiarium (1718 ) . Also a milestone in Slovakia's literary history was the appearance of the first Slovak novel Rene Mlddenca Prihody a Skusenosti (1783 ) written by Jozef Ignac Bajza (1755-1836) .3 With the beginning of the age of Enlightenment, there was an upsurge of national consciousness in Slovakia. As the people became aware of their linguistic and racial individuality they sought to eliminate the variance between the language of books and the vernacular. One of the main proponents of this movement was Anton Bernolak ( 1762- �106 SLOVAKIA 1813) who codified the Slovak language in his linguistic works Dissertatio Philologico-Critic a de Litteris Slavorum and Orthographia (1787), Grammatica Slavica (1790), Etymologia Vocum Slavicarum (1791) and in a dictionary published posthumously (1825). Bernolak also began several societies which encouraged work in the field of Slovak literature. 4 Bernolak's advocation of Slovak as a literary language was opposed by the Protestant writers, including Jan Kollar (1793-1852) and Pavel Jozef safarik 0795-1861) . Although these two men used Czech in all of their writings, they contributed much to the literary activity in Slovakia. Jan Kollar was the forerunner of all of Slovakia's poets. His enthusiasm in Sldva's Daughter inspired the Slavs in their fight for nationalism and for their language. He was also a supporter of pan-Slavism because he mistakenly believed that since the Slovaks were so few in number, they could best achieve their independence through an understanding with the other Slavic people. Kollar's pride in his native country is apparent in many of his poems and he often expressed the belief that the past had belonged to the Romans, the present to the Teutons and the future to the Slavs. He hoped to see the Slavic nations living in peaceful but self-ruling cooperation.5 The work of Pavel Jozef safarik is of a more permanent value than that of Kollar, however. safarik was a poet and scientist who dealt with the theme of Slav Antiquities, the history of Slav literature and the origins of the Slavs.6 He encouraged the Slovaks to develope a literary style of their own in order to increase their national pride and to create a national literature. For exactly these reasons, I.:udovit sttir (1815-1856) founded the modern Slovak literary language. The use of Slovak in literature, stur believed, would unite the people in a struggle against the Magyars, and also bring education to the common people, who spoke only Slovak. sttir was not involved only with the beginning of the standard Slovak literary language but also worked to organize all aspects of Slovak national life in accordance with enlightened humanism. 7 In 1845 stur began to publish the first Slovak language �SLOVAKIA 107 periodical, Slovenskje Ndrodnje Novini. The publication of $tur's work Ndrecia Slovenskuo a Potreba Pisanja V Tomto Ndreci 0846) together with Nduka Reci Slovenskej (1846) caused the final acceptance of Slovak as the literary language by all Slovak intellectuals. In 1849 $tur succeeded in having Slovak recognized as the language to be used in secondary schools.8 Writing at the same time as $tur was Jan Holly (1785-1849) whose Slovak hexameters about Svatopluk, Cyril and Methodius, and Slavdom made him a beloved and famous poet. He was also the greatest follower of Bernolak's literary school. A more versatile writer who lived in this period was Miloslav Hurban (1817-1888). He wrote for the magazine Nitra. He also wrote botn lyric poetry and prose and his most famous work is a historical story from the fourteenth century entitled Olejkdr and a story of his own time called Slovak Pupils. 9 A. Sladkovic (1820-1872), was another talented Slovak poet who wrote lyric-epics and displayed the influence of the Russian author Puskin and of the English Byron. He wrote a poem entitled Marina which is pan-Slavistic and a religious allegory. An epic poem founded on local tradition is Detvan which speaks of the soul of the Slovak nation. His work is sentimental and romantic, but contains enough realism to counterbalance these traits. 10 Janka Kral' (1822-1876) and Jan Botto (1829-1881 ) wrote ballads and romances and in their works display the character of the Slovak peasants. Many nature descriptions also can be found in their writings. Kral' wrote in the style of the romantics; his poems are melancholy. The source of Botto's most popular wor:kl was the Slovak ballad about Janosik. His verse is harmonious and descriptive, but plaintive. A poet very similar to Kral' and Botto is Samo Chalupka (1812-1883 ) , but his epic poems from ancient Slav history have a style which is much more terse and less romantic.0 1 The careers of all of these writers were aided by a halt in the Magyar persecutions. The freedom given to the Slovak authors enabled them to be more productive. At this time (1860) the first Slovak novels appeared. �108 SLOVAKIA Janko Kalincak (1822-1871) for example, wrote both historical stories and also realistic stories from contemporary Slovak life. His story Restoration is typical of his style and is about Magyar elections. The influence of Byron and of Polish literature can be found in his work. 12 In 1863 the Emperor allowed the Slovaks to form a scientific and literary organization, the Matica Slovenska, which was headed by Bishop Moyses. This organization published collections of proverbs and folk-songs, and also novels, scientific books, and poems. It was a vital center for Slovak intellectual activity. But soon new persecutions began and the literary progress of the Slovaks was impeded by the Magyars. Magyar was declared as the only state language and Slovak leaders who protested were imprisoned. All Slovak Journals and Societies, including the Matica, were suppressed . The only publications which survived the end of the nineteenth century and which maintained the national spirit were the N<irodnie Noviny and Slovenske Pohl'ady. The Slovenslce Pohl'ady soon attracted a new generation of writers. In 1881 one of the editors was Svetozar Hurban Vajansky (1847-1916 ). In the magazine he published the works of the Russian realists, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Turgenev. The writings of these authors had a profound effect upon the Slovaks. Previous to this time the age of national romanticism had prevaded in Slovak literature_ Now the younger writers were coming under the influence of the Russian realists and soon put an end to the era of pseudo-romantic mannerisms. A new interest in the subjective experience of the artist arose ; his own individuality was most important and he expressed boldly his view of life. Besides starting the realist movement as editor of the Slovenslce Pohl'ady, Vajansky also wrote prose and poetry which belonged to the new age of realism. His work shows the influence of the Russians, yet he maintains some measure of conservativism and like stur his writings show his great pride in his Slovak nationality. The best of his books is Tatry a More. His prose works dealt with the political and social life of the Slovak intelligentsia. 13 Two other realists who helped, this type of literature gain in victory in Slovakia were Pavel Orszagh-Hviezdoslav �SLOVAKIA 109 (1849-1922) and Martin Kukucin (1860-1927). Hviezdoslav can be considered the greatest Slovak poet up to the early twentieth century. His works were influenced by Sladkovic and Kollar. His poems display his rich imagination, his sensitivity and his patriotism. He wrote lyrics and also epics, the greatest of which is H djnikova zena. This epic gives valuable descriptions of nature and also of the Slovak culture, traditions and religion. He often wrote with a Biblical theme . Although his form was that of a skilled and sophisticated poet, the soul which he displayed in his works remained that of a simple Slovak peasant. This is what makes his work so valuable: he reveals the spirit of the Slovak people to the world.14 Kukucin also wrote of the lives of the peasants but with an even greater realism and less sentimentality. His novel Dom v Strdni is good and is typical of his work. In general, he is more progressive than Vajansky. 15 About 1900, several more publications began which were supported entirely by younger writers. In these the students expressed quite radical beliefs and again a new type of literature was begun. The progressive realism of Kukucin was abandoned by the new generation of writers and critical realism became the new literary style. As the name implies, the new style of writing observed the political, social and moral world "objectively" , reported the faults that were seen, and demanded improvement. This literary school included writers like B . Slancikova 0867-1951) , L. Nadasi-Jege 0866-1940), T. G. Tajovsky 0874-1940 ) , J. Jesensky (1874-1945) and others. The leading poet of the Slovak Modernist is Ivan Krasko (1886-1958 ) . He was a lyrist and impressionist who wrote symbolically. He mourned the slavery of the Slovaks, and the effects which it had upon them. Although he wrote of the sadness and despair which he saw, the most lasting influence which he had upon his nation was to give it hope. Krasko influenced several generations of poets. He not only expressed the national life of Slovakia, but also all aspects of the life of modern man.16 The advent of World War I brought a temporary halt to the production of Slovak literature. Immediately after the war there was also a silence; the older writers were involved in organizing the political activities of the new �110 SLOVAKIA Czecho-Slovak Republic, and the younger writers had not developed their talents to any great extent. But finally in 1922 the publications Slovenske Pohl'ady and Prudy began again. The young writers grouped around these magazines and soom were publishing highly polished works in them which greatly contributed to Slovak literature. Hviezdoslav, the greatest Slovak poet died in 1921. But very soon after his death Slovak literature was teeming literary names, both old and new. In addition to the established writers who were reaching their artistic maturity (M. Razus, I. Grebac-Orlov, J. Jesensky, J. GregorTajovsky, T. Milkin, V. Roy etc.) the most significant event was the appearance of young authors who were soon to change the character and tempo of the Slovak literary life. They include such well known names as J . Smrek, v . Beniak, A. zarnov, E . B. Lukac, T. J . Gaspar, J. Niznansky, L. Novomesky, S . Krcmery, J . c. Hronsky, M. Urban, J. Ponican, J . Branecky, G. Va.mos, etc. These young writers were cosmopolitan in outlook, no longer satisfied with the events in their native village or even in Bratislava or Prague, but keenly following the artistic development in Paris, London, Rome, Berlin and Moscow . They formed artistic school and literary groups eagerly trying to catch up with the rest of the intellectual world. But in spite of this absorbing attention they paid to the world outside the Slovak writers were acutely aware of the wrongs and injustices to which their nation was exposed in the Czech-dominated Czecho-Slovakia. Many of them warningly lifted their voices of protest against this unequal partnership (e.g. A. zarnov, M . Razus, I. GrebacOrlov, J. C. Hronsky ) and demanded a more just and equitable deal for their nation. Stresses and strains, both internal and external, led in 1938-39 to gradual disappearance of Czecho-Slovakia and out of its ruins grew an independent Slovakia. Slovak writers almost without exception warmly greeted this dawn of a new epoch. The duration of the Slovak state ( 19391945 ) was, indeed, a golden age of Slovak literature. 17 The Slovak Writers Association numbered abou 400 members and their literary output in 1939-45 amounted to some 1,000 books of verse, novels and drama. Far more important �SLOVAKIA 111 than this quantity was the quality of their work which reached unsurpassed heights. This brief essay permits only a few names to be mentioned from an extensive catalogue of literary personalities. The most successful writers of novel and short stories were: J . C. Hronsky, M. Urban, M. Figuli, s. Rysura, D. Chrobak, L. Ondrejov, P . H . Jurina, s. Graf. Valentin Beniak, A. zarnov, K . Strmen, J. Kostra, R. Dilong, J . Haranta, J. Silan, J. Smrek, V. Reisel excelled as poets. The best known playwrights were I. Stodola and J . BarcIvan. The revolutionary changes which took place in Slovak politics after World War II were paralleled by equally drastic changes in the literature. The Communist occupation of Slovakia stopped the publication of the works of all those authors who were Catholic and who would not compromise their ideals and beliefs and take up the cause of the proletariat. The trend of Slovak literature changed but the best of the Slovak writers, Urban, Hronsky, Gaspar, Smrek, Lukac, and Beniak were not involved in the new trend. Many of these authors sought exile in other countries where they would be permitted to write and publish without government oppression or restriction. Some of the Slovak authors who are now living and writing in countries other than their native land are Karol Strmen (1921- ) who translated the New Testament into Slovak ( 1954), Milos K. Mlynarovic ( 1887-) who it the oldest living Slovak poet, Marian ziar, ~udo Besenovsky, Gorazd Zvonicky, Jan Okal' and Marusa Juskova.18 Msgr. Milos K. Mlynarovic, who is now living in the United States is a mature and productive writer who has authored books of poetry, n~vels, and religious writings. The main themes of his work are God, Church and the Slovak nation. In this sense Mlynarovic is a traditional poet since these have been the predominant themes of Slovak writers since the mid-1800's. His first book of verse was entitled Sldvia (1919) . After its publication, several prose works were written by him. The second book of poetry, showing the influence of Krasko, was Veliky Boh Malych ( 1934). In 1948 a volume entitled Boha Hl'adam �SLOVAKIA 112 was published in Slovakia and with optimism in man, provided a great Slovak literature which dwelt upon ing of war. Two other volumes of then are Testament Krdl'a Sfdc, prayer, and Dejiny Srdca. 19 its theme of hope and contrast to the native the horror and sufferverse published since meditative poems of All of these authors and countless other Slovak writers not mentioned have contributed greatly to the culture of the world and to the artistic development of their country. In the light of objective examination they have certainly represented their native land well. It has been said that "The Slovak literature of the present .. . wants to express its basic raison d'etre and its great mission among the people-the propagation of love of life, love of man, active desire for freedom, respect for the work of the people and faith in their future." 20 It can only be hoped that someday Slovakia will be given its complete freedom so that the achievement of these noble goals may be carried out, and the authors now in exile may return to their native land to achieve further progress in Slovakia's literary world. ( First Prize Award) FOOTNOTES 1) Vavro Srobar, "Cultural Progress in Slovakia," Slovakia Then And Now (Prague, 1931), 107. 2) "Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia, XIII (New York, 1966) , 293. 3) "Slovak Literature," 293. 4) William E. Harkins, Czech and Slovak Literature (New York, 1950), 30. 5) Vladimir Nosek, The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak History, Music, and Literature (London, 1926), 142. 6) Vladimir Nosek, p. 144. 7) William E. Harkins, p. 32. 8) "Slovak Literature," p. 292. 9) Vladimir Nosek, p. 304. 10) Vladimir Nosek, p. 305. 11) Vladimir Nosek, p. 305. 12) Vladimir Nosek, p. 306. �SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 105 Winning Essays-Slovak League Scholarship Awards Karen Ann S y z d e k : The Developm e nt of Slovak Literature It has been said that the literary activitv of a country is dependent upon the economic stability, educational opportunity, political liberty and intellectual capability of its people. 1 For centuries, the oppressive rule of the Magyars had so deprived the Slovaks of the first three factors that their literature was given no chance to grow. The artistic ability of the people of Slovakia was expressed mainly in their folk songs and dances, folk poetry, sagas and ballads, but did not often reach a more formal levely until about 1650. Finally, with the coming of the Baroque period, the University of Trnava became a source of Slovak Catholic literature. The works which came from this university were written in the native Slovak and in Latin. One of the professors, a Jesuit priest, Martin Szentivanyi ( 16331705) was the author of 65 works including an encyclopedia, Curiosiora et Selectoria Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea (1686-1702 ) and Dissertationes (1689 ) 2 Political issues became very much a part of Slovak literature with the work of Jan Baltazar Magin ( 1682-1735) who wrote a defense of Slovaks and of their rights. Another literary defender of his country was Alexander Macsay (d. 1721) who battled for the Slovak language in Panes Primitiarium (1718 ) . Also a milestone in Slovakia's literary history was the appearance of the first Slovak novel Rene Mlddenca Prihody a Skusenosti (1783 ) written by Jozef Ignac Bajza (1755-1836) .3 With the beginning of the age of Enlightenment, there was an upsurge of national consciousness in Slovakia. As the people became aware of their linguistic and racial individuality they sought to eliminate the variance between the language of books and the vernacular. One of the main proponents of this movement was Anton Bernolak ( 1762- 106 SLOVAKIA 1813) who codified the Slovak language in his linguistic works Dissertatio Philologico-Critic a de Litteris Slavorum and Orthographia (1787), Grammatica Slavica (1790), Etymologia Vocum Slavicarum (1791) and in a dictionary published posthumously (1825). Bernolak also began several societies which encouraged work in the field of Slovak literature. 4 Bernolak's advocation of Slovak as a literary language was opposed by the Protestant writers, including Jan Kollar (1793-1852) and Pavel Jozef safarik 0795-1861) . Although these two men used Czech in all of their writings, they contributed much to the literary activity in Slovakia. Jan Kollar was the forerunner of all of Slovakia's poets. His enthusiasm in Sldva's Daughter inspired the Slavs in their fight for nationalism and for their language. He was also a supporter of pan-Slavism because he mistakenly believed that since the Slovaks were so few in number, they could best achieve their independence through an understanding with the other Slavic people. Kollar's pride in his native country is apparent in many of his poems and he often expressed the belief that the past had belonged to the Romans, the present to the Teutons and the future to the Slavs. He hoped to see the Slavic nations living in peaceful but self-ruling cooperation.5 The work of Pavel Jozef safarik is of a more permanent value than that of Kollar, however. safarik was a poet and scientist who dealt with the theme of Slav Antiquities, the history of Slav literature and the origins of the Slavs.6 He encouraged the Slovaks to develope a literary style of their own in order to increase their national pride and to create a national literature. For exactly these reasons, I.:udovit sttir (1815-1856) founded the modern Slovak literary language. The use of Slovak in literature, stur believed, would unite the people in a struggle against the Magyars, and also bring education to the common people, who spoke only Slovak. sttir was not involved only with the beginning of the standard Slovak literary language but also worked to organize all aspects of Slovak national life in accordance with enlightened humanism. 7 In 1845 stur began to publish the first Slovak language SLOVAKIA 107 periodical, Slovenskje Ndrodnje Novini. The publication of $tur's work Ndrecia Slovenskuo a Potreba Pisanja V Tomto Ndreci 0846) together with Nduka Reci Slovenskej (1846) caused the final acceptance of Slovak as the literary language by all Slovak intellectuals. In 1849 $tur succeeded in having Slovak recognized as the language to be used in secondary schools.8 Writing at the same time as $tur was Jan Holly (1785-1849) whose Slovak hexameters about Svatopluk, Cyril and Methodius, and Slavdom made him a beloved and famous poet. He was also the greatest follower of Bernolak's literary school. A more versatile writer who lived in this period was Miloslav Hurban (1817-1888). He wrote for the magazine Nitra. He also wrote botn lyric poetry and prose and his most famous work is a historical story from the fourteenth century entitled Olejkdr and a story of his own time called Slovak Pupils. 9 A. Sladkovic (1820-1872), was another talented Slovak poet who wrote lyric-epics and displayed the influence of the Russian author Puskin and of the English Byron. He wrote a poem entitled Marina which is pan-Slavistic and a religious allegory. An epic poem founded on local tradition is Detvan which speaks of the soul of the Slovak nation. His work is sentimental and romantic, but contains enough realism to counterbalance these traits. 10 Janka Kral' (1822-1876) and Jan Botto (1829-1881 ) wrote ballads and romances and in their works display the character of the Slovak peasants. Many nature descriptions also can be found in their writings. Kral' wrote in the style of the romantics; his poems are melancholy. The source of Botto's most popular wor:kl was the Slovak ballad about Janosik. His verse is harmonious and descriptive, but plaintive. A poet very similar to Kral' and Botto is Samo Chalupka (1812-1883 ) , but his epic poems from ancient Slav history have a style which is much more terse and less romantic.0 1 The careers of all of these writers were aided by a halt in the Magyar persecutions. The freedom given to the Slovak authors enabled them to be more productive. At this time (1860) the first Slovak novels appeared. 108 SLOVAKIA Janko Kalincak (1822-1871) for example, wrote both historical stories and also realistic stories from contemporary Slovak life. His story Restoration is typical of his style and is about Magyar elections. The influence of Byron and of Polish literature can be found in his work. 12 In 1863 the Emperor allowed the Slovaks to form a scientific and literary organization, the Matica Slovenska, which was headed by Bishop Moyses. This organization published collections of proverbs and folk-songs, and also novels, scientific books, and poems. It was a vital center for Slovak intellectual activity. But soon new persecutions began and the literary progress of the Slovaks was impeded by the Magyars. Magyar was declared as the only state language and Slovak leaders who protested were imprisoned. All Slovak Journals and Societies, including the Matica, were suppressed . The only publications which survived the end of the nineteenth century and which maintained the national spirit were the N<irodnie Noviny and Slovenske Pohl'ady. The Slovenslce Pohl'ady soon attracted a new generation of writers. In 1881 one of the editors was Svetozar Hurban Vajansky (1847-1916 ). In the magazine he published the works of the Russian realists, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Turgenev. The writings of these authors had a profound effect upon the Slovaks. Previous to this time the age of national romanticism had prevaded in Slovak literature_ Now the younger writers were coming under the influence of the Russian realists and soon put an end to the era of pseudo-romantic mannerisms. A new interest in the subjective experience of the artist arose ; his own individuality was most important and he expressed boldly his view of life. Besides starting the realist movement as editor of the Slovenslce Pohl'ady, Vajansky also wrote prose and poetry which belonged to the new age of realism. His work shows the influence of the Russians, yet he maintains some measure of conservativism and like stur his writings show his great pride in his Slovak nationality. The best of his books is Tatry a More. His prose works dealt with the political and social life of the Slovak intelligentsia. 13 Two other realists who helped, this type of literature gain in victory in Slovakia were Pavel Orszagh-Hviezdoslav SLOVAKIA 109 (1849-1922) and Martin Kukucin (1860-1927). Hviezdoslav can be considered the greatest Slovak poet up to the early twentieth century. His works were influenced by Sladkovic and Kollar. His poems display his rich imagination, his sensitivity and his patriotism. He wrote lyrics and also epics, the greatest of which is H djnikova zena. This epic gives valuable descriptions of nature and also of the Slovak culture, traditions and religion. He often wrote with a Biblical theme . Although his form was that of a skilled and sophisticated poet, the soul which he displayed in his works remained that of a simple Slovak peasant. This is what makes his work so valuable: he reveals the spirit of the Slovak people to the world.14 Kukucin also wrote of the lives of the peasants but with an even greater realism and less sentimentality. His novel Dom v Strdni is good and is typical of his work. In general, he is more progressive than Vajansky. 15 About 1900, several more publications began which were supported entirely by younger writers. In these the students expressed quite radical beliefs and again a new type of literature was begun. The progressive realism of Kukucin was abandoned by the new generation of writers and critical realism became the new literary style. As the name implies, the new style of writing observed the political, social and moral world "objectively" , reported the faults that were seen, and demanded improvement. This literary school included writers like B . Slancikova 0867-1951) , L. Nadasi-Jege 0866-1940), T. G. Tajovsky 0874-1940 ) , J. Jesensky (1874-1945) and others. The leading poet of the Slovak Modernist is Ivan Krasko (1886-1958 ) . He was a lyrist and impressionist who wrote symbolically. He mourned the slavery of the Slovaks, and the effects which it had upon them. Although he wrote of the sadness and despair which he saw, the most lasting influence which he had upon his nation was to give it hope. Krasko influenced several generations of poets. He not only expressed the national life of Slovakia, but also all aspects of the life of modern man.16 The advent of World War I brought a temporary halt to the production of Slovak literature. Immediately after the war there was also a silence; the older writers were involved in organizing the political activities of the new 110 SLOVAKIA Czecho-Slovak Republic, and the younger writers had not developed their talents to any great extent. But finally in 1922 the publications Slovenske Pohl'ady and Prudy began again. The young writers grouped around these magazines and soom were publishing highly polished works in them which greatly contributed to Slovak literature. Hviezdoslav, the greatest Slovak poet died in 1921. But very soon after his death Slovak literature was teeming literary names, both old and new. In addition to the established writers who were reaching their artistic maturity (M. Razus, I. Grebac-Orlov, J. Jesensky, J. GregorTajovsky, T. Milkin, V. Roy etc.) the most significant event was the appearance of young authors who were soon to change the character and tempo of the Slovak literary life. They include such well known names as J . Smrek, v . Beniak, A. zarnov, E . B. Lukac, T. J . Gaspar, J. Niznansky, L. Novomesky, S . Krcmery, J . c. Hronsky, M. Urban, J. Ponican, J . Branecky, G. Va.mos, etc. These young writers were cosmopolitan in outlook, no longer satisfied with the events in their native village or even in Bratislava or Prague, but keenly following the artistic development in Paris, London, Rome, Berlin and Moscow . They formed artistic school and literary groups eagerly trying to catch up with the rest of the intellectual world. But in spite of this absorbing attention they paid to the world outside the Slovak writers were acutely aware of the wrongs and injustices to which their nation was exposed in the Czech-dominated Czecho-Slovakia. Many of them warningly lifted their voices of protest against this unequal partnership (e.g. A. zarnov, M . Razus, I. GrebacOrlov, J. C. Hronsky ) and demanded a more just and equitable deal for their nation. Stresses and strains, both internal and external, led in 1938-39 to gradual disappearance of Czecho-Slovakia and out of its ruins grew an independent Slovakia. Slovak writers almost without exception warmly greeted this dawn of a new epoch. The duration of the Slovak state ( 19391945 ) was, indeed, a golden age of Slovak literature. 17 The Slovak Writers Association numbered abou 400 members and their literary output in 1939-45 amounted to some 1,000 books of verse, novels and drama. Far more important SLOVAKIA 111 than this quantity was the quality of their work which reached unsurpassed heights. This brief essay permits only a few names to be mentioned from an extensive catalogue of literary personalities. The most successful writers of novel and short stories were: J . C. Hronsky, M. Urban, M. Figuli, s. Rysura, D. Chrobak, L. Ondrejov, P . H . Jurina, s. Graf. Valentin Beniak, A. zarnov, K . Strmen, J. Kostra, R. Dilong, J . Haranta, J. Silan, J. Smrek, V. Reisel excelled as poets. The best known playwrights were I. Stodola and J . BarcIvan. The revolutionary changes which took place in Slovak politics after World War II were paralleled by equally drastic changes in the literature. The Communist occupation of Slovakia stopped the publication of the works of all those authors who were Catholic and who would not compromise their ideals and beliefs and take up the cause of the proletariat. The trend of Slovak literature changed but the best of the Slovak writers, Urban, Hronsky, Gaspar, Smrek, Lukac, and Beniak were not involved in the new trend. Many of these authors sought exile in other countries where they would be permitted to write and publish without government oppression or restriction. Some of the Slovak authors who are now living and writing in countries other than their native land are Karol Strmen (1921- ) who translated the New Testament into Slovak ( 1954), Milos K. Mlynarovic ( 1887-) who it the oldest living Slovak poet, Marian ziar, ~udo Besenovsky, Gorazd Zvonicky, Jan Okal' and Marusa Juskova.18 Msgr. Milos K. Mlynarovic, who is now living in the United States is a mature and productive writer who has authored books of poetry, n~vels, and religious writings. The main themes of his work are God, Church and the Slovak nation. In this sense Mlynarovic is a traditional poet since these have been the predominant themes of Slovak writers since the mid-1800's. His first book of verse was entitled Sldvia (1919) . After its publication, several prose works were written by him. The second book of poetry, showing the influence of Krasko, was Veliky Boh Malych ( 1934). In 1948 a volume entitled Boha Hl'adam SLOVAKIA 112 was published in Slovakia and with optimism in man, provided a great Slovak literature which dwelt upon ing of war. Two other volumes of then are Testament Krdl'a Sfdc, prayer, and Dejiny Srdca. 19 its theme of hope and contrast to the native the horror and sufferverse published since meditative poems of All of these authors and countless other Slovak writers not mentioned have contributed greatly to the culture of the world and to the artistic development of their country. In the light of objective examination they have certainly represented their native land well. It has been said that "The Slovak literature of the present .. . wants to express its basic raison d'etre and its great mission among the people-the propagation of love of life, love of man, active desire for freedom, respect for the work of the people and faith in their future." 20 It can only be hoped that someday Slovakia will be given its complete freedom so that the achievement of these noble goals may be carried out, and the authors now in exile may return to their native land to achieve further progress in Slovakia's literary world. ( First Prize Award) FOOTNOTES 1) Vavro Srobar, "Cultural Progress in Slovakia," Slovakia Then And Now (Prague, 1931), 107. 2) "Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia, XIII (New York, 1966) , 293. 3) "Slovak Literature," 293. 4) William E. Harkins, Czech and Slovak Literature (New York, 1950), 30. 5) Vladimir Nosek, The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak History, Music, and Literature (London, 1926), 142. 6) Vladimir Nosek, p. 144. 7) William E. Harkins, p. 32. 8) "Slovak Literature," p. 292. 9) Vladimir Nosek, p. 304. 10) Vladimir Nosek, p. 305. 11) Vladimir Nosek, p. 305. 12) Vladimir Nosek, p. 306. SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Development of Slovak Literature Description An account of the resource Karen Ann Syzdek Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 105-113 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Syzdek, Karen Ann Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/9fb5dee5b865bf5c0596256b4d8b6877.pdf 1f753216e874a382a1ed9ac6419dbe6d PDF Text Text 94 SLOVAKIA Powers of Darkness and Powers of Truth Marian Jankovsky Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak communist politician whose name swept around the globe like a comet and found a place among nominees for the Nobel Prize described his efforts, his political program, with the expression: To show the human face of Communism. This slogan which suddenly magnetized other European nations under communistic imperialism, sounded an alarm within Kremlin walls. Moscow's anger found expression in the occupation of Bohemia and Slovakia on the night of August 21, 1968. Armed occupation was at the same time an answer to Dubcek and other reformers and it served notice to the rest of the world that Communism does not have a human face. Dubcek was not the only one nor the first to undertake social reforms in such a way as to preserve the dignity of man. Perhaps even Lenin himself and even Engels, the teacher of Marx had entertained such ideas at the beginning of their career. And history records similar attempts in the eighteenth century and in earlier times. All of them, however, reached a cul de sac situation, when they directed the attempt to reform society without violence into utopian channels-to something fictitious and unrealizable. Since this need, this cry to preserve man's dignity is ageless and man himself is unable to find the approach and the means of attaining it, God himself came to man's aid: He sent to earth his Son who dispelled this hopelessness and announced a gospel and principles under which a society of brothers, of friends, could be realized. Man had experienced frustrations and found himself on erroneous paths since he chose to act alone-to disregard God, to oppose God and to defy God in his effort to found a social order on norms that would provide respect for the dignity of man. Though in certain instances these aspirations were sincere and honorable, they either remained on the utopian plane or degenerated into coarse violence primarily because they denied the fundamental nature of man which is �SLOVAKIA 95 theocentric. It is the nature of a man to tend toward God with his heart and mind just as it is natural for a child to direct affections toward his parents. It is a law of origin; of the created and the Creator; of Cause and effect. Many modern-day reformers returned to Plato; they drew instruction from the teachings of Thomas More, but in the final resolution, they cloaked all these concepts in the Marx-Lenin and Stalin-Brezhnev realities and imposed on them the most brutish form to which a social philosophy could ever degenerate. From the spiritual standpoint, this happened because Lenin-Bolshevik Communism was established on dogmas of a single category: the denial of God and of all that is supernatural. And if man: is not to have God's image, there remains for him nothing else only the face of the enemy of God whose name is Satan. Politically, this inhuman face of bolshevism assumed its form from the fact that bolshevism is founded, perpetuated, and disseminated solely by force and methods of open-or what is more base--disguised violence. Lenin the ideologist became a cruel avenger when, after unsuccessful attempts at murder at the gallows, executions with bullets, imprisonments and deportations to Siberia, he initiated the liquidation of adversaries both real and suspected. And bloody hands that were bloodied were never again washed clean. Stalin, the most tyrannical exponent of bolshevism, revealed in a conversation with Churchill that the number of victims whom he had physically liquidated exceeded millions. History which one day, please God, will see light, records twenty million persons executed, shot, tortured to death with hunger and beatings during Stalin's day. Modern sociology and philosophy habitually labels as fascism the evils and political errors of some regimes of this century. Assuredly, every type of fascism is evil because it is based upon violence and denies the human and supernatural rights of the men and nations which it subjugates. Communism zealously over-reacts in dealing with fascist propaganda. Every regime, each person whom Communism set out to destroy, it first accused of fascism . And here lies the great irony of hypocritical baseness, for such denouncing of the evils of fascism was simply a convenient device by which communistic bolshevism tried to �96 SLOVAKIA avert the attention of the world away from the evil of which it was itself guilty. And we know that this kind of political trickery of diverting attention sometimes serves the communists well. As a matter of fact, however, the truth is that long before there was a black (Mussolinist) or brown (Hitlerist) fascism, there already existed a red or Kremlin fascism . Long before some European countries resorted to concentration camps and began to liquidate political opponents, Soviet Russia already had a well-tested tradition of such procedures. And so it is evident that both with its ideology and its program, and principally with its despotic methods, Communism lost all right to be called a progressive movement, a social program. It is, on the contrary, in every aspect reactionary, abusive, and dangerous to nations. It is the deformation of the human face of man to whom it promised paradise on earth and delivered him hell. Under the following headings we wish to point our several features of this inhuman face of Communism in general, as well as with specific references to Slovakia. We choose primarily issues on which Communism counted most heavily and in which it failed deplorably. Communism disavowed, maligned, and betrayed these ideals and values: a) the ideal of the personal freedom of man and the freedom of nations; b) the ideal of work upon which it stamped a bold seal of slavery; c) the ideal of society (family, town, state) which it yoked with laws of violence and dictatorship; d ) the ideal of the dignity of man who did not become the subject of its program, but rather its tool; e ) and finally, Communism disavowed its own political ideals: the struggle against imperialism, inasmuch as it is itself hard-grained imperialism; the struggle against exploitation, since it is itself a most cruel exploiter; the ideal of coexistence, which it crushes always and everywhere with its notorious "veto," "njet". MAN IS CREATED FOR FREEDOM Freedom ranks very high on the scale of values. God who ordained laws for man, who defined for him and �SLOVAKIA 97 illumined paths to perfection, who permitted his Son to shed blood on the wood of the cross for the redemption of humanity, left to man such a degree of freedom that even He himself respects it. Man's freedom was the communist regime's first target. No tyrannical power, no regime of fear and violence could survive if men were permitted their freedom. Today the whole world can judge to what an extent freedom is being suppressed in the Soviet Union. This it can learn from the scattered articles, rallies, demonstrations, and testimonies which some Soviet people themselves, communists at that, felt compelled to give or were able to release either in hiding or in some brief period of political moderation, when there was an exchange of political sides; e. g. after Kruschev came into power. Pasternak, Kuznecov, Solzhenicyn, Ehrenburg, and others revealed in their writings at least part of the picture of the absurd non-freedom prevalent in Soviet Russia. The nations of central Europe caught in the misfortune of being "liberated" by the Soviet regime all too soon experienced the burden of non-liberty in all areas of public and private life. An elaborate spy-system covered and controlled every aspect of living. There was spying in schools, in churches, among afficials, in cafes, on the street, in factories, and even in prison cells where the regime planted its agents as ostensibly sympathetic fellow-prisoners in order ·to draw from those in jail information that they could not obtain otherwise. In Slovakia the communist regim e was not content with creating a universal atmosphere of fear and distrust but everywhere in public life it especially resorted to a persistent and unmerciful use of tactics of power--display and coercion. It introduced numerous clauses in schools of higher learning, and in departments of theology it . assumed the prerogative of deciding who may and who may not pursue studies. It filled positions in government and public life as well as in agricultural departments not on the basis of professional merit and competence but rather according to their degree of party loyalty and their proficiency in informing. Highly educated qualified people �98 - -- SLOVAKIA - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- were given assignments as store-keepers; tailors were appointed school principals. The communist regime restricted or completely forbade change of residence; it ordered Slovaks to move to Bohemian borderline territory and in this way effected massive and enforced denationalization. Agents of the regime had the authority to awaken anyone at anytime during the night for investigation. An interminable circulation of cadre forms held people in continual check. Peasants were stripped of freedom when farm cooperatives were established in many areas with the help of the police force. Compulsory quotas of produce were imposed upon them regardless whether they raised these products or not, regardless of their ability to supply them or not. If they failed to meet the quota, farmers lost their property and were often evicted from their homes. By assigning commissioners to seminaries, to theology faculties, to bishops' offices, to church societies and the press, and by organizing a so-called peace-movement of the Catholic clergy which was communist devised, the party usurped control of the Church subsequent to its liquidation of convents and imprisonment of many priests, of bishops, and Catholic laymen. Naturally, while this curtailment of freedom afflicted oppoments of communistic ideology most seriously, it also served to hold in check the members of the Party who had only one choice: either absolute obedience or expulsion and social degradation or perhaps-not infrequently-imprisonment. The execution of Clementis, the imprisonment and torture of Husak, Lobl, Holdos, Viest and thousands of other communists shows that bolshevism does not tolerate freedom even on behalf of its most faithful adherents. It knows how to crush anyone who dares to exercise free choice. And so, by its despotic reaction toward freedom, Communism proves that as a tyrant, it does not deserve freedom of any kind; that it is in theory and practise superlatively reactionary, anti-human, and inhuman. MAN IS CREATED FOR WORK God himself works. The creation and preservation of the world is the result of work, understood in the divine �SLOVAKIA 99 sense. Jesus Christ spent his maturing years working, and he blessed work. Man himself by his vocation and purpose in life is so constituted that work helps him to develope; in work he creates values; in work he manifests his freedom. Communism wove a significant web of symbolism around work and even formulated an official greeting intended to bestow honor on work. In essence, however , it all degenerated into profanity and mere hypocritical expression. Those who best succeeded in avoiding work were the loudest in shouting "Honor to work! "-laborers, farmers, and often representatives from anti-social circles -persons now transformed into public officials and officious functionaries . In reality work became odious when people had to be forced into it, when the regime paid it poor wages or rather exploited it to such an extent that most of the profits poured into hands that did not labor. Consequently, work was performed carelessly, lazily, superficially, unreliably. Much was said about work each morning before a construction job or in the factory in the so-called tenminute warm-ups that usually lasted up to an hour. Poet5 composed odes to work and were honored for them by government awards. But work itself became more and more burdensome. If, therefore, slave labor was some kind of communist ideal, for communism did bring it to that concept, then the era of slavery should have to be considered the pinnacle of civilization. As a result of communist conditioning, work in Slovakia appeared in two forms: on the one hand labor was overplayed to the populace; on the other, people were driven to work. This was all that Communism was capable of doing with an otherwise priceless value. Finally, the fact that in a communist state living standards among the populace--principally in the working class- by comparison with workers' standards in the free democratic worlct declined by steady stages confirms the devaluation 0f work by bolshevism and its hypocritical attitude toward it. Because if during the previous Republic- to offer at least one illustration-the inhabitants of one town annually hauled to the public market 400 wagonloads of grain and �100 SLOVAKIA during the peak of the great cooperative movement a town's inhabitants were forced to buy their supply of flour and milk, what is the only inference to be made? That there was no production; that work, which is also generative force of prosperity, lost its economic effectiveness. MAN IS CREATED FOR SOCIETY Psychologically man is constituted to tend toward companionship. He establishes families and is in his element within a family group. Common interests draw him toward smaller and larger societies; he forms nations and states, and he endows all his interrelationship with neighbors with a friendly spirit. Here too, in the area of familial ties, Communism has failed even as a philosophical and sociological system. It brought into social relationships hatred, mistrust, suspicion, and intolerance. All too familiar are examples like these: communist teachers persuaded or induced children to denounce their parents-to report when they meet, to what radio programs they listen, with whom they correspond, what contacts they have with persons in a foreign country, the nature of conversations and discussions in the home. Like procedures were directed to offices, among teachers, in schools, at work, in factories. In the Soviet Union where this type of upbringing prevailed for fifty years it was bound to yield its pernicious fruit, for even the family circle was affected by the Party program. In her novel Dva veky the writer Golubkovova presents instances of the alienation of couples and the estrangement of parents from their children because the tyranny of Party ideology penetrates into the innermost circles of family life and compels primacy for Party interests over the needs and interests of family living and even over conjugal love. Social life in Slovakia, marked by traditionally recognized trust and friendship, was forced under this system of informing to retreat into the core of the family circle. And even there, the people carefully scrutinize and observe whom they may be entertaining at table. If someone strange �SLOVAKIA 101 came to visit, or if there was a guest before whom they knew they ought to be silent, the entire conversation shifted to trivial matters. Finally, the extensive system of listening in on conversations which was installed in restaurants, offices, and business establishments as well as the presence of a vast network of informers inevitably caused people to resort to whispering, to prefer silence in the company of unknown persons. Confidence and friendship were being lost--these necessary values on which is built friendship and tolerance. And so instead of idealized collectivism which Communism so greatly stressed, there developed a society of individuals locked within themselves or narrowed to only the relationships cultivated in a private family. Even good friends began to suspect one another if their conversation happened to reach the ears of the state police even though they themselves were not guilty of transmitting the information which may have been picked up by the hearing devices that seemed to be omnipresent, even in private dwellings . A person living in a democratic free world can hardly imagine such diabolical inventions. But such it was and is, and its father is bolshevism. THE CENTRAL POINT OF ALL PROGRESS IS MAN Every advance in science, civilization, hygiene, and economy relates to man and his welfare. Families as well as nations and states are social institutions designed to enable every good to reach man who is worthy of every effort and endeavor. Communism repudiated even this worth of man, making him not the object but the instrument of its own politics. This was done first of all by denying man the right of free choice. Man was not permitted to decide for himself his prospects for education and schooling, type of work, place of work, place of residence--all this he had to accept on orders from the Communist party. And so it was that people could not choose a profession, either according to personal preference or inherent talent but had to be satisfied with whatever official ordained. Reflecting on the fact that such unwise management caused great cultural and economic loss to society, one must also �102 SLOVAKIA deplore the dichotomy effected by such decisions and the personal liberty of man and his human dignity. Specific mention must be made at this point of judicial r eprisals, investigations under inhuman conditions-beatings and torture to compel confessions of guilt-imprisonments during inquest lasting even beyond a year and this without court decision, false accusations and the like. If the almost 80-year old bishop Jan Vojtassak on orders from a sub-intelligent prison guard had to make a given number of knee-bends in jail, this was not the fruit only of the stupidity of the guard but the harvesting of the r egime which approved and countenanced such methods, delighted in them, and with them bullied the people. Communism failed to appreciate even its own members. It valued them only in so far as they were statistical numbers. Before the idol of the communist divinity every human value had to prostrate. That was in itself deplorable and outrageous, but in relation to the dictatorship of despotic bolshevism it was also unbelievably hopeless and painful. IDEALS Communism raised for itself a number of ideals with which it hoped to justify its existence. For example, the unification of nations, avowed opposition to exploitation, the fight against colonialism and imperialism, a program for the common welfare, and the idea of peace. Not a single one of these ideals fructified under Communism. E x p l o i t a t i o n. Even though the matter of opposition to exploitation became one of the basic principles of the communist program, it is ironic that there is perhaps no other regime that so exploits people, especially the working class, as does the communist system. It is well known that the earnings of workmen in Slovakia, compared with wages paid in other countries, were so low that they did not even satisfy the living minimum of families. It was impossible to conceive that a wife and children could subsist on the father 's pay. In every family the wife too had to seek employment; this meant a rush in early �SLOVAKIA 103 morning to bring the children to the nursery, and after work returning for them, cooking dinner, doing household chores, etc. Every person was exploited; and if ever woman was a slave, it was definitely in the communist state. The exploitation of workers was all the worse since they had no right to call a strike or to use any other fonn of protest for manifesting personal dissatisfaction or making known their demands. Strikes were constitutionally outlawed. Even the farmer was exploited, since profits from his labors were distributed among several middlemen before his produce reached the consumer. For a kilo of fruit of which the consumer paid about five crowns on the warket, the producer received one crown. The remainder became the shared profit of the business machine, organizations of various sorts, the state taxes, etc. Exploited too was the apparatus of officialdom, especially teachers who, by comparison, received the lowest of wages, even less than laborers and many other less qualified employees. Communism greatly harmed the concept of the unification of nations by sowing hatred, and by creating an insurmountable barrier with its two-world-comm unistic and capitalistic-prop aganda; it lowered an iron curtain. The struggle against colonialism and imperialism was communism's theoretically powerful weapon in an age marked with the liberalizing of colonialized nations. On the other hand, however, Communism defamed this very idea when it formed the Soviet Union by means of imperialist wars and pressures, especially after World War II when it structured the entire communist empire by resorting to armed force, invasions, and the occupation of territories which it forcibly seized as its own. The question of well-being or prosperity in communistic regimes is so illusory, that today communist powers are embarassed to speak of it publicly, As long as it was possible to do so, communism placed the guilt for economic failure on its previous regimes, on reactions within the state itself, on crop failure. However, when the economic �104 SLOVAKIA slump reached such proportions that it was impossible to hide it any longer, the regime stopped explaining and simply gave orders, constantly repeating its frequently initiated but seldom completed 5-year plan and its competitions with capitalistic nations which it consecutively lost. And finally, the idea of peace which was such a convincing cloak for the whole international politicking of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries: Peace by communistic thinking meant nothing else but exclusive communistic world government. Not only examples of brutal aggressiveness in Hungary, in Czecho-Slovakia, in the endless conflicts disturbing the Russo-Chinese border, but the entire content of activities within the organization which Communism called "peaceful" and stand evidently, and remain a priori in direct conflict with the fundamentals of peace. The regime, which evokes insecurity and fear, which tramples underfoot the basic rights of man, which disrespects the principles of personal and national freedom, which enslaves man, cannot seriously speak of peace. And so it seems, that it is in this area that the communist regime has most seriously wounded the dignity of man. And today, this cloud hangs over Slovakia. A nation, which knew how to survive for over a thousand years under numerous forms of oppression, today unceasingly resists and will continue to resist this yoke because the spirit simply cannot tolerate submission to the violence of brutal materialism. Therefore, as oil rises to the surface, so this spirit will also rise and celebrate its triumph of extraordinary patience and interior strength drawn from the infinity of God. (Translated by Sister M. Raymund Horvath, SS.C.M.) THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA through its Ladies AtJxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees), sponsors Slovak culb1rai displays. concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festi vals, social evenings, etc. our aim is to have a "Hive" of our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community. � 94 SLOVAKIA Powers of Darkness and Powers of Truth Marian Jankovsky Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak communist politician whose name swept around the globe like a comet and found a place among nominees for the Nobel Prize described his efforts, his political program, with the expression: To show the human face of Communism. This slogan which suddenly magnetized other European nations under communistic imperialism, sounded an alarm within Kremlin walls. Moscow's anger found expression in the occupation of Bohemia and Slovakia on the night of August 21, 1968. Armed occupation was at the same time an answer to Dubcek and other reformers and it served notice to the rest of the world that Communism does not have a human face. Dubcek was not the only one nor the first to undertake social reforms in such a way as to preserve the dignity of man. Perhaps even Lenin himself and even Engels, the teacher of Marx had entertained such ideas at the beginning of their career. And history records similar attempts in the eighteenth century and in earlier times. All of them, however, reached a cul de sac situation, when they directed the attempt to reform society without violence into utopian channels-to something fictitious and unrealizable. Since this need, this cry to preserve man's dignity is ageless and man himself is unable to find the approach and the means of attaining it, God himself came to man's aid: He sent to earth his Son who dispelled this hopelessness and announced a gospel and principles under which a society of brothers, of friends, could be realized. Man had experienced frustrations and found himself on erroneous paths since he chose to act alone-to disregard God, to oppose God and to defy God in his effort to found a social order on norms that would provide respect for the dignity of man. Though in certain instances these aspirations were sincere and honorable, they either remained on the utopian plane or degenerated into coarse violence primarily because they denied the fundamental nature of man which is �SLOVAKIA 95 theocentric. It is the nature of a man to tend toward God with his heart and mind just as it is natural for a child to direct affections toward his parents. It is a law of origin; of the created and the Creator; of Cause and effect. Many modern-day reformers returned to Plato; they drew instruction from the teachings of Thomas More, but in the final resolution, they cloaked all these concepts in the Marx-Lenin and Stalin-Brezhnev realities and imposed on them the most brutish form to which a social philosophy could ever degenerate. From the spiritual standpoint, this happened because Lenin-Bolshevik Communism was established on dogmas of a single category: the denial of God and of all that is supernatural. And if man: is not to have God's image, there remains for him nothing else only the face of the enemy of God whose name is Satan. Politically, this inhuman face of bolshevism assumed its form from the fact that bolshevism is founded, perpetuated, and disseminated solely by force and methods of open-or what is more base--disguised violence. Lenin the ideologist became a cruel avenger when, after unsuccessful attempts at murder at the gallows, executions with bullets, imprisonments and deportations to Siberia, he initiated the liquidation of adversaries both real and suspected. And bloody hands that were bloodied were never again washed clean. Stalin, the most tyrannical exponent of bolshevism, revealed in a conversation with Churchill that the number of victims whom he had physically liquidated exceeded millions. History which one day, please God, will see light, records twenty million persons executed, shot, tortured to death with hunger and beatings during Stalin's day. Modern sociology and philosophy habitually labels as fascism the evils and political errors of some regimes of this century. Assuredly, every type of fascism is evil because it is based upon violence and denies the human and supernatural rights of the men and nations which it subjugates. Communism zealously over-reacts in dealing with fascist propaganda. Every regime, each person whom Communism set out to destroy, it first accused of fascism . And here lies the great irony of hypocritical baseness, for such denouncing of the evils of fascism was simply a convenient device by which communistic bolshevism tried to �96 SLOVAKIA avert the attention of the world away from the evil of which it was itself guilty. And we know that this kind of political trickery of diverting attention sometimes serves the communists well. As a matter of fact, however, the truth is that long before there was a black (Mussolinist) or brown (Hitlerist) fascism, there already existed a red or Kremlin fascism . Long before some European countries resorted to concentration camps and began to liquidate political opponents, Soviet Russia already had a well-tested tradition of such procedures. And so it is evident that both with its ideology and its program, and principally with its despotic methods, Communism lost all right to be called a progressive movement, a social program. It is, on the contrary, in every aspect reactionary, abusive, and dangerous to nations. It is the deformation of the human face of man to whom it promised paradise on earth and delivered him hell. Under the following headings we wish to point our several features of this inhuman face of Communism in general, as well as with specific references to Slovakia. We choose primarily issues on which Communism counted most heavily and in which it failed deplorably. Communism disavowed, maligned, and betrayed these ideals and values: a) the ideal of the personal freedom of man and the freedom of nations; b) the ideal of work upon which it stamped a bold seal of slavery; c) the ideal of society (family, town, state) which it yoked with laws of violence and dictatorship; d ) the ideal of the dignity of man who did not become the subject of its program, but rather its tool; e ) and finally, Communism disavowed its own political ideals: the struggle against imperialism, inasmuch as it is itself hard-grained imperialism; the struggle against exploitation, since it is itself a most cruel exploiter; the ideal of coexistence, which it crushes always and everywhere with its notorious "veto," "njet". MAN IS CREATED FOR FREEDOM Freedom ranks very high on the scale of values. God who ordained laws for man, who defined for him and �SLOVAKIA 97 illumined paths to perfection, who permitted his Son to shed blood on the wood of the cross for the redemption of humanity, left to man such a degree of freedom that even He himself respects it. Man's freedom was the communist regime's first target. No tyrannical power, no regime of fear and violence could survive if men were permitted their freedom. Today the whole world can judge to what an extent freedom is being suppressed in the Soviet Union. This it can learn from the scattered articles, rallies, demonstrations, and testimonies which some Soviet people themselves, communists at that, felt compelled to give or were able to release either in hiding or in some brief period of political moderation, when there was an exchange of political sides; e. g. after Kruschev came into power. Pasternak, Kuznecov, Solzhenicyn, Ehrenburg, and others revealed in their writings at least part of the picture of the absurd non-freedom prevalent in Soviet Russia. The nations of central Europe caught in the misfortune of being "liberated" by the Soviet regime all too soon experienced the burden of non-liberty in all areas of public and private life. An elaborate spy-system covered and controlled every aspect of living. There was spying in schools, in churches, among afficials, in cafes, on the street, in factories, and even in prison cells where the regime planted its agents as ostensibly sympathetic fellow-prisoners in order ·to draw from those in jail information that they could not obtain otherwise. In Slovakia the communist regim e was not content with creating a universal atmosphere of fear and distrust but everywhere in public life it especially resorted to a persistent and unmerciful use of tactics of power--display and coercion. It introduced numerous clauses in schools of higher learning, and in departments of theology it . assumed the prerogative of deciding who may and who may not pursue studies. It filled positions in government and public life as well as in agricultural departments not on the basis of professional merit and competence but rather according to their degree of party loyalty and their proficiency in informing. Highly educated qualified people �98 - -- SLOVAKIA - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- were given assignments as store-keepers; tailors were appointed school principals. The communist regime restricted or completely forbade change of residence; it ordered Slovaks to move to Bohemian borderline territory and in this way effected massive and enforced denationalization. Agents of the regime had the authority to awaken anyone at anytime during the night for investigation. An interminable circulation of cadre forms held people in continual check. Peasants were stripped of freedom when farm cooperatives were established in many areas with the help of the police force. Compulsory quotas of produce were imposed upon them regardless whether they raised these products or not, regardless of their ability to supply them or not. If they failed to meet the quota, farmers lost their property and were often evicted from their homes. By assigning commissioners to seminaries, to theology faculties, to bishops' offices, to church societies and the press, and by organizing a so-called peace-movement of the Catholic clergy which was communist devised, the party usurped control of the Church subsequent to its liquidation of convents and imprisonment of many priests, of bishops, and Catholic laymen. Naturally, while this curtailment of freedom afflicted oppoments of communistic ideology most seriously, it also served to hold in check the members of the Party who had only one choice: either absolute obedience or expulsion and social degradation or perhaps-not infrequently-imprisonment. The execution of Clementis, the imprisonment and torture of Husak, Lobl, Holdos, Viest and thousands of other communists shows that bolshevism does not tolerate freedom even on behalf of its most faithful adherents. It knows how to crush anyone who dares to exercise free choice. And so, by its despotic reaction toward freedom, Communism proves that as a tyrant, it does not deserve freedom of any kind; that it is in theory and practise superlatively reactionary, anti-human, and inhuman. MAN IS CREATED FOR WORK God himself works. The creation and preservation of the world is the result of work, understood in the divine �SLOVAKIA 99 sense. Jesus Christ spent his maturing years working, and he blessed work. Man himself by his vocation and purpose in life is so constituted that work helps him to develope; in work he creates values; in work he manifests his freedom. Communism wove a significant web of symbolism around work and even formulated an official greeting intended to bestow honor on work. In essence, however , it all degenerated into profanity and mere hypocritical expression. Those who best succeeded in avoiding work were the loudest in shouting "Honor to work! "-laborers, farmers, and often representatives from anti-social circles -persons now transformed into public officials and officious functionaries . In reality work became odious when people had to be forced into it, when the regime paid it poor wages or rather exploited it to such an extent that most of the profits poured into hands that did not labor. Consequently, work was performed carelessly, lazily, superficially, unreliably. Much was said about work each morning before a construction job or in the factory in the so-called tenminute warm-ups that usually lasted up to an hour. Poet5 composed odes to work and were honored for them by government awards. But work itself became more and more burdensome. If, therefore, slave labor was some kind of communist ideal, for communism did bring it to that concept, then the era of slavery should have to be considered the pinnacle of civilization. As a result of communist conditioning, work in Slovakia appeared in two forms: on the one hand labor was overplayed to the populace; on the other, people were driven to work. This was all that Communism was capable of doing with an otherwise priceless value. Finally, the fact that in a communist state living standards among the populace--principally in the working class- by comparison with workers' standards in the free democratic worlct declined by steady stages confirms the devaluation 0f work by bolshevism and its hypocritical attitude toward it. Because if during the previous Republic- to offer at least one illustration-the inhabitants of one town annually hauled to the public market 400 wagonloads of grain and �100 SLOVAKIA during the peak of the great cooperative movement a town's inhabitants were forced to buy their supply of flour and milk, what is the only inference to be made? That there was no production; that work, which is also generative force of prosperity, lost its economic effectiveness. MAN IS CREATED FOR SOCIETY Psychologically man is constituted to tend toward companionship. He establishes families and is in his element within a family group. Common interests draw him toward smaller and larger societies; he forms nations and states, and he endows all his interrelationship with neighbors with a friendly spirit. Here too, in the area of familial ties, Communism has failed even as a philosophical and sociological system. It brought into social relationships hatred, mistrust, suspicion, and intolerance. All too familiar are examples like these: communist teachers persuaded or induced children to denounce their parents-to report when they meet, to what radio programs they listen, with whom they correspond, what contacts they have with persons in a foreign country, the nature of conversations and discussions in the home. Like procedures were directed to offices, among teachers, in schools, at work, in factories. In the Soviet Union where this type of upbringing prevailed for fifty years it was bound to yield its pernicious fruit, for even the family circle was affected by the Party program. In her novel Dva veky the writer Golubkovova presents instances of the alienation of couples and the estrangement of parents from their children because the tyranny of Party ideology penetrates into the innermost circles of family life and compels primacy for Party interests over the needs and interests of family living and even over conjugal love. Social life in Slovakia, marked by traditionally recognized trust and friendship, was forced under this system of informing to retreat into the core of the family circle. And even there, the people carefully scrutinize and observe whom they may be entertaining at table. If someone strange �SLOVAKIA 101 came to visit, or if there was a guest before whom they knew they ought to be silent, the entire conversation shifted to trivial matters. Finally, the extensive system of listening in on conversations which was installed in restaurants, offices, and business establishments as well as the presence of a vast network of informers inevitably caused people to resort to whispering, to prefer silence in the company of unknown persons. Confidence and friendship were being lost--these necessary values on which is built friendship and tolerance. And so instead of idealized collectivism which Communism so greatly stressed, there developed a society of individuals locked within themselves or narrowed to only the relationships cultivated in a private family. Even good friends began to suspect one another if their conversation happened to reach the ears of the state police even though they themselves were not guilty of transmitting the information which may have been picked up by the hearing devices that seemed to be omnipresent, even in private dwellings . A person living in a democratic free world can hardly imagine such diabolical inventions. But such it was and is, and its father is bolshevism. THE CENTRAL POINT OF ALL PROGRESS IS MAN Every advance in science, civilization, hygiene, and economy relates to man and his welfare. Families as well as nations and states are social institutions designed to enable every good to reach man who is worthy of every effort and endeavor. Communism repudiated even this worth of man, making him not the object but the instrument of its own politics. This was done first of all by denying man the right of free choice. Man was not permitted to decide for himself his prospects for education and schooling, type of work, place of work, place of residence--all this he had to accept on orders from the Communist party. And so it was that people could not choose a profession, either according to personal preference or inherent talent but had to be satisfied with whatever official ordained. Reflecting on the fact that such unwise management caused great cultural and economic loss to society, one must also �102 SLOVAKIA deplore the dichotomy effected by such decisions and the personal liberty of man and his human dignity. Specific mention must be made at this point of judicial r eprisals, investigations under inhuman conditions-beatings and torture to compel confessions of guilt-imprisonments during inquest lasting even beyond a year and this without court decision, false accusations and the like. If the almost 80-year old bishop Jan Vojtassak on orders from a sub-intelligent prison guard had to make a given number of knee-bends in jail, this was not the fruit only of the stupidity of the guard but the harvesting of the r egime which approved and countenanced such methods, delighted in them, and with them bullied the people. Communism failed to appreciate even its own members. It valued them only in so far as they were statistical numbers. Before the idol of the communist divinity every human value had to prostrate. That was in itself deplorable and outrageous, but in relation to the dictatorship of despotic bolshevism it was also unbelievably hopeless and painful. IDEALS Communism raised for itself a number of ideals with which it hoped to justify its existence. For example, the unification of nations, avowed opposition to exploitation, the fight against colonialism and imperialism, a program for the common welfare, and the idea of peace. Not a single one of these ideals fructified under Communism. E x p l o i t a t i o n. Even though the matter of opposition to exploitation became one of the basic principles of the communist program, it is ironic that there is perhaps no other regime that so exploits people, especially the working class, as does the communist system. It is well known that the earnings of workmen in Slovakia, compared with wages paid in other countries, were so low that they did not even satisfy the living minimum of families. It was impossible to conceive that a wife and children could subsist on the father 's pay. In every family the wife too had to seek employment; this meant a rush in early �SLOVAKIA 103 morning to bring the children to the nursery, and after work returning for them, cooking dinner, doing household chores, etc. Every person was exploited; and if ever woman was a slave, it was definitely in the communist state. The exploitation of workers was all the worse since they had no right to call a strike or to use any other fonn of protest for manifesting personal dissatisfaction or making known their demands. Strikes were constitutionally outlawed. Even the farmer was exploited, since profits from his labors were distributed among several middlemen before his produce reached the consumer. For a kilo of fruit of which the consumer paid about five crowns on the warket, the producer received one crown. The remainder became the shared profit of the business machine, organizations of various sorts, the state taxes, etc. Exploited too was the apparatus of officialdom, especially teachers who, by comparison, received the lowest of wages, even less than laborers and many other less qualified employees. Communism greatly harmed the concept of the unification of nations by sowing hatred, and by creating an insurmountable barrier with its two-world-comm unistic and capitalistic-prop aganda; it lowered an iron curtain. The struggle against colonialism and imperialism was communism's theoretically powerful weapon in an age marked with the liberalizing of colonialized nations. On the other hand, however, Communism defamed this very idea when it formed the Soviet Union by means of imperialist wars and pressures, especially after World War II when it structured the entire communist empire by resorting to armed force, invasions, and the occupation of territories which it forcibly seized as its own. The question of well-being or prosperity in communistic regimes is so illusory, that today communist powers are embarassed to speak of it publicly, As long as it was possible to do so, communism placed the guilt for economic failure on its previous regimes, on reactions within the state itself, on crop failure. However, when the economic �104 SLOVAKIA slump reached such proportions that it was impossible to hide it any longer, the regime stopped explaining and simply gave orders, constantly repeating its frequently initiated but seldom completed 5-year plan and its competitions with capitalistic nations which it consecutively lost. And finally, the idea of peace which was such a convincing cloak for the whole international politicking of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries: Peace by communistic thinking meant nothing else but exclusive communistic world government. Not only examples of brutal aggressiveness in Hungary, in Czecho-Slovakia, in the endless conflicts disturbing the Russo-Chinese border, but the entire content of activities within the organization which Communism called "peaceful" and stand evidently, and remain a priori in direct conflict with the fundamentals of peace. The regime, which evokes insecurity and fear, which tramples underfoot the basic rights of man, which disrespects the principles of personal and national freedom, which enslaves man, cannot seriously speak of peace. And so it seems, that it is in this area that the communist regime has most seriously wounded the dignity of man. And today, this cloud hangs over Slovakia. A nation, which knew how to survive for over a thousand years under numerous forms of oppression, today unceasingly resists and will continue to resist this yoke because the spirit simply cannot tolerate submission to the violence of brutal materialism. Therefore, as oil rises to the surface, so this spirit will also rise and celebrate its triumph of extraordinary patience and interior strength drawn from the infinity of God. (Translated by Sister M. Raymund Horvath, SS.C.M.) THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA through its Ladies AtJxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees), sponsors Slovak culb1rai displays. concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festi vals, social evenings, etc. our aim is to have a "Hive" of our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 94 SLOVAKIA Powers of Darkness and Powers of Truth Marian Jankovsky Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak communist politician whose name swept around the globe like a comet and found a place among nominees for the Nobel Prize described his efforts, his political program, with the expression: To show the human face of Communism. This slogan which suddenly magnetized other European nations under communistic imperialism, sounded an alarm within Kremlin walls. Moscow's anger found expression in the occupation of Bohemia and Slovakia on the night of August 21, 1968. Armed occupation was at the same time an answer to Dubcek and other reformers and it served notice to the rest of the world that Communism does not have a human face. Dubcek was not the only one nor the first to undertake social reforms in such a way as to preserve the dignity of man. Perhaps even Lenin himself and even Engels, the teacher of Marx had entertained such ideas at the beginning of their career. And history records similar attempts in the eighteenth century and in earlier times. All of them, however, reached a cul de sac situation, when they directed the attempt to reform society without violence into utopian channels-to something fictitious and unrealizable. Since this need, this cry to preserve man's dignity is ageless and man himself is unable to find the approach and the means of attaining it, God himself came to man's aid: He sent to earth his Son who dispelled this hopelessness and announced a gospel and principles under which a society of brothers, of friends, could be realized. Man had experienced frustrations and found himself on erroneous paths since he chose to act alone-to disregard God, to oppose God and to defy God in his effort to found a social order on norms that would provide respect for the dignity of man. Though in certain instances these aspirations were sincere and honorable, they either remained on the utopian plane or degenerated into coarse violence primarily because they denied the fundamental nature of man which is SLOVAKIA 95 theocentric. It is the nature of a man to tend toward God with his heart and mind just as it is natural for a child to direct affections toward his parents. It is a law of origin; of the created and the Creator; of Cause and effect. Many modern-day reformers returned to Plato; they drew instruction from the teachings of Thomas More, but in the final resolution, they cloaked all these concepts in the Marx-Lenin and Stalin-Brezhnev realities and imposed on them the most brutish form to which a social philosophy could ever degenerate. From the spiritual standpoint, this happened because Lenin-Bolshevik Communism was established on dogmas of a single category: the denial of God and of all that is supernatural. And if man: is not to have God's image, there remains for him nothing else only the face of the enemy of God whose name is Satan. Politically, this inhuman face of bolshevism assumed its form from the fact that bolshevism is founded, perpetuated, and disseminated solely by force and methods of open-or what is more base--disguised violence. Lenin the ideologist became a cruel avenger when, after unsuccessful attempts at murder at the gallows, executions with bullets, imprisonments and deportations to Siberia, he initiated the liquidation of adversaries both real and suspected. And bloody hands that were bloodied were never again washed clean. Stalin, the most tyrannical exponent of bolshevism, revealed in a conversation with Churchill that the number of victims whom he had physically liquidated exceeded millions. History which one day, please God, will see light, records twenty million persons executed, shot, tortured to death with hunger and beatings during Stalin's day. Modern sociology and philosophy habitually labels as fascism the evils and political errors of some regimes of this century. Assuredly, every type of fascism is evil because it is based upon violence and denies the human and supernatural rights of the men and nations which it subjugates. Communism zealously over-reacts in dealing with fascist propaganda. Every regime, each person whom Communism set out to destroy, it first accused of fascism . And here lies the great irony of hypocritical baseness, for such denouncing of the evils of fascism was simply a convenient device by which communistic bolshevism tried to 96 SLOVAKIA avert the attention of the world away from the evil of which it was itself guilty. And we know that this kind of political trickery of diverting attention sometimes serves the communists well. As a matter of fact, however, the truth is that long before there was a black (Mussolinist) or brown (Hitlerist) fascism, there already existed a red or Kremlin fascism . Long before some European countries resorted to concentration camps and began to liquidate political opponents, Soviet Russia already had a well-tested tradition of such procedures. And so it is evident that both with its ideology and its program, and principally with its despotic methods, Communism lost all right to be called a progressive movement, a social program. It is, on the contrary, in every aspect reactionary, abusive, and dangerous to nations. It is the deformation of the human face of man to whom it promised paradise on earth and delivered him hell. Under the following headings we wish to point our several features of this inhuman face of Communism in general, as well as with specific references to Slovakia. We choose primarily issues on which Communism counted most heavily and in which it failed deplorably. Communism disavowed, maligned, and betrayed these ideals and values: a) the ideal of the personal freedom of man and the freedom of nations; b) the ideal of work upon which it stamped a bold seal of slavery; c) the ideal of society (family, town, state) which it yoked with laws of violence and dictatorship; d ) the ideal of the dignity of man who did not become the subject of its program, but rather its tool; e ) and finally, Communism disavowed its own political ideals: the struggle against imperialism, inasmuch as it is itself hard-grained imperialism; the struggle against exploitation, since it is itself a most cruel exploiter; the ideal of coexistence, which it crushes always and everywhere with its notorious "veto," "njet". MAN IS CREATED FOR FREEDOM Freedom ranks very high on the scale of values. God who ordained laws for man, who defined for him and SLOVAKIA 97 illumined paths to perfection, who permitted his Son to shed blood on the wood of the cross for the redemption of humanity, left to man such a degree of freedom that even He himself respects it. Man's freedom was the communist regime's first target. No tyrannical power, no regime of fear and violence could survive if men were permitted their freedom. Today the whole world can judge to what an extent freedom is being suppressed in the Soviet Union. This it can learn from the scattered articles, rallies, demonstrations, and testimonies which some Soviet people themselves, communists at that, felt compelled to give or were able to release either in hiding or in some brief period of political moderation, when there was an exchange of political sides; e. g. after Kruschev came into power. Pasternak, Kuznecov, Solzhenicyn, Ehrenburg, and others revealed in their writings at least part of the picture of the absurd non-freedom prevalent in Soviet Russia. The nations of central Europe caught in the misfortune of being "liberated" by the Soviet regime all too soon experienced the burden of non-liberty in all areas of public and private life. An elaborate spy-system covered and controlled every aspect of living. There was spying in schools, in churches, among afficials, in cafes, on the street, in factories, and even in prison cells where the regime planted its agents as ostensibly sympathetic fellow-prisoners in order ·to draw from those in jail information that they could not obtain otherwise. In Slovakia the communist regim e was not content with creating a universal atmosphere of fear and distrust but everywhere in public life it especially resorted to a persistent and unmerciful use of tactics of power--display and coercion. It introduced numerous clauses in schools of higher learning, and in departments of theology it . assumed the prerogative of deciding who may and who may not pursue studies. It filled positions in government and public life as well as in agricultural departments not on the basis of professional merit and competence but rather according to their degree of party loyalty and their proficiency in informing. Highly educated qualified people 98 - -- SLOVAKIA - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- were given assignments as store-keepers; tailors were appointed school principals. The communist regime restricted or completely forbade change of residence; it ordered Slovaks to move to Bohemian borderline territory and in this way effected massive and enforced denationalization. Agents of the regime had the authority to awaken anyone at anytime during the night for investigation. An interminable circulation of cadre forms held people in continual check. Peasants were stripped of freedom when farm cooperatives were established in many areas with the help of the police force. Compulsory quotas of produce were imposed upon them regardless whether they raised these products or not, regardless of their ability to supply them or not. If they failed to meet the quota, farmers lost their property and were often evicted from their homes. By assigning commissioners to seminaries, to theology faculties, to bishops' offices, to church societies and the press, and by organizing a so-called peace-movement of the Catholic clergy which was communist devised, the party usurped control of the Church subsequent to its liquidation of convents and imprisonment of many priests, of bishops, and Catholic laymen. Naturally, while this curtailment of freedom afflicted oppoments of communistic ideology most seriously, it also served to hold in check the members of the Party who had only one choice: either absolute obedience or expulsion and social degradation or perhaps-not infrequently-imprisonment. The execution of Clementis, the imprisonment and torture of Husak, Lobl, Holdos, Viest and thousands of other communists shows that bolshevism does not tolerate freedom even on behalf of its most faithful adherents. It knows how to crush anyone who dares to exercise free choice. And so, by its despotic reaction toward freedom, Communism proves that as a tyrant, it does not deserve freedom of any kind; that it is in theory and practise superlatively reactionary, anti-human, and inhuman. MAN IS CREATED FOR WORK God himself works. The creation and preservation of the world is the result of work, understood in the divine SLOVAKIA 99 sense. Jesus Christ spent his maturing years working, and he blessed work. Man himself by his vocation and purpose in life is so constituted that work helps him to develope; in work he creates values; in work he manifests his freedom. Communism wove a significant web of symbolism around work and even formulated an official greeting intended to bestow honor on work. In essence, however , it all degenerated into profanity and mere hypocritical expression. Those who best succeeded in avoiding work were the loudest in shouting "Honor to work! "-laborers, farmers, and often representatives from anti-social circles -persons now transformed into public officials and officious functionaries . In reality work became odious when people had to be forced into it, when the regime paid it poor wages or rather exploited it to such an extent that most of the profits poured into hands that did not labor. Consequently, work was performed carelessly, lazily, superficially, unreliably. Much was said about work each morning before a construction job or in the factory in the so-called tenminute warm-ups that usually lasted up to an hour. Poet5 composed odes to work and were honored for them by government awards. But work itself became more and more burdensome. If, therefore, slave labor was some kind of communist ideal, for communism did bring it to that concept, then the era of slavery should have to be considered the pinnacle of civilization. As a result of communist conditioning, work in Slovakia appeared in two forms: on the one hand labor was overplayed to the populace; on the other, people were driven to work. This was all that Communism was capable of doing with an otherwise priceless value. Finally, the fact that in a communist state living standards among the populace--principally in the working class- by comparison with workers' standards in the free democratic worlct declined by steady stages confirms the devaluation 0f work by bolshevism and its hypocritical attitude toward it. Because if during the previous Republic- to offer at least one illustration-the inhabitants of one town annually hauled to the public market 400 wagonloads of grain and 100 SLOVAKIA during the peak of the great cooperative movement a town's inhabitants were forced to buy their supply of flour and milk, what is the only inference to be made? That there was no production; that work, which is also generative force of prosperity, lost its economic effectiveness. MAN IS CREATED FOR SOCIETY Psychologically man is constituted to tend toward companionship. He establishes families and is in his element within a family group. Common interests draw him toward smaller and larger societies; he forms nations and states, and he endows all his interrelationship with neighbors with a friendly spirit. Here too, in the area of familial ties, Communism has failed even as a philosophical and sociological system. It brought into social relationships hatred, mistrust, suspicion, and intolerance. All too familiar are examples like these: communist teachers persuaded or induced children to denounce their parents-to report when they meet, to what radio programs they listen, with whom they correspond, what contacts they have with persons in a foreign country, the nature of conversations and discussions in the home. Like procedures were directed to offices, among teachers, in schools, at work, in factories. In the Soviet Union where this type of upbringing prevailed for fifty years it was bound to yield its pernicious fruit, for even the family circle was affected by the Party program. In her novel Dva veky the writer Golubkovova presents instances of the alienation of couples and the estrangement of parents from their children because the tyranny of Party ideology penetrates into the innermost circles of family life and compels primacy for Party interests over the needs and interests of family living and even over conjugal love. Social life in Slovakia, marked by traditionally recognized trust and friendship, was forced under this system of informing to retreat into the core of the family circle. And even there, the people carefully scrutinize and observe whom they may be entertaining at table. If someone strange SLOVAKIA 101 came to visit, or if there was a guest before whom they knew they ought to be silent, the entire conversation shifted to trivial matters. Finally, the extensive system of listening in on conversations which was installed in restaurants, offices, and business establishments as well as the presence of a vast network of informers inevitably caused people to resort to whispering, to prefer silence in the company of unknown persons. Confidence and friendship were being lost--these necessary values on which is built friendship and tolerance. And so instead of idealized collectivism which Communism so greatly stressed, there developed a society of individuals locked within themselves or narrowed to only the relationships cultivated in a private family. Even good friends began to suspect one another if their conversation happened to reach the ears of the state police even though they themselves were not guilty of transmitting the information which may have been picked up by the hearing devices that seemed to be omnipresent, even in private dwellings . A person living in a democratic free world can hardly imagine such diabolical inventions. But such it was and is, and its father is bolshevism. THE CENTRAL POINT OF ALL PROGRESS IS MAN Every advance in science, civilization, hygiene, and economy relates to man and his welfare. Families as well as nations and states are social institutions designed to enable every good to reach man who is worthy of every effort and endeavor. Communism repudiated even this worth of man, making him not the object but the instrument of its own politics. This was done first of all by denying man the right of free choice. Man was not permitted to decide for himself his prospects for education and schooling, type of work, place of work, place of residence--all this he had to accept on orders from the Communist party. And so it was that people could not choose a profession, either according to personal preference or inherent talent but had to be satisfied with whatever official ordained. Reflecting on the fact that such unwise management caused great cultural and economic loss to society, one must also 102 SLOVAKIA deplore the dichotomy effected by such decisions and the personal liberty of man and his human dignity. Specific mention must be made at this point of judicial r eprisals, investigations under inhuman conditions-beatings and torture to compel confessions of guilt-imprisonments during inquest lasting even beyond a year and this without court decision, false accusations and the like. If the almost 80-year old bishop Jan Vojtassak on orders from a sub-intelligent prison guard had to make a given number of knee-bends in jail, this was not the fruit only of the stupidity of the guard but the harvesting of the r egime which approved and countenanced such methods, delighted in them, and with them bullied the people. Communism failed to appreciate even its own members. It valued them only in so far as they were statistical numbers. Before the idol of the communist divinity every human value had to prostrate. That was in itself deplorable and outrageous, but in relation to the dictatorship of despotic bolshevism it was also unbelievably hopeless and painful. IDEALS Communism raised for itself a number of ideals with which it hoped to justify its existence. For example, the unification of nations, avowed opposition to exploitation, the fight against colonialism and imperialism, a program for the common welfare, and the idea of peace. Not a single one of these ideals fructified under Communism. E x p l o i t a t i o n. Even though the matter of opposition to exploitation became one of the basic principles of the communist program, it is ironic that there is perhaps no other regime that so exploits people, especially the working class, as does the communist system. It is well known that the earnings of workmen in Slovakia, compared with wages paid in other countries, were so low that they did not even satisfy the living minimum of families. It was impossible to conceive that a wife and children could subsist on the father 's pay. In every family the wife too had to seek employment; this meant a rush in early SLOVAKIA 103 morning to bring the children to the nursery, and after work returning for them, cooking dinner, doing household chores, etc. Every person was exploited; and if ever woman was a slave, it was definitely in the communist state. The exploitation of workers was all the worse since they had no right to call a strike or to use any other fonn of protest for manifesting personal dissatisfaction or making known their demands. Strikes were constitutionally outlawed. Even the farmer was exploited, since profits from his labors were distributed among several middlemen before his produce reached the consumer. For a kilo of fruit of which the consumer paid about five crowns on the warket, the producer received one crown. The remainder became the shared profit of the business machine, organizations of various sorts, the state taxes, etc. Exploited too was the apparatus of officialdom, especially teachers who, by comparison, received the lowest of wages, even less than laborers and many other less qualified employees. Communism greatly harmed the concept of the unification of nations by sowing hatred, and by creating an insurmountable barrier with its two-world-comm unistic and capitalistic-prop aganda; it lowered an iron curtain. The struggle against colonialism and imperialism was communism's theoretically powerful weapon in an age marked with the liberalizing of colonialized nations. On the other hand, however, Communism defamed this very idea when it formed the Soviet Union by means of imperialist wars and pressures, especially after World War II when it structured the entire communist empire by resorting to armed force, invasions, and the occupation of territories which it forcibly seized as its own. The question of well-being or prosperity in communistic regimes is so illusory, that today communist powers are embarassed to speak of it publicly, As long as it was possible to do so, communism placed the guilt for economic failure on its previous regimes, on reactions within the state itself, on crop failure. However, when the economic 104 SLOVAKIA slump reached such proportions that it was impossible to hide it any longer, the regime stopped explaining and simply gave orders, constantly repeating its frequently initiated but seldom completed 5-year plan and its competitions with capitalistic nations which it consecutively lost. And finally, the idea of peace which was such a convincing cloak for the whole international politicking of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries: Peace by communistic thinking meant nothing else but exclusive communistic world government. Not only examples of brutal aggressiveness in Hungary, in Czecho-Slovakia, in the endless conflicts disturbing the Russo-Chinese border, but the entire content of activities within the organization which Communism called "peaceful" and stand evidently, and remain a priori in direct conflict with the fundamentals of peace. The regime, which evokes insecurity and fear, which tramples underfoot the basic rights of man, which disrespects the principles of personal and national freedom, which enslaves man, cannot seriously speak of peace. And so it seems, that it is in this area that the communist regime has most seriously wounded the dignity of man. And today, this cloud hangs over Slovakia. A nation, which knew how to survive for over a thousand years under numerous forms of oppression, today unceasingly resists and will continue to resist this yoke because the spirit simply cannot tolerate submission to the violence of brutal materialism. Therefore, as oil rises to the surface, so this spirit will also rise and celebrate its triumph of extraordinary patience and interior strength drawn from the infinity of God. (Translated by Sister M. Raymund Horvath, SS.C.M.) THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA through its Ladies AtJxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees), sponsors Slovak culb1rai displays. concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festi vals, social evenings, etc. our aim is to have a "Hive" of our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Powers of Darkness and Powers of Truth Description An account of the resource Marián Jankovský Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 94-104 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jankovský, Marián Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/fe15352d8e1a70cb9f81cab07783bcfa.pdf 34067c7af7e7338496eb0152b9150b71 PDF Text Text 90 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----- I Was a Counnunist Yes, I was a Communist I am one no longer. For forty-five years I had lived in Canada. I survived the depression with all its critical aspects; I had seen misery hunger. thousands unemployed and I myself was one of them. I had been accustomed to work, for I worked even from my earliest days jn our parental home where there were eleven of us children. Out of that group I ventured to set out for Canada to seek my fortune. And I was overtaken by an economic crisis there. It was w~nt, hunger, unemployment and all their attendant evils that brought me into the midst of the Communists. Comrades always spoke very optimistically. They had glowing terms for Russia where there is no sign of destitution, where bread abounds beyond one's needs, where everything belongs to the ploretariat: farms, homes, factories, the state, the government, everything. That is where Justice reigns. That is where no one is wronged. It is a worker's paradise. Anyone who went through the depression and was young and unmarried found it easy to embrace Communism. That is what happened to me. Once Communism triumphs, I promised myself, there will be an end to hard times; everything will be ours: the factories, the country, the govenunent, the army. And there will be laws only to safeguard the rights of the worker and his interests. All this was promised by the party. I have been in Canada for forty-five years. Twentythree of these years I spent as a Communist. I fought with every one who dared to speak against the Soviet Union. I would not tolerate any unkind remark against it and resorted to name calling, pointing out that those who did not agree with me were blind, ignorant, bartered menials of capitalism. That was my line of action before the war. Nor was I any better during the war and I did not change after the fighting. I was dedicated to the idea that Communism must dominate the whole world and only then would good times prevail. For this pronounce- �SLOVAKIA 91 ment I almost had my teeth knocked out and I was proud to bear it as a martyr defending Communist thought. I evicted God from my heart, for they said that He is a helper of capitalists, that He commands us to obey those who are destroying us of the working class. They called me a Red and I took pride in it. For the cause of Communism I would have fought the world and for its triumph I would have laid dawn my life without a moment's thought or hesitation. When they wanted to compliment someone among the Communists, they compared him to me. I was a shining example. I worked for the party, I collected funds to further its interests, I canvassed for subscribers to our party publication. Nine years after the war I believed this with an indomitable faith that did not waver for a single instant. I waited patiently. I was not interested in reports that this or that individual brought from Slovakia. If I heard someone say that it was now worse there than it ever had been, I immediately countered the observation in my own mind as an example of base paid propaganda aimed against Communism and I reacted with intensified effort in behalf of "world peace," that beguiling cloak that effectively conceals the true nature of Communist dictatorship all the world over. The time will come, I repeated prophetically on every possible accasion and I uttered the words with vehemence and fiery emphasis. And it did come. My family in Slovakia included a number of Communists and I believed everything that they wrote me, that there is plenty in the land, that absolute justice is accorded to everyone, that life is better than it ever had been there. I believed them then but I believe them no longer. Twenty-five years of Communism in Slovakia disillusioned me and cured me effectively. A friend of mine was going over and I wanted to go and to stay there permanently. I planned to sell all that I had here before leaving. I wanted to go to build the homeland for the proletariat, the paradise for workers of which I had fondly dreamed for so many years but my wife and children were unwilling. And today I thank them and �92 SLOVAKIA I thank God that I did not go, for r would have perished there miserably as did thousands of other Communists like m,;;, men of whom there are very many more in the world. My Communist friend left. He was tougher and more impassioned than I. He left and within half a year he returned. He said very little to others, for he feared reprisals on his family and relatives in Slovakia and he even feared for his own life and welfare. He has a fine family, a wife and children; he owns a car and has some savings in the bank. He opened up and told me everything two years ago. He was deathly pale as he confided in me, for was not sure but that I might betray him. Ever since that day, I have a changed attitude toward reports from Slovakia. I began to see with my eyes wide open. My brother-in-law who was sending me those glorified accounts of Communist achievements was a base scoundrel and a sot who would have denounced or murdered his very mother for drink. The friend who was definitely cured of Communism by his visit to Slovakia put this question to me : Do you know what is the greatest source of sustenance for our people who suffer indescribably at home? - THE FAITH_ And their most powerful and invincible helper is GOD. He whom we treated as an object of ridicule. It was in the course of this discussion thit I first began to doubt. Two years passed from the time of that visit. It was twenty-three years from the time that power passed into the hands of the Communists in Slovakia. I was fifty years since the Reds had seized power in Russia, in the Ukraine and elsewhere. And these years did not suffice-not for the evclution of a paradise but not even for the betterment of life in general. A million times I asked myself why. Why? For is not the government of the ploretariat to be concerned in the first place about the food supply, the housing, the security and well-being of the ploretariat? It heaps all the excuses and the reasons for failure upon others and it dins upon those who never saw the rest of the world that the best of life exists in Russia and in those countries and places where the Communists are in control. �93 SLOVAKIA My enthusiasm cooled. Subsequent months brought a complete r evelation and I was cured of Communism forever. I made it a point to speak with scores of people who had been in Slovakia and in similar countries. Always it was in privatf:) with just the two of us exchanging views. I wanted to know the unvarnished truth about how they lived-the Slovaks, the Poles, and the others who were under the Reds . There came a message from my distressed father : My son, on bared knees pray daily that God may preserve you from the adversities upon which we have fallen here . It brought me to my knees. Never in my life had I prayed as I did then . I openly wept like a child; I clasped my hands fervently and begged to be forgiven for all those insults with which I had toasted God. I went out to find a church, to find a priest, a confessional and peace of soul. Today I pray with all my heart for those pitiable victims that languish in that Communist "paradise" which is more truthfully termed a hell. There is no justice there, no truth, no peace. There is only fear, terror, destitution and misery, insecurity and a protracted death in life. There lies on the table before me the last letter I have had from my father. They have stripped him of all that he had saved up in the sweat of his brow-his farmlands , his horses, his cows. And they want to commit him to a poorhouse where people do not live but die, for Communism does in fact talk about an old age pension but allots to the aged so little that they waste away, they starve, they die . "They have taken away everything," he writes, " and they keep taking- from everybody. You would actually have to weep over the injustices which are perpetrated upon us. As I write the letter, my eyes are filled with tears of blood; my heart is oppressed with extreme distress. I am overwhelmed not for myself alone but rather for the nation. Pray that God may save and protect you and deliver us before we perish. The situation is becoming worse and worse." J. V. � 90 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----- I Was a Counnunist Yes, I was a Communist I am one no longer. For forty-five years I had lived in Canada. I survived the depression with all its critical aspects; I had seen misery hunger. thousands unemployed and I myself was one of them. I had been accustomed to work, for I worked even from my earliest days jn our parental home where there were eleven of us children. Out of that group I ventured to set out for Canada to seek my fortune. And I was overtaken by an economic crisis there. It was w~nt, hunger, unemployment and all their attendant evils that brought me into the midst of the Communists. Comrades always spoke very optimistically. They had glowing terms for Russia where there is no sign of destitution, where bread abounds beyond one's needs, where everything belongs to the ploretariat: farms, homes, factories, the state, the government, everything. That is where Justice reigns. That is where no one is wronged. It is a worker's paradise. Anyone who went through the depression and was young and unmarried found it easy to embrace Communism. That is what happened to me. Once Communism triumphs, I promised myself, there will be an end to hard times; everything will be ours: the factories, the country, the govenunent, the army. And there will be laws only to safeguard the rights of the worker and his interests. All this was promised by the party. I have been in Canada for forty-five years. Twentythree of these years I spent as a Communist. I fought with every one who dared to speak against the Soviet Union. I would not tolerate any unkind remark against it and resorted to name calling, pointing out that those who did not agree with me were blind, ignorant, bartered menials of capitalism. That was my line of action before the war. Nor was I any better during the war and I did not change after the fighting. I was dedicated to the idea that Communism must dominate the whole world and only then would good times prevail. For this pronounce- �SLOVAKIA 91 ment I almost had my teeth knocked out and I was proud to bear it as a martyr defending Communist thought. I evicted God from my heart, for they said that He is a helper of capitalists, that He commands us to obey those who are destroying us of the working class. They called me a Red and I took pride in it. For the cause of Communism I would have fought the world and for its triumph I would have laid dawn my life without a moment's thought or hesitation. When they wanted to compliment someone among the Communists, they compared him to me. I was a shining example. I worked for the party, I collected funds to further its interests, I canvassed for subscribers to our party publication. Nine years after the war I believed this with an indomitable faith that did not waver for a single instant. I waited patiently. I was not interested in reports that this or that individual brought from Slovakia. If I heard someone say that it was now worse there than it ever had been, I immediately countered the observation in my own mind as an example of base paid propaganda aimed against Communism and I reacted with intensified effort in behalf of "world peace," that beguiling cloak that effectively conceals the true nature of Communist dictatorship all the world over. The time will come, I repeated prophetically on every possible accasion and I uttered the words with vehemence and fiery emphasis. And it did come. My family in Slovakia included a number of Communists and I believed everything that they wrote me, that there is plenty in the land, that absolute justice is accorded to everyone, that life is better than it ever had been there. I believed them then but I believe them no longer. Twenty-five years of Communism in Slovakia disillusioned me and cured me effectively. A friend of mine was going over and I wanted to go and to stay there permanently. I planned to sell all that I had here before leaving. I wanted to go to build the homeland for the proletariat, the paradise for workers of which I had fondly dreamed for so many years but my wife and children were unwilling. And today I thank them and �92 SLOVAKIA I thank God that I did not go, for r would have perished there miserably as did thousands of other Communists like m,;;, men of whom there are very many more in the world. My Communist friend left. He was tougher and more impassioned than I. He left and within half a year he returned. He said very little to others, for he feared reprisals on his family and relatives in Slovakia and he even feared for his own life and welfare. He has a fine family, a wife and children; he owns a car and has some savings in the bank. He opened up and told me everything two years ago. He was deathly pale as he confided in me, for was not sure but that I might betray him. Ever since that day, I have a changed attitude toward reports from Slovakia. I began to see with my eyes wide open. My brother-in-law who was sending me those glorified accounts of Communist achievements was a base scoundrel and a sot who would have denounced or murdered his very mother for drink. The friend who was definitely cured of Communism by his visit to Slovakia put this question to me : Do you know what is the greatest source of sustenance for our people who suffer indescribably at home? - THE FAITH_ And their most powerful and invincible helper is GOD. He whom we treated as an object of ridicule. It was in the course of this discussion thit I first began to doubt. Two years passed from the time of that visit. It was twenty-three years from the time that power passed into the hands of the Communists in Slovakia. I was fifty years since the Reds had seized power in Russia, in the Ukraine and elsewhere. And these years did not suffice-not for the evclution of a paradise but not even for the betterment of life in general. A million times I asked myself why. Why? For is not the government of the ploretariat to be concerned in the first place about the food supply, the housing, the security and well-being of the ploretariat? It heaps all the excuses and the reasons for failure upon others and it dins upon those who never saw the rest of the world that the best of life exists in Russia and in those countries and places where the Communists are in control. �93 SLOVAKIA My enthusiasm cooled. Subsequent months brought a complete r evelation and I was cured of Communism forever. I made it a point to speak with scores of people who had been in Slovakia and in similar countries. Always it was in privatf:) with just the two of us exchanging views. I wanted to know the unvarnished truth about how they lived-the Slovaks, the Poles, and the others who were under the Reds . There came a message from my distressed father : My son, on bared knees pray daily that God may preserve you from the adversities upon which we have fallen here . It brought me to my knees. Never in my life had I prayed as I did then . I openly wept like a child; I clasped my hands fervently and begged to be forgiven for all those insults with which I had toasted God. I went out to find a church, to find a priest, a confessional and peace of soul. Today I pray with all my heart for those pitiable victims that languish in that Communist "paradise" which is more truthfully termed a hell. There is no justice there, no truth, no peace. There is only fear, terror, destitution and misery, insecurity and a protracted death in life. There lies on the table before me the last letter I have had from my father. They have stripped him of all that he had saved up in the sweat of his brow-his farmlands , his horses, his cows. And they want to commit him to a poorhouse where people do not live but die, for Communism does in fact talk about an old age pension but allots to the aged so little that they waste away, they starve, they die . "They have taken away everything," he writes, " and they keep taking- from everybody. You would actually have to weep over the injustices which are perpetrated upon us. As I write the letter, my eyes are filled with tears of blood; my heart is oppressed with extreme distress. I am overwhelmed not for myself alone but rather for the nation. Pray that God may save and protect you and deliver us before we perish. The situation is becoming worse and worse." J. V. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 90 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----- I Was a Counnunist Yes, I was a Communist I am one no longer. For forty-five years I had lived in Canada. I survived the depression with all its critical aspects; I had seen misery hunger. thousands unemployed and I myself was one of them. I had been accustomed to work, for I worked even from my earliest days jn our parental home where there were eleven of us children. Out of that group I ventured to set out for Canada to seek my fortune. And I was overtaken by an economic crisis there. It was w~nt, hunger, unemployment and all their attendant evils that brought me into the midst of the Communists. Comrades always spoke very optimistically. They had glowing terms for Russia where there is no sign of destitution, where bread abounds beyond one's needs, where everything belongs to the ploretariat: farms, homes, factories, the state, the government, everything. That is where Justice reigns. That is where no one is wronged. It is a worker's paradise. Anyone who went through the depression and was young and unmarried found it easy to embrace Communism. That is what happened to me. Once Communism triumphs, I promised myself, there will be an end to hard times; everything will be ours: the factories, the country, the govenunent, the army. And there will be laws only to safeguard the rights of the worker and his interests. All this was promised by the party. I have been in Canada for forty-five years. Twentythree of these years I spent as a Communist. I fought with every one who dared to speak against the Soviet Union. I would not tolerate any unkind remark against it and resorted to name calling, pointing out that those who did not agree with me were blind, ignorant, bartered menials of capitalism. That was my line of action before the war. Nor was I any better during the war and I did not change after the fighting. I was dedicated to the idea that Communism must dominate the whole world and only then would good times prevail. For this pronounce- SLOVAKIA 91 ment I almost had my teeth knocked out and I was proud to bear it as a martyr defending Communist thought. I evicted God from my heart, for they said that He is a helper of capitalists, that He commands us to obey those who are destroying us of the working class. They called me a Red and I took pride in it. For the cause of Communism I would have fought the world and for its triumph I would have laid dawn my life without a moment's thought or hesitation. When they wanted to compliment someone among the Communists, they compared him to me. I was a shining example. I worked for the party, I collected funds to further its interests, I canvassed for subscribers to our party publication. Nine years after the war I believed this with an indomitable faith that did not waver for a single instant. I waited patiently. I was not interested in reports that this or that individual brought from Slovakia. If I heard someone say that it was now worse there than it ever had been, I immediately countered the observation in my own mind as an example of base paid propaganda aimed against Communism and I reacted with intensified effort in behalf of "world peace," that beguiling cloak that effectively conceals the true nature of Communist dictatorship all the world over. The time will come, I repeated prophetically on every possible accasion and I uttered the words with vehemence and fiery emphasis. And it did come. My family in Slovakia included a number of Communists and I believed everything that they wrote me, that there is plenty in the land, that absolute justice is accorded to everyone, that life is better than it ever had been there. I believed them then but I believe them no longer. Twenty-five years of Communism in Slovakia disillusioned me and cured me effectively. A friend of mine was going over and I wanted to go and to stay there permanently. I planned to sell all that I had here before leaving. I wanted to go to build the homeland for the proletariat, the paradise for workers of which I had fondly dreamed for so many years but my wife and children were unwilling. And today I thank them and 92 SLOVAKIA I thank God that I did not go, for r would have perished there miserably as did thousands of other Communists like m,;;, men of whom there are very many more in the world. My Communist friend left. He was tougher and more impassioned than I. He left and within half a year he returned. He said very little to others, for he feared reprisals on his family and relatives in Slovakia and he even feared for his own life and welfare. He has a fine family, a wife and children; he owns a car and has some savings in the bank. He opened up and told me everything two years ago. He was deathly pale as he confided in me, for was not sure but that I might betray him. Ever since that day, I have a changed attitude toward reports from Slovakia. I began to see with my eyes wide open. My brother-in-law who was sending me those glorified accounts of Communist achievements was a base scoundrel and a sot who would have denounced or murdered his very mother for drink. The friend who was definitely cured of Communism by his visit to Slovakia put this question to me : Do you know what is the greatest source of sustenance for our people who suffer indescribably at home? - THE FAITH_ And their most powerful and invincible helper is GOD. He whom we treated as an object of ridicule. It was in the course of this discussion thit I first began to doubt. Two years passed from the time of that visit. It was twenty-three years from the time that power passed into the hands of the Communists in Slovakia. I was fifty years since the Reds had seized power in Russia, in the Ukraine and elsewhere. And these years did not suffice-not for the evclution of a paradise but not even for the betterment of life in general. A million times I asked myself why. Why? For is not the government of the ploretariat to be concerned in the first place about the food supply, the housing, the security and well-being of the ploretariat? It heaps all the excuses and the reasons for failure upon others and it dins upon those who never saw the rest of the world that the best of life exists in Russia and in those countries and places where the Communists are in control. 93 SLOVAKIA My enthusiasm cooled. Subsequent months brought a complete r evelation and I was cured of Communism forever. I made it a point to speak with scores of people who had been in Slovakia and in similar countries. Always it was in privatf:) with just the two of us exchanging views. I wanted to know the unvarnished truth about how they lived-the Slovaks, the Poles, and the others who were under the Reds . There came a message from my distressed father : My son, on bared knees pray daily that God may preserve you from the adversities upon which we have fallen here . It brought me to my knees. Never in my life had I prayed as I did then . I openly wept like a child; I clasped my hands fervently and begged to be forgiven for all those insults with which I had toasted God. I went out to find a church, to find a priest, a confessional and peace of soul. Today I pray with all my heart for those pitiable victims that languish in that Communist "paradise" which is more truthfully termed a hell. There is no justice there, no truth, no peace. There is only fear, terror, destitution and misery, insecurity and a protracted death in life. There lies on the table before me the last letter I have had from my father. They have stripped him of all that he had saved up in the sweat of his brow-his farmlands , his horses, his cows. And they want to commit him to a poorhouse where people do not live but die, for Communism does in fact talk about an old age pension but allots to the aged so little that they waste away, they starve, they die . "They have taken away everything," he writes, " and they keep taking- from everybody. You would actually have to weep over the injustices which are perpetrated upon us. As I write the letter, my eyes are filled with tears of blood; my heart is oppressed with extreme distress. I am overwhelmed not for myself alone but rather for the nation. Pray that God may save and protect you and deliver us before we perish. The situation is becoming worse and worse." J. V.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource I Was a Communist Description An account of the resource J. V. Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 90-93 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Anonymous LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1a60c191bc48ddd3af6567bc8637a46b.pdf eba3c243c04a4bfaecf93a40bc0bed0b PDF Text Text 76 SLOVAKIA Ruzena Svobodova's "Fcuilletons ou Slovakia" Prof. Joseph A. Mikus, M. C. L., J. D. After the proclamation of Czecho-Slovakia's independence in 1918, disputes arose between Czechs and Slovaks as to the nature of their political and cultural relations in the new state. While the Slovaks thought of partnership, brotherhood and family harmony, the Czechs, having lostafter the defeat of Germany-their Schweik inferiority complex, swung over to the other extreme: the complex of greatness. The Czecho-Slovakia of the Peace Treaties was imposed as "Czechoslovakia" on foreign countries, academies and encyclopedias, and was ruled as Great Czechia by the Prague Government. T. G. Masaryk, E. Benes, and nearly all Czech intellectuals considered Slovakia as a territorial acquisition of the Kingdom of Bohemia, as a generous gift made by the Allied and Associated Powers to the Czechs for their resistance against the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation during the Hussite wars, as a historical reparation of their defeat in the Battle at the White Mountain, 1620, and finally as an endurance prime for having withstood the onslaughts of Pan-Germanism in the 19th century. Among few Czech intellectuals and literary figures who sharply disagreed with the official Great Czechia concept of the new state, there was a lady, novelist and short story writer, Ruzena Svobodova (1868-1920). She had been informed on the problem of Slovakia by Milan Rastislav Stefanik (1880-1919) already during his studies at Charles University in Prague, i. e., before 1904. At that time her house in the capital of Bohemia was a meeting place for a literary and social group which was to play an important role in the Czecho-Slovak political rapprochement. F. X. salda, a prominent literary historian at Prague University, was there a frequent guest. Svobodova and salda became close friends of Stefanik. They visited with him in France as he was working as an astronomer at the Observatory of Meudon, near Paris. �SLOVAKIA 77 At the beginning of World War I, Stefanik enlisted in the French Army and reached the grade of General. At the end of the war, besides T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, he is the only Slovak in the triumvirate of Czecho-Slovakia's liberators. He will become its first Minister of War. On May 4, 1919 the airplane, by which General Stefanik was returning from Italy to his native soil, was shot down by a Czech artillery unit stationed at Bratislava. Ruzena Svobodova must have been shaken by grief at such a horrible news, and particularly at the Government's suspicious refusal to publish all the facts of this accident. Thereafter, she travelled across Slovakia to pay-as it were-her last respect to Stefanik, and also to get acquainted with his homeland and its people. She then wrote a series of feuilletons dealing with several aspects of Slovak life and particularly with errors of the Czech official policy committed in Slovakia. They remained unpublished in her desk long after she died in 1920. No Czech magazine would accepted to give publicity to facts so shocking, while no Slovak periodical would have been allowed to do so without being victimized by the censor of the "democratic" regime represented by T . G. Masaryk and E. Benes. In 1930 it came to a Kulturkampf in Matica Slovenska, the Slovak Institute of Sciences and Arts, founded in 1863 in Turciansky Sv. Martin. According to official Czech designs aiming at cultural and linguistic assimilation of Slovakia, several important positions in that institution had been held by Czechs, among whom Frantisek Hermansky and Vaclav Vazny. How these Great Czechia promoters, hidden in the garb of professional linguists, had become leading officials in that old institution consecrated to national culture and language, may be a mystery for those who are not familiar with the devious methods of Benes' power politics. It was their purpose to gradually narrow the existing gap between the Czech and Slovak languages in bringing the Slovak vocabulatry< and style closer to the Czech. Their tendency was to find however, a definite opposition in the group of Slovak linguists: Jan Mihal, Anton Janosik, Henrik Bartek, Jozef Martinka, etc., led by the Director of the Matica, Prof. Jozef Skultety. This conflict produced an explosive cultural atmosphere and troubled considerably Czecho-Slovak political relations. �78 SLOVAKIA At that time, Stefan Krcmery, a renown Slovak poet, was editor in chief of Slovenske Pohl'ady, a literary review, founded in 1846. Trying to avoid personal polemics and decided to cast some light on the behavior of Czech officials in Slovakia, he thought the feuilletons of Ruzena Svobodova would serve very well his purpose. He prepared them for publication in Vol. 46 of Slovenske Pohl'ady, No. 5-8, 1930. From the repetition of certain issues it is evident that R. Svobodova did not intend to have them published at the same time. Krcmery, however, to give them a cumulative meaning, did do just so, or rather, he had the intention to do so. No sooner had that summer issue of Slovenske Pohl'ady left the presses of the Printing Corporation in Turciansky Sv. Martin, than the censor confiscated the whole edition. Those essays of Ruzena Svobodova apparently were menacing nothing less than the unity and the reason of the state. Since then, they have not been reprinted either in Czech or in Slovak. As we bring them here in an English translation, we would like hereby to honor the courage, friendship, honesty and perspicacity of Ruzena Svobodova, all these virtues displayed at the time, when nearly all the Czechs, following the example of T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, were drunk of the Great Czechia dream and treated Slovakia as a conquerred territory. THE SOUL OF THE SLOVAK NATION We are confronted with the soul of a different nation. Have we ever been faced with a greater mystery? How shall we enter the temple which is not ours? Could it be otherwise than highest respect as it fits when approaching a different psyche, even though it may be a brother's psyche? Is it possible to penetrate with enough tenderness, enough respect, enough care a distinct soul or its spiritual temple, the greatest of its constructions? Only a man whose wiring with the mysterious soul of the world had been broken could have entirely lost or never accquired respect for human soul. For every human being is as meaningful as History itself; each soul is ankered in eternity; each one is determined by thousands of previous generations. �SLOVAKIA 79 We shouldn't have lightheartily thought of the soul of that nation, i. e., of something which is infinitely more complicated than the soul of an individual. We entered Slovakia as parvenus engrossed by our self-importance, without that respect, without that humility. We had believ-ed to bring salvation to the Slovaks and we had dispensed with the attention we owed to the mystery of their unknown and complicated reality. We do not know Slovakia, we do not know the soul of our sister. We have offended it. Therefore, it has closed itself for us. We have entered there as conquerors and a number of our people lacking delicacy call Slovakia a colony, an occupied territory, and tell it into the face of the Slovaks. Out of a series of psychological errors, this one is felt by the Slovaks as the most outrageous. "We had expected brothers, say the Slovaks, but instead there came rulers." Those Czechs of crude and domineering manners have sinned against the spirit; they have sinned by arrogance and contempt. They are guilty and cannot be excused. The selection of Czech public servants for Slovakia should have been better and more careful. People should have been sent there so noble as not to touch even the dust on a butterfly's wings. The Government should have sent there spiritual observers. A manual should have been written and without its message no one should ever have entered this land. It should have contained a gospel of love, respect and tenderness; a message that would not hurt, that would teach how to approach another people without prejudice: a sort of Decalogue of noble principles. Those who were privileged enough to be sent to Slovakia and have sinned there, must straighten out their attitude, correct their behavior, must learn to confront the unexplored soul of the Slovak nation with deference. They must abandon their messianistic slogans. Otherwise they should be revoked. The only important task is to win the love of the Slovaks. This may be difficult for someone who does not have the highest philosophical culture and is unable to keep silent. No there is work over there for a special type of men: for reserved wise men without self-conceit �80 SLOVAKIA and egotism; for those who can keep their mouth shut. Neither people nor man of noble mind are garrulous . Garrulousnes s is the symton of half-educatio n. There are many unbearable people, unable to evolve, who impose their cheap opinions upon their fellow-men be it in religion, culture or politics; who believe in their intellectual superiority; who are convinced that there is nothing above them, for they have achieved the top of their escension. And should circumstance s enhance their belief of bein apostles, woe to those to whom they preach their sad "self-evident truths". Slovakia has been invaded by a number of such people. Uninstructed and unable to learn, they met the soul of that nation, they intruded in it without tact and with false conviction that it was their task to lift up that soul to their own level. False prophets and preachers lacking modesty and introspection , do you realize what kind of people are you dealing with? Can you imagine what is the spiritual key-board of that nation, a key-board on which sound as the highest tone the limitless greatness of Milan R. stefanik's spirit, and as its most natural tone the song of an innocent girl of Zvolen? Can you imagine the spiritual depth of a nation whose soul smiles in suffering and which hides its cristal-line purity behind humor? If you approach the soul of that nation with humbleness, respect and faith, what depth you will discover, what clarity of mind, what wealth! The closer the contact we have with it, the more purified we become. If you meet the soul of that nation with humility, the old Slovakia will reward you with her mysterious beauty, accumulated throughout centuries. To get acquainted with her, to perceive her multiple facets, to stand in rapture before her, must become for us joy. I have never seen a more majestic spectacle. EDUCATED SLOVAKS The human nature of educated Slovaks has so-to-say a key-board by some scales wider than ours. Each one of them displays the sophisticatio n of a Parisian and the naturalness of a shepherd. They are closer to wordly life �SLOVAKIA 81 on a higher level, while they are closer to nature. They are nearer to culture and at the same time to the people. Even though they may be hunters used to strolling through woods, and during hunting periods to staying in huts, they have an external elegance. They speak foreign languages while they enjoy singing the shepherds's songs of their kinsmen, nostalgical calling on their fellow-men from the top of one mountain to another. They live with a music which stems from the mysterious noise of a lonely forest, from the desire to meet people around a stone fireplace burning day and night . They know how to be exhuberant in their merriments, to drink champagne, to enjoy themselves, to break into group singing. They also can spend the whole evening in talking their poetry. They know by heart many pieces of it. And whenever one of them touches a chord, it will resound in another. They recite Sladkovic, Hviezdoslav, Razus . Whenever our performing artists go to Slovakia, they should not think they go to a village. Only real masters, not those of second category, shall venture to go there. The Slovak intelligentsia had seen in Budapest worldfamous artists, an internationally renowned and highly selected art. They will judge our performers by these criteria. Pretentious dilettantes are wrong if they think they go to Asia and behave accordingly. There, they will be scrutinized more severely than they are used to be in our own land and cannot than do harm to our cause. The resentment that prevails now in Slovakia on our behalf will find no complacency' for our dilettantism, and if there is anyone who may help our cause there, it can be only someone able to fascinate the Slovaks and make them overcome their feelings . THE SLOVAK PEOPLE The Slovak is not sentimental; he is tough and does not want to be pitied. He is full of humour, shining with smile. By his witty answers he always puts a fence around himself, thus keeping you at a distance and preventing you from getting at him. �82 SLOVAKIA In a village we spoke at a house corner under the roof shelter with a young woman, mother of seven children. On her arms, she kept her youngest baby, just 6 months. The latter was dressed in a minuscule shirt. She talks and smiles and women and children from the neighborhood, gathered around her, smile at everything they say. There is with me a young lady who would like to have children. I tell it to that young Slovak woman proposing jokingly: "Couldn't you give this youngest baby of yours to her?" The not say answers we shall Slovak woman does not betray her feeling, does she will never give up her baby. Smiling, she she will do it with pleasure and adds: "Yes, and soon have another one!" I look into her bright, full, and healthy face under a white coif. Her smile had spread contagion in that Sunday crowd. Even if she had thirty children, she still would not accept to be pitied. Nobody in Slovakia, either collectively or individually, wants to be pitied. And this inborn pride serves as psychological explanation of many qualities, alleged sensitivities and attitudes difficult to understand. Nor want the Slovaks to be pitied for the Magyar domination. The people is comparatively uninhibited, and not only in the Vah valley. This is not bad. They are a highly intelligent, vivid, smart, humorous and gay people. Their conscience is like a clean sheet of paper. Be careful as you are trying to write on it. You have to approach them with the purest mind. In this respect, God has been more gracious to me than I deserve. He has given me the opportunity to get acquainted there with the souls, the most beautiful souls I have ever met. Long ago, very long ago, He had granted me the privilege of meeting Milan Rastislav Stefanik. He had allowed me to look into his soul that was reflecting dolor, love, despair, tenderness and generosity. As if provided with a magic key, I approached through his soul the soul of his nation, I opened it and gazed into �SLOVAKIA 83 its folds. I do not say I have penetrated inside. I do not affirm I know it; I perhaps shall never reach that point. Whatever I have been allowed to see is enough for me to spend the rest of my life in light and joy. I have watched a people closely related in their minds, united by the juices and delicacies of life, by their homeland, forests, and rivers, by their kinship and friendliness. Over there, in Slovakia, overwhelmed by noble beings, the soul gets calmed and touched with humility. I do not pretend to know much about Slovakia. I ignore whether I shall ever be able to learn more. Yet, I have well known the soul of one of its greatest sons, the . soul of Milan, as they simply call there the dead General Stefanik. His soul had displayed the biggest variety of facets of all the persons I have ever got in contact with in my life. It resounded with vigor and tenderness. It radiated limitless love and strict justice. It was clear, simple, like a child's; it was smiling and innocent. It belonged at the same time to a ruler and to a servant. It was religious and wordly, believing and respectful, inventive and quick-minded. I don't dare to assert I am a specialist on Slovakia: but I have found there the individual components of Milan's soul, the soul which has become for me the key to the soul of his whole nation. There is no genius whose soul would not represent to a high degree all the best qualities with which his nation is endowed, and there is no nation in which it would be impossible to discover the embryo, a sleeping embryo, of its genius' soul. We enter a village and stop in front of the church. The villagers gather around our driver and ask who we are. "They are Americans", answers the driver, thereafter presenting his appologies: "I simply could not tell them you are Czechs, for nobody here likes Czechs." When I was speaking with educated city ladies, and after having realized that in towns there was the same mood as in villages, I felt hurt and told them: �84 SLOVAKIA "We, too, had suffered from hunger for five years during the war and after. And should it be necessary to suffer for two years more in order to share our destiny with you, we would accept that ordeal. Such is our love for you. Why then do you not like us? Whenever we speak about Slovakia, we do it with tears in our eyes. Why do you not love us?" A young girl gave me a thousand-fold answer, she and her group . And if I had to state the contents of that conversation in some short precepts, they would run like this : "You should leave us to live and die in our own way. Do not impose yourselves upon us. Do not overpower us. Do not take from us and our people what we worship and love. Do not offend our feelings. Do not send here third rate officials. Bring here what we are lacking in exchange for our own services." And upon her anwer, I could not do otherwise than lower my head and realize why they do not like us: Well, simply because we have been doing just the oposite. Yes, we have lost any sympathy and the feeling toward Czechs there is nearing the point of hatred. The Slovak intelligentsia is fed up with Czech excesses. inconsistenci es, chaos in jurisdiction, overlookings, in one word, with Czech imperialism. They are tired from tactlessness and arrogance. What they have received is not what they had expected. That someone is responsible for it, it can hardly be denied. And every day passing by without straightening out committed faults cannot but multiply their consequences . The first error consists in that we tried to approach the mysterious soul of that nation with our mechanical concept of life, that we made efforts to force upon them cheap enlightenmen t as a remedy. There may be two sister-nations here; there may be closely related languages; there even may be the same Slav trunk. Yet, how many distinctions! A cliff in the Germanic sea, the Czech lands had throughout centuries been washed up by its waves, while Slovakia is a bridge eastwards. After a period of independ- �SLOVAKIA 85 ence we had lived under the German yoke, while the Slovaks had, nearly during the entire span of their active history, been politically tight up with the Magyars, i. e., a people who have distinct traditions, and whose political and cultural development differs in content and level; with a people-in one word-who are marked by a particular mentality. Since Slovakia was for us a land prohibited, we had been on all sides separated from the Slav race. The Slovaks, instead, had benefited largely by a direct contact with the Slav world, have been, in fact, united with it, and represent its continuation, something like the tail of a multi-colored East-Slav rainbow. What instruction and education should have been given to those Czechs who went to that noble, spiritually richer and brighter land of Slovakia which in this respect towers high above us? What tests of selection should have been applied in order to choose best from among us to be assigned there and pay their respects to the sacred mystery of that country reflecting a shy, non spoiled, creative soul? What should we have done to increase our joy, our own and Slovakia's happiness? For the time being, besides very few good Czechs, there are many pretentious individuals in the military as well as among the various officials who had trampled down a number of serious personalities, institutions and accomplishments. Those Czechs have thereby inflicted considerable damages to Slovakia. As we go around, we hear constantly of an endless series of such sad and regrettable cases. Slovak men tell me about the injustices committed on them by Czechs. A Slovak lady, good looking and of slender stature, listens to them. She evidently suffers that I have to hear those indictments against my nation, and she accasionally interrupts that conversation with polite words. Her husband explains what had been done by soldiers. A group of them entered a restaurant where a highly artistic picture of Empress Maria Theresa was hanging from the wall. They took that picture down, cut it into pieces and caused the private owner a damage amounting to several thousand crowns. �SLOVAKIA 86 The Slovak lady comments: "Perhaps the picture seemed offending to them; but they should have asked the owner to put it away. It was a private object of high value and they should never have cut it into pieces. This is not the question of substance, but of form" - says politely that lady as if she were trying to excuse the malfeasors. Her husband continues: "A soldier enters an inn and orders a sandwich. The innkeeper asks four crowns for it. The soldier refuses to pay protesting against the price. He was right to do so. The innkeeper defends himself: 'The County Administrator had fixed that price!' The soldier, however, does not know what the powers of a County Administrator are. He ignores entirely local conditions. He aggressively adds: 'That Administrator of yours, he is a Magyar sympathiser just as you are!' The County Administrator, a Slovak patriot, is just passing by and learns about the incident. He then addresses himself to the Captain asking for investigation. The Captain, however, rejects his request and takes the soldier under protection. Soldiers had done many ugly things in Slovakia; but you will perhaps say it was a consequence of five year war demoralization. This, of course, may be an explanation; but it is no excuse. Another example : A lower official was sent as mills supervisor to a county in Eastern Slovakia. Instead of taking care of his assignment, that man started spying on every step of the County Administrator and every word of the County Counsel. He went so far as to organize a personal boycott against them. He ran to the Post Office, announced that emergency measures had been taken against the County Administrator and his Counsel, and insisted their telephone connection be cut off. A never heard of, but a real, case! As he was being interrogated, he said: "That's our nature, of us Czechs. We think we must control everybody!" By the investigation of the performance of this supervisor �SLOVAKIA 87 it was proven that he had misappropriated a carload of flour and was keeping two bags of it in his household. A higher official in Prague was sending his organization agent to Slovakia with these words: "He is too rude for Prague; therefore I am sending him to Slovakia." A higher official who ignores what Slovakia is, ignores what her soul is, is then assigning there an executive of whom he knows in advance that the latter lacks the ability of matching that soul. Only those people shall be sent to Slovakia who realize that they will be guests in their brother's family, who will not desecrate, not even by the twinkle of their eyelids, the sanctity of that family; men who have faith, are tolerant and tactful; persons of limitless soul which embraces everything, understands all; those !Who, when confronted with a noble feeling would stand with respect without starting polemics. WHAT ARE OUR SINS Why did our people go to Slovakia? Idealists went there from love, pragmatists with expectations of higher profits. There is still a comperative lack of intelligentsia in Slovakia. It will take one or two generations to fill out this gap. Therefore, to go there, to help them in offices and schools, seems to be quite plausible. What are the principles of this aid? That is a big question! Chaos in this respect is what the Slovaks are strongly complaining about. Administrative offices are being organized. For hiring there must be an alternative requirement: either professionnal qualification or talent and experience. The boss who hires petitioners does not have himself professional qualification. The Slovaks think then that experience should be enough. Lower positions are to be filled out, positions of foresters, for instance. A prominent Slovak politician says: "Forests are state-owned and under the Hungarian regime foresters had been our great enemies. The people live from forestry and foresters had fostered Magyarization. �88 SLOVAKIA Do fill out those positions with reliable people. Put there veteran legionnaires!" He sent to the respective office some Slovak legionnaires who had faught with the American Army and would have been glad to stay in their homeland. Their applications were rejected for lack of qualification. "Well", said the politician, "here there is nothing to be done." The County is subdivided into four forest circuits. In the four Forest Administrative offices there had been an Engineer in Forestry, all of them men about fifty . Above these four engineers, there had been a Head-Administrator, also with higher technical education. The Head died. One of the four engineers, a Slovak and good specialist, came up with the application to succeed. Yet, to the surprise of everybody, a 30-year old Czech with only a secondary education in Forestry, was appointed. Next day, all four Forrest Office administrators resigned and refused to serve under a younger and unqualified man. The prominent politician commented: "If it was possible to disregard qualification requirements in the case of the Head of the County Forest Office, it certainly will be easier to do the same with foresters." As he had learned that 12 positions were open, he advised some veteran legionnaires to petition. The Office rejected them for lack of qualification. It hired instead Czechs, letting Slovak legionnaires return to America. Normally, Czechs are supposed to help, if there is no Slovak candidate. Yet, it is unwise to impose an unqualified public servant, if they have their own candidate. Not only that! It is offending. The above mentioned case is Hersek's. Under the Hungarian regime, no county official could be appointed without the County Administrator's consent. Public Law specialist say that County autonomy has never berm more perfect than at the time of Hungary. And now, in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the following happens: �SLOVAKIA 89 A man lives in the County. He is an attorney, a Jew, an old Magyar sympathizer, an agent of the Hungarian Government, dangerous to the Czecho-Slovak State, a person whose hands are not clean. Everybody there would think it twice before shaking hands with this individual. He has been under observation in his residence. He does not have permission even to leave for another county, because the County Administrator intends to put him into confinment. And this man appears in the County Administrator's Office and shows him triumphantly his appointment from Prague as organizer and supervisor of the whole liquor industry in Slovakia. Consequently, a man has been appointed of whom the high Czech authority had never been informed. He has been appointed so-to-say behind the back and against the will of the County Administrator. What channel must have been left open to this man, and what means he must have used to conquer a moral and economic power position in Slovakia? All his antecedents must have been disregarded from the beginning until the end. What is the real power of a Slovak County Administrator, when a simple soldier, protected by his Captain, can throw into his face the accusation of being a Magyar sympathizer, and when an outspoken traitor to the nation can sarcastically parade his appointment decree from Prague before the Administrator's eyes? Do you think there are reasons in Slovakia to like Czechs? Out of the people who for longtime had been under foreign yoke, there are no good statesmen. They sin by reckless speed and narrowmindedness. They construct anywhere, even on sands. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects. � 76 SLOVAKIA Ruzena Svobodova's "Fcuilletons ou Slovakia" Prof. Joseph A. Mikus, M. C. L., J. D. After the proclamation of Czecho-Slovakia's independence in 1918, disputes arose between Czechs and Slovaks as to the nature of their political and cultural relations in the new state. While the Slovaks thought of partnership, brotherhood and family harmony, the Czechs, having lostafter the defeat of Germany-their Schweik inferiority complex, swung over to the other extreme: the complex of greatness. The Czecho-Slovakia of the Peace Treaties was imposed as "Czechoslovakia" on foreign countries, academies and encyclopedias, and was ruled as Great Czechia by the Prague Government. T. G. Masaryk, E. Benes, and nearly all Czech intellectuals considered Slovakia as a territorial acquisition of the Kingdom of Bohemia, as a generous gift made by the Allied and Associated Powers to the Czechs for their resistance against the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation during the Hussite wars, as a historical reparation of their defeat in the Battle at the White Mountain, 1620, and finally as an endurance prime for having withstood the onslaughts of Pan-Germanism in the 19th century. Among few Czech intellectuals and literary figures who sharply disagreed with the official Great Czechia concept of the new state, there was a lady, novelist and short story writer, Ruzena Svobodova (1868-1920). She had been informed on the problem of Slovakia by Milan Rastislav Stefanik (1880-1919) already during his studies at Charles University in Prague, i. e., before 1904. At that time her house in the capital of Bohemia was a meeting place for a literary and social group which was to play an important role in the Czecho-Slovak political rapprochement. F. X. salda, a prominent literary historian at Prague University, was there a frequent guest. Svobodova and salda became close friends of Stefanik. They visited with him in France as he was working as an astronomer at the Observatory of Meudon, near Paris. �SLOVAKIA 77 At the beginning of World War I, Stefanik enlisted in the French Army and reached the grade of General. At the end of the war, besides T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, he is the only Slovak in the triumvirate of Czecho-Slovakia's liberators. He will become its first Minister of War. On May 4, 1919 the airplane, by which General Stefanik was returning from Italy to his native soil, was shot down by a Czech artillery unit stationed at Bratislava. Ruzena Svobodova must have been shaken by grief at such a horrible news, and particularly at the Government's suspicious refusal to publish all the facts of this accident. Thereafter, she travelled across Slovakia to pay-as it were-her last respect to Stefanik, and also to get acquainted with his homeland and its people. She then wrote a series of feuilletons dealing with several aspects of Slovak life and particularly with errors of the Czech official policy committed in Slovakia. They remained unpublished in her desk long after she died in 1920. No Czech magazine would accepted to give publicity to facts so shocking, while no Slovak periodical would have been allowed to do so without being victimized by the censor of the "democratic" regime represented by T . G. Masaryk and E. Benes. In 1930 it came to a Kulturkampf in Matica Slovenska, the Slovak Institute of Sciences and Arts, founded in 1863 in Turciansky Sv. Martin. According to official Czech designs aiming at cultural and linguistic assimilation of Slovakia, several important positions in that institution had been held by Czechs, among whom Frantisek Hermansky and Vaclav Vazny. How these Great Czechia promoters, hidden in the garb of professional linguists, had become leading officials in that old institution consecrated to national culture and language, may be a mystery for those who are not familiar with the devious methods of Benes' power politics. It was their purpose to gradually narrow the existing gap between the Czech and Slovak languages in bringing the Slovak vocabulatry< and style closer to the Czech. Their tendency was to find however, a definite opposition in the group of Slovak linguists: Jan Mihal, Anton Janosik, Henrik Bartek, Jozef Martinka, etc., led by the Director of the Matica, Prof. Jozef Skultety. This conflict produced an explosive cultural atmosphere and troubled considerably Czecho-Slovak political relations. �78 SLOVAKIA At that time, Stefan Krcmery, a renown Slovak poet, was editor in chief of Slovenske Pohl'ady, a literary review, founded in 1846. Trying to avoid personal polemics and decided to cast some light on the behavior of Czech officials in Slovakia, he thought the feuilletons of Ruzena Svobodova would serve very well his purpose. He prepared them for publication in Vol. 46 of Slovenske Pohl'ady, No. 5-8, 1930. From the repetition of certain issues it is evident that R. Svobodova did not intend to have them published at the same time. Krcmery, however, to give them a cumulative meaning, did do just so, or rather, he had the intention to do so. No sooner had that summer issue of Slovenske Pohl'ady left the presses of the Printing Corporation in Turciansky Sv. Martin, than the censor confiscated the whole edition. Those essays of Ruzena Svobodova apparently were menacing nothing less than the unity and the reason of the state. Since then, they have not been reprinted either in Czech or in Slovak. As we bring them here in an English translation, we would like hereby to honor the courage, friendship, honesty and perspicacity of Ruzena Svobodova, all these virtues displayed at the time, when nearly all the Czechs, following the example of T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, were drunk of the Great Czechia dream and treated Slovakia as a conquerred territory. THE SOUL OF THE SLOVAK NATION We are confronted with the soul of a different nation. Have we ever been faced with a greater mystery? How shall we enter the temple which is not ours? Could it be otherwise than highest respect as it fits when approaching a different psyche, even though it may be a brother's psyche? Is it possible to penetrate with enough tenderness, enough respect, enough care a distinct soul or its spiritual temple, the greatest of its constructions? Only a man whose wiring with the mysterious soul of the world had been broken could have entirely lost or never accquired respect for human soul. For every human being is as meaningful as History itself; each soul is ankered in eternity; each one is determined by thousands of previous generations. �SLOVAKIA 79 We shouldn't have lightheartily thought of the soul of that nation, i. e., of something which is infinitely more complicated than the soul of an individual. We entered Slovakia as parvenus engrossed by our self-importance, without that respect, without that humility. We had believ-ed to bring salvation to the Slovaks and we had dispensed with the attention we owed to the mystery of their unknown and complicated reality. We do not know Slovakia, we do not know the soul of our sister. We have offended it. Therefore, it has closed itself for us. We have entered there as conquerors and a number of our people lacking delicacy call Slovakia a colony, an occupied territory, and tell it into the face of the Slovaks. Out of a series of psychological errors, this one is felt by the Slovaks as the most outrageous. "We had expected brothers, say the Slovaks, but instead there came rulers." Those Czechs of crude and domineering manners have sinned against the spirit; they have sinned by arrogance and contempt. They are guilty and cannot be excused. The selection of Czech public servants for Slovakia should have been better and more careful. People should have been sent there so noble as not to touch even the dust on a butterfly's wings. The Government should have sent there spiritual observers. A manual should have been written and without its message no one should ever have entered this land. It should have contained a gospel of love, respect and tenderness; a message that would not hurt, that would teach how to approach another people without prejudice: a sort of Decalogue of noble principles. Those who were privileged enough to be sent to Slovakia and have sinned there, must straighten out their attitude, correct their behavior, must learn to confront the unexplored soul of the Slovak nation with deference. They must abandon their messianistic slogans. Otherwise they should be revoked. The only important task is to win the love of the Slovaks. This may be difficult for someone who does not have the highest philosophical culture and is unable to keep silent. No there is work over there for a special type of men: for reserved wise men without self-conceit �80 SLOVAKIA and egotism; for those who can keep their mouth shut. Neither people nor man of noble mind are garrulous . Garrulousnes s is the symton of half-educatio n. There are many unbearable people, unable to evolve, who impose their cheap opinions upon their fellow-men be it in religion, culture or politics; who believe in their intellectual superiority; who are convinced that there is nothing above them, for they have achieved the top of their escension. And should circumstance s enhance their belief of bein apostles, woe to those to whom they preach their sad "self-evident truths". Slovakia has been invaded by a number of such people. Uninstructed and unable to learn, they met the soul of that nation, they intruded in it without tact and with false conviction that it was their task to lift up that soul to their own level. False prophets and preachers lacking modesty and introspection , do you realize what kind of people are you dealing with? Can you imagine what is the spiritual key-board of that nation, a key-board on which sound as the highest tone the limitless greatness of Milan R. stefanik's spirit, and as its most natural tone the song of an innocent girl of Zvolen? Can you imagine the spiritual depth of a nation whose soul smiles in suffering and which hides its cristal-line purity behind humor? If you approach the soul of that nation with humbleness, respect and faith, what depth you will discover, what clarity of mind, what wealth! The closer the contact we have with it, the more purified we become. If you meet the soul of that nation with humility, the old Slovakia will reward you with her mysterious beauty, accumulated throughout centuries. To get acquainted with her, to perceive her multiple facets, to stand in rapture before her, must become for us joy. I have never seen a more majestic spectacle. EDUCATED SLOVAKS The human nature of educated Slovaks has so-to-say a key-board by some scales wider than ours. Each one of them displays the sophisticatio n of a Parisian and the naturalness of a shepherd. They are closer to wordly life �SLOVAKIA 81 on a higher level, while they are closer to nature. They are nearer to culture and at the same time to the people. Even though they may be hunters used to strolling through woods, and during hunting periods to staying in huts, they have an external elegance. They speak foreign languages while they enjoy singing the shepherds's songs of their kinsmen, nostalgical calling on their fellow-men from the top of one mountain to another. They live with a music which stems from the mysterious noise of a lonely forest, from the desire to meet people around a stone fireplace burning day and night . They know how to be exhuberant in their merriments, to drink champagne, to enjoy themselves, to break into group singing. They also can spend the whole evening in talking their poetry. They know by heart many pieces of it. And whenever one of them touches a chord, it will resound in another. They recite Sladkovic, Hviezdoslav, Razus . Whenever our performing artists go to Slovakia, they should not think they go to a village. Only real masters, not those of second category, shall venture to go there. The Slovak intelligentsia had seen in Budapest worldfamous artists, an internationally renowned and highly selected art. They will judge our performers by these criteria. Pretentious dilettantes are wrong if they think they go to Asia and behave accordingly. There, they will be scrutinized more severely than they are used to be in our own land and cannot than do harm to our cause. The resentment that prevails now in Slovakia on our behalf will find no complacency' for our dilettantism, and if there is anyone who may help our cause there, it can be only someone able to fascinate the Slovaks and make them overcome their feelings . THE SLOVAK PEOPLE The Slovak is not sentimental; he is tough and does not want to be pitied. He is full of humour, shining with smile. By his witty answers he always puts a fence around himself, thus keeping you at a distance and preventing you from getting at him. �82 SLOVAKIA In a village we spoke at a house corner under the roof shelter with a young woman, mother of seven children. On her arms, she kept her youngest baby, just 6 months. The latter was dressed in a minuscule shirt. She talks and smiles and women and children from the neighborhood, gathered around her, smile at everything they say. There is with me a young lady who would like to have children. I tell it to that young Slovak woman proposing jokingly: "Couldn't you give this youngest baby of yours to her?" The not say answers we shall Slovak woman does not betray her feeling, does she will never give up her baby. Smiling, she she will do it with pleasure and adds: "Yes, and soon have another one!" I look into her bright, full, and healthy face under a white coif. Her smile had spread contagion in that Sunday crowd. Even if she had thirty children, she still would not accept to be pitied. Nobody in Slovakia, either collectively or individually, wants to be pitied. And this inborn pride serves as psychological explanation of many qualities, alleged sensitivities and attitudes difficult to understand. Nor want the Slovaks to be pitied for the Magyar domination. The people is comparatively uninhibited, and not only in the Vah valley. This is not bad. They are a highly intelligent, vivid, smart, humorous and gay people. Their conscience is like a clean sheet of paper. Be careful as you are trying to write on it. You have to approach them with the purest mind. In this respect, God has been more gracious to me than I deserve. He has given me the opportunity to get acquainted there with the souls, the most beautiful souls I have ever met. Long ago, very long ago, He had granted me the privilege of meeting Milan Rastislav Stefanik. He had allowed me to look into his soul that was reflecting dolor, love, despair, tenderness and generosity. As if provided with a magic key, I approached through his soul the soul of his nation, I opened it and gazed into �SLOVAKIA 83 its folds. I do not say I have penetrated inside. I do not affirm I know it; I perhaps shall never reach that point. Whatever I have been allowed to see is enough for me to spend the rest of my life in light and joy. I have watched a people closely related in their minds, united by the juices and delicacies of life, by their homeland, forests, and rivers, by their kinship and friendliness. Over there, in Slovakia, overwhelmed by noble beings, the soul gets calmed and touched with humility. I do not pretend to know much about Slovakia. I ignore whether I shall ever be able to learn more. Yet, I have well known the soul of one of its greatest sons, the . soul of Milan, as they simply call there the dead General Stefanik. His soul had displayed the biggest variety of facets of all the persons I have ever got in contact with in my life. It resounded with vigor and tenderness. It radiated limitless love and strict justice. It was clear, simple, like a child's; it was smiling and innocent. It belonged at the same time to a ruler and to a servant. It was religious and wordly, believing and respectful, inventive and quick-minded. I don't dare to assert I am a specialist on Slovakia: but I have found there the individual components of Milan's soul, the soul which has become for me the key to the soul of his whole nation. There is no genius whose soul would not represent to a high degree all the best qualities with which his nation is endowed, and there is no nation in which it would be impossible to discover the embryo, a sleeping embryo, of its genius' soul. We enter a village and stop in front of the church. The villagers gather around our driver and ask who we are. "They are Americans", answers the driver, thereafter presenting his appologies: "I simply could not tell them you are Czechs, for nobody here likes Czechs." When I was speaking with educated city ladies, and after having realized that in towns there was the same mood as in villages, I felt hurt and told them: �84 SLOVAKIA "We, too, had suffered from hunger for five years during the war and after. And should it be necessary to suffer for two years more in order to share our destiny with you, we would accept that ordeal. Such is our love for you. Why then do you not like us? Whenever we speak about Slovakia, we do it with tears in our eyes. Why do you not love us?" A young girl gave me a thousand-fold answer, she and her group . And if I had to state the contents of that conversation in some short precepts, they would run like this : "You should leave us to live and die in our own way. Do not impose yourselves upon us. Do not overpower us. Do not take from us and our people what we worship and love. Do not offend our feelings. Do not send here third rate officials. Bring here what we are lacking in exchange for our own services." And upon her anwer, I could not do otherwise than lower my head and realize why they do not like us: Well, simply because we have been doing just the oposite. Yes, we have lost any sympathy and the feeling toward Czechs there is nearing the point of hatred. The Slovak intelligentsia is fed up with Czech excesses. inconsistenci es, chaos in jurisdiction, overlookings, in one word, with Czech imperialism. They are tired from tactlessness and arrogance. What they have received is not what they had expected. That someone is responsible for it, it can hardly be denied. And every day passing by without straightening out committed faults cannot but multiply their consequences . The first error consists in that we tried to approach the mysterious soul of that nation with our mechanical concept of life, that we made efforts to force upon them cheap enlightenmen t as a remedy. There may be two sister-nations here; there may be closely related languages; there even may be the same Slav trunk. Yet, how many distinctions! A cliff in the Germanic sea, the Czech lands had throughout centuries been washed up by its waves, while Slovakia is a bridge eastwards. After a period of independ- �SLOVAKIA 85 ence we had lived under the German yoke, while the Slovaks had, nearly during the entire span of their active history, been politically tight up with the Magyars, i. e., a people who have distinct traditions, and whose political and cultural development differs in content and level; with a people-in one word-who are marked by a particular mentality. Since Slovakia was for us a land prohibited, we had been on all sides separated from the Slav race. The Slovaks, instead, had benefited largely by a direct contact with the Slav world, have been, in fact, united with it, and represent its continuation, something like the tail of a multi-colored East-Slav rainbow. What instruction and education should have been given to those Czechs who went to that noble, spiritually richer and brighter land of Slovakia which in this respect towers high above us? What tests of selection should have been applied in order to choose best from among us to be assigned there and pay their respects to the sacred mystery of that country reflecting a shy, non spoiled, creative soul? What should we have done to increase our joy, our own and Slovakia's happiness? For the time being, besides very few good Czechs, there are many pretentious individuals in the military as well as among the various officials who had trampled down a number of serious personalities, institutions and accomplishments. Those Czechs have thereby inflicted considerable damages to Slovakia. As we go around, we hear constantly of an endless series of such sad and regrettable cases. Slovak men tell me about the injustices committed on them by Czechs. A Slovak lady, good looking and of slender stature, listens to them. She evidently suffers that I have to hear those indictments against my nation, and she accasionally interrupts that conversation with polite words. Her husband explains what had been done by soldiers. A group of them entered a restaurant where a highly artistic picture of Empress Maria Theresa was hanging from the wall. They took that picture down, cut it into pieces and caused the private owner a damage amounting to several thousand crowns. �SLOVAKIA 86 The Slovak lady comments: "Perhaps the picture seemed offending to them; but they should have asked the owner to put it away. It was a private object of high value and they should never have cut it into pieces. This is not the question of substance, but of form" - says politely that lady as if she were trying to excuse the malfeasors. Her husband continues: "A soldier enters an inn and orders a sandwich. The innkeeper asks four crowns for it. The soldier refuses to pay protesting against the price. He was right to do so. The innkeeper defends himself: 'The County Administrator had fixed that price!' The soldier, however, does not know what the powers of a County Administrator are. He ignores entirely local conditions. He aggressively adds: 'That Administrator of yours, he is a Magyar sympathiser just as you are!' The County Administrator, a Slovak patriot, is just passing by and learns about the incident. He then addresses himself to the Captain asking for investigation. The Captain, however, rejects his request and takes the soldier under protection. Soldiers had done many ugly things in Slovakia; but you will perhaps say it was a consequence of five year war demoralization. This, of course, may be an explanation; but it is no excuse. Another example : A lower official was sent as mills supervisor to a county in Eastern Slovakia. Instead of taking care of his assignment, that man started spying on every step of the County Administrator and every word of the County Counsel. He went so far as to organize a personal boycott against them. He ran to the Post Office, announced that emergency measures had been taken against the County Administrator and his Counsel, and insisted their telephone connection be cut off. A never heard of, but a real, case! As he was being interrogated, he said: "That's our nature, of us Czechs. We think we must control everybody!" By the investigation of the performance of this supervisor �SLOVAKIA 87 it was proven that he had misappropriated a carload of flour and was keeping two bags of it in his household. A higher official in Prague was sending his organization agent to Slovakia with these words: "He is too rude for Prague; therefore I am sending him to Slovakia." A higher official who ignores what Slovakia is, ignores what her soul is, is then assigning there an executive of whom he knows in advance that the latter lacks the ability of matching that soul. Only those people shall be sent to Slovakia who realize that they will be guests in their brother's family, who will not desecrate, not even by the twinkle of their eyelids, the sanctity of that family; men who have faith, are tolerant and tactful; persons of limitless soul which embraces everything, understands all; those !Who, when confronted with a noble feeling would stand with respect without starting polemics. WHAT ARE OUR SINS Why did our people go to Slovakia? Idealists went there from love, pragmatists with expectations of higher profits. There is still a comperative lack of intelligentsia in Slovakia. It will take one or two generations to fill out this gap. Therefore, to go there, to help them in offices and schools, seems to be quite plausible. What are the principles of this aid? That is a big question! Chaos in this respect is what the Slovaks are strongly complaining about. Administrative offices are being organized. For hiring there must be an alternative requirement: either professionnal qualification or talent and experience. The boss who hires petitioners does not have himself professional qualification. The Slovaks think then that experience should be enough. Lower positions are to be filled out, positions of foresters, for instance. A prominent Slovak politician says: "Forests are state-owned and under the Hungarian regime foresters had been our great enemies. The people live from forestry and foresters had fostered Magyarization. �88 SLOVAKIA Do fill out those positions with reliable people. Put there veteran legionnaires!" He sent to the respective office some Slovak legionnaires who had faught with the American Army and would have been glad to stay in their homeland. Their applications were rejected for lack of qualification. "Well", said the politician, "here there is nothing to be done." The County is subdivided into four forest circuits. In the four Forest Administrative offices there had been an Engineer in Forestry, all of them men about fifty . Above these four engineers, there had been a Head-Administrator, also with higher technical education. The Head died. One of the four engineers, a Slovak and good specialist, came up with the application to succeed. Yet, to the surprise of everybody, a 30-year old Czech with only a secondary education in Forestry, was appointed. Next day, all four Forrest Office administrators resigned and refused to serve under a younger and unqualified man. The prominent politician commented: "If it was possible to disregard qualification requirements in the case of the Head of the County Forest Office, it certainly will be easier to do the same with foresters." As he had learned that 12 positions were open, he advised some veteran legionnaires to petition. The Office rejected them for lack of qualification. It hired instead Czechs, letting Slovak legionnaires return to America. Normally, Czechs are supposed to help, if there is no Slovak candidate. Yet, it is unwise to impose an unqualified public servant, if they have their own candidate. Not only that! It is offending. The above mentioned case is Hersek's. Under the Hungarian regime, no county official could be appointed without the County Administrator's consent. Public Law specialist say that County autonomy has never berm more perfect than at the time of Hungary. And now, in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the following happens: �SLOVAKIA 89 A man lives in the County. He is an attorney, a Jew, an old Magyar sympathizer, an agent of the Hungarian Government, dangerous to the Czecho-Slovak State, a person whose hands are not clean. Everybody there would think it twice before shaking hands with this individual. He has been under observation in his residence. He does not have permission even to leave for another county, because the County Administrator intends to put him into confinment. And this man appears in the County Administrator's Office and shows him triumphantly his appointment from Prague as organizer and supervisor of the whole liquor industry in Slovakia. Consequently, a man has been appointed of whom the high Czech authority had never been informed. He has been appointed so-to-say behind the back and against the will of the County Administrator. What channel must have been left open to this man, and what means he must have used to conquer a moral and economic power position in Slovakia? All his antecedents must have been disregarded from the beginning until the end. What is the real power of a Slovak County Administrator, when a simple soldier, protected by his Captain, can throw into his face the accusation of being a Magyar sympathizer, and when an outspoken traitor to the nation can sarcastically parade his appointment decree from Prague before the Administrator's eyes? Do you think there are reasons in Slovakia to like Czechs? Out of the people who for longtime had been under foreign yoke, there are no good statesmen. They sin by reckless speed and narrowmindedness. They construct anywhere, even on sands. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 76 SLOVAKIA Ruzena Svobodova's "Fcuilletons ou Slovakia" Prof. Joseph A. Mikus, M. C. L., J. D. After the proclamation of Czecho-Slovakia's independence in 1918, disputes arose between Czechs and Slovaks as to the nature of their political and cultural relations in the new state. While the Slovaks thought of partnership, brotherhood and family harmony, the Czechs, having lostafter the defeat of Germany-their Schweik inferiority complex, swung over to the other extreme: the complex of greatness. The Czecho-Slovakia of the Peace Treaties was imposed as "Czechoslovakia" on foreign countries, academies and encyclopedias, and was ruled as Great Czechia by the Prague Government. T. G. Masaryk, E. Benes, and nearly all Czech intellectuals considered Slovakia as a territorial acquisition of the Kingdom of Bohemia, as a generous gift made by the Allied and Associated Powers to the Czechs for their resistance against the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation during the Hussite wars, as a historical reparation of their defeat in the Battle at the White Mountain, 1620, and finally as an endurance prime for having withstood the onslaughts of Pan-Germanism in the 19th century. Among few Czech intellectuals and literary figures who sharply disagreed with the official Great Czechia concept of the new state, there was a lady, novelist and short story writer, Ruzena Svobodova (1868-1920). She had been informed on the problem of Slovakia by Milan Rastislav Stefanik (1880-1919) already during his studies at Charles University in Prague, i. e., before 1904. At that time her house in the capital of Bohemia was a meeting place for a literary and social group which was to play an important role in the Czecho-Slovak political rapprochement. F. X. salda, a prominent literary historian at Prague University, was there a frequent guest. Svobodova and salda became close friends of Stefanik. They visited with him in France as he was working as an astronomer at the Observatory of Meudon, near Paris. SLOVAKIA 77 At the beginning of World War I, Stefanik enlisted in the French Army and reached the grade of General. At the end of the war, besides T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, he is the only Slovak in the triumvirate of Czecho-Slovakia's liberators. He will become its first Minister of War. On May 4, 1919 the airplane, by which General Stefanik was returning from Italy to his native soil, was shot down by a Czech artillery unit stationed at Bratislava. Ruzena Svobodova must have been shaken by grief at such a horrible news, and particularly at the Government's suspicious refusal to publish all the facts of this accident. Thereafter, she travelled across Slovakia to pay-as it were-her last respect to Stefanik, and also to get acquainted with his homeland and its people. She then wrote a series of feuilletons dealing with several aspects of Slovak life and particularly with errors of the Czech official policy committed in Slovakia. They remained unpublished in her desk long after she died in 1920. No Czech magazine would accepted to give publicity to facts so shocking, while no Slovak periodical would have been allowed to do so without being victimized by the censor of the "democratic" regime represented by T . G. Masaryk and E. Benes. In 1930 it came to a Kulturkampf in Matica Slovenska, the Slovak Institute of Sciences and Arts, founded in 1863 in Turciansky Sv. Martin. According to official Czech designs aiming at cultural and linguistic assimilation of Slovakia, several important positions in that institution had been held by Czechs, among whom Frantisek Hermansky and Vaclav Vazny. How these Great Czechia promoters, hidden in the garb of professional linguists, had become leading officials in that old institution consecrated to national culture and language, may be a mystery for those who are not familiar with the devious methods of Benes' power politics. It was their purpose to gradually narrow the existing gap between the Czech and Slovak languages in bringing the Slovak vocabulatry< and style closer to the Czech. Their tendency was to find however, a definite opposition in the group of Slovak linguists: Jan Mihal, Anton Janosik, Henrik Bartek, Jozef Martinka, etc., led by the Director of the Matica, Prof. Jozef Skultety. This conflict produced an explosive cultural atmosphere and troubled considerably Czecho-Slovak political relations. 78 SLOVAKIA At that time, Stefan Krcmery, a renown Slovak poet, was editor in chief of Slovenske Pohl'ady, a literary review, founded in 1846. Trying to avoid personal polemics and decided to cast some light on the behavior of Czech officials in Slovakia, he thought the feuilletons of Ruzena Svobodova would serve very well his purpose. He prepared them for publication in Vol. 46 of Slovenske Pohl'ady, No. 5-8, 1930. From the repetition of certain issues it is evident that R. Svobodova did not intend to have them published at the same time. Krcmery, however, to give them a cumulative meaning, did do just so, or rather, he had the intention to do so. No sooner had that summer issue of Slovenske Pohl'ady left the presses of the Printing Corporation in Turciansky Sv. Martin, than the censor confiscated the whole edition. Those essays of Ruzena Svobodova apparently were menacing nothing less than the unity and the reason of the state. Since then, they have not been reprinted either in Czech or in Slovak. As we bring them here in an English translation, we would like hereby to honor the courage, friendship, honesty and perspicacity of Ruzena Svobodova, all these virtues displayed at the time, when nearly all the Czechs, following the example of T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, were drunk of the Great Czechia dream and treated Slovakia as a conquerred territory. THE SOUL OF THE SLOVAK NATION We are confronted with the soul of a different nation. Have we ever been faced with a greater mystery? How shall we enter the temple which is not ours? Could it be otherwise than highest respect as it fits when approaching a different psyche, even though it may be a brother's psyche? Is it possible to penetrate with enough tenderness, enough respect, enough care a distinct soul or its spiritual temple, the greatest of its constructions? Only a man whose wiring with the mysterious soul of the world had been broken could have entirely lost or never accquired respect for human soul. For every human being is as meaningful as History itself; each soul is ankered in eternity; each one is determined by thousands of previous generations. SLOVAKIA 79 We shouldn't have lightheartily thought of the soul of that nation, i. e., of something which is infinitely more complicated than the soul of an individual. We entered Slovakia as parvenus engrossed by our self-importance, without that respect, without that humility. We had believ-ed to bring salvation to the Slovaks and we had dispensed with the attention we owed to the mystery of their unknown and complicated reality. We do not know Slovakia, we do not know the soul of our sister. We have offended it. Therefore, it has closed itself for us. We have entered there as conquerors and a number of our people lacking delicacy call Slovakia a colony, an occupied territory, and tell it into the face of the Slovaks. Out of a series of psychological errors, this one is felt by the Slovaks as the most outrageous. "We had expected brothers, say the Slovaks, but instead there came rulers." Those Czechs of crude and domineering manners have sinned against the spirit; they have sinned by arrogance and contempt. They are guilty and cannot be excused. The selection of Czech public servants for Slovakia should have been better and more careful. People should have been sent there so noble as not to touch even the dust on a butterfly's wings. The Government should have sent there spiritual observers. A manual should have been written and without its message no one should ever have entered this land. It should have contained a gospel of love, respect and tenderness; a message that would not hurt, that would teach how to approach another people without prejudice: a sort of Decalogue of noble principles. Those who were privileged enough to be sent to Slovakia and have sinned there, must straighten out their attitude, correct their behavior, must learn to confront the unexplored soul of the Slovak nation with deference. They must abandon their messianistic slogans. Otherwise they should be revoked. The only important task is to win the love of the Slovaks. This may be difficult for someone who does not have the highest philosophical culture and is unable to keep silent. No there is work over there for a special type of men: for reserved wise men without self-conceit 80 SLOVAKIA and egotism; for those who can keep their mouth shut. Neither people nor man of noble mind are garrulous . Garrulousnes s is the symton of half-educatio n. There are many unbearable people, unable to evolve, who impose their cheap opinions upon their fellow-men be it in religion, culture or politics; who believe in their intellectual superiority; who are convinced that there is nothing above them, for they have achieved the top of their escension. And should circumstance s enhance their belief of bein apostles, woe to those to whom they preach their sad "self-evident truths". Slovakia has been invaded by a number of such people. Uninstructed and unable to learn, they met the soul of that nation, they intruded in it without tact and with false conviction that it was their task to lift up that soul to their own level. False prophets and preachers lacking modesty and introspection , do you realize what kind of people are you dealing with? Can you imagine what is the spiritual key-board of that nation, a key-board on which sound as the highest tone the limitless greatness of Milan R. stefanik's spirit, and as its most natural tone the song of an innocent girl of Zvolen? Can you imagine the spiritual depth of a nation whose soul smiles in suffering and which hides its cristal-line purity behind humor? If you approach the soul of that nation with humbleness, respect and faith, what depth you will discover, what clarity of mind, what wealth! The closer the contact we have with it, the more purified we become. If you meet the soul of that nation with humility, the old Slovakia will reward you with her mysterious beauty, accumulated throughout centuries. To get acquainted with her, to perceive her multiple facets, to stand in rapture before her, must become for us joy. I have never seen a more majestic spectacle. EDUCATED SLOVAKS The human nature of educated Slovaks has so-to-say a key-board by some scales wider than ours. Each one of them displays the sophisticatio n of a Parisian and the naturalness of a shepherd. They are closer to wordly life SLOVAKIA 81 on a higher level, while they are closer to nature. They are nearer to culture and at the same time to the people. Even though they may be hunters used to strolling through woods, and during hunting periods to staying in huts, they have an external elegance. They speak foreign languages while they enjoy singing the shepherds's songs of their kinsmen, nostalgical calling on their fellow-men from the top of one mountain to another. They live with a music which stems from the mysterious noise of a lonely forest, from the desire to meet people around a stone fireplace burning day and night . They know how to be exhuberant in their merriments, to drink champagne, to enjoy themselves, to break into group singing. They also can spend the whole evening in talking their poetry. They know by heart many pieces of it. And whenever one of them touches a chord, it will resound in another. They recite Sladkovic, Hviezdoslav, Razus . Whenever our performing artists go to Slovakia, they should not think they go to a village. Only real masters, not those of second category, shall venture to go there. The Slovak intelligentsia had seen in Budapest worldfamous artists, an internationally renowned and highly selected art. They will judge our performers by these criteria. Pretentious dilettantes are wrong if they think they go to Asia and behave accordingly. There, they will be scrutinized more severely than they are used to be in our own land and cannot than do harm to our cause. The resentment that prevails now in Slovakia on our behalf will find no complacency' for our dilettantism, and if there is anyone who may help our cause there, it can be only someone able to fascinate the Slovaks and make them overcome their feelings . THE SLOVAK PEOPLE The Slovak is not sentimental; he is tough and does not want to be pitied. He is full of humour, shining with smile. By his witty answers he always puts a fence around himself, thus keeping you at a distance and preventing you from getting at him. 82 SLOVAKIA In a village we spoke at a house corner under the roof shelter with a young woman, mother of seven children. On her arms, she kept her youngest baby, just 6 months. The latter was dressed in a minuscule shirt. She talks and smiles and women and children from the neighborhood, gathered around her, smile at everything they say. There is with me a young lady who would like to have children. I tell it to that young Slovak woman proposing jokingly: "Couldn't you give this youngest baby of yours to her?" The not say answers we shall Slovak woman does not betray her feeling, does she will never give up her baby. Smiling, she she will do it with pleasure and adds: "Yes, and soon have another one!" I look into her bright, full, and healthy face under a white coif. Her smile had spread contagion in that Sunday crowd. Even if she had thirty children, she still would not accept to be pitied. Nobody in Slovakia, either collectively or individually, wants to be pitied. And this inborn pride serves as psychological explanation of many qualities, alleged sensitivities and attitudes difficult to understand. Nor want the Slovaks to be pitied for the Magyar domination. The people is comparatively uninhibited, and not only in the Vah valley. This is not bad. They are a highly intelligent, vivid, smart, humorous and gay people. Their conscience is like a clean sheet of paper. Be careful as you are trying to write on it. You have to approach them with the purest mind. In this respect, God has been more gracious to me than I deserve. He has given me the opportunity to get acquainted there with the souls, the most beautiful souls I have ever met. Long ago, very long ago, He had granted me the privilege of meeting Milan Rastislav Stefanik. He had allowed me to look into his soul that was reflecting dolor, love, despair, tenderness and generosity. As if provided with a magic key, I approached through his soul the soul of his nation, I opened it and gazed into SLOVAKIA 83 its folds. I do not say I have penetrated inside. I do not affirm I know it; I perhaps shall never reach that point. Whatever I have been allowed to see is enough for me to spend the rest of my life in light and joy. I have watched a people closely related in their minds, united by the juices and delicacies of life, by their homeland, forests, and rivers, by their kinship and friendliness. Over there, in Slovakia, overwhelmed by noble beings, the soul gets calmed and touched with humility. I do not pretend to know much about Slovakia. I ignore whether I shall ever be able to learn more. Yet, I have well known the soul of one of its greatest sons, the . soul of Milan, as they simply call there the dead General Stefanik. His soul had displayed the biggest variety of facets of all the persons I have ever got in contact with in my life. It resounded with vigor and tenderness. It radiated limitless love and strict justice. It was clear, simple, like a child's; it was smiling and innocent. It belonged at the same time to a ruler and to a servant. It was religious and wordly, believing and respectful, inventive and quick-minded. I don't dare to assert I am a specialist on Slovakia: but I have found there the individual components of Milan's soul, the soul which has become for me the key to the soul of his whole nation. There is no genius whose soul would not represent to a high degree all the best qualities with which his nation is endowed, and there is no nation in which it would be impossible to discover the embryo, a sleeping embryo, of its genius' soul. We enter a village and stop in front of the church. The villagers gather around our driver and ask who we are. "They are Americans", answers the driver, thereafter presenting his appologies: "I simply could not tell them you are Czechs, for nobody here likes Czechs." When I was speaking with educated city ladies, and after having realized that in towns there was the same mood as in villages, I felt hurt and told them: 84 SLOVAKIA "We, too, had suffered from hunger for five years during the war and after. And should it be necessary to suffer for two years more in order to share our destiny with you, we would accept that ordeal. Such is our love for you. Why then do you not like us? Whenever we speak about Slovakia, we do it with tears in our eyes. Why do you not love us?" A young girl gave me a thousand-fold answer, she and her group . And if I had to state the contents of that conversation in some short precepts, they would run like this : "You should leave us to live and die in our own way. Do not impose yourselves upon us. Do not overpower us. Do not take from us and our people what we worship and love. Do not offend our feelings. Do not send here third rate officials. Bring here what we are lacking in exchange for our own services." And upon her anwer, I could not do otherwise than lower my head and realize why they do not like us: Well, simply because we have been doing just the oposite. Yes, we have lost any sympathy and the feeling toward Czechs there is nearing the point of hatred. The Slovak intelligentsia is fed up with Czech excesses. inconsistenci es, chaos in jurisdiction, overlookings, in one word, with Czech imperialism. They are tired from tactlessness and arrogance. What they have received is not what they had expected. That someone is responsible for it, it can hardly be denied. And every day passing by without straightening out committed faults cannot but multiply their consequences . The first error consists in that we tried to approach the mysterious soul of that nation with our mechanical concept of life, that we made efforts to force upon them cheap enlightenmen t as a remedy. There may be two sister-nations here; there may be closely related languages; there even may be the same Slav trunk. Yet, how many distinctions! A cliff in the Germanic sea, the Czech lands had throughout centuries been washed up by its waves, while Slovakia is a bridge eastwards. After a period of independ- SLOVAKIA 85 ence we had lived under the German yoke, while the Slovaks had, nearly during the entire span of their active history, been politically tight up with the Magyars, i. e., a people who have distinct traditions, and whose political and cultural development differs in content and level; with a people-in one word-who are marked by a particular mentality. Since Slovakia was for us a land prohibited, we had been on all sides separated from the Slav race. The Slovaks, instead, had benefited largely by a direct contact with the Slav world, have been, in fact, united with it, and represent its continuation, something like the tail of a multi-colored East-Slav rainbow. What instruction and education should have been given to those Czechs who went to that noble, spiritually richer and brighter land of Slovakia which in this respect towers high above us? What tests of selection should have been applied in order to choose best from among us to be assigned there and pay their respects to the sacred mystery of that country reflecting a shy, non spoiled, creative soul? What should we have done to increase our joy, our own and Slovakia's happiness? For the time being, besides very few good Czechs, there are many pretentious individuals in the military as well as among the various officials who had trampled down a number of serious personalities, institutions and accomplishments. Those Czechs have thereby inflicted considerable damages to Slovakia. As we go around, we hear constantly of an endless series of such sad and regrettable cases. Slovak men tell me about the injustices committed on them by Czechs. A Slovak lady, good looking and of slender stature, listens to them. She evidently suffers that I have to hear those indictments against my nation, and she accasionally interrupts that conversation with polite words. Her husband explains what had been done by soldiers. A group of them entered a restaurant where a highly artistic picture of Empress Maria Theresa was hanging from the wall. They took that picture down, cut it into pieces and caused the private owner a damage amounting to several thousand crowns. SLOVAKIA 86 The Slovak lady comments: "Perhaps the picture seemed offending to them; but they should have asked the owner to put it away. It was a private object of high value and they should never have cut it into pieces. This is not the question of substance, but of form" - says politely that lady as if she were trying to excuse the malfeasors. Her husband continues: "A soldier enters an inn and orders a sandwich. The innkeeper asks four crowns for it. The soldier refuses to pay protesting against the price. He was right to do so. The innkeeper defends himself: 'The County Administrator had fixed that price!' The soldier, however, does not know what the powers of a County Administrator are. He ignores entirely local conditions. He aggressively adds: 'That Administrator of yours, he is a Magyar sympathiser just as you are!' The County Administrator, a Slovak patriot, is just passing by and learns about the incident. He then addresses himself to the Captain asking for investigation. The Captain, however, rejects his request and takes the soldier under protection. Soldiers had done many ugly things in Slovakia; but you will perhaps say it was a consequence of five year war demoralization. This, of course, may be an explanation; but it is no excuse. Another example : A lower official was sent as mills supervisor to a county in Eastern Slovakia. Instead of taking care of his assignment, that man started spying on every step of the County Administrator and every word of the County Counsel. He went so far as to organize a personal boycott against them. He ran to the Post Office, announced that emergency measures had been taken against the County Administrator and his Counsel, and insisted their telephone connection be cut off. A never heard of, but a real, case! As he was being interrogated, he said: "That's our nature, of us Czechs. We think we must control everybody!" By the investigation of the performance of this supervisor SLOVAKIA 87 it was proven that he had misappropriated a carload of flour and was keeping two bags of it in his household. A higher official in Prague was sending his organization agent to Slovakia with these words: "He is too rude for Prague; therefore I am sending him to Slovakia." A higher official who ignores what Slovakia is, ignores what her soul is, is then assigning there an executive of whom he knows in advance that the latter lacks the ability of matching that soul. Only those people shall be sent to Slovakia who realize that they will be guests in their brother's family, who will not desecrate, not even by the twinkle of their eyelids, the sanctity of that family; men who have faith, are tolerant and tactful; persons of limitless soul which embraces everything, understands all; those !Who, when confronted with a noble feeling would stand with respect without starting polemics. WHAT ARE OUR SINS Why did our people go to Slovakia? Idealists went there from love, pragmatists with expectations of higher profits. There is still a comperative lack of intelligentsia in Slovakia. It will take one or two generations to fill out this gap. Therefore, to go there, to help them in offices and schools, seems to be quite plausible. What are the principles of this aid? That is a big question! Chaos in this respect is what the Slovaks are strongly complaining about. Administrative offices are being organized. For hiring there must be an alternative requirement: either professionnal qualification or talent and experience. The boss who hires petitioners does not have himself professional qualification. The Slovaks think then that experience should be enough. Lower positions are to be filled out, positions of foresters, for instance. A prominent Slovak politician says: "Forests are state-owned and under the Hungarian regime foresters had been our great enemies. The people live from forestry and foresters had fostered Magyarization. 88 SLOVAKIA Do fill out those positions with reliable people. Put there veteran legionnaires!" He sent to the respective office some Slovak legionnaires who had faught with the American Army and would have been glad to stay in their homeland. Their applications were rejected for lack of qualification. "Well", said the politician, "here there is nothing to be done." The County is subdivided into four forest circuits. In the four Forest Administrative offices there had been an Engineer in Forestry, all of them men about fifty . Above these four engineers, there had been a Head-Administrator, also with higher technical education. The Head died. One of the four engineers, a Slovak and good specialist, came up with the application to succeed. Yet, to the surprise of everybody, a 30-year old Czech with only a secondary education in Forestry, was appointed. Next day, all four Forrest Office administrators resigned and refused to serve under a younger and unqualified man. The prominent politician commented: "If it was possible to disregard qualification requirements in the case of the Head of the County Forest Office, it certainly will be easier to do the same with foresters." As he had learned that 12 positions were open, he advised some veteran legionnaires to petition. The Office rejected them for lack of qualification. It hired instead Czechs, letting Slovak legionnaires return to America. Normally, Czechs are supposed to help, if there is no Slovak candidate. Yet, it is unwise to impose an unqualified public servant, if they have their own candidate. Not only that! It is offending. The above mentioned case is Hersek's. Under the Hungarian regime, no county official could be appointed without the County Administrator's consent. Public Law specialist say that County autonomy has never berm more perfect than at the time of Hungary. And now, in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the following happens: SLOVAKIA 89 A man lives in the County. He is an attorney, a Jew, an old Magyar sympathizer, an agent of the Hungarian Government, dangerous to the Czecho-Slovak State, a person whose hands are not clean. Everybody there would think it twice before shaking hands with this individual. He has been under observation in his residence. He does not have permission even to leave for another county, because the County Administrator intends to put him into confinment. And this man appears in the County Administrator's Office and shows him triumphantly his appointment from Prague as organizer and supervisor of the whole liquor industry in Slovakia. Consequently, a man has been appointed of whom the high Czech authority had never been informed. He has been appointed so-to-say behind the back and against the will of the County Administrator. What channel must have been left open to this man, and what means he must have used to conquer a moral and economic power position in Slovakia? All his antecedents must have been disregarded from the beginning until the end. What is the real power of a Slovak County Administrator, when a simple soldier, protected by his Captain, can throw into his face the accusation of being a Magyar sympathizer, and when an outspoken traitor to the nation can sarcastically parade his appointment decree from Prague before the Administrator's eyes? Do you think there are reasons in Slovakia to like Czechs? Out of the people who for longtime had been under foreign yoke, there are no good statesmen. They sin by reckless speed and narrowmindedness. They construct anywhere, even on sands. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ružena Svobodová's "Feuilletons on Slovakia" Description An account of the resource Prof. Joseph A. Mikus, M.C.L., J.D. Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 76-89 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mikuš, Joseph A., 1909-2005 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/acbca4aeaa05e6bb55a55bf2bfdc621d.pdf 7d140315605c3634d449e1a8dba15357 PDF Text Text 70 SLOVAKIA Dr. Francis I-Irusovsky - the Man (1903 -1956) Francis Hrusovsky was eminently a historian. He could have distinguished himself by a career at the University of Bratislav;i even under the tutelage of the Czech professor Chaloupecky. Chaloupecky realized that this young collegian's views were radically opposed to his own outlook but he entertained high esteem for the youth. It was a regard which Hrusovsky merited because of his consistent gravity, his critical acumen, and his broad knowledge . But on completing his university training, Hrusovsky decided on a different course in life. There happened to be a vacancy for the headmasteship at the Catholic Slovak high school or gymnazium at Klastor pod Znievom and Hrusovsky chose to make application for this post. It was not considered an enviable position by reason of the fact that the institution was yoked with financial difficulties and very often the first of the month found the administration really straitened about meeting the payroll. Moreover, the school faced an expansion program wn.ich complicated financial matters to an even greater degree. Nevertheless, Hrusovsky did not decide on the assured security and prestige of a university chair in preference to this position which was less rewarding in material values. He became the school's principal and he made of it the intellectual center: which Bishop Stefan l.VIoyses, its founder , had hoped that it would become. This particular gymnazium was the only institution which bore upon its facade the inscription SLOVAK GYMNAZIUM (SLOVENSKE GYMNAZIUM ); all other similar schools were inscribed as being "CZECHO-SLOVAK". It is n et clear just how this detail escaped the notice of the civic authorities at the time, but the point is that Dr. Hrusovsky was singularly proud of such a d istinctive designation on his school. And it was, in reality, the only true SLOVAK gymnazium, not merely in name, but also in spirit and purpose. It was my privilege to come here often. And each visit �71 SLOVAKIA proved to be a refreshing experience. Perhaps there had never yet bee.a as demanding a headmaster as was Hrusovsky, but certainly there never yet was one who had been so universally loved and respected. "Pan direktor" - that was his title, and it was a designation or an appellation by which we understand without question and immediately that the reference was to Dr. Hrusovsky and to him alone . The greatest penalty meted out to an unhappy offender was to hear from pdn direktor no word about the transgression. Once I happened to be in his school office with him when a student approached with an explanation and apology. "Did I say anything to you?" said pdn direktor to the offender in a tone of voice which betrayed no warmth. "Well, that's just it, pan direktor; that's the point. You said not a word," the student complained. Even here in these circumstances of our emigration, his students often sought out their pan direktor. They confidently referred to him for counsel and always parted from him strengthened and imbued with resolution. Hrusovsky never recommended unconsiderate or rash and merely contentious conflict; he did encourage vigorous effort and he endorsed even justified force that was deliberate and purposeful. * * -l(· Hrusovsky was one of the most highly regarded members of the Parliament of the Slovak Republic ( 19381946 ) . We happened to serve together on various committees. I learned that he looked even upon present-day problems with the disposition of a serious historian, and it was especially at our committee sessions that a comparison of the past with the present helped to resolve our difficulties and to ease our task. HP was not given to frequent expression in Parliament but when he did speak, he delivered a speech that left a lasting impression. Although he was able to speak without prolonged preparation, he always took pains to prepare his parliamentary addresses with care. Every sentence, every word was selected for a specific purpose and a particular significance. These addresses are of. such merit that one day they will be embodied in handbooks of public speaking as classic creations. The thought-content as well as the delivery and all that was connected with these �SLOVAKIA 72 addresses was thoroughly studied and weighed, and it took on a classic aspect. I believe that I derogate from no one's merits of fame when I judg·e that Hrusovsky was one of the best speakers of the Slovak nation within the past century. Frequently Hrusovsky was also the speaker of the day in villages and towns celebrating this or that occasion. Very many people must recall these celebrations with a deep sense of appreciation of his gifts. * * * * * * One of the interests of Dr. Hrusovsky's special predilection was the Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences (Matica slovenska) . As chairman of various science departments and as secretary of the history department of the Slovak Inst.i tute of Arts and Sciences, he contributed a great deal to the organization of scientific pursuits and undertakings in Slovakia. His was no mean responsibility. He had accomplished very much, he had a great deal of work in progress and even in the very last evening of his life he had discussed several long-standing plans which he helped to realize in some future day that would grant a happy return to the homeland. A certain Slovak political leader who was engaged in conversation with Dr. Hrusovsky remarked that at this point it was quite beyond him even to imagine a return to his former calling, absorbed as he had become with national politics. Dr. Hrusovsky observed, "With me it is quite the contrary. What I can most readily imagine and what would give me the greatest satisfaction right at this moment would be to return to the teaching field back in a gymnazium." It was most natural and logical that on the death of Karol Sidor. Hrusovsky should succeed to the presidency of the Slovak National Council Abroad. Never at home, and much less in exile, did he aspire to public office. In response to the insistence of his friends and colleagues, however, he finally yielded to this extent that he agreed to undertake whatever responsibilities the members of the SNCA: should decide to entrust to him. He conoeived of this office as a service to the nation. Two days before his death we were occupied in discussion �SLOVAKIA 73 until midnight. When he became engrossed in the subject of Slovakia, his eyes shone brilliantly. He said that evening, and he repeated it with emphasis several times, that when our nation attains its freedom and independence, not one of us may presume pretensions to a privileged position at home. Ours is only the duty here in a new land, which affords us liberty and the opportunity to live unshackled by that terror which dominates all life at home, to devote ourselves to work for our nation. This it one of the most important comictions which each one of us must grasp. Anyone who would arrogate to himself special advantages or favors at home in return for his labor in exile is not welcome in our midst. On the other hand, he continued, qualified and deserving individuals will be fully appreciated at home in due time; they will be in demand, and there need be no apprehensions that any worthy individual will receive less than his due. It behooves us all to be reasonable, non-extremist, and to do our utmost in behalf of the Slovak cause in extra-territorial circumstances. This is the spirit in which Dr. Hrusovsky dedicated himself to his nation throughout his whole life. * * * This column would be incomplete were I to omit recollections from Rome in the years 1945-1947. Those were trying times. We lived in constant danger of being overtaken and apprehended and committed to our foes. Terrific pressure was being put on Italian officialdom but Italian authorities, won to sympathy especially by contacts which Karol Sidor had established with them, withstood and resisted this pressure successfully. Rome captured Hrusovsky heart. Day after day he frequented the Vatican library and he devoted himself particularly to a study of the earliest relationships between the Vatican and Slovakia. His finished work on this subject was published. When it was not a jaunt to the library that he planned, we went out together, tramping the streets of Rome, touring its boulevards and market places, and visiting its shrines and churches. Hrusovsky had so intimate a know- �SLOVA KIA 74 ledge of ancien t Roman villages and countr y sites that when he began to relate what happen ed in this or that locality , or how a place had disting uished itself, his listene r lost all contac t with time and becam e wholly unawa re that planes roared in the sky, that trolley s jangled in the streets , that cars raced by. Lost in the spell of Hrusov sky's words, one re-lived the glory of ancien t days. Before one's eyes the Roman Empir e same to life again. Hrusov sky had a rare genius for creatin g this kind of atmosp here . It was this type of histori cal presen tation that also held the key to his eminen t succes s as a classro om lecture r. Just as in Rome he made Roman history live before our eyes, so did he regale his studen ts in Slovak ia with Slovak history . Just as Jan Holly over a hundre d years ago captiva ted and instruc ted the followe rs of stur, so did Hrusov sky inspire and educat e his high school studen ts in the gymna zium. It was in this manne r, too, that he held audien ces spellbo und when he deliver ed occasio nal addres ses at the various celebra tions in Slovak villages and towns. That was his life; that was his life's work : to conjur e an authen tic image of the true greatne ss and the true glory of the distant past, to bridge the gap betwee n the presen t and the past and then to forecas t and build a more prospe rous Slovak future. * * * * * * There is a very large numbe r of Hrusov sky's addres ses and articles in which he develo ped the subjec t of Slovak stateho od. There have been many oppone nts to Slovak ia's aspirat ions to stateho od but not one of them has been able to foil or to refute the iron logic of Hrusov sky's argum ents in its favor. In the past, the works of the most popula r Slovak writers were publish ed in edition s runnin g to several hundre d copies. Never yet, howev er, did any Slovak book win such ready and such wide-s pread popula rity as did Hrusov sky's SLOVAK HISTO RY. It was the first comple te survey of our Slovak histori cal record. Prepar ed as it was by Dr. Hrusov sky the first Slovak histori an of learnin g and of note, it presen ted to the Slovak nation a continu ous reel of absorb ing scenes from its past. We were all agree- �75 SLOVAKIA ably surprised when edition upon edition of his work was exhausted so that by 1945 when Hrusovsky was leaving Slovakia, over one hundred thousand copies of this book were in the hands of the Slovak people. This volume of Hrusovsky's HISTORY found its way even into homes where formerly hardly another book had been brought besides the prayer book and an infrequent almanac or annual. Hrusovsky's book was written in a style which had been so often recommended to us by Karol Sidor who repeatedly reminded us to write clearly, simply, so that even our unschooled parents in remote hamlets would have no difficulty in following and understanding what we wrote. That was its stylistic merit. In content, this HISTORY is prepared with so scholarly an approach-with restraint, with fairmindedness, with an objective outlook -that it serves as a substantial refreshment for both the educated classes and for the less privileged. With this Yolume, which the new regime proscribed Hrusovsky turned in Slovak national life so deep 1945, in and so broad a furrow that no foreign usurpers can succeed in leveling it even in the course of years of effort. Even today reports from home reveal that this is the book which is still the most widely read Slovak work and the most frequently S()ught book in the black markets where, alas, an enormous number of Slovak writings are listed. * * * In the early of 1945 it was rumored that Communist partisans captured and executed Hrusovsky. Thank God, it was not so. The partisans were defeated; they retreated and Hrusovsky returned home. His first visit took him to Brestovany to see his mother. It is understandable that she embraced him warmly and held him close to her heart. Shortly after the exaltation of their meeting, however, she bravely reminded him, "For a great cause, it is a worthy thing even to die, my son. And Slovak statehood is a great cause." Dr. Hrusovsky often repeated these words and commented, "Our peasant mothers embody much of the heroism of ancient Rome's noble matrons." K. Culen � 70 SLOVAKIA Dr. Francis I-Irusovsky - the Man (1903 -1956) Francis Hrusovsky was eminently a historian. He could have distinguished himself by a career at the University of Bratislav;i even under the tutelage of the Czech professor Chaloupecky. Chaloupecky realized that this young collegian's views were radically opposed to his own outlook but he entertained high esteem for the youth. It was a regard which Hrusovsky merited because of his consistent gravity, his critical acumen, and his broad knowledge . But on completing his university training, Hrusovsky decided on a different course in life. There happened to be a vacancy for the headmasteship at the Catholic Slovak high school or gymnazium at Klastor pod Znievom and Hrusovsky chose to make application for this post. It was not considered an enviable position by reason of the fact that the institution was yoked with financial difficulties and very often the first of the month found the administration really straitened about meeting the payroll. Moreover, the school faced an expansion program wn.ich complicated financial matters to an even greater degree. Nevertheless, Hrusovsky did not decide on the assured security and prestige of a university chair in preference to this position which was less rewarding in material values. He became the school's principal and he made of it the intellectual center: which Bishop Stefan l.VIoyses, its founder , had hoped that it would become. This particular gymnazium was the only institution which bore upon its facade the inscription SLOVAK GYMNAZIUM (SLOVENSKE GYMNAZIUM ); all other similar schools were inscribed as being "CZECHO-SLOVAK". It is n et clear just how this detail escaped the notice of the civic authorities at the time, but the point is that Dr. Hrusovsky was singularly proud of such a d istinctive designation on his school. And it was, in reality, the only true SLOVAK gymnazium, not merely in name, but also in spirit and purpose. It was my privilege to come here often. And each visit �71 SLOVAKIA proved to be a refreshing experience. Perhaps there had never yet bee.a as demanding a headmaster as was Hrusovsky, but certainly there never yet was one who had been so universally loved and respected. "Pan direktor" - that was his title, and it was a designation or an appellation by which we understand without question and immediately that the reference was to Dr. Hrusovsky and to him alone . The greatest penalty meted out to an unhappy offender was to hear from pdn direktor no word about the transgression. Once I happened to be in his school office with him when a student approached with an explanation and apology. "Did I say anything to you?" said pdn direktor to the offender in a tone of voice which betrayed no warmth. "Well, that's just it, pan direktor; that's the point. You said not a word," the student complained. Even here in these circumstances of our emigration, his students often sought out their pan direktor. They confidently referred to him for counsel and always parted from him strengthened and imbued with resolution. Hrusovsky never recommended unconsiderate or rash and merely contentious conflict; he did encourage vigorous effort and he endorsed even justified force that was deliberate and purposeful. * * -l(· Hrusovsky was one of the most highly regarded members of the Parliament of the Slovak Republic ( 19381946 ) . We happened to serve together on various committees. I learned that he looked even upon present-day problems with the disposition of a serious historian, and it was especially at our committee sessions that a comparison of the past with the present helped to resolve our difficulties and to ease our task. HP was not given to frequent expression in Parliament but when he did speak, he delivered a speech that left a lasting impression. Although he was able to speak without prolonged preparation, he always took pains to prepare his parliamentary addresses with care. Every sentence, every word was selected for a specific purpose and a particular significance. These addresses are of. such merit that one day they will be embodied in handbooks of public speaking as classic creations. The thought-content as well as the delivery and all that was connected with these �SLOVAKIA 72 addresses was thoroughly studied and weighed, and it took on a classic aspect. I believe that I derogate from no one's merits of fame when I judg·e that Hrusovsky was one of the best speakers of the Slovak nation within the past century. Frequently Hrusovsky was also the speaker of the day in villages and towns celebrating this or that occasion. Very many people must recall these celebrations with a deep sense of appreciation of his gifts. * * * * * * One of the interests of Dr. Hrusovsky's special predilection was the Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences (Matica slovenska) . As chairman of various science departments and as secretary of the history department of the Slovak Inst.i tute of Arts and Sciences, he contributed a great deal to the organization of scientific pursuits and undertakings in Slovakia. His was no mean responsibility. He had accomplished very much, he had a great deal of work in progress and even in the very last evening of his life he had discussed several long-standing plans which he helped to realize in some future day that would grant a happy return to the homeland. A certain Slovak political leader who was engaged in conversation with Dr. Hrusovsky remarked that at this point it was quite beyond him even to imagine a return to his former calling, absorbed as he had become with national politics. Dr. Hrusovsky observed, "With me it is quite the contrary. What I can most readily imagine and what would give me the greatest satisfaction right at this moment would be to return to the teaching field back in a gymnazium." It was most natural and logical that on the death of Karol Sidor. Hrusovsky should succeed to the presidency of the Slovak National Council Abroad. Never at home, and much less in exile, did he aspire to public office. In response to the insistence of his friends and colleagues, however, he finally yielded to this extent that he agreed to undertake whatever responsibilities the members of the SNCA: should decide to entrust to him. He conoeived of this office as a service to the nation. Two days before his death we were occupied in discussion �SLOVAKIA 73 until midnight. When he became engrossed in the subject of Slovakia, his eyes shone brilliantly. He said that evening, and he repeated it with emphasis several times, that when our nation attains its freedom and independence, not one of us may presume pretensions to a privileged position at home. Ours is only the duty here in a new land, which affords us liberty and the opportunity to live unshackled by that terror which dominates all life at home, to devote ourselves to work for our nation. This it one of the most important comictions which each one of us must grasp. Anyone who would arrogate to himself special advantages or favors at home in return for his labor in exile is not welcome in our midst. On the other hand, he continued, qualified and deserving individuals will be fully appreciated at home in due time; they will be in demand, and there need be no apprehensions that any worthy individual will receive less than his due. It behooves us all to be reasonable, non-extremist, and to do our utmost in behalf of the Slovak cause in extra-territorial circumstances. This is the spirit in which Dr. Hrusovsky dedicated himself to his nation throughout his whole life. * * * This column would be incomplete were I to omit recollections from Rome in the years 1945-1947. Those were trying times. We lived in constant danger of being overtaken and apprehended and committed to our foes. Terrific pressure was being put on Italian officialdom but Italian authorities, won to sympathy especially by contacts which Karol Sidor had established with them, withstood and resisted this pressure successfully. Rome captured Hrusovsky heart. Day after day he frequented the Vatican library and he devoted himself particularly to a study of the earliest relationships between the Vatican and Slovakia. His finished work on this subject was published. When it was not a jaunt to the library that he planned, we went out together, tramping the streets of Rome, touring its boulevards and market places, and visiting its shrines and churches. Hrusovsky had so intimate a know- �SLOVA KIA 74 ledge of ancien t Roman villages and countr y sites that when he began to relate what happen ed in this or that locality , or how a place had disting uished itself, his listene r lost all contac t with time and becam e wholly unawa re that planes roared in the sky, that trolley s jangled in the streets , that cars raced by. Lost in the spell of Hrusov sky's words, one re-lived the glory of ancien t days. Before one's eyes the Roman Empir e same to life again. Hrusov sky had a rare genius for creatin g this kind of atmosp here . It was this type of histori cal presen tation that also held the key to his eminen t succes s as a classro om lecture r. Just as in Rome he made Roman history live before our eyes, so did he regale his studen ts in Slovak ia with Slovak history . Just as Jan Holly over a hundre d years ago captiva ted and instruc ted the followe rs of stur, so did Hrusov sky inspire and educat e his high school studen ts in the gymna zium. It was in this manne r, too, that he held audien ces spellbo und when he deliver ed occasio nal addres ses at the various celebra tions in Slovak villages and towns. That was his life; that was his life's work : to conjur e an authen tic image of the true greatne ss and the true glory of the distant past, to bridge the gap betwee n the presen t and the past and then to forecas t and build a more prospe rous Slovak future. * * * * * * There is a very large numbe r of Hrusov sky's addres ses and articles in which he develo ped the subjec t of Slovak stateho od. There have been many oppone nts to Slovak ia's aspirat ions to stateho od but not one of them has been able to foil or to refute the iron logic of Hrusov sky's argum ents in its favor. In the past, the works of the most popula r Slovak writers were publish ed in edition s runnin g to several hundre d copies. Never yet, howev er, did any Slovak book win such ready and such wide-s pread popula rity as did Hrusov sky's SLOVAK HISTO RY. It was the first comple te survey of our Slovak histori cal record. Prepar ed as it was by Dr. Hrusov sky the first Slovak histori an of learnin g and of note, it presen ted to the Slovak nation a continu ous reel of absorb ing scenes from its past. We were all agree- �75 SLOVAKIA ably surprised when edition upon edition of his work was exhausted so that by 1945 when Hrusovsky was leaving Slovakia, over one hundred thousand copies of this book were in the hands of the Slovak people. This volume of Hrusovsky's HISTORY found its way even into homes where formerly hardly another book had been brought besides the prayer book and an infrequent almanac or annual. Hrusovsky's book was written in a style which had been so often recommended to us by Karol Sidor who repeatedly reminded us to write clearly, simply, so that even our unschooled parents in remote hamlets would have no difficulty in following and understanding what we wrote. That was its stylistic merit. In content, this HISTORY is prepared with so scholarly an approach-with restraint, with fairmindedness, with an objective outlook -that it serves as a substantial refreshment for both the educated classes and for the less privileged. With this Yolume, which the new regime proscribed Hrusovsky turned in Slovak national life so deep 1945, in and so broad a furrow that no foreign usurpers can succeed in leveling it even in the course of years of effort. Even today reports from home reveal that this is the book which is still the most widely read Slovak work and the most frequently S()ught book in the black markets where, alas, an enormous number of Slovak writings are listed. * * * In the early of 1945 it was rumored that Communist partisans captured and executed Hrusovsky. Thank God, it was not so. The partisans were defeated; they retreated and Hrusovsky returned home. His first visit took him to Brestovany to see his mother. It is understandable that she embraced him warmly and held him close to her heart. Shortly after the exaltation of their meeting, however, she bravely reminded him, "For a great cause, it is a worthy thing even to die, my son. And Slovak statehood is a great cause." Dr. Hrusovsky often repeated these words and commented, "Our peasant mothers embody much of the heroism of ancient Rome's noble matrons." K. Culen � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 70 SLOVAKIA Dr. Francis I-Irusovsky - the Man (1903 -1956) Francis Hrusovsky was eminently a historian. He could have distinguished himself by a career at the University of Bratislav;i even under the tutelage of the Czech professor Chaloupecky. Chaloupecky realized that this young collegian's views were radically opposed to his own outlook but he entertained high esteem for the youth. It was a regard which Hrusovsky merited because of his consistent gravity, his critical acumen, and his broad knowledge . But on completing his university training, Hrusovsky decided on a different course in life. There happened to be a vacancy for the headmasteship at the Catholic Slovak high school or gymnazium at Klastor pod Znievom and Hrusovsky chose to make application for this post. It was not considered an enviable position by reason of the fact that the institution was yoked with financial difficulties and very often the first of the month found the administration really straitened about meeting the payroll. Moreover, the school faced an expansion program wn.ich complicated financial matters to an even greater degree. Nevertheless, Hrusovsky did not decide on the assured security and prestige of a university chair in preference to this position which was less rewarding in material values. He became the school's principal and he made of it the intellectual center: which Bishop Stefan l.VIoyses, its founder , had hoped that it would become. This particular gymnazium was the only institution which bore upon its facade the inscription SLOVAK GYMNAZIUM (SLOVENSKE GYMNAZIUM ); all other similar schools were inscribed as being "CZECHO-SLOVAK". It is n et clear just how this detail escaped the notice of the civic authorities at the time, but the point is that Dr. Hrusovsky was singularly proud of such a d istinctive designation on his school. And it was, in reality, the only true SLOVAK gymnazium, not merely in name, but also in spirit and purpose. It was my privilege to come here often. And each visit 71 SLOVAKIA proved to be a refreshing experience. Perhaps there had never yet bee.a as demanding a headmaster as was Hrusovsky, but certainly there never yet was one who had been so universally loved and respected. "Pan direktor" - that was his title, and it was a designation or an appellation by which we understand without question and immediately that the reference was to Dr. Hrusovsky and to him alone . The greatest penalty meted out to an unhappy offender was to hear from pdn direktor no word about the transgression. Once I happened to be in his school office with him when a student approached with an explanation and apology. "Did I say anything to you?" said pdn direktor to the offender in a tone of voice which betrayed no warmth. "Well, that's just it, pan direktor; that's the point. You said not a word," the student complained. Even here in these circumstances of our emigration, his students often sought out their pan direktor. They confidently referred to him for counsel and always parted from him strengthened and imbued with resolution. Hrusovsky never recommended unconsiderate or rash and merely contentious conflict; he did encourage vigorous effort and he endorsed even justified force that was deliberate and purposeful. * * -l(· Hrusovsky was one of the most highly regarded members of the Parliament of the Slovak Republic ( 19381946 ) . We happened to serve together on various committees. I learned that he looked even upon present-day problems with the disposition of a serious historian, and it was especially at our committee sessions that a comparison of the past with the present helped to resolve our difficulties and to ease our task. HP was not given to frequent expression in Parliament but when he did speak, he delivered a speech that left a lasting impression. Although he was able to speak without prolonged preparation, he always took pains to prepare his parliamentary addresses with care. Every sentence, every word was selected for a specific purpose and a particular significance. These addresses are of. such merit that one day they will be embodied in handbooks of public speaking as classic creations. The thought-content as well as the delivery and all that was connected with these SLOVAKIA 72 addresses was thoroughly studied and weighed, and it took on a classic aspect. I believe that I derogate from no one's merits of fame when I judg·e that Hrusovsky was one of the best speakers of the Slovak nation within the past century. Frequently Hrusovsky was also the speaker of the day in villages and towns celebrating this or that occasion. Very many people must recall these celebrations with a deep sense of appreciation of his gifts. * * * * * * One of the interests of Dr. Hrusovsky's special predilection was the Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences (Matica slovenska) . As chairman of various science departments and as secretary of the history department of the Slovak Inst.i tute of Arts and Sciences, he contributed a great deal to the organization of scientific pursuits and undertakings in Slovakia. His was no mean responsibility. He had accomplished very much, he had a great deal of work in progress and even in the very last evening of his life he had discussed several long-standing plans which he helped to realize in some future day that would grant a happy return to the homeland. A certain Slovak political leader who was engaged in conversation with Dr. Hrusovsky remarked that at this point it was quite beyond him even to imagine a return to his former calling, absorbed as he had become with national politics. Dr. Hrusovsky observed, "With me it is quite the contrary. What I can most readily imagine and what would give me the greatest satisfaction right at this moment would be to return to the teaching field back in a gymnazium." It was most natural and logical that on the death of Karol Sidor. Hrusovsky should succeed to the presidency of the Slovak National Council Abroad. Never at home, and much less in exile, did he aspire to public office. In response to the insistence of his friends and colleagues, however, he finally yielded to this extent that he agreed to undertake whatever responsibilities the members of the SNCA: should decide to entrust to him. He conoeived of this office as a service to the nation. Two days before his death we were occupied in discussion SLOVAKIA 73 until midnight. When he became engrossed in the subject of Slovakia, his eyes shone brilliantly. He said that evening, and he repeated it with emphasis several times, that when our nation attains its freedom and independence, not one of us may presume pretensions to a privileged position at home. Ours is only the duty here in a new land, which affords us liberty and the opportunity to live unshackled by that terror which dominates all life at home, to devote ourselves to work for our nation. This it one of the most important comictions which each one of us must grasp. Anyone who would arrogate to himself special advantages or favors at home in return for his labor in exile is not welcome in our midst. On the other hand, he continued, qualified and deserving individuals will be fully appreciated at home in due time; they will be in demand, and there need be no apprehensions that any worthy individual will receive less than his due. It behooves us all to be reasonable, non-extremist, and to do our utmost in behalf of the Slovak cause in extra-territorial circumstances. This is the spirit in which Dr. Hrusovsky dedicated himself to his nation throughout his whole life. * * * This column would be incomplete were I to omit recollections from Rome in the years 1945-1947. Those were trying times. We lived in constant danger of being overtaken and apprehended and committed to our foes. Terrific pressure was being put on Italian officialdom but Italian authorities, won to sympathy especially by contacts which Karol Sidor had established with them, withstood and resisted this pressure successfully. Rome captured Hrusovsky heart. Day after day he frequented the Vatican library and he devoted himself particularly to a study of the earliest relationships between the Vatican and Slovakia. His finished work on this subject was published. When it was not a jaunt to the library that he planned, we went out together, tramping the streets of Rome, touring its boulevards and market places, and visiting its shrines and churches. Hrusovsky had so intimate a know- SLOVA KIA 74 ledge of ancien t Roman villages and countr y sites that when he began to relate what happen ed in this or that locality , or how a place had disting uished itself, his listene r lost all contac t with time and becam e wholly unawa re that planes roared in the sky, that trolley s jangled in the streets , that cars raced by. Lost in the spell of Hrusov sky's words, one re-lived the glory of ancien t days. Before one's eyes the Roman Empir e same to life again. Hrusov sky had a rare genius for creatin g this kind of atmosp here . It was this type of histori cal presen tation that also held the key to his eminen t succes s as a classro om lecture r. Just as in Rome he made Roman history live before our eyes, so did he regale his studen ts in Slovak ia with Slovak history . Just as Jan Holly over a hundre d years ago captiva ted and instruc ted the followe rs of stur, so did Hrusov sky inspire and educat e his high school studen ts in the gymna zium. It was in this manne r, too, that he held audien ces spellbo und when he deliver ed occasio nal addres ses at the various celebra tions in Slovak villages and towns. That was his life; that was his life's work : to conjur e an authen tic image of the true greatne ss and the true glory of the distant past, to bridge the gap betwee n the presen t and the past and then to forecas t and build a more prospe rous Slovak future. * * * * * * There is a very large numbe r of Hrusov sky's addres ses and articles in which he develo ped the subjec t of Slovak stateho od. There have been many oppone nts to Slovak ia's aspirat ions to stateho od but not one of them has been able to foil or to refute the iron logic of Hrusov sky's argum ents in its favor. In the past, the works of the most popula r Slovak writers were publish ed in edition s runnin g to several hundre d copies. Never yet, howev er, did any Slovak book win such ready and such wide-s pread popula rity as did Hrusov sky's SLOVAK HISTO RY. It was the first comple te survey of our Slovak histori cal record. Prepar ed as it was by Dr. Hrusov sky the first Slovak histori an of learnin g and of note, it presen ted to the Slovak nation a continu ous reel of absorb ing scenes from its past. We were all agree- 75 SLOVAKIA ably surprised when edition upon edition of his work was exhausted so that by 1945 when Hrusovsky was leaving Slovakia, over one hundred thousand copies of this book were in the hands of the Slovak people. This volume of Hrusovsky's HISTORY found its way even into homes where formerly hardly another book had been brought besides the prayer book and an infrequent almanac or annual. Hrusovsky's book was written in a style which had been so often recommended to us by Karol Sidor who repeatedly reminded us to write clearly, simply, so that even our unschooled parents in remote hamlets would have no difficulty in following and understanding what we wrote. That was its stylistic merit. In content, this HISTORY is prepared with so scholarly an approach-with restraint, with fairmindedness, with an objective outlook -that it serves as a substantial refreshment for both the educated classes and for the less privileged. With this Yolume, which the new regime proscribed Hrusovsky turned in Slovak national life so deep 1945, in and so broad a furrow that no foreign usurpers can succeed in leveling it even in the course of years of effort. Even today reports from home reveal that this is the book which is still the most widely read Slovak work and the most frequently S()ught book in the black markets where, alas, an enormous number of Slovak writings are listed. * * * In the early of 1945 it was rumored that Communist partisans captured and executed Hrusovsky. Thank God, it was not so. The partisans were defeated; they retreated and Hrusovsky returned home. His first visit took him to Brestovany to see his mother. It is understandable that she embraced him warmly and held him close to her heart. Shortly after the exaltation of their meeting, however, she bravely reminded him, "For a great cause, it is a worthy thing even to die, my son. And Slovak statehood is a great cause." Dr. Hrusovsky often repeated these words and commented, "Our peasant mothers embody much of the heroism of ancient Rome's noble matrons." K. Culen  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dr. Francis Hrušovský - the Man (1903-1956) Description An account of the resource K. Čulen Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 70-75 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Čulen, Konštantín, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c82024079e9200a0c0b1bb4ef5bacd72.pdf b18c0b2cecdd2bf798957cdab955d55d PDF Text Text 42 SLOVAKIA This Is Slovakia By Francis Hrusovsk'J}, Ph.D. SEPARATIO N FROM HUNGARY The Austro-Hung arian Monarchy was built on a shaky foundation. It may have survived in a less extended territory, had it grasped in time its historical mission in this ethnically disunited region of Central Europe. Hungary could have weathered the approaching historical holocaust if it had put into practice the spirit of justice and equality. But neither the Austrian Emperor nor the Hungarian King, neither the Government of Vienna nor of Budapest, reckoned with the given realities: they did not know how to rightly evaluate the strength of the new historical trends, nor did they forsee the direction of future developments . Hence they permitted themselves to be led by policies which could only lead to the disintegration of the entire Monarchy and to the fall of Hungary. Because of the national policy of Hungary, which curtailed the growth of Slovak national life in all of its phases. the Slovaks were not sufficiently prepared for the role which awaited them. When the World War broke out in 1914, under the emergency provisions of the Government any kind of Slovak political movement was unthinkable. The fate of countries and of nations is not always determined by their strength, but as much by circumstances which arise without their doing. This proved to be true not only of Austra-Hunga ry, which was shaken to its foundations by World War I, but also of the various nations which had gradually become aware that the time had come to take an account of the past and be concerned only about their own future fate, regardless of the interests of the Monarchy. At the beginning of the war, the Slovaks had no thought of separating from Hungary, much less could they have expressed such a thought aloud. But when the War was nearing its end and it was more and more evident that Austria-Hung ary could not escape defeat, the leaders of �SLOVAKIA 43 the Slovaks saw that the military defeat of the Hapsburg Monarchy would furnish them the opportunity for attaining the goals they were not able to achieve in Hungary. Slovak patriots met for a secret conference in Turciansky Sv. Martin on May 24, 1918, where Andrej Hlinka plainly stated: "The thousand-year marriage with the Magyars has not panned out. We must be divorced." 1 The Slovaks took a stand for the right of selfdetermination of the Slovak nation and decided that at an opportune time they would sever all ties between Slovakia and Hungary and enter a new State composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia and Sub-Carpathian Russia. The Czecho-Slovak National Council (Ceskoslovenska narodna rada ), founded in Paris in 1916, worked abroad for the disolution of Austria-Aungary and the formation of a new Czecho-Slovak State. At the head of the CzechoSlovak National Council was professor Thomas G. Masaryk, and its outstanding member was the distinguished Slovak scholar, Milan Rastislav Stefanik, who possessed unusual diplomatic talents and attained the rank of General in the French Army. Slovaks living abroad morally and materially supported the activity of the Czecho-Slovak National Council and in large numbers joined the CzechoSlovak Legion which fought on the side of the Allies against Austria-Hungary The Slovaks were convinced that if Slovakia would tear away from Hungary, it would enjoy all the conditions of a free national existence in a joint Czecho-Slovak State. The Czecho-Slovak National Council was most effectively supported by the Slovaks who were living in America and who always lllad a lively interest in the destiny of the Slovak nation in the Old World. Under the leadership of the Slovak League of America, which was organized already in 1907, they frequently raised their voice in defense of the Slovak nation in Hungary, and as free citizens of a democratic country they protested against the injustices which their native brothers in Slovakia had to suffer. Later, in the years of World War I , they stood in the first ranks of the battle for the liberation of Slovakia. It is to their credit not only that they made large financial sacrifices for the cause of the Czecho-Slovak National Council, but also that they insisted on having beforehand �44 SLOVAKIA a clear presentation and firm guaranties as to the relationship between the Slovak and Czech nations in the proposed joint State. Representatives of the Slovak League in America discussed this serious question with delegates of the Czech National Federation in Cleveland as early as 1915, and came to the conclusion that the future Czecho-Slovakia would be a federal union of states with complete autonomy for Slovakia. Subsequently, on May 30, 1918, representatives of the Slovak League met with representatives of Czech organizations and with the President of the Czecho-Slovak National Council, T. G. Masaryk, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and drew up an agreement which guaranteed political and cultural autonomy to Slovakia in the new State. This agreement was designed by T . G. Masaryk and later signed by him as president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. 2 Only vague reports of this foreign action penetrated Slovakia, and the agreements which testify to the wise foresight of the American Slovaks were not even known there. Nevertheless, everything that could be undertaken in Slovakia during the War for the benefit of Slovakia's future was basically in harmony with what was being done independently overseas. In the meantime, events at the front indicated that the defeat of Austria-Hungary was inescapable. Emperor Charles published a manifesto on October 16, 1918, in which he promised a reconstruction of the Monarchy on a new basis, but it was already too late. The President of the Hungarian Government, Count Stephen Tisza, on the 17th of October, attempted to justify the Budapest policy of Magyarization, reluctant to see that it was just this policy that brought Hungary to inevitable disintegration and certain collapse. In the Hungarian Parliament, on October 19, the Slovak delegate, Dr. Ferdis Juriga, announced in the face of a stormy protest of Magyar members that neither the Hungarian Parliament nor the Hungarian Government had the right any longer to decide the future destiny of the Slovak nation, because the Slovaks would decide their own future on the basis of their right of self-determination. The Slovaks, unaware of what had happened in Prague on October 28, met on October 30, 1918, in Turciansky Sv. �SLOVAKIA 45 Martin, where, chiefly under the influence of Andrej Hlinka, they organized a Slovak National Council and in a separate declaration proclaimed that the Slovaks once and for all Hrere separating themselves from Hungary and were of their own accord joining the Czecho-Slovak State.3 The new Czecho-Slovak State was born on the ruins of the Hapsburg Monarchy, which, having lost the war, was not able to defend its own existence and escape catastrophe. There was nothing left to do but define the boundaries of the new State (especially the Slovak-Hungarian border ), establish its international position, and construct its internal administration on a basis that would insure its ability to live. The most important condition for the healthy internal development of the Czecho-Slovak State was deciding the position Slovakia would occupy in the new State. The separation of the Slovaks from the Magyars and from Hungary was for the Slovak& not only painless, but joyful, as was the separation of the thirteen American colonies from England. " SLAVES UNTIL NOW - NEVER AGAIN!" Martin Razus (1888-1937)-a leading Slovak poet whose writings gave voice to the pains, longings, and hopes of his people, and whom the Slovaks called the "conscience of the Slovak nation"-welcomed the dawn of the new Slovak day with a poem, the refrain of which reads: "Slaves we have been till now, slaves we shall be no longer!" These words, mirrored the sentiment that prevailed throughout Slovakia in the first years of its new status. The Slovaks had reasons enough, at the end of the bloody war, to welcome the Czecho-Slovak Republic with open joy and sincere hopes. They had fought on all fronts, and had used every means, to bring about the formation of this new State. They had a right therefore to see in the Czecho-Slovak Republic a state they could consider their own. Slovakia experienced a period of genuine joy mostly because it had extricated itself from the union with old Hungary where it had striven in vain for equal rights. The Magyar language was removed from offices, schools, and all public life, and with its disappearance went all traces of Magyar domination. Slavonic traditions, which �46 SLOVAKIA had remained alive in Slovakia, prevented the Slovaks from being disappointed in their Slavonic brotherhood, a subject frequently discussed at the inception of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Slovak people entered their new existence as a nation composed of large groups of Slovaks who had never estranged themselves from their origin nor allowed themselves to be misled by foreign ideologies, had preserved their language, their national traditions and all the marks of their national character. The democratic spirit which promted the laws of the new State gave assurance that the Slovak people would no longer serve foreign masters, but would concentrate on the development of their own life in order to regain as quickly as possible what they had lost in the past through no fault of their own. Aristocratic titles, together with their corresponding historical privileges, wer e abolished. A federal Land Commission was set up to expropriate for a fair price land held by big non-Slovak landowners and distribute it to the small Slovak farmers , who had always been the strong core of the Slovak nation. It was anticipated, with good reason, that the industry, that would develop in the western part of the new State would be supplemented by the farm and forest economy of Slovakia, a balance that could be achieved only by means of such a union with the Czech lands. It was also to be expected that under the influence of new social laws the living standard of the working people would be raised. The Constitution, approved on February 29, 1920, guaranteed civil equality and political rights to all citizens, thus giving the Slovaks the privilege of influencing the affairs of government. A great deal of pain was caused in Slovak life by the schools which had been used as an instrument of denationalization. This injustice was corrected by the retention of Magyar schools only in those parts of Slovakia where was a Magyar population. New high schools and technical schools were established where there had been none before. In Bratislava, which had become the capital of Slovakia, a new university was founded in 1919 with three faculties. Besides other cultural organizations, the National Slovak Theatre came into being. In every city and village of Slovakia, public libraries were established and plays �SLOVAKIA 47 were presented, with the result that vigorous cultural activity spread throughout the country. In Turciansky Sv. Martin, the Matica Slovenska was reopened, to provide Slovakia with the new products of Slovak literature. In Slovakia there was a revival of old Slovak political parties whose activity was restricted under the Hungarian regime and completely stopped during the war. In addition, new political parties were organized, so that Slovaks could participate in politics according to their convictions. The desire for a new, free, and full national life was discernible everywhere, and the program for providing this kind of life from day to day. The relationship between the Slovak and Czech people, however, was dimmed from the very beginning of their union, and as it continued it became streadily worse. The Czechs and the Slovaks, throughout their long history, had never lived together in a joint state. Each went their own way and developed under a different set of conditions. When these two Slavic nations now got together under the roof of a common state and began to knew each other better, it appeared that for all their lingual similarity there was a great difference between them. Slovakia is a country Christian from its foundations, 80 % Catholic, its deep, living religious traditions permeating the nature of the Slovak and his entire life. 4 The Czechs, as the result of a different historical development, had a different attitude toward religious questions, and when, after the beginning of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, they came to Slovakia, they approached the religious convictions of the Slovaks tactlessly, thereby creating antagonism in Slovakia. Between the Slovak and Czech nations a crevice of distrust began to form . This fissure deepened when the Czechs in Slovakia acted as though they were in a backward country. Many of them had the idea--even when there was no basis for it:r--that their role was to bring culture and progress to Slovakia. This condescending attitude offended the Slovaks, who in turn began to ridicule Czech "progressiveness." Under the pretext that the Slovaks did not have sufficient trained personnel to occupy various official posi- �48 SLOVAKIA tions, multitudes of Czechs who had previously lived in various parts of Austria and for whom there was no room in Bohemia, moved into Slovakia. The Slovaks were grateful to the Czechs for the assistance Slovakia certainly needed in the first years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. But the thousands upon thousands of Czechs who came into Slovakia were completely superfluous. The Slovaks began to look upon them as intruders who were taking away their jobs and bread. While the flood of Czechs was pouring into Slovakia, Slovaks left their homeland in great numbers and moved to all parts of the world. But the most important reason why the early enthusiasms of the Slovaks ended in rapid and complete disillusionment was that the Czechs were trying to build the Czecho-Slovak Republic on the same kind of foundation the Magyars had laid for the creation of a united great Hungary. The very opening words of the Czecho-Slovak Constitution speak of the "Czechoslovak nation"-which in fact never existed. The Czechs ever more openly proclaimed the idea of Czechoslovak national oneness. Since they themselves had no intention of giving up their Czech nationality; desiring to remain a Czech nation also in the future, this alleged Czechoslovak national oneness was simply a way of leading tha Slovaks into a national unity with the Czechs. Even though admitting its euphony, they spoke of the Slovak language as a dialect of the Czech tongue, a vestige that would gradually disappear from literature. Because there was indeed no Czechoslovak language, references were made to the temporary bilinguism of the Czechoslovak nation, or of two aspects of one language. The Slovaks, who had waged such a long, costly, and exhausting struggle in Hungary "for our Slovak language" and considered their language as one expression of their national individuality, were disturbed by such a development because they saw in it the design of Czechization. Slovak literature, from the Czech point of view, was merely an echo of Czech literature, and all Slovak culture just a part of Czech cultural life. They predicted that the Slovaks would gradually �SLOVAKIA 49 merge with the Czechs in the unified State, that they themselves recognized the advantage of such a development, and that this unity would be the most secure foundation for the Czecho-Slovak Republic which would then stand as a strong bulwark against the pressure of their German neighbor. Czech policy, based on such assumptions, led to complete centralization which ignored the interests of Slovakia. This Czech policy aroused vigorous opposition in Slovakia. If the words of the poet Martin Razus meant that the Slovaks had been slaves in Hungary and that this slavery had ended once and for all, they soon took on the new meaning that the Slovaks did not care to be--nor would they be--slaves in the Czecho-Slovak Republic either. The Magyars had used a political ideology to justify their dealings with the Slovaks, though actually they were concerned only for their own safety. The lifeless fiction of Czechoslovak national oneness had a similar meaning. The Czechs are surrounded on three sides by the Germans, and they are exposed to the influence of this great neighbor. When the Czecho-Slovak Republic came into being, they thought Slovakia would become not only their colony but also a country which when gradually assimilated would strengthen their position over against the Germans. But the Slovaks, who had not been willing to perish in Hungary, were unwilling to sacrifice their national individuality even for the protection of the Czechs. Suicide can be committed only by a nation uninformed, cudutrally undeveloped, and unconcerned about its future, a nation which does not understand why it should care about its honor or its right to exist. Because it had endured so many historical trials, had lost so much of its own blood, and was unable to develop its national life under the trying conditions of its past, the Slovak nation grew weary of having its energies continually drained and finally longed to be a nation really free. For this very reason it recognized the danger it faced in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, and with all the determination of a self-conscious nation took a stand for the defense of its honor and its right to the kind of life every nation deserves. �50 SLOVAKIA UNDER THE LEADERS HIP OF ANDREJ HLINKA In the first years of the Czecho-Slo vak Republic Slovakia had a sort of governmen t, headed by a special minister with full authority for the administra tion of Slovakia as a member of the Prague Governmen t. This administra tion had its headquarte rs in Bratislava, consisted of several cabinet members, and exercised powers of jurisdictio n for a brief period. But in the end it was subject to the Central Governme nt in Prague which handled the admi.Ristra tion of the new State as part of a pattern of complete centralizat ion. Czech policy with all its attempts at centralizat ion was challenged by Andrej Hlinka, who had revived the Slovak People's Party (Slovenska :r.udova Strana) and had evoked a strong opposition movement in Slovakia. Andrej Hlinka saw the danger threatening Slovakia, and therefore tried to get the Paris Peace Conference to define the position of Slovakia in the Czecho-Slo vak Republic. For this he was imprisoned in the year 1919. Only upon his election to the Prague Parliamen t on April 18, 1920 was he released.5 The Slovak People's Party gained twelve seats in the election and, under the leadership of its chairman, Andrej Hlinka, began a relentless struggle for the rights of the Slovak nation in accordance with the Pittsburgh Agreement which had become the pattern of Slovak policy. This campaign had to be directed not only against the Prague Governme nt, but also against all the Czech political parties which, as servants of Prague centralism , had spread their nets also in Slovakia. Andrej Hlinka organized his party, set up its press, traveled throughou t Slovakia, and speaking at mass meetings, awakened in the Slovak people a strong national consciousn ess, an interest in political life, and courage to defend all their rights. These gatherings were often very stormy; neverthele ss the Slovak people followed Andrej Hlinka and saw in him their political leader. The inconsider ate actions of Czechs in Slovakia continued and strengthen ed the spirit of opposition in large groups of Slovak people against everything that came from Bohemia. In the years 1922-1926, when the Prague Governme nt was sending multitudes of Czechs into Slovakia to break Slovak �SLOVAKIA 51 resistance to its policy of centralization, 250,000 Slovaks emigrated from Slovakia, forced to look for work in foreign lands. The Prague Government resorted to every means in order to discredit Andrej Hlinka and to frustrate the activity of the Slovak People's Party, but its attempts merely served to widen the breach between the Slovaks and the Czechs. The Slovak People's Party, in its campaign for the sanctioning of Slovak autonomy, desired the fulfilment of what Slovakia had been guaranteed in the Pittsburgh Agreement. The president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic T . G. Masaryk, who had designed and signed that Agreement himself, brushed aside the petitions of the Slovak People's Party with the excuse that the Pittsburgh Agreement is just an interesting document from the period of rebellion against Austria-Hungary, having no binding value . He claimed that the Slovak gained more in the Czecho-Slovak Republic than they were promised in the Pittsburgh Agreement. The Slovaks would not recognize this devaluation of the Pittsburgh Agreement, and the American Slovaks, who were following carefully the progress of Slovakia in the Czecho-Slovak State, in their Message of the American Slovaks to the Old World encouraged their native brothers to pursue relentlessly the struggle for Slovak autonomy. Andrej Hlinka stood staunchly behind the autonomy platform of the Slovak People's Party, and that was the reason why it grew in numbers and in strength. In the elections of 1925 it won twenty-three seats in the Prague Parliament and became the largest political party in Slovakia, with the right to speak as the only authorized representative of the political will of the Slovak nation. When not even the Czechs could continue to close their eyes to the numerical strength and steadily increasing importance to the Slovak People's Party any longer, they tried to win it to the side of the Government. After lengthy deliberations, the Slovak People's Party sent its representatives to the Prague Government to see if they might achieve autonomy by this method. According to this policy, it sought changes in the affairs of the Government that would assure Slovakia a standing as a separate administration unit. In 1927 the Prague Parliament passed �52 SLOVAKIA a law dividing the territory of Czecho-Slovakia into four administrative regions. Beginning January 1, 1928, Slovakia was to become one of these units. Slovakia was empowered to elect its own provincial representatives, forming a provincial assembly for the management of the economic, transportation, social, health and cultural needs of Slovakia. The Czechs felt that by this concession they were satisfying all the demands of Slovakia. However, the Slovaks saw in this reform only "the first ray of Slovak autonomy." The provincial assembly had no legislative powers, one-third of its members were named by the Prague Government, and its jurisdiction was limited. Still, it was a step forward, and it bolstered the hope in Slovakia that gradually the entire autonomistic program set forth in the Pittsburgh Agreement would be realized. The Slovaks were not oposed to the Czecho-Slovak Republic, of which they wanted their own State to be a member. In fact, they believed that, despite all the hardships which hampered the realization of their political program, they would eventually reach their goal. Nor were they against the Czech nation as such; but they resolutely rejected the myth of Czechoslovak national oneness and ever more boldly resisted the Czech imperialism which persisted even after the reorganization of the Government. Relations between the Slovaks and Czechs did not improve ; rather, the centralism of Prague became pronounced that the conditions for harmonious cohabitation between these two nations grew steadily worse. The elections of 1929 again proved the firm position of the Slovak People's Party and its abiding determination to defend the rights of the Slovak nation. It withdrew from the Government and, as on opposition Party, submitted to the Prague Parliament several proposals for the sanctioning of Slovak autonomy. The Prague Parliament rejected all these motions. It was evident that the fight would have to go to the finish. The first requirement for the attainment of Slovak autonomy was unity of all Slovaks. The Czechs had always been able to find means to thwart the unification of the Slovaks. Now the Slovaks had to discover something that would unite them and lead them toward a common goal. The Slovak People's Party, led by Andrej Hlinka, was �SLOVAKIA 53 predominantly Catholic. The Slovak National Party (Slovenska Narodna Strana), headed by Martin Razus, had a majority of Lutheran members.6 These two political parties, fighting for the autonomy of Slovakia, came to an agreement on a united precedure in 1932, and in a joint resolution expressed their mutual determination not to surrender Slovak rights even thought it might cost the disintegration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. This resolve of the Slovak nation was further stiffened and given a mighty manifestation when, from August 13-15, 1933, the Slovaks gathered in Nitra, the ancient headquars of the Slovak princes, to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of the dedication of the first Christian church in Slovakia. At this occasion the Slovak people not only reminded themselves of their antiquity and the rich traditions of their Christian culture, but at the same time emphasized their right to a free national existence in a great demonstration. More than 100,000 Slovaks assembled at the historic site of glorious Slovak antiquity to express their unquenchable longing for a free Slovak future. As the Prague Government did not understand Slovakia, so did not comprehend what took place in Nitra. It saw in the events in Nitra simply a demonstration against the Government. This prompted the seizure of the Slovak People's Party's press, the trial of its editor-in-chief Karol Sidor, an investigation of Slovak students and other steps which evoked a new storm of apposition in Slovakia. The premier of the Prague Government, Jan Malypetr, himself issued a separate manifesto in which he stressed that the Czechs contributed to the support of Slovakia and that Slovakia was ungrateful for this magnanimity. To give this speech as much publicity as possible in Slovakia, he had it printed on large placards and posted in all Slovak cities and villages. This tactless and-for a premier of a government-undignified act deeply offended every Slovak, because no one in Slovakia believed that Slovakia was dependent on the Czechs for a subsidy. Equally as politically indescreet and mistaken in statesmanship was the procedure of Dr. Eduard Benes who, as foreign minister of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, in December of 1933 spoke in several Slovak cities on the �54 SLOVAKIA "Idea of Czechoslovak National Unity from the Viewpoint of International Policy." The Slovaks were to keep silent about their grievances and their rights because Prague supported Slovakia. They were to disavow their national independence without a struggle and betray themselves in order to strengthen the international position of the State in which they were not able to arouse justice and reform. Instead of being misled and bowing to the Prague Government at this suggestion, the Slovaks advanced tow~rd their goal. They were unwilling to surrender their rights even for the survival of the Czecho-Slovak Republic which at this very hour had got itself into a really dangerous situation. Adolf Hitler and his National-Socialist Party had come to power in neighboring Germany. The Slovaks were correct in assuming that this tense international situation would force the Czechs to fulfill the Slovak demands in order to strengthen the Czecho-Slovak Republic for the possible outbreak of new dangers. The Slovaks did not wish to cause internal difficulties in the CzechoSlovak Republic and, even at this time, they had the good will to come to an agreement with the Czechs and to defend their joint State with their united strength. When T . G. Masaryk resigned from the office of President on December 14, 1935, representatives of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, at the election of the new president on December 18, voted for Dr. Eduard Benes who prior to the election had promised to see that the Slovak demands would be fulfilled. Dr. Benes made the promise, but it turned out that there was no one to fulfill it. For the first time in the history of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, a Slovak, Dr. Milan Hodza, became premier of the Government and also Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was a politician of rich experience and wide vision but involved in his own political conceptions and indecisive especially concerning the Slovak question. At the time, even had he wanted to settle the standing of Slovakia, he could not devote himself to the question because he was obliged to center all his attention on the demands of the Sudeten Germans. The integrity and existence of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was seriously threatened and the position of �SLOVAKIA 55 Slovakia was left unsolved after twenty years of the Czecho-Slovak State. In 1938 the situation of the Czecho-Slovak Republic became even worse. On March 12 Hitler occupied and linked Austria to Germany. The Sudeten Germans presented their demands again, but the Prague Government had no answer to give that would satisfy both the Germans and the interests of the Czecho-Slovak State. The international situation grew more and more acute, and the Czecho-Slovak Republic, preparing to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, was experiencing moments of deep unrest and worrisome uncertainty. Even under these circumstances the Slovaks, who for twenty years had striven for autonomy and for twenty years had not been able to achieve their goal, were peacefully preparing to commemorate in a grand way the twentieth anniversary of the Pittsburgh Agreement. On Pentecost Sunday, the 5th of June, 120,000 Slovaks gathered in Bratislava to declare most emphatically that they would never give up their rights. At this occasian a delegation of the Slovak League of America was present together with its president, Dr. Peter P. Hletko, who brought along the original of the Pittsburgh Pact. The American Slovaks represented by the Slovak League wished to certify by their presence at this commemoration that they stood on the same platform they had accepted twenty years earlier. The throngs of Slovaks who welcomed the delegation of the Slovak League of America in the capital of Slovakia were not fanatic masses, but the self-conscious Slovak nation, politically trained and exemplarily led by Andrej Hlinka, giving notice for the last time and in a very resolute-yet in every respect honorable-manner, that it would under no pressure give up the struggle for its rights to a free life. In Bratislava, for the last time, Andrej Hlinka himself appeared before the crowd of faithful fellow fighters to receive the homage of his people before his death. The Prague Government, even with the Slovak Dr. Milan Hodza at its helm, failed to understand the true meaning of this historical event and the very next day arranged a demonstration in Bratislava advocating the idea of Czechoslovak national oneness in opposition to �56 SLOVA KIA Slovak autono my. This blund ering step was the climax of all the mistak es made by the Pragu e Gover nment in its absur d policy conce rning Slovak ia. Andre j Hlink a died Augus t 16, 1938. The Slovak nation stood at his grave resolu tely determ ined to finish its great strugg le witho ut regard for the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic. The mome nt had come when the Slovak nation had to be conce rned only aboutl its own destin y. VIA AUTO NOMY TO THE SLOV AK STATE The positi on of the Slovak s in the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic preven ted them from determ ining even their own destin y. Much less were they able to steer the course of intern al affairs in this State. Least of all were they able to influe nce the foreig n policy direct ed by Dr. Eduar d Benes . Hence the Slovak s bore no respon sibilit y either for the develo pment of the intern al life or the intern ationa l standi ng of the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic and could not be blame d for the situati on into which the State got itself. Small nation s are not creato rs of intern ationa l situations. Often they are merely helple ss figurin es on the great chessb oard of intern ationa l politic s, which is the game of large nation s. Furthe rmore , the small nation witho ut to a gover nment of its own it not given an oppor tunity l ationa active ly interv ene in the appea semen t of an intern 1918 situati on. The Slovak s were in sucl\ a positi on from to 1938. If great nation s assum e the right to create intern ationa l situat ions in which they utilize small nation s for the realiza tion of their power plans, a small and enslav ed nation canno t be blame d if for its own protec tion it utilize s an oppor tunity offere d by the wave of histor ical events . It is eviden ce of the Slovak nation 's politic al matur ity that it knew how to grasp such an histor ical oppor tunity , not neglec ting to use it for the attain ment of a goal it coul not achiev e by its own power . The Slovak s grew tired of vainly repeat ing their justifi ed deman ds when there was no one to fulfill them. They were theref ore determ ined and prepa red to take what was rightfu lly theirs. Imme diatel y after the Bratis lava manif estatio n the Slovak People 's Party presen ted to the Pragu e Parlia ment �SLOVA KIA 57 a new nation for a law provid ing Slovak ia with autono my. At the time, Czech o-Slov akia found itself in the midst of a seriou s intern al crisis and was shake n to the found ations by strong outwa rd pressu re. With the threat of war hangin g in the air, the Pragu e Gover nment , heade d since Septem ber 23, 1938 by Gener al Syrovy , procla imed total mobili zation , a necess ity hasten ed still more by the intern al chaos in the Czech o-Slov ak Repub lic. The issue did not lead to war, howev er, becau se the Czech o-Slov ak Gover nment, on the advice of the Allies, acctep ted the condit ions dictate d by Germa ny accord ing to which the Germa n Army was to occup y the territo ries of Czech o-Slov akia that were popul ated by Germa ns. Nor was the Pragu e Gover nment able to reject the ultima tum of Poland deman ding that the Polish -occup ied territo ry of Silesia be joined to Poland . These circum stance s left the Slovak s no choice but to look out for thems elves. After length y and fruitle ss concultati ons with repres entativ es of the Pragu e regime , the Slovak People 's Party, led by Dr. Jozef Tiso after the death of Andre j Hlink a, had to take the fate of Slovak ia into its own hands . On Octob er 5th Dr. Eduar d Benes resign ed as Presid ent of the Repub lic, and on the 6th of Octob er the Execu tive Comm ittee of the Slovak People 's Party met in Zilina and sugge sted that all power in Slovak ia be taken over by the Slovak s by right of self-de termin ation. This resolu tion of the Slovak People 's Party was acctep ted and approv ed in all its parts also by delega tes of all the remain ing non-le ftist Slovak partie s. In the rapid succes sion of storm y events , the Slovak nation had to stakei out its future alone in order to preven t others from makin g the decisi ons contra ry to its intere sts. All these politic al partie s agreed also to join with the Slovak People 's Party to form a single party: The Slovak Nation al Unity Party (Stran a sloven skej narod nej jednot y). The Pragu e Gover nment, alway s deaf to Slovak previous deman ds, recogn ized this unanim ous decisi on of the Slovak politic al partie s. Slovak ia obtain ed its autono mous govern ment with Dr. Jozef Tiso at its head as prime minist er. Later, on Novem ber 19, 1938, the Pragu e Parliament passed a consti tution al law for the govern ment of autono mous Slovak ia. In order that Slovak ia might be �58 SLOVAKIA properly represented also in the Central Government in Prague, Karol Sidor was made the vice-presiden t of that body. In addition, Slovakia had its own delegates in the ministries of foreign affairs, national defense and finance . The Slovak nation had just attained this goal when confronted by a catastrophe similar to that which was it the Bohemian lands. The southern section of visited had by Magyars, was claimed by the Magyars, inhabited Slovakia have liked to occupy all of Slovakia. fact in would who had to work out a new boundary government The Slovak 7 Discussions were based on government. Magyar with the of the population. The nationality the of the statistics 1930 census, whereas the of statistics the Magyars rejected taken during the statistics, 1910 the the Slovaks regarded setting of the The unjust. as period of Magyarizatio n, court impartial an to left new boundary was therefore Germany and Italy of of arbitration. The foreign ministers rendered a decision on November 2, 1938, which the Slovaks considered to be unfair. By it Hungary received and occupied cities and areas in southern Slovakia that were entirely or predominantl y Slovak. This decision resulted in many economic and commercial hardships for Slovakia because the new boundary severed railroads and roads, and a number of Slovak valleys, open toward the south, lost their connection with the territory of Slovakia. Even these injustices and hardships failed to shatter the spirit of the Slovak nation. The Slovak Government, by exerting all its energy endeavored to organize the administratio n of Slovakia in a way that would prove its ability to exist as an entity. It was anxious above all to see all Slovaks lay a strong foundation for the future of Slovakia by means of firm national unity and faithful cooperation. According to the declaration of Slovak autonomy, elections for seats in Parliament were held as early as December 18, 1938. Members of the Slovak Parliament became the representativ es not only of the Slovak People's Party, but also of the remaining political parties which now formed the Slovak National Unity Party as the result of the zilina agreement. In the Slovak Parliament national minorities also had their representativ es. A month later, January 18, 1939, the legislative assembly of autonomous �SLOVAKIA 59 Slovakia was opened in a festive manner and began its activity. It soon appeared that the form and amount of selfgovernmen t which Slovakia possessed could not supply all the needs of Slovak national life. In its twenty-yea r struggle for its rights, the Slovak nation had reached a level of maturity, and had set its heart on a measure of freedom, for which autonomy was too small a frame. Not even the Czechs were satisfied with the autonomou s status of Slovakia. They found it hard to give up the rule of Slovakia even though responsibl e persons in the Prague Governme nt repeatedly complaine d that the Czechs were obliged to subsidize Slovakia. The Slovak nation felt that it was capable of taking over the administra tion of its country entirely, while the central departmen ts in Prague often proceeded as though there were no declaration of Slovak autonomy in existence. Fresh disagreeme nts and dissension s arose between the Slovaks and Czechs, and the situation in autonomou s Slovakia continued to be vague and confused. The situation was made worse by the intrusion of outside influences. This confusion, aggravated by the rapacity of its neighbors, could have had catastrophic consequen ces for the fate of Slovakia. The Slovaks longed for the peaceful growth of their own life, and the orn: condition necessary for such a life was the national independen ce of Slovakia. The Slovak nation, having come so far along the road of its historical evolution, was prepared and determined to take this step also, because it was convinced that it had a right not only to autonomy, but also to its own independen t state. And this step was the only refuge for Slovakia against the storm threatening it in the tense internation al situation. " FAITHFUL TO OURSELV ES FORWARD IN HARMONY ! " As a result of the constantly increasing demands of Germany, the situatjon which developed in Central Europe was very confused and perturbed at the beginning of March, 1939. It was clear, however, that the Czecho-Slo vak Republic had arrived at the edge of an abyss. The Slovaks did not feel duty-bound to hurl themselves into that gorge. �60 SLOVAKIA Rather, the Slovaks looked for an escape that would lead them to safety. In Bratislava representatives of Germany sought out Karol Sidor, whom they considered the most popular political leader in Slovakia, and urged him to declare the independent State of Slovakia over the radio. Dr. Jozef Tiso was invited to Berlin for a discussion with Adolf Hitler and his minister of foreign affairs, von Ribbentrop. They both informed the president of the Slovak government of the danger confronting Slovakia and demanded his decision at once. Neither Karol Sidor nor Dr. Jozef Tiso complied with this urgent demand because they considered any decisions regarding the future legal status of Slovakia to be the right and duty of the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava. The Slovak Parliament, elected according to the decree of Slovak autonomy, was called into session by the president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, Dr. Emil Ha.cha, and on March 14, 1939, it declared Slovakia an independent and self-governing state by unanimous resolution. The presidium of the Parliament appointed the administration of independent Slovakia, with Dr. Jozef Tiso at his head, and the Slovak Government then took over all power in Slovakia into its own hands. Even though the international situation, during which Slovakia's declaration of independence was made, influenced the rapid succession of events in Slovakia, the Slovak Parliament-as the legal and authorized interpreter of the Slovak nation's will-did only what the Slovak nation had a right to do. Conscious of this right, the Slovak nation accepted the decision of the Slovak Parliament as the natural result of historical development not only with enthusiastic agreement and sincere joy, but also with a determination to bear the entire burden of responsibility for its own destiny and to prove that it was mature and ready for national independence. The proclamation of autonomous Slovakia as an independent state marked the end of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Even so, the Czecho-Slovak Republic would not have been able to survive the hurricane of events. Its fall would have been Slovakia's downfall also, and the Slovak nation would have been left to the mercy of its neighbors. The decisive action of the Slovak Parliament placed before �SLOVAKIA 61 Slovakia's neighbors a ready reality, and the government of the neighboring states took this reality into consideration and respected it. The independent State of Slovakia was recognized either de iure or de facto by the following states: Belgium, ( de facto ), Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Equador, Estonia, Finland, France ( de facto ), Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Manchuria, Poland, Siam, Soviet Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Vatican State and Yugoslavia, 27 nations in all. These states included great powers and small countries, neutrals as well as belligerents in the Second World War. Not even the allies of the former Czecho-Slovak Republic hesitated to recognize the national independence of Slovakia. Some of these nations established and maintained diplomatic and commercial relations with Slovakia, whereas others were not able to do so because they were obstructed by the War. The Slovak State did not solicit the protection of its German neighbor, but when the German Government itself came with the proposal of a defense pact, the Slovak Government, for various reasons, could not reject such an offer. True, this treaty restricted the sovereignty of the Slovak State to a certain extent, but on the other hand it assured the safety of Slovakia not only against the nation which frequently advanced its historical claims to Slovak lands, but also against Germany itself. Although the Slovaks had in the past claimed the right to a free life, the nations who were deciding the fate of Slovakia rejected these petitions, and, despite other proofs, kept insisting that Slovakia because of its small size could not maintain itself as a separate and independent political unit since it was not supposed to be economically selfsustaining. Therefore, they concluded, it would be to the advantage of Slovakia to be in a union with another state, and it was intimated that the Slovaks should be thankful if someone would be willing magnanimously to support them. From the very beginning of its life as an independent state, Slovakia strove to disprove this false legend of economic dependence. And it controverted it in such a way at every step that these arguments against Slovak independ- �62 SLOVAKIA ence completely disappeared. As soon as its autonomy was proclaimed, the Slovak Government floated a loan for the economic revival of Slovakia, and the Slovak people themselves in a short time subscribed an amount necessary to cover this need. In a similar manner a gold standard was created for the Slovak Republic, to which the Slovaks sacrificed their valuables. The mint at Kremnica which had coined Hungarian currency for 600 years, for the first time in its history began to mint money with the seal of the Slovak State. It was discovered that Slovakia had enough varied raw materials which it could work, and that Slovak industry could increase its production to the point where it could export its products. Slovakia concluded trade agreements with many European countries, and the foreign trade of the Slovak Republic was highly active. The Slovak "koruna" (crown) won a reputation as the "Tatra Dollar," and its steady value was the best proof of the settled economy of the Slovak State. The Slovak Parliament, as early as July 21, 1939. approved the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, thereby establishing a strong foundation of legal procedure and the future development of Slovak national life. 8 On October 26, 1939, Dr. Jozef Tiso was unanimously elected the first president of the Slovak Republic and was recognized by the Slovak nation as the successor of the 9th-century Slovak princes. His motto: "Faithful to Ourselves-Forward in Harmony!" succinctly expressed not only the principles he practiced in his own high office, but also the program of Slovak statehood. The Slovak nation, particularly during those tempestuous days, took careful note of all the advantages and disadvantages obtaining from its position at the historical crossroads of Central Europe. The generation: which lived to see liberty on the soil of the ancient Slovak fatherland wanted to forget the injustices of the past and sincerely to establish friendly relation with all the nations with which it would come into contact. It wished to stand not only on the free land of its ancestors, but also on the spiritual foundation of its own life, to retrieve in unity with all Slovaks what the Slovak nation had lost through no fault of its own, and to prepare a peaceful and prosperous future for generations to come. �SLOVAKIA 63 It was along this road that Dr. Jozef Tiso led the Slovak nation as president of the Slovak Republic. As the Slovak nation was laying the foundations of its State and was taking its first steps on the road of a free life, the storm of war began to spread over Central Europe. Its flames grew and engulfed more and more countries. But the hurricane of war, moving from the west to the east, passed over Slovakia without damage. During the first years of the War, when the German armies penetrated through Poland and were headed for Moscow, reaching the Volga River and the foothills of the Caucasus, Slovakia remained in a sort of vacuum, free to develop in every respect without interference. Especially the cultural life of Slovakia blossomed at this time. In the Slovak University, the Technical Institute, the School of Commerce and Business, the Slovak National Library, the Slovak Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in its other older and newer cultural institutions the Slovak nation discovered media of growth such as it had never known in the past. The number of books increased daily, new radio stations were built, and the production of cultural and documentary films was initiated. Unusual cultural activity flourished throughout Slovakia with many Slovak villages erecting cultural buildings as agencies for their own progress. Slovakia grew because the creative abilities of the Slovak nation were not being exhausted in the defense of natural rights, now guaranteed by political independence and its own national administration. The Slovak Republic, emerging during the twilight of the great War, was beclouded by a crucial question: How would the War end, and what kind of fate awaited this small yet so promisingly developing State? The Slovak nation was determined to defend its national independence as the only real basis for its national liberty, and so it exerted itself to have the Slovak Republic remain on the map of postwar Europe. It had a right to believe that it could preserve its liberty and national independence, but it knew from its own experience the bitter truth that if the others decided the fate of a nation, the rights of a nation are seldom considered. The only desire of the Slovak nation at this time was the Slovak Republic be rid of the outward pressure which limited its sovereignty �64 SLOVAKIA and influenced its decisions. When a turn of events came in the War, and military danger began to approach from the East, the Slovak nation began to fear for its future . These fears grew as the Slovak nation realized that it did not have the strength to repel this threatening calamity. Besides this, it was aware of designs being made against the Slovak Republic in foreign countries.9 It was reasonable to presume that, because of the Soviet army's superior force, the hard-pressed German army would not retreat through the mountainous territory of Slovakia. In the north, the Soviet army advanced from the Carpathians through Poland, and in the south, through Hungary; and it could be sudmised that Slovakia would not become a battleground. It could expect to be spared at least the destruction of war. These suppositions, however, were not fulfilled, because the agents of Moscowwi th the help of Communist partisans, landed in the Slovak mountains by Soviet aircraft, organized an uprising in Slovakia in August, 1944, and produced a chaos which confused a portion of the native population. 10 This entire action had no political significance because it had no influence on the fate of Slovakia. From a military viewpoint the uprising was foolish, and it collapsed in a shameful manner. But from an economic point of view, the uprising caused greater damage than had been suffered by the country for centuries. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives for no reason, railroads, tunnels and bridges were arbitrarily destroyed, and many villages were reduced to ashes. With the blood that was needlessly spilled and the smoke which hung over the ruins perished not only the national independence of Slovakia, but also the liberty of the "liberated" Slovak nation. On the heels of the Soviet army's divisions and their unspeakable atrocities, from Moscow to desolated Slovakia came Dr. Eduard Benes with the government of a resurrected Czecho-Slovak Republic. After five years of existence in its own state the Slovak nation arrived, against its own will and contrary to all the principles of natural and self-determining rights, at a position in which it did not care to live at any price, with nothing but slavery staring it in the facp �SLOVAKIA 65 BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN The Slovak Republic was a small state. It emerged in unusually restless times and grew under very complicated conditions. In view of these circumstances, it could not become an ideal or complete state. Large, ancient, and mighty nations have their faults and weaknesses, too . The Slovak Republic cannot be condemned for the imperfection connected with its infancy nor for the errors it made, which in more than one case were simply the result of outside influences. It is an incontrovertible historical fact that the Slovak nation, in all of i~ more than one-thousand year history, never had such liberty, such rights, so much employment, such a measure of material welfare, such conditions for spiritual growth and cultural progress, or so much joy in living, as it had in the years of the Slovak Republic. The Slovak nation was contented with its State, despite its deficiencies, and it did not long for any other kind of state, including the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Slovak Republic conclusively refuted all the arguments against Slovak national independenqe. Every Slovak could see for himself that Slovakia, utilizing the industriousness of its people, is large enough and wealthy enough to provide all the economic conditions needed for indep8ndent national life . . The Slovak nation, during its five-year history of political independence, passed with remarkable success its test in the art of creating a government, and it deserved to be recognized as an independent and equal member in the family of free nations. By its experience as a Slovak republic, it is qualified to decide all questions pertaining to its own life, and is prepared to use its strength for the common welfare of the nations of Central Europe. One Slovak generation tasted the sweet fruit of liberty for which so many generations of the Slovak nation had fervently yearned, and therefore Slovaks will never again be satisfied with the bitter bread of slave labor. All this the Slovak nation learned in its own state. But all this was noted also by Dr. Eruard Benes, who observed the development of Slovak life abroad during �66 SLOVAKIA the war and in the spring of 1945, accompanied by Soviet bayonets, set foot on the blood-stained soil of Slovakia. The restoration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was one of the g1·eat inter-national mistakes. The revival of this State not only could not draw the Slovaks and Czechs closer to each other, but, on the contrary, relations between the Slovaks and Czechs became extremely cold as a direct result of this forced cohabitation in a joint state. The so-called Kosice Agreement of April 5, 1945, which recognized in the Slovaks the distinctive marks of a nation and promised. them complete equality with the Czechs, was not a cure for the wound which Slovakia suffered by the loss of its national independence, nor could it serve as a basis for a satisfying cohabitation of these two nations within one state. This sort of solution of Slovak-Czech relations would have had a meaning when the Slovaks were seeking autonomy in the spirit of the Pittsburgh Pact. The declaration at Kosice and the promises of Klement Gottwald had no power of attraction after the violent destruction of the Slovak Republic. The national independence of Slovakia was trampled by the Soviet army, which was followed by the Government and President of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The restored Czecho-Slovak Republic was alien to the Slovaks not only because it could in no way replace the Slovak State, but also because it brought Slovakia under the control of Moscow through the administration at Prague. Slovakia, even while silenced by the presence of the Soviet army, in no way concealed either its irreconcilable opposition to the situation in which it found itself or its desire for its own national independence. Dr. Eduard Benes, as president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, was determined to crack this opposition of Slovakia at any cost and by any means, and to strangle in the Slovak nation every longing for independence. If Dr. Eduard Benes, by his personal propaganda, enjoyed the reputation abroad of a great democrat and farsighted statesman, he now himself tore off this mask and showed himself to be a ruthless tyrant far removed from democracy and wise foresight. He saw in the Communist people's democracy a new, higher and more advanced form of democracy, and �SLOVAKIA 67 as president of the restored Czecho-Slovak Republic he approved and confirmed all the violence committed by the Prague Government and its Bratislava agencies in the. name of the people's democracy. The Slovak nation now became a victim of revenge because it had its own state during the War. Criminal status was given not only to those who served in the Slovak Republic and had not redeemed their "crime" by the sin of treason, but also to those who disagreed with the new order. The executor of this people's democratic justice was the so-called "National Court" in Bratislava and the chain so-called "People's Courts" all over Slovakia . Since it was impossible to bring before the Court the entire "liberated" nation to condemn it , it was necessary to condemn hundreds and thousands of decent Slovaks in order that all Slovakia might be terrified silenced and coerced into slavish obedience. The " National Court" of Bratislava also condemned to death the president of the Slovak Republic Dr. Jozef Tiso, and the Czecho-Slovak Government together with its president saw to it that this judgment was carried out on April 18 , 1947. The execution of the President of the Slovak Republic evoked deep horror throughout Slovakia and at the same time extinguished the last spark of hope that Slovak~ and Czechs could live together in a common state. The gallows on which Dr. Jozef Tiso died a martyr's death stands above the chasm which once and for all obliterated any form of Czecho-Slovak state.11 Slovakia did not permit itself to be broken in its opposition to the Czecho-Slovak Republic nor to the Communistic people's democracy either by the murder of Dr. Jozef Tiso or by subsequent forcible measures. The Slovak nation is enduring the same wrongs, injustices and pains that are being suffered by all the other nations behind the Iron Curtain. The spirit and form of the Communist people's democracy are foreign, repulsive and unacceptable to the Slovak nation. With persistent and remarkable consistency, the Slovaks are rejecting everything that the Government of the Czecho-Slovak Republic as a servant of Moscow is �68 SLOVAKIA forcing upon them. And they are defending with heroic courage everything that feeds and strengthens their own life. 12 From the very dawn of its history, Slovakia has belonged to Western Europe, and for twelve centuries of its past it has lived in unity with the Christian civilization of the Western world. During this long historical evolution the Slovak nation has achieved a stature, spiritual character and moral tradition that cannot be reconciled with the godless materialism of Communist doctrine or with the un-Christian methods of the people's democracy. Even though its beautiful land serves as a huge prison behind the Iron Curtain, the Slovak nation has not lost, but continues to confess fearlessly, its faith in God as the source of its strength and hope. Deprived as it is of everything, it still does not surrender its claim to a free life in its own state, but insists on an independent position in the great family of equal nations in Europe. Could youf as a free citizen of a democratic country, say that the Slovak nation does not deserve freedom? Or that it want more than it has a right to expect? FOOTNOTES 1) Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1934, p . 308. 2) In addition to many articles, Konstantin culen has written a separate two-volume study on American Slovaks: Dejiny Slov<ikov v Amerike (A History of Slovaks in America), Vols. I and II, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1942. The cultural life of American Slovaks is described in his book Slovaci v Amerike (Slovaks in America), Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia, 1938. Several articles are devoted to the intervention of the Slovak League in America in the political conditions of Slovakia in the book Slovensk<i Liga v Amerike styridsat'rocnri (Fortieth Anniversary of the Slovak League in America), Scranton, Pa., 1947. These questions are dealt in detail also by Karol Sidor in the book Slovrici v zahranicnom odboji ( Slovaks in the Resistance Movement Abroad), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1928. A separate book on the Pittsburgh Agreement was written by Konstantin culen, Pittsburghskd dohoda (The Pittsburgh Agreement), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1937. 3 ) Martin Greco, Martinsk<i deklar<icia (The St. Martin Declaration) , Bratislava, Slovakia, 1939. �SLOVAKIA 69 4) According to the 1930 census there were 3,329,793 inhabitants in 5) 6) 7) 8) Slovakia. Of this number, 2,284,355 were Roman Catholics, 213,725 Greek Catholics, 555,900 Protestants, 9,079 of the Orthodox faith . Only 16,890 were counted as not adhering to any religion: they were Czechs. The activity of Andrej Hlinka and the role of the Slovak People's Party are told in detail by Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1934. The Slovak National Party was numerically small, gaining only one delegate in the election, but it numbered among its members many of the Lutheran intelligentsia. The cession of Slovakia southern lands to Hungary was decided already between the Prague Government and the administration of Hungary. The government of autonomous Slovakia was confronted by this prepared situation, and Dr. Jozef Tiso, who had led these conferences, was actually a delegate of the Central Government of Prague. The Constitution of the Slovak Republic was prepared by the vicepresident of Parliament and the chairman of the constitutional committee, Dr. Karol Mederly, who published it in an a separate brochure with a comprehensive introduction, Ostava Slovenslcej republilcy a jej zakladne smernice (The Constitution of the Slovak Republic and Its Basic Principles), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1939. 9) Plots against the independent statehood of Slovakia were led abroad by Dr. Eduard Benes who had resigned from the office of president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, had recognized Dr. Emil Hacha as his successor and then once again claimed the office of president. His faithful co-worker was the Slovak Communist, Dr. Vladimir Clementis. 10) The Soviet aircraft landed in Slovakia Slovak soldiers who had been captured by the Soviets and were obHged to join the so-called Czechoslovak Brigade in Russia. This entire brigade dispersed because the Slovak troops who had seen conditions in Soviet Russia with their own eyes did not wish to fight against the Slovak Republic, but fled to their homes at the first opportunity. 11) The entire address spoken by Dr. Jozef Tiso in Bratislava before his sentence has been published by the Slovak Catholic Sokol in a book entitled Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe (Dr. Jozef Tiso, in His own Words), Slovak Catholic Sokol, Passaic, N. J., 1952, edited by Dr. Jozef Pauco. 12) Much valuable information regarding the resistance of the Slovaks against Communism may be found in the booklet by Dr. Jozef :Mikus, The Thee Slovak Bishops, Slovak Catholic Federation of America, Passaic, N. J. 1953. � 42 SLOVAKIA This Is Slovakia By Francis Hrusovsk'J}, Ph.D. SEPARATIO N FROM HUNGARY The Austro-Hung arian Monarchy was built on a shaky foundation. It may have survived in a less extended territory, had it grasped in time its historical mission in this ethnically disunited region of Central Europe. Hungary could have weathered the approaching historical holocaust if it had put into practice the spirit of justice and equality. But neither the Austrian Emperor nor the Hungarian King, neither the Government of Vienna nor of Budapest, reckoned with the given realities: they did not know how to rightly evaluate the strength of the new historical trends, nor did they forsee the direction of future developments . Hence they permitted themselves to be led by policies which could only lead to the disintegration of the entire Monarchy and to the fall of Hungary. Because of the national policy of Hungary, which curtailed the growth of Slovak national life in all of its phases. the Slovaks were not sufficiently prepared for the role which awaited them. When the World War broke out in 1914, under the emergency provisions of the Government any kind of Slovak political movement was unthinkable. The fate of countries and of nations is not always determined by their strength, but as much by circumstances which arise without their doing. This proved to be true not only of Austra-Hunga ry, which was shaken to its foundations by World War I, but also of the various nations which had gradually become aware that the time had come to take an account of the past and be concerned only about their own future fate, regardless of the interests of the Monarchy. At the beginning of the war, the Slovaks had no thought of separating from Hungary, much less could they have expressed such a thought aloud. But when the War was nearing its end and it was more and more evident that Austria-Hung ary could not escape defeat, the leaders of �SLOVAKIA 43 the Slovaks saw that the military defeat of the Hapsburg Monarchy would furnish them the opportunity for attaining the goals they were not able to achieve in Hungary. Slovak patriots met for a secret conference in Turciansky Sv. Martin on May 24, 1918, where Andrej Hlinka plainly stated: "The thousand-year marriage with the Magyars has not panned out. We must be divorced." 1 The Slovaks took a stand for the right of selfdetermination of the Slovak nation and decided that at an opportune time they would sever all ties between Slovakia and Hungary and enter a new State composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia and Sub-Carpathian Russia. The Czecho-Slovak National Council (Ceskoslovenska narodna rada ), founded in Paris in 1916, worked abroad for the disolution of Austria-Aungary and the formation of a new Czecho-Slovak State. At the head of the CzechoSlovak National Council was professor Thomas G. Masaryk, and its outstanding member was the distinguished Slovak scholar, Milan Rastislav Stefanik, who possessed unusual diplomatic talents and attained the rank of General in the French Army. Slovaks living abroad morally and materially supported the activity of the Czecho-Slovak National Council and in large numbers joined the CzechoSlovak Legion which fought on the side of the Allies against Austria-Hungary The Slovaks were convinced that if Slovakia would tear away from Hungary, it would enjoy all the conditions of a free national existence in a joint Czecho-Slovak State. The Czecho-Slovak National Council was most effectively supported by the Slovaks who were living in America and who always lllad a lively interest in the destiny of the Slovak nation in the Old World. Under the leadership of the Slovak League of America, which was organized already in 1907, they frequently raised their voice in defense of the Slovak nation in Hungary, and as free citizens of a democratic country they protested against the injustices which their native brothers in Slovakia had to suffer. Later, in the years of World War I , they stood in the first ranks of the battle for the liberation of Slovakia. It is to their credit not only that they made large financial sacrifices for the cause of the Czecho-Slovak National Council, but also that they insisted on having beforehand �44 SLOVAKIA a clear presentation and firm guaranties as to the relationship between the Slovak and Czech nations in the proposed joint State. Representatives of the Slovak League in America discussed this serious question with delegates of the Czech National Federation in Cleveland as early as 1915, and came to the conclusion that the future Czecho-Slovakia would be a federal union of states with complete autonomy for Slovakia. Subsequently, on May 30, 1918, representatives of the Slovak League met with representatives of Czech organizations and with the President of the Czecho-Slovak National Council, T. G. Masaryk, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and drew up an agreement which guaranteed political and cultural autonomy to Slovakia in the new State. This agreement was designed by T . G. Masaryk and later signed by him as president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. 2 Only vague reports of this foreign action penetrated Slovakia, and the agreements which testify to the wise foresight of the American Slovaks were not even known there. Nevertheless, everything that could be undertaken in Slovakia during the War for the benefit of Slovakia's future was basically in harmony with what was being done independently overseas. In the meantime, events at the front indicated that the defeat of Austria-Hungary was inescapable. Emperor Charles published a manifesto on October 16, 1918, in which he promised a reconstruction of the Monarchy on a new basis, but it was already too late. The President of the Hungarian Government, Count Stephen Tisza, on the 17th of October, attempted to justify the Budapest policy of Magyarization, reluctant to see that it was just this policy that brought Hungary to inevitable disintegration and certain collapse. In the Hungarian Parliament, on October 19, the Slovak delegate, Dr. Ferdis Juriga, announced in the face of a stormy protest of Magyar members that neither the Hungarian Parliament nor the Hungarian Government had the right any longer to decide the future destiny of the Slovak nation, because the Slovaks would decide their own future on the basis of their right of self-determination. The Slovaks, unaware of what had happened in Prague on October 28, met on October 30, 1918, in Turciansky Sv. �SLOVAKIA 45 Martin, where, chiefly under the influence of Andrej Hlinka, they organized a Slovak National Council and in a separate declaration proclaimed that the Slovaks once and for all Hrere separating themselves from Hungary and were of their own accord joining the Czecho-Slovak State.3 The new Czecho-Slovak State was born on the ruins of the Hapsburg Monarchy, which, having lost the war, was not able to defend its own existence and escape catastrophe. There was nothing left to do but define the boundaries of the new State (especially the Slovak-Hungarian border ), establish its international position, and construct its internal administration on a basis that would insure its ability to live. The most important condition for the healthy internal development of the Czecho-Slovak State was deciding the position Slovakia would occupy in the new State. The separation of the Slovaks from the Magyars and from Hungary was for the Slovak& not only painless, but joyful, as was the separation of the thirteen American colonies from England. " SLAVES UNTIL NOW - NEVER AGAIN!" Martin Razus (1888-1937)-a leading Slovak poet whose writings gave voice to the pains, longings, and hopes of his people, and whom the Slovaks called the "conscience of the Slovak nation"-welcomed the dawn of the new Slovak day with a poem, the refrain of which reads: "Slaves we have been till now, slaves we shall be no longer!" These words, mirrored the sentiment that prevailed throughout Slovakia in the first years of its new status. The Slovaks had reasons enough, at the end of the bloody war, to welcome the Czecho-Slovak Republic with open joy and sincere hopes. They had fought on all fronts, and had used every means, to bring about the formation of this new State. They had a right therefore to see in the Czecho-Slovak Republic a state they could consider their own. Slovakia experienced a period of genuine joy mostly because it had extricated itself from the union with old Hungary where it had striven in vain for equal rights. The Magyar language was removed from offices, schools, and all public life, and with its disappearance went all traces of Magyar domination. Slavonic traditions, which �46 SLOVAKIA had remained alive in Slovakia, prevented the Slovaks from being disappointed in their Slavonic brotherhood, a subject frequently discussed at the inception of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Slovak people entered their new existence as a nation composed of large groups of Slovaks who had never estranged themselves from their origin nor allowed themselves to be misled by foreign ideologies, had preserved their language, their national traditions and all the marks of their national character. The democratic spirit which promted the laws of the new State gave assurance that the Slovak people would no longer serve foreign masters, but would concentrate on the development of their own life in order to regain as quickly as possible what they had lost in the past through no fault of their own. Aristocratic titles, together with their corresponding historical privileges, wer e abolished. A federal Land Commission was set up to expropriate for a fair price land held by big non-Slovak landowners and distribute it to the small Slovak farmers , who had always been the strong core of the Slovak nation. It was anticipated, with good reason, that the industry, that would develop in the western part of the new State would be supplemented by the farm and forest economy of Slovakia, a balance that could be achieved only by means of such a union with the Czech lands. It was also to be expected that under the influence of new social laws the living standard of the working people would be raised. The Constitution, approved on February 29, 1920, guaranteed civil equality and political rights to all citizens, thus giving the Slovaks the privilege of influencing the affairs of government. A great deal of pain was caused in Slovak life by the schools which had been used as an instrument of denationalization. This injustice was corrected by the retention of Magyar schools only in those parts of Slovakia where was a Magyar population. New high schools and technical schools were established where there had been none before. In Bratislava, which had become the capital of Slovakia, a new university was founded in 1919 with three faculties. Besides other cultural organizations, the National Slovak Theatre came into being. In every city and village of Slovakia, public libraries were established and plays �SLOVAKIA 47 were presented, with the result that vigorous cultural activity spread throughout the country. In Turciansky Sv. Martin, the Matica Slovenska was reopened, to provide Slovakia with the new products of Slovak literature. In Slovakia there was a revival of old Slovak political parties whose activity was restricted under the Hungarian regime and completely stopped during the war. In addition, new political parties were organized, so that Slovaks could participate in politics according to their convictions. The desire for a new, free, and full national life was discernible everywhere, and the program for providing this kind of life from day to day. The relationship between the Slovak and Czech people, however, was dimmed from the very beginning of their union, and as it continued it became streadily worse. The Czechs and the Slovaks, throughout their long history, had never lived together in a joint state. Each went their own way and developed under a different set of conditions. When these two Slavic nations now got together under the roof of a common state and began to knew each other better, it appeared that for all their lingual similarity there was a great difference between them. Slovakia is a country Christian from its foundations, 80 % Catholic, its deep, living religious traditions permeating the nature of the Slovak and his entire life. 4 The Czechs, as the result of a different historical development, had a different attitude toward religious questions, and when, after the beginning of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, they came to Slovakia, they approached the religious convictions of the Slovaks tactlessly, thereby creating antagonism in Slovakia. Between the Slovak and Czech nations a crevice of distrust began to form . This fissure deepened when the Czechs in Slovakia acted as though they were in a backward country. Many of them had the idea--even when there was no basis for it:r--that their role was to bring culture and progress to Slovakia. This condescending attitude offended the Slovaks, who in turn began to ridicule Czech "progressiveness." Under the pretext that the Slovaks did not have sufficient trained personnel to occupy various official posi- �48 SLOVAKIA tions, multitudes of Czechs who had previously lived in various parts of Austria and for whom there was no room in Bohemia, moved into Slovakia. The Slovaks were grateful to the Czechs for the assistance Slovakia certainly needed in the first years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. But the thousands upon thousands of Czechs who came into Slovakia were completely superfluous. The Slovaks began to look upon them as intruders who were taking away their jobs and bread. While the flood of Czechs was pouring into Slovakia, Slovaks left their homeland in great numbers and moved to all parts of the world. But the most important reason why the early enthusiasms of the Slovaks ended in rapid and complete disillusionment was that the Czechs were trying to build the Czecho-Slovak Republic on the same kind of foundation the Magyars had laid for the creation of a united great Hungary. The very opening words of the Czecho-Slovak Constitution speak of the "Czechoslovak nation"-which in fact never existed. The Czechs ever more openly proclaimed the idea of Czechoslovak national oneness. Since they themselves had no intention of giving up their Czech nationality; desiring to remain a Czech nation also in the future, this alleged Czechoslovak national oneness was simply a way of leading tha Slovaks into a national unity with the Czechs. Even though admitting its euphony, they spoke of the Slovak language as a dialect of the Czech tongue, a vestige that would gradually disappear from literature. Because there was indeed no Czechoslovak language, references were made to the temporary bilinguism of the Czechoslovak nation, or of two aspects of one language. The Slovaks, who had waged such a long, costly, and exhausting struggle in Hungary "for our Slovak language" and considered their language as one expression of their national individuality, were disturbed by such a development because they saw in it the design of Czechization. Slovak literature, from the Czech point of view, was merely an echo of Czech literature, and all Slovak culture just a part of Czech cultural life. They predicted that the Slovaks would gradually �SLOVAKIA 49 merge with the Czechs in the unified State, that they themselves recognized the advantage of such a development, and that this unity would be the most secure foundation for the Czecho-Slovak Republic which would then stand as a strong bulwark against the pressure of their German neighbor. Czech policy, based on such assumptions, led to complete centralization which ignored the interests of Slovakia. This Czech policy aroused vigorous opposition in Slovakia. If the words of the poet Martin Razus meant that the Slovaks had been slaves in Hungary and that this slavery had ended once and for all, they soon took on the new meaning that the Slovaks did not care to be--nor would they be--slaves in the Czecho-Slovak Republic either. The Magyars had used a political ideology to justify their dealings with the Slovaks, though actually they were concerned only for their own safety. The lifeless fiction of Czechoslovak national oneness had a similar meaning. The Czechs are surrounded on three sides by the Germans, and they are exposed to the influence of this great neighbor. When the Czecho-Slovak Republic came into being, they thought Slovakia would become not only their colony but also a country which when gradually assimilated would strengthen their position over against the Germans. But the Slovaks, who had not been willing to perish in Hungary, were unwilling to sacrifice their national individuality even for the protection of the Czechs. Suicide can be committed only by a nation uninformed, cudutrally undeveloped, and unconcerned about its future, a nation which does not understand why it should care about its honor or its right to exist. Because it had endured so many historical trials, had lost so much of its own blood, and was unable to develop its national life under the trying conditions of its past, the Slovak nation grew weary of having its energies continually drained and finally longed to be a nation really free. For this very reason it recognized the danger it faced in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, and with all the determination of a self-conscious nation took a stand for the defense of its honor and its right to the kind of life every nation deserves. �50 SLOVAKIA UNDER THE LEADERS HIP OF ANDREJ HLINKA In the first years of the Czecho-Slo vak Republic Slovakia had a sort of governmen t, headed by a special minister with full authority for the administra tion of Slovakia as a member of the Prague Governmen t. This administra tion had its headquarte rs in Bratislava, consisted of several cabinet members, and exercised powers of jurisdictio n for a brief period. But in the end it was subject to the Central Governme nt in Prague which handled the admi.Ristra tion of the new State as part of a pattern of complete centralizat ion. Czech policy with all its attempts at centralizat ion was challenged by Andrej Hlinka, who had revived the Slovak People's Party (Slovenska :r.udova Strana) and had evoked a strong opposition movement in Slovakia. Andrej Hlinka saw the danger threatening Slovakia, and therefore tried to get the Paris Peace Conference to define the position of Slovakia in the Czecho-Slo vak Republic. For this he was imprisoned in the year 1919. Only upon his election to the Prague Parliamen t on April 18, 1920 was he released.5 The Slovak People's Party gained twelve seats in the election and, under the leadership of its chairman, Andrej Hlinka, began a relentless struggle for the rights of the Slovak nation in accordance with the Pittsburgh Agreement which had become the pattern of Slovak policy. This campaign had to be directed not only against the Prague Governme nt, but also against all the Czech political parties which, as servants of Prague centralism , had spread their nets also in Slovakia. Andrej Hlinka organized his party, set up its press, traveled throughou t Slovakia, and speaking at mass meetings, awakened in the Slovak people a strong national consciousn ess, an interest in political life, and courage to defend all their rights. These gatherings were often very stormy; neverthele ss the Slovak people followed Andrej Hlinka and saw in him their political leader. The inconsider ate actions of Czechs in Slovakia continued and strengthen ed the spirit of opposition in large groups of Slovak people against everything that came from Bohemia. In the years 1922-1926, when the Prague Governme nt was sending multitudes of Czechs into Slovakia to break Slovak �SLOVAKIA 51 resistance to its policy of centralization, 250,000 Slovaks emigrated from Slovakia, forced to look for work in foreign lands. The Prague Government resorted to every means in order to discredit Andrej Hlinka and to frustrate the activity of the Slovak People's Party, but its attempts merely served to widen the breach between the Slovaks and the Czechs. The Slovak People's Party, in its campaign for the sanctioning of Slovak autonomy, desired the fulfilment of what Slovakia had been guaranteed in the Pittsburgh Agreement. The president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic T . G. Masaryk, who had designed and signed that Agreement himself, brushed aside the petitions of the Slovak People's Party with the excuse that the Pittsburgh Agreement is just an interesting document from the period of rebellion against Austria-Hungary, having no binding value . He claimed that the Slovak gained more in the Czecho-Slovak Republic than they were promised in the Pittsburgh Agreement. The Slovaks would not recognize this devaluation of the Pittsburgh Agreement, and the American Slovaks, who were following carefully the progress of Slovakia in the Czecho-Slovak State, in their Message of the American Slovaks to the Old World encouraged their native brothers to pursue relentlessly the struggle for Slovak autonomy. Andrej Hlinka stood staunchly behind the autonomy platform of the Slovak People's Party, and that was the reason why it grew in numbers and in strength. In the elections of 1925 it won twenty-three seats in the Prague Parliament and became the largest political party in Slovakia, with the right to speak as the only authorized representative of the political will of the Slovak nation. When not even the Czechs could continue to close their eyes to the numerical strength and steadily increasing importance to the Slovak People's Party any longer, they tried to win it to the side of the Government. After lengthy deliberations, the Slovak People's Party sent its representatives to the Prague Government to see if they might achieve autonomy by this method. According to this policy, it sought changes in the affairs of the Government that would assure Slovakia a standing as a separate administration unit. In 1927 the Prague Parliament passed �52 SLOVAKIA a law dividing the territory of Czecho-Slovakia into four administrative regions. Beginning January 1, 1928, Slovakia was to become one of these units. Slovakia was empowered to elect its own provincial representatives, forming a provincial assembly for the management of the economic, transportation, social, health and cultural needs of Slovakia. The Czechs felt that by this concession they were satisfying all the demands of Slovakia. However, the Slovaks saw in this reform only "the first ray of Slovak autonomy." The provincial assembly had no legislative powers, one-third of its members were named by the Prague Government, and its jurisdiction was limited. Still, it was a step forward, and it bolstered the hope in Slovakia that gradually the entire autonomistic program set forth in the Pittsburgh Agreement would be realized. The Slovaks were not oposed to the Czecho-Slovak Republic, of which they wanted their own State to be a member. In fact, they believed that, despite all the hardships which hampered the realization of their political program, they would eventually reach their goal. Nor were they against the Czech nation as such; but they resolutely rejected the myth of Czechoslovak national oneness and ever more boldly resisted the Czech imperialism which persisted even after the reorganization of the Government. Relations between the Slovaks and Czechs did not improve ; rather, the centralism of Prague became pronounced that the conditions for harmonious cohabitation between these two nations grew steadily worse. The elections of 1929 again proved the firm position of the Slovak People's Party and its abiding determination to defend the rights of the Slovak nation. It withdrew from the Government and, as on opposition Party, submitted to the Prague Parliament several proposals for the sanctioning of Slovak autonomy. The Prague Parliament rejected all these motions. It was evident that the fight would have to go to the finish. The first requirement for the attainment of Slovak autonomy was unity of all Slovaks. The Czechs had always been able to find means to thwart the unification of the Slovaks. Now the Slovaks had to discover something that would unite them and lead them toward a common goal. The Slovak People's Party, led by Andrej Hlinka, was �SLOVAKIA 53 predominantly Catholic. The Slovak National Party (Slovenska Narodna Strana), headed by Martin Razus, had a majority of Lutheran members.6 These two political parties, fighting for the autonomy of Slovakia, came to an agreement on a united precedure in 1932, and in a joint resolution expressed their mutual determination not to surrender Slovak rights even thought it might cost the disintegration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. This resolve of the Slovak nation was further stiffened and given a mighty manifestation when, from August 13-15, 1933, the Slovaks gathered in Nitra, the ancient headquars of the Slovak princes, to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of the dedication of the first Christian church in Slovakia. At this occasion the Slovak people not only reminded themselves of their antiquity and the rich traditions of their Christian culture, but at the same time emphasized their right to a free national existence in a great demonstration. More than 100,000 Slovaks assembled at the historic site of glorious Slovak antiquity to express their unquenchable longing for a free Slovak future. As the Prague Government did not understand Slovakia, so did not comprehend what took place in Nitra. It saw in the events in Nitra simply a demonstration against the Government. This prompted the seizure of the Slovak People's Party's press, the trial of its editor-in-chief Karol Sidor, an investigation of Slovak students and other steps which evoked a new storm of apposition in Slovakia. The premier of the Prague Government, Jan Malypetr, himself issued a separate manifesto in which he stressed that the Czechs contributed to the support of Slovakia and that Slovakia was ungrateful for this magnanimity. To give this speech as much publicity as possible in Slovakia, he had it printed on large placards and posted in all Slovak cities and villages. This tactless and-for a premier of a government-undignified act deeply offended every Slovak, because no one in Slovakia believed that Slovakia was dependent on the Czechs for a subsidy. Equally as politically indescreet and mistaken in statesmanship was the procedure of Dr. Eduard Benes who, as foreign minister of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, in December of 1933 spoke in several Slovak cities on the �54 SLOVAKIA "Idea of Czechoslovak National Unity from the Viewpoint of International Policy." The Slovaks were to keep silent about their grievances and their rights because Prague supported Slovakia. They were to disavow their national independence without a struggle and betray themselves in order to strengthen the international position of the State in which they were not able to arouse justice and reform. Instead of being misled and bowing to the Prague Government at this suggestion, the Slovaks advanced tow~rd their goal. They were unwilling to surrender their rights even for the survival of the Czecho-Slovak Republic which at this very hour had got itself into a really dangerous situation. Adolf Hitler and his National-Socialist Party had come to power in neighboring Germany. The Slovaks were correct in assuming that this tense international situation would force the Czechs to fulfill the Slovak demands in order to strengthen the Czecho-Slovak Republic for the possible outbreak of new dangers. The Slovaks did not wish to cause internal difficulties in the CzechoSlovak Republic and, even at this time, they had the good will to come to an agreement with the Czechs and to defend their joint State with their united strength. When T . G. Masaryk resigned from the office of President on December 14, 1935, representatives of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, at the election of the new president on December 18, voted for Dr. Eduard Benes who prior to the election had promised to see that the Slovak demands would be fulfilled. Dr. Benes made the promise, but it turned out that there was no one to fulfill it. For the first time in the history of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, a Slovak, Dr. Milan Hodza, became premier of the Government and also Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was a politician of rich experience and wide vision but involved in his own political conceptions and indecisive especially concerning the Slovak question. At the time, even had he wanted to settle the standing of Slovakia, he could not devote himself to the question because he was obliged to center all his attention on the demands of the Sudeten Germans. The integrity and existence of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was seriously threatened and the position of �SLOVAKIA 55 Slovakia was left unsolved after twenty years of the Czecho-Slovak State. In 1938 the situation of the Czecho-Slovak Republic became even worse. On March 12 Hitler occupied and linked Austria to Germany. The Sudeten Germans presented their demands again, but the Prague Government had no answer to give that would satisfy both the Germans and the interests of the Czecho-Slovak State. The international situation grew more and more acute, and the Czecho-Slovak Republic, preparing to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, was experiencing moments of deep unrest and worrisome uncertainty. Even under these circumstances the Slovaks, who for twenty years had striven for autonomy and for twenty years had not been able to achieve their goal, were peacefully preparing to commemorate in a grand way the twentieth anniversary of the Pittsburgh Agreement. On Pentecost Sunday, the 5th of June, 120,000 Slovaks gathered in Bratislava to declare most emphatically that they would never give up their rights. At this occasian a delegation of the Slovak League of America was present together with its president, Dr. Peter P. Hletko, who brought along the original of the Pittsburgh Pact. The American Slovaks represented by the Slovak League wished to certify by their presence at this commemoration that they stood on the same platform they had accepted twenty years earlier. The throngs of Slovaks who welcomed the delegation of the Slovak League of America in the capital of Slovakia were not fanatic masses, but the self-conscious Slovak nation, politically trained and exemplarily led by Andrej Hlinka, giving notice for the last time and in a very resolute-yet in every respect honorable-manner, that it would under no pressure give up the struggle for its rights to a free life. In Bratislava, for the last time, Andrej Hlinka himself appeared before the crowd of faithful fellow fighters to receive the homage of his people before his death. The Prague Government, even with the Slovak Dr. Milan Hodza at its helm, failed to understand the true meaning of this historical event and the very next day arranged a demonstration in Bratislava advocating the idea of Czechoslovak national oneness in opposition to �56 SLOVA KIA Slovak autono my. This blund ering step was the climax of all the mistak es made by the Pragu e Gover nment in its absur d policy conce rning Slovak ia. Andre j Hlink a died Augus t 16, 1938. The Slovak nation stood at his grave resolu tely determ ined to finish its great strugg le witho ut regard for the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic. The mome nt had come when the Slovak nation had to be conce rned only aboutl its own destin y. VIA AUTO NOMY TO THE SLOV AK STATE The positi on of the Slovak s in the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic preven ted them from determ ining even their own destin y. Much less were they able to steer the course of intern al affairs in this State. Least of all were they able to influe nce the foreig n policy direct ed by Dr. Eduar d Benes . Hence the Slovak s bore no respon sibilit y either for the develo pment of the intern al life or the intern ationa l standi ng of the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic and could not be blame d for the situati on into which the State got itself. Small nation s are not creato rs of intern ationa l situations. Often they are merely helple ss figurin es on the great chessb oard of intern ationa l politic s, which is the game of large nation s. Furthe rmore , the small nation witho ut to a gover nment of its own it not given an oppor tunity l ationa active ly interv ene in the appea semen t of an intern 1918 situati on. The Slovak s were in sucl\ a positi on from to 1938. If great nation s assum e the right to create intern ationa l situat ions in which they utilize small nation s for the realiza tion of their power plans, a small and enslav ed nation canno t be blame d if for its own protec tion it utilize s an oppor tunity offere d by the wave of histor ical events . It is eviden ce of the Slovak nation 's politic al matur ity that it knew how to grasp such an histor ical oppor tunity , not neglec ting to use it for the attain ment of a goal it coul not achiev e by its own power . The Slovak s grew tired of vainly repeat ing their justifi ed deman ds when there was no one to fulfill them. They were theref ore determ ined and prepa red to take what was rightfu lly theirs. Imme diatel y after the Bratis lava manif estatio n the Slovak People 's Party presen ted to the Pragu e Parlia ment �SLOVA KIA 57 a new nation for a law provid ing Slovak ia with autono my. At the time, Czech o-Slov akia found itself in the midst of a seriou s intern al crisis and was shake n to the found ations by strong outwa rd pressu re. With the threat of war hangin g in the air, the Pragu e Gover nment , heade d since Septem ber 23, 1938 by Gener al Syrovy , procla imed total mobili zation , a necess ity hasten ed still more by the intern al chaos in the Czech o-Slov ak Repub lic. The issue did not lead to war, howev er, becau se the Czech o-Slov ak Gover nment, on the advice of the Allies, acctep ted the condit ions dictate d by Germa ny accord ing to which the Germa n Army was to occup y the territo ries of Czech o-Slov akia that were popul ated by Germa ns. Nor was the Pragu e Gover nment able to reject the ultima tum of Poland deman ding that the Polish -occup ied territo ry of Silesia be joined to Poland . These circum stance s left the Slovak s no choice but to look out for thems elves. After length y and fruitle ss concultati ons with repres entativ es of the Pragu e regime , the Slovak People 's Party, led by Dr. Jozef Tiso after the death of Andre j Hlink a, had to take the fate of Slovak ia into its own hands . On Octob er 5th Dr. Eduar d Benes resign ed as Presid ent of the Repub lic, and on the 6th of Octob er the Execu tive Comm ittee of the Slovak People 's Party met in Zilina and sugge sted that all power in Slovak ia be taken over by the Slovak s by right of self-de termin ation. This resolu tion of the Slovak People 's Party was acctep ted and approv ed in all its parts also by delega tes of all the remain ing non-le ftist Slovak partie s. In the rapid succes sion of storm y events , the Slovak nation had to stakei out its future alone in order to preven t others from makin g the decisi ons contra ry to its intere sts. All these politic al partie s agreed also to join with the Slovak People 's Party to form a single party: The Slovak Nation al Unity Party (Stran a sloven skej narod nej jednot y). The Pragu e Gover nment, alway s deaf to Slovak previous deman ds, recogn ized this unanim ous decisi on of the Slovak politic al partie s. Slovak ia obtain ed its autono mous govern ment with Dr. Jozef Tiso at its head as prime minist er. Later, on Novem ber 19, 1938, the Pragu e Parliament passed a consti tution al law for the govern ment of autono mous Slovak ia. In order that Slovak ia might be �58 SLOVAKIA properly represented also in the Central Government in Prague, Karol Sidor was made the vice-presiden t of that body. In addition, Slovakia had its own delegates in the ministries of foreign affairs, national defense and finance . The Slovak nation had just attained this goal when confronted by a catastrophe similar to that which was it the Bohemian lands. The southern section of visited had by Magyars, was claimed by the Magyars, inhabited Slovakia have liked to occupy all of Slovakia. fact in would who had to work out a new boundary government The Slovak 7 Discussions were based on government. Magyar with the of the population. The nationality the of the statistics 1930 census, whereas the of statistics the Magyars rejected taken during the statistics, 1910 the the Slovaks regarded setting of the The unjust. as period of Magyarizatio n, court impartial an to left new boundary was therefore Germany and Italy of of arbitration. The foreign ministers rendered a decision on November 2, 1938, which the Slovaks considered to be unfair. By it Hungary received and occupied cities and areas in southern Slovakia that were entirely or predominantl y Slovak. This decision resulted in many economic and commercial hardships for Slovakia because the new boundary severed railroads and roads, and a number of Slovak valleys, open toward the south, lost their connection with the territory of Slovakia. Even these injustices and hardships failed to shatter the spirit of the Slovak nation. The Slovak Government, by exerting all its energy endeavored to organize the administratio n of Slovakia in a way that would prove its ability to exist as an entity. It was anxious above all to see all Slovaks lay a strong foundation for the future of Slovakia by means of firm national unity and faithful cooperation. According to the declaration of Slovak autonomy, elections for seats in Parliament were held as early as December 18, 1938. Members of the Slovak Parliament became the representativ es not only of the Slovak People's Party, but also of the remaining political parties which now formed the Slovak National Unity Party as the result of the zilina agreement. In the Slovak Parliament national minorities also had their representativ es. A month later, January 18, 1939, the legislative assembly of autonomous �SLOVAKIA 59 Slovakia was opened in a festive manner and began its activity. It soon appeared that the form and amount of selfgovernmen t which Slovakia possessed could not supply all the needs of Slovak national life. In its twenty-yea r struggle for its rights, the Slovak nation had reached a level of maturity, and had set its heart on a measure of freedom, for which autonomy was too small a frame. Not even the Czechs were satisfied with the autonomou s status of Slovakia. They found it hard to give up the rule of Slovakia even though responsibl e persons in the Prague Governme nt repeatedly complaine d that the Czechs were obliged to subsidize Slovakia. The Slovak nation felt that it was capable of taking over the administra tion of its country entirely, while the central departmen ts in Prague often proceeded as though there were no declaration of Slovak autonomy in existence. Fresh disagreeme nts and dissension s arose between the Slovaks and Czechs, and the situation in autonomou s Slovakia continued to be vague and confused. The situation was made worse by the intrusion of outside influences. This confusion, aggravated by the rapacity of its neighbors, could have had catastrophic consequen ces for the fate of Slovakia. The Slovaks longed for the peaceful growth of their own life, and the orn: condition necessary for such a life was the national independen ce of Slovakia. The Slovak nation, having come so far along the road of its historical evolution, was prepared and determined to take this step also, because it was convinced that it had a right not only to autonomy, but also to its own independen t state. And this step was the only refuge for Slovakia against the storm threatening it in the tense internation al situation. " FAITHFUL TO OURSELV ES FORWARD IN HARMONY ! " As a result of the constantly increasing demands of Germany, the situatjon which developed in Central Europe was very confused and perturbed at the beginning of March, 1939. It was clear, however, that the Czecho-Slo vak Republic had arrived at the edge of an abyss. The Slovaks did not feel duty-bound to hurl themselves into that gorge. �60 SLOVAKIA Rather, the Slovaks looked for an escape that would lead them to safety. In Bratislava representatives of Germany sought out Karol Sidor, whom they considered the most popular political leader in Slovakia, and urged him to declare the independent State of Slovakia over the radio. Dr. Jozef Tiso was invited to Berlin for a discussion with Adolf Hitler and his minister of foreign affairs, von Ribbentrop. They both informed the president of the Slovak government of the danger confronting Slovakia and demanded his decision at once. Neither Karol Sidor nor Dr. Jozef Tiso complied with this urgent demand because they considered any decisions regarding the future legal status of Slovakia to be the right and duty of the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava. The Slovak Parliament, elected according to the decree of Slovak autonomy, was called into session by the president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, Dr. Emil Ha.cha, and on March 14, 1939, it declared Slovakia an independent and self-governing state by unanimous resolution. The presidium of the Parliament appointed the administration of independent Slovakia, with Dr. Jozef Tiso at his head, and the Slovak Government then took over all power in Slovakia into its own hands. Even though the international situation, during which Slovakia's declaration of independence was made, influenced the rapid succession of events in Slovakia, the Slovak Parliament-as the legal and authorized interpreter of the Slovak nation's will-did only what the Slovak nation had a right to do. Conscious of this right, the Slovak nation accepted the decision of the Slovak Parliament as the natural result of historical development not only with enthusiastic agreement and sincere joy, but also with a determination to bear the entire burden of responsibility for its own destiny and to prove that it was mature and ready for national independence. The proclamation of autonomous Slovakia as an independent state marked the end of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Even so, the Czecho-Slovak Republic would not have been able to survive the hurricane of events. Its fall would have been Slovakia's downfall also, and the Slovak nation would have been left to the mercy of its neighbors. The decisive action of the Slovak Parliament placed before �SLOVAKIA 61 Slovakia's neighbors a ready reality, and the government of the neighboring states took this reality into consideration and respected it. The independent State of Slovakia was recognized either de iure or de facto by the following states: Belgium, ( de facto ), Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Equador, Estonia, Finland, France ( de facto ), Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Manchuria, Poland, Siam, Soviet Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Vatican State and Yugoslavia, 27 nations in all. These states included great powers and small countries, neutrals as well as belligerents in the Second World War. Not even the allies of the former Czecho-Slovak Republic hesitated to recognize the national independence of Slovakia. Some of these nations established and maintained diplomatic and commercial relations with Slovakia, whereas others were not able to do so because they were obstructed by the War. The Slovak State did not solicit the protection of its German neighbor, but when the German Government itself came with the proposal of a defense pact, the Slovak Government, for various reasons, could not reject such an offer. True, this treaty restricted the sovereignty of the Slovak State to a certain extent, but on the other hand it assured the safety of Slovakia not only against the nation which frequently advanced its historical claims to Slovak lands, but also against Germany itself. Although the Slovaks had in the past claimed the right to a free life, the nations who were deciding the fate of Slovakia rejected these petitions, and, despite other proofs, kept insisting that Slovakia because of its small size could not maintain itself as a separate and independent political unit since it was not supposed to be economically selfsustaining. Therefore, they concluded, it would be to the advantage of Slovakia to be in a union with another state, and it was intimated that the Slovaks should be thankful if someone would be willing magnanimously to support them. From the very beginning of its life as an independent state, Slovakia strove to disprove this false legend of economic dependence. And it controverted it in such a way at every step that these arguments against Slovak independ- �62 SLOVAKIA ence completely disappeared. As soon as its autonomy was proclaimed, the Slovak Government floated a loan for the economic revival of Slovakia, and the Slovak people themselves in a short time subscribed an amount necessary to cover this need. In a similar manner a gold standard was created for the Slovak Republic, to which the Slovaks sacrificed their valuables. The mint at Kremnica which had coined Hungarian currency for 600 years, for the first time in its history began to mint money with the seal of the Slovak State. It was discovered that Slovakia had enough varied raw materials which it could work, and that Slovak industry could increase its production to the point where it could export its products. Slovakia concluded trade agreements with many European countries, and the foreign trade of the Slovak Republic was highly active. The Slovak "koruna" (crown) won a reputation as the "Tatra Dollar," and its steady value was the best proof of the settled economy of the Slovak State. The Slovak Parliament, as early as July 21, 1939. approved the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, thereby establishing a strong foundation of legal procedure and the future development of Slovak national life. 8 On October 26, 1939, Dr. Jozef Tiso was unanimously elected the first president of the Slovak Republic and was recognized by the Slovak nation as the successor of the 9th-century Slovak princes. His motto: "Faithful to Ourselves-Forward in Harmony!" succinctly expressed not only the principles he practiced in his own high office, but also the program of Slovak statehood. The Slovak nation, particularly during those tempestuous days, took careful note of all the advantages and disadvantages obtaining from its position at the historical crossroads of Central Europe. The generation: which lived to see liberty on the soil of the ancient Slovak fatherland wanted to forget the injustices of the past and sincerely to establish friendly relation with all the nations with which it would come into contact. It wished to stand not only on the free land of its ancestors, but also on the spiritual foundation of its own life, to retrieve in unity with all Slovaks what the Slovak nation had lost through no fault of its own, and to prepare a peaceful and prosperous future for generations to come. �SLOVAKIA 63 It was along this road that Dr. Jozef Tiso led the Slovak nation as president of the Slovak Republic. As the Slovak nation was laying the foundations of its State and was taking its first steps on the road of a free life, the storm of war began to spread over Central Europe. Its flames grew and engulfed more and more countries. But the hurricane of war, moving from the west to the east, passed over Slovakia without damage. During the first years of the War, when the German armies penetrated through Poland and were headed for Moscow, reaching the Volga River and the foothills of the Caucasus, Slovakia remained in a sort of vacuum, free to develop in every respect without interference. Especially the cultural life of Slovakia blossomed at this time. In the Slovak University, the Technical Institute, the School of Commerce and Business, the Slovak National Library, the Slovak Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in its other older and newer cultural institutions the Slovak nation discovered media of growth such as it had never known in the past. The number of books increased daily, new radio stations were built, and the production of cultural and documentary films was initiated. Unusual cultural activity flourished throughout Slovakia with many Slovak villages erecting cultural buildings as agencies for their own progress. Slovakia grew because the creative abilities of the Slovak nation were not being exhausted in the defense of natural rights, now guaranteed by political independence and its own national administration. The Slovak Republic, emerging during the twilight of the great War, was beclouded by a crucial question: How would the War end, and what kind of fate awaited this small yet so promisingly developing State? The Slovak nation was determined to defend its national independence as the only real basis for its national liberty, and so it exerted itself to have the Slovak Republic remain on the map of postwar Europe. It had a right to believe that it could preserve its liberty and national independence, but it knew from its own experience the bitter truth that if the others decided the fate of a nation, the rights of a nation are seldom considered. The only desire of the Slovak nation at this time was the Slovak Republic be rid of the outward pressure which limited its sovereignty �64 SLOVAKIA and influenced its decisions. When a turn of events came in the War, and military danger began to approach from the East, the Slovak nation began to fear for its future . These fears grew as the Slovak nation realized that it did not have the strength to repel this threatening calamity. Besides this, it was aware of designs being made against the Slovak Republic in foreign countries.9 It was reasonable to presume that, because of the Soviet army's superior force, the hard-pressed German army would not retreat through the mountainous territory of Slovakia. In the north, the Soviet army advanced from the Carpathians through Poland, and in the south, through Hungary; and it could be sudmised that Slovakia would not become a battleground. It could expect to be spared at least the destruction of war. These suppositions, however, were not fulfilled, because the agents of Moscowwi th the help of Communist partisans, landed in the Slovak mountains by Soviet aircraft, organized an uprising in Slovakia in August, 1944, and produced a chaos which confused a portion of the native population. 10 This entire action had no political significance because it had no influence on the fate of Slovakia. From a military viewpoint the uprising was foolish, and it collapsed in a shameful manner. But from an economic point of view, the uprising caused greater damage than had been suffered by the country for centuries. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives for no reason, railroads, tunnels and bridges were arbitrarily destroyed, and many villages were reduced to ashes. With the blood that was needlessly spilled and the smoke which hung over the ruins perished not only the national independence of Slovakia, but also the liberty of the "liberated" Slovak nation. On the heels of the Soviet army's divisions and their unspeakable atrocities, from Moscow to desolated Slovakia came Dr. Eduard Benes with the government of a resurrected Czecho-Slovak Republic. After five years of existence in its own state the Slovak nation arrived, against its own will and contrary to all the principles of natural and self-determining rights, at a position in which it did not care to live at any price, with nothing but slavery staring it in the facp �SLOVAKIA 65 BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN The Slovak Republic was a small state. It emerged in unusually restless times and grew under very complicated conditions. In view of these circumstances, it could not become an ideal or complete state. Large, ancient, and mighty nations have their faults and weaknesses, too . The Slovak Republic cannot be condemned for the imperfection connected with its infancy nor for the errors it made, which in more than one case were simply the result of outside influences. It is an incontrovertible historical fact that the Slovak nation, in all of i~ more than one-thousand year history, never had such liberty, such rights, so much employment, such a measure of material welfare, such conditions for spiritual growth and cultural progress, or so much joy in living, as it had in the years of the Slovak Republic. The Slovak nation was contented with its State, despite its deficiencies, and it did not long for any other kind of state, including the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Slovak Republic conclusively refuted all the arguments against Slovak national independenqe. Every Slovak could see for himself that Slovakia, utilizing the industriousness of its people, is large enough and wealthy enough to provide all the economic conditions needed for indep8ndent national life . . The Slovak nation, during its five-year history of political independence, passed with remarkable success its test in the art of creating a government, and it deserved to be recognized as an independent and equal member in the family of free nations. By its experience as a Slovak republic, it is qualified to decide all questions pertaining to its own life, and is prepared to use its strength for the common welfare of the nations of Central Europe. One Slovak generation tasted the sweet fruit of liberty for which so many generations of the Slovak nation had fervently yearned, and therefore Slovaks will never again be satisfied with the bitter bread of slave labor. All this the Slovak nation learned in its own state. But all this was noted also by Dr. Eruard Benes, who observed the development of Slovak life abroad during �66 SLOVAKIA the war and in the spring of 1945, accompanied by Soviet bayonets, set foot on the blood-stained soil of Slovakia. The restoration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was one of the g1·eat inter-national mistakes. The revival of this State not only could not draw the Slovaks and Czechs closer to each other, but, on the contrary, relations between the Slovaks and Czechs became extremely cold as a direct result of this forced cohabitation in a joint state. The so-called Kosice Agreement of April 5, 1945, which recognized in the Slovaks the distinctive marks of a nation and promised. them complete equality with the Czechs, was not a cure for the wound which Slovakia suffered by the loss of its national independence, nor could it serve as a basis for a satisfying cohabitation of these two nations within one state. This sort of solution of Slovak-Czech relations would have had a meaning when the Slovaks were seeking autonomy in the spirit of the Pittsburgh Pact. The declaration at Kosice and the promises of Klement Gottwald had no power of attraction after the violent destruction of the Slovak Republic. The national independence of Slovakia was trampled by the Soviet army, which was followed by the Government and President of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The restored Czecho-Slovak Republic was alien to the Slovaks not only because it could in no way replace the Slovak State, but also because it brought Slovakia under the control of Moscow through the administration at Prague. Slovakia, even while silenced by the presence of the Soviet army, in no way concealed either its irreconcilable opposition to the situation in which it found itself or its desire for its own national independence. Dr. Eduard Benes, as president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, was determined to crack this opposition of Slovakia at any cost and by any means, and to strangle in the Slovak nation every longing for independence. If Dr. Eduard Benes, by his personal propaganda, enjoyed the reputation abroad of a great democrat and farsighted statesman, he now himself tore off this mask and showed himself to be a ruthless tyrant far removed from democracy and wise foresight. He saw in the Communist people's democracy a new, higher and more advanced form of democracy, and �SLOVAKIA 67 as president of the restored Czecho-Slovak Republic he approved and confirmed all the violence committed by the Prague Government and its Bratislava agencies in the. name of the people's democracy. The Slovak nation now became a victim of revenge because it had its own state during the War. Criminal status was given not only to those who served in the Slovak Republic and had not redeemed their "crime" by the sin of treason, but also to those who disagreed with the new order. The executor of this people's democratic justice was the so-called "National Court" in Bratislava and the chain so-called "People's Courts" all over Slovakia . Since it was impossible to bring before the Court the entire "liberated" nation to condemn it , it was necessary to condemn hundreds and thousands of decent Slovaks in order that all Slovakia might be terrified silenced and coerced into slavish obedience. The " National Court" of Bratislava also condemned to death the president of the Slovak Republic Dr. Jozef Tiso, and the Czecho-Slovak Government together with its president saw to it that this judgment was carried out on April 18 , 1947. The execution of the President of the Slovak Republic evoked deep horror throughout Slovakia and at the same time extinguished the last spark of hope that Slovak~ and Czechs could live together in a common state. The gallows on which Dr. Jozef Tiso died a martyr's death stands above the chasm which once and for all obliterated any form of Czecho-Slovak state.11 Slovakia did not permit itself to be broken in its opposition to the Czecho-Slovak Republic nor to the Communistic people's democracy either by the murder of Dr. Jozef Tiso or by subsequent forcible measures. The Slovak nation is enduring the same wrongs, injustices and pains that are being suffered by all the other nations behind the Iron Curtain. The spirit and form of the Communist people's democracy are foreign, repulsive and unacceptable to the Slovak nation. With persistent and remarkable consistency, the Slovaks are rejecting everything that the Government of the Czecho-Slovak Republic as a servant of Moscow is �68 SLOVAKIA forcing upon them. And they are defending with heroic courage everything that feeds and strengthens their own life. 12 From the very dawn of its history, Slovakia has belonged to Western Europe, and for twelve centuries of its past it has lived in unity with the Christian civilization of the Western world. During this long historical evolution the Slovak nation has achieved a stature, spiritual character and moral tradition that cannot be reconciled with the godless materialism of Communist doctrine or with the un-Christian methods of the people's democracy. Even though its beautiful land serves as a huge prison behind the Iron Curtain, the Slovak nation has not lost, but continues to confess fearlessly, its faith in God as the source of its strength and hope. Deprived as it is of everything, it still does not surrender its claim to a free life in its own state, but insists on an independent position in the great family of equal nations in Europe. Could youf as a free citizen of a democratic country, say that the Slovak nation does not deserve freedom? Or that it want more than it has a right to expect? FOOTNOTES 1) Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1934, p . 308. 2) In addition to many articles, Konstantin culen has written a separate two-volume study on American Slovaks: Dejiny Slov<ikov v Amerike (A History of Slovaks in America), Vols. I and II, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1942. The cultural life of American Slovaks is described in his book Slovaci v Amerike (Slovaks in America), Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia, 1938. Several articles are devoted to the intervention of the Slovak League in America in the political conditions of Slovakia in the book Slovensk<i Liga v Amerike styridsat'rocnri (Fortieth Anniversary of the Slovak League in America), Scranton, Pa., 1947. These questions are dealt in detail also by Karol Sidor in the book Slovrici v zahranicnom odboji ( Slovaks in the Resistance Movement Abroad), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1928. A separate book on the Pittsburgh Agreement was written by Konstantin culen, Pittsburghskd dohoda (The Pittsburgh Agreement), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1937. 3 ) Martin Greco, Martinsk<i deklar<icia (The St. Martin Declaration) , Bratislava, Slovakia, 1939. �SLOVAKIA 69 4) According to the 1930 census there were 3,329,793 inhabitants in 5) 6) 7) 8) Slovakia. Of this number, 2,284,355 were Roman Catholics, 213,725 Greek Catholics, 555,900 Protestants, 9,079 of the Orthodox faith . Only 16,890 were counted as not adhering to any religion: they were Czechs. The activity of Andrej Hlinka and the role of the Slovak People's Party are told in detail by Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1934. The Slovak National Party was numerically small, gaining only one delegate in the election, but it numbered among its members many of the Lutheran intelligentsia. The cession of Slovakia southern lands to Hungary was decided already between the Prague Government and the administration of Hungary. The government of autonomous Slovakia was confronted by this prepared situation, and Dr. Jozef Tiso, who had led these conferences, was actually a delegate of the Central Government of Prague. The Constitution of the Slovak Republic was prepared by the vicepresident of Parliament and the chairman of the constitutional committee, Dr. Karol Mederly, who published it in an a separate brochure with a comprehensive introduction, Ostava Slovenslcej republilcy a jej zakladne smernice (The Constitution of the Slovak Republic and Its Basic Principles), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1939. 9) Plots against the independent statehood of Slovakia were led abroad by Dr. Eduard Benes who had resigned from the office of president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, had recognized Dr. Emil Hacha as his successor and then once again claimed the office of president. His faithful co-worker was the Slovak Communist, Dr. Vladimir Clementis. 10) The Soviet aircraft landed in Slovakia Slovak soldiers who had been captured by the Soviets and were obHged to join the so-called Czechoslovak Brigade in Russia. This entire brigade dispersed because the Slovak troops who had seen conditions in Soviet Russia with their own eyes did not wish to fight against the Slovak Republic, but fled to their homes at the first opportunity. 11) The entire address spoken by Dr. Jozef Tiso in Bratislava before his sentence has been published by the Slovak Catholic Sokol in a book entitled Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe (Dr. Jozef Tiso, in His own Words), Slovak Catholic Sokol, Passaic, N. J., 1952, edited by Dr. Jozef Pauco. 12) Much valuable information regarding the resistance of the Slovaks against Communism may be found in the booklet by Dr. Jozef :Mikus, The Thee Slovak Bishops, Slovak Catholic Federation of America, Passaic, N. J. 1953. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 42 SLOVAKIA This Is Slovakia By Francis Hrusovsk'J}, Ph.D. SEPARATIO N FROM HUNGARY The Austro-Hung arian Monarchy was built on a shaky foundation. It may have survived in a less extended territory, had it grasped in time its historical mission in this ethnically disunited region of Central Europe. Hungary could have weathered the approaching historical holocaust if it had put into practice the spirit of justice and equality. But neither the Austrian Emperor nor the Hungarian King, neither the Government of Vienna nor of Budapest, reckoned with the given realities: they did not know how to rightly evaluate the strength of the new historical trends, nor did they forsee the direction of future developments . Hence they permitted themselves to be led by policies which could only lead to the disintegration of the entire Monarchy and to the fall of Hungary. Because of the national policy of Hungary, which curtailed the growth of Slovak national life in all of its phases. the Slovaks were not sufficiently prepared for the role which awaited them. When the World War broke out in 1914, under the emergency provisions of the Government any kind of Slovak political movement was unthinkable. The fate of countries and of nations is not always determined by their strength, but as much by circumstances which arise without their doing. This proved to be true not only of Austra-Hunga ry, which was shaken to its foundations by World War I, but also of the various nations which had gradually become aware that the time had come to take an account of the past and be concerned only about their own future fate, regardless of the interests of the Monarchy. At the beginning of the war, the Slovaks had no thought of separating from Hungary, much less could they have expressed such a thought aloud. But when the War was nearing its end and it was more and more evident that Austria-Hung ary could not escape defeat, the leaders of SLOVAKIA 43 the Slovaks saw that the military defeat of the Hapsburg Monarchy would furnish them the opportunity for attaining the goals they were not able to achieve in Hungary. Slovak patriots met for a secret conference in Turciansky Sv. Martin on May 24, 1918, where Andrej Hlinka plainly stated: "The thousand-year marriage with the Magyars has not panned out. We must be divorced." 1 The Slovaks took a stand for the right of selfdetermination of the Slovak nation and decided that at an opportune time they would sever all ties between Slovakia and Hungary and enter a new State composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia and Sub-Carpathian Russia. The Czecho-Slovak National Council (Ceskoslovenska narodna rada ), founded in Paris in 1916, worked abroad for the disolution of Austria-Aungary and the formation of a new Czecho-Slovak State. At the head of the CzechoSlovak National Council was professor Thomas G. Masaryk, and its outstanding member was the distinguished Slovak scholar, Milan Rastislav Stefanik, who possessed unusual diplomatic talents and attained the rank of General in the French Army. Slovaks living abroad morally and materially supported the activity of the Czecho-Slovak National Council and in large numbers joined the CzechoSlovak Legion which fought on the side of the Allies against Austria-Hungary The Slovaks were convinced that if Slovakia would tear away from Hungary, it would enjoy all the conditions of a free national existence in a joint Czecho-Slovak State. The Czecho-Slovak National Council was most effectively supported by the Slovaks who were living in America and who always lllad a lively interest in the destiny of the Slovak nation in the Old World. Under the leadership of the Slovak League of America, which was organized already in 1907, they frequently raised their voice in defense of the Slovak nation in Hungary, and as free citizens of a democratic country they protested against the injustices which their native brothers in Slovakia had to suffer. Later, in the years of World War I , they stood in the first ranks of the battle for the liberation of Slovakia. It is to their credit not only that they made large financial sacrifices for the cause of the Czecho-Slovak National Council, but also that they insisted on having beforehand 44 SLOVAKIA a clear presentation and firm guaranties as to the relationship between the Slovak and Czech nations in the proposed joint State. Representatives of the Slovak League in America discussed this serious question with delegates of the Czech National Federation in Cleveland as early as 1915, and came to the conclusion that the future Czecho-Slovakia would be a federal union of states with complete autonomy for Slovakia. Subsequently, on May 30, 1918, representatives of the Slovak League met with representatives of Czech organizations and with the President of the Czecho-Slovak National Council, T. G. Masaryk, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and drew up an agreement which guaranteed political and cultural autonomy to Slovakia in the new State. This agreement was designed by T . G. Masaryk and later signed by him as president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. 2 Only vague reports of this foreign action penetrated Slovakia, and the agreements which testify to the wise foresight of the American Slovaks were not even known there. Nevertheless, everything that could be undertaken in Slovakia during the War for the benefit of Slovakia's future was basically in harmony with what was being done independently overseas. In the meantime, events at the front indicated that the defeat of Austria-Hungary was inescapable. Emperor Charles published a manifesto on October 16, 1918, in which he promised a reconstruction of the Monarchy on a new basis, but it was already too late. The President of the Hungarian Government, Count Stephen Tisza, on the 17th of October, attempted to justify the Budapest policy of Magyarization, reluctant to see that it was just this policy that brought Hungary to inevitable disintegration and certain collapse. In the Hungarian Parliament, on October 19, the Slovak delegate, Dr. Ferdis Juriga, announced in the face of a stormy protest of Magyar members that neither the Hungarian Parliament nor the Hungarian Government had the right any longer to decide the future destiny of the Slovak nation, because the Slovaks would decide their own future on the basis of their right of self-determination. The Slovaks, unaware of what had happened in Prague on October 28, met on October 30, 1918, in Turciansky Sv. SLOVAKIA 45 Martin, where, chiefly under the influence of Andrej Hlinka, they organized a Slovak National Council and in a separate declaration proclaimed that the Slovaks once and for all Hrere separating themselves from Hungary and were of their own accord joining the Czecho-Slovak State.3 The new Czecho-Slovak State was born on the ruins of the Hapsburg Monarchy, which, having lost the war, was not able to defend its own existence and escape catastrophe. There was nothing left to do but define the boundaries of the new State (especially the Slovak-Hungarian border ), establish its international position, and construct its internal administration on a basis that would insure its ability to live. The most important condition for the healthy internal development of the Czecho-Slovak State was deciding the position Slovakia would occupy in the new State. The separation of the Slovaks from the Magyars and from Hungary was for the Slovak& not only painless, but joyful, as was the separation of the thirteen American colonies from England. " SLAVES UNTIL NOW - NEVER AGAIN!" Martin Razus (1888-1937)-a leading Slovak poet whose writings gave voice to the pains, longings, and hopes of his people, and whom the Slovaks called the "conscience of the Slovak nation"-welcomed the dawn of the new Slovak day with a poem, the refrain of which reads: "Slaves we have been till now, slaves we shall be no longer!" These words, mirrored the sentiment that prevailed throughout Slovakia in the first years of its new status. The Slovaks had reasons enough, at the end of the bloody war, to welcome the Czecho-Slovak Republic with open joy and sincere hopes. They had fought on all fronts, and had used every means, to bring about the formation of this new State. They had a right therefore to see in the Czecho-Slovak Republic a state they could consider their own. Slovakia experienced a period of genuine joy mostly because it had extricated itself from the union with old Hungary where it had striven in vain for equal rights. The Magyar language was removed from offices, schools, and all public life, and with its disappearance went all traces of Magyar domination. Slavonic traditions, which 46 SLOVAKIA had remained alive in Slovakia, prevented the Slovaks from being disappointed in their Slavonic brotherhood, a subject frequently discussed at the inception of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Slovak people entered their new existence as a nation composed of large groups of Slovaks who had never estranged themselves from their origin nor allowed themselves to be misled by foreign ideologies, had preserved their language, their national traditions and all the marks of their national character. The democratic spirit which promted the laws of the new State gave assurance that the Slovak people would no longer serve foreign masters, but would concentrate on the development of their own life in order to regain as quickly as possible what they had lost in the past through no fault of their own. Aristocratic titles, together with their corresponding historical privileges, wer e abolished. A federal Land Commission was set up to expropriate for a fair price land held by big non-Slovak landowners and distribute it to the small Slovak farmers , who had always been the strong core of the Slovak nation. It was anticipated, with good reason, that the industry, that would develop in the western part of the new State would be supplemented by the farm and forest economy of Slovakia, a balance that could be achieved only by means of such a union with the Czech lands. It was also to be expected that under the influence of new social laws the living standard of the working people would be raised. The Constitution, approved on February 29, 1920, guaranteed civil equality and political rights to all citizens, thus giving the Slovaks the privilege of influencing the affairs of government. A great deal of pain was caused in Slovak life by the schools which had been used as an instrument of denationalization. This injustice was corrected by the retention of Magyar schools only in those parts of Slovakia where was a Magyar population. New high schools and technical schools were established where there had been none before. In Bratislava, which had become the capital of Slovakia, a new university was founded in 1919 with three faculties. Besides other cultural organizations, the National Slovak Theatre came into being. In every city and village of Slovakia, public libraries were established and plays SLOVAKIA 47 were presented, with the result that vigorous cultural activity spread throughout the country. In Turciansky Sv. Martin, the Matica Slovenska was reopened, to provide Slovakia with the new products of Slovak literature. In Slovakia there was a revival of old Slovak political parties whose activity was restricted under the Hungarian regime and completely stopped during the war. In addition, new political parties were organized, so that Slovaks could participate in politics according to their convictions. The desire for a new, free, and full national life was discernible everywhere, and the program for providing this kind of life from day to day. The relationship between the Slovak and Czech people, however, was dimmed from the very beginning of their union, and as it continued it became streadily worse. The Czechs and the Slovaks, throughout their long history, had never lived together in a joint state. Each went their own way and developed under a different set of conditions. When these two Slavic nations now got together under the roof of a common state and began to knew each other better, it appeared that for all their lingual similarity there was a great difference between them. Slovakia is a country Christian from its foundations, 80 % Catholic, its deep, living religious traditions permeating the nature of the Slovak and his entire life. 4 The Czechs, as the result of a different historical development, had a different attitude toward religious questions, and when, after the beginning of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, they came to Slovakia, they approached the religious convictions of the Slovaks tactlessly, thereby creating antagonism in Slovakia. Between the Slovak and Czech nations a crevice of distrust began to form . This fissure deepened when the Czechs in Slovakia acted as though they were in a backward country. Many of them had the idea--even when there was no basis for it:r--that their role was to bring culture and progress to Slovakia. This condescending attitude offended the Slovaks, who in turn began to ridicule Czech "progressiveness." Under the pretext that the Slovaks did not have sufficient trained personnel to occupy various official posi- 48 SLOVAKIA tions, multitudes of Czechs who had previously lived in various parts of Austria and for whom there was no room in Bohemia, moved into Slovakia. The Slovaks were grateful to the Czechs for the assistance Slovakia certainly needed in the first years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. But the thousands upon thousands of Czechs who came into Slovakia were completely superfluous. The Slovaks began to look upon them as intruders who were taking away their jobs and bread. While the flood of Czechs was pouring into Slovakia, Slovaks left their homeland in great numbers and moved to all parts of the world. But the most important reason why the early enthusiasms of the Slovaks ended in rapid and complete disillusionment was that the Czechs were trying to build the Czecho-Slovak Republic on the same kind of foundation the Magyars had laid for the creation of a united great Hungary. The very opening words of the Czecho-Slovak Constitution speak of the "Czechoslovak nation"-which in fact never existed. The Czechs ever more openly proclaimed the idea of Czechoslovak national oneness. Since they themselves had no intention of giving up their Czech nationality; desiring to remain a Czech nation also in the future, this alleged Czechoslovak national oneness was simply a way of leading tha Slovaks into a national unity with the Czechs. Even though admitting its euphony, they spoke of the Slovak language as a dialect of the Czech tongue, a vestige that would gradually disappear from literature. Because there was indeed no Czechoslovak language, references were made to the temporary bilinguism of the Czechoslovak nation, or of two aspects of one language. The Slovaks, who had waged such a long, costly, and exhausting struggle in Hungary "for our Slovak language" and considered their language as one expression of their national individuality, were disturbed by such a development because they saw in it the design of Czechization. Slovak literature, from the Czech point of view, was merely an echo of Czech literature, and all Slovak culture just a part of Czech cultural life. They predicted that the Slovaks would gradually SLOVAKIA 49 merge with the Czechs in the unified State, that they themselves recognized the advantage of such a development, and that this unity would be the most secure foundation for the Czecho-Slovak Republic which would then stand as a strong bulwark against the pressure of their German neighbor. Czech policy, based on such assumptions, led to complete centralization which ignored the interests of Slovakia. This Czech policy aroused vigorous opposition in Slovakia. If the words of the poet Martin Razus meant that the Slovaks had been slaves in Hungary and that this slavery had ended once and for all, they soon took on the new meaning that the Slovaks did not care to be--nor would they be--slaves in the Czecho-Slovak Republic either. The Magyars had used a political ideology to justify their dealings with the Slovaks, though actually they were concerned only for their own safety. The lifeless fiction of Czechoslovak national oneness had a similar meaning. The Czechs are surrounded on three sides by the Germans, and they are exposed to the influence of this great neighbor. When the Czecho-Slovak Republic came into being, they thought Slovakia would become not only their colony but also a country which when gradually assimilated would strengthen their position over against the Germans. But the Slovaks, who had not been willing to perish in Hungary, were unwilling to sacrifice their national individuality even for the protection of the Czechs. Suicide can be committed only by a nation uninformed, cudutrally undeveloped, and unconcerned about its future, a nation which does not understand why it should care about its honor or its right to exist. Because it had endured so many historical trials, had lost so much of its own blood, and was unable to develop its national life under the trying conditions of its past, the Slovak nation grew weary of having its energies continually drained and finally longed to be a nation really free. For this very reason it recognized the danger it faced in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, and with all the determination of a self-conscious nation took a stand for the defense of its honor and its right to the kind of life every nation deserves. 50 SLOVAKIA UNDER THE LEADERS HIP OF ANDREJ HLINKA In the first years of the Czecho-Slo vak Republic Slovakia had a sort of governmen t, headed by a special minister with full authority for the administra tion of Slovakia as a member of the Prague Governmen t. This administra tion had its headquarte rs in Bratislava, consisted of several cabinet members, and exercised powers of jurisdictio n for a brief period. But in the end it was subject to the Central Governme nt in Prague which handled the admi.Ristra tion of the new State as part of a pattern of complete centralizat ion. Czech policy with all its attempts at centralizat ion was challenged by Andrej Hlinka, who had revived the Slovak People's Party (Slovenska :r.udova Strana) and had evoked a strong opposition movement in Slovakia. Andrej Hlinka saw the danger threatening Slovakia, and therefore tried to get the Paris Peace Conference to define the position of Slovakia in the Czecho-Slo vak Republic. For this he was imprisoned in the year 1919. Only upon his election to the Prague Parliamen t on April 18, 1920 was he released.5 The Slovak People's Party gained twelve seats in the election and, under the leadership of its chairman, Andrej Hlinka, began a relentless struggle for the rights of the Slovak nation in accordance with the Pittsburgh Agreement which had become the pattern of Slovak policy. This campaign had to be directed not only against the Prague Governme nt, but also against all the Czech political parties which, as servants of Prague centralism , had spread their nets also in Slovakia. Andrej Hlinka organized his party, set up its press, traveled throughou t Slovakia, and speaking at mass meetings, awakened in the Slovak people a strong national consciousn ess, an interest in political life, and courage to defend all their rights. These gatherings were often very stormy; neverthele ss the Slovak people followed Andrej Hlinka and saw in him their political leader. The inconsider ate actions of Czechs in Slovakia continued and strengthen ed the spirit of opposition in large groups of Slovak people against everything that came from Bohemia. In the years 1922-1926, when the Prague Governme nt was sending multitudes of Czechs into Slovakia to break Slovak SLOVAKIA 51 resistance to its policy of centralization, 250,000 Slovaks emigrated from Slovakia, forced to look for work in foreign lands. The Prague Government resorted to every means in order to discredit Andrej Hlinka and to frustrate the activity of the Slovak People's Party, but its attempts merely served to widen the breach between the Slovaks and the Czechs. The Slovak People's Party, in its campaign for the sanctioning of Slovak autonomy, desired the fulfilment of what Slovakia had been guaranteed in the Pittsburgh Agreement. The president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic T . G. Masaryk, who had designed and signed that Agreement himself, brushed aside the petitions of the Slovak People's Party with the excuse that the Pittsburgh Agreement is just an interesting document from the period of rebellion against Austria-Hungary, having no binding value . He claimed that the Slovak gained more in the Czecho-Slovak Republic than they were promised in the Pittsburgh Agreement. The Slovaks would not recognize this devaluation of the Pittsburgh Agreement, and the American Slovaks, who were following carefully the progress of Slovakia in the Czecho-Slovak State, in their Message of the American Slovaks to the Old World encouraged their native brothers to pursue relentlessly the struggle for Slovak autonomy. Andrej Hlinka stood staunchly behind the autonomy platform of the Slovak People's Party, and that was the reason why it grew in numbers and in strength. In the elections of 1925 it won twenty-three seats in the Prague Parliament and became the largest political party in Slovakia, with the right to speak as the only authorized representative of the political will of the Slovak nation. When not even the Czechs could continue to close their eyes to the numerical strength and steadily increasing importance to the Slovak People's Party any longer, they tried to win it to the side of the Government. After lengthy deliberations, the Slovak People's Party sent its representatives to the Prague Government to see if they might achieve autonomy by this method. According to this policy, it sought changes in the affairs of the Government that would assure Slovakia a standing as a separate administration unit. In 1927 the Prague Parliament passed 52 SLOVAKIA a law dividing the territory of Czecho-Slovakia into four administrative regions. Beginning January 1, 1928, Slovakia was to become one of these units. Slovakia was empowered to elect its own provincial representatives, forming a provincial assembly for the management of the economic, transportation, social, health and cultural needs of Slovakia. The Czechs felt that by this concession they were satisfying all the demands of Slovakia. However, the Slovaks saw in this reform only "the first ray of Slovak autonomy." The provincial assembly had no legislative powers, one-third of its members were named by the Prague Government, and its jurisdiction was limited. Still, it was a step forward, and it bolstered the hope in Slovakia that gradually the entire autonomistic program set forth in the Pittsburgh Agreement would be realized. The Slovaks were not oposed to the Czecho-Slovak Republic, of which they wanted their own State to be a member. In fact, they believed that, despite all the hardships which hampered the realization of their political program, they would eventually reach their goal. Nor were they against the Czech nation as such; but they resolutely rejected the myth of Czechoslovak national oneness and ever more boldly resisted the Czech imperialism which persisted even after the reorganization of the Government. Relations between the Slovaks and Czechs did not improve ; rather, the centralism of Prague became pronounced that the conditions for harmonious cohabitation between these two nations grew steadily worse. The elections of 1929 again proved the firm position of the Slovak People's Party and its abiding determination to defend the rights of the Slovak nation. It withdrew from the Government and, as on opposition Party, submitted to the Prague Parliament several proposals for the sanctioning of Slovak autonomy. The Prague Parliament rejected all these motions. It was evident that the fight would have to go to the finish. The first requirement for the attainment of Slovak autonomy was unity of all Slovaks. The Czechs had always been able to find means to thwart the unification of the Slovaks. Now the Slovaks had to discover something that would unite them and lead them toward a common goal. The Slovak People's Party, led by Andrej Hlinka, was SLOVAKIA 53 predominantly Catholic. The Slovak National Party (Slovenska Narodna Strana), headed by Martin Razus, had a majority of Lutheran members.6 These two political parties, fighting for the autonomy of Slovakia, came to an agreement on a united precedure in 1932, and in a joint resolution expressed their mutual determination not to surrender Slovak rights even thought it might cost the disintegration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. This resolve of the Slovak nation was further stiffened and given a mighty manifestation when, from August 13-15, 1933, the Slovaks gathered in Nitra, the ancient headquars of the Slovak princes, to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of the dedication of the first Christian church in Slovakia. At this occasion the Slovak people not only reminded themselves of their antiquity and the rich traditions of their Christian culture, but at the same time emphasized their right to a free national existence in a great demonstration. More than 100,000 Slovaks assembled at the historic site of glorious Slovak antiquity to express their unquenchable longing for a free Slovak future. As the Prague Government did not understand Slovakia, so did not comprehend what took place in Nitra. It saw in the events in Nitra simply a demonstration against the Government. This prompted the seizure of the Slovak People's Party's press, the trial of its editor-in-chief Karol Sidor, an investigation of Slovak students and other steps which evoked a new storm of apposition in Slovakia. The premier of the Prague Government, Jan Malypetr, himself issued a separate manifesto in which he stressed that the Czechs contributed to the support of Slovakia and that Slovakia was ungrateful for this magnanimity. To give this speech as much publicity as possible in Slovakia, he had it printed on large placards and posted in all Slovak cities and villages. This tactless and-for a premier of a government-undignified act deeply offended every Slovak, because no one in Slovakia believed that Slovakia was dependent on the Czechs for a subsidy. Equally as politically indescreet and mistaken in statesmanship was the procedure of Dr. Eduard Benes who, as foreign minister of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, in December of 1933 spoke in several Slovak cities on the 54 SLOVAKIA "Idea of Czechoslovak National Unity from the Viewpoint of International Policy." The Slovaks were to keep silent about their grievances and their rights because Prague supported Slovakia. They were to disavow their national independence without a struggle and betray themselves in order to strengthen the international position of the State in which they were not able to arouse justice and reform. Instead of being misled and bowing to the Prague Government at this suggestion, the Slovaks advanced tow~rd their goal. They were unwilling to surrender their rights even for the survival of the Czecho-Slovak Republic which at this very hour had got itself into a really dangerous situation. Adolf Hitler and his National-Socialist Party had come to power in neighboring Germany. The Slovaks were correct in assuming that this tense international situation would force the Czechs to fulfill the Slovak demands in order to strengthen the Czecho-Slovak Republic for the possible outbreak of new dangers. The Slovaks did not wish to cause internal difficulties in the CzechoSlovak Republic and, even at this time, they had the good will to come to an agreement with the Czechs and to defend their joint State with their united strength. When T . G. Masaryk resigned from the office of President on December 14, 1935, representatives of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, at the election of the new president on December 18, voted for Dr. Eduard Benes who prior to the election had promised to see that the Slovak demands would be fulfilled. Dr. Benes made the promise, but it turned out that there was no one to fulfill it. For the first time in the history of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, a Slovak, Dr. Milan Hodza, became premier of the Government and also Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was a politician of rich experience and wide vision but involved in his own political conceptions and indecisive especially concerning the Slovak question. At the time, even had he wanted to settle the standing of Slovakia, he could not devote himself to the question because he was obliged to center all his attention on the demands of the Sudeten Germans. The integrity and existence of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was seriously threatened and the position of SLOVAKIA 55 Slovakia was left unsolved after twenty years of the Czecho-Slovak State. In 1938 the situation of the Czecho-Slovak Republic became even worse. On March 12 Hitler occupied and linked Austria to Germany. The Sudeten Germans presented their demands again, but the Prague Government had no answer to give that would satisfy both the Germans and the interests of the Czecho-Slovak State. The international situation grew more and more acute, and the Czecho-Slovak Republic, preparing to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, was experiencing moments of deep unrest and worrisome uncertainty. Even under these circumstances the Slovaks, who for twenty years had striven for autonomy and for twenty years had not been able to achieve their goal, were peacefully preparing to commemorate in a grand way the twentieth anniversary of the Pittsburgh Agreement. On Pentecost Sunday, the 5th of June, 120,000 Slovaks gathered in Bratislava to declare most emphatically that they would never give up their rights. At this occasian a delegation of the Slovak League of America was present together with its president, Dr. Peter P. Hletko, who brought along the original of the Pittsburgh Pact. The American Slovaks represented by the Slovak League wished to certify by their presence at this commemoration that they stood on the same platform they had accepted twenty years earlier. The throngs of Slovaks who welcomed the delegation of the Slovak League of America in the capital of Slovakia were not fanatic masses, but the self-conscious Slovak nation, politically trained and exemplarily led by Andrej Hlinka, giving notice for the last time and in a very resolute-yet in every respect honorable-manner, that it would under no pressure give up the struggle for its rights to a free life. In Bratislava, for the last time, Andrej Hlinka himself appeared before the crowd of faithful fellow fighters to receive the homage of his people before his death. The Prague Government, even with the Slovak Dr. Milan Hodza at its helm, failed to understand the true meaning of this historical event and the very next day arranged a demonstration in Bratislava advocating the idea of Czechoslovak national oneness in opposition to 56 SLOVA KIA Slovak autono my. This blund ering step was the climax of all the mistak es made by the Pragu e Gover nment in its absur d policy conce rning Slovak ia. Andre j Hlink a died Augus t 16, 1938. The Slovak nation stood at his grave resolu tely determ ined to finish its great strugg le witho ut regard for the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic. The mome nt had come when the Slovak nation had to be conce rned only aboutl its own destin y. VIA AUTO NOMY TO THE SLOV AK STATE The positi on of the Slovak s in the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic preven ted them from determ ining even their own destin y. Much less were they able to steer the course of intern al affairs in this State. Least of all were they able to influe nce the foreig n policy direct ed by Dr. Eduar d Benes . Hence the Slovak s bore no respon sibilit y either for the develo pment of the intern al life or the intern ationa l standi ng of the Czecho-Slovak Repub lic and could not be blame d for the situati on into which the State got itself. Small nation s are not creato rs of intern ationa l situations. Often they are merely helple ss figurin es on the great chessb oard of intern ationa l politic s, which is the game of large nation s. Furthe rmore , the small nation witho ut to a gover nment of its own it not given an oppor tunity l ationa active ly interv ene in the appea semen t of an intern 1918 situati on. The Slovak s were in sucl\ a positi on from to 1938. If great nation s assum e the right to create intern ationa l situat ions in which they utilize small nation s for the realiza tion of their power plans, a small and enslav ed nation canno t be blame d if for its own protec tion it utilize s an oppor tunity offere d by the wave of histor ical events . It is eviden ce of the Slovak nation 's politic al matur ity that it knew how to grasp such an histor ical oppor tunity , not neglec ting to use it for the attain ment of a goal it coul not achiev e by its own power . The Slovak s grew tired of vainly repeat ing their justifi ed deman ds when there was no one to fulfill them. They were theref ore determ ined and prepa red to take what was rightfu lly theirs. Imme diatel y after the Bratis lava manif estatio n the Slovak People 's Party presen ted to the Pragu e Parlia ment SLOVA KIA 57 a new nation for a law provid ing Slovak ia with autono my. At the time, Czech o-Slov akia found itself in the midst of a seriou s intern al crisis and was shake n to the found ations by strong outwa rd pressu re. With the threat of war hangin g in the air, the Pragu e Gover nment , heade d since Septem ber 23, 1938 by Gener al Syrovy , procla imed total mobili zation , a necess ity hasten ed still more by the intern al chaos in the Czech o-Slov ak Repub lic. The issue did not lead to war, howev er, becau se the Czech o-Slov ak Gover nment, on the advice of the Allies, acctep ted the condit ions dictate d by Germa ny accord ing to which the Germa n Army was to occup y the territo ries of Czech o-Slov akia that were popul ated by Germa ns. Nor was the Pragu e Gover nment able to reject the ultima tum of Poland deman ding that the Polish -occup ied territo ry of Silesia be joined to Poland . These circum stance s left the Slovak s no choice but to look out for thems elves. After length y and fruitle ss concultati ons with repres entativ es of the Pragu e regime , the Slovak People 's Party, led by Dr. Jozef Tiso after the death of Andre j Hlink a, had to take the fate of Slovak ia into its own hands . On Octob er 5th Dr. Eduar d Benes resign ed as Presid ent of the Repub lic, and on the 6th of Octob er the Execu tive Comm ittee of the Slovak People 's Party met in Zilina and sugge sted that all power in Slovak ia be taken over by the Slovak s by right of self-de termin ation. This resolu tion of the Slovak People 's Party was acctep ted and approv ed in all its parts also by delega tes of all the remain ing non-le ftist Slovak partie s. In the rapid succes sion of storm y events , the Slovak nation had to stakei out its future alone in order to preven t others from makin g the decisi ons contra ry to its intere sts. All these politic al partie s agreed also to join with the Slovak People 's Party to form a single party: The Slovak Nation al Unity Party (Stran a sloven skej narod nej jednot y). The Pragu e Gover nment, alway s deaf to Slovak previous deman ds, recogn ized this unanim ous decisi on of the Slovak politic al partie s. Slovak ia obtain ed its autono mous govern ment with Dr. Jozef Tiso at its head as prime minist er. Later, on Novem ber 19, 1938, the Pragu e Parliament passed a consti tution al law for the govern ment of autono mous Slovak ia. In order that Slovak ia might be 58 SLOVAKIA properly represented also in the Central Government in Prague, Karol Sidor was made the vice-presiden t of that body. In addition, Slovakia had its own delegates in the ministries of foreign affairs, national defense and finance . The Slovak nation had just attained this goal when confronted by a catastrophe similar to that which was it the Bohemian lands. The southern section of visited had by Magyars, was claimed by the Magyars, inhabited Slovakia have liked to occupy all of Slovakia. fact in would who had to work out a new boundary government The Slovak 7 Discussions were based on government. Magyar with the of the population. The nationality the of the statistics 1930 census, whereas the of statistics the Magyars rejected taken during the statistics, 1910 the the Slovaks regarded setting of the The unjust. as period of Magyarizatio n, court impartial an to left new boundary was therefore Germany and Italy of of arbitration. The foreign ministers rendered a decision on November 2, 1938, which the Slovaks considered to be unfair. By it Hungary received and occupied cities and areas in southern Slovakia that were entirely or predominantl y Slovak. This decision resulted in many economic and commercial hardships for Slovakia because the new boundary severed railroads and roads, and a number of Slovak valleys, open toward the south, lost their connection with the territory of Slovakia. Even these injustices and hardships failed to shatter the spirit of the Slovak nation. The Slovak Government, by exerting all its energy endeavored to organize the administratio n of Slovakia in a way that would prove its ability to exist as an entity. It was anxious above all to see all Slovaks lay a strong foundation for the future of Slovakia by means of firm national unity and faithful cooperation. According to the declaration of Slovak autonomy, elections for seats in Parliament were held as early as December 18, 1938. Members of the Slovak Parliament became the representativ es not only of the Slovak People's Party, but also of the remaining political parties which now formed the Slovak National Unity Party as the result of the zilina agreement. In the Slovak Parliament national minorities also had their representativ es. A month later, January 18, 1939, the legislative assembly of autonomous SLOVAKIA 59 Slovakia was opened in a festive manner and began its activity. It soon appeared that the form and amount of selfgovernmen t which Slovakia possessed could not supply all the needs of Slovak national life. In its twenty-yea r struggle for its rights, the Slovak nation had reached a level of maturity, and had set its heart on a measure of freedom, for which autonomy was too small a frame. Not even the Czechs were satisfied with the autonomou s status of Slovakia. They found it hard to give up the rule of Slovakia even though responsibl e persons in the Prague Governme nt repeatedly complaine d that the Czechs were obliged to subsidize Slovakia. The Slovak nation felt that it was capable of taking over the administra tion of its country entirely, while the central departmen ts in Prague often proceeded as though there were no declaration of Slovak autonomy in existence. Fresh disagreeme nts and dissension s arose between the Slovaks and Czechs, and the situation in autonomou s Slovakia continued to be vague and confused. The situation was made worse by the intrusion of outside influences. This confusion, aggravated by the rapacity of its neighbors, could have had catastrophic consequen ces for the fate of Slovakia. The Slovaks longed for the peaceful growth of their own life, and the orn: condition necessary for such a life was the national independen ce of Slovakia. The Slovak nation, having come so far along the road of its historical evolution, was prepared and determined to take this step also, because it was convinced that it had a right not only to autonomy, but also to its own independen t state. And this step was the only refuge for Slovakia against the storm threatening it in the tense internation al situation. " FAITHFUL TO OURSELV ES FORWARD IN HARMONY ! " As a result of the constantly increasing demands of Germany, the situatjon which developed in Central Europe was very confused and perturbed at the beginning of March, 1939. It was clear, however, that the Czecho-Slo vak Republic had arrived at the edge of an abyss. The Slovaks did not feel duty-bound to hurl themselves into that gorge. 60 SLOVAKIA Rather, the Slovaks looked for an escape that would lead them to safety. In Bratislava representatives of Germany sought out Karol Sidor, whom they considered the most popular political leader in Slovakia, and urged him to declare the independent State of Slovakia over the radio. Dr. Jozef Tiso was invited to Berlin for a discussion with Adolf Hitler and his minister of foreign affairs, von Ribbentrop. They both informed the president of the Slovak government of the danger confronting Slovakia and demanded his decision at once. Neither Karol Sidor nor Dr. Jozef Tiso complied with this urgent demand because they considered any decisions regarding the future legal status of Slovakia to be the right and duty of the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava. The Slovak Parliament, elected according to the decree of Slovak autonomy, was called into session by the president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, Dr. Emil Ha.cha, and on March 14, 1939, it declared Slovakia an independent and self-governing state by unanimous resolution. The presidium of the Parliament appointed the administration of independent Slovakia, with Dr. Jozef Tiso at his head, and the Slovak Government then took over all power in Slovakia into its own hands. Even though the international situation, during which Slovakia's declaration of independence was made, influenced the rapid succession of events in Slovakia, the Slovak Parliament-as the legal and authorized interpreter of the Slovak nation's will-did only what the Slovak nation had a right to do. Conscious of this right, the Slovak nation accepted the decision of the Slovak Parliament as the natural result of historical development not only with enthusiastic agreement and sincere joy, but also with a determination to bear the entire burden of responsibility for its own destiny and to prove that it was mature and ready for national independence. The proclamation of autonomous Slovakia as an independent state marked the end of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Even so, the Czecho-Slovak Republic would not have been able to survive the hurricane of events. Its fall would have been Slovakia's downfall also, and the Slovak nation would have been left to the mercy of its neighbors. The decisive action of the Slovak Parliament placed before SLOVAKIA 61 Slovakia's neighbors a ready reality, and the government of the neighboring states took this reality into consideration and respected it. The independent State of Slovakia was recognized either de iure or de facto by the following states: Belgium, ( de facto ), Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Equador, Estonia, Finland, France ( de facto ), Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Manchuria, Poland, Siam, Soviet Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Vatican State and Yugoslavia, 27 nations in all. These states included great powers and small countries, neutrals as well as belligerents in the Second World War. Not even the allies of the former Czecho-Slovak Republic hesitated to recognize the national independence of Slovakia. Some of these nations established and maintained diplomatic and commercial relations with Slovakia, whereas others were not able to do so because they were obstructed by the War. The Slovak State did not solicit the protection of its German neighbor, but when the German Government itself came with the proposal of a defense pact, the Slovak Government, for various reasons, could not reject such an offer. True, this treaty restricted the sovereignty of the Slovak State to a certain extent, but on the other hand it assured the safety of Slovakia not only against the nation which frequently advanced its historical claims to Slovak lands, but also against Germany itself. Although the Slovaks had in the past claimed the right to a free life, the nations who were deciding the fate of Slovakia rejected these petitions, and, despite other proofs, kept insisting that Slovakia because of its small size could not maintain itself as a separate and independent political unit since it was not supposed to be economically selfsustaining. Therefore, they concluded, it would be to the advantage of Slovakia to be in a union with another state, and it was intimated that the Slovaks should be thankful if someone would be willing magnanimously to support them. From the very beginning of its life as an independent state, Slovakia strove to disprove this false legend of economic dependence. And it controverted it in such a way at every step that these arguments against Slovak independ- 62 SLOVAKIA ence completely disappeared. As soon as its autonomy was proclaimed, the Slovak Government floated a loan for the economic revival of Slovakia, and the Slovak people themselves in a short time subscribed an amount necessary to cover this need. In a similar manner a gold standard was created for the Slovak Republic, to which the Slovaks sacrificed their valuables. The mint at Kremnica which had coined Hungarian currency for 600 years, for the first time in its history began to mint money with the seal of the Slovak State. It was discovered that Slovakia had enough varied raw materials which it could work, and that Slovak industry could increase its production to the point where it could export its products. Slovakia concluded trade agreements with many European countries, and the foreign trade of the Slovak Republic was highly active. The Slovak "koruna" (crown) won a reputation as the "Tatra Dollar," and its steady value was the best proof of the settled economy of the Slovak State. The Slovak Parliament, as early as July 21, 1939. approved the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, thereby establishing a strong foundation of legal procedure and the future development of Slovak national life. 8 On October 26, 1939, Dr. Jozef Tiso was unanimously elected the first president of the Slovak Republic and was recognized by the Slovak nation as the successor of the 9th-century Slovak princes. His motto: "Faithful to Ourselves-Forward in Harmony!" succinctly expressed not only the principles he practiced in his own high office, but also the program of Slovak statehood. The Slovak nation, particularly during those tempestuous days, took careful note of all the advantages and disadvantages obtaining from its position at the historical crossroads of Central Europe. The generation: which lived to see liberty on the soil of the ancient Slovak fatherland wanted to forget the injustices of the past and sincerely to establish friendly relation with all the nations with which it would come into contact. It wished to stand not only on the free land of its ancestors, but also on the spiritual foundation of its own life, to retrieve in unity with all Slovaks what the Slovak nation had lost through no fault of its own, and to prepare a peaceful and prosperous future for generations to come. SLOVAKIA 63 It was along this road that Dr. Jozef Tiso led the Slovak nation as president of the Slovak Republic. As the Slovak nation was laying the foundations of its State and was taking its first steps on the road of a free life, the storm of war began to spread over Central Europe. Its flames grew and engulfed more and more countries. But the hurricane of war, moving from the west to the east, passed over Slovakia without damage. During the first years of the War, when the German armies penetrated through Poland and were headed for Moscow, reaching the Volga River and the foothills of the Caucasus, Slovakia remained in a sort of vacuum, free to develop in every respect without interference. Especially the cultural life of Slovakia blossomed at this time. In the Slovak University, the Technical Institute, the School of Commerce and Business, the Slovak National Library, the Slovak Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in its other older and newer cultural institutions the Slovak nation discovered media of growth such as it had never known in the past. The number of books increased daily, new radio stations were built, and the production of cultural and documentary films was initiated. Unusual cultural activity flourished throughout Slovakia with many Slovak villages erecting cultural buildings as agencies for their own progress. Slovakia grew because the creative abilities of the Slovak nation were not being exhausted in the defense of natural rights, now guaranteed by political independence and its own national administration. The Slovak Republic, emerging during the twilight of the great War, was beclouded by a crucial question: How would the War end, and what kind of fate awaited this small yet so promisingly developing State? The Slovak nation was determined to defend its national independence as the only real basis for its national liberty, and so it exerted itself to have the Slovak Republic remain on the map of postwar Europe. It had a right to believe that it could preserve its liberty and national independence, but it knew from its own experience the bitter truth that if the others decided the fate of a nation, the rights of a nation are seldom considered. The only desire of the Slovak nation at this time was the Slovak Republic be rid of the outward pressure which limited its sovereignty 64 SLOVAKIA and influenced its decisions. When a turn of events came in the War, and military danger began to approach from the East, the Slovak nation began to fear for its future . These fears grew as the Slovak nation realized that it did not have the strength to repel this threatening calamity. Besides this, it was aware of designs being made against the Slovak Republic in foreign countries.9 It was reasonable to presume that, because of the Soviet army's superior force, the hard-pressed German army would not retreat through the mountainous territory of Slovakia. In the north, the Soviet army advanced from the Carpathians through Poland, and in the south, through Hungary; and it could be sudmised that Slovakia would not become a battleground. It could expect to be spared at least the destruction of war. These suppositions, however, were not fulfilled, because the agents of Moscowwi th the help of Communist partisans, landed in the Slovak mountains by Soviet aircraft, organized an uprising in Slovakia in August, 1944, and produced a chaos which confused a portion of the native population. 10 This entire action had no political significance because it had no influence on the fate of Slovakia. From a military viewpoint the uprising was foolish, and it collapsed in a shameful manner. But from an economic point of view, the uprising caused greater damage than had been suffered by the country for centuries. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives for no reason, railroads, tunnels and bridges were arbitrarily destroyed, and many villages were reduced to ashes. With the blood that was needlessly spilled and the smoke which hung over the ruins perished not only the national independence of Slovakia, but also the liberty of the "liberated" Slovak nation. On the heels of the Soviet army's divisions and their unspeakable atrocities, from Moscow to desolated Slovakia came Dr. Eduard Benes with the government of a resurrected Czecho-Slovak Republic. After five years of existence in its own state the Slovak nation arrived, against its own will and contrary to all the principles of natural and self-determining rights, at a position in which it did not care to live at any price, with nothing but slavery staring it in the facp SLOVAKIA 65 BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN The Slovak Republic was a small state. It emerged in unusually restless times and grew under very complicated conditions. In view of these circumstances, it could not become an ideal or complete state. Large, ancient, and mighty nations have their faults and weaknesses, too . The Slovak Republic cannot be condemned for the imperfection connected with its infancy nor for the errors it made, which in more than one case were simply the result of outside influences. It is an incontrovertible historical fact that the Slovak nation, in all of i~ more than one-thousand year history, never had such liberty, such rights, so much employment, such a measure of material welfare, such conditions for spiritual growth and cultural progress, or so much joy in living, as it had in the years of the Slovak Republic. The Slovak nation was contented with its State, despite its deficiencies, and it did not long for any other kind of state, including the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Slovak Republic conclusively refuted all the arguments against Slovak national independenqe. Every Slovak could see for himself that Slovakia, utilizing the industriousness of its people, is large enough and wealthy enough to provide all the economic conditions needed for indep8ndent national life . . The Slovak nation, during its five-year history of political independence, passed with remarkable success its test in the art of creating a government, and it deserved to be recognized as an independent and equal member in the family of free nations. By its experience as a Slovak republic, it is qualified to decide all questions pertaining to its own life, and is prepared to use its strength for the common welfare of the nations of Central Europe. One Slovak generation tasted the sweet fruit of liberty for which so many generations of the Slovak nation had fervently yearned, and therefore Slovaks will never again be satisfied with the bitter bread of slave labor. All this the Slovak nation learned in its own state. But all this was noted also by Dr. Eruard Benes, who observed the development of Slovak life abroad during 66 SLOVAKIA the war and in the spring of 1945, accompanied by Soviet bayonets, set foot on the blood-stained soil of Slovakia. The restoration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was one of the g1·eat inter-national mistakes. The revival of this State not only could not draw the Slovaks and Czechs closer to each other, but, on the contrary, relations between the Slovaks and Czechs became extremely cold as a direct result of this forced cohabitation in a joint state. The so-called Kosice Agreement of April 5, 1945, which recognized in the Slovaks the distinctive marks of a nation and promised. them complete equality with the Czechs, was not a cure for the wound which Slovakia suffered by the loss of its national independence, nor could it serve as a basis for a satisfying cohabitation of these two nations within one state. This sort of solution of Slovak-Czech relations would have had a meaning when the Slovaks were seeking autonomy in the spirit of the Pittsburgh Pact. The declaration at Kosice and the promises of Klement Gottwald had no power of attraction after the violent destruction of the Slovak Republic. The national independence of Slovakia was trampled by the Soviet army, which was followed by the Government and President of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. The restored Czecho-Slovak Republic was alien to the Slovaks not only because it could in no way replace the Slovak State, but also because it brought Slovakia under the control of Moscow through the administration at Prague. Slovakia, even while silenced by the presence of the Soviet army, in no way concealed either its irreconcilable opposition to the situation in which it found itself or its desire for its own national independence. Dr. Eduard Benes, as president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, was determined to crack this opposition of Slovakia at any cost and by any means, and to strangle in the Slovak nation every longing for independence. If Dr. Eduard Benes, by his personal propaganda, enjoyed the reputation abroad of a great democrat and farsighted statesman, he now himself tore off this mask and showed himself to be a ruthless tyrant far removed from democracy and wise foresight. He saw in the Communist people's democracy a new, higher and more advanced form of democracy, and SLOVAKIA 67 as president of the restored Czecho-Slovak Republic he approved and confirmed all the violence committed by the Prague Government and its Bratislava agencies in the. name of the people's democracy. The Slovak nation now became a victim of revenge because it had its own state during the War. Criminal status was given not only to those who served in the Slovak Republic and had not redeemed their "crime" by the sin of treason, but also to those who disagreed with the new order. The executor of this people's democratic justice was the so-called "National Court" in Bratislava and the chain so-called "People's Courts" all over Slovakia . Since it was impossible to bring before the Court the entire "liberated" nation to condemn it , it was necessary to condemn hundreds and thousands of decent Slovaks in order that all Slovakia might be terrified silenced and coerced into slavish obedience. The " National Court" of Bratislava also condemned to death the president of the Slovak Republic Dr. Jozef Tiso, and the Czecho-Slovak Government together with its president saw to it that this judgment was carried out on April 18 , 1947. The execution of the President of the Slovak Republic evoked deep horror throughout Slovakia and at the same time extinguished the last spark of hope that Slovak~ and Czechs could live together in a common state. The gallows on which Dr. Jozef Tiso died a martyr's death stands above the chasm which once and for all obliterated any form of Czecho-Slovak state.11 Slovakia did not permit itself to be broken in its opposition to the Czecho-Slovak Republic nor to the Communistic people's democracy either by the murder of Dr. Jozef Tiso or by subsequent forcible measures. The Slovak nation is enduring the same wrongs, injustices and pains that are being suffered by all the other nations behind the Iron Curtain. The spirit and form of the Communist people's democracy are foreign, repulsive and unacceptable to the Slovak nation. With persistent and remarkable consistency, the Slovaks are rejecting everything that the Government of the Czecho-Slovak Republic as a servant of Moscow is 68 SLOVAKIA forcing upon them. And they are defending with heroic courage everything that feeds and strengthens their own life. 12 From the very dawn of its history, Slovakia has belonged to Western Europe, and for twelve centuries of its past it has lived in unity with the Christian civilization of the Western world. During this long historical evolution the Slovak nation has achieved a stature, spiritual character and moral tradition that cannot be reconciled with the godless materialism of Communist doctrine or with the un-Christian methods of the people's democracy. Even though its beautiful land serves as a huge prison behind the Iron Curtain, the Slovak nation has not lost, but continues to confess fearlessly, its faith in God as the source of its strength and hope. Deprived as it is of everything, it still does not surrender its claim to a free life in its own state, but insists on an independent position in the great family of equal nations in Europe. Could youf as a free citizen of a democratic country, say that the Slovak nation does not deserve freedom? Or that it want more than it has a right to expect? FOOTNOTES 1) Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1934, p . 308. 2) In addition to many articles, Konstantin culen has written a separate two-volume study on American Slovaks: Dejiny Slov<ikov v Amerike (A History of Slovaks in America), Vols. I and II, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1942. The cultural life of American Slovaks is described in his book Slovaci v Amerike (Slovaks in America), Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia, 1938. Several articles are devoted to the intervention of the Slovak League in America in the political conditions of Slovakia in the book Slovensk<i Liga v Amerike styridsat'rocnri (Fortieth Anniversary of the Slovak League in America), Scranton, Pa., 1947. These questions are dealt in detail also by Karol Sidor in the book Slovrici v zahranicnom odboji ( Slovaks in the Resistance Movement Abroad), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1928. A separate book on the Pittsburgh Agreement was written by Konstantin culen, Pittsburghskd dohoda (The Pittsburgh Agreement), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1937. 3 ) Martin Greco, Martinsk<i deklar<icia (The St. Martin Declaration) , Bratislava, Slovakia, 1939. SLOVAKIA 69 4) According to the 1930 census there were 3,329,793 inhabitants in 5) 6) 7) 8) Slovakia. Of this number, 2,284,355 were Roman Catholics, 213,725 Greek Catholics, 555,900 Protestants, 9,079 of the Orthodox faith . Only 16,890 were counted as not adhering to any religion: they were Czechs. The activity of Andrej Hlinka and the role of the Slovak People's Party are told in detail by Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1934. The Slovak National Party was numerically small, gaining only one delegate in the election, but it numbered among its members many of the Lutheran intelligentsia. The cession of Slovakia southern lands to Hungary was decided already between the Prague Government and the administration of Hungary. The government of autonomous Slovakia was confronted by this prepared situation, and Dr. Jozef Tiso, who had led these conferences, was actually a delegate of the Central Government of Prague. The Constitution of the Slovak Republic was prepared by the vicepresident of Parliament and the chairman of the constitutional committee, Dr. Karol Mederly, who published it in an a separate brochure with a comprehensive introduction, Ostava Slovenslcej republilcy a jej zakladne smernice (The Constitution of the Slovak Republic and Its Basic Principles), Bratislava, Slovakia, 1939. 9) Plots against the independent statehood of Slovakia were led abroad by Dr. Eduard Benes who had resigned from the office of president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, had recognized Dr. Emil Hacha as his successor and then once again claimed the office of president. His faithful co-worker was the Slovak Communist, Dr. Vladimir Clementis. 10) The Soviet aircraft landed in Slovakia Slovak soldiers who had been captured by the Soviets and were obHged to join the so-called Czechoslovak Brigade in Russia. This entire brigade dispersed because the Slovak troops who had seen conditions in Soviet Russia with their own eyes did not wish to fight against the Slovak Republic, but fled to their homes at the first opportunity. 11) The entire address spoken by Dr. Jozef Tiso in Bratislava before his sentence has been published by the Slovak Catholic Sokol in a book entitled Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe (Dr. Jozef Tiso, in His own Words), Slovak Catholic Sokol, Passaic, N. J., 1952, edited by Dr. Jozef Pauco. 12) Much valuable information regarding the resistance of the Slovaks against Communism may be found in the booklet by Dr. Jozef :Mikus, The Thee Slovak Bishops, Slovak Catholic Federation of America, Passaic, N. J. 1953.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource This Is Slovakia Description An account of the resource Francis Hrušovský, Ph.D. Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 42-69 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hrušovský, František, 1903-1956 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/31e0c60f69f15d24ad7724109f4ac0c8.pdf 90c5be899b963ddadef1addb70cd7a93 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 35 The Politica] }\Iessage of l\'Iat(1s (:ernak By Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum On July 5. 1955 Matus cernak, a distinguished Slovak politician and diplomat, was assassinated in Munich, Germany. Forces rabid in opposing Slovak effort to secure to establish an independent Slovakia could have hardly struck a mere telling blow than was this dastardly attack, for by it they removed from active service an esteemed patriot, this cernak of whom it may be said that of all national movers currently in exile, he must closely approximated what relatively speaking, we might designate as the position of a non-accredited legate of the Slovak nation to the republic of Western Germany. And to him as such were paid final tributes and honors in death not only by the officials of that government but by the chancellor of Western Germany himself who expressed deep sympathy on the occasion of cernak's tragic death. In Germany Matus cernak signalized himself beyond his office as a deserving politician and diplomat. It was due mostly to his untiring diligence and interest that two noteworthy publications continued to appear after the departure of Dr . Jozef Pauco; viz., SLOBODNE SLOVENSKO (Free Slovakia, founded by Dr. Pauco ) and SLOWAKISCHE KORRESPONDENZ. Concern for the social wellbeing of hundreds of Slovak refugees who arrived in Germany alw came to devolve upon cernak, and his name is very closely associated with the Slovak Institute in Munich. Even this meager cut-and-dry survey of his major activities in exile yields us the realization that the foul political murder, which so unexpectedly wrested Matus cernak from our midst, is to all the Slovaks in the free world and to the struggle for a democratic independent Slovakia a much greater loss and a much more significant incident than we had appraised and accounted it in the earliest hours of our grief. After the cernova massacre of 1907, the murder of Stefanik in 1919 and of Dr. Jozef Tiso �36 SLOVAKI A in 1947, the attack of July 5, 1955 will be recorded in Slovak national annals as a historica lly vital event. The death of Matus Cernak marks not merely the passing of another exiled Slovak diplomat and patriot who dedicated all his mind and heart to the struggle to liberate Slovakia from ·commun ism and the Czech yoke. Matus Cerna.k's previous political backgrou nd, his personal characte r and talents, his uncompr omising doggedne ss and his tireless and successfu l activities within the territory of one of the most decisive powers affecting the fate of Slovakia -all this contribu ted tc make Cernak indispens able to the current state of our political efforts as well as a symbol for posterity . WHO WAS MATOS CERN.AK Matus Cernak was born on August 28, 1903 in the town of Vieska where his father was a miller. After his prelimin ary educatio n in Prievidza , Kezmaro k, and Banska Bystrica, he undertoo k universit y studies in Prague and subseque ntly in Leipzig, Germany . His courses were orientated toward a professor ship. Having attained his diploma, he spent several years in teaching at Trnava, and in 1930 he became a high school instructo r i.n Bratislav a. Until 1937 Cernak devoted himself almost exclusive ly to academic pursuits and to cultural interests. He was, however, one of the younger element, a member of that youthful and vitally consciou s generatio n of Slovaks who in the 1932 demonst rations at Trencian ske Teplice gave Prague incontrov ertible evidence of the fact that the spiritual and political developm ent of Slovakia will follow native inspirati on and bent and will not be trammele d by constrain ing directive s from Prague. As a youthful patriot, then, Cernak naturally found himself ah active participa nt in various political demonst rations supportin g Slovakia 's interests and deserts. It was the temper of the times that shaped his destiny. He made more and more public appearan ces and spirited pronounc ements but after his patriotic manifest o delivered in the Slovak National Theater in 1937, Cernak was overnigh t not only projected into popular acclaim but was also irrevocab ly commite d to his role as an outstand ing �SLOVAKIA 37 leader in the political arena. The keynote of his message on this occasion was "Ours is that portion of land beneath the Tatra and to us rightfully belongs all its yield." This cry and justification came to echo from innumerable speaker's platforms and it blazed its appeal throughout all the press houses of Slovakia. Within a year after this induction into public national life, Matus Cerrnik, despite his youthful thirty-five years, became a minister in the Prague government. Prague, long accustomed to an accord of fawning subservience and servility on the part of those to whom she had granted political ministries and various similar offices, soon realized that this Cernak who accepted a ministerial portfolio came as a representative of a new generation. H e was not a hireling. He was a public servant who bore the concerns of the Slovak nation deep in his heart, one to be touched neither by bribes nor by intimidation. He was upright as well as fearless and his attitude was undisguised . He understood that it served no purpose to temporize with the Czechs ; consequently, he had hardly established himself in his new office when, mincing no words, he demanded as by a 24-hour ultimatum that Dr. Benes examine the Slovak problem in the spirit of the Pittsburgh , Pact; i. e., Cerrn'i.k sought to activate Slovakia's autonomy as it had been guaranteed by the Czechs when Thomas G. Masaryk signed the Pittsburgh Pact in 1918 and the unreserved ratification of the Parliament convened on November 12, 1918 had made the agreement binding both legally and morally. Benes was unwilling to meet Cerna.k's terms. Manfully and honorably, Cernak offered his resignation from ministerial duties and his decisive action hastened Slovakia's autonomy and later her complete independence. In the autonomous state of Slovakia (October 6, 1938 - March 14, 1939 ) 0 ernak became a prominent and popular personality. He was named minister of education and after the proclamation of independence, he was appointed the first Slovak envoy to Berlin. Berlin was not only the most significant, it was also tbe most difficult ambassadorial post. The very existence of the Slovak republic often hung by a hair there, and the Slovak diplomatic representative had to exercise consum- �38 SLOVAKIA mate tact while at the same time he preserved an inflexible devotion to his country and defended the interests committed to him in sacred trust. Matus cernak proved himself in this capacity. He again advanced the welfare of Slovakia with the same degree of ardor and uncompromising vigor which had characterized him formerly in Prague, and his mission was successful. So well, in fact, did he acquit himselr to his duties that he won for the Slovak cause the sympathies even of that power that came after the occupation of Germany, and in its eyes, too, he was accepted as a non-accredited envoy of the Slovak nation. Political reprisals meted out a prison sentence for Cernak, and after serving several years in Bratislava, he left Slovakia in 1948. His country was then degraded by the Communistic and Czech regimes. Cernak in exile dedicated himself to the struggle to secure a new freedom and independence for Slovakia, a sacred fight against Communism, a crusade for the triumph of democracy and liberty. For this reason, the brutal political murder of Matus Cernak, who ha.ct been favored by fate to assume in this national struggle for liberty and independence a role granted only tc heroes and to persons of uncommon historic stature, has shaken every worthy Slovak and every honorable person in the world. For in that little post office in Munich there fell at the hands of a cynical murderer and merely a member of the little Slovak nation but a wholly dedicated defender of the idea of freedom and democracy, and that at the very hour when the representatives of international Communism and of Czech imperialism were sporting the ma~k of surface smiles and pretending sugared speeches on peace and cooperation and coexistence. If the world's free press agencies, broadcasts and televised reports from Bonn to Washington, from Paris to Canada, Australia, Argentina, and all the free world circulated reports and commentaries on this despicable political crime, then it was in tribute to the victim cernak, a promoter of the ideal of freedom and democracy. Only the intervention and meddling of the forces of cowardly appeasement , of collaboration with Communism and Czechsown hatred of the Slovaks prevented the glorification �SLOVAKIA 39 of this sacrifice of Matus cernak as· a price demanded by the true instinct of Communism and of Czech chauvinism. Their malice alone precluded the hailing of Matus cern.ak as a martyr to the cause of liberty and democracy, blessings cherished by the universal free world. This honor Matus cernak fully deserves. Slovak nation and all loyal Slovaks now exiled and scattered throughout the far-flung countries of the free world can appraise this holocaus~ of Matus cernak in its full historic significance. WHY WAS MATO$ CERNAK SLAIN? Matus cernak fell because he was the foe of Communism and of Czech efforts to dominate Slovakia and to usurp her rights. He was singled out as one of the most unyielding exponents of the principle of liberty and a democratic way for Slovakia. For these reasons he became marked as a sworn enemy of the dual powers of international Communism and of Czech aggressive pretensions. Because he had already established a record of several years of successful service on the Slovak political front which has been in the recent past and which will very likely in the near future again be a paramount importance in the Slovak contest for liberty and independence, not only Communistic Prague but also the adherents of there-established Czech hegemony over Slovakia ranked him as the number one man on their list of resistance leaders active in exile to thwart their nefarious designs. He fell because of his love for Slovakia suffering under Czech domination, because of his friendly attitude toward the German nation, and because of the fruitful mission he was accomplishing in the Republic of Western Germany where he had all the prospects of continuing an eminently flourishing career. Whether the base assassin will be discovered as an individual or not, it is unmistakably clear to every thinking person just whose henchmen he must have been and in whose employ he accomplished his ambushed bloody deed. Since 1945 so great a number of outstanding Slovak patriots has been killed, deported anq deprivea of liberty that doubt concerning the mastermind of this vicious �40 SLOVAKIA crime would hardly be in place. Czechs, both of the Communist water-mark and non-Communist conformers, especially those who in the wake of unsuccessful collaboration with Communism escaped into the countries of western Europe, live in abnormal fears bred by guilt, the spawn of those crimes they perpetrated against Sudeten and Carpathian Germans. Their panic mounts as they see Germany now in the ascendancy as one of the influential nations in international politics. To both classes of Czechs it is clear that the existence of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the question of Czech boundaries and conditions affecting the principles of life for the Czech nation in the future will come to depend in no small measure and in no negligible way on Germany and on this decisive factor whether or not Slovakia will succeed in winning the suppor t of influential powers which will further her endeavor for independence. Matus c ernak with over 15 years of residence in Germany an d very desirable contacts and personal acquaintance even among the highest of German dignitaries was undeniably instrumental in securing favor for the idea of Slovakia'~ independence. His personal integrity and his indefatigable efforts in behalf of his country, as posthumously appraised by the German press and attested to by hundreds of telegrams of condolence, won sympathetic response even in the highest levels of political power in Bonn and presaged ultimate success for the Slovak cause. It was primar ily for this reason that the foes of the Slovak nation and of the Slovak effort to attain national independence decided to liquidate cernak. THE POLITICAL MESSAGE OF MATO$ CERNA K cernak was felled in the heat of the national struggle. H e died with a conviction of Slovak truth, confident in the ultimate victory of the natural right of the Slovak p eople to enjoy their proper national life. He consummated his own supremf sacrifice in the spirit of his motto "To liberty through sacrifice" and he signed his political credo with his own life's blood. It is n ot difficult nor will be difficult to ascertain what would have been the final political message of cernak. �SLOVAKIA 41 He wrote it in 1938 in terms of his adamant resistance to compromise, his steadfastness and his patriotic ardor. You can find it recorded in hundreds of his articles and political manifestoes, in his life-long political career and in his heroic martyrdom . In the ranks of Slovak political figures, personages who have gone before us in death, cernak takes his place as the representative of a new political generation, one which has sought and which still seeks a solution of the Slovak problem on a broader European basis within the cadre of modern democratic and Christian powers. For his political mission in exile, Matus cernak was better prepared. than were most Slovaks, and by his educational background and his professional experience as well as by his personal endowments and characteristics he satisfactorily evidenced a Slovak; sense of balance and maturity and fitness for life. He also exemplified Slovakia's innate belonging to Europe and to European traditions. The most substantial and eloquent proof of his adequacy to fill the role he chose in the fight for a democratic and independent Slovakia is his very assassination, the tragic bomb which the antagonists of a Christian and independent Slovakia sent him. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union. � SLOVAKIA 35 The Politica] }\Iessage of l\'Iat(1s (:ernak By Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum On July 5. 1955 Matus cernak, a distinguished Slovak politician and diplomat, was assassinated in Munich, Germany. Forces rabid in opposing Slovak effort to secure to establish an independent Slovakia could have hardly struck a mere telling blow than was this dastardly attack, for by it they removed from active service an esteemed patriot, this cernak of whom it may be said that of all national movers currently in exile, he must closely approximated what relatively speaking, we might designate as the position of a non-accredited legate of the Slovak nation to the republic of Western Germany. And to him as such were paid final tributes and honors in death not only by the officials of that government but by the chancellor of Western Germany himself who expressed deep sympathy on the occasion of cernak's tragic death. In Germany Matus cernak signalized himself beyond his office as a deserving politician and diplomat. It was due mostly to his untiring diligence and interest that two noteworthy publications continued to appear after the departure of Dr . Jozef Pauco; viz., SLOBODNE SLOVENSKO (Free Slovakia, founded by Dr. Pauco ) and SLOWAKISCHE KORRESPONDENZ. Concern for the social wellbeing of hundreds of Slovak refugees who arrived in Germany alw came to devolve upon cernak, and his name is very closely associated with the Slovak Institute in Munich. Even this meager cut-and-dry survey of his major activities in exile yields us the realization that the foul political murder, which so unexpectedly wrested Matus cernak from our midst, is to all the Slovaks in the free world and to the struggle for a democratic independent Slovakia a much greater loss and a much more significant incident than we had appraised and accounted it in the earliest hours of our grief. After the cernova massacre of 1907, the murder of Stefanik in 1919 and of Dr. Jozef Tiso �36 SLOVAKI A in 1947, the attack of July 5, 1955 will be recorded in Slovak national annals as a historica lly vital event. The death of Matus Cernak marks not merely the passing of another exiled Slovak diplomat and patriot who dedicated all his mind and heart to the struggle to liberate Slovakia from ·commun ism and the Czech yoke. Matus Cerna.k's previous political backgrou nd, his personal characte r and talents, his uncompr omising doggedne ss and his tireless and successfu l activities within the territory of one of the most decisive powers affecting the fate of Slovakia -all this contribu ted tc make Cernak indispens able to the current state of our political efforts as well as a symbol for posterity . WHO WAS MATOS CERN.AK Matus Cernak was born on August 28, 1903 in the town of Vieska where his father was a miller. After his prelimin ary educatio n in Prievidza , Kezmaro k, and Banska Bystrica, he undertoo k universit y studies in Prague and subseque ntly in Leipzig, Germany . His courses were orientated toward a professor ship. Having attained his diploma, he spent several years in teaching at Trnava, and in 1930 he became a high school instructo r i.n Bratislav a. Until 1937 Cernak devoted himself almost exclusive ly to academic pursuits and to cultural interests. He was, however, one of the younger element, a member of that youthful and vitally consciou s generatio n of Slovaks who in the 1932 demonst rations at Trencian ske Teplice gave Prague incontrov ertible evidence of the fact that the spiritual and political developm ent of Slovakia will follow native inspirati on and bent and will not be trammele d by constrain ing directive s from Prague. As a youthful patriot, then, Cernak naturally found himself ah active participa nt in various political demonst rations supportin g Slovakia 's interests and deserts. It was the temper of the times that shaped his destiny. He made more and more public appearan ces and spirited pronounc ements but after his patriotic manifest o delivered in the Slovak National Theater in 1937, Cernak was overnigh t not only projected into popular acclaim but was also irrevocab ly commite d to his role as an outstand ing �SLOVAKIA 37 leader in the political arena. The keynote of his message on this occasion was "Ours is that portion of land beneath the Tatra and to us rightfully belongs all its yield." This cry and justification came to echo from innumerable speaker's platforms and it blazed its appeal throughout all the press houses of Slovakia. Within a year after this induction into public national life, Matus Cerrnik, despite his youthful thirty-five years, became a minister in the Prague government. Prague, long accustomed to an accord of fawning subservience and servility on the part of those to whom she had granted political ministries and various similar offices, soon realized that this Cernak who accepted a ministerial portfolio came as a representative of a new generation. H e was not a hireling. He was a public servant who bore the concerns of the Slovak nation deep in his heart, one to be touched neither by bribes nor by intimidation. He was upright as well as fearless and his attitude was undisguised . He understood that it served no purpose to temporize with the Czechs ; consequently, he had hardly established himself in his new office when, mincing no words, he demanded as by a 24-hour ultimatum that Dr. Benes examine the Slovak problem in the spirit of the Pittsburgh , Pact; i. e., Cerrn'i.k sought to activate Slovakia's autonomy as it had been guaranteed by the Czechs when Thomas G. Masaryk signed the Pittsburgh Pact in 1918 and the unreserved ratification of the Parliament convened on November 12, 1918 had made the agreement binding both legally and morally. Benes was unwilling to meet Cerna.k's terms. Manfully and honorably, Cernak offered his resignation from ministerial duties and his decisive action hastened Slovakia's autonomy and later her complete independence. In the autonomous state of Slovakia (October 6, 1938 - March 14, 1939 ) 0 ernak became a prominent and popular personality. He was named minister of education and after the proclamation of independence, he was appointed the first Slovak envoy to Berlin. Berlin was not only the most significant, it was also tbe most difficult ambassadorial post. The very existence of the Slovak republic often hung by a hair there, and the Slovak diplomatic representative had to exercise consum- �38 SLOVAKIA mate tact while at the same time he preserved an inflexible devotion to his country and defended the interests committed to him in sacred trust. Matus cernak proved himself in this capacity. He again advanced the welfare of Slovakia with the same degree of ardor and uncompromising vigor which had characterized him formerly in Prague, and his mission was successful. So well, in fact, did he acquit himselr to his duties that he won for the Slovak cause the sympathies even of that power that came after the occupation of Germany, and in its eyes, too, he was accepted as a non-accredited envoy of the Slovak nation. Political reprisals meted out a prison sentence for Cernak, and after serving several years in Bratislava, he left Slovakia in 1948. His country was then degraded by the Communistic and Czech regimes. Cernak in exile dedicated himself to the struggle to secure a new freedom and independence for Slovakia, a sacred fight against Communism, a crusade for the triumph of democracy and liberty. For this reason, the brutal political murder of Matus Cernak, who ha.ct been favored by fate to assume in this national struggle for liberty and independence a role granted only tc heroes and to persons of uncommon historic stature, has shaken every worthy Slovak and every honorable person in the world. For in that little post office in Munich there fell at the hands of a cynical murderer and merely a member of the little Slovak nation but a wholly dedicated defender of the idea of freedom and democracy, and that at the very hour when the representatives of international Communism and of Czech imperialism were sporting the ma~k of surface smiles and pretending sugared speeches on peace and cooperation and coexistence. If the world's free press agencies, broadcasts and televised reports from Bonn to Washington, from Paris to Canada, Australia, Argentina, and all the free world circulated reports and commentaries on this despicable political crime, then it was in tribute to the victim cernak, a promoter of the ideal of freedom and democracy. Only the intervention and meddling of the forces of cowardly appeasement , of collaboration with Communism and Czechsown hatred of the Slovaks prevented the glorification �SLOVAKIA 39 of this sacrifice of Matus cernak as· a price demanded by the true instinct of Communism and of Czech chauvinism. Their malice alone precluded the hailing of Matus cern.ak as a martyr to the cause of liberty and democracy, blessings cherished by the universal free world. This honor Matus cernak fully deserves. Slovak nation and all loyal Slovaks now exiled and scattered throughout the far-flung countries of the free world can appraise this holocaus~ of Matus cernak in its full historic significance. WHY WAS MATO$ CERNAK SLAIN? Matus cernak fell because he was the foe of Communism and of Czech efforts to dominate Slovakia and to usurp her rights. He was singled out as one of the most unyielding exponents of the principle of liberty and a democratic way for Slovakia. For these reasons he became marked as a sworn enemy of the dual powers of international Communism and of Czech aggressive pretensions. Because he had already established a record of several years of successful service on the Slovak political front which has been in the recent past and which will very likely in the near future again be a paramount importance in the Slovak contest for liberty and independence, not only Communistic Prague but also the adherents of there-established Czech hegemony over Slovakia ranked him as the number one man on their list of resistance leaders active in exile to thwart their nefarious designs. He fell because of his love for Slovakia suffering under Czech domination, because of his friendly attitude toward the German nation, and because of the fruitful mission he was accomplishing in the Republic of Western Germany where he had all the prospects of continuing an eminently flourishing career. Whether the base assassin will be discovered as an individual or not, it is unmistakably clear to every thinking person just whose henchmen he must have been and in whose employ he accomplished his ambushed bloody deed. Since 1945 so great a number of outstanding Slovak patriots has been killed, deported anq deprivea of liberty that doubt concerning the mastermind of this vicious �40 SLOVAKIA crime would hardly be in place. Czechs, both of the Communist water-mark and non-Communist conformers, especially those who in the wake of unsuccessful collaboration with Communism escaped into the countries of western Europe, live in abnormal fears bred by guilt, the spawn of those crimes they perpetrated against Sudeten and Carpathian Germans. Their panic mounts as they see Germany now in the ascendancy as one of the influential nations in international politics. To both classes of Czechs it is clear that the existence of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the question of Czech boundaries and conditions affecting the principles of life for the Czech nation in the future will come to depend in no small measure and in no negligible way on Germany and on this decisive factor whether or not Slovakia will succeed in winning the suppor t of influential powers which will further her endeavor for independence. Matus c ernak with over 15 years of residence in Germany an d very desirable contacts and personal acquaintance even among the highest of German dignitaries was undeniably instrumental in securing favor for the idea of Slovakia'~ independence. His personal integrity and his indefatigable efforts in behalf of his country, as posthumously appraised by the German press and attested to by hundreds of telegrams of condolence, won sympathetic response even in the highest levels of political power in Bonn and presaged ultimate success for the Slovak cause. It was primar ily for this reason that the foes of the Slovak nation and of the Slovak effort to attain national independence decided to liquidate cernak. THE POLITICAL MESSAGE OF MATO$ CERNA K cernak was felled in the heat of the national struggle. H e died with a conviction of Slovak truth, confident in the ultimate victory of the natural right of the Slovak p eople to enjoy their proper national life. He consummated his own supremf sacrifice in the spirit of his motto "To liberty through sacrifice" and he signed his political credo with his own life's blood. It is n ot difficult nor will be difficult to ascertain what would have been the final political message of cernak. �SLOVAKIA 41 He wrote it in 1938 in terms of his adamant resistance to compromise, his steadfastness and his patriotic ardor. You can find it recorded in hundreds of his articles and political manifestoes, in his life-long political career and in his heroic martyrdom . In the ranks of Slovak political figures, personages who have gone before us in death, cernak takes his place as the representative of a new political generation, one which has sought and which still seeks a solution of the Slovak problem on a broader European basis within the cadre of modern democratic and Christian powers. For his political mission in exile, Matus cernak was better prepared. than were most Slovaks, and by his educational background and his professional experience as well as by his personal endowments and characteristics he satisfactorily evidenced a Slovak; sense of balance and maturity and fitness for life. He also exemplified Slovakia's innate belonging to Europe and to European traditions. The most substantial and eloquent proof of his adequacy to fill the role he chose in the fight for a democratic and independent Slovakia is his very assassination, the tragic bomb which the antagonists of a Christian and independent Slovakia sent him. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 35 The Politica] }\Iessage of l\'Iat(1s (:ernak By Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum On July 5. 1955 Matus cernak, a distinguished Slovak politician and diplomat, was assassinated in Munich, Germany. Forces rabid in opposing Slovak effort to secure to establish an independent Slovakia could have hardly struck a mere telling blow than was this dastardly attack, for by it they removed from active service an esteemed patriot, this cernak of whom it may be said that of all national movers currently in exile, he must closely approximated what relatively speaking, we might designate as the position of a non-accredited legate of the Slovak nation to the republic of Western Germany. And to him as such were paid final tributes and honors in death not only by the officials of that government but by the chancellor of Western Germany himself who expressed deep sympathy on the occasion of cernak's tragic death. In Germany Matus cernak signalized himself beyond his office as a deserving politician and diplomat. It was due mostly to his untiring diligence and interest that two noteworthy publications continued to appear after the departure of Dr . Jozef Pauco; viz., SLOBODNE SLOVENSKO (Free Slovakia, founded by Dr. Pauco ) and SLOWAKISCHE KORRESPONDENZ. Concern for the social wellbeing of hundreds of Slovak refugees who arrived in Germany alw came to devolve upon cernak, and his name is very closely associated with the Slovak Institute in Munich. Even this meager cut-and-dry survey of his major activities in exile yields us the realization that the foul political murder, which so unexpectedly wrested Matus cernak from our midst, is to all the Slovaks in the free world and to the struggle for a democratic independent Slovakia a much greater loss and a much more significant incident than we had appraised and accounted it in the earliest hours of our grief. After the cernova massacre of 1907, the murder of Stefanik in 1919 and of Dr. Jozef Tiso 36 SLOVAKI A in 1947, the attack of July 5, 1955 will be recorded in Slovak national annals as a historica lly vital event. The death of Matus Cernak marks not merely the passing of another exiled Slovak diplomat and patriot who dedicated all his mind and heart to the struggle to liberate Slovakia from ·commun ism and the Czech yoke. Matus Cerna.k's previous political backgrou nd, his personal characte r and talents, his uncompr omising doggedne ss and his tireless and successfu l activities within the territory of one of the most decisive powers affecting the fate of Slovakia -all this contribu ted tc make Cernak indispens able to the current state of our political efforts as well as a symbol for posterity . WHO WAS MATOS CERN.AK Matus Cernak was born on August 28, 1903 in the town of Vieska where his father was a miller. After his prelimin ary educatio n in Prievidza , Kezmaro k, and Banska Bystrica, he undertoo k universit y studies in Prague and subseque ntly in Leipzig, Germany . His courses were orientated toward a professor ship. Having attained his diploma, he spent several years in teaching at Trnava, and in 1930 he became a high school instructo r i.n Bratislav a. Until 1937 Cernak devoted himself almost exclusive ly to academic pursuits and to cultural interests. He was, however, one of the younger element, a member of that youthful and vitally consciou s generatio n of Slovaks who in the 1932 demonst rations at Trencian ske Teplice gave Prague incontrov ertible evidence of the fact that the spiritual and political developm ent of Slovakia will follow native inspirati on and bent and will not be trammele d by constrain ing directive s from Prague. As a youthful patriot, then, Cernak naturally found himself ah active participa nt in various political demonst rations supportin g Slovakia 's interests and deserts. It was the temper of the times that shaped his destiny. He made more and more public appearan ces and spirited pronounc ements but after his patriotic manifest o delivered in the Slovak National Theater in 1937, Cernak was overnigh t not only projected into popular acclaim but was also irrevocab ly commite d to his role as an outstand ing SLOVAKIA 37 leader in the political arena. The keynote of his message on this occasion was "Ours is that portion of land beneath the Tatra and to us rightfully belongs all its yield." This cry and justification came to echo from innumerable speaker's platforms and it blazed its appeal throughout all the press houses of Slovakia. Within a year after this induction into public national life, Matus Cerrnik, despite his youthful thirty-five years, became a minister in the Prague government. Prague, long accustomed to an accord of fawning subservience and servility on the part of those to whom she had granted political ministries and various similar offices, soon realized that this Cernak who accepted a ministerial portfolio came as a representative of a new generation. H e was not a hireling. He was a public servant who bore the concerns of the Slovak nation deep in his heart, one to be touched neither by bribes nor by intimidation. He was upright as well as fearless and his attitude was undisguised . He understood that it served no purpose to temporize with the Czechs ; consequently, he had hardly established himself in his new office when, mincing no words, he demanded as by a 24-hour ultimatum that Dr. Benes examine the Slovak problem in the spirit of the Pittsburgh , Pact; i. e., Cerrn'i.k sought to activate Slovakia's autonomy as it had been guaranteed by the Czechs when Thomas G. Masaryk signed the Pittsburgh Pact in 1918 and the unreserved ratification of the Parliament convened on November 12, 1918 had made the agreement binding both legally and morally. Benes was unwilling to meet Cerna.k's terms. Manfully and honorably, Cernak offered his resignation from ministerial duties and his decisive action hastened Slovakia's autonomy and later her complete independence. In the autonomous state of Slovakia (October 6, 1938 - March 14, 1939 ) 0 ernak became a prominent and popular personality. He was named minister of education and after the proclamation of independence, he was appointed the first Slovak envoy to Berlin. Berlin was not only the most significant, it was also tbe most difficult ambassadorial post. The very existence of the Slovak republic often hung by a hair there, and the Slovak diplomatic representative had to exercise consum- 38 SLOVAKIA mate tact while at the same time he preserved an inflexible devotion to his country and defended the interests committed to him in sacred trust. Matus cernak proved himself in this capacity. He again advanced the welfare of Slovakia with the same degree of ardor and uncompromising vigor which had characterized him formerly in Prague, and his mission was successful. So well, in fact, did he acquit himselr to his duties that he won for the Slovak cause the sympathies even of that power that came after the occupation of Germany, and in its eyes, too, he was accepted as a non-accredited envoy of the Slovak nation. Political reprisals meted out a prison sentence for Cernak, and after serving several years in Bratislava, he left Slovakia in 1948. His country was then degraded by the Communistic and Czech regimes. Cernak in exile dedicated himself to the struggle to secure a new freedom and independence for Slovakia, a sacred fight against Communism, a crusade for the triumph of democracy and liberty. For this reason, the brutal political murder of Matus Cernak, who ha.ct been favored by fate to assume in this national struggle for liberty and independence a role granted only tc heroes and to persons of uncommon historic stature, has shaken every worthy Slovak and every honorable person in the world. For in that little post office in Munich there fell at the hands of a cynical murderer and merely a member of the little Slovak nation but a wholly dedicated defender of the idea of freedom and democracy, and that at the very hour when the representatives of international Communism and of Czech imperialism were sporting the ma~k of surface smiles and pretending sugared speeches on peace and cooperation and coexistence. If the world's free press agencies, broadcasts and televised reports from Bonn to Washington, from Paris to Canada, Australia, Argentina, and all the free world circulated reports and commentaries on this despicable political crime, then it was in tribute to the victim cernak, a promoter of the ideal of freedom and democracy. Only the intervention and meddling of the forces of cowardly appeasement , of collaboration with Communism and Czechsown hatred of the Slovaks prevented the glorification SLOVAKIA 39 of this sacrifice of Matus cernak as· a price demanded by the true instinct of Communism and of Czech chauvinism. Their malice alone precluded the hailing of Matus cern.ak as a martyr to the cause of liberty and democracy, blessings cherished by the universal free world. This honor Matus cernak fully deserves. Slovak nation and all loyal Slovaks now exiled and scattered throughout the far-flung countries of the free world can appraise this holocaus~ of Matus cernak in its full historic significance. WHY WAS MATO$ CERNAK SLAIN? Matus cernak fell because he was the foe of Communism and of Czech efforts to dominate Slovakia and to usurp her rights. He was singled out as one of the most unyielding exponents of the principle of liberty and a democratic way for Slovakia. For these reasons he became marked as a sworn enemy of the dual powers of international Communism and of Czech aggressive pretensions. Because he had already established a record of several years of successful service on the Slovak political front which has been in the recent past and which will very likely in the near future again be a paramount importance in the Slovak contest for liberty and independence, not only Communistic Prague but also the adherents of there-established Czech hegemony over Slovakia ranked him as the number one man on their list of resistance leaders active in exile to thwart their nefarious designs. He fell because of his love for Slovakia suffering under Czech domination, because of his friendly attitude toward the German nation, and because of the fruitful mission he was accomplishing in the Republic of Western Germany where he had all the prospects of continuing an eminently flourishing career. Whether the base assassin will be discovered as an individual or not, it is unmistakably clear to every thinking person just whose henchmen he must have been and in whose employ he accomplished his ambushed bloody deed. Since 1945 so great a number of outstanding Slovak patriots has been killed, deported anq deprivea of liberty that doubt concerning the mastermind of this vicious 40 SLOVAKIA crime would hardly be in place. Czechs, both of the Communist water-mark and non-Communist conformers, especially those who in the wake of unsuccessful collaboration with Communism escaped into the countries of western Europe, live in abnormal fears bred by guilt, the spawn of those crimes they perpetrated against Sudeten and Carpathian Germans. Their panic mounts as they see Germany now in the ascendancy as one of the influential nations in international politics. To both classes of Czechs it is clear that the existence of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the question of Czech boundaries and conditions affecting the principles of life for the Czech nation in the future will come to depend in no small measure and in no negligible way on Germany and on this decisive factor whether or not Slovakia will succeed in winning the suppor t of influential powers which will further her endeavor for independence. Matus c ernak with over 15 years of residence in Germany an d very desirable contacts and personal acquaintance even among the highest of German dignitaries was undeniably instrumental in securing favor for the idea of Slovakia'~ independence. His personal integrity and his indefatigable efforts in behalf of his country, as posthumously appraised by the German press and attested to by hundreds of telegrams of condolence, won sympathetic response even in the highest levels of political power in Bonn and presaged ultimate success for the Slovak cause. It was primar ily for this reason that the foes of the Slovak nation and of the Slovak effort to attain national independence decided to liquidate cernak. THE POLITICAL MESSAGE OF MATO$ CERNA K cernak was felled in the heat of the national struggle. H e died with a conviction of Slovak truth, confident in the ultimate victory of the natural right of the Slovak p eople to enjoy their proper national life. He consummated his own supremf sacrifice in the spirit of his motto "To liberty through sacrifice" and he signed his political credo with his own life's blood. It is n ot difficult nor will be difficult to ascertain what would have been the final political message of cernak. SLOVAKIA 41 He wrote it in 1938 in terms of his adamant resistance to compromise, his steadfastness and his patriotic ardor. You can find it recorded in hundreds of his articles and political manifestoes, in his life-long political career and in his heroic martyrdom . In the ranks of Slovak political figures, personages who have gone before us in death, cernak takes his place as the representative of a new political generation, one which has sought and which still seeks a solution of the Slovak problem on a broader European basis within the cadre of modern democratic and Christian powers. For his political mission in exile, Matus cernak was better prepared. than were most Slovaks, and by his educational background and his professional experience as well as by his personal endowments and characteristics he satisfactorily evidenced a Slovak; sense of balance and maturity and fitness for life. He also exemplified Slovakia's innate belonging to Europe and to European traditions. The most substantial and eloquent proof of his adequacy to fill the role he chose in the fight for a democratic and independent Slovakia is his very assassination, the tragic bomb which the antagonists of a Christian and independent Slovakia sent him. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Political Message of Matúš Černák Description An account of the resource Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 35-41 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Jozef M., 1913-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/9d6bfbe96479556cd018597efcd96afa.pdf 31bb9a054f4b02976b6e9d17f0409a01 PDF Text Text 28 SLOVAKIA Slovaks Have Repaid Their Adopted Country Well (The following is the address of the Honorable John T. Van Sant, Senator of Pennsylvania and the Majority Whip, presented at the Reception and Luncheon of the Board of Directors of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Sunday, February 22, 1970, at the George Washington Motor Lodge, Allentown, Pa.) By John T. Van Sant Somehow it is most appropriate that we should meet together on this day in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For here we have h!istoTic traditions of being "the Ho1y Experiment, a co1ony established on the guiding principle of freedom for all mankind." As OTdained in the "Declaration of Rights," every man has the right to worship according to the dictates o,f his own conscience. It is this spiritual basis and our belief in God which has guided us through the stormy sea of rebellion to nationhood. It is this freedom which has beckoned to the oppressed people of the world who have made their home h€re. As we meet today it is especially fitting thait we join in special tribute on this national holiday to our first president, George Washington. Washington has been described as "more than a general ... as the embodiment of everything fine in the American chairacter .. . with no illusions of grandeur ... he answered ev•ery responsibility thrust upon him and fulfilled it . . . he brought something more to the cause than military ability and statesmanship -to us he brought the priceless gift of character. " It was his leadership that guided and maintained the little band of thirteen colonies into the course of nationhood; welding them together into the union of states we have today. In 1831 the French aristocrat, Alexis De Tocqueville, came to America to study our experiment in Democracy. Fascinated by the fusion of people reaching our country, he remarked that the immigrants came with two elements �SLOVAKIA 29 essential to the development of a democracy-"no notion of superi()lfity, one over another, and poverty and misfortune." What Alexis De TocqueviHe saw here was a society of immigrants, each of whom had begun life anew, a nation of people with fresh memories of old traditions who dared to explore new frontiers, people eager to build lives for themselves in a society that did not restrict their freedom of choice. In just over 350 years our nation of nearly 200 million people has grown up, popul ated almost entirely by persons who came from other lands or whose forefathers came from other lands. 1 The interaction of these disparate cultures, the belief in the ideals that led the immigrants here, the opportunity for a new life, all gave America a flavor and character that distinguishes our land today. Immigrants have enriched the fabric of American lifethe American poet, Walt Whitman said: "These states are the amplest poem-here is not merely a nation but a teeming nartion of nations." Victims of oppression have always looked upon migration to a new land with a promise of freedom and equal opportunity. The Slovak of the 19bh century was no exception. Subject to the insidious pressures of Magyarization, longing to be free of social injustice, economic serfdom and the threat of national liquidation, literally thousands of Slovak famiHes sought refuge in the New World. They were among the countless thousands of oppressed peoples from Southern, Central and Eastern Europe who came to dwell here in the last qua!fter of the 19th century. The uprooting of these countless families was not without its pain and hea,r tbreak-although sure that he was headed for a "better lifo" for himse-1£ and his family, the Slovak immig,rant left his ancestral home and aH its romantic traditions f()lf a strange new lif·e in the stone and asphalt deserts of industrial and mining America . For the poor Slovak peasant, for centuries the tiller of someone's soil, the change was never an easy one. Always close �30 SLOVAKIA to the land the Slovak immigrant now found himself working in the mil:ls of America or mining in the darkness of its coal mines. Life was not easy-only the menial tasks were open to him. City living was strang,e and often frightening. The language made huddling tog-ether a necessityBut there was freedom , freedom to think, write and worshlp as one wishes-There was opportunity to grow and to prosper. The late Car-dinal Francis J . Spellman said "I think the story, the traditions and the lives of the Slovak people are one of the most glorious stories in history. It is hard to find any greater story of any people, for more than one thousand years, were deprived of liberty, nationality and subjected to national and religious persecution. The Slovaks have given aN the world a lesson in what it means to be devoted to ideals. During the crucial period of their history, these brothers, sisters and children of that noble race came to the United States, which has been a sanctuary and a home of persecuted people." Slovaks have repaid their adopted country well. Major John L. Polerecky served with George Washlngton . Colonel Gejza Mihal6tzy recrnited a company of riflemen in Chicago and then wrote for and received permission from President Lincoln to call the group "The Lincoln Riflemen of Slovak origin". Sergeant Matej Kocak, w1nnier of two Congressiol'l!al Medails of Honor, died on a French baittlefi:eld druving World Warr I, and one of the men who raised 'the £fag art Iwo J,ima was named Stralllk and hailed rrom Franklin Boro, Pa. These are to name only a few of the soldiers who have fought bravely for the United States. In World War II alone moTe than 50,000 Americans of Slovak descent served and of these more than 3,000 gave their lives. But the Slovak people have served this state, and this nation, in peace as weH as war; and they have been doing it for a long time. Prince Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, the "Apostle orf the Alleghenies, " came to Pennsylvania before 1800 as Father Gallitzin. And in his footsteps have followed clergymen like the Reverend Father Stephen Furdek; the Reverend Father John Marrtvon; Father Joseph Murgas; Father Gregory Vaniscak: And the Right Reverend Stanislaus Gmuca. �SLOVAKIA 31 And, as good Americans as they are, they have managed to maintain the color and warmth of the Slovak tradition. But as the immigrants settled in the eastern cities of this country, in Wilkes-Ba:rre, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Hazleton and Philadelph ia-there was scarcely a mill, factory or mine where they could not be f.ound . It was these haTdworking, hardy, heroic folks who stoked the furnaces of our steel mills, dug the coal from the seams of the earth and embedded railroad ties. Everywhere they went they were motivated by the drive to Americanize and to win social acceptance and yet still longing for a homeland across the ocean. The founding of the First Catholic Slovak Union for Slovaks and their families by Father Stephen Furdek was one means, and a very successful one, which assisted new immigrants by providing financial security against incapacitation by serious illness and death. From this early beginning the members of your organization are to be commended for their phenomena l success. The la,test information I have received indicates an excess of 117,500 insurance certificates were issued at a value of $121.5 million in 1968. But even more significant is the outgrowth of a truly farseeing benevolent and protective program for your members of whom some 59,000 make their home here in Pennsylvania. The naitional home for orphaned children in Middletown, Outside of Harrisburg, (1909), and the first Slovak high school for girls at St. Cyril's Academy in Danville, now named for both great missionaTies among the Slovak people, (1919) are only a few of the notewodhy achievements of your organization here in Pennsylvania. And your college scholw-ship program should not be overlooked, for in an age when the costs of education are so great, these scho,l arships provide incentive as well as financial aid to worthy boys and girls to continue their education. But I marvel even more at the leader and founderr of this great movement. Surely Father Stephen Furdek had a special vision in mind 1 �32 SLOVAKIA for the Slovak people when he founded your organization, a vision which if he were heire today would please him. Arriving here early in the spring of 1882 he completed his studies in the diocesan seminary and was o,rdained. As he wo,rked and preached among the Slovak people he recognized •the great need which had to be met. The founding of your organization (1890) as well as the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Unio,n (1892), the Slovenska Matica (Slovak Institute) (1893), ,the National Fund, later the Fund ,t o P,veserv,e our Na,tional Hwtage ·and Slovak League of America (1907) present 1the keys to the £utwe ,educational and cultural accomp'Hshments for the Slovak people. "Za Boha a za narod" . "For God and for the Nation" was his lifo's slogan. What mo•r e worthy goal is there than this one! And though Father Furdek is not the only Slovak to leave his mark on our histo,r y-he does represent, in every sense, the qualities of leadership which distinguish him above all others. As George Wa,shington is revered and hono·red as the Father of Our Country-so Father Furdek is to be remembered and honored as the Father of the First Catholic Slovak Union. There is one other impression I have of Father Furdek on which I would like to comment. As he toiled among the early immigrants he recognized that there were common bonds necessary to hold his people together. They were the urgent need for education, the continuation of cultural ties and customs and above all-faith. ReaHzing that most of the immigrants had sought opportunity in America because they had been held in bondage in their native land, one of the most important ingredients to succeed in the new land was to be educated, for without an education they could not be accepted in the new society. MeanwhHe, to provide for his family , the Slovak immigrant took any job he could find. Everyone in the family worked at something, as they struggled to survive, and they did. Schools where Slovak was taught and churches where Slova·k wa,s spoken and which kept the faith rooted in the young received the time and wha,tever financial resources the family �SLOVAKIA 33 had left aiter sending weekly stipends to the family back in the old country. But it was mainta-ining his Catholic faith that the Slovak devo,ted the major po·rtion of his efforts. The first Catholic parish was founded in HazJeton in 1882 and the rkst Evangelical {LutJheran) in Streart:oir, Illino,is, iii 1884. ·• Slovak priests were enlisted from the old country to serve heire 1n the churches where the native tongue was spoken. lh 1909 the Congregation of bhe Sisters of SS. Cyriil ,a nd Methodius was founded by Father Matthew Jankofa, and in 1922 th e Slova,k Benedictine Fathers were established. These two ord&s have as one of thei!l' principal aims the preservation and promulgation of the Slovak national culture. But Father Furdek went futher, knowing that in order to preserve a language one must read and speak it, through his effoirts, the official newspaper JEDNOTA was founded, edited and published by him until his death . While the framework of culture, 1anguag,e and church organizations were helpful to the Slovak people in retaining theiir national identity, the real spirit of the homeland was kept aili\11e in the family. Slo·vak was spoken at home, in school and in church. Eveiryday customs of prayers, food and dress were continued with modification. Even dance and chornl groups helped keep al!ive the coilorful historic traditions. The "melting pot" symbol of America is not yet dead. The process of blending many strains into a single nationality need not mean the end of particular ethnic identities or traditions. Groups such as yours is a prime example of how one nationality can retain its culture and cus ~oms and still become a corutiributor to the national identity. Rededication to the American philosophy or equality means much more than the restatement of the Decfairation of Independence . 1 It means a reunifica,tion of spirit and energy to build · a strong economy, it means conquering the massive frontier and a virgin continent, shaping and reshaping the structure of government and influencing the American a,ttitude towaird the outside world. �34 SLOVAKIA The second generation, and the thi.Td, and the fourth, are inheriting the fruits of the geneTation. Let us hope that we, the members of generations which inheriited American citizenship instead of winning it, prize our freedom as highly as those who founded our families in this -great land. For if we do, the United States will grow stronger and better as its years increase. Let us a:lso welcome the men and women of other lands who still seek, and who wm continue to seek, sanctuary from oppression, and hope for a better life, in America. Whether they come from Calaiis or Bratislava, from Bremen or Naples, t his nation has always welcomed them. For in the fresh air of freedom they f1omish: to their own, and our own, inestimable benefits. In New York Harbor the Statue of Liberty awaits them, symbolizing the welcome we always have ex;tended in the land of 1mmigrants and immigraruts' sons and daughters. And on the base of that statue, these words are written for all to see and all to live by: "Give me your tired, your poor, "You!l' hudd1ed masses yearning to breathe free , "The wretched ref use of your teemmg shore, "Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: "I 1ift my lamp beside the golden door." The coming of new immigrants to the country serves as a continual reminder to all Americans, old and new-that change is the essence of Hfe, and thait the American society is a process, not a conclusion. The abundant resources of this nation provided the founda·tion for our nation, but only people could marke the opportunity a reality. Immigrants pvovide the human resource and more than -thart--infused the nation with a commitment to new frontiers. They have kept the spirit of equality and hope always alive and strong. Herman Melville the American author, wrote "We are the heirs of al!l time and with all nations we divide our inherita,nce. '' To my fellow countrymen and especia lliy to you of Slovak descent I say, thank you for sharing with us your customs and your culture. 1 � 28 SLOVAKIA Slovaks Have Repaid Their Adopted Country Well (The following is the address of the Honorable John T. Van Sant, Senator of Pennsylvania and the Majority Whip, presented at the Reception and Luncheon of the Board of Directors of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Sunday, February 22, 1970, at the George Washington Motor Lodge, Allentown, Pa.) By John T. Van Sant Somehow it is most appropriate that we should meet together on this day in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For here we have h!istoTic traditions of being "the Ho1y Experiment, a co1ony established on the guiding principle of freedom for all mankind." As OTdained in the "Declaration of Rights," every man has the right to worship according to the dictates o,f his own conscience. It is this spiritual basis and our belief in God which has guided us through the stormy sea of rebellion to nationhood. It is this freedom which has beckoned to the oppressed people of the world who have made their home h€re. As we meet today it is especially fitting thait we join in special tribute on this national holiday to our first president, George Washington. Washington has been described as "more than a general ... as the embodiment of everything fine in the American chairacter .. . with no illusions of grandeur ... he answered ev•ery responsibility thrust upon him and fulfilled it . . . he brought something more to the cause than military ability and statesmanship -to us he brought the priceless gift of character. " It was his leadership that guided and maintained the little band of thirteen colonies into the course of nationhood; welding them together into the union of states we have today. In 1831 the French aristocrat, Alexis De Tocqueville, came to America to study our experiment in Democracy. Fascinated by the fusion of people reaching our country, he remarked that the immigrants came with two elements �SLOVAKIA 29 essential to the development of a democracy-"no notion of superi()lfity, one over another, and poverty and misfortune." What Alexis De TocqueviHe saw here was a society of immigrants, each of whom had begun life anew, a nation of people with fresh memories of old traditions who dared to explore new frontiers, people eager to build lives for themselves in a society that did not restrict their freedom of choice. In just over 350 years our nation of nearly 200 million people has grown up, popul ated almost entirely by persons who came from other lands or whose forefathers came from other lands. 1 The interaction of these disparate cultures, the belief in the ideals that led the immigrants here, the opportunity for a new life, all gave America a flavor and character that distinguishes our land today. Immigrants have enriched the fabric of American lifethe American poet, Walt Whitman said: "These states are the amplest poem-here is not merely a nation but a teeming nartion of nations." Victims of oppression have always looked upon migration to a new land with a promise of freedom and equal opportunity. The Slovak of the 19bh century was no exception. Subject to the insidious pressures of Magyarization, longing to be free of social injustice, economic serfdom and the threat of national liquidation, literally thousands of Slovak famiHes sought refuge in the New World. They were among the countless thousands of oppressed peoples from Southern, Central and Eastern Europe who came to dwell here in the last qua!fter of the 19th century. The uprooting of these countless families was not without its pain and hea,r tbreak-although sure that he was headed for a "better lifo" for himse-1£ and his family, the Slovak immig,rant left his ancestral home and aH its romantic traditions f()lf a strange new lif·e in the stone and asphalt deserts of industrial and mining America . For the poor Slovak peasant, for centuries the tiller of someone's soil, the change was never an easy one. Always close �30 SLOVAKIA to the land the Slovak immigrant now found himself working in the mil:ls of America or mining in the darkness of its coal mines. Life was not easy-only the menial tasks were open to him. City living was strang,e and often frightening. The language made huddling tog-ether a necessityBut there was freedom , freedom to think, write and worshlp as one wishes-There was opportunity to grow and to prosper. The late Car-dinal Francis J . Spellman said "I think the story, the traditions and the lives of the Slovak people are one of the most glorious stories in history. It is hard to find any greater story of any people, for more than one thousand years, were deprived of liberty, nationality and subjected to national and religious persecution. The Slovaks have given aN the world a lesson in what it means to be devoted to ideals. During the crucial period of their history, these brothers, sisters and children of that noble race came to the United States, which has been a sanctuary and a home of persecuted people." Slovaks have repaid their adopted country well. Major John L. Polerecky served with George Washlngton . Colonel Gejza Mihal6tzy recrnited a company of riflemen in Chicago and then wrote for and received permission from President Lincoln to call the group "The Lincoln Riflemen of Slovak origin". Sergeant Matej Kocak, w1nnier of two Congressiol'l!al Medails of Honor, died on a French baittlefi:eld druving World Warr I, and one of the men who raised 'the £fag art Iwo J,ima was named Stralllk and hailed rrom Franklin Boro, Pa. These are to name only a few of the soldiers who have fought bravely for the United States. In World War II alone moTe than 50,000 Americans of Slovak descent served and of these more than 3,000 gave their lives. But the Slovak people have served this state, and this nation, in peace as weH as war; and they have been doing it for a long time. Prince Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, the "Apostle orf the Alleghenies, " came to Pennsylvania before 1800 as Father Gallitzin. And in his footsteps have followed clergymen like the Reverend Father Stephen Furdek; the Reverend Father John Marrtvon; Father Joseph Murgas; Father Gregory Vaniscak: And the Right Reverend Stanislaus Gmuca. �SLOVAKIA 31 And, as good Americans as they are, they have managed to maintain the color and warmth of the Slovak tradition. But as the immigrants settled in the eastern cities of this country, in Wilkes-Ba:rre, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Hazleton and Philadelph ia-there was scarcely a mill, factory or mine where they could not be f.ound . It was these haTdworking, hardy, heroic folks who stoked the furnaces of our steel mills, dug the coal from the seams of the earth and embedded railroad ties. Everywhere they went they were motivated by the drive to Americanize and to win social acceptance and yet still longing for a homeland across the ocean. The founding of the First Catholic Slovak Union for Slovaks and their families by Father Stephen Furdek was one means, and a very successful one, which assisted new immigrants by providing financial security against incapacitation by serious illness and death. From this early beginning the members of your organization are to be commended for their phenomena l success. The la,test information I have received indicates an excess of 117,500 insurance certificates were issued at a value of $121.5 million in 1968. But even more significant is the outgrowth of a truly farseeing benevolent and protective program for your members of whom some 59,000 make their home here in Pennsylvania. The naitional home for orphaned children in Middletown, Outside of Harrisburg, (1909), and the first Slovak high school for girls at St. Cyril's Academy in Danville, now named for both great missionaTies among the Slovak people, (1919) are only a few of the notewodhy achievements of your organization here in Pennsylvania. And your college scholw-ship program should not be overlooked, for in an age when the costs of education are so great, these scho,l arships provide incentive as well as financial aid to worthy boys and girls to continue their education. But I marvel even more at the leader and founderr of this great movement. Surely Father Stephen Furdek had a special vision in mind 1 �32 SLOVAKIA for the Slovak people when he founded your organization, a vision which if he were heire today would please him. Arriving here early in the spring of 1882 he completed his studies in the diocesan seminary and was o,rdained. As he wo,rked and preached among the Slovak people he recognized •the great need which had to be met. The founding of your organization (1890) as well as the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Unio,n (1892), the Slovenska Matica (Slovak Institute) (1893), ,the National Fund, later the Fund ,t o P,veserv,e our Na,tional Hwtage ·and Slovak League of America (1907) present 1the keys to the £utwe ,educational and cultural accomp'Hshments for the Slovak people. "Za Boha a za narod" . "For God and for the Nation" was his lifo's slogan. What mo•r e worthy goal is there than this one! And though Father Furdek is not the only Slovak to leave his mark on our histo,r y-he does represent, in every sense, the qualities of leadership which distinguish him above all others. As George Wa,shington is revered and hono·red as the Father of Our Country-so Father Furdek is to be remembered and honored as the Father of the First Catholic Slovak Union. There is one other impression I have of Father Furdek on which I would like to comment. As he toiled among the early immigrants he recognized that there were common bonds necessary to hold his people together. They were the urgent need for education, the continuation of cultural ties and customs and above all-faith. ReaHzing that most of the immigrants had sought opportunity in America because they had been held in bondage in their native land, one of the most important ingredients to succeed in the new land was to be educated, for without an education they could not be accepted in the new society. MeanwhHe, to provide for his family , the Slovak immigrant took any job he could find. Everyone in the family worked at something, as they struggled to survive, and they did. Schools where Slovak was taught and churches where Slova·k wa,s spoken and which kept the faith rooted in the young received the time and wha,tever financial resources the family �SLOVAKIA 33 had left aiter sending weekly stipends to the family back in the old country. But it was mainta-ining his Catholic faith that the Slovak devo,ted the major po·rtion of his efforts. The first Catholic parish was founded in HazJeton in 1882 and the rkst Evangelical {LutJheran) in Streart:oir, Illino,is, iii 1884. ·• Slovak priests were enlisted from the old country to serve heire 1n the churches where the native tongue was spoken. lh 1909 the Congregation of bhe Sisters of SS. Cyriil ,a nd Methodius was founded by Father Matthew Jankofa, and in 1922 th e Slova,k Benedictine Fathers were established. These two ord&s have as one of thei!l' principal aims the preservation and promulgation of the Slovak national culture. But Father Furdek went futher, knowing that in order to preserve a language one must read and speak it, through his effoirts, the official newspaper JEDNOTA was founded, edited and published by him until his death . While the framework of culture, 1anguag,e and church organizations were helpful to the Slovak people in retaining theiir national identity, the real spirit of the homeland was kept aili\11e in the family. Slo·vak was spoken at home, in school and in church. Eveiryday customs of prayers, food and dress were continued with modification. Even dance and chornl groups helped keep al!ive the coilorful historic traditions. The "melting pot" symbol of America is not yet dead. The process of blending many strains into a single nationality need not mean the end of particular ethnic identities or traditions. Groups such as yours is a prime example of how one nationality can retain its culture and cus ~oms and still become a corutiributor to the national identity. Rededication to the American philosophy or equality means much more than the restatement of the Decfairation of Independence . 1 It means a reunifica,tion of spirit and energy to build · a strong economy, it means conquering the massive frontier and a virgin continent, shaping and reshaping the structure of government and influencing the American a,ttitude towaird the outside world. �34 SLOVAKIA The second generation, and the thi.Td, and the fourth, are inheriting the fruits of the geneTation. Let us hope that we, the members of generations which inheriited American citizenship instead of winning it, prize our freedom as highly as those who founded our families in this -great land. For if we do, the United States will grow stronger and better as its years increase. Let us a:lso welcome the men and women of other lands who still seek, and who wm continue to seek, sanctuary from oppression, and hope for a better life, in America. Whether they come from Calaiis or Bratislava, from Bremen or Naples, t his nation has always welcomed them. For in the fresh air of freedom they f1omish: to their own, and our own, inestimable benefits. In New York Harbor the Statue of Liberty awaits them, symbolizing the welcome we always have ex;tended in the land of 1mmigrants and immigraruts' sons and daughters. And on the base of that statue, these words are written for all to see and all to live by: "Give me your tired, your poor, "You!l' hudd1ed masses yearning to breathe free , "The wretched ref use of your teemmg shore, "Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: "I 1ift my lamp beside the golden door." The coming of new immigrants to the country serves as a continual reminder to all Americans, old and new-that change is the essence of Hfe, and thait the American society is a process, not a conclusion. The abundant resources of this nation provided the founda·tion for our nation, but only people could marke the opportunity a reality. Immigrants pvovide the human resource and more than -thart--infused the nation with a commitment to new frontiers. They have kept the spirit of equality and hope always alive and strong. Herman Melville the American author, wrote "We are the heirs of al!l time and with all nations we divide our inherita,nce. '' To my fellow countrymen and especia lliy to you of Slovak descent I say, thank you for sharing with us your customs and your culture. 1 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 28 SLOVAKIA Slovaks Have Repaid Their Adopted Country Well (The following is the address of the Honorable John T. Van Sant, Senator of Pennsylvania and the Majority Whip, presented at the Reception and Luncheon of the Board of Directors of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Sunday, February 22, 1970, at the George Washington Motor Lodge, Allentown, Pa.) By John T. Van Sant Somehow it is most appropriate that we should meet together on this day in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For here we have h!istoTic traditions of being "the Ho1y Experiment, a co1ony established on the guiding principle of freedom for all mankind." As OTdained in the "Declaration of Rights," every man has the right to worship according to the dictates o,f his own conscience. It is this spiritual basis and our belief in God which has guided us through the stormy sea of rebellion to nationhood. It is this freedom which has beckoned to the oppressed people of the world who have made their home h€re. As we meet today it is especially fitting thait we join in special tribute on this national holiday to our first president, George Washington. Washington has been described as "more than a general ... as the embodiment of everything fine in the American chairacter .. . with no illusions of grandeur ... he answered ev•ery responsibility thrust upon him and fulfilled it . . . he brought something more to the cause than military ability and statesmanship -to us he brought the priceless gift of character. " It was his leadership that guided and maintained the little band of thirteen colonies into the course of nationhood; welding them together into the union of states we have today. In 1831 the French aristocrat, Alexis De Tocqueville, came to America to study our experiment in Democracy. Fascinated by the fusion of people reaching our country, he remarked that the immigrants came with two elements SLOVAKIA 29 essential to the development of a democracy-"no notion of superi()lfity, one over another, and poverty and misfortune." What Alexis De TocqueviHe saw here was a society of immigrants, each of whom had begun life anew, a nation of people with fresh memories of old traditions who dared to explore new frontiers, people eager to build lives for themselves in a society that did not restrict their freedom of choice. In just over 350 years our nation of nearly 200 million people has grown up, popul ated almost entirely by persons who came from other lands or whose forefathers came from other lands. 1 The interaction of these disparate cultures, the belief in the ideals that led the immigrants here, the opportunity for a new life, all gave America a flavor and character that distinguishes our land today. Immigrants have enriched the fabric of American lifethe American poet, Walt Whitman said: "These states are the amplest poem-here is not merely a nation but a teeming nartion of nations." Victims of oppression have always looked upon migration to a new land with a promise of freedom and equal opportunity. The Slovak of the 19bh century was no exception. Subject to the insidious pressures of Magyarization, longing to be free of social injustice, economic serfdom and the threat of national liquidation, literally thousands of Slovak famiHes sought refuge in the New World. They were among the countless thousands of oppressed peoples from Southern, Central and Eastern Europe who came to dwell here in the last qua!fter of the 19th century. The uprooting of these countless families was not without its pain and hea,r tbreak-although sure that he was headed for a "better lifo" for himse-1£ and his family, the Slovak immig,rant left his ancestral home and aH its romantic traditions f()lf a strange new lif·e in the stone and asphalt deserts of industrial and mining America . For the poor Slovak peasant, for centuries the tiller of someone's soil, the change was never an easy one. Always close 30 SLOVAKIA to the land the Slovak immigrant now found himself working in the mil:ls of America or mining in the darkness of its coal mines. Life was not easy-only the menial tasks were open to him. City living was strang,e and often frightening. The language made huddling tog-ether a necessityBut there was freedom , freedom to think, write and worshlp as one wishes-There was opportunity to grow and to prosper. The late Car-dinal Francis J . Spellman said "I think the story, the traditions and the lives of the Slovak people are one of the most glorious stories in history. It is hard to find any greater story of any people, for more than one thousand years, were deprived of liberty, nationality and subjected to national and religious persecution. The Slovaks have given aN the world a lesson in what it means to be devoted to ideals. During the crucial period of their history, these brothers, sisters and children of that noble race came to the United States, which has been a sanctuary and a home of persecuted people." Slovaks have repaid their adopted country well. Major John L. Polerecky served with George Washlngton . Colonel Gejza Mihal6tzy recrnited a company of riflemen in Chicago and then wrote for and received permission from President Lincoln to call the group "The Lincoln Riflemen of Slovak origin". Sergeant Matej Kocak, w1nnier of two Congressiol'l!al Medails of Honor, died on a French baittlefi:eld druving World Warr I, and one of the men who raised 'the £fag art Iwo J,ima was named Stralllk and hailed rrom Franklin Boro, Pa. These are to name only a few of the soldiers who have fought bravely for the United States. In World War II alone moTe than 50,000 Americans of Slovak descent served and of these more than 3,000 gave their lives. But the Slovak people have served this state, and this nation, in peace as weH as war; and they have been doing it for a long time. Prince Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, the "Apostle orf the Alleghenies, " came to Pennsylvania before 1800 as Father Gallitzin. And in his footsteps have followed clergymen like the Reverend Father Stephen Furdek; the Reverend Father John Marrtvon; Father Joseph Murgas; Father Gregory Vaniscak: And the Right Reverend Stanislaus Gmuca. SLOVAKIA 31 And, as good Americans as they are, they have managed to maintain the color and warmth of the Slovak tradition. But as the immigrants settled in the eastern cities of this country, in Wilkes-Ba:rre, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Hazleton and Philadelph ia-there was scarcely a mill, factory or mine where they could not be f.ound . It was these haTdworking, hardy, heroic folks who stoked the furnaces of our steel mills, dug the coal from the seams of the earth and embedded railroad ties. Everywhere they went they were motivated by the drive to Americanize and to win social acceptance and yet still longing for a homeland across the ocean. The founding of the First Catholic Slovak Union for Slovaks and their families by Father Stephen Furdek was one means, and a very successful one, which assisted new immigrants by providing financial security against incapacitation by serious illness and death. From this early beginning the members of your organization are to be commended for their phenomena l success. The la,test information I have received indicates an excess of 117,500 insurance certificates were issued at a value of $121.5 million in 1968. But even more significant is the outgrowth of a truly farseeing benevolent and protective program for your members of whom some 59,000 make their home here in Pennsylvania. The naitional home for orphaned children in Middletown, Outside of Harrisburg, (1909), and the first Slovak high school for girls at St. Cyril's Academy in Danville, now named for both great missionaTies among the Slovak people, (1919) are only a few of the notewodhy achievements of your organization here in Pennsylvania. And your college scholw-ship program should not be overlooked, for in an age when the costs of education are so great, these scho,l arships provide incentive as well as financial aid to worthy boys and girls to continue their education. But I marvel even more at the leader and founderr of this great movement. Surely Father Stephen Furdek had a special vision in mind 1 32 SLOVAKIA for the Slovak people when he founded your organization, a vision which if he were heire today would please him. Arriving here early in the spring of 1882 he completed his studies in the diocesan seminary and was o,rdained. As he wo,rked and preached among the Slovak people he recognized •the great need which had to be met. The founding of your organization (1890) as well as the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Unio,n (1892), the Slovenska Matica (Slovak Institute) (1893), ,the National Fund, later the Fund ,t o P,veserv,e our Na,tional Hwtage ·and Slovak League of America (1907) present 1the keys to the £utwe ,educational and cultural accomp'Hshments for the Slovak people. "Za Boha a za narod" . "For God and for the Nation" was his lifo's slogan. What mo•r e worthy goal is there than this one! And though Father Furdek is not the only Slovak to leave his mark on our histo,r y-he does represent, in every sense, the qualities of leadership which distinguish him above all others. As George Wa,shington is revered and hono·red as the Father of Our Country-so Father Furdek is to be remembered and honored as the Father of the First Catholic Slovak Union. There is one other impression I have of Father Furdek on which I would like to comment. As he toiled among the early immigrants he recognized that there were common bonds necessary to hold his people together. They were the urgent need for education, the continuation of cultural ties and customs and above all-faith. ReaHzing that most of the immigrants had sought opportunity in America because they had been held in bondage in their native land, one of the most important ingredients to succeed in the new land was to be educated, for without an education they could not be accepted in the new society. MeanwhHe, to provide for his family , the Slovak immigrant took any job he could find. Everyone in the family worked at something, as they struggled to survive, and they did. Schools where Slovak was taught and churches where Slova·k wa,s spoken and which kept the faith rooted in the young received the time and wha,tever financial resources the family SLOVAKIA 33 had left aiter sending weekly stipends to the family back in the old country. But it was mainta-ining his Catholic faith that the Slovak devo,ted the major po·rtion of his efforts. The first Catholic parish was founded in HazJeton in 1882 and the rkst Evangelical {LutJheran) in Streart:oir, Illino,is, iii 1884. ·• Slovak priests were enlisted from the old country to serve heire 1n the churches where the native tongue was spoken. lh 1909 the Congregation of bhe Sisters of SS. Cyriil ,a nd Methodius was founded by Father Matthew Jankofa, and in 1922 th e Slova,k Benedictine Fathers were established. These two ord&s have as one of thei!l' principal aims the preservation and promulgation of the Slovak national culture. But Father Furdek went futher, knowing that in order to preserve a language one must read and speak it, through his effoirts, the official newspaper JEDNOTA was founded, edited and published by him until his death . While the framework of culture, 1anguag,e and church organizations were helpful to the Slovak people in retaining theiir national identity, the real spirit of the homeland was kept aili\11e in the family. Slo·vak was spoken at home, in school and in church. Eveiryday customs of prayers, food and dress were continued with modification. Even dance and chornl groups helped keep al!ive the coilorful historic traditions. The "melting pot" symbol of America is not yet dead. The process of blending many strains into a single nationality need not mean the end of particular ethnic identities or traditions. Groups such as yours is a prime example of how one nationality can retain its culture and cus ~oms and still become a corutiributor to the national identity. Rededication to the American philosophy or equality means much more than the restatement of the Decfairation of Independence . 1 It means a reunifica,tion of spirit and energy to build · a strong economy, it means conquering the massive frontier and a virgin continent, shaping and reshaping the structure of government and influencing the American a,ttitude towaird the outside world. 34 SLOVAKIA The second generation, and the thi.Td, and the fourth, are inheriting the fruits of the geneTation. Let us hope that we, the members of generations which inheriited American citizenship instead of winning it, prize our freedom as highly as those who founded our families in this -great land. For if we do, the United States will grow stronger and better as its years increase. Let us a:lso welcome the men and women of other lands who still seek, and who wm continue to seek, sanctuary from oppression, and hope for a better life, in America. Whether they come from Calaiis or Bratislava, from Bremen or Naples, t his nation has always welcomed them. For in the fresh air of freedom they f1omish: to their own, and our own, inestimable benefits. In New York Harbor the Statue of Liberty awaits them, symbolizing the welcome we always have ex;tended in the land of 1mmigrants and immigraruts' sons and daughters. And on the base of that statue, these words are written for all to see and all to live by: "Give me your tired, your poor, "You!l' hudd1ed masses yearning to breathe free , "The wretched ref use of your teemmg shore, "Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: "I 1ift my lamp beside the golden door." The coming of new immigrants to the country serves as a continual reminder to all Americans, old and new-that change is the essence of Hfe, and thait the American society is a process, not a conclusion. The abundant resources of this nation provided the founda·tion for our nation, but only people could marke the opportunity a reality. Immigrants pvovide the human resource and more than -thart--infused the nation with a commitment to new frontiers. They have kept the spirit of equality and hope always alive and strong. Herman Melville the American author, wrote "We are the heirs of al!l time and with all nations we divide our inherita,nce. '' To my fellow countrymen and especia lliy to you of Slovak descent I say, thank you for sharing with us your customs and your culture. 1  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Slovaks Have Repaid Their Adopted Country Well Description An account of the resource Address of the Honorable John T. Van Sant, Senator of Pennsylvania and the Majority Whip, presented at the Reception and Luncheon of the Board of Directors of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Sunday, February 22, 1970, at the George Washington Motor Lodge, Allentown, Pa. Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 28-34 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Van Sant, John T. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/58e736c35597fc360380bb232a58bd94.pdf 0796af79766589d3985fcf01f6273126 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 11 Will the Phoenix Rise Again? Sister M . Martina Tybor, SS. C. M . You may heard it said both literally and poetically that Slovakia is a country strategically situated in the heart of central Europe. You may have read that historically it was the crossroads of trade caravans between East and West. You may know that closer to our day, American presidents as well as some European leaders hoped that it would become a bridge between the East and the West to promote world friendship. It may have also occurred to you that over long centuries it seems to be a land unfortunately fated to oppression though it did have a golden glorious epoch in bygone days and hopefully rose as an independent democracy out of the shambles of World War I. If, on the other hand, Czecho-Slovakia is to you and to many persons only a nameless someplace on the map and its people a faceless family among nations, August events in 1968 have blazoned its name upon front page news reports, and the events themselves have shaped a fair perspective to show the world who these people are--the Slovaks and the Czechs, two distinct nations in one unique political cadre. Unfortunately, too many preoccupied nations and unthinking men are letting news from Czecho-Slovakia unconcernedly slip to the thirc:i; and fourth pages of their newspapers and, like hectographed copy left in the sun, the impact of tragic Soviet moves upon a defensless and unaided natio:ri is fading from public notice. Good people honestly hope that the interests of freedom , liberty of spirit, private enterprise and national initiative within the concept of true progressive self-determination and political independence will prevail. However, if good people do not bestir themselves to act on conviction, they do not further the cause of moral good. Their well-intentioned hopes can be merely the stuff of vacuous dreams. And as they dream, destiny sites the wheel of time, spinning, spinning. Democracies may dream that evils will somehow right �12 SLOVAKIA themselves and that there is really no call to become involved. The oppressed and aggrieved wait, for reasonably they can hardly do more with the odds so hopelessly stacked against them, and they must dream that they will yet liberate themselves in spite of the present hopeless outlook, or that-unbelievably but possibly-the seemingly impossible probability-help may yet come to implement their liberation. The aggressors unashamedly plot, with less dreaming than scheming in their designs and efforts, to dupe naive free countries again and to steal another thrust, another vantage area in order to further the realization of their master plan. Ineffectively the world waits. It lets itself grow accustomed to the numbing shock. And as it waits, it too dreams on. History fingers the spun threads and weaves a pattern of events shaped by man. Is the pattern bound to be determined by fate? Are the cycles of ages bound to repeat patterns from the past? Do we learn from the past, build on it, or supinely wait in an easily oblivious present? Some consideration of Slovakia's past may help toward a better understanding of its present plight and its still undying aspirations. Unfortunately some writers tend to treat the historic backgrounds of Slovakia as a peripheral aspect of the Czech of the Magyar past. Some have been satisfied to accept without research or question the kind of political science and European history that biased Magyars and Czechs tailored for general public consumption. There are also some who do not know, others who deny, ignore, or overlook the ethnic, social, cultural, linguistic and political identity or individuality of the Slovaks. Add to this also the regrettable circumstance that altogether too little authentic Slovak history is known to the world at large and that consequently a discriminating reader is sometimes at a loss to discriminate. Happily, recent decades have brought a number of excellent histories of Slovakia and reliable Slovak studies published in English. Information is now available to the honest seeker. For centuries, however, this nation had been almost anonymous in history; it was a country not granted recognition under its own name-literally nameless because it fflJ.t}l~ged by stronger powers. When the first tatha Baptist Bible College �SLOVAKIA 13 wave of immigration brought thousands of European newcomers to our shores, the Italian was identified as one who came from Italy, the Irishman came from Ireland, the German from Germany, the Frenchman from France, but the Slovak, incongruously, from Austria-Hungary. Yet historically the Slovaks are a nation much older than are many people blessed with national independence today. The territory which they occupy was the Danubian cradle of ancient European civilization that spread westward into Germany. The 1930 archeological expedition that the Peabody Museum of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania sent into Czecho-Slovakia reported findings that substantiate "periods of culture ranging from the Neolithic Age of about 3000 B. C. to what is locally known as the 'Roman' period of the first century A. D." It is pertinent to the history of the land to recall that even before the dawn of the Christian era several nations had lived in the territory now occupied by Slovakia. Greek and Roman writers record the presence of Gauls and Celts among these inhabitants. Coins dating from the first century B. C., stamped with identification of the Roman Republic have been found in Bratislava, and there is a third century Greek map of the region with many Slavonic markings for mountains and rivers. In the vicissitudes of historic developments, warring Germanic tribes also settled in the Danubian territory. To the great aggravation of the Romans, they frequently raided the Roman province ,o f Pannonia established south of the Danube river. To deal with this problem, Rome secured military outposts on the northern bank of the Danube and by 179 A. D., after a number of bloody skirmishes, succeeded in breaking the power of hostile Germanic peoples. The troops of Marcus Aurelius then advanced deeply into Slovak territory even as far as Trencin on the Vah. To maintain order and to guard important approaches in the area, part of the troops established the garrison Laugaricio. To this day a commemorative inscription carved into the natural bluff supporting Trencin castle reads: "In memory of the victory of the Emperor's army which encamped at Laugaricio, 855 soldiers of the IL Legion. Made by Constantine, �14 SLOVAKIA Cammander of the II. Auxiliary Legion." Incidentally, this is the earliest relic of written records found on Slovak territory. During the incursion of the Roman monarchy forces into Danubian regions along the Hron river in 173, the army was threatened by a drought so acute that the lives of the soldiers were endangered. But among the Romans there were some Christians from Asia Minor who prayed for relief. The triumphal arch of Marcus Aurelius in Rome immortalize the fact that in answer to their prayer a saving ra~ fell and the men did not perish. Incidentally, again, there is additional historic value in this record, for it is the earliest reference to the presence of Christianity in the Danube basin. Though the might of Rome was challenged by Germanic tribes, Emperors matched strength with them repeatedly, and by 374 Valentinian claimed undisputed sovereignty over the territory. But the climax of Roman power also presaged a change toward decline. By 375 the migration of nations began to release its force against the face of Europe, and the already deteriorating power of Rome slowly yielded ground. Tribes from Danubian regions pressed into richer Roman possessions in the south. As the Romans drew back, tribes vied with tribes for supremacy and cut across many lands before coming to rest in permanent settlements. At the same time new tribes began to appear, moving through the mountain passes in the lofty Carpathians. They were the Slovan people, the forebears of Slovak ancestors. Somewhere in the maelstrom of events and movements, Slovak groups and related western Slavonic tribes chose to occupy lands that extended across the central Danube basin, reaching from the Elbe river to the southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains and the rich plains of the Danube river valley. In the fifth and sixth centuries, however the fierce hordes of Turco-Tatar Avars plunged into the Danubian region and swarmed as far west as the Frankish kingdom. They forced a number of Slavonic tribes into their service on looting raids against the Germans to the west and upon Constantinople and Salonica in the east. The subjugated peoples fretted and chafed under this yoke and looked to rid themselves of �SLOVAKIA 15 it even as they withdrew from Pannonia and re-settled north of the Danube. In 624 a Frankish merchant named Samo came to the region with rich merchandise and a large retinue.' His was a peaceful mission but his interests were thwarted by the marauding Avars. To secure his rights and to maintain a favorable economic situation, Samo initiated resistance to the invaders. He hoped to force the Avars out of Panonia, their key stronghold. His audacity and leadership attracted the support of most of the harried Slavonic tribes, and their united effort under Samo succeeded in routing the savage Avars. Exhilarated by victory, Samo and his allies set their power against the Germanic Franks and conquered them also. In the ensuing period of peace Samo united the tribes that had fought with him with other Danubian Slavs to the north and with Slovenes to south, establishing an empire of extensive territories on both banks of the Danube. It is the inhabitants of these lands that originally came to be designated as Slovieni or simply the Slavs. Some historians are inclined to consider this as the first historic state of Slovakia even though it declined after Samo's death; others look upon it as the forerunner of the realm known as Vel'k<i Morava (Great Moravia) which was created in the first half of the ninth century under Mojmir I, strengthened under Rastislav, and brought to a climax of glory under Svatopluk in the second half of the ninth century. This state was the first political unity in central Europe. The territories consolidated by Mojmir I are historically designated as Great Moravia in the official work De administrando Imperio (Concerning the Executive Management of a State) written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenneto s in 950. Yet it must be understood that this second Slavonic state in the heart of Europe was not an empire with clearly defined borders. The temper of the age did not confine itself to any strict division of territory but the reality of an empire was there, including present-day Slovakia and Moravia. Nor could this reality be overlooked, for Great Moravia enjoyed international status, maintaining relations with the Holy See and with neighboring empires. �16 SLOVAKIA While political history was thus evolving, cultural history was also in the making. Dr. Hrusovsky ascribes the earliest Christianizing influences in the Danubian regions to Irish missionaries and to Benedictine monks working out of the monasteries of Bavaria. About 833 Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg consecrated a church in Nitra, the principality of Pribina. This event testifies to the efforts of the German clergy to Christianize the Slavs and it is a historic landmark, for the church of St. Emeram was the first Christian church among western Slavs. This is by no means to suggest, however, that Christianity was generally accepted throughout the land. As a matter of fact, it had rather slow beginnings, for though the people were interested in Christian truth, they were distrustful of all things German even the worthy efforts of German monl :s . Moreover, they were not at home with the language of u-e Bavarian preachers. These circumstances greatly ham: ,ered early evangelizing along the Danube. When Rastislav became the ruler of Great Moravia, he sent special envoys to Pope Nicholas I in Rome, requesting missionaries who would preach to his people in their native tongue. In this era around 860, Rome was not able to satisfy such a need. Rastislav then made another attempt, this time sending a special mission to Emperor Michael III of Constantinople. His petition read: "Since our people have cast off paganism and follow Christian law, and we have no teacher to explain the Christian faith to us in our own tongue . . . send us, Emperor, such a bishop and teacher, because your country is recognized everywhere for its good laws." The Emperor was interested and he was able to help. He sent two brothers: Constantine, a court philosopher and linguist who later became Cyril by monastic name, and Methodius, an expert in civil law and government. Both had already proved themselves in apostolic work, and as natives of Salonica they spoke Slavonic fluently. The gifted brothers came to Rastislav's land in Great Moravia in 863, prepared to teach and preach. Constantine brought an alphabet that he had devised to give their work permanence among people who were still illiterate. It was the Glagolitic script ( today's Old Slavonic or Church Slavonic, a later derivative from this was termed Cyrillic.) �SLOVAKIA 17 He also brought as many translations of the Scriptures as he had prepared, beginning with the Gospel of St. John. His translations at this time also included a Slavonic version of the Liturgy of St. Peter (from the Greek) and various liturgical books. These works are the foundation of Slovak literature, and it is inspiring that it should have its origin with the phrase "In the beginning was the Word ... " Since some of the inhabitants of Great Moravia were already Christians of the western rite, the new missionaries celebrated both the Mass and the Divine Liturgy, using the Slavonic language in both, and they oriented the Church of the Danubian lands toward Rome. Unfavorably disposed clergymen considered the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular a presumptuous and unorthodox innovation in central Europe and denounced the brothers in Rome. Pope Hadrian II, however, gave it express approbation after investigating the charge brought against Cyril and Methodius (867): "Receiving the Slavonic books, the Pope blessed them and placed them on the altar in the Basilica of St. Mary Major ... and forthwith the liturgy was sung from them." ( Vita Constantini, Chap. XVII, p. 95) After the death of Cyril in Rome, Pope Hadrian II wrote to the rulers Rastislav, Svatopluk, and Kocel': "We have decided to send you Methodius ... translating and using the sacred books in your language in all ecclesiastical functions, in Holy Mass, i. e., the Liturgy, too, as well as in Baptism, as was initiated by Constantine, the Philosopher ... " (Vita Methodii, Chap. VII, Acta Acad. Velehrad. XVII. pp. 113116.) Pope John VII also approved the Slavonic liturgy in his bull Industriae Tuae : "We justly commend the Slavonic script, devised some time ago by Constantine, the Philosopher. And we direct that the doctrine of Christ be preached in that language. There is nothing contrary to the true faith and doctrine either in singing Holy Mass in that Slavonic tongue, or in reading in that language the Gospels and other texts of the Old and New Testament, provided they are correctly translated ... " (Monumenta Germanicae Historica, Epistolarum T. VII, arm. 880Friedrich, Codex diplomaticus et epistolaris Regni Bohemiae, Vol. I, arm. 880.) In spite of difficulties and trials, the mission of the zealous brothers prospered and it is �18 SLOVAKIA to their labors that the Slovaks owe the glory of their faith as well as the foundations of their literature and great cultural strides. The Great Moravian Empire of the ninth century, built as a power against the forces of the west ( as Samo's had been a buffer restraining the might of hordes from the east), was exposed to continuous attacks from the Germans. Late in the ninth century, however, another menace overtook the people of the Danube settlements. Fierce Magyars poured into the lower regions and became a formidable threat to all the inhabitants there. In 902 they turned upon Slovakia with insistent and ruthless attacks. Beset now by hostilities from west and east, and victim of a coalition of Magyars and Germans, Slovakia lost her glorious independence when Great Moravia fell to the Magyars in 907. The foregoing century of beneficent independence and cultural development had brough to the Slovaks intellectual influences from Salzburg, Regensburg, and Passau which mingled with Byzantine culture and with western learning to give the Slovaks a rich heritage whose greatest boast is deep-rooted Christianity. The era after 906 was marked by fierce contests between the Germans and the Magyars to establish dominance of the Danube lands. Though they were caught in the pressures of the rise and fall of these powers, the Slovaks managed to maintain their ethnic identity and even their hope for eventual autonomy. Formidable castles, which became their places of refuge from the vicissitudes of war, date from this period and are still interesting landmarks. Closer to our day several have become sites of archeological explorations. Fated in all the long centuries from the tenth to the twentieth to live in serfdom, scourged by wild Tatar and Mongolian hordes, ravaged by the later ferocity of Hussite wars, doomed to a thousand years under the crushing heel of Magyars, pawn of powerful overlords, how did these people ever survive? The bread of poverty and humiliation, and the cup of tears and sweat which was their portion seemed only to favor their survival. And with it all they did not become a bleak and bitter people. Very appropriately they choose Our Mother of Sorrows as their national patroness and sought strength through �SLOVAKIA 19 her intercession. They graced their lowly homes and menial labors with song and wit and prayer. Richness of the spirit transcended their material misery. Patience, perseverance, and undying hope are their unfailing heritage. Theirs is the perennial grace of resurrection faith and pentecostal hope. These fruits have come to the Slovak nation even to the present day as a natural harvest of the spirit. Disadvantaged materially, economically, and politically, the Slovaks turned to cultivate what no man can take from another-the talents of the spirit. It is worthy of comment here that the poorest of their geographic districts-Orava -a land so thin and rocky that only small patches of its ground can be spaded into vegetable gardens to yield cabbage and potatoes as holiday fare-this pitifully deprived area has given the nation many of its intellectual giants-poets, teachers, leaders. Circumstances that denied education beyond one or two winters of formal schooling just for basic literacy skills, except for the privilege of seminary studies, gave the country great priests who understood and fulfilled their role as men of God and leaders of their people in all walks of life. They are a long line of glory, men like Anton Bernolak with his monumental six-volume pentalingual dictionary and his organizing genius to establish the first cultural society "Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo;" Hviezdoslav, the epic poet and brilliant translator of Shakespeare, Goethe, Pushkin, and Lermontov; Andrew Radlinsky with his compendium of Slovak liturgical prayers on one hand and his journalism to fan fires of patriotism on the other; F. V. Sasinek, the historian; Stephen Furdek who became an unequaled leader and the father of Slovak immigrants in America; Matthew Jank.ala who founded the American community of Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius; Milo Urban, an outstanding novelist of the twentieth century. Speaking of the Hungarian oppression as a thousand years under the Magyar heel may sound like the easy glossing over of a difficult situation. It was prolonged agony but stating the historic fact is not to imply that there were a thousand years of mute and irrational resignation, of unmanly acceptance of "things as they are." �20 SLOVAKIA Nothing could make ardent Slovaks forget the pride of Great Moravia. Nothing could make them lose hope that there would yet be freedom and the glory of distinguished leaders in a free land. There was resistance of varying types and degrees; there were repeated appeals for redress; there were petitions for official intervention on behalf of justice; the most spectacular of such movements being the National Uprising of 1848 led by Louis stur and his close collaborators Joseph Hurban and Michael Hodza. Europe remembers 1848 as a year of revolutions. Central Europe at this time developed an awareness of Pan-Slavism which more than nettled the Hungarian government. There were also Pan-Germanic movements. Minorities and subjugated groups were not only restless, they were impatient for the restoration of their dignity and freedom; they were vocal in their demands; they were poised for action. The patriot stur led his armed rebellion in September but it netted bloodshed and the cruelty of gallows reprisals for many. Yet there was honor and pride in the effort and amid the bitter disappointments of foiled plans there were some bright moments of renewed hope. It was World War I that dismembered Austria-Hungary and brought about the Czecho-Slovak state. Though its creation was the act of the victorious powers and not the choice of the Slovak people, it seemed that perhaps the hopes cherished over a thousand fallow years would yet be justified. Since 1918, unfortunately, there followed the thorny years of coming to an understanding with the Czechs, for right from the outset, President Thomas Masaryk high-handedly began to treat the Slovaks as an underprivileged colony to be assimilated and exploited rather than as a co-equal partner in government. Consequently the Slovaks faced another period (1918-1939) of tension and threat to national survival. Post-Munich Czecho-Slovakia became a dual state briefly. On March 14, 1939, after Hitler's decision to make Czechia and Moravia Protectorates of the Reich, the Slovak Parliament proclaimed the independence of Slovakia and established the Slovak autonomous republic under the presidency of Msgr. Joseph Tiso. The world at large had generally assumed that Slovakia, left to its �SLOVAKIA 21 own assets and resources, would never survive independently, yet in a critical period of world history this nation gained the recognition of 27 countries and it proved that an independent Slovakia is viable and can fulfill its people's ideal of a prosperous and vigorous independent national life. With the support of Moscow, Benes shattered this dream after World War II. Slovakia was occupied by the Red army, the Czecho-Slovak Republic was restored against the will of the Slovak people on much the same inequitable principles as it had had before, and with practically the same old problems-and this over and above the burden of the communist system. The Slovaks cannot tolerate domination by the Czechs because these Czech brothers are too ready to undercut Slovak interests not only politically but economically as well. The most recent political development in Slovakia has been the liberalization program under Alexander Dubcek and the re-vamping of the political structures to effect autonomy for the Slovaks as well as for the Czechs under a new Czecho-Slovak (not Czechoslovak) constitution for a federal state involving two distinct nations. And this is only right. It would hardly occur to anyone who is well informed to confuse the Czechs with the Slovaks; neither are there any grounds for believing that the Slovaks can be taken for Czechs. In the light of historical documentation and by sociological norms these are two distinct nations, two distinct peoples with national histories of their own and distinct languages of their own with only some accidental similarities inasmuch as both are Slavic tongues. When Dubcek came to power as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Czecho-Slovak Communist Party, he initiated a program not in line with the heavyhanded policies of his predecessor Novotny. He did not promote the repressive measures of Kremlin circles, for communist though he is, he realizes that Slovak people will never thrive under a system that negates the values of Christian tradition and integral European culture. Instead of tightening pressures, he proposed to "humanize" the communist system-to relax the party's grip on national �22 SLOVAKIA economy, to curb police power, to guarantee freedom of expression, to hear minority opinions in government, to rehabilitate political prisoners, to ease travel restrictions. These were some of his "January reforms" under which the country burgeoned. These are the measures that Moscow cannot countenance and demands must be retracted. It is against such a way of life that the Soviets have sent their tanks, matching guns against ideas. The world looks on as the Slovaks and the Czechs meet with only their bare hands this overwhelming material force from the Red East-an army of a half million gathered to retaliate against newspaper articles and basic human rights. Thousands of tanks have come, readied to reintroduce censorship among a people who disavow it. The free world is shocked and outraged by such bullying and brazen invasion of a people's liberty and innate right to self-determination. The inhumanity of it leaves onlookers unbelieving and stunned into inaction. Almost as if to salve their consciences, commentators have been heard to observe that these people have been through the oppression mill many times before. Yet this is no reason why another chapter of oppression should be added to their history. Their history? A cruel taunt made against these very people was: You have no history. Where are your great victories? What are your historical boasts? The mightiest answer that can be leveled to counter this charge is WE ARE; in essence our very existence is our history. A people that can preserve its national identity, never relinquish its right to a free government, and survive agonizing centuries of subjugation, deprivation, occupation, oppression, and deliberate plotting to bring about their decay and extermination hardly need more to document as history. The Slovak people do have proportionate exploits and achievements though they do not chronicle dynasties or world-celebrated potentates. Their greatest history reposes not in documented words but in people. It is not a tangible something that can be pinned within a frame like a butterfly specimen and labeled This is it, for the spirit that makes history defies analysis; it cannot be plotted; it cannot be dissected; it cannot be positioned under a microscopic lens ; it cannot be trapped before �SLOVAKIA 23 an examining commission or a saber-rattling council; but it is there. History, after all, is not a made-to-order commodity. Nations and leaders of nations do not meet on assignment or by some preconceived arrangement "to make history." Exigencies of time and circumstance bring their historic moment and their challenge, and the texture of a nation's leadership and spirit is bound to be revealed by the response. Though the Slovaks lost political independence with the fall of Great Moravia in the tenth to the thirteeRth centuries, their civilization was not destroyed. They occupied their land for long centuries without interruption and endured all the catastrophes that overtook them. Even under the Magyars they managed to become a cultural unit in central Europe with a university at Bratislava as early as the fifteenth century and later a Catholic university at Trnava in the seventeenth century. They have a distinctive literature, culture, history, economic capability, sociological and ethnographic individuality-the constituents for full recognition as a free nation. Their all too brief years of autonomy under Tiso are proof of their ability to function and to prosper as a free nation. Subservience to any overlord is all the more galling to the Slovaks as a nation with a long historic past especially in this era of brotherhood and decolonization. In an International Year of Human Rights when aspiring states in Asia and Africa were happily granted recognition and freedom, it is-to say the least-incongruous that a nation with every right to be free and independent and progressive should be coerced into puppet status in order to gratify the Soviet bloc, with all the world as witness to this violence and degradation. The victims of this aggression are only too well aware of the futility of force to wrest their rights in the present situation. Among views they have expressed are these, released to the world in current issues of the newspaper Kulturny zivot: " ... it seems that for some time we will have to communicate as mutes. I believe that a cultural nation �SLOVAKlA 24 under pressure will transmit ideas by gestures, barring other means." "Our fate and very existence are in foreign hands. Honor is the only thing we can and must preserve-honor in thought and in action: not to be satisfied with evil and not to compromise with it; not to give up ideals of humanism and freedom. We are not the only ones with a stake in this situation; the whole human race may depend on it." " .. . The external force is a fact and must be reckoned with, without illusions. People have learned to wear fur coats against the cold. Against armor they defend themselves with spiritual and cultural values ... " "Something happened that cannot be undone. History has dealt us a blow but ipso facto something new happened to history. Nothing is the same as it was a week ago. We have changed and so has the world around us. Something has happened that has no place in the last third of the twentieth century." These are the voices of some of the Slovak writers in Bratislava. They are young people but their thinking has outstripped their years. Poets too speak of this Pyrrhic victory of the Soviets. A sampling from the contemporary thoughts of A. Murin, living in Canada, forms a suitable conclusion for this rapid survey: A BLEEDING LAND The signs are that we shall yet long document the words of the bleeding land ... The grain harvest was just ripening and the scythe readied; sheer loveliness invited smiles; the toughened palm was already weighting the seed gold-glistening on the August field. Nature presaged no storm; only the heart registered the seething volcano and the thunderous drum of march-stomping warriors. �SLOVAKIA 25 Anyone who could interpret the graphs of the alarm-surprised wildflowers on the mountainsides knew: this is Ghengis Khan splintering the circlet of love; knew it was he who would cut low the fruited ears with a nicked blade to make it hurt, just to make it hurt the more, to burn and sear in the forge of the August sun. Vainly do you ask the goldened ears, vainly you question the furnaced heavens, vainly you probe the meanderings of the cascading brook: Why did the song become a dead sound? Why is the kerneled blade not transformed into loaved bread? Why this fate, worse than abject bondage? Ho, brothers, this is a for a long time, a very we shall document the of the bleeding Slovak palpable certainty: long time, words land ... BIBLIOGRAPHY Bokes, Frantisek. Dejiny Slovenska a Slovakov (History of Slovakia and the Slovaks) . Bratislava: Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1946. - - . Sl.ovenske pokusy o vyrovnanie s Mad'armi ( Slovak Attempts to Reach Agreement with the Magyars). Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1944. Bue, B. S. Slovak Nationalism. Middletown, Pa. : Slovak League of America, 1960. Butvin, Jozef. "Martin Hamuljak and Fundamental Problems of the Slovak National Revival." Studia Historica Slovaca III. Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1965, pp. 135-172. Capek, Thomas. Origins of the Czechoslovak State. New York: Revell Press, 1926. - - . The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1906. Chaloupecky, V. Stare Slovensko (Ancient Slovakia). Bratislava, 1934. Culen, Konstantin. Roky slovenskych nadeji a sklamani (Years of Slovak Hopes and Frustrations). Trnava : -Ostredie slov. kat. studentstva, 1932. �SLOVAKIA 26 !>urcansky, Ferdinand. Prcivo Slovcikov na samostatnost' vo svetle dokumentov-Biela Kniha (The White Book-The Right of the Slovaks to Independence in the Light of Official Documents). V. 1, Buenos Aires: Slovensky Oslobodzovaci Vybor, 1954. Glaser, Kurt. Czecho-Slovakia: A Critical History. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton, 1961. Grivec, Francis. Vitae Constantini et Methodii. Versio Latina, notis dissertationibusque de fontibus ac de theologia SS. Cyrill et Methodii illustrata: Acta Academiae Velehradensis XVII (1941) . Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske Dejiny (Slovak History). Turciansky Sv. Martin : Matica Sl-0venska, 1940. - - -. Slovensko v dejincich Strednej Eur6py. (Slovakia in the History of Central Europe) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1939. - - - . Slovenski vladciri (Slovak Rulers). Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1948. - - - . This is Slovakia. Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1954. JanMk, Stefan. Brciny do dcivnoveku (Gateways to Antiquity) . Bratislava: Tatran, 1966. - - - . Slovensko v dobe uhorskeho feudalizmu ( Slovakia in the Era of Hungarian Feudalism). Bratiillava: <'.:eskoslovenske Zemedel- ske Muzeum, 1932. - - - . Stare osidlenie Slovensk.a (Ancient Settlement of Slovakia) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1938. Kirschbaum, Joseph. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York: Robert Speller, 1960. York: Robert Speller, 1960. Lacko, Michael. Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Rome: Institute of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, 1963. Mikus, Joseph. Slovakia: A Political History 1918-1950. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1963. Oddo, Gilbert L. Slovakia and its People. New York: Robert Speller, 1960. Pauco, Jozef. Christian Slovakia under Communism. Valparaiso, Ind.: Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1959. - - - . Pod zcistavou krest'anskej demokracie (Under the Banner of Christian Democracy). Middletown, Pa.: Slovak Christian Demo- crats, 1957. - - - . " Slovakia Viewed by American Historians," Most, Vol. I, No. 4, 1954. Polakovic, Stefan. K zcikladom Slovenskeho statu (Foundations of the Slovak State) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1939. Porphyrogennetos, Constantinus. De administrando lmperio. In: Migne P. G. CXIII, col. 158-422. New critical edition published by G. Moravcsik. �SLOVAKIA 27 Ratkos, Peter. Pramene k dejinam Vel' kej Moravy (Prime Sources of the History of Great Moravia) . Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1964. Sasinek, Franko Vit'azoslav, Drzava Vel' komoravska (The Domain of Great Moravia). Ruzomberok: Karol Salva, 1896. Seton-Watson, R. W. Racial Problems in Hungary . London: Constable & Co. , Ltd., 1907. Sidor, Karol. Cernova, 1907-1937 (The cernova massacre and its aftermath) , Bratislava: Novinarsky a nakladatel'sky ucitel'sky spolok, 1937. - - -. Slovaci v zahranicnom odboji (Slovaks in the Resis tance Movement Abroad ). Bratislava: Jednota Press, 1929. Skultety, Jozef. Nehante l'ud moj! (Do Not Malign My People!) Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1928. - - - . Sketches from Slovak History. Translated by 0 . D. Koreff, Mid- dletown, Pa.: Jednota, 1930. - - - . Slovenske memorandum r. 1861. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Knih- tlaciarsky ucastinarsky spolok, 1911. Smrzik, Stephen. The Glagolitic or Roman-Slavonic Liturgy. Rome : The Slovak Institute, 1959. Sprinc, Mikulas, ed. Slov enskci Republika, 1939-1949. Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1949. Stanislav, Jan. Les Slav es, Byzance et Rome . Paris, 1926. - - - . Risa Vel' komorav skci. (The Empire of Great Moravia) . Prague : Mazac, 1933. Yurchak, Peter. The Slov aks: Their History and Traditions . Whiting, Ind.: 1946. Zachar, L'udovit. Borba za narodnu slobodu (The Struggle for National Independence ). Bratislava: Jednota Press, 1931. - - - . Sv. Cyril a Metod na Devine (Sts. Cyril and Methodius at Devin) . Trnava: Spolok Sv. Vojtecha , 1928. Zubek, Theodoric J . The Church of Si lence i n Slovakia. Passaic, N. J .: Lach, 1956. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U . S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English. � SLOVAKIA 11 Will the Phoenix Rise Again? Sister M . Martina Tybor, SS. C. M . You may heard it said both literally and poetically that Slovakia is a country strategically situated in the heart of central Europe. You may have read that historically it was the crossroads of trade caravans between East and West. You may know that closer to our day, American presidents as well as some European leaders hoped that it would become a bridge between the East and the West to promote world friendship. It may have also occurred to you that over long centuries it seems to be a land unfortunately fated to oppression though it did have a golden glorious epoch in bygone days and hopefully rose as an independent democracy out of the shambles of World War I. If, on the other hand, Czecho-Slovakia is to you and to many persons only a nameless someplace on the map and its people a faceless family among nations, August events in 1968 have blazoned its name upon front page news reports, and the events themselves have shaped a fair perspective to show the world who these people are--the Slovaks and the Czechs, two distinct nations in one unique political cadre. Unfortunately, too many preoccupied nations and unthinking men are letting news from Czecho-Slovakia unconcernedly slip to the thirc:i; and fourth pages of their newspapers and, like hectographed copy left in the sun, the impact of tragic Soviet moves upon a defensless and unaided natio:ri is fading from public notice. Good people honestly hope that the interests of freedom , liberty of spirit, private enterprise and national initiative within the concept of true progressive self-determination and political independence will prevail. However, if good people do not bestir themselves to act on conviction, they do not further the cause of moral good. Their well-intentioned hopes can be merely the stuff of vacuous dreams. And as they dream, destiny sites the wheel of time, spinning, spinning. Democracies may dream that evils will somehow right �12 SLOVAKIA themselves and that there is really no call to become involved. The oppressed and aggrieved wait, for reasonably they can hardly do more with the odds so hopelessly stacked against them, and they must dream that they will yet liberate themselves in spite of the present hopeless outlook, or that-unbelievably but possibly-the seemingly impossible probability-help may yet come to implement their liberation. The aggressors unashamedly plot, with less dreaming than scheming in their designs and efforts, to dupe naive free countries again and to steal another thrust, another vantage area in order to further the realization of their master plan. Ineffectively the world waits. It lets itself grow accustomed to the numbing shock. And as it waits, it too dreams on. History fingers the spun threads and weaves a pattern of events shaped by man. Is the pattern bound to be determined by fate? Are the cycles of ages bound to repeat patterns from the past? Do we learn from the past, build on it, or supinely wait in an easily oblivious present? Some consideration of Slovakia's past may help toward a better understanding of its present plight and its still undying aspirations. Unfortunately some writers tend to treat the historic backgrounds of Slovakia as a peripheral aspect of the Czech of the Magyar past. Some have been satisfied to accept without research or question the kind of political science and European history that biased Magyars and Czechs tailored for general public consumption. There are also some who do not know, others who deny, ignore, or overlook the ethnic, social, cultural, linguistic and political identity or individuality of the Slovaks. Add to this also the regrettable circumstance that altogether too little authentic Slovak history is known to the world at large and that consequently a discriminating reader is sometimes at a loss to discriminate. Happily, recent decades have brought a number of excellent histories of Slovakia and reliable Slovak studies published in English. Information is now available to the honest seeker. For centuries, however, this nation had been almost anonymous in history; it was a country not granted recognition under its own name-literally nameless because it fflJ.t}l~ged by stronger powers. When the first tatha Baptist Bible College �SLOVAKIA 13 wave of immigration brought thousands of European newcomers to our shores, the Italian was identified as one who came from Italy, the Irishman came from Ireland, the German from Germany, the Frenchman from France, but the Slovak, incongruously, from Austria-Hungary. Yet historically the Slovaks are a nation much older than are many people blessed with national independence today. The territory which they occupy was the Danubian cradle of ancient European civilization that spread westward into Germany. The 1930 archeological expedition that the Peabody Museum of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania sent into Czecho-Slovakia reported findings that substantiate "periods of culture ranging from the Neolithic Age of about 3000 B. C. to what is locally known as the 'Roman' period of the first century A. D." It is pertinent to the history of the land to recall that even before the dawn of the Christian era several nations had lived in the territory now occupied by Slovakia. Greek and Roman writers record the presence of Gauls and Celts among these inhabitants. Coins dating from the first century B. C., stamped with identification of the Roman Republic have been found in Bratislava, and there is a third century Greek map of the region with many Slavonic markings for mountains and rivers. In the vicissitudes of historic developments, warring Germanic tribes also settled in the Danubian territory. To the great aggravation of the Romans, they frequently raided the Roman province ,o f Pannonia established south of the Danube river. To deal with this problem, Rome secured military outposts on the northern bank of the Danube and by 179 A. D., after a number of bloody skirmishes, succeeded in breaking the power of hostile Germanic peoples. The troops of Marcus Aurelius then advanced deeply into Slovak territory even as far as Trencin on the Vah. To maintain order and to guard important approaches in the area, part of the troops established the garrison Laugaricio. To this day a commemorative inscription carved into the natural bluff supporting Trencin castle reads: "In memory of the victory of the Emperor's army which encamped at Laugaricio, 855 soldiers of the IL Legion. Made by Constantine, �14 SLOVAKIA Cammander of the II. Auxiliary Legion." Incidentally, this is the earliest relic of written records found on Slovak territory. During the incursion of the Roman monarchy forces into Danubian regions along the Hron river in 173, the army was threatened by a drought so acute that the lives of the soldiers were endangered. But among the Romans there were some Christians from Asia Minor who prayed for relief. The triumphal arch of Marcus Aurelius in Rome immortalize the fact that in answer to their prayer a saving ra~ fell and the men did not perish. Incidentally, again, there is additional historic value in this record, for it is the earliest reference to the presence of Christianity in the Danube basin. Though the might of Rome was challenged by Germanic tribes, Emperors matched strength with them repeatedly, and by 374 Valentinian claimed undisputed sovereignty over the territory. But the climax of Roman power also presaged a change toward decline. By 375 the migration of nations began to release its force against the face of Europe, and the already deteriorating power of Rome slowly yielded ground. Tribes from Danubian regions pressed into richer Roman possessions in the south. As the Romans drew back, tribes vied with tribes for supremacy and cut across many lands before coming to rest in permanent settlements. At the same time new tribes began to appear, moving through the mountain passes in the lofty Carpathians. They were the Slovan people, the forebears of Slovak ancestors. Somewhere in the maelstrom of events and movements, Slovak groups and related western Slavonic tribes chose to occupy lands that extended across the central Danube basin, reaching from the Elbe river to the southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains and the rich plains of the Danube river valley. In the fifth and sixth centuries, however the fierce hordes of Turco-Tatar Avars plunged into the Danubian region and swarmed as far west as the Frankish kingdom. They forced a number of Slavonic tribes into their service on looting raids against the Germans to the west and upon Constantinople and Salonica in the east. The subjugated peoples fretted and chafed under this yoke and looked to rid themselves of �SLOVAKIA 15 it even as they withdrew from Pannonia and re-settled north of the Danube. In 624 a Frankish merchant named Samo came to the region with rich merchandise and a large retinue.' His was a peaceful mission but his interests were thwarted by the marauding Avars. To secure his rights and to maintain a favorable economic situation, Samo initiated resistance to the invaders. He hoped to force the Avars out of Panonia, their key stronghold. His audacity and leadership attracted the support of most of the harried Slavonic tribes, and their united effort under Samo succeeded in routing the savage Avars. Exhilarated by victory, Samo and his allies set their power against the Germanic Franks and conquered them also. In the ensuing period of peace Samo united the tribes that had fought with him with other Danubian Slavs to the north and with Slovenes to south, establishing an empire of extensive territories on both banks of the Danube. It is the inhabitants of these lands that originally came to be designated as Slovieni or simply the Slavs. Some historians are inclined to consider this as the first historic state of Slovakia even though it declined after Samo's death; others look upon it as the forerunner of the realm known as Vel'k<i Morava (Great Moravia) which was created in the first half of the ninth century under Mojmir I, strengthened under Rastislav, and brought to a climax of glory under Svatopluk in the second half of the ninth century. This state was the first political unity in central Europe. The territories consolidated by Mojmir I are historically designated as Great Moravia in the official work De administrando Imperio (Concerning the Executive Management of a State) written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenneto s in 950. Yet it must be understood that this second Slavonic state in the heart of Europe was not an empire with clearly defined borders. The temper of the age did not confine itself to any strict division of territory but the reality of an empire was there, including present-day Slovakia and Moravia. Nor could this reality be overlooked, for Great Moravia enjoyed international status, maintaining relations with the Holy See and with neighboring empires. �16 SLOVAKIA While political history was thus evolving, cultural history was also in the making. Dr. Hrusovsky ascribes the earliest Christianizing influences in the Danubian regions to Irish missionaries and to Benedictine monks working out of the monasteries of Bavaria. About 833 Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg consecrated a church in Nitra, the principality of Pribina. This event testifies to the efforts of the German clergy to Christianize the Slavs and it is a historic landmark, for the church of St. Emeram was the first Christian church among western Slavs. This is by no means to suggest, however, that Christianity was generally accepted throughout the land. As a matter of fact, it had rather slow beginnings, for though the people were interested in Christian truth, they were distrustful of all things German even the worthy efforts of German monl :s . Moreover, they were not at home with the language of u-e Bavarian preachers. These circumstances greatly ham: ,ered early evangelizing along the Danube. When Rastislav became the ruler of Great Moravia, he sent special envoys to Pope Nicholas I in Rome, requesting missionaries who would preach to his people in their native tongue. In this era around 860, Rome was not able to satisfy such a need. Rastislav then made another attempt, this time sending a special mission to Emperor Michael III of Constantinople. His petition read: "Since our people have cast off paganism and follow Christian law, and we have no teacher to explain the Christian faith to us in our own tongue . . . send us, Emperor, such a bishop and teacher, because your country is recognized everywhere for its good laws." The Emperor was interested and he was able to help. He sent two brothers: Constantine, a court philosopher and linguist who later became Cyril by monastic name, and Methodius, an expert in civil law and government. Both had already proved themselves in apostolic work, and as natives of Salonica they spoke Slavonic fluently. The gifted brothers came to Rastislav's land in Great Moravia in 863, prepared to teach and preach. Constantine brought an alphabet that he had devised to give their work permanence among people who were still illiterate. It was the Glagolitic script ( today's Old Slavonic or Church Slavonic, a later derivative from this was termed Cyrillic.) �SLOVAKIA 17 He also brought as many translations of the Scriptures as he had prepared, beginning with the Gospel of St. John. His translations at this time also included a Slavonic version of the Liturgy of St. Peter (from the Greek) and various liturgical books. These works are the foundation of Slovak literature, and it is inspiring that it should have its origin with the phrase "In the beginning was the Word ... " Since some of the inhabitants of Great Moravia were already Christians of the western rite, the new missionaries celebrated both the Mass and the Divine Liturgy, using the Slavonic language in both, and they oriented the Church of the Danubian lands toward Rome. Unfavorably disposed clergymen considered the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular a presumptuous and unorthodox innovation in central Europe and denounced the brothers in Rome. Pope Hadrian II, however, gave it express approbation after investigating the charge brought against Cyril and Methodius (867): "Receiving the Slavonic books, the Pope blessed them and placed them on the altar in the Basilica of St. Mary Major ... and forthwith the liturgy was sung from them." ( Vita Constantini, Chap. XVII, p. 95) After the death of Cyril in Rome, Pope Hadrian II wrote to the rulers Rastislav, Svatopluk, and Kocel': "We have decided to send you Methodius ... translating and using the sacred books in your language in all ecclesiastical functions, in Holy Mass, i. e., the Liturgy, too, as well as in Baptism, as was initiated by Constantine, the Philosopher ... " (Vita Methodii, Chap. VII, Acta Acad. Velehrad. XVII. pp. 113116.) Pope John VII also approved the Slavonic liturgy in his bull Industriae Tuae : "We justly commend the Slavonic script, devised some time ago by Constantine, the Philosopher. And we direct that the doctrine of Christ be preached in that language. There is nothing contrary to the true faith and doctrine either in singing Holy Mass in that Slavonic tongue, or in reading in that language the Gospels and other texts of the Old and New Testament, provided they are correctly translated ... " (Monumenta Germanicae Historica, Epistolarum T. VII, arm. 880Friedrich, Codex diplomaticus et epistolaris Regni Bohemiae, Vol. I, arm. 880.) In spite of difficulties and trials, the mission of the zealous brothers prospered and it is �18 SLOVAKIA to their labors that the Slovaks owe the glory of their faith as well as the foundations of their literature and great cultural strides. The Great Moravian Empire of the ninth century, built as a power against the forces of the west ( as Samo's had been a buffer restraining the might of hordes from the east), was exposed to continuous attacks from the Germans. Late in the ninth century, however, another menace overtook the people of the Danube settlements. Fierce Magyars poured into the lower regions and became a formidable threat to all the inhabitants there. In 902 they turned upon Slovakia with insistent and ruthless attacks. Beset now by hostilities from west and east, and victim of a coalition of Magyars and Germans, Slovakia lost her glorious independence when Great Moravia fell to the Magyars in 907. The foregoing century of beneficent independence and cultural development had brough to the Slovaks intellectual influences from Salzburg, Regensburg, and Passau which mingled with Byzantine culture and with western learning to give the Slovaks a rich heritage whose greatest boast is deep-rooted Christianity. The era after 906 was marked by fierce contests between the Germans and the Magyars to establish dominance of the Danube lands. Though they were caught in the pressures of the rise and fall of these powers, the Slovaks managed to maintain their ethnic identity and even their hope for eventual autonomy. Formidable castles, which became their places of refuge from the vicissitudes of war, date from this period and are still interesting landmarks. Closer to our day several have become sites of archeological explorations. Fated in all the long centuries from the tenth to the twentieth to live in serfdom, scourged by wild Tatar and Mongolian hordes, ravaged by the later ferocity of Hussite wars, doomed to a thousand years under the crushing heel of Magyars, pawn of powerful overlords, how did these people ever survive? The bread of poverty and humiliation, and the cup of tears and sweat which was their portion seemed only to favor their survival. And with it all they did not become a bleak and bitter people. Very appropriately they choose Our Mother of Sorrows as their national patroness and sought strength through �SLOVAKIA 19 her intercession. They graced their lowly homes and menial labors with song and wit and prayer. Richness of the spirit transcended their material misery. Patience, perseverance, and undying hope are their unfailing heritage. Theirs is the perennial grace of resurrection faith and pentecostal hope. These fruits have come to the Slovak nation even to the present day as a natural harvest of the spirit. Disadvantaged materially, economically, and politically, the Slovaks turned to cultivate what no man can take from another-the talents of the spirit. It is worthy of comment here that the poorest of their geographic districts-Orava -a land so thin and rocky that only small patches of its ground can be spaded into vegetable gardens to yield cabbage and potatoes as holiday fare-this pitifully deprived area has given the nation many of its intellectual giants-poets, teachers, leaders. Circumstances that denied education beyond one or two winters of formal schooling just for basic literacy skills, except for the privilege of seminary studies, gave the country great priests who understood and fulfilled their role as men of God and leaders of their people in all walks of life. They are a long line of glory, men like Anton Bernolak with his monumental six-volume pentalingual dictionary and his organizing genius to establish the first cultural society "Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo;" Hviezdoslav, the epic poet and brilliant translator of Shakespeare, Goethe, Pushkin, and Lermontov; Andrew Radlinsky with his compendium of Slovak liturgical prayers on one hand and his journalism to fan fires of patriotism on the other; F. V. Sasinek, the historian; Stephen Furdek who became an unequaled leader and the father of Slovak immigrants in America; Matthew Jank.ala who founded the American community of Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius; Milo Urban, an outstanding novelist of the twentieth century. Speaking of the Hungarian oppression as a thousand years under the Magyar heel may sound like the easy glossing over of a difficult situation. It was prolonged agony but stating the historic fact is not to imply that there were a thousand years of mute and irrational resignation, of unmanly acceptance of "things as they are." �20 SLOVAKIA Nothing could make ardent Slovaks forget the pride of Great Moravia. Nothing could make them lose hope that there would yet be freedom and the glory of distinguished leaders in a free land. There was resistance of varying types and degrees; there were repeated appeals for redress; there were petitions for official intervention on behalf of justice; the most spectacular of such movements being the National Uprising of 1848 led by Louis stur and his close collaborators Joseph Hurban and Michael Hodza. Europe remembers 1848 as a year of revolutions. Central Europe at this time developed an awareness of Pan-Slavism which more than nettled the Hungarian government. There were also Pan-Germanic movements. Minorities and subjugated groups were not only restless, they were impatient for the restoration of their dignity and freedom; they were vocal in their demands; they were poised for action. The patriot stur led his armed rebellion in September but it netted bloodshed and the cruelty of gallows reprisals for many. Yet there was honor and pride in the effort and amid the bitter disappointments of foiled plans there were some bright moments of renewed hope. It was World War I that dismembered Austria-Hungary and brought about the Czecho-Slovak state. Though its creation was the act of the victorious powers and not the choice of the Slovak people, it seemed that perhaps the hopes cherished over a thousand fallow years would yet be justified. Since 1918, unfortunately, there followed the thorny years of coming to an understanding with the Czechs, for right from the outset, President Thomas Masaryk high-handedly began to treat the Slovaks as an underprivileged colony to be assimilated and exploited rather than as a co-equal partner in government. Consequently the Slovaks faced another period (1918-1939) of tension and threat to national survival. Post-Munich Czecho-Slovakia became a dual state briefly. On March 14, 1939, after Hitler's decision to make Czechia and Moravia Protectorates of the Reich, the Slovak Parliament proclaimed the independence of Slovakia and established the Slovak autonomous republic under the presidency of Msgr. Joseph Tiso. The world at large had generally assumed that Slovakia, left to its �SLOVAKIA 21 own assets and resources, would never survive independently, yet in a critical period of world history this nation gained the recognition of 27 countries and it proved that an independent Slovakia is viable and can fulfill its people's ideal of a prosperous and vigorous independent national life. With the support of Moscow, Benes shattered this dream after World War II. Slovakia was occupied by the Red army, the Czecho-Slovak Republic was restored against the will of the Slovak people on much the same inequitable principles as it had had before, and with practically the same old problems-and this over and above the burden of the communist system. The Slovaks cannot tolerate domination by the Czechs because these Czech brothers are too ready to undercut Slovak interests not only politically but economically as well. The most recent political development in Slovakia has been the liberalization program under Alexander Dubcek and the re-vamping of the political structures to effect autonomy for the Slovaks as well as for the Czechs under a new Czecho-Slovak (not Czechoslovak) constitution for a federal state involving two distinct nations. And this is only right. It would hardly occur to anyone who is well informed to confuse the Czechs with the Slovaks; neither are there any grounds for believing that the Slovaks can be taken for Czechs. In the light of historical documentation and by sociological norms these are two distinct nations, two distinct peoples with national histories of their own and distinct languages of their own with only some accidental similarities inasmuch as both are Slavic tongues. When Dubcek came to power as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Czecho-Slovak Communist Party, he initiated a program not in line with the heavyhanded policies of his predecessor Novotny. He did not promote the repressive measures of Kremlin circles, for communist though he is, he realizes that Slovak people will never thrive under a system that negates the values of Christian tradition and integral European culture. Instead of tightening pressures, he proposed to "humanize" the communist system-to relax the party's grip on national �22 SLOVAKIA economy, to curb police power, to guarantee freedom of expression, to hear minority opinions in government, to rehabilitate political prisoners, to ease travel restrictions. These were some of his "January reforms" under which the country burgeoned. These are the measures that Moscow cannot countenance and demands must be retracted. It is against such a way of life that the Soviets have sent their tanks, matching guns against ideas. The world looks on as the Slovaks and the Czechs meet with only their bare hands this overwhelming material force from the Red East-an army of a half million gathered to retaliate against newspaper articles and basic human rights. Thousands of tanks have come, readied to reintroduce censorship among a people who disavow it. The free world is shocked and outraged by such bullying and brazen invasion of a people's liberty and innate right to self-determination. The inhumanity of it leaves onlookers unbelieving and stunned into inaction. Almost as if to salve their consciences, commentators have been heard to observe that these people have been through the oppression mill many times before. Yet this is no reason why another chapter of oppression should be added to their history. Their history? A cruel taunt made against these very people was: You have no history. Where are your great victories? What are your historical boasts? The mightiest answer that can be leveled to counter this charge is WE ARE; in essence our very existence is our history. A people that can preserve its national identity, never relinquish its right to a free government, and survive agonizing centuries of subjugation, deprivation, occupation, oppression, and deliberate plotting to bring about their decay and extermination hardly need more to document as history. The Slovak people do have proportionate exploits and achievements though they do not chronicle dynasties or world-celebrated potentates. Their greatest history reposes not in documented words but in people. It is not a tangible something that can be pinned within a frame like a butterfly specimen and labeled This is it, for the spirit that makes history defies analysis; it cannot be plotted; it cannot be dissected; it cannot be positioned under a microscopic lens ; it cannot be trapped before �SLOVAKIA 23 an examining commission or a saber-rattling council; but it is there. History, after all, is not a made-to-order commodity. Nations and leaders of nations do not meet on assignment or by some preconceived arrangement "to make history." Exigencies of time and circumstance bring their historic moment and their challenge, and the texture of a nation's leadership and spirit is bound to be revealed by the response. Though the Slovaks lost political independence with the fall of Great Moravia in the tenth to the thirteeRth centuries, their civilization was not destroyed. They occupied their land for long centuries without interruption and endured all the catastrophes that overtook them. Even under the Magyars they managed to become a cultural unit in central Europe with a university at Bratislava as early as the fifteenth century and later a Catholic university at Trnava in the seventeenth century. They have a distinctive literature, culture, history, economic capability, sociological and ethnographic individuality-the constituents for full recognition as a free nation. Their all too brief years of autonomy under Tiso are proof of their ability to function and to prosper as a free nation. Subservience to any overlord is all the more galling to the Slovaks as a nation with a long historic past especially in this era of brotherhood and decolonization. In an International Year of Human Rights when aspiring states in Asia and Africa were happily granted recognition and freedom, it is-to say the least-incongruous that a nation with every right to be free and independent and progressive should be coerced into puppet status in order to gratify the Soviet bloc, with all the world as witness to this violence and degradation. The victims of this aggression are only too well aware of the futility of force to wrest their rights in the present situation. Among views they have expressed are these, released to the world in current issues of the newspaper Kulturny zivot: " ... it seems that for some time we will have to communicate as mutes. I believe that a cultural nation �SLOVAKlA 24 under pressure will transmit ideas by gestures, barring other means." "Our fate and very existence are in foreign hands. Honor is the only thing we can and must preserve-honor in thought and in action: not to be satisfied with evil and not to compromise with it; not to give up ideals of humanism and freedom. We are not the only ones with a stake in this situation; the whole human race may depend on it." " .. . The external force is a fact and must be reckoned with, without illusions. People have learned to wear fur coats against the cold. Against armor they defend themselves with spiritual and cultural values ... " "Something happened that cannot be undone. History has dealt us a blow but ipso facto something new happened to history. Nothing is the same as it was a week ago. We have changed and so has the world around us. Something has happened that has no place in the last third of the twentieth century." These are the voices of some of the Slovak writers in Bratislava. They are young people but their thinking has outstripped their years. Poets too speak of this Pyrrhic victory of the Soviets. A sampling from the contemporary thoughts of A. Murin, living in Canada, forms a suitable conclusion for this rapid survey: A BLEEDING LAND The signs are that we shall yet long document the words of the bleeding land ... The grain harvest was just ripening and the scythe readied; sheer loveliness invited smiles; the toughened palm was already weighting the seed gold-glistening on the August field. Nature presaged no storm; only the heart registered the seething volcano and the thunderous drum of march-stomping warriors. �SLOVAKIA 25 Anyone who could interpret the graphs of the alarm-surprised wildflowers on the mountainsides knew: this is Ghengis Khan splintering the circlet of love; knew it was he who would cut low the fruited ears with a nicked blade to make it hurt, just to make it hurt the more, to burn and sear in the forge of the August sun. Vainly do you ask the goldened ears, vainly you question the furnaced heavens, vainly you probe the meanderings of the cascading brook: Why did the song become a dead sound? Why is the kerneled blade not transformed into loaved bread? Why this fate, worse than abject bondage? Ho, brothers, this is a for a long time, a very we shall document the of the bleeding Slovak palpable certainty: long time, words land ... BIBLIOGRAPHY Bokes, Frantisek. Dejiny Slovenska a Slovakov (History of Slovakia and the Slovaks) . Bratislava: Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1946. - - . Sl.ovenske pokusy o vyrovnanie s Mad'armi ( Slovak Attempts to Reach Agreement with the Magyars). Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1944. Bue, B. S. Slovak Nationalism. Middletown, Pa. : Slovak League of America, 1960. Butvin, Jozef. "Martin Hamuljak and Fundamental Problems of the Slovak National Revival." Studia Historica Slovaca III. Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1965, pp. 135-172. Capek, Thomas. Origins of the Czechoslovak State. New York: Revell Press, 1926. - - . The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1906. Chaloupecky, V. Stare Slovensko (Ancient Slovakia). Bratislava, 1934. Culen, Konstantin. Roky slovenskych nadeji a sklamani (Years of Slovak Hopes and Frustrations). Trnava : -Ostredie slov. kat. studentstva, 1932. �SLOVAKIA 26 !>urcansky, Ferdinand. Prcivo Slovcikov na samostatnost' vo svetle dokumentov-Biela Kniha (The White Book-The Right of the Slovaks to Independence in the Light of Official Documents). V. 1, Buenos Aires: Slovensky Oslobodzovaci Vybor, 1954. Glaser, Kurt. Czecho-Slovakia: A Critical History. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton, 1961. Grivec, Francis. Vitae Constantini et Methodii. Versio Latina, notis dissertationibusque de fontibus ac de theologia SS. Cyrill et Methodii illustrata: Acta Academiae Velehradensis XVII (1941) . Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske Dejiny (Slovak History). Turciansky Sv. Martin : Matica Sl-0venska, 1940. - - -. Slovensko v dejincich Strednej Eur6py. (Slovakia in the History of Central Europe) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1939. - - - . Slovenski vladciri (Slovak Rulers). Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1948. - - - . This is Slovakia. Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1954. JanMk, Stefan. Brciny do dcivnoveku (Gateways to Antiquity) . Bratislava: Tatran, 1966. - - - . Slovensko v dobe uhorskeho feudalizmu ( Slovakia in the Era of Hungarian Feudalism). Bratiillava: <'.:eskoslovenske Zemedel- ske Muzeum, 1932. - - - . Stare osidlenie Slovensk.a (Ancient Settlement of Slovakia) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1938. Kirschbaum, Joseph. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York: Robert Speller, 1960. York: Robert Speller, 1960. Lacko, Michael. Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Rome: Institute of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, 1963. Mikus, Joseph. Slovakia: A Political History 1918-1950. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1963. Oddo, Gilbert L. Slovakia and its People. New York: Robert Speller, 1960. Pauco, Jozef. Christian Slovakia under Communism. Valparaiso, Ind.: Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1959. - - - . Pod zcistavou krest'anskej demokracie (Under the Banner of Christian Democracy). Middletown, Pa.: Slovak Christian Demo- crats, 1957. - - - . " Slovakia Viewed by American Historians," Most, Vol. I, No. 4, 1954. Polakovic, Stefan. K zcikladom Slovenskeho statu (Foundations of the Slovak State) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1939. Porphyrogennetos, Constantinus. De administrando lmperio. In: Migne P. G. CXIII, col. 158-422. New critical edition published by G. Moravcsik. �SLOVAKIA 27 Ratkos, Peter. Pramene k dejinam Vel' kej Moravy (Prime Sources of the History of Great Moravia) . Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1964. Sasinek, Franko Vit'azoslav, Drzava Vel' komoravska (The Domain of Great Moravia). Ruzomberok: Karol Salva, 1896. Seton-Watson, R. W. Racial Problems in Hungary . London: Constable & Co. , Ltd., 1907. Sidor, Karol. Cernova, 1907-1937 (The cernova massacre and its aftermath) , Bratislava: Novinarsky a nakladatel'sky ucitel'sky spolok, 1937. - - -. Slovaci v zahranicnom odboji (Slovaks in the Resis tance Movement Abroad ). Bratislava: Jednota Press, 1929. Skultety, Jozef. Nehante l'ud moj! (Do Not Malign My People!) Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1928. - - - . Sketches from Slovak History. Translated by 0 . D. Koreff, Mid- dletown, Pa.: Jednota, 1930. - - - . Slovenske memorandum r. 1861. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Knih- tlaciarsky ucastinarsky spolok, 1911. Smrzik, Stephen. The Glagolitic or Roman-Slavonic Liturgy. Rome : The Slovak Institute, 1959. Sprinc, Mikulas, ed. Slov enskci Republika, 1939-1949. Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1949. Stanislav, Jan. Les Slav es, Byzance et Rome . Paris, 1926. - - - . Risa Vel' komorav skci. (The Empire of Great Moravia) . Prague : Mazac, 1933. Yurchak, Peter. The Slov aks: Their History and Traditions . Whiting, Ind.: 1946. Zachar, L'udovit. Borba za narodnu slobodu (The Struggle for National Independence ). Bratislava: Jednota Press, 1931. - - - . Sv. Cyril a Metod na Devine (Sts. Cyril and Methodius at Devin) . Trnava: Spolok Sv. Vojtecha , 1928. Zubek, Theodoric J . The Church of Si lence i n Slovakia. Passaic, N. J .: Lach, 1956. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U . S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 11 Will the Phoenix Rise Again? Sister M . Martina Tybor, SS. C. M . You may heard it said both literally and poetically that Slovakia is a country strategically situated in the heart of central Europe. You may have read that historically it was the crossroads of trade caravans between East and West. You may know that closer to our day, American presidents as well as some European leaders hoped that it would become a bridge between the East and the West to promote world friendship. It may have also occurred to you that over long centuries it seems to be a land unfortunately fated to oppression though it did have a golden glorious epoch in bygone days and hopefully rose as an independent democracy out of the shambles of World War I. If, on the other hand, Czecho-Slovakia is to you and to many persons only a nameless someplace on the map and its people a faceless family among nations, August events in 1968 have blazoned its name upon front page news reports, and the events themselves have shaped a fair perspective to show the world who these people are--the Slovaks and the Czechs, two distinct nations in one unique political cadre. Unfortunately, too many preoccupied nations and unthinking men are letting news from Czecho-Slovakia unconcernedly slip to the thirc:i; and fourth pages of their newspapers and, like hectographed copy left in the sun, the impact of tragic Soviet moves upon a defensless and unaided natio:ri is fading from public notice. Good people honestly hope that the interests of freedom , liberty of spirit, private enterprise and national initiative within the concept of true progressive self-determination and political independence will prevail. However, if good people do not bestir themselves to act on conviction, they do not further the cause of moral good. Their well-intentioned hopes can be merely the stuff of vacuous dreams. And as they dream, destiny sites the wheel of time, spinning, spinning. Democracies may dream that evils will somehow right 12 SLOVAKIA themselves and that there is really no call to become involved. The oppressed and aggrieved wait, for reasonably they can hardly do more with the odds so hopelessly stacked against them, and they must dream that they will yet liberate themselves in spite of the present hopeless outlook, or that-unbelievably but possibly-the seemingly impossible probability-help may yet come to implement their liberation. The aggressors unashamedly plot, with less dreaming than scheming in their designs and efforts, to dupe naive free countries again and to steal another thrust, another vantage area in order to further the realization of their master plan. Ineffectively the world waits. It lets itself grow accustomed to the numbing shock. And as it waits, it too dreams on. History fingers the spun threads and weaves a pattern of events shaped by man. Is the pattern bound to be determined by fate? Are the cycles of ages bound to repeat patterns from the past? Do we learn from the past, build on it, or supinely wait in an easily oblivious present? Some consideration of Slovakia's past may help toward a better understanding of its present plight and its still undying aspirations. Unfortunately some writers tend to treat the historic backgrounds of Slovakia as a peripheral aspect of the Czech of the Magyar past. Some have been satisfied to accept without research or question the kind of political science and European history that biased Magyars and Czechs tailored for general public consumption. There are also some who do not know, others who deny, ignore, or overlook the ethnic, social, cultural, linguistic and political identity or individuality of the Slovaks. Add to this also the regrettable circumstance that altogether too little authentic Slovak history is known to the world at large and that consequently a discriminating reader is sometimes at a loss to discriminate. Happily, recent decades have brought a number of excellent histories of Slovakia and reliable Slovak studies published in English. Information is now available to the honest seeker. For centuries, however, this nation had been almost anonymous in history; it was a country not granted recognition under its own name-literally nameless because it fflJ.t}l~ged by stronger powers. When the first tatha Baptist Bible College SLOVAKIA 13 wave of immigration brought thousands of European newcomers to our shores, the Italian was identified as one who came from Italy, the Irishman came from Ireland, the German from Germany, the Frenchman from France, but the Slovak, incongruously, from Austria-Hungary. Yet historically the Slovaks are a nation much older than are many people blessed with national independence today. The territory which they occupy was the Danubian cradle of ancient European civilization that spread westward into Germany. The 1930 archeological expedition that the Peabody Museum of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania sent into Czecho-Slovakia reported findings that substantiate "periods of culture ranging from the Neolithic Age of about 3000 B. C. to what is locally known as the 'Roman' period of the first century A. D." It is pertinent to the history of the land to recall that even before the dawn of the Christian era several nations had lived in the territory now occupied by Slovakia. Greek and Roman writers record the presence of Gauls and Celts among these inhabitants. Coins dating from the first century B. C., stamped with identification of the Roman Republic have been found in Bratislava, and there is a third century Greek map of the region with many Slavonic markings for mountains and rivers. In the vicissitudes of historic developments, warring Germanic tribes also settled in the Danubian territory. To the great aggravation of the Romans, they frequently raided the Roman province ,o f Pannonia established south of the Danube river. To deal with this problem, Rome secured military outposts on the northern bank of the Danube and by 179 A. D., after a number of bloody skirmishes, succeeded in breaking the power of hostile Germanic peoples. The troops of Marcus Aurelius then advanced deeply into Slovak territory even as far as Trencin on the Vah. To maintain order and to guard important approaches in the area, part of the troops established the garrison Laugaricio. To this day a commemorative inscription carved into the natural bluff supporting Trencin castle reads: "In memory of the victory of the Emperor's army which encamped at Laugaricio, 855 soldiers of the IL Legion. Made by Constantine, 14 SLOVAKIA Cammander of the II. Auxiliary Legion." Incidentally, this is the earliest relic of written records found on Slovak territory. During the incursion of the Roman monarchy forces into Danubian regions along the Hron river in 173, the army was threatened by a drought so acute that the lives of the soldiers were endangered. But among the Romans there were some Christians from Asia Minor who prayed for relief. The triumphal arch of Marcus Aurelius in Rome immortalize the fact that in answer to their prayer a saving ra~ fell and the men did not perish. Incidentally, again, there is additional historic value in this record, for it is the earliest reference to the presence of Christianity in the Danube basin. Though the might of Rome was challenged by Germanic tribes, Emperors matched strength with them repeatedly, and by 374 Valentinian claimed undisputed sovereignty over the territory. But the climax of Roman power also presaged a change toward decline. By 375 the migration of nations began to release its force against the face of Europe, and the already deteriorating power of Rome slowly yielded ground. Tribes from Danubian regions pressed into richer Roman possessions in the south. As the Romans drew back, tribes vied with tribes for supremacy and cut across many lands before coming to rest in permanent settlements. At the same time new tribes began to appear, moving through the mountain passes in the lofty Carpathians. They were the Slovan people, the forebears of Slovak ancestors. Somewhere in the maelstrom of events and movements, Slovak groups and related western Slavonic tribes chose to occupy lands that extended across the central Danube basin, reaching from the Elbe river to the southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains and the rich plains of the Danube river valley. In the fifth and sixth centuries, however the fierce hordes of Turco-Tatar Avars plunged into the Danubian region and swarmed as far west as the Frankish kingdom. They forced a number of Slavonic tribes into their service on looting raids against the Germans to the west and upon Constantinople and Salonica in the east. The subjugated peoples fretted and chafed under this yoke and looked to rid themselves of SLOVAKIA 15 it even as they withdrew from Pannonia and re-settled north of the Danube. In 624 a Frankish merchant named Samo came to the region with rich merchandise and a large retinue.' His was a peaceful mission but his interests were thwarted by the marauding Avars. To secure his rights and to maintain a favorable economic situation, Samo initiated resistance to the invaders. He hoped to force the Avars out of Panonia, their key stronghold. His audacity and leadership attracted the support of most of the harried Slavonic tribes, and their united effort under Samo succeeded in routing the savage Avars. Exhilarated by victory, Samo and his allies set their power against the Germanic Franks and conquered them also. In the ensuing period of peace Samo united the tribes that had fought with him with other Danubian Slavs to the north and with Slovenes to south, establishing an empire of extensive territories on both banks of the Danube. It is the inhabitants of these lands that originally came to be designated as Slovieni or simply the Slavs. Some historians are inclined to consider this as the first historic state of Slovakia even though it declined after Samo's death; others look upon it as the forerunner of the realm known as Vel'k<i Morava (Great Moravia) which was created in the first half of the ninth century under Mojmir I, strengthened under Rastislav, and brought to a climax of glory under Svatopluk in the second half of the ninth century. This state was the first political unity in central Europe. The territories consolidated by Mojmir I are historically designated as Great Moravia in the official work De administrando Imperio (Concerning the Executive Management of a State) written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenneto s in 950. Yet it must be understood that this second Slavonic state in the heart of Europe was not an empire with clearly defined borders. The temper of the age did not confine itself to any strict division of territory but the reality of an empire was there, including present-day Slovakia and Moravia. Nor could this reality be overlooked, for Great Moravia enjoyed international status, maintaining relations with the Holy See and with neighboring empires. 16 SLOVAKIA While political history was thus evolving, cultural history was also in the making. Dr. Hrusovsky ascribes the earliest Christianizing influences in the Danubian regions to Irish missionaries and to Benedictine monks working out of the monasteries of Bavaria. About 833 Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg consecrated a church in Nitra, the principality of Pribina. This event testifies to the efforts of the German clergy to Christianize the Slavs and it is a historic landmark, for the church of St. Emeram was the first Christian church among western Slavs. This is by no means to suggest, however, that Christianity was generally accepted throughout the land. As a matter of fact, it had rather slow beginnings, for though the people were interested in Christian truth, they were distrustful of all things German even the worthy efforts of German monl :s . Moreover, they were not at home with the language of u-e Bavarian preachers. These circumstances greatly ham: ,ered early evangelizing along the Danube. When Rastislav became the ruler of Great Moravia, he sent special envoys to Pope Nicholas I in Rome, requesting missionaries who would preach to his people in their native tongue. In this era around 860, Rome was not able to satisfy such a need. Rastislav then made another attempt, this time sending a special mission to Emperor Michael III of Constantinople. His petition read: "Since our people have cast off paganism and follow Christian law, and we have no teacher to explain the Christian faith to us in our own tongue . . . send us, Emperor, such a bishop and teacher, because your country is recognized everywhere for its good laws." The Emperor was interested and he was able to help. He sent two brothers: Constantine, a court philosopher and linguist who later became Cyril by monastic name, and Methodius, an expert in civil law and government. Both had already proved themselves in apostolic work, and as natives of Salonica they spoke Slavonic fluently. The gifted brothers came to Rastislav's land in Great Moravia in 863, prepared to teach and preach. Constantine brought an alphabet that he had devised to give their work permanence among people who were still illiterate. It was the Glagolitic script ( today's Old Slavonic or Church Slavonic, a later derivative from this was termed Cyrillic.) SLOVAKIA 17 He also brought as many translations of the Scriptures as he had prepared, beginning with the Gospel of St. John. His translations at this time also included a Slavonic version of the Liturgy of St. Peter (from the Greek) and various liturgical books. These works are the foundation of Slovak literature, and it is inspiring that it should have its origin with the phrase "In the beginning was the Word ... " Since some of the inhabitants of Great Moravia were already Christians of the western rite, the new missionaries celebrated both the Mass and the Divine Liturgy, using the Slavonic language in both, and they oriented the Church of the Danubian lands toward Rome. Unfavorably disposed clergymen considered the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular a presumptuous and unorthodox innovation in central Europe and denounced the brothers in Rome. Pope Hadrian II, however, gave it express approbation after investigating the charge brought against Cyril and Methodius (867): "Receiving the Slavonic books, the Pope blessed them and placed them on the altar in the Basilica of St. Mary Major ... and forthwith the liturgy was sung from them." ( Vita Constantini, Chap. XVII, p. 95) After the death of Cyril in Rome, Pope Hadrian II wrote to the rulers Rastislav, Svatopluk, and Kocel': "We have decided to send you Methodius ... translating and using the sacred books in your language in all ecclesiastical functions, in Holy Mass, i. e., the Liturgy, too, as well as in Baptism, as was initiated by Constantine, the Philosopher ... " (Vita Methodii, Chap. VII, Acta Acad. Velehrad. XVII. pp. 113116.) Pope John VII also approved the Slavonic liturgy in his bull Industriae Tuae : "We justly commend the Slavonic script, devised some time ago by Constantine, the Philosopher. And we direct that the doctrine of Christ be preached in that language. There is nothing contrary to the true faith and doctrine either in singing Holy Mass in that Slavonic tongue, or in reading in that language the Gospels and other texts of the Old and New Testament, provided they are correctly translated ... " (Monumenta Germanicae Historica, Epistolarum T. VII, arm. 880Friedrich, Codex diplomaticus et epistolaris Regni Bohemiae, Vol. I, arm. 880.) In spite of difficulties and trials, the mission of the zealous brothers prospered and it is 18 SLOVAKIA to their labors that the Slovaks owe the glory of their faith as well as the foundations of their literature and great cultural strides. The Great Moravian Empire of the ninth century, built as a power against the forces of the west ( as Samo's had been a buffer restraining the might of hordes from the east), was exposed to continuous attacks from the Germans. Late in the ninth century, however, another menace overtook the people of the Danube settlements. Fierce Magyars poured into the lower regions and became a formidable threat to all the inhabitants there. In 902 they turned upon Slovakia with insistent and ruthless attacks. Beset now by hostilities from west and east, and victim of a coalition of Magyars and Germans, Slovakia lost her glorious independence when Great Moravia fell to the Magyars in 907. The foregoing century of beneficent independence and cultural development had brough to the Slovaks intellectual influences from Salzburg, Regensburg, and Passau which mingled with Byzantine culture and with western learning to give the Slovaks a rich heritage whose greatest boast is deep-rooted Christianity. The era after 906 was marked by fierce contests between the Germans and the Magyars to establish dominance of the Danube lands. Though they were caught in the pressures of the rise and fall of these powers, the Slovaks managed to maintain their ethnic identity and even their hope for eventual autonomy. Formidable castles, which became their places of refuge from the vicissitudes of war, date from this period and are still interesting landmarks. Closer to our day several have become sites of archeological explorations. Fated in all the long centuries from the tenth to the twentieth to live in serfdom, scourged by wild Tatar and Mongolian hordes, ravaged by the later ferocity of Hussite wars, doomed to a thousand years under the crushing heel of Magyars, pawn of powerful overlords, how did these people ever survive? The bread of poverty and humiliation, and the cup of tears and sweat which was their portion seemed only to favor their survival. And with it all they did not become a bleak and bitter people. Very appropriately they choose Our Mother of Sorrows as their national patroness and sought strength through SLOVAKIA 19 her intercession. They graced their lowly homes and menial labors with song and wit and prayer. Richness of the spirit transcended their material misery. Patience, perseverance, and undying hope are their unfailing heritage. Theirs is the perennial grace of resurrection faith and pentecostal hope. These fruits have come to the Slovak nation even to the present day as a natural harvest of the spirit. Disadvantaged materially, economically, and politically, the Slovaks turned to cultivate what no man can take from another-the talents of the spirit. It is worthy of comment here that the poorest of their geographic districts-Orava -a land so thin and rocky that only small patches of its ground can be spaded into vegetable gardens to yield cabbage and potatoes as holiday fare-this pitifully deprived area has given the nation many of its intellectual giants-poets, teachers, leaders. Circumstances that denied education beyond one or two winters of formal schooling just for basic literacy skills, except for the privilege of seminary studies, gave the country great priests who understood and fulfilled their role as men of God and leaders of their people in all walks of life. They are a long line of glory, men like Anton Bernolak with his monumental six-volume pentalingual dictionary and his organizing genius to establish the first cultural society "Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo;" Hviezdoslav, the epic poet and brilliant translator of Shakespeare, Goethe, Pushkin, and Lermontov; Andrew Radlinsky with his compendium of Slovak liturgical prayers on one hand and his journalism to fan fires of patriotism on the other; F. V. Sasinek, the historian; Stephen Furdek who became an unequaled leader and the father of Slovak immigrants in America; Matthew Jank.ala who founded the American community of Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius; Milo Urban, an outstanding novelist of the twentieth century. Speaking of the Hungarian oppression as a thousand years under the Magyar heel may sound like the easy glossing over of a difficult situation. It was prolonged agony but stating the historic fact is not to imply that there were a thousand years of mute and irrational resignation, of unmanly acceptance of "things as they are." 20 SLOVAKIA Nothing could make ardent Slovaks forget the pride of Great Moravia. Nothing could make them lose hope that there would yet be freedom and the glory of distinguished leaders in a free land. There was resistance of varying types and degrees; there were repeated appeals for redress; there were petitions for official intervention on behalf of justice; the most spectacular of such movements being the National Uprising of 1848 led by Louis stur and his close collaborators Joseph Hurban and Michael Hodza. Europe remembers 1848 as a year of revolutions. Central Europe at this time developed an awareness of Pan-Slavism which more than nettled the Hungarian government. There were also Pan-Germanic movements. Minorities and subjugated groups were not only restless, they were impatient for the restoration of their dignity and freedom; they were vocal in their demands; they were poised for action. The patriot stur led his armed rebellion in September but it netted bloodshed and the cruelty of gallows reprisals for many. Yet there was honor and pride in the effort and amid the bitter disappointments of foiled plans there were some bright moments of renewed hope. It was World War I that dismembered Austria-Hungary and brought about the Czecho-Slovak state. Though its creation was the act of the victorious powers and not the choice of the Slovak people, it seemed that perhaps the hopes cherished over a thousand fallow years would yet be justified. Since 1918, unfortunately, there followed the thorny years of coming to an understanding with the Czechs, for right from the outset, President Thomas Masaryk high-handedly began to treat the Slovaks as an underprivileged colony to be assimilated and exploited rather than as a co-equal partner in government. Consequently the Slovaks faced another period (1918-1939) of tension and threat to national survival. Post-Munich Czecho-Slovakia became a dual state briefly. On March 14, 1939, after Hitler's decision to make Czechia and Moravia Protectorates of the Reich, the Slovak Parliament proclaimed the independence of Slovakia and established the Slovak autonomous republic under the presidency of Msgr. Joseph Tiso. The world at large had generally assumed that Slovakia, left to its SLOVAKIA 21 own assets and resources, would never survive independently, yet in a critical period of world history this nation gained the recognition of 27 countries and it proved that an independent Slovakia is viable and can fulfill its people's ideal of a prosperous and vigorous independent national life. With the support of Moscow, Benes shattered this dream after World War II. Slovakia was occupied by the Red army, the Czecho-Slovak Republic was restored against the will of the Slovak people on much the same inequitable principles as it had had before, and with practically the same old problems-and this over and above the burden of the communist system. The Slovaks cannot tolerate domination by the Czechs because these Czech brothers are too ready to undercut Slovak interests not only politically but economically as well. The most recent political development in Slovakia has been the liberalization program under Alexander Dubcek and the re-vamping of the political structures to effect autonomy for the Slovaks as well as for the Czechs under a new Czecho-Slovak (not Czechoslovak) constitution for a federal state involving two distinct nations. And this is only right. It would hardly occur to anyone who is well informed to confuse the Czechs with the Slovaks; neither are there any grounds for believing that the Slovaks can be taken for Czechs. In the light of historical documentation and by sociological norms these are two distinct nations, two distinct peoples with national histories of their own and distinct languages of their own with only some accidental similarities inasmuch as both are Slavic tongues. When Dubcek came to power as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Czecho-Slovak Communist Party, he initiated a program not in line with the heavyhanded policies of his predecessor Novotny. He did not promote the repressive measures of Kremlin circles, for communist though he is, he realizes that Slovak people will never thrive under a system that negates the values of Christian tradition and integral European culture. Instead of tightening pressures, he proposed to "humanize" the communist system-to relax the party's grip on national 22 SLOVAKIA economy, to curb police power, to guarantee freedom of expression, to hear minority opinions in government, to rehabilitate political prisoners, to ease travel restrictions. These were some of his "January reforms" under which the country burgeoned. These are the measures that Moscow cannot countenance and demands must be retracted. It is against such a way of life that the Soviets have sent their tanks, matching guns against ideas. The world looks on as the Slovaks and the Czechs meet with only their bare hands this overwhelming material force from the Red East-an army of a half million gathered to retaliate against newspaper articles and basic human rights. Thousands of tanks have come, readied to reintroduce censorship among a people who disavow it. The free world is shocked and outraged by such bullying and brazen invasion of a people's liberty and innate right to self-determination. The inhumanity of it leaves onlookers unbelieving and stunned into inaction. Almost as if to salve their consciences, commentators have been heard to observe that these people have been through the oppression mill many times before. Yet this is no reason why another chapter of oppression should be added to their history. Their history? A cruel taunt made against these very people was: You have no history. Where are your great victories? What are your historical boasts? The mightiest answer that can be leveled to counter this charge is WE ARE; in essence our very existence is our history. A people that can preserve its national identity, never relinquish its right to a free government, and survive agonizing centuries of subjugation, deprivation, occupation, oppression, and deliberate plotting to bring about their decay and extermination hardly need more to document as history. The Slovak people do have proportionate exploits and achievements though they do not chronicle dynasties or world-celebrated potentates. Their greatest history reposes not in documented words but in people. It is not a tangible something that can be pinned within a frame like a butterfly specimen and labeled This is it, for the spirit that makes history defies analysis; it cannot be plotted; it cannot be dissected; it cannot be positioned under a microscopic lens ; it cannot be trapped before SLOVAKIA 23 an examining commission or a saber-rattling council; but it is there. History, after all, is not a made-to-order commodity. Nations and leaders of nations do not meet on assignment or by some preconceived arrangement "to make history." Exigencies of time and circumstance bring their historic moment and their challenge, and the texture of a nation's leadership and spirit is bound to be revealed by the response. Though the Slovaks lost political independence with the fall of Great Moravia in the tenth to the thirteeRth centuries, their civilization was not destroyed. They occupied their land for long centuries without interruption and endured all the catastrophes that overtook them. Even under the Magyars they managed to become a cultural unit in central Europe with a university at Bratislava as early as the fifteenth century and later a Catholic university at Trnava in the seventeenth century. They have a distinctive literature, culture, history, economic capability, sociological and ethnographic individuality-the constituents for full recognition as a free nation. Their all too brief years of autonomy under Tiso are proof of their ability to function and to prosper as a free nation. Subservience to any overlord is all the more galling to the Slovaks as a nation with a long historic past especially in this era of brotherhood and decolonization. In an International Year of Human Rights when aspiring states in Asia and Africa were happily granted recognition and freedom, it is-to say the least-incongruous that a nation with every right to be free and independent and progressive should be coerced into puppet status in order to gratify the Soviet bloc, with all the world as witness to this violence and degradation. The victims of this aggression are only too well aware of the futility of force to wrest their rights in the present situation. Among views they have expressed are these, released to the world in current issues of the newspaper Kulturny zivot: " ... it seems that for some time we will have to communicate as mutes. I believe that a cultural nation SLOVAKlA 24 under pressure will transmit ideas by gestures, barring other means." "Our fate and very existence are in foreign hands. Honor is the only thing we can and must preserve-honor in thought and in action: not to be satisfied with evil and not to compromise with it; not to give up ideals of humanism and freedom. We are not the only ones with a stake in this situation; the whole human race may depend on it." " .. . The external force is a fact and must be reckoned with, without illusions. People have learned to wear fur coats against the cold. Against armor they defend themselves with spiritual and cultural values ... " "Something happened that cannot be undone. History has dealt us a blow but ipso facto something new happened to history. Nothing is the same as it was a week ago. We have changed and so has the world around us. Something has happened that has no place in the last third of the twentieth century." These are the voices of some of the Slovak writers in Bratislava. They are young people but their thinking has outstripped their years. Poets too speak of this Pyrrhic victory of the Soviets. A sampling from the contemporary thoughts of A. Murin, living in Canada, forms a suitable conclusion for this rapid survey: A BLEEDING LAND The signs are that we shall yet long document the words of the bleeding land ... The grain harvest was just ripening and the scythe readied; sheer loveliness invited smiles; the toughened palm was already weighting the seed gold-glistening on the August field. Nature presaged no storm; only the heart registered the seething volcano and the thunderous drum of march-stomping warriors. SLOVAKIA 25 Anyone who could interpret the graphs of the alarm-surprised wildflowers on the mountainsides knew: this is Ghengis Khan splintering the circlet of love; knew it was he who would cut low the fruited ears with a nicked blade to make it hurt, just to make it hurt the more, to burn and sear in the forge of the August sun. Vainly do you ask the goldened ears, vainly you question the furnaced heavens, vainly you probe the meanderings of the cascading brook: Why did the song become a dead sound? Why is the kerneled blade not transformed into loaved bread? Why this fate, worse than abject bondage? Ho, brothers, this is a for a long time, a very we shall document the of the bleeding Slovak palpable certainty: long time, words land ... BIBLIOGRAPHY Bokes, Frantisek. Dejiny Slovenska a Slovakov (History of Slovakia and the Slovaks) . Bratislava: Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1946. - - . Sl.ovenske pokusy o vyrovnanie s Mad'armi ( Slovak Attempts to Reach Agreement with the Magyars). Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1944. Bue, B. S. Slovak Nationalism. Middletown, Pa. : Slovak League of America, 1960. Butvin, Jozef. "Martin Hamuljak and Fundamental Problems of the Slovak National Revival." Studia Historica Slovaca III. Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1965, pp. 135-172. Capek, Thomas. Origins of the Czechoslovak State. New York: Revell Press, 1926. - - . The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1906. Chaloupecky, V. Stare Slovensko (Ancient Slovakia). Bratislava, 1934. Culen, Konstantin. Roky slovenskych nadeji a sklamani (Years of Slovak Hopes and Frustrations). Trnava : -Ostredie slov. kat. studentstva, 1932. SLOVAKIA 26 !>urcansky, Ferdinand. Prcivo Slovcikov na samostatnost' vo svetle dokumentov-Biela Kniha (The White Book-The Right of the Slovaks to Independence in the Light of Official Documents). V. 1, Buenos Aires: Slovensky Oslobodzovaci Vybor, 1954. Glaser, Kurt. Czecho-Slovakia: A Critical History. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton, 1961. Grivec, Francis. Vitae Constantini et Methodii. Versio Latina, notis dissertationibusque de fontibus ac de theologia SS. Cyrill et Methodii illustrata: Acta Academiae Velehradensis XVII (1941) . Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske Dejiny (Slovak History). Turciansky Sv. Martin : Matica Sl-0venska, 1940. - - -. Slovensko v dejincich Strednej Eur6py. (Slovakia in the History of Central Europe) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1939. - - - . Slovenski vladciri (Slovak Rulers). Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1948. - - - . This is Slovakia. Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1954. JanMk, Stefan. Brciny do dcivnoveku (Gateways to Antiquity) . Bratislava: Tatran, 1966. - - - . Slovensko v dobe uhorskeho feudalizmu ( Slovakia in the Era of Hungarian Feudalism). Bratiillava: <'.:eskoslovenske Zemedel- ske Muzeum, 1932. - - - . Stare osidlenie Slovensk.a (Ancient Settlement of Slovakia) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1938. Kirschbaum, Joseph. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York: Robert Speller, 1960. York: Robert Speller, 1960. Lacko, Michael. Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Rome: Institute of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, 1963. Mikus, Joseph. Slovakia: A Political History 1918-1950. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1963. Oddo, Gilbert L. Slovakia and its People. New York: Robert Speller, 1960. Pauco, Jozef. Christian Slovakia under Communism. Valparaiso, Ind.: Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1959. - - - . Pod zcistavou krest'anskej demokracie (Under the Banner of Christian Democracy). Middletown, Pa.: Slovak Christian Demo- crats, 1957. - - - . " Slovakia Viewed by American Historians," Most, Vol. I, No. 4, 1954. Polakovic, Stefan. K zcikladom Slovenskeho statu (Foundations of the Slovak State) . Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1939. Porphyrogennetos, Constantinus. De administrando lmperio. In: Migne P. G. CXIII, col. 158-422. New critical edition published by G. Moravcsik. SLOVAKIA 27 Ratkos, Peter. Pramene k dejinam Vel' kej Moravy (Prime Sources of the History of Great Moravia) . Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1964. Sasinek, Franko Vit'azoslav, Drzava Vel' komoravska (The Domain of Great Moravia). Ruzomberok: Karol Salva, 1896. Seton-Watson, R. W. Racial Problems in Hungary . London: Constable & Co. , Ltd., 1907. Sidor, Karol. Cernova, 1907-1937 (The cernova massacre and its aftermath) , Bratislava: Novinarsky a nakladatel'sky ucitel'sky spolok, 1937. - - -. Slovaci v zahranicnom odboji (Slovaks in the Resis tance Movement Abroad ). Bratislava: Jednota Press, 1929. Skultety, Jozef. Nehante l'ud moj! (Do Not Malign My People!) Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1928. - - - . Sketches from Slovak History. Translated by 0 . D. Koreff, Mid- dletown, Pa.: Jednota, 1930. - - - . Slovenske memorandum r. 1861. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Knih- tlaciarsky ucastinarsky spolok, 1911. Smrzik, Stephen. The Glagolitic or Roman-Slavonic Liturgy. Rome : The Slovak Institute, 1959. Sprinc, Mikulas, ed. Slov enskci Republika, 1939-1949. Scranton, Pa.: Obrana, 1949. Stanislav, Jan. Les Slav es, Byzance et Rome . Paris, 1926. - - - . Risa Vel' komorav skci. (The Empire of Great Moravia) . Prague : Mazac, 1933. Yurchak, Peter. The Slov aks: Their History and Traditions . Whiting, Ind.: 1946. Zachar, L'udovit. Borba za narodnu slobodu (The Struggle for National Independence ). Bratislava: Jednota Press, 1931. - - - . Sv. Cyril a Metod na Devine (Sts. Cyril and Methodius at Devin) . Trnava: Spolok Sv. Vojtecha , 1928. Zubek, Theodoric J . The Church of Si lence i n Slovakia. Passaic, N. J .: Lach, 1956. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U . S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Will the Phoenix Rise Again? Description An account of the resource Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 11-27 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tybor, Sister M. Martina, SS.C.M. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/79e6f7cc0cfc9f2755b01fc0f2f8c215.pdf e8d9971cc9195b43fa1ca9625bfe5654 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 3 F. Vnuk: Slovak Language and Literature A BRIEF SURVEY The Slovak language, one of the 13 Slavonic languages, belongs to the Western group of Slavonic languages. It developed from the old Slavonic language which in the 8th century was a common tongue for all Slavonic tribes. For this language the holy brothers Constantine ( d. 869) and M ethodius ( d. 885) devised a new alphabet ( the Glagolitic). They also translated the Bible and liturgical texts and thus laid the foundation of not only Slovak but all Slavonic literatures. In the 10th century the use of this language (known as Old Church Slavonic) in Slovakia came to an abrupt end and in the 11th century was completely replaced by Latin. The Slovak language, along with the German and Czech, was degraded to a secondary role and hence only very few written Slovak records survived, the oldest one being the "Spis Sermon" ("Spisskci. kdzeii, " circa 1480) . At the time of the Protestant Reformation the language spoken by the Slovaks had no written grammar and no established norms. Instead of making a laborious codification of their own language, the Slovak Protestants adopted as their literary language the Czech, which had been perfected and codified by John Hus (1369-1415) and was very close to the Slovak. The best known book in this language was the "Bible of Kralice" (1579-93) and thus the language came later to be known as 'biblictina'. The Catholics did not follow suit. They wrote in a language which bore many marks of the Czech but also unmistakeable Slovak characteristics. (S. Szollosi in " Cantus Catholici", 1655, writes 'u' instead of Czech 'ou', uses prefix 'naj-' instead of 'nej-', leaves out such Czech characters as 'f', etc.). This trend continued also in the 18th century, as can be seen in the works of Mdcsay, Gavlovic, Bajza and others. The first successful attempt to codify the Slovak �4 SLOVAKIA language was carried out by a Catholic priest, A. Bernol<ik 0762-1813). By his theoretical treatise ("De litteris Slavorum", " Orthographia," 1787) , grammar ("Grammatica Slavica", 1790) and dictionary (published posthumously 1825-7) Bernolak laid the foundations of a literary Slovak based on a western dialect ('bernolacina'). The Protestants viewed the step with open dislike and continued to use the Czech. But after Dobrovsky's reform of the Czech language in 1809 they found themselves -with their 'biblictina'-isolated. This led a young Protestant publicist, E. stur (1815-56), to devise in the mid-forties a new literary language, based on the central dialect and acceptable to both the Catholics and Protestants. stur explained his step in a theoretical work, "The Slovak Dialect and the Need to write in that Dialect" ("Narecja slovenskuo a potreba pisania v tomto n<ireci, " 1846) and gave the language its grammar ("N<iuka reci slovenskej", 1846) . In spite of some opposition the new language-known as 'sturovcina'-was accepted. Some modifications by M . M. Hodza ( Epigenes Slovenicus, 1847) and M. Hattala (Grammatica Linguae Slavonicae, 1850) who replaced stur's phonemiq system by an etymological one, gave the language its present form. SLOVAK LITERATURE Period of Old Church Slavonic. The old Slavonic inhabitants of Slovakia had their own songs, proverbs, myths, etc. Of these only fragments are left, since the old ancestors of present-day Slovaks did not have an alphabet of their own. In 863 the Byzantine missionaries Constantine-Cyril and Methodius arrived in Slovakia. They brought with them the translations of the Scriptures and liturgical and canonical texts. Their missionary activity led to the conversion of the Slav tribes of the Danube basin. Hand in hand with the spread of the Gospel went an extensive cultural and literary activity to which several religious legends and hagiographical texts bear eloquent witness ("Life of St. Constantine", "Life of St. Methodius", etc.) Period of Latin. After Methodius' death (885) King, Svatopluk (870-894) expelled Methodius' students and disciples from the Great Moravian kingdom. Then at the �SLOVAKIA 5 beginning of the 10th century Great Moravia fell with the onslaught of the Magyars and for the next 1000 years Slovakia became a part of Hungary. The Hungarian king Stephen (997-1038), following the pattern of medieval Western Europe, imposed Latin as a liturgical language and the administrative language of his kingdom. Books were written in Latin and were predominantly religious and didactic in content. Renaissance. Secular motives appeared more frequently in the Renaissance period which came to Hungary in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some writers of the period reached world fame: Johannes Sambucus of Trnava (15341584), Martin Rakovsky 0532-79), z. Rohoznik-Mosovsky 0542-87) the bishop of Nitra, etc. A university was opened at Bratislava (Academia Istropolitana) but it did not last long ( 1467-91). Reformation and Baroque. The Reformation of 1517 reached Slovakia through the German population of the Slovak towns. It came in the wake of a disastrous defeat of the Hungarians by the Turks at Mohacs (1526). The imminent Turkish peril was a source of many historical songs (most by authors unknown), e.g. " Siladi a Hadmazy" (1560). The Reformation had a profound effect on the development of Slovak literature. It was a period of prolific literary activity. The books were polemic or homiletic in character, but they were directed primarily to thei middle class. Thus they had to be written in the language of the people and the people had to be taught to read. Among the Protestant writers were many able composers of spiritual hymns and songs: J. Silvan (1493-1572) , J. Pruno-Frastacky (d. 1586), Elias Lani (1570-1618), J. Kalinka (1601-78). Many of their hymns found a way into the well-known and still used hymn-book of the Slovak Protestants-the " Tranoscius." The compiler and publisher of the book (originally called "Cithara Sanctorum", 1635 ) was Jirik Tranovsky (1592-1637) a native of Teschen (Silesia). At approximately the same time there appeared a hymnal "Cantus Catholici" ( 1655) edited by a Slovak Jezuit Benedikt Szollosi (1609-56). It contains 290 hymns of �6 SLOVAKIA which some 100 can be found both in the " Cantus" and in the "Tranoscius ." In the Latin introduction the author proudly recalled the old Slavonic and Cyrillo-Methodian tradition of Slovak Catholicism. Other Catholic authors published apologies (M. Thanuissy's "First Catholic Handbook", 1691), prayer books ( J. Abraham/fy 's " H olocaustum quotidianum', 1695), didactic works ( B . Smrtnik's " Ars bene moriendi", 1697) , polemic writings ( $. Dubnicsay's " Eductus coluber tortu osus", 1723 ), etc. Of unusual interest-both linguistically and thematically- are the writings of the Franciscan friar H. Gavlovic, especially his " Valasskd skola"("The mountainshepherds' school, the storehouse of virtues", 1755). Other Protestant writers who excelled were: $ . Pilldrik 0615-93) the author of spiritual songs and of an interesting autobiography in verse " Sors Pilarikiana", (1666), D . Sina p i us-Horcicka (1640-88 ), T . Masnik (1 640-97 ), D . Krman (1663-1740 ), etc . Drama also made its entry during the Reformation. Foreign plays were gradually supplemented by those of native authors such as P. Kyrmezer (d. 1589 ), J. TesdkMosovsk'J} (1545-1617 ) , E . Ladiver (1633-86). Scientific works emanated mainly from Trnava, where in 1635 Peter Cardinal Pazmdny (1570-1637) founded a university. One of its professors, the Jesuit M . Szentivdnyi (1633-1705 ), published a comprehensive six-volume encyclopedia ("Curiosiora et selectiora variarum scientarium miscelanea", 1686-1702 ). I . Caban, lecturer at the Protestant lyceum at Presov, was the author of " Existentia atomorum'' (1667 ). Historico-geographical works were written by S . Timon (1675-1736) and especially by M. Bel (1684-1749) . M. Rotarides is known as a literary historian. An 'Apologia' ( 1728 ) directed against the slanderers of the Slovak past was written by J. B. Magin (1682-1735), a Catholic priest. Enlightenment . The Toleration Edict of 1781 officially terminated the religious strifes and polemics of the past 150 years. Instead there appeared nationality and national sentiment as the new keynotes of the literary activity. J . Sklenar (1745-91) and J . Papdnek (1738-1802 ) wrote popular histories of Great Moravia. Learned societies were founded of which 'Tovarisstvo' ( Slovak Learned Society, �SLOVAKIA 7 founded 1792) was the largest ( 452 members, some 350 of them Catholic clergymen). The first Slovak novel "Adventures and Experiences of a young man Rene" ("Rene mladenca prihody a skusenosti", 1783) was published by J. I. Bajza (1755-1836). Bernolak's codification of literary Slovak proved to have a very beneficial effect on the national and literary revival. Around Bernolak grouped about 100 writers, the most prominent among them J. Holly (1785-1849), creator of the national epio ("Sviitopluk", 1833, "Slav", 1839) and a capable translator of the classical poets. Canon J. Palkovic (1763-1835) translated the Bible (1829-33). J. Fandly (17501811) wrote practical books for the instruction and education of the people. Apart from the Bernolak group, and even against it, stood the Protestant writers: B. Tablic (1769-1832) translator from the English. A. Dolezal (1737-1802) author of a "holy novel" ("The Fall of the First Parents Described in Verse ", 1791), Jifi Palkovic (1769-1850), J. Ribay 07541812). Romanticism. The new focus of Slovak literary life concentrated round the chair of Slovak language and literature at the Bratislava Lyceum. Its spiritus mavens was E. stur (1815-56) who after his return from Germany was accepted as a leader of the Slovak youth studying at Bratislava. Influenced by Herder, Hegel and German romanticism stur's followers became zealous admirers ( and collectors) of folklore and modelled their poetry on simple folk songs. Their achievements were remarkable, particularly the poetry of J. Kral' ( 1822-76), J. Botto (1829-81) and S. Chalupka (1812-83). The most outstanding success of the new literary Slovak was "Marina" (1846) a masterpiece of intimate lyricism by A. Sladkovic(1820-72) . The best prose writer of the group was J. Kalinciak (1822-71). Dramatic works were composed mainly by J . Chalupka (1791-1871), J. Zaborsky (1812-76) and J. Paldrik (1822-70). Among the opponents of the stur circle, the protagonists of the Panslavist movement, J. Kollar (1793-1852) and P. J. Safarik (1795-1861), deserve mentioning. Realism. Th~ 60's and 70's are often called "the years �8 SLOVAKIA of Slovak hopes and disappointments." Liberal currents in the Habsburg Empire created favourable conditions for the rapid growth of literary and cultural life. Several literary annuals and periodicals started their publication and in 1863 a national cultural organization "Matica Slovenskd', was founded. The cultural awakening moved hand in hand with the political one. This movement was frowned upon by the Magyar state authorities who countered it with the idea of a unitary Hungarian nation. In 1875 the Matica was closed. Yet in this oppressive atmosphere Slovak literature reached its classical age. Slovak poetry was brought to its zenith in the perfect verse of P. 0. Hviezdoslav (1849-1921) who successfully exploited all the beauty and flexibility of the language in delightful lyrical poems, ballads, epics. S. H. Vajansky (1847-1916), besides being a distinguished poet, novelist and literary critic, was also an acknowledged national leader. The third star of this bright constellation was M. Kukucin (1860-1928), who spent half of his life in voluntary exile. In spite of his long separation from his native land he created masterly short stories and novels. Other significant writers of the period included: J. G. Tajovsky (1874-1940), J. cajak (1863-1943), Jege (18661938), and G. M. Petrovsky (1862-1916) who lived in the USA. Several women-writers made their debut also. E . M. Soltesov<i (1855-1939), T . Vansov<i (1857-1941, Timrava (1867-1951) and a fine poetess E. Podjavorinskd (1872-1951) . While the older literary generation looked mainly toward Russia for artistic guidance and political salvation, there arose in Slovakia at the beginning of the 20th century a new literary schools the 'Moderna'. Centred around the literary magazine " Prudy" ("The Currents, " 1909-14), they were looking for their inspiration more in the West than in the East and opposed the passive political attitude of their Russophile fathers . The most prominent representative of the school was I. Kraska (1876-1958) , author of two slender books of poems ("Nox et solitudo," 1909, " Verses," 1912) which were destined to have a lasting influence on the further development of Slovak lyrical poetry. Other modernists were: J. Jesensky (1874-1945), V. Roy (1885-1935), M. Rdzus (1888-1937). Interwar Years (1918-45). The post-war years witness- �SLOVAKIA 9 ed an unprecedented activity in the literary field. The poet and critic s. Krcmery (1892-1955)' dubbed the period "the years of the untying tongues". The young poets of the pre-war era reached their maturity. Their ranks were soon joined by new arrivals such as J. Smrek (b. 1892), E. B. Lukac <b. 1900), v. Beniak (b. 1894), s. Krcmery (1892-1935) to mention the best known. There emerged also some talented prose writers: T. J. Gaspar (b . 1893 ), J. C. Bronsky (1896-1960), G. Vamos (1901-46) and especially M. Urban (b. 1904) the creator of "ziv'J} bic" ('The living whip', 1927) the most successful Slovak novel so far. The writers were grouped around several literary reviews. The Catholic writers around "Vatra" ("The Bonfire", 1919-25) included M. Urban, K . Sidor (1902-56), A. zarnov (b . 1903), J. Nizn<insky (b. 1903), A. N. Borin (b. 1903). Out of this group later grew a second generation of co-called "Catholic modernists": P. G. Hlbina (b. 1908), R. Dilong (b. 1905), J. Silan (b. 1918), K. Strmen (b. 1921) , J . Haranta (b. 1909), S. Veigl (b. 1915) and others. In the second group around "Mlade Slovensko" ("The Young Slovakia». 1919-29) we find E. B. Lukac, M. Halamova (b. 1908), I. Horvath 0904-59), G. Vamos. The left-oriented writers gathered around " Dav" ("The Mob", 1924-37) and included J . Ponican (b. 1902), L. Novomesk'J} (b. 1904) , F. Kral' (1903-55). Slovak surrealists made their appearance rather belatedly, in the late 1920's. They included: s. zary (b . 1918, V. Reisel (b. 1915), J. Brezina (b. 1917). The leading playwrights of the period were: F. Urbanek (1859-1934), V. Hurban (1884-?), I. Stodola (b. 1888) , J. Bare-Ivan (1909-1955). Literary criticism and literary history found their exponents in A. Mraz (1904-1964), P. Bujn<ik (1882-1932),L. Hanus (b. 1907), J. Ambrus (b.1914), Post-1945 Development. In 1945, and particularly after 1948, Slovak literature was dealt a heavy blow from which it still has not recovered. Many prominent writers sought freedom in escape to the West (Hronsky, Dilong, zarnov, Urban, Gaspar; the last two were later forcibly repatriated), others were gradually silenced (Beniak, Lukac, Graf, the Catholic modernists). The surrealists farcically "dissolved" their group and offered their services to the Communists. Under the guidance of the commissars the rule of "socialist realism" was proclaimed and in the process �10 SLOVAKIA even the erstwhile Communist writers were purged (Novomesky, Horvath, Oka.Ii). Many gifted writers degenerated into versifiers parroting party-slogans in rhymes: J. Kostra (b. 1910) wrote a long rhapsodic poem "On Stalin" (1949), J. Brezina entitled his book of poems "The Song of Love the New China" (1950), etc. The officially-approved "socialist realism" precisely prescribed and strictly enforced the theme, style and content of all work. As a result of this imposition all literary output of the 1950-60 period is uniformly marked with mediocrity and dullness in which all the artistic individuality of a writer is debased or completely lost. The writers made several attempts to shake off the Party's guidance and solicitude over their creative activity: in 1956, in 1962 and again in 1967-8; but each time with little success. As demonstrated by the recent Soviet invasion of Czecho-Slovakia (Aug. 1968 ) the Party views artistic liberty as an inadmissible challenge to its power monopoly. From among the writers labouring under these depressing and degrading circumstances one could single out the following: D. Tatarka (b. 1912), M. Figuli (b. 1910), A. Bednar (b . 1914), P. Karvas (b. 1920), V . Mihalik (b . 1926), M. Rufus (b . 1928), J. Blazkovci (b . 1929), A. Hykisch (b. 1930), J. Johanides (b. 1934). Literary critics and historians of some originality include A. Matuska (b. 1910), J. Felix (b. 1913), M. Pisut (b. 1908), M . Hamada and P. Stevcek (b . 1932) . Slovak Exile Literature. Since 1945 Slovak literature had a sizeable group of exile writers who left their enslaved country in 1945 and after. They continue to publish even under increasingly difficult conditions of emigre life. Poetry is well represented by such fine artists as K. Strmeii, R. Dilong, M. Sprinc (b. 1914), G. Zvonicky (b. 1913), M. Ziar (b, 1914), J. Okcil' (b. 1915), E. Vesnin (b. 1913) . Dramatic writing is being pursued by J. Dorcinsky (b . 1911), J. Zvoncir-Tieii (b. 1919). Noteworthy prose works have been written by M. K. Mlynarovic (b. 1887), J. C. Bronsky, P. Hrtus-Jurina (b. 1919), Draga Divinska (b. 1922). In the field of literary history and criticism one meets the names of J.E. Bor (b. 1907), S. Meciar (b. 1910), J. Rekem (b. 1917), J.M. Kirschbaum (b. 1913), J. Mest'ancik (b. 1908), F . Vnuk (b. 1926). � SLOVAKIA 3 F. Vnuk: Slovak Language and Literature A BRIEF SURVEY The Slovak language, one of the 13 Slavonic languages, belongs to the Western group of Slavonic languages. It developed from the old Slavonic language which in the 8th century was a common tongue for all Slavonic tribes. For this language the holy brothers Constantine ( d. 869) and M ethodius ( d. 885) devised a new alphabet ( the Glagolitic). They also translated the Bible and liturgical texts and thus laid the foundation of not only Slovak but all Slavonic literatures. In the 10th century the use of this language (known as Old Church Slavonic) in Slovakia came to an abrupt end and in the 11th century was completely replaced by Latin. The Slovak language, along with the German and Czech, was degraded to a secondary role and hence only very few written Slovak records survived, the oldest one being the "Spis Sermon" ("Spisskci. kdzeii, " circa 1480) . At the time of the Protestant Reformation the language spoken by the Slovaks had no written grammar and no established norms. Instead of making a laborious codification of their own language, the Slovak Protestants adopted as their literary language the Czech, which had been perfected and codified by John Hus (1369-1415) and was very close to the Slovak. The best known book in this language was the "Bible of Kralice" (1579-93) and thus the language came later to be known as 'biblictina'. The Catholics did not follow suit. They wrote in a language which bore many marks of the Czech but also unmistakeable Slovak characteristics. (S. Szollosi in " Cantus Catholici", 1655, writes 'u' instead of Czech 'ou', uses prefix 'naj-' instead of 'nej-', leaves out such Czech characters as 'f', etc.). This trend continued also in the 18th century, as can be seen in the works of Mdcsay, Gavlovic, Bajza and others. The first successful attempt to codify the Slovak �4 SLOVAKIA language was carried out by a Catholic priest, A. Bernol<ik 0762-1813). By his theoretical treatise ("De litteris Slavorum", " Orthographia," 1787) , grammar ("Grammatica Slavica", 1790) and dictionary (published posthumously 1825-7) Bernolak laid the foundations of a literary Slovak based on a western dialect ('bernolacina'). The Protestants viewed the step with open dislike and continued to use the Czech. But after Dobrovsky's reform of the Czech language in 1809 they found themselves -with their 'biblictina'-isolated. This led a young Protestant publicist, E. stur (1815-56), to devise in the mid-forties a new literary language, based on the central dialect and acceptable to both the Catholics and Protestants. stur explained his step in a theoretical work, "The Slovak Dialect and the Need to write in that Dialect" ("Narecja slovenskuo a potreba pisania v tomto n<ireci, " 1846) and gave the language its grammar ("N<iuka reci slovenskej", 1846) . In spite of some opposition the new language-known as 'sturovcina'-was accepted. Some modifications by M . M. Hodza ( Epigenes Slovenicus, 1847) and M. Hattala (Grammatica Linguae Slavonicae, 1850) who replaced stur's phonemiq system by an etymological one, gave the language its present form. SLOVAK LITERATURE Period of Old Church Slavonic. The old Slavonic inhabitants of Slovakia had their own songs, proverbs, myths, etc. Of these only fragments are left, since the old ancestors of present-day Slovaks did not have an alphabet of their own. In 863 the Byzantine missionaries Constantine-Cyril and Methodius arrived in Slovakia. They brought with them the translations of the Scriptures and liturgical and canonical texts. Their missionary activity led to the conversion of the Slav tribes of the Danube basin. Hand in hand with the spread of the Gospel went an extensive cultural and literary activity to which several religious legends and hagiographical texts bear eloquent witness ("Life of St. Constantine", "Life of St. Methodius", etc.) Period of Latin. After Methodius' death (885) King, Svatopluk (870-894) expelled Methodius' students and disciples from the Great Moravian kingdom. Then at the �SLOVAKIA 5 beginning of the 10th century Great Moravia fell with the onslaught of the Magyars and for the next 1000 years Slovakia became a part of Hungary. The Hungarian king Stephen (997-1038), following the pattern of medieval Western Europe, imposed Latin as a liturgical language and the administrative language of his kingdom. Books were written in Latin and were predominantly religious and didactic in content. Renaissance. Secular motives appeared more frequently in the Renaissance period which came to Hungary in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some writers of the period reached world fame: Johannes Sambucus of Trnava (15341584), Martin Rakovsky 0532-79), z. Rohoznik-Mosovsky 0542-87) the bishop of Nitra, etc. A university was opened at Bratislava (Academia Istropolitana) but it did not last long ( 1467-91). Reformation and Baroque. The Reformation of 1517 reached Slovakia through the German population of the Slovak towns. It came in the wake of a disastrous defeat of the Hungarians by the Turks at Mohacs (1526). The imminent Turkish peril was a source of many historical songs (most by authors unknown), e.g. " Siladi a Hadmazy" (1560). The Reformation had a profound effect on the development of Slovak literature. It was a period of prolific literary activity. The books were polemic or homiletic in character, but they were directed primarily to thei middle class. Thus they had to be written in the language of the people and the people had to be taught to read. Among the Protestant writers were many able composers of spiritual hymns and songs: J. Silvan (1493-1572) , J. Pruno-Frastacky (d. 1586), Elias Lani (1570-1618), J. Kalinka (1601-78). Many of their hymns found a way into the well-known and still used hymn-book of the Slovak Protestants-the " Tranoscius." The compiler and publisher of the book (originally called "Cithara Sanctorum", 1635 ) was Jirik Tranovsky (1592-1637) a native of Teschen (Silesia). At approximately the same time there appeared a hymnal "Cantus Catholici" ( 1655) edited by a Slovak Jezuit Benedikt Szollosi (1609-56). It contains 290 hymns of �6 SLOVAKIA which some 100 can be found both in the " Cantus" and in the "Tranoscius ." In the Latin introduction the author proudly recalled the old Slavonic and Cyrillo-Methodian tradition of Slovak Catholicism. Other Catholic authors published apologies (M. Thanuissy's "First Catholic Handbook", 1691), prayer books ( J. Abraham/fy 's " H olocaustum quotidianum', 1695), didactic works ( B . Smrtnik's " Ars bene moriendi", 1697) , polemic writings ( $. Dubnicsay's " Eductus coluber tortu osus", 1723 ), etc. Of unusual interest-both linguistically and thematically- are the writings of the Franciscan friar H. Gavlovic, especially his " Valasskd skola"("The mountainshepherds' school, the storehouse of virtues", 1755). Other Protestant writers who excelled were: $ . Pilldrik 0615-93) the author of spiritual songs and of an interesting autobiography in verse " Sors Pilarikiana", (1666), D . Sina p i us-Horcicka (1640-88 ), T . Masnik (1 640-97 ), D . Krman (1663-1740 ), etc . Drama also made its entry during the Reformation. Foreign plays were gradually supplemented by those of native authors such as P. Kyrmezer (d. 1589 ), J. TesdkMosovsk'J} (1545-1617 ) , E . Ladiver (1633-86). Scientific works emanated mainly from Trnava, where in 1635 Peter Cardinal Pazmdny (1570-1637) founded a university. One of its professors, the Jesuit M . Szentivdnyi (1633-1705 ), published a comprehensive six-volume encyclopedia ("Curiosiora et selectiora variarum scientarium miscelanea", 1686-1702 ). I . Caban, lecturer at the Protestant lyceum at Presov, was the author of " Existentia atomorum'' (1667 ). Historico-geographical works were written by S . Timon (1675-1736) and especially by M. Bel (1684-1749) . M. Rotarides is known as a literary historian. An 'Apologia' ( 1728 ) directed against the slanderers of the Slovak past was written by J. B. Magin (1682-1735), a Catholic priest. Enlightenment . The Toleration Edict of 1781 officially terminated the religious strifes and polemics of the past 150 years. Instead there appeared nationality and national sentiment as the new keynotes of the literary activity. J . Sklenar (1745-91) and J . Papdnek (1738-1802 ) wrote popular histories of Great Moravia. Learned societies were founded of which 'Tovarisstvo' ( Slovak Learned Society, �SLOVAKIA 7 founded 1792) was the largest ( 452 members, some 350 of them Catholic clergymen). The first Slovak novel "Adventures and Experiences of a young man Rene" ("Rene mladenca prihody a skusenosti", 1783) was published by J. I. Bajza (1755-1836). Bernolak's codification of literary Slovak proved to have a very beneficial effect on the national and literary revival. Around Bernolak grouped about 100 writers, the most prominent among them J. Holly (1785-1849), creator of the national epio ("Sviitopluk", 1833, "Slav", 1839) and a capable translator of the classical poets. Canon J. Palkovic (1763-1835) translated the Bible (1829-33). J. Fandly (17501811) wrote practical books for the instruction and education of the people. Apart from the Bernolak group, and even against it, stood the Protestant writers: B. Tablic (1769-1832) translator from the English. A. Dolezal (1737-1802) author of a "holy novel" ("The Fall of the First Parents Described in Verse ", 1791), Jifi Palkovic (1769-1850), J. Ribay 07541812). Romanticism. The new focus of Slovak literary life concentrated round the chair of Slovak language and literature at the Bratislava Lyceum. Its spiritus mavens was E. stur (1815-56) who after his return from Germany was accepted as a leader of the Slovak youth studying at Bratislava. Influenced by Herder, Hegel and German romanticism stur's followers became zealous admirers ( and collectors) of folklore and modelled their poetry on simple folk songs. Their achievements were remarkable, particularly the poetry of J. Kral' ( 1822-76), J. Botto (1829-81) and S. Chalupka (1812-83). The most outstanding success of the new literary Slovak was "Marina" (1846) a masterpiece of intimate lyricism by A. Sladkovic(1820-72) . The best prose writer of the group was J. Kalinciak (1822-71). Dramatic works were composed mainly by J . Chalupka (1791-1871), J. Zaborsky (1812-76) and J. Paldrik (1822-70). Among the opponents of the stur circle, the protagonists of the Panslavist movement, J. Kollar (1793-1852) and P. J. Safarik (1795-1861), deserve mentioning. Realism. Th~ 60's and 70's are often called "the years �8 SLOVAKIA of Slovak hopes and disappointments." Liberal currents in the Habsburg Empire created favourable conditions for the rapid growth of literary and cultural life. Several literary annuals and periodicals started their publication and in 1863 a national cultural organization "Matica Slovenskd', was founded. The cultural awakening moved hand in hand with the political one. This movement was frowned upon by the Magyar state authorities who countered it with the idea of a unitary Hungarian nation. In 1875 the Matica was closed. Yet in this oppressive atmosphere Slovak literature reached its classical age. Slovak poetry was brought to its zenith in the perfect verse of P. 0. Hviezdoslav (1849-1921) who successfully exploited all the beauty and flexibility of the language in delightful lyrical poems, ballads, epics. S. H. Vajansky (1847-1916), besides being a distinguished poet, novelist and literary critic, was also an acknowledged national leader. The third star of this bright constellation was M. Kukucin (1860-1928), who spent half of his life in voluntary exile. In spite of his long separation from his native land he created masterly short stories and novels. Other significant writers of the period included: J. G. Tajovsky (1874-1940), J. cajak (1863-1943), Jege (18661938), and G. M. Petrovsky (1862-1916) who lived in the USA. Several women-writers made their debut also. E . M. Soltesov<i (1855-1939), T . Vansov<i (1857-1941, Timrava (1867-1951) and a fine poetess E. Podjavorinskd (1872-1951) . While the older literary generation looked mainly toward Russia for artistic guidance and political salvation, there arose in Slovakia at the beginning of the 20th century a new literary schools the 'Moderna'. Centred around the literary magazine " Prudy" ("The Currents, " 1909-14), they were looking for their inspiration more in the West than in the East and opposed the passive political attitude of their Russophile fathers . The most prominent representative of the school was I. Kraska (1876-1958) , author of two slender books of poems ("Nox et solitudo," 1909, " Verses," 1912) which were destined to have a lasting influence on the further development of Slovak lyrical poetry. Other modernists were: J. Jesensky (1874-1945), V. Roy (1885-1935), M. Rdzus (1888-1937). Interwar Years (1918-45). The post-war years witness- �SLOVAKIA 9 ed an unprecedented activity in the literary field. The poet and critic s. Krcmery (1892-1955)' dubbed the period "the years of the untying tongues". The young poets of the pre-war era reached their maturity. Their ranks were soon joined by new arrivals such as J. Smrek (b. 1892), E. B. Lukac <b. 1900), v. Beniak (b. 1894), s. Krcmery (1892-1935) to mention the best known. There emerged also some talented prose writers: T. J. Gaspar (b . 1893 ), J. C. Bronsky (1896-1960), G. Vamos (1901-46) and especially M. Urban (b. 1904) the creator of "ziv'J} bic" ('The living whip', 1927) the most successful Slovak novel so far. The writers were grouped around several literary reviews. The Catholic writers around "Vatra" ("The Bonfire", 1919-25) included M. Urban, K . Sidor (1902-56), A. zarnov (b . 1903), J. Nizn<insky (b. 1903), A. N. Borin (b. 1903). Out of this group later grew a second generation of co-called "Catholic modernists": P. G. Hlbina (b. 1908), R. Dilong (b. 1905), J. Silan (b. 1918), K. Strmen (b. 1921) , J . Haranta (b. 1909), S. Veigl (b. 1915) and others. In the second group around "Mlade Slovensko" ("The Young Slovakia». 1919-29) we find E. B. Lukac, M. Halamova (b. 1908), I. Horvath 0904-59), G. Vamos. The left-oriented writers gathered around " Dav" ("The Mob", 1924-37) and included J . Ponican (b. 1902), L. Novomesk'J} (b. 1904) , F. Kral' (1903-55). Slovak surrealists made their appearance rather belatedly, in the late 1920's. They included: s. zary (b . 1918, V. Reisel (b. 1915), J. Brezina (b. 1917). The leading playwrights of the period were: F. Urbanek (1859-1934), V. Hurban (1884-?), I. Stodola (b. 1888) , J. Bare-Ivan (1909-1955). Literary criticism and literary history found their exponents in A. Mraz (1904-1964), P. Bujn<ik (1882-1932),L. Hanus (b. 1907), J. Ambrus (b.1914), Post-1945 Development. In 1945, and particularly after 1948, Slovak literature was dealt a heavy blow from which it still has not recovered. Many prominent writers sought freedom in escape to the West (Hronsky, Dilong, zarnov, Urban, Gaspar; the last two were later forcibly repatriated), others were gradually silenced (Beniak, Lukac, Graf, the Catholic modernists). The surrealists farcically "dissolved" their group and offered their services to the Communists. Under the guidance of the commissars the rule of "socialist realism" was proclaimed and in the process �10 SLOVAKIA even the erstwhile Communist writers were purged (Novomesky, Horvath, Oka.Ii). Many gifted writers degenerated into versifiers parroting party-slogans in rhymes: J. Kostra (b. 1910) wrote a long rhapsodic poem "On Stalin" (1949), J. Brezina entitled his book of poems "The Song of Love the New China" (1950), etc. The officially-approved "socialist realism" precisely prescribed and strictly enforced the theme, style and content of all work. As a result of this imposition all literary output of the 1950-60 period is uniformly marked with mediocrity and dullness in which all the artistic individuality of a writer is debased or completely lost. The writers made several attempts to shake off the Party's guidance and solicitude over their creative activity: in 1956, in 1962 and again in 1967-8; but each time with little success. As demonstrated by the recent Soviet invasion of Czecho-Slovakia (Aug. 1968 ) the Party views artistic liberty as an inadmissible challenge to its power monopoly. From among the writers labouring under these depressing and degrading circumstances one could single out the following: D. Tatarka (b. 1912), M. Figuli (b. 1910), A. Bednar (b . 1914), P. Karvas (b. 1920), V . Mihalik (b . 1926), M. Rufus (b . 1928), J. Blazkovci (b . 1929), A. Hykisch (b. 1930), J. Johanides (b. 1934). Literary critics and historians of some originality include A. Matuska (b. 1910), J. Felix (b. 1913), M. Pisut (b. 1908), M . Hamada and P. Stevcek (b . 1932) . Slovak Exile Literature. Since 1945 Slovak literature had a sizeable group of exile writers who left their enslaved country in 1945 and after. They continue to publish even under increasingly difficult conditions of emigre life. Poetry is well represented by such fine artists as K. Strmeii, R. Dilong, M. Sprinc (b. 1914), G. Zvonicky (b. 1913), M. Ziar (b, 1914), J. Okcil' (b. 1915), E. Vesnin (b. 1913) . Dramatic writing is being pursued by J. Dorcinsky (b . 1911), J. Zvoncir-Tieii (b. 1919). Noteworthy prose works have been written by M. K. Mlynarovic (b. 1887), J. C. Bronsky, P. Hrtus-Jurina (b. 1919), Draga Divinska (b. 1922). In the field of literary history and criticism one meets the names of J.E. Bor (b. 1907), S. Meciar (b. 1910), J. Rekem (b. 1917), J.M. Kirschbaum (b. 1913), J. Mest'ancik (b. 1908), F . Vnuk (b. 1926). � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 3 F. Vnuk: Slovak Language and Literature A BRIEF SURVEY The Slovak language, one of the 13 Slavonic languages, belongs to the Western group of Slavonic languages. It developed from the old Slavonic language which in the 8th century was a common tongue for all Slavonic tribes. For this language the holy brothers Constantine ( d. 869) and M ethodius ( d. 885) devised a new alphabet ( the Glagolitic). They also translated the Bible and liturgical texts and thus laid the foundation of not only Slovak but all Slavonic literatures. In the 10th century the use of this language (known as Old Church Slavonic) in Slovakia came to an abrupt end and in the 11th century was completely replaced by Latin. The Slovak language, along with the German and Czech, was degraded to a secondary role and hence only very few written Slovak records survived, the oldest one being the "Spis Sermon" ("Spisskci. kdzeii, " circa 1480) . At the time of the Protestant Reformation the language spoken by the Slovaks had no written grammar and no established norms. Instead of making a laborious codification of their own language, the Slovak Protestants adopted as their literary language the Czech, which had been perfected and codified by John Hus (1369-1415) and was very close to the Slovak. The best known book in this language was the "Bible of Kralice" (1579-93) and thus the language came later to be known as 'biblictina'. The Catholics did not follow suit. They wrote in a language which bore many marks of the Czech but also unmistakeable Slovak characteristics. (S. Szollosi in " Cantus Catholici", 1655, writes 'u' instead of Czech 'ou', uses prefix 'naj-' instead of 'nej-', leaves out such Czech characters as 'f', etc.). This trend continued also in the 18th century, as can be seen in the works of Mdcsay, Gavlovic, Bajza and others. The first successful attempt to codify the Slovak 4 SLOVAKIA language was carried out by a Catholic priest, A. Bernol<ik 0762-1813). By his theoretical treatise ("De litteris Slavorum", " Orthographia," 1787) , grammar ("Grammatica Slavica", 1790) and dictionary (published posthumously 1825-7) Bernolak laid the foundations of a literary Slovak based on a western dialect ('bernolacina'). The Protestants viewed the step with open dislike and continued to use the Czech. But after Dobrovsky's reform of the Czech language in 1809 they found themselves -with their 'biblictina'-isolated. This led a young Protestant publicist, E. stur (1815-56), to devise in the mid-forties a new literary language, based on the central dialect and acceptable to both the Catholics and Protestants. stur explained his step in a theoretical work, "The Slovak Dialect and the Need to write in that Dialect" ("Narecja slovenskuo a potreba pisania v tomto n<ireci, " 1846) and gave the language its grammar ("N<iuka reci slovenskej", 1846) . In spite of some opposition the new language-known as 'sturovcina'-was accepted. Some modifications by M . M. Hodza ( Epigenes Slovenicus, 1847) and M. Hattala (Grammatica Linguae Slavonicae, 1850) who replaced stur's phonemiq system by an etymological one, gave the language its present form. SLOVAK LITERATURE Period of Old Church Slavonic. The old Slavonic inhabitants of Slovakia had their own songs, proverbs, myths, etc. Of these only fragments are left, since the old ancestors of present-day Slovaks did not have an alphabet of their own. In 863 the Byzantine missionaries Constantine-Cyril and Methodius arrived in Slovakia. They brought with them the translations of the Scriptures and liturgical and canonical texts. Their missionary activity led to the conversion of the Slav tribes of the Danube basin. Hand in hand with the spread of the Gospel went an extensive cultural and literary activity to which several religious legends and hagiographical texts bear eloquent witness ("Life of St. Constantine", "Life of St. Methodius", etc.) Period of Latin. After Methodius' death (885) King, Svatopluk (870-894) expelled Methodius' students and disciples from the Great Moravian kingdom. Then at the SLOVAKIA 5 beginning of the 10th century Great Moravia fell with the onslaught of the Magyars and for the next 1000 years Slovakia became a part of Hungary. The Hungarian king Stephen (997-1038), following the pattern of medieval Western Europe, imposed Latin as a liturgical language and the administrative language of his kingdom. Books were written in Latin and were predominantly religious and didactic in content. Renaissance. Secular motives appeared more frequently in the Renaissance period which came to Hungary in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some writers of the period reached world fame: Johannes Sambucus of Trnava (15341584), Martin Rakovsky 0532-79), z. Rohoznik-Mosovsky 0542-87) the bishop of Nitra, etc. A university was opened at Bratislava (Academia Istropolitana) but it did not last long ( 1467-91). Reformation and Baroque. The Reformation of 1517 reached Slovakia through the German population of the Slovak towns. It came in the wake of a disastrous defeat of the Hungarians by the Turks at Mohacs (1526). The imminent Turkish peril was a source of many historical songs (most by authors unknown), e.g. " Siladi a Hadmazy" (1560). The Reformation had a profound effect on the development of Slovak literature. It was a period of prolific literary activity. The books were polemic or homiletic in character, but they were directed primarily to thei middle class. Thus they had to be written in the language of the people and the people had to be taught to read. Among the Protestant writers were many able composers of spiritual hymns and songs: J. Silvan (1493-1572) , J. Pruno-Frastacky (d. 1586), Elias Lani (1570-1618), J. Kalinka (1601-78). Many of their hymns found a way into the well-known and still used hymn-book of the Slovak Protestants-the " Tranoscius." The compiler and publisher of the book (originally called "Cithara Sanctorum", 1635 ) was Jirik Tranovsky (1592-1637) a native of Teschen (Silesia). At approximately the same time there appeared a hymnal "Cantus Catholici" ( 1655) edited by a Slovak Jezuit Benedikt Szollosi (1609-56). It contains 290 hymns of 6 SLOVAKIA which some 100 can be found both in the " Cantus" and in the "Tranoscius ." In the Latin introduction the author proudly recalled the old Slavonic and Cyrillo-Methodian tradition of Slovak Catholicism. Other Catholic authors published apologies (M. Thanuissy's "First Catholic Handbook", 1691), prayer books ( J. Abraham/fy 's " H olocaustum quotidianum', 1695), didactic works ( B . Smrtnik's " Ars bene moriendi", 1697) , polemic writings ( $. Dubnicsay's " Eductus coluber tortu osus", 1723 ), etc. Of unusual interest-both linguistically and thematically- are the writings of the Franciscan friar H. Gavlovic, especially his " Valasskd skola"("The mountainshepherds' school, the storehouse of virtues", 1755). Other Protestant writers who excelled were: $ . Pilldrik 0615-93) the author of spiritual songs and of an interesting autobiography in verse " Sors Pilarikiana", (1666), D . Sina p i us-Horcicka (1640-88 ), T . Masnik (1 640-97 ), D . Krman (1663-1740 ), etc . Drama also made its entry during the Reformation. Foreign plays were gradually supplemented by those of native authors such as P. Kyrmezer (d. 1589 ), J. TesdkMosovsk'J} (1545-1617 ) , E . Ladiver (1633-86). Scientific works emanated mainly from Trnava, where in 1635 Peter Cardinal Pazmdny (1570-1637) founded a university. One of its professors, the Jesuit M . Szentivdnyi (1633-1705 ), published a comprehensive six-volume encyclopedia ("Curiosiora et selectiora variarum scientarium miscelanea", 1686-1702 ). I . Caban, lecturer at the Protestant lyceum at Presov, was the author of " Existentia atomorum'' (1667 ). Historico-geographical works were written by S . Timon (1675-1736) and especially by M. Bel (1684-1749) . M. Rotarides is known as a literary historian. An 'Apologia' ( 1728 ) directed against the slanderers of the Slovak past was written by J. B. Magin (1682-1735), a Catholic priest. Enlightenment . The Toleration Edict of 1781 officially terminated the religious strifes and polemics of the past 150 years. Instead there appeared nationality and national sentiment as the new keynotes of the literary activity. J . Sklenar (1745-91) and J . Papdnek (1738-1802 ) wrote popular histories of Great Moravia. Learned societies were founded of which 'Tovarisstvo' ( Slovak Learned Society, SLOVAKIA 7 founded 1792) was the largest ( 452 members, some 350 of them Catholic clergymen). The first Slovak novel "Adventures and Experiences of a young man Rene" ("Rene mladenca prihody a skusenosti", 1783) was published by J. I. Bajza (1755-1836). Bernolak's codification of literary Slovak proved to have a very beneficial effect on the national and literary revival. Around Bernolak grouped about 100 writers, the most prominent among them J. Holly (1785-1849), creator of the national epio ("Sviitopluk", 1833, "Slav", 1839) and a capable translator of the classical poets. Canon J. Palkovic (1763-1835) translated the Bible (1829-33). J. Fandly (17501811) wrote practical books for the instruction and education of the people. Apart from the Bernolak group, and even against it, stood the Protestant writers: B. Tablic (1769-1832) translator from the English. A. Dolezal (1737-1802) author of a "holy novel" ("The Fall of the First Parents Described in Verse ", 1791), Jifi Palkovic (1769-1850), J. Ribay 07541812). Romanticism. The new focus of Slovak literary life concentrated round the chair of Slovak language and literature at the Bratislava Lyceum. Its spiritus mavens was E. stur (1815-56) who after his return from Germany was accepted as a leader of the Slovak youth studying at Bratislava. Influenced by Herder, Hegel and German romanticism stur's followers became zealous admirers ( and collectors) of folklore and modelled their poetry on simple folk songs. Their achievements were remarkable, particularly the poetry of J. Kral' ( 1822-76), J. Botto (1829-81) and S. Chalupka (1812-83). The most outstanding success of the new literary Slovak was "Marina" (1846) a masterpiece of intimate lyricism by A. Sladkovic(1820-72) . The best prose writer of the group was J. Kalinciak (1822-71). Dramatic works were composed mainly by J . Chalupka (1791-1871), J. Zaborsky (1812-76) and J. Paldrik (1822-70). Among the opponents of the stur circle, the protagonists of the Panslavist movement, J. Kollar (1793-1852) and P. J. Safarik (1795-1861), deserve mentioning. Realism. Th~ 60's and 70's are often called "the years 8 SLOVAKIA of Slovak hopes and disappointments." Liberal currents in the Habsburg Empire created favourable conditions for the rapid growth of literary and cultural life. Several literary annuals and periodicals started their publication and in 1863 a national cultural organization "Matica Slovenskd', was founded. The cultural awakening moved hand in hand with the political one. This movement was frowned upon by the Magyar state authorities who countered it with the idea of a unitary Hungarian nation. In 1875 the Matica was closed. Yet in this oppressive atmosphere Slovak literature reached its classical age. Slovak poetry was brought to its zenith in the perfect verse of P. 0. Hviezdoslav (1849-1921) who successfully exploited all the beauty and flexibility of the language in delightful lyrical poems, ballads, epics. S. H. Vajansky (1847-1916), besides being a distinguished poet, novelist and literary critic, was also an acknowledged national leader. The third star of this bright constellation was M. Kukucin (1860-1928), who spent half of his life in voluntary exile. In spite of his long separation from his native land he created masterly short stories and novels. Other significant writers of the period included: J. G. Tajovsky (1874-1940), J. cajak (1863-1943), Jege (18661938), and G. M. Petrovsky (1862-1916) who lived in the USA. Several women-writers made their debut also. E . M. Soltesov<i (1855-1939), T . Vansov<i (1857-1941, Timrava (1867-1951) and a fine poetess E. Podjavorinskd (1872-1951) . While the older literary generation looked mainly toward Russia for artistic guidance and political salvation, there arose in Slovakia at the beginning of the 20th century a new literary schools the 'Moderna'. Centred around the literary magazine " Prudy" ("The Currents, " 1909-14), they were looking for their inspiration more in the West than in the East and opposed the passive political attitude of their Russophile fathers . The most prominent representative of the school was I. Kraska (1876-1958) , author of two slender books of poems ("Nox et solitudo," 1909, " Verses," 1912) which were destined to have a lasting influence on the further development of Slovak lyrical poetry. Other modernists were: J. Jesensky (1874-1945), V. Roy (1885-1935), M. Rdzus (1888-1937). Interwar Years (1918-45). The post-war years witness- SLOVAKIA 9 ed an unprecedented activity in the literary field. The poet and critic s. Krcmery (1892-1955)' dubbed the period "the years of the untying tongues". The young poets of the pre-war era reached their maturity. Their ranks were soon joined by new arrivals such as J. Smrek (b. 1892), E. B. Lukac <b. 1900), v. Beniak (b. 1894), s. Krcmery (1892-1935) to mention the best known. There emerged also some talented prose writers: T. J. Gaspar (b . 1893 ), J. C. Bronsky (1896-1960), G. Vamos (1901-46) and especially M. Urban (b. 1904) the creator of "ziv'J} bic" ('The living whip', 1927) the most successful Slovak novel so far. The writers were grouped around several literary reviews. The Catholic writers around "Vatra" ("The Bonfire", 1919-25) included M. Urban, K . Sidor (1902-56), A. zarnov (b . 1903), J. Nizn<insky (b. 1903), A. N. Borin (b. 1903). Out of this group later grew a second generation of co-called "Catholic modernists": P. G. Hlbina (b. 1908), R. Dilong (b. 1905), J. Silan (b. 1918), K. Strmen (b. 1921) , J . Haranta (b. 1909), S. Veigl (b. 1915) and others. In the second group around "Mlade Slovensko" ("The Young Slovakia». 1919-29) we find E. B. Lukac, M. Halamova (b. 1908), I. Horvath 0904-59), G. Vamos. The left-oriented writers gathered around " Dav" ("The Mob", 1924-37) and included J . Ponican (b. 1902), L. Novomesk'J} (b. 1904) , F. Kral' (1903-55). Slovak surrealists made their appearance rather belatedly, in the late 1920's. They included: s. zary (b . 1918, V. Reisel (b. 1915), J. Brezina (b. 1917). The leading playwrights of the period were: F. Urbanek (1859-1934), V. Hurban (1884-?), I. Stodola (b. 1888) , J. Bare-Ivan (1909-1955). Literary criticism and literary history found their exponents in A. Mraz (1904-1964), P. Bujn<ik (1882-1932),L. Hanus (b. 1907), J. Ambrus (b.1914), Post-1945 Development. In 1945, and particularly after 1948, Slovak literature was dealt a heavy blow from which it still has not recovered. Many prominent writers sought freedom in escape to the West (Hronsky, Dilong, zarnov, Urban, Gaspar; the last two were later forcibly repatriated), others were gradually silenced (Beniak, Lukac, Graf, the Catholic modernists). The surrealists farcically "dissolved" their group and offered their services to the Communists. Under the guidance of the commissars the rule of "socialist realism" was proclaimed and in the process 10 SLOVAKIA even the erstwhile Communist writers were purged (Novomesky, Horvath, Oka.Ii). Many gifted writers degenerated into versifiers parroting party-slogans in rhymes: J. Kostra (b. 1910) wrote a long rhapsodic poem "On Stalin" (1949), J. Brezina entitled his book of poems "The Song of Love the New China" (1950), etc. The officially-approved "socialist realism" precisely prescribed and strictly enforced the theme, style and content of all work. As a result of this imposition all literary output of the 1950-60 period is uniformly marked with mediocrity and dullness in which all the artistic individuality of a writer is debased or completely lost. The writers made several attempts to shake off the Party's guidance and solicitude over their creative activity: in 1956, in 1962 and again in 1967-8; but each time with little success. As demonstrated by the recent Soviet invasion of Czecho-Slovakia (Aug. 1968 ) the Party views artistic liberty as an inadmissible challenge to its power monopoly. From among the writers labouring under these depressing and degrading circumstances one could single out the following: D. Tatarka (b. 1912), M. Figuli (b. 1910), A. Bednar (b . 1914), P. Karvas (b. 1920), V . Mihalik (b . 1926), M. Rufus (b . 1928), J. Blazkovci (b . 1929), A. Hykisch (b. 1930), J. Johanides (b. 1934). Literary critics and historians of some originality include A. Matuska (b. 1910), J. Felix (b. 1913), M. Pisut (b. 1908), M . Hamada and P. Stevcek (b . 1932) . Slovak Exile Literature. Since 1945 Slovak literature had a sizeable group of exile writers who left their enslaved country in 1945 and after. They continue to publish even under increasingly difficult conditions of emigre life. Poetry is well represented by such fine artists as K. Strmeii, R. Dilong, M. Sprinc (b. 1914), G. Zvonicky (b. 1913), M. Ziar (b, 1914), J. Okcil' (b. 1915), E. Vesnin (b. 1913) . Dramatic writing is being pursued by J. Dorcinsky (b . 1911), J. Zvoncir-Tieii (b. 1919). Noteworthy prose works have been written by M. K. Mlynarovic (b. 1887), J. C. Bronsky, P. Hrtus-Jurina (b. 1919), Draga Divinska (b. 1922). In the field of literary history and criticism one meets the names of J.E. Bor (b. 1907), S. Meciar (b. 1910), J. Rekem (b. 1917), J.M. Kirschbaum (b. 1913), J. Mest'ancik (b. 1908), F . Vnuk (b. 1926).  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Slovak Language and Literature Description An account of the resource F. Vnuk Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 3-10 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Vnuk, František, 1926- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/7fb64a41061ac2631958dd4902c3c91c.pdf 35b680f0f00892678e8cfe170963b625 PDF Text Text �SLOVAKIA VOLUME XX • 1970 • NO. 43 Editor JOSEPH PAUCO, Ph.D. LIBRARY Maranatha Baptist Bible College Watertown, Wisconsin ., Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue • Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 �Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY, Middletown, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. � �SLOVAKIA VOLUME XX • 1970 • NO. 43 Editor JOSEPH PAUCO, Ph.D. LIBRARY Maranatha Baptist Bible College Watertown, Wisconsin ., Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue • Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 �Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY, Middletown, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA VOLUME XX • 1970 • NO. 43 Editor JOSEPH PAUCO, Ph.D. LIBRARY Maranatha Baptist Bible College Watertown, Wisconsin ., Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue • Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY, Middletown, Pennsylvania, U. S. A.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970