14
50
763
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/161eeb4a05cda6e30f3a2efb39852a23.pdf
7fd68aaa2ee2486c25b21bf8d23bc37d
PDF Text
Text
VOL. VII
SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER, 1957
NO. 3-4(24-25)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
DR. TISO AND THE JEWISH PROBL EM
MEMORIES OF KUNERAD
THE 1944 COMMUNIST REVOLT IN SLOVAKIA
" EDVARD BENES ON MUNICH DAY S"
MARTIN RAZUS
CAS T LES OF SLOVAKIA : GELNICA -
BACKOV -
JELSAVA
MEMORANDUM:
35th CONGRESS, SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
KERNER'S "CZECHOSLOVAKIA" :
HISTORY OR PROPAGANDA? (Conclusion )
THE SLOVAKS WERE THERE: MAJOR POLERECKY FOUGHT
FOR AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued )
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa .
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�SLOVAK.IA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of .Americans of Slovak descent.
rrhe chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans: members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the lJ. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscript ions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRESS
Mldd!etown, Pa.
�
VOL. VII
SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER, 1957
NO. 3-4(24-25)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
DR. TISO AND THE JEWISH PROBL EM
MEMORIES OF KUNERAD
THE 1944 COMMUNIST REVOLT IN SLOVAKIA
" EDVARD BENES ON MUNICH DAY S"
MARTIN RAZUS
CAS T LES OF SLOVAKIA : GELNICA -
BACKOV -
JELSAVA
MEMORANDUM:
35th CONGRESS, SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
KERNER'S "CZECHOSLOVAKIA" :
HISTORY OR PROPAGANDA? (Conclusion )
THE SLOVAKS WERE THERE: MAJOR POLERECKY FOUGHT
FOR AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued )
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa .
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�SLOVAK.IA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of .Americans of Slovak descent.
rrhe chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans: members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the lJ. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscript ions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRESS
Mldd!etown, 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
1957, Vol. 7
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li>
</ul>
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
1957
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
VOL. VII
SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER, 1957
NO. 3-4(24-25)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
DR. TISO AND THE JEWISH PROBL EM
MEMORIES OF KUNERAD
THE 1944 COMMUNIST REVOLT IN SLOVAKIA
" EDVARD BENES ON MUNICH DAY S"
MARTIN RAZUS
CAS T LES OF SLOVAKIA : GELNICA -
BACKOV -
JELSAVA
MEMORANDUM:
35th CONGRESS, SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
KERNER'S "CZECHOSLOVAKIA" :
HISTORY OR PROPAGANDA? (Conclusion )
THE SLOVAKS WERE THERE: MAJOR POLERECKY FOUGHT
FOR AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued )
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa .
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
SLOVAK.IA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of .Americans of Slovak descent.
rrhe chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans: members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the lJ. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscript ions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRESS
Mldd!etown, 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
Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 7, No. 3-4 (24-25)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September-December 1957
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/efd60932b6a13855399f17a83d34ef80.pdf
db6a35610dfc14b132e6358980f88b3c
PDF Text
Text
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Andrew J . Hamrock
Honorary P r esidents
Dr. Pet er P. H letko
61 Woodland Avenue
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
' Stephen Dubi el
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Elizab eth Andr ejko
President
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Ph i l i p A . Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
Midd letown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Michael J.
Rev. John W. Kr i spinsky
2425 W. 11 th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
Julia
Vargovic
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
H e l en Kocan
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Lad ies Union
Recor'ding Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul Fallat
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Mi Ian V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
National President
Penna. Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Union
P. Jamriska
810 Montooth Street
Pittsburgh 10, Pa.
Joseph
<..
Prusa
John
Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N . J.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middl et own, P a .
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Wilkes-Ba rre, Pa.
Cl evel and, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiC"KY SOKOL
P as saic, N. J.
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASY
Whitaker, Pa.
Chtca.go, Ill.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
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...... -I
-...J fTI
CJ1-n
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1-'rr-
8
rr,
SLOVAK.IA: General view of Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia, with the
Bratislava. Castle in foreground
�
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Andrew J . Hamrock
Honorary P r esidents
Dr. Pet er P. H letko
61 Woodland Avenue
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
' Stephen Dubi el
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Elizab eth Andr ejko
President
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Ph i l i p A . Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
Midd letown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Michael J.
Rev. John W. Kr i spinsky
2425 W. 11 th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
Julia
Vargovic
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
H e l en Kocan
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Lad ies Union
Recor'ding Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul Fallat
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Mi Ian V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
National President
Penna. Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Union
P. Jamriska
810 Montooth Street
Pittsburgh 10, Pa.
Joseph
<..
Prusa
John
Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N . J.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middl et own, P a .
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Wilkes-Ba rre, Pa.
Cl evel and, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiC"KY SOKOL
P as saic, N. J.
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASY
Whitaker, Pa.
Chtca.go, Ill.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
�s:tg;
rr;;z:
rrGn
fT1 f'T1 (Tl
~~;o
<<r
rra5
rr;;:o
rr1f'TI):>
~ CJ)~
~i!
...... -I
-...J fTI
CJ1-n
(Jlo
1-'rr-
8
rr,
SLOVAK.IA: General view of Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia, with the
Bratislava. Castle in foreground
�
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
1957, Vol. 7
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li>
</ul>
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
1957
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
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Andrew J . Hamrock
Honorary P r esidents
Dr. Pet er P. H letko
61 Woodland Avenue
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
' Stephen Dubi el
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Elizab eth Andr ejko
President
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Ph i l i p A . Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
Midd letown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Michael J.
Rev. John W. Kr i spinsky
2425 W. 11 th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
Julia
Vargovic
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
H e l en Kocan
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Lad ies Union
Recor'ding Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul Fallat
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Mi Ian V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
National President
Penna. Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Union
P. Jamriska
810 Montooth Street
Pittsburgh 10, Pa.
Joseph
<..
Prusa
John
Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N . J.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middl et own, P a .
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Wilkes-Ba rre, Pa.
Cl evel and, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiC"KY SOKOL
P as saic, N. J.
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASY
Whitaker, Pa.
Chtca.go, Ill.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
s:tg;
rr;;z:
rrGn
fT1 f'T1 (Tl
~~;o
<<r
rra5
rr;;:o
rr1f'TI):>
~ CJ)~
~i!
...... -I
-...J fTI
CJ1-n
(Jlo
1-'rr-
8
rr,
SLOVAK.IA: General view of Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia, with the
Bratislava. Castle in foreground
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. 7, No. 2 (23)
Description
An account of the resource
includes photo of Bratislava with the Bratislava Castle in foreground
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June 1957
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1780c8c8875468092d608726118d7938.pdf
79be0422d89a74320eb8e0e71e5d30a9
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
50
(27)
(28)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(37)
(38)
(39)
(40)
(41)
(42)
(43)
(44)
"Slovak" 1941, 105.
"Slovak" 1940, 186.
"Slovak" 1938, 243.
"Slovak" 1938, 283.
"Slovak" 1940, 186.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
"Slovak" 1941, 37.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
Ibidem.
Ibidem.
Ibidem.
"Slovak" 1941, 37.
"Kultura" 1933, 9.
"Slovak" 1932, 237.
"Slovak" 1941, 17.
Vatican Radio April 28, 1947.
Congressman Alvin O'Konski May 31, 1948, at Bedford, 0 .
•
•
Castles of Slovakia:
ILA VA
The name Ila va may be more familar to the outside
world, because it has been mentioned more frequently than
names of other castles and citadels of Slovakia. Political
prisoners, "enemies of the state," are confined within its
walls today by the communist regime of Prague.
Just when the Ilava Castle was built is not definitely
known; but we do know that it already existed at the end
of the twelfth century. The first known written account of
Ilava from that time states that "Castrum Ilava" was the
property of the Knights Templars, who also occupied other
castles in the Vah Valley. Ilava (Trencin County) was held
by the Templars until the Order was abolished in 1312. The
castle is situated on the left bank of the Vah near the railroad station. Its origin may go back to the times of the
Great Moravian Empire.
After the dissolution of the Knights Templars, Ilava
Castle passed into the hands of the "mighty Lord of the
Vah and the Tatras," Matthew Cak (Tchak) of Trencin, who
made of it a mighty fortress. It remained in his possession
to his death, when all of Ca.k's holdings were seized by the
�51
SLOVAKIA
king. Thomas Transilvanus, one of the imperial "castle captains," resided in Ilava in about 1339, according to historical
records, which also state that about fifty years later, the
king donated Ilava to one Bukovec, whose son Henry (Imrich) joined up with Ladislaus of Naples against the king.
As a result, the king seized all of Henry's holdings, including !lava.
The Hussites under Procopius Holy plundered northern
sections of Slovakia and took !lava, but did not hold it long.
The army of King Sigmond under Nicholas Rozhanovsky
stormed the castle and seized it after a bloody battle in
which 5000 men perished. Sigmond ordered !lava demolished. Several years later, however, the !lava Castale was
rebuilt and presented to Queen Barbara; after her Queen
Elizabeth resided there.
During the second invasion of Slovakia by the Hussites, under John Jiskra of Brandys, !lava was besieged
and then taken. The Hussites, however, were again evicted
and !lava enjoyed a comparatively peaceful time even
though its owners were changed often. Ladislaus Hunady,
Blaze Mad'ar and Stephen Zapol'sky occupied it in that order. At the end of the 15th century, angered at John Zapol'sky, Stephen's son, the king sent General Katzianer to
take over !lava. After a short siege !lava fell. In 1571, Ilava
and its suroundings were given to the Ostrozic brothers, who
were of Croatian origin; the king, however, won this back
after the rebellion in which the Ostrozic brothers participated was squelched.
General Heister of the imperial army stormed !lava in
1670 and shortly thereafter sold it to Count Braeuner for
80,00 Goldens. The Count added a twin-towered church and
had the upper part of !lava rebuilt into a monastery and
then called in the Trinitarian Monks to occupy it, keeping
the lower part of the castle for himself. The Trinitarians
resided in the !lava Castle until their Order was dissolved
in 1725. After the defeat of Count Braeuner, his heirs sold
Ilava to the Hungarian State, which converted it into a
state prison; more additions to !lava have been made since
that time. Ilava is the "Alcatraz" of Slovakia .
•
•
•
�
SLOVAKIA
50
(27)
(28)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(37)
(38)
(39)
(40)
(41)
(42)
(43)
(44)
"Slovak" 1941, 105.
"Slovak" 1940, 186.
"Slovak" 1938, 243.
"Slovak" 1938, 283.
"Slovak" 1940, 186.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
"Slovak" 1941, 37.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
Ibidem.
Ibidem.
Ibidem.
"Slovak" 1941, 37.
"Kultura" 1933, 9.
"Slovak" 1932, 237.
"Slovak" 1941, 17.
Vatican Radio April 28, 1947.
Congressman Alvin O'Konski May 31, 1948, at Bedford, 0 .
•
•
Castles of Slovakia:
ILA VA
The name Ila va may be more familar to the outside
world, because it has been mentioned more frequently than
names of other castles and citadels of Slovakia. Political
prisoners, "enemies of the state," are confined within its
walls today by the communist regime of Prague.
Just when the Ilava Castle was built is not definitely
known; but we do know that it already existed at the end
of the twelfth century. The first known written account of
Ilava from that time states that "Castrum Ilava" was the
property of the Knights Templars, who also occupied other
castles in the Vah Valley. Ilava (Trencin County) was held
by the Templars until the Order was abolished in 1312. The
castle is situated on the left bank of the Vah near the railroad station. Its origin may go back to the times of the
Great Moravian Empire.
After the dissolution of the Knights Templars, Ilava
Castle passed into the hands of the "mighty Lord of the
Vah and the Tatras," Matthew Cak (Tchak) of Trencin, who
made of it a mighty fortress. It remained in his possession
to his death, when all of Ca.k's holdings were seized by the
�51
SLOVAKIA
king. Thomas Transilvanus, one of the imperial "castle captains," resided in Ilava in about 1339, according to historical
records, which also state that about fifty years later, the
king donated Ilava to one Bukovec, whose son Henry (Imrich) joined up with Ladislaus of Naples against the king.
As a result, the king seized all of Henry's holdings, including !lava.
The Hussites under Procopius Holy plundered northern
sections of Slovakia and took !lava, but did not hold it long.
The army of King Sigmond under Nicholas Rozhanovsky
stormed the castle and seized it after a bloody battle in
which 5000 men perished. Sigmond ordered !lava demolished. Several years later, however, the !lava Castale was
rebuilt and presented to Queen Barbara; after her Queen
Elizabeth resided there.
During the second invasion of Slovakia by the Hussites, under John Jiskra of Brandys, !lava was besieged
and then taken. The Hussites, however, were again evicted
and !lava enjoyed a comparatively peaceful time even
though its owners were changed often. Ladislaus Hunady,
Blaze Mad'ar and Stephen Zapol'sky occupied it in that order. At the end of the 15th century, angered at John Zapol'sky, Stephen's son, the king sent General Katzianer to
take over !lava. After a short siege !lava fell. In 1571, Ilava
and its suroundings were given to the Ostrozic brothers, who
were of Croatian origin; the king, however, won this back
after the rebellion in which the Ostrozic brothers participated was squelched.
General Heister of the imperial army stormed !lava in
1670 and shortly thereafter sold it to Count Braeuner for
80,00 Goldens. The Count added a twin-towered church and
had the upper part of !lava rebuilt into a monastery and
then called in the Trinitarian Monks to occupy it, keeping
the lower part of the castle for himself. The Trinitarians
resided in the !lava Castle until their Order was dissolved
in 1725. After the defeat of Count Braeuner, his heirs sold
Ilava to the Hungarian State, which converted it into a
state prison; more additions to !lava have been made since
that time. Ilava is the "Alcatraz" of Slovakia .
•
•
•
�
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
1957, Vol. 7
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li>
</ul>
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
1957
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
50
(27)
(28)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(37)
(38)
(39)
(40)
(41)
(42)
(43)
(44)
"Slovak" 1941, 105.
"Slovak" 1940, 186.
"Slovak" 1938, 243.
"Slovak" 1938, 283.
"Slovak" 1940, 186.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
"Slovak" 1941, 37.
"Slovak" 1939, 44.
Ibidem.
Ibidem.
Ibidem.
"Slovak" 1941, 37.
"Kultura" 1933, 9.
"Slovak" 1932, 237.
"Slovak" 1941, 17.
Vatican Radio April 28, 1947.
Congressman Alvin O'Konski May 31, 1948, at Bedford, 0 .
•
•
Castles of Slovakia:
ILA VA
The name Ila va may be more familar to the outside
world, because it has been mentioned more frequently than
names of other castles and citadels of Slovakia. Political
prisoners, "enemies of the state," are confined within its
walls today by the communist regime of Prague.
Just when the Ilava Castle was built is not definitely
known; but we do know that it already existed at the end
of the twelfth century. The first known written account of
Ilava from that time states that "Castrum Ilava" was the
property of the Knights Templars, who also occupied other
castles in the Vah Valley. Ilava (Trencin County) was held
by the Templars until the Order was abolished in 1312. The
castle is situated on the left bank of the Vah near the railroad station. Its origin may go back to the times of the
Great Moravian Empire.
After the dissolution of the Knights Templars, Ilava
Castle passed into the hands of the "mighty Lord of the
Vah and the Tatras," Matthew Cak (Tchak) of Trencin, who
made of it a mighty fortress. It remained in his possession
to his death, when all of Ca.k's holdings were seized by the
51
SLOVAKIA
king. Thomas Transilvanus, one of the imperial "castle captains," resided in Ilava in about 1339, according to historical
records, which also state that about fifty years later, the
king donated Ilava to one Bukovec, whose son Henry (Imrich) joined up with Ladislaus of Naples against the king.
As a result, the king seized all of Henry's holdings, including !lava.
The Hussites under Procopius Holy plundered northern
sections of Slovakia and took !lava, but did not hold it long.
The army of King Sigmond under Nicholas Rozhanovsky
stormed the castle and seized it after a bloody battle in
which 5000 men perished. Sigmond ordered !lava demolished. Several years later, however, the !lava Castale was
rebuilt and presented to Queen Barbara; after her Queen
Elizabeth resided there.
During the second invasion of Slovakia by the Hussites, under John Jiskra of Brandys, !lava was besieged
and then taken. The Hussites, however, were again evicted
and !lava enjoyed a comparatively peaceful time even
though its owners were changed often. Ladislaus Hunady,
Blaze Mad'ar and Stephen Zapol'sky occupied it in that order. At the end of the 15th century, angered at John Zapol'sky, Stephen's son, the king sent General Katzianer to
take over !lava. After a short siege !lava fell. In 1571, Ilava
and its suroundings were given to the Ostrozic brothers, who
were of Croatian origin; the king, however, won this back
after the rebellion in which the Ostrozic brothers participated was squelched.
General Heister of the imperial army stormed !lava in
1670 and shortly thereafter sold it to Count Braeuner for
80,00 Goldens. The Count added a twin-towered church and
had the upper part of !lava rebuilt into a monastery and
then called in the Trinitarian Monks to occupy it, keeping
the lower part of the castle for himself. The Trinitarians
resided in the !lava Castle until their Order was dissolved
in 1725. After the defeat of Count Braeuner, his heirs sold
Ilava to the Hungarian State, which converted it into a
state prison; more additions to !lava have been made since
that time. Ilava is the "Alcatraz" of Slovakia .
•
•
•
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
Castles of Slovakia: Ilava
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 7, No. 2 (23), June 1957
pp. 50-51
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June 1957
castles
-
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e8ee58f42542840053bc8b204cc579f4
PDF Text
Text
JUNE, 1957
VOL. VII
NO. 2 (23)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
C. I. A. DULLES AND THE BENES CZECHS
50 YEARS OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
ANALYZING THE ANALYSTS: IS THE SOVIET UNION
DOOMED?
A BELATED REPORT
DR. JOSEPH TISO: CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT
CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: ILAVA
KERNER'S "CZECHOSLOVAKIA": HISTORY OR
PROPAGANDA? (Cont'd.)
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA: CHAPTER THREE
WHO SAID IT?: 9, 18, 64.
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150 ·
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERI.CA
GANSER LIBRARY ..
MfUERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE .
MILLERSVtlJ:.E'. , PA: 17551
�SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAKIA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscriptions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
--------------------------------Printed i~ the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRE SS
M idd!etown, Pa.
�
JUNE, 1957
VOL. VII
NO. 2 (23)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
C. I. A. DULLES AND THE BENES CZECHS
50 YEARS OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
ANALYZING THE ANALYSTS: IS THE SOVIET UNION
DOOMED?
A BELATED REPORT
DR. JOSEPH TISO: CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT
CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: ILAVA
KERNER'S "CZECHOSLOVAKIA": HISTORY OR
PROPAGANDA? (Cont'd.)
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA: CHAPTER THREE
WHO SAID IT?: 9, 18, 64.
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150 ·
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERI.CA
GANSER LIBRARY ..
MfUERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE .
MILLERSVtlJ:.E'. , PA: 17551
�SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAKIA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscriptions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
--------------------------------Printed i~ the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRE SS
M idd!etown, 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
1957, Vol. 7
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li>
</ul>
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
1957
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
JUNE, 1957
VOL. VII
NO. 2 (23)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
C. I. A. DULLES AND THE BENES CZECHS
50 YEARS OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
ANALYZING THE ANALYSTS: IS THE SOVIET UNION
DOOMED?
A BELATED REPORT
DR. JOSEPH TISO: CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT
CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: ILAVA
KERNER'S "CZECHOSLOVAKIA": HISTORY OR
PROPAGANDA? (Cont'd.)
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA: CHAPTER THREE
WHO SAID IT?: 9, 18, 64.
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150 ·
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERI.CA
GANSER LIBRARY ..
MfUERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE .
MILLERSVtlJ:.E'. , PA: 17551
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAKIA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscriptions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
--------------------------------Printed i~ the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRE SS
M idd!etown, 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
Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 7, No. 2 (23)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June 1957
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1f0f9bc599dea6701063b4aebfa243bf.pdf
58cecf62a0a46d604e71bc2cd40df4c8
PDF Text
Text
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presid ent
Vice-President
Dr. Peter P. Hletko
Julia Krajcovic
19-13 W . 48th Street
Chicago 9, Illinois
16-18 W. 18th St., Chicago 8, Ill.
llecord ing Secretary
President
Philip
Constantine Culen
A.
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Hrob ak
P. 0 . !:lox 150, .\liddl etown, Pa.
Vice-President
Secretary-Treasurer
Jacob Kocis
l\lilan V.
1517 -- lli7th Street
Hammond, Ind.
B lazek
-1922 S. Leela.ire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Stephen J. Tkach
P. Jamriska
173 N. Main Street
Wilkes-Darre, Pa.
SlO Montooth Street
Pittsburgh 10, Pa.
Andrew J. Hamrock
Franc es L. Mize nko
61 Woodland Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
3756 Lee 'Road
Cleveland 28, Ohio
Jo seph Prusa
205 l\Iadison St., Passaic, N. J.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Stephen J . Tkach
l,lichael J. Vargovich
National President
Penna. Slovak Union
:-.ational President
First Catholic.: Slovak Union
Anna Sotak
Helen Kocan
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Union
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Paul Fallat
John Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America )
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEONOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLICKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASY
Passaic, N. J .
Whitaker, Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SL OVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
�Benes Defied Last Minute ,.o" 0 "
Warning Not to Murder :
President Dr. Tiso
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT TISO
: . Tiso Exec1uion Shocks
V.
ahcan ,._o.,,,0.~
/
...
•
B
eg
Im
e
i en e 5 R
ders Deat h
r
0
\VSNY, Schenectady, N. Y.,:!
•
;Jic
Broadcasts About Tiso : ,- for Fr TI so
London 1Pl' I -
Edwar1' Bene.A.
~
C
Z
10
0
Vat ican C i l ~ _ Jz:i &11 et•
ro ~Rve the Rew Dr Joae pb
I ► T l!lo " 'l\r -tt m" prP!lden t t>f Slo~
1...,!orT
1.1un1,.,, _,11rta1or nr i\loarow-made z
('zPcbn-Slnv1'k111 ,..,., 1'Ptermlned lO ru 11rdPr Or J O!t'pb T iso, t be ~
88
of April 1e Te ll e of
An xltty or Slov a k ■ Over Tl ■ o
Sbtement
.
1so JAU.n'•~¥c;1iT
~ l e ~ t
An atm oapberP- ,
1N J:.i~
,....Clf'IU
8U
(WHO ~ D DR, 'n.80!)
:
nso m : MoRIAL MASS
Jeolr ~o
u,; LAKEWOOD,
1':fsolr.z./JJ:.n
o.
\]Pmonal Man fo r lb e
-THE CAT H O UC UNIVERSE BU LLETIN-
MURDER IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA
They Killed President Tiso
v. ERN Y OLOVAK
and Slovak communists dem .MASS FOR TISO
;:,or:;;:r ~~! ~:tec~~~01~~ 1'r
d Dr Edward Bene§ obliged. Fa IN PH ILADELPHIA t the 001 of Dr T l10·1 de
h
PIDLIP JAMES ANTHO:>'Y
~s1dent of wartime ' S
l'AUL KOTYA
4 Go
•
}A.ASS
g,~~d...Par
··~:::i.. and··w
··IC."k-J People
N
HOL Y &EE u ~ CZECH PRESIOENT TO SPAR E HIS LIFS
u
~
-
:
__, to"o and hamlet ot Slov':
·The Murder of Tiso Has Shocked
i
Tiso More Dangerous Dead Thao Alive; Writer Sums Up • ~ ~ ' ~ "'
the Civilized World ..• "
,, 0 ~ 0 ~• ,
n0NoTA
Feeling of Slovaks
~ ~ f c■ NTRAL Eu&~~~~~~a T~NRoauR~~~'~T ~~ pt;:iR~;MPATH v To •
. ......... ,,, death
WU
prooouoced
011
preelden t 8 of Jews and othel"f
11
~
Q O
BY J ~ N E R,
~
By Our
(Special CorrupondeP1t, N C. W. C. New, Servic e)
Dratlsla \'I, Apri l :?1 . - ''Tiso lli.·i ll be mo re da nse rous dead than
~hl_a · ·.ru the opinion exprl'll~~
MURDER IN -stovAKIA
:::;e,"L
01
•Benes Hangs ·Speech
ather T•ISO
Corre■p0Pldent
and about
Czech Arr
Cen-1
I..o ndon, A pril l0. - The
Court,
tral European communit y In Great
the
lncreuett
d th'
ogance an e
, Death of Rev. Joseph Tiso
;
--
or HON. ALVIN E. O'ICONSKI of Wisconsin 1n the·
-House of Re
t&tt
w-..1 ~ ·1 A .
The r ecent waTe or pollUe&I
Tpreeen
ves cun~a.y, pril 23, 1947
k.Hl~cga In Eu~op! bu arouaed lh_!I
<
'
Mr. 0 KOMKI. Mr. Speaker, the NlCellt h&nglng by the
E-<
Commumsts of CzechoslO\•alda of the bra,•f) and gallant
Monsignor J oseph Tiso wao murder In its moot ghaotly aod
shameful fonn. Th e bra,·e and gallant Monsignor J oseph
Q BRIDGEPORT SLOVAKS Tiso went the way of the immortal General i\liha.llo,;tch a.nd Mi,lrJl,.town, Pa - T he ward ,
~ AT MASS FOR TISO
the lmmortal Archbish op Stepinac, of Yugoslavia..
of J,ednota llome and the, SJ1uer1
exe<
Tho F
: 01
o
z
.
.
Memorial Mass for Tiso
at Jednota Home
Bars Mercy
•
....
.•""
Communist Executions in Slovakia I'••"~-;·•"'<;-.,._.,, ., th_, i,;Execulion of Father Tiso
_
_
, Months Mmd Mass Fer """ "C0Sl BeneS ChaDCe l0 w·JD
or ~hgr Jose ph Tl.!o. prealdei
R_e pu_bl k durln
PF:TF:·R p J 't·n'c 11 i K~ --- Tiso.
JEO NOT.A. L
It f SI k V ti
I
Th e cold·blood ed execution
vak
< r,:~lu~~s ~
1
;::~~~=c) : !.e_!l~d=?~ .. sio,\~~~...~~.11 g~i~. ,~r
-~-~_;~ t:~
mule t.he 1e11tencf' oC death to ]Ur , ..... ~1o .... m,.nt
Z
~
P11 tsburgb,
'T'h .. ~'- -
..
Pa. Rei· M, B.
11\d eo t of tb ~ C' -~ }Al\SS
Oya y O OVa
S,
Paper Says
fOR
a can
· •!,11'},\0Rl JIL Vllil'l:l,!IQ,~ - ; Am • M ·a1 . .Dr. Tiso Hanged, Goes to.,Plttrr1s0
1N__..
Rome Apr il 19 (NC) The
q I encan emon m
Gallows in Calm Prayer !~.~:..~ .~~~· "-~~~
Ci:ech governmen~ of Pruldent
;::; Tribute to Tiso
,.oN oT•
a Y , . " MAUTHNER
"TISO ACTED AND WORKED IN THE INTEREST
~ NATIONAL ;:;;;;£ PLANNED B rat itl av, . ~ The Re, OF THE NATION AND WAS NEVER A TRAITOR.••" ,
IN HONOR OF SLOVAKIA'S Jo,cph T iso. wartime preside_
-Archbp. Kmetko
i5
MARTYR
.,,..,, ••
to hl o .Administration Scored for
.s:
~
Thi" propospd monutr ·- • •· .. .
TI
SO
!IDAORIAL MASS
tJ
00
Failure to Make Dr. Tiso
IN PERTH AMBOY
:;j
' ""' , , ... s,.,.,, , MD.IO RIAL MASS FOR
In re\·ered memo ry o r >TI SO IN NEW YORK
-=-"-=="-==-=-- 0
,,,11 ,lwm •• • '"" .
Execution Protest
h th
US
What Happened Wit e
SLOVAKIA VS. COMM NI M
"'"''""'""· Ap, ,, ,sc,
Body of Tiso?
;,,:
I
SPEECH
e,:11,•,•:_n Europe to tnsun;:<:~~~~!~~YOUNGSTOWN SLOVAKS
~
1
OF
I• •
.... , 'ATTEND MASS FOR TI SO V. ER NY SLOVAK
'
;.> HON. RAV J . !\1 .\DDEN Women Who Paraded for .
·
'" ~
Apr!! 20th, t he Commlaur!at /i'
~ 1:-1 TRI'. HO I -::-. 1:~~::~E~TU
IHS Tiso to Be Sent to Slovak Police Confiscate ::un~~~tiCII ln Brat isl ava 12~:
194
~ ,u, .. ,,.,y. Jfo,c/, ol. ~EONOT' Labor Camps
Issue of Catholic Paper -· Dr.
fj;~· ···- :'
<I! .... '"' '" impon~"". lo ...... u
0
~
~
w,OI
d
I
;u
~
J~s~ph
,.!1:;icaM;~~D:~i Ub;~;~.\o~fnet:::
Prl\gue.
( N ~lo,•ak
~ondi'~;t~~:\~v:~
(~;\\;71\ T:;;~o: h: Priu t, Tuche 0~dcnt ar,d
&II·
Na.
Slovak Ministry to Suppress ; ~o ;~eF:;~ ll~lls:~l~~:r,~~m~a,;~cent _,ac tion by th e Pub_llc P ro! t lo l\.ll Hero o~lov.ak Nation
•
0 D- Ji'. l'uto1 omre. J u~tlre or<ic!als co Dr J o11e_ph T iso, war,tlme pre• 0
z Demonstrations for Repertnss1ons n r. 1so;:~:ie~o~-i~~.~.p1;1:;~~~iu~lc~~~ ~ -~ TI SO ME.10RIAL MASS :
Dr. Tiso
Death Continue
'Czech Police Ape Nazis in ~ERS_,_li_•.x.,_ 1>
T'r~guf". (:,; r) - Tb(' Slov;,k ~ Another &1ov.a k Luder Re portec
Spying On Sermons . ''JED NOT A' t f 0
l!lfi lrr or the In ter ior, Gen. ,..,
£ idled By Ru ul ane
-C h Rd M
Z
1: Jr nrik . h a11 be t•n ,i:-ranted 11per P rnirne.
Though tbt P rague. {:,;'C) - Agent 11 or the zec
e S aneUVef to [Tl
,..rr11 tn , 111,prr~JI '°i1\cg111 demi Rev. Or. Joseph Ti so, pres ident 01 Czech pol!ce, beaded by Commuo•
K
S
.
d
Ca
h
I'
0
~ slr:i1i11n•·· fa\nring the releas e '
• ,., ____ ,. ,_ ,. __ ,. ___
\st Minister or I nte rior VaclaT Noeep e1ze
t O IC :I:
10
~ ~~:s~r1: :r -~~~:.:~1
~11!i1;~;-~~Pontiff Well Acquair.l'cd ~::1~t'.:~-ear~~p~:~1 ~«ee:;ft:~~cr: ~:~ Schools in Slovakia ~
C/l
With Slovak Religious "~~;;:;;~; ~~~;~t•
"c' _ T,, comm"' '" :
0
JI
(A
!
(t,.;(')
_
110
• a~ r
~t
;~~~--~;~:;~;;~•·~;;_-ss
IN MI L'IIAUJ(E~
-c:i
.AN~im.iion1 ~lrN-a~
_,,, AT
;:,:c:n Lllll"f.RrrT·
,.,...,,
TISO MASS
\loml"'"' T,·,d• u,10, "•"m'"' ,(
or Czec hos\oukla bas come l1.P
\il1Ll£RSVILLE STATE COLLEGE"'
·,,., fl_LERSVILLE. PA. 17551
�
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presid ent
Vice-President
Dr. Peter P. Hletko
Julia Krajcovic
19-13 W . 48th Street
Chicago 9, Illinois
16-18 W. 18th St., Chicago 8, Ill.
llecord ing Secretary
President
Philip
Constantine Culen
A.
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Hrob ak
P. 0 . !:lox 150, .\liddl etown, Pa.
Vice-President
Secretary-Treasurer
Jacob Kocis
l\lilan V.
1517 -- lli7th Street
Hammond, Ind.
B lazek
-1922 S. Leela.ire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Stephen J. Tkach
P. Jamriska
173 N. Main Street
Wilkes-Darre, Pa.
SlO Montooth Street
Pittsburgh 10, Pa.
Andrew J. Hamrock
Franc es L. Mize nko
61 Woodland Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
3756 Lee 'Road
Cleveland 28, Ohio
Jo seph Prusa
205 l\Iadison St., Passaic, N. J.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Stephen J . Tkach
l,lichael J. Vargovich
National President
Penna. Slovak Union
:-.ational President
First Catholic.: Slovak Union
Anna Sotak
Helen Kocan
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Union
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Paul Fallat
John Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America )
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEONOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLICKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASY
Passaic, N. J .
Whitaker, Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SL OVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
�Benes Defied Last Minute ,.o" 0 "
Warning Not to Murder :
President Dr. Tiso
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT TISO
: . Tiso Exec1uion Shocks
V.
ahcan ,._o.,,,0.~
/
...
•
B
eg
Im
e
i en e 5 R
ders Deat h
r
0
\VSNY, Schenectady, N. Y.,:!
•
;Jic
Broadcasts About Tiso : ,- for Fr TI so
London 1Pl' I -
Edwar1' Bene.A.
~
C
Z
10
0
Vat ican C i l ~ _ Jz:i &11 et•
ro ~Rve the Rew Dr Joae pb
I ► T l!lo " 'l\r -tt m" prP!lden t t>f Slo~
1...,!orT
1.1un1,.,, _,11rta1or nr i\loarow-made z
('zPcbn-Slnv1'k111 ,..,., 1'Ptermlned lO ru 11rdPr Or J O!t'pb T iso, t be ~
88
of April 1e Te ll e of
An xltty or Slov a k ■ Over Tl ■ o
Sbtement
.
1so JAU.n'•~¥c;1iT
~ l e ~ t
An atm oapberP- ,
1N J:.i~
,....Clf'IU
8U
(WHO ~ D DR, 'n.80!)
:
nso m : MoRIAL MASS
Jeolr ~o
u,; LAKEWOOD,
1':fsolr.z./JJ:.n
o.
\]Pmonal Man fo r lb e
-THE CAT H O UC UNIVERSE BU LLETIN-
MURDER IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA
They Killed President Tiso
v. ERN Y OLOVAK
and Slovak communists dem .MASS FOR TISO
;:,or:;;:r ~~! ~:tec~~~01~~ 1'r
d Dr Edward Bene§ obliged. Fa IN PH ILADELPHIA t the 001 of Dr T l10·1 de
h
PIDLIP JAMES ANTHO:>'Y
~s1dent of wartime ' S
l'AUL KOTYA
4 Go
•
}A.ASS
g,~~d...Par
··~:::i.. and··w
··IC."k-J People
N
HOL Y &EE u ~ CZECH PRESIOENT TO SPAR E HIS LIFS
u
~
-
:
__, to"o and hamlet ot Slov':
·The Murder of Tiso Has Shocked
i
Tiso More Dangerous Dead Thao Alive; Writer Sums Up • ~ ~ ' ~ "'
the Civilized World ..• "
,, 0 ~ 0 ~• ,
n0NoTA
Feeling of Slovaks
~ ~ f c■ NTRAL Eu&~~~~~~a T~NRoauR~~~'~T ~~ pt;:iR~;MPATH v To •
. ......... ,,, death
WU
prooouoced
011
preelden t 8 of Jews and othel"f
11
~
Q O
BY J ~ N E R,
~
By Our
(Special CorrupondeP1t, N C. W. C. New, Servic e)
Dratlsla \'I, Apri l :?1 . - ''Tiso lli.·i ll be mo re da nse rous dead than
~hl_a · ·.ru the opinion exprl'll~~
MURDER IN -stovAKIA
:::;e,"L
01
•Benes Hangs ·Speech
ather T•ISO
Corre■p0Pldent
and about
Czech Arr
Cen-1
I..o ndon, A pril l0. - The
Court,
tral European communit y In Great
the
lncreuett
d th'
ogance an e
, Death of Rev. Joseph Tiso
;
--
or HON. ALVIN E. O'ICONSKI of Wisconsin 1n the·
-House of Re
t&tt
w-..1 ~ ·1 A .
The r ecent waTe or pollUe&I
Tpreeen
ves cun~a.y, pril 23, 1947
k.Hl~cga In Eu~op! bu arouaed lh_!I
<
'
Mr. 0 KOMKI. Mr. Speaker, the NlCellt h&nglng by the
E-<
Commumsts of CzechoslO\•alda of the bra,•f) and gallant
Monsignor J oseph Tiso wao murder In its moot ghaotly aod
shameful fonn. Th e bra,·e and gallant Monsignor J oseph
Q BRIDGEPORT SLOVAKS Tiso went the way of the immortal General i\liha.llo,;tch a.nd Mi,lrJl,.town, Pa - T he ward ,
~ AT MASS FOR TISO
the lmmortal Archbish op Stepinac, of Yugoslavia..
of J,ednota llome and the, SJ1uer1
exe<
Tho F
: 01
o
z
.
.
Memorial Mass for Tiso
at Jednota Home
Bars Mercy
•
....
.•""
Communist Executions in Slovakia I'••"~-;·•"'<;-.,._.,, ., th_, i,;Execulion of Father Tiso
_
_
, Months Mmd Mass Fer """ "C0Sl BeneS ChaDCe l0 w·JD
or ~hgr Jose ph Tl.!o. prealdei
R_e pu_bl k durln
PF:TF:·R p J 't·n'c 11 i K~ --- Tiso.
JEO NOT.A. L
It f SI k V ti
I
Th e cold·blood ed execution
vak
< r,:~lu~~s ~
1
;::~~~=c) : !.e_!l~d=?~ .. sio,\~~~...~~.11 g~i~. ,~r
-~-~_;~ t:~
mule t.he 1e11tencf' oC death to ]Ur , ..... ~1o .... m,.nt
Z
~
P11 tsburgb,
'T'h .. ~'- -
..
Pa. Rei· M, B.
11\d eo t of tb ~ C' -~ }Al\SS
Oya y O OVa
S,
Paper Says
fOR
a can
· •!,11'},\0Rl JIL Vllil'l:l,!IQ,~ - ; Am • M ·a1 . .Dr. Tiso Hanged, Goes to.,Plttrr1s0
1N__..
Rome Apr il 19 (NC) The
q I encan emon m
Gallows in Calm Prayer !~.~:..~ .~~~· "-~~~
Ci:ech governmen~ of Pruldent
;::; Tribute to Tiso
,.oN oT•
a Y , . " MAUTHNER
"TISO ACTED AND WORKED IN THE INTEREST
~ NATIONAL ;:;;;;£ PLANNED B rat itl av, . ~ The Re, OF THE NATION AND WAS NEVER A TRAITOR.••" ,
IN HONOR OF SLOVAKIA'S Jo,cph T iso. wartime preside_
-Archbp. Kmetko
i5
MARTYR
.,,..,, ••
to hl o .Administration Scored for
.s:
~
Thi" propospd monutr ·- • •· .. .
TI
SO
!IDAORIAL MASS
tJ
00
Failure to Make Dr. Tiso
IN PERTH AMBOY
:;j
' ""' , , ... s,.,.,, , MD.IO RIAL MASS FOR
In re\·ered memo ry o r >TI SO IN NEW YORK
-=-"-=="-==-=-- 0
,,,11 ,lwm •• • '"" .
Execution Protest
h th
US
What Happened Wit e
SLOVAKIA VS. COMM NI M
"'"''""'""· Ap, ,, ,sc,
Body of Tiso?
;,,:
I
SPEECH
e,:11,•,•:_n Europe to tnsun;:<:~~~~!~~YOUNGSTOWN SLOVAKS
~
1
OF
I• •
.... , 'ATTEND MASS FOR TI SO V. ER NY SLOVAK
'
;.> HON. RAV J . !\1 .\DDEN Women Who Paraded for .
·
'" ~
Apr!! 20th, t he Commlaur!at /i'
~ 1:-1 TRI'. HO I -::-. 1:~~::~E~TU
IHS Tiso to Be Sent to Slovak Police Confiscate ::un~~~tiCII ln Brat isl ava 12~:
194
~ ,u, .. ,,.,y. Jfo,c/, ol. ~EONOT' Labor Camps
Issue of Catholic Paper -· Dr.
fj;~· ···- :'
<I! .... '"' '" impon~"". lo ...... u
0
~
~
w,OI
d
I
;u
~
J~s~ph
,.!1:;icaM;~~D:~i Ub;~;~.\o~fnet:::
Prl\gue.
( N ~lo,•ak
~ondi'~;t~~:\~v:~
(~;\\;71\ T:;;~o: h: Priu t, Tuche 0~dcnt ar,d
&II·
Na.
Slovak Ministry to Suppress ; ~o ;~eF:;~ ll~lls:~l~~:r,~~m~a,;~cent _,ac tion by th e Pub_llc P ro! t lo l\.ll Hero o~lov.ak Nation
•
0 D- Ji'. l'uto1 omre. J u~tlre or<ic!als co Dr J o11e_ph T iso, war,tlme pre• 0
z Demonstrations for Repertnss1ons n r. 1so;:~:ie~o~-i~~.~.p1;1:;~~~iu~lc~~~ ~ -~ TI SO ME.10RIAL MASS :
Dr. Tiso
Death Continue
'Czech Police Ape Nazis in ~ERS_,_li_•.x.,_ 1>
T'r~guf". (:,; r) - Tb(' Slov;,k ~ Another &1ov.a k Luder Re portec
Spying On Sermons . ''JED NOT A' t f 0
l!lfi lrr or the In ter ior, Gen. ,..,
£ idled By Ru ul ane
-C h Rd M
Z
1: Jr nrik . h a11 be t•n ,i:-ranted 11per P rnirne.
Though tbt P rague. {:,;'C) - Agent 11 or the zec
e S aneUVef to [Tl
,..rr11 tn , 111,prr~JI '°i1\cg111 demi Rev. Or. Joseph Ti so, pres ident 01 Czech pol!ce, beaded by Commuo•
K
S
.
d
Ca
h
I'
0
~ slr:i1i11n•·· fa\nring the releas e '
• ,., ____ ,. ,_ ,. __ ,. ___
\st Minister or I nte rior VaclaT Noeep e1ze
t O IC :I:
10
~ ~~:s~r1: :r -~~~:.:~1
~11!i1;~;-~~Pontiff Well Acquair.l'cd ~::1~t'.:~-ear~~p~:~1 ~«ee:;ft:~~cr: ~:~ Schools in Slovakia ~
C/l
With Slovak Religious "~~;;:;;~; ~~~;~t•
"c' _ T,, comm"' '" :
0
JI
(A
!
(t,.;(')
_
110
• a~ r
~t
;~~~--~;~:;~;;~•·~;;_-ss
IN MI L'IIAUJ(E~
-c:i
.AN~im.iion1 ~lrN-a~
_,,, AT
;:,:c:n Lllll"f.RrrT·
,.,...,,
TISO MASS
\loml"'"' T,·,d• u,10, "•"m'"' ,(
or Czec hos\oukla bas come l1.P
\il1Ll£RSVILLE STATE COLLEGE"'
·,,., fl_LERSVILLE. PA. 17551
�
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
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1957, Vol. 7
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li>
</ul>
Publisher
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The Slovak League of America
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1957
Text
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Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presid ent
Vice-President
Dr. Peter P. Hletko
Julia Krajcovic
19-13 W . 48th Street
Chicago 9, Illinois
16-18 W. 18th St., Chicago 8, Ill.
llecord ing Secretary
President
Philip
Constantine Culen
A.
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Hrob ak
P. 0 . !:lox 150, .\liddl etown, Pa.
Vice-President
Secretary-Treasurer
Jacob Kocis
l\lilan V.
1517 -- lli7th Street
Hammond, Ind.
B lazek
-1922 S. Leela.ire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Stephen J. Tkach
P. Jamriska
173 N. Main Street
Wilkes-Darre, Pa.
SlO Montooth Street
Pittsburgh 10, Pa.
Andrew J. Hamrock
Franc es L. Mize nko
61 Woodland Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
3756 Lee 'Road
Cleveland 28, Ohio
Jo seph Prusa
205 l\Iadison St., Passaic, N. J.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Stephen J . Tkach
l,lichael J. Vargovich
National President
Penna. Slovak Union
:-.ational President
First Catholic.: Slovak Union
Anna Sotak
Helen Kocan
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Union
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Paul Fallat
John Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America )
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEONOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLICKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASY
Passaic, N. J .
Whitaker, Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SL OVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
Benes Defied Last Minute ,.o" 0 "
Warning Not to Murder :
President Dr. Tiso
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT TISO
: . Tiso Exec1uion Shocks
V.
ahcan ,._o.,,,0.~
/
...
•
B
eg
Im
e
i en e 5 R
ders Deat h
r
0
\VSNY, Schenectady, N. Y.,:!
•
;Jic
Broadcasts About Tiso : ,- for Fr TI so
London 1Pl' I -
Edwar1' Bene.A.
~
C
Z
10
0
Vat ican C i l ~ _ Jz:i &11 et•
ro ~Rve the Rew Dr Joae pb
I ► T l!lo " 'l\r -tt m" prP!lden t t>f Slo~
1...,!orT
1.1un1,.,, _,11rta1or nr i\loarow-made z
('zPcbn-Slnv1'k111 ,..,., 1'Ptermlned lO ru 11rdPr Or J O!t'pb T iso, t be ~
88
of April 1e Te ll e of
An xltty or Slov a k ■ Over Tl ■ o
Sbtement
.
1so JAU.n'•~¥c;1iT
~ l e ~ t
An atm oapberP- ,
1N J:.i~
,....Clf'IU
8U
(WHO ~ D DR, 'n.80!)
:
nso m : MoRIAL MASS
Jeolr ~o
u,; LAKEWOOD,
1':fsolr.z./JJ:.n
o.
\]Pmonal Man fo r lb e
-THE CAT H O UC UNIVERSE BU LLETIN-
MURDER IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA
They Killed President Tiso
v. ERN Y OLOVAK
and Slovak communists dem .MASS FOR TISO
;:,or:;;:r ~~! ~:tec~~~01~~ 1'r
d Dr Edward Bene§ obliged. Fa IN PH ILADELPHIA t the 001 of Dr T l10·1 de
h
PIDLIP JAMES ANTHO:>'Y
~s1dent of wartime ' S
l'AUL KOTYA
4 Go
•
}A.ASS
g,~~d...Par
··~:::i.. and··w
··IC."k-J People
N
HOL Y &EE u ~ CZECH PRESIOENT TO SPAR E HIS LIFS
u
~
-
:
__, to"o and hamlet ot Slov':
·The Murder of Tiso Has Shocked
i
Tiso More Dangerous Dead Thao Alive; Writer Sums Up • ~ ~ ' ~ "'
the Civilized World ..• "
,, 0 ~ 0 ~• ,
n0NoTA
Feeling of Slovaks
~ ~ f c■ NTRAL Eu&~~~~~~a T~NRoauR~~~'~T ~~ pt;:iR~;MPATH v To •
. ......... ,,, death
WU
prooouoced
011
preelden t 8 of Jews and othel"f
11
~
Q O
BY J ~ N E R,
~
By Our
(Special CorrupondeP1t, N C. W. C. New, Servic e)
Dratlsla \'I, Apri l :?1 . - ''Tiso lli.·i ll be mo re da nse rous dead than
~hl_a · ·.ru the opinion exprl'll~~
MURDER IN -stovAKIA
:::;e,"L
01
•Benes Hangs ·Speech
ather T•ISO
Corre■p0Pldent
and about
Czech Arr
Cen-1
I..o ndon, A pril l0. - The
Court,
tral European communit y In Great
the
lncreuett
d th'
ogance an e
, Death of Rev. Joseph Tiso
;
--
or HON. ALVIN E. O'ICONSKI of Wisconsin 1n the·
-House of Re
t&tt
w-..1 ~ ·1 A .
The r ecent waTe or pollUe&I
Tpreeen
ves cun~a.y, pril 23, 1947
k.Hl~cga In Eu~op! bu arouaed lh_!I
<
'
Mr. 0 KOMKI. Mr. Speaker, the NlCellt h&nglng by the
E-<
Commumsts of CzechoslO\•alda of the bra,•f) and gallant
Monsignor J oseph Tiso wao murder In its moot ghaotly aod
shameful fonn. Th e bra,·e and gallant Monsignor J oseph
Q BRIDGEPORT SLOVAKS Tiso went the way of the immortal General i\liha.llo,;tch a.nd Mi,lrJl,.town, Pa - T he ward ,
~ AT MASS FOR TISO
the lmmortal Archbish op Stepinac, of Yugoslavia..
of J,ednota llome and the, SJ1uer1
exe<
Tho F
: 01
o
z
.
.
Memorial Mass for Tiso
at Jednota Home
Bars Mercy
•
....
.•""
Communist Executions in Slovakia I'••"~-;·•"'<;-.,._.,, ., th_, i,;Execulion of Father Tiso
_
_
, Months Mmd Mass Fer """ "C0Sl BeneS ChaDCe l0 w·JD
or ~hgr Jose ph Tl.!o. prealdei
R_e pu_bl k durln
PF:TF:·R p J 't·n'c 11 i K~ --- Tiso.
JEO NOT.A. L
It f SI k V ti
I
Th e cold·blood ed execution
vak
< r,:~lu~~s ~
1
;::~~~=c) : !.e_!l~d=?~ .. sio,\~~~...~~.11 g~i~. ,~r
-~-~_;~ t:~
mule t.he 1e11tencf' oC death to ]Ur , ..... ~1o .... m,.nt
Z
~
P11 tsburgb,
'T'h .. ~'- -
..
Pa. Rei· M, B.
11\d eo t of tb ~ C' -~ }Al\SS
Oya y O OVa
S,
Paper Says
fOR
a can
· •!,11'},\0Rl JIL Vllil'l:l,!IQ,~ - ; Am • M ·a1 . .Dr. Tiso Hanged, Goes to.,Plttrr1s0
1N__..
Rome Apr il 19 (NC) The
q I encan emon m
Gallows in Calm Prayer !~.~:..~ .~~~· "-~~~
Ci:ech governmen~ of Pruldent
;::; Tribute to Tiso
,.oN oT•
a Y , . " MAUTHNER
"TISO ACTED AND WORKED IN THE INTEREST
~ NATIONAL ;:;;;;£ PLANNED B rat itl av, . ~ The Re, OF THE NATION AND WAS NEVER A TRAITOR.••" ,
IN HONOR OF SLOVAKIA'S Jo,cph T iso. wartime preside_
-Archbp. Kmetko
i5
MARTYR
.,,..,, ••
to hl o .Administration Scored for
.s:
~
Thi" propospd monutr ·- • •· .. .
TI
SO
!IDAORIAL MASS
tJ
00
Failure to Make Dr. Tiso
IN PERTH AMBOY
:;j
' ""' , , ... s,.,.,, , MD.IO RIAL MASS FOR
In re\·ered memo ry o r >TI SO IN NEW YORK
-=-"-=="-==-=-- 0
,,,11 ,lwm •• • '"" .
Execution Protest
h th
US
What Happened Wit e
SLOVAKIA VS. COMM NI M
"'"''""'""· Ap, ,, ,sc,
Body of Tiso?
;,,:
I
SPEECH
e,:11,•,•:_n Europe to tnsun;:<:~~~~!~~YOUNGSTOWN SLOVAKS
~
1
OF
I• •
.... , 'ATTEND MASS FOR TI SO V. ER NY SLOVAK
'
;.> HON. RAV J . !\1 .\DDEN Women Who Paraded for .
·
'" ~
Apr!! 20th, t he Commlaur!at /i'
~ 1:-1 TRI'. HO I -::-. 1:~~::~E~TU
IHS Tiso to Be Sent to Slovak Police Confiscate ::un~~~tiCII ln Brat isl ava 12~:
194
~ ,u, .. ,,.,y. Jfo,c/, ol. ~EONOT' Labor Camps
Issue of Catholic Paper -· Dr.
fj;~· ···- :'
<I! .... '"' '" impon~"". lo ...... u
0
~
~
w,OI
d
I
;u
~
J~s~ph
,.!1:;icaM;~~D:~i Ub;~;~.\o~fnet:::
Prl\gue.
( N ~lo,•ak
~ondi'~;t~~:\~v:~
(~;\\;71\ T:;;~o: h: Priu t, Tuche 0~dcnt ar,d
&II·
Na.
Slovak Ministry to Suppress ; ~o ;~eF:;~ ll~lls:~l~~:r,~~m~a,;~cent _,ac tion by th e Pub_llc P ro! t lo l\.ll Hero o~lov.ak Nation
•
0 D- Ji'. l'uto1 omre. J u~tlre or<ic!als co Dr J o11e_ph T iso, war,tlme pre• 0
z Demonstrations for Repertnss1ons n r. 1so;:~:ie~o~-i~~.~.p1;1:;~~~iu~lc~~~ ~ -~ TI SO ME.10RIAL MASS :
Dr. Tiso
Death Continue
'Czech Police Ape Nazis in ~ERS_,_li_•.x.,_ 1>
T'r~guf". (:,; r) - Tb(' Slov;,k ~ Another &1ov.a k Luder Re portec
Spying On Sermons . ''JED NOT A' t f 0
l!lfi lrr or the In ter ior, Gen. ,..,
£ idled By Ru ul ane
-C h Rd M
Z
1: Jr nrik . h a11 be t•n ,i:-ranted 11per P rnirne.
Though tbt P rague. {:,;'C) - Agent 11 or the zec
e S aneUVef to [Tl
,..rr11 tn , 111,prr~JI '°i1\cg111 demi Rev. Or. Joseph Ti so, pres ident 01 Czech pol!ce, beaded by Commuo•
K
S
.
d
Ca
h
I'
0
~ slr:i1i11n•·· fa\nring the releas e '
• ,., ____ ,. ,_ ,. __ ,. ___
\st Minister or I nte rior VaclaT Noeep e1ze
t O IC :I:
10
~ ~~:s~r1: :r -~~~:.:~1
~11!i1;~;-~~Pontiff Well Acquair.l'cd ~::1~t'.:~-ear~~p~:~1 ~«ee:;ft:~~cr: ~:~ Schools in Slovakia ~
C/l
With Slovak Religious "~~;;:;;~; ~~~;~t•
"c' _ T,, comm"' '" :
0
JI
(A
!
(t,.;(')
_
110
• a~ r
~t
;~~~--~;~:;~;;~•·~;;_-ss
IN MI L'IIAUJ(E~
-c:i
.AN~im.iion1 ~lrN-a~
_,,, AT
;:,:c:n Lllll"f.RrrT·
,.,...,,
TISO MASS
\loml"'"' T,·,d• u,10, "•"m'"' ,(
or Czec hos\oukla bas come l1.P
\il1Ll£RSVILLE STATE COLLEGE"'
·,,., fl_LERSVILLE. PA. 17551
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. 7, No. 1 (22)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1957
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/4158c1b37feed48334f6b3974afaa39e.pdf
d021647b2206e32781612172f4cb5cfe
PDF Text
Text
41
SLOVAKIA
(13) See Waclaw Lednicki, Life and Culture of Poland (New
York: Ray Publishers, 1944), p. 176 etc.
(14) See Roman Dyboski, Poland in World Civilization (New
York, 1950), p. 213.
(15) See J . Nechon's essay on Stefan Zeronski in Harvard Slavic
Studies, Vol. II, (Cambridge, Mass., 1954), pp. 323-324.
•
•
•
WF, MUST QUIT HELPING RED REGIMES
(Address By Hon. William F. Knowland Before Inaugural
Nationalities Banquet, January 20, 1957)
It is most fitting that this banquet, held on the eve of the
public inaugural ceremonies of the President and Vice President of the United States, should be under the sponsorship
of the Nationalities Advisory Committee and the Inaugural
Nationalities committee.
Firstly, with the exception of American Indians, in this
new world all of us ourse1ves or our parents, grandparent.a,
or more distant forebears, came front the old worlds of
Europe, Asia, or Africa.
While as citizens of the United States our loyalty is to
this great ·r epublic it is also natural that there remain ties
of historic interests, family or racial connections, and religious beliefs, together with our natural humanitarian instincts, that makes what happens in Budapest, Berlin, London, Peiping, Cairo, or any other city large or small more
than just newspaper datelines.
Secondly, the naJtiona:lities groups throughout our country made notable contriibutions to the reelection of our
great president Dwight D. Eisenhower a:nd our able and
effective Vice President Rihard M. Nixon. Not only are you
entitled to be here to witness the culmination of your individual and •c ollective constructive labors in the last campaign but you have earned the right to a respectful hearing
to your recommendations.
There are many great problems confronting our country
domestic and foreign. The President in his address on the
Middle East resolution, in his staite of ,t he Union message,
in his inaugural address tomorrow, or in future special
messaiges to the Congress will discuss them.
�42
SLOVAKIA
To me the greatest issue of the day is human freedom.
Under either Republican or Democratic administra tions our
foreign policy should be based 1.11pon it. What advances
freedom we should surpport and what retards or endangers
it we should oppose.
There are principles that cannot be compromis ed without fatal effects on the compriser or on the sacrificial victim
Czecho-Slovakia was a casualty of such a deal. Munich
should have taught the world that appeaseme nt is not the
road to peace but is only surrender on the installment plan.
Communism is an evil thing. It is destructive of religion,
freedom, family life, and other hum,a n rights that f.ree men
honor and hold dear. Dare we forget the admonition in
Second Corinthian s :
"Do not bear the yoke with unbelievers . For what has
justice in common with iniquity? Or what fellowship has
light with darkness?"
Kadar, Khrushche v, Gomulka, Chou en Lai are not to
be trusted. The rpolicy of internation al communism has
been, is, and will remain the destruction of freedom and
national sovereignty . Any notion in Europe, Asia, or the
Middle East that ignores this basic fact will do so at its
peril.
A propaganda barrage is developing here and ahroiad
to give eCOIJlomic aid to the communist states of Eastern
Europe. For what purpose? To lessen the drain on the
Soviet Union so it will have more economic resources to
use against the nations of the free world or to suibvert the
uncommitte d countrit's outside the Iron Curtain? To sustain godless local communist chieftains who would not last
a month were it not for the support of Soviet bayonets
within their borders? To give character and prestige to
men whose hands a:re red witih the blood of those patriots
whose love of freedom for their countryme n was greater
than their love of life? Are we to bolster sagging communim economies whose own workers by strikes, slow
downs, or srubotage in rthe face of death penalties and pri..
~on terms have contributed to the weakening of an important segment of the communist regime?
�SLOVAKIA
43
None of these things make sense to me. I shall oppose
the taking of a single, dollar from the over'burdened American ta~payer to build the economic strength of any communist coUJil.try behind the Soviet Tron Curtain or to give
military aid to any communist state anywhere in the wodd.
If the Sovielt Union wants peace there is an honm·aible
proposal that could be made to that Government.
Withdraw all Soviet forces from Poland, Albania, Latvia,
Lithuania, Estonia, Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria
and ,gua•r antee free elections under United Nations supervision. Let the people decide, free from the farce of Gomulka counterfeit elections such as Poland was insulted with
on Sunday, J ,a nuary 20, while Soviet troops still occupy
that restless country.
Let the great powers and the United Nations guarantee
the neutrality of all of these eastern European states after
the withdrawal of all Soviet troops and after the free
elections under United Nati'Ons auspices have been held.
Both the Soviet Union and the West could then be assured that these free states would ibe similar to the neutral
position which is today existing in Austria, Switzerland,
and Sweden. They could not ibe used as a springboard for
invasion against the free world or against the Soviet Union.
The free world has no quarrel with the people of Russia.
They were the first victims of Communist aggression. It
is not the Russian people ibut the Soviet Communist regime which has broken aU of its international agreements
with non-Comrmunist powers and which has been a distur..
ber of the peace of the world and still threatens it.
With such a settlement in Eastern Euro.pe the 'burdens
of armaments could be lifted to a considerable extent from
the backs of the people of the free world and the Soviet
Union as well. 'l'hen the people of Russia who do not have
the privileges of the small but relatively well off Communist Party hierarchy would 'be a:ble to enjoy during this
lifetime better housing, more consumer goods and a certain
amount of luxuries which are now enjoyed by urban and
rural wo'I'kers in the free world.
But let us not as a great Republic ever compromise
�44
SLOVAKIA
the basic principle of human freedom. Let us never give
our moral or legal blessing to the enslavement oif millions
behind the J.ron Curtain who long to be free. Nor should
we permit any international organization of which we are
a member to compromise us in this regard.
How can any nation ignore the moral issue involved in
Roviet destruction of freedom in Hungary and subsequently
want sanctions applied in the case of trouble in the Middle
East? What organization can survive such a double standard? Either we have a system of law and order or the
doctrine of might makes right is recognized. Communism
cannot 1b e allowed to place itself above international law
or God-gi,v en moral law.
Our first Republican President Abraham Lincoln, said:
"Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. • • • The
fiery trial thvough which we pass will light us down to the
latest generation. • • * We, yes even we, have the
power and bear the responsibility. • • * In giving freedom
to the slave we assure freedom to the free. * * • We shall
nobly save or meanly lose this last best ho.p e on earth."
•
•
•
INDEPENDENCE AN D THE SLOVAK PAST
,Joseph Kirschbaum, LL. D., Ph. D.
The question of the national existence of the Slovak
nation, the efforts expended by the Slovaks for national
and state independence, are treated in various works of
political writers. In their analysis of the problems of Central Europe, writers try to be objective, but their literary
efforts demonstrate that they answer the question only
partially and usually incorr-ectly. Not taking into account
the use of tendencious sources, it appears that the fault
lies particularly in the approach to the problem of Slovak
efforts for independence from the downfall of the first
state of the Slovaks, Great Moravia. !Many political writers identify creations of dynasties with creations of nations,
especially in multi--national states, and overlooik the universalistir tendencies of Europe in the early centuries of the
Middle Ages and the Modern Age.
�
41
SLOVAKIA
(13) See Waclaw Lednicki, Life and Culture of Poland (New
York: Ray Publishers, 1944), p. 176 etc.
(14) See Roman Dyboski, Poland in World Civilization (New
York, 1950), p. 213.
(15) See J . Nechon's essay on Stefan Zeronski in Harvard Slavic
Studies, Vol. II, (Cambridge, Mass., 1954), pp. 323-324.
•
•
•
WF, MUST QUIT HELPING RED REGIMES
(Address By Hon. William F. Knowland Before Inaugural
Nationalities Banquet, January 20, 1957)
It is most fitting that this banquet, held on the eve of the
public inaugural ceremonies of the President and Vice President of the United States, should be under the sponsorship
of the Nationalities Advisory Committee and the Inaugural
Nationalities committee.
Firstly, with the exception of American Indians, in this
new world all of us ourse1ves or our parents, grandparent.a,
or more distant forebears, came front the old worlds of
Europe, Asia, or Africa.
While as citizens of the United States our loyalty is to
this great ·r epublic it is also natural that there remain ties
of historic interests, family or racial connections, and religious beliefs, together with our natural humanitarian instincts, that makes what happens in Budapest, Berlin, London, Peiping, Cairo, or any other city large or small more
than just newspaper datelines.
Secondly, the naJtiona:lities groups throughout our country made notable contriibutions to the reelection of our
great president Dwight D. Eisenhower a:nd our able and
effective Vice President Rihard M. Nixon. Not only are you
entitled to be here to witness the culmination of your individual and •c ollective constructive labors in the last campaign but you have earned the right to a respectful hearing
to your recommendations.
There are many great problems confronting our country
domestic and foreign. The President in his address on the
Middle East resolution, in his staite of ,t he Union message,
in his inaugural address tomorrow, or in future special
messaiges to the Congress will discuss them.
�42
SLOVAKIA
To me the greatest issue of the day is human freedom.
Under either Republican or Democratic administra tions our
foreign policy should be based 1.11pon it. What advances
freedom we should surpport and what retards or endangers
it we should oppose.
There are principles that cannot be compromis ed without fatal effects on the compriser or on the sacrificial victim
Czecho-Slovakia was a casualty of such a deal. Munich
should have taught the world that appeaseme nt is not the
road to peace but is only surrender on the installment plan.
Communism is an evil thing. It is destructive of religion,
freedom, family life, and other hum,a n rights that f.ree men
honor and hold dear. Dare we forget the admonition in
Second Corinthian s :
"Do not bear the yoke with unbelievers . For what has
justice in common with iniquity? Or what fellowship has
light with darkness?"
Kadar, Khrushche v, Gomulka, Chou en Lai are not to
be trusted. The rpolicy of internation al communism has
been, is, and will remain the destruction of freedom and
national sovereignty . Any notion in Europe, Asia, or the
Middle East that ignores this basic fact will do so at its
peril.
A propaganda barrage is developing here and ahroiad
to give eCOIJlomic aid to the communist states of Eastern
Europe. For what purpose? To lessen the drain on the
Soviet Union so it will have more economic resources to
use against the nations of the free world or to suibvert the
uncommitte d countrit's outside the Iron Curtain? To sustain godless local communist chieftains who would not last
a month were it not for the support of Soviet bayonets
within their borders? To give character and prestige to
men whose hands a:re red witih the blood of those patriots
whose love of freedom for their countryme n was greater
than their love of life? Are we to bolster sagging communim economies whose own workers by strikes, slow
downs, or srubotage in rthe face of death penalties and pri..
~on terms have contributed to the weakening of an important segment of the communist regime?
�SLOVAKIA
43
None of these things make sense to me. I shall oppose
the taking of a single, dollar from the over'burdened American ta~payer to build the economic strength of any communist coUJil.try behind the Soviet Tron Curtain or to give
military aid to any communist state anywhere in the wodd.
If the Sovielt Union wants peace there is an honm·aible
proposal that could be made to that Government.
Withdraw all Soviet forces from Poland, Albania, Latvia,
Lithuania, Estonia, Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria
and ,gua•r antee free elections under United Nations supervision. Let the people decide, free from the farce of Gomulka counterfeit elections such as Poland was insulted with
on Sunday, J ,a nuary 20, while Soviet troops still occupy
that restless country.
Let the great powers and the United Nations guarantee
the neutrality of all of these eastern European states after
the withdrawal of all Soviet troops and after the free
elections under United Nati'Ons auspices have been held.
Both the Soviet Union and the West could then be assured that these free states would ibe similar to the neutral
position which is today existing in Austria, Switzerland,
and Sweden. They could not ibe used as a springboard for
invasion against the free world or against the Soviet Union.
The free world has no quarrel with the people of Russia.
They were the first victims of Communist aggression. It
is not the Russian people ibut the Soviet Communist regime which has broken aU of its international agreements
with non-Comrmunist powers and which has been a distur..
ber of the peace of the world and still threatens it.
With such a settlement in Eastern Euro.pe the 'burdens
of armaments could be lifted to a considerable extent from
the backs of the people of the free world and the Soviet
Union as well. 'l'hen the people of Russia who do not have
the privileges of the small but relatively well off Communist Party hierarchy would 'be a:ble to enjoy during this
lifetime better housing, more consumer goods and a certain
amount of luxuries which are now enjoyed by urban and
rural wo'I'kers in the free world.
But let us not as a great Republic ever compromise
�44
SLOVAKIA
the basic principle of human freedom. Let us never give
our moral or legal blessing to the enslavement oif millions
behind the J.ron Curtain who long to be free. Nor should
we permit any international organization of which we are
a member to compromise us in this regard.
How can any nation ignore the moral issue involved in
Roviet destruction of freedom in Hungary and subsequently
want sanctions applied in the case of trouble in the Middle
East? What organization can survive such a double standard? Either we have a system of law and order or the
doctrine of might makes right is recognized. Communism
cannot 1b e allowed to place itself above international law
or God-gi,v en moral law.
Our first Republican President Abraham Lincoln, said:
"Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. • • • The
fiery trial thvough which we pass will light us down to the
latest generation. • • * We, yes even we, have the
power and bear the responsibility. • • * In giving freedom
to the slave we assure freedom to the free. * * • We shall
nobly save or meanly lose this last best ho.p e on earth."
•
•
•
INDEPENDENCE AN D THE SLOVAK PAST
,Joseph Kirschbaum, LL. D., Ph. D.
The question of the national existence of the Slovak
nation, the efforts expended by the Slovaks for national
and state independence, are treated in various works of
political writers. In their analysis of the problems of Central Europe, writers try to be objective, but their literary
efforts demonstrate that they answer the question only
partially and usually incorr-ectly. Not taking into account
the use of tendencious sources, it appears that the fault
lies particularly in the approach to the problem of Slovak
efforts for independence from the downfall of the first
state of the Slovaks, Great Moravia. !Many political writers identify creations of dynasties with creations of nations,
especially in multi--national states, and overlooik the universalistir tendencies of Europe in the early centuries of the
Middle Ages and the Modern Age.
�
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
1957, Vol. 7
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li>
</ul>
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
1957
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
41
SLOVAKIA
(13) See Waclaw Lednicki, Life and Culture of Poland (New
York: Ray Publishers, 1944), p. 176 etc.
(14) See Roman Dyboski, Poland in World Civilization (New
York, 1950), p. 213.
(15) See J . Nechon's essay on Stefan Zeronski in Harvard Slavic
Studies, Vol. II, (Cambridge, Mass., 1954), pp. 323-324.
•
•
•
WF, MUST QUIT HELPING RED REGIMES
(Address By Hon. William F. Knowland Before Inaugural
Nationalities Banquet, January 20, 1957)
It is most fitting that this banquet, held on the eve of the
public inaugural ceremonies of the President and Vice President of the United States, should be under the sponsorship
of the Nationalities Advisory Committee and the Inaugural
Nationalities committee.
Firstly, with the exception of American Indians, in this
new world all of us ourse1ves or our parents, grandparent.a,
or more distant forebears, came front the old worlds of
Europe, Asia, or Africa.
While as citizens of the United States our loyalty is to
this great ·r epublic it is also natural that there remain ties
of historic interests, family or racial connections, and religious beliefs, together with our natural humanitarian instincts, that makes what happens in Budapest, Berlin, London, Peiping, Cairo, or any other city large or small more
than just newspaper datelines.
Secondly, the naJtiona:lities groups throughout our country made notable contriibutions to the reelection of our
great president Dwight D. Eisenhower a:nd our able and
effective Vice President Rihard M. Nixon. Not only are you
entitled to be here to witness the culmination of your individual and •c ollective constructive labors in the last campaign but you have earned the right to a respectful hearing
to your recommendations.
There are many great problems confronting our country
domestic and foreign. The President in his address on the
Middle East resolution, in his staite of ,t he Union message,
in his inaugural address tomorrow, or in future special
messaiges to the Congress will discuss them.
42
SLOVAKIA
To me the greatest issue of the day is human freedom.
Under either Republican or Democratic administra tions our
foreign policy should be based 1.11pon it. What advances
freedom we should surpport and what retards or endangers
it we should oppose.
There are principles that cannot be compromis ed without fatal effects on the compriser or on the sacrificial victim
Czecho-Slovakia was a casualty of such a deal. Munich
should have taught the world that appeaseme nt is not the
road to peace but is only surrender on the installment plan.
Communism is an evil thing. It is destructive of religion,
freedom, family life, and other hum,a n rights that f.ree men
honor and hold dear. Dare we forget the admonition in
Second Corinthian s :
"Do not bear the yoke with unbelievers . For what has
justice in common with iniquity? Or what fellowship has
light with darkness?"
Kadar, Khrushche v, Gomulka, Chou en Lai are not to
be trusted. The rpolicy of internation al communism has
been, is, and will remain the destruction of freedom and
national sovereignty . Any notion in Europe, Asia, or the
Middle East that ignores this basic fact will do so at its
peril.
A propaganda barrage is developing here and ahroiad
to give eCOIJlomic aid to the communist states of Eastern
Europe. For what purpose? To lessen the drain on the
Soviet Union so it will have more economic resources to
use against the nations of the free world or to suibvert the
uncommitte d countrit's outside the Iron Curtain? To sustain godless local communist chieftains who would not last
a month were it not for the support of Soviet bayonets
within their borders? To give character and prestige to
men whose hands a:re red witih the blood of those patriots
whose love of freedom for their countryme n was greater
than their love of life? Are we to bolster sagging communim economies whose own workers by strikes, slow
downs, or srubotage in rthe face of death penalties and pri..
~on terms have contributed to the weakening of an important segment of the communist regime?
SLOVAKIA
43
None of these things make sense to me. I shall oppose
the taking of a single, dollar from the over'burdened American ta~payer to build the economic strength of any communist coUJil.try behind the Soviet Tron Curtain or to give
military aid to any communist state anywhere in the wodd.
If the Sovielt Union wants peace there is an honm·aible
proposal that could be made to that Government.
Withdraw all Soviet forces from Poland, Albania, Latvia,
Lithuania, Estonia, Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria
and ,gua•r antee free elections under United Nations supervision. Let the people decide, free from the farce of Gomulka counterfeit elections such as Poland was insulted with
on Sunday, J ,a nuary 20, while Soviet troops still occupy
that restless country.
Let the great powers and the United Nations guarantee
the neutrality of all of these eastern European states after
the withdrawal of all Soviet troops and after the free
elections under United Nati'Ons auspices have been held.
Both the Soviet Union and the West could then be assured that these free states would ibe similar to the neutral
position which is today existing in Austria, Switzerland,
and Sweden. They could not ibe used as a springboard for
invasion against the free world or against the Soviet Union.
The free world has no quarrel with the people of Russia.
They were the first victims of Communist aggression. It
is not the Russian people ibut the Soviet Communist regime which has broken aU of its international agreements
with non-Comrmunist powers and which has been a distur..
ber of the peace of the world and still threatens it.
With such a settlement in Eastern Euro.pe the 'burdens
of armaments could be lifted to a considerable extent from
the backs of the people of the free world and the Soviet
Union as well. 'l'hen the people of Russia who do not have
the privileges of the small but relatively well off Communist Party hierarchy would 'be a:ble to enjoy during this
lifetime better housing, more consumer goods and a certain
amount of luxuries which are now enjoyed by urban and
rural wo'I'kers in the free world.
But let us not as a great Republic ever compromise
44
SLOVAKIA
the basic principle of human freedom. Let us never give
our moral or legal blessing to the enslavement oif millions
behind the J.ron Curtain who long to be free. Nor should
we permit any international organization of which we are
a member to compromise us in this regard.
How can any nation ignore the moral issue involved in
Roviet destruction of freedom in Hungary and subsequently
want sanctions applied in the case of trouble in the Middle
East? What organization can survive such a double standard? Either we have a system of law and order or the
doctrine of might makes right is recognized. Communism
cannot 1b e allowed to place itself above international law
or God-gi,v en moral law.
Our first Republican President Abraham Lincoln, said:
"Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. • • • The
fiery trial thvough which we pass will light us down to the
latest generation. • • * We, yes even we, have the
power and bear the responsibility. • • * In giving freedom
to the slave we assure freedom to the free. * * • We shall
nobly save or meanly lose this last best ho.p e on earth."
•
•
•
INDEPENDENCE AN D THE SLOVAK PAST
,Joseph Kirschbaum, LL. D., Ph. D.
The question of the national existence of the Slovak
nation, the efforts expended by the Slovaks for national
and state independence, are treated in various works of
political writers. In their analysis of the problems of Central Europe, writers try to be objective, but their literary
efforts demonstrate that they answer the question only
partially and usually incorr-ectly. Not taking into account
the use of tendencious sources, it appears that the fault
lies particularly in the approach to the problem of Slovak
efforts for independence from the downfall of the first
state of the Slovaks, Great Moravia. !Many political writers identify creations of dynasties with creations of nations,
especially in multi--national states, and overlooik the universalistir tendencies of Europe in the early centuries of the
Middle Ages and the Modern Age.
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
We Must Quit Helping Red Regimes
Description
An account of the resource
Address by Hon. William F. Knowland Before Inaugural Nationalities Banquet, January 20, 1957
Slovakia, Vol. 7, No. 1 (22), March 1957
pp. 41-44
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1957
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/111bdde3035fd0c13fdebffee0bf6f2e.pdf
6c16bebc2871a5e695ae99ef9e655fc6
PDF Text
Text
MARCH, 1957
VOL. VII
NO. l (22)
IN THIS ISSUE:
TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. JOSEPH TISO' S EXECUTION
I WAS EDITOR OF PRESIDENT TISO'S NEWSPAPER
EIGHT FATAL DAYS IN THE LIFE OF DR. JOSEPH TISO
SLOVAKIA: TRIAL OF DR. JOSEPH TISO
PLEA OF SLOVAK BISHOPS IN TISp'S BEHALF
HERO AND PATRIOT OF SLOVAKIA
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
·!·
❖
❖
❖
..!.
.:.
❖
❖
:j:
This issue is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Joseph Tiso,
President of Slovakia, 1939-1945, who was executed on the gal- ::;
lows by the Benes-Gottwald communist-dominated regime, :\:
April 18, 1947.
'.(;
❖
6
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
THE TERRITORY OF ANCIENT SLOVAKIA
MICKIEWICZ IN SLOVAK POETRY AND TRANSLATIONS
ME MUST QUIT HELPING RED REGIMES
INDEPENDENCE AND THE SLOVAK PAST
FROM THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
KERNER'S 'CZECHOSLOVAKIA": HISTORY OR
PROPAGANDA? (Cont'd.)
WHO SAID IT?: 8, 18
Edited and compiled_ by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
,
Published by
G A ~.f t'rt~'RA'R~UE OF AMERICA
MI-LLERSVILLE STATE COHEGF
Mlt.LERSVILLE, PA 17551
�1907 -
1957
The Slovak League of America is completing its
FIFTIETH YEAR of faithful service " FOR GOD AND FOR
NATION." It was oragan ized by the Rev. Stephen
Furdek, May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, O hi o. - The Slovaks
of America will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Slovak League of America in the city of its foundation on
May 26, 1957, before the opening of the 35th Congress of
the League in Hotel Cleveland.
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak
League of America, a cultural and civic federation of
Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and independence.
As Americans, members of the Slovak League of
America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has the inherent and God-given right to freedom
and independence. They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom and world peace
and are determined to oppose the plague of Communism
and all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to SLOVAKIA is $1.00 per year in the
U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send
subscriptions
to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. 5. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
MARCH, 1957
VOL. VII
NO. l (22)
IN THIS ISSUE:
TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. JOSEPH TISO' S EXECUTION
I WAS EDITOR OF PRESIDENT TISO'S NEWSPAPER
EIGHT FATAL DAYS IN THE LIFE OF DR. JOSEPH TISO
SLOVAKIA: TRIAL OF DR. JOSEPH TISO
PLEA OF SLOVAK BISHOPS IN TISp'S BEHALF
HERO AND PATRIOT OF SLOVAKIA
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
·!·
❖
❖
❖
..!.
.:.
❖
❖
:j:
This issue is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Joseph Tiso,
President of Slovakia, 1939-1945, who was executed on the gal- ::;
lows by the Benes-Gottwald communist-dominated regime, :\:
April 18, 1947.
'.(;
❖
6
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
THE TERRITORY OF ANCIENT SLOVAKIA
MICKIEWICZ IN SLOVAK POETRY AND TRANSLATIONS
ME MUST QUIT HELPING RED REGIMES
INDEPENDENCE AND THE SLOVAK PAST
FROM THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
KERNER'S 'CZECHOSLOVAKIA": HISTORY OR
PROPAGANDA? (Cont'd.)
WHO SAID IT?: 8, 18
Edited and compiled_ by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
,
Published by
G A ~.f t'rt~'RA'R~UE OF AMERICA
MI-LLERSVILLE STATE COHEGF
Mlt.LERSVILLE, PA 17551
�1907 -
1957
The Slovak League of America is completing its
FIFTIETH YEAR of faithful service " FOR GOD AND FOR
NATION." It was oragan ized by the Rev. Stephen
Furdek, May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, O hi o. - The Slovaks
of America will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Slovak League of America in the city of its foundation on
May 26, 1957, before the opening of the 35th Congress of
the League in Hotel Cleveland.
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak
League of America, a cultural and civic federation of
Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and independence.
As Americans, members of the Slovak League of
America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has the inherent and God-given right to freedom
and independence. They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom and world peace
and are determined to oppose the plague of Communism
and all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to SLOVAKIA is $1.00 per year in the
U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send
subscriptions
to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. 5. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
1957, Vol. 7
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li>
<li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li>
</ul>
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
1957
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.
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MARCH, 1957
VOL. VII
NO. l (22)
IN THIS ISSUE:
TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. JOSEPH TISO' S EXECUTION
I WAS EDITOR OF PRESIDENT TISO'S NEWSPAPER
EIGHT FATAL DAYS IN THE LIFE OF DR. JOSEPH TISO
SLOVAKIA: TRIAL OF DR. JOSEPH TISO
PLEA OF SLOVAK BISHOPS IN TISp'S BEHALF
HERO AND PATRIOT OF SLOVAKIA
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
·!·
❖
❖
❖
..!.
.:.
❖
❖
:j:
This issue is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Joseph Tiso,
President of Slovakia, 1939-1945, who was executed on the gal- ::;
lows by the Benes-Gottwald communist-dominated regime, :\:
April 18, 1947.
'.(;
❖
6
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
THE TERRITORY OF ANCIENT SLOVAKIA
MICKIEWICZ IN SLOVAK POETRY AND TRANSLATIONS
ME MUST QUIT HELPING RED REGIMES
INDEPENDENCE AND THE SLOVAK PAST
FROM THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
KERNER'S 'CZECHOSLOVAKIA": HISTORY OR
PROPAGANDA? (Cont'd.)
WHO SAID IT?: 8, 18
Edited and compiled_ by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
,
Published by
G A ~.f t'rt~'RA'R~UE OF AMERICA
MI-LLERSVILLE STATE COHEGF
Mlt.LERSVILLE, PA 17551
1907 -
1957
The Slovak League of America is completing its
FIFTIETH YEAR of faithful service " FOR GOD AND FOR
NATION." It was oragan ized by the Rev. Stephen
Furdek, May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, O hi o. - The Slovaks
of America will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Slovak League of America in the city of its foundation on
May 26, 1957, before the opening of the 35th Congress of
the League in Hotel Cleveland.
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak
League of America, a cultural and civic federation of
Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and independence.
As Americans, members of the Slovak League of
America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has the inherent and God-given right to freedom
and independence. They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom and world peace
and are determined to oppose the plague of Communism
and all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to SLOVAKIA is $1.00 per year in the
U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send
subscriptions
to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. 5. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 7, No. 1 (22)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1957
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/2f9140fdcaa80dc846247fc6d807ad76.pdf
3cf058966a489a6b16735bfdcd602df4
PDF Text
Text
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presidents
Andre w J. Ham r oc k
Dr. Peter P. H letko
61 Woodland Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
Step he n
Msgr. F. J . Dubos h, P.A.
Dub iel
12210 Detroit Avenu e
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
E li zabe th Andrejko
President
Philip A. Hrobak
P. 0 . Box 160
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Rev. John W . K ris p i nsky
M ich ael J. Va r govic
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Ju li a Kraj covi c
1-l elen K oca n
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul
537 Westview Rd.
Bedford, Ohio
Secretary-Treasu rer
M i lan V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
Stephen J . T kach
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
A nna Sot ak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Pau l P. Ja m r i sk a
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Josept. G. Pru sa
F a l lat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Jo h n
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozbor i l
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affil iated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVE NS KA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOV EN SKE
N OVIN Y
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOS T
OSADNE HLASY
Pas.sale, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
SL OV A K V A ME RI KE
Middletown, Pa.
Chicago,
m.
�UBRARY
WIIJ.ERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE
~fflllERSVILLE, PA 17551
�
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presidents
Andre w J. Ham r oc k
Dr. Peter P. H letko
61 Woodland Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
Step he n
Msgr. F. J . Dubos h, P.A.
Dub iel
12210 Detroit Avenu e
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
E li zabe th Andrejko
President
Philip A. Hrobak
P. 0 . Box 160
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Rev. John W . K ris p i nsky
M ich ael J. Va r govic
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Ju li a Kraj covi c
1-l elen K oca n
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul
537 Westview Rd.
Bedford, Ohio
Secretary-Treasu rer
M i lan V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
Stephen J . T kach
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
A nna Sot ak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Pau l P. Ja m r i sk a
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Josept. G. Pru sa
F a l lat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Jo h n
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozbor i l
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affil iated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVE NS KA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOV EN SKE
N OVIN Y
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOS T
OSADNE HLASY
Pas.sale, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
SL OV A K V A ME RI KE
Middletown, Pa.
Chicago,
m.
�UBRARY
WIIJ.ERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE
~fflllERSVILLE, PA 17551
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
1958, Vol. 8
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li>
</ul>
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
1958
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
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Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presidents
Andre w J. Ham r oc k
Dr. Peter P. H letko
61 Woodland Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
Step he n
Msgr. F. J . Dubos h, P.A.
Dub iel
12210 Detroit Avenu e
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
E li zabe th Andrejko
President
Philip A. Hrobak
P. 0 . Box 160
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Rev. John W . K ris p i nsky
M ich ael J. Va r govic
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Ju li a Kraj covi c
1-l elen K oca n
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul
537 Westview Rd.
Bedford, Ohio
Secretary-Treasu rer
M i lan V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chicago 38, Ill.
Stephen J . T kach
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
A nna Sot ak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Pau l P. Ja m r i sk a
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Josept. G. Pru sa
F a l lat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Jo h n
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozbor i l
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affil iated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVE NS KA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOV EN SKE
N OVIN Y
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOS T
OSADNE HLASY
Pas.sale, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
SL OV A K V A ME RI KE
Middletown, Pa.
Chicago,
m.
UBRARY
WIIJ.ERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE
~fflllERSVILLE, PA 17551
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Title
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Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 3 (28)
Description
An account of the resource
includes photo of Ždiar in Spiš County
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
December 1958
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/eaa706385bb38b2d95fcd8f94c12e8ca.pdf
a334fa9aa5ee7c6eaf42f769bc58d2f8
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
33
THE SWVAKS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
God had •willed it that the Slovaks settle in Central Europe, in the valleys of the Vah, Nitra, Hron, and Ipel, Ondava and Laborec. The land of the Slovaks is watered by
the huge waves of the Danube which flows in the south
for a hundred miles. The Morava river in the west and the
Tisa in the east make contact with Slovakia. Altogether
9'7 % of the rivers and streams of ,S lovakia flow south into the Danube and the Tisa rivers - only the Dunajec
wends its way north to the Visla and the Baltic Sea.
The Slovak mountains, the Carpathians, rise on the
northern 1borders, and therefrom to the south we find hills
and valleys of natural and romantic beauty. In the High
and Low Tatra Mountains there are deep lakes and very
beautiful bathing and recreational spots.
In the valleys there are inexhaustible mineral springs.
Practically three-quarters of Slovakia is covered with fox-ests and hills. Rich, fertile land, however, makes UF much
of the land in the east, south, and west.
Slovakia is in fact a :Eiucharistic country. The wheat
grown there provides the daily bread for the Slovaks just
as it does for the Sacred Hosts they receive so frequently.
Grapes provide refreshment for man and the wine necessary for the altars of the land. In the mountains there is
an invaluable supply of green gold-thick forests of beech,
oak, and pine trees. The rivers of the valleys abound in various kinds of fish, and in the bowels of the earth there
are ice caverns and gold, coal, antimony, magnesite, naphtha, and mineral waters.
Slovakia has a population of four million made up
of Slovaks for the most part. Before · 19'46 quite a number
of Germans, Ukrainians, Poles and Magyars had settled
in Slovakia, but today, after the forced expulsion of the
Germans and Magyars by Dr. Edward Benes and his regime, the Germans and Magyars form a negligible portion
of the population. Hundred of thousands of Czechs, the socalled "reliable" element, have been settled there by the
pro~Soviet Czech regime. At least 80 % of the total population is of the Catholic religion. Protestants and Jews
�34
SLOVAKIA
make up the rest of the population. There are practically
no Slovaks without religious affiliation in Slovakia even
at the present time even though religion is scorned by the
Czech pro-.Soviet regime.
Slovaks emigrated in large numbers before 1918, during the administration of the Magyars, and in appreciable
m1mibers even during the reign of the Czechs from 191'8 to
1938. At least one-third of the Slovaks settled in America,
Canada, and South America during that time. Emigration
stopped completely after the Slovak parliament of autonomous Slovakia proclaimed the independence of Slovakia
on March 14, 1939. It is noteworthy that the Slovak Republic did not depend on foreign loans : Slovakia depended
entirely on her own resources and proved her viability and
economic independence during the six years of her independence (1939-1M5).
Adherence To Christian Culture
It was only natural that the Slovaks were always on
good terms with their neighbors: they had been guided
by western Christian culture for over a thousand years.
The church of Prince Pribina, built in 831, is still a part
of the beautiful Nitra Cathedral. The Slovaks not only
learned and preached Christianity, but actually lived it.
They love God above all else, as taught by their apostles,
Sts. Cyril and Methodius, served the true Church of Jesus
Christ, and loved their neighbors in the same measure that
they did themselves.
How did the Slovaks get along with their neighbors:
the Austrians and Czechs in the west and northwest, the
Poles in the north, the Ukrainians in the east, and the Magyars in the south? ·
Vienna, the capital of Austria, and Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, are just an hour's ride by auto from each
other. In the old Austro-Hungarian empire, the Slovaks
and the Austrians got along very well, their contacts were
cordial. The Habsburg dynasty had its members crowned
as kings in the St. Martin Home in Bratislava. After 1918,
when the T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes Czechs took
over the reigns of the newly formed Czecho-Slovak State,
�SLOVAKIA
the borders between Austria and Slovakia were closed; one
needed a visa to cross the border. Later, this regulation
was retracted and Slovaks and Austrians could travel at
will <between Vienna and Bratislava. This was a good neighborly relationship that was to the advantage of the !Slovaks
living in Vienna, or in Austria proper. There were some
80,000 Slovaks settled in Austria.
Politically, the Slovaks lived their own lives in Vienna.
Recognized political and church leaders visited them regularly. Monsignor Andrew H1inka, founder of the Slovaks
People's Party and champion of Slovak freedom and independence, had cordial contacts not only with Slovak leaders
in Austria, but with influential Austrians a\3 well. Msgr.
Dr. Joseph Tiso, President of the 1S lovak Republic, was educated in the Pazmaneum of Vienna, where the bishops of
Hungary sent their most capable theologians for further
priestly studies.
In 1938, when Austria ceased to exist as an independent State, the Slovaks continued their friendly relationship with the Austrias. The Slovaks certainly will never
forget how the Austrians helped the Slovaks in 1945 when
about '5,000 of them sought asylum in Austria, including
President Tiso and the Slovak Government, after the Reds
broke through to Ruthenia and the eastern part of Slovakia. And they are grateful today for the assistance still
proferred to Slovak escapees. There is every reason to believe that after the Red scourge is removed from Slovakia,
the Slovaks and the Austrians will have no trouble at all
in getting along with each other.
The Moravians and the Czechs
On the northwest there is a 1'25-mile border that separates the Moravians and Czechs from the Slovaks. This border, however, during the existence of Austro~Hungary never
was an obstacle to good relations between the local populations. This is understandable, since on both sides of this
border are settled the descendants of a common Slovak
tribe, many of whom even today call themselves "Moravian
Slovaks". The latter were strongly attracted into the political, cultural, and economic sphere of the Czechs and par-
�36
SLOVAKIA
tially succumbed and accepted Czech culture and the Czech
language. Nevertheless the "Moravian Slovaks" still cling
to Slovak customs and habits and are as Catholic as the
Slovaks on the other side of the border. Hussitism and
Protestantism has made as little headway among them as
among the Slovaks themselves.
From the times of Master John Hus, Comenius, and
other Czech thinkers, therefore from the 1'5-16th centuries,
Czech political ideology has strongly digressed from the
traditions of King Saint Wenceslaus. It has divorced itself
from them and has followed the path away from Rome and
particularly from the pedagogical office of the Vatican.
Havlicek, Masaryk, and Benes made Hus a symbol of Czech
pride and attempted to alter Czech history and remake the
Czech nation in the ima,ge of John Hus which, of course,
was in opposition to the Christian mind of Europe. The Movement "away from Rome", headed by Masaryk, Benes, and
other "enlightened and progressive" Czechs, gained momentum as soon as T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes
took over the Hradcany in Pra:gue. With their blessing and
active support, the "Czecho- Slovak National Church" was
established. There was nothing Slovak about it except the
second part of its appellation: it was strictly a Czech enterprise which sought to destroy the Roman Catholic
Church in the newly-baked political unit called Czecho-Slovakia; the Slovaks had nothing in common with it. In 1948
it was the first religious organization to willingly offer
its collaboration to the Red cause. When the Czech National Church of Czecho-'Slovakia (that is its real name) was
founded, about a million Czech Catholics and some 360
Czech priests joined it, supporting thereby T. G. Masaryk's
movement "away from Rome"!
It was only natural that this display of chauvinistic
nationalism isolated the Czechs from the spirit of Catholic
Europe and tragically ended in the willing acceptance of
Russian Bolshevism under the leadership of Clement Gottwald, the successor of Masaryk and Benes to the throne
of the Czech kings at the Hradcany. In Europe it was only
Prague, at that time still under the leadership of Ur. Edward Benes, that really welcomed the Red conquerors of
�SLOVAKIA
37
the world and their Red Army in grand style as its liberators and the guarantor of its national, state and social life,
of its growth and progress. Unfortunately Czech Catholic
politics was never strong and vigorous enough to pursue
its own course. Under the leadership of 'Monsignor John
Sramek, the politics of Czech Catholics was always subordinated to the basic lines of Czech national policy which it
adopted and followed. The sad awakening came later when
it was too late to do anything about it.
These facts, particularly the openly anti-Catholic policy of the Masaryk and Benes regimes during the twentyyear cohabitation of the Slovaks and Czechs, were the cause
of much friction and bad blood between them. In a word,
the Slovaks did not trust the ruling Czechs and told them
in no uncertain terms on many occasions that their policies
would lead to the collapse of the Czecho-1Slovak Republic.
Making friends of the Russian Reds and enemies of immediate neighbors could hardly be termed wise politics. In
many respects, however, the ,S lovaks gained much from the
Czechs in its transitional period in their march to independence. Not, of course, at the price demanded by the Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the surrender of their inherent right to
freedom and independence, the repudiation of their own
ethnic individuality.
We know that T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes
had stated at the Paris Peace Conference that "the Czechs
and the Slovaks are the same". The Slovaks, according to
them were only a "branch" of the Czech nation, and the
Slovak language was but a "dialect" of the Czech. While
representatives of the Czechs propagated this "Czeclto-Slovak" ideology that the Slovaks and Czechs were one ethnic
unit, the Slovaks under the leadership of the Catholic Monsignors Andrew Hlinka and Dr. Joseph Tiso and the Protestant clergyman Martin Razus replied that they could
not accept this false ideology. The Slovaks, they said, never
were and at no time felt that they are a "branch" of the
Czech nation. They always were and still feel that they are
a distinct ethnic unit, as are the other Slovanic nations.
The Slovaks had no intentions of commiting national sui-
�38
SLOVAKIA
cide when they decided to form a common political state
with the Czechs in 1918.
The Masaryk..1Benes Czechs, however, continued to propagate the ideology that had no historical foundation in
fact with all the propaganda means at their disposal, that
is, with State funds and, therefore, ironically, even at the
expense of the Slovaks. When Dr. Benes visited Bratislava
in 1933, he declared that the Slovaks had to accept the idea
of an ethnic "Czecho-Slovak" nation in their own interest.
"In the fight against us," he said, "the entire pressure shall
go against Slovakia. Our relationship with Germany is good
and correct and so it shall continue to remain in every case.
Between us and the Germans there have not been and there
shall not be any quarrels and difficulties about boundaries."
The events of 1,938-1939, however, proved how wrong
Benes was. Pressure was exerted not against the Slovaks,
but against the Czechs, because the relationship between
the Czechs and the Germans never had been, as Benes declared, "good and correct", but always bad and insincere.
The historical record, as written, informed and impartial
observers, is quite clear on this point. The resolution of this
relationship was one of the causes of World War II. And
what happened after 1945? With the help of Stalin, Dr.
Edward Benes resolved this problem of "good relations"
with the Germans by brutally expelling more than three
million ·S udeten Germans for the "new people's Republic"
of Czecho-lSlovakia !
The Slovaks were opposed to the forced expulsion of
the Germans from Czecho-'S lovakia at that time and still
adamantly condemn it. The responsibility for this shamefull
crime against humanity must be credited to the account
of the foreign policy which Masaryk and Benes initiated
at the beginning of the Republic, the policy with which
the Slovaks never identified themselves and, therefore, cannot be held responsible for it or its consequences. There
was nothing Slovak about Czecho-Slovak foreign policy. During the entire life of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic
(1918-1938), Dr. Edward Benes, leader of the Czech National Socialists, was "Mr. Foreign ,Policy"! After twenty
long years of the brand of democracy promulgated by the
�SLOVAKIA
39
Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the relation between the two "closely related nations", the Slovaks and the Czechs, were strained to the limit. The Republic had to fall, because the majority of its population had been treated as second-rate citizens. It was a democracy only for the Czechs, but in the
end not even a Czech could be found to fire a single shot
in its defense!
After the sad experiences in the Czecho-,Slovak Republic under the Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the Slovaks do not
even want to think about another common political state
with them. Of course, Czecho..(Slovakia still exists, but not
because the Slovaks willed it so. The political will of the
Slovak nation was utterly disregarded in 1945 by the victorious United Nations. "Away from Prague - back to Bratislava" is the cry of all Slovak nationals who are convinced now more than ever that the highest interests of the
Slovak nation can best ·be safeguarded and secured only
in an independent Slovak Republic.
A proper neighborly relationship on an international
basis is, however, possible between the Slovaks and the
Czechs, if it is allowed to develop under international supervision. But never again on an intra-state basis. The Slovaks
remember the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918, which T. G. Masaryk himself had drafted and undersigned - and then repudiated completely. And they shall never forget the antiSlovak policy of Masaryk's star pupil, Dr. Edward Benes,
In 193'5, the latter promised Slovakia complete autonomy
within a year, if the deputies of the Hlinka party would
vote him in as president of the Republic. The Slovaks fulfilled their part of the given word, but Benes did not. When
they pressed him in 1936 to fulfill his promise, Dr. Benes
officially annonced to the Hlinka Slovak People's Party that
he must first grant autonomy to Ruthenia, because he was
bound to do so by the peace treaty of St. Germaine and
the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. But nothing
happened: Ruthenia, like Slovakia, continued to be regarded as a colony of the Benes Czechs.
President Ha.cha; the constitutional successor of Dr.
Benes, is responsible for the March, 1939, military putsch
in Slovakia, whereby an attempt was made to repudiate
�40
SLOVAKIA
the rights of autonomous Slovakia. The latter, we know,
was granted autonomy by Prague on October 6, 19,38. And
what did Gottwald, the Czech Red, do later? In Kosice,
in 194'5, he proclaimed that the Czecho-Slovak Republic
"must" safeguard and cultivate the right of the Slovaksbut in 1948, when he succeeded Benes as president, Gottwald proceeded to repudiate all his promises, because Slovakia, he said, was anti-communist!
T. G. Masaryk, Dr. Edward Benes, Dr. Ha.cha, Gottwald, Zapotocky, and Novotny-all presidents of CzechoSlovakia - had promised the Slovaks a fuller life of freedom, but failed to fulfill their promises. Little wonder, then,
that the Slovaks have completely lost their faith in leading
representatives of Czech political life. Let the Czechs go
their way, and let the ,Slovaks be free to develop and decide
their own destiny-that is the sentiment of at least 95 %
of the Slovaks at home and in the free world. The Slovaks
stand for a Central-European or an European Federation:
let the Czechs join as an independent political unit, and
the Slovaks likewise: but no more Czech domination!
The Slovaks and the Poles
In the course of the ages, the ,Slovaks had no serious
trouble with the Poles. They were practically always on
good terms with them and symphathized with them. In one
of their first political manifestations, that of 1'849 in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, the Slovaks expressly stated that
they were for the realization of national and state rights of
the Poles. And the Slovaks remember that the Poles made
it possible ,f or Msgr. Andrew Hlinka to travel in 1919 in an
attempt to present the 'Slovak demands (the Pittsburgh
Pact of 1918) to the Peace Conference. They were opposed
to the solution of the problem of the Orava and Spis Counties, whereby over twenty villages that had belonged to Slovakia for more than a thousand years were awarded to Poland at the Paris Peace Conference. The Slovaks were angered more at Benes than at the Poles when they learned
that Benes had traded these villages for the coal fields
of Tesin in Silesia. Mter that relations between the Slovaks
and the Poles improved until 1938 when the Czecho-Slovak
�SLOVAKIA
41
Republic collapsed and the Poles again sought a revision
of the Slovak-Polish frontier to protect themselves against
a German attack from the south. At that time the Prague
regime did not defend Slovakia, so the latter entered directly into negotiations with the Poles in October, 1938,
where the Poles cut their demands to a minimum. More
obstacles to better relations were removed during a conference with the Poles in Ruzomberok in February, 1939.
Poland was among the first countries to recognize the
independent Republic of Slovakia, after the Slovak Parliament proclaimed its independence of Prague on March 14,
1939. When Hitler and Stalin decided to partition Poland
in 1939, many Poles emigrated through Slovakia, while
many remained there throughout the war. They were given
every courtesy; they had Slovak passes and were employed
by private and state industry where they spent the worst
years of the war and later left unmolested to fight for the
liberation of Poland. The friendship of the Slovaks for the
·P oles was never approved by the Benes Czechs in Prague
who preferred to do business with Stalin at the expense
of Poland and Slovakia.
The Slovaks and the Ukrainians
The border between Slovakia and Ruthenia is 40 miles
long. Known as Sub.JCarpathian Russia, Ruthenia today belongs to Soviet Ukrainia which is a part of the Soviet Union. Dr. Edward Benes and his pro-Soviet "provisional"
government sold out the Ruthenians to Stalin in 1945. Slovakia today borders directly on the Soviet Union, and the
Slovaks know that Ruthenia is administrated directly by
Moscow. The old inhabitants of those parts have been transferred deep into Russia by Moscow, resettling the evacuated towns and villages with non-!Slovanic elements from
Asia.
The Slovaks were always on good terms with the original inhabitants. The history of the rSlovaks and the Ruthenians had much in common; both had suffered the heavy
hand of foreign rulers for centuries. In October, 1938, representatives of Ruthenia came to 2ilina to confer with the
Slovaks. It was there that they said: we have lived for cen-
�42
SLOVAKIA
turies on good terms with the Slovaks; we fought for 20
years within the Czecho-Slovak framework to gain autonomy as the Slovaks did; we shall go along with the Slovaks also in the future; if the Slovaks tie their future
with the Czechs, we shall do so; if, however, the Slovaks
should proclaim their independence of the Czechs and shall
be for an independent Slovak State, we also shall declare
our separation from Prague and proclaim an independent
Republic of Carpatho-Ukrainia.
And that is exactly what happened. The ,S lovaks proclaimed their State independence on March 14, 1939, in Bratislava, while the deputies of Ruthenia did the same thing
on the same day in Chust. True, they enjoyed independence
only 24 hours, because Ruthenia was incorporated into Hungary on the basis of an agreement between Hitler and the
Magyars. After World War II, because of a secret agreement, Benes surrendered Ruthenia and its people to Stalin.
gyars. After World War ll, because of a secret agreement,
Benes surrendered Ruthenia and its people to Stalin.
1
The Slovaks and the Magyars
The longest border between Slovakia and any other
neighboring country is that between Slovakia and Hungary;
it is 31·2 miles long. The Hungarian State originated from
the ruins of the first Slovak State--the Great Moravian
Empire-after 907 A. D. St. Stephen, King of Hungary,
made Christians of the pagan Magyars and tied them spiritually to Rome. Believing that a "uni-lingual state is weak",
St. Stephen did not allow the Magyar language or any
other language to be the official language of the state, but
established Latin as the official language and so conserved,
like an ice pack, all the living languages of the inhabitants
of Hungary. It was only at the beginning of the last century that Latin was replaced by Magyar as the official language of the State.
Unhealthy chauvinism began to spread the Magyar
tongue at the expense of the native Slovak. The result was
that the Slovaks revolted against the dominating Magyars
over a hundred years ago, in 1848. Disregarding the admonition of St. Stephen about an one-language State, the Ma-
�SLOVAKIA
43
gyars pressed for one •~Hungarian" nation with Magyar as
the official language "from the Carpathians to the Adriatic
Sea". The partition of Hungary in 1918 was due to excessive Ma:gyar nationalism which made enemies of all the
other nationalities of the realm.
Before 1918, the Magyars accused the Slovaks of being
Pan-,Slavs. After 1918, the Masaryk-Benes Czechs accused
the Slovaks of being Magyarones. While the Magyars fostered hatred of the Slovanic nations, the Czechs on the
other hand propagated hatred of the Magyars among the
Slovaks and Czechs. Excessive chauvinism prompted both
movements. Many of the younger Slovak set succumbed to
the anti..;Magyar propaganda of official Prague and only
later discovered that thereby the Masaryk-/Benes Czechs
wanted to conceal their own real goal: the Czechization
bf the Slovak nation. The Magyar "Hungarian nation-state
from the Carpathians to the Adriatic" became for the
Czechs "a united Czechoslovak nation from Sumava to the
Tatras". Obviously the Czechs learned nothing from past
history-and ended up just as did the Magyars: alone and
hated by the non-Czech citizens and by all their neighbors.
When the Slovaks declared their independence of Prague in 1939, the Magyars recognized the independent Republic of Slovakia de jure and established diplomatic contacts forthwith. Of course, the Slovaks were crudely jarred
by the Vienna negotiations of Ribbentrop and Ciano in 1938,
whereby the Magyars were favored with about one-third
of 1S lovak territory (Vienna Award). After 1945 these
southern regions were returned to Slovakia so that Benes
could expel the Magyars from them in exchange for Slovaks settled in Hungary proper. The Benes Czechs are alone responsible for the brutalities committed during the
forced "transfer" of Magyars from Slovak territory. The
Slovaks condemned this forced transfer of Magyars as
strongly as they did the brutal expulsion of the Sudeten
Germans from Bohemia.
The Hungarian National Council, under the leadership
of Monsignor Bela Varga, has recognized the inherent right
of the Slovak nation to freedom and independence. Cordial
contacts have been established with Slovaks in exile and
1
�SLOVAKIA
44
there is every reason to believe that the Slovaks and Magyars shall be able to come to an understanding when the
Iron Curtain is lifted for benefit of both nations and in the
common interests of all free peoples.
In Conclusion
It is a matter of historical record that the Slovaks
always tried to get along with neighboring nations, at times even at the expense of Slovak interests. They realize
that quarrels and chauvinistic desires settle nothing and
simply cause trouble, not only for the nations concerned,
but for all free nations. Today all the nations behind the
Iron Curtain are, so to speak, in the same boat, suffering
under the Red heel of communism. The Slovak nation as a
whole has been adamantly opposed to the ideology of Marxistic socialism for over a hundred years. The Slovaks are
a small nation, but as partners with other European nations they can do much to destroy the ,greatest evil of our
time, the enemy of all humanity: Communism. Let's encourage them to do that!
•
• •
(K. S.)
CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA
KRASNA HORKA
By Hubert Macko, OSB.
Krasna Horka (Mount Beautiful) is one of the few
fortresses of Slovakia in a good state of preservation. As
the name itself suggests, it is beautiful in its ancient splendor, standing atop a hill where the valleys of Sajava and
Cermosne meet in Gerner. Perched on a steep hill in a
very picturesque setting, proud and unconquered by time
and the elements, it is indeed a jewel of the golden days
that were. In Gerner they still sing: "Krasna Horka, pysny zamok ... " (Mount Beautiful, proud fortress).
Of its beginning we have no record. It is mentioned
in the annals of Slovak fortresses as early as 1341; it was
called "Kastrum Krasnohorka" and was owned by the Bebek family. There seemed to be some dispute as to the
ownership of the fortress, a dispute that lasted a full 50
�
SLOVAKIA
33
THE SWVAKS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
God had •willed it that the Slovaks settle in Central Europe, in the valleys of the Vah, Nitra, Hron, and Ipel, Ondava and Laborec. The land of the Slovaks is watered by
the huge waves of the Danube which flows in the south
for a hundred miles. The Morava river in the west and the
Tisa in the east make contact with Slovakia. Altogether
9'7 % of the rivers and streams of ,S lovakia flow south into the Danube and the Tisa rivers - only the Dunajec
wends its way north to the Visla and the Baltic Sea.
The Slovak mountains, the Carpathians, rise on the
northern 1borders, and therefrom to the south we find hills
and valleys of natural and romantic beauty. In the High
and Low Tatra Mountains there are deep lakes and very
beautiful bathing and recreational spots.
In the valleys there are inexhaustible mineral springs.
Practically three-quarters of Slovakia is covered with fox-ests and hills. Rich, fertile land, however, makes UF much
of the land in the east, south, and west.
Slovakia is in fact a :Eiucharistic country. The wheat
grown there provides the daily bread for the Slovaks just
as it does for the Sacred Hosts they receive so frequently.
Grapes provide refreshment for man and the wine necessary for the altars of the land. In the mountains there is
an invaluable supply of green gold-thick forests of beech,
oak, and pine trees. The rivers of the valleys abound in various kinds of fish, and in the bowels of the earth there
are ice caverns and gold, coal, antimony, magnesite, naphtha, and mineral waters.
Slovakia has a population of four million made up
of Slovaks for the most part. Before · 19'46 quite a number
of Germans, Ukrainians, Poles and Magyars had settled
in Slovakia, but today, after the forced expulsion of the
Germans and Magyars by Dr. Edward Benes and his regime, the Germans and Magyars form a negligible portion
of the population. Hundred of thousands of Czechs, the socalled "reliable" element, have been settled there by the
pro~Soviet Czech regime. At least 80 % of the total population is of the Catholic religion. Protestants and Jews
�34
SLOVAKIA
make up the rest of the population. There are practically
no Slovaks without religious affiliation in Slovakia even
at the present time even though religion is scorned by the
Czech pro-.Soviet regime.
Slovaks emigrated in large numbers before 1918, during the administration of the Magyars, and in appreciable
m1mibers even during the reign of the Czechs from 191'8 to
1938. At least one-third of the Slovaks settled in America,
Canada, and South America during that time. Emigration
stopped completely after the Slovak parliament of autonomous Slovakia proclaimed the independence of Slovakia
on March 14, 1939. It is noteworthy that the Slovak Republic did not depend on foreign loans : Slovakia depended
entirely on her own resources and proved her viability and
economic independence during the six years of her independence (1939-1M5).
Adherence To Christian Culture
It was only natural that the Slovaks were always on
good terms with their neighbors: they had been guided
by western Christian culture for over a thousand years.
The church of Prince Pribina, built in 831, is still a part
of the beautiful Nitra Cathedral. The Slovaks not only
learned and preached Christianity, but actually lived it.
They love God above all else, as taught by their apostles,
Sts. Cyril and Methodius, served the true Church of Jesus
Christ, and loved their neighbors in the same measure that
they did themselves.
How did the Slovaks get along with their neighbors:
the Austrians and Czechs in the west and northwest, the
Poles in the north, the Ukrainians in the east, and the Magyars in the south? ·
Vienna, the capital of Austria, and Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, are just an hour's ride by auto from each
other. In the old Austro-Hungarian empire, the Slovaks
and the Austrians got along very well, their contacts were
cordial. The Habsburg dynasty had its members crowned
as kings in the St. Martin Home in Bratislava. After 1918,
when the T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes Czechs took
over the reigns of the newly formed Czecho-Slovak State,
�SLOVAKIA
the borders between Austria and Slovakia were closed; one
needed a visa to cross the border. Later, this regulation
was retracted and Slovaks and Austrians could travel at
will <between Vienna and Bratislava. This was a good neighborly relationship that was to the advantage of the !Slovaks
living in Vienna, or in Austria proper. There were some
80,000 Slovaks settled in Austria.
Politically, the Slovaks lived their own lives in Vienna.
Recognized political and church leaders visited them regularly. Monsignor Andrew H1inka, founder of the Slovaks
People's Party and champion of Slovak freedom and independence, had cordial contacts not only with Slovak leaders
in Austria, but with influential Austrians a\3 well. Msgr.
Dr. Joseph Tiso, President of the 1S lovak Republic, was educated in the Pazmaneum of Vienna, where the bishops of
Hungary sent their most capable theologians for further
priestly studies.
In 1938, when Austria ceased to exist as an independent State, the Slovaks continued their friendly relationship with the Austrias. The Slovaks certainly will never
forget how the Austrians helped the Slovaks in 1945 when
about '5,000 of them sought asylum in Austria, including
President Tiso and the Slovak Government, after the Reds
broke through to Ruthenia and the eastern part of Slovakia. And they are grateful today for the assistance still
proferred to Slovak escapees. There is every reason to believe that after the Red scourge is removed from Slovakia,
the Slovaks and the Austrians will have no trouble at all
in getting along with each other.
The Moravians and the Czechs
On the northwest there is a 1'25-mile border that separates the Moravians and Czechs from the Slovaks. This border, however, during the existence of Austro~Hungary never
was an obstacle to good relations between the local populations. This is understandable, since on both sides of this
border are settled the descendants of a common Slovak
tribe, many of whom even today call themselves "Moravian
Slovaks". The latter were strongly attracted into the political, cultural, and economic sphere of the Czechs and par-
�36
SLOVAKIA
tially succumbed and accepted Czech culture and the Czech
language. Nevertheless the "Moravian Slovaks" still cling
to Slovak customs and habits and are as Catholic as the
Slovaks on the other side of the border. Hussitism and
Protestantism has made as little headway among them as
among the Slovaks themselves.
From the times of Master John Hus, Comenius, and
other Czech thinkers, therefore from the 1'5-16th centuries,
Czech political ideology has strongly digressed from the
traditions of King Saint Wenceslaus. It has divorced itself
from them and has followed the path away from Rome and
particularly from the pedagogical office of the Vatican.
Havlicek, Masaryk, and Benes made Hus a symbol of Czech
pride and attempted to alter Czech history and remake the
Czech nation in the ima,ge of John Hus which, of course,
was in opposition to the Christian mind of Europe. The Movement "away from Rome", headed by Masaryk, Benes, and
other "enlightened and progressive" Czechs, gained momentum as soon as T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes
took over the Hradcany in Pra:gue. With their blessing and
active support, the "Czecho- Slovak National Church" was
established. There was nothing Slovak about it except the
second part of its appellation: it was strictly a Czech enterprise which sought to destroy the Roman Catholic
Church in the newly-baked political unit called Czecho-Slovakia; the Slovaks had nothing in common with it. In 1948
it was the first religious organization to willingly offer
its collaboration to the Red cause. When the Czech National Church of Czecho-'Slovakia (that is its real name) was
founded, about a million Czech Catholics and some 360
Czech priests joined it, supporting thereby T. G. Masaryk's
movement "away from Rome"!
It was only natural that this display of chauvinistic
nationalism isolated the Czechs from the spirit of Catholic
Europe and tragically ended in the willing acceptance of
Russian Bolshevism under the leadership of Clement Gottwald, the successor of Masaryk and Benes to the throne
of the Czech kings at the Hradcany. In Europe it was only
Prague, at that time still under the leadership of Ur. Edward Benes, that really welcomed the Red conquerors of
�SLOVAKIA
37
the world and their Red Army in grand style as its liberators and the guarantor of its national, state and social life,
of its growth and progress. Unfortunately Czech Catholic
politics was never strong and vigorous enough to pursue
its own course. Under the leadership of 'Monsignor John
Sramek, the politics of Czech Catholics was always subordinated to the basic lines of Czech national policy which it
adopted and followed. The sad awakening came later when
it was too late to do anything about it.
These facts, particularly the openly anti-Catholic policy of the Masaryk and Benes regimes during the twentyyear cohabitation of the Slovaks and Czechs, were the cause
of much friction and bad blood between them. In a word,
the Slovaks did not trust the ruling Czechs and told them
in no uncertain terms on many occasions that their policies
would lead to the collapse of the Czecho-1Slovak Republic.
Making friends of the Russian Reds and enemies of immediate neighbors could hardly be termed wise politics. In
many respects, however, the ,S lovaks gained much from the
Czechs in its transitional period in their march to independence. Not, of course, at the price demanded by the Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the surrender of their inherent right to
freedom and independence, the repudiation of their own
ethnic individuality.
We know that T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes
had stated at the Paris Peace Conference that "the Czechs
and the Slovaks are the same". The Slovaks, according to
them were only a "branch" of the Czech nation, and the
Slovak language was but a "dialect" of the Czech. While
representatives of the Czechs propagated this "Czeclto-Slovak" ideology that the Slovaks and Czechs were one ethnic
unit, the Slovaks under the leadership of the Catholic Monsignors Andrew Hlinka and Dr. Joseph Tiso and the Protestant clergyman Martin Razus replied that they could
not accept this false ideology. The Slovaks, they said, never
were and at no time felt that they are a "branch" of the
Czech nation. They always were and still feel that they are
a distinct ethnic unit, as are the other Slovanic nations.
The Slovaks had no intentions of commiting national sui-
�38
SLOVAKIA
cide when they decided to form a common political state
with the Czechs in 1918.
The Masaryk..1Benes Czechs, however, continued to propagate the ideology that had no historical foundation in
fact with all the propaganda means at their disposal, that
is, with State funds and, therefore, ironically, even at the
expense of the Slovaks. When Dr. Benes visited Bratislava
in 1933, he declared that the Slovaks had to accept the idea
of an ethnic "Czecho-Slovak" nation in their own interest.
"In the fight against us," he said, "the entire pressure shall
go against Slovakia. Our relationship with Germany is good
and correct and so it shall continue to remain in every case.
Between us and the Germans there have not been and there
shall not be any quarrels and difficulties about boundaries."
The events of 1,938-1939, however, proved how wrong
Benes was. Pressure was exerted not against the Slovaks,
but against the Czechs, because the relationship between
the Czechs and the Germans never had been, as Benes declared, "good and correct", but always bad and insincere.
The historical record, as written, informed and impartial
observers, is quite clear on this point. The resolution of this
relationship was one of the causes of World War II. And
what happened after 1945? With the help of Stalin, Dr.
Edward Benes resolved this problem of "good relations"
with the Germans by brutally expelling more than three
million ·S udeten Germans for the "new people's Republic"
of Czecho-lSlovakia !
The Slovaks were opposed to the forced expulsion of
the Germans from Czecho-'S lovakia at that time and still
adamantly condemn it. The responsibility for this shamefull
crime against humanity must be credited to the account
of the foreign policy which Masaryk and Benes initiated
at the beginning of the Republic, the policy with which
the Slovaks never identified themselves and, therefore, cannot be held responsible for it or its consequences. There
was nothing Slovak about Czecho-Slovak foreign policy. During the entire life of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic
(1918-1938), Dr. Edward Benes, leader of the Czech National Socialists, was "Mr. Foreign ,Policy"! After twenty
long years of the brand of democracy promulgated by the
�SLOVAKIA
39
Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the relation between the two "closely related nations", the Slovaks and the Czechs, were strained to the limit. The Republic had to fall, because the majority of its population had been treated as second-rate citizens. It was a democracy only for the Czechs, but in the
end not even a Czech could be found to fire a single shot
in its defense!
After the sad experiences in the Czecho-,Slovak Republic under the Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the Slovaks do not
even want to think about another common political state
with them. Of course, Czecho..(Slovakia still exists, but not
because the Slovaks willed it so. The political will of the
Slovak nation was utterly disregarded in 1945 by the victorious United Nations. "Away from Prague - back to Bratislava" is the cry of all Slovak nationals who are convinced now more than ever that the highest interests of the
Slovak nation can best ·be safeguarded and secured only
in an independent Slovak Republic.
A proper neighborly relationship on an international
basis is, however, possible between the Slovaks and the
Czechs, if it is allowed to develop under international supervision. But never again on an intra-state basis. The Slovaks
remember the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918, which T. G. Masaryk himself had drafted and undersigned - and then repudiated completely. And they shall never forget the antiSlovak policy of Masaryk's star pupil, Dr. Edward Benes,
In 193'5, the latter promised Slovakia complete autonomy
within a year, if the deputies of the Hlinka party would
vote him in as president of the Republic. The Slovaks fulfilled their part of the given word, but Benes did not. When
they pressed him in 1936 to fulfill his promise, Dr. Benes
officially annonced to the Hlinka Slovak People's Party that
he must first grant autonomy to Ruthenia, because he was
bound to do so by the peace treaty of St. Germaine and
the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. But nothing
happened: Ruthenia, like Slovakia, continued to be regarded as a colony of the Benes Czechs.
President Ha.cha; the constitutional successor of Dr.
Benes, is responsible for the March, 1939, military putsch
in Slovakia, whereby an attempt was made to repudiate
�40
SLOVAKIA
the rights of autonomous Slovakia. The latter, we know,
was granted autonomy by Prague on October 6, 19,38. And
what did Gottwald, the Czech Red, do later? In Kosice,
in 194'5, he proclaimed that the Czecho-Slovak Republic
"must" safeguard and cultivate the right of the Slovaksbut in 1948, when he succeeded Benes as president, Gottwald proceeded to repudiate all his promises, because Slovakia, he said, was anti-communist!
T. G. Masaryk, Dr. Edward Benes, Dr. Ha.cha, Gottwald, Zapotocky, and Novotny-all presidents of CzechoSlovakia - had promised the Slovaks a fuller life of freedom, but failed to fulfill their promises. Little wonder, then,
that the Slovaks have completely lost their faith in leading
representatives of Czech political life. Let the Czechs go
their way, and let the ,Slovaks be free to develop and decide
their own destiny-that is the sentiment of at least 95 %
of the Slovaks at home and in the free world. The Slovaks
stand for a Central-European or an European Federation:
let the Czechs join as an independent political unit, and
the Slovaks likewise: but no more Czech domination!
The Slovaks and the Poles
In the course of the ages, the ,Slovaks had no serious
trouble with the Poles. They were practically always on
good terms with them and symphathized with them. In one
of their first political manifestations, that of 1'849 in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, the Slovaks expressly stated that
they were for the realization of national and state rights of
the Poles. And the Slovaks remember that the Poles made
it possible ,f or Msgr. Andrew Hlinka to travel in 1919 in an
attempt to present the 'Slovak demands (the Pittsburgh
Pact of 1918) to the Peace Conference. They were opposed
to the solution of the problem of the Orava and Spis Counties, whereby over twenty villages that had belonged to Slovakia for more than a thousand years were awarded to Poland at the Paris Peace Conference. The Slovaks were angered more at Benes than at the Poles when they learned
that Benes had traded these villages for the coal fields
of Tesin in Silesia. Mter that relations between the Slovaks
and the Poles improved until 1938 when the Czecho-Slovak
�SLOVAKIA
41
Republic collapsed and the Poles again sought a revision
of the Slovak-Polish frontier to protect themselves against
a German attack from the south. At that time the Prague
regime did not defend Slovakia, so the latter entered directly into negotiations with the Poles in October, 1938,
where the Poles cut their demands to a minimum. More
obstacles to better relations were removed during a conference with the Poles in Ruzomberok in February, 1939.
Poland was among the first countries to recognize the
independent Republic of Slovakia, after the Slovak Parliament proclaimed its independence of Prague on March 14,
1939. When Hitler and Stalin decided to partition Poland
in 1939, many Poles emigrated through Slovakia, while
many remained there throughout the war. They were given
every courtesy; they had Slovak passes and were employed
by private and state industry where they spent the worst
years of the war and later left unmolested to fight for the
liberation of Poland. The friendship of the Slovaks for the
·P oles was never approved by the Benes Czechs in Prague
who preferred to do business with Stalin at the expense
of Poland and Slovakia.
The Slovaks and the Ukrainians
The border between Slovakia and Ruthenia is 40 miles
long. Known as Sub.JCarpathian Russia, Ruthenia today belongs to Soviet Ukrainia which is a part of the Soviet Union. Dr. Edward Benes and his pro-Soviet "provisional"
government sold out the Ruthenians to Stalin in 1945. Slovakia today borders directly on the Soviet Union, and the
Slovaks know that Ruthenia is administrated directly by
Moscow. The old inhabitants of those parts have been transferred deep into Russia by Moscow, resettling the evacuated towns and villages with non-!Slovanic elements from
Asia.
The Slovaks were always on good terms with the original inhabitants. The history of the rSlovaks and the Ruthenians had much in common; both had suffered the heavy
hand of foreign rulers for centuries. In October, 1938, representatives of Ruthenia came to 2ilina to confer with the
Slovaks. It was there that they said: we have lived for cen-
�42
SLOVAKIA
turies on good terms with the Slovaks; we fought for 20
years within the Czecho-Slovak framework to gain autonomy as the Slovaks did; we shall go along with the Slovaks also in the future; if the Slovaks tie their future
with the Czechs, we shall do so; if, however, the Slovaks
should proclaim their independence of the Czechs and shall
be for an independent Slovak State, we also shall declare
our separation from Prague and proclaim an independent
Republic of Carpatho-Ukrainia.
And that is exactly what happened. The ,S lovaks proclaimed their State independence on March 14, 1939, in Bratislava, while the deputies of Ruthenia did the same thing
on the same day in Chust. True, they enjoyed independence
only 24 hours, because Ruthenia was incorporated into Hungary on the basis of an agreement between Hitler and the
Magyars. After World War II, because of a secret agreement, Benes surrendered Ruthenia and its people to Stalin.
gyars. After World War ll, because of a secret agreement,
Benes surrendered Ruthenia and its people to Stalin.
1
The Slovaks and the Magyars
The longest border between Slovakia and any other
neighboring country is that between Slovakia and Hungary;
it is 31·2 miles long. The Hungarian State originated from
the ruins of the first Slovak State--the Great Moravian
Empire-after 907 A. D. St. Stephen, King of Hungary,
made Christians of the pagan Magyars and tied them spiritually to Rome. Believing that a "uni-lingual state is weak",
St. Stephen did not allow the Magyar language or any
other language to be the official language of the state, but
established Latin as the official language and so conserved,
like an ice pack, all the living languages of the inhabitants
of Hungary. It was only at the beginning of the last century that Latin was replaced by Magyar as the official language of the State.
Unhealthy chauvinism began to spread the Magyar
tongue at the expense of the native Slovak. The result was
that the Slovaks revolted against the dominating Magyars
over a hundred years ago, in 1848. Disregarding the admonition of St. Stephen about an one-language State, the Ma-
�SLOVAKIA
43
gyars pressed for one •~Hungarian" nation with Magyar as
the official language "from the Carpathians to the Adriatic
Sea". The partition of Hungary in 1918 was due to excessive Ma:gyar nationalism which made enemies of all the
other nationalities of the realm.
Before 1918, the Magyars accused the Slovaks of being
Pan-,Slavs. After 1918, the Masaryk-Benes Czechs accused
the Slovaks of being Magyarones. While the Magyars fostered hatred of the Slovanic nations, the Czechs on the
other hand propagated hatred of the Magyars among the
Slovaks and Czechs. Excessive chauvinism prompted both
movements. Many of the younger Slovak set succumbed to
the anti..;Magyar propaganda of official Prague and only
later discovered that thereby the Masaryk-/Benes Czechs
wanted to conceal their own real goal: the Czechization
bf the Slovak nation. The Magyar "Hungarian nation-state
from the Carpathians to the Adriatic" became for the
Czechs "a united Czechoslovak nation from Sumava to the
Tatras". Obviously the Czechs learned nothing from past
history-and ended up just as did the Magyars: alone and
hated by the non-Czech citizens and by all their neighbors.
When the Slovaks declared their independence of Prague in 1939, the Magyars recognized the independent Republic of Slovakia de jure and established diplomatic contacts forthwith. Of course, the Slovaks were crudely jarred
by the Vienna negotiations of Ribbentrop and Ciano in 1938,
whereby the Magyars were favored with about one-third
of 1S lovak territory (Vienna Award). After 1945 these
southern regions were returned to Slovakia so that Benes
could expel the Magyars from them in exchange for Slovaks settled in Hungary proper. The Benes Czechs are alone responsible for the brutalities committed during the
forced "transfer" of Magyars from Slovak territory. The
Slovaks condemned this forced transfer of Magyars as
strongly as they did the brutal expulsion of the Sudeten
Germans from Bohemia.
The Hungarian National Council, under the leadership
of Monsignor Bela Varga, has recognized the inherent right
of the Slovak nation to freedom and independence. Cordial
contacts have been established with Slovaks in exile and
1
�SLOVAKIA
44
there is every reason to believe that the Slovaks and Magyars shall be able to come to an understanding when the
Iron Curtain is lifted for benefit of both nations and in the
common interests of all free peoples.
In Conclusion
It is a matter of historical record that the Slovaks
always tried to get along with neighboring nations, at times even at the expense of Slovak interests. They realize
that quarrels and chauvinistic desires settle nothing and
simply cause trouble, not only for the nations concerned,
but for all free nations. Today all the nations behind the
Iron Curtain are, so to speak, in the same boat, suffering
under the Red heel of communism. The Slovak nation as a
whole has been adamantly opposed to the ideology of Marxistic socialism for over a hundred years. The Slovaks are
a small nation, but as partners with other European nations they can do much to destroy the ,greatest evil of our
time, the enemy of all humanity: Communism. Let's encourage them to do that!
•
• •
(K. S.)
CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA
KRASNA HORKA
By Hubert Macko, OSB.
Krasna Horka (Mount Beautiful) is one of the few
fortresses of Slovakia in a good state of preservation. As
the name itself suggests, it is beautiful in its ancient splendor, standing atop a hill where the valleys of Sajava and
Cermosne meet in Gerner. Perched on a steep hill in a
very picturesque setting, proud and unconquered by time
and the elements, it is indeed a jewel of the golden days
that were. In Gerner they still sing: "Krasna Horka, pysny zamok ... " (Mount Beautiful, proud fortress).
Of its beginning we have no record. It is mentioned
in the annals of Slovak fortresses as early as 1341; it was
called "Kastrum Krasnohorka" and was owned by the Bebek family. There seemed to be some dispute as to the
ownership of the fortress, a dispute that lasted a full 50
�
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1958, Vol. 8
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li>
</ul>
Publisher
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The Slovak League of America
Date
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1958
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SLOVAKIA
33
THE SWVAKS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
God had •willed it that the Slovaks settle in Central Europe, in the valleys of the Vah, Nitra, Hron, and Ipel, Ondava and Laborec. The land of the Slovaks is watered by
the huge waves of the Danube which flows in the south
for a hundred miles. The Morava river in the west and the
Tisa in the east make contact with Slovakia. Altogether
9'7 % of the rivers and streams of ,S lovakia flow south into the Danube and the Tisa rivers - only the Dunajec
wends its way north to the Visla and the Baltic Sea.
The Slovak mountains, the Carpathians, rise on the
northern 1borders, and therefrom to the south we find hills
and valleys of natural and romantic beauty. In the High
and Low Tatra Mountains there are deep lakes and very
beautiful bathing and recreational spots.
In the valleys there are inexhaustible mineral springs.
Practically three-quarters of Slovakia is covered with fox-ests and hills. Rich, fertile land, however, makes UF much
of the land in the east, south, and west.
Slovakia is in fact a :Eiucharistic country. The wheat
grown there provides the daily bread for the Slovaks just
as it does for the Sacred Hosts they receive so frequently.
Grapes provide refreshment for man and the wine necessary for the altars of the land. In the mountains there is
an invaluable supply of green gold-thick forests of beech,
oak, and pine trees. The rivers of the valleys abound in various kinds of fish, and in the bowels of the earth there
are ice caverns and gold, coal, antimony, magnesite, naphtha, and mineral waters.
Slovakia has a population of four million made up
of Slovaks for the most part. Before · 19'46 quite a number
of Germans, Ukrainians, Poles and Magyars had settled
in Slovakia, but today, after the forced expulsion of the
Germans and Magyars by Dr. Edward Benes and his regime, the Germans and Magyars form a negligible portion
of the population. Hundred of thousands of Czechs, the socalled "reliable" element, have been settled there by the
pro~Soviet Czech regime. At least 80 % of the total population is of the Catholic religion. Protestants and Jews
34
SLOVAKIA
make up the rest of the population. There are practically
no Slovaks without religious affiliation in Slovakia even
at the present time even though religion is scorned by the
Czech pro-.Soviet regime.
Slovaks emigrated in large numbers before 1918, during the administration of the Magyars, and in appreciable
m1mibers even during the reign of the Czechs from 191'8 to
1938. At least one-third of the Slovaks settled in America,
Canada, and South America during that time. Emigration
stopped completely after the Slovak parliament of autonomous Slovakia proclaimed the independence of Slovakia
on March 14, 1939. It is noteworthy that the Slovak Republic did not depend on foreign loans : Slovakia depended
entirely on her own resources and proved her viability and
economic independence during the six years of her independence (1939-1M5).
Adherence To Christian Culture
It was only natural that the Slovaks were always on
good terms with their neighbors: they had been guided
by western Christian culture for over a thousand years.
The church of Prince Pribina, built in 831, is still a part
of the beautiful Nitra Cathedral. The Slovaks not only
learned and preached Christianity, but actually lived it.
They love God above all else, as taught by their apostles,
Sts. Cyril and Methodius, served the true Church of Jesus
Christ, and loved their neighbors in the same measure that
they did themselves.
How did the Slovaks get along with their neighbors:
the Austrians and Czechs in the west and northwest, the
Poles in the north, the Ukrainians in the east, and the Magyars in the south? ·
Vienna, the capital of Austria, and Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, are just an hour's ride by auto from each
other. In the old Austro-Hungarian empire, the Slovaks
and the Austrians got along very well, their contacts were
cordial. The Habsburg dynasty had its members crowned
as kings in the St. Martin Home in Bratislava. After 1918,
when the T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes Czechs took
over the reigns of the newly formed Czecho-Slovak State,
SLOVAKIA
the borders between Austria and Slovakia were closed; one
needed a visa to cross the border. Later, this regulation
was retracted and Slovaks and Austrians could travel at
will <between Vienna and Bratislava. This was a good neighborly relationship that was to the advantage of the !Slovaks
living in Vienna, or in Austria proper. There were some
80,000 Slovaks settled in Austria.
Politically, the Slovaks lived their own lives in Vienna.
Recognized political and church leaders visited them regularly. Monsignor Andrew H1inka, founder of the Slovaks
People's Party and champion of Slovak freedom and independence, had cordial contacts not only with Slovak leaders
in Austria, but with influential Austrians a\3 well. Msgr.
Dr. Joseph Tiso, President of the 1S lovak Republic, was educated in the Pazmaneum of Vienna, where the bishops of
Hungary sent their most capable theologians for further
priestly studies.
In 1938, when Austria ceased to exist as an independent State, the Slovaks continued their friendly relationship with the Austrias. The Slovaks certainly will never
forget how the Austrians helped the Slovaks in 1945 when
about '5,000 of them sought asylum in Austria, including
President Tiso and the Slovak Government, after the Reds
broke through to Ruthenia and the eastern part of Slovakia. And they are grateful today for the assistance still
proferred to Slovak escapees. There is every reason to believe that after the Red scourge is removed from Slovakia,
the Slovaks and the Austrians will have no trouble at all
in getting along with each other.
The Moravians and the Czechs
On the northwest there is a 1'25-mile border that separates the Moravians and Czechs from the Slovaks. This border, however, during the existence of Austro~Hungary never
was an obstacle to good relations between the local populations. This is understandable, since on both sides of this
border are settled the descendants of a common Slovak
tribe, many of whom even today call themselves "Moravian
Slovaks". The latter were strongly attracted into the political, cultural, and economic sphere of the Czechs and par-
36
SLOVAKIA
tially succumbed and accepted Czech culture and the Czech
language. Nevertheless the "Moravian Slovaks" still cling
to Slovak customs and habits and are as Catholic as the
Slovaks on the other side of the border. Hussitism and
Protestantism has made as little headway among them as
among the Slovaks themselves.
From the times of Master John Hus, Comenius, and
other Czech thinkers, therefore from the 1'5-16th centuries,
Czech political ideology has strongly digressed from the
traditions of King Saint Wenceslaus. It has divorced itself
from them and has followed the path away from Rome and
particularly from the pedagogical office of the Vatican.
Havlicek, Masaryk, and Benes made Hus a symbol of Czech
pride and attempted to alter Czech history and remake the
Czech nation in the ima,ge of John Hus which, of course,
was in opposition to the Christian mind of Europe. The Movement "away from Rome", headed by Masaryk, Benes, and
other "enlightened and progressive" Czechs, gained momentum as soon as T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes
took over the Hradcany in Pra:gue. With their blessing and
active support, the "Czecho- Slovak National Church" was
established. There was nothing Slovak about it except the
second part of its appellation: it was strictly a Czech enterprise which sought to destroy the Roman Catholic
Church in the newly-baked political unit called Czecho-Slovakia; the Slovaks had nothing in common with it. In 1948
it was the first religious organization to willingly offer
its collaboration to the Red cause. When the Czech National Church of Czecho-'Slovakia (that is its real name) was
founded, about a million Czech Catholics and some 360
Czech priests joined it, supporting thereby T. G. Masaryk's
movement "away from Rome"!
It was only natural that this display of chauvinistic
nationalism isolated the Czechs from the spirit of Catholic
Europe and tragically ended in the willing acceptance of
Russian Bolshevism under the leadership of Clement Gottwald, the successor of Masaryk and Benes to the throne
of the Czech kings at the Hradcany. In Europe it was only
Prague, at that time still under the leadership of Ur. Edward Benes, that really welcomed the Red conquerors of
SLOVAKIA
37
the world and their Red Army in grand style as its liberators and the guarantor of its national, state and social life,
of its growth and progress. Unfortunately Czech Catholic
politics was never strong and vigorous enough to pursue
its own course. Under the leadership of 'Monsignor John
Sramek, the politics of Czech Catholics was always subordinated to the basic lines of Czech national policy which it
adopted and followed. The sad awakening came later when
it was too late to do anything about it.
These facts, particularly the openly anti-Catholic policy of the Masaryk and Benes regimes during the twentyyear cohabitation of the Slovaks and Czechs, were the cause
of much friction and bad blood between them. In a word,
the Slovaks did not trust the ruling Czechs and told them
in no uncertain terms on many occasions that their policies
would lead to the collapse of the Czecho-1Slovak Republic.
Making friends of the Russian Reds and enemies of immediate neighbors could hardly be termed wise politics. In
many respects, however, the ,S lovaks gained much from the
Czechs in its transitional period in their march to independence. Not, of course, at the price demanded by the Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the surrender of their inherent right to
freedom and independence, the repudiation of their own
ethnic individuality.
We know that T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes
had stated at the Paris Peace Conference that "the Czechs
and the Slovaks are the same". The Slovaks, according to
them were only a "branch" of the Czech nation, and the
Slovak language was but a "dialect" of the Czech. While
representatives of the Czechs propagated this "Czeclto-Slovak" ideology that the Slovaks and Czechs were one ethnic
unit, the Slovaks under the leadership of the Catholic Monsignors Andrew Hlinka and Dr. Joseph Tiso and the Protestant clergyman Martin Razus replied that they could
not accept this false ideology. The Slovaks, they said, never
were and at no time felt that they are a "branch" of the
Czech nation. They always were and still feel that they are
a distinct ethnic unit, as are the other Slovanic nations.
The Slovaks had no intentions of commiting national sui-
38
SLOVAKIA
cide when they decided to form a common political state
with the Czechs in 1918.
The Masaryk..1Benes Czechs, however, continued to propagate the ideology that had no historical foundation in
fact with all the propaganda means at their disposal, that
is, with State funds and, therefore, ironically, even at the
expense of the Slovaks. When Dr. Benes visited Bratislava
in 1933, he declared that the Slovaks had to accept the idea
of an ethnic "Czecho-Slovak" nation in their own interest.
"In the fight against us," he said, "the entire pressure shall
go against Slovakia. Our relationship with Germany is good
and correct and so it shall continue to remain in every case.
Between us and the Germans there have not been and there
shall not be any quarrels and difficulties about boundaries."
The events of 1,938-1939, however, proved how wrong
Benes was. Pressure was exerted not against the Slovaks,
but against the Czechs, because the relationship between
the Czechs and the Germans never had been, as Benes declared, "good and correct", but always bad and insincere.
The historical record, as written, informed and impartial
observers, is quite clear on this point. The resolution of this
relationship was one of the causes of World War II. And
what happened after 1945? With the help of Stalin, Dr.
Edward Benes resolved this problem of "good relations"
with the Germans by brutally expelling more than three
million ·S udeten Germans for the "new people's Republic"
of Czecho-lSlovakia !
The Slovaks were opposed to the forced expulsion of
the Germans from Czecho-'S lovakia at that time and still
adamantly condemn it. The responsibility for this shamefull
crime against humanity must be credited to the account
of the foreign policy which Masaryk and Benes initiated
at the beginning of the Republic, the policy with which
the Slovaks never identified themselves and, therefore, cannot be held responsible for it or its consequences. There
was nothing Slovak about Czecho-Slovak foreign policy. During the entire life of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic
(1918-1938), Dr. Edward Benes, leader of the Czech National Socialists, was "Mr. Foreign ,Policy"! After twenty
long years of the brand of democracy promulgated by the
SLOVAKIA
39
Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the relation between the two "closely related nations", the Slovaks and the Czechs, were strained to the limit. The Republic had to fall, because the majority of its population had been treated as second-rate citizens. It was a democracy only for the Czechs, but in the
end not even a Czech could be found to fire a single shot
in its defense!
After the sad experiences in the Czecho-,Slovak Republic under the Masaryk-Benes Czechs, the Slovaks do not
even want to think about another common political state
with them. Of course, Czecho..(Slovakia still exists, but not
because the Slovaks willed it so. The political will of the
Slovak nation was utterly disregarded in 1945 by the victorious United Nations. "Away from Prague - back to Bratislava" is the cry of all Slovak nationals who are convinced now more than ever that the highest interests of the
Slovak nation can best ·be safeguarded and secured only
in an independent Slovak Republic.
A proper neighborly relationship on an international
basis is, however, possible between the Slovaks and the
Czechs, if it is allowed to develop under international supervision. But never again on an intra-state basis. The Slovaks
remember the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918, which T. G. Masaryk himself had drafted and undersigned - and then repudiated completely. And they shall never forget the antiSlovak policy of Masaryk's star pupil, Dr. Edward Benes,
In 193'5, the latter promised Slovakia complete autonomy
within a year, if the deputies of the Hlinka party would
vote him in as president of the Republic. The Slovaks fulfilled their part of the given word, but Benes did not. When
they pressed him in 1936 to fulfill his promise, Dr. Benes
officially annonced to the Hlinka Slovak People's Party that
he must first grant autonomy to Ruthenia, because he was
bound to do so by the peace treaty of St. Germaine and
the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. But nothing
happened: Ruthenia, like Slovakia, continued to be regarded as a colony of the Benes Czechs.
President Ha.cha; the constitutional successor of Dr.
Benes, is responsible for the March, 1939, military putsch
in Slovakia, whereby an attempt was made to repudiate
40
SLOVAKIA
the rights of autonomous Slovakia. The latter, we know,
was granted autonomy by Prague on October 6, 19,38. And
what did Gottwald, the Czech Red, do later? In Kosice,
in 194'5, he proclaimed that the Czecho-Slovak Republic
"must" safeguard and cultivate the right of the Slovaksbut in 1948, when he succeeded Benes as president, Gottwald proceeded to repudiate all his promises, because Slovakia, he said, was anti-communist!
T. G. Masaryk, Dr. Edward Benes, Dr. Ha.cha, Gottwald, Zapotocky, and Novotny-all presidents of CzechoSlovakia - had promised the Slovaks a fuller life of freedom, but failed to fulfill their promises. Little wonder, then,
that the Slovaks have completely lost their faith in leading
representatives of Czech political life. Let the Czechs go
their way, and let the ,Slovaks be free to develop and decide
their own destiny-that is the sentiment of at least 95 %
of the Slovaks at home and in the free world. The Slovaks
stand for a Central-European or an European Federation:
let the Czechs join as an independent political unit, and
the Slovaks likewise: but no more Czech domination!
The Slovaks and the Poles
In the course of the ages, the ,Slovaks had no serious
trouble with the Poles. They were practically always on
good terms with them and symphathized with them. In one
of their first political manifestations, that of 1'849 in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, the Slovaks expressly stated that
they were for the realization of national and state rights of
the Poles. And the Slovaks remember that the Poles made
it possible ,f or Msgr. Andrew Hlinka to travel in 1919 in an
attempt to present the 'Slovak demands (the Pittsburgh
Pact of 1918) to the Peace Conference. They were opposed
to the solution of the problem of the Orava and Spis Counties, whereby over twenty villages that had belonged to Slovakia for more than a thousand years were awarded to Poland at the Paris Peace Conference. The Slovaks were angered more at Benes than at the Poles when they learned
that Benes had traded these villages for the coal fields
of Tesin in Silesia. Mter that relations between the Slovaks
and the Poles improved until 1938 when the Czecho-Slovak
SLOVAKIA
41
Republic collapsed and the Poles again sought a revision
of the Slovak-Polish frontier to protect themselves against
a German attack from the south. At that time the Prague
regime did not defend Slovakia, so the latter entered directly into negotiations with the Poles in October, 1938,
where the Poles cut their demands to a minimum. More
obstacles to better relations were removed during a conference with the Poles in Ruzomberok in February, 1939.
Poland was among the first countries to recognize the
independent Republic of Slovakia, after the Slovak Parliament proclaimed its independence of Prague on March 14,
1939. When Hitler and Stalin decided to partition Poland
in 1939, many Poles emigrated through Slovakia, while
many remained there throughout the war. They were given
every courtesy; they had Slovak passes and were employed
by private and state industry where they spent the worst
years of the war and later left unmolested to fight for the
liberation of Poland. The friendship of the Slovaks for the
·P oles was never approved by the Benes Czechs in Prague
who preferred to do business with Stalin at the expense
of Poland and Slovakia.
The Slovaks and the Ukrainians
The border between Slovakia and Ruthenia is 40 miles
long. Known as Sub.JCarpathian Russia, Ruthenia today belongs to Soviet Ukrainia which is a part of the Soviet Union. Dr. Edward Benes and his pro-Soviet "provisional"
government sold out the Ruthenians to Stalin in 1945. Slovakia today borders directly on the Soviet Union, and the
Slovaks know that Ruthenia is administrated directly by
Moscow. The old inhabitants of those parts have been transferred deep into Russia by Moscow, resettling the evacuated towns and villages with non-!Slovanic elements from
Asia.
The Slovaks were always on good terms with the original inhabitants. The history of the rSlovaks and the Ruthenians had much in common; both had suffered the heavy
hand of foreign rulers for centuries. In October, 1938, representatives of Ruthenia came to 2ilina to confer with the
Slovaks. It was there that they said: we have lived for cen-
42
SLOVAKIA
turies on good terms with the Slovaks; we fought for 20
years within the Czecho-Slovak framework to gain autonomy as the Slovaks did; we shall go along with the Slovaks also in the future; if the Slovaks tie their future
with the Czechs, we shall do so; if, however, the Slovaks
should proclaim their independence of the Czechs and shall
be for an independent Slovak State, we also shall declare
our separation from Prague and proclaim an independent
Republic of Carpatho-Ukrainia.
And that is exactly what happened. The ,S lovaks proclaimed their State independence on March 14, 1939, in Bratislava, while the deputies of Ruthenia did the same thing
on the same day in Chust. True, they enjoyed independence
only 24 hours, because Ruthenia was incorporated into Hungary on the basis of an agreement between Hitler and the
Magyars. After World War II, because of a secret agreement, Benes surrendered Ruthenia and its people to Stalin.
gyars. After World War ll, because of a secret agreement,
Benes surrendered Ruthenia and its people to Stalin.
1
The Slovaks and the Magyars
The longest border between Slovakia and any other
neighboring country is that between Slovakia and Hungary;
it is 31·2 miles long. The Hungarian State originated from
the ruins of the first Slovak State--the Great Moravian
Empire-after 907 A. D. St. Stephen, King of Hungary,
made Christians of the pagan Magyars and tied them spiritually to Rome. Believing that a "uni-lingual state is weak",
St. Stephen did not allow the Magyar language or any
other language to be the official language of the state, but
established Latin as the official language and so conserved,
like an ice pack, all the living languages of the inhabitants
of Hungary. It was only at the beginning of the last century that Latin was replaced by Magyar as the official language of the State.
Unhealthy chauvinism began to spread the Magyar
tongue at the expense of the native Slovak. The result was
that the Slovaks revolted against the dominating Magyars
over a hundred years ago, in 1848. Disregarding the admonition of St. Stephen about an one-language State, the Ma-
SLOVAKIA
43
gyars pressed for one •~Hungarian" nation with Magyar as
the official language "from the Carpathians to the Adriatic
Sea". The partition of Hungary in 1918 was due to excessive Ma:gyar nationalism which made enemies of all the
other nationalities of the realm.
Before 1918, the Magyars accused the Slovaks of being
Pan-,Slavs. After 1918, the Masaryk-Benes Czechs accused
the Slovaks of being Magyarones. While the Magyars fostered hatred of the Slovanic nations, the Czechs on the
other hand propagated hatred of the Magyars among the
Slovaks and Czechs. Excessive chauvinism prompted both
movements. Many of the younger Slovak set succumbed to
the anti..;Magyar propaganda of official Prague and only
later discovered that thereby the Masaryk-/Benes Czechs
wanted to conceal their own real goal: the Czechization
bf the Slovak nation. The Magyar "Hungarian nation-state
from the Carpathians to the Adriatic" became for the
Czechs "a united Czechoslovak nation from Sumava to the
Tatras". Obviously the Czechs learned nothing from past
history-and ended up just as did the Magyars: alone and
hated by the non-Czech citizens and by all their neighbors.
When the Slovaks declared their independence of Prague in 1939, the Magyars recognized the independent Republic of Slovakia de jure and established diplomatic contacts forthwith. Of course, the Slovaks were crudely jarred
by the Vienna negotiations of Ribbentrop and Ciano in 1938,
whereby the Magyars were favored with about one-third
of 1S lovak territory (Vienna Award). After 1945 these
southern regions were returned to Slovakia so that Benes
could expel the Magyars from them in exchange for Slovaks settled in Hungary proper. The Benes Czechs are alone responsible for the brutalities committed during the
forced "transfer" of Magyars from Slovak territory. The
Slovaks condemned this forced transfer of Magyars as
strongly as they did the brutal expulsion of the Sudeten
Germans from Bohemia.
The Hungarian National Council, under the leadership
of Monsignor Bela Varga, has recognized the inherent right
of the Slovak nation to freedom and independence. Cordial
contacts have been established with Slovaks in exile and
1
SLOVAKIA
44
there is every reason to believe that the Slovaks and Magyars shall be able to come to an understanding when the
Iron Curtain is lifted for benefit of both nations and in the
common interests of all free peoples.
In Conclusion
It is a matter of historical record that the Slovaks
always tried to get along with neighboring nations, at times even at the expense of Slovak interests. They realize
that quarrels and chauvinistic desires settle nothing and
simply cause trouble, not only for the nations concerned,
but for all free nations. Today all the nations behind the
Iron Curtain are, so to speak, in the same boat, suffering
under the Red heel of communism. The Slovak nation as a
whole has been adamantly opposed to the ideology of Marxistic socialism for over a hundred years. The Slovaks are
a small nation, but as partners with other European nations they can do much to destroy the ,greatest evil of our
time, the enemy of all humanity: Communism. Let's encourage them to do that!
•
• •
(K. S.)
CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA
KRASNA HORKA
By Hubert Macko, OSB.
Krasna Horka (Mount Beautiful) is one of the few
fortresses of Slovakia in a good state of preservation. As
the name itself suggests, it is beautiful in its ancient splendor, standing atop a hill where the valleys of Sajava and
Cermosne meet in Gerner. Perched on a steep hill in a
very picturesque setting, proud and unconquered by time
and the elements, it is indeed a jewel of the golden days
that were. In Gerner they still sing: "Krasna Horka, pysny zamok ... " (Mount Beautiful, proud fortress).
Of its beginning we have no record. It is mentioned
in the annals of Slovak fortresses as early as 1341; it was
called "Kastrum Krasnohorka" and was owned by the Bebek family. There seemed to be some dispute as to the
ownership of the fortress, a dispute that lasted a full 50
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 Slovaks and Their Neighbors
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 3 (28), December 1958
pp. 33-44
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
December 1958
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/daa076f4001d5e0e38b897e8b44b7939.pdf
31676bcc8dcc227fe07a34ddfaf5c979
PDF Text
Text
VOL . VIII
DECEMBER, 1958
NO. 3 (28)
IN THIS ISSUE:
WHY THE CZECHS DID NOT FIGHT
HON. B. CARROLL REESE: THE SUDETEN GERMANS
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
FEDERATIVE TENDENCIES OF SLOVAK N.ATIONALISl\-1
THE SLOVAKS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
CASTLES OF SLOVAE.IA: KRASNA HORKA
SLOVAKIA'S LIFELINE WITH THE WEST
RICHARD WEISHAR :
. THE ROOTS OF COMMUNISM IN THE C>SR.
ANDREW HLINKA AND PRAGUE
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: P. 46, 51, 68, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compi led by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
~-~NSER 'LIBRARY
_
, -: ! . L~RSVI.LLE STATE COLLEGE
.ILLERSVILLE, -PA 17551
�RECOMMENDE D BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILE CE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $i.oo.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA " -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to pr omote a better under·
standing and appreciation of t he Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JED N OTA PRESS
Mi ddletown , Pa.
�
VOL . VIII
DECEMBER, 1958
NO. 3 (28)
IN THIS ISSUE:
WHY THE CZECHS DID NOT FIGHT
HON. B. CARROLL REESE: THE SUDETEN GERMANS
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
FEDERATIVE TENDENCIES OF SLOVAK N.ATIONALISl\-1
THE SLOVAKS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
CASTLES OF SLOVAE.IA: KRASNA HORKA
SLOVAKIA'S LIFELINE WITH THE WEST
RICHARD WEISHAR :
. THE ROOTS OF COMMUNISM IN THE C>SR.
ANDREW HLINKA AND PRAGUE
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: P. 46, 51, 68, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compi led by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
~-~NSER 'LIBRARY
_
, -: ! . L~RSVI.LLE STATE COLLEGE
.ILLERSVILLE, -PA 17551
�RECOMMENDE D BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILE CE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $i.oo.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA " -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to pr omote a better under·
standing and appreciation of t he Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JED N OTA PRESS
Mi ddletown , 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
1958, Vol. 8
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li>
</ul>
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
1958
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
VOL . VIII
DECEMBER, 1958
NO. 3 (28)
IN THIS ISSUE:
WHY THE CZECHS DID NOT FIGHT
HON. B. CARROLL REESE: THE SUDETEN GERMANS
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
FEDERATIVE TENDENCIES OF SLOVAK N.ATIONALISl\-1
THE SLOVAKS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
CASTLES OF SLOVAE.IA: KRASNA HORKA
SLOVAKIA'S LIFELINE WITH THE WEST
RICHARD WEISHAR :
. THE ROOTS OF COMMUNISM IN THE C>SR.
ANDREW HLINKA AND PRAGUE
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: P. 46, 51, 68, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compi led by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
~-~NSER 'LIBRARY
_
, -: ! . L~RSVI.LLE STATE COLLEGE
.ILLERSVILLE, -PA 17551
RECOMMENDE D BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILE CE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $i.oo.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA " -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to pr omote a better under·
standing and appreciation of t he Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JED N OTA PRESS
Mi ddletown , 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
Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 3 (28)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
December 1958
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/0ed3ffb9a95a7811650d2078b427ad87.pdf
44cebf2161e6ba0ad838816bee2ef4c9
PDF Text
Text
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
A n drew J. Hamrock
Honora1 y Presidents
Dr. Pete r P. H l etko
61 Woodland Avenu e
C::.rapbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warre~ville, Ill.
Steph en
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh , P.A.
Dubi e l
12210 Detroit Avenu e
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
El izab et h Andrejko
P:·esident
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Phil i p A. Hrobak
P. n. Box 150
:YJ:iddletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
M icha el J. Vargovi c
Rev. John W . Kri spinsky
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Julia Kraj covic
H elen K ocan
1648 W . 18th Street
2 hicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Re cording Secretary
Constantine
Cu l en
Paul
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Fall at
NaLioual President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
St ephen J. Tkach
M i lan V . Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic1,go 38, Ill.
:-,, ational President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
An n a Sota~
National President
Ladi es Pennsylvania
S lovak Catholic Union
Pa u l P. Ja mriska
810 Montooth Street
Pittsb\lrgh 10, Pa.
Josept, G. Prusa
Joh n
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozboril
. ational Presiden t
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVE N SKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEONOTA
'.\1iddletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Clevelan d, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Passaic. N. J.
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio·
Ch icago , lll
SVORNOST
OSAONE H 1-ASY
Chicag o. Ill
Whitaker
l'a
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
�SLOVAKIA: Ruins of the Topolcany Castle, Nitra County
�
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
A n drew J. Hamrock
Honora1 y Presidents
Dr. Pete r P. H l etko
61 Woodland Avenu e
C::.rapbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warre~ville, Ill.
Steph en
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh , P.A.
Dubi e l
12210 Detroit Avenu e
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
El izab et h Andrejko
P:·esident
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Phil i p A. Hrobak
P. n. Box 150
:YJ:iddletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
M icha el J. Vargovi c
Rev. John W . Kri spinsky
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Julia Kraj covic
H elen K ocan
1648 W . 18th Street
2 hicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Re cording Secretary
Constantine
Cu l en
Paul
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Fall at
NaLioual President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
St ephen J. Tkach
M i lan V . Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic1,go 38, Ill.
:-,, ational President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
An n a Sota~
National President
Ladi es Pennsylvania
S lovak Catholic Union
Pa u l P. Ja mriska
810 Montooth Street
Pittsb\lrgh 10, Pa.
Josept, G. Prusa
Joh n
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozboril
. ational Presiden t
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVE N SKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEONOTA
'.\1iddletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Clevelan d, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Passaic. N. J.
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio·
Ch icago , lll
SVORNOST
OSAONE H 1-ASY
Chicag o. Ill
Whitaker
l'a
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
�SLOVAKIA: Ruins of the Topolcany Castle, Nitra County
�
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
1958, Vol. 8
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li>
</ul>
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
1958
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
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
A n drew J. Hamrock
Honora1 y Presidents
Dr. Pete r P. H l etko
61 Woodland Avenu e
C::.rapbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warre~ville, Ill.
Steph en
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh , P.A.
Dubi e l
12210 Detroit Avenu e
Lakewood, Ohio
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
El izab et h Andrejko
P:·esident
551 Grove Avenue
Johnstown, Pa.
Phil i p A. Hrobak
P. n. Box 150
:YJ:iddletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
M icha el J. Vargovi c
Rev. John W . Kri spinsky
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Julia Kraj covic
H elen K ocan
1648 W . 18th Street
2 hicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Re cording Secretary
Constantine
Cu l en
Paul
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Fall at
NaLioual President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
St ephen J. Tkach
M i lan V . Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic1,go 38, Ill.
:-,, ational President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
An n a Sota~
National President
Ladi es Pennsylvania
S lovak Catholic Union
Pa u l P. Ja mriska
810 Montooth Street
Pittsb\lrgh 10, Pa.
Josept, G. Prusa
Joh n
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozboril
. ational Presiden t
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVE N SKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEONOTA
'.\1iddletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Clevelan d, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Passaic. N. J.
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio·
Ch icago , lll
SVORNOST
OSAONE H 1-ASY
Chicag o. Ill
Whitaker
l'a
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Whiting, Ind.
SLOVAKIA: Ruins of the Topolcany Castle, Nitra County
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 2 (27)
Description
An account of the resource
includes photo of Ruins of the Topolčany Castle, Nitra County
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June 1958
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/cf3669d6bbadc58579366cbbb92662a6.pdf
4341a0d4822a40fc980ed57fbf53568e
PDF Text
Text
======= ======= == =====-=--JUNE, 1958
VOL . VIII
NO. 2 (27}
IN THIS ISSUE:
SLOVAK NATIONALISM: CONFLICTS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
UNIVERSITY TRADITIONS IN SLOVAKIA
THE ORIGIN OF "SLOVAN" AND "SLOVAK"
SLOVAK EMIGRATION
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: PGS. 17, 56, 64.
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�SLOV AKlA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
'l'he chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understandi ng
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independenc e.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independenc e.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
8ubscr1pt1on to Slovakia $1.00 per
year iJ1 the U. S. A. -- $2.00 elsewhere.
~end subscription s to:
SLOVA KIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletow'1 . Pa.
�
======= ======= == =====-=--JUNE, 1958
VOL . VIII
NO. 2 (27}
IN THIS ISSUE:
SLOVAK NATIONALISM: CONFLICTS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
UNIVERSITY TRADITIONS IN SLOVAKIA
THE ORIGIN OF "SLOVAN" AND "SLOVAK"
SLOVAK EMIGRATION
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: PGS. 17, 56, 64.
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�SLOV AKlA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
'l'he chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understandi ng
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independenc e.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independenc e.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
8ubscr1pt1on to Slovakia $1.00 per
year iJ1 the U. S. A. -- $2.00 elsewhere.
~end subscription s to:
SLOVA KIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletow'1 . 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
1958, Vol. 8
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li>
</ul>
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
1958
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
======= ======= == =====-=--JUNE, 1958
VOL . VIII
NO. 2 (27}
IN THIS ISSUE:
SLOVAK NATIONALISM: CONFLICTS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
UNIVERSITY TRADITIONS IN SLOVAKIA
THE ORIGIN OF "SLOVAN" AND "SLOVAK"
SLOVAK EMIGRATION
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: PGS. 17, 56, 64.
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
SLOV AKlA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
'l'he chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understandi ng
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independenc e.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independenc e.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
8ubscr1pt1on to Slovakia $1.00 per
year iJ1 the U. S. A. -- $2.00 elsewhere.
~end subscription s to:
SLOVA KIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletow'1 . 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
Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 2 (27)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June 1958
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/03eeaeda7072db4e699198fa2cb16345.pdf
d9889ff31b7499950d1dbae0861f38b6
PDF Text
Text
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Andrew J. Hamrock
Honora1 y Presidents
Dr. Peter P. H letko
61 Wood land Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
Ste ph en
Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Elizab eth Andrejko
President
551 Grove Avenue
J ohnstown, P a.
Philip A. Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
~iiddletown, Pa .
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Rev. John W. Krispinsky
Michael J.
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
Ju I ia
Vargovic
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
H e len Kocan
1648 W. 18th S tree t
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Re cording Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
M ila n V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic<tgo 38, Ill.
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Dub i el
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
Anna Sotak
Nationa l President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
810 Montoo th Street
Pittsb::rgh 10, Pa.
John
Josepl, G. Prusa
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozboril
ationa l President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown , Pa.
S cran ton , Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Clevela nd, Ohio
Ch ica.go, Ill.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Passaic. N . J.
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Whitaker, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
\Vhilitq; I nn
Chicago,
[II
�SKALICA, SLOVAKIA: A Roman chapel (rotunda) of the 12th century
�
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Andrew J. Hamrock
Honora1 y Presidents
Dr. Peter P. H letko
61 Wood land Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
Ste ph en
Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Elizab eth Andrejko
President
551 Grove Avenue
J ohnstown, P a.
Philip A. Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
~iiddletown, Pa .
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Rev. John W. Krispinsky
Michael J.
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
Ju I ia
Vargovic
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
H e len Kocan
1648 W. 18th S tree t
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Re cording Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
M ila n V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic<tgo 38, Ill.
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Dub i el
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
Anna Sotak
Nationa l President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
810 Montoo th Street
Pittsb::rgh 10, Pa.
John
Josepl, G. Prusa
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozboril
ationa l President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown , Pa.
S cran ton , Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Clevela nd, Ohio
Ch ica.go, Ill.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Passaic. N . J.
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Whitaker, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
\Vhilitq; I nn
Chicago,
[II
�SKALICA, SLOVAKIA: A Roman chapel (rotunda) of the 12th century
�
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1958, Vol. 8
Description
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<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li>
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1958
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Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Andrew J. Hamrock
Honora1 y Presidents
Dr. Peter P. H letko
61 Wood land Avenu e
Campbell, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 17
Warrenville, Ill.
Ste ph en
Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Elizab eth Andrejko
President
551 Grove Avenue
J ohnstown, P a.
Philip A. Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
~iiddletown, Pa .
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Rev. John W. Krispinsky
Michael J.
2425 W. 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
Ju I ia
Vargovic
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
H e len Kocan
1648 W. 18th S tree t
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Re cording Secretary
Constantine Culen
Paul
2900 East Boulevard
Cleveland 4, Ohio
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
M ila n V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic<tgo 38, Ill.
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Dub i el
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
Anna Sotak
Nationa l President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
810 Montoo th Street
Pittsb::rgh 10, Pa.
John
Josepl, G. Prusa
205 Madison Street
Passaic, N. J.
Rozboril
ationa l President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown , Pa.
S cran ton , Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Clevela nd, Ohio
Ch ica.go, Ill.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Passaic. N . J.
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Whitaker, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
\Vhilitq; I nn
Chicago,
[II
SKALICA, SLOVAKIA: A Roman chapel (rotunda) of the 12th century
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Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 1 (26)
Description
An account of the resource
includes photo of Skalica, Slovakia: A Roman chapel (rotunda) of the 12th century
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1958
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https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/01a4e4d4fde256155ccb3b6c5e635ae8.pdf
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PDF Text
Text
28
SLOVAKIA
"MEMORANDUM ON POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND
ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA EXILES"
Th.is memorandum deals with political aspects ,o f CzechoslovaJk exrile groups only, especially so far ,a s their anticommunism and its motilves are concerned.
Politically European anti-communism i,s not a united
movement ; it contains factions and tendencies democratically not qualified or even disqualified. I1t has to ibe emphasized that yesterday's enemies of democracy (nacism
and its friends), whicih are offering themselves as allies todlay, could easily become an acute iand fatal problem for
democracy, in case not sufficient aJttention iis paid to the implications. Anti-communism as sucll is merely a potential
ally oif democracy.
In our opinion, all ,political emigration should be clasSlified alreadry now as to the real motives of its anti-communist attitude. We, in Czeoho-sio.vaJkia, who hawe lived to see
the destruction of democracy first ·b y fascism and lat-er by
communism, know only too well that these two contrasting
ideologies, irreconcilaible ideologicaHy, are quite ridenitical
insofar as their psychology and ethi:cs are concerned. Intermediate and .fresh as the experience with the Communists
lives among politic:al exiles, it is very dangerous for democratic thin1king and feeling and tends to extremism and
primirtiive radi'calism. The irritative camip psychology diminishes 1Jhe aJbility for finer distinctions and, as a consequence,
anti--c01m:mwrism turns into the criticism of a very primitive,
sometimes of quite fascist character. This tendency, which
in the end would ,b ecome hiarmful to the cause of world
democracy, is not very acute in CzeclloslovaJk camps unless
it is left to develOip entirely in its own way.
CzeohoslovaJk political emigration can be classified according to the motives of its anti-communism as follows :
1. Political Catholics: opponents of Communism for
religious and confessional reasons. This g1roup has to be
soodilvided into two parts: Czech and Slovak. Czeich Catholics are well equdipped ideologically; they are in contact with
and influenced by modern Catholic movements in the West,
�29
SLOVAKIA
especially by that of F1rance. Their orientation is universal,
hllimanitarian and, thrroug,h Masarytk's influence, also democrat.ic. They idenltify CommUll!ism with !Marxism and interpret it as a logical consequence of materialism and atheism.
To a certain ex.tent their faith is liberal, at least it used to
be so in Czechoslovakia. This feature, however, is weaken-,
ing here in exile and is ,being replaced ,by one that is more
conse.r,vaJtirve and confessional.
The activities of this group are ca>rried on with the
help of Catholic clergy which, in its turn, is supported by
the VaJtrican throug,h .t!he Pax Romana org,anizatiOiil. The
work of this group is, for that rea son, much easier and it
is visilble everyiwhere. .Some movements of our emigirants
from Ge11many had almost an exclusive Catholic character.
So the transfer to Italy, for instance, consisted mainly of
Catholics. The political Catholics are very expansive and so
they may get into conflict with the above mentioned tiradition which is of lay, liberal and democratic character. The
representatives, of this ,group are: Mr. Bohdan Chudoba,
MP, Mrs. Kozeluhova, Mr. Prochazka, former Minister of
Health, Mr. Tigrid, Chief Editor of (the Czech) Catholic
Party Pre.s s.
fu spite of the faot tha:t Bohemia is to a great e·x tent
(96 % ) a Catholic country, the religious affiliation has never
been identified with the political one; that is why the Oatholic Party has enjoyed no ,great significance since 1918,
and it is hardly to be expected that it will be otherwise fn
the future democratic Czechoslovakia.
1
The movement of political Catholicism in Slovakia, with
the exception of a small groUJp of moderni sts, is of a mo•r e
primitive nature and it has al,ways pursued policies which
were in permanent conflict with the Czechoslovak democracy since the end of World War One. The Slovruk population is SO% Catholic; in 1938 election HSLS - (the Hlinka
Slovruk Peoiple's Party) - polled rubout 40 % of all rvotes and,
was relatively the strongest party.
'Dhi,s grolllp has two ,political cente115 outside Czechoslovakia. T,he first is in USA among the Slovak spooking
American citizens, popularly spoiken of in C~hoslovakia
1
�30
SLOVAKIA
as American Slovaiks. Their press (e. g. Slova:k Defense,
Slovalk in America, Catholic) vehemently campailgns against
the new ipoliltiC'al exiles who left their home-country after
February 1948 only. They stand openly for legal continuity
of the so-called SlOWJk State, campaign for it in pwblic and
declare at the same tirme their intention to taike revenge on
all participants in the 1944 anti-German rising at Banska
Bystrica in the middle of Slovatkia, further on all politicians
who have shown good will in cooperation with the Soviets
during or after the war. Under the pressure of this kind of
propaganda many SloviaJk,s succumb, become indifd:erent to
the cause .o f CzechoslovaJkia, or even turn hostile to it. This
political war-fare against Czechosl()IVakia is going on under
the guise of Christian charity which appears to have been
led until recently ,by an American citizen of Slovak origin,
Father Billy.
As ,the Ciharacter of the SloW!lk exiles is to a much
smaller exitent ,p olitical than it is the case with the Czech
emigTees, 8111d as it contains elements of very poor social
and intellectual level, the kind .o f propaganda mentioned
aJbove has had consideralble success. If the promises of material help, ,by which F1ather Billy has been able to influence
the political minds of Slova;k emigrants in Germany, are Ito
realize, it will certainly oreate another obstacle on the way
of harmonious coo,peration of Czechs and Slovaks in exile.
The other center of politioal Catholioism, which is in
contact wilth t:lhe first, is the V1atican and is dommated by
the former minister of Czechoslovakia at the time of Munich Agreement who Jailer held the post of Amb~dor of
the Slovak State to the Holy Seat, Mr. Karol Sidor. He himself has been away frO!ffi Siov.rukia since 1939 and is profiting out od: a legend which has grown around him. Mr. Karol
Sidor was a 'b ig man in the HSI.IS; he was lOQlked upon as a
successor of Father Andrej Hlinka to the highest offioe in
the Pairty. He was a leader of the most radical fri8tion of
the young party followers and the founder as well as the
Commander-in-Chief of HG (Hldnlka Guards, rurnied trooips
of the ·P arty, formed on the pattern ·of the Gerrfiah SA or
SS) . During the Munich crisis and after the resignation of
President Benes, he became Minister in Prague Government
�SLOVAKIA
31
and - as the consequence of this
he lost corutact with
the separatist wing of the Party, which in the meantime
passed under the control of Flather Tiso, later president of
an :independent SlovaJk State. Influenced .by Pra,gue and •b y
his master Father Hilnika, w'ho died already in 1936, he believed in a solution whi_c h was based on the principle of tervitorial inltegrity of the Republic. His hesitation at the critical moment before the estia:blishment of Protectorate ()lVer
Bohemia (Mairch 13, 1939) ca,used tlhat he lost all the German sympathies and facilitated the .r ise of Tiso. Later he
was aippointed Am'bassador to Vlatican where he has ~en
since. His ,attitude to Czechoslovalkia is equiivocal; until not
long ago he stood for SlovaJk Staite; now, after some months
of international development, he is more reserved and the
latest news suggest that he almost reversed his mi.ti.al position.
In spiite of the fact that Sidor has not engaged himself
for certain reasons in the fascist regime in Slovalkira during
the war, he is not without responsibi.Lity for what was going
on there dru:ring his aJbserrce. His responsiibility is, in our
opinion, essentia,L As the Chief of the Hlinlka Party press,
leader of radicals and an important Party ,b oss - all in one
person - he was the most characteristic representative of
Slovak nationalism. He was in a pernnanent opposition to the
democratic form of Cz;ecfuosloivrukia. He did his best to mruke
the SloV'aJk national movement more radical and V1ulgar and,
in this way, he induced the movement to• take the shaipe it
did and .to end as it did, that is in the destruction of Czechoslova!kia, su:ppression of democracy and strengthening
of fascist power in Burope.
Sidor a:s a politician is without sufficient education,
foresight, and sense of responsibility; he is unacceptable to
the democrats in spite of the fact that his stay in Vatican
has had a positive influence on him. Long emigrartion has
made him to develop a Fuhrer-complex and a harmful sense
of SQIVereignty. Even if his political conception has ~come
more democratic, as a consequeil'ce of his contact with Vatican, there is nothing by which he could contribute to the
cause of democracy. "With Sidor against the Jews" is the
quintessence of his legend in Slovaikia. He has no other fol-
�32
SLOVAKIA
lowers there; if he switched over to different slogans, he
would have to give up his o,w:n pa.sit and aJbandon those political and psychological forces which adoire him now. It
cannot be sufficiently oouphasized that the whole emotional
and ideological back,g round of Slovak separatism is giiven
absolutely by the SloivaJk State, its inner spirit, its values
and prejudices, and :if .Sidor did not serve these forces, he
would be coI11Sidered as a traitor and opportunist.
2. Anti-communism as an expression of Czech or Slovak nationalism: On the Czech side, it is General Prchala
who can be :termed as its representative. General Prcihala is
a Czech afficer who did not return home after the last war
because of political differences with Dr. Benes. His followers ma.Ike Ulp a tiny group among our exiles. The judgemenrts on General's qualities as a soldier run diametrioo.Uy,
but there is no doulbt about his poliitical capaJbilities among
the democratic exiles. The legend tha,t grew around him, as
an immediate consequence of the first disruppointment after
FeJbruary, has mostly eva;poraJted since. General Prchala is
said by the peo,ple who know him to be a man of very limited views who has no political sense; he is said to hruve no
democratic coI11Victions, and, besides, he suffers from something lilke megalomania. His political reasoning is emlbryonic
and naive. He refuses to recognize .the necessity of political
parties in democr.acy; he f101tters the Sudeten Germans for
reasons of his personal amlbition, which iis ,b oth -u nreasona!ble and irresponsrble. His negotiations with the SlovaJk
5elparatist fraction which Mr. P. Pridavok in London, are
too hasty to be considered seriously. His followers in CzechosloviaJkia are scanty and the democratic exile group do
not oount with him ei,t her. His worshippers do not know
him personally ; they regard him as the most outspoken
anti-Communist and from their own illusions aJbout his personality which ilisappear as soon as they come in contact
with reality. It is our opinion that General Prchala will go
to the history of our emigration as a little episode.
General Prchala's group is exploiting the fact of his
long emig,raJtion and absence from his own country and has
some financial means at dis posal. lit has its own paper
"Cesky boj" published in London. His followers are recuit-
�SLOVAKIA
33
ed from emigr.ants who left Czechoslovakia partly before
the last war, but mostly who left between the years 194'51947. It is characteristic that they generally live outside
the caimps. They founded in London The Czech National
Committee which operates also .in the US Zone and has
nothing in c01Inmon with Czechoslovakia Relief Committee.
Prchala's group acceipts the Slovak seiparati,s m, supports ilt on account of common ideological affinity, and they
plan to gather a Central European Federation. General
Prchlala acts entirely with the ,peoip le of his kind. They are
nationalists by outlook, their emotional and ideological
background is, quite opposed to the ideas on which a healthy and organic federation could arise. The real motirves behind Prchala's federational plans iare opportunist in character. The idea of federation, if the latter is to be workable,
pre-supposes Slljpra-inaitionalizing and democratic thuillcing,
it presU!pposes the super nationalism not its ,a ssertion which,
in sulbstance, is national egoism.
On the Sl()I\Tlaik side, the nationlist group with the movement of poliitical Catholicism, insofar as the representatives
and t>heiir folloiWers are concerned, has always been so since
1•918, aJ11d the best eXipression since was the Slwak State
with a priest as president and a third of members of parliament also priests.
The real leader of this groUJp is Mr. Durcansky, who is
sometimes cOIIl:Sidered as successor of Father Tiso. As the
fiTst Foreign Minister of the Slovaik Puippet Government,
he is on the liist of war criminals and, consequently, the
Slovak nationalists are more or less olbliged to accept Mr.
Sidor, who represents the policy of tJhe Vatican as their
leader. But for this fact, the position of Mr. Durcansky
would be dominant beyond any doub:t, because of his relatitvely gireater erudition (he was professor of international
laiw at ,the Bratislaivia University from 1939 till 1944), Intelligence, and because of Ms political skill.
The gross of the Slovalk separatist group consists of
young people (around 19 or 20 years of age). These people
harve no personal experience of democracy. They are not
sUJfficiently educated, inexperienced in all respects, they
�34
SLOVAKIA
,s uccumb to the ,p ropaganda of the more radical, noisy and
vulgar it is. This kind of propaganda exerts influence even
on ipeople who left CzechoslovaJkia for quite apolitic.al reasons.
MT. Durfansky had h4; organization built uip already
at the time when the Czechoslovakia exile movement was
yet non-existent. Lacking all the means, it is very difficult
for the democratic exiles to catch up with him in thjs respect. DUT.fansky has his agents in all Czechoslovak camps,
canv~ing for him both openly and secretly. It is· sad, and
characteristic as well, tlhait these agents use all meians at
their disposal, including bribes ( cigarettes, food packages
from USA, promises of visa to Argentin,a, which is the
country of residence of Mr. Durcansky).
In spite af the ban on all political actiiVities in refugee
caimps, the agents of Mr. Durcansky exercise great moral
presswre on democratic Slovaiks by propaganda of revenge
for the execution of Father Tiso and for the Bystrica rising
in 1944, by campaigning oipenly for the Sl01VaJk State, which
is 1being treated as a fait aiccompli in Catholic nationalistic
preiss of .AJIIlerican Slovak,s in USA, Slovak refugees are instilled 1zy fear and used for political plans of Mr. Durcansky. An illegal pa-per by n,ame of "1Slova1k Struggle" is being
pulb1ished lb y "Tiso's Society" somewhere in Munich. This
mimeographe d paper stands openly for the Slovak State,
for its idea a,,nd its fascist representative s, some of whom
were listed as the war CTiminals still during •t he war (Tiso,
Durca.nsky) .
3. Fascism in exile: It is implied in the former movements where it exists potentially for the present. It does
not exist as ,a clear-cut cxrientation, hut its expression can
be detected on different tendencies. It emerges on the surface indiividually without the couvage to appear as an open
o.vga.ruzation. The real danger begins there where the anticommunist attitude turns into sheer passion and irrationalism, naJtional, religious, or racial. This danger is not acute
for the present and would lbe easily neutralized by a clearer
moral support to b,e accorded to the Czechoslovak democratic exiles 1b y the Western democracies.
½. Conservatives : One can count here the followers of
�SLOVAKIA
35
all political parties which: were not admitted by the Third
Reipulblic (1945) and were recognized now in exile: Peasant's Party, National Democrats, and the party defending
the interests of small business and handwork. Those ,parties
can serve well to the cause of democracy in CzechoslovaJkia,
especially the Peasant's Party, if it strikes roots in Slovakia
and turns the Party Politics into another direction leading
out of the present dead-loclc situation created by the nationalist complex. This would contribute to the political intergration of both ,p ar.ts of the Republic, even if on the
basis of a more conserviaUve character. In general, these
parties represent vested interests · rather than ideologies.
They stand for economic liberalism which best favors the
interests of their followers.
1
It is 1known that the Peasant's Party was well received
by all political groups, especially lby (the Czech) Social
Democrats. The initia,l mutual resipect and good will of the
two latter parties gives rise to speculations on an eventual
coalition in the future which was well known in -t he party
politics of the First Republic, ,w hen it was characteristically
called "red-green coalition."
5. Decomratic exile groups: It is difficult to speaik
a/bout the •pol-itic<al parties in connection with this group
which reyresents the Czechoslovak tradition of universal
and moral humanism as formulat,ed by Masaryk. In general,
is can be said that the political .g rouping of tJhis block coincides with the parties forming the Government Coalition of
the ,First Republic ( up till 1938) , the parties which stood b,y
Masaryk without any reservation and later backed ,h is successor to the presidency, Mr. Benes; one can include into
this growp (Czech) National Socialists (Czech) Social
~9CI"ats and, to a certain extent, the Czech Catholic
Party and the old Peasant's Party.
-, '·The opposition of this democratic block t.o Communism
is motivated by humanitarian philosophy, cultural and
moral universalism. This group opposes all na1Jional, confessional and class exclusiveness, its faith is undogmatic,
lay ,and social in character. In European politics is stands
for "troisieme force" with the democracy as a dominant
�36
SLOVAKIA
feature. It represents the best Czechoslovak tradition (Hus,
Comenius, Masaryk), its orientation is universal, essentially
related to or even identical with the democratic spirit of
the West.
It is a natural, unopportunistic ally of the West and an
exclusive representative of Western orientation in Czechoslovakia in every respect. .
'11he representatives of this group haive suffered most
thI1ough the Oommunist cowp d'etat in February this yeaT.
They tried their best to cooperate with the Communists,
following the lines of policy laid do,w n by Yalta and other
aJgreements, and now they pay dear for the failure of their
"mission of good will" by inner chaos and repercussions
caused hy tJhe political demagogy of the undemocratic antiCommunism.
The democratic block, which still represents the majority of rpu!blic opinion in CzechosloV!aikia, is in a state of
fermentation, revaluation, revision and heaJrt-searchmg.
The visilble signs for this search for new policies can 'b e
traced in the attempt to estalblish a single Socialist Party
in CzechoslovaJkia on the pattern of Western Labour Parti~, in the retrospectirve criticism of our ,p ast policies towards the national minorities, in the reconstruction of _political status quo ante Munich, in the sympathies with the
federatiOIIl :plans in Europe, and in many other tendencies.
The personalities belonging to this group may be listed
as follo,w s :
Mr. Ferdinand Peroutka, Editor of the most influential
non-1party weekly review "Dnesek; former ministers :Zen.kl,
Majer, Stransky, Ripka; generals: Basal, Ingr; Slovaks:
Osusky, Papanek, Slavik, Kocvara, General Feriencik.
Franek, and others. Out of all groups this democratic bloclk
is at the greatest disadvantage insofor as their position in
refugee camps is concerned; it has no, press except "Svobodny Zitrek" published in Paris; it is without any visible material, financial, and moral support which is iacc0irded : more
or less to all other exile groups, especially to our older exiles (1008, 1944-1947), which are rather defective, from
the point of view of pure democracy. In general it can be
1
�SLOVAKIA
37
said that the democratic exiles h:we suppoI'ted Benes's
policy from 1945 : they stood for the policy of understanding
with the Communists, partly spontaneously and partly under
the pressure of both internal political situation, and left
<JSR only in Febl'uary when they were threatened by physical force. They do not consider the policy of Benes as a
mistake, but rather as failure of good will and personal
tragedy. The illusion of Benes is often compared to that of
Roosevelt. The democrats feel that their experiment was an
honest attempt which, from the pont of view of world democracy, was absolutely necessary .. The failure is not received
with satisfaction by the genuine democrats; they rather
feel disa,ppointed and deceived. 'Dhe disa,ppointme nt becomes
aH the more ,pairuf.ul for them as they reconsider their mistaJkes and ,s acrifices.
The democratic self-criticism aims in the first place at
their own political parties and politicians. They admit shortsightedness, lao'k of foresight, and carelessness in respect
of the real aims hidden behind the com..'TI unist activities,
and, finally, they confess to helplessness and hesitation at
the time when the communist intentions become evident.
The most painful are the concessions made to the Communists in what concerns the integrity of democracy, such as
the inhumanities colDJilltted during the expulsion of the
Sudenten-Ger mans and Hungarians, the misuse of political
trials and purges, excesses of .s ecret police, and the like.
Under the pressure of ideological disunity and self-criticism,
some princilples, as regards the future political system, crystalize: the preservation of state continuity on a new basis,
enlarged politically (by the reintroduction of some of the
old parties), and personally (1b y the admittance to the political life of the country of non-ipa,rty personalities) . The
persons of some ,p restige, who were not engaged in party
politics and whose attitude to the past regime (1945-48)
is merely critical not a priori negatirve, are the following:
Peroutka, Papanek, Osusky, Hasal, Feriencik, and a few
others. In general, one cay say the exile resistance movement which is being born outside Czoohoslovak ia is not
motivated by negation or contempt, but by understanding
and criticism of Benes's Republic. In the ey~ of democratic
1
�38
SLOVAKIA
exiles this attitude becomes the chief criterion of a democratic qualification.
After the death of Benes and Masaryk, junior, C:rechoslovak exiles are without a recognized leader and it is doubtful whether such a person will arise in a spontaneous way.
The aibsen<!e of a leading personality is being felt everywhere, especially while our resistance organization is at its
beginning. 'Dhe choice of democratic representatives is, at
this time of recession of European democracy, very acute
and more responsible than ever •b efore. It is quite clear that
the judgement of Western governments will 1be essential in
this choice; their responsilbility for the future of European
democracy wiH be very large.
We think it would be desirruble that the charitable
character of the assistance to our refugees should be repla,ced, within the limits given by the ,policies of Western
democracies, by a support of a more political character.
We are convinced that such a revision of our "refugee
status" would play an important role from the military
point of view as well. The apolitical character of the aid to
our refugees has a harmful influence on the moral of the
people concerned, especially on the younger refugees, who
left their homes mostly on the basis of false information
and supposition that they would be immediately drafted into the Czechoslovak or other military forces.
The present camps are for many emigrants an education for political indifiference and the only interest that remains is to emigrate and to settle down. The emigrants,
who are living outside the camps •b eyond the reach of political or other control authority, S1Uccumb to harmful orientations and other influences. Czech@slovak emigrants,
wtho are living outside the Czechoslovalk camps in Austria
and South Germany, mostly left Czechoslovakia long before
February 1948 and are very often guilty of collaboration
with nacism.
The Sudeten-German problem:
It was said already that the excesses committed in connection with the transfer of Sudeten-Ge.ranans were a very
paJinful affair for the democrats. Many of them came over
to Gernnany with the intention of opening a new chapter in
�SLOVAKIA
39
CzeohoslovaJk-German relations, a chapter of cooperation
and understanding , which was to be based on mutual concessions and compromises. This tendency is waning in contact with the every-day German reality, even if the original
intention is not being aJbandoned entirely. Germany of today is democratic on the surface only and any cooperation
with her seems to be still very risky. For that reason thP
transfer of the Gernnan minority in 1945-46 it as present
considered generally to have been the only possible solution
under the circumstances . This attitude is accepted generally
by tihe whole (Czech) democratic block, though it is often
felt to •be o:f rather an emergency and unfinished character.
The Slovak Problem:
The Slovalk exiles, who left Czechoslovak ia between the
time of liberation and February 1948, had an exclusively
collaborationist character; the nationalist and fascist feature of this exile movement grew more intense under the
influence olf exile p.sychology and with the gradual failure
of the Czechoslovak democratic experiment. H this democratic experiment with the Communism had succeeded,
these exiles would ha,ve never gained any significance. New
possibilities for them are opening only nOIW after Ozech and
Slovak democrats had to resign their "good will mission" and
have compromised to a certain degree with the Communists.
As these fascist and half-fascist exiles have been coming over to Germany now for more than three years and
ha'Ve 1been supported not only by the Slovalk charity org,anizations in the USA, but by the Germans as well - which is
characteristic in itself - they are numerically stronger
than the recent democratic groups. To illustrate the quality
and intelleotual level olf the people concerned, we gi,ve the
total number of university graduates in iboth opposing
groups of 'SlQIV,aks as it Q<!mtrs in the greatest Czechoslovak
refugee camp in Ludwigsiburg (•J age:rihofkaser n) : Among
200 SlovaJks in .t he camp, there ,are 14 university graduates,
out of which 1 (one) is nationalist-se paratist, while the
other thirteen are democrats standing for the unity of Czechoslovakia. The average age of the members belonging to
the democratic group is albout 33, in the separatists group
it maJkes only 22 years.
�40
SLOVAKIA
The number of democratic Slovruks in exile increases
raipidly since Febraury 1948 and amounts to aJbout 30 or
40% in aH the camps. This is caused by the fact that, until
recently, the Communists refrained from wholesale persecution of the democrats in Slovia!kia 1beoause of the relative
werukness of the COIIIlmunists in this part of the Republic.
The political representation and importance of the
Slovaks in exile politics outside Germany is so strong and
great as never before. One of the candidates for chairmanship of the Czechoslovak National Council in the UISA is a
SlovaJk, Mr. Osusky, Professor at Colgate University, USA,
and fomner Ambassador oif Ozechoslovaikia to France. In
the United Nations, it is a Slova!k, Mr. Papanek, who defends the cause of the Czechoslovak people there. He is
assisted 1b y the former ambassador to US Government, Mr.
Slavik, who is also a Slovalk. The strong Democratic Party
(the majority ,p arty which polled 62 % of all votes recorded
in the ,l ast free elections in SlolV'~kia in 1946) stands for a
united but decentralized CzechoslovaJkia and its democracy
(except for 2 dissidents: Dr. Bohm and Mr. Blasko, MPs) .
It is to be emphasized that the underlying idea of nationalist and separatist movement has been a democratic
one. It was represented by HSLIS ( The Hlinka SlOIV~ People's Party) which was lbanned after the defeat of Germany
in 194!5, because of its wholehearted collaboration with
nacism during the war. This party has /been in the full
sense oif the word the pioneer, the spearhead and an exclusiive representative of fascism already long before 1938.
Since 1921 and 1933, respectively, the movement sympathized quite openly and unambiguously with Mussolini and
Hitler; it was already so at the time when, thanks to the
maigic personal i.nifl:uence of president Masaryik, there were
no pro-fascist tendencies in Czechoslovak political life. The
nationalist and separatist press, from ~o,re or after Munich, sup.plies a mass of evidence slllpporting fully the foregoing sba.tements. This concerns the Party's official organ
"Slovak" and "The Slovak Truth," just as well as the mo,re
radical papers "Gardista" and especially "Nastup," the organ of Sidor extremists, edited then ,b y Dr. Durcansky.
The ,Slovak nationalist and separatist movement has
�SLOVAKIA
41
done its best to bring a,bout a situation suitaible for the destruction of CzechoslovaJkia and suppression of democracy.
The so-called SlovaJk State, the full acceptance of its ideology and recognition of its leaders by Hitler was only a logical consequence. Tille present -leaders of Slovak separatists
in exile are all mem1bevs of the HSI.JS and belong to the second or third garniturc (except Sidor and Durcanslky who
belong to the first), which is the most radical and fanatical.
'I1hey are mostly young people belonging to the generation
which has grown up at the time of Hitler expansion and
had no opportunity to assimilate the democratic spirit,
which in any case was too young in Slovakia. It is necessary
to emiphasize that the Slovaks entered history as a nation
only in 1918; this single fact explains almost everything
aJbout the nature and quality of Slo,valk nationalism and
separatism.
In genera,!, the problem of Slovruk nationalism is a problem of democracy. In many a respect it resemJbles the problem of German nationalism and democracy. There is not
question of refusing the recognition of the Slovaiks as a
nation, with its equal rights; there is no difference between
the nationalists and democrats in this point. The conflict is
idoologica,l, moral, and cultural. Essentially it is a conflict
between fascism and democracy. The Slo,vaks-Democrats
are standing automatically for OOR, because they see in it
a guarantee of democracy also for Slovakia. They are without any nationalist prejudice. and the question of CzechSlovak relations is for them lbut a question of governmental
and administrative technique. 'Dhe motives ,b ehind the Slova!k separatism is political immaturity, nationalist passions,
anti-Czech, anti-Hungavian, anti-Jewish hatred, lacking all
objective foundations. 'I1he Sloviruk separatism is !basically an
rubsence of ,correct political thiniking, lack of education,
democratic tradition, humanitarian feeling, and a want of
culture in general. It is based on psychic complexes and it
is a kind of primitivism. The Western democracies may not
make any compromise with it if they do not wish to weaken the democracy of Slovakia and if their aim is the reconstruction of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The
only political goal of Slov8Jk nationalism is a re-establish-
�42
SLOVAKIA
ment of an independent -Slo1Va:k State with the same underlying ideology as that which prevailed under Tiso. Any compromise in 1Jhls respect would mean an irrevocaJble step
backward and a retreat a,way from democracy.
Their attitude toward federation plans, in which they
see a good Oipportunity, is motivated by naked political opportunism. They are inc3!pa!ble of any federation because
of their deep nationalist prejudice and complex. Their aim
is the destruction of OSR, the seizure of power which would
be otherwise impossible, because of the fascist past of all
leaders oif nationalist separatism. The criticism of the foregoing passage .should not be interpretd as prejudice. H is
not al,w ays easy for Western olbservers to understand fully
the d.ifif.ioult position of democratic ideas in the countries
where, in albsence of a strong tradition, they are e~sed to
the inroads not only of communism, but also of another
ikind of political primitivism ( nationalism, church confessionalism). The present criticism is based on the results of a
thorough analysis of the so-called "Slovak Problem." It is
only because of the lack of space that the fads are accumulated without adequate basis of objective evidence.
May we stress, too, that the authors of the most critical
parts and passages on the Slovaik nationalism contained in
the present memo,r,andum are Slovaks and Catholics as well.
The significance of Dr. Benes:
A negative attitude towards the personality of Benes
is held by two political groups only : Prchala and Slovak nationalists. The attitude of a small minority of Conserwatives,
Catholics and some other Right Wing Politicians is also
more or less revered. The democrats in general are rather
united in their relations to Benes. The doubts aibout his policies, which arose in exile following immediately the communist overthrow of the democracy regimes, hawe disappeared,
so that after his refusal to add his signature to the · new
communist-'Siponsored Constitution, which was later follO!Wed
'by his resignation, Benes slowly became the symbol of
democratic struggle against the Communism. Before his
death, he was virtually expected to resume his leadership
of the third resistance struggle for a new, free, and d ~
cratic Czechoslovakia in exile.
�SLOVAKIA
43
iHis death was mourned ,b y all quarters. The devotion
to his idea.ls grew more intense everywhere, partly as a result of pressure of demagogic and rough propaganda by the
two groups mentioned a'bove. In general, it can be said that
Czechoslovak democratic exile block follows the path of
Masarytk's tradition of Human democracy, which is in no
way o.pposed to Benes's policies, even if they are criticized
in some very important aspects, such as national state,
.regulated democracy, the prdl>lem of national minorities in
OSR, and especially the practical politics since the liberation
(194'5). Benes remains an authority for all the democrats
at home and in exile as a theoretician of democracy; for
the majority of emigrants he represents the symbol of national independence. His prestige has been growing continuously since his resignation, and his departure is being felt
every.where as irreplaceable. It is recognized almost generally that Benes acted under the pressure and responsibility
which was historic and which eliminates any attempt at an
objective judgement in the present moment.
Political aspirations of democratic exile block:
CzechoslovaJk democratic political groups in exile regret
the state of non-existence of a recognized representiati,ve
body; the general disappointment, too, is 'being felt in respect of the undiscriminating, apolitical, refugee status accorded to Czechoslovak political exiles. Czechoslovak political e::iciles feel they are no emigrants and they are inclined
to accept the emigration possi!bilities given only insofar as
they offer the basis for political activities in the broadest
possible extent, directed to the ultimat.e goal of all exiles to the re-establishment of a free and democratic Czechosloivaikia.
This "Refugee Status" is disliiked most of all by the
Czechoslovak democratic exiles which consider themse1ves
as true allies of the West and as the real representatives of
an allied Nation which is democratically so qualified as no
other nation of Central and Eastern Europe. Ozechoslovak
democratic exiles would be very happy to see the change in
their status and their general position.
Frankfurt-Main, in November 1948.
�44
SLOVAKIA
Taking into account what has happened since 1948, particularly
the "special" treatment accorded the Benes Czechs and their Slovak
hirelings by our State Department, I believe it is safe to say that
" In our issue of February 19 (p. 531) we wondered
what sort of information the State Department has been
provided with in choosing members for the Czechoslovak
Council recently formed in Washington. The reserves we
expressed on that occasion are confirmed by a letter sent
us since then by a distinguished statesman prominent in
Czechoslovakia's political life previous to the communist
coup. We quote a few lines from his letter:
In this new Czecho-Slovak Council there are no Slovak Catholics (the three Slovaks who are nominally Catholics never
took part in the religious and cultural life of the country), and
the Czech People's Party is represented by three persons of
doubtful moral standing who had always been friends of Soviet
domination. The rest are Marxian Socialists - who are presumably in great favor at Washington and three Czech
Agrarians( who are perhaps the only Catholics in the whole
assembly.
Perhaps the State Department officials are right in thinking that a council, whatever may be its composition, is better
than no council. From the standpoint of American political
strategy no objection can be raised. But my own view of these
things is a bit different. The leaders of the newly formed
Council are Marxists can Bolshevism be defeated by its
own ideas? They are freethinkers and opponents of any religious instruction. What Cultural ideas will they give to my
unhappy people? They will have to rule in Slovakia by sheer
force - could that be called democracy? Their conception of
foreign policy is that of military alliances a la Benes and hatred
towards all the neighbors - does that mean peace? Perhaps
the greatest irony of all is that men who were bitter enemies
of the Marshall Plan are now invited by the State Department
to America.
"Czechoslovakia is a Catholic country (Bohemia and
Moravia 75 percent, Slovakia 80 percent), and yet the
principal men in this Council are either Protestants or
atheists. It is certainly not raising a religious issue to
ask if such an arrangement is equitable. Again the question
arises: whose advice, if any, is being followed by the
State Department in this strange procedure?"-(AM ERICA,
March 19, 1949) .
the "memorandum" has proved its usefulness for the Benes Czechs,
serving as a criterion or guide for "policy makers" in the United
�SLOVAKIA
45
States Government, particularly in regard to the question of what
exiles from Czecho-Slovakia could be considered "trustworthy and
reliable experts" on Czecho-Slovakian matters.
In 1949, after our State Department (Acheson) invited the Benes
Czechs to the U. S. A. and gave a batch of blank visas to Dr. Hubert Ripka, right-hand man of Dr. Benes, at that time in Paris, the
Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings were brought to the United
States at taxpayers' expense to advise our Government and its various departments and agencies on the matter of how to fight Communism and the Communists and outsmart Soviet Russia in the
field of psychological warfare! The NEW YORK TIMES stated at
that time (Feb. 6, 1949) that "they plan to set up what will be, in
effect, a Czechoslovak Government in exile" - and previous to that
date (Jan. 5, 1949), the same source reported the arrival of a "High
Escaped Czech" - Arnost Heidrich - who, according to well-informed Czechs is neither of Slovak nor Czech origin, as follows:
"Arnost Heidrich, Secretary General of the Czechoslovak
Foreign Office and for fourteen years legal and political adviser
to the late Dr. Edward Benes, has escaped from Prague and came
to Washington with a detailed story of Communist activities and
plans in Eastern Europe. M. Heidrich, a white-haired 59-year-old
civil servant who is well known and trusted by the United States
Government, was brought here by United States authorities and has
made a full report of conditions in Czechoslovakia to the State Department." Apparently, Mr. Heidrich, like Dr. Eduard Benes, knew
all about Communist activities and plans!
After their arrival in the U. S., the Benes Czechs, (Ripka
Zenkl, Taborsky, Peroutka, Ingr, Majer, Firt, Prochazka, etc.) and
their Slovak hirelin&_s (Lettrich, Kocvara, Hodfa, Papanek, Franek,
Slavik, Krno, Mudry-Sebik, etc.) organized the "COUNCIL OF FREE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA" and set up headquarters in Washington. As
"experts," they were soon employed by the Free Europe Committee
(Radio Free Europe), various universities, the VOA (USIA), CIA,
Library of Congress, the Pentagon, and other agencies of U. S.
Government in one capacity or another.
I have said it before and I repeat it again that I am convinced
that the Benes Czechs exercise great influence and practically control the so-called "Czechoslovak" unit or division of both the RFE
and also the VOA (USIA) in regard to "reliability" of personnel,
exile and otherwise, employed. In the light of the facts uncovered
during the past nine years, why are they still tolerated in 1958?
The Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings have been discredited by their own peoples at home, so why should we curry
their favor? The Slovak League of America and the Slovak organizations affiliated with it have brought this to the attention of our
Government, the Free Europe Committee, and the USIA (VOA) on
several occasions, but practically nothing was done to remedy the
situation. Someone, it seems, has decreed that patriotic Slovaks
must be ignored and discriminated against; and this applies practhey simply are not
tically to Slovak and Czech Catholics wanted; Hence, I am strongly inclined to believe that the 1948
"MEMORANDUM" of the Benes Czechs is still considered valid by
some VIP in official Washington. So the "expert" advisers to de-
�46
SLOVAKIA
partment heads of U. S. Government on all Slovak and Czech matters still remain at their posts at our expense on the strength of a
memorandum prepared by the Benes Czechs a memorandum
whose language reveals that its authors just as well might have
been the Czech Reds, or their "comrades" in Moscow!
•
•
•
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
B. S. Bue, Ph.D.
1. Nationalism and the Existing "Status Quo"
To speak of the Slovaks is to touch upon a problem
which at the present time has assumed vital and worldwide proportions, namely, the problem of nationalism.
Nationalism is one of the most discussed issues in the
modern political world. The reason lies in the more extensive definition by which nationalism refers not only
to the lofty devotion of citizens towards their native
country, also known as patriotism, but especially to a revolutionary movement of our modern society. Thus, nationalism is giving rise to dangerous political tensions in
various sectors of the globe and threatening to disintegrate the political status quo of many long established nations. There is need, therefore, of a thorough understanding of all its components, motives, and objectives.
Slovak nationalism involves a lofty devotion to a native land, but as yet has not developed serious revolutionary characteristics. It has not, therefore, attracted significant attention from the international community. Nevertheless, it has grown from almost complete oblivion t o
such proportions that it must be taken into consideration as one of the most important forces shaping the future
destiny of Central Europe.
From the beginning of its existence Slovak nationalism was nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation for the birth of new political systems which we call
"Western Democracy." But Slovak nationalism is Western
not because of its ideological relationship alone. During
�
28
SLOVAKIA
"MEMORANDUM ON POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND
ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA EXILES"
Th.is memorandum deals with political aspects ,o f CzechoslovaJk exrile groups only, especially so far ,a s their anticommunism and its motilves are concerned.
Politically European anti-communism i,s not a united
movement ; it contains factions and tendencies democratically not qualified or even disqualified. I1t has to ibe emphasized that yesterday's enemies of democracy (nacism
and its friends), whicih are offering themselves as allies todlay, could easily become an acute iand fatal problem for
democracy, in case not sufficient aJttention iis paid to the implications. Anti-communism as sucll is merely a potential
ally oif democracy.
In our opinion, all ,political emigration should be clasSlified alreadry now as to the real motives of its anti-communist attitude. We, in Czeoho-sio.vaJkia, who hawe lived to see
the destruction of democracy first ·b y fascism and lat-er by
communism, know only too well that these two contrasting
ideologies, irreconcilaible ideologicaHy, are quite ridenitical
insofar as their psychology and ethi:cs are concerned. Intermediate and .fresh as the experience with the Communists
lives among politic:al exiles, it is very dangerous for democratic thin1king and feeling and tends to extremism and
primirtiive radi'calism. The irritative camip psychology diminishes 1Jhe aJbility for finer distinctions and, as a consequence,
anti--c01m:mwrism turns into the criticism of a very primitive,
sometimes of quite fascist character. This tendency, which
in the end would ,b ecome hiarmful to the cause of world
democracy, is not very acute in CzeclloslovaJk camps unless
it is left to develOip entirely in its own way.
CzeohoslovaJk political emigration can be classified according to the motives of its anti-communism as follows :
1. Political Catholics: opponents of Communism for
religious and confessional reasons. This g1roup has to be
soodilvided into two parts: Czech and Slovak. Czeich Catholics are well equdipped ideologically; they are in contact with
and influenced by modern Catholic movements in the West,
�29
SLOVAKIA
especially by that of F1rance. Their orientation is universal,
hllimanitarian and, thrroug,h Masarytk's influence, also democrat.ic. They idenltify CommUll!ism with !Marxism and interpret it as a logical consequence of materialism and atheism.
To a certain ex.tent their faith is liberal, at least it used to
be so in Czechoslovakia. This feature, however, is weaken-,
ing here in exile and is ,being replaced ,by one that is more
conse.r,vaJtirve and confessional.
The activities of this group are ca>rried on with the
help of Catholic clergy which, in its turn, is supported by
the VaJtrican throug,h .t!he Pax Romana org,anizatiOiil. The
work of this group is, for that rea son, much easier and it
is visilble everyiwhere. .Some movements of our emigirants
from Ge11many had almost an exclusive Catholic character.
So the transfer to Italy, for instance, consisted mainly of
Catholics. The political Catholics are very expansive and so
they may get into conflict with the above mentioned tiradition which is of lay, liberal and democratic character. The
representatives, of this ,group are: Mr. Bohdan Chudoba,
MP, Mrs. Kozeluhova, Mr. Prochazka, former Minister of
Health, Mr. Tigrid, Chief Editor of (the Czech) Catholic
Party Pre.s s.
fu spite of the faot tha:t Bohemia is to a great e·x tent
(96 % ) a Catholic country, the religious affiliation has never
been identified with the political one; that is why the Oatholic Party has enjoyed no ,great significance since 1918,
and it is hardly to be expected that it will be otherwise fn
the future democratic Czechoslovakia.
1
The movement of political Catholicism in Slovakia, with
the exception of a small groUJp of moderni sts, is of a mo•r e
primitive nature and it has al,ways pursued policies which
were in permanent conflict with the Czechoslovak democracy since the end of World War One. The Slovruk population is SO% Catholic; in 1938 election HSLS - (the Hlinka
Slovruk Peoiple's Party) - polled rubout 40 % of all rvotes and,
was relatively the strongest party.
'Dhi,s grolllp has two ,political cente115 outside Czechoslovakia. T,he first is in USA among the Slovak spooking
American citizens, popularly spoiken of in C~hoslovakia
1
�30
SLOVAKIA
as American Slovaiks. Their press (e. g. Slova:k Defense,
Slovalk in America, Catholic) vehemently campailgns against
the new ipoliltiC'al exiles who left their home-country after
February 1948 only. They stand openly for legal continuity
of the so-called SlOWJk State, campaign for it in pwblic and
declare at the same tirme their intention to taike revenge on
all participants in the 1944 anti-German rising at Banska
Bystrica in the middle of Slovatkia, further on all politicians
who have shown good will in cooperation with the Soviets
during or after the war. Under the pressure of this kind of
propaganda many SloviaJk,s succumb, become indifd:erent to
the cause .o f CzechoslovaJkia, or even turn hostile to it. This
political war-fare against Czechosl()IVakia is going on under
the guise of Christian charity which appears to have been
led until recently ,by an American citizen of Slovak origin,
Father Billy.
As ,the Ciharacter of the SloW!lk exiles is to a much
smaller exitent ,p olitical than it is the case with the Czech
emigTees, 8111d as it contains elements of very poor social
and intellectual level, the kind .o f propaganda mentioned
aJbove has had consideralble success. If the promises of material help, ,by which F1ather Billy has been able to influence
the political minds of Slova;k emigrants in Germany, are Ito
realize, it will certainly oreate another obstacle on the way
of harmonious coo,peration of Czechs and Slovaks in exile.
The other center of politioal Catholioism, which is in
contact wilth t:lhe first, is the V1atican and is dommated by
the former minister of Czechoslovakia at the time of Munich Agreement who Jailer held the post of Amb~dor of
the Slovak State to the Holy Seat, Mr. Karol Sidor. He himself has been away frO!ffi Siov.rukia since 1939 and is profiting out od: a legend which has grown around him. Mr. Karol
Sidor was a 'b ig man in the HSI.IS; he was lOQlked upon as a
successor of Father Andrej Hlinka to the highest offioe in
the Pairty. He was a leader of the most radical fri8tion of
the young party followers and the founder as well as the
Commander-in-Chief of HG (Hldnlka Guards, rurnied trooips
of the ·P arty, formed on the pattern ·of the Gerrfiah SA or
SS) . During the Munich crisis and after the resignation of
President Benes, he became Minister in Prague Government
�SLOVAKIA
31
and - as the consequence of this
he lost corutact with
the separatist wing of the Party, which in the meantime
passed under the control of Flather Tiso, later president of
an :independent SlovaJk State. Influenced .by Pra,gue and •b y
his master Father Hilnika, w'ho died already in 1936, he believed in a solution whi_c h was based on the principle of tervitorial inltegrity of the Republic. His hesitation at the critical moment before the estia:blishment of Protectorate ()lVer
Bohemia (Mairch 13, 1939) ca,used tlhat he lost all the German sympathies and facilitated the .r ise of Tiso. Later he
was aippointed Am'bassador to Vlatican where he has ~en
since. His ,attitude to Czechoslovalkia is equiivocal; until not
long ago he stood for SlovaJk Staite; now, after some months
of international development, he is more reserved and the
latest news suggest that he almost reversed his mi.ti.al position.
In spiite of the fact that Sidor has not engaged himself
for certain reasons in the fascist regime in Slovalkira during
the war, he is not without responsibi.Lity for what was going
on there dru:ring his aJbserrce. His responsiibility is, in our
opinion, essentia,L As the Chief of the Hlinlka Party press,
leader of radicals and an important Party ,b oss - all in one
person - he was the most characteristic representative of
Slovak nationalism. He was in a pernnanent opposition to the
democratic form of Cz;ecfuosloivrukia. He did his best to mruke
the SloV'aJk national movement more radical and V1ulgar and,
in this way, he induced the movement to• take the shaipe it
did and .to end as it did, that is in the destruction of Czechoslova!kia, su:ppression of democracy and strengthening
of fascist power in Burope.
Sidor a:s a politician is without sufficient education,
foresight, and sense of responsibility; he is unacceptable to
the democrats in spite of the fact that his stay in Vatican
has had a positive influence on him. Long emigrartion has
made him to develop a Fuhrer-complex and a harmful sense
of SQIVereignty. Even if his political conception has ~come
more democratic, as a consequeil'ce of his contact with Vatican, there is nothing by which he could contribute to the
cause of democracy. "With Sidor against the Jews" is the
quintessence of his legend in Slovaikia. He has no other fol-
�32
SLOVAKIA
lowers there; if he switched over to different slogans, he
would have to give up his o,w:n pa.sit and aJbandon those political and psychological forces which adoire him now. It
cannot be sufficiently oouphasized that the whole emotional
and ideological back,g round of Slovak separatism is giiven
absolutely by the SloivaJk State, its inner spirit, its values
and prejudices, and :if .Sidor did not serve these forces, he
would be coI11Sidered as a traitor and opportunist.
2. Anti-communism as an expression of Czech or Slovak nationalism: On the Czech side, it is General Prchala
who can be :termed as its representative. General Prcihala is
a Czech afficer who did not return home after the last war
because of political differences with Dr. Benes. His followers ma.Ike Ulp a tiny group among our exiles. The judgemenrts on General's qualities as a soldier run diametrioo.Uy,
but there is no doulbt about his poliitical capaJbilities among
the democratic exiles. The legend tha,t grew around him, as
an immediate consequence of the first disruppointment after
FeJbruary, has mostly eva;poraJted since. General Prchala is
said by the peo,ple who know him to be a man of very limited views who has no political sense; he is said to hruve no
democratic coI11Victions, and, besides, he suffers from something lilke megalomania. His political reasoning is emlbryonic
and naive. He refuses to recognize .the necessity of political
parties in democr.acy; he f101tters the Sudeten Germans for
reasons of his personal amlbition, which iis ,b oth -u nreasona!ble and irresponsrble. His negotiations with the SlovaJk
5elparatist fraction which Mr. P. Pridavok in London, are
too hasty to be considered seriously. His followers in CzechosloviaJkia are scanty and the democratic exile group do
not oount with him ei,t her. His worshippers do not know
him personally ; they regard him as the most outspoken
anti-Communist and from their own illusions aJbout his personality which ilisappear as soon as they come in contact
with reality. It is our opinion that General Prchala will go
to the history of our emigration as a little episode.
General Prchala's group is exploiting the fact of his
long emig,raJtion and absence from his own country and has
some financial means at dis posal. lit has its own paper
"Cesky boj" published in London. His followers are recuit-
�SLOVAKIA
33
ed from emigr.ants who left Czechoslovakia partly before
the last war, but mostly who left between the years 194'51947. It is characteristic that they generally live outside
the caimps. They founded in London The Czech National
Committee which operates also .in the US Zone and has
nothing in c01Inmon with Czechoslovakia Relief Committee.
Prchala's group acceipts the Slovak seiparati,s m, supports ilt on account of common ideological affinity, and they
plan to gather a Central European Federation. General
Prchlala acts entirely with the ,peoip le of his kind. They are
nationalists by outlook, their emotional and ideological
background is, quite opposed to the ideas on which a healthy and organic federation could arise. The real motirves behind Prchala's federational plans iare opportunist in character. The idea of federation, if the latter is to be workable,
pre-supposes Slljpra-inaitionalizing and democratic thuillcing,
it presU!pposes the super nationalism not its ,a ssertion which,
in sulbstance, is national egoism.
On the Sl()I\Tlaik side, the nationlist group with the movement of poliitical Catholicism, insofar as the representatives
and t>heiir folloiWers are concerned, has always been so since
1•918, aJ11d the best eXipression since was the Slwak State
with a priest as president and a third of members of parliament also priests.
The real leader of this groUJp is Mr. Durcansky, who is
sometimes cOIIl:Sidered as successor of Father Tiso. As the
fiTst Foreign Minister of the Slovaik Puippet Government,
he is on the liist of war criminals and, consequently, the
Slovak nationalists are more or less olbliged to accept Mr.
Sidor, who represents the policy of tJhe Vatican as their
leader. But for this fact, the position of Mr. Durcansky
would be dominant beyond any doub:t, because of his relatitvely gireater erudition (he was professor of international
laiw at ,the Bratislaivia University from 1939 till 1944), Intelligence, and because of Ms political skill.
The gross of the Slovalk separatist group consists of
young people (around 19 or 20 years of age). These people
harve no personal experience of democracy. They are not
sUJfficiently educated, inexperienced in all respects, they
�34
SLOVAKIA
,s uccumb to the ,p ropaganda of the more radical, noisy and
vulgar it is. This kind of propaganda exerts influence even
on ipeople who left CzechoslovaJkia for quite apolitic.al reasons.
MT. Durfansky had h4; organization built uip already
at the time when the Czechoslovakia exile movement was
yet non-existent. Lacking all the means, it is very difficult
for the democratic exiles to catch up with him in thjs respect. DUT.fansky has his agents in all Czechoslovak camps,
canv~ing for him both openly and secretly. It is· sad, and
characteristic as well, tlhait these agents use all meians at
their disposal, including bribes ( cigarettes, food packages
from USA, promises of visa to Argentin,a, which is the
country of residence of Mr. Durcansky).
In spite af the ban on all political actiiVities in refugee
caimps, the agents of Mr. Durcansky exercise great moral
presswre on democratic Slovaiks by propaganda of revenge
for the execution of Father Tiso and for the Bystrica rising
in 1944, by campaigning oipenly for the Sl01VaJk State, which
is 1being treated as a fait aiccompli in Catholic nationalistic
preiss of .AJIIlerican Slovak,s in USA, Slovak refugees are instilled 1zy fear and used for political plans of Mr. Durcansky. An illegal pa-per by n,ame of "1Slova1k Struggle" is being
pulb1ished lb y "Tiso's Society" somewhere in Munich. This
mimeographe d paper stands openly for the Slovak State,
for its idea a,,nd its fascist representative s, some of whom
were listed as the war CTiminals still during •t he war (Tiso,
Durca.nsky) .
3. Fascism in exile: It is implied in the former movements where it exists potentially for the present. It does
not exist as ,a clear-cut cxrientation, hut its expression can
be detected on different tendencies. It emerges on the surface indiividually without the couvage to appear as an open
o.vga.ruzation. The real danger begins there where the anticommunist attitude turns into sheer passion and irrationalism, naJtional, religious, or racial. This danger is not acute
for the present and would lbe easily neutralized by a clearer
moral support to b,e accorded to the Czechoslovak democratic exiles 1b y the Western democracies.
½. Conservatives : One can count here the followers of
�SLOVAKIA
35
all political parties which: were not admitted by the Third
Reipulblic (1945) and were recognized now in exile: Peasant's Party, National Democrats, and the party defending
the interests of small business and handwork. Those ,parties
can serve well to the cause of democracy in CzechoslovaJkia,
especially the Peasant's Party, if it strikes roots in Slovakia
and turns the Party Politics into another direction leading
out of the present dead-loclc situation created by the nationalist complex. This would contribute to the political intergration of both ,p ar.ts of the Republic, even if on the
basis of a more conserviaUve character. In general, these
parties represent vested interests · rather than ideologies.
They stand for economic liberalism which best favors the
interests of their followers.
1
It is 1known that the Peasant's Party was well received
by all political groups, especially lby (the Czech) Social
Democrats. The initia,l mutual resipect and good will of the
two latter parties gives rise to speculations on an eventual
coalition in the future which was well known in -t he party
politics of the First Republic, ,w hen it was characteristically
called "red-green coalition."
5. Decomratic exile groups: It is difficult to speaik
a/bout the •pol-itic<al parties in connection with this group
which reyresents the Czechoslovak tradition of universal
and moral humanism as formulat,ed by Masaryk. In general,
is can be said that the political .g rouping of tJhis block coincides with the parties forming the Government Coalition of
the ,First Republic ( up till 1938) , the parties which stood b,y
Masaryk without any reservation and later backed ,h is successor to the presidency, Mr. Benes; one can include into
this growp (Czech) National Socialists (Czech) Social
~9CI"ats and, to a certain extent, the Czech Catholic
Party and the old Peasant's Party.
-, '·The opposition of this democratic block t.o Communism
is motivated by humanitarian philosophy, cultural and
moral universalism. This group opposes all na1Jional, confessional and class exclusiveness, its faith is undogmatic,
lay ,and social in character. In European politics is stands
for "troisieme force" with the democracy as a dominant
�36
SLOVAKIA
feature. It represents the best Czechoslovak tradition (Hus,
Comenius, Masaryk), its orientation is universal, essentially
related to or even identical with the democratic spirit of
the West.
It is a natural, unopportunistic ally of the West and an
exclusive representative of Western orientation in Czechoslovakia in every respect. .
'11he representatives of this group haive suffered most
thI1ough the Oommunist cowp d'etat in February this yeaT.
They tried their best to cooperate with the Communists,
following the lines of policy laid do,w n by Yalta and other
aJgreements, and now they pay dear for the failure of their
"mission of good will" by inner chaos and repercussions
caused hy tJhe political demagogy of the undemocratic antiCommunism.
The democratic block, which still represents the majority of rpu!blic opinion in CzechosloV!aikia, is in a state of
fermentation, revaluation, revision and heaJrt-searchmg.
The visilble signs for this search for new policies can 'b e
traced in the attempt to estalblish a single Socialist Party
in CzechoslovaJkia on the pattern of Western Labour Parti~, in the retrospectirve criticism of our ,p ast policies towards the national minorities, in the reconstruction of _political status quo ante Munich, in the sympathies with the
federatiOIIl :plans in Europe, and in many other tendencies.
The personalities belonging to this group may be listed
as follo,w s :
Mr. Ferdinand Peroutka, Editor of the most influential
non-1party weekly review "Dnesek; former ministers :Zen.kl,
Majer, Stransky, Ripka; generals: Basal, Ingr; Slovaks:
Osusky, Papanek, Slavik, Kocvara, General Feriencik.
Franek, and others. Out of all groups this democratic bloclk
is at the greatest disadvantage insofor as their position in
refugee camps is concerned; it has no, press except "Svobodny Zitrek" published in Paris; it is without any visible material, financial, and moral support which is iacc0irded : more
or less to all other exile groups, especially to our older exiles (1008, 1944-1947), which are rather defective, from
the point of view of pure democracy. In general it can be
1
�SLOVAKIA
37
said that the democratic exiles h:we suppoI'ted Benes's
policy from 1945 : they stood for the policy of understanding
with the Communists, partly spontaneously and partly under
the pressure of both internal political situation, and left
<JSR only in Febl'uary when they were threatened by physical force. They do not consider the policy of Benes as a
mistake, but rather as failure of good will and personal
tragedy. The illusion of Benes is often compared to that of
Roosevelt. The democrats feel that their experiment was an
honest attempt which, from the pont of view of world democracy, was absolutely necessary .. The failure is not received
with satisfaction by the genuine democrats; they rather
feel disa,ppointed and deceived. 'Dhe disa,ppointme nt becomes
aH the more ,pairuf.ul for them as they reconsider their mistaJkes and ,s acrifices.
The democratic self-criticism aims in the first place at
their own political parties and politicians. They admit shortsightedness, lao'k of foresight, and carelessness in respect
of the real aims hidden behind the com..'TI unist activities,
and, finally, they confess to helplessness and hesitation at
the time when the communist intentions become evident.
The most painful are the concessions made to the Communists in what concerns the integrity of democracy, such as
the inhumanities colDJilltted during the expulsion of the
Sudenten-Ger mans and Hungarians, the misuse of political
trials and purges, excesses of .s ecret police, and the like.
Under the pressure of ideological disunity and self-criticism,
some princilples, as regards the future political system, crystalize: the preservation of state continuity on a new basis,
enlarged politically (by the reintroduction of some of the
old parties), and personally (1b y the admittance to the political life of the country of non-ipa,rty personalities) . The
persons of some ,p restige, who were not engaged in party
politics and whose attitude to the past regime (1945-48)
is merely critical not a priori negatirve, are the following:
Peroutka, Papanek, Osusky, Hasal, Feriencik, and a few
others. In general, one cay say the exile resistance movement which is being born outside Czoohoslovak ia is not
motivated by negation or contempt, but by understanding
and criticism of Benes's Republic. In the ey~ of democratic
1
�38
SLOVAKIA
exiles this attitude becomes the chief criterion of a democratic qualification.
After the death of Benes and Masaryk, junior, C:rechoslovak exiles are without a recognized leader and it is doubtful whether such a person will arise in a spontaneous way.
The aibsen<!e of a leading personality is being felt everywhere, especially while our resistance organization is at its
beginning. 'Dhe choice of democratic representatives is, at
this time of recession of European democracy, very acute
and more responsible than ever •b efore. It is quite clear that
the judgement of Western governments will 1be essential in
this choice; their responsilbility for the future of European
democracy wiH be very large.
We think it would be desirruble that the charitable
character of the assistance to our refugees should be repla,ced, within the limits given by the ,policies of Western
democracies, by a support of a more political character.
We are convinced that such a revision of our "refugee
status" would play an important role from the military
point of view as well. The apolitical character of the aid to
our refugees has a harmful influence on the moral of the
people concerned, especially on the younger refugees, who
left their homes mostly on the basis of false information
and supposition that they would be immediately drafted into the Czechoslovak or other military forces.
The present camps are for many emigrants an education for political indifiference and the only interest that remains is to emigrate and to settle down. The emigrants,
who are living outside the camps •b eyond the reach of political or other control authority, S1Uccumb to harmful orientations and other influences. Czech@slovak emigrants,
wtho are living outside the Czechoslovalk camps in Austria
and South Germany, mostly left Czechoslovakia long before
February 1948 and are very often guilty of collaboration
with nacism.
The Sudeten-German problem:
It was said already that the excesses committed in connection with the transfer of Sudeten-Ge.ranans were a very
paJinful affair for the democrats. Many of them came over
to Gernnany with the intention of opening a new chapter in
�SLOVAKIA
39
CzeohoslovaJk-German relations, a chapter of cooperation
and understanding , which was to be based on mutual concessions and compromises. This tendency is waning in contact with the every-day German reality, even if the original
intention is not being aJbandoned entirely. Germany of today is democratic on the surface only and any cooperation
with her seems to be still very risky. For that reason thP
transfer of the Gernnan minority in 1945-46 it as present
considered generally to have been the only possible solution
under the circumstances . This attitude is accepted generally
by tihe whole (Czech) democratic block, though it is often
felt to •be o:f rather an emergency and unfinished character.
The Slovak Problem:
The Slovalk exiles, who left Czechoslovak ia between the
time of liberation and February 1948, had an exclusively
collaborationist character; the nationalist and fascist feature of this exile movement grew more intense under the
influence olf exile p.sychology and with the gradual failure
of the Czechoslovak democratic experiment. H this democratic experiment with the Communism had succeeded,
these exiles would ha,ve never gained any significance. New
possibilities for them are opening only nOIW after Ozech and
Slovak democrats had to resign their "good will mission" and
have compromised to a certain degree with the Communists.
As these fascist and half-fascist exiles have been coming over to Germany now for more than three years and
ha'Ve 1been supported not only by the Slovalk charity org,anizations in the USA, but by the Germans as well - which is
characteristic in itself - they are numerically stronger
than the recent democratic groups. To illustrate the quality
and intelleotual level olf the people concerned, we gi,ve the
total number of university graduates in iboth opposing
groups of 'SlQIV,aks as it Q<!mtrs in the greatest Czechoslovak
refugee camp in Ludwigsiburg (•J age:rihofkaser n) : Among
200 SlovaJks in .t he camp, there ,are 14 university graduates,
out of which 1 (one) is nationalist-se paratist, while the
other thirteen are democrats standing for the unity of Czechoslovakia. The average age of the members belonging to
the democratic group is albout 33, in the separatists group
it maJkes only 22 years.
�40
SLOVAKIA
The number of democratic Slovruks in exile increases
raipidly since Febraury 1948 and amounts to aJbout 30 or
40% in aH the camps. This is caused by the fact that, until
recently, the Communists refrained from wholesale persecution of the democrats in Slovia!kia 1beoause of the relative
werukness of the COIIIlmunists in this part of the Republic.
The political representation and importance of the
Slovaks in exile politics outside Germany is so strong and
great as never before. One of the candidates for chairmanship of the Czechoslovak National Council in the UISA is a
SlovaJk, Mr. Osusky, Professor at Colgate University, USA,
and fomner Ambassador oif Ozechoslovaikia to France. In
the United Nations, it is a Slova!k, Mr. Papanek, who defends the cause of the Czechoslovak people there. He is
assisted 1b y the former ambassador to US Government, Mr.
Slavik, who is also a Slovalk. The strong Democratic Party
(the majority ,p arty which polled 62 % of all votes recorded
in the ,l ast free elections in SlolV'~kia in 1946) stands for a
united but decentralized CzechoslovaJkia and its democracy
(except for 2 dissidents: Dr. Bohm and Mr. Blasko, MPs) .
It is to be emphasized that the underlying idea of nationalist and separatist movement has been a democratic
one. It was represented by HSLIS ( The Hlinka SlOIV~ People's Party) which was lbanned after the defeat of Germany
in 194!5, because of its wholehearted collaboration with
nacism during the war. This party has /been in the full
sense oif the word the pioneer, the spearhead and an exclusiive representative of fascism already long before 1938.
Since 1921 and 1933, respectively, the movement sympathized quite openly and unambiguously with Mussolini and
Hitler; it was already so at the time when, thanks to the
maigic personal i.nifl:uence of president Masaryik, there were
no pro-fascist tendencies in Czechoslovak political life. The
nationalist and separatist press, from ~o,re or after Munich, sup.plies a mass of evidence slllpporting fully the foregoing sba.tements. This concerns the Party's official organ
"Slovak" and "The Slovak Truth," just as well as the mo,re
radical papers "Gardista" and especially "Nastup," the organ of Sidor extremists, edited then ,b y Dr. Durcansky.
The ,Slovak nationalist and separatist movement has
�SLOVAKIA
41
done its best to bring a,bout a situation suitaible for the destruction of CzechoslovaJkia and suppression of democracy.
The so-called SlovaJk State, the full acceptance of its ideology and recognition of its leaders by Hitler was only a logical consequence. Tille present -leaders of Slovak separatists
in exile are all mem1bevs of the HSI.JS and belong to the second or third garniturc (except Sidor and Durcanslky who
belong to the first), which is the most radical and fanatical.
'I1hey are mostly young people belonging to the generation
which has grown up at the time of Hitler expansion and
had no opportunity to assimilate the democratic spirit,
which in any case was too young in Slovakia. It is necessary
to emiphasize that the Slovaks entered history as a nation
only in 1918; this single fact explains almost everything
aJbout the nature and quality of Slo,valk nationalism and
separatism.
In genera,!, the problem of Slovruk nationalism is a problem of democracy. In many a respect it resemJbles the problem of German nationalism and democracy. There is not
question of refusing the recognition of the Slovaiks as a
nation, with its equal rights; there is no difference between
the nationalists and democrats in this point. The conflict is
idoologica,l, moral, and cultural. Essentially it is a conflict
between fascism and democracy. The Slo,vaks-Democrats
are standing automatically for OOR, because they see in it
a guarantee of democracy also for Slovakia. They are without any nationalist prejudice. and the question of CzechSlovak relations is for them lbut a question of governmental
and administrative technique. 'Dhe motives ,b ehind the Slova!k separatism is political immaturity, nationalist passions,
anti-Czech, anti-Hungavian, anti-Jewish hatred, lacking all
objective foundations. 'I1he Sloviruk separatism is !basically an
rubsence of ,correct political thiniking, lack of education,
democratic tradition, humanitarian feeling, and a want of
culture in general. It is based on psychic complexes and it
is a kind of primitivism. The Western democracies may not
make any compromise with it if they do not wish to weaken the democracy of Slovakia and if their aim is the reconstruction of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The
only political goal of Slov8Jk nationalism is a re-establish-
�42
SLOVAKIA
ment of an independent -Slo1Va:k State with the same underlying ideology as that which prevailed under Tiso. Any compromise in 1Jhls respect would mean an irrevocaJble step
backward and a retreat a,way from democracy.
Their attitude toward federation plans, in which they
see a good Oipportunity, is motivated by naked political opportunism. They are inc3!pa!ble of any federation because
of their deep nationalist prejudice and complex. Their aim
is the destruction of OSR, the seizure of power which would
be otherwise impossible, because of the fascist past of all
leaders oif nationalist separatism. The criticism of the foregoing passage .should not be interpretd as prejudice. H is
not al,w ays easy for Western olbservers to understand fully
the d.ifif.ioult position of democratic ideas in the countries
where, in albsence of a strong tradition, they are e~sed to
the inroads not only of communism, but also of another
ikind of political primitivism ( nationalism, church confessionalism). The present criticism is based on the results of a
thorough analysis of the so-called "Slovak Problem." It is
only because of the lack of space that the fads are accumulated without adequate basis of objective evidence.
May we stress, too, that the authors of the most critical
parts and passages on the Slovaik nationalism contained in
the present memo,r,andum are Slovaks and Catholics as well.
The significance of Dr. Benes:
A negative attitude towards the personality of Benes
is held by two political groups only : Prchala and Slovak nationalists. The attitude of a small minority of Conserwatives,
Catholics and some other Right Wing Politicians is also
more or less revered. The democrats in general are rather
united in their relations to Benes. The doubts aibout his policies, which arose in exile following immediately the communist overthrow of the democracy regimes, hawe disappeared,
so that after his refusal to add his signature to the · new
communist-'Siponsored Constitution, which was later follO!Wed
'by his resignation, Benes slowly became the symbol of
democratic struggle against the Communism. Before his
death, he was virtually expected to resume his leadership
of the third resistance struggle for a new, free, and d ~
cratic Czechoslovakia in exile.
�SLOVAKIA
43
iHis death was mourned ,b y all quarters. The devotion
to his idea.ls grew more intense everywhere, partly as a result of pressure of demagogic and rough propaganda by the
two groups mentioned a'bove. In general, it can be said that
Czechoslovak democratic exile block follows the path of
Masarytk's tradition of Human democracy, which is in no
way o.pposed to Benes's policies, even if they are criticized
in some very important aspects, such as national state,
.regulated democracy, the prdl>lem of national minorities in
OSR, and especially the practical politics since the liberation
(194'5). Benes remains an authority for all the democrats
at home and in exile as a theoretician of democracy; for
the majority of emigrants he represents the symbol of national independence. His prestige has been growing continuously since his resignation, and his departure is being felt
every.where as irreplaceable. It is recognized almost generally that Benes acted under the pressure and responsibility
which was historic and which eliminates any attempt at an
objective judgement in the present moment.
Political aspirations of democratic exile block:
CzechoslovaJk democratic political groups in exile regret
the state of non-existence of a recognized representiati,ve
body; the general disappointment, too, is 'being felt in respect of the undiscriminating, apolitical, refugee status accorded to Czechoslovak political exiles. Czechoslovak political e::iciles feel they are no emigrants and they are inclined
to accept the emigration possi!bilities given only insofar as
they offer the basis for political activities in the broadest
possible extent, directed to the ultimat.e goal of all exiles to the re-establishment of a free and democratic Czechosloivaikia.
This "Refugee Status" is disliiked most of all by the
Czechoslovak democratic exiles which consider themse1ves
as true allies of the West and as the real representatives of
an allied Nation which is democratically so qualified as no
other nation of Central and Eastern Europe. Ozechoslovak
democratic exiles would be very happy to see the change in
their status and their general position.
Frankfurt-Main, in November 1948.
�44
SLOVAKIA
Taking into account what has happened since 1948, particularly
the "special" treatment accorded the Benes Czechs and their Slovak
hirelings by our State Department, I believe it is safe to say that
" In our issue of February 19 (p. 531) we wondered
what sort of information the State Department has been
provided with in choosing members for the Czechoslovak
Council recently formed in Washington. The reserves we
expressed on that occasion are confirmed by a letter sent
us since then by a distinguished statesman prominent in
Czechoslovakia's political life previous to the communist
coup. We quote a few lines from his letter:
In this new Czecho-Slovak Council there are no Slovak Catholics (the three Slovaks who are nominally Catholics never
took part in the religious and cultural life of the country), and
the Czech People's Party is represented by three persons of
doubtful moral standing who had always been friends of Soviet
domination. The rest are Marxian Socialists - who are presumably in great favor at Washington and three Czech
Agrarians( who are perhaps the only Catholics in the whole
assembly.
Perhaps the State Department officials are right in thinking that a council, whatever may be its composition, is better
than no council. From the standpoint of American political
strategy no objection can be raised. But my own view of these
things is a bit different. The leaders of the newly formed
Council are Marxists can Bolshevism be defeated by its
own ideas? They are freethinkers and opponents of any religious instruction. What Cultural ideas will they give to my
unhappy people? They will have to rule in Slovakia by sheer
force - could that be called democracy? Their conception of
foreign policy is that of military alliances a la Benes and hatred
towards all the neighbors - does that mean peace? Perhaps
the greatest irony of all is that men who were bitter enemies
of the Marshall Plan are now invited by the State Department
to America.
"Czechoslovakia is a Catholic country (Bohemia and
Moravia 75 percent, Slovakia 80 percent), and yet the
principal men in this Council are either Protestants or
atheists. It is certainly not raising a religious issue to
ask if such an arrangement is equitable. Again the question
arises: whose advice, if any, is being followed by the
State Department in this strange procedure?"-(AM ERICA,
March 19, 1949) .
the "memorandum" has proved its usefulness for the Benes Czechs,
serving as a criterion or guide for "policy makers" in the United
�SLOVAKIA
45
States Government, particularly in regard to the question of what
exiles from Czecho-Slovakia could be considered "trustworthy and
reliable experts" on Czecho-Slovakian matters.
In 1949, after our State Department (Acheson) invited the Benes
Czechs to the U. S. A. and gave a batch of blank visas to Dr. Hubert Ripka, right-hand man of Dr. Benes, at that time in Paris, the
Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings were brought to the United
States at taxpayers' expense to advise our Government and its various departments and agencies on the matter of how to fight Communism and the Communists and outsmart Soviet Russia in the
field of psychological warfare! The NEW YORK TIMES stated at
that time (Feb. 6, 1949) that "they plan to set up what will be, in
effect, a Czechoslovak Government in exile" - and previous to that
date (Jan. 5, 1949), the same source reported the arrival of a "High
Escaped Czech" - Arnost Heidrich - who, according to well-informed Czechs is neither of Slovak nor Czech origin, as follows:
"Arnost Heidrich, Secretary General of the Czechoslovak
Foreign Office and for fourteen years legal and political adviser
to the late Dr. Edward Benes, has escaped from Prague and came
to Washington with a detailed story of Communist activities and
plans in Eastern Europe. M. Heidrich, a white-haired 59-year-old
civil servant who is well known and trusted by the United States
Government, was brought here by United States authorities and has
made a full report of conditions in Czechoslovakia to the State Department." Apparently, Mr. Heidrich, like Dr. Eduard Benes, knew
all about Communist activities and plans!
After their arrival in the U. S., the Benes Czechs, (Ripka
Zenkl, Taborsky, Peroutka, Ingr, Majer, Firt, Prochazka, etc.) and
their Slovak hirelin&_s (Lettrich, Kocvara, Hodfa, Papanek, Franek,
Slavik, Krno, Mudry-Sebik, etc.) organized the "COUNCIL OF FREE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA" and set up headquarters in Washington. As
"experts," they were soon employed by the Free Europe Committee
(Radio Free Europe), various universities, the VOA (USIA), CIA,
Library of Congress, the Pentagon, and other agencies of U. S.
Government in one capacity or another.
I have said it before and I repeat it again that I am convinced
that the Benes Czechs exercise great influence and practically control the so-called "Czechoslovak" unit or division of both the RFE
and also the VOA (USIA) in regard to "reliability" of personnel,
exile and otherwise, employed. In the light of the facts uncovered
during the past nine years, why are they still tolerated in 1958?
The Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings have been discredited by their own peoples at home, so why should we curry
their favor? The Slovak League of America and the Slovak organizations affiliated with it have brought this to the attention of our
Government, the Free Europe Committee, and the USIA (VOA) on
several occasions, but practically nothing was done to remedy the
situation. Someone, it seems, has decreed that patriotic Slovaks
must be ignored and discriminated against; and this applies practhey simply are not
tically to Slovak and Czech Catholics wanted; Hence, I am strongly inclined to believe that the 1948
"MEMORANDUM" of the Benes Czechs is still considered valid by
some VIP in official Washington. So the "expert" advisers to de-
�46
SLOVAKIA
partment heads of U. S. Government on all Slovak and Czech matters still remain at their posts at our expense on the strength of a
memorandum prepared by the Benes Czechs a memorandum
whose language reveals that its authors just as well might have
been the Czech Reds, or their "comrades" in Moscow!
•
•
•
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
B. S. Bue, Ph.D.
1. Nationalism and the Existing "Status Quo"
To speak of the Slovaks is to touch upon a problem
which at the present time has assumed vital and worldwide proportions, namely, the problem of nationalism.
Nationalism is one of the most discussed issues in the
modern political world. The reason lies in the more extensive definition by which nationalism refers not only
to the lofty devotion of citizens towards their native
country, also known as patriotism, but especially to a revolutionary movement of our modern society. Thus, nationalism is giving rise to dangerous political tensions in
various sectors of the globe and threatening to disintegrate the political status quo of many long established nations. There is need, therefore, of a thorough understanding of all its components, motives, and objectives.
Slovak nationalism involves a lofty devotion to a native land, but as yet has not developed serious revolutionary characteristics. It has not, therefore, attracted significant attention from the international community. Nevertheless, it has grown from almost complete oblivion t o
such proportions that it must be taken into consideration as one of the most important forces shaping the future
destiny of Central Europe.
From the beginning of its existence Slovak nationalism was nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation for the birth of new political systems which we call
"Western Democracy." But Slovak nationalism is Western
not because of its ideological relationship alone. During
�
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Title
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1958, Vol. 8
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li>
</ul>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Slovak League of America
Date
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1958
Text
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Text
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28
SLOVAKIA
"MEMORANDUM ON POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND
ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA EXILES"
Th.is memorandum deals with political aspects ,o f CzechoslovaJk exrile groups only, especially so far ,a s their anticommunism and its motilves are concerned.
Politically European anti-communism i,s not a united
movement ; it contains factions and tendencies democratically not qualified or even disqualified. I1t has to ibe emphasized that yesterday's enemies of democracy (nacism
and its friends), whicih are offering themselves as allies todlay, could easily become an acute iand fatal problem for
democracy, in case not sufficient aJttention iis paid to the implications. Anti-communism as sucll is merely a potential
ally oif democracy.
In our opinion, all ,political emigration should be clasSlified alreadry now as to the real motives of its anti-communist attitude. We, in Czeoho-sio.vaJkia, who hawe lived to see
the destruction of democracy first ·b y fascism and lat-er by
communism, know only too well that these two contrasting
ideologies, irreconcilaible ideologicaHy, are quite ridenitical
insofar as their psychology and ethi:cs are concerned. Intermediate and .fresh as the experience with the Communists
lives among politic:al exiles, it is very dangerous for democratic thin1king and feeling and tends to extremism and
primirtiive radi'calism. The irritative camip psychology diminishes 1Jhe aJbility for finer distinctions and, as a consequence,
anti--c01m:mwrism turns into the criticism of a very primitive,
sometimes of quite fascist character. This tendency, which
in the end would ,b ecome hiarmful to the cause of world
democracy, is not very acute in CzeclloslovaJk camps unless
it is left to develOip entirely in its own way.
CzeohoslovaJk political emigration can be classified according to the motives of its anti-communism as follows :
1. Political Catholics: opponents of Communism for
religious and confessional reasons. This g1roup has to be
soodilvided into two parts: Czech and Slovak. Czeich Catholics are well equdipped ideologically; they are in contact with
and influenced by modern Catholic movements in the West,
29
SLOVAKIA
especially by that of F1rance. Their orientation is universal,
hllimanitarian and, thrroug,h Masarytk's influence, also democrat.ic. They idenltify CommUll!ism with !Marxism and interpret it as a logical consequence of materialism and atheism.
To a certain ex.tent their faith is liberal, at least it used to
be so in Czechoslovakia. This feature, however, is weaken-,
ing here in exile and is ,being replaced ,by one that is more
conse.r,vaJtirve and confessional.
The activities of this group are ca>rried on with the
help of Catholic clergy which, in its turn, is supported by
the VaJtrican throug,h .t!he Pax Romana org,anizatiOiil. The
work of this group is, for that rea son, much easier and it
is visilble everyiwhere. .Some movements of our emigirants
from Ge11many had almost an exclusive Catholic character.
So the transfer to Italy, for instance, consisted mainly of
Catholics. The political Catholics are very expansive and so
they may get into conflict with the above mentioned tiradition which is of lay, liberal and democratic character. The
representatives, of this ,group are: Mr. Bohdan Chudoba,
MP, Mrs. Kozeluhova, Mr. Prochazka, former Minister of
Health, Mr. Tigrid, Chief Editor of (the Czech) Catholic
Party Pre.s s.
fu spite of the faot tha:t Bohemia is to a great e·x tent
(96 % ) a Catholic country, the religious affiliation has never
been identified with the political one; that is why the Oatholic Party has enjoyed no ,great significance since 1918,
and it is hardly to be expected that it will be otherwise fn
the future democratic Czechoslovakia.
1
The movement of political Catholicism in Slovakia, with
the exception of a small groUJp of moderni sts, is of a mo•r e
primitive nature and it has al,ways pursued policies which
were in permanent conflict with the Czechoslovak democracy since the end of World War One. The Slovruk population is SO% Catholic; in 1938 election HSLS - (the Hlinka
Slovruk Peoiple's Party) - polled rubout 40 % of all rvotes and,
was relatively the strongest party.
'Dhi,s grolllp has two ,political cente115 outside Czechoslovakia. T,he first is in USA among the Slovak spooking
American citizens, popularly spoiken of in C~hoslovakia
1
30
SLOVAKIA
as American Slovaiks. Their press (e. g. Slova:k Defense,
Slovalk in America, Catholic) vehemently campailgns against
the new ipoliltiC'al exiles who left their home-country after
February 1948 only. They stand openly for legal continuity
of the so-called SlOWJk State, campaign for it in pwblic and
declare at the same tirme their intention to taike revenge on
all participants in the 1944 anti-German rising at Banska
Bystrica in the middle of Slovatkia, further on all politicians
who have shown good will in cooperation with the Soviets
during or after the war. Under the pressure of this kind of
propaganda many SloviaJk,s succumb, become indifd:erent to
the cause .o f CzechoslovaJkia, or even turn hostile to it. This
political war-fare against Czechosl()IVakia is going on under
the guise of Christian charity which appears to have been
led until recently ,by an American citizen of Slovak origin,
Father Billy.
As ,the Ciharacter of the SloW!lk exiles is to a much
smaller exitent ,p olitical than it is the case with the Czech
emigTees, 8111d as it contains elements of very poor social
and intellectual level, the kind .o f propaganda mentioned
aJbove has had consideralble success. If the promises of material help, ,by which F1ather Billy has been able to influence
the political minds of Slova;k emigrants in Germany, are Ito
realize, it will certainly oreate another obstacle on the way
of harmonious coo,peration of Czechs and Slovaks in exile.
The other center of politioal Catholioism, which is in
contact wilth t:lhe first, is the V1atican and is dommated by
the former minister of Czechoslovakia at the time of Munich Agreement who Jailer held the post of Amb~dor of
the Slovak State to the Holy Seat, Mr. Karol Sidor. He himself has been away frO!ffi Siov.rukia since 1939 and is profiting out od: a legend which has grown around him. Mr. Karol
Sidor was a 'b ig man in the HSI.IS; he was lOQlked upon as a
successor of Father Andrej Hlinka to the highest offioe in
the Pairty. He was a leader of the most radical fri8tion of
the young party followers and the founder as well as the
Commander-in-Chief of HG (Hldnlka Guards, rurnied trooips
of the ·P arty, formed on the pattern ·of the Gerrfiah SA or
SS) . During the Munich crisis and after the resignation of
President Benes, he became Minister in Prague Government
SLOVAKIA
31
and - as the consequence of this
he lost corutact with
the separatist wing of the Party, which in the meantime
passed under the control of Flather Tiso, later president of
an :independent SlovaJk State. Influenced .by Pra,gue and •b y
his master Father Hilnika, w'ho died already in 1936, he believed in a solution whi_c h was based on the principle of tervitorial inltegrity of the Republic. His hesitation at the critical moment before the estia:blishment of Protectorate ()lVer
Bohemia (Mairch 13, 1939) ca,used tlhat he lost all the German sympathies and facilitated the .r ise of Tiso. Later he
was aippointed Am'bassador to Vlatican where he has ~en
since. His ,attitude to Czechoslovalkia is equiivocal; until not
long ago he stood for SlovaJk Staite; now, after some months
of international development, he is more reserved and the
latest news suggest that he almost reversed his mi.ti.al position.
In spiite of the fact that Sidor has not engaged himself
for certain reasons in the fascist regime in Slovalkira during
the war, he is not without responsibi.Lity for what was going
on there dru:ring his aJbserrce. His responsiibility is, in our
opinion, essentia,L As the Chief of the Hlinlka Party press,
leader of radicals and an important Party ,b oss - all in one
person - he was the most characteristic representative of
Slovak nationalism. He was in a pernnanent opposition to the
democratic form of Cz;ecfuosloivrukia. He did his best to mruke
the SloV'aJk national movement more radical and V1ulgar and,
in this way, he induced the movement to• take the shaipe it
did and .to end as it did, that is in the destruction of Czechoslova!kia, su:ppression of democracy and strengthening
of fascist power in Burope.
Sidor a:s a politician is without sufficient education,
foresight, and sense of responsibility; he is unacceptable to
the democrats in spite of the fact that his stay in Vatican
has had a positive influence on him. Long emigrartion has
made him to develop a Fuhrer-complex and a harmful sense
of SQIVereignty. Even if his political conception has ~come
more democratic, as a consequeil'ce of his contact with Vatican, there is nothing by which he could contribute to the
cause of democracy. "With Sidor against the Jews" is the
quintessence of his legend in Slovaikia. He has no other fol-
32
SLOVAKIA
lowers there; if he switched over to different slogans, he
would have to give up his o,w:n pa.sit and aJbandon those political and psychological forces which adoire him now. It
cannot be sufficiently oouphasized that the whole emotional
and ideological back,g round of Slovak separatism is giiven
absolutely by the SloivaJk State, its inner spirit, its values
and prejudices, and :if .Sidor did not serve these forces, he
would be coI11Sidered as a traitor and opportunist.
2. Anti-communism as an expression of Czech or Slovak nationalism: On the Czech side, it is General Prchala
who can be :termed as its representative. General Prcihala is
a Czech afficer who did not return home after the last war
because of political differences with Dr. Benes. His followers ma.Ike Ulp a tiny group among our exiles. The judgemenrts on General's qualities as a soldier run diametrioo.Uy,
but there is no doulbt about his poliitical capaJbilities among
the democratic exiles. The legend tha,t grew around him, as
an immediate consequence of the first disruppointment after
FeJbruary, has mostly eva;poraJted since. General Prchala is
said by the peo,ple who know him to be a man of very limited views who has no political sense; he is said to hruve no
democratic coI11Victions, and, besides, he suffers from something lilke megalomania. His political reasoning is emlbryonic
and naive. He refuses to recognize .the necessity of political
parties in democr.acy; he f101tters the Sudeten Germans for
reasons of his personal amlbition, which iis ,b oth -u nreasona!ble and irresponsrble. His negotiations with the SlovaJk
5elparatist fraction which Mr. P. Pridavok in London, are
too hasty to be considered seriously. His followers in CzechosloviaJkia are scanty and the democratic exile group do
not oount with him ei,t her. His worshippers do not know
him personally ; they regard him as the most outspoken
anti-Communist and from their own illusions aJbout his personality which ilisappear as soon as they come in contact
with reality. It is our opinion that General Prchala will go
to the history of our emigration as a little episode.
General Prchala's group is exploiting the fact of his
long emig,raJtion and absence from his own country and has
some financial means at dis posal. lit has its own paper
"Cesky boj" published in London. His followers are recuit-
SLOVAKIA
33
ed from emigr.ants who left Czechoslovakia partly before
the last war, but mostly who left between the years 194'51947. It is characteristic that they generally live outside
the caimps. They founded in London The Czech National
Committee which operates also .in the US Zone and has
nothing in c01Inmon with Czechoslovakia Relief Committee.
Prchala's group acceipts the Slovak seiparati,s m, supports ilt on account of common ideological affinity, and they
plan to gather a Central European Federation. General
Prchlala acts entirely with the ,peoip le of his kind. They are
nationalists by outlook, their emotional and ideological
background is, quite opposed to the ideas on which a healthy and organic federation could arise. The real motirves behind Prchala's federational plans iare opportunist in character. The idea of federation, if the latter is to be workable,
pre-supposes Slljpra-inaitionalizing and democratic thuillcing,
it presU!pposes the super nationalism not its ,a ssertion which,
in sulbstance, is national egoism.
On the Sl()I\Tlaik side, the nationlist group with the movement of poliitical Catholicism, insofar as the representatives
and t>heiir folloiWers are concerned, has always been so since
1•918, aJ11d the best eXipression since was the Slwak State
with a priest as president and a third of members of parliament also priests.
The real leader of this groUJp is Mr. Durcansky, who is
sometimes cOIIl:Sidered as successor of Father Tiso. As the
fiTst Foreign Minister of the Slovaik Puippet Government,
he is on the liist of war criminals and, consequently, the
Slovak nationalists are more or less olbliged to accept Mr.
Sidor, who represents the policy of tJhe Vatican as their
leader. But for this fact, the position of Mr. Durcansky
would be dominant beyond any doub:t, because of his relatitvely gireater erudition (he was professor of international
laiw at ,the Bratislaivia University from 1939 till 1944), Intelligence, and because of Ms political skill.
The gross of the Slovalk separatist group consists of
young people (around 19 or 20 years of age). These people
harve no personal experience of democracy. They are not
sUJfficiently educated, inexperienced in all respects, they
34
SLOVAKIA
,s uccumb to the ,p ropaganda of the more radical, noisy and
vulgar it is. This kind of propaganda exerts influence even
on ipeople who left CzechoslovaJkia for quite apolitic.al reasons.
MT. Durfansky had h4; organization built uip already
at the time when the Czechoslovakia exile movement was
yet non-existent. Lacking all the means, it is very difficult
for the democratic exiles to catch up with him in thjs respect. DUT.fansky has his agents in all Czechoslovak camps,
canv~ing for him both openly and secretly. It is· sad, and
characteristic as well, tlhait these agents use all meians at
their disposal, including bribes ( cigarettes, food packages
from USA, promises of visa to Argentin,a, which is the
country of residence of Mr. Durcansky).
In spite af the ban on all political actiiVities in refugee
caimps, the agents of Mr. Durcansky exercise great moral
presswre on democratic Slovaiks by propaganda of revenge
for the execution of Father Tiso and for the Bystrica rising
in 1944, by campaigning oipenly for the Sl01VaJk State, which
is 1being treated as a fait aiccompli in Catholic nationalistic
preiss of .AJIIlerican Slovak,s in USA, Slovak refugees are instilled 1zy fear and used for political plans of Mr. Durcansky. An illegal pa-per by n,ame of "1Slova1k Struggle" is being
pulb1ished lb y "Tiso's Society" somewhere in Munich. This
mimeographe d paper stands openly for the Slovak State,
for its idea a,,nd its fascist representative s, some of whom
were listed as the war CTiminals still during •t he war (Tiso,
Durca.nsky) .
3. Fascism in exile: It is implied in the former movements where it exists potentially for the present. It does
not exist as ,a clear-cut cxrientation, hut its expression can
be detected on different tendencies. It emerges on the surface indiividually without the couvage to appear as an open
o.vga.ruzation. The real danger begins there where the anticommunist attitude turns into sheer passion and irrationalism, naJtional, religious, or racial. This danger is not acute
for the present and would lbe easily neutralized by a clearer
moral support to b,e accorded to the Czechoslovak democratic exiles 1b y the Western democracies.
½. Conservatives : One can count here the followers of
SLOVAKIA
35
all political parties which: were not admitted by the Third
Reipulblic (1945) and were recognized now in exile: Peasant's Party, National Democrats, and the party defending
the interests of small business and handwork. Those ,parties
can serve well to the cause of democracy in CzechoslovaJkia,
especially the Peasant's Party, if it strikes roots in Slovakia
and turns the Party Politics into another direction leading
out of the present dead-loclc situation created by the nationalist complex. This would contribute to the political intergration of both ,p ar.ts of the Republic, even if on the
basis of a more conserviaUve character. In general, these
parties represent vested interests · rather than ideologies.
They stand for economic liberalism which best favors the
interests of their followers.
1
It is 1known that the Peasant's Party was well received
by all political groups, especially lby (the Czech) Social
Democrats. The initia,l mutual resipect and good will of the
two latter parties gives rise to speculations on an eventual
coalition in the future which was well known in -t he party
politics of the First Republic, ,w hen it was characteristically
called "red-green coalition."
5. Decomratic exile groups: It is difficult to speaik
a/bout the •pol-itic<al parties in connection with this group
which reyresents the Czechoslovak tradition of universal
and moral humanism as formulat,ed by Masaryk. In general,
is can be said that the political .g rouping of tJhis block coincides with the parties forming the Government Coalition of
the ,First Republic ( up till 1938) , the parties which stood b,y
Masaryk without any reservation and later backed ,h is successor to the presidency, Mr. Benes; one can include into
this growp (Czech) National Socialists (Czech) Social
~9CI"ats and, to a certain extent, the Czech Catholic
Party and the old Peasant's Party.
-, '·The opposition of this democratic block t.o Communism
is motivated by humanitarian philosophy, cultural and
moral universalism. This group opposes all na1Jional, confessional and class exclusiveness, its faith is undogmatic,
lay ,and social in character. In European politics is stands
for "troisieme force" with the democracy as a dominant
36
SLOVAKIA
feature. It represents the best Czechoslovak tradition (Hus,
Comenius, Masaryk), its orientation is universal, essentially
related to or even identical with the democratic spirit of
the West.
It is a natural, unopportunistic ally of the West and an
exclusive representative of Western orientation in Czechoslovakia in every respect. .
'11he representatives of this group haive suffered most
thI1ough the Oommunist cowp d'etat in February this yeaT.
They tried their best to cooperate with the Communists,
following the lines of policy laid do,w n by Yalta and other
aJgreements, and now they pay dear for the failure of their
"mission of good will" by inner chaos and repercussions
caused hy tJhe political demagogy of the undemocratic antiCommunism.
The democratic block, which still represents the majority of rpu!blic opinion in CzechosloV!aikia, is in a state of
fermentation, revaluation, revision and heaJrt-searchmg.
The visilble signs for this search for new policies can 'b e
traced in the attempt to estalblish a single Socialist Party
in CzechoslovaJkia on the pattern of Western Labour Parti~, in the retrospectirve criticism of our ,p ast policies towards the national minorities, in the reconstruction of _political status quo ante Munich, in the sympathies with the
federatiOIIl :plans in Europe, and in many other tendencies.
The personalities belonging to this group may be listed
as follo,w s :
Mr. Ferdinand Peroutka, Editor of the most influential
non-1party weekly review "Dnesek; former ministers :Zen.kl,
Majer, Stransky, Ripka; generals: Basal, Ingr; Slovaks:
Osusky, Papanek, Slavik, Kocvara, General Feriencik.
Franek, and others. Out of all groups this democratic bloclk
is at the greatest disadvantage insofor as their position in
refugee camps is concerned; it has no, press except "Svobodny Zitrek" published in Paris; it is without any visible material, financial, and moral support which is iacc0irded : more
or less to all other exile groups, especially to our older exiles (1008, 1944-1947), which are rather defective, from
the point of view of pure democracy. In general it can be
1
SLOVAKIA
37
said that the democratic exiles h:we suppoI'ted Benes's
policy from 1945 : they stood for the policy of understanding
with the Communists, partly spontaneously and partly under
the pressure of both internal political situation, and left
<JSR only in Febl'uary when they were threatened by physical force. They do not consider the policy of Benes as a
mistake, but rather as failure of good will and personal
tragedy. The illusion of Benes is often compared to that of
Roosevelt. The democrats feel that their experiment was an
honest attempt which, from the pont of view of world democracy, was absolutely necessary .. The failure is not received
with satisfaction by the genuine democrats; they rather
feel disa,ppointed and deceived. 'Dhe disa,ppointme nt becomes
aH the more ,pairuf.ul for them as they reconsider their mistaJkes and ,s acrifices.
The democratic self-criticism aims in the first place at
their own political parties and politicians. They admit shortsightedness, lao'k of foresight, and carelessness in respect
of the real aims hidden behind the com..'TI unist activities,
and, finally, they confess to helplessness and hesitation at
the time when the communist intentions become evident.
The most painful are the concessions made to the Communists in what concerns the integrity of democracy, such as
the inhumanities colDJilltted during the expulsion of the
Sudenten-Ger mans and Hungarians, the misuse of political
trials and purges, excesses of .s ecret police, and the like.
Under the pressure of ideological disunity and self-criticism,
some princilples, as regards the future political system, crystalize: the preservation of state continuity on a new basis,
enlarged politically (by the reintroduction of some of the
old parties), and personally (1b y the admittance to the political life of the country of non-ipa,rty personalities) . The
persons of some ,p restige, who were not engaged in party
politics and whose attitude to the past regime (1945-48)
is merely critical not a priori negatirve, are the following:
Peroutka, Papanek, Osusky, Hasal, Feriencik, and a few
others. In general, one cay say the exile resistance movement which is being born outside Czoohoslovak ia is not
motivated by negation or contempt, but by understanding
and criticism of Benes's Republic. In the ey~ of democratic
1
38
SLOVAKIA
exiles this attitude becomes the chief criterion of a democratic qualification.
After the death of Benes and Masaryk, junior, C:rechoslovak exiles are without a recognized leader and it is doubtful whether such a person will arise in a spontaneous way.
The aibsen<!e of a leading personality is being felt everywhere, especially while our resistance organization is at its
beginning. 'Dhe choice of democratic representatives is, at
this time of recession of European democracy, very acute
and more responsible than ever •b efore. It is quite clear that
the judgement of Western governments will 1be essential in
this choice; their responsilbility for the future of European
democracy wiH be very large.
We think it would be desirruble that the charitable
character of the assistance to our refugees should be repla,ced, within the limits given by the ,policies of Western
democracies, by a support of a more political character.
We are convinced that such a revision of our "refugee
status" would play an important role from the military
point of view as well. The apolitical character of the aid to
our refugees has a harmful influence on the moral of the
people concerned, especially on the younger refugees, who
left their homes mostly on the basis of false information
and supposition that they would be immediately drafted into the Czechoslovak or other military forces.
The present camps are for many emigrants an education for political indifiference and the only interest that remains is to emigrate and to settle down. The emigrants,
who are living outside the camps •b eyond the reach of political or other control authority, S1Uccumb to harmful orientations and other influences. Czech@slovak emigrants,
wtho are living outside the Czechoslovalk camps in Austria
and South Germany, mostly left Czechoslovakia long before
February 1948 and are very often guilty of collaboration
with nacism.
The Sudeten-German problem:
It was said already that the excesses committed in connection with the transfer of Sudeten-Ge.ranans were a very
paJinful affair for the democrats. Many of them came over
to Gernnany with the intention of opening a new chapter in
SLOVAKIA
39
CzeohoslovaJk-German relations, a chapter of cooperation
and understanding , which was to be based on mutual concessions and compromises. This tendency is waning in contact with the every-day German reality, even if the original
intention is not being aJbandoned entirely. Germany of today is democratic on the surface only and any cooperation
with her seems to be still very risky. For that reason thP
transfer of the Gernnan minority in 1945-46 it as present
considered generally to have been the only possible solution
under the circumstances . This attitude is accepted generally
by tihe whole (Czech) democratic block, though it is often
felt to •be o:f rather an emergency and unfinished character.
The Slovak Problem:
The Slovalk exiles, who left Czechoslovak ia between the
time of liberation and February 1948, had an exclusively
collaborationist character; the nationalist and fascist feature of this exile movement grew more intense under the
influence olf exile p.sychology and with the gradual failure
of the Czechoslovak democratic experiment. H this democratic experiment with the Communism had succeeded,
these exiles would ha,ve never gained any significance. New
possibilities for them are opening only nOIW after Ozech and
Slovak democrats had to resign their "good will mission" and
have compromised to a certain degree with the Communists.
As these fascist and half-fascist exiles have been coming over to Germany now for more than three years and
ha'Ve 1been supported not only by the Slovalk charity org,anizations in the USA, but by the Germans as well - which is
characteristic in itself - they are numerically stronger
than the recent democratic groups. To illustrate the quality
and intelleotual level olf the people concerned, we gi,ve the
total number of university graduates in iboth opposing
groups of 'SlQIV,aks as it Q<!mtrs in the greatest Czechoslovak
refugee camp in Ludwigsiburg (•J age:rihofkaser n) : Among
200 SlovaJks in .t he camp, there ,are 14 university graduates,
out of which 1 (one) is nationalist-se paratist, while the
other thirteen are democrats standing for the unity of Czechoslovakia. The average age of the members belonging to
the democratic group is albout 33, in the separatists group
it maJkes only 22 years.
40
SLOVAKIA
The number of democratic Slovruks in exile increases
raipidly since Febraury 1948 and amounts to aJbout 30 or
40% in aH the camps. This is caused by the fact that, until
recently, the Communists refrained from wholesale persecution of the democrats in Slovia!kia 1beoause of the relative
werukness of the COIIIlmunists in this part of the Republic.
The political representation and importance of the
Slovaks in exile politics outside Germany is so strong and
great as never before. One of the candidates for chairmanship of the Czechoslovak National Council in the UISA is a
SlovaJk, Mr. Osusky, Professor at Colgate University, USA,
and fomner Ambassador oif Ozechoslovaikia to France. In
the United Nations, it is a Slova!k, Mr. Papanek, who defends the cause of the Czechoslovak people there. He is
assisted 1b y the former ambassador to US Government, Mr.
Slavik, who is also a Slovalk. The strong Democratic Party
(the majority ,p arty which polled 62 % of all votes recorded
in the ,l ast free elections in SlolV'~kia in 1946) stands for a
united but decentralized CzechoslovaJkia and its democracy
(except for 2 dissidents: Dr. Bohm and Mr. Blasko, MPs) .
It is to be emphasized that the underlying idea of nationalist and separatist movement has been a democratic
one. It was represented by HSLIS ( The Hlinka SlOIV~ People's Party) which was lbanned after the defeat of Germany
in 194!5, because of its wholehearted collaboration with
nacism during the war. This party has /been in the full
sense oif the word the pioneer, the spearhead and an exclusiive representative of fascism already long before 1938.
Since 1921 and 1933, respectively, the movement sympathized quite openly and unambiguously with Mussolini and
Hitler; it was already so at the time when, thanks to the
maigic personal i.nifl:uence of president Masaryik, there were
no pro-fascist tendencies in Czechoslovak political life. The
nationalist and separatist press, from ~o,re or after Munich, sup.plies a mass of evidence slllpporting fully the foregoing sba.tements. This concerns the Party's official organ
"Slovak" and "The Slovak Truth," just as well as the mo,re
radical papers "Gardista" and especially "Nastup," the organ of Sidor extremists, edited then ,b y Dr. Durcansky.
The ,Slovak nationalist and separatist movement has
SLOVAKIA
41
done its best to bring a,bout a situation suitaible for the destruction of CzechoslovaJkia and suppression of democracy.
The so-called SlovaJk State, the full acceptance of its ideology and recognition of its leaders by Hitler was only a logical consequence. Tille present -leaders of Slovak separatists
in exile are all mem1bevs of the HSI.JS and belong to the second or third garniturc (except Sidor and Durcanslky who
belong to the first), which is the most radical and fanatical.
'I1hey are mostly young people belonging to the generation
which has grown up at the time of Hitler expansion and
had no opportunity to assimilate the democratic spirit,
which in any case was too young in Slovakia. It is necessary
to emiphasize that the Slovaks entered history as a nation
only in 1918; this single fact explains almost everything
aJbout the nature and quality of Slo,valk nationalism and
separatism.
In genera,!, the problem of Slovruk nationalism is a problem of democracy. In many a respect it resemJbles the problem of German nationalism and democracy. There is not
question of refusing the recognition of the Slovaiks as a
nation, with its equal rights; there is no difference between
the nationalists and democrats in this point. The conflict is
idoologica,l, moral, and cultural. Essentially it is a conflict
between fascism and democracy. The Slo,vaks-Democrats
are standing automatically for OOR, because they see in it
a guarantee of democracy also for Slovakia. They are without any nationalist prejudice. and the question of CzechSlovak relations is for them lbut a question of governmental
and administrative technique. 'Dhe motives ,b ehind the Slova!k separatism is political immaturity, nationalist passions,
anti-Czech, anti-Hungavian, anti-Jewish hatred, lacking all
objective foundations. 'I1he Sloviruk separatism is !basically an
rubsence of ,correct political thiniking, lack of education,
democratic tradition, humanitarian feeling, and a want of
culture in general. It is based on psychic complexes and it
is a kind of primitivism. The Western democracies may not
make any compromise with it if they do not wish to weaken the democracy of Slovakia and if their aim is the reconstruction of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The
only political goal of Slov8Jk nationalism is a re-establish-
42
SLOVAKIA
ment of an independent -Slo1Va:k State with the same underlying ideology as that which prevailed under Tiso. Any compromise in 1Jhls respect would mean an irrevocaJble step
backward and a retreat a,way from democracy.
Their attitude toward federation plans, in which they
see a good Oipportunity, is motivated by naked political opportunism. They are inc3!pa!ble of any federation because
of their deep nationalist prejudice and complex. Their aim
is the destruction of OSR, the seizure of power which would
be otherwise impossible, because of the fascist past of all
leaders oif nationalist separatism. The criticism of the foregoing passage .should not be interpretd as prejudice. H is
not al,w ays easy for Western olbservers to understand fully
the d.ifif.ioult position of democratic ideas in the countries
where, in albsence of a strong tradition, they are e~sed to
the inroads not only of communism, but also of another
ikind of political primitivism ( nationalism, church confessionalism). The present criticism is based on the results of a
thorough analysis of the so-called "Slovak Problem." It is
only because of the lack of space that the fads are accumulated without adequate basis of objective evidence.
May we stress, too, that the authors of the most critical
parts and passages on the Slovaik nationalism contained in
the present memo,r,andum are Slovaks and Catholics as well.
The significance of Dr. Benes:
A negative attitude towards the personality of Benes
is held by two political groups only : Prchala and Slovak nationalists. The attitude of a small minority of Conserwatives,
Catholics and some other Right Wing Politicians is also
more or less revered. The democrats in general are rather
united in their relations to Benes. The doubts aibout his policies, which arose in exile following immediately the communist overthrow of the democracy regimes, hawe disappeared,
so that after his refusal to add his signature to the · new
communist-'Siponsored Constitution, which was later follO!Wed
'by his resignation, Benes slowly became the symbol of
democratic struggle against the Communism. Before his
death, he was virtually expected to resume his leadership
of the third resistance struggle for a new, free, and d ~
cratic Czechoslovakia in exile.
SLOVAKIA
43
iHis death was mourned ,b y all quarters. The devotion
to his idea.ls grew more intense everywhere, partly as a result of pressure of demagogic and rough propaganda by the
two groups mentioned a'bove. In general, it can be said that
Czechoslovak democratic exile block follows the path of
Masarytk's tradition of Human democracy, which is in no
way o.pposed to Benes's policies, even if they are criticized
in some very important aspects, such as national state,
.regulated democracy, the prdl>lem of national minorities in
OSR, and especially the practical politics since the liberation
(194'5). Benes remains an authority for all the democrats
at home and in exile as a theoretician of democracy; for
the majority of emigrants he represents the symbol of national independence. His prestige has been growing continuously since his resignation, and his departure is being felt
every.where as irreplaceable. It is recognized almost generally that Benes acted under the pressure and responsibility
which was historic and which eliminates any attempt at an
objective judgement in the present moment.
Political aspirations of democratic exile block:
CzechoslovaJk democratic political groups in exile regret
the state of non-existence of a recognized representiati,ve
body; the general disappointment, too, is 'being felt in respect of the undiscriminating, apolitical, refugee status accorded to Czechoslovak political exiles. Czechoslovak political e::iciles feel they are no emigrants and they are inclined
to accept the emigration possi!bilities given only insofar as
they offer the basis for political activities in the broadest
possible extent, directed to the ultimat.e goal of all exiles to the re-establishment of a free and democratic Czechosloivaikia.
This "Refugee Status" is disliiked most of all by the
Czechoslovak democratic exiles which consider themse1ves
as true allies of the West and as the real representatives of
an allied Nation which is democratically so qualified as no
other nation of Central and Eastern Europe. Ozechoslovak
democratic exiles would be very happy to see the change in
their status and their general position.
Frankfurt-Main, in November 1948.
44
SLOVAKIA
Taking into account what has happened since 1948, particularly
the "special" treatment accorded the Benes Czechs and their Slovak
hirelings by our State Department, I believe it is safe to say that
" In our issue of February 19 (p. 531) we wondered
what sort of information the State Department has been
provided with in choosing members for the Czechoslovak
Council recently formed in Washington. The reserves we
expressed on that occasion are confirmed by a letter sent
us since then by a distinguished statesman prominent in
Czechoslovakia's political life previous to the communist
coup. We quote a few lines from his letter:
In this new Czecho-Slovak Council there are no Slovak Catholics (the three Slovaks who are nominally Catholics never
took part in the religious and cultural life of the country), and
the Czech People's Party is represented by three persons of
doubtful moral standing who had always been friends of Soviet
domination. The rest are Marxian Socialists - who are presumably in great favor at Washington and three Czech
Agrarians( who are perhaps the only Catholics in the whole
assembly.
Perhaps the State Department officials are right in thinking that a council, whatever may be its composition, is better
than no council. From the standpoint of American political
strategy no objection can be raised. But my own view of these
things is a bit different. The leaders of the newly formed
Council are Marxists can Bolshevism be defeated by its
own ideas? They are freethinkers and opponents of any religious instruction. What Cultural ideas will they give to my
unhappy people? They will have to rule in Slovakia by sheer
force - could that be called democracy? Their conception of
foreign policy is that of military alliances a la Benes and hatred
towards all the neighbors - does that mean peace? Perhaps
the greatest irony of all is that men who were bitter enemies
of the Marshall Plan are now invited by the State Department
to America.
"Czechoslovakia is a Catholic country (Bohemia and
Moravia 75 percent, Slovakia 80 percent), and yet the
principal men in this Council are either Protestants or
atheists. It is certainly not raising a religious issue to
ask if such an arrangement is equitable. Again the question
arises: whose advice, if any, is being followed by the
State Department in this strange procedure?"-(AM ERICA,
March 19, 1949) .
the "memorandum" has proved its usefulness for the Benes Czechs,
serving as a criterion or guide for "policy makers" in the United
SLOVAKIA
45
States Government, particularly in regard to the question of what
exiles from Czecho-Slovakia could be considered "trustworthy and
reliable experts" on Czecho-Slovakian matters.
In 1949, after our State Department (Acheson) invited the Benes
Czechs to the U. S. A. and gave a batch of blank visas to Dr. Hubert Ripka, right-hand man of Dr. Benes, at that time in Paris, the
Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings were brought to the United
States at taxpayers' expense to advise our Government and its various departments and agencies on the matter of how to fight Communism and the Communists and outsmart Soviet Russia in the
field of psychological warfare! The NEW YORK TIMES stated at
that time (Feb. 6, 1949) that "they plan to set up what will be, in
effect, a Czechoslovak Government in exile" - and previous to that
date (Jan. 5, 1949), the same source reported the arrival of a "High
Escaped Czech" - Arnost Heidrich - who, according to well-informed Czechs is neither of Slovak nor Czech origin, as follows:
"Arnost Heidrich, Secretary General of the Czechoslovak
Foreign Office and for fourteen years legal and political adviser
to the late Dr. Edward Benes, has escaped from Prague and came
to Washington with a detailed story of Communist activities and
plans in Eastern Europe. M. Heidrich, a white-haired 59-year-old
civil servant who is well known and trusted by the United States
Government, was brought here by United States authorities and has
made a full report of conditions in Czechoslovakia to the State Department." Apparently, Mr. Heidrich, like Dr. Eduard Benes, knew
all about Communist activities and plans!
After their arrival in the U. S., the Benes Czechs, (Ripka
Zenkl, Taborsky, Peroutka, Ingr, Majer, Firt, Prochazka, etc.) and
their Slovak hirelin&_s (Lettrich, Kocvara, Hodfa, Papanek, Franek,
Slavik, Krno, Mudry-Sebik, etc.) organized the "COUNCIL OF FREE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA" and set up headquarters in Washington. As
"experts," they were soon employed by the Free Europe Committee
(Radio Free Europe), various universities, the VOA (USIA), CIA,
Library of Congress, the Pentagon, and other agencies of U. S.
Government in one capacity or another.
I have said it before and I repeat it again that I am convinced
that the Benes Czechs exercise great influence and practically control the so-called "Czechoslovak" unit or division of both the RFE
and also the VOA (USIA) in regard to "reliability" of personnel,
exile and otherwise, employed. In the light of the facts uncovered
during the past nine years, why are they still tolerated in 1958?
The Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings have been discredited by their own peoples at home, so why should we curry
their favor? The Slovak League of America and the Slovak organizations affiliated with it have brought this to the attention of our
Government, the Free Europe Committee, and the USIA (VOA) on
several occasions, but practically nothing was done to remedy the
situation. Someone, it seems, has decreed that patriotic Slovaks
must be ignored and discriminated against; and this applies practhey simply are not
tically to Slovak and Czech Catholics wanted; Hence, I am strongly inclined to believe that the 1948
"MEMORANDUM" of the Benes Czechs is still considered valid by
some VIP in official Washington. So the "expert" advisers to de-
46
SLOVAKIA
partment heads of U. S. Government on all Slovak and Czech matters still remain at their posts at our expense on the strength of a
memorandum prepared by the Benes Czechs a memorandum
whose language reveals that its authors just as well might have
been the Czech Reds, or their "comrades" in Moscow!
•
•
•
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
B. S. Bue, Ph.D.
1. Nationalism and the Existing "Status Quo"
To speak of the Slovaks is to touch upon a problem
which at the present time has assumed vital and worldwide proportions, namely, the problem of nationalism.
Nationalism is one of the most discussed issues in the
modern political world. The reason lies in the more extensive definition by which nationalism refers not only
to the lofty devotion of citizens towards their native
country, also known as patriotism, but especially to a revolutionary movement of our modern society. Thus, nationalism is giving rise to dangerous political tensions in
various sectors of the globe and threatening to disintegrate the political status quo of many long established nations. There is need, therefore, of a thorough understanding of all its components, motives, and objectives.
Slovak nationalism involves a lofty devotion to a native land, but as yet has not developed serious revolutionary characteristics. It has not, therefore, attracted significant attention from the international community. Nevertheless, it has grown from almost complete oblivion t o
such proportions that it must be taken into consideration as one of the most important forces shaping the future
destiny of Central Europe.
From the beginning of its existence Slovak nationalism was nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation for the birth of new political systems which we call
"Western Democracy." But Slovak nationalism is Western
not because of its ideological relationship alone. During
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Memorandum on Political Structure and Activities of Czechoslovakia Exiles
Description
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Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 1 (26), March 1958
pp. 28-46
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1958
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MARCH, 1958
VOL. VIII
NO. l (26)
IN THIS ISSUE:
UUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD :
I Uudovit Stur and Pan-Slavism
II Stur's Role in Linguistics and Philology
III Stur's Literary Aesthetics and Cultural Achievements
IV Revolutionary, Idealist, Romantic, or Realist?
''.MEMORANDUM ON
POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOV AKIA EXILES"
OUR EXPERTS: THE CZECH SOCIALISTS! -
SLOVAK NAT IONALISM: THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: P. 59
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�SLOVAK.IA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscriptions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRESS
Mldl1!etown, Pa.
�
MARCH, 1958
VOL. VIII
NO. l (26)
IN THIS ISSUE:
UUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD :
I Uudovit Stur and Pan-Slavism
II Stur's Role in Linguistics and Philology
III Stur's Literary Aesthetics and Cultural Achievements
IV Revolutionary, Idealist, Romantic, or Realist?
''.MEMORANDUM ON
POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOV AKIA EXILES"
OUR EXPERTS: THE CZECH SOCIALISTS! -
SLOVAK NAT IONALISM: THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: P. 59
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�SLOVAK.IA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscriptions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRESS
Mldl1!etown, Pa.
�
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1958, Vol. 8
Description
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<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li>
<li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li>
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1958
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MARCH, 1958
VOL. VIII
NO. l (26)
IN THIS ISSUE:
UUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD :
I Uudovit Stur and Pan-Slavism
II Stur's Role in Linguistics and Philology
III Stur's Literary Aesthetics and Cultural Achievements
IV Revolutionary, Idealist, Romantic, or Realist?
''.MEMORANDUM ON
POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOV AKIA EXILES"
OUR EXPERTS: THE CZECH SOCIALISTS! -
SLOVAK NAT IONALISM: THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA (Continued)
WHO SAID IT: P. 59
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
SLOVAK.IA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America,
a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent.
The chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA
is to promote a better understanding
and appreciation of the Slovak nation
and its long struggle for freedom and
independence.
As Americans, members of the
Slovak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all
nations, has an inherent and God-given
right to freedom and independence.
They are dedicated to the cause of the
American way of life, Slovak freedom
and world peace and are determined to
oppose the plague of Communism and
all other totalitarian political systems.
Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per
year in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere.
Send subscriptions to:
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA
PRESS
Mldl1!etown, Pa.
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Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 1 (26)
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March 1958
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Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary President:;
John Janosik
Msqr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
650 Braddock Ave.
Monessen, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Stephen
Dr. Peter P. H letko
Dubiel
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
Joseph Steller
P:·nsldent
2879 N. 44th St.
Milwaukee 10, Wis.
Ph i lip A. Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
~iddletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Michael J. Vargovic
Joseph Bendik
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Jul i a Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Milan V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic<tgo 38, Ill.
:--ational President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Paul C. Kazimer
Fallat
National Preslden~
Slovak Catholic Sokol
John
Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
1122 Sylvan Ave.
Homestead, Pa.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
.\I idriletown, Pa.
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
SLOVENSKE
NOVINV
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiCKV SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASV
Pl\.Ssalc, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Middletown, Pa.
�SLOVAKIA: The old castle of Banska Stiavnica (13-16th Cent.)
�
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary President:;
John Janosik
Msqr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
650 Braddock Ave.
Monessen, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Stephen
Dr. Peter P. H letko
Dubiel
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
Joseph Steller
P:·nsldent
2879 N. 44th St.
Milwaukee 10, Wis.
Ph i lip A. Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
~iddletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Michael J. Vargovic
Joseph Bendik
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Jul i a Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Milan V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic<tgo 38, Ill.
:--ational President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Paul C. Kazimer
Fallat
National Preslden~
Slovak Catholic Sokol
John
Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
1122 Sylvan Ave.
Homestead, Pa.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
.\I idriletown, Pa.
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
SLOVENSKE
NOVINV
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiCKV SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASV
Pl\.Ssalc, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Middletown, Pa.
�SLOVAKIA: The old castle of Banska Stiavnica (13-16th Cent.)
�
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
1959, Vol. 9
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 4 [sic] (No. 29), March 1959.</li>
<li>Issue 5 [sic] (No. 30), June-December 1959.</li>
</ul>
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
1959
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
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary President:;
John Janosik
Msqr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
650 Braddock Ave.
Monessen, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Stephen
Dr. Peter P. H letko
Dubiel
12210 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
Joseph Steller
P:·nsldent
2879 N. 44th St.
Milwaukee 10, Wis.
Ph i lip A. Hrobak
P. 0. Box 150
~iddletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Michael J. Vargovic
Joseph Bendik
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Jul i a Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Milan V. Blazek
4922 S. Leclaire Avenue
Chic<tgo 38, Ill.
:--ational President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Paul C. Kazimer
Fallat
National Preslden~
Slovak Catholic Sokol
John
Rozboril
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
1122 Sylvan Ave.
Homestead, Pa.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
.\I idriletown, Pa.
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
SLOVENSKE
NOVINV
ZORNICKA
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
KATOLiCKV SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADN E H LASV
Pl\.Ssalc, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Middletown, Pa.
SLOVAKIA: The old castle of Banska Stiavnica (13-16th Cent.)
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. 9, No. 5 (30)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June-December 1959
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/aebf66a905109a14ec9e6bc1165cc6c8.pdf
2771a004fd5d14b75a05d156558182f8
PDF Text
Text
52
SLOVAKIA
Rude pravo (The Red Law), an official paper of the Czeeh Communist
Party. Odhaleni zradcu (The Traitors Uncovered), Pra,g ue,
Felbruary 27, ,1951<.
Slovak, a paper published by the Slovak Liberation Committee in
Munich, Germany. Autonomna vlada pre Slovensko? (An Autonomous Government For Slovakia?), !Munich, June, 1956 .
•
•
•
FA'llHER SEGIN!AK'S IMPRE$SIONS OF PRAGUE
AND PRESOV
"A visit behind the Iron Curtain can best be characterized by the feeling that one is seeing the living-dead."
With these words, Father Theodore Seginak, 0.S.B., superior of the Benedictine Fathers' Holy Trinity Priory,
described his recent visit to Prague in Bohemia and Presov
in Slovakia. After attending a meeting of all the Benedictine superiors of the world in Rome from September 18 to
26, Father Seginak was accompanied by Father Alexander Minchik, O.S.B., on the trip behind the Iron Curtain.
Visas for the trip behind the Iron Curtain are most
difficult to obtain. Only after repeated requests had been
made did the two priests receive the necessary permission
to visit. Even so only two times a week can flights from
Vienna to Prague be had. At the Prague airport a thorough search of all apparel was made, as well as a close
scrutiny of all money brought into the country. The customs officials demanded to see everything, and sternly
warned the two priests that on their return journey they
would be required to show a receipt for all purchases made
during their visit.
The streets of Prague were filled with sullen, downcast persons who performed their duties with a mechanical precision. One always had the feeling that the eyes of
the communist "big brother" were on you. In fact, it is
routine in restaurants to sit down to a meal and look up
to see a policeman gaping in the window at the diners.
The very best meal is steak - which is really hamburger
with an egg on top.
Father Seginak was amazed at the prices of clothing
and the very poor quality. An American $45 suit costs
�SLOVAKIA
53
approximately $175 - if the ordinary persons can afford
to buy them. Cheap sweaters cost $35, and shoes cost
$30. In general, Father Seginak notes, the populace is
dressed in a markedly drab manner.
The trip to Presov was made in a two engine plane.
Since it was dark when the plane was landing, Father Seginak remarked to his traveling companion how bumpy
the landing was. "Little wonder," said Father Michnik.
"look out the window, we're landing in a cow pasture."
There was no concrete or asphalt runway - just a muddy field. This was the Presov airport.
Upon landing the first impression was the number of
policemen and soldiers who guarded the field with machine guns. A bus immediately picked up the plane passengers and hustled them through guarded areas. One
could not help but feel that they didn't want prying eyes
to ferret out some sort of dark secret to be found there.
Loudspeakers were in prominence everywhere. The presence of the hammer and sickle with an abundance of red
stars left little doubt as to who ran the country.
In Presov itself there is but one hotel at which one
may stay - the Hotel Dukla. There is inconvenience after
inconvenience. The telephone may be used only between
the hours of 8 a. m. and 6 p. m. The radio in the threadbare room did little to relieve the monotony - one station
blared forth propaganda incessantly.
Contrary to the idea the communists would like to
foist upon the world that it is the land of the workers'
paradise - the raw facts of life do not substantiate it. A
57-year-old woman told of how she began her day at 4
a. m., and after a two mile walk to the potato field she
worked until darkness. For lunch she was permitted to
build a fire and eat a few of the potatoes with bread and
barley coffee. Meat in the diet is simply non-existent.
An 80-year-old woman was assigned the task of caring for the chickens and livestock. The chickens were given
a communist mandate to produce a certain quota of eggs or else. The "or else" meant that the 80-year-old woman
was forced to beg, borrow or steal the eggs if her quota
was not filled. In the communist scheme of things four-
�54
SLOVAKIA
fifths of a head of steer belongs to the government.
Which fifth belongs to the down-trodden peasants was not
made too clear. If a head of steer dies the peasant is held
responsible and must replace it. By this arrangement the
government never loses.
The homes of the village people are very poor. In a
four-room house it is ordinary to quarter two families.
They use a common kitchen and each family has one
room. This apparently is Khrushchev's idea of perfect living quarters for the working people while he enjoys his
dacha outside Moscow. There is no running water, heating is primitive, and sidewalks are non-existent. Electricity has been promised - probably for the purpose of installing more loudspeakers to drone the glories of communism incessantly. American movies are not shown for fear that the populace would see how well Americans
live. It is a fact that the people have been led to believe
utter poverty reigns in the United States.
The ruthless persecution of the Byzantine Catholic
Church in the Presov district has taken its toll. One example is given of the village priest who was called by a
well-dressed man from the confessional on Holy Saturday.
He claimed he had spiritual problems. The priest walked
with him a short distance where an armored car and two
motorcycles whisked him away. He was never heard from
again. A communist agent in the guise of an Orthodox
priest took his place. The people do not attend the church
now because they know that the "priest" in reality is a
communist spy in their midst.
With a great deal of relief did the two priests leave
this land of the living-dead. As tourists they had been
warned to take no maps with them, have no prayer books
and stay away from relatives, lest they implicate them as
spies against the peoples' government. Father Minchik remarked to his superior that one never leaves an Iron Curtain country quite the same person he was upon entering
it. A hatred and revulsion for the tyranny of communism
seems to pervade a person's soul after a close contact
with this social sickness of our day. - "Byzantine Catholic World."
�
52
SLOVAKIA
Rude pravo (The Red Law), an official paper of the Czeeh Communist
Party. Odhaleni zradcu (The Traitors Uncovered), Pra,g ue,
Felbruary 27, ,1951<.
Slovak, a paper published by the Slovak Liberation Committee in
Munich, Germany. Autonomna vlada pre Slovensko? (An Autonomous Government For Slovakia?), !Munich, June, 1956 .
•
•
•
FA'llHER SEGIN!AK'S IMPRE$SIONS OF PRAGUE
AND PRESOV
"A visit behind the Iron Curtain can best be characterized by the feeling that one is seeing the living-dead."
With these words, Father Theodore Seginak, 0.S.B., superior of the Benedictine Fathers' Holy Trinity Priory,
described his recent visit to Prague in Bohemia and Presov
in Slovakia. After attending a meeting of all the Benedictine superiors of the world in Rome from September 18 to
26, Father Seginak was accompanied by Father Alexander Minchik, O.S.B., on the trip behind the Iron Curtain.
Visas for the trip behind the Iron Curtain are most
difficult to obtain. Only after repeated requests had been
made did the two priests receive the necessary permission
to visit. Even so only two times a week can flights from
Vienna to Prague be had. At the Prague airport a thorough search of all apparel was made, as well as a close
scrutiny of all money brought into the country. The customs officials demanded to see everything, and sternly
warned the two priests that on their return journey they
would be required to show a receipt for all purchases made
during their visit.
The streets of Prague were filled with sullen, downcast persons who performed their duties with a mechanical precision. One always had the feeling that the eyes of
the communist "big brother" were on you. In fact, it is
routine in restaurants to sit down to a meal and look up
to see a policeman gaping in the window at the diners.
The very best meal is steak - which is really hamburger
with an egg on top.
Father Seginak was amazed at the prices of clothing
and the very poor quality. An American $45 suit costs
�SLOVAKIA
53
approximately $175 - if the ordinary persons can afford
to buy them. Cheap sweaters cost $35, and shoes cost
$30. In general, Father Seginak notes, the populace is
dressed in a markedly drab manner.
The trip to Presov was made in a two engine plane.
Since it was dark when the plane was landing, Father Seginak remarked to his traveling companion how bumpy
the landing was. "Little wonder," said Father Michnik.
"look out the window, we're landing in a cow pasture."
There was no concrete or asphalt runway - just a muddy field. This was the Presov airport.
Upon landing the first impression was the number of
policemen and soldiers who guarded the field with machine guns. A bus immediately picked up the plane passengers and hustled them through guarded areas. One
could not help but feel that they didn't want prying eyes
to ferret out some sort of dark secret to be found there.
Loudspeakers were in prominence everywhere. The presence of the hammer and sickle with an abundance of red
stars left little doubt as to who ran the country.
In Presov itself there is but one hotel at which one
may stay - the Hotel Dukla. There is inconvenience after
inconvenience. The telephone may be used only between
the hours of 8 a. m. and 6 p. m. The radio in the threadbare room did little to relieve the monotony - one station
blared forth propaganda incessantly.
Contrary to the idea the communists would like to
foist upon the world that it is the land of the workers'
paradise - the raw facts of life do not substantiate it. A
57-year-old woman told of how she began her day at 4
a. m., and after a two mile walk to the potato field she
worked until darkness. For lunch she was permitted to
build a fire and eat a few of the potatoes with bread and
barley coffee. Meat in the diet is simply non-existent.
An 80-year-old woman was assigned the task of caring for the chickens and livestock. The chickens were given
a communist mandate to produce a certain quota of eggs or else. The "or else" meant that the 80-year-old woman
was forced to beg, borrow or steal the eggs if her quota
was not filled. In the communist scheme of things four-
�54
SLOVAKIA
fifths of a head of steer belongs to the government.
Which fifth belongs to the down-trodden peasants was not
made too clear. If a head of steer dies the peasant is held
responsible and must replace it. By this arrangement the
government never loses.
The homes of the village people are very poor. In a
four-room house it is ordinary to quarter two families.
They use a common kitchen and each family has one
room. This apparently is Khrushchev's idea of perfect living quarters for the working people while he enjoys his
dacha outside Moscow. There is no running water, heating is primitive, and sidewalks are non-existent. Electricity has been promised - probably for the purpose of installing more loudspeakers to drone the glories of communism incessantly. American movies are not shown for fear that the populace would see how well Americans
live. It is a fact that the people have been led to believe
utter poverty reigns in the United States.
The ruthless persecution of the Byzantine Catholic
Church in the Presov district has taken its toll. One example is given of the village priest who was called by a
well-dressed man from the confessional on Holy Saturday.
He claimed he had spiritual problems. The priest walked
with him a short distance where an armored car and two
motorcycles whisked him away. He was never heard from
again. A communist agent in the guise of an Orthodox
priest took his place. The people do not attend the church
now because they know that the "priest" in reality is a
communist spy in their midst.
With a great deal of relief did the two priests leave
this land of the living-dead. As tourists they had been
warned to take no maps with them, have no prayer books
and stay away from relatives, lest they implicate them as
spies against the peoples' government. Father Minchik remarked to his superior that one never leaves an Iron Curtain country quite the same person he was upon entering
it. A hatred and revulsion for the tyranny of communism
seems to pervade a person's soul after a close contact
with this social sickness of our day. - "Byzantine Catholic World."
�
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
1959, Vol. 9
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 4 [sic] (No. 29), March 1959.</li>
<li>Issue 5 [sic] (No. 30), June-December 1959.</li>
</ul>
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
1959
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
52
SLOVAKIA
Rude pravo (The Red Law), an official paper of the Czeeh Communist
Party. Odhaleni zradcu (The Traitors Uncovered), Pra,g ue,
Felbruary 27, ,1951<.
Slovak, a paper published by the Slovak Liberation Committee in
Munich, Germany. Autonomna vlada pre Slovensko? (An Autonomous Government For Slovakia?), !Munich, June, 1956 .
•
•
•
FA'llHER SEGIN!AK'S IMPRE$SIONS OF PRAGUE
AND PRESOV
"A visit behind the Iron Curtain can best be characterized by the feeling that one is seeing the living-dead."
With these words, Father Theodore Seginak, 0.S.B., superior of the Benedictine Fathers' Holy Trinity Priory,
described his recent visit to Prague in Bohemia and Presov
in Slovakia. After attending a meeting of all the Benedictine superiors of the world in Rome from September 18 to
26, Father Seginak was accompanied by Father Alexander Minchik, O.S.B., on the trip behind the Iron Curtain.
Visas for the trip behind the Iron Curtain are most
difficult to obtain. Only after repeated requests had been
made did the two priests receive the necessary permission
to visit. Even so only two times a week can flights from
Vienna to Prague be had. At the Prague airport a thorough search of all apparel was made, as well as a close
scrutiny of all money brought into the country. The customs officials demanded to see everything, and sternly
warned the two priests that on their return journey they
would be required to show a receipt for all purchases made
during their visit.
The streets of Prague were filled with sullen, downcast persons who performed their duties with a mechanical precision. One always had the feeling that the eyes of
the communist "big brother" were on you. In fact, it is
routine in restaurants to sit down to a meal and look up
to see a policeman gaping in the window at the diners.
The very best meal is steak - which is really hamburger
with an egg on top.
Father Seginak was amazed at the prices of clothing
and the very poor quality. An American $45 suit costs
SLOVAKIA
53
approximately $175 - if the ordinary persons can afford
to buy them. Cheap sweaters cost $35, and shoes cost
$30. In general, Father Seginak notes, the populace is
dressed in a markedly drab manner.
The trip to Presov was made in a two engine plane.
Since it was dark when the plane was landing, Father Seginak remarked to his traveling companion how bumpy
the landing was. "Little wonder," said Father Michnik.
"look out the window, we're landing in a cow pasture."
There was no concrete or asphalt runway - just a muddy field. This was the Presov airport.
Upon landing the first impression was the number of
policemen and soldiers who guarded the field with machine guns. A bus immediately picked up the plane passengers and hustled them through guarded areas. One
could not help but feel that they didn't want prying eyes
to ferret out some sort of dark secret to be found there.
Loudspeakers were in prominence everywhere. The presence of the hammer and sickle with an abundance of red
stars left little doubt as to who ran the country.
In Presov itself there is but one hotel at which one
may stay - the Hotel Dukla. There is inconvenience after
inconvenience. The telephone may be used only between
the hours of 8 a. m. and 6 p. m. The radio in the threadbare room did little to relieve the monotony - one station
blared forth propaganda incessantly.
Contrary to the idea the communists would like to
foist upon the world that it is the land of the workers'
paradise - the raw facts of life do not substantiate it. A
57-year-old woman told of how she began her day at 4
a. m., and after a two mile walk to the potato field she
worked until darkness. For lunch she was permitted to
build a fire and eat a few of the potatoes with bread and
barley coffee. Meat in the diet is simply non-existent.
An 80-year-old woman was assigned the task of caring for the chickens and livestock. The chickens were given
a communist mandate to produce a certain quota of eggs or else. The "or else" meant that the 80-year-old woman
was forced to beg, borrow or steal the eggs if her quota
was not filled. In the communist scheme of things four-
54
SLOVAKIA
fifths of a head of steer belongs to the government.
Which fifth belongs to the down-trodden peasants was not
made too clear. If a head of steer dies the peasant is held
responsible and must replace it. By this arrangement the
government never loses.
The homes of the village people are very poor. In a
four-room house it is ordinary to quarter two families.
They use a common kitchen and each family has one
room. This apparently is Khrushchev's idea of perfect living quarters for the working people while he enjoys his
dacha outside Moscow. There is no running water, heating is primitive, and sidewalks are non-existent. Electricity has been promised - probably for the purpose of installing more loudspeakers to drone the glories of communism incessantly. American movies are not shown for fear that the populace would see how well Americans
live. It is a fact that the people have been led to believe
utter poverty reigns in the United States.
The ruthless persecution of the Byzantine Catholic
Church in the Presov district has taken its toll. One example is given of the village priest who was called by a
well-dressed man from the confessional on Holy Saturday.
He claimed he had spiritual problems. The priest walked
with him a short distance where an armored car and two
motorcycles whisked him away. He was never heard from
again. A communist agent in the guise of an Orthodox
priest took his place. The people do not attend the church
now because they know that the "priest" in reality is a
communist spy in their midst.
With a great deal of relief did the two priests leave
this land of the living-dead. As tourists they had been
warned to take no maps with them, have no prayer books
and stay away from relatives, lest they implicate them as
spies against the peoples' government. Father Minchik remarked to his superior that one never leaves an Iron Curtain country quite the same person he was upon entering
it. A hatred and revulsion for the tyranny of communism
seems to pervade a person's soul after a close contact
with this social sickness of our day. - "Byzantine Catholic World."
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
Father Seginak's Impression of Prague and Presov
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 9, No. 5 (30), June-December 1959
pp. 52-54
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June-December 1959
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/705922a72e63667fe54f580c319c4fa4.pdf
58310ead3afe5d6530b02fc14e4aa1ea
PDF Text
Text
20
SLOVAKIA
SLOVAKIA AND THE CHURCH
The question of the position of Slovakia in the Roman Catholic Church was again erroneously explained recently. And once again by Czechs who apparently still feel
that they should dominate the Slovaks in all things. In a
recent issue (No. 2, 1959) of the Czech Catholic periodical
"Novy '.Zivot" (New Life) - published in Rome - the question whether Archbishop Beran was a Czech or CzechoSlovak Primate was answered in this fashion:
"The Prague Archbishop was therefore a Czech Metropolitan, but Primate of the Czech (Bohemian - ed.)
kingdom. And this title is used on official documents to
this day.. : .. When, therefore, the boundaries of the state
were increased or decreased, the territory of the Primate
also automatically increased or decreased.
"But as long as the ICzecho..Slovak Repwblic is the legal heir
of the Czech @3ohemian - ed.) kingdom, the Archbishop of Prague
is the Primate of the entire state •a nd can be called the Primate of
Czecho..Slovakia (or, if you will, the Czecho.JSlovak Primate), even
though the Prague archbischops, after the estarblishment of the Czecho..Slovak tRepU!blic, never did call themselves in this fashion, but
used only the old historic title; and the title tells us nothing else
but that the Primate is (often because of the antiquity of the bis•h op's
See) the first bishop in the state. The basis for this denotation i,s
therefore territorial and not perhaps linguistic and the less so even
political."
"The truth will prevail," say the Czechs, and the Slovaks firmly believe that it will even in this case, the feelings and propaganda of the Czechs not withstanding!
According to valid ecclesiastical law the status of dioceses or ecclesiastical provinces is decided exclusively and
only by the Holy See, the highest ecclesiastical authority
(Can. 251, par. 1). Consequently, only the Holy See grants
or changes titles of persons who have jurisdiction or whatever authority, even if it be only honorary over these units.
This is valid in every case and, hence, even in the case of
Slovakia.
When Saint Methodius was given jurisdiction over the
Danubian Slovans (Slavic peoples), the Slovaks certainly
belonged to that area, because the document of Pope Adrian II is even addressed to Svatopluk, who at that time
�SLOVAKIA
21
ruled in Nitra, and to Kocef, Pribina's son, who managed
Pannonia (Cf. Cod. dipl. et epist. regni Boh., t. 1, No. 12, pp.
7-9).
Nitra had become a bishopric already in 880 A.D. (Registrum Johannis VII, epist, 257, Arch. Vatic.) on the basis
of the decision of Pope John VIII. Prague only in 973, that
is, ninety-three years later. The forefathers of the Slovaks,
settled on both sides of the Morava river, formed the nucleus of the Great Moravian Empire. The fact that Nitra is
the oldest bishopric of the Slovans north of the Danube is
not altered at all by the unfavorable conditions that prevailed at that time (Wiching) or later which enabled the
ignoring of its significance. At that time, therefore, Slovakia
had its bishopric and belonged under the jurisdiction of Saint
Methodius.
After the fall of the Great Moravian Empire early in the
tenth century, Slovakia eventually became a part of Hungary even as regards ecclesiastical affairs. The bishopric of
Nitra was re-established about 1024 and always recalled the
days of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The rest of the territory of
Slovakia belonged under the ecclesiastical management of
Ostrihom and Eger, even though, for example, the Spis province had its own provost from the end of the twelfth century.
A great stride forward was the establishment of new
bishoprics on the territory: the bishopric of Banska Bystrica, Spis Province, and Roznava in 1776; the diocese of
Kosice in 1804; and the Greek Catholic diocese of Presov in 1816. Nitra, Banska Bystrica, and Roznava belonged
under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Ostrihom, while
the Spis and Kosice bishoprics were under the jurisdiction
of the Archbishop of Eger as suffragan bishoprics.
After the establishment of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918,
the apostolic administratorship of Trnava was established
temporarily. The new position of Slovakia within the
Church was determined in 1937, when the Holy See issued
the Apostolic Constitution "Ad ecclesiastici regiminis incrementum" (AAS, 1937, pp. 366-369). This Constitution
freed the Slovak dioceses and apostolic administratorships
from the jurisdiction of Ostrihom and Eger and placed
�22
SLOVAKIA
them directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy See. True
it is, that even this position is considered temporary by
the document, because it expressly states that the Apostolic
See will establish a Metropolitan See as quickly as possible
in Slovakia. Slovakia would then became an independent
ecclesiastical province. The document, furthermore, expressly commands all concerned to abide by the decision of the
Holy See and forbids any opposition to it or violation of it.
Unfortunately, the world situation did not permit the
establishment of an ecclesiastical province in Slovakia.
Legally, then, according to Ohurch Law, the dioceses and
apostolic administratorships of Slovakia are directly under
the jurisdiction of the Holy See, that is, they are responsible to the Holy See dircetly and not to the Prague or
Olomouc provinces.
Since that is the case, we know then that the explanation given by the Czech periodical Novy Zivot is erroneous.
According to present Church Law, the title of Primate is purely an honorary one. Excepting the Hungarian
Primate, the bearers of this title have no jurisdiction because of it. In the past, however, Primates did have a definite right over Metropolitans and Bishops (Wernz-Vidal:
Jus Canonicum, II, Nr. 517). Of course, only the Holy See
has the right to grant or change this title - just as it
has to grant or change any other title denoting such a
high honor. Since we are concerned with a title that is
more of a historical nature, its bearers use it in the same
sense that it was granted, even though it is not in line
with the present terminology of countries or their political
division or affiliation (federation). So it is that in France
the Archbishop of Lyons uses the title of "primas de
Gaulles," and not the title of French Primate; the Archbishop of Salzburg uses the title "Primate of Germany"
and not Primate of Austria and Germany. Similarly, then,
even the Prague archbishops consistently used and still
do use the title "Primate of the Bohemian Kingdom" or
"Primate of the lands of the former Bohemian Kingdom."
In the Czech case, there is no basis for changing this title
arbitrarily by private individuals.
�SLOVAKIA
23
The author of the explanation given in the Czech
periodically Novy Zivot assumed that Slovakia was a part of
the Bohemian Kingdom. History, however, tells us that
Slovakia was not a part of that kingdom, and, therefore,
had no jurisdictional connection with it. And when a new
political state was formed, composed of the lands that once
belonged to the Bohemian Kingdom and of Slovakia, the
distinction was made, if we recall, between the so-called
"historical lands" and Slovakia (as if Slovakia did not have
a history of its own!) and, therefore, there was a difference between the heir to the historical lands of the Bohemian Crown and Slovakia, the land of the Slovaks. In
short, what applied to the Bohemian Kingdom did not apply to Slovakia which was not a part of that kingdom.
But even if anyone should think that Slovakia is also
heir of the Czech State, let him bear in mind that the title
of Primate is territorial. It is valid only in the territory
that it was granted and not otherwise, unless the Holy
See changes it with a new decision. This was adhered to
even by the Archbishops of Prague.
One might ,believe that, as a rule, there is only one
Primate in any one state, but he would be mistaken. In
Spain the title of Primate is enjoyed by two archbishops:
the Archbishop of Toledo and the Archbishop of Tarragon.
England and Scotland form one political state, but the
Engli~h Primate is not the Primate of Scotland. When
Ireland belonged to one political formation with England,
the Primate of England was not the Primate of Ireland.
There is, therefore, no objective argument in this regard
to extend arbitrarily the title of Czech Primate over a new
territory, to Slovakia.
If we allow our thoughts to be the offspring of our
desires, then there is no guarantee that they will be correct. It is only when our thoughts express an objective
reality that they are truthful. Then even the deeds following from them can be just.
Some time ago the Novy Zivot published an address
of the Archbishop of London in which His Excellency on the basis of the erroneous information - referred to
the Archbishop of Prague as the Primate of Czecho-Slo-
�24
SLOVAKIA
vakia. The editor of the Czech periodical had the opportunity to learn how the Slovaks in Rome felt about the matter. They held no ill will for the Archbishop of London,
but they did for the Czechs associated with Novy Zivot,
the editor of which certainly knows better. The Czechs
apparently have learned little or nothing from the past.
They keep parroting listlessly the slogan "truth will prevail" - a la Masaryk and Benes - while they spread
false propaganda even about those who are supposed to
be "closely related" to them. It is obvious that the Czech
periodical "Novy Zivot" (New Life) is still following the
old life which brought ruin to the Slovak and Czech nations.
•
•
•
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE
Rev. William A. Kaschmitter, M.N.
Due to the scientific and technological revolutions of
the past century, the world has become international in
spite of itself and does not know what to do about this
new situation. The number of international organizations
created since 1860 to cope with specific international problems is simply phenomenal. The first global attempt made
to grapple with all of these problems in general was made
after World War I when the League of Nations was formally erected. The League failed but its failure did not
kill the sense of need :for such an organization and after
World War II another attempt was made in the creation
of the United Nations Organization. Unfortunately, many
people today fear that the United Nations Organization
will go the way of the League unless it can "grow up"
and mature to the point where it can command not only
the respect but also the confidence of all nations, great
and small.
Justice - Not Merely Charity
There are good-hearted people who think that charity
alone will suffice to cure the ills of our world. It is true
that love for God and neighbor are the two greatest commandments and that acording to St. Paul, Charity is the
�
20
SLOVAKIA
SLOVAKIA AND THE CHURCH
The question of the position of Slovakia in the Roman Catholic Church was again erroneously explained recently. And once again by Czechs who apparently still feel
that they should dominate the Slovaks in all things. In a
recent issue (No. 2, 1959) of the Czech Catholic periodical
"Novy '.Zivot" (New Life) - published in Rome - the question whether Archbishop Beran was a Czech or CzechoSlovak Primate was answered in this fashion:
"The Prague Archbishop was therefore a Czech Metropolitan, but Primate of the Czech (Bohemian - ed.)
kingdom. And this title is used on official documents to
this day.. : .. When, therefore, the boundaries of the state
were increased or decreased, the territory of the Primate
also automatically increased or decreased.
"But as long as the ICzecho..Slovak Repwblic is the legal heir
of the Czech @3ohemian - ed.) kingdom, the Archbishop of Prague
is the Primate of the entire state •a nd can be called the Primate of
Czecho..Slovakia (or, if you will, the Czecho.JSlovak Primate), even
though the Prague archbischops, after the estarblishment of the Czecho..Slovak tRepU!blic, never did call themselves in this fashion, but
used only the old historic title; and the title tells us nothing else
but that the Primate is (often because of the antiquity of the bis•h op's
See) the first bishop in the state. The basis for this denotation i,s
therefore territorial and not perhaps linguistic and the less so even
political."
"The truth will prevail," say the Czechs, and the Slovaks firmly believe that it will even in this case, the feelings and propaganda of the Czechs not withstanding!
According to valid ecclesiastical law the status of dioceses or ecclesiastical provinces is decided exclusively and
only by the Holy See, the highest ecclesiastical authority
(Can. 251, par. 1). Consequently, only the Holy See grants
or changes titles of persons who have jurisdiction or whatever authority, even if it be only honorary over these units.
This is valid in every case and, hence, even in the case of
Slovakia.
When Saint Methodius was given jurisdiction over the
Danubian Slovans (Slavic peoples), the Slovaks certainly
belonged to that area, because the document of Pope Adrian II is even addressed to Svatopluk, who at that time
�SLOVAKIA
21
ruled in Nitra, and to Kocef, Pribina's son, who managed
Pannonia (Cf. Cod. dipl. et epist. regni Boh., t. 1, No. 12, pp.
7-9).
Nitra had become a bishopric already in 880 A.D. (Registrum Johannis VII, epist, 257, Arch. Vatic.) on the basis
of the decision of Pope John VIII. Prague only in 973, that
is, ninety-three years later. The forefathers of the Slovaks,
settled on both sides of the Morava river, formed the nucleus of the Great Moravian Empire. The fact that Nitra is
the oldest bishopric of the Slovans north of the Danube is
not altered at all by the unfavorable conditions that prevailed at that time (Wiching) or later which enabled the
ignoring of its significance. At that time, therefore, Slovakia
had its bishopric and belonged under the jurisdiction of Saint
Methodius.
After the fall of the Great Moravian Empire early in the
tenth century, Slovakia eventually became a part of Hungary even as regards ecclesiastical affairs. The bishopric of
Nitra was re-established about 1024 and always recalled the
days of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The rest of the territory of
Slovakia belonged under the ecclesiastical management of
Ostrihom and Eger, even though, for example, the Spis province had its own provost from the end of the twelfth century.
A great stride forward was the establishment of new
bishoprics on the territory: the bishopric of Banska Bystrica, Spis Province, and Roznava in 1776; the diocese of
Kosice in 1804; and the Greek Catholic diocese of Presov in 1816. Nitra, Banska Bystrica, and Roznava belonged
under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Ostrihom, while
the Spis and Kosice bishoprics were under the jurisdiction
of the Archbishop of Eger as suffragan bishoprics.
After the establishment of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918,
the apostolic administratorship of Trnava was established
temporarily. The new position of Slovakia within the
Church was determined in 1937, when the Holy See issued
the Apostolic Constitution "Ad ecclesiastici regiminis incrementum" (AAS, 1937, pp. 366-369). This Constitution
freed the Slovak dioceses and apostolic administratorships
from the jurisdiction of Ostrihom and Eger and placed
�22
SLOVAKIA
them directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy See. True
it is, that even this position is considered temporary by
the document, because it expressly states that the Apostolic
See will establish a Metropolitan See as quickly as possible
in Slovakia. Slovakia would then became an independent
ecclesiastical province. The document, furthermore, expressly commands all concerned to abide by the decision of the
Holy See and forbids any opposition to it or violation of it.
Unfortunately, the world situation did not permit the
establishment of an ecclesiastical province in Slovakia.
Legally, then, according to Ohurch Law, the dioceses and
apostolic administratorships of Slovakia are directly under
the jurisdiction of the Holy See, that is, they are responsible to the Holy See dircetly and not to the Prague or
Olomouc provinces.
Since that is the case, we know then that the explanation given by the Czech periodical Novy Zivot is erroneous.
According to present Church Law, the title of Primate is purely an honorary one. Excepting the Hungarian
Primate, the bearers of this title have no jurisdiction because of it. In the past, however, Primates did have a definite right over Metropolitans and Bishops (Wernz-Vidal:
Jus Canonicum, II, Nr. 517). Of course, only the Holy See
has the right to grant or change this title - just as it
has to grant or change any other title denoting such a
high honor. Since we are concerned with a title that is
more of a historical nature, its bearers use it in the same
sense that it was granted, even though it is not in line
with the present terminology of countries or their political
division or affiliation (federation). So it is that in France
the Archbishop of Lyons uses the title of "primas de
Gaulles," and not the title of French Primate; the Archbishop of Salzburg uses the title "Primate of Germany"
and not Primate of Austria and Germany. Similarly, then,
even the Prague archbishops consistently used and still
do use the title "Primate of the Bohemian Kingdom" or
"Primate of the lands of the former Bohemian Kingdom."
In the Czech case, there is no basis for changing this title
arbitrarily by private individuals.
�SLOVAKIA
23
The author of the explanation given in the Czech
periodically Novy Zivot assumed that Slovakia was a part of
the Bohemian Kingdom. History, however, tells us that
Slovakia was not a part of that kingdom, and, therefore,
had no jurisdictional connection with it. And when a new
political state was formed, composed of the lands that once
belonged to the Bohemian Kingdom and of Slovakia, the
distinction was made, if we recall, between the so-called
"historical lands" and Slovakia (as if Slovakia did not have
a history of its own!) and, therefore, there was a difference between the heir to the historical lands of the Bohemian Crown and Slovakia, the land of the Slovaks. In
short, what applied to the Bohemian Kingdom did not apply to Slovakia which was not a part of that kingdom.
But even if anyone should think that Slovakia is also
heir of the Czech State, let him bear in mind that the title
of Primate is territorial. It is valid only in the territory
that it was granted and not otherwise, unless the Holy
See changes it with a new decision. This was adhered to
even by the Archbishops of Prague.
One might ,believe that, as a rule, there is only one
Primate in any one state, but he would be mistaken. In
Spain the title of Primate is enjoyed by two archbishops:
the Archbishop of Toledo and the Archbishop of Tarragon.
England and Scotland form one political state, but the
Engli~h Primate is not the Primate of Scotland. When
Ireland belonged to one political formation with England,
the Primate of England was not the Primate of Ireland.
There is, therefore, no objective argument in this regard
to extend arbitrarily the title of Czech Primate over a new
territory, to Slovakia.
If we allow our thoughts to be the offspring of our
desires, then there is no guarantee that they will be correct. It is only when our thoughts express an objective
reality that they are truthful. Then even the deeds following from them can be just.
Some time ago the Novy Zivot published an address
of the Archbishop of London in which His Excellency on the basis of the erroneous information - referred to
the Archbishop of Prague as the Primate of Czecho-Slo-
�24
SLOVAKIA
vakia. The editor of the Czech periodical had the opportunity to learn how the Slovaks in Rome felt about the matter. They held no ill will for the Archbishop of London,
but they did for the Czechs associated with Novy Zivot,
the editor of which certainly knows better. The Czechs
apparently have learned little or nothing from the past.
They keep parroting listlessly the slogan "truth will prevail" - a la Masaryk and Benes - while they spread
false propaganda even about those who are supposed to
be "closely related" to them. It is obvious that the Czech
periodical "Novy Zivot" (New Life) is still following the
old life which brought ruin to the Slovak and Czech nations.
•
•
•
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE
Rev. William A. Kaschmitter, M.N.
Due to the scientific and technological revolutions of
the past century, the world has become international in
spite of itself and does not know what to do about this
new situation. The number of international organizations
created since 1860 to cope with specific international problems is simply phenomenal. The first global attempt made
to grapple with all of these problems in general was made
after World War I when the League of Nations was formally erected. The League failed but its failure did not
kill the sense of need :for such an organization and after
World War II another attempt was made in the creation
of the United Nations Organization. Unfortunately, many
people today fear that the United Nations Organization
will go the way of the League unless it can "grow up"
and mature to the point where it can command not only
the respect but also the confidence of all nations, great
and small.
Justice - Not Merely Charity
There are good-hearted people who think that charity
alone will suffice to cure the ills of our world. It is true
that love for God and neighbor are the two greatest commandments and that acording to St. Paul, Charity is the
�
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
1959, Vol. 9
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 4 [sic] (No. 29), March 1959.</li>
<li>Issue 5 [sic] (No. 30), June-December 1959.</li>
</ul>
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
1959
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
20
SLOVAKIA
SLOVAKIA AND THE CHURCH
The question of the position of Slovakia in the Roman Catholic Church was again erroneously explained recently. And once again by Czechs who apparently still feel
that they should dominate the Slovaks in all things. In a
recent issue (No. 2, 1959) of the Czech Catholic periodical
"Novy '.Zivot" (New Life) - published in Rome - the question whether Archbishop Beran was a Czech or CzechoSlovak Primate was answered in this fashion:
"The Prague Archbishop was therefore a Czech Metropolitan, but Primate of the Czech (Bohemian - ed.)
kingdom. And this title is used on official documents to
this day.. : .. When, therefore, the boundaries of the state
were increased or decreased, the territory of the Primate
also automatically increased or decreased.
"But as long as the ICzecho..Slovak Repwblic is the legal heir
of the Czech @3ohemian - ed.) kingdom, the Archbishop of Prague
is the Primate of the entire state •a nd can be called the Primate of
Czecho..Slovakia (or, if you will, the Czecho.JSlovak Primate), even
though the Prague archbischops, after the estarblishment of the Czecho..Slovak tRepU!blic, never did call themselves in this fashion, but
used only the old historic title; and the title tells us nothing else
but that the Primate is (often because of the antiquity of the bis•h op's
See) the first bishop in the state. The basis for this denotation i,s
therefore territorial and not perhaps linguistic and the less so even
political."
"The truth will prevail," say the Czechs, and the Slovaks firmly believe that it will even in this case, the feelings and propaganda of the Czechs not withstanding!
According to valid ecclesiastical law the status of dioceses or ecclesiastical provinces is decided exclusively and
only by the Holy See, the highest ecclesiastical authority
(Can. 251, par. 1). Consequently, only the Holy See grants
or changes titles of persons who have jurisdiction or whatever authority, even if it be only honorary over these units.
This is valid in every case and, hence, even in the case of
Slovakia.
When Saint Methodius was given jurisdiction over the
Danubian Slovans (Slavic peoples), the Slovaks certainly
belonged to that area, because the document of Pope Adrian II is even addressed to Svatopluk, who at that time
SLOVAKIA
21
ruled in Nitra, and to Kocef, Pribina's son, who managed
Pannonia (Cf. Cod. dipl. et epist. regni Boh., t. 1, No. 12, pp.
7-9).
Nitra had become a bishopric already in 880 A.D. (Registrum Johannis VII, epist, 257, Arch. Vatic.) on the basis
of the decision of Pope John VIII. Prague only in 973, that
is, ninety-three years later. The forefathers of the Slovaks,
settled on both sides of the Morava river, formed the nucleus of the Great Moravian Empire. The fact that Nitra is
the oldest bishopric of the Slovans north of the Danube is
not altered at all by the unfavorable conditions that prevailed at that time (Wiching) or later which enabled the
ignoring of its significance. At that time, therefore, Slovakia
had its bishopric and belonged under the jurisdiction of Saint
Methodius.
After the fall of the Great Moravian Empire early in the
tenth century, Slovakia eventually became a part of Hungary even as regards ecclesiastical affairs. The bishopric of
Nitra was re-established about 1024 and always recalled the
days of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The rest of the territory of
Slovakia belonged under the ecclesiastical management of
Ostrihom and Eger, even though, for example, the Spis province had its own provost from the end of the twelfth century.
A great stride forward was the establishment of new
bishoprics on the territory: the bishopric of Banska Bystrica, Spis Province, and Roznava in 1776; the diocese of
Kosice in 1804; and the Greek Catholic diocese of Presov in 1816. Nitra, Banska Bystrica, and Roznava belonged
under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Ostrihom, while
the Spis and Kosice bishoprics were under the jurisdiction
of the Archbishop of Eger as suffragan bishoprics.
After the establishment of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918,
the apostolic administratorship of Trnava was established
temporarily. The new position of Slovakia within the
Church was determined in 1937, when the Holy See issued
the Apostolic Constitution "Ad ecclesiastici regiminis incrementum" (AAS, 1937, pp. 366-369). This Constitution
freed the Slovak dioceses and apostolic administratorships
from the jurisdiction of Ostrihom and Eger and placed
22
SLOVAKIA
them directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy See. True
it is, that even this position is considered temporary by
the document, because it expressly states that the Apostolic
See will establish a Metropolitan See as quickly as possible
in Slovakia. Slovakia would then became an independent
ecclesiastical province. The document, furthermore, expressly commands all concerned to abide by the decision of the
Holy See and forbids any opposition to it or violation of it.
Unfortunately, the world situation did not permit the
establishment of an ecclesiastical province in Slovakia.
Legally, then, according to Ohurch Law, the dioceses and
apostolic administratorships of Slovakia are directly under
the jurisdiction of the Holy See, that is, they are responsible to the Holy See dircetly and not to the Prague or
Olomouc provinces.
Since that is the case, we know then that the explanation given by the Czech periodical Novy Zivot is erroneous.
According to present Church Law, the title of Primate is purely an honorary one. Excepting the Hungarian
Primate, the bearers of this title have no jurisdiction because of it. In the past, however, Primates did have a definite right over Metropolitans and Bishops (Wernz-Vidal:
Jus Canonicum, II, Nr. 517). Of course, only the Holy See
has the right to grant or change this title - just as it
has to grant or change any other title denoting such a
high honor. Since we are concerned with a title that is
more of a historical nature, its bearers use it in the same
sense that it was granted, even though it is not in line
with the present terminology of countries or their political
division or affiliation (federation). So it is that in France
the Archbishop of Lyons uses the title of "primas de
Gaulles," and not the title of French Primate; the Archbishop of Salzburg uses the title "Primate of Germany"
and not Primate of Austria and Germany. Similarly, then,
even the Prague archbishops consistently used and still
do use the title "Primate of the Bohemian Kingdom" or
"Primate of the lands of the former Bohemian Kingdom."
In the Czech case, there is no basis for changing this title
arbitrarily by private individuals.
SLOVAKIA
23
The author of the explanation given in the Czech
periodically Novy Zivot assumed that Slovakia was a part of
the Bohemian Kingdom. History, however, tells us that
Slovakia was not a part of that kingdom, and, therefore,
had no jurisdictional connection with it. And when a new
political state was formed, composed of the lands that once
belonged to the Bohemian Kingdom and of Slovakia, the
distinction was made, if we recall, between the so-called
"historical lands" and Slovakia (as if Slovakia did not have
a history of its own!) and, therefore, there was a difference between the heir to the historical lands of the Bohemian Crown and Slovakia, the land of the Slovaks. In
short, what applied to the Bohemian Kingdom did not apply to Slovakia which was not a part of that kingdom.
But even if anyone should think that Slovakia is also
heir of the Czech State, let him bear in mind that the title
of Primate is territorial. It is valid only in the territory
that it was granted and not otherwise, unless the Holy
See changes it with a new decision. This was adhered to
even by the Archbishops of Prague.
One might ,believe that, as a rule, there is only one
Primate in any one state, but he would be mistaken. In
Spain the title of Primate is enjoyed by two archbishops:
the Archbishop of Toledo and the Archbishop of Tarragon.
England and Scotland form one political state, but the
Engli~h Primate is not the Primate of Scotland. When
Ireland belonged to one political formation with England,
the Primate of England was not the Primate of Ireland.
There is, therefore, no objective argument in this regard
to extend arbitrarily the title of Czech Primate over a new
territory, to Slovakia.
If we allow our thoughts to be the offspring of our
desires, then there is no guarantee that they will be correct. It is only when our thoughts express an objective
reality that they are truthful. Then even the deeds following from them can be just.
Some time ago the Novy Zivot published an address
of the Archbishop of London in which His Excellency on the basis of the erroneous information - referred to
the Archbishop of Prague as the Primate of Czecho-Slo-
24
SLOVAKIA
vakia. The editor of the Czech periodical had the opportunity to learn how the Slovaks in Rome felt about the matter. They held no ill will for the Archbishop of London,
but they did for the Czechs associated with Novy Zivot,
the editor of which certainly knows better. The Czechs
apparently have learned little or nothing from the past.
They keep parroting listlessly the slogan "truth will prevail" - a la Masaryk and Benes - while they spread
false propaganda even about those who are supposed to
be "closely related" to them. It is obvious that the Czech
periodical "Novy Zivot" (New Life) is still following the
old life which brought ruin to the Slovak and Czech nations.
•
•
•
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE
Rev. William A. Kaschmitter, M.N.
Due to the scientific and technological revolutions of
the past century, the world has become international in
spite of itself and does not know what to do about this
new situation. The number of international organizations
created since 1860 to cope with specific international problems is simply phenomenal. The first global attempt made
to grapple with all of these problems in general was made
after World War I when the League of Nations was formally erected. The League failed but its failure did not
kill the sense of need :for such an organization and after
World War II another attempt was made in the creation
of the United Nations Organization. Unfortunately, many
people today fear that the United Nations Organization
will go the way of the League unless it can "grow up"
and mature to the point where it can command not only
the respect but also the confidence of all nations, great
and small.
Justice - Not Merely Charity
There are good-hearted people who think that charity
alone will suffice to cure the ills of our world. It is true
that love for God and neighbor are the two greatest commandments and that acording to St. Paul, Charity is the
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
Slovakia and the Church
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 9, No. 5 (30), June-December 1959
pp. 20-24
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June-December 1959
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/cb1c7289d31cbcab00966343b7893e79.pdf
8346f725c8f693c2dbe47d87d5fd73de
PDF Text
Text
JUNE-DECEMBER, 1959
VOL. IX
NO. 5 (30)
IN THIS ISSUE :
SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM
SLOVAKIA'S ACCESSION TO THE TRIPARTITE PACT
SLOVAKIA AND THE CHURCH
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
NATIONALISM OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
FATHER SEGINAK'S IMPRESSLON OF PRAGUE AND PRESOV
THE KREMLIN HAS SHOWN ITS HAND
ELEVEN HUNDRED YEARS OF PRAYERFUL SONG
STEPHEN OSUSKY AND MARCH 1939
OSUSKY AFTER MARCH 14, 1939
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
WHO SAID IT: 19, 37, 64, 68
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
TH E SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
•
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
t:;UDOV1T STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
JUNE-DECEMBER, 1959
VOL. IX
NO. 5 (30)
IN THIS ISSUE :
SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM
SLOVAKIA'S ACCESSION TO THE TRIPARTITE PACT
SLOVAKIA AND THE CHURCH
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
NATIONALISM OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
FATHER SEGINAK'S IMPRESSLON OF PRAGUE AND PRESOV
THE KREMLIN HAS SHOWN ITS HAND
ELEVEN HUNDRED YEARS OF PRAYERFUL SONG
STEPHEN OSUSKY AND MARCH 1939
OSUSKY AFTER MARCH 14, 1939
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
WHO SAID IT: 19, 37, 64, 68
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
TH E SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
•
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
t:;UDOV1T STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, 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
1959, Vol. 9
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 4 [sic] (No. 29), March 1959.</li>
<li>Issue 5 [sic] (No. 30), June-December 1959.</li>
</ul>
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
1959
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
JUNE-DECEMBER, 1959
VOL. IX
NO. 5 (30)
IN THIS ISSUE :
SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM
SLOVAKIA'S ACCESSION TO THE TRIPARTITE PACT
SLOVAKIA AND THE CHURCH
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE
SLOVAK NATIONALISM:
NATIONALISM OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
FATHER SEGINAK'S IMPRESSLON OF PRAGUE AND PRESOV
THE KREMLIN HAS SHOWN ITS HAND
ELEVEN HUNDRED YEARS OF PRAYERFUL SONG
STEPHEN OSUSKY AND MARCH 1939
OSUSKY AFTER MARCH 14, 1939
THE HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
WHO SAID IT: 19, 37, 64, 68
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
TH E SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
•
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
t:;UDOV1T STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, 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
Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 9, No. 5 (30)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June-December 1959
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1896f03edffa8a57aca9d1693840f69c.pdf
a48001a94f659697c97069c2d2c517dc
PDF Text
Text
MAR CH,
VOL. IX
(29)
IN THIS ISSUE:
FACTS AND EVENTS BEHIND THE SCENES OF
SLOVAKIA'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
THE GERMAN ZONE OF ' p
MARCH 14 - SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY
SLOVAK NATIONALISM :
THE ROLE OF EMIGRANTS IN SLOVAK NATIONALISM
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY
TH E HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�\
I!
I
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD,' Woytko; $1.50.
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA" -
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
"GUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD ,
Prof. J. Khschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.0~.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak Leag ue of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of -Slovak
descent.
The main purpos~ of SLOVAKIA i_s to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
·
$1.00 per annum in tpe U. S. A. ,_
~-.:. ··c: •·-
.
"''
$2.00 elsewhere.
.,.
.
_:. ·,:_;
SLOVAKIA
P.O. Box 150
Middletown, --Pa.
'
-
.. ';
~'1•
---:t .,
------
Printed in the U. S. A.
.
J EQNOTA ; PRESS
MiddletO;fi, Pa. ·,
·-!'-.l "
�
MAR CH,
VOL. IX
(29)
IN THIS ISSUE:
FACTS AND EVENTS BEHIND THE SCENES OF
SLOVAKIA'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
THE GERMAN ZONE OF ' p
MARCH 14 - SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY
SLOVAK NATIONALISM :
THE ROLE OF EMIGRANTS IN SLOVAK NATIONALISM
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY
TH E HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�\
I!
I
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD,' Woytko; $1.50.
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA" -
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
"GUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD ,
Prof. J. Khschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.0~.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak Leag ue of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of -Slovak
descent.
The main purpos~ of SLOVAKIA i_s to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
·
$1.00 per annum in tpe U. S. A. ,_
~-.:. ··c: •·-
.
"''
$2.00 elsewhere.
.,.
.
_:. ·,:_;
SLOVAKIA
P.O. Box 150
Middletown, --Pa.
'
-
.. ';
~'1•
---:t .,
------
Printed in the U. S. A.
.
J EQNOTA ; PRESS
MiddletO;fi, Pa. ·,
·-!'-.l "
�
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
1959, Vol. 9
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 4 [sic] (No. 29), March 1959.</li>
<li>Issue 5 [sic] (No. 30), June-December 1959.</li>
</ul>
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
1959
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
MAR CH,
VOL. IX
(29)
IN THIS ISSUE:
FACTS AND EVENTS BEHIND THE SCENES OF
SLOVAKIA'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
THE GERMAN ZONE OF ' p
MARCH 14 - SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY
SLOVAK NATIONALISM :
THE ROLE OF EMIGRANTS IN SLOVAK NATIONALISM
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY
TH E HISTORY OF SLOVAKIA
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
\
I!
I
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD,' Woytko; $1.50.
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
·'CZECHOSLOVAKIA" -
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
"GUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD ,
Prof. J. Khschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.0~.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak Leag ue of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of -Slovak
descent.
The main purpos~ of SLOVAKIA i_s to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
·
$1.00 per annum in tpe U. S. A. ,_
~-.:. ··c: •·-
.
"''
$2.00 elsewhere.
.,.
.
_:. ·,:_;
SLOVAKIA
P.O. Box 150
Middletown, --Pa.
'
-
.. ';
~'1•
---:t .,
------
Printed in the U. S. A.
.
J EQNOTA ; PRESS
MiddletO;fi, Pa. ·,
·-!'-.l "
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. 9, No. 4 (29)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1959
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/321b318dc6d9ca4970e908d29371d4cc.pdf
f213781653c647dae0bad8c8173be792
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
61
BOOK REVIEWS
Slovak Aspirations
I order
in
Central Europe
wars were
. hb
SI ova k.1a, N a- I where two world
J . M . K 1rsc: aum:
tion •t the Crossroads of Central touched off.
Europe. Robert Speller and Sons, 1 "The campaign
N. Y., 1960, pp. 371, $5.00.
,
· C t l
Although written to enlighten and correct the warped political vision of those
still convinced tha't CzechoSlovakia was a "litlte Switzerland in the heart of Europe," this book may be recommended as a compact political history of Slovakia.
Sudeten Germans wili welcome its fair presentation of
faots that corroborate their
own version of what actually
ha:ppened in the CSR.
It is amazing that Czech
propaganda was, and to a
large extent still is, able to
influence the thinking of millions of people - particularly
the Anglo-Saxon world - to
believe a myth that there is
one "Czechoslovak" people.
Kirschbaum exp'lodes this
mylth and traces the origins
of Slovakia from its historic
beginnings, unfolding before
the reader a detailed anti
soundly referenced account
of a proud, vital and highly
cultured people from their
earliest origins to the declaration of their independence
in 1939, pleading for a new
for democracy m en ra an d E ast ern
Europe," maintains Kirschbaum "can be successful only
if it will not feature people
who compromised and collaborated with Communism,
but will engage representatives without chauvinistic and
imperialistic tendencies who
are fighUng for a democraitc
order of Central Europe in
which every nation will enjoy
equality and freedom and
which will safeguard its security from outside attacks."
The last third of the book
is an appendage of documents, including diplomatic
memoranda, speeches, reports
to the Slovak Parliament, exchanges of telegrams with
Hitler and other German
Reich officials, 26 photographs, and agreements, resolutions and statements by
the representatives of Americans of Slovak descent at
conferences of the Slovak
League of America, plus remarks by US Congressional
leaders on the Slovak prob •
lem.
A dual leitmotiv throughout is the thesis that Slovakia
�62
SLOVAKIA
has at all eras of its history
been a western-oriented people and has been sought
after by other surrounding
peoples who attempted, but
unsuccessfully, to assimilate
it. Today the Slovaks are still
western-oriented interiorly
and not assimilated, eiither by
the Czechs or by the Soviets.
Kirsch1baum's book is another
reminder and a convincing
one, that f.ires are still burning in the hearts of a little
people in Central Europe who,
like the Irish whom they so
strongly resemble, are keeping the faith that independence shall one day be theirs.
Though captured by Communists, they have not compromised with them. May Joseph
Kirschbaum's meritorious volume win friends for Slovakia and for their cause. - F.
McPoyne, in "Sudeten Bulletin," Dec. 1960.
B. S. Bue, Ph.D.: Slovak Nationalism; Published by the Slovak
L.ague of America, Middletown,
Pa., 1960; pp. 67.
Scholarly works on Slovakia
in English language were, until recently, hard .to find in
American and Canadian libraries. Scholars in the field
of Slavic studies somehow
a voided 'the oldest civilized
part of the Slavic world even
though Slovakia's role in the
early Slavic civilization and
in the nineteenth century
Pan-Slavism deserved their
attention.
Since the Second World Wax,
lack of interest in things
Slovak is gradually disappearing. Whlle some basic
works on literature, political
and cu]tural history are still
to be desired, there is a score
of readable and reliable books
for the general public as _w ell
as for the students of political history and civilization.
Professor Buc's recent study
on Slovak nationalism is one
of the works which will be
welcome by s ~udents of Central Eastern European history not only because of its
scholarly na/ture but also because it is the first thesis
on this subject in the English
language.
From Seton-Watson to R.
A. Kann and Gilbert Oddo,
foreign scholars tackled the
problem of Slovak nationa.
ism, directly or indirectly,
some of them, like Macartney
for instance, were even very
close to understand its origin and aims. There was,
however, no serious attempt
at presenting the significance
of nationalist ideas methodically in Slovak history
through the centuries and in
various historical situations.
�SLOVAKIA
Although this reviewer is
inclined to call the ideas
which stand behind the present Slovak drive for national independence rather patriotism than nationalism,
Professor Buc's an a 1 y sis
makes it clear that there are
many distinctions between na
tionalism of some European
counltries and the "nationalism" of the Slovaks. "From
the beginning of its existence, Slovak nationalism,"
says Priofessor Bue, "was
nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation
for the birth of new political systems which we call
'Western democracy' ... it involves a loyal devotion to a
native land, but as yet has
not developed serious revolutionary characteristics." One
may add that Slovak nationalism lacks also any tendency to expand or dominate
other peoples, aiming merely
at a foll national independence of the Slovak people in
its own state or in a federal
union with other European
nations.
Professor Bue explains methodically the origins, components, motives, and objectives of Slovak nationalism in
the context of a Europear
63
and especially of a Central
European politlica'l setting.
There were geographical and
historical reasons which provoked to life Slovakia's struggle along the lines of nationalistic ideas. Being a part of
European modern 'thought,
Slovak nationalism was stimulated also by the chauvnism
of some of Slovakia's ne<ighbors; its characteristics were,
however, for a long time defensive in nature and objective. Speaking of conflicts of
Slovak nationalism, the writer gives a picture of the
Slovak struggle not only
against Hungarian assimilative tendencies, but also of
confllicts between Magyarized
Slovaks and Slovak Pan-Slavists, and later between Slovak adherents of "Czechoslovakism" and Slovak autonomists, as well .as of Slovak
Lutherans versus Slovak Catholics. In a relatively small
territory of Slovakia, nationalism became a more complex
phenomenon that it would
appear to foreign casual observers, although its principal aim remains a struggle
for national identity and survival and, continuously, Slovak nationalism was marked
by federative tendencies.
The chapter on the federative tendencies of Slovak na-
�64
SLOVAKIA
tionalism is one of the most
ins'tructive not only for a
proper understanding of the
nature of Slovak nationalism,
but also for future developments in Central Eastern Europe. Being federative in its
tendencies and objectives,
Slovak nationalism is a constructive element and not a
barrier preventing co-operation of peoples of Eas'tem
Europe. In view of the fact
that some neighbors of Slovakiia tried to present the
Slovak struggle for national
independence as an attempt
at "balkamization," Professor
Buc's analysis gives justice
to the facts and to Slovaks.
Professor Buc's s t u d y,
which originally was prepared
•
•
as a thesis for his Mas!ter
Degree in Political Science
at the University of Pittsburgh follows the developments of Slovak nationaHsm
to the very recent events in
Slovakia under Communist
domination. The work is written in a clear, forceful style,
and its conclusions aire based
on a thorough knowledge of
the subject, with references
to a large number of works
in several foreign languages.
In the biblography, works by
Hans Kohn and R. A. Kann
are missing, as well as some
symposia (Strakhovsky, Lednicki, Gross, etc.).
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Universite de Montreal.
•
WHO SAID IT?
"The Slo!Wcl{ Leag,ue of America - its affiliated organizations and its indwidual memlbers1hiip - does not hl8Jte the
Czech nation, as propagated by members of the Council ( of
Free Czechosl.rwaJkia). 'Dhe Slova:ks do not want aniyithing
that belongs to the Ozeichs. They do not want their nationaJl
or relrigious tra:dibiolns, thei:r history OIi' their J:anguage, and
they covet not their lands. They recogndze and respect the
rig,ht of the Ozeich nation to full freedom and pdliticaJl independence. Alt the same time, however, and by the same
token, they riighrtfrwlly expect the Ozech nation to recognize
and respect the inhere.nit right of the Slovak nation to full
freedom and imlepem.dence, to a poJiticaJly independent
Slovak Retp'lllblk. Flree and 'Czechoslovalk' simply don't
rhyme!" - (P. A. Hrcibak, leit:Jter to Hon. Afivin M. Bentley,
Juiy 10, 1g53).
�
SLOVAKIA
61
BOOK REVIEWS
Slovak Aspirations
I order
in
Central Europe
wars were
. hb
SI ova k.1a, N a- I where two world
J . M . K 1rsc: aum:
tion •t the Crossroads of Central touched off.
Europe. Robert Speller and Sons, 1 "The campaign
N. Y., 1960, pp. 371, $5.00.
,
· C t l
Although written to enlighten and correct the warped political vision of those
still convinced tha't CzechoSlovakia was a "litlte Switzerland in the heart of Europe," this book may be recommended as a compact political history of Slovakia.
Sudeten Germans wili welcome its fair presentation of
faots that corroborate their
own version of what actually
ha:ppened in the CSR.
It is amazing that Czech
propaganda was, and to a
large extent still is, able to
influence the thinking of millions of people - particularly
the Anglo-Saxon world - to
believe a myth that there is
one "Czechoslovak" people.
Kirschbaum exp'lodes this
mylth and traces the origins
of Slovakia from its historic
beginnings, unfolding before
the reader a detailed anti
soundly referenced account
of a proud, vital and highly
cultured people from their
earliest origins to the declaration of their independence
in 1939, pleading for a new
for democracy m en ra an d E ast ern
Europe," maintains Kirschbaum "can be successful only
if it will not feature people
who compromised and collaborated with Communism,
but will engage representatives without chauvinistic and
imperialistic tendencies who
are fighUng for a democraitc
order of Central Europe in
which every nation will enjoy
equality and freedom and
which will safeguard its security from outside attacks."
The last third of the book
is an appendage of documents, including diplomatic
memoranda, speeches, reports
to the Slovak Parliament, exchanges of telegrams with
Hitler and other German
Reich officials, 26 photographs, and agreements, resolutions and statements by
the representatives of Americans of Slovak descent at
conferences of the Slovak
League of America, plus remarks by US Congressional
leaders on the Slovak prob •
lem.
A dual leitmotiv throughout is the thesis that Slovakia
�62
SLOVAKIA
has at all eras of its history
been a western-oriented people and has been sought
after by other surrounding
peoples who attempted, but
unsuccessfully, to assimilate
it. Today the Slovaks are still
western-oriented interiorly
and not assimilated, eiither by
the Czechs or by the Soviets.
Kirsch1baum's book is another
reminder and a convincing
one, that f.ires are still burning in the hearts of a little
people in Central Europe who,
like the Irish whom they so
strongly resemble, are keeping the faith that independence shall one day be theirs.
Though captured by Communists, they have not compromised with them. May Joseph
Kirschbaum's meritorious volume win friends for Slovakia and for their cause. - F.
McPoyne, in "Sudeten Bulletin," Dec. 1960.
B. S. Bue, Ph.D.: Slovak Nationalism; Published by the Slovak
L.ague of America, Middletown,
Pa., 1960; pp. 67.
Scholarly works on Slovakia
in English language were, until recently, hard .to find in
American and Canadian libraries. Scholars in the field
of Slavic studies somehow
a voided 'the oldest civilized
part of the Slavic world even
though Slovakia's role in the
early Slavic civilization and
in the nineteenth century
Pan-Slavism deserved their
attention.
Since the Second World Wax,
lack of interest in things
Slovak is gradually disappearing. Whlle some basic
works on literature, political
and cu]tural history are still
to be desired, there is a score
of readable and reliable books
for the general public as _w ell
as for the students of political history and civilization.
Professor Buc's recent study
on Slovak nationalism is one
of the works which will be
welcome by s ~udents of Central Eastern European history not only because of its
scholarly na/ture but also because it is the first thesis
on this subject in the English
language.
From Seton-Watson to R.
A. Kann and Gilbert Oddo,
foreign scholars tackled the
problem of Slovak nationa.
ism, directly or indirectly,
some of them, like Macartney
for instance, were even very
close to understand its origin and aims. There was,
however, no serious attempt
at presenting the significance
of nationalist ideas methodically in Slovak history
through the centuries and in
various historical situations.
�SLOVAKIA
Although this reviewer is
inclined to call the ideas
which stand behind the present Slovak drive for national independence rather patriotism than nationalism,
Professor Buc's an a 1 y sis
makes it clear that there are
many distinctions between na
tionalism of some European
counltries and the "nationalism" of the Slovaks. "From
the beginning of its existence, Slovak nationalism,"
says Priofessor Bue, "was
nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation
for the birth of new political systems which we call
'Western democracy' ... it involves a loyal devotion to a
native land, but as yet has
not developed serious revolutionary characteristics." One
may add that Slovak nationalism lacks also any tendency to expand or dominate
other peoples, aiming merely
at a foll national independence of the Slovak people in
its own state or in a federal
union with other European
nations.
Professor Bue explains methodically the origins, components, motives, and objectives of Slovak nationalism in
the context of a Europear
63
and especially of a Central
European politlica'l setting.
There were geographical and
historical reasons which provoked to life Slovakia's struggle along the lines of nationalistic ideas. Being a part of
European modern 'thought,
Slovak nationalism was stimulated also by the chauvnism
of some of Slovakia's ne<ighbors; its characteristics were,
however, for a long time defensive in nature and objective. Speaking of conflicts of
Slovak nationalism, the writer gives a picture of the
Slovak struggle not only
against Hungarian assimilative tendencies, but also of
confllicts between Magyarized
Slovaks and Slovak Pan-Slavists, and later between Slovak adherents of "Czechoslovakism" and Slovak autonomists, as well .as of Slovak
Lutherans versus Slovak Catholics. In a relatively small
territory of Slovakia, nationalism became a more complex
phenomenon that it would
appear to foreign casual observers, although its principal aim remains a struggle
for national identity and survival and, continuously, Slovak nationalism was marked
by federative tendencies.
The chapter on the federative tendencies of Slovak na-
�64
SLOVAKIA
tionalism is one of the most
ins'tructive not only for a
proper understanding of the
nature of Slovak nationalism,
but also for future developments in Central Eastern Europe. Being federative in its
tendencies and objectives,
Slovak nationalism is a constructive element and not a
barrier preventing co-operation of peoples of Eas'tem
Europe. In view of the fact
that some neighbors of Slovakiia tried to present the
Slovak struggle for national
independence as an attempt
at "balkamization," Professor
Buc's analysis gives justice
to the facts and to Slovaks.
Professor Buc's s t u d y,
which originally was prepared
•
•
as a thesis for his Mas!ter
Degree in Political Science
at the University of Pittsburgh follows the developments of Slovak nationaHsm
to the very recent events in
Slovakia under Communist
domination. The work is written in a clear, forceful style,
and its conclusions aire based
on a thorough knowledge of
the subject, with references
to a large number of works
in several foreign languages.
In the biblography, works by
Hans Kohn and R. A. Kann
are missing, as well as some
symposia (Strakhovsky, Lednicki, Gross, etc.).
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Universite de Montreal.
•
WHO SAID IT?
"The Slo!Wcl{ Leag,ue of America - its affiliated organizations and its indwidual memlbers1hiip - does not hl8Jte the
Czech nation, as propagated by members of the Council ( of
Free Czechosl.rwaJkia). 'Dhe Slova:ks do not want aniyithing
that belongs to the Ozeichs. They do not want their nationaJl
or relrigious tra:dibiolns, thei:r history OIi' their J:anguage, and
they covet not their lands. They recogndze and respect the
rig,ht of the Ozeich nation to full freedom and pdliticaJl independence. Alt the same time, however, and by the same
token, they riighrtfrwlly expect the Ozech nation to recognize
and respect the inhere.nit right of the Slovak nation to full
freedom and imlepem.dence, to a poJiticaJly independent
Slovak Retp'lllblk. Flree and 'Czechoslovalk' simply don't
rhyme!" - (P. A. Hrcibak, leit:Jter to Hon. Afivin M. Bentley,
Juiy 10, 1g53).
�
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
1960, Vol. 10
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li>
<li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li>
</ul>
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
1960
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
61
BOOK REVIEWS
Slovak Aspirations
I order
in
Central Europe
wars were
. hb
SI ova k.1a, N a- I where two world
J . M . K 1rsc: aum:
tion •t the Crossroads of Central touched off.
Europe. Robert Speller and Sons, 1 "The campaign
N. Y., 1960, pp. 371, $5.00.
,
· C t l
Although written to enlighten and correct the warped political vision of those
still convinced tha't CzechoSlovakia was a "litlte Switzerland in the heart of Europe," this book may be recommended as a compact political history of Slovakia.
Sudeten Germans wili welcome its fair presentation of
faots that corroborate their
own version of what actually
ha:ppened in the CSR.
It is amazing that Czech
propaganda was, and to a
large extent still is, able to
influence the thinking of millions of people - particularly
the Anglo-Saxon world - to
believe a myth that there is
one "Czechoslovak" people.
Kirschbaum exp'lodes this
mylth and traces the origins
of Slovakia from its historic
beginnings, unfolding before
the reader a detailed anti
soundly referenced account
of a proud, vital and highly
cultured people from their
earliest origins to the declaration of their independence
in 1939, pleading for a new
for democracy m en ra an d E ast ern
Europe," maintains Kirschbaum "can be successful only
if it will not feature people
who compromised and collaborated with Communism,
but will engage representatives without chauvinistic and
imperialistic tendencies who
are fighUng for a democraitc
order of Central Europe in
which every nation will enjoy
equality and freedom and
which will safeguard its security from outside attacks."
The last third of the book
is an appendage of documents, including diplomatic
memoranda, speeches, reports
to the Slovak Parliament, exchanges of telegrams with
Hitler and other German
Reich officials, 26 photographs, and agreements, resolutions and statements by
the representatives of Americans of Slovak descent at
conferences of the Slovak
League of America, plus remarks by US Congressional
leaders on the Slovak prob •
lem.
A dual leitmotiv throughout is the thesis that Slovakia
62
SLOVAKIA
has at all eras of its history
been a western-oriented people and has been sought
after by other surrounding
peoples who attempted, but
unsuccessfully, to assimilate
it. Today the Slovaks are still
western-oriented interiorly
and not assimilated, eiither by
the Czechs or by the Soviets.
Kirsch1baum's book is another
reminder and a convincing
one, that f.ires are still burning in the hearts of a little
people in Central Europe who,
like the Irish whom they so
strongly resemble, are keeping the faith that independence shall one day be theirs.
Though captured by Communists, they have not compromised with them. May Joseph
Kirschbaum's meritorious volume win friends for Slovakia and for their cause. - F.
McPoyne, in "Sudeten Bulletin," Dec. 1960.
B. S. Bue, Ph.D.: Slovak Nationalism; Published by the Slovak
L.ague of America, Middletown,
Pa., 1960; pp. 67.
Scholarly works on Slovakia
in English language were, until recently, hard .to find in
American and Canadian libraries. Scholars in the field
of Slavic studies somehow
a voided 'the oldest civilized
part of the Slavic world even
though Slovakia's role in the
early Slavic civilization and
in the nineteenth century
Pan-Slavism deserved their
attention.
Since the Second World Wax,
lack of interest in things
Slovak is gradually disappearing. Whlle some basic
works on literature, political
and cu]tural history are still
to be desired, there is a score
of readable and reliable books
for the general public as _w ell
as for the students of political history and civilization.
Professor Buc's recent study
on Slovak nationalism is one
of the works which will be
welcome by s ~udents of Central Eastern European history not only because of its
scholarly na/ture but also because it is the first thesis
on this subject in the English
language.
From Seton-Watson to R.
A. Kann and Gilbert Oddo,
foreign scholars tackled the
problem of Slovak nationa.
ism, directly or indirectly,
some of them, like Macartney
for instance, were even very
close to understand its origin and aims. There was,
however, no serious attempt
at presenting the significance
of nationalist ideas methodically in Slovak history
through the centuries and in
various historical situations.
SLOVAKIA
Although this reviewer is
inclined to call the ideas
which stand behind the present Slovak drive for national independence rather patriotism than nationalism,
Professor Buc's an a 1 y sis
makes it clear that there are
many distinctions between na
tionalism of some European
counltries and the "nationalism" of the Slovaks. "From
the beginning of its existence, Slovak nationalism,"
says Priofessor Bue, "was
nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation
for the birth of new political systems which we call
'Western democracy' ... it involves a loyal devotion to a
native land, but as yet has
not developed serious revolutionary characteristics." One
may add that Slovak nationalism lacks also any tendency to expand or dominate
other peoples, aiming merely
at a foll national independence of the Slovak people in
its own state or in a federal
union with other European
nations.
Professor Bue explains methodically the origins, components, motives, and objectives of Slovak nationalism in
the context of a Europear
63
and especially of a Central
European politlica'l setting.
There were geographical and
historical reasons which provoked to life Slovakia's struggle along the lines of nationalistic ideas. Being a part of
European modern 'thought,
Slovak nationalism was stimulated also by the chauvnism
of some of Slovakia's ne<ighbors; its characteristics were,
however, for a long time defensive in nature and objective. Speaking of conflicts of
Slovak nationalism, the writer gives a picture of the
Slovak struggle not only
against Hungarian assimilative tendencies, but also of
confllicts between Magyarized
Slovaks and Slovak Pan-Slavists, and later between Slovak adherents of "Czechoslovakism" and Slovak autonomists, as well .as of Slovak
Lutherans versus Slovak Catholics. In a relatively small
territory of Slovakia, nationalism became a more complex
phenomenon that it would
appear to foreign casual observers, although its principal aim remains a struggle
for national identity and survival and, continuously, Slovak nationalism was marked
by federative tendencies.
The chapter on the federative tendencies of Slovak na-
64
SLOVAKIA
tionalism is one of the most
ins'tructive not only for a
proper understanding of the
nature of Slovak nationalism,
but also for future developments in Central Eastern Europe. Being federative in its
tendencies and objectives,
Slovak nationalism is a constructive element and not a
barrier preventing co-operation of peoples of Eas'tem
Europe. In view of the fact
that some neighbors of Slovakiia tried to present the
Slovak struggle for national
independence as an attempt
at "balkamization," Professor
Buc's analysis gives justice
to the facts and to Slovaks.
Professor Buc's s t u d y,
which originally was prepared
•
•
as a thesis for his Mas!ter
Degree in Political Science
at the University of Pittsburgh follows the developments of Slovak nationaHsm
to the very recent events in
Slovakia under Communist
domination. The work is written in a clear, forceful style,
and its conclusions aire based
on a thorough knowledge of
the subject, with references
to a large number of works
in several foreign languages.
In the biblography, works by
Hans Kohn and R. A. Kann
are missing, as well as some
symposia (Strakhovsky, Lednicki, Gross, etc.).
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Universite de Montreal.
•
WHO SAID IT?
"The Slo!Wcl{ Leag,ue of America - its affiliated organizations and its indwidual memlbers1hiip - does not hl8Jte the
Czech nation, as propagated by members of the Council ( of
Free Czechosl.rwaJkia). 'Dhe Slova:ks do not want aniyithing
that belongs to the Ozeichs. They do not want their nationaJl
or relrigious tra:dibiolns, thei:r history OIi' their J:anguage, and
they covet not their lands. They recogndze and respect the
rig,ht of the Ozeich nation to full freedom and pdliticaJl independence. Alt the same time, however, and by the same
token, they riighrtfrwlly expect the Ozech nation to recognize
and respect the inhere.nit right of the Slovak nation to full
freedom and imlepem.dence, to a poJiticaJly independent
Slovak Retp'lllblk. Flree and 'Czechoslovalk' simply don't
rhyme!" - (P. A. Hrcibak, leit:Jter to Hon. Afivin M. Bentley,
Juiy 10, 1g53).
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. 10, No. 7 (32)
Description
An account of the resource
includes book reviews, pp. 61-64
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September-December 1960
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/75da06d3d88b003d707cc28d625565bf.pdf
0d0cc54f7ec9aa3ea7c6d19961a2cf9e
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
59
who, impoverished and wrecked in body and soul, sought
refuge in the West German Federal Republic, did not become the dynamite they were designed for by the mighty
Stalin and the less mighty Benes. As a rule the expellees
proved a valuable and constructive element in the economic and political revival of Germany. They likewise bore
witness of their friendship for the Czech emigrants who
came after them.
It is a shabby business, indeed, when the Czechs now fifteen years after the war's end - try to further the
cause of Bolshevism by demanding from the free nations,
and even the German community, complete disregard for
the just claim of the Sudeten German expellees .
•
•
•
WHERE ALL ROADS END
The Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung gives its
readers a glimpse across Austria's border into tlhe Bohemian Forest, OSSR:
What would the former professor and representative
to the Austro-Hungarian Reichstag in Vienna, Thomas
Garrigue Masaryk, say today if he could see what has become of the State he founded, 1:lhe former Czecho-Slovak
Republic? A kindly fate beckoned him - in the year 1937
at 1:lhe age of 87 - to another world. He may have sensed
what was to come, did not have to see the day, however,
when the State, of which he was the founder and long-time
president, was crushed by Hitler in 1938-39 and set up
again in 1945, subsequently to be placed under the yoke of
world Communism by politicians subservient to 1:lhe Kremlin.
His son, Jan Masaryk, lived to see t:Jhe great tragedy
of his fatherland: destruction under Hitler, resurrection in
1945 in the shadow of Russian bayonets and the expulsion
of more than three million Germans living near its borders
in t!he Sudeten areas, at home there for centuries. At the
end of tJhis series of events came tihe final Bolshevization
that gave his country the kiss of death.
Was it the guilt of the father, Thomas Masaryk, who
gave President Wilson in 1918 a false picture of 1:lhe population structure in the German regions claimed for the new
�SLOVAKIA
60
Czecho-Slovak Republic, which took revenge on the son and
his people? Jan Masaryk, son of the "father of the Czechs,"
foreign minister Wl 1948, committed suicide at the onset
of the country's final Bolshevization. At that time the iron
curtain rang down on the western and southern borders
of the Czech State. 'Dhe border to West Germany and Austria was also closed off for the Czech people. The threads
were cut, the contiacts severed. The expression "people's
prison" was not coined in vain.
The fields in the Czech border areas have been neglected for miles around; the meadows are brown and uncut. Houses and villages have been destroyed, levelled to
the ground. Here all that one sees of a former house are a
heap of stones; the ruins of a waM tell of a destroyed village or borough. Nowhere does one realize as keenly the deceptiveness of the system, nowhere as here -at the fronJtier
does talk of coexistence become such an empty phrase, and
the babble about peace and freedom the butt of scornful
laughter of an inhuman world .
•
•
•
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Frances McPoyne, M.A., Ls a so- and the Slovak v Amerike, the oldciologi-st and researcher, r,e sidin•g 'I est Slovak newspaipe,r in America;
in Munich.
from 1'950 to the present time, he
Dr. Frano Tiso, former ambas- 1is also serving as presid'ent of the
sador of the Slovak Re,pwblic to Slo,v ak Lea gue of America.
Moscow, is. the chairm~n. of the / Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, forSlovak Na t10naJ Oou_nci,l m Ger- Ianer Chal'lge d'Alfifa.ires of Slovaman~ and the pUlb'hsher of the Ikia in Switzerland and Secre<taryM u n i c ,h "S1obodne Slovensko" 1 GeneraI of the Sloivak People's
(Free Sl:ov~kia).
Party, teaches at the Universi.fy of
F. 0. Miksche, former Czech Montreal, Canada. His· boolk "SloArimy Oolonel and Military a,1:Jtaohe vakia - Nation at the Crossroads
i•n, •P aris and• Brussels, is n,o,w a of Centra,l Europe" was pwbli-shed
lecturer and free 'Lance writer.
Iin 1960 by Rolbert Slpeltler and
Hans Schutz, mem1ber of the Sons, New York
Gennan Federa,l Parliament, is I Constantine Culen, former memalso co-chairman oif t>he Sudeten I ber of the Slo,v ak ParJiament and
Sl-ovalk journalislt, one of ithe most
German Oo-uncil in Muniich.
Philip A. Hrobak, ediitor of Slo- prolific Slov,a k writers, now revakia, is also editor olf the Jed- sides in Fforida.
nota (The Union), the oifificiaJ orKarl Kern, j-ourna.List, is chairgan of th•e First Catholic Slovak man of the Sudeten Association in
Unfon, of the UStA. -a nd Can:adia, Ma1mo, Sweden.
1
1
I
�
SLOVAKIA
59
who, impoverished and wrecked in body and soul, sought
refuge in the West German Federal Republic, did not become the dynamite they were designed for by the mighty
Stalin and the less mighty Benes. As a rule the expellees
proved a valuable and constructive element in the economic and political revival of Germany. They likewise bore
witness of their friendship for the Czech emigrants who
came after them.
It is a shabby business, indeed, when the Czechs now fifteen years after the war's end - try to further the
cause of Bolshevism by demanding from the free nations,
and even the German community, complete disregard for
the just claim of the Sudeten German expellees .
•
•
•
WHERE ALL ROADS END
The Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung gives its
readers a glimpse across Austria's border into tlhe Bohemian Forest, OSSR:
What would the former professor and representative
to the Austro-Hungarian Reichstag in Vienna, Thomas
Garrigue Masaryk, say today if he could see what has become of the State he founded, 1:lhe former Czecho-Slovak
Republic? A kindly fate beckoned him - in the year 1937
at 1:lhe age of 87 - to another world. He may have sensed
what was to come, did not have to see the day, however,
when the State, of which he was the founder and long-time
president, was crushed by Hitler in 1938-39 and set up
again in 1945, subsequently to be placed under the yoke of
world Communism by politicians subservient to 1:lhe Kremlin.
His son, Jan Masaryk, lived to see t:Jhe great tragedy
of his fatherland: destruction under Hitler, resurrection in
1945 in the shadow of Russian bayonets and the expulsion
of more than three million Germans living near its borders
in t!he Sudeten areas, at home there for centuries. At the
end of tJhis series of events came tihe final Bolshevization
that gave his country the kiss of death.
Was it the guilt of the father, Thomas Masaryk, who
gave President Wilson in 1918 a false picture of 1:lhe population structure in the German regions claimed for the new
�SLOVAKIA
60
Czecho-Slovak Republic, which took revenge on the son and
his people? Jan Masaryk, son of the "father of the Czechs,"
foreign minister Wl 1948, committed suicide at the onset
of the country's final Bolshevization. At that time the iron
curtain rang down on the western and southern borders
of the Czech State. 'Dhe border to West Germany and Austria was also closed off for the Czech people. The threads
were cut, the contiacts severed. The expression "people's
prison" was not coined in vain.
The fields in the Czech border areas have been neglected for miles around; the meadows are brown and uncut. Houses and villages have been destroyed, levelled to
the ground. Here all that one sees of a former house are a
heap of stones; the ruins of a waM tell of a destroyed village or borough. Nowhere does one realize as keenly the deceptiveness of the system, nowhere as here -at the fronJtier
does talk of coexistence become such an empty phrase, and
the babble about peace and freedom the butt of scornful
laughter of an inhuman world .
•
•
•
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Frances McPoyne, M.A., Ls a so- and the Slovak v Amerike, the oldciologi-st and researcher, r,e sidin•g 'I est Slovak newspaipe,r in America;
in Munich.
from 1'950 to the present time, he
Dr. Frano Tiso, former ambas- 1is also serving as presid'ent of the
sador of the Slovak Re,pwblic to Slo,v ak Lea gue of America.
Moscow, is. the chairm~n. of the / Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, forSlovak Na t10naJ Oou_nci,l m Ger- Ianer Chal'lge d'Alfifa.ires of Slovaman~ and the pUlb'hsher of the Ikia in Switzerland and Secre<taryM u n i c ,h "S1obodne Slovensko" 1 GeneraI of the Sloivak People's
(Free Sl:ov~kia).
Party, teaches at the Universi.fy of
F. 0. Miksche, former Czech Montreal, Canada. His· boolk "SloArimy Oolonel and Military a,1:Jtaohe vakia - Nation at the Crossroads
i•n, •P aris and• Brussels, is n,o,w a of Centra,l Europe" was pwbli-shed
lecturer and free 'Lance writer.
Iin 1960 by Rolbert Slpeltler and
Hans Schutz, mem1ber of the Sons, New York
Gennan Federa,l Parliament, is I Constantine Culen, former memalso co-chairman oif t>he Sudeten I ber of the Slo,v ak ParJiament and
Sl-ovalk journalislt, one of ithe most
German Oo-uncil in Muniich.
Philip A. Hrobak, ediitor of Slo- prolific Slov,a k writers, now revakia, is also editor olf the Jed- sides in Fforida.
nota (The Union), the oifificiaJ orKarl Kern, j-ourna.List, is chairgan of th•e First Catholic Slovak man of the Sudeten Association in
Unfon, of the UStA. -a nd Can:adia, Ma1mo, Sweden.
1
1
I
�
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
1960, Vol. 10
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li>
<li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li>
</ul>
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
1960
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
59
who, impoverished and wrecked in body and soul, sought
refuge in the West German Federal Republic, did not become the dynamite they were designed for by the mighty
Stalin and the less mighty Benes. As a rule the expellees
proved a valuable and constructive element in the economic and political revival of Germany. They likewise bore
witness of their friendship for the Czech emigrants who
came after them.
It is a shabby business, indeed, when the Czechs now fifteen years after the war's end - try to further the
cause of Bolshevism by demanding from the free nations,
and even the German community, complete disregard for
the just claim of the Sudeten German expellees .
•
•
•
WHERE ALL ROADS END
The Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung gives its
readers a glimpse across Austria's border into tlhe Bohemian Forest, OSSR:
What would the former professor and representative
to the Austro-Hungarian Reichstag in Vienna, Thomas
Garrigue Masaryk, say today if he could see what has become of the State he founded, 1:lhe former Czecho-Slovak
Republic? A kindly fate beckoned him - in the year 1937
at 1:lhe age of 87 - to another world. He may have sensed
what was to come, did not have to see the day, however,
when the State, of which he was the founder and long-time
president, was crushed by Hitler in 1938-39 and set up
again in 1945, subsequently to be placed under the yoke of
world Communism by politicians subservient to 1:lhe Kremlin.
His son, Jan Masaryk, lived to see t:Jhe great tragedy
of his fatherland: destruction under Hitler, resurrection in
1945 in the shadow of Russian bayonets and the expulsion
of more than three million Germans living near its borders
in t!he Sudeten areas, at home there for centuries. At the
end of tJhis series of events came tihe final Bolshevization
that gave his country the kiss of death.
Was it the guilt of the father, Thomas Masaryk, who
gave President Wilson in 1918 a false picture of 1:lhe population structure in the German regions claimed for the new
SLOVAKIA
60
Czecho-Slovak Republic, which took revenge on the son and
his people? Jan Masaryk, son of the "father of the Czechs,"
foreign minister Wl 1948, committed suicide at the onset
of the country's final Bolshevization. At that time the iron
curtain rang down on the western and southern borders
of the Czech State. 'Dhe border to West Germany and Austria was also closed off for the Czech people. The threads
were cut, the contiacts severed. The expression "people's
prison" was not coined in vain.
The fields in the Czech border areas have been neglected for miles around; the meadows are brown and uncut. Houses and villages have been destroyed, levelled to
the ground. Here all that one sees of a former house are a
heap of stones; the ruins of a waM tell of a destroyed village or borough. Nowhere does one realize as keenly the deceptiveness of the system, nowhere as here -at the fronJtier
does talk of coexistence become such an empty phrase, and
the babble about peace and freedom the butt of scornful
laughter of an inhuman world .
•
•
•
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Frances McPoyne, M.A., Ls a so- and the Slovak v Amerike, the oldciologi-st and researcher, r,e sidin•g 'I est Slovak newspaipe,r in America;
in Munich.
from 1'950 to the present time, he
Dr. Frano Tiso, former ambas- 1is also serving as presid'ent of the
sador of the Slovak Re,pwblic to Slo,v ak Lea gue of America.
Moscow, is. the chairm~n. of the / Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, forSlovak Na t10naJ Oou_nci,l m Ger- Ianer Chal'lge d'Alfifa.ires of Slovaman~ and the pUlb'hsher of the Ikia in Switzerland and Secre<taryM u n i c ,h "S1obodne Slovensko" 1 GeneraI of the Sloivak People's
(Free Sl:ov~kia).
Party, teaches at the Universi.fy of
F. 0. Miksche, former Czech Montreal, Canada. His· boolk "SloArimy Oolonel and Military a,1:Jtaohe vakia - Nation at the Crossroads
i•n, •P aris and• Brussels, is n,o,w a of Centra,l Europe" was pwbli-shed
lecturer and free 'Lance writer.
Iin 1960 by Rolbert Slpeltler and
Hans Schutz, mem1ber of the Sons, New York
Gennan Federa,l Parliament, is I Constantine Culen, former memalso co-chairman oif t>he Sudeten I ber of the Slo,v ak ParJiament and
Sl-ovalk journalislt, one of ithe most
German Oo-uncil in Muniich.
Philip A. Hrobak, ediitor of Slo- prolific Slov,a k writers, now revakia, is also editor olf the Jed- sides in Fforida.
nota (The Union), the oifificiaJ orKarl Kern, j-ourna.List, is chairgan of th•e First Catholic Slovak man of the Sudeten Association in
Unfon, of the UStA. -a nd Can:adia, Ma1mo, Sweden.
1
1
I
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Title
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Where All Roads End
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 7 (32), September-December 1960
pp. 59-60
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September-December 1960
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/82fc210695be9da9bc165925fd863e6f.pdf
24712f5e75a25281f7aa6dd3ff064a9c
PDF Text
Text
38
SLOVAKIA
LET'S PUT SLOVAK IN THE CURRICULUM
The early Slovaks in America - of sturdy peasant
stock - were individualists. They wanted to have their
own homes, their own churches and schools, fraternal
benefit societies, newspapers, civic, social, and cultural institutions. For the most part, these were the things they
could not have in the own homeland, Slovakia, which was
then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were
then, as they are now strictly SLOVAK, not CZECHO-SLOV AK ( with or without hyphen) enterprises. And
the Slovaks in America did organize and build the things
they wanted. Today in America, there are some 370 Slovak churches, 240 parochial and Sunday schools, a dozen
fraternals, 20 newspapers and periodicals, and many Slovak cultural, civic, and social societies.
It did ndt take the Slovak pioneers in America long to
learn enough English to get along and to adapt themselves to their new environment. The American way of
life appealed to them. In fact, compared to life "back
home," life in America - with all its initial hardships was a thou.sand times better. In America a man was free!
The Slovaks built their own churches and schools to
enhance their own cultural level and to preserve their
Slovak heritage in the "new homeland" - their language
and their religious and national traditions. There it was
that the oldsters were taught English and the youngsters
Slovak. Father Stephen Furdek, known as the "Apostle
of American Slovaks," provided the text books. In time
the Slovaks of America had - and still have - everything needed to perform the mission for which their institutions were established. They kept the faith of their
fathers, but as the years rolled by the Slovaks broke
away to a great extent from the past, the ideals of their
forefathers, as far as preserving the Slovak language and
national customs was concerned. It is unfortunate that
this has come to pass. And more so that it happened within two generations removed from Father Furdek (he died
in 1915) and the Slovak pioneers. Whether the trend will
continue depends for the most part on the administrators
�SLOVAKIA
39
of these S 1 o v a k institutions. All is not yet lost : the
churches and schools built by the Slovaks in America
are still with us. They can still be used to enhance and
preserve the heritage of the Slovaks and to the advantage our America.
Of course, we can expect the same old question to pop
up in places: "But why teach Slovak?" Teach it for the
same reasons that so many other seemingly "impractical"
subjects are taught in our primary and secondary schools.
No one can foresee with any great degree of accuracy
just what any child will be able to use later on in life.
And so it is with the Slovak language, too. Besides the
sentimental reason for offering children Slovak in Slovak
parochial schools, there are practical reasons a.Jso. These
were brought to the fore recently by our Government
and by eminent educators, including members of the American Catholic Hierarchy.
His Excellency, Bishop John J. Wright of Pittsburgh,
early in the year called upon Americans to understand the
languages of other peoples of the world as a prelude to
understanding the peoples themselves. He was then Bishop of the Worcester Diocese.
Speaking at Assumption CoHege, Bishop Wright said
that "perhaps the greatest embarrassment for Americans
abroad is that we can't understand and talk with other
peoples unless they are willing to learn our language."
Citing a statement from St. Augustine that "a man
is more at home with his dog than he is with another
man whose language he cannot understand," Bishop Wright
commented that "in the presence of a man whose language
we cannot speak, we are almost fatally and mutually antagonistic."
"Hence," Bishop Wright said, "it is tremendously important that our children be taught languages - that
in language they may find the genious of people, since
it is in language that people express ideas."
"Thus we may come to a greater understanding of
other people and a mutual sympathy with them, so that
eventually man may become as at home with other men
as with his dog," Bishop Wright concluded.
�40
SLOVAKIA
Bob Considine, syndicated columnist, also speaking
at the Worcester, Mass., school, stated: "We can't go
into foreign countries any longer as the arrogant conquerer. We must go as friends and equals, not as superiors, not trying to lord it over them. Yet in a way we
do lord it over them by not knowing their languages and
by being contemptuous of their customs."
Elementary school teachers and administrators, attending the 56th annual convention of the Nationa,l Catholic IDducational Association in Atlantic City (March 30
to April 3, 1959) discussed the usefulness and feasibility
of teaching foreign languages in the elementary schools.
Sister Mary Helen of the department of modern languages
of St. Teresa College, Winona, Minn., spoke on the "Preparation of Elementary School Teachers for the Foreign
Language Program." Sister Raymond de Jesus, assistant
dean of the Diocesan Teachers College, Putnam, Conn.,
discussed "Materials and Methods for the Foreign Language Program in the Elementary School." Father Frederick A. McGuire, C. M. , executive secretary of the Mission Secretariat, a clearing house of information for overseas missionary societies, addressed the group on "Foreign
Languages in the Elementary School - Their Significance
for the World Mission of the Catholic Church."
In World War II, we found out just how badly we
had neglected the teaching of foreign languages. Our
armies were scattered throughout the world. Communication had to be carried on through interpreters who had
been hurriedly and, therefore, inadequately trained in foreign languages. The situation has been remedied to a
certain extent, but there still is a very great need of language experts in all departments of U. S. Government,
particularly in the Foreign Service Department and the
United States Information Agency. It is obvious that it
is far better to have people in service with a thorough
understanding of the historical background of a certain
people than people only with a linguistic knowledge.
Only a year and half ago, a survey disclosed that
more than half of our government's diplomats did not
have a speaking knowledge of the language of the countries
�SLOVAKIA
41
to which they were sent (THE N.EJW YORK TIMES, Nov.
18, 1959). Dr. Harold Hoskins, director of the Foreign
Service Institute, now reports that aH members of the
Foreign Service have taken mandatory tests in foreign
languages since the alarming survey was published. A
special foreign language school was established in Arlington, Va., by the State Department. Congress made more
funds available for language training in the present fiscal
year than it did for all kinds of training four years ago.
As a result, the training school in Arlington is perhaps
one of the most efficient in the nation. Sixteen specialists
make up the faculty for the teaching of foreign languages,
while ninety-nine instructors teach in their native tongues,
with little or no English spoken during instruction periods.
"The problem now," Dr. Hoskins says, "is to develop
specialists in the critical though less widely used, languages and dialects of many parts of Asia, the Middle
East, Eastern Europe, and Africa."
Interesting it is to note that Dr. Hoskins' report
lists 11 Foreign Service officers who are now available
"with a working knowledge, or higher proficiency," in
SLOVAK. Furthermore, the director of the Foreign Service
Institute estimates that the State Department will have
85 to 90 per cent of its officers reach "professional proficiency" in at least one foreign language by 1962.
The stress today is particularly on Russian for obvious
reasons. Academic Russian is being introduced into more
publis schools every year. Other Slavic languages may be
neglected, because, some authorities say, they don't mean
as much as the Russian language. What they really mean
is that they know little about Russian and even less about
the other Slovanic (Slavic) languages. Even in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the stress is on Russian,
though we know, for example, that over one-third of all
the Slovaks in America are settled there (there are about
two million Americans of Slovak descent in the USA).
And the stress is on Russian and Russian only, even
though Slovak, in my considered opinion, is the key language to all Slovanic languages. I have recommended
(to the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., for
�42
SLOVAKIA
example) - and still recommend - at least one semester
of Slovak for students of any Slavic language. It makes
the study of the other Slavic languages more facile, since
it contains elements common to all the Slavic languages,
elements that are not found in the others. It is true that
the various Slavic languages have an even greater affinity
than do other related language groups, but I earnestly
suggest a serious consideration of non-Russian Slavic language background as a valuable and practical basis for
the study of academic Russian.
Over a generation ago, Carl W. Hasek (Higher Education Circular No. 23, U. S. Department of Interior,
Bureau of Education. 1920) urged a greater awareness
of the practical need for a wider study of the Slovanic
(Slavic) languages and cultures in our schools, citing
various reasons, esthetic and practical, pertinent to this
matter. The esthetic consideration - the direct enjoyment of, for example, the rich Russian literature - is as
valid now as it was then, while the practical reasons have
taken on even greater urgency.
Mrs. Elizabeth Peters, writing in the PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL JOURNAL (October, 1958), considered
the question of the most likely source of Russian language candidates in the public schools of the Commonwealth. She said:
"Census statistics reveal that conservatively estimated
there are fifty to one hundred thousand pupils of Slavic
heritage in the schools of Pennsylvania. It is generally accepted among leaders in the groups that there is a threegeneration span in which these groups, with their rich
folklore and their frequently devout religious affiliation,
have tended to keep their traditions, culture, and language alive by means of family, church, and fraternal
activities."
Mrs. Peters is correct; census statistics, as quoted,
are very conservative. The fourth generation is with us
and the traditions of the Slovaks, Serbs, Croatians, Poles,
Slovenians, and Russians - plus those of other nonEnglish groups - are still in evidence. And they will
be for some time to come.
�SLOVAKIA
43
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have a goodly number
of Slqvak residents, that is, citizens whose ethnic background is Slovak. The study of Slovak - for itself and
as a preparation for the study of other Slovanic languages - should be given serious consideration by our educators. And Slovak parochial schools should place the study
of Slovak on their curriculums. We suggest that the children be taught at least four years (5-8 grades), though
the study can be offered earlier. Books are available. And
teachers would have little difficulty in learning and presenting the subject. Interested? Write to: Philip A. Hrobak, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa .
•
•
•
Castles of Slovakia:
CACHTICE
By Hubert Maciko, 0.1S.B.
We know that the history of Castle Cachtice begins
with the 14th century because in a dooument, dated in
1319, there is mention of a certain Thomas Rufus as the
administrator of Cachtice.
In the year 13·92, King Zigmund gruve the fortress to
Ctilbor "for faithful and generous services rendered.." What
these services were we do not know, but we suppose they
were of a military nature. The same document states that
if Ct.i/b.or should die without children, the fortress automatically is to be inherited by hi.s two brothers, Nicholas
and Andrew. In the same document it was stated that the
fortress must be sold only to a fellow countryman, never
to a stranger.
Ctiibor died in 1414, and the fortress was inherited
by his ,son, Ctibor n, who was at that time high- commissioner otf Nitra. In 1430 Ctibor II was a captain in the
ami:y of King Zigmund which fought against the Czech
Hussites. He died rather suddenly shortly after, and, not
leaving a male descendant, the fortress was claimed by
King Zigmund. OObor's daughter, Kathryn, inherited the
fortress Beo'kov.
�
38
SLOVAKIA
LET'S PUT SLOVAK IN THE CURRICULUM
The early Slovaks in America - of sturdy peasant
stock - were individualists. They wanted to have their
own homes, their own churches and schools, fraternal
benefit societies, newspapers, civic, social, and cultural institutions. For the most part, these were the things they
could not have in the own homeland, Slovakia, which was
then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were
then, as they are now strictly SLOVAK, not CZECHO-SLOV AK ( with or without hyphen) enterprises. And
the Slovaks in America did organize and build the things
they wanted. Today in America, there are some 370 Slovak churches, 240 parochial and Sunday schools, a dozen
fraternals, 20 newspapers and periodicals, and many Slovak cultural, civic, and social societies.
It did ndt take the Slovak pioneers in America long to
learn enough English to get along and to adapt themselves to their new environment. The American way of
life appealed to them. In fact, compared to life "back
home," life in America - with all its initial hardships was a thou.sand times better. In America a man was free!
The Slovaks built their own churches and schools to
enhance their own cultural level and to preserve their
Slovak heritage in the "new homeland" - their language
and their religious and national traditions. There it was
that the oldsters were taught English and the youngsters
Slovak. Father Stephen Furdek, known as the "Apostle
of American Slovaks," provided the text books. In time
the Slovaks of America had - and still have - everything needed to perform the mission for which their institutions were established. They kept the faith of their
fathers, but as the years rolled by the Slovaks broke
away to a great extent from the past, the ideals of their
forefathers, as far as preserving the Slovak language and
national customs was concerned. It is unfortunate that
this has come to pass. And more so that it happened within two generations removed from Father Furdek (he died
in 1915) and the Slovak pioneers. Whether the trend will
continue depends for the most part on the administrators
�SLOVAKIA
39
of these S 1 o v a k institutions. All is not yet lost : the
churches and schools built by the Slovaks in America
are still with us. They can still be used to enhance and
preserve the heritage of the Slovaks and to the advantage our America.
Of course, we can expect the same old question to pop
up in places: "But why teach Slovak?" Teach it for the
same reasons that so many other seemingly "impractical"
subjects are taught in our primary and secondary schools.
No one can foresee with any great degree of accuracy
just what any child will be able to use later on in life.
And so it is with the Slovak language, too. Besides the
sentimental reason for offering children Slovak in Slovak
parochial schools, there are practical reasons a.Jso. These
were brought to the fore recently by our Government
and by eminent educators, including members of the American Catholic Hierarchy.
His Excellency, Bishop John J. Wright of Pittsburgh,
early in the year called upon Americans to understand the
languages of other peoples of the world as a prelude to
understanding the peoples themselves. He was then Bishop of the Worcester Diocese.
Speaking at Assumption CoHege, Bishop Wright said
that "perhaps the greatest embarrassment for Americans
abroad is that we can't understand and talk with other
peoples unless they are willing to learn our language."
Citing a statement from St. Augustine that "a man
is more at home with his dog than he is with another
man whose language he cannot understand," Bishop Wright
commented that "in the presence of a man whose language
we cannot speak, we are almost fatally and mutually antagonistic."
"Hence," Bishop Wright said, "it is tremendously important that our children be taught languages - that
in language they may find the genious of people, since
it is in language that people express ideas."
"Thus we may come to a greater understanding of
other people and a mutual sympathy with them, so that
eventually man may become as at home with other men
as with his dog," Bishop Wright concluded.
�40
SLOVAKIA
Bob Considine, syndicated columnist, also speaking
at the Worcester, Mass., school, stated: "We can't go
into foreign countries any longer as the arrogant conquerer. We must go as friends and equals, not as superiors, not trying to lord it over them. Yet in a way we
do lord it over them by not knowing their languages and
by being contemptuous of their customs."
Elementary school teachers and administrators, attending the 56th annual convention of the Nationa,l Catholic IDducational Association in Atlantic City (March 30
to April 3, 1959) discussed the usefulness and feasibility
of teaching foreign languages in the elementary schools.
Sister Mary Helen of the department of modern languages
of St. Teresa College, Winona, Minn., spoke on the "Preparation of Elementary School Teachers for the Foreign
Language Program." Sister Raymond de Jesus, assistant
dean of the Diocesan Teachers College, Putnam, Conn.,
discussed "Materials and Methods for the Foreign Language Program in the Elementary School." Father Frederick A. McGuire, C. M. , executive secretary of the Mission Secretariat, a clearing house of information for overseas missionary societies, addressed the group on "Foreign
Languages in the Elementary School - Their Significance
for the World Mission of the Catholic Church."
In World War II, we found out just how badly we
had neglected the teaching of foreign languages. Our
armies were scattered throughout the world. Communication had to be carried on through interpreters who had
been hurriedly and, therefore, inadequately trained in foreign languages. The situation has been remedied to a
certain extent, but there still is a very great need of language experts in all departments of U. S. Government,
particularly in the Foreign Service Department and the
United States Information Agency. It is obvious that it
is far better to have people in service with a thorough
understanding of the historical background of a certain
people than people only with a linguistic knowledge.
Only a year and half ago, a survey disclosed that
more than half of our government's diplomats did not
have a speaking knowledge of the language of the countries
�SLOVAKIA
41
to which they were sent (THE N.EJW YORK TIMES, Nov.
18, 1959). Dr. Harold Hoskins, director of the Foreign
Service Institute, now reports that aH members of the
Foreign Service have taken mandatory tests in foreign
languages since the alarming survey was published. A
special foreign language school was established in Arlington, Va., by the State Department. Congress made more
funds available for language training in the present fiscal
year than it did for all kinds of training four years ago.
As a result, the training school in Arlington is perhaps
one of the most efficient in the nation. Sixteen specialists
make up the faculty for the teaching of foreign languages,
while ninety-nine instructors teach in their native tongues,
with little or no English spoken during instruction periods.
"The problem now," Dr. Hoskins says, "is to develop
specialists in the critical though less widely used, languages and dialects of many parts of Asia, the Middle
East, Eastern Europe, and Africa."
Interesting it is to note that Dr. Hoskins' report
lists 11 Foreign Service officers who are now available
"with a working knowledge, or higher proficiency," in
SLOVAK. Furthermore, the director of the Foreign Service
Institute estimates that the State Department will have
85 to 90 per cent of its officers reach "professional proficiency" in at least one foreign language by 1962.
The stress today is particularly on Russian for obvious
reasons. Academic Russian is being introduced into more
publis schools every year. Other Slavic languages may be
neglected, because, some authorities say, they don't mean
as much as the Russian language. What they really mean
is that they know little about Russian and even less about
the other Slovanic (Slavic) languages. Even in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the stress is on Russian,
though we know, for example, that over one-third of all
the Slovaks in America are settled there (there are about
two million Americans of Slovak descent in the USA).
And the stress is on Russian and Russian only, even
though Slovak, in my considered opinion, is the key language to all Slovanic languages. I have recommended
(to the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., for
�42
SLOVAKIA
example) - and still recommend - at least one semester
of Slovak for students of any Slavic language. It makes
the study of the other Slavic languages more facile, since
it contains elements common to all the Slavic languages,
elements that are not found in the others. It is true that
the various Slavic languages have an even greater affinity
than do other related language groups, but I earnestly
suggest a serious consideration of non-Russian Slavic language background as a valuable and practical basis for
the study of academic Russian.
Over a generation ago, Carl W. Hasek (Higher Education Circular No. 23, U. S. Department of Interior,
Bureau of Education. 1920) urged a greater awareness
of the practical need for a wider study of the Slovanic
(Slavic) languages and cultures in our schools, citing
various reasons, esthetic and practical, pertinent to this
matter. The esthetic consideration - the direct enjoyment of, for example, the rich Russian literature - is as
valid now as it was then, while the practical reasons have
taken on even greater urgency.
Mrs. Elizabeth Peters, writing in the PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL JOURNAL (October, 1958), considered
the question of the most likely source of Russian language candidates in the public schools of the Commonwealth. She said:
"Census statistics reveal that conservatively estimated
there are fifty to one hundred thousand pupils of Slavic
heritage in the schools of Pennsylvania. It is generally accepted among leaders in the groups that there is a threegeneration span in which these groups, with their rich
folklore and their frequently devout religious affiliation,
have tended to keep their traditions, culture, and language alive by means of family, church, and fraternal
activities."
Mrs. Peters is correct; census statistics, as quoted,
are very conservative. The fourth generation is with us
and the traditions of the Slovaks, Serbs, Croatians, Poles,
Slovenians, and Russians - plus those of other nonEnglish groups - are still in evidence. And they will
be for some time to come.
�SLOVAKIA
43
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have a goodly number
of Slqvak residents, that is, citizens whose ethnic background is Slovak. The study of Slovak - for itself and
as a preparation for the study of other Slovanic languages - should be given serious consideration by our educators. And Slovak parochial schools should place the study
of Slovak on their curriculums. We suggest that the children be taught at least four years (5-8 grades), though
the study can be offered earlier. Books are available. And
teachers would have little difficulty in learning and presenting the subject. Interested? Write to: Philip A. Hrobak, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa .
•
•
•
Castles of Slovakia:
CACHTICE
By Hubert Maciko, 0.1S.B.
We know that the history of Castle Cachtice begins
with the 14th century because in a dooument, dated in
1319, there is mention of a certain Thomas Rufus as the
administrator of Cachtice.
In the year 13·92, King Zigmund gruve the fortress to
Ctilbor "for faithful and generous services rendered.." What
these services were we do not know, but we suppose they
were of a military nature. The same document states that
if Ct.i/b.or should die without children, the fortress automatically is to be inherited by hi.s two brothers, Nicholas
and Andrew. In the same document it was stated that the
fortress must be sold only to a fellow countryman, never
to a stranger.
Ctiibor died in 1414, and the fortress was inherited
by his ,son, Ctibor n, who was at that time high- commissioner otf Nitra. In 1430 Ctibor II was a captain in the
ami:y of King Zigmund which fought against the Czech
Hussites. He died rather suddenly shortly after, and, not
leaving a male descendant, the fortress was claimed by
King Zigmund. OObor's daughter, Kathryn, inherited the
fortress Beo'kov.
�
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
1960, Vol. 10
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li>
<li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li>
</ul>
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
1960
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
38
SLOVAKIA
LET'S PUT SLOVAK IN THE CURRICULUM
The early Slovaks in America - of sturdy peasant
stock - were individualists. They wanted to have their
own homes, their own churches and schools, fraternal
benefit societies, newspapers, civic, social, and cultural institutions. For the most part, these were the things they
could not have in the own homeland, Slovakia, which was
then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were
then, as they are now strictly SLOVAK, not CZECHO-SLOV AK ( with or without hyphen) enterprises. And
the Slovaks in America did organize and build the things
they wanted. Today in America, there are some 370 Slovak churches, 240 parochial and Sunday schools, a dozen
fraternals, 20 newspapers and periodicals, and many Slovak cultural, civic, and social societies.
It did ndt take the Slovak pioneers in America long to
learn enough English to get along and to adapt themselves to their new environment. The American way of
life appealed to them. In fact, compared to life "back
home," life in America - with all its initial hardships was a thou.sand times better. In America a man was free!
The Slovaks built their own churches and schools to
enhance their own cultural level and to preserve their
Slovak heritage in the "new homeland" - their language
and their religious and national traditions. There it was
that the oldsters were taught English and the youngsters
Slovak. Father Stephen Furdek, known as the "Apostle
of American Slovaks," provided the text books. In time
the Slovaks of America had - and still have - everything needed to perform the mission for which their institutions were established. They kept the faith of their
fathers, but as the years rolled by the Slovaks broke
away to a great extent from the past, the ideals of their
forefathers, as far as preserving the Slovak language and
national customs was concerned. It is unfortunate that
this has come to pass. And more so that it happened within two generations removed from Father Furdek (he died
in 1915) and the Slovak pioneers. Whether the trend will
continue depends for the most part on the administrators
SLOVAKIA
39
of these S 1 o v a k institutions. All is not yet lost : the
churches and schools built by the Slovaks in America
are still with us. They can still be used to enhance and
preserve the heritage of the Slovaks and to the advantage our America.
Of course, we can expect the same old question to pop
up in places: "But why teach Slovak?" Teach it for the
same reasons that so many other seemingly "impractical"
subjects are taught in our primary and secondary schools.
No one can foresee with any great degree of accuracy
just what any child will be able to use later on in life.
And so it is with the Slovak language, too. Besides the
sentimental reason for offering children Slovak in Slovak
parochial schools, there are practical reasons a.Jso. These
were brought to the fore recently by our Government
and by eminent educators, including members of the American Catholic Hierarchy.
His Excellency, Bishop John J. Wright of Pittsburgh,
early in the year called upon Americans to understand the
languages of other peoples of the world as a prelude to
understanding the peoples themselves. He was then Bishop of the Worcester Diocese.
Speaking at Assumption CoHege, Bishop Wright said
that "perhaps the greatest embarrassment for Americans
abroad is that we can't understand and talk with other
peoples unless they are willing to learn our language."
Citing a statement from St. Augustine that "a man
is more at home with his dog than he is with another
man whose language he cannot understand," Bishop Wright
commented that "in the presence of a man whose language
we cannot speak, we are almost fatally and mutually antagonistic."
"Hence," Bishop Wright said, "it is tremendously important that our children be taught languages - that
in language they may find the genious of people, since
it is in language that people express ideas."
"Thus we may come to a greater understanding of
other people and a mutual sympathy with them, so that
eventually man may become as at home with other men
as with his dog," Bishop Wright concluded.
40
SLOVAKIA
Bob Considine, syndicated columnist, also speaking
at the Worcester, Mass., school, stated: "We can't go
into foreign countries any longer as the arrogant conquerer. We must go as friends and equals, not as superiors, not trying to lord it over them. Yet in a way we
do lord it over them by not knowing their languages and
by being contemptuous of their customs."
Elementary school teachers and administrators, attending the 56th annual convention of the Nationa,l Catholic IDducational Association in Atlantic City (March 30
to April 3, 1959) discussed the usefulness and feasibility
of teaching foreign languages in the elementary schools.
Sister Mary Helen of the department of modern languages
of St. Teresa College, Winona, Minn., spoke on the "Preparation of Elementary School Teachers for the Foreign
Language Program." Sister Raymond de Jesus, assistant
dean of the Diocesan Teachers College, Putnam, Conn.,
discussed "Materials and Methods for the Foreign Language Program in the Elementary School." Father Frederick A. McGuire, C. M. , executive secretary of the Mission Secretariat, a clearing house of information for overseas missionary societies, addressed the group on "Foreign
Languages in the Elementary School - Their Significance
for the World Mission of the Catholic Church."
In World War II, we found out just how badly we
had neglected the teaching of foreign languages. Our
armies were scattered throughout the world. Communication had to be carried on through interpreters who had
been hurriedly and, therefore, inadequately trained in foreign languages. The situation has been remedied to a
certain extent, but there still is a very great need of language experts in all departments of U. S. Government,
particularly in the Foreign Service Department and the
United States Information Agency. It is obvious that it
is far better to have people in service with a thorough
understanding of the historical background of a certain
people than people only with a linguistic knowledge.
Only a year and half ago, a survey disclosed that
more than half of our government's diplomats did not
have a speaking knowledge of the language of the countries
SLOVAKIA
41
to which they were sent (THE N.EJW YORK TIMES, Nov.
18, 1959). Dr. Harold Hoskins, director of the Foreign
Service Institute, now reports that aH members of the
Foreign Service have taken mandatory tests in foreign
languages since the alarming survey was published. A
special foreign language school was established in Arlington, Va., by the State Department. Congress made more
funds available for language training in the present fiscal
year than it did for all kinds of training four years ago.
As a result, the training school in Arlington is perhaps
one of the most efficient in the nation. Sixteen specialists
make up the faculty for the teaching of foreign languages,
while ninety-nine instructors teach in their native tongues,
with little or no English spoken during instruction periods.
"The problem now," Dr. Hoskins says, "is to develop
specialists in the critical though less widely used, languages and dialects of many parts of Asia, the Middle
East, Eastern Europe, and Africa."
Interesting it is to note that Dr. Hoskins' report
lists 11 Foreign Service officers who are now available
"with a working knowledge, or higher proficiency," in
SLOVAK. Furthermore, the director of the Foreign Service
Institute estimates that the State Department will have
85 to 90 per cent of its officers reach "professional proficiency" in at least one foreign language by 1962.
The stress today is particularly on Russian for obvious
reasons. Academic Russian is being introduced into more
publis schools every year. Other Slavic languages may be
neglected, because, some authorities say, they don't mean
as much as the Russian language. What they really mean
is that they know little about Russian and even less about
the other Slovanic (Slavic) languages. Even in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the stress is on Russian,
though we know, for example, that over one-third of all
the Slovaks in America are settled there (there are about
two million Americans of Slovak descent in the USA).
And the stress is on Russian and Russian only, even
though Slovak, in my considered opinion, is the key language to all Slovanic languages. I have recommended
(to the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., for
42
SLOVAKIA
example) - and still recommend - at least one semester
of Slovak for students of any Slavic language. It makes
the study of the other Slavic languages more facile, since
it contains elements common to all the Slavic languages,
elements that are not found in the others. It is true that
the various Slavic languages have an even greater affinity
than do other related language groups, but I earnestly
suggest a serious consideration of non-Russian Slavic language background as a valuable and practical basis for
the study of academic Russian.
Over a generation ago, Carl W. Hasek (Higher Education Circular No. 23, U. S. Department of Interior,
Bureau of Education. 1920) urged a greater awareness
of the practical need for a wider study of the Slovanic
(Slavic) languages and cultures in our schools, citing
various reasons, esthetic and practical, pertinent to this
matter. The esthetic consideration - the direct enjoyment of, for example, the rich Russian literature - is as
valid now as it was then, while the practical reasons have
taken on even greater urgency.
Mrs. Elizabeth Peters, writing in the PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL JOURNAL (October, 1958), considered
the question of the most likely source of Russian language candidates in the public schools of the Commonwealth. She said:
"Census statistics reveal that conservatively estimated
there are fifty to one hundred thousand pupils of Slavic
heritage in the schools of Pennsylvania. It is generally accepted among leaders in the groups that there is a threegeneration span in which these groups, with their rich
folklore and their frequently devout religious affiliation,
have tended to keep their traditions, culture, and language alive by means of family, church, and fraternal
activities."
Mrs. Peters is correct; census statistics, as quoted,
are very conservative. The fourth generation is with us
and the traditions of the Slovaks, Serbs, Croatians, Poles,
Slovenians, and Russians - plus those of other nonEnglish groups - are still in evidence. And they will
be for some time to come.
SLOVAKIA
43
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have a goodly number
of Slqvak residents, that is, citizens whose ethnic background is Slovak. The study of Slovak - for itself and
as a preparation for the study of other Slovanic languages - should be given serious consideration by our educators. And Slovak parochial schools should place the study
of Slovak on their curriculums. We suggest that the children be taught at least four years (5-8 grades), though
the study can be offered earlier. Books are available. And
teachers would have little difficulty in learning and presenting the subject. Interested? Write to: Philip A. Hrobak, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa .
•
•
•
Castles of Slovakia:
CACHTICE
By Hubert Maciko, 0.1S.B.
We know that the history of Castle Cachtice begins
with the 14th century because in a dooument, dated in
1319, there is mention of a certain Thomas Rufus as the
administrator of Cachtice.
In the year 13·92, King Zigmund gruve the fortress to
Ctilbor "for faithful and generous services rendered.." What
these services were we do not know, but we suppose they
were of a military nature. The same document states that
if Ct.i/b.or should die without children, the fortress automatically is to be inherited by hi.s two brothers, Nicholas
and Andrew. In the same document it was stated that the
fortress must be sold only to a fellow countryman, never
to a stranger.
Ctiibor died in 1414, and the fortress was inherited
by his ,son, Ctibor n, who was at that time high- commissioner otf Nitra. In 1430 Ctibor II was a captain in the
ami:y of King Zigmund which fought against the Czech
Hussites. He died rather suddenly shortly after, and, not
leaving a male descendant, the fortress was claimed by
King Zigmund. OObor's daughter, Kathryn, inherited the
fortress Beo'kov.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Let's Put Slovak in the Curriculum
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 7 (32), September-December 1960
pp. 38-43
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September-December 1960
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c9ed2e91498017d25650811bd9236dcb.pdf
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PDF Text
Text
VOL. X
SEPTEMBER- DECEMBER, l
lr
IN THIS ISSUE :
J. G. KOHL AND 111-IE SLOVAKS
WAS T. G. MASARYK OF SLOVAK OR:IGIN?
MAGYAR EXILES AND SLOVA1K,IA
CHUR:CHES IN A VISE
NEJW S"DRICTURiES ON BBNES
CONTEJMiPORARY TENDEJNOIES EN SLOVAK PHILOLOGY
LET'S PUT SLOVAK ·I N THE Ol.JiRmCULUM
OASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: CACH1'ICE
COMMUNIST TACTICAL "FLEXIBILITY "
MASARYK'S ROLE IN CENTRAL EUROPE
HUMAN RIGHTS AND EX]LES
WHEJRE ALL ROADS BND
ABOUT 1~fE AUTHORS
BOOK RE\li]EWS
WHO SAID IT - 6, 13, 24, 37, 64
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown, Pa .
•
•
•
Published by
T H E SLOVAK LEAGU E OF AMERI CA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAK.IA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
SLOVAK.IA EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROl\l SLOVAK IIISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA , Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM., Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
I;UDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J . Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, harJ
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�SLO VAK IA
Published by the Slovak League of Ame rica
VOL. X
NO. 7 (32 )
SE PTEMBER- DIECEM'BE'R, 1960
1
Accordi111g to tts new Oonsti'tu,.
tion, the old Masarylk.JBenes Czecho-&lovak Republic (CSR) is now
offieia,l,ey caliled the Czecho-&lovak
Socialist Repulblic (CSSR). Weill,
that haipless country was a socialistic state froon its inception.
Masaeyk and Benes, and their
con,t roHed proipa,gianda a,pparatus,
told the world that CSR meant
Czecho-Slovak Repulblic, but to the
Ozechs it ailways did mean Czech
Soc ial ist Republic. Adding one
more S" to the aibbre'Via<ted furm
reaiH,y changed nothirug, ex:cept
perhaps to have CSSR read: OZE•
liigion or ,go to the Saicraiments.
Slovak teachers who attend Mass
are blaclclisted and ultimately replaced.
"'IlHEY NiEViER HAID IT SO
GOOD" is continued to be used
by the Czechs in reference to the
Slovaks. Nothing has changed in
this regard: Masa,cyk a,nd Benes
used the e:,cpression before the
Czech Reds took over. ]n eastern
Slo,v akia, however, accordring to
the communist dai1ly RRiA.VlDA,
peoiple 'look in vain for chlildren's
wear, ladies underthings, and furORD-SOVIET SOOiiA[.JSf!' REPUB- nitmre; chocofate candy, too, is
LIC. The Slovaks have n-0 voice.
ra,reLy found in, the stores.
11
AlN A'I10MIC HESEAIRCH CEINRED PRIAGll.JE blows hot and
'I1ER was recen1tlry set up by Czech cold on Israel. I1: used to f.Ull'nish
a,tomic ®ecialists in Rez, a villa;ge just north of Praig,ue. 'I1he
project wa's under the directi.on
atomdc specialists.
o,£ Russi-an
Czech techniciws M"e being trained by the Soviet Russian engineer
Roonanov. Thus far some eiighty
lai,ge buildings hav-e been built;
nearing coonpletion i s a radrio-chemical research institute which is
140 meters 1-ong.
1
Israel with weapons and m11.mitions; a[so toohnici,a ns. Then it
held odif support for a while. Now
the Czech Red'S have odifered Israeli authorities data on the Eichmann case to emlbarrass and discredit Gerunan,y and its people in
the eyes of the world. Tlhe old
Czech game of duplicity never
ends.
.
WiHiAT H.AiPiPIIDNm to the so"
"
"'
'IlHlE BRI.ATISLA.1\7A RJAD[O, on catlled ''Council of Free CzechosloNovemlber 17, related about the vadcia"? Ax:cording to t,h e Czechs
prdblem of gara,ges, revea'1ing that themsie1'ves, it foH apart soone
there were no mor,e than 300 au- months a•go when adl but representos i,n Kosice, the second 1-ai,gest tatives of the Czech Nazis wandoned it. J. Lett.rich, Fr. Nemec,.
city in Slovakia.
R. Frastaoky, Fedor Hodza, Ste•
•
•
'IlHJE CZECH REDS in~st thait. phen Osusky, J . Cerny, J. Mrazek,.
aill teachers in Slovakia break with A. Heidrich, A. Prochazlm, V. Ma-the Cathollic Ohurch and becoone I jer, aind V. Fedinec alleged[,y quit
the chief propagators of atheism. 1the outfit because they were fed'
Their childtren must not study re- wp wtllth Dr. Peter Zenkl's dicta<to-
�2
SLOVAKIA
rial condluct. After Dr. Hulbert
Riiipka's death, Dr. Zenkil was regarded as No. 1 representaltive Olf
the late Dr. Edward Benes' Czech
National Socia,list ~Czech Nazi)
Party.
tics, 638,516 people owned regular radio sets in 1960, whJ1le 74,778
people had "wired" broadcasts.
The population o,f Sloivakia is over
the four mi1b!Jio·n m'a rk.
DR. m'I1E)R ZElNlKIL s~gned the
recerut memorandtliIIl Olf the OFC
anent the forced eJQPU!lsion Olf the
Sudeten Germans, a<Xording to
which the Czechs under Zenkl declare that the "Gemna,n question"
Olf Czecho.SloV'alcia is forever settled. The memo caused quite a
stir in West Germany and a:lso
aimong exiJe growps in the USA.
Dr. Zemel happens to be the
chairma,n Olf the Aissemfbliy oif Captive European Nlabions organization, so the memo Olf the OFC
casts a darlk shadoiw over the latter. This is deeply resented by
the represenltati<ves of the other
exiQe growps oif AIOEN. The No.
1, Czech Nazi's days as chairman
oif ACEN defrnitelry seem to be
numlbered.
"SIU'N[)!AJY NIEIE(I) NlOT BE ON
SUINIDAIY," accordin,g to the Bratislav,a 'PRAOA' 'oif Novel!lllber 27.
Czech Reds tel11 the Slovaks tha-t
the work week wiU be shortened
from 48 to 40 hours, BIUT quotas
must be met. In other words :
what can be done in. 48 hours,
IDJUst be done in 40. When the
chanige will cOIIIle, however, no one
see<rns to know. "A da\Y Olf rest,"
says the Red mouthpiece,- "can be
any day, no't necessarily Sunday,
a,nd when the Party orders the
people to work on Slunday, the(Y
must work on Sunday." Obv<iouslry,
the Reds wihl never quirt fighting
religion. The vast madority oif Slovak.s are Catholic; they want to go
to church on Sund!ay, but the
Reds say: the Party comes first!
OCTOOER 4, 1960, marked the
bi..cen'tennial oif the birth oif the
great Slovak ,patriot Alexander
Cardinal Rudnay who wHl always
be rememlbered :fior his expres,.
sion: "I aim a Slovak, and I shall
remaJn a Slovak even ilf I occwpy
the chalir oif Peter!" Born in Svaty Kriz nad VahOIIIl, Slovakia, October 4, 1760, Cardinal Rudnaiy
died Sepbemiber IB, 11831.
THIE 60 BUSIES of Spisska Nova
Ves, Slovakia, are equirprped with
radio receivers, the "Praca" paper Olf Biratisl:a,va informs its readers. It adds, however, that soonebod\Y is qutite negligent, because
the radios that function can be
C01U,nited on the firugers Olf one
hand.
I!N SLOVAlIGA the people are
bei'll!g heavily lectured on the
''conlfllict between science and reliigion." The Red;s under the tutetage oif Moscow must prove to
the Slov~s thait ".r,elilgion is necessacy on,1,y for the weak, the strong
do not need it." 'I1hat's 1ike tehlillJg the Slovaks they do not need
s.clt!
•
•
•
.BRAYIERiBOOKS are ndt avail-
alble for the people Olf Slovakia.
Almeri-can cousins have been anS1Wering the caMs for more, but
the Ozech Red regime began to
stamp· the Heims "not allowed"
and returned them to the senders.
Now we learn tha.t the Redis decided to pr:init a111d sell prayerbooks to Slovaks in the USA to
get more Almericam, $$$. Now they
tell the Slovaks that the short•
AOCORDIING TO od'lficial startis- a,g e oif prayerbook!s is caused by
�SLOVAKIA
American .iJmiperiaHsts. The Reds
and are
don't miss a trielk constantly thinking up new ones
to deceive and coruf.use their
slaves.
•
•
•
R.AID[O FREE EUROBE has re-
organized ills "Czec'ho-Sllo,v ak" unirt
in Munich, firing 18 emp}oyoos:
Bena,, Koditun, Kuihanek, Eriban,
Meloun, Schneider, Pejslmr, Suda, Stolick,a, Schott, Sklilbova, Vanek (-a,H Czechs); and Bel"ger-Belak, Kovac, Petrovic, Kr,uxliak, Sepiilk:o, and Steifaneik (Slovaks). Jit
seems thart A,merican '"l1R'UTH
DOULJAlRS" have caused a lot of
people to stra,y from the truth,
and we don't necessard1y mean
any of those fired either. Let's
see how man.y fomner ~ emploiyees spied for the Red Czech's?
THIE OAIUSE of the latest wholesaJe dismissail has been zeatlously
kept from the notice of America,n s who paiy the biUs for the
muliti-miHion-dohlar RIAIDIO FRi0E
EUROOE organization. Now we
have it from our Munich source
that the aibove were fired because
they were among the 28 Slovak
and Czech employees who had
dared to protest agalinst the appointment of one Osiwa:ld Kositrlb1a
as head of the Czecho-Sfovak section by the boss of RIFE's opera.ti'n,g center in Munich, Eric Hazeilhoif. When the smoke deared,
Hazelhof was forced to resign,
a-long with M. C. MaoNei4rl, the
_pers0Tu11ell ,d irrector, anld David
Penn, a politilcal conrsurlitant.
The protest against Kosltrba
charged that Kosrtroa• was not quaHfied• for the jolb, opposed to
R'FIE's goals, and comrpromi'sed
by strorug pro-COIIIllmundst contacts which da;ted bacik to the
war and Dr. Benes' espiona,g•e
3
outfit. Kostr;ba, the protesrtors
clalirned, was assocfated with L.
Freund (Frejka), a communisit
agent later executed by the Czech
Reds Ln, the Slansiky trial (:1952),
and wiith one Mr. Frenzel', a Bavarian deputy recentI,y arrested by
the Bavarian poHce fur his connection with the Kostrlba gro,uip.
lit is not a secrelt that wilthin the
past four or five years more than
a dozen of the R'FIE's Czech staff
embarrassed its sponsor by defecting to the Ea,s t and then, vi.liif~n,g
them from Radfo Pralgue. In 195:8
one F. Machacek jumped the curain. Two y,e ars earlier, the Frenth
poHce had repo1'1ed· him as an
enemy a,gent, but the RJFIE stubbomil y insisted on retairrin,g him
as irts Czech represenltatirve in
Paris.
The reward for exiposiirug Czech
Red a•g ents in RJFlE: dismissa'1. MBlions of "Truth Dol'lars" coJilected
from Americans by the Cruisad-e
For 'Freedom went to the crusaders
for slavecy. wm Amerkans ever
learn? The least we can do: r~
ques,t Congress to investilgate Radio Free ffiuwpe and the other
acrtivities of the Free Europe Coanmi ttee.
OZEOH REOS seem to enjoy
havin1g their country caHed "the
arsena,l of the communiist wor.ld."
Wearpon.s and munitions are going
to Cwba, Red China, Laos, and
the Africa,n counrtries. Technicians
a'lso·. The Czechs seem to be the
"chosen people" of Moscow. Mlasaryrk, a·n d Benes certainrly worked
•~mirades" with the Czechs from
1918 to 194'8, makd•n g their natlion
as Red as the bloody emipire olf
Moscow. Fo·r thiSJ the United
Sta•tes honored T. G. Ma&aryk with
a "Champion Olf Lilberty" postage
stamp. What mockery!
�
VOL. X
SEPTEMBER- DECEMBER, l
lr
IN THIS ISSUE :
J. G. KOHL AND 111-IE SLOVAKS
WAS T. G. MASARYK OF SLOVAK OR:IGIN?
MAGYAR EXILES AND SLOVA1K,IA
CHUR:CHES IN A VISE
NEJW S"DRICTURiES ON BBNES
CONTEJMiPORARY TENDEJNOIES EN SLOVAK PHILOLOGY
LET'S PUT SLOVAK ·I N THE Ol.JiRmCULUM
OASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: CACH1'ICE
COMMUNIST TACTICAL "FLEXIBILITY "
MASARYK'S ROLE IN CENTRAL EUROPE
HUMAN RIGHTS AND EX]LES
WHEJRE ALL ROADS BND
ABOUT 1~fE AUTHORS
BOOK RE\li]EWS
WHO SAID IT - 6, 13, 24, 37, 64
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown, Pa .
•
•
•
Published by
T H E SLOVAK LEAGU E OF AMERI CA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAK.IA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
SLOVAK.IA EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROl\l SLOVAK IIISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA , Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM., Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
I;UDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J . Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, harJ
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�SLO VAK IA
Published by the Slovak League of Ame rica
VOL. X
NO. 7 (32 )
SE PTEMBER- DIECEM'BE'R, 1960
1
Accordi111g to tts new Oonsti'tu,.
tion, the old Masarylk.JBenes Czecho-&lovak Republic (CSR) is now
offieia,l,ey caliled the Czecho-&lovak
Socialist Repulblic (CSSR). Weill,
that haipless country was a socialistic state froon its inception.
Masaeyk and Benes, and their
con,t roHed proipa,gianda a,pparatus,
told the world that CSR meant
Czecho-Slovak Repulblic, but to the
Ozechs it ailways did mean Czech
Soc ial ist Republic. Adding one
more S" to the aibbre'Via<ted furm
reaiH,y changed nothirug, ex:cept
perhaps to have CSSR read: OZE•
liigion or ,go to the Saicraiments.
Slovak teachers who attend Mass
are blaclclisted and ultimately replaced.
"'IlHEY NiEViER HAID IT SO
GOOD" is continued to be used
by the Czechs in reference to the
Slovaks. Nothing has changed in
this regard: Masa,cyk a,nd Benes
used the e:,cpression before the
Czech Reds took over. ]n eastern
Slo,v akia, however, accordring to
the communist dai1ly RRiA.VlDA,
peoiple 'look in vain for chlildren's
wear, ladies underthings, and furORD-SOVIET SOOiiA[.JSf!' REPUB- nitmre; chocofate candy, too, is
LIC. The Slovaks have n-0 voice.
ra,reLy found in, the stores.
11
AlN A'I10MIC HESEAIRCH CEINRED PRIAGll.JE blows hot and
'I1ER was recen1tlry set up by Czech cold on Israel. I1: used to f.Ull'nish
a,tomic ®ecialists in Rez, a villa;ge just north of Praig,ue. 'I1he
project wa's under the directi.on
atomdc specialists.
o,£ Russi-an
Czech techniciws M"e being trained by the Soviet Russian engineer
Roonanov. Thus far some eiighty
lai,ge buildings hav-e been built;
nearing coonpletion i s a radrio-chemical research institute which is
140 meters 1-ong.
1
Israel with weapons and m11.mitions; a[so toohnici,a ns. Then it
held odif support for a while. Now
the Czech Red'S have odifered Israeli authorities data on the Eichmann case to emlbarrass and discredit Gerunan,y and its people in
the eyes of the world. Tlhe old
Czech game of duplicity never
ends.
.
WiHiAT H.AiPiPIIDNm to the so"
"
"'
'IlHlE BRI.ATISLA.1\7A RJAD[O, on catlled ''Council of Free CzechosloNovemlber 17, related about the vadcia"? Ax:cording to t,h e Czechs
prdblem of gara,ges, revea'1ing that themsie1'ves, it foH apart soone
there were no mor,e than 300 au- months a•go when adl but representos i,n Kosice, the second 1-ai,gest tatives of the Czech Nazis wandoned it. J. Lett.rich, Fr. Nemec,.
city in Slovakia.
R. Frastaoky, Fedor Hodza, Ste•
•
•
'IlHJE CZECH REDS in~st thait. phen Osusky, J . Cerny, J. Mrazek,.
aill teachers in Slovakia break with A. Heidrich, A. Prochazlm, V. Ma-the Cathollic Ohurch and becoone I jer, aind V. Fedinec alleged[,y quit
the chief propagators of atheism. 1the outfit because they were fed'
Their childtren must not study re- wp wtllth Dr. Peter Zenkl's dicta<to-
�2
SLOVAKIA
rial condluct. After Dr. Hulbert
Riiipka's death, Dr. Zenkil was regarded as No. 1 representaltive Olf
the late Dr. Edward Benes' Czech
National Socia,list ~Czech Nazi)
Party.
tics, 638,516 people owned regular radio sets in 1960, whJ1le 74,778
people had "wired" broadcasts.
The population o,f Sloivakia is over
the four mi1b!Jio·n m'a rk.
DR. m'I1E)R ZElNlKIL s~gned the
recerut memorandtliIIl Olf the OFC
anent the forced eJQPU!lsion Olf the
Sudeten Germans, a<Xording to
which the Czechs under Zenkl declare that the "Gemna,n question"
Olf Czecho.SloV'alcia is forever settled. The memo caused quite a
stir in West Germany and a:lso
aimong exiJe growps in the USA.
Dr. Zemel happens to be the
chairma,n Olf the Aissemfbliy oif Captive European Nlabions organization, so the memo Olf the OFC
casts a darlk shadoiw over the latter. This is deeply resented by
the represenltati<ves of the other
exiQe growps oif AIOEN. The No.
1, Czech Nazi's days as chairman
oif ACEN defrnitelry seem to be
numlbered.
"SIU'N[)!AJY NIEIE(I) NlOT BE ON
SUINIDAIY," accordin,g to the Bratislav,a 'PRAOA' 'oif Novel!lllber 27.
Czech Reds tel11 the Slovaks tha-t
the work week wiU be shortened
from 48 to 40 hours, BIUT quotas
must be met. In other words :
what can be done in. 48 hours,
IDJUst be done in 40. When the
chanige will cOIIIle, however, no one
see<rns to know. "A da\Y Olf rest,"
says the Red mouthpiece,- "can be
any day, no't necessarily Sunday,
a,nd when the Party orders the
people to work on Slunday, the(Y
must work on Sunday." Obv<iouslry,
the Reds wihl never quirt fighting
religion. The vast madority oif Slovak.s are Catholic; they want to go
to church on Sund!ay, but the
Reds say: the Party comes first!
OCTOOER 4, 1960, marked the
bi..cen'tennial oif the birth oif the
great Slovak ,patriot Alexander
Cardinal Rudnay who wHl always
be rememlbered :fior his expres,.
sion: "I aim a Slovak, and I shall
remaJn a Slovak even ilf I occwpy
the chalir oif Peter!" Born in Svaty Kriz nad VahOIIIl, Slovakia, October 4, 1760, Cardinal Rudnaiy
died Sepbemiber IB, 11831.
THIE 60 BUSIES of Spisska Nova
Ves, Slovakia, are equirprped with
radio receivers, the "Praca" paper Olf Biratisl:a,va informs its readers. It adds, however, that soonebod\Y is qutite negligent, because
the radios that function can be
C01U,nited on the firugers Olf one
hand.
I!N SLOVAlIGA the people are
bei'll!g heavily lectured on the
''conlfllict between science and reliigion." The Red;s under the tutetage oif Moscow must prove to
the Slov~s thait ".r,elilgion is necessacy on,1,y for the weak, the strong
do not need it." 'I1hat's 1ike tehlillJg the Slovaks they do not need
s.clt!
•
•
•
.BRAYIERiBOOKS are ndt avail-
alble for the people Olf Slovakia.
Almeri-can cousins have been anS1Wering the caMs for more, but
the Ozech Red regime began to
stamp· the Heims "not allowed"
and returned them to the senders.
Now we learn tha.t the Redis decided to pr:init a111d sell prayerbooks to Slovaks in the USA to
get more Almericam, $$$. Now they
tell the Slovaks that the short•
AOCORDIING TO od'lficial startis- a,g e oif prayerbook!s is caused by
�SLOVAKIA
American .iJmiperiaHsts. The Reds
and are
don't miss a trielk constantly thinking up new ones
to deceive and coruf.use their
slaves.
•
•
•
R.AID[O FREE EUROBE has re-
organized ills "Czec'ho-Sllo,v ak" unirt
in Munich, firing 18 emp}oyoos:
Bena,, Koditun, Kuihanek, Eriban,
Meloun, Schneider, Pejslmr, Suda, Stolick,a, Schott, Sklilbova, Vanek (-a,H Czechs); and Bel"ger-Belak, Kovac, Petrovic, Kr,uxliak, Sepiilk:o, and Steifaneik (Slovaks). Jit
seems thart A,merican '"l1R'UTH
DOULJAlRS" have caused a lot of
people to stra,y from the truth,
and we don't necessard1y mean
any of those fired either. Let's
see how man.y fomner ~ emploiyees spied for the Red Czech's?
THIE OAIUSE of the latest wholesaJe dismissail has been zeatlously
kept from the notice of America,n s who paiy the biUs for the
muliti-miHion-dohlar RIAIDIO FRi0E
EUROOE organization. Now we
have it from our Munich source
that the aibove were fired because
they were among the 28 Slovak
and Czech employees who had
dared to protest agalinst the appointment of one Osiwa:ld Kositrlb1a
as head of the Czecho-Sfovak section by the boss of RIFE's opera.ti'n,g center in Munich, Eric Hazeilhoif. When the smoke deared,
Hazelhof was forced to resign,
a-long with M. C. MaoNei4rl, the
_pers0Tu11ell ,d irrector, anld David
Penn, a politilcal conrsurlitant.
The protest against Kosltrba
charged that Kosrtroa• was not quaHfied• for the jolb, opposed to
R'FIE's goals, and comrpromi'sed
by strorug pro-COIIIllmundst contacts which da;ted bacik to the
war and Dr. Benes' espiona,g•e
3
outfit. Kostr;ba, the protesrtors
clalirned, was assocfated with L.
Freund (Frejka), a communisit
agent later executed by the Czech
Reds Ln, the Slansiky trial (:1952),
and wiith one Mr. Frenzel', a Bavarian deputy recentI,y arrested by
the Bavarian poHce fur his connection with the Kostrlba gro,uip.
lit is not a secrelt that wilthin the
past four or five years more than
a dozen of the R'FIE's Czech staff
embarrassed its sponsor by defecting to the Ea,s t and then, vi.liif~n,g
them from Radfo Pralgue. In 195:8
one F. Machacek jumped the curain. Two y,e ars earlier, the Frenth
poHce had repo1'1ed· him as an
enemy a,gent, but the RJFIE stubbomil y insisted on retairrin,g him
as irts Czech represenltatirve in
Paris.
The reward for exiposiirug Czech
Red a•g ents in RJFlE: dismissa'1. MBlions of "Truth Dol'lars" coJilected
from Americans by the Cruisad-e
For 'Freedom went to the crusaders
for slavecy. wm Amerkans ever
learn? The least we can do: r~
ques,t Congress to investilgate Radio Free ffiuwpe and the other
acrtivities of the Free Europe Coanmi ttee.
OZEOH REOS seem to enjoy
havin1g their country caHed "the
arsena,l of the communiist wor.ld."
Wearpon.s and munitions are going
to Cwba, Red China, Laos, and
the Africa,n counrtries. Technicians
a'lso·. The Czechs seem to be the
"chosen people" of Moscow. Mlasaryrk, a·n d Benes certainrly worked
•~mirades" with the Czechs from
1918 to 194'8, makd•n g their natlion
as Red as the bloody emipire olf
Moscow. Fo·r thiSJ the United
Sta•tes honored T. G. Ma&aryk with
a "Champion Olf Lilberty" postage
stamp. What mockery!
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
1960, Vol. 10
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li>
<li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li>
</ul>
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
1960
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
VOL. X
SEPTEMBER- DECEMBER, l
lr
IN THIS ISSUE :
J. G. KOHL AND 111-IE SLOVAKS
WAS T. G. MASARYK OF SLOVAK OR:IGIN?
MAGYAR EXILES AND SLOVA1K,IA
CHUR:CHES IN A VISE
NEJW S"DRICTURiES ON BBNES
CONTEJMiPORARY TENDEJNOIES EN SLOVAK PHILOLOGY
LET'S PUT SLOVAK ·I N THE Ol.JiRmCULUM
OASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: CACH1'ICE
COMMUNIST TACTICAL "FLEXIBILITY "
MASARYK'S ROLE IN CENTRAL EUROPE
HUMAN RIGHTS AND EX]LES
WHEJRE ALL ROADS BND
ABOUT 1~fE AUTHORS
BOOK RE\li]EWS
WHO SAID IT - 6, 13, 24, 37, 64
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown, Pa .
•
•
•
Published by
T H E SLOVAK LEAGU E OF AMERI CA
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAK.IA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
SLOVAK.IA EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROl\l SLOVAK IIISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA , Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM., Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
I;UDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J . Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, harJ
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
SLO VAK IA
Published by the Slovak League of Ame rica
VOL. X
NO. 7 (32 )
SE PTEMBER- DIECEM'BE'R, 1960
1
Accordi111g to tts new Oonsti'tu,.
tion, the old Masarylk.JBenes Czecho-&lovak Republic (CSR) is now
offieia,l,ey caliled the Czecho-&lovak
Socialist Repulblic (CSSR). Weill,
that haipless country was a socialistic state froon its inception.
Masaeyk and Benes, and their
con,t roHed proipa,gianda a,pparatus,
told the world that CSR meant
Czecho-Slovak Repulblic, but to the
Ozechs it ailways did mean Czech
Soc ial ist Republic. Adding one
more S" to the aibbre'Via<ted furm
reaiH,y changed nothirug, ex:cept
perhaps to have CSSR read: OZE•
liigion or ,go to the Saicraiments.
Slovak teachers who attend Mass
are blaclclisted and ultimately replaced.
"'IlHEY NiEViER HAID IT SO
GOOD" is continued to be used
by the Czechs in reference to the
Slovaks. Nothing has changed in
this regard: Masa,cyk a,nd Benes
used the e:,cpression before the
Czech Reds took over. ]n eastern
Slo,v akia, however, accordring to
the communist dai1ly RRiA.VlDA,
peoiple 'look in vain for chlildren's
wear, ladies underthings, and furORD-SOVIET SOOiiA[.JSf!' REPUB- nitmre; chocofate candy, too, is
LIC. The Slovaks have n-0 voice.
ra,reLy found in, the stores.
11
AlN A'I10MIC HESEAIRCH CEINRED PRIAGll.JE blows hot and
'I1ER was recen1tlry set up by Czech cold on Israel. I1: used to f.Ull'nish
a,tomic ®ecialists in Rez, a villa;ge just north of Praig,ue. 'I1he
project wa's under the directi.on
atomdc specialists.
o,£ Russi-an
Czech techniciws M"e being trained by the Soviet Russian engineer
Roonanov. Thus far some eiighty
lai,ge buildings hav-e been built;
nearing coonpletion i s a radrio-chemical research institute which is
140 meters 1-ong.
1
Israel with weapons and m11.mitions; a[so toohnici,a ns. Then it
held odif support for a while. Now
the Czech Red'S have odifered Israeli authorities data on the Eichmann case to emlbarrass and discredit Gerunan,y and its people in
the eyes of the world. Tlhe old
Czech game of duplicity never
ends.
.
WiHiAT H.AiPiPIIDNm to the so"
"
"'
'IlHlE BRI.ATISLA.1\7A RJAD[O, on catlled ''Council of Free CzechosloNovemlber 17, related about the vadcia"? Ax:cording to t,h e Czechs
prdblem of gara,ges, revea'1ing that themsie1'ves, it foH apart soone
there were no mor,e than 300 au- months a•go when adl but representos i,n Kosice, the second 1-ai,gest tatives of the Czech Nazis wandoned it. J. Lett.rich, Fr. Nemec,.
city in Slovakia.
R. Frastaoky, Fedor Hodza, Ste•
•
•
'IlHJE CZECH REDS in~st thait. phen Osusky, J . Cerny, J. Mrazek,.
aill teachers in Slovakia break with A. Heidrich, A. Prochazlm, V. Ma-the Cathollic Ohurch and becoone I jer, aind V. Fedinec alleged[,y quit
the chief propagators of atheism. 1the outfit because they were fed'
Their childtren must not study re- wp wtllth Dr. Peter Zenkl's dicta<to-
2
SLOVAKIA
rial condluct. After Dr. Hulbert
Riiipka's death, Dr. Zenkil was regarded as No. 1 representaltive Olf
the late Dr. Edward Benes' Czech
National Socia,list ~Czech Nazi)
Party.
tics, 638,516 people owned regular radio sets in 1960, whJ1le 74,778
people had "wired" broadcasts.
The population o,f Sloivakia is over
the four mi1b!Jio·n m'a rk.
DR. m'I1E)R ZElNlKIL s~gned the
recerut memorandtliIIl Olf the OFC
anent the forced eJQPU!lsion Olf the
Sudeten Germans, a<Xording to
which the Czechs under Zenkl declare that the "Gemna,n question"
Olf Czecho.SloV'alcia is forever settled. The memo caused quite a
stir in West Germany and a:lso
aimong exiJe growps in the USA.
Dr. Zemel happens to be the
chairma,n Olf the Aissemfbliy oif Captive European Nlabions organization, so the memo Olf the OFC
casts a darlk shadoiw over the latter. This is deeply resented by
the represenltati<ves of the other
exiQe growps oif AIOEN. The No.
1, Czech Nazi's days as chairman
oif ACEN defrnitelry seem to be
numlbered.
"SIU'N[)!AJY NIEIE(I) NlOT BE ON
SUINIDAIY," accordin,g to the Bratislav,a 'PRAOA' 'oif Novel!lllber 27.
Czech Reds tel11 the Slovaks tha-t
the work week wiU be shortened
from 48 to 40 hours, BIUT quotas
must be met. In other words :
what can be done in. 48 hours,
IDJUst be done in 40. When the
chanige will cOIIIle, however, no one
see<rns to know. "A da\Y Olf rest,"
says the Red mouthpiece,- "can be
any day, no't necessarily Sunday,
a,nd when the Party orders the
people to work on Slunday, the(Y
must work on Sunday." Obv<iouslry,
the Reds wihl never quirt fighting
religion. The vast madority oif Slovak.s are Catholic; they want to go
to church on Sund!ay, but the
Reds say: the Party comes first!
OCTOOER 4, 1960, marked the
bi..cen'tennial oif the birth oif the
great Slovak ,patriot Alexander
Cardinal Rudnay who wHl always
be rememlbered :fior his expres,.
sion: "I aim a Slovak, and I shall
remaJn a Slovak even ilf I occwpy
the chalir oif Peter!" Born in Svaty Kriz nad VahOIIIl, Slovakia, October 4, 1760, Cardinal Rudnaiy
died Sepbemiber IB, 11831.
THIE 60 BUSIES of Spisska Nova
Ves, Slovakia, are equirprped with
radio receivers, the "Praca" paper Olf Biratisl:a,va informs its readers. It adds, however, that soonebod\Y is qutite negligent, because
the radios that function can be
C01U,nited on the firugers Olf one
hand.
I!N SLOVAlIGA the people are
bei'll!g heavily lectured on the
''conlfllict between science and reliigion." The Red;s under the tutetage oif Moscow must prove to
the Slov~s thait ".r,elilgion is necessacy on,1,y for the weak, the strong
do not need it." 'I1hat's 1ike tehlillJg the Slovaks they do not need
s.clt!
•
•
•
.BRAYIERiBOOKS are ndt avail-
alble for the people Olf Slovakia.
Almeri-can cousins have been anS1Wering the caMs for more, but
the Ozech Red regime began to
stamp· the Heims "not allowed"
and returned them to the senders.
Now we learn tha.t the Redis decided to pr:init a111d sell prayerbooks to Slovaks in the USA to
get more Almericam, $$$. Now they
tell the Slovaks that the short•
AOCORDIING TO od'lficial startis- a,g e oif prayerbook!s is caused by
SLOVAKIA
American .iJmiperiaHsts. The Reds
and are
don't miss a trielk constantly thinking up new ones
to deceive and coruf.use their
slaves.
•
•
•
R.AID[O FREE EUROBE has re-
organized ills "Czec'ho-Sllo,v ak" unirt
in Munich, firing 18 emp}oyoos:
Bena,, Koditun, Kuihanek, Eriban,
Meloun, Schneider, Pejslmr, Suda, Stolick,a, Schott, Sklilbova, Vanek (-a,H Czechs); and Bel"ger-Belak, Kovac, Petrovic, Kr,uxliak, Sepiilk:o, and Steifaneik (Slovaks). Jit
seems thart A,merican '"l1R'UTH
DOULJAlRS" have caused a lot of
people to stra,y from the truth,
and we don't necessard1y mean
any of those fired either. Let's
see how man.y fomner ~ emploiyees spied for the Red Czech's?
THIE OAIUSE of the latest wholesaJe dismissail has been zeatlously
kept from the notice of America,n s who paiy the biUs for the
muliti-miHion-dohlar RIAIDIO FRi0E
EUROOE organization. Now we
have it from our Munich source
that the aibove were fired because
they were among the 28 Slovak
and Czech employees who had
dared to protest agalinst the appointment of one Osiwa:ld Kositrlb1a
as head of the Czecho-Sfovak section by the boss of RIFE's opera.ti'n,g center in Munich, Eric Hazeilhoif. When the smoke deared,
Hazelhof was forced to resign,
a-long with M. C. MaoNei4rl, the
_pers0Tu11ell ,d irrector, anld David
Penn, a politilcal conrsurlitant.
The protest against Kosltrba
charged that Kosrtroa• was not quaHfied• for the jolb, opposed to
R'FIE's goals, and comrpromi'sed
by strorug pro-COIIIllmundst contacts which da;ted bacik to the
war and Dr. Benes' espiona,g•e
3
outfit. Kostr;ba, the protesrtors
clalirned, was assocfated with L.
Freund (Frejka), a communisit
agent later executed by the Czech
Reds Ln, the Slansiky trial (:1952),
and wiith one Mr. Frenzel', a Bavarian deputy recentI,y arrested by
the Bavarian poHce fur his connection with the Kostrlba gro,uip.
lit is not a secrelt that wilthin the
past four or five years more than
a dozen of the R'FIE's Czech staff
embarrassed its sponsor by defecting to the Ea,s t and then, vi.liif~n,g
them from Radfo Pralgue. In 195:8
one F. Machacek jumped the curain. Two y,e ars earlier, the Frenth
poHce had repo1'1ed· him as an
enemy a,gent, but the RJFIE stubbomil y insisted on retairrin,g him
as irts Czech represenltatirve in
Paris.
The reward for exiposiirug Czech
Red a•g ents in RJFlE: dismissa'1. MBlions of "Truth Dol'lars" coJilected
from Americans by the Cruisad-e
For 'Freedom went to the crusaders
for slavecy. wm Amerkans ever
learn? The least we can do: r~
ques,t Congress to investilgate Radio Free ffiuwpe and the other
acrtivities of the Free Europe Coanmi ttee.
OZEOH REOS seem to enjoy
havin1g their country caHed "the
arsena,l of the communiist wor.ld."
Wearpon.s and munitions are going
to Cwba, Red China, Laos, and
the Africa,n counrtries. Technicians
a'lso·. The Czechs seem to be the
"chosen people" of Moscow. Mlasaryrk, a·n d Benes certainrly worked
•~mirades" with the Czechs from
1918 to 194'8, makd•n g their natlion
as Red as the bloody emipire olf
Moscow. Fo·r thiSJ the United
Sta•tes honored T. G. Ma&aryk with
a "Champion Olf Lilberty" postage
stamp. What mockery!
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September-December 1960
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74
SLOVAKIA
NEW BOOKS
Gilbe rt L. Oddo: Slova kia and by the ,p roper and wide circulation
Its People, Robert Speller and <Yf this book.
Sons, New York, 1960; 362
pp., $6.00.
This scholarly work is a most
fitting tri!bute to the pla<ce and
stature of Francis Hrufovsky in
the annals of Slovakian histoi,y.
Offered in memory of that distinguished Slov-ak historian, it serves
as the first systemati:c history Olf
the S:lovak nation in the English
language. The privilege that Professor Gilbert L. Oddo enjoys in
this respect is more than justilfied
by the sterling at triibutes of his
product. By careful research,, detailed documentat-i<on and balanced
interpretation he has filled a gap
in knowledlge and underst-anding
that has existed for too long in
the English-speaking countries. U!ns
tfil now has ,b een a serious gap
which no amount Olf pamphlets, papers and other transient media
could adequately narrow. An important, authoritative source on
the Slovak nat•ion has haippily
emerged in, an important and
leadin1g language of the world.
While today many eyes are centered on Catholic countries like
Olllba and others, wondering how
and by what means a communist
takeover might be achieived, tomorrow, as a result of works of
this kind, they wti.11 become more
and more focused on a predominantly Catholic counti,y behind
the Iron Curtain which by no
means has recei'Ved is fair due in
world attention, evaluation and
signi!ficance. Purposely distorted
propaganda has clouded Western,
and particUJlarly American, unldierstandi.ng r,f reality and aspirations
r,f over four million people making urp the Slovak nat ion. Much of
this politically contrived propaganda will undoulbtedly be dissi,pated
It is truly amazinig the extent
to which our thinkiing albout other
people and nations is seriously
discolored by myths and failse•
hoods that ha.ve g-a,i ned currency
through calculated effort on the
part of the politiically ambitious
few and, more so, through habitual usage and mental inertia. In
these times it is even iroruical to
hear many Olf our pwblic and private leaders urge in one breath
that lfor our long-term security interests it is utterly indispensaible
for us to understand other peoples
and nations and then, in, the very
ne~t breath, deny the distinctive
nattiional existence of a given people by parroting unfounded and
mis leading nomer·s and cliches.
This writer has witnessed many
trying, in efifect, to squMe a ciTcle
by speaking, on the one hand, ()ff
the glorious fight of Slovak patriots for nation.al independence
and th en, on the other hand, reiterating the myth of a "Czechoslovak nation." Fortun,ately, in
most instances this self-<!ontl'adiction is the con'sequence of an in~irm grasp of basiic essentials albout
Slovaikia for which now there can
be no excuse. lli. Oddo clearly
and vividly provides t,h ese essentials in this hi-ghil.y readaible and
accessible work.
Despite the open record of nat ional Slovak resistance again•st
communiist domination, the story
of Slov.akia is a story Olf a nation's fight for fu'eedom and survival goes back well beyond the
conteimpor,ary period. In a real
sense, the present subjugation otf
this undyin·g nation is only another chapter in, its long and
evenbful history. Its cumulative experience in alternating periods of
1
1
1
�SLOVAKIA
75
independence and capt-i<vity pre- tianirty, social justi'Ce, literature,
pares and equips its people welll cuJture, and the freedom of Slofor the tasks and chaU,enges olf vak!ia. The role of Trnava Univerthe present struggle. As one readls sity, the Slovak role i 1n, the evoluwbout rthe many historic occaS:i.on-s tion of the Czechs, Slovak if.fieedom
forming the distinctive history of and the 1848 Revolution, the St.
this European nation, he cannot Martin Memorandum of '1001~ .the
but feel doubly assured that here ::zech-0..Slovak Pact of May 30, 119118
erists one of the truest and most and many other events are events
reliwble allies of the cause of that bespeak the vitality, growth,
world freedom. This volume cov- ,persevernnK!e, and determinatio niof
ers these occasions wrth moving •a strategica1liy situated nation. All
an<l d~scr,iiptive force, an<l the in- 1 this and more spells out a vtbrant
dis,pensalble persp~tri.ve gained by tradition whiich is the .living soul Olf
the reader is insurance enough Slovakia, a permanent reaHrty that
against the repetition of basic no amount ofmyt,h-mraking political
errors concerning rthe right and propaganda can possilbly erase or
property of an independent Slo- for .long conceal. With descriptive
vak nation in the world fami1ly oil' 1 vividness· and factual proportion,
IProfessor Ododo succeeds in tbringnations.
.Asi<le from it.s naturcm. rJgoht of ing out this truth in all its luselif-deterunination - which really minous aspects.
The pattern of events and tragic
doesn't have rto •b e reasserted time
and time again to es!Jalblish the development thwt characterizes the
distinctive character and the sepa- long history of the Slovak nation
rate national will of rthe Slorva!k is rem'barkalbly similar to that of
people - the full creden,t ials of many other nations naw held in
the Slovak nation for sovereignty captiv~ty in the Russian Coonmuanid independence are found in its nist Empini Ukraine, White RusliVt.ing history F1rom the earliest sia, Georgoia, Turkestan and other
backgrounds to the pr,e sent, the subjugated nations in Eastern Eumovement of Slovakian existence rope and Central Asia have on difhas been toward e,opanded free- ferent stages of the historical
dom or t-oward freedom itsellf. ! drama and at different times enFrom the ninth century, when the Icountered - indeed, still do share
first Slovak ruler, Prince Prilbina, 1 - si:milar problems. Problems o!f
reigned, to our century, when on identity and rightful. recogniti1on,
Ma-rch '14, 1939, a new independ- ! of nationial survival and historical
ent Slovakia emerged and was re- I truth, are problems foisted upon
cognized by twenty-seven coun- I the Slovak nation by alien influI
tries, this saga ·o f a people's iixed ences and powers as they are by
dletermina1iion to be free and re- I simi1ar forces in these other areas.
spocted a·s an equal among nations ! The nature and character of these
abounds with heroes, events and j problems, whether arisin,g from
achievements that would glorilfy / •b lind Western iniaipplicatfon of the
the history of any nation, large . ,pri-nciple of national self-determin / ation, misinrter;pre,t,at.ion of the
or small.
The names of SS. Cyiril and Me- / Czecho-6lovak Pact, the Hitlerian
thodius, Janosik, Anthony Beroo- 1episode arul the dtelimmas it posed
laJc, Hlinka, Stefanik, Hurlban-V•a- to maniy peoples in Central and
jansky, Dr. Joseph Tiso and numer- Easter.Ill Europe, are treated with
ous other,s are historic names as- scholarly consideration and balsoci-aited with the advance o! Chni.s- ance in this work. They cannot be
I
�76
SLOVAKIA
handled otherwise, for the strug-1 Slo,v ak culture, literature and
the language of the oldest people
gle of a people is involved.
This struggle is today an in- in the Danube region, as well as
tegral and important part of man- the democratic traditions of the
krnd's struggle for freedom . The Slovak nation, are presented in
so,mer many Amer,i cans realize an intiemgilble way. Moreover, the
this, the better wm our position complex events that created and
be in relation to all the eruptive shaped Czecho-Slovakia an'<i then.
nations in the Russian Communi9t led to the declaration of Slovak
Empire. The history of the free- 1 independence on March 14, 1939
dom-loving Slovak nation, as so (six months before the outbreak
competently portrayed here, is a of the war, are so arranged
sufficient guideline for our think- and exiplained as to give the
ing, our policies, our actions and , reader a factual and mastierful
survey of a hectic period in momost of all, for our conscience.
dern history.
Lev E. Dobriansky,
Arrnerican Slovaks are credited
Georgetown University.
with the idea of Slovak independJoseph M. Kirschbaum: Slo- ence in the very frrst chaipter.
vakia - Nation at the Cross- This trilbute is based upon the fact
roads of Central Europe, Ro- that all during the present cenibel"'t Slpeller and Sons, Ne<w tury the Slova1ks here, inspired by
York, 1960; 385 pp,, $5.00.
the spir,it of American freedom,
This latest work by the distin- have spared no effort to help their
guished professor of Slavic Stu- fellow countrymen estalblish a free
dies at the University of Montreal and self-governing state of their
is a well balanced, coordinated and own. To this end they attempted
weIJ.,calculated effort to give a forward step towards self-govthinking people a true picture of Iemment with the Czechs to be
the Slovak nation struggling for equal partners in- the formation
national freedom and survival since I of the first Republic of Czechothe dawn of western civilization. i Slovakra. (Cfr. the Cleveland
In his introduction, Kirschbaum I Agreement of 1915 and the Pittsgives the reader a genuine histo- i burgh Pact of 19118). When the latrical prospective of the land and ter agreement with the Czech repits people in a few pages. In a ' resentatives (including Thomas G.
concise sweep of centuries of -hi- Masal"'yk) was repudiated after the
of the republic,
story, the author traces the fate- establishment
ful course of -this small but dy- the Slovaks, rea.Jizing they were
namic nation from the sixth cen- denied the right to selrf-governI ment in, their home country, retury to the present.
ever before has a reader of newed the struggle, and the moveSlovak histori'Cal development had ment towards a free state of their
the opportunity to learn so quickly , own was accelerated by both the
the real story of a countl"'y whose irresistible force of freedom and
destiny has been and still is close- the sweep of external events, rely associated with the life of its , suiting in the declara1Uon of Sloneighbors, namely, Czechs,, Aits- vak ind'ependen'Ce on, Miarch 14,
trians, Germans, Poles, Russians, 11939.
and Magyars, for here, in a com- , The book is enhanced by more
pact vollllffie, the author has com- than a score of pictures that iipressed centuries of history as it ' lustrate highlights in the history
occurred in the heart of Eurnpe of the Slovak nation. A suitable
!
�77
SLOVAKIA
bibliography of s·o me sixty sources
indicates the thorough scho1'arship
that produced it.
Documents and letters relati'Ilg
to the struggle of the Slo;vaiks for
their right t'O self-governmeITTit and
a free stathood are quoited as far
back as April 13, '11849, when a
group of Slovak deputies submitted a petition to the Ministry in
Vienna for national recognition.
These, a total of 712, are up to
1005. Thus, not only is this book
designated fur popular :reading but
also for serious study by students
of hi'story. It will serve to provide them with a basic historical
knowledge of the S1ovak nation,
and wi11 g~ve them a reliaible insight in'to the incredibly fascinating story of Slovakia on the Danube.
Andrew Pie.r, O.S.B., Director,
Slovak Jn.stirtute, Cleveland, 0.
1
Jozef Pauco: Unconquerables.
Vanitage P,ress, N. Y., Washington, Chi~caglo, Holly,wood.
225 pp., $3.50.
In this a•ge of the exiled, the
tempest-rossed and the oppressed,
many have been the men and women of diverse political, religious
and ied'ologicall persuasi·ons whose
fate has been sung and whose
cause won through global sympathy and recognition,.
No less dramatic but perhaps
less sung and stiU not won is the
cause of the Slovak heroes, the
unconqueraibles behind, the iron
curtain, souls who could not and
would not leave, cornvinced that
their mission, is to remain, to oppose the foe and defend the id•e als
that externally have succumbed
but in their hearr ts burn on.
Ph.D. Jlozef Paufo, son of S!lov,akia, whose road has led him from
the Slovaik University into the
world of journalism via Austria
and West Germany, New York,
and now Pennsylvancita, has recor-
ded true stories of Silova,k heroism as personified in the "Whtie
Legionnaires."
Slova~ia, whose fight against
Czech chauvfoism was as little appreciated as that of the Sudeten
Germans a,g;afo,s t Czech encroachment, has a tale of its own to tell
in the 20th cen•tury battle aga,i nst
satanic Coonmuni sm.
Those familiar with the Slo,vak
people know that no wedge has
been or can be driven between
them and their clergy. The Slovaks are devout, loyal Catholics
almost ro a man. Any stor,y olf
their bravery against Bolshevism
is at the same tJime a document
o.f the valor olf their priests, nuns,
and o,ther religious who to this
very h1our are traveling a path to
Calvary that only a glowing faith
i-n the Crucified could make possible.
The pages of Pauco's "Unrcon•
queraib!tes" offer the reader no
paipier-mache dons but filesh and
blood men and women like Sister
Katarina, enduring personal insuit and humi!Jiation, foreed to
witness the desecra'tion of what
she ho1ds most sacred; like teacher Stach, dediicated to saving
Slovak youth from the acids of
Bolshevist ideology by fonning
secret schools to lecture on religi•on, ins<tihl Slovak ideals in young
folk and keep good literature
alive.
We read of the diabolical chticanery iruvented to prevent the
people oi a Slovak village from
going on a pilgrimage and we see
that simple faith undaunted even
in the face o,f outright deceit and
force . We see the enemy systematically trying to wproot Christian prindples from the school's
and Slovak way of life and see
the Legionna,i res fig;hting hack.
Simple s'traightforwaror books
like Pauco's should be placed on
required reading lists for schools
I
�SLOVAKIA
78
and in public li!braries all over I L. Niederle, e<tc.) and try to shed
the coullltry. Irts message goes right a new light on this, period of
Slavic history and civilization. And
to the heart.
while we may disagree with their
Frances McPoyne.
"marxist" methods, it will be difStephen Smriik, S.J.,: The .flicult to deny the conclusfons
Glagolitic or Romano-S'lavonic reached whi<ch are supported by
Liturgy, Series Cyrill()'Illethodi- research in archeofogy and p,hiana, Slovak Institute, Cleve- lology.
a'and, Rome, 195'9, 1120 pp., ilThe author of The Glagolitic or
Roman-Slavonic Liturgy wrote his
lustraited; $2.50.
The approachiing 1100th anni- I book on .this side of the Iron Curversary of the arrival of SS. Cyril , tain, in Rome, where und,oUlbtedly
and Metiliodfos to Great Moravia, j many original sources, until now
inspir-ed several Slovak Slavists to only partly or not at all used,
publish a series of s,cholM"lY stu- ,I were at his disposal. Thi'S g,ives to
dies in English called Cyrilome- his study on the introductii.on of
thodiana. The first volume was the ancierut Slovak (Slovanic) Ianprepared by a Sloivak exipert in guage into the Christian, •l iturgy a
medieval arts, Prolfessor J. G. Cin- value of original reaserch and
cik. Allthougih its tiitle reads An- makes his book a contribution to
glo-Saxon and Slovak-Avar Pat• the Slavis<tJics. Recognition of the
terns of the Cuthbert Gospel, it re- Slovaniic language by ROlllle as one
fers in its conclusions to the mis- of the liturgi.cal languages, at a
sion of SS. Cyril and Meithodius. time when Slavs were lbut barba(See a rev-itew on, this in Slavic and rians, was an epoch-making eivent
East European Studies, Vol. IIII, which laid the foundation for a
F. 4, p. 240). The second volume I new Slav,i,c civilization that spread
is the well,balanced and carefully ! from Great Moraivia and later d~
veloped among Southern and Eastedited study by Rev. Stephen
zik, S.J., a learned Sllovak Jesuit, ern Slavs. The corutinuous interest
study-Jng and teaching in Italy. 1 of Slavis'ts in this epooh is conGreat Moravia and the civiliza- ! sequently understandalble.
tion which started in the t erri- 1 Father Sanrzik r,e-examined in
tory of today's Sl 01Vakia, Moraivia, \ his scholarly treatise the views and
Southern Poland, a,nd Slo-v enia I theories of several Slavi•s ts on• the
(the comp'o nen:t parts of Greater IRoman-Slovanic liturgy, called also
Moravia) with the missi'On of SS. the Glagolitic liturgy. In order to
Cyril and Methodius, became in ! arrive at objective conclusions, the
the past decades a favorite field of j author analyzed the theories which
study and research of many S.la- j assert that the Roman Siova'lllic livis1ts of Polish, Slovak, Sloveni'an, I turgy was in't roduced already by
Crech, and Hungartan origin. 1 the Slovak a,postles, CY["il and
Scores of books have been, pulb- 1 Methodius, as well as the theories
lis_hed b~hind the Iron Cm,tain on j whi~h assert that they _had no conthis subJect namely by Slovak and I nect110n whatsoever with the RoCzech archeologists and linguists mano.Slovanic liturgy. Writing his
(Poul-&, Eisner, Tocik, Stanislav, : bO'ok in Rome, the author had an
Isacenko, Dek>an, Pauliny, etc.) who : excellent opportunity for peru&ing
challenge the vtiews and theories I all the principal works on the subof previous researche:rs (F. Dvor- ject. As a result, he gives us the
nik, J . Skultety, P. Hrusovsky, V. views of Cherubi,n, Segivic, who exJagic, J. Dobrovsky, J. P. Safarik, pounded his theory on the origin
Smr- 1
1
�SLOVAKIA
on the ROl!Ilan-Slovanic liturrgy lin
several puiblica'tions, denying the
Cyrilo-Methodian origJn of the Roman-Slovanic liturgy, as weU as
thie 1heories· of Orthodox authors
Gorazd Pa,vlik and Jif.i Novak, on
the one ha-nd, and recent pro-Cyrilomethodiian theories oif Ivan Bercic, F. Pasternak, S. Rittig, Anton Brtikner, and C. Mohlberg, on
the otherr hand.
The author g.ives a clear evaluation and a crlitique of all theories
and presents a syn'thesis of the
evolution and preserut status of the
liturgy which, according to him, is
western in its ceremonies and
eastern in its· language. For Fiather
Smrzik there is no douibt that the
Roman-Slov~nic liturgy was introduced lby the Slovak apostles
Cyril and Methodius in Gre-a t Moravia. Sinre he arri>ved at this
coniclusion on the basis of a thorough study of so many eminent
Slavists, whose works were predominenltly published in Slavic languages, his book is und'OUlbtedly
a valualble contribution to the elucidation of the sulbject.
The boolk also contains a chapter on history of the Roman-6110vanic liturgy which makes it an
the more v,aluable for readers who
are not acqua,i nted with the s·ubject. However, this chap'ter should
have come, in this reviewer's
opinion, -as Ohapter I. Chapter II,
w,hich deals with t,h e oldest written
record,s of the Rom,an-Siovanic liturgy, completes eff~ct-ively the
picture of the origin and development of the ROl!Ilan-Slovanic liturgy. Scholars in Slaivic subje'cts
will appreciate also the author's
bilbliograiphy, but n1dt including an
index is one of the shortcomings
of this excellent and well-eddted
stud!Y which is enr-ichied by several
repro<lucti'Ons and illustrations.
I
79
J. M. Kirschbaum: Contempo•
rary Tendencies in Slovak Phi•
lology, an offprint from the
periodical SI:avk and East European Studies, Vol. IV, No.
3-4, Department Olf Slavic Stud:ies, University Olf Montreal;
114 pp.
Though Professor Kirschlbaum's
concise study is primair.iJy destinoo
for scholars and teachers, it gives,
neventheiess, a clear picture of
Slovaik endeavors in the field of
philology to all who -are interested in the Slovak languag,e and
in its relation to other Slavic
languages. Man!Y American and
Canadian readers• will be sur,pci-sed
to Jearn that the relation between
the Czech and the Slovaik language is not onJy a relaitdon between two distinct Slavic languages, but ,t hat Czech poetry and
prose are now tl"anslated !into rbhe
Slovak and vice versa as the Polish or Russian have always been.
There was much confusion albowt
this relation even in academic
circles. ,T he value of Kirschlbaum's
·new study !lies in its cleair elucida.bon of the sulbject and of the
reasons which, for so many years
w.ere res,ponsilble for the existing
con/fusion.
,Divid-ed into three chapters, the
s,tu,dy presents a short, ,b ut scholarly perusal of contemporary tendencies in Slovak philology which
is sUJbject to Russian pressure in
the same way as the whole Slovak
cultural lilfe has been from [945.
While the author of the s,tudy admits that Slovaik philology develops comparaitiv,e ly undisitUT1bed
by the incluSlion of Slovaik:ia within the Soviet cultural and political s,p he,r e of influence, he points
to the attempts o;f some young
philologists to impose "iMarxlis,t"
or "StaJin'·s" dir:ectives upon the
J. M. Kirschbaum,
aeti<vities o~ Slovak philologists.
University of Montreal.
An anialysis of two volumes olf
1
�SLOVAKIA
80
"Bilbl'iography of Slovak PhHolo gy" tional origin of these men, but
Cfor the y,e ars 1'93•9,,119417 and 1'!)!4& especially the position and role
195'2) makes Kiirschlbaum's study of Sttir in forming m<Ydern literacy
pa.r ticularly valuable, as it shows Slovak, in unifying the Slovak nahow th e indi,v idual £ields of Slo- tion, and ,l eading the Slov,aks in
vak phi,1,ology de,v eloped during their fight for national survival
the past 20 years. The fact, that and independence. The author c. i
the study is based on a thorough ;•this 1booklet did not enumerate all
resea11ch into original S1'ovalk ,t he availaibLe bilbliography, but
works giv,es to this first English brought out the lit,e ratur,e based
treatise of S1-0'Vak philology an •o n oriiginal manuscripts, which unadded va,Iue.
fortuiniaitely are still little known
A. 'D.
. among the Sla,vists on ,this con1
.
,
, • , tinent, and a score of works in
J. M. ~•rschbam: L'.udovit S t ~r several foreign 1'anguages.
and His Pl~c! In the Slavic · Four condensed chapters which
'-'."oiild, Sla,vistma No. 32, _if>uib- 1make up this booklet cannot exL1s_he~ by the Slovak In st itute, I haust the per,sonaliity of Iludlorvit
Wmn11peg...JC1'erveland,
1 9 5 8; Stur as a philosopher of Prun.SlavG-4 PP' ism, as a linguist and philologist,
il.ittle has !been written in Eng- ' as an aesthete and poet, and as a
lish rubout Stur's ideas of Pan- ' Slovak naition1a,l leader. lt is our
Slavism and about his •i deas con- hope that J. M. Kirschlbaum will
cerning the stmgg,l e for indei)end- 1,e ventua•Lly enlarge this valuable
ence of ,t he Slo;vaik nation, and study into a 11esource!ful book fulonoe he -exhausted all peac,efuil ly and thoroughly evaluating the
,parlJ.amentary and .political means, ; ~igan,ti,c personality of Iludovit
his role ,in the Iieibellion against Stur.
Magyar oppression in 11848. The
John Rekem,
Slovak natio•n, dly.ing a slow death '
Winniipeg.
under Miagyar oppression, was 1
greatly l!eartened and strength- 1
AT LAST
ened by Stur's new unifying liverary language and culitu~al pro- 'A HISTORY OF SLOVAK.IA
grams •took on a new life. This I
in En lish
fina,lly led to Slovak independence :
g
in 193e.
I
SUPPLY IS LIMITED
Even eminent scholars o.f Slavisti:cs did not look into the per- I
Get your copy NOW.
sonality of Iludovit Stur. Lack of 1
,access to, the oriiginal works of i
Cloth cover, 382 pages
Stur led some Slavists t o accept I
th•e judgment of ma,ny politica,Uy i
$6.00
pr,ejuditced Czech authors. Some
went so far as to laibel Stur with
J. Kollar and Saifarik as Czechs 1
although they were SlovaJks. Stur's :
by Gilbert L. Oddo
greaitest achievement wa:s the codification of the new Slo:vak Ii- '
terary language.
JEDNOTA PRINTERY
Credit is due to Kirschbaum's
P. 0. Bo,x 150
present booklet inasmuch as it
Middletown, Pa.
helps to clarify not only the na1
1
==============
1
1
Slovakia And Its People
�
74
SLOVAKIA
NEW BOOKS
Gilbe rt L. Oddo: Slova kia and by the ,p roper and wide circulation
Its People, Robert Speller and <Yf this book.
Sons, New York, 1960; 362
pp., $6.00.
This scholarly work is a most
fitting tri!bute to the pla<ce and
stature of Francis Hrufovsky in
the annals of Slovakian histoi,y.
Offered in memory of that distinguished Slov-ak historian, it serves
as the first systemati:c history Olf
the S:lovak nation in the English
language. The privilege that Professor Gilbert L. Oddo enjoys in
this respect is more than justilfied
by the sterling at triibutes of his
product. By careful research,, detailed documentat-i<on and balanced
interpretation he has filled a gap
in knowledlge and underst-anding
that has existed for too long in
the English-speaking countries. U!ns
tfil now has ,b een a serious gap
which no amount Olf pamphlets, papers and other transient media
could adequately narrow. An important, authoritative source on
the Slovak nat•ion has haippily
emerged in, an important and
leadin1g language of the world.
While today many eyes are centered on Catholic countries like
Olllba and others, wondering how
and by what means a communist
takeover might be achieived, tomorrow, as a result of works of
this kind, they wti.11 become more
and more focused on a predominantly Catholic counti,y behind
the Iron Curtain which by no
means has recei'Ved is fair due in
world attention, evaluation and
signi!ficance. Purposely distorted
propaganda has clouded Western,
and particUJlarly American, unldierstandi.ng r,f reality and aspirations
r,f over four million people making urp the Slovak nat ion. Much of
this politically contrived propaganda will undoulbtedly be dissi,pated
It is truly amazinig the extent
to which our thinkiing albout other
people and nations is seriously
discolored by myths and failse•
hoods that ha.ve g-a,i ned currency
through calculated effort on the
part of the politiically ambitious
few and, more so, through habitual usage and mental inertia. In
these times it is even iroruical to
hear many Olf our pwblic and private leaders urge in one breath
that lfor our long-term security interests it is utterly indispensaible
for us to understand other peoples
and nations and then, in, the very
ne~t breath, deny the distinctive
nattiional existence of a given people by parroting unfounded and
mis leading nomer·s and cliches.
This writer has witnessed many
trying, in efifect, to squMe a ciTcle
by speaking, on the one hand, ()ff
the glorious fight of Slovak patriots for nation.al independence
and th en, on the other hand, reiterating the myth of a "Czechoslovak nation." Fortun,ately, in
most instances this self-<!ontl'adiction is the con'sequence of an in~irm grasp of basiic essentials albout
Slovaikia for which now there can
be no excuse. lli. Oddo clearly
and vividly provides t,h ese essentials in this hi-ghil.y readaible and
accessible work.
Despite the open record of nat ional Slovak resistance again•st
communiist domination, the story
of Slov.akia is a story Olf a nation's fight for fu'eedom and survival goes back well beyond the
conteimpor,ary period. In a real
sense, the present subjugation otf
this undyin·g nation is only another chapter in, its long and
evenbful history. Its cumulative experience in alternating periods of
1
1
1
�SLOVAKIA
75
independence and capt-i<vity pre- tianirty, social justi'Ce, literature,
pares and equips its people welll cuJture, and the freedom of Slofor the tasks and chaU,enges olf vak!ia. The role of Trnava Univerthe present struggle. As one readls sity, the Slovak role i 1n, the evoluwbout rthe many historic occaS:i.on-s tion of the Czechs, Slovak if.fieedom
forming the distinctive history of and the 1848 Revolution, the St.
this European nation, he cannot Martin Memorandum of '1001~ .the
but feel doubly assured that here ::zech-0..Slovak Pact of May 30, 119118
erists one of the truest and most and many other events are events
reliwble allies of the cause of that bespeak the vitality, growth,
world freedom. This volume cov- ,persevernnK!e, and determinatio niof
ers these occasions wrth moving •a strategica1liy situated nation. All
an<l d~scr,iiptive force, an<l the in- 1 this and more spells out a vtbrant
dis,pensalble persp~tri.ve gained by tradition whiich is the .living soul Olf
the reader is insurance enough Slovakia, a permanent reaHrty that
against the repetition of basic no amount ofmyt,h-mraking political
errors concerning rthe right and propaganda can possilbly erase or
property of an independent Slo- for .long conceal. With descriptive
vak nation in the world fami1ly oil' 1 vividness· and factual proportion,
IProfessor Ododo succeeds in tbringnations.
.Asi<le from it.s naturcm. rJgoht of ing out this truth in all its luselif-deterunination - which really minous aspects.
The pattern of events and tragic
doesn't have rto •b e reasserted time
and time again to es!Jalblish the development thwt characterizes the
distinctive character and the sepa- long history of the Slovak nation
rate national will of rthe Slorva!k is rem'barkalbly similar to that of
people - the full creden,t ials of many other nations naw held in
the Slovak nation for sovereignty captiv~ty in the Russian Coonmuanid independence are found in its nist Empini Ukraine, White RusliVt.ing history F1rom the earliest sia, Georgoia, Turkestan and other
backgrounds to the pr,e sent, the subjugated nations in Eastern Eumovement of Slovakian existence rope and Central Asia have on difhas been toward e,opanded free- ferent stages of the historical
dom or t-oward freedom itsellf. ! drama and at different times enFrom the ninth century, when the Icountered - indeed, still do share
first Slovak ruler, Prince Prilbina, 1 - si:milar problems. Problems o!f
reigned, to our century, when on identity and rightful. recogniti1on,
Ma-rch '14, 1939, a new independ- ! of nationial survival and historical
ent Slovakia emerged and was re- I truth, are problems foisted upon
cognized by twenty-seven coun- I the Slovak nation by alien influI
tries, this saga ·o f a people's iixed ences and powers as they are by
dletermina1iion to be free and re- I simi1ar forces in these other areas.
spocted a·s an equal among nations ! The nature and character of these
abounds with heroes, events and j problems, whether arisin,g from
achievements that would glorilfy / •b lind Western iniaipplicatfon of the
the history of any nation, large . ,pri-nciple of national self-determin / ation, misinrter;pre,t,at.ion of the
or small.
The names of SS. Cyiril and Me- / Czecho-6lovak Pact, the Hitlerian
thodius, Janosik, Anthony Beroo- 1episode arul the dtelimmas it posed
laJc, Hlinka, Stefanik, Hurlban-V•a- to maniy peoples in Central and
jansky, Dr. Joseph Tiso and numer- Easter.Ill Europe, are treated with
ous other,s are historic names as- scholarly consideration and balsoci-aited with the advance o! Chni.s- ance in this work. They cannot be
I
�76
SLOVAKIA
handled otherwise, for the strug-1 Slo,v ak culture, literature and
the language of the oldest people
gle of a people is involved.
This struggle is today an in- in the Danube region, as well as
tegral and important part of man- the democratic traditions of the
krnd's struggle for freedom . The Slovak nation, are presented in
so,mer many Amer,i cans realize an intiemgilble way. Moreover, the
this, the better wm our position complex events that created and
be in relation to all the eruptive shaped Czecho-Slovakia an'<i then.
nations in the Russian Communi9t led to the declaration of Slovak
Empire. The history of the free- 1 independence on March 14, 1939
dom-loving Slovak nation, as so (six months before the outbreak
competently portrayed here, is a of the war, are so arranged
sufficient guideline for our think- and exiplained as to give the
ing, our policies, our actions and , reader a factual and mastierful
survey of a hectic period in momost of all, for our conscience.
dern history.
Lev E. Dobriansky,
Arrnerican Slovaks are credited
Georgetown University.
with the idea of Slovak independJoseph M. Kirschbaum: Slo- ence in the very frrst chaipter.
vakia - Nation at the Cross- This trilbute is based upon the fact
roads of Central Europe, Ro- that all during the present cenibel"'t Slpeller and Sons, Ne<w tury the Slova1ks here, inspired by
York, 1960; 385 pp,, $5.00.
the spir,it of American freedom,
This latest work by the distin- have spared no effort to help their
guished professor of Slavic Stu- fellow countrymen estalblish a free
dies at the University of Montreal and self-governing state of their
is a well balanced, coordinated and own. To this end they attempted
weIJ.,calculated effort to give a forward step towards self-govthinking people a true picture of Iemment with the Czechs to be
the Slovak nation struggling for equal partners in- the formation
national freedom and survival since I of the first Republic of Czechothe dawn of western civilization. i Slovakra. (Cfr. the Cleveland
In his introduction, Kirschbaum I Agreement of 1915 and the Pittsgives the reader a genuine histo- i burgh Pact of 19118). When the latrical prospective of the land and ter agreement with the Czech repits people in a few pages. In a ' resentatives (including Thomas G.
concise sweep of centuries of -hi- Masal"'yk) was repudiated after the
of the republic,
story, the author traces the fate- establishment
ful course of -this small but dy- the Slovaks, rea.Jizing they were
namic nation from the sixth cen- denied the right to selrf-governI ment in, their home country, retury to the present.
ever before has a reader of newed the struggle, and the moveSlovak histori'Cal development had ment towards a free state of their
the opportunity to learn so quickly , own was accelerated by both the
the real story of a countl"'y whose irresistible force of freedom and
destiny has been and still is close- the sweep of external events, rely associated with the life of its , suiting in the declara1Uon of Sloneighbors, namely, Czechs,, Aits- vak ind'ependen'Ce on, Miarch 14,
trians, Germans, Poles, Russians, 11939.
and Magyars, for here, in a com- , The book is enhanced by more
pact vollllffie, the author has com- than a score of pictures that iipressed centuries of history as it ' lustrate highlights in the history
occurred in the heart of Eurnpe of the Slovak nation. A suitable
!
�77
SLOVAKIA
bibliography of s·o me sixty sources
indicates the thorough scho1'arship
that produced it.
Documents and letters relati'Ilg
to the struggle of the Slo;vaiks for
their right t'O self-governmeITTit and
a free stathood are quoited as far
back as April 13, '11849, when a
group of Slovak deputies submitted a petition to the Ministry in
Vienna for national recognition.
These, a total of 712, are up to
1005. Thus, not only is this book
designated fur popular :reading but
also for serious study by students
of hi'story. It will serve to provide them with a basic historical
knowledge of the S1ovak nation,
and wi11 g~ve them a reliaible insight in'to the incredibly fascinating story of Slovakia on the Danube.
Andrew Pie.r, O.S.B., Director,
Slovak Jn.stirtute, Cleveland, 0.
1
Jozef Pauco: Unconquerables.
Vanitage P,ress, N. Y., Washington, Chi~caglo, Holly,wood.
225 pp., $3.50.
In this a•ge of the exiled, the
tempest-rossed and the oppressed,
many have been the men and women of diverse political, religious
and ied'ologicall persuasi·ons whose
fate has been sung and whose
cause won through global sympathy and recognition,.
No less dramatic but perhaps
less sung and stiU not won is the
cause of the Slovak heroes, the
unconqueraibles behind, the iron
curtain, souls who could not and
would not leave, cornvinced that
their mission, is to remain, to oppose the foe and defend the id•e als
that externally have succumbed
but in their hearr ts burn on.
Ph.D. Jlozef Paufo, son of S!lov,akia, whose road has led him from
the Slovaik University into the
world of journalism via Austria
and West Germany, New York,
and now Pennsylvancita, has recor-
ded true stories of Silova,k heroism as personified in the "Whtie
Legionnaires."
Slova~ia, whose fight against
Czech chauvfoism was as little appreciated as that of the Sudeten
Germans a,g;afo,s t Czech encroachment, has a tale of its own to tell
in the 20th cen•tury battle aga,i nst
satanic Coonmuni sm.
Those familiar with the Slo,vak
people know that no wedge has
been or can be driven between
them and their clergy. The Slovaks are devout, loyal Catholics
almost ro a man. Any stor,y olf
their bravery against Bolshevism
is at the same tJime a document
o.f the valor olf their priests, nuns,
and o,ther religious who to this
very h1our are traveling a path to
Calvary that only a glowing faith
i-n the Crucified could make possible.
The pages of Pauco's "Unrcon•
queraib!tes" offer the reader no
paipier-mache dons but filesh and
blood men and women like Sister
Katarina, enduring personal insuit and humi!Jiation, foreed to
witness the desecra'tion of what
she ho1ds most sacred; like teacher Stach, dediicated to saving
Slovak youth from the acids of
Bolshevist ideology by fonning
secret schools to lecture on religi•on, ins<tihl Slovak ideals in young
folk and keep good literature
alive.
We read of the diabolical chticanery iruvented to prevent the
people oi a Slovak village from
going on a pilgrimage and we see
that simple faith undaunted even
in the face o,f outright deceit and
force . We see the enemy systematically trying to wproot Christian prindples from the school's
and Slovak way of life and see
the Legionna,i res fig;hting hack.
Simple s'traightforwaror books
like Pauco's should be placed on
required reading lists for schools
I
�SLOVAKIA
78
and in public li!braries all over I L. Niederle, e<tc.) and try to shed
the coullltry. Irts message goes right a new light on this, period of
Slavic history and civilization. And
to the heart.
while we may disagree with their
Frances McPoyne.
"marxist" methods, it will be difStephen Smriik, S.J.,: The .flicult to deny the conclusfons
Glagolitic or Romano-S'lavonic reached whi<ch are supported by
Liturgy, Series Cyrill()'Illethodi- research in archeofogy and p,hiana, Slovak Institute, Cleve- lology.
a'and, Rome, 195'9, 1120 pp., ilThe author of The Glagolitic or
Roman-Slavonic Liturgy wrote his
lustraited; $2.50.
The approachiing 1100th anni- I book on .this side of the Iron Curversary of the arrival of SS. Cyril , tain, in Rome, where und,oUlbtedly
and Metiliodfos to Great Moravia, j many original sources, until now
inspir-ed several Slovak Slavists to only partly or not at all used,
publish a series of s,cholM"lY stu- ,I were at his disposal. Thi'S g,ives to
dies in English called Cyrilome- his study on the introductii.on of
thodiana. The first volume was the ancierut Slovak (Slovanic) Ianprepared by a Sloivak exipert in guage into the Christian, •l iturgy a
medieval arts, Prolfessor J. G. Cin- value of original reaserch and
cik. Allthougih its tiitle reads An- makes his book a contribution to
glo-Saxon and Slovak-Avar Pat• the Slavis<tJics. Recognition of the
terns of the Cuthbert Gospel, it re- Slovaniic language by ROlllle as one
fers in its conclusions to the mis- of the liturgi.cal languages, at a
sion of SS. Cyril and Meithodius. time when Slavs were lbut barba(See a rev-itew on, this in Slavic and rians, was an epoch-making eivent
East European Studies, Vol. IIII, which laid the foundation for a
F. 4, p. 240). The second volume I new Slav,i,c civilization that spread
is the well,balanced and carefully ! from Great Moraivia and later d~
veloped among Southern and Eastedited study by Rev. Stephen
zik, S.J., a learned Sllovak Jesuit, ern Slavs. The corutinuous interest
study-Jng and teaching in Italy. 1 of Slavis'ts in this epooh is conGreat Moravia and the civiliza- ! sequently understandalble.
tion which started in the t erri- 1 Father Sanrzik r,e-examined in
tory of today's Sl 01Vakia, Moraivia, \ his scholarly treatise the views and
Southern Poland, a,nd Slo-v enia I theories of several Slavi•s ts on• the
(the comp'o nen:t parts of Greater IRoman-Slovanic liturgy, called also
Moravia) with the missi'On of SS. the Glagolitic liturgy. In order to
Cyril and Methodius, became in ! arrive at objective conclusions, the
the past decades a favorite field of j author analyzed the theories which
study and research of many S.la- j assert that the Roman Siova'lllic livis1ts of Polish, Slovak, Sloveni'an, I turgy was in't roduced already by
Crech, and Hungartan origin. 1 the Slovak a,postles, CY["il and
Scores of books have been, pulb- 1 Methodius, as well as the theories
lis_hed b~hind the Iron Cm,tain on j whi~h assert that they _had no conthis subJect namely by Slovak and I nect110n whatsoever with the RoCzech archeologists and linguists mano.Slovanic liturgy. Writing his
(Poul-&, Eisner, Tocik, Stanislav, : bO'ok in Rome, the author had an
Isacenko, Dek>an, Pauliny, etc.) who : excellent opportunity for peru&ing
challenge the vtiews and theories I all the principal works on the subof previous researche:rs (F. Dvor- ject. As a result, he gives us the
nik, J . Skultety, P. Hrusovsky, V. views of Cherubi,n, Segivic, who exJagic, J. Dobrovsky, J. P. Safarik, pounded his theory on the origin
Smr- 1
1
�SLOVAKIA
on the ROl!Ilan-Slovanic liturrgy lin
several puiblica'tions, denying the
Cyrilo-Methodian origJn of the Roman-Slovanic liturgy, as weU as
thie 1heories· of Orthodox authors
Gorazd Pa,vlik and Jif.i Novak, on
the one ha-nd, and recent pro-Cyrilomethodiian theories oif Ivan Bercic, F. Pasternak, S. Rittig, Anton Brtikner, and C. Mohlberg, on
the otherr hand.
The author g.ives a clear evaluation and a crlitique of all theories
and presents a syn'thesis of the
evolution and preserut status of the
liturgy which, according to him, is
western in its ceremonies and
eastern in its· language. For Fiather
Smrzik there is no douibt that the
Roman-Slov~nic liturgy was introduced lby the Slovak apostles
Cyril and Methodius in Gre-a t Moravia. Sinre he arri>ved at this
coniclusion on the basis of a thorough study of so many eminent
Slavists, whose works were predominenltly published in Slavic languages, his book is und'OUlbtedly
a valualble contribution to the elucidation of the sulbject.
The boolk also contains a chapter on history of the Roman-6110vanic liturgy which makes it an
the more v,aluable for readers who
are not acqua,i nted with the s·ubject. However, this chap'ter should
have come, in this reviewer's
opinion, -as Ohapter I. Chapter II,
w,hich deals with t,h e oldest written
record,s of the Rom,an-Siovanic liturgy, completes eff~ct-ively the
picture of the origin and development of the ROl!Ilan-Slovanic liturgy. Scholars in Slaivic subje'cts
will appreciate also the author's
bilbliograiphy, but n1dt including an
index is one of the shortcomings
of this excellent and well-eddted
stud!Y which is enr-ichied by several
repro<lucti'Ons and illustrations.
I
79
J. M. Kirschbaum: Contempo•
rary Tendencies in Slovak Phi•
lology, an offprint from the
periodical SI:avk and East European Studies, Vol. IV, No.
3-4, Department Olf Slavic Stud:ies, University Olf Montreal;
114 pp.
Though Professor Kirschlbaum's
concise study is primair.iJy destinoo
for scholars and teachers, it gives,
neventheiess, a clear picture of
Slovaik endeavors in the field of
philology to all who -are interested in the Slovak languag,e and
in its relation to other Slavic
languages. Man!Y American and
Canadian readers• will be sur,pci-sed
to Jearn that the relation between
the Czech and the Slovaik language is not onJy a relaitdon between two distinct Slavic languages, but ,t hat Czech poetry and
prose are now tl"anslated !into rbhe
Slovak and vice versa as the Polish or Russian have always been.
There was much confusion albowt
this relation even in academic
circles. ,T he value of Kirschlbaum's
·new study !lies in its cleair elucida.bon of the sulbject and of the
reasons which, for so many years
w.ere res,ponsilble for the existing
con/fusion.
,Divid-ed into three chapters, the
s,tu,dy presents a short, ,b ut scholarly perusal of contemporary tendencies in Slovak philology which
is sUJbject to Russian pressure in
the same way as the whole Slovak
cultural lilfe has been from [945.
While the author of the s,tudy admits that Slovaik philology develops comparaitiv,e ly undisitUT1bed
by the incluSlion of Slovaik:ia within the Soviet cultural and political s,p he,r e of influence, he points
to the attempts o;f some young
philologists to impose "iMarxlis,t"
or "StaJin'·s" dir:ectives upon the
J. M. Kirschbaum,
aeti<vities o~ Slovak philologists.
University of Montreal.
An anialysis of two volumes olf
1
�SLOVAKIA
80
"Bilbl'iography of Slovak PhHolo gy" tional origin of these men, but
Cfor the y,e ars 1'93•9,,119417 and 1'!)!4& especially the position and role
195'2) makes Kiirschlbaum's study of Sttir in forming m<Ydern literacy
pa.r ticularly valuable, as it shows Slovak, in unifying the Slovak nahow th e indi,v idual £ields of Slo- tion, and ,l eading the Slov,aks in
vak phi,1,ology de,v eloped during their fight for national survival
the past 20 years. The fact, that and independence. The author c. i
the study is based on a thorough ;•this 1booklet did not enumerate all
resea11ch into original S1'ovalk ,t he availaibLe bilbliography, but
works giv,es to this first English brought out the lit,e ratur,e based
treatise of S1-0'Vak philology an •o n oriiginal manuscripts, which unadded va,Iue.
fortuiniaitely are still little known
A. 'D.
. among the Sla,vists on ,this con1
.
,
, • , tinent, and a score of works in
J. M. ~•rschbam: L'.udovit S t ~r several foreign 1'anguages.
and His Pl~c! In the Slavic · Four condensed chapters which
'-'."oiild, Sla,vistma No. 32, _if>uib- 1make up this booklet cannot exL1s_he~ by the Slovak In st itute, I haust the per,sonaliity of Iludlorvit
Wmn11peg...JC1'erveland,
1 9 5 8; Stur as a philosopher of Prun.SlavG-4 PP' ism, as a linguist and philologist,
il.ittle has !been written in Eng- ' as an aesthete and poet, and as a
lish rubout Stur's ideas of Pan- ' Slovak naition1a,l leader. lt is our
Slavism and about his •i deas con- hope that J. M. Kirschlbaum will
cerning the stmgg,l e for indei)end- 1,e ventua•Lly enlarge this valuable
ence of ,t he Slo;vaik nation, and study into a 11esource!ful book fulonoe he -exhausted all peac,efuil ly and thoroughly evaluating the
,parlJ.amentary and .political means, ; ~igan,ti,c personality of Iludovit
his role ,in the Iieibellion against Stur.
Magyar oppression in 11848. The
John Rekem,
Slovak natio•n, dly.ing a slow death '
Winniipeg.
under Miagyar oppression, was 1
greatly l!eartened and strength- 1
AT LAST
ened by Stur's new unifying liverary language and culitu~al pro- 'A HISTORY OF SLOVAK.IA
grams •took on a new life. This I
in En lish
fina,lly led to Slovak independence :
g
in 193e.
I
SUPPLY IS LIMITED
Even eminent scholars o.f Slavisti:cs did not look into the per- I
Get your copy NOW.
sonality of Iludovit Stur. Lack of 1
,access to, the oriiginal works of i
Cloth cover, 382 pages
Stur led some Slavists t o accept I
th•e judgment of ma,ny politica,Uy i
$6.00
pr,ejuditced Czech authors. Some
went so far as to laibel Stur with
J. Kollar and Saifarik as Czechs 1
although they were SlovaJks. Stur's :
by Gilbert L. Oddo
greaitest achievement wa:s the codification of the new Slo:vak Ii- '
terary language.
JEDNOTA PRINTERY
Credit is due to Kirschbaum's
P. 0. Bo,x 150
present booklet inasmuch as it
Middletown, Pa.
helps to clarify not only the na1
1
==============
1
1
Slovakia And Its People
�
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1960, Vol. 10
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<ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li>
<li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li>
</ul>
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1960
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74
SLOVAKIA
NEW BOOKS
Gilbe rt L. Oddo: Slova kia and by the ,p roper and wide circulation
Its People, Robert Speller and <Yf this book.
Sons, New York, 1960; 362
pp., $6.00.
This scholarly work is a most
fitting tri!bute to the pla<ce and
stature of Francis Hrufovsky in
the annals of Slovakian histoi,y.
Offered in memory of that distinguished Slov-ak historian, it serves
as the first systemati:c history Olf
the S:lovak nation in the English
language. The privilege that Professor Gilbert L. Oddo enjoys in
this respect is more than justilfied
by the sterling at triibutes of his
product. By careful research,, detailed documentat-i<on and balanced
interpretation he has filled a gap
in knowledlge and underst-anding
that has existed for too long in
the English-speaking countries. U!ns
tfil now has ,b een a serious gap
which no amount Olf pamphlets, papers and other transient media
could adequately narrow. An important, authoritative source on
the Slovak nat•ion has haippily
emerged in, an important and
leadin1g language of the world.
While today many eyes are centered on Catholic countries like
Olllba and others, wondering how
and by what means a communist
takeover might be achieived, tomorrow, as a result of works of
this kind, they wti.11 become more
and more focused on a predominantly Catholic counti,y behind
the Iron Curtain which by no
means has recei'Ved is fair due in
world attention, evaluation and
signi!ficance. Purposely distorted
propaganda has clouded Western,
and particUJlarly American, unldierstandi.ng r,f reality and aspirations
r,f over four million people making urp the Slovak nat ion. Much of
this politically contrived propaganda will undoulbtedly be dissi,pated
It is truly amazinig the extent
to which our thinkiing albout other
people and nations is seriously
discolored by myths and failse•
hoods that ha.ve g-a,i ned currency
through calculated effort on the
part of the politiically ambitious
few and, more so, through habitual usage and mental inertia. In
these times it is even iroruical to
hear many Olf our pwblic and private leaders urge in one breath
that lfor our long-term security interests it is utterly indispensaible
for us to understand other peoples
and nations and then, in, the very
ne~t breath, deny the distinctive
nattiional existence of a given people by parroting unfounded and
mis leading nomer·s and cliches.
This writer has witnessed many
trying, in efifect, to squMe a ciTcle
by speaking, on the one hand, ()ff
the glorious fight of Slovak patriots for nation.al independence
and th en, on the other hand, reiterating the myth of a "Czechoslovak nation." Fortun,ately, in
most instances this self-<!ontl'adiction is the con'sequence of an in~irm grasp of basiic essentials albout
Slovaikia for which now there can
be no excuse. lli. Oddo clearly
and vividly provides t,h ese essentials in this hi-ghil.y readaible and
accessible work.
Despite the open record of nat ional Slovak resistance again•st
communiist domination, the story
of Slov.akia is a story Olf a nation's fight for fu'eedom and survival goes back well beyond the
conteimpor,ary period. In a real
sense, the present subjugation otf
this undyin·g nation is only another chapter in, its long and
evenbful history. Its cumulative experience in alternating periods of
1
1
1
SLOVAKIA
75
independence and capt-i<vity pre- tianirty, social justi'Ce, literature,
pares and equips its people welll cuJture, and the freedom of Slofor the tasks and chaU,enges olf vak!ia. The role of Trnava Univerthe present struggle. As one readls sity, the Slovak role i 1n, the evoluwbout rthe many historic occaS:i.on-s tion of the Czechs, Slovak if.fieedom
forming the distinctive history of and the 1848 Revolution, the St.
this European nation, he cannot Martin Memorandum of '1001~ .the
but feel doubly assured that here ::zech-0..Slovak Pact of May 30, 119118
erists one of the truest and most and many other events are events
reliwble allies of the cause of that bespeak the vitality, growth,
world freedom. This volume cov- ,persevernnK!e, and determinatio niof
ers these occasions wrth moving •a strategica1liy situated nation. All
an<l d~scr,iiptive force, an<l the in- 1 this and more spells out a vtbrant
dis,pensalble persp~tri.ve gained by tradition whiich is the .living soul Olf
the reader is insurance enough Slovakia, a permanent reaHrty that
against the repetition of basic no amount ofmyt,h-mraking political
errors concerning rthe right and propaganda can possilbly erase or
property of an independent Slo- for .long conceal. With descriptive
vak nation in the world fami1ly oil' 1 vividness· and factual proportion,
IProfessor Ododo succeeds in tbringnations.
.Asi<le from it.s naturcm. rJgoht of ing out this truth in all its luselif-deterunination - which really minous aspects.
The pattern of events and tragic
doesn't have rto •b e reasserted time
and time again to es!Jalblish the development thwt characterizes the
distinctive character and the sepa- long history of the Slovak nation
rate national will of rthe Slorva!k is rem'barkalbly similar to that of
people - the full creden,t ials of many other nations naw held in
the Slovak nation for sovereignty captiv~ty in the Russian Coonmuanid independence are found in its nist Empini Ukraine, White RusliVt.ing history F1rom the earliest sia, Georgoia, Turkestan and other
backgrounds to the pr,e sent, the subjugated nations in Eastern Eumovement of Slovakian existence rope and Central Asia have on difhas been toward e,opanded free- ferent stages of the historical
dom or t-oward freedom itsellf. ! drama and at different times enFrom the ninth century, when the Icountered - indeed, still do share
first Slovak ruler, Prince Prilbina, 1 - si:milar problems. Problems o!f
reigned, to our century, when on identity and rightful. recogniti1on,
Ma-rch '14, 1939, a new independ- ! of nationial survival and historical
ent Slovakia emerged and was re- I truth, are problems foisted upon
cognized by twenty-seven coun- I the Slovak nation by alien influI
tries, this saga ·o f a people's iixed ences and powers as they are by
dletermina1iion to be free and re- I simi1ar forces in these other areas.
spocted a·s an equal among nations ! The nature and character of these
abounds with heroes, events and j problems, whether arisin,g from
achievements that would glorilfy / •b lind Western iniaipplicatfon of the
the history of any nation, large . ,pri-nciple of national self-determin / ation, misinrter;pre,t,at.ion of the
or small.
The names of SS. Cyiril and Me- / Czecho-6lovak Pact, the Hitlerian
thodius, Janosik, Anthony Beroo- 1episode arul the dtelimmas it posed
laJc, Hlinka, Stefanik, Hurlban-V•a- to maniy peoples in Central and
jansky, Dr. Joseph Tiso and numer- Easter.Ill Europe, are treated with
ous other,s are historic names as- scholarly consideration and balsoci-aited with the advance o! Chni.s- ance in this work. They cannot be
I
76
SLOVAKIA
handled otherwise, for the strug-1 Slo,v ak culture, literature and
the language of the oldest people
gle of a people is involved.
This struggle is today an in- in the Danube region, as well as
tegral and important part of man- the democratic traditions of the
krnd's struggle for freedom . The Slovak nation, are presented in
so,mer many Amer,i cans realize an intiemgilble way. Moreover, the
this, the better wm our position complex events that created and
be in relation to all the eruptive shaped Czecho-Slovakia an'<i then.
nations in the Russian Communi9t led to the declaration of Slovak
Empire. The history of the free- 1 independence on March 14, 1939
dom-loving Slovak nation, as so (six months before the outbreak
competently portrayed here, is a of the war, are so arranged
sufficient guideline for our think- and exiplained as to give the
ing, our policies, our actions and , reader a factual and mastierful
survey of a hectic period in momost of all, for our conscience.
dern history.
Lev E. Dobriansky,
Arrnerican Slovaks are credited
Georgetown University.
with the idea of Slovak independJoseph M. Kirschbaum: Slo- ence in the very frrst chaipter.
vakia - Nation at the Cross- This trilbute is based upon the fact
roads of Central Europe, Ro- that all during the present cenibel"'t Slpeller and Sons, Ne<w tury the Slova1ks here, inspired by
York, 1960; 385 pp,, $5.00.
the spir,it of American freedom,
This latest work by the distin- have spared no effort to help their
guished professor of Slavic Stu- fellow countrymen estalblish a free
dies at the University of Montreal and self-governing state of their
is a well balanced, coordinated and own. To this end they attempted
weIJ.,calculated effort to give a forward step towards self-govthinking people a true picture of Iemment with the Czechs to be
the Slovak nation struggling for equal partners in- the formation
national freedom and survival since I of the first Republic of Czechothe dawn of western civilization. i Slovakra. (Cfr. the Cleveland
In his introduction, Kirschbaum I Agreement of 1915 and the Pittsgives the reader a genuine histo- i burgh Pact of 19118). When the latrical prospective of the land and ter agreement with the Czech repits people in a few pages. In a ' resentatives (including Thomas G.
concise sweep of centuries of -hi- Masal"'yk) was repudiated after the
of the republic,
story, the author traces the fate- establishment
ful course of -this small but dy- the Slovaks, rea.Jizing they were
namic nation from the sixth cen- denied the right to selrf-governI ment in, their home country, retury to the present.
ever before has a reader of newed the struggle, and the moveSlovak histori'Cal development had ment towards a free state of their
the opportunity to learn so quickly , own was accelerated by both the
the real story of a countl"'y whose irresistible force of freedom and
destiny has been and still is close- the sweep of external events, rely associated with the life of its , suiting in the declara1Uon of Sloneighbors, namely, Czechs,, Aits- vak ind'ependen'Ce on, Miarch 14,
trians, Germans, Poles, Russians, 11939.
and Magyars, for here, in a com- , The book is enhanced by more
pact vollllffie, the author has com- than a score of pictures that iipressed centuries of history as it ' lustrate highlights in the history
occurred in the heart of Eurnpe of the Slovak nation. A suitable
!
77
SLOVAKIA
bibliography of s·o me sixty sources
indicates the thorough scho1'arship
that produced it.
Documents and letters relati'Ilg
to the struggle of the Slo;vaiks for
their right t'O self-governmeITTit and
a free stathood are quoited as far
back as April 13, '11849, when a
group of Slovak deputies submitted a petition to the Ministry in
Vienna for national recognition.
These, a total of 712, are up to
1005. Thus, not only is this book
designated fur popular :reading but
also for serious study by students
of hi'story. It will serve to provide them with a basic historical
knowledge of the S1ovak nation,
and wi11 g~ve them a reliaible insight in'to the incredibly fascinating story of Slovakia on the Danube.
Andrew Pie.r, O.S.B., Director,
Slovak Jn.stirtute, Cleveland, 0.
1
Jozef Pauco: Unconquerables.
Vanitage P,ress, N. Y., Washington, Chi~caglo, Holly,wood.
225 pp., $3.50.
In this a•ge of the exiled, the
tempest-rossed and the oppressed,
many have been the men and women of diverse political, religious
and ied'ologicall persuasi·ons whose
fate has been sung and whose
cause won through global sympathy and recognition,.
No less dramatic but perhaps
less sung and stiU not won is the
cause of the Slovak heroes, the
unconqueraibles behind, the iron
curtain, souls who could not and
would not leave, cornvinced that
their mission, is to remain, to oppose the foe and defend the id•e als
that externally have succumbed
but in their hearr ts burn on.
Ph.D. Jlozef Paufo, son of S!lov,akia, whose road has led him from
the Slovaik University into the
world of journalism via Austria
and West Germany, New York,
and now Pennsylvancita, has recor-
ded true stories of Silova,k heroism as personified in the "Whtie
Legionnaires."
Slova~ia, whose fight against
Czech chauvfoism was as little appreciated as that of the Sudeten
Germans a,g;afo,s t Czech encroachment, has a tale of its own to tell
in the 20th cen•tury battle aga,i nst
satanic Coonmuni sm.
Those familiar with the Slo,vak
people know that no wedge has
been or can be driven between
them and their clergy. The Slovaks are devout, loyal Catholics
almost ro a man. Any stor,y olf
their bravery against Bolshevism
is at the same tJime a document
o.f the valor olf their priests, nuns,
and o,ther religious who to this
very h1our are traveling a path to
Calvary that only a glowing faith
i-n the Crucified could make possible.
The pages of Pauco's "Unrcon•
queraib!tes" offer the reader no
paipier-mache dons but filesh and
blood men and women like Sister
Katarina, enduring personal insuit and humi!Jiation, foreed to
witness the desecra'tion of what
she ho1ds most sacred; like teacher Stach, dediicated to saving
Slovak youth from the acids of
Bolshevist ideology by fonning
secret schools to lecture on religi•on, ins<tihl Slovak ideals in young
folk and keep good literature
alive.
We read of the diabolical chticanery iruvented to prevent the
people oi a Slovak village from
going on a pilgrimage and we see
that simple faith undaunted even
in the face o,f outright deceit and
force . We see the enemy systematically trying to wproot Christian prindples from the school's
and Slovak way of life and see
the Legionna,i res fig;hting hack.
Simple s'traightforwaror books
like Pauco's should be placed on
required reading lists for schools
I
SLOVAKIA
78
and in public li!braries all over I L. Niederle, e<tc.) and try to shed
the coullltry. Irts message goes right a new light on this, period of
Slavic history and civilization. And
to the heart.
while we may disagree with their
Frances McPoyne.
"marxist" methods, it will be difStephen Smriik, S.J.,: The .flicult to deny the conclusfons
Glagolitic or Romano-S'lavonic reached whi<ch are supported by
Liturgy, Series Cyrill()'Illethodi- research in archeofogy and p,hiana, Slovak Institute, Cleve- lology.
a'and, Rome, 195'9, 1120 pp., ilThe author of The Glagolitic or
Roman-Slavonic Liturgy wrote his
lustraited; $2.50.
The approachiing 1100th anni- I book on .this side of the Iron Curversary of the arrival of SS. Cyril , tain, in Rome, where und,oUlbtedly
and Metiliodfos to Great Moravia, j many original sources, until now
inspir-ed several Slovak Slavists to only partly or not at all used,
publish a series of s,cholM"lY stu- ,I were at his disposal. Thi'S g,ives to
dies in English called Cyrilome- his study on the introductii.on of
thodiana. The first volume was the ancierut Slovak (Slovanic) Ianprepared by a Sloivak exipert in guage into the Christian, •l iturgy a
medieval arts, Prolfessor J. G. Cin- value of original reaserch and
cik. Allthougih its tiitle reads An- makes his book a contribution to
glo-Saxon and Slovak-Avar Pat• the Slavis<tJics. Recognition of the
terns of the Cuthbert Gospel, it re- Slovaniic language by ROlllle as one
fers in its conclusions to the mis- of the liturgi.cal languages, at a
sion of SS. Cyril and Meithodius. time when Slavs were lbut barba(See a rev-itew on, this in Slavic and rians, was an epoch-making eivent
East European Studies, Vol. IIII, which laid the foundation for a
F. 4, p. 240). The second volume I new Slav,i,c civilization that spread
is the well,balanced and carefully ! from Great Moraivia and later d~
veloped among Southern and Eastedited study by Rev. Stephen
zik, S.J., a learned Sllovak Jesuit, ern Slavs. The corutinuous interest
study-Jng and teaching in Italy. 1 of Slavis'ts in this epooh is conGreat Moravia and the civiliza- ! sequently understandalble.
tion which started in the t erri- 1 Father Sanrzik r,e-examined in
tory of today's Sl 01Vakia, Moraivia, \ his scholarly treatise the views and
Southern Poland, a,nd Slo-v enia I theories of several Slavi•s ts on• the
(the comp'o nen:t parts of Greater IRoman-Slovanic liturgy, called also
Moravia) with the missi'On of SS. the Glagolitic liturgy. In order to
Cyril and Methodius, became in ! arrive at objective conclusions, the
the past decades a favorite field of j author analyzed the theories which
study and research of many S.la- j assert that the Roman Siova'lllic livis1ts of Polish, Slovak, Sloveni'an, I turgy was in't roduced already by
Crech, and Hungartan origin. 1 the Slovak a,postles, CY["il and
Scores of books have been, pulb- 1 Methodius, as well as the theories
lis_hed b~hind the Iron Cm,tain on j whi~h assert that they _had no conthis subJect namely by Slovak and I nect110n whatsoever with the RoCzech archeologists and linguists mano.Slovanic liturgy. Writing his
(Poul-&, Eisner, Tocik, Stanislav, : bO'ok in Rome, the author had an
Isacenko, Dek>an, Pauliny, etc.) who : excellent opportunity for peru&ing
challenge the vtiews and theories I all the principal works on the subof previous researche:rs (F. Dvor- ject. As a result, he gives us the
nik, J . Skultety, P. Hrusovsky, V. views of Cherubi,n, Segivic, who exJagic, J. Dobrovsky, J. P. Safarik, pounded his theory on the origin
Smr- 1
1
SLOVAKIA
on the ROl!Ilan-Slovanic liturrgy lin
several puiblica'tions, denying the
Cyrilo-Methodian origJn of the Roman-Slovanic liturgy, as weU as
thie 1heories· of Orthodox authors
Gorazd Pa,vlik and Jif.i Novak, on
the one ha-nd, and recent pro-Cyrilomethodiian theories oif Ivan Bercic, F. Pasternak, S. Rittig, Anton Brtikner, and C. Mohlberg, on
the otherr hand.
The author g.ives a clear evaluation and a crlitique of all theories
and presents a syn'thesis of the
evolution and preserut status of the
liturgy which, according to him, is
western in its ceremonies and
eastern in its· language. For Fiather
Smrzik there is no douibt that the
Roman-Slov~nic liturgy was introduced lby the Slovak apostles
Cyril and Methodius in Gre-a t Moravia. Sinre he arri>ved at this
coniclusion on the basis of a thorough study of so many eminent
Slavists, whose works were predominenltly published in Slavic languages, his book is und'OUlbtedly
a valualble contribution to the elucidation of the sulbject.
The boolk also contains a chapter on history of the Roman-6110vanic liturgy which makes it an
the more v,aluable for readers who
are not acqua,i nted with the s·ubject. However, this chap'ter should
have come, in this reviewer's
opinion, -as Ohapter I. Chapter II,
w,hich deals with t,h e oldest written
record,s of the Rom,an-Siovanic liturgy, completes eff~ct-ively the
picture of the origin and development of the ROl!Ilan-Slovanic liturgy. Scholars in Slaivic subje'cts
will appreciate also the author's
bilbliograiphy, but n1dt including an
index is one of the shortcomings
of this excellent and well-eddted
stud!Y which is enr-ichied by several
repro<lucti'Ons and illustrations.
I
79
J. M. Kirschbaum: Contempo•
rary Tendencies in Slovak Phi•
lology, an offprint from the
periodical SI:avk and East European Studies, Vol. IV, No.
3-4, Department Olf Slavic Stud:ies, University Olf Montreal;
114 pp.
Though Professor Kirschlbaum's
concise study is primair.iJy destinoo
for scholars and teachers, it gives,
neventheiess, a clear picture of
Slovaik endeavors in the field of
philology to all who -are interested in the Slovak languag,e and
in its relation to other Slavic
languages. Man!Y American and
Canadian readers• will be sur,pci-sed
to Jearn that the relation between
the Czech and the Slovaik language is not onJy a relaitdon between two distinct Slavic languages, but ,t hat Czech poetry and
prose are now tl"anslated !into rbhe
Slovak and vice versa as the Polish or Russian have always been.
There was much confusion albowt
this relation even in academic
circles. ,T he value of Kirschlbaum's
·new study !lies in its cleair elucida.bon of the sulbject and of the
reasons which, for so many years
w.ere res,ponsilble for the existing
con/fusion.
,Divid-ed into three chapters, the
s,tu,dy presents a short, ,b ut scholarly perusal of contemporary tendencies in Slovak philology which
is sUJbject to Russian pressure in
the same way as the whole Slovak
cultural lilfe has been from [945.
While the author of the s,tudy admits that Slovaik philology develops comparaitiv,e ly undisitUT1bed
by the incluSlion of Slovaik:ia within the Soviet cultural and political s,p he,r e of influence, he points
to the attempts o;f some young
philologists to impose "iMarxlis,t"
or "StaJin'·s" dir:ectives upon the
J. M. Kirschbaum,
aeti<vities o~ Slovak philologists.
University of Montreal.
An anialysis of two volumes olf
1
SLOVAKIA
80
"Bilbl'iography of Slovak PhHolo gy" tional origin of these men, but
Cfor the y,e ars 1'93•9,,119417 and 1'!)!4& especially the position and role
195'2) makes Kiirschlbaum's study of Sttir in forming m<Ydern literacy
pa.r ticularly valuable, as it shows Slovak, in unifying the Slovak nahow th e indi,v idual £ields of Slo- tion, and ,l eading the Slov,aks in
vak phi,1,ology de,v eloped during their fight for national survival
the past 20 years. The fact, that and independence. The author c. i
the study is based on a thorough ;•this 1booklet did not enumerate all
resea11ch into original S1'ovalk ,t he availaibLe bilbliography, but
works giv,es to this first English brought out the lit,e ratur,e based
treatise of S1-0'Vak philology an •o n oriiginal manuscripts, which unadded va,Iue.
fortuiniaitely are still little known
A. 'D.
. among the Sla,vists on ,this con1
.
,
, • , tinent, and a score of works in
J. M. ~•rschbam: L'.udovit S t ~r several foreign 1'anguages.
and His Pl~c! In the Slavic · Four condensed chapters which
'-'."oiild, Sla,vistma No. 32, _if>uib- 1make up this booklet cannot exL1s_he~ by the Slovak In st itute, I haust the per,sonaliity of Iludlorvit
Wmn11peg...JC1'erveland,
1 9 5 8; Stur as a philosopher of Prun.SlavG-4 PP' ism, as a linguist and philologist,
il.ittle has !been written in Eng- ' as an aesthete and poet, and as a
lish rubout Stur's ideas of Pan- ' Slovak naition1a,l leader. lt is our
Slavism and about his •i deas con- hope that J. M. Kirschlbaum will
cerning the stmgg,l e for indei)end- 1,e ventua•Lly enlarge this valuable
ence of ,t he Slo;vaik nation, and study into a 11esource!ful book fulonoe he -exhausted all peac,efuil ly and thoroughly evaluating the
,parlJ.amentary and .political means, ; ~igan,ti,c personality of Iludovit
his role ,in the Iieibellion against Stur.
Magyar oppression in 11848. The
John Rekem,
Slovak natio•n, dly.ing a slow death '
Winniipeg.
under Miagyar oppression, was 1
greatly l!eartened and strength- 1
AT LAST
ened by Stur's new unifying liverary language and culitu~al pro- 'A HISTORY OF SLOVAK.IA
grams •took on a new life. This I
in En lish
fina,lly led to Slovak independence :
g
in 193e.
I
SUPPLY IS LIMITED
Even eminent scholars o.f Slavisti:cs did not look into the per- I
Get your copy NOW.
sonality of Iludovit Stur. Lack of 1
,access to, the oriiginal works of i
Cloth cover, 382 pages
Stur led some Slavists t o accept I
th•e judgment of ma,ny politica,Uy i
$6.00
pr,ejuditced Czech authors. Some
went so far as to laibel Stur with
J. Kollar and Saifarik as Czechs 1
although they were SlovaJks. Stur's :
by Gilbert L. Oddo
greaitest achievement wa:s the codification of the new Slo:vak Ii- '
terary language.
JEDNOTA PRINTERY
Credit is due to Kirschbaum's
P. 0. Bo,x 150
present booklet inasmuch as it
Middletown, Pa.
helps to clarify not only the na1
1
==============
1
1
Slovakia And Its People
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Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 6 (31)
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Text
SLOV AKIA
Published by the Slovak League of America
VOL. X
MARCH-JUNE, 1960
NO. 6 (31)
ST. GERMAIN AND MUNICH
Two events, the anniversaries of which were celebrated
in 1958,left deep marks on European and world history:
the founding of Czecho-Slovakia 40 years ago on October
28, 1918, and its cession to Germany of the Sudeten lands,
the execution of which was regulated between England,
France, Italy and Germany 20 years ago in the Munich
Agreement of September 29, 1938.
Po1iticrul observers witlh but superficial knowledge of
the domestic conditions in pre-war Czecho-Slovakia often
see the Anschluss with Germany of the Sudetenland in the
fall of 1938 solely as a consequence of Hitler's power policy and deny the existence of serious nationality pr,oblems
in Masaryk's and Benes' little "model democracy." They
therefore judge the material value of these events as results of dictatorial coercion, which they reject.
It cannot be denied tha,t Hitler's interference affected
the solution of the Sudeten German question in 1938. lt
should not be overlooked, however, that Hitler neither creoced the Sudeten issue, nor did the Sudeten Germans ever
form a fi:flth column within Czecho-Slovalria, as malevolenits sometimes maintain. The Sudeten issue had existed
as an internal Czecho-Slovak problem ever since that country's very beginnings. Hitler, to be sure, raised this question to the level of international politics. Involuntarily h e
was aided by the Cech governmenlt's rigid frustration of
any fair agreement on the nationality issue with the Sudeten Germans from 1918 to 1938.
The truth of this statement is proven by the debate
in the Br1tish House of Oommons on October 3, 1938,
where representatives of all parties expressed the convict ion that the Munich decision was but a .correction of a
wrong inflicted upon the Sudeten Germans 20 years ago
�2
SLOVAKIA
at the peace conference of St. Germain. Neville Henderson,
then British Ambassador to Berlin, summarized his judgment on the affuir in the words: Czecho-S[ovakia lost
territories which better had not been inco~porated into
the Czech State at the Versailles Peace Conference and
which - except on the basis of a federation - could not
have remained there forever.
Moreover, it is necessary to distinguish carefully bet ween the Anschluss of the Sudeten region with Germany
in September-October, 1938, and Hitler's occupation of
the Czech-inhabited parts of Bohemia and Moravia in
March, 1939, when the Reich .government established a
protectorate over the Czech people.
The Sudeten C'~rmans had nothing whatsoever to do
with this aot of Hitler's. In fact, they disapproved of it
because their experience during the first Czecho-Slovak
Republic had taught them that a durable and peaceful
settlement could not be reached within Central Europe
u111less it was based on a strictJly equal treatment of both
Czechs and Germans, and that any discriminatory policy
of one of them toward the other would necessarily lead
to unrest. The violation of this principle had caused the
disruption of Czecho-S'lovakia; its neglect by Hirtler was
also to have serious consequences.
The physical and tempora:l proximity of Sudetenland's Anschluss with Germany in October, 1938, and
Hitler's occupation of Prague in March, 1939, as well as
his dmmaJtic pal'ticipation in both events, together with
the anti-German war propaganda that shortly ensued,
caused many persons to see in the Munich Agreement of
September 29, 1938, a dishonest ·defeat of the democracies
by Hitler's shrewd power politics. Even to<my there lingers an aftertaste of vacillating appeasemenrt when the
Munich Agreement is mentioned.
But "Munich" gained this ill repute unjustly. For the
M'llllich Agreement did not contain a demand on CzechoSlovakia to cede to Germany the Sudeten territory, nor
was Czecho-Slovakia forced by the agreement to such cession. The Czecho-Slovak governmenit had one week previously expressed to the ambassadors of France and
�SLOVAKIA
3
Great Bdtai.n in Prague iJt.s willingness to band over to
GeI'Illany the German-inhabited areas of western CzechoS'lovakia. Upon that declaration of cession the British and
French heads of government had acted when they went
to Munich to negotiate with Hitler on the procedure fur
transferring the areas in question from Czech to German
authority. (1)
It is necessary to note in this context that t!he legaJlity of said cession was universally acknowledged at that
time.
Czecho-Slovakia Not Homogeneous
In order to understand the internal causes of the
1938 Sudeten crisis it will be necessary to review briefly
the conditions as they existed in pre-war -- Czecho-Slovakiia
and to tra;ce the problem to its roots.
Until 1918, the area known a-s Czecho-Slovakia was
part of the Austro-Hungarian mum-national empire. At
the Paris Peace Oonference Benes demanded the dissolution of Austriia-Hungary and .the founding of a Czech State
on the ground of national self-determination and certain
historic claims. By resorting to fallsified population statistics and erroneously drawn maps he caused the forceful
inclusion of more than three million Sudeten Germ.ans into the Czech State, at the same time denying those Germans - at the point of a gun - the very right of selfdetermination he had requested and obtained from the
peace conference for his own nation. (2)
Czecho-Slovakia was by no means a nationally homogeneous StaJte. The census of 1930 (naturally, inc'lined to
favor tihe Czechs) revealed that country's population to
number 7.2 million Czechs, 3.3 million Germans, 2.3 mHlion
Slovaks, 700,000 Magyars, 550,000 Ukrainians, 190,000
Jews (3) , and 130,000 Poles and others. Almost one-half
the country's population was non-Czech - accoirding to
official Czech figures. That the Slovaks and Czechs together do not constitute a unitary nation, is obvious to anyone conversant with the history and language of these
two peoples.
The need to seek a workable agreement between the
Czech government and the 7 million non-Czech people in
�4
SLOVAKIA
the CSR was well conceived by the participants of the peace
conference, especially by the representatives of the United
States. The American delegates objected strenuously to the
violation of the self-determination right with respect to the
Sudeten Germans and the drawing of boundruries on strategic principles. ( 4)
Even the Commission ron the new State at the peace
conference warned in its final report that "the prosperity
and perhaps almost the existence of the new State will
depend upon the success with which it incorporates the
Germans as wirling citizens."
Czech Discriminatory Measures
But instead of realistically accepting the multi-national character of the State as a factor State poliicy must
reckon with, the Czech leaders used shrewd administrative tactics to advance into the areas in which the other
national groups were settled. Benes' solemn promise at
the peace conference of St. Germain in 1918, to make of
Czecho-Slovakia a sort of Switzerland, in which the various nationalri ties could live side by side and share equal
rights (5), remained but an empty promise. To what extent the official State policy was guided by discriminatory lines becomes obvious by citing but a few exiamples:
In 1919 the nobility was deprived of land in accordance with the land expropriation act. Between 1921 and
1924 about 1,500 acres of this land were turned over to
Germans, while over 600,000 acres were given to Czech
settlers, although the land in question lay almost exclusively within German territory. Thus the land reform be,
came in fact an instrument of Czech penetration into German land.
After the founding of ,tJhe Czecho-Slovak State, 60,000
German public servants were dismissed from office and
replaced by Czechs who worked in areas exclusively Germain though often they were unable to wnderstand a single
word of Germ'a n.
rr,he number of pupils per classroom was raised from
40 to 60, resulting in the dissolution of more than 1,000
German elementary school cla:sses between 1921 and 1935.
�SLOVAKIA
5
Concurrently there were set up palatial schools for the
children of Czech officialdom in the Sudetenland for whom
the above-mention ed figures did not apply. To denationalize the German areas, attempts were made to make the
schools atJtractive to German children; unemployed persons were urged to send their children the-re with promises of a warm noon meal and ariticles of clothing, features
which ,the poorly equipped German schools could not afford.
The government made the placing of State orders
with German industries dependent on whether or not a
certain percenitage of Czech workers were employed. This
led to dismissals of German workmen with the result that
when tlhe economic depression of the 1930's struck, 500,000
of the tota'l 800,000 jobless in Czecho-Slova kia were of
German ethnic origin. This meant that every sixth Sudeten
German in Czecho-Slovak ia was jobless, while of the more
than 11 mil.Jion non-German members of the population,
only every 36th person had to live on the meager unemployment compensation .
As the Czech government refused to take any action
on the complaints of the Sudeten Germans, however justified, tfue Sudeten leaders were constrruined to register 22
complaints with the League of Nations, hoping that Czecho-Slovakia would be urged by that organization to live
up to its obligations as provided in the peace treaty and
the international treaty on the protection of minorities,
which was part of the pea(!e settlement.
Sudeten German Loyalty
Lovd Runcima:n, British investigator and mediator,
confirmed the facts and summarized his findings in a report to the British Prime Minister of September, 1938.
"It is a hard thing to be ruled by an alien race; and I
have been left with the impression that the Czecho-Slovak
rule in the Sudeten areas for the last twenty years ... has
been marked by .tactlessness, lack of understanding , petty
intolerance and discrimination , to a point where the resentment of the German population was inevitably moving in
the direction of revolt."
�6
SLOVAKIA
Despite these grievances, the Sudeten Germans had
loyally done their duty. Three major political parties tried
to cooperate w1th the Czech government. Even Herillein's
Sudeten German Party had soughit a solution for years on
the basis of German-Czech reconciliation with the State.
Up to the summer of 1938 its program called for Sudeten
German "home rule." Before May 21, 1938, when Benes
mobilized the Czecho-Slovak army, Hitler had not taken
any conceivable interest in the Sudeten German grievances
and it wou1d have been possible to solve the question on an
internal 11ather than an international level, provided the
Czech goviernment had shown "any readiness to remedy them on an adequate scale," as Lord Runciman put it.
When Benes offered his so-caHed "Fourth Plan" which he later called a jest - fairly meeting the Sudeten
German requests, the final decision was no longer his or
Henlein's. The Sudeten question had already grown f.rom
a domestic afifair into a serious international crisis. - S. B.
(1) A detailed study wHh aimplle reiference to then conteimporary
sources is to be found in Herman RaS:Ohh()lfer's "Die Sudetenfrage,"
Munich, 1953, and Wenzel Jaksch's "Europas Weg nach Potsdam,"
S'tuttgart, 1958.
(2) On Maoch 4, 1<919, when Sudeten Gerlffians of all political
affiliations protested pUiblicly a,gainst this denial of self-deterunir.,ation and foreed submission to Czech domination, the Cz<eeh army
fired into the crowds causing 54 dead and man,y wounded.
(3) In Czecho-Slovakia the Jews were considered as a separate
nationality.
(4) Of. H. Nicolsen, Peace Making, London, 1938.
(5) 1Dr. Edward Benes in Aid Memoire m: ".Et is the intention
of the Czecho-Slovak government ... to make of Czecho-Slovakia a
sorit of Switzerland."
•
•
•
WHO SAID IT?
"In Ozech ,politics, in Ozech national life, it is urgent that
we COlffie to am understanding with the Communist Party . . . the COilnllllll.llllist party shahl remain the greatest
force in our political scheme even after the elections are
over, and socialism shall remain the foundation of our national life. . . . Oommg to terms with the Communists is
the golden theme of our politi<!al philosophy." - (1F erdinan.d
Peroutka, a Benes Czech employed by Radio Free Europe,
DNE~IDK, 2-9-48).
�
SLOV AKIA
Published by the Slovak League of America
VOL. X
MARCH-JUNE, 1960
NO. 6 (31)
ST. GERMAIN AND MUNICH
Two events, the anniversaries of which were celebrated
in 1958,left deep marks on European and world history:
the founding of Czecho-Slovakia 40 years ago on October
28, 1918, and its cession to Germany of the Sudeten lands,
the execution of which was regulated between England,
France, Italy and Germany 20 years ago in the Munich
Agreement of September 29, 1938.
Po1iticrul observers witlh but superficial knowledge of
the domestic conditions in pre-war Czecho-Slovakia often
see the Anschluss with Germany of the Sudetenland in the
fall of 1938 solely as a consequence of Hitler's power policy and deny the existence of serious nationality pr,oblems
in Masaryk's and Benes' little "model democracy." They
therefore judge the material value of these events as results of dictatorial coercion, which they reject.
It cannot be denied tha,t Hitler's interference affected
the solution of the Sudeten German question in 1938. lt
should not be overlooked, however, that Hitler neither creoced the Sudeten issue, nor did the Sudeten Germans ever
form a fi:flth column within Czecho-Slovalria, as malevolenits sometimes maintain. The Sudeten issue had existed
as an internal Czecho-Slovak problem ever since that country's very beginnings. Hitler, to be sure, raised this question to the level of international politics. Involuntarily h e
was aided by the Cech governmenlt's rigid frustration of
any fair agreement on the nationality issue with the Sudeten Germans from 1918 to 1938.
The truth of this statement is proven by the debate
in the Br1tish House of Oommons on October 3, 1938,
where representatives of all parties expressed the convict ion that the Munich decision was but a .correction of a
wrong inflicted upon the Sudeten Germans 20 years ago
�2
SLOVAKIA
at the peace conference of St. Germain. Neville Henderson,
then British Ambassador to Berlin, summarized his judgment on the affuir in the words: Czecho-S[ovakia lost
territories which better had not been inco~porated into
the Czech State at the Versailles Peace Conference and
which - except on the basis of a federation - could not
have remained there forever.
Moreover, it is necessary to distinguish carefully bet ween the Anschluss of the Sudeten region with Germany
in September-October, 1938, and Hitler's occupation of
the Czech-inhabited parts of Bohemia and Moravia in
March, 1939, when the Reich .government established a
protectorate over the Czech people.
The Sudeten C'~rmans had nothing whatsoever to do
with this aot of Hitler's. In fact, they disapproved of it
because their experience during the first Czecho-Slovak
Republic had taught them that a durable and peaceful
settlement could not be reached within Central Europe
u111less it was based on a strictJly equal treatment of both
Czechs and Germans, and that any discriminatory policy
of one of them toward the other would necessarily lead
to unrest. The violation of this principle had caused the
disruption of Czecho-S'lovakia; its neglect by Hirtler was
also to have serious consequences.
The physical and tempora:l proximity of Sudetenland's Anschluss with Germany in October, 1938, and
Hitler's occupation of Prague in March, 1939, as well as
his dmmaJtic pal'ticipation in both events, together with
the anti-German war propaganda that shortly ensued,
caused many persons to see in the Munich Agreement of
September 29, 1938, a dishonest ·defeat of the democracies
by Hitler's shrewd power politics. Even to<my there lingers an aftertaste of vacillating appeasemenrt when the
Munich Agreement is mentioned.
But "Munich" gained this ill repute unjustly. For the
M'llllich Agreement did not contain a demand on CzechoSlovakia to cede to Germany the Sudeten territory, nor
was Czecho-Slovakia forced by the agreement to such cession. The Czecho-Slovak governmenit had one week previously expressed to the ambassadors of France and
�SLOVAKIA
3
Great Bdtai.n in Prague iJt.s willingness to band over to
GeI'Illany the German-inhabited areas of western CzechoS'lovakia. Upon that declaration of cession the British and
French heads of government had acted when they went
to Munich to negotiate with Hitler on the procedure fur
transferring the areas in question from Czech to German
authority. (1)
It is necessary to note in this context that t!he legaJlity of said cession was universally acknowledged at that
time.
Czecho-Slovakia Not Homogeneous
In order to understand the internal causes of the
1938 Sudeten crisis it will be necessary to review briefly
the conditions as they existed in pre-war -- Czecho-Slovakiia
and to tra;ce the problem to its roots.
Until 1918, the area known a-s Czecho-Slovakia was
part of the Austro-Hungarian mum-national empire. At
the Paris Peace Oonference Benes demanded the dissolution of Austriia-Hungary and .the founding of a Czech State
on the ground of national self-determination and certain
historic claims. By resorting to fallsified population statistics and erroneously drawn maps he caused the forceful
inclusion of more than three million Sudeten Germ.ans into the Czech State, at the same time denying those Germans - at the point of a gun - the very right of selfdetermination he had requested and obtained from the
peace conference for his own nation. (2)
Czecho-Slovakia was by no means a nationally homogeneous StaJte. The census of 1930 (naturally, inc'lined to
favor tihe Czechs) revealed that country's population to
number 7.2 million Czechs, 3.3 million Germans, 2.3 mHlion
Slovaks, 700,000 Magyars, 550,000 Ukrainians, 190,000
Jews (3) , and 130,000 Poles and others. Almost one-half
the country's population was non-Czech - accoirding to
official Czech figures. That the Slovaks and Czechs together do not constitute a unitary nation, is obvious to anyone conversant with the history and language of these
two peoples.
The need to seek a workable agreement between the
Czech government and the 7 million non-Czech people in
�4
SLOVAKIA
the CSR was well conceived by the participants of the peace
conference, especially by the representatives of the United
States. The American delegates objected strenuously to the
violation of the self-determination right with respect to the
Sudeten Germans and the drawing of boundruries on strategic principles. ( 4)
Even the Commission ron the new State at the peace
conference warned in its final report that "the prosperity
and perhaps almost the existence of the new State will
depend upon the success with which it incorporates the
Germans as wirling citizens."
Czech Discriminatory Measures
But instead of realistically accepting the multi-national character of the State as a factor State poliicy must
reckon with, the Czech leaders used shrewd administrative tactics to advance into the areas in which the other
national groups were settled. Benes' solemn promise at
the peace conference of St. Germain in 1918, to make of
Czecho-Slovakia a sort of Switzerland, in which the various nationalri ties could live side by side and share equal
rights (5), remained but an empty promise. To what extent the official State policy was guided by discriminatory lines becomes obvious by citing but a few exiamples:
In 1919 the nobility was deprived of land in accordance with the land expropriation act. Between 1921 and
1924 about 1,500 acres of this land were turned over to
Germans, while over 600,000 acres were given to Czech
settlers, although the land in question lay almost exclusively within German territory. Thus the land reform be,
came in fact an instrument of Czech penetration into German land.
After the founding of ,tJhe Czecho-Slovak State, 60,000
German public servants were dismissed from office and
replaced by Czechs who worked in areas exclusively Germain though often they were unable to wnderstand a single
word of Germ'a n.
rr,he number of pupils per classroom was raised from
40 to 60, resulting in the dissolution of more than 1,000
German elementary school cla:sses between 1921 and 1935.
�SLOVAKIA
5
Concurrently there were set up palatial schools for the
children of Czech officialdom in the Sudetenland for whom
the above-mention ed figures did not apply. To denationalize the German areas, attempts were made to make the
schools atJtractive to German children; unemployed persons were urged to send their children the-re with promises of a warm noon meal and ariticles of clothing, features
which ,the poorly equipped German schools could not afford.
The government made the placing of State orders
with German industries dependent on whether or not a
certain percenitage of Czech workers were employed. This
led to dismissals of German workmen with the result that
when tlhe economic depression of the 1930's struck, 500,000
of the tota'l 800,000 jobless in Czecho-Slova kia were of
German ethnic origin. This meant that every sixth Sudeten
German in Czecho-Slovak ia was jobless, while of the more
than 11 mil.Jion non-German members of the population,
only every 36th person had to live on the meager unemployment compensation .
As the Czech government refused to take any action
on the complaints of the Sudeten Germans, however justified, tfue Sudeten leaders were constrruined to register 22
complaints with the League of Nations, hoping that Czecho-Slovakia would be urged by that organization to live
up to its obligations as provided in the peace treaty and
the international treaty on the protection of minorities,
which was part of the pea(!e settlement.
Sudeten German Loyalty
Lovd Runcima:n, British investigator and mediator,
confirmed the facts and summarized his findings in a report to the British Prime Minister of September, 1938.
"It is a hard thing to be ruled by an alien race; and I
have been left with the impression that the Czecho-Slovak
rule in the Sudeten areas for the last twenty years ... has
been marked by .tactlessness, lack of understanding , petty
intolerance and discrimination , to a point where the resentment of the German population was inevitably moving in
the direction of revolt."
�6
SLOVAKIA
Despite these grievances, the Sudeten Germans had
loyally done their duty. Three major political parties tried
to cooperate w1th the Czech government. Even Herillein's
Sudeten German Party had soughit a solution for years on
the basis of German-Czech reconciliation with the State.
Up to the summer of 1938 its program called for Sudeten
German "home rule." Before May 21, 1938, when Benes
mobilized the Czecho-Slovak army, Hitler had not taken
any conceivable interest in the Sudeten German grievances
and it wou1d have been possible to solve the question on an
internal 11ather than an international level, provided the
Czech goviernment had shown "any readiness to remedy them on an adequate scale," as Lord Runciman put it.
When Benes offered his so-caHed "Fourth Plan" which he later called a jest - fairly meeting the Sudeten
German requests, the final decision was no longer his or
Henlein's. The Sudeten question had already grown f.rom
a domestic afifair into a serious international crisis. - S. B.
(1) A detailed study wHh aimplle reiference to then conteimporary
sources is to be found in Herman RaS:Ohh()lfer's "Die Sudetenfrage,"
Munich, 1953, and Wenzel Jaksch's "Europas Weg nach Potsdam,"
S'tuttgart, 1958.
(2) On Maoch 4, 1<919, when Sudeten Gerlffians of all political
affiliations protested pUiblicly a,gainst this denial of self-deterunir.,ation and foreed submission to Czech domination, the Cz<eeh army
fired into the crowds causing 54 dead and man,y wounded.
(3) In Czecho-Slovakia the Jews were considered as a separate
nationality.
(4) Of. H. Nicolsen, Peace Making, London, 1938.
(5) 1Dr. Edward Benes in Aid Memoire m: ".Et is the intention
of the Czecho-Slovak government ... to make of Czecho-Slovakia a
sorit of Switzerland."
•
•
•
WHO SAID IT?
"In Ozech ,politics, in Ozech national life, it is urgent that
we COlffie to am understanding with the Communist Party . . . the COilnllllll.llllist party shahl remain the greatest
force in our political scheme even after the elections are
over, and socialism shall remain the foundation of our national life. . . . Oommg to terms with the Communists is
the golden theme of our politi<!al philosophy." - (1F erdinan.d
Peroutka, a Benes Czech employed by Radio Free Europe,
DNE~IDK, 2-9-48).
�
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Title
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1960, Vol. 10
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li>
<li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li>
</ul>
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1960
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SLOV AKIA
Published by the Slovak League of America
VOL. X
MARCH-JUNE, 1960
NO. 6 (31)
ST. GERMAIN AND MUNICH
Two events, the anniversaries of which were celebrated
in 1958,left deep marks on European and world history:
the founding of Czecho-Slovakia 40 years ago on October
28, 1918, and its cession to Germany of the Sudeten lands,
the execution of which was regulated between England,
France, Italy and Germany 20 years ago in the Munich
Agreement of September 29, 1938.
Po1iticrul observers witlh but superficial knowledge of
the domestic conditions in pre-war Czecho-Slovakia often
see the Anschluss with Germany of the Sudetenland in the
fall of 1938 solely as a consequence of Hitler's power policy and deny the existence of serious nationality pr,oblems
in Masaryk's and Benes' little "model democracy." They
therefore judge the material value of these events as results of dictatorial coercion, which they reject.
It cannot be denied tha,t Hitler's interference affected
the solution of the Sudeten German question in 1938. lt
should not be overlooked, however, that Hitler neither creoced the Sudeten issue, nor did the Sudeten Germans ever
form a fi:flth column within Czecho-Slovalria, as malevolenits sometimes maintain. The Sudeten issue had existed
as an internal Czecho-Slovak problem ever since that country's very beginnings. Hitler, to be sure, raised this question to the level of international politics. Involuntarily h e
was aided by the Cech governmenlt's rigid frustration of
any fair agreement on the nationality issue with the Sudeten Germans from 1918 to 1938.
The truth of this statement is proven by the debate
in the Br1tish House of Oommons on October 3, 1938,
where representatives of all parties expressed the convict ion that the Munich decision was but a .correction of a
wrong inflicted upon the Sudeten Germans 20 years ago
2
SLOVAKIA
at the peace conference of St. Germain. Neville Henderson,
then British Ambassador to Berlin, summarized his judgment on the affuir in the words: Czecho-S[ovakia lost
territories which better had not been inco~porated into
the Czech State at the Versailles Peace Conference and
which - except on the basis of a federation - could not
have remained there forever.
Moreover, it is necessary to distinguish carefully bet ween the Anschluss of the Sudeten region with Germany
in September-October, 1938, and Hitler's occupation of
the Czech-inhabited parts of Bohemia and Moravia in
March, 1939, when the Reich .government established a
protectorate over the Czech people.
The Sudeten C'~rmans had nothing whatsoever to do
with this aot of Hitler's. In fact, they disapproved of it
because their experience during the first Czecho-Slovak
Republic had taught them that a durable and peaceful
settlement could not be reached within Central Europe
u111less it was based on a strictJly equal treatment of both
Czechs and Germans, and that any discriminatory policy
of one of them toward the other would necessarily lead
to unrest. The violation of this principle had caused the
disruption of Czecho-S'lovakia; its neglect by Hirtler was
also to have serious consequences.
The physical and tempora:l proximity of Sudetenland's Anschluss with Germany in October, 1938, and
Hitler's occupation of Prague in March, 1939, as well as
his dmmaJtic pal'ticipation in both events, together with
the anti-German war propaganda that shortly ensued,
caused many persons to see in the Munich Agreement of
September 29, 1938, a dishonest ·defeat of the democracies
by Hitler's shrewd power politics. Even to<my there lingers an aftertaste of vacillating appeasemenrt when the
Munich Agreement is mentioned.
But "Munich" gained this ill repute unjustly. For the
M'llllich Agreement did not contain a demand on CzechoSlovakia to cede to Germany the Sudeten territory, nor
was Czecho-Slovakia forced by the agreement to such cession. The Czecho-Slovak governmenit had one week previously expressed to the ambassadors of France and
SLOVAKIA
3
Great Bdtai.n in Prague iJt.s willingness to band over to
GeI'Illany the German-inhabited areas of western CzechoS'lovakia. Upon that declaration of cession the British and
French heads of government had acted when they went
to Munich to negotiate with Hitler on the procedure fur
transferring the areas in question from Czech to German
authority. (1)
It is necessary to note in this context that t!he legaJlity of said cession was universally acknowledged at that
time.
Czecho-Slovakia Not Homogeneous
In order to understand the internal causes of the
1938 Sudeten crisis it will be necessary to review briefly
the conditions as they existed in pre-war -- Czecho-Slovakiia
and to tra;ce the problem to its roots.
Until 1918, the area known a-s Czecho-Slovakia was
part of the Austro-Hungarian mum-national empire. At
the Paris Peace Oonference Benes demanded the dissolution of Austriia-Hungary and .the founding of a Czech State
on the ground of national self-determination and certain
historic claims. By resorting to fallsified population statistics and erroneously drawn maps he caused the forceful
inclusion of more than three million Sudeten Germ.ans into the Czech State, at the same time denying those Germans - at the point of a gun - the very right of selfdetermination he had requested and obtained from the
peace conference for his own nation. (2)
Czecho-Slovakia was by no means a nationally homogeneous StaJte. The census of 1930 (naturally, inc'lined to
favor tihe Czechs) revealed that country's population to
number 7.2 million Czechs, 3.3 million Germans, 2.3 mHlion
Slovaks, 700,000 Magyars, 550,000 Ukrainians, 190,000
Jews (3) , and 130,000 Poles and others. Almost one-half
the country's population was non-Czech - accoirding to
official Czech figures. That the Slovaks and Czechs together do not constitute a unitary nation, is obvious to anyone conversant with the history and language of these
two peoples.
The need to seek a workable agreement between the
Czech government and the 7 million non-Czech people in
4
SLOVAKIA
the CSR was well conceived by the participants of the peace
conference, especially by the representatives of the United
States. The American delegates objected strenuously to the
violation of the self-determination right with respect to the
Sudeten Germans and the drawing of boundruries on strategic principles. ( 4)
Even the Commission ron the new State at the peace
conference warned in its final report that "the prosperity
and perhaps almost the existence of the new State will
depend upon the success with which it incorporates the
Germans as wirling citizens."
Czech Discriminatory Measures
But instead of realistically accepting the multi-national character of the State as a factor State poliicy must
reckon with, the Czech leaders used shrewd administrative tactics to advance into the areas in which the other
national groups were settled. Benes' solemn promise at
the peace conference of St. Germain in 1918, to make of
Czecho-Slovakia a sort of Switzerland, in which the various nationalri ties could live side by side and share equal
rights (5), remained but an empty promise. To what extent the official State policy was guided by discriminatory lines becomes obvious by citing but a few exiamples:
In 1919 the nobility was deprived of land in accordance with the land expropriation act. Between 1921 and
1924 about 1,500 acres of this land were turned over to
Germans, while over 600,000 acres were given to Czech
settlers, although the land in question lay almost exclusively within German territory. Thus the land reform be,
came in fact an instrument of Czech penetration into German land.
After the founding of ,tJhe Czecho-Slovak State, 60,000
German public servants were dismissed from office and
replaced by Czechs who worked in areas exclusively Germain though often they were unable to wnderstand a single
word of Germ'a n.
rr,he number of pupils per classroom was raised from
40 to 60, resulting in the dissolution of more than 1,000
German elementary school cla:sses between 1921 and 1935.
SLOVAKIA
5
Concurrently there were set up palatial schools for the
children of Czech officialdom in the Sudetenland for whom
the above-mention ed figures did not apply. To denationalize the German areas, attempts were made to make the
schools atJtractive to German children; unemployed persons were urged to send their children the-re with promises of a warm noon meal and ariticles of clothing, features
which ,the poorly equipped German schools could not afford.
The government made the placing of State orders
with German industries dependent on whether or not a
certain percenitage of Czech workers were employed. This
led to dismissals of German workmen with the result that
when tlhe economic depression of the 1930's struck, 500,000
of the tota'l 800,000 jobless in Czecho-Slova kia were of
German ethnic origin. This meant that every sixth Sudeten
German in Czecho-Slovak ia was jobless, while of the more
than 11 mil.Jion non-German members of the population,
only every 36th person had to live on the meager unemployment compensation .
As the Czech government refused to take any action
on the complaints of the Sudeten Germans, however justified, tfue Sudeten leaders were constrruined to register 22
complaints with the League of Nations, hoping that Czecho-Slovakia would be urged by that organization to live
up to its obligations as provided in the peace treaty and
the international treaty on the protection of minorities,
which was part of the pea(!e settlement.
Sudeten German Loyalty
Lovd Runcima:n, British investigator and mediator,
confirmed the facts and summarized his findings in a report to the British Prime Minister of September, 1938.
"It is a hard thing to be ruled by an alien race; and I
have been left with the impression that the Czecho-Slovak
rule in the Sudeten areas for the last twenty years ... has
been marked by .tactlessness, lack of understanding , petty
intolerance and discrimination , to a point where the resentment of the German population was inevitably moving in
the direction of revolt."
6
SLOVAKIA
Despite these grievances, the Sudeten Germans had
loyally done their duty. Three major political parties tried
to cooperate w1th the Czech government. Even Herillein's
Sudeten German Party had soughit a solution for years on
the basis of German-Czech reconciliation with the State.
Up to the summer of 1938 its program called for Sudeten
German "home rule." Before May 21, 1938, when Benes
mobilized the Czecho-Slovak army, Hitler had not taken
any conceivable interest in the Sudeten German grievances
and it wou1d have been possible to solve the question on an
internal 11ather than an international level, provided the
Czech goviernment had shown "any readiness to remedy them on an adequate scale," as Lord Runciman put it.
When Benes offered his so-caHed "Fourth Plan" which he later called a jest - fairly meeting the Sudeten
German requests, the final decision was no longer his or
Henlein's. The Sudeten question had already grown f.rom
a domestic afifair into a serious international crisis. - S. B.
(1) A detailed study wHh aimplle reiference to then conteimporary
sources is to be found in Herman RaS:Ohh()lfer's "Die Sudetenfrage,"
Munich, 1953, and Wenzel Jaksch's "Europas Weg nach Potsdam,"
S'tuttgart, 1958.
(2) On Maoch 4, 1<919, when Sudeten Gerlffians of all political
affiliations protested pUiblicly a,gainst this denial of self-deterunir.,ation and foreed submission to Czech domination, the Cz<eeh army
fired into the crowds causing 54 dead and man,y wounded.
(3) In Czecho-Slovakia the Jews were considered as a separate
nationality.
(4) Of. H. Nicolsen, Peace Making, London, 1938.
(5) 1Dr. Edward Benes in Aid Memoire m: ".Et is the intention
of the Czecho-Slovak government ... to make of Czecho-Slovakia a
sorit of Switzerland."
•
•
•
WHO SAID IT?
"In Ozech ,politics, in Ozech national life, it is urgent that
we COlffie to am understanding with the Communist Party . . . the COilnllllll.llllist party shahl remain the greatest
force in our political scheme even after the elections are
over, and socialism shall remain the foundation of our national life. . . . Oommg to terms with the Communists is
the golden theme of our politi<!al philosophy." - (1F erdinan.d
Peroutka, a Benes Czech employed by Radio Free Europe,
DNE~IDK, 2-9-48).
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St. Germain and Munich
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Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 6 (31), March-June 1960
pp. 1-6
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MARCH- JUNE, 1960
VOL. X
IN THIS ISSUE:
ST. GERMAIN AND MUNICH
SLOV ANICS LN AMERICAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
THE BIRTH OF A SATELLITE
MOSCOW'S SMOKE SCREEN IN SLOVAKIA
STiA'illS'IIICS ANID POLITICS
WELSON AND T. G. MASARYK
WAS CZECH THE VEHICLE OF SLOVAK LITERATURE ?
BRITISH POLICY AND SLOVAKIA - 1,939- 1945
SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM
NEW BOOKS
WHO SAID IT -
6, 17, 20, 49, 61 , 73
•
•
•
Edited and compi led by
PH ILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
TH E SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMER ICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum: $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper):
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
''CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
"CUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, h::ird
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
MARCH- JUNE, 1960
VOL. X
IN THIS ISSUE:
ST. GERMAIN AND MUNICH
SLOV ANICS LN AMERICAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
THE BIRTH OF A SATELLITE
MOSCOW'S SMOKE SCREEN IN SLOVAKIA
STiA'illS'IIICS ANID POLITICS
WELSON AND T. G. MASARYK
WAS CZECH THE VEHICLE OF SLOVAK LITERATURE ?
BRITISH POLICY AND SLOVAKIA - 1,939- 1945
SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM
NEW BOOKS
WHO SAID IT -
6, 17, 20, 49, 61 , 73
•
•
•
Edited and compi led by
PH ILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
TH E SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMER ICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum: $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper):
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
''CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
"CUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, h::ird
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
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1960, Vol. 10
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<ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li>
<li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li>
</ul>
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1960
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MARCH- JUNE, 1960
VOL. X
IN THIS ISSUE:
ST. GERMAIN AND MUNICH
SLOV ANICS LN AMERICAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
THE BIRTH OF A SATELLITE
MOSCOW'S SMOKE SCREEN IN SLOVAKIA
STiA'illS'IIICS ANID POLITICS
WELSON AND T. G. MASARYK
WAS CZECH THE VEHICLE OF SLOVAK LITERATURE ?
BRITISH POLICY AND SLOVAKIA - 1,939- 1945
SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM
NEW BOOKS
WHO SAID IT -
6, 17, 20, 49, 61 , 73
•
•
•
Edited and compi led by
PH ILIP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
• • •
Published by
TH E SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMER ICA
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum: $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper):
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
''CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $3.50
"CUDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, h::ird
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
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Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 6 (31)
Date
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March-June 1960
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b18108215852bc4a08f208666081e79b.pdf
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76
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Dejiny sta.rlej slovenskej literatury (iHistory of the Older Slowrlc Literature) by J . Misia,n<iik, J. Minarik, M. Midhalcova, A. Me'llichercik; 11>ublished by Slovenska ~kademia vied (Slovak Academy of
Sciences), Bratis]arva, 1'960; p. a20, iJll.
'During the past decade, The Slovalk Academy of Sciences published several workis which shed a new Hght on the history of Slovaik literature and basically contrast wtl.th the views otf American
syIIlJPosia dealing wifa Slov,alkfa's past. The volume on older Slovaik
literature, W1hkh d:ates the ·beginniings <ff the history oif Slovak
l,i terature back to the ninth cenltiury, wi'll perhaps be one of the
most unexpected surprises to foreign Sla,v,ists, accustomed a,s they
are to regard Slovalk literature not oMer than a hundred years.
The contrilbutors to L. I. Str•a'k hovsky's "Handbook of Slavic
Studies," to R. J . Kero-er's "Czechoslovakia," or to the present
volwme on "Czechoslovakia," ed•ited :b y V. Busek.JN. Spul'ber and
pulblished by the Mid1European Studies Center, set the birtfrld•aite of
SloVlak literature as the year 1844, minimizing or ignorJng prwious
literary efforts in Slovak cwture. And their views have been accepted favoraibly by many scho~ars in the f\ield Olf Slavilc stud,ies.
Mancist literary his'toriam<S, who prepared the volume under
review, produced a volume of 320 pages on Slovak Hterary rustory
which ends with 11he year 1•7 00, and a bibliography Olf 410 pages
on the period 17,80-1844, indicating .tlrat only in Bernolak's movement there were albout 100 writers. There also were severa!l outstanding Slovak scholars ,be!foa-e, who emphasized as early as 1655.
that Slovaldla was the heir of Great M!oravfa and that the Slavs in
genera·! and the Slovaks in panticwar, had an old culture and were
an old Europea1n ra-ce.
rt should be stressed that neither Professor Strakhovsky nor
R. J . Kerner can be held responsi!Jjle for the misrepresentatiorn; in
their symposia because the ir contr~butors were the closest SiJiavic ki n
to the Slovaks. Nor any lack of original s'tud'ies on, Sl10vak literature
can be re!:lPOnsilble for the distorited .accounts, because there is not
m'UCh new in the Marxtist ''Histor,y of 11he Older Slovak Literature"
which so-caned ' 1bourgeiois nationalist" literary historians would
not hlaive kn()IW,n, albout. In numerous monog:r,aphies and studies
wri~n by A . A. Banik, J . Skultety, S. J:urovsky, C. F . Lepacek, V.
Bobelk, S. Krcmery, J. Vlcek, A. Prazalk, A . Mraz, R. Brtan, etc., more
or less all the pulblished material was made known a long t~e aigo .
It was known to some extent even to Prdfessor Ernest Denis from
t he So11bon,n e, as evidenced by his boOik La question d'Autriche Les Slovaques, pulblished in 1&17. Slovak Marxist liiterary historians
merely compiled results of prevfous researches and gave to tlhe histocy of Slovak literature a new '"Mar~ist" interpretati10n and a new
periodization.
The older Slo'Vak li'terature is d'iv.ided by the Marxist historians
in-to four periods: the epoch df Great Moravi,a (the ninth ,and tenth
century); the Romanesque and Gothic per.i'Od (tenth- fifteenth cen-
�77
SLOVAKIA
tury); Renaissance (filfteen:th~seventeenth centucy); and Baroque
(1Jhe first half of the seventeenlth century to 1'780).
This periodization is new and it is based on the principles of
.Miarxist philoso.ph!y of history rather than on, the ideoliogicai and
literary currents of Western ciwlization which found an e'C'ho in
.Slovakia. In their a•p praisal of older Slovak wniiters and Marxist literary his'torians are cliose to former "bourgeois aoo nationaHst" scholars wiho also i,n,dluded into the history of Slovak literature the
Cyrifo~ethod'ian peniod and all literary works created by Slovaks
in Latin, Gennan, Biblical Czech, or other languages. ]t is the
"Czechosl<ovalk" intenpr,etation wh!iich the Marxist li17erary historians
vehemently oppose, since the Czech scholars (A. Prazak, F . Wollman,
J. Chaloupecky) re~rded Slovak literature before 11844 (Stur's reform cxf the Slovalk la,n,g.uage) as a part of Crec!h 1iterature (including even Satfarik, Kollar, e1Jc., Into it) and belittled its si:gn'ificance.
While we may disagree with the critenia and aipproach of 17he
Marxist literary historians, we ca·nnot disregard maniy positive aspects ocf this first comprehensi'Ve volwme on, the older Slovak literature. It wiH fiill a gap in the fieltl of Slaviic literatures, and to
ma11y Slavists on this continenlt it will bring a new looik at the Slovak pa'St. The book unfortu,niately lac~ a resume in foreign languages whidh other recent Slovak ,publications usua.Uy conrtain. In
form and cont ents tihe book is not without scho1ar1y values.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Un i'Vers•i ty of Monit•r>ea'1.
1
R:oma,n Smal-Stocki: The Captive
Nations: Nationalism of the NonRuss,ian Nations in the Soviet
Union, Bookman Associates Nesw
York, 1960; 118 pp.
A popular fallacy is that smaU
volumes have little to saiy, large
ones much. As many scholars learn
very early in their tra,ining, the
reverse is often the case. The present slender volume is a distillate
of the many years of study - alild
of a
of personal exiperience particularly vJtal asp·eict of the Soviet phenomenon by a distinguished scholar, Dr. Roman SmalStocki, for over ten ~ars on the
faculty of Marquette University.
It is because this is must reading
for all America that we point out
that brevity in -this study of naticma1ism in the Soviet orbit affords two advantages: a wide scope
compressed such that the significance of the oppressed peoples
may easily be gra,sped; and the relatively little reading required to
grasp it.
Dr. Smal-Stocki, witty as well as
penetrating, is pro'balbly unrivallled
for such an accoonp1ishment; and
he has admiralb~ succeeded. Internationally !mown for his scholarship, he has also been acclaimed
for his life-long struggle (conducted
kom no Ivory Tower) for the
right o'f self-detel'IJllination for all
non4lussian nati ons in the S'o viet
"m001olith." A'S president of the
Promethe,m Lea~ue, representing
all the nations oppressed by Russia, he effectua.ted a common front
of all significant non.Jtussian emigre groups op.pressed by Soviet
Russia. From 1924: to 1929 the
champi!oned the victims of Russian
aggression at the League of Nation,s. His importance was certified by Hitler, eager to aicqu.ire
Ukraine without interference as an
1
�78
SLOVAKIA
agricultural reservoir: Dr. SmalStocki was interned in Prague for
the dur,ation of the war. '11he pres•
ent W-Ol'lk is but one olf a ser,i es
of brd:lliant studies conducted by
this indivi'd ual, gifted both as a
scholar and ais a main, during his
years in America.
This study of naitionalism, if disseminated properJy, should go f.ar
to correct present tendencies in
Amerkan thinking with regard to
the importance of modern nationali'sm in modern times. Ir-0nically
enough, "the principles for which
Americans fought 1'heir own mother counitry" are ''the very principles whiich Amer,i cans h,ave been
ignoriing in their foreign policy
t01WaTd the new Re'd Russian Em·
pire for 4-0 year-s." Especially in
recent times, Wlilson's conlcept of
"seLf-detel.'lffiiniation of small nations" wen,t to the way.side. It beicame fashionalble, in schoJ.,ar,ly
cireles and elsewhere, to attack ,t he
application, of th~s doctrJne for not
emasculating itsel! in the mystical
goal of inlternationalism. Even in
ouT 01Wn day we oan hear the claii'm
that -t he Russians, wha1:ever their
failures in pr,aicvice so far, are
continuing a revolutioo w,h ich is
"a necessary successor" to the
French a·n d the American Rievolutions.
Such thinking is in no little wise
responsilble for t he "r,apid and
catastrophic deoliine from world
leadershti;p as oiccurred to the United State's from 1946 to lt958 in
world polit,ics." Defeatism ha-s been
on the march - and shows no
signs of flagging. Such schools of
thought" as these have developed:
(1) with giradual lilberalization, the
Ru·ssian revolutoin wdll end with
staibi1ization of a "democratic fede!"ated republic" ; (2) acbive support of national communiJSm , called Ti'toism, to speed up "1-tberolization" (disregarding the fact that
"national" cOOll!Illunism i:s commun-
ism and d,i ctatorship, nonetheles's) ;
(3) status quo ad,voca,tes, on the
premise that the communist revoluti'onary expansiM has ended;
•this, goes the claim, would give
the USSR "secuTity."
Dr. Sma'1-Stocld points out tha t
the non.JRuss,i,a,n nait-ions (which
compose over half of the Russian"
populatfon of the USSR) believe
that the communist revolution is
unfinished. "The begLn,niing of the
last act of thi's revolution started
Jn East Germany (BerJin), in Poland, and in Hungiary, but was
stopped by the moral apathy and
,l etharg,y of the free w-0rl'Cl. (It)
can be stopped and broken onJy
by a democratic revolution of the
victims of Russian imperda1ism,
supported by the whole 'strengt-h
of the democratic p01Wers for the
c01Inmon cause."
The alterinates are, to say -the
least, dista'steful. H the free
world tolerates the further conbinuation of Russ-ian expansion,
in the ,n,ext 20 years or sooner, declares the all!thor, the Wlorld Sovi•e t
Union wi11 be estaiblJshed. Or, ontce
convinced its technical adva,n ces
have outstriipped us gr e at 1 y
enough, SoVliet Moscow can taike
its chances with a gigantic ''Pearl
Haribor" type of attack on the
whole U. S.
The Russian Communis,t dictatorship is a past master at ubiliiz.iln,g
every mJstake or act olf magnanimity on the part of the free
world, the author points out. "Only
1b y realizing the self-determination
of the non.JRussi,an natfons, only by
i'ntel'IIl,ational concert of the free
nations, nationalities and· peoples,
can re·al peatce be achieved," concludes Dr. Smal,Stocki.
A highly recommended hooik to
all, whfoh, going back in its study of natn:ona1ism in the nomri.Riu:ssian n'aitions, even before World
War I, afil'ords us a perspective
wh'ich leads, under the author's
�SLOVAKIA
cogent guidance, to a realization
that our true weapon is the explosive force of ideas contained 1n, the
national freedom aspirations of the
non.JRussian nations. - W.D.
William L. Shlirer: The Rise and
Fall of the Third Reich. A History
of Na2i Germany, Sim,o,n. and· Schusrter, New Yol'ik, 1960; 12415 pp.,
$10.00.
<In the guise of objective hiistory
this volume presents a harrow.ing,
massive but one-sided record of
unrelieved German crimes• and
blunders. W.illiam L. Shirer, fored·g n correspondent and news commentator, is also on, the board Olf
directors Olf the "Society for ~he
Prevention Olf World War Ill, Inc."
of which Dorothy Thompson wrote
(Mary 311, 1,950) that it "has conducted a systematic campadgn
ag1ainst any constructive peace with
Germany ... and vilified every person in pulblilc life who tried to
warn that procedure alon,g Morgenthau 1ines would encompass
the rwin of Europe."
Shirer does not allOIW that the
Versailles Treaty was unjust (p.
58). He st,ates that "Nazism and
the Third Reich, in fact, were
but a Logical colilltinuafron of German histor,y" (p. 90). His piling up
of Nazi crimes, failing to put them
1n, perspecllive with the crimes of
the opp·onents, never in fact alludi'ng to the worst Soviet cr,imes,
such as their brutal population
transfers and their mass raping Olf
not only German but also Hungarian, Slovak and Austrirun women, .seem calculated to make any
unwary reader hate more than
ever the German people - now
our allies - who tolera,ted the
monsti,ous Nazis, and to think of
the equally monstrous Bol'shev~ks,
no•w o.ur cold war enemies, as really not so bad!
ln, pages on the Nazi aibuse of
Soviet and Polish p:rtlsoners of war
79
he does not once allude to the Soviet mass murder of Polish of.f,ilcers
at Katyn. He never mentions General Vilassov and hrs insur.ge'Illt
Russians who preferred fiighti,ng
for the Germans to livi,n,g under
the Soviets.
He gives good inlformation on
several German attempts to remove Hitler, three even be:fore
'194'1, but he makes no relference
to the Miorgenthau plan, CommunistJinspired, which was calcul'a ted
to dr,ive the Germans to desperate
resistan1ee instead of revolt. For
the rest, despite distoi,tions and
some clear falsehoods, there is
much interesting information in
the book. Hitler is depicted as an
uncanny genius, aJmost puriban,
fanatically warped on Ioy;alitJy and
honor, pathologica~ly airuti-IBolshev,i k and anti-Jewish, absolutely
ag:a,i nst war w.ith the West, but
certainly plotting 1t against Poland
and Russia.
Reading of Hitler's crimes and
•b lunders in detail, deducing from
the facts that truly moral st•atesmanship a,nyiwhere from 1918 on
could· have prevented the colossal
misery of World War II and aifter,
makes one feel aibout the human
ra,ce as Swiift dlid.
ln sum: more harmful th-.in good
except for trained histor,ians. A. J. A,pp.
H. G. Adler: Die Judttn in
Deutschland. From the Enlightenment to Natiorual Socialism. Ki:ise1Verlag, Munich, 1960; 17·8 pp., DM
6.80.
National Socialism produced nothing really new, particularly antiSemLtism, although dt remained
for sa-id regjme to exercise i1t in
the modern age in an a1pocalyptic
way. H. G. Adler is a Jew from
Prague, sun~ivor of the concentration camps of Theresienstad•t and
Auschwitz, who has anal~ed the
origins of anti-semi1tism, the Eman-
�80
SLOVAKIA
cipation, and the plight of the
J'Elws in Germany.
'l1he results cxf the author's endeavor are procuralble in a smaU
book prolif.ic with quotes and sources. Adler candidJy acknowledges
that dur1nlg the Middle Ages a
Jewish prdblem was poss1ble only
in Germany ·b ecause the Eur®ean
na:!Ji,onal states, after a period cxf
severe op,pression "divested themselves of their Jews" by means of
expulsion, England in 1200, FIia.nee
in li306 (a.nd, after temporary readmittance, again i.n, '1933), Spain
in 1492 and Portug•al in 1497."
Hatred of the Jews was due
for cenwries to ,theh- belonging to
a different religion; the sol'Utiion
lay therefore i.n, conversion to
Christianity, or by remedying
their "otherness." Heine spoke of
his baiptism as the "ticket O£f admission to European culture." Yet
the position of the Jews in Germanry was as varied as the very
diversilfied nature of the First
Reioh itself. As fate as 1,81,7, for
example, the English prov,ince of
Hannover quite firmly resisted the
,proposed emanlci,pation of the Jews
which had been sought by Christians and Jews alike ever since
the Enlightenment.
Mter the founding of the Second Reich religious dilfference was,
to be sure, no longer the tme
cause cxf anti-semitism, for 1n, the
Bismarokian constitution one's religious affiliation was irreleivant.
Adler cites in addition to the longstanding religious a$Pect of the
Jewish question German aruti'-semites like the Berlin court preacher
Stocker, the Viennese Biirgermeister Lueger, Richard Wagner, Lagarde, and Fritsch. Aocording to
these persons race and not religion was the cause of anti-Jewish
feeling. One notes a breach in developments that is not bri:dged· by
any explanation and one wonders
why this surprising change. Was
it due to the l"apid increase after
18711 of Jewish banking a.nd trad-
ing firms, the entranice of J·ewish
lawyers, doctors, and teachers into prcxfessions that had been
barred to them hitherto? Was it
due to enviy cxf thei'r quiick social
climb? Even during the period of
religious anti-Jewish hatred the
c-u rse "his blood be on us and on
our chillren" was not the sole reason for the pogroms, but also the
desire to be rid of the annoying
creditors. A similar trend developed in many lia.r,ge German cities fo
the "golden t,w,en,ties."
Germ•an anti-semitism, in the final analysis, has come to be a
stain not only on the name of Germany for years to coone bwt bas
actually estranged one of the most
ardent Ge Tm ,a n protagonists
throughout the world, the German
speaking J~s. Adler's book shows
primarily, too, the zeal with which
the German Jews all over the
world were ready to serve their
peopl'e, a fact whi'ch is seldom rememlbered today - L. Rainalter.
ANONYMOUS LETTIERS, wriltten to Red leaders in Slovakia, are
caiusing some conc,ern to th~ regiime. The Bra'tisla'Va Radio recently reminded its listeners that Wl'liters of such letters, ill: revealed,
are in fur stiff fin~s and long jail
sentences. The rea'ction: more and
still more anonymous letters to
worry the coHalborators of Red
P11ague.
:IE:
:IE:
)l(!
is 1b e in g
planned in Bratislava, Slovakia, according to the dlaiily PRA-OA. It
should be ready by the end of
1!963; the cost: 9 million, Crowns;
and location: near the present
Bra,tislava cemeter.y. Thi! Reds are
happy that finaUy consideratfon
has been given "to this modern
and scientiific way of buryi<11,g the
dead."
A
CREMATORY
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presidents
Michael
Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Pet er P. H letko
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
Ge-0rge Kantor
P:·esident
Philip A. Hrobak
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York 61, N. Y.
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presi dents
Joseph Bend i k
John
P. 0 . Box 230
Uniontown, P a .
Ju l ia
Sas
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
Helen Ko can
1648 W. 18th Street
Chi cago 8. Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
22 64 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Paul C. Kazimer
St ephen J. Tkach
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
Nationa l President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
An.drew Hudak
Nation.al President
Slov,ak Catholic Cadet Union
15701 Bennett Rd.
No. Royalton 33, Ohio
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleve land, Ohio
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Passaic, N . J.
Whitaker. Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Middletown, Pa.
�SLOVAKIA : The ruins of Strecno Castle above the Vah river in the Trencin Province (13th century).
�
76
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Dejiny sta.rlej slovenskej literatury (iHistory of the Older Slowrlc Literature) by J . Misia,n<iik, J. Minarik, M. Midhalcova, A. Me'llichercik; 11>ublished by Slovenska ~kademia vied (Slovak Academy of
Sciences), Bratis]arva, 1'960; p. a20, iJll.
'During the past decade, The Slovalk Academy of Sciences published several workis which shed a new Hght on the history of Slovaik literature and basically contrast wtl.th the views otf American
syIIlJPosia dealing wifa Slov,alkfa's past. The volume on older Slovaik
literature, W1hkh d:ates the ·beginniings <ff the history oif Slovak
l,i terature back to the ninth cenltiury, wi'll perhaps be one of the
most unexpected surprises to foreign Sla,v,ists, accustomed a,s they
are to regard Slovalk literature not oMer than a hundred years.
The contrilbutors to L. I. Str•a'k hovsky's "Handbook of Slavic
Studies," to R. J . Kero-er's "Czechoslovakia," or to the present
volwme on "Czechoslovakia," ed•ited :b y V. Busek.JN. Spul'ber and
pulblished by the Mid1European Studies Center, set the birtfrld•aite of
SloVlak literature as the year 1844, minimizing or ignorJng prwious
literary efforts in Slovak cwture. And their views have been accepted favoraibly by many scho~ars in the f\ield Olf Slavilc stud,ies.
Mancist literary his'toriam<S, who prepared the volume under
review, produced a volume of 320 pages on Slovak Hterary rustory
which ends with 11he year 1•7 00, and a bibliography Olf 410 pages
on the period 17,80-1844, indicating .tlrat only in Bernolak's movement there were albout 100 writers. There also were severa!l outstanding Slovak scholars ,be!foa-e, who emphasized as early as 1655.
that Slovaldla was the heir of Great M!oravfa and that the Slavs in
genera·! and the Slovaks in panticwar, had an old culture and were
an old Europea1n ra-ce.
rt should be stressed that neither Professor Strakhovsky nor
R. J . Kerner can be held responsi!Jjle for the misrepresentatiorn; in
their symposia because the ir contr~butors were the closest SiJiavic ki n
to the Slovaks. Nor any lack of original s'tud'ies on, Sl10vak literature
can be re!:lPOnsilble for the distorited .accounts, because there is not
m'UCh new in the Marxtist ''Histor,y of 11he Older Slovak Literature"
which so-caned ' 1bourgeiois nationalist" literary historians would
not hlaive kn()IW,n, albout. In numerous monog:r,aphies and studies
wri~n by A . A. Banik, J . Skultety, S. J:urovsky, C. F . Lepacek, V.
Bobelk, S. Krcmery, J. Vlcek, A. Prazalk, A . Mraz, R. Brtan, etc., more
or less all the pulblished material was made known a long t~e aigo .
It was known to some extent even to Prdfessor Ernest Denis from
t he So11bon,n e, as evidenced by his boOik La question d'Autriche Les Slovaques, pulblished in 1&17. Slovak Marxist liiterary historians
merely compiled results of prevfous researches and gave to tlhe histocy of Slovak literature a new '"Mar~ist" interpretati10n and a new
periodization.
The older Slo'Vak li'terature is d'iv.ided by the Marxist historians
in-to four periods: the epoch df Great Moravi,a (the ninth ,and tenth
century); the Romanesque and Gothic per.i'Od (tenth- fifteenth cen-
�77
SLOVAKIA
tury); Renaissance (filfteen:th~seventeenth centucy); and Baroque
(1Jhe first half of the seventeenlth century to 1'780).
This periodization is new and it is based on the principles of
.Miarxist philoso.ph!y of history rather than on, the ideoliogicai and
literary currents of Western ciwlization which found an e'C'ho in
.Slovakia. In their a•p praisal of older Slovak wniiters and Marxist literary his'torians are cliose to former "bourgeois aoo nationaHst" scholars wiho also i,n,dluded into the history of Slovak literature the
Cyrifo~ethod'ian peniod and all literary works created by Slovaks
in Latin, Gennan, Biblical Czech, or other languages. ]t is the
"Czechosl<ovalk" intenpr,etation wh!iich the Marxist li17erary historians
vehemently oppose, since the Czech scholars (A. Prazak, F . Wollman,
J. Chaloupecky) re~rded Slovak literature before 11844 (Stur's reform cxf the Slovalk la,n,g.uage) as a part of Crec!h 1iterature (including even Satfarik, Kollar, e1Jc., Into it) and belittled its si:gn'ificance.
While we may disagree with the critenia and aipproach of 17he
Marxist literary historians, we ca·nnot disregard maniy positive aspects ocf this first comprehensi'Ve volwme on, the older Slovak literature. It wiH fiill a gap in the fieltl of Slaviic literatures, and to
ma11y Slavists on this continenlt it will bring a new looik at the Slovak pa'St. The book unfortu,niately lac~ a resume in foreign languages whidh other recent Slovak ,publications usua.Uy conrtain. In
form and cont ents tihe book is not without scho1ar1y values.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Un i'Vers•i ty of Monit•r>ea'1.
1
R:oma,n Smal-Stocki: The Captive
Nations: Nationalism of the NonRuss,ian Nations in the Soviet
Union, Bookman Associates Nesw
York, 1960; 118 pp.
A popular fallacy is that smaU
volumes have little to saiy, large
ones much. As many scholars learn
very early in their tra,ining, the
reverse is often the case. The present slender volume is a distillate
of the many years of study - alild
of a
of personal exiperience particularly vJtal asp·eict of the Soviet phenomenon by a distinguished scholar, Dr. Roman SmalStocki, for over ten ~ars on the
faculty of Marquette University.
It is because this is must reading
for all America that we point out
that brevity in -this study of naticma1ism in the Soviet orbit affords two advantages: a wide scope
compressed such that the significance of the oppressed peoples
may easily be gra,sped; and the relatively little reading required to
grasp it.
Dr. Smal-Stocki, witty as well as
penetrating, is pro'balbly unrivallled
for such an accoonp1ishment; and
he has admiralb~ succeeded. Internationally !mown for his scholarship, he has also been acclaimed
for his life-long struggle (conducted
kom no Ivory Tower) for the
right o'f self-detel'IJllination for all
non4lussian nati ons in the S'o viet
"m001olith." A'S president of the
Promethe,m Lea~ue, representing
all the nations oppressed by Russia, he effectua.ted a common front
of all significant non.Jtussian emigre groups op.pressed by Soviet
Russia. From 1924: to 1929 the
champi!oned the victims of Russian
aggression at the League of Nation,s. His importance was certified by Hitler, eager to aicqu.ire
Ukraine without interference as an
1
�78
SLOVAKIA
agricultural reservoir: Dr. SmalStocki was interned in Prague for
the dur,ation of the war. '11he pres•
ent W-Ol'lk is but one olf a ser,i es
of brd:lliant studies conducted by
this indivi'd ual, gifted both as a
scholar and ais a main, during his
years in America.
This study of naitionalism, if disseminated properJy, should go f.ar
to correct present tendencies in
Amerkan thinking with regard to
the importance of modern nationali'sm in modern times. Ir-0nically
enough, "the principles for which
Americans fought 1'heir own mother counitry" are ''the very principles whiich Amer,i cans h,ave been
ignoriing in their foreign policy
t01WaTd the new Re'd Russian Em·
pire for 4-0 year-s." Especially in
recent times, Wlilson's conlcept of
"seLf-detel.'lffiiniation of small nations" wen,t to the way.side. It beicame fashionalble, in schoJ.,ar,ly
cireles and elsewhere, to attack ,t he
application, of th~s doctrJne for not
emasculating itsel! in the mystical
goal of inlternationalism. Even in
ouT 01Wn day we oan hear the claii'm
that -t he Russians, wha1:ever their
failures in pr,aicvice so far, are
continuing a revolutioo w,h ich is
"a necessary successor" to the
French a·n d the American Rievolutions.
Such thinking is in no little wise
responsilble for t he "r,apid and
catastrophic deoliine from world
leadershti;p as oiccurred to the United State's from 1946 to lt958 in
world polit,ics." Defeatism ha-s been
on the march - and shows no
signs of flagging. Such schools of
thought" as these have developed:
(1) with giradual lilberalization, the
Ru·ssian revolutoin wdll end with
staibi1ization of a "democratic fede!"ated republic" ; (2) acbive support of national communiJSm , called Ti'toism, to speed up "1-tberolization" (disregarding the fact that
"national" cOOll!Illunism i:s commun-
ism and d,i ctatorship, nonetheles's) ;
(3) status quo ad,voca,tes, on the
premise that the communist revoluti'onary expansiM has ended;
•this, goes the claim, would give
the USSR "secuTity."
Dr. Sma'1-Stocld points out tha t
the non.JRuss,i,a,n nait-ions (which
compose over half of the Russian"
populatfon of the USSR) believe
that the communist revolution is
unfinished. "The begLn,niing of the
last act of thi's revolution started
Jn East Germany (BerJin), in Poland, and in Hungiary, but was
stopped by the moral apathy and
,l etharg,y of the free w-0rl'Cl. (It)
can be stopped and broken onJy
by a democratic revolution of the
victims of Russian imperda1ism,
supported by the whole 'strengt-h
of the democratic p01Wers for the
c01Inmon cause."
The alterinates are, to say -the
least, dista'steful. H the free
world tolerates the further conbinuation of Russ-ian expansion,
in the ,n,ext 20 years or sooner, declares the all!thor, the Wlorld Sovi•e t
Union wi11 be estaiblJshed. Or, ontce
convinced its technical adva,n ces
have outstriipped us gr e at 1 y
enough, SoVliet Moscow can taike
its chances with a gigantic ''Pearl
Haribor" type of attack on the
whole U. S.
The Russian Communis,t dictatorship is a past master at ubiliiz.iln,g
every mJstake or act olf magnanimity on the part of the free
world, the author points out. "Only
1b y realizing the self-determination
of the non.JRussi,an natfons, only by
i'ntel'IIl,ational concert of the free
nations, nationalities and· peoples,
can re·al peatce be achieved," concludes Dr. Smal,Stocki.
A highly recommended hooik to
all, whfoh, going back in its study of natn:ona1ism in the nomri.Riu:ssian n'aitions, even before World
War I, afil'ords us a perspective
wh'ich leads, under the author's
�SLOVAKIA
cogent guidance, to a realization
that our true weapon is the explosive force of ideas contained 1n, the
national freedom aspirations of the
non.JRussian nations. - W.D.
William L. Shlirer: The Rise and
Fall of the Third Reich. A History
of Na2i Germany, Sim,o,n. and· Schusrter, New Yol'ik, 1960; 12415 pp.,
$10.00.
<In the guise of objective hiistory
this volume presents a harrow.ing,
massive but one-sided record of
unrelieved German crimes• and
blunders. W.illiam L. Shirer, fored·g n correspondent and news commentator, is also on, the board Olf
directors Olf the "Society for ~he
Prevention Olf World War Ill, Inc."
of which Dorothy Thompson wrote
(Mary 311, 1,950) that it "has conducted a systematic campadgn
ag1ainst any constructive peace with
Germany ... and vilified every person in pulblilc life who tried to
warn that procedure alon,g Morgenthau 1ines would encompass
the rwin of Europe."
Shirer does not allOIW that the
Versailles Treaty was unjust (p.
58). He st,ates that "Nazism and
the Third Reich, in fact, were
but a Logical colilltinuafron of German histor,y" (p. 90). His piling up
of Nazi crimes, failing to put them
1n, perspecllive with the crimes of
the opp·onents, never in fact alludi'ng to the worst Soviet cr,imes,
such as their brutal population
transfers and their mass raping Olf
not only German but also Hungarian, Slovak and Austrirun women, .seem calculated to make any
unwary reader hate more than
ever the German people - now
our allies - who tolera,ted the
monsti,ous Nazis, and to think of
the equally monstrous Bol'shev~ks,
no•w o.ur cold war enemies, as really not so bad!
ln, pages on the Nazi aibuse of
Soviet and Polish p:rtlsoners of war
79
he does not once allude to the Soviet mass murder of Polish of.f,ilcers
at Katyn. He never mentions General Vilassov and hrs insur.ge'Illt
Russians who preferred fiighti,ng
for the Germans to livi,n,g under
the Soviets.
He gives good inlformation on
several German attempts to remove Hitler, three even be:fore
'194'1, but he makes no relference
to the Miorgenthau plan, CommunistJinspired, which was calcul'a ted
to dr,ive the Germans to desperate
resistan1ee instead of revolt. For
the rest, despite distoi,tions and
some clear falsehoods, there is
much interesting information in
the book. Hitler is depicted as an
uncanny genius, aJmost puriban,
fanatically warped on Ioy;alitJy and
honor, pathologica~ly airuti-IBolshev,i k and anti-Jewish, absolutely
ag:a,i nst war w.ith the West, but
certainly plotting 1t against Poland
and Russia.
Reading of Hitler's crimes and
•b lunders in detail, deducing from
the facts that truly moral st•atesmanship a,nyiwhere from 1918 on
could· have prevented the colossal
misery of World War II and aifter,
makes one feel aibout the human
ra,ce as Swiift dlid.
ln sum: more harmful th-.in good
except for trained histor,ians. A. J. A,pp.
H. G. Adler: Die Judttn in
Deutschland. From the Enlightenment to Natiorual Socialism. Ki:ise1Verlag, Munich, 1960; 17·8 pp., DM
6.80.
National Socialism produced nothing really new, particularly antiSemLtism, although dt remained
for sa-id regjme to exercise i1t in
the modern age in an a1pocalyptic
way. H. G. Adler is a Jew from
Prague, sun~ivor of the concentration camps of Theresienstad•t and
Auschwitz, who has anal~ed the
origins of anti-semi1tism, the Eman-
�80
SLOVAKIA
cipation, and the plight of the
J'Elws in Germany.
'l1he results cxf the author's endeavor are procuralble in a smaU
book prolif.ic with quotes and sources. Adler candidJy acknowledges
that dur1nlg the Middle Ages a
Jewish prdblem was poss1ble only
in Germany ·b ecause the Eur®ean
na:!Ji,onal states, after a period cxf
severe op,pression "divested themselves of their Jews" by means of
expulsion, England in 1200, FIia.nee
in li306 (a.nd, after temporary readmittance, again i.n, '1933), Spain
in 1492 and Portug•al in 1497."
Hatred of the Jews was due
for cenwries to ,theh- belonging to
a different religion; the sol'Utiion
lay therefore i.n, conversion to
Christianity, or by remedying
their "otherness." Heine spoke of
his baiptism as the "ticket O£f admission to European culture." Yet
the position of the Jews in Germanry was as varied as the very
diversilfied nature of the First
Reioh itself. As fate as 1,81,7, for
example, the English prov,ince of
Hannover quite firmly resisted the
,proposed emanlci,pation of the Jews
which had been sought by Christians and Jews alike ever since
the Enlightenment.
Mter the founding of the Second Reich religious dilfference was,
to be sure, no longer the tme
cause cxf anti-semitism, for 1n, the
Bismarokian constitution one's religious affiliation was irreleivant.
Adler cites in addition to the longstanding religious a$Pect of the
Jewish question German aruti'-semites like the Berlin court preacher
Stocker, the Viennese Biirgermeister Lueger, Richard Wagner, Lagarde, and Fritsch. Aocording to
these persons race and not religion was the cause of anti-Jewish
feeling. One notes a breach in developments that is not bri:dged· by
any explanation and one wonders
why this surprising change. Was
it due to the l"apid increase after
18711 of Jewish banking a.nd trad-
ing firms, the entranice of J·ewish
lawyers, doctors, and teachers into prcxfessions that had been
barred to them hitherto? Was it
due to enviy cxf thei'r quiick social
climb? Even during the period of
religious anti-Jewish hatred the
c-u rse "his blood be on us and on
our chillren" was not the sole reason for the pogroms, but also the
desire to be rid of the annoying
creditors. A similar trend developed in many lia.r,ge German cities fo
the "golden t,w,en,ties."
Germ•an anti-semitism, in the final analysis, has come to be a
stain not only on the name of Germany for years to coone bwt bas
actually estranged one of the most
ardent Ge Tm ,a n protagonists
throughout the world, the German
speaking J~s. Adler's book shows
primarily, too, the zeal with which
the German Jews all over the
world were ready to serve their
peopl'e, a fact whi'ch is seldom rememlbered today - L. Rainalter.
ANONYMOUS LETTIERS, wriltten to Red leaders in Slovakia, are
caiusing some conc,ern to th~ regiime. The Bra'tisla'Va Radio recently reminded its listeners that Wl'liters of such letters, ill: revealed,
are in fur stiff fin~s and long jail
sentences. The rea'ction: more and
still more anonymous letters to
worry the coHalborators of Red
P11ague.
:IE:
:IE:
)l(!
is 1b e in g
planned in Bratislava, Slovakia, according to the dlaiily PRA-OA. It
should be ready by the end of
1!963; the cost: 9 million, Crowns;
and location: near the present
Bra,tislava cemeter.y. Thi! Reds are
happy that finaUy consideratfon
has been given "to this modern
and scientiific way of buryi<11,g the
dead."
A
CREMATORY
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presidents
Michael
Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Pet er P. H letko
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
Ge-0rge Kantor
P:·esident
Philip A. Hrobak
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York 61, N. Y.
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presi dents
Joseph Bend i k
John
P. 0 . Box 230
Uniontown, P a .
Ju l ia
Sas
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
Helen Ko can
1648 W. 18th Street
Chi cago 8. Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
22 64 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Paul C. Kazimer
St ephen J. Tkach
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
Nationa l President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
An.drew Hudak
Nation.al President
Slov,ak Catholic Cadet Union
15701 Bennett Rd.
No. Royalton 33, Ohio
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleve land, Ohio
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Passaic, N . J.
Whitaker. Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Middletown, Pa.
�SLOVAKIA : The ruins of Strecno Castle above the Vah river in the Trencin Province (13th century).
�
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1961, Vol. 11
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 33), March-June 1961.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 34), September-December June 1961.</li>
</ul>
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The Slovak League of America
Date
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1961
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76
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Dejiny sta.rlej slovenskej literatury (iHistory of the Older Slowrlc Literature) by J . Misia,n<iik, J. Minarik, M. Midhalcova, A. Me'llichercik; 11>ublished by Slovenska ~kademia vied (Slovak Academy of
Sciences), Bratis]arva, 1'960; p. a20, iJll.
'During the past decade, The Slovalk Academy of Sciences published several workis which shed a new Hght on the history of Slovaik literature and basically contrast wtl.th the views otf American
syIIlJPosia dealing wifa Slov,alkfa's past. The volume on older Slovaik
literature, W1hkh d:ates the ·beginniings <ff the history oif Slovak
l,i terature back to the ninth cenltiury, wi'll perhaps be one of the
most unexpected surprises to foreign Sla,v,ists, accustomed a,s they
are to regard Slovalk literature not oMer than a hundred years.
The contrilbutors to L. I. Str•a'k hovsky's "Handbook of Slavic
Studies," to R. J . Kero-er's "Czechoslovakia," or to the present
volwme on "Czechoslovakia," ed•ited :b y V. Busek.JN. Spul'ber and
pulblished by the Mid1European Studies Center, set the birtfrld•aite of
SloVlak literature as the year 1844, minimizing or ignorJng prwious
literary efforts in Slovak cwture. And their views have been accepted favoraibly by many scho~ars in the f\ield Olf Slavilc stud,ies.
Mancist literary his'toriam<S, who prepared the volume under
review, produced a volume of 320 pages on Slovak Hterary rustory
which ends with 11he year 1•7 00, and a bibliography Olf 410 pages
on the period 17,80-1844, indicating .tlrat only in Bernolak's movement there were albout 100 writers. There also were severa!l outstanding Slovak scholars ,be!foa-e, who emphasized as early as 1655.
that Slovaldla was the heir of Great M!oravfa and that the Slavs in
genera·! and the Slovaks in panticwar, had an old culture and were
an old Europea1n ra-ce.
rt should be stressed that neither Professor Strakhovsky nor
R. J . Kerner can be held responsi!Jjle for the misrepresentatiorn; in
their symposia because the ir contr~butors were the closest SiJiavic ki n
to the Slovaks. Nor any lack of original s'tud'ies on, Sl10vak literature
can be re!:lPOnsilble for the distorited .accounts, because there is not
m'UCh new in the Marxtist ''Histor,y of 11he Older Slovak Literature"
which so-caned ' 1bourgeiois nationalist" literary historians would
not hlaive kn()IW,n, albout. In numerous monog:r,aphies and studies
wri~n by A . A. Banik, J . Skultety, S. J:urovsky, C. F . Lepacek, V.
Bobelk, S. Krcmery, J. Vlcek, A. Prazalk, A . Mraz, R. Brtan, etc., more
or less all the pulblished material was made known a long t~e aigo .
It was known to some extent even to Prdfessor Ernest Denis from
t he So11bon,n e, as evidenced by his boOik La question d'Autriche Les Slovaques, pulblished in 1&17. Slovak Marxist liiterary historians
merely compiled results of prevfous researches and gave to tlhe histocy of Slovak literature a new '"Mar~ist" interpretati10n and a new
periodization.
The older Slo'Vak li'terature is d'iv.ided by the Marxist historians
in-to four periods: the epoch df Great Moravi,a (the ninth ,and tenth
century); the Romanesque and Gothic per.i'Od (tenth- fifteenth cen-
77
SLOVAKIA
tury); Renaissance (filfteen:th~seventeenth centucy); and Baroque
(1Jhe first half of the seventeenlth century to 1'780).
This periodization is new and it is based on the principles of
.Miarxist philoso.ph!y of history rather than on, the ideoliogicai and
literary currents of Western ciwlization which found an e'C'ho in
.Slovakia. In their a•p praisal of older Slovak wniiters and Marxist literary his'torians are cliose to former "bourgeois aoo nationaHst" scholars wiho also i,n,dluded into the history of Slovak literature the
Cyrifo~ethod'ian peniod and all literary works created by Slovaks
in Latin, Gennan, Biblical Czech, or other languages. ]t is the
"Czechosl<ovalk" intenpr,etation wh!iich the Marxist li17erary historians
vehemently oppose, since the Czech scholars (A. Prazak, F . Wollman,
J. Chaloupecky) re~rded Slovak literature before 11844 (Stur's reform cxf the Slovalk la,n,g.uage) as a part of Crec!h 1iterature (including even Satfarik, Kollar, e1Jc., Into it) and belittled its si:gn'ificance.
While we may disagree with the critenia and aipproach of 17he
Marxist literary historians, we ca·nnot disregard maniy positive aspects ocf this first comprehensi'Ve volwme on, the older Slovak literature. It wiH fiill a gap in the fieltl of Slaviic literatures, and to
ma11y Slavists on this continenlt it will bring a new looik at the Slovak pa'St. The book unfortu,niately lac~ a resume in foreign languages whidh other recent Slovak ,publications usua.Uy conrtain. In
form and cont ents tihe book is not without scho1ar1y values.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Un i'Vers•i ty of Monit•r>ea'1.
1
R:oma,n Smal-Stocki: The Captive
Nations: Nationalism of the NonRuss,ian Nations in the Soviet
Union, Bookman Associates Nesw
York, 1960; 118 pp.
A popular fallacy is that smaU
volumes have little to saiy, large
ones much. As many scholars learn
very early in their tra,ining, the
reverse is often the case. The present slender volume is a distillate
of the many years of study - alild
of a
of personal exiperience particularly vJtal asp·eict of the Soviet phenomenon by a distinguished scholar, Dr. Roman SmalStocki, for over ten ~ars on the
faculty of Marquette University.
It is because this is must reading
for all America that we point out
that brevity in -this study of naticma1ism in the Soviet orbit affords two advantages: a wide scope
compressed such that the significance of the oppressed peoples
may easily be gra,sped; and the relatively little reading required to
grasp it.
Dr. Smal-Stocki, witty as well as
penetrating, is pro'balbly unrivallled
for such an accoonp1ishment; and
he has admiralb~ succeeded. Internationally !mown for his scholarship, he has also been acclaimed
for his life-long struggle (conducted
kom no Ivory Tower) for the
right o'f self-detel'IJllination for all
non4lussian nati ons in the S'o viet
"m001olith." A'S president of the
Promethe,m Lea~ue, representing
all the nations oppressed by Russia, he effectua.ted a common front
of all significant non.Jtussian emigre groups op.pressed by Soviet
Russia. From 1924: to 1929 the
champi!oned the victims of Russian
aggression at the League of Nation,s. His importance was certified by Hitler, eager to aicqu.ire
Ukraine without interference as an
1
78
SLOVAKIA
agricultural reservoir: Dr. SmalStocki was interned in Prague for
the dur,ation of the war. '11he pres•
ent W-Ol'lk is but one olf a ser,i es
of brd:lliant studies conducted by
this indivi'd ual, gifted both as a
scholar and ais a main, during his
years in America.
This study of naitionalism, if disseminated properJy, should go f.ar
to correct present tendencies in
Amerkan thinking with regard to
the importance of modern nationali'sm in modern times. Ir-0nically
enough, "the principles for which
Americans fought 1'heir own mother counitry" are ''the very principles whiich Amer,i cans h,ave been
ignoriing in their foreign policy
t01WaTd the new Re'd Russian Em·
pire for 4-0 year-s." Especially in
recent times, Wlilson's conlcept of
"seLf-detel.'lffiiniation of small nations" wen,t to the way.side. It beicame fashionalble, in schoJ.,ar,ly
cireles and elsewhere, to attack ,t he
application, of th~s doctrJne for not
emasculating itsel! in the mystical
goal of inlternationalism. Even in
ouT 01Wn day we oan hear the claii'm
that -t he Russians, wha1:ever their
failures in pr,aicvice so far, are
continuing a revolutioo w,h ich is
"a necessary successor" to the
French a·n d the American Rievolutions.
Such thinking is in no little wise
responsilble for t he "r,apid and
catastrophic deoliine from world
leadershti;p as oiccurred to the United State's from 1946 to lt958 in
world polit,ics." Defeatism ha-s been
on the march - and shows no
signs of flagging. Such schools of
thought" as these have developed:
(1) with giradual lilberalization, the
Ru·ssian revolutoin wdll end with
staibi1ization of a "democratic fede!"ated republic" ; (2) acbive support of national communiJSm , called Ti'toism, to speed up "1-tberolization" (disregarding the fact that
"national" cOOll!Illunism i:s commun-
ism and d,i ctatorship, nonetheles's) ;
(3) status quo ad,voca,tes, on the
premise that the communist revoluti'onary expansiM has ended;
•this, goes the claim, would give
the USSR "secuTity."
Dr. Sma'1-Stocld points out tha t
the non.JRuss,i,a,n nait-ions (which
compose over half of the Russian"
populatfon of the USSR) believe
that the communist revolution is
unfinished. "The begLn,niing of the
last act of thi's revolution started
Jn East Germany (BerJin), in Poland, and in Hungiary, but was
stopped by the moral apathy and
,l etharg,y of the free w-0rl'Cl. (It)
can be stopped and broken onJy
by a democratic revolution of the
victims of Russian imperda1ism,
supported by the whole 'strengt-h
of the democratic p01Wers for the
c01Inmon cause."
The alterinates are, to say -the
least, dista'steful. H the free
world tolerates the further conbinuation of Russ-ian expansion,
in the ,n,ext 20 years or sooner, declares the all!thor, the Wlorld Sovi•e t
Union wi11 be estaiblJshed. Or, ontce
convinced its technical adva,n ces
have outstriipped us gr e at 1 y
enough, SoVliet Moscow can taike
its chances with a gigantic ''Pearl
Haribor" type of attack on the
whole U. S.
The Russian Communis,t dictatorship is a past master at ubiliiz.iln,g
every mJstake or act olf magnanimity on the part of the free
world, the author points out. "Only
1b y realizing the self-determination
of the non.JRussi,an natfons, only by
i'ntel'IIl,ational concert of the free
nations, nationalities and· peoples,
can re·al peatce be achieved," concludes Dr. Smal,Stocki.
A highly recommended hooik to
all, whfoh, going back in its study of natn:ona1ism in the nomri.Riu:ssian n'aitions, even before World
War I, afil'ords us a perspective
wh'ich leads, under the author's
SLOVAKIA
cogent guidance, to a realization
that our true weapon is the explosive force of ideas contained 1n, the
national freedom aspirations of the
non.JRussian nations. - W.D.
William L. Shlirer: The Rise and
Fall of the Third Reich. A History
of Na2i Germany, Sim,o,n. and· Schusrter, New Yol'ik, 1960; 12415 pp.,
$10.00.
<In the guise of objective hiistory
this volume presents a harrow.ing,
massive but one-sided record of
unrelieved German crimes• and
blunders. W.illiam L. Shirer, fored·g n correspondent and news commentator, is also on, the board Olf
directors Olf the "Society for ~he
Prevention Olf World War Ill, Inc."
of which Dorothy Thompson wrote
(Mary 311, 1,950) that it "has conducted a systematic campadgn
ag1ainst any constructive peace with
Germany ... and vilified every person in pulblilc life who tried to
warn that procedure alon,g Morgenthau 1ines would encompass
the rwin of Europe."
Shirer does not allOIW that the
Versailles Treaty was unjust (p.
58). He st,ates that "Nazism and
the Third Reich, in fact, were
but a Logical colilltinuafron of German histor,y" (p. 90). His piling up
of Nazi crimes, failing to put them
1n, perspecllive with the crimes of
the opp·onents, never in fact alludi'ng to the worst Soviet cr,imes,
such as their brutal population
transfers and their mass raping Olf
not only German but also Hungarian, Slovak and Austrirun women, .seem calculated to make any
unwary reader hate more than
ever the German people - now
our allies - who tolera,ted the
monsti,ous Nazis, and to think of
the equally monstrous Bol'shev~ks,
no•w o.ur cold war enemies, as really not so bad!
ln, pages on the Nazi aibuse of
Soviet and Polish p:rtlsoners of war
79
he does not once allude to the Soviet mass murder of Polish of.f,ilcers
at Katyn. He never mentions General Vilassov and hrs insur.ge'Illt
Russians who preferred fiighti,ng
for the Germans to livi,n,g under
the Soviets.
He gives good inlformation on
several German attempts to remove Hitler, three even be:fore
'194'1, but he makes no relference
to the Miorgenthau plan, CommunistJinspired, which was calcul'a ted
to dr,ive the Germans to desperate
resistan1ee instead of revolt. For
the rest, despite distoi,tions and
some clear falsehoods, there is
much interesting information in
the book. Hitler is depicted as an
uncanny genius, aJmost puriban,
fanatically warped on Ioy;alitJy and
honor, pathologica~ly airuti-IBolshev,i k and anti-Jewish, absolutely
ag:a,i nst war w.ith the West, but
certainly plotting 1t against Poland
and Russia.
Reading of Hitler's crimes and
•b lunders in detail, deducing from
the facts that truly moral st•atesmanship a,nyiwhere from 1918 on
could· have prevented the colossal
misery of World War II and aifter,
makes one feel aibout the human
ra,ce as Swiift dlid.
ln sum: more harmful th-.in good
except for trained histor,ians. A. J. A,pp.
H. G. Adler: Die Judttn in
Deutschland. From the Enlightenment to Natiorual Socialism. Ki:ise1Verlag, Munich, 1960; 17·8 pp., DM
6.80.
National Socialism produced nothing really new, particularly antiSemLtism, although dt remained
for sa-id regjme to exercise i1t in
the modern age in an a1pocalyptic
way. H. G. Adler is a Jew from
Prague, sun~ivor of the concentration camps of Theresienstad•t and
Auschwitz, who has anal~ed the
origins of anti-semi1tism, the Eman-
80
SLOVAKIA
cipation, and the plight of the
J'Elws in Germany.
'l1he results cxf the author's endeavor are procuralble in a smaU
book prolif.ic with quotes and sources. Adler candidJy acknowledges
that dur1nlg the Middle Ages a
Jewish prdblem was poss1ble only
in Germany ·b ecause the Eur®ean
na:!Ji,onal states, after a period cxf
severe op,pression "divested themselves of their Jews" by means of
expulsion, England in 1200, FIia.nee
in li306 (a.nd, after temporary readmittance, again i.n, '1933), Spain
in 1492 and Portug•al in 1497."
Hatred of the Jews was due
for cenwries to ,theh- belonging to
a different religion; the sol'Utiion
lay therefore i.n, conversion to
Christianity, or by remedying
their "otherness." Heine spoke of
his baiptism as the "ticket O£f admission to European culture." Yet
the position of the Jews in Germanry was as varied as the very
diversilfied nature of the First
Reioh itself. As fate as 1,81,7, for
example, the English prov,ince of
Hannover quite firmly resisted the
,proposed emanlci,pation of the Jews
which had been sought by Christians and Jews alike ever since
the Enlightenment.
Mter the founding of the Second Reich religious dilfference was,
to be sure, no longer the tme
cause cxf anti-semitism, for 1n, the
Bismarokian constitution one's religious affiliation was irreleivant.
Adler cites in addition to the longstanding religious a$Pect of the
Jewish question German aruti'-semites like the Berlin court preacher
Stocker, the Viennese Biirgermeister Lueger, Richard Wagner, Lagarde, and Fritsch. Aocording to
these persons race and not religion was the cause of anti-Jewish
feeling. One notes a breach in developments that is not bri:dged· by
any explanation and one wonders
why this surprising change. Was
it due to the l"apid increase after
18711 of Jewish banking a.nd trad-
ing firms, the entranice of J·ewish
lawyers, doctors, and teachers into prcxfessions that had been
barred to them hitherto? Was it
due to enviy cxf thei'r quiick social
climb? Even during the period of
religious anti-Jewish hatred the
c-u rse "his blood be on us and on
our chillren" was not the sole reason for the pogroms, but also the
desire to be rid of the annoying
creditors. A similar trend developed in many lia.r,ge German cities fo
the "golden t,w,en,ties."
Germ•an anti-semitism, in the final analysis, has come to be a
stain not only on the name of Germany for years to coone bwt bas
actually estranged one of the most
ardent Ge Tm ,a n protagonists
throughout the world, the German
speaking J~s. Adler's book shows
primarily, too, the zeal with which
the German Jews all over the
world were ready to serve their
peopl'e, a fact whi'ch is seldom rememlbered today - L. Rainalter.
ANONYMOUS LETTIERS, wriltten to Red leaders in Slovakia, are
caiusing some conc,ern to th~ regiime. The Bra'tisla'Va Radio recently reminded its listeners that Wl'liters of such letters, ill: revealed,
are in fur stiff fin~s and long jail
sentences. The rea'ction: more and
still more anonymous letters to
worry the coHalborators of Red
P11ague.
:IE:
:IE:
)l(!
is 1b e in g
planned in Bratislava, Slovakia, according to the dlaiily PRA-OA. It
should be ready by the end of
1!963; the cost: 9 million, Crowns;
and location: near the present
Bra,tislava cemeter.y. Thi! Reds are
happy that finaUy consideratfon
has been given "to this modern
and scientiific way of buryi<11,g the
dead."
A
CREMATORY
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presidents
Michael
Msgr. F. J . Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Pet er P. H letko
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
Ge-0rge Kantor
P:·esident
Philip A. Hrobak
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York 61, N. Y.
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presi dents
Joseph Bend i k
John
P. 0 . Box 230
Uniontown, P a .
Ju l ia
Sas
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Krajcovic
Helen Ko can
1648 W. 18th Street
Chi cago 8. Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
22 64 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Paul C. Kazimer
St ephen J. Tkach
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
Nationa l President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
An.drew Hudak
Nation.al President
Slov,ak Catholic Cadet Union
15701 Bennett Rd.
No. Royalton 33, Ohio
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNICKA
Cleve land, Ohio
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Passaic, N . J.
Whitaker. Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Middletown, Pa.
SLOVAKIA : The ruins of Strecno Castle above the Vah river in the Trencin Province (13th century).
Dublin Core
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Title
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Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 11, No. 2 (34)
Description
An account of the resource
includes book reviews, pp. 76-80, and photo of ruins of Strečno Castle above the Váh river in the Trenčin Province
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September-December 1961
-
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68
SLOVAKIA
SUDETEN GERMAN DAYS: MAY 19-22, 1961
The month of May, 1961, saw more than 200,000 Sudeten German expellees again convene - this year in the
Rhine metropolis of Cologne - to be counted among those
refusing to relinquish claims to native lands now under
Soviet rule.
Events that extended over four days (May 19-22)
were highlighted by messages by U. S. Congressmen Morgan M. Moulder (Dem., Mo.), Gordon H. Scherer (Rep., 0 .),
Roy A. Taylor (Dem., N. C.), Henry C. Schadeberg (Rep.,
Wis.), who flew to Cologne expressly to participate in
the Sudeten German rally.
The United States was also represented in the person of Philip A. Hrobak, President of the Slovak League
of America and editor of the Slovak publication Jednota,
who was awarded the Sudeten German Karl's Prize for his
untiring efforts toward harmony among the peoples of
East Central Europe.
The Karl's Prize, named for Karl IV, King of Bohemia
and Emperor of Germany, of the House of Luxemburg
(1346-1378), is awarded each year to a political leader,
scientist or publicist who has made an outstanding contribution to the concept of a United Europe.
Reminiscent of a Scout jamboree, 3,500 Sudeten German boys and girls pitched their tents on the Cologne city
fair grounds and camped there during the rally. Although
most of them are too young to remember their native
homes in Sudetenland from which their families were expelled in 1945-46, they have pledged their allegiance to a
Europe in which all peoples and ethnic groups shall live in
peace, freedom and harmony and, like their parents, refuse to give up their just claim to their homes now behind the iron curtain.
At the grand youth finale, ruling Burgomaster of
Berlin, Willy Brandt, addressed 15,000 listeners, scoring
a demand for "unity, justice and freedom." A voice-speaking choir of South Moravians intoned the tragedy of a divided Germany, eager for reunification but incapable of
�SLOVAKIA
69
true unity unless it be achieved in freedom and not at the
expense of freedom.
Said Oskar Boese as spokesman of the Sudeten German Youth:
The younger genera,tion o'f the Sudeten Germans, wants to contrilbute to the endeavors eventually leadin,g to a r-e al and long riange
reconici'Hation between the peo,pl-es of Centra,l and East EurQPe and
!Minister of Transportation Dr. Hans-Christoph Seebohm, congratulates
recip,ient of European Charles Prize, Mr. Philip A. Hrobak, President
of the Slovak League of America.
�70
SLOVAKIA
to help briidge the gaip between Germany aml her eastern neighbors, a gaip caused by war antl post-w,ar events.
According to the speaker, the Sudeten German Youth
considers it its task to strengthen among the young people
the many spiritual and social duties towards the people
of other continents. The principle emphasis of this work
lies on the dignity and freedom of the human being. Concluded Mr. Boese:
We fully recognize a,n d adhere to the basic huma,n, rughlts, the
in,violalbii.ity of the legally acquired homeland, the right olf self-detel"!Jllin,ation, and the ideals and duties of deanocralcy.
Dr. Hans-Christoph Seebohm, German Federal Minister and President of the Sudeten German Council, one of
the main speakers of the Sudeten rally in Cologne, emphasized that Sudeten expellees are using solely peaceful
means to achieve their goals of repatriation and self-determination. Addressing the many thousands gathered at
the Cologne fair grounds he said:
You have come here voluntariiLy and at great per-sonal sacrifice O!f time ,a nd m001ey to rededlioaite yourselves to our homelamd,
the Sudetenlantl aind ito prove before the world that we Sudeten
German-s exist as an ethnic group aoo are resolved to deanand that
the r,i,ght to the h-0meiand and to selif-detemni,n,ation in our homelarud eventuaUy be re,alized.
We do not claim this right merely for ourselves, but fur aill peolJ)le and for all nations and ethnic g,r oups all -0ver the world, beca use we know that only by the realization O!f these rig•h ts can a
lasting peace, based on a recoI11Ciiliation and coo:peration, C1f peoples
and eth111k groups, be ushered in as a genuiiine and equal partnership.
We are working toward this goal with the peaceful means of
the law. We rejelct force, booause force would lead to new injustices
whkh would endanger the future of •posterity. We do not intend to
peripetua,t e the irujusti.ce of the exipulsi10n by add'i•ng new expulsions.
The ri'ght O!f seld'-d•etermin,ation, which cannot be exercised periodli,cally Hke an election, is inseparaUJly 11inked to the right of the
individual to his homeland antl can on,ly be exe-rci,red iin c-0njunction with that righlt.
The Bolshevist wo,r ld pays l!ip service to the right Olf self-determination and hlas only used it as an enticement. It believes that the
rig,ht Olf selif-deter,mination ended with the expulsion. We say, h'owever, the dght to the home'La<rud can never be crushed 'by force .
Only the indiividual can relinquish i,t by giving up his ties with his
peOI)le and his homela,n<ii as an aict of free will and conscience.
Conscience cannot ·be silenced by force; it cannot even be siilenced
by deportation and enslla~emenit. A:s long as poople stand by their
�SLOVAKIA
71
native land, as long ais they remain lo)'lal to their people or ethnic
group, they will retain this right to their hoonetand and the right
to sel.f-detemninati-0n within thalt homeland.
We do not believe that the .£utur.e oo Europe cam, be made saife
by the restoroitiion of oubwom forms of national States. In vi-ew of
the overlapping aireas of se!Jtlement of Oenltral European peoples
and ethnic groups which stJil'l. exist despite the eJOI)'lllsron oo the
Germans, a new, supra-naUonal order is needled. Peace a,nd harmony can be assured to these peoples onily when all natioml'l ambttions and lust for hegemony are bra•nded as a vio1'ation o.f the
coomnonly estalblished order. Tolerance a•nd partnership wiU ha'V'e
to overcome eidstiing tensions. We Sudeten Germans have renounced
all thought oif reverrge, retlalliia'tioon and force ,i n the Charrt;er of the
Elcpellees and the Wiesbaden A1gree:ment (signed by General Lev
Ptchala for the Czech nati-ooo:l Counicil in London; and Dr. Rudold'
Lodgman von Auen, Hans Schiltz and Rii:chard Rteitznoer o!ll, behallf of
the Association for the Protection of Sudeiten German Interests).
Guests of honor a,t Sudeten German Day (left to l"i9ht): Mr. Mouser,
U. S. Embassy; the Hon. Ray A. Taylor, Gordon H. Scherer, Henry C.
Schadeberg, members of U. S. Congress; General Lev Prchala, Czech
National Council, and Hon. Morgan M. Moulder, Member U. S. Congress.
�72
SLOVAKIA
We want the peOII)les living today m Mioraiviia, Si,lesia, and Slo•
vakra to know: We recognize, Czechs and Slovaks, your right to the
homeland and your right of self-determinatioin just as we expect
you to recogn,ize our respective rights. We want freedom for you,
we want justice for you. We want you to live in a democratic and
supranationally organized European order. We want to serve as
equal and conscientious partners, the great aim: Freedom, justice
and peace for all of Central Eastern Europe.
Dr. Hans-Joachim von Merkatz, West Ger m an Minister of E xpellee and Refugee Affairs, speaking fo r t h e
F eder al Chancellor and t h e German F ederal Government ,
said:
When you ask to be 3Jble to retur,n. to your homeland, to your
free homeLand, it has nothing whatsoever to do w.ith [Plans ~md
id€.as as expressed by the National Socialists. It is the nart:urail ex·
-p ression of love .for on,e's native soil!.
Your ethnic group is under fire by Eastern propaganda. How·
ever , you are not in bad company if people accuse you oif being
"revengists," •n,or is this accusation borne out me,re}y by constant
repetitio•n. ]t simply shows how sensifaveliy the Eas,t reacts to our
pledge of allegrian,c,e to your hiomeland and t he .right to thart 'homeland• - which is one of the most n,aitural cxf all rights. You are not
seeking revenge. We who are the most recent victims of re·
ven,ge ar e the first om~s ,to break its vicious circl.e. The expellees
ha:ve fong srin•ce 3Jbandoned a•ny thought of revenge and retaliation ...
The Gerunan Bumd·estaog, in a soleimn declaraltion made in 1,950,
stated that the right to the homeland is an inalien-3Jble claim of
man a1nd that irt raises protest agairnst tire su:nrender oif this right
of the homeland belon ging to those Germans from Ozeicho-Slovakiia
en,tr,usted to the caire of the West Ger.man Federal RepulblLc. Th~
Fed,eirail Government has repeatedly spoken out in this vein on
behalif of the prinlciplie of the r1ght to the homeland and the rioght
ad' selif-determination for all Ger,ma·ns.
1
The Hon. Gordon H. Scherer, member of t he U. S.
House of Representatives, addressing t he Sudenten Germ an expellees, gathered at Cologne's fair grounds said :
I brin•g you the warmest greetings od' the Congress a•nd the
people of the United states of America. This meeting is imp ortant
becaus·e you a·r e courageously facing up to the g,r e·a test issue oif
thris generation, that .issue before which all oth1ers pass into ionsiogn,it.fioance. It is the fight w.ith the So·v iet Uniorn for survival, with
the international Communist conspiracy 1by aill those people on borth
sides of the ioron curtain who love and want lilberty and the right
of se'hf-d•ete-run ination.
I am cme of those, however, who does not beliieve that we a,r e
going to have all-o ut nuclear war. Why? Simply because today the
fire·pQlWer between the Eaist and the W es't is fairly well balanced
and neither side is going to risk the total ,destruction of its cities.
�SLOVAKIA
73
The Russians -are not dumb. Wh,y should they risk a1lmost total annihilation?
As ·long as the Communist empire corutinues to move for,ward ,
how, as a practical matter, c,a n the Sudeten. Ge.rmans expect to have
their lands -andi propertiies returned to 'them? Hoiw can you or any
of the people behind the iron curtain ex,pe'Ct the right of selfdetenmin.ation as long as the despots in the KremHn continue cynica11,y to maniipuliare the strings thiat control theiJ- puppets in Czecho,Slov.a'kia, Pola•nd, Ru.mania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, China, Tibet and, yes, EJa,sit Germany?
Onl,y aifter we in the .free world, with the help of millions cxf
our secret a'llies behind the iron, and ballnfboo curtaiiin6, turn the tide
of arthei,sti.c, godJ:ess Communism, will Su,d,e'ten Ge:rnnans be alble to
realire their cheiriished goals of "restoraltion of their homelands"
and "seltf-detel'trll1i:n,a,tion."
Congressman Roy A. Taylor, praised the Sudeten Garmans as one of the greatest anti-Communist forces in the
1T he main speakers at Sudeten German Day. (Left to right): Wenzel
Jaksch, President of Sudeten German Federal Assembly; Willy Brandt,
Mayor of West Berlin; Ha.ns-Christoph Seebohm, President of the
Sudeten German Council.
�74
SLOVAKIA
world, saying they had greatly contributed to the struggle
for the preservation of freedom. The Sudetens know, he
stated, what it means to suffer at the hands of Communism. "Through your actions you have won the admiration
of all free people of the world.
"We need to believe that right in the world will triumph over might, and that truth crushed to earth will rise
again. We want you to know that we in America are anxious to help correct the injustices of the past and recover
the world's greatest lost treasure, which is world peace."
Representative Henry C. Schadeberg declared that:
Sud>eten Germ~ms have the title to thei·r homeland as aM other
people of the world arud Communist measures must be tolerated
in no ease. be ,t hey directed ag,ainst the Po,!es or the Germans.
Your magnificent way to demonstrate for cooperation with the Slovak people by awarding the Charles Prize to the President of the
Slovak League of America is a manifestation for cooperation with
all other nations of Eastern Europe.
y;our attitud e is greatly ,a·ppreciated by keed01m-loving people
in Amer,k!a a,nd <in al11 of the free world. We believe with you tha.t
freedom will not oisappear from this world - that freedom and
not Communist tyrianny is the "w.ave of the fut ure," and tha,t faiith
!in God wHl str,e ngthen and :remain ,t he buliwark of tree men, in
the West. Our work .and your work wiU be successful becaus e freedom is righ't and tyranny is wrong.
1
From Congressman Morgan M. Moulder the audience
heard that the Communists were following quite clear
aims by expelling the Sudeten Germans from their homelands. Said he:
The Communists wanted to pus:h the borders of their ter,r itocy
as fa:r west a<s possible. They br,iJbed followers by oistri'buting Germain, expellees' propel1ty; thereby they were able to colle1etivize Sudeten German and East German agriculture ,a nd industry, -and have
tried to corrupt the morale of a-11 East Gernnan peoples and create
ete11na1l hatred between the Germans on th·e one hand and the
Czechs and the Poles on the other.
Every Amerilcan who loves freedom should condemn these
Communist aims. Every Almer,iican should support the rapprochement between n,ations that have become victims of Coonmunism.
It Ls our belief that this ra'PProchement must be based on justice.
We believe that aU people h<l!Ve a right to th•eir h'Omeland and
that the inj,usti-ces committed since world Oommun,ism arose must
be removed. We ,b elieve that the nations long for and deserve full
freedom a,nd sellf-deternnin-ati'on.
The Sudeten Germans shoUJ1d haive the r ~g,ht to return to their
centuries-Old hoone1'and and to their sebf-determination.
Wenzel Jaksch, member of the German Federal Par-
�SLOVAKIA
75
1iament and President of the Sudeten German Federal
Assembly, Wiesbaden, told the Cologne rally:
]f we look at the Sudeten problem as an isolated question, it
becomes one rnf the most diif£icult ones Ln Europe todlay.
Today, as in the past, it is our hilstoriic perseverance thait will
decide the fUJture of our hooneland. A homeland' that is written o<flf
the books is lost forever. We are ,c alled illusionists because we do
not want to fonreit the old homela,n,d. Yet those who beHeve they
can retain West Gerunainiy ,p ermanently, irf they yield East Germanry
.and the Sudetenland, ar,e even greater illusionists. At this pOlint
we a,r e faced wilth an in,n.er decision between political deifensi~
and political offensi:ve thinking. 'J.1he malking of that decision is a,n
unesoa,paible ta.sk.
An European democracy that thinks offensively should see in
the loya,ty of Sudeten a•nd East Germans to their hooneJ,and its
most va,l1U1aible aUies. Any over.all Euroipean pea'ce plan Olf the uniited
democracies cannot a.Jif-Ord to ex!Clude the reparation of the expulJ,sions. This i-s no biased Germain, demand but a prerequ1si<te oo
fr,eedom and self-d•eteriminaiion of the East European peoples.
The price of freed om for all European peoples is their restriction to histm:iically confiruned bounda<ries Olf settlemerut and respect for the neighlbor's boundM-ies dra,wn by the plowsha•re and
not by the sword.
Willy Brandt, popular Burgomaster (Mayor) of Berlin, made a special trip to Cologne to address the Sudeten German rally. In his speech Brandt said:
The citizens of Berlin today, even as the eX!pel:lees in the
post,war era , are syim1bolica1ly shouldering the load for the entire
niaition. Berlin is the brid•ge between the people -Orf our divided
country. If the lights should go out iln, Berllin, darrkness would set
in for the entire Gerunan Federail Repwblic.
We in Berlin f.eel that we need no counter-ideology. The East
Block ide·ology i1S not such a Herculean thing that we can or.Jy
meet it on the deifensiive.
The Ber>lin questi,on is not the cause but the result of tensions ,b etween East and West a1nd of Gerunany's partition. There is
no isolated Berlin solution. What there may be, until the rees·talb1ishment of Ge11ma•ny's unity in freedom and in a·greemen,t with the
ju,sitiJie-d securiity initerests of aU coruc,erned, is a sett:,ament of solely practilcal maitters. The following points rema·in essen,tia~:
1. The right of Berlin's citizens freely to decide their own
matters.
2. The rights and d,uties of the A,llied Protecting Powers to
prov,i de for access to Berlin a•nd for preparations for a peace treaty
with an a1l-German governime.nt.
3. '!\he indissolUJble conneicti·on between West Berlin and the
economic a•n.d legal system -0f the German F1ede-rall Repulblic.
4. The community of the population, of both sectors of Berlin,
which must no't ,b e jeo,pa;rdfael by changing the d'emar>cation line
of ,t he ci,ty into State boundaries. - "Sudeten Bulletin."
�
68
SLOVAKIA
SUDETEN GERMAN DAYS: MAY 19-22, 1961
The month of May, 1961, saw more than 200,000 Sudeten German expellees again convene - this year in the
Rhine metropolis of Cologne - to be counted among those
refusing to relinquish claims to native lands now under
Soviet rule.
Events that extended over four days (May 19-22)
were highlighted by messages by U. S. Congressmen Morgan M. Moulder (Dem., Mo.), Gordon H. Scherer (Rep., 0 .),
Roy A. Taylor (Dem., N. C.), Henry C. Schadeberg (Rep.,
Wis.), who flew to Cologne expressly to participate in
the Sudeten German rally.
The United States was also represented in the person of Philip A. Hrobak, President of the Slovak League
of America and editor of the Slovak publication Jednota,
who was awarded the Sudeten German Karl's Prize for his
untiring efforts toward harmony among the peoples of
East Central Europe.
The Karl's Prize, named for Karl IV, King of Bohemia
and Emperor of Germany, of the House of Luxemburg
(1346-1378), is awarded each year to a political leader,
scientist or publicist who has made an outstanding contribution to the concept of a United Europe.
Reminiscent of a Scout jamboree, 3,500 Sudeten German boys and girls pitched their tents on the Cologne city
fair grounds and camped there during the rally. Although
most of them are too young to remember their native
homes in Sudetenland from which their families were expelled in 1945-46, they have pledged their allegiance to a
Europe in which all peoples and ethnic groups shall live in
peace, freedom and harmony and, like their parents, refuse to give up their just claim to their homes now behind the iron curtain.
At the grand youth finale, ruling Burgomaster of
Berlin, Willy Brandt, addressed 15,000 listeners, scoring
a demand for "unity, justice and freedom." A voice-speaking choir of South Moravians intoned the tragedy of a divided Germany, eager for reunification but incapable of
�SLOVAKIA
69
true unity unless it be achieved in freedom and not at the
expense of freedom.
Said Oskar Boese as spokesman of the Sudeten German Youth:
The younger genera,tion o'f the Sudeten Germans, wants to contrilbute to the endeavors eventually leadin,g to a r-e al and long riange
reconici'Hation between the peo,pl-es of Centra,l and East EurQPe and
!Minister of Transportation Dr. Hans-Christoph Seebohm, congratulates
recip,ient of European Charles Prize, Mr. Philip A. Hrobak, President
of the Slovak League of America.
�70
SLOVAKIA
to help briidge the gaip between Germany aml her eastern neighbors, a gaip caused by war antl post-w,ar events.
According to the speaker, the Sudeten German Youth
considers it its task to strengthen among the young people
the many spiritual and social duties towards the people
of other continents. The principle emphasis of this work
lies on the dignity and freedom of the human being. Concluded Mr. Boese:
We fully recognize a,n d adhere to the basic huma,n, rughlts, the
in,violalbii.ity of the legally acquired homeland, the right olf self-detel"!Jllin,ation, and the ideals and duties of deanocralcy.
Dr. Hans-Christoph Seebohm, German Federal Minister and President of the Sudeten German Council, one of
the main speakers of the Sudeten rally in Cologne, emphasized that Sudeten expellees are using solely peaceful
means to achieve their goals of repatriation and self-determination. Addressing the many thousands gathered at
the Cologne fair grounds he said:
You have come here voluntariiLy and at great per-sonal sacrifice O!f time ,a nd m001ey to rededlioaite yourselves to our homelamd,
the Sudetenlantl aind ito prove before the world that we Sudeten
German-s exist as an ethnic group aoo are resolved to deanand that
the r,i,ght to the h-0meiand and to selif-detemni,n,ation in our homelarud eventuaUy be re,alized.
We do not claim this right merely for ourselves, but fur aill peolJ)le and for all nations and ethnic g,r oups all -0ver the world, beca use we know that only by the realization O!f these rig•h ts can a
lasting peace, based on a recoI11Ciiliation and coo:peration, C1f peoples
and eth111k groups, be ushered in as a genuiiine and equal partnership.
We are working toward this goal with the peaceful means of
the law. We rejelct force, booause force would lead to new injustices
whkh would endanger the future of •posterity. We do not intend to
peripetua,t e the irujusti.ce of the exipulsi10n by add'i•ng new expulsions.
The ri'ght O!f seld'-d•etermin,ation, which cannot be exercised periodli,cally Hke an election, is inseparaUJly 11inked to the right of the
individual to his homeland antl can on,ly be exe-rci,red iin c-0njunction with that righlt.
The Bolshevist wo,r ld pays l!ip service to the right Olf self-determination and hlas only used it as an enticement. It believes that the
rig,ht Olf selif-deter,mination ended with the expulsion. We say, h'owever, the dght to the home'La<rud can never be crushed 'by force .
Only the indiividual can relinquish i,t by giving up his ties with his
peOI)le and his homela,n<ii as an aict of free will and conscience.
Conscience cannot ·be silenced by force; it cannot even be siilenced
by deportation and enslla~emenit. A:s long as poople stand by their
�SLOVAKIA
71
native land, as long ais they remain lo)'lal to their people or ethnic
group, they will retain this right to their hoonetand and the right
to sel.f-detemninati-0n within thalt homeland.
We do not believe that the .£utur.e oo Europe cam, be made saife
by the restoroitiion of oubwom forms of national States. In vi-ew of
the overlapping aireas of se!Jtlement of Oenltral European peoples
and ethnic groups which stJil'l. exist despite the eJOI)'lllsron oo the
Germans, a new, supra-naUonal order is needled. Peace a,nd harmony can be assured to these peoples onily when all natioml'l ambttions and lust for hegemony are bra•nded as a vio1'ation o.f the
coomnonly estalblished order. Tolerance a•nd partnership wiU ha'V'e
to overcome eidstiing tensions. We Sudeten Germans have renounced
all thought oif reverrge, retlalliia'tioon and force ,i n the Charrt;er of the
Elcpellees and the Wiesbaden A1gree:ment (signed by General Lev
Ptchala for the Czech nati-ooo:l Counicil in London; and Dr. Rudold'
Lodgman von Auen, Hans Schiltz and Rii:chard Rteitznoer o!ll, behallf of
the Association for the Protection of Sudeiten German Interests).
Guests of honor a,t Sudeten German Day (left to l"i9ht): Mr. Mouser,
U. S. Embassy; the Hon. Ray A. Taylor, Gordon H. Scherer, Henry C.
Schadeberg, members of U. S. Congress; General Lev Prchala, Czech
National Council, and Hon. Morgan M. Moulder, Member U. S. Congress.
�72
SLOVAKIA
We want the peOII)les living today m Mioraiviia, Si,lesia, and Slo•
vakra to know: We recognize, Czechs and Slovaks, your right to the
homeland and your right of self-determinatioin just as we expect
you to recogn,ize our respective rights. We want freedom for you,
we want justice for you. We want you to live in a democratic and
supranationally organized European order. We want to serve as
equal and conscientious partners, the great aim: Freedom, justice
and peace for all of Central Eastern Europe.
Dr. Hans-Joachim von Merkatz, West Ger m an Minister of E xpellee and Refugee Affairs, speaking fo r t h e
F eder al Chancellor and t h e German F ederal Government ,
said:
When you ask to be 3Jble to retur,n. to your homeland, to your
free homeLand, it has nothing whatsoever to do w.ith [Plans ~md
id€.as as expressed by the National Socialists. It is the nart:urail ex·
-p ression of love .for on,e's native soil!.
Your ethnic group is under fire by Eastern propaganda. How·
ever , you are not in bad company if people accuse you oif being
"revengists," •n,or is this accusation borne out me,re}y by constant
repetitio•n. ]t simply shows how sensifaveliy the Eas,t reacts to our
pledge of allegrian,c,e to your hiomeland and t he .right to thart 'homeland• - which is one of the most n,aitural cxf all rights. You are not
seeking revenge. We who are the most recent victims of re·
ven,ge ar e the first om~s ,to break its vicious circl.e. The expellees
ha:ve fong srin•ce 3Jbandoned a•ny thought of revenge and retaliation ...
The Gerunan Bumd·estaog, in a soleimn declaraltion made in 1,950,
stated that the right to the homeland is an inalien-3Jble claim of
man a1nd that irt raises protest agairnst tire su:nrender oif this right
of the homeland belon ging to those Germans from Ozeicho-Slovakiia
en,tr,usted to the caire of the West Ger.man Federal RepulblLc. Th~
Fed,eirail Government has repeatedly spoken out in this vein on
behalif of the prinlciplie of the r1ght to the homeland and the rioght
ad' selif-determination for all Ger,ma·ns.
1
The Hon. Gordon H. Scherer, member of t he U. S.
House of Representatives, addressing t he Sudenten Germ an expellees, gathered at Cologne's fair grounds said :
I brin•g you the warmest greetings od' the Congress a•nd the
people of the United states of America. This meeting is imp ortant
becaus·e you a·r e courageously facing up to the g,r e·a test issue oif
thris generation, that .issue before which all oth1ers pass into ionsiogn,it.fioance. It is the fight w.ith the So·v iet Uniorn for survival, with
the international Communist conspiracy 1by aill those people on borth
sides of the ioron curtain who love and want lilberty and the right
of se'hf-d•ete-run ination.
I am cme of those, however, who does not beliieve that we a,r e
going to have all-o ut nuclear war. Why? Simply because today the
fire·pQlWer between the Eaist and the W es't is fairly well balanced
and neither side is going to risk the total ,destruction of its cities.
�SLOVAKIA
73
The Russians -are not dumb. Wh,y should they risk a1lmost total annihilation?
As ·long as the Communist empire corutinues to move for,ward ,
how, as a practical matter, c,a n the Sudeten. Ge.rmans expect to have
their lands -andi propertiies returned to 'them? Hoiw can you or any
of the people behind the iron curtain ex,pe'Ct the right of selfdetenmin.ation as long as the despots in the KremHn continue cynica11,y to maniipuliare the strings thiat control theiJ- puppets in Czecho,Slov.a'kia, Pola•nd, Ru.mania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, China, Tibet and, yes, EJa,sit Germany?
Onl,y aifter we in the .free world, with the help of millions cxf
our secret a'llies behind the iron, and ballnfboo curtaiiin6, turn the tide
of arthei,sti.c, godJ:ess Communism, will Su,d,e'ten Ge:rnnans be alble to
realire their cheiriished goals of "restoraltion of their homelands"
and "seltf-detel'trll1i:n,a,tion."
Congressman Roy A. Taylor, praised the Sudeten Garmans as one of the greatest anti-Communist forces in the
1T he main speakers at Sudeten German Day. (Left to right): Wenzel
Jaksch, President of Sudeten German Federal Assembly; Willy Brandt,
Mayor of West Berlin; Ha.ns-Christoph Seebohm, President of the
Sudeten German Council.
�74
SLOVAKIA
world, saying they had greatly contributed to the struggle
for the preservation of freedom. The Sudetens know, he
stated, what it means to suffer at the hands of Communism. "Through your actions you have won the admiration
of all free people of the world.
"We need to believe that right in the world will triumph over might, and that truth crushed to earth will rise
again. We want you to know that we in America are anxious to help correct the injustices of the past and recover
the world's greatest lost treasure, which is world peace."
Representative Henry C. Schadeberg declared that:
Sud>eten Germ~ms have the title to thei·r homeland as aM other
people of the world arud Communist measures must be tolerated
in no ease. be ,t hey directed ag,ainst the Po,!es or the Germans.
Your magnificent way to demonstrate for cooperation with the Slovak people by awarding the Charles Prize to the President of the
Slovak League of America is a manifestation for cooperation with
all other nations of Eastern Europe.
y;our attitud e is greatly ,a·ppreciated by keed01m-loving people
in Amer,k!a a,nd <in al11 of the free world. We believe with you tha.t
freedom will not oisappear from this world - that freedom and
not Communist tyrianny is the "w.ave of the fut ure," and tha,t faiith
!in God wHl str,e ngthen and :remain ,t he buliwark of tree men, in
the West. Our work .and your work wiU be successful becaus e freedom is righ't and tyranny is wrong.
1
From Congressman Morgan M. Moulder the audience
heard that the Communists were following quite clear
aims by expelling the Sudeten Germans from their homelands. Said he:
The Communists wanted to pus:h the borders of their ter,r itocy
as fa:r west a<s possible. They br,iJbed followers by oistri'buting Germain, expellees' propel1ty; thereby they were able to colle1etivize Sudeten German and East German agriculture ,a nd industry, -and have
tried to corrupt the morale of a-11 East Gernnan peoples and create
ete11na1l hatred between the Germans on th·e one hand and the
Czechs and the Poles on the other.
Every Amerilcan who loves freedom should condemn these
Communist aims. Every Almer,iican should support the rapprochement between n,ations that have become victims of Coonmunism.
It Ls our belief that this ra'PProchement must be based on justice.
We believe that aU people h<l!Ve a right to th•eir h'Omeland and
that the inj,usti-ces committed since world Oommun,ism arose must
be removed. We ,b elieve that the nations long for and deserve full
freedom a,nd sellf-deternnin-ati'on.
The Sudeten Germans shoUJ1d haive the r ~g,ht to return to their
centuries-Old hoone1'and and to their sebf-determination.
Wenzel Jaksch, member of the German Federal Par-
�SLOVAKIA
75
1iament and President of the Sudeten German Federal
Assembly, Wiesbaden, told the Cologne rally:
]f we look at the Sudeten problem as an isolated question, it
becomes one rnf the most diif£icult ones Ln Europe todlay.
Today, as in the past, it is our hilstoriic perseverance thait will
decide the fUJture of our hooneland. A homeland' that is written o<flf
the books is lost forever. We are ,c alled illusionists because we do
not want to fonreit the old homela,n,d. Yet those who beHeve they
can retain West Gerunainiy ,p ermanently, irf they yield East Germanry
.and the Sudetenland, ar,e even greater illusionists. At this pOlint
we a,r e faced wilth an in,n.er decision between political deifensi~
and political offensi:ve thinking. 'J.1he malking of that decision is a,n
unesoa,paible ta.sk.
An European democracy that thinks offensively should see in
the loya,ty of Sudeten a•nd East Germans to their hooneJ,and its
most va,l1U1aible aUies. Any over.all Euroipean pea'ce plan Olf the uniited
democracies cannot a.Jif-Ord to ex!Clude the reparation of the expulJ,sions. This i-s no biased Germain, demand but a prerequ1si<te oo
fr,eedom and self-d•eteriminaiion of the East European peoples.
The price of freed om for all European peoples is their restriction to histm:iically confiruned bounda<ries Olf settlemerut and respect for the neighlbor's boundM-ies dra,wn by the plowsha•re and
not by the sword.
Willy Brandt, popular Burgomaster (Mayor) of Berlin, made a special trip to Cologne to address the Sudeten German rally. In his speech Brandt said:
The citizens of Berlin today, even as the eX!pel:lees in the
post,war era , are syim1bolica1ly shouldering the load for the entire
niaition. Berlin is the brid•ge between the people -Orf our divided
country. If the lights should go out iln, Berllin, darrkness would set
in for the entire Gerunan Federail Repwblic.
We in Berlin f.eel that we need no counter-ideology. The East
Block ide·ology i1S not such a Herculean thing that we can or.Jy
meet it on the deifensiive.
The Ber>lin questi,on is not the cause but the result of tensions ,b etween East and West a1nd of Gerunany's partition. There is
no isolated Berlin solution. What there may be, until the rees·talb1ishment of Ge11ma•ny's unity in freedom and in a·greemen,t with the
ju,sitiJie-d securiity initerests of aU coruc,erned, is a sett:,ament of solely practilcal maitters. The following points rema·in essen,tia~:
1. The right of Berlin's citizens freely to decide their own
matters.
2. The rights and d,uties of the A,llied Protecting Powers to
prov,i de for access to Berlin a•nd for preparations for a peace treaty
with an a1l-German governime.nt.
3. '!\he indissolUJble conneicti·on between West Berlin and the
economic a•n.d legal system -0f the German F1ede-rall Repulblic.
4. The community of the population, of both sectors of Berlin,
which must no't ,b e jeo,pa;rdfael by changing the d'emar>cation line
of ,t he ci,ty into State boundaries. - "Sudeten Bulletin."
�
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1961, Vol. 11
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 33), March-June 1961.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 34), September-December June 1961.</li>
</ul>
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The Slovak League of America
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1961
Text
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68
SLOVAKIA
SUDETEN GERMAN DAYS: MAY 19-22, 1961
The month of May, 1961, saw more than 200,000 Sudeten German expellees again convene - this year in the
Rhine metropolis of Cologne - to be counted among those
refusing to relinquish claims to native lands now under
Soviet rule.
Events that extended over four days (May 19-22)
were highlighted by messages by U. S. Congressmen Morgan M. Moulder (Dem., Mo.), Gordon H. Scherer (Rep., 0 .),
Roy A. Taylor (Dem., N. C.), Henry C. Schadeberg (Rep.,
Wis.), who flew to Cologne expressly to participate in
the Sudeten German rally.
The United States was also represented in the person of Philip A. Hrobak, President of the Slovak League
of America and editor of the Slovak publication Jednota,
who was awarded the Sudeten German Karl's Prize for his
untiring efforts toward harmony among the peoples of
East Central Europe.
The Karl's Prize, named for Karl IV, King of Bohemia
and Emperor of Germany, of the House of Luxemburg
(1346-1378), is awarded each year to a political leader,
scientist or publicist who has made an outstanding contribution to the concept of a United Europe.
Reminiscent of a Scout jamboree, 3,500 Sudeten German boys and girls pitched their tents on the Cologne city
fair grounds and camped there during the rally. Although
most of them are too young to remember their native
homes in Sudetenland from which their families were expelled in 1945-46, they have pledged their allegiance to a
Europe in which all peoples and ethnic groups shall live in
peace, freedom and harmony and, like their parents, refuse to give up their just claim to their homes now behind the iron curtain.
At the grand youth finale, ruling Burgomaster of
Berlin, Willy Brandt, addressed 15,000 listeners, scoring
a demand for "unity, justice and freedom." A voice-speaking choir of South Moravians intoned the tragedy of a divided Germany, eager for reunification but incapable of
SLOVAKIA
69
true unity unless it be achieved in freedom and not at the
expense of freedom.
Said Oskar Boese as spokesman of the Sudeten German Youth:
The younger genera,tion o'f the Sudeten Germans, wants to contrilbute to the endeavors eventually leadin,g to a r-e al and long riange
reconici'Hation between the peo,pl-es of Centra,l and East EurQPe and
!Minister of Transportation Dr. Hans-Christoph Seebohm, congratulates
recip,ient of European Charles Prize, Mr. Philip A. Hrobak, President
of the Slovak League of America.
70
SLOVAKIA
to help briidge the gaip between Germany aml her eastern neighbors, a gaip caused by war antl post-w,ar events.
According to the speaker, the Sudeten German Youth
considers it its task to strengthen among the young people
the many spiritual and social duties towards the people
of other continents. The principle emphasis of this work
lies on the dignity and freedom of the human being. Concluded Mr. Boese:
We fully recognize a,n d adhere to the basic huma,n, rughlts, the
in,violalbii.ity of the legally acquired homeland, the right olf self-detel"!Jllin,ation, and the ideals and duties of deanocralcy.
Dr. Hans-Christoph Seebohm, German Federal Minister and President of the Sudeten German Council, one of
the main speakers of the Sudeten rally in Cologne, emphasized that Sudeten expellees are using solely peaceful
means to achieve their goals of repatriation and self-determination. Addressing the many thousands gathered at
the Cologne fair grounds he said:
You have come here voluntariiLy and at great per-sonal sacrifice O!f time ,a nd m001ey to rededlioaite yourselves to our homelamd,
the Sudetenlantl aind ito prove before the world that we Sudeten
German-s exist as an ethnic group aoo are resolved to deanand that
the r,i,ght to the h-0meiand and to selif-detemni,n,ation in our homelarud eventuaUy be re,alized.
We do not claim this right merely for ourselves, but fur aill peolJ)le and for all nations and ethnic g,r oups all -0ver the world, beca use we know that only by the realization O!f these rig•h ts can a
lasting peace, based on a recoI11Ciiliation and coo:peration, C1f peoples
and eth111k groups, be ushered in as a genuiiine and equal partnership.
We are working toward this goal with the peaceful means of
the law. We rejelct force, booause force would lead to new injustices
whkh would endanger the future of •posterity. We do not intend to
peripetua,t e the irujusti.ce of the exipulsi10n by add'i•ng new expulsions.
The ri'ght O!f seld'-d•etermin,ation, which cannot be exercised periodli,cally Hke an election, is inseparaUJly 11inked to the right of the
individual to his homeland antl can on,ly be exe-rci,red iin c-0njunction with that righlt.
The Bolshevist wo,r ld pays l!ip service to the right Olf self-determination and hlas only used it as an enticement. It believes that the
rig,ht Olf selif-deter,mination ended with the expulsion. We say, h'owever, the dght to the home'La<rud can never be crushed 'by force .
Only the indiividual can relinquish i,t by giving up his ties with his
peOI)le and his homela,n<ii as an aict of free will and conscience.
Conscience cannot ·be silenced by force; it cannot even be siilenced
by deportation and enslla~emenit. A:s long as poople stand by their
SLOVAKIA
71
native land, as long ais they remain lo)'lal to their people or ethnic
group, they will retain this right to their hoonetand and the right
to sel.f-detemninati-0n within thalt homeland.
We do not believe that the .£utur.e oo Europe cam, be made saife
by the restoroitiion of oubwom forms of national States. In vi-ew of
the overlapping aireas of se!Jtlement of Oenltral European peoples
and ethnic groups which stJil'l. exist despite the eJOI)'lllsron oo the
Germans, a new, supra-naUonal order is needled. Peace a,nd harmony can be assured to these peoples onily when all natioml'l ambttions and lust for hegemony are bra•nded as a vio1'ation o.f the
coomnonly estalblished order. Tolerance a•nd partnership wiU ha'V'e
to overcome eidstiing tensions. We Sudeten Germans have renounced
all thought oif reverrge, retlalliia'tioon and force ,i n the Charrt;er of the
Elcpellees and the Wiesbaden A1gree:ment (signed by General Lev
Ptchala for the Czech nati-ooo:l Counicil in London; and Dr. Rudold'
Lodgman von Auen, Hans Schiltz and Rii:chard Rteitznoer o!ll, behallf of
the Association for the Protection of Sudeiten German Interests).
Guests of honor a,t Sudeten German Day (left to l"i9ht): Mr. Mouser,
U. S. Embassy; the Hon. Ray A. Taylor, Gordon H. Scherer, Henry C.
Schadeberg, members of U. S. Congress; General Lev Prchala, Czech
National Council, and Hon. Morgan M. Moulder, Member U. S. Congress.
72
SLOVAKIA
We want the peOII)les living today m Mioraiviia, Si,lesia, and Slo•
vakra to know: We recognize, Czechs and Slovaks, your right to the
homeland and your right of self-determinatioin just as we expect
you to recogn,ize our respective rights. We want freedom for you,
we want justice for you. We want you to live in a democratic and
supranationally organized European order. We want to serve as
equal and conscientious partners, the great aim: Freedom, justice
and peace for all of Central Eastern Europe.
Dr. Hans-Joachim von Merkatz, West Ger m an Minister of E xpellee and Refugee Affairs, speaking fo r t h e
F eder al Chancellor and t h e German F ederal Government ,
said:
When you ask to be 3Jble to retur,n. to your homeland, to your
free homeLand, it has nothing whatsoever to do w.ith [Plans ~md
id€.as as expressed by the National Socialists. It is the nart:urail ex·
-p ression of love .for on,e's native soil!.
Your ethnic group is under fire by Eastern propaganda. How·
ever , you are not in bad company if people accuse you oif being
"revengists," •n,or is this accusation borne out me,re}y by constant
repetitio•n. ]t simply shows how sensifaveliy the Eas,t reacts to our
pledge of allegrian,c,e to your hiomeland and t he .right to thart 'homeland• - which is one of the most n,aitural cxf all rights. You are not
seeking revenge. We who are the most recent victims of re·
ven,ge ar e the first om~s ,to break its vicious circl.e. The expellees
ha:ve fong srin•ce 3Jbandoned a•ny thought of revenge and retaliation ...
The Gerunan Bumd·estaog, in a soleimn declaraltion made in 1,950,
stated that the right to the homeland is an inalien-3Jble claim of
man a1nd that irt raises protest agairnst tire su:nrender oif this right
of the homeland belon ging to those Germans from Ozeicho-Slovakiia
en,tr,usted to the caire of the West Ger.man Federal RepulblLc. Th~
Fed,eirail Government has repeatedly spoken out in this vein on
behalif of the prinlciplie of the r1ght to the homeland and the rioght
ad' selif-determination for all Ger,ma·ns.
1
The Hon. Gordon H. Scherer, member of t he U. S.
House of Representatives, addressing t he Sudenten Germ an expellees, gathered at Cologne's fair grounds said :
I brin•g you the warmest greetings od' the Congress a•nd the
people of the United states of America. This meeting is imp ortant
becaus·e you a·r e courageously facing up to the g,r e·a test issue oif
thris generation, that .issue before which all oth1ers pass into ionsiogn,it.fioance. It is the fight w.ith the So·v iet Uniorn for survival, with
the international Communist conspiracy 1by aill those people on borth
sides of the ioron curtain who love and want lilberty and the right
of se'hf-d•ete-run ination.
I am cme of those, however, who does not beliieve that we a,r e
going to have all-o ut nuclear war. Why? Simply because today the
fire·pQlWer between the Eaist and the W es't is fairly well balanced
and neither side is going to risk the total ,destruction of its cities.
SLOVAKIA
73
The Russians -are not dumb. Wh,y should they risk a1lmost total annihilation?
As ·long as the Communist empire corutinues to move for,ward ,
how, as a practical matter, c,a n the Sudeten. Ge.rmans expect to have
their lands -andi propertiies returned to 'them? Hoiw can you or any
of the people behind the iron curtain ex,pe'Ct the right of selfdetenmin.ation as long as the despots in the KremHn continue cynica11,y to maniipuliare the strings thiat control theiJ- puppets in Czecho,Slov.a'kia, Pola•nd, Ru.mania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, China, Tibet and, yes, EJa,sit Germany?
Onl,y aifter we in the .free world, with the help of millions cxf
our secret a'llies behind the iron, and ballnfboo curtaiiin6, turn the tide
of arthei,sti.c, godJ:ess Communism, will Su,d,e'ten Ge:rnnans be alble to
realire their cheiriished goals of "restoraltion of their homelands"
and "seltf-detel'trll1i:n,a,tion."
Congressman Roy A. Taylor, praised the Sudeten Garmans as one of the greatest anti-Communist forces in the
1T he main speakers at Sudeten German Day. (Left to right): Wenzel
Jaksch, President of Sudeten German Federal Assembly; Willy Brandt,
Mayor of West Berlin; Ha.ns-Christoph Seebohm, President of the
Sudeten German Council.
74
SLOVAKIA
world, saying they had greatly contributed to the struggle
for the preservation of freedom. The Sudetens know, he
stated, what it means to suffer at the hands of Communism. "Through your actions you have won the admiration
of all free people of the world.
"We need to believe that right in the world will triumph over might, and that truth crushed to earth will rise
again. We want you to know that we in America are anxious to help correct the injustices of the past and recover
the world's greatest lost treasure, which is world peace."
Representative Henry C. Schadeberg declared that:
Sud>eten Germ~ms have the title to thei·r homeland as aM other
people of the world arud Communist measures must be tolerated
in no ease. be ,t hey directed ag,ainst the Po,!es or the Germans.
Your magnificent way to demonstrate for cooperation with the Slovak people by awarding the Charles Prize to the President of the
Slovak League of America is a manifestation for cooperation with
all other nations of Eastern Europe.
y;our attitud e is greatly ,a·ppreciated by keed01m-loving people
in Amer,k!a a,nd <in al11 of the free world. We believe with you tha.t
freedom will not oisappear from this world - that freedom and
not Communist tyrianny is the "w.ave of the fut ure," and tha,t faiith
!in God wHl str,e ngthen and :remain ,t he buliwark of tree men, in
the West. Our work .and your work wiU be successful becaus e freedom is righ't and tyranny is wrong.
1
From Congressman Morgan M. Moulder the audience
heard that the Communists were following quite clear
aims by expelling the Sudeten Germans from their homelands. Said he:
The Communists wanted to pus:h the borders of their ter,r itocy
as fa:r west a<s possible. They br,iJbed followers by oistri'buting Germain, expellees' propel1ty; thereby they were able to colle1etivize Sudeten German and East German agriculture ,a nd industry, -and have
tried to corrupt the morale of a-11 East Gernnan peoples and create
ete11na1l hatred between the Germans on th·e one hand and the
Czechs and the Poles on the other.
Every Amerilcan who loves freedom should condemn these
Communist aims. Every Almer,iican should support the rapprochement between n,ations that have become victims of Coonmunism.
It Ls our belief that this ra'PProchement must be based on justice.
We believe that aU people h<l!Ve a right to th•eir h'Omeland and
that the inj,usti-ces committed since world Oommun,ism arose must
be removed. We ,b elieve that the nations long for and deserve full
freedom a,nd sellf-deternnin-ati'on.
The Sudeten Germans shoUJ1d haive the r ~g,ht to return to their
centuries-Old hoone1'and and to their sebf-determination.
Wenzel Jaksch, member of the German Federal Par-
SLOVAKIA
75
1iament and President of the Sudeten German Federal
Assembly, Wiesbaden, told the Cologne rally:
]f we look at the Sudeten problem as an isolated question, it
becomes one rnf the most diif£icult ones Ln Europe todlay.
Today, as in the past, it is our hilstoriic perseverance thait will
decide the fUJture of our hooneland. A homeland' that is written o<flf
the books is lost forever. We are ,c alled illusionists because we do
not want to fonreit the old homela,n,d. Yet those who beHeve they
can retain West Gerunainiy ,p ermanently, irf they yield East Germanry
.and the Sudetenland, ar,e even greater illusionists. At this pOlint
we a,r e faced wilth an in,n.er decision between political deifensi~
and political offensi:ve thinking. 'J.1he malking of that decision is a,n
unesoa,paible ta.sk.
An European democracy that thinks offensively should see in
the loya,ty of Sudeten a•nd East Germans to their hooneJ,and its
most va,l1U1aible aUies. Any over.all Euroipean pea'ce plan Olf the uniited
democracies cannot a.Jif-Ord to ex!Clude the reparation of the expulJ,sions. This i-s no biased Germain, demand but a prerequ1si<te oo
fr,eedom and self-d•eteriminaiion of the East European peoples.
The price of freed om for all European peoples is their restriction to histm:iically confiruned bounda<ries Olf settlemerut and respect for the neighlbor's boundM-ies dra,wn by the plowsha•re and
not by the sword.
Willy Brandt, popular Burgomaster (Mayor) of Berlin, made a special trip to Cologne to address the Sudeten German rally. In his speech Brandt said:
The citizens of Berlin today, even as the eX!pel:lees in the
post,war era , are syim1bolica1ly shouldering the load for the entire
niaition. Berlin is the brid•ge between the people -Orf our divided
country. If the lights should go out iln, Berllin, darrkness would set
in for the entire Gerunan Federail Repwblic.
We in Berlin f.eel that we need no counter-ideology. The East
Block ide·ology i1S not such a Herculean thing that we can or.Jy
meet it on the deifensiive.
The Ber>lin questi,on is not the cause but the result of tensions ,b etween East and West a1nd of Gerunany's partition. There is
no isolated Berlin solution. What there may be, until the rees·talb1ishment of Ge11ma•ny's unity in freedom and in a·greemen,t with the
ju,sitiJie-d securiity initerests of aU coruc,erned, is a sett:,ament of solely practilcal maitters. The following points rema·in essen,tia~:
1. The right of Berlin's citizens freely to decide their own
matters.
2. The rights and d,uties of the A,llied Protecting Powers to
prov,i de for access to Berlin a•nd for preparations for a peace treaty
with an a1l-German governime.nt.
3. '!\he indissolUJble conneicti·on between West Berlin and the
economic a•n.d legal system -0f the German F1ede-rall Repulblic.
4. The community of the population, of both sectors of Berlin,
which must no't ,b e jeo,pa;rdfael by changing the d'emar>cation line
of ,t he ci,ty into State boundaries. - "Sudeten Bulletin."
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Title
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Sudeten German Days: May 19-22, 1961
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 11, No. 2 (34), September-December 1961
pp. 68-75
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September-December 1961
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:u
SLOVAKIA
BENES AND MOSCOW
Prague and Moscow are wont to pompously celebrate
December 12th of each year; it was on that day in 1943
that the ill-fated Soviet-Czechoslovak Treaty of friendship,
mutual aid and postwar collaJboration was signed. In reality
the name of the treaty is not correct; it should be titled the
Benes-Soviet Treaty, because Czecho-<Slovak'ia, the duly
elected representatives of that state, had nothing to do
with it. The Siovaks certainly had no word in it. Furthermore, Benes - having resigned in 1938 - had aJbsolutely
no authority to negotiate any treaties.
'Since December 12, 1943, when the treaty was signed
in the presence of Dr. Edward Benes, much has changed in
the world. The Second World War came to a close and the
wartime united nations began to fall apart because of the
Soviet Union.
Dr. Benes stresses in his MEMOIRS (Pameti, p. 242)
that the treaty came about at his request. In March, 1943,
he asked Ambassador Bogomolov, among other things,
whether Moscow was ready to conclude a treaty with Czecho-Slovakia. The reply was made on April 23rd, when Bogomolov "brought a positive answer in essential points"
and said: "The Soviet Government therefore invites you to
prepare a draft of the treaty and submit it to the Soviet
Government."
Dr. Edward Benes then prepared the draft of the
treaty with John Masaryk and Dr. Hubert Ripka. This
treaty was to dispel any mistrust of the West for the Soviet Union and demonstrate that the Soviet Union does not
want to engulf Czecho-Slovakia or any other European
states. Furthermore, the treaty could be pointed to "as an
example, even in the U. S. A. , and that the Aflies, particularly the greater Powers, would thereby be fundamentally
drawn closer together. All unfounded suspicions of the Soviet Union would be allayed or eliminated, and this would
help to prepare the ground for what finally took place at
both the Allied Conferences in Moscow and Teheran" (Benes's Message to the State Council, London, Feb. 3, 1944:
EAST AND WEST, Hubect: Ripka, 1944; p. 135).
1
�22
SLOVAKIA
According to Ripka, it is not only Czeoho-Slovakia that
benefits by the Treaty, but also the Soviet Union:
"But its value assuredly resides also in its very significant bearings on the interests of the Soviet Union; on the one hand it very
effectively promotes the security of the Soviet Union against the aggressive designs of Germany, which, as far as Central Europe is concerned, are countered first and foremost by Czecho-Slovakia as a
truly powerful bastion, and on the other hand it grants at the same
time a definite guarantee that in this area there is no possibility for
the creation of a sufficiently powerful bloc which could seriously
menace Soviet secu.rity" ('Ri'Pkia: pp. l,Wl.25).
Thereby, too, "an end had been made to all attempts,
the folly of which might long ago have been clear, seeking to
bring a-bout the isolation of the Soviet Union from the rest
of Europe by some confederated middle zone, in which it
was only too plain that the former anti-Soviet cordon sanitaire was to be restored to life. I may add in passing that
all such scihemes were impossi•ble to put into effect for the
sole reason that Czecho-Slovakia would never have participated in them" (Ripka: p. 113).
There is no doubt that Czech politicians knowingly and
intentionally worked to get the nations of central Europe
within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. Benes's
wish was fulfilled: the treaJty became a model for Moscow
to attain this end. Accordingly similar treaties were concluded with the rest of the nations of this part of Europe :
with Yugoslavia on April 11, 1945; with Poland on April
21, 1945; with Rumania on February 4, 1948; with Hungary on February 18, 1948; with Bulgaria on March 18,
1948, and with Finland on April 6, 1948.
Within the framework of this allied system treaties
were negotiated between the individual satellite states: between Poland and Yugoslavia on March 18, 1946; between
Yugoslavia and Czecho-Slovakia on May 9, 1946; between
Albania and Yugoslavia on July 9, 1946; between CzechoSlovakia and Poland on March 10, 1947; between Bulgaria
and Yugoslavia on November 27, 1947; between Hungary
and Yugoslavia on December 8, 1947; between Altb ania and
Bulgaria on December 16, 1947; between Rumania and
Yugoslavia on December 19, 1947; between Bulgaria and
Rumania on January 16, 1948; between Hungary and Ru-
�SLOVAKIA
23
mania on January 24, 1948; between Czecho-Slovakia and
Bulgaria on April 23, 1948.
Therefore Dr. Edward Benes and his collaborators not
only tJheoretically but also practically to the very last moment did everything to strengthen the sphere of influence
of Moscow in central Europe.
The pro-Soviet policy of Benes was accepted by the
Czechs without any reservations. This was the political
line of the Czech leaders who directed the destiny of the
Slovak and Czech nations after 1945.
Dr. Ivo Duchacek expressed the mind of the Czech politicians on March 8, 1946, when he said in the Provisional
National Parliament:
"It is not, therefore, just a phrase when we say that our alliance
with the Soviet Union is the pillar of our foreign policy. What other
pillar, if it is not to be created ou,t of paper, could we possibly have?
Our paGt with the Soviet Union, guarantees us immed,i ate help of
the Red Army in case we are threatened. The pact with brotherly
Russia, whiGh is the foundation of our foreign and military policy is,
it is true, also an expression of our joilllt efforts and in,t erests.
"Therefore the Czecho-Slovak People's Party {Sramek's CZECH
Populist Party), whose chairman contributed in such a significant
way to conclude the treaty with Russia even before the end of the
war, even though certain elements of the West were against this,
fully agrees with the theme th.it this alliance with Russia must not
be a subject of partisan discussions, and must not be dragged into
the pre-election campaign. The alliance with Russia is the affair of
all the parties of the Na,tion~I Front, i,t is the result of their joint
effort, it is the affair of the entire nation and not the affair of one
party. If the treaty is a common affair, then the meri,ts for co~luding this trea,t y are also a joint matter. N'o party has the right to
claim exclusive credit for it. This treaty was prepared after due discussion by Sramek's governmen,t in London. The Communists, we
know, were not members of the governmen,t and, therefore, have no
direct participation in, the treaty, nevertheless the Communists col•
laborated with the government within the framework of the State
Council; and the politicians who emigra,t ed to Moscow undoubtedly
also helped the successful course of negotiations with their conversations with Soviet leaders. Therefore, even though the Communists
were not in the London government, which discussed and cor-=luded
the treaty, the credit for concluding this historic treaty reaUy belongs to all of us, to all the parties of the Na,t ional Front. Finally,
this competition for the credit of concluding the treaty with the Soviet Union is not in substance a sickly sign. It really proves and again
confirms that all the people of this country really stand behind this
treaty."
�24
SLOVAKIA
According to Dr. V. Bernard, who also spoke in the
Czech parliament on March 8, 1946, "the Czecho..Slova:kSoviet Treaty must continue to remain the nucleus of our
foreign policy, because the alliance with the Soviet Union
is the most reliable guarantee of the independence of our
Republic and the assurance against any attack in the future. Our alliance with the Soviet Union in the end is not
the object of any internal political quarrel, and everyone
concerned with the security of the Republic, observing the
development in the world with open eyes, must be a sincere adherent of this orientation in our foreign policy."
It is assuredly noteworthy that Dr. Edward Benes
and his co-workers, most of whom today are refugees in
the West, saw in the treaty of alliance with Soviet Russia
not only the means of attaining an international goal, but
also envisioned the realization of Pan-Slavistic and socialistic goals. Dr. Benes himself expressed this clearly on various occasions. And Dr. V. Bernard, too, is concerned
with ideological reasons, inasmuch as he said. "we cannot
help but see the connection of international policy with the
relationship between the forces of decadent capitalism and
progressive socialism in universal extent."
Czech politicians labored to attain their chauvinistic
aims so that with the aid of this treaty they could assure
for the Czech nation hegemony over Slovakia in their conflict with the Slovak people, and also so that they could
realize the expulsion of .the Sudeten Germans and thus to
Czechize the Sudetenland. This was stressed by both Dr.
Hubert Ripka in his statement to the State Council in
London on May 15, 1943, and also by Dr. Edward Benes
in his Moscow broadcast of December 21, 1943.
This treaty expresses the thinking of Czech politicians
and their partners from Slovakia. On various occasions they
consistently and in varied forms did not hesitate to remind us that, in the case of misunderstanding arising between the East and West, they would remain on the side
of the East. At that time they ruled with Benes by the
grace of Stalin. They (Kocvara, Zenkl, Lettrich, F. Hodfa,
Duchacek, Taborsky, etc.) suddenly became "anti-commu-
�SLOVAKIA
25
nist" after F~bruary 25, 1948. But up to that time they
faithfully followed Benes's pro-Soviet line ad nuseam. ~hey
were not the victims of a mistake, nor were they deceived.
They knew what they were doing without regard to the development of world politics.
And what about the eventuality of the West collaborating with the Germans as a defense against Soviet aggression? The Czechs also thought about that, as Ripka so
clearly stated in 1944:
"Some Centr'al and Eastern-European politicians ... assume that
Britain and America will be unable to suffer Russia to be predominant on the con,tin.e n,t of Europe and that, although the Anglo-Saxon
countries may not no•w be able to prevent Rus!.ia from realizing her
territorial or other claims, they will strive, after the war, to curt&il
her power and later to effect a 'reasonable adjustment' of the Soviet
'a nnexations.' Anyone cherishing hopes of this nature is simply speculating on a new world war; and the realization of such plans neces•
sarily presupposes an alliance between the Anglo.Saxon coun,t ries and
Germany, since without Germany they cannot be put into effect"
(Hulbert Rip~a : EAST AND WEST, Lond'On, 1944; p. 62).
It is obvious that between the aims of Soviet policy
and the aims of the policy of Dr. Edward Benes and his
followers, who today are in emigration, there were no basic differences. That they could not continue at home in
their efforts is not because they changed their political
line, but simply because Moscow no longer had any interest to collaborate with Peter Zenk!, Hube:r,t Ripka, Joseph Lettrich, Fedor Hodza, Adolph Prochazka, Vaclav
Majer. It did nothing to prevent their departure to the
West. In fact it facilitated it by making the necessary provisions so they could "escape" without any difficulty to
promote their political line in the main cities of the West.
They are still against the arming of West Germany and
for the Russian Empire, discouraging the union of the
West against Moscow imperialism.
The people joined together in the "Council of Free
Czecho-Slovakia" have consistently followed the line formulated by Dr. A. Klatkovsky:
"We are united with the Soviet Union for life and unto death. ...
Not ony because we have a common eastern boundary with our
greatest ally, but more so because on our western border stands our
greatest enemy. The guarantee of the greatest gain of our history _
�SLOVAKIA
26
the expulsion of the Germans - is the might of the Soviet Union,
whose merit it also is that the expulsion was carried out so thoroughly. Our entire future is based on the expulsion of the Germans;
ally change in this direction would be our ruin •..• If war would come
between the East and the West, and the East would be defeated, we
would be as its ally hit the hardest, nay even ruined because the
Germans would return to us. However, if in such a conflict we
should stand with the West - even though this is practically un·
thinkable - we still would not escape the fate of the return of
Germans. Therefo.re, the theme that we are united with the Soviet
Union for life and unto death is a self-evident axiom of our foreign
policy, whether anyone likes it or not. And, therefore, no government of ours can make anti-Soviet foreign policy. This would be
suicidal politics and such a government would immediately be swept
out by the people."
The Czechs have not changed. They still act like
Schweiks on occasions, but they are still allied with Moscow more than with the West and its interests. In a word,
the Czechs are still promoting Benes's ruinous policy which
made enemies of all non-Czech citizens in Czecho-Slovakia
and enemiei:;, of all neighboring countries. Because of that
the Czech Schweiks now tell the world: We are forced to
hang with Russia!
(a'he Slovak original of this article was published in the SLOVENiSKA REPUBLIKA, Orgrun of the Slovak Lilber'ation Committee,
Vol. VI; No. 1, (60), J'anuary, 1954.)
ALL LAND in Slova'kita, Moravia, and Bohemi!a haJS been nationa'1ized. However, in Slovakia
(predominantly an agricultural region) the farmers have shown
more stubborn resista,nee to the
new order, parti'CulaTly in their
fighlt to retain ownershiip of their
cows. I.Jaitest availaible reports have
it that abO'llt 50 per cent of all
cows in Slovaki,a are still indi>Vlidually owned. Increased mechanlization and stricter Party con:t>rol is
in evlidence eiverywhere.
3{l
3{l
3{l
of Czecho~lovakia has
produced the first four records of
a s'ertl.es oa'lled "Musica Nova Bohemica et Slov,e nica." !included is
the Balladic Suite (Su,a 10046) of
ARTIA
Eugen Suchoil., eminenlt Sl'ov•ak
composer. Datling £rom 1936, it is
a lengthy opus for a large orchestra, "foll of bri'lliant orehestral devices and strong melddirc ideas," according to Alan Rkh of The New
York Tomes. Noting that Sachoil.
is a composer well worth investigation, Mr. Rich adds that Suchon's
Balladic Suite, "while its h•armonic sty;le is no more sitaTtling than
that of the late Dvorak, Suchoii
at least has the aibfil.ty to operate
freely and quite soocess'fu'lly within the framework of a bygone la,ngu1age." SrUJchoil. also composed
"The Whirlpool," -a powerlul tragi,c opera, and the "Psalm of the
Carpa1lhian Country," a brtl.lliarn
large sea-le choral work.
�
:u
SLOVAKIA
BENES AND MOSCOW
Prague and Moscow are wont to pompously celebrate
December 12th of each year; it was on that day in 1943
that the ill-fated Soviet-Czechoslovak Treaty of friendship,
mutual aid and postwar collaJboration was signed. In reality
the name of the treaty is not correct; it should be titled the
Benes-Soviet Treaty, because Czecho-<Slovak'ia, the duly
elected representatives of that state, had nothing to do
with it. The Siovaks certainly had no word in it. Furthermore, Benes - having resigned in 1938 - had aJbsolutely
no authority to negotiate any treaties.
'Since December 12, 1943, when the treaty was signed
in the presence of Dr. Edward Benes, much has changed in
the world. The Second World War came to a close and the
wartime united nations began to fall apart because of the
Soviet Union.
Dr. Benes stresses in his MEMOIRS (Pameti, p. 242)
that the treaty came about at his request. In March, 1943,
he asked Ambassador Bogomolov, among other things,
whether Moscow was ready to conclude a treaty with Czecho-Slovakia. The reply was made on April 23rd, when Bogomolov "brought a positive answer in essential points"
and said: "The Soviet Government therefore invites you to
prepare a draft of the treaty and submit it to the Soviet
Government."
Dr. Edward Benes then prepared the draft of the
treaty with John Masaryk and Dr. Hubert Ripka. This
treaty was to dispel any mistrust of the West for the Soviet Union and demonstrate that the Soviet Union does not
want to engulf Czecho-Slovakia or any other European
states. Furthermore, the treaty could be pointed to "as an
example, even in the U. S. A. , and that the Aflies, particularly the greater Powers, would thereby be fundamentally
drawn closer together. All unfounded suspicions of the Soviet Union would be allayed or eliminated, and this would
help to prepare the ground for what finally took place at
both the Allied Conferences in Moscow and Teheran" (Benes's Message to the State Council, London, Feb. 3, 1944:
EAST AND WEST, Hubect: Ripka, 1944; p. 135).
1
�22
SLOVAKIA
According to Ripka, it is not only Czeoho-Slovakia that
benefits by the Treaty, but also the Soviet Union:
"But its value assuredly resides also in its very significant bearings on the interests of the Soviet Union; on the one hand it very
effectively promotes the security of the Soviet Union against the aggressive designs of Germany, which, as far as Central Europe is concerned, are countered first and foremost by Czecho-Slovakia as a
truly powerful bastion, and on the other hand it grants at the same
time a definite guarantee that in this area there is no possibility for
the creation of a sufficiently powerful bloc which could seriously
menace Soviet secu.rity" ('Ri'Pkia: pp. l,Wl.25).
Thereby, too, "an end had been made to all attempts,
the folly of which might long ago have been clear, seeking to
bring a-bout the isolation of the Soviet Union from the rest
of Europe by some confederated middle zone, in which it
was only too plain that the former anti-Soviet cordon sanitaire was to be restored to life. I may add in passing that
all such scihemes were impossi•ble to put into effect for the
sole reason that Czecho-Slovakia would never have participated in them" (Ripka: p. 113).
There is no doubt that Czech politicians knowingly and
intentionally worked to get the nations of central Europe
within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. Benes's
wish was fulfilled: the treaJty became a model for Moscow
to attain this end. Accordingly similar treaties were concluded with the rest of the nations of this part of Europe :
with Yugoslavia on April 11, 1945; with Poland on April
21, 1945; with Rumania on February 4, 1948; with Hungary on February 18, 1948; with Bulgaria on March 18,
1948, and with Finland on April 6, 1948.
Within the framework of this allied system treaties
were negotiated between the individual satellite states: between Poland and Yugoslavia on March 18, 1946; between
Yugoslavia and Czecho-Slovakia on May 9, 1946; between
Albania and Yugoslavia on July 9, 1946; between CzechoSlovakia and Poland on March 10, 1947; between Bulgaria
and Yugoslavia on November 27, 1947; between Hungary
and Yugoslavia on December 8, 1947; between Altb ania and
Bulgaria on December 16, 1947; between Rumania and
Yugoslavia on December 19, 1947; between Bulgaria and
Rumania on January 16, 1948; between Hungary and Ru-
�SLOVAKIA
23
mania on January 24, 1948; between Czecho-Slovakia and
Bulgaria on April 23, 1948.
Therefore Dr. Edward Benes and his collaborators not
only tJheoretically but also practically to the very last moment did everything to strengthen the sphere of influence
of Moscow in central Europe.
The pro-Soviet policy of Benes was accepted by the
Czechs without any reservations. This was the political
line of the Czech leaders who directed the destiny of the
Slovak and Czech nations after 1945.
Dr. Ivo Duchacek expressed the mind of the Czech politicians on March 8, 1946, when he said in the Provisional
National Parliament:
"It is not, therefore, just a phrase when we say that our alliance
with the Soviet Union is the pillar of our foreign policy. What other
pillar, if it is not to be created ou,t of paper, could we possibly have?
Our paGt with the Soviet Union, guarantees us immed,i ate help of
the Red Army in case we are threatened. The pact with brotherly
Russia, whiGh is the foundation of our foreign and military policy is,
it is true, also an expression of our joilllt efforts and in,t erests.
"Therefore the Czecho-Slovak People's Party {Sramek's CZECH
Populist Party), whose chairman contributed in such a significant
way to conclude the treaty with Russia even before the end of the
war, even though certain elements of the West were against this,
fully agrees with the theme th.it this alliance with Russia must not
be a subject of partisan discussions, and must not be dragged into
the pre-election campaign. The alliance with Russia is the affair of
all the parties of the Na,tion~I Front, i,t is the result of their joint
effort, it is the affair of the entire nation and not the affair of one
party. If the treaty is a common affair, then the meri,ts for co~luding this trea,t y are also a joint matter. N'o party has the right to
claim exclusive credit for it. This treaty was prepared after due discussion by Sramek's governmen,t in London. The Communists, we
know, were not members of the governmen,t and, therefore, have no
direct participation in, the treaty, nevertheless the Communists col•
laborated with the government within the framework of the State
Council; and the politicians who emigra,t ed to Moscow undoubtedly
also helped the successful course of negotiations with their conversations with Soviet leaders. Therefore, even though the Communists
were not in the London government, which discussed and cor-=luded
the treaty, the credit for concluding this historic treaty reaUy belongs to all of us, to all the parties of the Na,t ional Front. Finally,
this competition for the credit of concluding the treaty with the Soviet Union is not in substance a sickly sign. It really proves and again
confirms that all the people of this country really stand behind this
treaty."
�24
SLOVAKIA
According to Dr. V. Bernard, who also spoke in the
Czech parliament on March 8, 1946, "the Czecho..Slova:kSoviet Treaty must continue to remain the nucleus of our
foreign policy, because the alliance with the Soviet Union
is the most reliable guarantee of the independence of our
Republic and the assurance against any attack in the future. Our alliance with the Soviet Union in the end is not
the object of any internal political quarrel, and everyone
concerned with the security of the Republic, observing the
development in the world with open eyes, must be a sincere adherent of this orientation in our foreign policy."
It is assuredly noteworthy that Dr. Edward Benes
and his co-workers, most of whom today are refugees in
the West, saw in the treaty of alliance with Soviet Russia
not only the means of attaining an international goal, but
also envisioned the realization of Pan-Slavistic and socialistic goals. Dr. Benes himself expressed this clearly on various occasions. And Dr. V. Bernard, too, is concerned
with ideological reasons, inasmuch as he said. "we cannot
help but see the connection of international policy with the
relationship between the forces of decadent capitalism and
progressive socialism in universal extent."
Czech politicians labored to attain their chauvinistic
aims so that with the aid of this treaty they could assure
for the Czech nation hegemony over Slovakia in their conflict with the Slovak people, and also so that they could
realize the expulsion of .the Sudeten Germans and thus to
Czechize the Sudetenland. This was stressed by both Dr.
Hubert Ripka in his statement to the State Council in
London on May 15, 1943, and also by Dr. Edward Benes
in his Moscow broadcast of December 21, 1943.
This treaty expresses the thinking of Czech politicians
and their partners from Slovakia. On various occasions they
consistently and in varied forms did not hesitate to remind us that, in the case of misunderstanding arising between the East and West, they would remain on the side
of the East. At that time they ruled with Benes by the
grace of Stalin. They (Kocvara, Zenkl, Lettrich, F. Hodfa,
Duchacek, Taborsky, etc.) suddenly became "anti-commu-
�SLOVAKIA
25
nist" after F~bruary 25, 1948. But up to that time they
faithfully followed Benes's pro-Soviet line ad nuseam. ~hey
were not the victims of a mistake, nor were they deceived.
They knew what they were doing without regard to the development of world politics.
And what about the eventuality of the West collaborating with the Germans as a defense against Soviet aggression? The Czechs also thought about that, as Ripka so
clearly stated in 1944:
"Some Centr'al and Eastern-European politicians ... assume that
Britain and America will be unable to suffer Russia to be predominant on the con,tin.e n,t of Europe and that, although the Anglo-Saxon
countries may not no•w be able to prevent Rus!.ia from realizing her
territorial or other claims, they will strive, after the war, to curt&il
her power and later to effect a 'reasonable adjustment' of the Soviet
'a nnexations.' Anyone cherishing hopes of this nature is simply speculating on a new world war; and the realization of such plans neces•
sarily presupposes an alliance between the Anglo.Saxon coun,t ries and
Germany, since without Germany they cannot be put into effect"
(Hulbert Rip~a : EAST AND WEST, Lond'On, 1944; p. 62).
It is obvious that between the aims of Soviet policy
and the aims of the policy of Dr. Edward Benes and his
followers, who today are in emigration, there were no basic differences. That they could not continue at home in
their efforts is not because they changed their political
line, but simply because Moscow no longer had any interest to collaborate with Peter Zenk!, Hube:r,t Ripka, Joseph Lettrich, Fedor Hodza, Adolph Prochazka, Vaclav
Majer. It did nothing to prevent their departure to the
West. In fact it facilitated it by making the necessary provisions so they could "escape" without any difficulty to
promote their political line in the main cities of the West.
They are still against the arming of West Germany and
for the Russian Empire, discouraging the union of the
West against Moscow imperialism.
The people joined together in the "Council of Free
Czecho-Slovakia" have consistently followed the line formulated by Dr. A. Klatkovsky:
"We are united with the Soviet Union for life and unto death. ...
Not ony because we have a common eastern boundary with our
greatest ally, but more so because on our western border stands our
greatest enemy. The guarantee of the greatest gain of our history _
�SLOVAKIA
26
the expulsion of the Germans - is the might of the Soviet Union,
whose merit it also is that the expulsion was carried out so thoroughly. Our entire future is based on the expulsion of the Germans;
ally change in this direction would be our ruin •..• If war would come
between the East and the West, and the East would be defeated, we
would be as its ally hit the hardest, nay even ruined because the
Germans would return to us. However, if in such a conflict we
should stand with the West - even though this is practically un·
thinkable - we still would not escape the fate of the return of
Germans. Therefo.re, the theme that we are united with the Soviet
Union for life and unto death is a self-evident axiom of our foreign
policy, whether anyone likes it or not. And, therefore, no government of ours can make anti-Soviet foreign policy. This would be
suicidal politics and such a government would immediately be swept
out by the people."
The Czechs have not changed. They still act like
Schweiks on occasions, but they are still allied with Moscow more than with the West and its interests. In a word,
the Czechs are still promoting Benes's ruinous policy which
made enemies of all non-Czech citizens in Czecho-Slovakia
and enemiei:;, of all neighboring countries. Because of that
the Czech Schweiks now tell the world: We are forced to
hang with Russia!
(a'he Slovak original of this article was published in the SLOVENiSKA REPUBLIKA, Orgrun of the Slovak Lilber'ation Committee,
Vol. VI; No. 1, (60), J'anuary, 1954.)
ALL LAND in Slova'kita, Moravia, and Bohemi!a haJS been nationa'1ized. However, in Slovakia
(predominantly an agricultural region) the farmers have shown
more stubborn resista,nee to the
new order, parti'CulaTly in their
fighlt to retain ownershiip of their
cows. I.Jaitest availaible reports have
it that abO'llt 50 per cent of all
cows in Slovaki,a are still indi>Vlidually owned. Increased mechanlization and stricter Party con:t>rol is
in evlidence eiverywhere.
3{l
3{l
3{l
of Czecho~lovakia has
produced the first four records of
a s'ertl.es oa'lled "Musica Nova Bohemica et Slov,e nica." !included is
the Balladic Suite (Su,a 10046) of
ARTIA
Eugen Suchoil., eminenlt Sl'ov•ak
composer. Datling £rom 1936, it is
a lengthy opus for a large orchestra, "foll of bri'lliant orehestral devices and strong melddirc ideas," according to Alan Rkh of The New
York Tomes. Noting that Sachoil.
is a composer well worth investigation, Mr. Rich adds that Suchon's
Balladic Suite, "while its h•armonic sty;le is no more sitaTtling than
that of the late Dvorak, Suchoii
at least has the aibfil.ty to operate
freely and quite soocess'fu'lly within the framework of a bygone la,ngu1age." SrUJchoil. also composed
"The Whirlpool," -a powerlul tragi,c opera, and the "Psalm of the
Carpa1lhian Country," a brtl.lliarn
large sea-le choral work.
�
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Title
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1961, Vol. 11
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 33), March-June 1961.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 34), September-December June 1961.</li>
</ul>
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The Slovak League of America
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1961
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:u
SLOVAKIA
BENES AND MOSCOW
Prague and Moscow are wont to pompously celebrate
December 12th of each year; it was on that day in 1943
that the ill-fated Soviet-Czechoslovak Treaty of friendship,
mutual aid and postwar collaJboration was signed. In reality
the name of the treaty is not correct; it should be titled the
Benes-Soviet Treaty, because Czecho-<Slovak'ia, the duly
elected representatives of that state, had nothing to do
with it. The Siovaks certainly had no word in it. Furthermore, Benes - having resigned in 1938 - had aJbsolutely
no authority to negotiate any treaties.
'Since December 12, 1943, when the treaty was signed
in the presence of Dr. Edward Benes, much has changed in
the world. The Second World War came to a close and the
wartime united nations began to fall apart because of the
Soviet Union.
Dr. Benes stresses in his MEMOIRS (Pameti, p. 242)
that the treaty came about at his request. In March, 1943,
he asked Ambassador Bogomolov, among other things,
whether Moscow was ready to conclude a treaty with Czecho-Slovakia. The reply was made on April 23rd, when Bogomolov "brought a positive answer in essential points"
and said: "The Soviet Government therefore invites you to
prepare a draft of the treaty and submit it to the Soviet
Government."
Dr. Edward Benes then prepared the draft of the
treaty with John Masaryk and Dr. Hubert Ripka. This
treaty was to dispel any mistrust of the West for the Soviet Union and demonstrate that the Soviet Union does not
want to engulf Czecho-Slovakia or any other European
states. Furthermore, the treaty could be pointed to "as an
example, even in the U. S. A. , and that the Aflies, particularly the greater Powers, would thereby be fundamentally
drawn closer together. All unfounded suspicions of the Soviet Union would be allayed or eliminated, and this would
help to prepare the ground for what finally took place at
both the Allied Conferences in Moscow and Teheran" (Benes's Message to the State Council, London, Feb. 3, 1944:
EAST AND WEST, Hubect: Ripka, 1944; p. 135).
1
22
SLOVAKIA
According to Ripka, it is not only Czeoho-Slovakia that
benefits by the Treaty, but also the Soviet Union:
"But its value assuredly resides also in its very significant bearings on the interests of the Soviet Union; on the one hand it very
effectively promotes the security of the Soviet Union against the aggressive designs of Germany, which, as far as Central Europe is concerned, are countered first and foremost by Czecho-Slovakia as a
truly powerful bastion, and on the other hand it grants at the same
time a definite guarantee that in this area there is no possibility for
the creation of a sufficiently powerful bloc which could seriously
menace Soviet secu.rity" ('Ri'Pkia: pp. l,Wl.25).
Thereby, too, "an end had been made to all attempts,
the folly of which might long ago have been clear, seeking to
bring a-bout the isolation of the Soviet Union from the rest
of Europe by some confederated middle zone, in which it
was only too plain that the former anti-Soviet cordon sanitaire was to be restored to life. I may add in passing that
all such scihemes were impossi•ble to put into effect for the
sole reason that Czecho-Slovakia would never have participated in them" (Ripka: p. 113).
There is no doubt that Czech politicians knowingly and
intentionally worked to get the nations of central Europe
within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. Benes's
wish was fulfilled: the treaJty became a model for Moscow
to attain this end. Accordingly similar treaties were concluded with the rest of the nations of this part of Europe :
with Yugoslavia on April 11, 1945; with Poland on April
21, 1945; with Rumania on February 4, 1948; with Hungary on February 18, 1948; with Bulgaria on March 18,
1948, and with Finland on April 6, 1948.
Within the framework of this allied system treaties
were negotiated between the individual satellite states: between Poland and Yugoslavia on March 18, 1946; between
Yugoslavia and Czecho-Slovakia on May 9, 1946; between
Albania and Yugoslavia on July 9, 1946; between CzechoSlovakia and Poland on March 10, 1947; between Bulgaria
and Yugoslavia on November 27, 1947; between Hungary
and Yugoslavia on December 8, 1947; between Altb ania and
Bulgaria on December 16, 1947; between Rumania and
Yugoslavia on December 19, 1947; between Bulgaria and
Rumania on January 16, 1948; between Hungary and Ru-
SLOVAKIA
23
mania on January 24, 1948; between Czecho-Slovakia and
Bulgaria on April 23, 1948.
Therefore Dr. Edward Benes and his collaborators not
only tJheoretically but also practically to the very last moment did everything to strengthen the sphere of influence
of Moscow in central Europe.
The pro-Soviet policy of Benes was accepted by the
Czechs without any reservations. This was the political
line of the Czech leaders who directed the destiny of the
Slovak and Czech nations after 1945.
Dr. Ivo Duchacek expressed the mind of the Czech politicians on March 8, 1946, when he said in the Provisional
National Parliament:
"It is not, therefore, just a phrase when we say that our alliance
with the Soviet Union is the pillar of our foreign policy. What other
pillar, if it is not to be created ou,t of paper, could we possibly have?
Our paGt with the Soviet Union, guarantees us immed,i ate help of
the Red Army in case we are threatened. The pact with brotherly
Russia, whiGh is the foundation of our foreign and military policy is,
it is true, also an expression of our joilllt efforts and in,t erests.
"Therefore the Czecho-Slovak People's Party {Sramek's CZECH
Populist Party), whose chairman contributed in such a significant
way to conclude the treaty with Russia even before the end of the
war, even though certain elements of the West were against this,
fully agrees with the theme th.it this alliance with Russia must not
be a subject of partisan discussions, and must not be dragged into
the pre-election campaign. The alliance with Russia is the affair of
all the parties of the Na,tion~I Front, i,t is the result of their joint
effort, it is the affair of the entire nation and not the affair of one
party. If the treaty is a common affair, then the meri,ts for co~luding this trea,t y are also a joint matter. N'o party has the right to
claim exclusive credit for it. This treaty was prepared after due discussion by Sramek's governmen,t in London. The Communists, we
know, were not members of the governmen,t and, therefore, have no
direct participation in, the treaty, nevertheless the Communists col•
laborated with the government within the framework of the State
Council; and the politicians who emigra,t ed to Moscow undoubtedly
also helped the successful course of negotiations with their conversations with Soviet leaders. Therefore, even though the Communists
were not in the London government, which discussed and cor-=luded
the treaty, the credit for concluding this historic treaty reaUy belongs to all of us, to all the parties of the Na,t ional Front. Finally,
this competition for the credit of concluding the treaty with the Soviet Union is not in substance a sickly sign. It really proves and again
confirms that all the people of this country really stand behind this
treaty."
24
SLOVAKIA
According to Dr. V. Bernard, who also spoke in the
Czech parliament on March 8, 1946, "the Czecho..Slova:kSoviet Treaty must continue to remain the nucleus of our
foreign policy, because the alliance with the Soviet Union
is the most reliable guarantee of the independence of our
Republic and the assurance against any attack in the future. Our alliance with the Soviet Union in the end is not
the object of any internal political quarrel, and everyone
concerned with the security of the Republic, observing the
development in the world with open eyes, must be a sincere adherent of this orientation in our foreign policy."
It is assuredly noteworthy that Dr. Edward Benes
and his co-workers, most of whom today are refugees in
the West, saw in the treaty of alliance with Soviet Russia
not only the means of attaining an international goal, but
also envisioned the realization of Pan-Slavistic and socialistic goals. Dr. Benes himself expressed this clearly on various occasions. And Dr. V. Bernard, too, is concerned
with ideological reasons, inasmuch as he said. "we cannot
help but see the connection of international policy with the
relationship between the forces of decadent capitalism and
progressive socialism in universal extent."
Czech politicians labored to attain their chauvinistic
aims so that with the aid of this treaty they could assure
for the Czech nation hegemony over Slovakia in their conflict with the Slovak people, and also so that they could
realize the expulsion of .the Sudeten Germans and thus to
Czechize the Sudetenland. This was stressed by both Dr.
Hubert Ripka in his statement to the State Council in
London on May 15, 1943, and also by Dr. Edward Benes
in his Moscow broadcast of December 21, 1943.
This treaty expresses the thinking of Czech politicians
and their partners from Slovakia. On various occasions they
consistently and in varied forms did not hesitate to remind us that, in the case of misunderstanding arising between the East and West, they would remain on the side
of the East. At that time they ruled with Benes by the
grace of Stalin. They (Kocvara, Zenkl, Lettrich, F. Hodfa,
Duchacek, Taborsky, etc.) suddenly became "anti-commu-
SLOVAKIA
25
nist" after F~bruary 25, 1948. But up to that time they
faithfully followed Benes's pro-Soviet line ad nuseam. ~hey
were not the victims of a mistake, nor were they deceived.
They knew what they were doing without regard to the development of world politics.
And what about the eventuality of the West collaborating with the Germans as a defense against Soviet aggression? The Czechs also thought about that, as Ripka so
clearly stated in 1944:
"Some Centr'al and Eastern-European politicians ... assume that
Britain and America will be unable to suffer Russia to be predominant on the con,tin.e n,t of Europe and that, although the Anglo-Saxon
countries may not no•w be able to prevent Rus!.ia from realizing her
territorial or other claims, they will strive, after the war, to curt&il
her power and later to effect a 'reasonable adjustment' of the Soviet
'a nnexations.' Anyone cherishing hopes of this nature is simply speculating on a new world war; and the realization of such plans neces•
sarily presupposes an alliance between the Anglo.Saxon coun,t ries and
Germany, since without Germany they cannot be put into effect"
(Hulbert Rip~a : EAST AND WEST, Lond'On, 1944; p. 62).
It is obvious that between the aims of Soviet policy
and the aims of the policy of Dr. Edward Benes and his
followers, who today are in emigration, there were no basic differences. That they could not continue at home in
their efforts is not because they changed their political
line, but simply because Moscow no longer had any interest to collaborate with Peter Zenk!, Hube:r,t Ripka, Joseph Lettrich, Fedor Hodza, Adolph Prochazka, Vaclav
Majer. It did nothing to prevent their departure to the
West. In fact it facilitated it by making the necessary provisions so they could "escape" without any difficulty to
promote their political line in the main cities of the West.
They are still against the arming of West Germany and
for the Russian Empire, discouraging the union of the
West against Moscow imperialism.
The people joined together in the "Council of Free
Czecho-Slovakia" have consistently followed the line formulated by Dr. A. Klatkovsky:
"We are united with the Soviet Union for life and unto death. ...
Not ony because we have a common eastern boundary with our
greatest ally, but more so because on our western border stands our
greatest enemy. The guarantee of the greatest gain of our history _
SLOVAKIA
26
the expulsion of the Germans - is the might of the Soviet Union,
whose merit it also is that the expulsion was carried out so thoroughly. Our entire future is based on the expulsion of the Germans;
ally change in this direction would be our ruin •..• If war would come
between the East and the West, and the East would be defeated, we
would be as its ally hit the hardest, nay even ruined because the
Germans would return to us. However, if in such a conflict we
should stand with the West - even though this is practically un·
thinkable - we still would not escape the fate of the return of
Germans. Therefo.re, the theme that we are united with the Soviet
Union for life and unto death is a self-evident axiom of our foreign
policy, whether anyone likes it or not. And, therefore, no government of ours can make anti-Soviet foreign policy. This would be
suicidal politics and such a government would immediately be swept
out by the people."
The Czechs have not changed. They still act like
Schweiks on occasions, but they are still allied with Moscow more than with the West and its interests. In a word,
the Czechs are still promoting Benes's ruinous policy which
made enemies of all non-Czech citizens in Czecho-Slovakia
and enemiei:;, of all neighboring countries. Because of that
the Czech Schweiks now tell the world: We are forced to
hang with Russia!
(a'he Slovak original of this article was published in the SLOVENiSKA REPUBLIKA, Orgrun of the Slovak Lilber'ation Committee,
Vol. VI; No. 1, (60), J'anuary, 1954.)
ALL LAND in Slova'kita, Moravia, and Bohemi!a haJS been nationa'1ized. However, in Slovakia
(predominantly an agricultural region) the farmers have shown
more stubborn resista,nee to the
new order, parti'CulaTly in their
fighlt to retain ownershiip of their
cows. I.Jaitest availaible reports have
it that abO'llt 50 per cent of all
cows in Slovaki,a are still indi>Vlidually owned. Increased mechanlization and stricter Party con:t>rol is
in evlidence eiverywhere.
3{l
3{l
3{l
of Czecho~lovakia has
produced the first four records of
a s'ertl.es oa'lled "Musica Nova Bohemica et Slov,e nica." !included is
the Balladic Suite (Su,a 10046) of
ARTIA
Eugen Suchoil., eminenlt Sl'ov•ak
composer. Datling £rom 1936, it is
a lengthy opus for a large orchestra, "foll of bri'lliant orehestral devices and strong melddirc ideas," according to Alan Rkh of The New
York Tomes. Noting that Sachoil.
is a composer well worth investigation, Mr. Rich adds that Suchon's
Balladic Suite, "while its h•armonic sty;le is no more sitaTtling than
that of the late Dvorak, Suchoii
at least has the aibfil.ty to operate
freely and quite soocess'fu'lly within the framework of a bygone la,ngu1age." SrUJchoil. also composed
"The Whirlpool," -a powerlul tragi,c opera, and the "Psalm of the
Carpa1lhian Country," a brtl.lliarn
large sea-le choral work.
Dublin Core
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Beneš and Moscow
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 11, No. 2 (34), September-December 1961
pp. 21-26
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September-December 1961
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e0d1f2d53ba58b0615f7d1ba9f832aea.pdf
4c29783a5823eb3445e252bd4bbff483
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
Published by the Slovak League of America
VOL. XI
SEPTEMBE1R-'DECEMBER, 1961
NO. 2(34)
DR. JOZEF TISO IN MEMORIAM
April 18, 1961, marked the 14th anniversary of the
death of Monsignor Dr. Jozef Tiso, President of the Slovak
Republic, who died a martyr's death at the hands of Benes and the Soviets, a victim of a disastrous policy, the
cornerstone of which was laid aJt Yalta in February, 1945.
Instead of ushering in freedom, democracy and selfdetermination, it led to the subjugation of an additional
200 million Europeans. On their soil in Northern, Central
and Southern Europe, there arose a new Soviet colonial
system at a time when 100 millions of people in Asia and
Africa began their march ,to independent statehood. It
was a policy that destroyed Europe's individuality and enlarged the power of the Kremlin, a power that has kept all
humanity under constant tension since 1945 and is a threat
to the freedom of all the states it has not yet captured.
The Slovak Republic was one of the vidtims of this policy. The invasion of Slovakia by the Red Army crushed its
growing individuality and brutally incor-porated that little
country into Czecho-Slovakia. A Communist regime was
imposed upon Slovakia, supponted and represented by
Czech Communists. This regime is able to maintain its
power only by employing Czech-Communist commissars.
Dr. Jozef Tiso constantly warned the free world of
the dual danger inherent in the Soviet system: Moscow's
imperialism on the one hand; the tyranny of godless Communism on the other. His warning words unfortunately fell
on deaf ears. When Dr. Tiso refused to cooperate with
Moscow in spreading the Communist dictatorship, he was
treated like a criminal of the worst sort. U. S. Military
units, operating against esta'blished international procedures, on order f.rom Washington surrendered Dr. Tiso and
a number of Slovak opponents of Soviet Russia to lthe
�2
SLOVAKIA
Prague Communists. Much effort was expended to degrade Dr. Tiso in the eyes of the rest of the world for the
frankness of his convictions and to place him in a bad light.
His opponents succeeded in doing so by recourse 1to propaganda.
At that time 1the USA lent its support to the policy of
Dr. Edward Benes, a pioneer in cooperating with the Soviets, and an ideal representative of the policy of Yalta.
The West helped the Communist system to ·e xpand its
power and thus took ruthless measures against Dr. Tiso
who warned of the consequences of this policy. Events after 1950 documented the correctness of the words of both
the Slovak president and the Slovak people. At the same
time they disclosed - as convincing arguments - the
shont-sightedness, agoistic and immoral policy of Dr. Benes, which today is still erroneously referred to as "democratic."
By murdering President Jozef Tiso the Czech-Communist regime hoped to break the anti.-Communist res,i stance of the Slovak people an<l crush their ambitions toward
freedom and independence. It did not succeed in doing so
and will never succeed. The Slovak people will hold fast to
the idea of Slovak statehood throughout all the ruthlessness and terror to which they are submitted and will stand
up to the Czech-Communist regime with every bit of
resolve they can muster, regardless of the cost.
The policy of Yalta spells misfortune not only for the
Slovak people but for all mankind. The West dare not lose
sight of the fact that tdday neither nazism nor fascism
constitutes a danger - they are systems of the past - but
Communism, to rid itself of which is the task of the hour.
Bearing in mind !the countless martyrs, victims of an
"historical error," of the policy of Yalta, the entire free
world should resolve to take uncompromising and more
energetic steps to oppose the Communist system and do
so, as well, in the interest of the enslaved peoples behind
the iron curtain. Freedom and independence belong not
,t o a privileged few but to all, including the Slovak people. - A. M.
�
SLOVAKIA
Published by the Slovak League of America
VOL. XI
SEPTEMBE1R-'DECEMBER, 1961
NO. 2(34)
DR. JOZEF TISO IN MEMORIAM
April 18, 1961, marked the 14th anniversary of the
death of Monsignor Dr. Jozef Tiso, President of the Slovak
Republic, who died a martyr's death at the hands of Benes and the Soviets, a victim of a disastrous policy, the
cornerstone of which was laid aJt Yalta in February, 1945.
Instead of ushering in freedom, democracy and selfdetermination, it led to the subjugation of an additional
200 million Europeans. On their soil in Northern, Central
and Southern Europe, there arose a new Soviet colonial
system at a time when 100 millions of people in Asia and
Africa began their march ,to independent statehood. It
was a policy that destroyed Europe's individuality and enlarged the power of the Kremlin, a power that has kept all
humanity under constant tension since 1945 and is a threat
to the freedom of all the states it has not yet captured.
The Slovak Republic was one of the vidtims of this policy. The invasion of Slovakia by the Red Army crushed its
growing individuality and brutally incor-porated that little
country into Czecho-Slovakia. A Communist regime was
imposed upon Slovakia, supponted and represented by
Czech Communists. This regime is able to maintain its
power only by employing Czech-Communist commissars.
Dr. Jozef Tiso constantly warned the free world of
the dual danger inherent in the Soviet system: Moscow's
imperialism on the one hand; the tyranny of godless Communism on the other. His warning words unfortunately fell
on deaf ears. When Dr. Tiso refused to cooperate with
Moscow in spreading the Communist dictatorship, he was
treated like a criminal of the worst sort. U. S. Military
units, operating against esta'blished international procedures, on order f.rom Washington surrendered Dr. Tiso and
a number of Slovak opponents of Soviet Russia to lthe
�2
SLOVAKIA
Prague Communists. Much effort was expended to degrade Dr. Tiso in the eyes of the rest of the world for the
frankness of his convictions and to place him in a bad light.
His opponents succeeded in doing so by recourse 1to propaganda.
At that time 1the USA lent its support to the policy of
Dr. Edward Benes, a pioneer in cooperating with the Soviets, and an ideal representative of the policy of Yalta.
The West helped the Communist system to ·e xpand its
power and thus took ruthless measures against Dr. Tiso
who warned of the consequences of this policy. Events after 1950 documented the correctness of the words of both
the Slovak president and the Slovak people. At the same
time they disclosed - as convincing arguments - the
shont-sightedness, agoistic and immoral policy of Dr. Benes, which today is still erroneously referred to as "democratic."
By murdering President Jozef Tiso the Czech-Communist regime hoped to break the anti.-Communist res,i stance of the Slovak people an<l crush their ambitions toward
freedom and independence. It did not succeed in doing so
and will never succeed. The Slovak people will hold fast to
the idea of Slovak statehood throughout all the ruthlessness and terror to which they are submitted and will stand
up to the Czech-Communist regime with every bit of
resolve they can muster, regardless of the cost.
The policy of Yalta spells misfortune not only for the
Slovak people but for all mankind. The West dare not lose
sight of the fact that tdday neither nazism nor fascism
constitutes a danger - they are systems of the past - but
Communism, to rid itself of which is the task of the hour.
Bearing in mind !the countless martyrs, victims of an
"historical error," of the policy of Yalta, the entire free
world should resolve to take uncompromising and more
energetic steps to oppose the Communist system and do
so, as well, in the interest of the enslaved peoples behind
the iron curtain. Freedom and independence belong not
,t o a privileged few but to all, including the Slovak people. - A. M.
�
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
1961, Vol. 11
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 33), March-June 1961.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 34), September-December June 1961.</li>
</ul>
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
1961
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
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SLOVAKIA
Published by the Slovak League of America
VOL. XI
SEPTEMBE1R-'DECEMBER, 1961
NO. 2(34)
DR. JOZEF TISO IN MEMORIAM
April 18, 1961, marked the 14th anniversary of the
death of Monsignor Dr. Jozef Tiso, President of the Slovak
Republic, who died a martyr's death at the hands of Benes and the Soviets, a victim of a disastrous policy, the
cornerstone of which was laid aJt Yalta in February, 1945.
Instead of ushering in freedom, democracy and selfdetermination, it led to the subjugation of an additional
200 million Europeans. On their soil in Northern, Central
and Southern Europe, there arose a new Soviet colonial
system at a time when 100 millions of people in Asia and
Africa began their march ,to independent statehood. It
was a policy that destroyed Europe's individuality and enlarged the power of the Kremlin, a power that has kept all
humanity under constant tension since 1945 and is a threat
to the freedom of all the states it has not yet captured.
The Slovak Republic was one of the vidtims of this policy. The invasion of Slovakia by the Red Army crushed its
growing individuality and brutally incor-porated that little
country into Czecho-Slovakia. A Communist regime was
imposed upon Slovakia, supponted and represented by
Czech Communists. This regime is able to maintain its
power only by employing Czech-Communist commissars.
Dr. Jozef Tiso constantly warned the free world of
the dual danger inherent in the Soviet system: Moscow's
imperialism on the one hand; the tyranny of godless Communism on the other. His warning words unfortunately fell
on deaf ears. When Dr. Tiso refused to cooperate with
Moscow in spreading the Communist dictatorship, he was
treated like a criminal of the worst sort. U. S. Military
units, operating against esta'blished international procedures, on order f.rom Washington surrendered Dr. Tiso and
a number of Slovak opponents of Soviet Russia to lthe
2
SLOVAKIA
Prague Communists. Much effort was expended to degrade Dr. Tiso in the eyes of the rest of the world for the
frankness of his convictions and to place him in a bad light.
His opponents succeeded in doing so by recourse 1to propaganda.
At that time 1the USA lent its support to the policy of
Dr. Edward Benes, a pioneer in cooperating with the Soviets, and an ideal representative of the policy of Yalta.
The West helped the Communist system to ·e xpand its
power and thus took ruthless measures against Dr. Tiso
who warned of the consequences of this policy. Events after 1950 documented the correctness of the words of both
the Slovak president and the Slovak people. At the same
time they disclosed - as convincing arguments - the
shont-sightedness, agoistic and immoral policy of Dr. Benes, which today is still erroneously referred to as "democratic."
By murdering President Jozef Tiso the Czech-Communist regime hoped to break the anti.-Communist res,i stance of the Slovak people an<l crush their ambitions toward
freedom and independence. It did not succeed in doing so
and will never succeed. The Slovak people will hold fast to
the idea of Slovak statehood throughout all the ruthlessness and terror to which they are submitted and will stand
up to the Czech-Communist regime with every bit of
resolve they can muster, regardless of the cost.
The policy of Yalta spells misfortune not only for the
Slovak people but for all mankind. The West dare not lose
sight of the fact that tdday neither nazism nor fascism
constitutes a danger - they are systems of the past - but
Communism, to rid itself of which is the task of the hour.
Bearing in mind !the countless martyrs, victims of an
"historical error," of the policy of Yalta, the entire free
world should resolve to take uncompromising and more
energetic steps to oppose the Communist system and do
so, as well, in the interest of the enslaved peoples behind
the iron curtain. Freedom and independence belong not
,t o a privileged few but to all, including the Slovak people. - A. M.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Dr. Jozef Tiso In Memoriam
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 11, No. 2 (34), September-December 1961
pp. 1-2
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September-December 1961
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/0d4a65c0fd5e264f1465f40f7fc98746.pdf
fa37bec518cac491a7ef0ac45053a48b
PDF Text
Text
VOL. XI
SEPTEMBER- DECEMBER, 1961
NO. 2 (34)
IN THIS ISSUE:
DR. JOZEF TISO IN MEMORIAM
ASSEMBLY OF CAP T IVE EUROPEAN NATIONS
HUNGARIAN EXILES AND SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE
BENES AND MOSCOW
CZECHO-SLOVAKIA YESTERDAY AND TODAY
SLOVAKIA AND CENTRAL EUROPE
SELF-DETERMINATION FOR ALL
THE TROUBLEMAK E R
EURO PE AN FEDER A LISTS WELCOME KIRSCHBAUM ' S BOOK
CASTL ES OF SLOV A KIA: KREMNICA
SUDET E N GERMAN DAYS: MAY 19- 22, 1961
NEWS ITEMS: 26, 51, 57, 64, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. I-IROBAK
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa .
•
•
•
Publis hed by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPIJE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF OENTRAL
EUROPE, K.irsehba-um; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA" - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNOONQUERJAIBDES, Pauco; $2.00
L'UDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
VOL. XI
SEPTEMBER- DECEMBER, 1961
NO. 2 (34)
IN THIS ISSUE:
DR. JOZEF TISO IN MEMORIAM
ASSEMBLY OF CAP T IVE EUROPEAN NATIONS
HUNGARIAN EXILES AND SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE
BENES AND MOSCOW
CZECHO-SLOVAKIA YESTERDAY AND TODAY
SLOVAKIA AND CENTRAL EUROPE
SELF-DETERMINATION FOR ALL
THE TROUBLEMAK E R
EURO PE AN FEDER A LISTS WELCOME KIRSCHBAUM ' S BOOK
CASTL ES OF SLOV A KIA: KREMNICA
SUDET E N GERMAN DAYS: MAY 19- 22, 1961
NEWS ITEMS: 26, 51, 57, 64, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A. I-IROBAK
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa .
•
•
•
Publis hed by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPIJE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF OENTRAL
EUROPE, K.irsehba-um; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA" - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNOONQUERJAIBDES, Pauco; $2.00
L'UDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, 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
1961, Vol. 11
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 33), March-June 1961.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 34), September-December June 1961.</li>
</ul>
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
1961
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
VOL. XI
SEPTEMBER- DECEMBER, 1961
NO. 2 (34)
IN THIS ISSUE:
DR. JOZEF TISO IN MEMORIAM
ASSEMBLY OF CAP T IVE EUROPEAN NATIONS
HUNGARIAN EXILES AND SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE
BENES AND MOSCOW
CZECHO-SLOVAKIA YESTERDAY AND TODAY
SLOVAKIA AND CENTRAL EUROPE
SELF-DETERMINATION FOR ALL
THE TROUBLEMAK E R
EURO PE AN FEDER A LISTS WELCOME KIRSCHBAUM ' S BOOK
CASTL ES OF SLOV A KIA: KREMNICA
SUDET E N GERMAN DAYS: MAY 19- 22, 1961
NEWS ITEMS: 26, 51, 57, 64, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
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Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 11, No. 2 (34)
Date
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September-December 1961
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74
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Joseph G. Cincik, Anglo-Saxon and because the present book is
a nd Slovak-Avar Paf!;erns of Cuth- written with the same sicholarly
berth Gospels, Editions Slovak 'Ln- method and knowledge, his am.alystitute, Cleveland, Ohio, Rome,
Italy, 1958, p. 1 24, XW pl.
The kn01wn illuminated ma<nu•
script called the Gospel of Cuthbert ha'S been, Jior a long time a
favoriite olbject of scholarly research and analysis by several owtstanding hlstorians of medfoval
art, such as (T. D. Kendrick, J.
Zykan, J. Strzgowski, H. J. Hermann, G. Slwarzenski, and E. H.
Zimmerman. The Gospel or Codex
is preserved in the State Ubrary
of Vienna', Austria,, and was originally included iin the rare illuminated Codices categorized by arthistories under the general title
''The Insular Book Illuminiations"
wrich are believed to be of insular
Anglo-Saxcm onigin.
Some modern analysts (T. D.
Kendrii'Ck, J. Zyikan) noted that
non- Anglo,Sax:on ornaments in the
Cuthbert Gospel predomina,te over
other Codices iin quantity and they
stressed that in case of the vegetal
or,n aments the irufluence of AlpineDanubian ornamentation was more
than casuaL They did not, however, undertake a more detailed
analysis and did not arrive at any
new conclusions as to the origin
of the non~nglo.;saxon artistic in;fluen~s.
Prof. Cinctk's w@k, his third
book (See: S lovak Ru le r's Sword,
Scranton, Pa., 1947, and Anc ient
1
Slovak Fibu las and Pseudo,Fibu •
las, Chicago, 1,957), pulblished on
the subject of medieval art in the
Oarpathian and Danubian area
w,ithin the last few years, sheds
new Hght on all three prolblems:
the origin, the date, and the nonAnglo,Saxon influences. Since both
previous woriks by Professor Cincik
were farvoraibly received by European as well as American critics
sis and conclusions undou,btedly
desel'Ve to be considered.
A,s Cincilk states in the foreword
to his work, he became interested
in the similarity of the SlovakAivar omamental pa1tterns to those
in the Cuthlbert Gospel duriin,g h1is
studies of the Meroving,i,an and Oarolingian epoch at Vienna in 19351,936. During the turibulent years
of the Second World War he interrwpted his work, but in exile,
during his stay in Bavaria and
Rome, between the years 194511947, he once again took up the
work "on the complicated prolblem
of solvJng the origin of the ornamental elements, the circumstances, and the time of the illuminations of Cuthbert's Gospel."
The resuLts of the author's many
years of study ba,sed on historicalgenetic, geograiphical, ethnic, and
stylo-crJtical analyiSis, are now contained in his book, artistiicalily illustrated either by plates or original drawings made by the author
•h imself. The book undoubtedly
presents highly 'i nteresting scholarly readiin,g and like his previous
works on medi'eval art of the Danulbian and Carpathian basin, it
sheds new lig ht not only on the
illuminations of the Go's pel in
question aind their origin, but also
on many rella ted artistic and ethnic probelms and histori'cal events.
Cin'Cik's approach throughout the
book is that of a highly qualified
historian of medieval art with rare
artistic intuition and solid knowledge of archeology, political history and literature on, the sulbj,ect
in half a dozen a,nrcient and modern languages. To be assured of
the accuracy of his conclusions,
Cincik compared his a,nalysi:s and
synthesis with work's amd docu1
�81.-0VAKIA
75
ments of numerous libra.ries air.,d of th-is illuiminated manuscript"
museums suich as the Pontif.ica· (P. 10).
Oriental Institute, the Va1tican
12. Piace of the Origin of the
AJpostolit Library, and the Am,eri
can Alcademy in Rome, the Insti' Gospel:
tute of Medieval Studies of HarHavi,r.,g set the date, Prof. Cincik
vard University, the Ubrary o.f the presents in his analysis a ne•w
Cleve!:and Art Museum, the Art theory atbout the place. "The ornaMuseum Ln Chilca,go, the State Li- menta,t ions point to the ye,a rs of
bracy and Museums in Vienna, Pa- the final destruction of the Avar
ris, Lond·on, etc.
supreml!K!y - says the author Wha,t are the new elements and over Slovak and Sliovenian tri/bes
conclusions of Prof. Cincitk's re- in the A!Jpine a,n<l Danubian researeh and anaiysis?
gion. " There ar,e in ,the Gospel, says
'1. Date of Origin: Several scho • 1Cinicik, contri,bu,ti,ons from the
Jars have dated the Go'spel, on the Slo,vak-Avaric patterns, and the
basis of paleogra.phic evid-em:e, inspirational historical event for
the hand-like and interlaced oma- the Slovak1Avar elements, found
ments and the composiltional in the onniamental parts of the mascheme of illuminations as a pro- nuscript "can be traiced to the
duct emanating from th•e South- grandiose loot of aTtistic ornamenEng,lish monastic scriptoria relat- tal creations hauled out from the
ed to the Merr,cian-NorthJUmlbri'an Canpathian Basin aJfter the defea t
scribaJ pr,a ctice, as being "circa of the Aivars by the armies of
770 A.D.". Cinlcik analysing in de- Chadamagne under his son Pepin
taH the illuminations a,nd the or- and Dutke Erich of Friaulfa.." Acnamerntal elements of the Gospel cording to the judgment of the
has advainiced its date of origin author, the artist 'lwas influenced
"into more devieloped art-forms of during the illumi•n ation work on
the pre•Carolingia,n and early Ca- the Codex by the artistic form-Ian
rolingian art as circa 800 A.D." guage of the above J.oot" and "thus
"Since the paleographical cha,r- from the cohalbit-a tion of the Sloacter of "lettering" in the Codex vaks a-nd Avars in Trans-Danulbia
i.; unique for the date of its ori- we find ,i,r:, the Go,s,pel many ornagin, its iLlumi'nations - especially mentations which prove the Sarthe artistic elements a,n<l style ap- 1ma tian,Slavic arfo:tic continuity.
'Pear indicative of a later period •Pro.£. Cincik condudes that "Cuthsays Prof. Cin!cik. It postdates the 1bert's Gospel stands before us on
Gospel into the last dooade o;f the the threshold of early medieval ar t
eighth century, i,f not slightly pas , in Trans,Da.nubia as a miss,ionary
·heritage of the Ghristianiza.tio,r:. of
800 A.D."
'I1he author sta-tes that the pUlb the Slovaks and Avars during and
lished works a,nd studies albout a±tter the rule of Charlamagne."
Cuthlbert's Gospel initiated by G. He even suggests tha,t the autho r
Swarzenski, H. J. Herman an E of the illumina:tions could als·o b e
H. Zimmerman, together with si- a .r..ative of the Danulbfan and Carmilar findings in the books of E pathi,an region, and holds to the
Herzfeld a,n d Smirnov, and finally view that "this rare Cod·ex played
the keen insight of J. Zy,kan con- am, important role in the beginvinced him "albout the accura cy of ning of the Ohristiaruization of the
his views concerning the historical Slova~s, A,l pine and Pannonic Sloand evoluti'onary appraisal aJbout ivenes and Avars in the period of
the place and time of the mission the strong Omaiad and .A!bba.said
1
�76
SLOVAKIA
inf.luem,ces in fine ar.t in the Danubian basin" (IP. 13).
3. Non-Anglo-Saxon Elements:
While other scholars who analyzed the Gospel merely noted
non-Anglo-Saxon elements and ornamental pa,tterns, Pro.f. Ci-ncik
states emphatically that "the Alpine-Danubian character of the ilI,umination's with predominain1t Slovak and Av,aric ornamental elements or with sU'ch ornamentac
local and animal figures in relationship to the contemporary New
Persian Art of the Omaiad and first
Albbaside Ca1ip-hs is indisputalble"
('P. 28). In his view the Cuthlbert
Gospel "thus adorned predominantly with Slovak and Avaric elements, had a direct, distinct and
psychological ef.fect on the acti,vity
of the priest - missionaries coming from Sal:dburg region to the
inhabita,n,ts whose ornamentation
was used by the illuminator in the
book illustrations of the Gospel."
(p. 64').
Cincik builds this conclusion,
which at first glance could seem
nationalisti'c, on a thorough study
of ornamenta~ elements which illustrate the book, as well as on,
the histor,really proven presence
of Irish missi:onaries among the
Slovaks a,n d Slovenes during the
reign of Ohadamagne. These missionaries must have been familiar
not only with the local dialects
o·f the Slovaks, Slovenes, Moravians, and Avars, but they also understood the local morphology of
the pagian symlbolism. "Thus," ac•
cording to Prof. Cincik, "the .illumin,ating p.'.llbterns brou•g ht to the
Sal21burg area from the 'South
EngLish Schools' even though insular, served as a sample to the
illumina-tor of Outhlbert's GospeJ.,
OJ!, the basis of the relationship between VirgibA.l.cuin-iArno (the latter was arch/bishop of the area).
Likewise, elements of the local
artistic form and the symlbolic
language of S'lovak and Avaric art
were at his disposal after the defeat of the Avars." (ip. 86).
Besides ornamental element's and
patterns, the color schemes aJso
are, aocording to 01nlcik's ana-lysis, "completel,y different." "The
lively, fiery coioring,' 'says Cincik,
"nowhere f.ades in the iUuminations of the Gospel and it thus testifies to the permanent and basic
temper o;f the illuminator. It verifiles also that it was neither of Angl~axon nor perhaips e,v en Thankish or Italian origin. A continuous effort to mafotai'n a wide sca'1e
of v,iviid colors sponta.neousJ.y
points to the taste and· sen'se of
priJIDa,r y colors used at that time
by !:he local population" (p. 89).
'IH)a,v ing considered these facts,"
Prof. Oincik writes on, the last
page o;f h<is work, "together with
the Anglo,Saxon ornamental influence and the prevalent elemental
trace's and colorisan, we condude
that the art of Cuth!bel't's Gospel
•is purposely that of the ancient
Slovak and Arv.ari'c or,niamenrtal art
sty,lization."
"With many characteristics of
Caroling-ian and local art style in
the Middle~,anuJbia,n region, Cuthbert's Gospel sta.nds out as Romianesque Slovak art at the daJWn of
the early medieval period. As such,
i't is not only an imipol'tant histor,ical and cultural heritage of the
Anglo.Saxon missions d-uring the
time of Charlemagne in the Ela-stern Alps, but al,so a famous and
outs~ding artisti•c relic testifying
to the decorative art style develop•ed in the Slovak Christian
pr,irncipalities, the ca,p itals of whi~h
we r e Nitm and the !Bannoniain, Blatnohrad after the year 800 A.D. M:
is an art remruant developed by
signiifa:ant hii:s.torical events at the
begi.nning o.f the filrst half of the
ninth century which witnessed a
gradual Christianrizaition of Slovakian pr,incipa,Mies in Slovakd:a pro-
�SLOVAKIA
per, Morarvia, and the Slavs in
_general around the Carpa,t hian Ba.sin, a;nd terminated later in a
Great Moravian Empire and in the
.apostolic activity of SS. Cyril and
Method1us ... "
Pmf. Cincilk corrOlborates his
conclusions and ·suggestions w~th
23 pages of illustraitions. He also
refer,s to many works of outstandr
ing EurQPean aind American scholars in the fileld oif the history of
art, ar-cheology, paleography, and
cu1tural history. Some scholars at
Central European universities ha'Ve
en<thusi>astilcaJ:ly accepted• Oincilk's
study and its coniclusions. If generally accepted by exper,ts in mediev-al art history, Cincik's work will
meain. for Slarvic studies a new important and: valualble contriibution.
:Some of the conclusions are unnecessarily repeated in the book
and the awthor is inconsistent
when using the ,n;a,me Olf the Gospel (Curt!hlberts or Cuthlbert?) as
well as the term Arvar or Avaric.
Seveml chapters of the book do
not directly refer to the Gospel
but make the text and the author'o
conclusions easi'er to understand
and to aocept. The teX!t would indicate that i>t is a translation from
Slovak or other European language
and sometimes quite far from perfect English. An ilmpressive bibliogr,aiphy and a great number of
references in footnotes prove that
Prof. Oincik took his task seriously.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Uni:Versilty oif Mlo-ntreaJ.
Rev. B. S. Bue, OJF.IM., Ph.ID.:
Slovak Nationalism; published by
the Slovak League oif America,
M1dd<letawn, Pa., 1960; pp. 67.
This book is the aurthor's thesis for his Mlasber Degree in Political Science a,t the Uni'ver,s ity of
Pittsburgh. The a~eptance of a
thesfa by a University Falculty ilmplies that the swbm'itted work is
77
serious, well documented, and written in a solid way. '!1his work of
the Rev. Bue has all these qualities.
The author first discusses the history oif Slovak nationalism a,s it
had developed under the influence
of Enlightenmen1t and Roonanticism in the Aiustro-iHungarian Monarchy, until, in the middle -Orf
the pa,s t century, it ac,q uired definite political fol"ms. In the old
Monarchy the Slo,vak-s struggled
f •o r
nati'on,a,1
self.,presewa-tion
a,g ain'st the offilcial trend of magy,arizati-on. J!l'om 19.1.8, when the
FJrst Czecho-Slovak Republic was
estalblished, until 1009 they had to
defend their distinct national character against the so-called 'ICzecho-Slovruc i'dea," the offiicial trend
of the Prague governmemrt to assimilate the Slov,aiks into the Czech
ethnic growp. The proclamarti-on of
the Slovak Rerpu'blic in M<arch,
19319, is considered· by the awthor
as a logical conclusion of Slov-a!k
national aspirati1ons.
Rev. Bue defends Slovak nation.al aspiraUons ag,a inst the all•e·
gations oif anti,Slcwak political enemies who claim that the Slovaks
with their na1tionalism have been
a des-trucfone elemenrt in the Danwbian Basin. He proves that the
Slova'ks defended their un.al~ena1ble
rights for their own nartional life
wi'thiin the poli:tical entity in which
they Hved, filr-s t in A'll'!>tro-,Hung,ary, and then in Czecho,Slovakia. OnJy when these political en•
tities were destroyed in coniflicts
of the great power block,s, the Slova!ks took the opportunity to improve their nartional position in a
new un~t, namely in Czecho-Slovakia (19118), and then, ◊1939) in thefr
indeipendent Slovak Repulblic.
•I n the develQpment of Slovak
national consciousness and in the
struggle for th·e improV'e'IDem.t of
the Sliovak politilcal position, a
prominent role wa,s played by
�SLOVAKIA
78
Slovak emigrants, particularly by
those in the U. S. A. American
Slovaks, toget her with American
Czechs, took an active part in
fighting against the Hapsburg
Monarchy. To saifeguard Slovak .r.iational rights in the commoniwealt:i
oi Czechs arnd Slovaks which was
to come into ex.istence under the
name of Czecho-Sl.ovakfa, Slovak
political leaders concluded an
agreement with Czech represem,tat,ives in P.ittsiburgh, May 30, MHS.
By this agreement S1ovakia wa•s to
dbtain an autonomous posit-ion in
the Czecho-Slovalk Republic. La ter
the Czechs under T. G. Masaryk
and EdJWard Benes denownced this
agreement as void and tried to
assimilate the Slovak ethnic group
in to the so-called "Czech-oslovak"
nation. The Pilttsburg.h Agreement,
howe~r, became the poJ.itical credo of the Slovak autonomists under the leadershiip orf iMsgr. Am,dr e<w
Hlinka. Slovak emigrant s of the
period after World War ]I are
almost withoult a-n exception for
complete independenc·e of Slovakia and work intensely for tha t
goal.
Very interesting is the last chapter of Rev. Buc's book which
describes commu,n-islt tactics in re·
lation to Slovak naitona1is,m. During the First Czecho-Slovak Rlepublic the Slovak communist s, though
few in number, were more separatist than the Father IDinka (Catho
lie) P>eople's Party or Rev. Razus'
(Lu,theran) Nationa l P.arty. The
Slovak communists propounded the
idea of coonpl•e te separat ion of
Slovakia from Czecho-Slova'kfa,
while the other two Slovak parties
had for their aim the autonomy
of Slovakia wJthiin, the CzechO-Slo-vak Republic. During the Second
World War the Slovak communisits, apparently with the approval of Moscow, continued to work
their or,i ginal line. Bult when the
idea of a reborn Czecho--SlCl'Vakia
1
preva,iJed in Moscow. the Slovak
communists had to be satisfied
with only a guarantee of autonomy for Slovakia, gramited under
commuruist pressure by President
Dr. Edlward Benes in the Slovak
city of Kosice. Nevertheless, following the communis:t coup d'etat
of 1948, the Ozech communists gradually liquidated Slovak nationalist commun~·sts branding them as
national bourgeois deviationists
aind rescinding all Slovak autonomous pr,erogatives . After 1'948,
cenitralism, stricter than that of
the First Czecho--Slovak Repulblic,
was re-established.
The book of Rev. Bue not only
pro,j ects objective light over Slovak nationalism in its historical
structure, but also gives a pr.aspec t
for a sound solution of the Slovak
question. This solution, in the conclusions of Rev. Bue, is no-thin,g
less tha1n full independence for the
Slovaks within their ethnographic
Boundaries. - T. Z.
Gj~bert L. Oddo: Slovakia and
People, :Robert Speller and
Sons, New York, 1960,. 370 pp. ,
$6.00.
The eyes and ears of the world
are focused as .never before on the
African and! Asiat ic peoples in
their frenzied attempt to !break
encrusted •colonial political patterns and1 asser,t their right of pol i tic al self-determinatio n. That
right is not som•et hing newly conceived iby the no,n .mhite world; the
non -w-hite peoples, however, have
newly disc01Vered it. The right of
self-determinatio n of peoples was
popularized for European peoples
at the peace po,w-wows of 19r118-19.
[n approaching [)r. Oddo's minute history of the Slovak nation,
one should recall that the Slovaks,
like their neighbors in Cen,t ral Eurape, ,t he Sudeter:: Germans, were
among the "little" Il'atio·ns Wils·on
had in mind when he ipropounded
its
�SLOVAKIA
his aims of self-determinatoin, a
worthy cause that was frustrated
by C'hauv,i nis,t exploitation, later
tossed' into the political waste-masket.
iHere we find a long-needed presentation of 11:J.istoric 1b ac~ground
events requisite to the underst1and
ing of the formation ·a nd growth of
Slovakia into a politically conscious ethnic group seeking independence from foreign overlords,
even to the present dlay.
Dr. Oddo shows the emergence
of Great Miorarvia, starting with the
d,3wn of history and moving into
the Christian- era; he tells of the
warring elements that, made tlhe
Slovak country little more than a
battleground for centuries, highlights t he age of !Maria Theresia,
then o.f her son Jioseph I[ and the
influence ·of the Slovak life of his
reforms. One by one Oddo peels
off the coats of legendary myt'h
that have olbscured the true telling of the Slova,k story for de
cades.
Boldly the author daubs his canvas with vivid colors of historical
truth, producing a series of coherent scenes that show a people
tenacious, conscious of pur:pose,
idealistic and proud, slowly bu t
surely emerging from oppression
ar.d imposed servitude into a cohesive political and ehhnic entity.
The talblea ux take the reader on
through tJhe 'Europeon revolution
of '1848 jnto the era of the Dual
Monal"chy, continuing• into the
"tro1.11blous days o.f the '1~20's . . .
and t,he more cha'Otic years of the
30's. We see Slovakia's saga as a
never-ending, torment•ed striving
for ethnic self-eX,pression an,d, poliWhat a
tical se1f-determination.
tragic coin:ciden'Ce that inde-p endence, however short-liv,ed , had to
come -a t a time when National Socialism was to :form its political
back-dro,p, casting unwarranted as-
79
persions on- the aims and methods
of SlO'Vak statesmen.
A£ter the short brea,tJhing s,pell of
rnberty we see the light o.f truth
and freedom quenched again, this
time from the !East. The con'Cluding chapter on Slovak emigration
deals prilJ'Ilarily with the Slovaks
who emigrated to the USA and
tells what they harve been a!ble to
achieve from their new home on
belhalf of their captive fellowcountrymen: "We ask for the Slovak nation ·c omp lete autonomy and
freedom of self-determination both
in the field of politi'cs as well as in
the cultural and' economic !fields.
1
In completing the reading of
Slovakia and its People the reader
chances thes•e
what
won-der.s
dreams h-aive of !fulfillment now
that all unli.berated peoples are on
the march. Will they be forgotten,
over-slhadowed by the dark man's
world,, or will the ,plea for selfdetermination be strengthend, now
that other voi•c es have strengthened, now that other voices have
joon-ed the chorus? - Frances McPoyne.
The Origin of the Name "Slav,"
by J. B. Riudnyc:ky,j, Winnipeg;
Ukrainian Free Acad'emy of S'Ciences (Box 3•597 S,tn. B, Winnipeg
4, Man .) (Onoonastica Series No.
21) Second revised edition, '1961,
24 pages 50c.
'Ilh.e origin of the namie "Slav"
is a controversial swbject as this
b~ief survey shows. In the eight
pages devoted to the topic there
are over a dozen possilble etymological d•erivations of "Slav" summarized.
Pro.f. Rudnycky,j , head of the
University of Manito1b a Slavic Dep:i,r tmen t, originally d,elivered this
survey as a presidential address at
an Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. It was firs t
�80
SLOVAKIA
printed in the June 11960 issue o,f
the journal Names andr is pro'baliYl!Y
the <first such syino,ptic survey in
the 'Englislh language.
All -the most important etyimological d'erivations are summarized.
The first suggested is from trhe
root of slava (,glory), lin which cas•e
the Slavs -are •t he "glorious" people. The second possi!ble exipJ..anation de·r ives it fu-OIIll slovo (rword)
in which case the Slavs were ,t hose
people who spoke an understandable language.
The tlhird explanation is the
topographic or t01Ponyimic (geographic place-name) origin. Sug,gestions fur this source are from an
anrcier..t Slavic capital Slauna, from
a root meaning "hiill, mounliain,"
or another meaning "lowlands."
Another interesting suggestion
is that the common ending "-slav"
in names such as Yarosiav, IMstislav and, My<roslav exipanded into
the nlllIIle of the people. This is
also sugg.ested as the origin of t,he
Englislh word "s1'ave." The Slavic
captives lby repeating their n.ames
may 'hav,e clearly impressed the
common 1atter part orf their captors.
'Ptrofessor iRudnyrckyj concludes
that there is no unanimous agreement on the etymology of the
word "SfaN" although the topographic ex;planation seems to be
the most convincing. Howeiver, th,e
derivation from slovo (rword) is
sti-Il :possiible.
It may be mentioned tha K.
Mos7JYnski lin Original Extension
of the Pre-Slavic !Language (Wroclaw: IPolrish Arcademy of S'Cienc.es,
1'957) S'llg,g ests yet another view
not touched on in this survey. iHe
derives a .torpogr,aiphic view from
the name given by ,northerners
"to the drwellers of 'orpen fields' "
(page 145), implying "dear' 'or
'clean" 'from the sunny open
steppe of Uikraine.
He gives this etymology: from
the "Lart in cluo ([ clean.), Greeik kluzo (I wash, purge) kludon (striking
orf waves), Old !High German hl11t•
tar (clean, clear), Old iNordiic hler
(lake, sea.), Litlhuanfan slavu, sluoti (to rweep (originally to clean,
compare the Slav wo,rd cistiti,
which in Uikrainian, Bulgarian and
Serbo..Croat asswmed a secondary
meaning 'to sweep')" (from page
13·9.)
In the English language the
word "Slav" has been used i nm-any
forms•. llt has finaUy distilled down
to three interchangeaible forms :
Slaiv, Sla'Vlic, and Slavonic. The (Proressor's consistent use of "Slavic"
in ,t he text indicates his preference "Slavonic" is used 1Inostly in
En,gl'and.
A useful featUTe of Pro!essor
Rudnyrckiyj's monograph is the extensive list of lbi!bliogrruphical footnotes. This will guide the situdent
to a wealth o'f sourees on the s-wbject.
Mso includ•e d in this Onoma-stica issue is an ar,ti:cle, "Ten Years
of Onomastaica {100lel961i)'' by M.
H. Scargill. It is a history of this
toip'O and anthrorponyimic series
edited, ·tiwice a ye•ar 1b y J. B. Rudn,yckyj .
Although brief, this survey is
a real contrilbution !bercause it
makes avaiilaible to the !English
read'er the !basic tlheories on the
origin of the word "S1av." otherwise they would lbe inaccess1ble
to him. -It is an important step in
eliminating ,part of the prevailing
ignoranrce, in -the western world,
o,f the !Slavs. Andrew Gregorovich, IM!ClMiaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
,(iEditor's Note: See rDr. Henrich
Bartelk's "The Origin of 'Slovan'
and 'Slovak'" in SWI\I\AlKlliA, June
'1958.)
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presicent3
Michael
Msgr. F . J. Dubosh, P.A.
Sas
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Peter P. H letko
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia Rd ., Box 48
Warrensville, III.
George Kantor
President
Philip A. Hrobak
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York 61, N. Y.
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Joseph Bendik
John
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Julia Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 \V. 18th Street
Chicago 8. Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Paul C. Kazim er
1122 Sy! van Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
:-.'atinnal President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Fallat
:-.'alional Presiden:
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Anna
Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
Andrew Hudak
15701 Bennett Rd.
:-So. Royalton 33, Ohio
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slov;ik League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSK.A. JEDNOTA
Middletown. Pa.
Sr-ranton. Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Ilarre. Pa.
SLOVENSKE NOVINY
ClevPland. Ohio
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Pa,.salc. N . J .
SVORNOST
OSADNE. HLASY
Whitaker. Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Middletown, Pa.
ZORNICKA
�SLOVAKIA: The Castle of Brunovce ( 17th Century)
�
74
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Joseph G. Cincik, Anglo-Saxon and because the present book is
a nd Slovak-Avar Paf!;erns of Cuth- written with the same sicholarly
berth Gospels, Editions Slovak 'Ln- method and knowledge, his am.alystitute, Cleveland, Ohio, Rome,
Italy, 1958, p. 1 24, XW pl.
The kn01wn illuminated ma<nu•
script called the Gospel of Cuthbert ha'S been, Jior a long time a
favoriite olbject of scholarly research and analysis by several owtstanding hlstorians of medfoval
art, such as (T. D. Kendrick, J.
Zykan, J. Strzgowski, H. J. Hermann, G. Slwarzenski, and E. H.
Zimmerman. The Gospel or Codex
is preserved in the State Ubrary
of Vienna', Austria,, and was originally included iin the rare illuminated Codices categorized by arthistories under the general title
''The Insular Book Illuminiations"
wrich are believed to be of insular
Anglo-Saxcm onigin.
Some modern analysts (T. D.
Kendrii'Ck, J. Zyikan) noted that
non- Anglo,Sax:on ornaments in the
Cuthbert Gospel predomina,te over
other Codices iin quantity and they
stressed that in case of the vegetal
or,n aments the irufluence of AlpineDanubian ornamentation was more
than casuaL They did not, however, undertake a more detailed
analysis and did not arrive at any
new conclusions as to the origin
of the non~nglo.;saxon artistic in;fluen~s.
Prof. Cinctk's w@k, his third
book (See: S lovak Ru le r's Sword,
Scranton, Pa., 1947, and Anc ient
1
Slovak Fibu las and Pseudo,Fibu •
las, Chicago, 1,957), pulblished on
the subject of medieval art in the
Oarpathian and Danubian area
w,ithin the last few years, sheds
new Hght on all three prolblems:
the origin, the date, and the nonAnglo,Saxon influences. Since both
previous woriks by Professor Cincik
were farvoraibly received by European as well as American critics
sis and conclusions undou,btedly
desel'Ve to be considered.
A,s Cincilk states in the foreword
to his work, he became interested
in the similarity of the SlovakAivar omamental pa1tterns to those
in the Cuthlbert Gospel duriin,g h1is
studies of the Meroving,i,an and Oarolingian epoch at Vienna in 19351,936. During the turibulent years
of the Second World War he interrwpted his work, but in exile,
during his stay in Bavaria and
Rome, between the years 194511947, he once again took up the
work "on the complicated prolblem
of solvJng the origin of the ornamental elements, the circumstances, and the time of the illuminations of Cuthbert's Gospel."
The resuLts of the author's many
years of study ba,sed on historicalgenetic, geograiphical, ethnic, and
stylo-crJtical analyiSis, are now contained in his book, artistiicalily illustrated either by plates or original drawings made by the author
•h imself. The book undoubtedly
presents highly 'i nteresting scholarly readiin,g and like his previous
works on medi'eval art of the Danulbian and Carpathian basin, it
sheds new lig ht not only on the
illuminations of the Go's pel in
question aind their origin, but also
on many rella ted artistic and ethnic probelms and histori'cal events.
Cin'Cik's approach throughout the
book is that of a highly qualified
historian of medieval art with rare
artistic intuition and solid knowledge of archeology, political history and literature on, the sulbj,ect
in half a dozen a,nrcient and modern languages. To be assured of
the accuracy of his conclusions,
Cincik compared his a,nalysi:s and
synthesis with work's amd docu1
�81.-0VAKIA
75
ments of numerous libra.ries air.,d of th-is illuiminated manuscript"
museums suich as the Pontif.ica· (P. 10).
Oriental Institute, the Va1tican
12. Piace of the Origin of the
AJpostolit Library, and the Am,eri
can Alcademy in Rome, the Insti' Gospel:
tute of Medieval Studies of HarHavi,r.,g set the date, Prof. Cincik
vard University, the Ubrary o.f the presents in his analysis a ne•w
Cleve!:and Art Museum, the Art theory atbout the place. "The ornaMuseum Ln Chilca,go, the State Li- menta,t ions point to the ye,a rs of
bracy and Museums in Vienna, Pa- the final destruction of the Avar
ris, Lond·on, etc.
supreml!K!y - says the author Wha,t are the new elements and over Slovak and Sliovenian tri/bes
conclusions of Prof. Cincitk's re- in the A!Jpine a,n<l Danubian researeh and anaiysis?
gion. " There ar,e in ,the Gospel, says
'1. Date of Origin: Several scho • 1Cinicik, contri,bu,ti,ons from the
Jars have dated the Go'spel, on the Slo,vak-Avaric patterns, and the
basis of paleogra.phic evid-em:e, inspirational historical event for
the hand-like and interlaced oma- the Slovak1Avar elements, found
ments and the composiltional in the onniamental parts of the mascheme of illuminations as a pro- nuscript "can be traiced to the
duct emanating from th•e South- grandiose loot of aTtistic ornamenEng,lish monastic scriptoria relat- tal creations hauled out from the
ed to the Merr,cian-NorthJUmlbri'an Canpathian Basin aJfter the defea t
scribaJ pr,a ctice, as being "circa of the Aivars by the armies of
770 A.D.". Cinlcik analysing in de- Chadamagne under his son Pepin
taH the illuminations a,nd the or- and Dutke Erich of Friaulfa.." Acnamerntal elements of the Gospel cording to the judgment of the
has advainiced its date of origin author, the artist 'lwas influenced
"into more devieloped art-forms of during the illumi•n ation work on
the pre•Carolingia,n and early Ca- the Codex by the artistic form-Ian
rolingian art as circa 800 A.D." guage of the above J.oot" and "thus
"Since the paleographical cha,r- from the cohalbit-a tion of the Sloacter of "lettering" in the Codex vaks a-nd Avars in Trans-Danulbia
i.; unique for the date of its ori- we find ,i,r:, the Go,s,pel many ornagin, its iLlumi'nations - especially mentations which prove the Sarthe artistic elements a,n<l style ap- 1ma tian,Slavic arfo:tic continuity.
'Pear indicative of a later period •Pro.£. Cincik condudes that "Cuthsays Prof. Cin!cik. It postdates the 1bert's Gospel stands before us on
Gospel into the last dooade o;f the the threshold of early medieval ar t
eighth century, i,f not slightly pas , in Trans,Da.nubia as a miss,ionary
·heritage of the Ghristianiza.tio,r:. of
800 A.D."
'I1he author sta-tes that the pUlb the Slovaks and Avars during and
lished works a,nd studies albout a±tter the rule of Charlamagne."
Cuthlbert's Gospel initiated by G. He even suggests tha,t the autho r
Swarzenski, H. J. Herman an E of the illumina:tions could als·o b e
H. Zimmerman, together with si- a .r..ative of the Danulbfan and Carmilar findings in the books of E pathi,an region, and holds to the
Herzfeld a,n d Smirnov, and finally view that "this rare Cod·ex played
the keen insight of J. Zy,kan con- am, important role in the beginvinced him "albout the accura cy of ning of the Ohristiaruization of the
his views concerning the historical Slova~s, A,l pine and Pannonic Sloand evoluti'onary appraisal aJbout ivenes and Avars in the period of
the place and time of the mission the strong Omaiad and .A!bba.said
1
�76
SLOVAKIA
inf.luem,ces in fine ar.t in the Danubian basin" (IP. 13).
3. Non-Anglo-Saxon Elements:
While other scholars who analyzed the Gospel merely noted
non-Anglo-Saxon elements and ornamental pa,tterns, Pro.f. Ci-ncik
states emphatically that "the Alpine-Danubian character of the ilI,umination's with predominain1t Slovak and Av,aric ornamental elements or with sU'ch ornamentac
local and animal figures in relationship to the contemporary New
Persian Art of the Omaiad and first
Albbaside Ca1ip-hs is indisputalble"
('P. 28). In his view the Cuthlbert
Gospel "thus adorned predominantly with Slovak and Avaric elements, had a direct, distinct and
psychological ef.fect on the acti,vity
of the priest - missionaries coming from Sal:dburg region to the
inhabita,n,ts whose ornamentation
was used by the illuminator in the
book illustrations of the Gospel."
(p. 64').
Cincik builds this conclusion,
which at first glance could seem
nationalisti'c, on a thorough study
of ornamenta~ elements which illustrate the book, as well as on,
the histor,really proven presence
of Irish missi:onaries among the
Slovaks a,n d Slovenes during the
reign of Ohadamagne. These missionaries must have been familiar
not only with the local dialects
o·f the Slovaks, Slovenes, Moravians, and Avars, but they also understood the local morphology of
the pagian symlbolism. "Thus," ac•
cording to Prof. Cincik, "the .illumin,ating p.'.llbterns brou•g ht to the
Sal21burg area from the 'South
EngLish Schools' even though insular, served as a sample to the
illumina-tor of Outhlbert's GospeJ.,
OJ!, the basis of the relationship between VirgibA.l.cuin-iArno (the latter was arch/bishop of the area).
Likewise, elements of the local
artistic form and the symlbolic
language of S'lovak and Avaric art
were at his disposal after the defeat of the Avars." (ip. 86).
Besides ornamental element's and
patterns, the color schemes aJso
are, aocording to 01nlcik's ana-lysis, "completel,y different." "The
lively, fiery coioring,' 'says Cincik,
"nowhere f.ades in the iUuminations of the Gospel and it thus testifies to the permanent and basic
temper o;f the illuminator. It verifiles also that it was neither of Angl~axon nor perhaips e,v en Thankish or Italian origin. A continuous effort to mafotai'n a wide sca'1e
of v,iviid colors sponta.neousJ.y
points to the taste and· sen'se of
priJIDa,r y colors used at that time
by !:he local population" (p. 89).
'IH)a,v ing considered these facts,"
Prof. Oincik writes on, the last
page o;f h<is work, "together with
the Anglo,Saxon ornamental influence and the prevalent elemental
trace's and colorisan, we condude
that the art of Cuth!bel't's Gospel
•is purposely that of the ancient
Slovak and Arv.ari'c or,niamenrtal art
sty,lization."
"With many characteristics of
Caroling-ian and local art style in
the Middle~,anuJbia,n region, Cuthbert's Gospel sta.nds out as Romianesque Slovak art at the daJWn of
the early medieval period. As such,
i't is not only an imipol'tant histor,ical and cultural heritage of the
Anglo.Saxon missions d-uring the
time of Charlemagne in the Ela-stern Alps, but al,so a famous and
outs~ding artisti•c relic testifying
to the decorative art style develop•ed in the Slovak Christian
pr,irncipalities, the ca,p itals of whi~h
we r e Nitm and the !Bannoniain, Blatnohrad after the year 800 A.D. M:
is an art remruant developed by
signiifa:ant hii:s.torical events at the
begi.nning o.f the filrst half of the
ninth century which witnessed a
gradual Christianrizaition of Slovakian pr,incipa,Mies in Slovakd:a pro-
�SLOVAKIA
per, Morarvia, and the Slavs in
_general around the Carpa,t hian Ba.sin, a;nd terminated later in a
Great Moravian Empire and in the
.apostolic activity of SS. Cyril and
Method1us ... "
Pmf. Cincilk corrOlborates his
conclusions and ·suggestions w~th
23 pages of illustraitions. He also
refer,s to many works of outstandr
ing EurQPean aind American scholars in the fileld oif the history of
art, ar-cheology, paleography, and
cu1tural history. Some scholars at
Central European universities ha'Ve
en<thusi>astilcaJ:ly accepted• Oincilk's
study and its coniclusions. If generally accepted by exper,ts in mediev-al art history, Cincik's work will
meain. for Slarvic studies a new important and: valualble contriibution.
:Some of the conclusions are unnecessarily repeated in the book
and the awthor is inconsistent
when using the ,n;a,me Olf the Gospel (Curt!hlberts or Cuthlbert?) as
well as the term Arvar or Avaric.
Seveml chapters of the book do
not directly refer to the Gospel
but make the text and the author'o
conclusions easi'er to understand
and to aocept. The teX!t would indicate that i>t is a translation from
Slovak or other European language
and sometimes quite far from perfect English. An ilmpressive bibliogr,aiphy and a great number of
references in footnotes prove that
Prof. Oincik took his task seriously.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Uni:Versilty oif Mlo-ntreaJ.
Rev. B. S. Bue, OJF.IM., Ph.ID.:
Slovak Nationalism; published by
the Slovak League oif America,
M1dd<letawn, Pa., 1960; pp. 67.
This book is the aurthor's thesis for his Mlasber Degree in Political Science a,t the Uni'ver,s ity of
Pittsburgh. The a~eptance of a
thesfa by a University Falculty ilmplies that the swbm'itted work is
77
serious, well documented, and written in a solid way. '!1his work of
the Rev. Bue has all these qualities.
The author first discusses the history oif Slovak nationalism a,s it
had developed under the influence
of Enlightenmen1t and Roonanticism in the Aiustro-iHungarian Monarchy, until, in the middle -Orf
the pa,s t century, it ac,q uired definite political fol"ms. In the old
Monarchy the Slo,vak-s struggled
f •o r
nati'on,a,1
self.,presewa-tion
a,g ain'st the offilcial trend of magy,arizati-on. J!l'om 19.1.8, when the
FJrst Czecho-Slovak Republic was
estalblished, until 1009 they had to
defend their distinct national character against the so-called 'ICzecho-Slovruc i'dea," the offiicial trend
of the Prague governmemrt to assimilate the Slov,aiks into the Czech
ethnic growp. The proclamarti-on of
the Slovak Rerpu'blic in M<arch,
19319, is considered· by the awthor
as a logical conclusion of Slov-a!k
national aspirati1ons.
Rev. Bue defends Slovak nation.al aspiraUons ag,a inst the all•e·
gations oif anti,Slcwak political enemies who claim that the Slovaks
with their na1tionalism have been
a des-trucfone elemenrt in the Danwbian Basin. He proves that the
Slova'ks defended their un.al~ena1ble
rights for their own nartional life
wi'thiin the poli:tical entity in which
they Hved, filr-s t in A'll'!>tro-,Hung,ary, and then in Czecho,Slovakia. OnJy when these political en•
tities were destroyed in coniflicts
of the great power block,s, the Slova!ks took the opportunity to improve their nartional position in a
new un~t, namely in Czecho-Slovakia (19118), and then, ◊1939) in thefr
indeipendent Slovak Repulblic.
•I n the develQpment of Slovak
national consciousness and in the
struggle for th·e improV'e'IDem.t of
the Sliovak politilcal position, a
prominent role wa,s played by
�SLOVAKIA
78
Slovak emigrants, particularly by
those in the U. S. A. American
Slovaks, toget her with American
Czechs, took an active part in
fighting against the Hapsburg
Monarchy. To saifeguard Slovak .r.iational rights in the commoniwealt:i
oi Czechs arnd Slovaks which was
to come into ex.istence under the
name of Czecho-Sl.ovakfa, Slovak
political leaders concluded an
agreement with Czech represem,tat,ives in P.ittsiburgh, May 30, MHS.
By this agreement S1ovakia wa•s to
dbtain an autonomous posit-ion in
the Czecho-Slovalk Republic. La ter
the Czechs under T. G. Masaryk
and EdJWard Benes denownced this
agreement as void and tried to
assimilate the Slovak ethnic group
in to the so-called "Czech-oslovak"
nation. The Pilttsburg.h Agreement,
howe~r, became the poJ.itical credo of the Slovak autonomists under the leadershiip orf iMsgr. Am,dr e<w
Hlinka. Slovak emigrant s of the
period after World War ]I are
almost withoult a-n exception for
complete independenc·e of Slovakia and work intensely for tha t
goal.
Very interesting is the last chapter of Rev. Buc's book which
describes commu,n-islt tactics in re·
lation to Slovak naitona1is,m. During the First Czecho-Slovak Rlepublic the Slovak communist s, though
few in number, were more separatist than the Father IDinka (Catho
lie) P>eople's Party or Rev. Razus'
(Lu,theran) Nationa l P.arty. The
Slovak communists propounded the
idea of coonpl•e te separat ion of
Slovakia from Czecho-Slova'kfa,
while the other two Slovak parties
had for their aim the autonomy
of Slovakia wJthiin, the CzechO-Slo-vak Republic. During the Second
World War the Slovak communisits, apparently with the approval of Moscow, continued to work
their or,i ginal line. Bult when the
idea of a reborn Czecho--SlCl'Vakia
1
preva,iJed in Moscow. the Slovak
communists had to be satisfied
with only a guarantee of autonomy for Slovakia, gramited under
commuruist pressure by President
Dr. Edlward Benes in the Slovak
city of Kosice. Nevertheless, following the communis:t coup d'etat
of 1948, the Ozech communists gradually liquidated Slovak nationalist commun~·sts branding them as
national bourgeois deviationists
aind rescinding all Slovak autonomous pr,erogatives . After 1'948,
cenitralism, stricter than that of
the First Czecho--Slovak Repulblic,
was re-established.
The book of Rev. Bue not only
pro,j ects objective light over Slovak nationalism in its historical
structure, but also gives a pr.aspec t
for a sound solution of the Slovak
question. This solution, in the conclusions of Rev. Bue, is no-thin,g
less tha1n full independence for the
Slovaks within their ethnographic
Boundaries. - T. Z.
Gj~bert L. Oddo: Slovakia and
People, :Robert Speller and
Sons, New York, 1960,. 370 pp. ,
$6.00.
The eyes and ears of the world
are focused as .never before on the
African and! Asiat ic peoples in
their frenzied attempt to !break
encrusted •colonial political patterns and1 asser,t their right of pol i tic al self-determinatio n. That
right is not som•et hing newly conceived iby the no,n .mhite world; the
non -w-hite peoples, however, have
newly disc01Vered it. The right of
self-determinatio n of peoples was
popularized for European peoples
at the peace po,w-wows of 19r118-19.
[n approaching [)r. Oddo's minute history of the Slovak nation,
one should recall that the Slovaks,
like their neighbors in Cen,t ral Eurape, ,t he Sudeter:: Germans, were
among the "little" Il'atio·ns Wils·on
had in mind when he ipropounded
its
�SLOVAKIA
his aims of self-determinatoin, a
worthy cause that was frustrated
by C'hauv,i nis,t exploitation, later
tossed' into the political waste-masket.
iHere we find a long-needed presentation of 11:J.istoric 1b ac~ground
events requisite to the underst1and
ing of the formation ·a nd growth of
Slovakia into a politically conscious ethnic group seeking independence from foreign overlords,
even to the present dlay.
Dr. Oddo shows the emergence
of Great Miorarvia, starting with the
d,3wn of history and moving into
the Christian- era; he tells of the
warring elements that, made tlhe
Slovak country little more than a
battleground for centuries, highlights t he age of !Maria Theresia,
then o.f her son Jioseph I[ and the
influence ·of the Slovak life of his
reforms. One by one Oddo peels
off the coats of legendary myt'h
that have olbscured the true telling of the Slova,k story for de
cades.
Boldly the author daubs his canvas with vivid colors of historical
truth, producing a series of coherent scenes that show a people
tenacious, conscious of pur:pose,
idealistic and proud, slowly bu t
surely emerging from oppression
ar.d imposed servitude into a cohesive political and ehhnic entity.
The talblea ux take the reader on
through tJhe 'Europeon revolution
of '1848 jnto the era of the Dual
Monal"chy, continuing• into the
"tro1.11blous days o.f the '1~20's . . .
and t,he more cha'Otic years of the
30's. We see Slovakia's saga as a
never-ending, torment•ed striving
for ethnic self-eX,pression an,d, poliWhat a
tical se1f-determination.
tragic coin:ciden'Ce that inde-p endence, however short-liv,ed , had to
come -a t a time when National Socialism was to :form its political
back-dro,p, casting unwarranted as-
79
persions on- the aims and methods
of SlO'Vak statesmen.
A£ter the short brea,tJhing s,pell of
rnberty we see the light o.f truth
and freedom quenched again, this
time from the !East. The con'Cluding chapter on Slovak emigration
deals prilJ'Ilarily with the Slovaks
who emigrated to the USA and
tells what they harve been a!ble to
achieve from their new home on
belhalf of their captive fellowcountrymen: "We ask for the Slovak nation ·c omp lete autonomy and
freedom of self-determination both
in the field of politi'cs as well as in
the cultural and' economic !fields.
1
In completing the reading of
Slovakia and its People the reader
chances thes•e
what
won-der.s
dreams h-aive of !fulfillment now
that all unli.berated peoples are on
the march. Will they be forgotten,
over-slhadowed by the dark man's
world,, or will the ,plea for selfdetermination be strengthend, now
that other voi•c es have strengthened, now that other voices have
joon-ed the chorus? - Frances McPoyne.
The Origin of the Name "Slav,"
by J. B. Riudnyc:ky,j, Winnipeg;
Ukrainian Free Acad'emy of S'Ciences (Box 3•597 S,tn. B, Winnipeg
4, Man .) (Onoonastica Series No.
21) Second revised edition, '1961,
24 pages 50c.
'Ilh.e origin of the namie "Slav"
is a controversial swbject as this
b~ief survey shows. In the eight
pages devoted to the topic there
are over a dozen possilble etymological d•erivations of "Slav" summarized.
Pro.f. Rudnycky,j , head of the
University of Manito1b a Slavic Dep:i,r tmen t, originally d,elivered this
survey as a presidential address at
an Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. It was firs t
�80
SLOVAKIA
printed in the June 11960 issue o,f
the journal Names andr is pro'baliYl!Y
the <first such syino,ptic survey in
the 'Englislh language.
All -the most important etyimological d'erivations are summarized.
The first suggested is from trhe
root of slava (,glory), lin which cas•e
the Slavs -are •t he "glorious" people. The second possi!ble exipJ..anation de·r ives it fu-OIIll slovo (rword)
in which case the Slavs were ,t hose
people who spoke an understandable language.
The tlhird explanation is the
topographic or t01Ponyimic (geographic place-name) origin. Sug,gestions fur this source are from an
anrcier..t Slavic capital Slauna, from
a root meaning "hiill, mounliain,"
or another meaning "lowlands."
Another interesting suggestion
is that the common ending "-slav"
in names such as Yarosiav, IMstislav and, My<roslav exipanded into
the nlllIIle of the people. This is
also sugg.ested as the origin of t,he
Englislh word "s1'ave." The Slavic
captives lby repeating their n.ames
may 'hav,e clearly impressed the
common 1atter part orf their captors.
'Ptrofessor iRudnyrckyj concludes
that there is no unanimous agreement on the etymology of the
word "SfaN" although the topographic ex;planation seems to be
the most convincing. Howeiver, th,e
derivation from slovo (rword) is
sti-Il :possiible.
It may be mentioned tha K.
Mos7JYnski lin Original Extension
of the Pre-Slavic !Language (Wroclaw: IPolrish Arcademy of S'Cienc.es,
1'957) S'llg,g ests yet another view
not touched on in this survey. iHe
derives a .torpogr,aiphic view from
the name given by ,northerners
"to the drwellers of 'orpen fields' "
(page 145), implying "dear' 'or
'clean" 'from the sunny open
steppe of Uikraine.
He gives this etymology: from
the "Lart in cluo ([ clean.), Greeik kluzo (I wash, purge) kludon (striking
orf waves), Old !High German hl11t•
tar (clean, clear), Old iNordiic hler
(lake, sea.), Litlhuanfan slavu, sluoti (to rweep (originally to clean,
compare the Slav wo,rd cistiti,
which in Uikrainian, Bulgarian and
Serbo..Croat asswmed a secondary
meaning 'to sweep')" (from page
13·9.)
In the English language the
word "Slav" has been used i nm-any
forms•. llt has finaUy distilled down
to three interchangeaible forms :
Slaiv, Sla'Vlic, and Slavonic. The (Proressor's consistent use of "Slavic"
in ,t he text indicates his preference "Slavonic" is used 1Inostly in
En,gl'and.
A useful featUTe of Pro!essor
Rudnyrckiyj's monograph is the extensive list of lbi!bliogrruphical footnotes. This will guide the situdent
to a wealth o'f sourees on the s-wbject.
Mso includ•e d in this Onoma-stica issue is an ar,ti:cle, "Ten Years
of Onomastaica {100lel961i)'' by M.
H. Scargill. It is a history of this
toip'O and anthrorponyimic series
edited, ·tiwice a ye•ar 1b y J. B. Rudn,yckyj .
Although brief, this survey is
a real contrilbution !bercause it
makes avaiilaible to the !English
read'er the !basic tlheories on the
origin of the word "S1av." otherwise they would lbe inaccess1ble
to him. -It is an important step in
eliminating ,part of the prevailing
ignoranrce, in -the western world,
o,f the !Slavs. Andrew Gregorovich, IM!ClMiaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
,(iEditor's Note: See rDr. Henrich
Bartelk's "The Origin of 'Slovan'
and 'Slovak'" in SWI\I\AlKlliA, June
'1958.)
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presicent3
Michael
Msgr. F . J. Dubosh, P.A.
Sas
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Peter P. H letko
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia Rd ., Box 48
Warrensville, III.
George Kantor
President
Philip A. Hrobak
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York 61, N. Y.
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Joseph Bendik
John
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Julia Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 \V. 18th Street
Chicago 8. Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Paul C. Kazim er
1122 Sy! van Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
:-.'atinnal President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Fallat
:-.'alional Presiden:
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Anna
Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
Andrew Hudak
15701 Bennett Rd.
:-So. Royalton 33, Ohio
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slov;ik League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSK.A. JEDNOTA
Middletown. Pa.
Sr-ranton. Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Ilarre. Pa.
SLOVENSKE NOVINY
ClevPland. Ohio
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Pa,.salc. N . J .
SVORNOST
OSADNE. HLASY
Whitaker. Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
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Middletown, Pa.
ZORNICKA
�SLOVAKIA: The Castle of Brunovce ( 17th Century)
�
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1961, Vol. 11
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<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 33), March-June 1961.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 34), September-December June 1961.</li>
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1961
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74
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Joseph G. Cincik, Anglo-Saxon and because the present book is
a nd Slovak-Avar Paf!;erns of Cuth- written with the same sicholarly
berth Gospels, Editions Slovak 'Ln- method and knowledge, his am.alystitute, Cleveland, Ohio, Rome,
Italy, 1958, p. 1 24, XW pl.
The kn01wn illuminated ma<nu•
script called the Gospel of Cuthbert ha'S been, Jior a long time a
favoriite olbject of scholarly research and analysis by several owtstanding hlstorians of medfoval
art, such as (T. D. Kendrick, J.
Zykan, J. Strzgowski, H. J. Hermann, G. Slwarzenski, and E. H.
Zimmerman. The Gospel or Codex
is preserved in the State Ubrary
of Vienna', Austria,, and was originally included iin the rare illuminated Codices categorized by arthistories under the general title
''The Insular Book Illuminiations"
wrich are believed to be of insular
Anglo-Saxcm onigin.
Some modern analysts (T. D.
Kendrii'Ck, J. Zyikan) noted that
non- Anglo,Sax:on ornaments in the
Cuthbert Gospel predomina,te over
other Codices iin quantity and they
stressed that in case of the vegetal
or,n aments the irufluence of AlpineDanubian ornamentation was more
than casuaL They did not, however, undertake a more detailed
analysis and did not arrive at any
new conclusions as to the origin
of the non~nglo.;saxon artistic in;fluen~s.
Prof. Cinctk's w@k, his third
book (See: S lovak Ru le r's Sword,
Scranton, Pa., 1947, and Anc ient
1
Slovak Fibu las and Pseudo,Fibu •
las, Chicago, 1,957), pulblished on
the subject of medieval art in the
Oarpathian and Danubian area
w,ithin the last few years, sheds
new Hght on all three prolblems:
the origin, the date, and the nonAnglo,Saxon influences. Since both
previous woriks by Professor Cincik
were farvoraibly received by European as well as American critics
sis and conclusions undou,btedly
desel'Ve to be considered.
A,s Cincilk states in the foreword
to his work, he became interested
in the similarity of the SlovakAivar omamental pa1tterns to those
in the Cuthlbert Gospel duriin,g h1is
studies of the Meroving,i,an and Oarolingian epoch at Vienna in 19351,936. During the turibulent years
of the Second World War he interrwpted his work, but in exile,
during his stay in Bavaria and
Rome, between the years 194511947, he once again took up the
work "on the complicated prolblem
of solvJng the origin of the ornamental elements, the circumstances, and the time of the illuminations of Cuthbert's Gospel."
The resuLts of the author's many
years of study ba,sed on historicalgenetic, geograiphical, ethnic, and
stylo-crJtical analyiSis, are now contained in his book, artistiicalily illustrated either by plates or original drawings made by the author
•h imself. The book undoubtedly
presents highly 'i nteresting scholarly readiin,g and like his previous
works on medi'eval art of the Danulbian and Carpathian basin, it
sheds new lig ht not only on the
illuminations of the Go's pel in
question aind their origin, but also
on many rella ted artistic and ethnic probelms and histori'cal events.
Cin'Cik's approach throughout the
book is that of a highly qualified
historian of medieval art with rare
artistic intuition and solid knowledge of archeology, political history and literature on, the sulbj,ect
in half a dozen a,nrcient and modern languages. To be assured of
the accuracy of his conclusions,
Cincik compared his a,nalysi:s and
synthesis with work's amd docu1
81.-0VAKIA
75
ments of numerous libra.ries air.,d of th-is illuiminated manuscript"
museums suich as the Pontif.ica· (P. 10).
Oriental Institute, the Va1tican
12. Piace of the Origin of the
AJpostolit Library, and the Am,eri
can Alcademy in Rome, the Insti' Gospel:
tute of Medieval Studies of HarHavi,r.,g set the date, Prof. Cincik
vard University, the Ubrary o.f the presents in his analysis a ne•w
Cleve!:and Art Museum, the Art theory atbout the place. "The ornaMuseum Ln Chilca,go, the State Li- menta,t ions point to the ye,a rs of
bracy and Museums in Vienna, Pa- the final destruction of the Avar
ris, Lond·on, etc.
supreml!K!y - says the author Wha,t are the new elements and over Slovak and Sliovenian tri/bes
conclusions of Prof. Cincitk's re- in the A!Jpine a,n<l Danubian researeh and anaiysis?
gion. " There ar,e in ,the Gospel, says
'1. Date of Origin: Several scho • 1Cinicik, contri,bu,ti,ons from the
Jars have dated the Go'spel, on the Slo,vak-Avaric patterns, and the
basis of paleogra.phic evid-em:e, inspirational historical event for
the hand-like and interlaced oma- the Slovak1Avar elements, found
ments and the composiltional in the onniamental parts of the mascheme of illuminations as a pro- nuscript "can be traiced to the
duct emanating from th•e South- grandiose loot of aTtistic ornamenEng,lish monastic scriptoria relat- tal creations hauled out from the
ed to the Merr,cian-NorthJUmlbri'an Canpathian Basin aJfter the defea t
scribaJ pr,a ctice, as being "circa of the Aivars by the armies of
770 A.D.". Cinlcik analysing in de- Chadamagne under his son Pepin
taH the illuminations a,nd the or- and Dutke Erich of Friaulfa.." Acnamerntal elements of the Gospel cording to the judgment of the
has advainiced its date of origin author, the artist 'lwas influenced
"into more devieloped art-forms of during the illumi•n ation work on
the pre•Carolingia,n and early Ca- the Codex by the artistic form-Ian
rolingian art as circa 800 A.D." guage of the above J.oot" and "thus
"Since the paleographical cha,r- from the cohalbit-a tion of the Sloacter of "lettering" in the Codex vaks a-nd Avars in Trans-Danulbia
i.; unique for the date of its ori- we find ,i,r:, the Go,s,pel many ornagin, its iLlumi'nations - especially mentations which prove the Sarthe artistic elements a,n<l style ap- 1ma tian,Slavic arfo:tic continuity.
'Pear indicative of a later period •Pro.£. Cincik condudes that "Cuthsays Prof. Cin!cik. It postdates the 1bert's Gospel stands before us on
Gospel into the last dooade o;f the the threshold of early medieval ar t
eighth century, i,f not slightly pas , in Trans,Da.nubia as a miss,ionary
·heritage of the Ghristianiza.tio,r:. of
800 A.D."
'I1he author sta-tes that the pUlb the Slovaks and Avars during and
lished works a,nd studies albout a±tter the rule of Charlamagne."
Cuthlbert's Gospel initiated by G. He even suggests tha,t the autho r
Swarzenski, H. J. Herman an E of the illumina:tions could als·o b e
H. Zimmerman, together with si- a .r..ative of the Danulbfan and Carmilar findings in the books of E pathi,an region, and holds to the
Herzfeld a,n d Smirnov, and finally view that "this rare Cod·ex played
the keen insight of J. Zy,kan con- am, important role in the beginvinced him "albout the accura cy of ning of the Ohristiaruization of the
his views concerning the historical Slova~s, A,l pine and Pannonic Sloand evoluti'onary appraisal aJbout ivenes and Avars in the period of
the place and time of the mission the strong Omaiad and .A!bba.said
1
76
SLOVAKIA
inf.luem,ces in fine ar.t in the Danubian basin" (IP. 13).
3. Non-Anglo-Saxon Elements:
While other scholars who analyzed the Gospel merely noted
non-Anglo-Saxon elements and ornamental pa,tterns, Pro.f. Ci-ncik
states emphatically that "the Alpine-Danubian character of the ilI,umination's with predominain1t Slovak and Av,aric ornamental elements or with sU'ch ornamentac
local and animal figures in relationship to the contemporary New
Persian Art of the Omaiad and first
Albbaside Ca1ip-hs is indisputalble"
('P. 28). In his view the Cuthlbert
Gospel "thus adorned predominantly with Slovak and Avaric elements, had a direct, distinct and
psychological ef.fect on the acti,vity
of the priest - missionaries coming from Sal:dburg region to the
inhabita,n,ts whose ornamentation
was used by the illuminator in the
book illustrations of the Gospel."
(p. 64').
Cincik builds this conclusion,
which at first glance could seem
nationalisti'c, on a thorough study
of ornamenta~ elements which illustrate the book, as well as on,
the histor,really proven presence
of Irish missi:onaries among the
Slovaks a,n d Slovenes during the
reign of Ohadamagne. These missionaries must have been familiar
not only with the local dialects
o·f the Slovaks, Slovenes, Moravians, and Avars, but they also understood the local morphology of
the pagian symlbolism. "Thus," ac•
cording to Prof. Cincik, "the .illumin,ating p.'.llbterns brou•g ht to the
Sal21burg area from the 'South
EngLish Schools' even though insular, served as a sample to the
illumina-tor of Outhlbert's GospeJ.,
OJ!, the basis of the relationship between VirgibA.l.cuin-iArno (the latter was arch/bishop of the area).
Likewise, elements of the local
artistic form and the symlbolic
language of S'lovak and Avaric art
were at his disposal after the defeat of the Avars." (ip. 86).
Besides ornamental element's and
patterns, the color schemes aJso
are, aocording to 01nlcik's ana-lysis, "completel,y different." "The
lively, fiery coioring,' 'says Cincik,
"nowhere f.ades in the iUuminations of the Gospel and it thus testifies to the permanent and basic
temper o;f the illuminator. It verifiles also that it was neither of Angl~axon nor perhaips e,v en Thankish or Italian origin. A continuous effort to mafotai'n a wide sca'1e
of v,iviid colors sponta.neousJ.y
points to the taste and· sen'se of
priJIDa,r y colors used at that time
by !:he local population" (p. 89).
'IH)a,v ing considered these facts,"
Prof. Oincik writes on, the last
page o;f h<is work, "together with
the Anglo,Saxon ornamental influence and the prevalent elemental
trace's and colorisan, we condude
that the art of Cuth!bel't's Gospel
•is purposely that of the ancient
Slovak and Arv.ari'c or,niamenrtal art
sty,lization."
"With many characteristics of
Caroling-ian and local art style in
the Middle~,anuJbia,n region, Cuthbert's Gospel sta.nds out as Romianesque Slovak art at the daJWn of
the early medieval period. As such,
i't is not only an imipol'tant histor,ical and cultural heritage of the
Anglo.Saxon missions d-uring the
time of Charlemagne in the Ela-stern Alps, but al,so a famous and
outs~ding artisti•c relic testifying
to the decorative art style develop•ed in the Slovak Christian
pr,irncipalities, the ca,p itals of whi~h
we r e Nitm and the !Bannoniain, Blatnohrad after the year 800 A.D. M:
is an art remruant developed by
signiifa:ant hii:s.torical events at the
begi.nning o.f the filrst half of the
ninth century which witnessed a
gradual Christianrizaition of Slovakian pr,incipa,Mies in Slovakd:a pro-
SLOVAKIA
per, Morarvia, and the Slavs in
_general around the Carpa,t hian Ba.sin, a;nd terminated later in a
Great Moravian Empire and in the
.apostolic activity of SS. Cyril and
Method1us ... "
Pmf. Cincilk corrOlborates his
conclusions and ·suggestions w~th
23 pages of illustraitions. He also
refer,s to many works of outstandr
ing EurQPean aind American scholars in the fileld oif the history of
art, ar-cheology, paleography, and
cu1tural history. Some scholars at
Central European universities ha'Ve
en<thusi>astilcaJ:ly accepted• Oincilk's
study and its coniclusions. If generally accepted by exper,ts in mediev-al art history, Cincik's work will
meain. for Slarvic studies a new important and: valualble contriibution.
:Some of the conclusions are unnecessarily repeated in the book
and the awthor is inconsistent
when using the ,n;a,me Olf the Gospel (Curt!hlberts or Cuthlbert?) as
well as the term Arvar or Avaric.
Seveml chapters of the book do
not directly refer to the Gospel
but make the text and the author'o
conclusions easi'er to understand
and to aocept. The teX!t would indicate that i>t is a translation from
Slovak or other European language
and sometimes quite far from perfect English. An ilmpressive bibliogr,aiphy and a great number of
references in footnotes prove that
Prof. Oincik took his task seriously.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Uni:Versilty oif Mlo-ntreaJ.
Rev. B. S. Bue, OJF.IM., Ph.ID.:
Slovak Nationalism; published by
the Slovak League oif America,
M1dd<letawn, Pa., 1960; pp. 67.
This book is the aurthor's thesis for his Mlasber Degree in Political Science a,t the Uni'ver,s ity of
Pittsburgh. The a~eptance of a
thesfa by a University Falculty ilmplies that the swbm'itted work is
77
serious, well documented, and written in a solid way. '!1his work of
the Rev. Bue has all these qualities.
The author first discusses the history oif Slovak nationalism a,s it
had developed under the influence
of Enlightenmen1t and Roonanticism in the Aiustro-iHungarian Monarchy, until, in the middle -Orf
the pa,s t century, it ac,q uired definite political fol"ms. In the old
Monarchy the Slo,vak-s struggled
f •o r
nati'on,a,1
self.,presewa-tion
a,g ain'st the offilcial trend of magy,arizati-on. J!l'om 19.1.8, when the
FJrst Czecho-Slovak Republic was
estalblished, until 1009 they had to
defend their distinct national character against the so-called 'ICzecho-Slovruc i'dea," the offiicial trend
of the Prague governmemrt to assimilate the Slov,aiks into the Czech
ethnic growp. The proclamarti-on of
the Slovak Rerpu'blic in M<arch,
19319, is considered· by the awthor
as a logical conclusion of Slov-a!k
national aspirati1ons.
Rev. Bue defends Slovak nation.al aspiraUons ag,a inst the all•e·
gations oif anti,Slcwak political enemies who claim that the Slovaks
with their na1tionalism have been
a des-trucfone elemenrt in the Danwbian Basin. He proves that the
Slova'ks defended their un.al~ena1ble
rights for their own nartional life
wi'thiin the poli:tical entity in which
they Hved, filr-s t in A'll'!>tro-,Hung,ary, and then in Czecho,Slovakia. OnJy when these political en•
tities were destroyed in coniflicts
of the great power block,s, the Slova!ks took the opportunity to improve their nartional position in a
new un~t, namely in Czecho-Slovakia (19118), and then, ◊1939) in thefr
indeipendent Slovak Repulblic.
•I n the develQpment of Slovak
national consciousness and in the
struggle for th·e improV'e'IDem.t of
the Sliovak politilcal position, a
prominent role wa,s played by
SLOVAKIA
78
Slovak emigrants, particularly by
those in the U. S. A. American
Slovaks, toget her with American
Czechs, took an active part in
fighting against the Hapsburg
Monarchy. To saifeguard Slovak .r.iational rights in the commoniwealt:i
oi Czechs arnd Slovaks which was
to come into ex.istence under the
name of Czecho-Sl.ovakfa, Slovak
political leaders concluded an
agreement with Czech represem,tat,ives in P.ittsiburgh, May 30, MHS.
By this agreement S1ovakia wa•s to
dbtain an autonomous posit-ion in
the Czecho-Slovalk Republic. La ter
the Czechs under T. G. Masaryk
and EdJWard Benes denownced this
agreement as void and tried to
assimilate the Slovak ethnic group
in to the so-called "Czech-oslovak"
nation. The Pilttsburg.h Agreement,
howe~r, became the poJ.itical credo of the Slovak autonomists under the leadershiip orf iMsgr. Am,dr e<w
Hlinka. Slovak emigrant s of the
period after World War ]I are
almost withoult a-n exception for
complete independenc·e of Slovakia and work intensely for tha t
goal.
Very interesting is the last chapter of Rev. Buc's book which
describes commu,n-islt tactics in re·
lation to Slovak naitona1is,m. During the First Czecho-Slovak Rlepublic the Slovak communist s, though
few in number, were more separatist than the Father IDinka (Catho
lie) P>eople's Party or Rev. Razus'
(Lu,theran) Nationa l P.arty. The
Slovak communists propounded the
idea of coonpl•e te separat ion of
Slovakia from Czecho-Slova'kfa,
while the other two Slovak parties
had for their aim the autonomy
of Slovakia wJthiin, the CzechO-Slo-vak Republic. During the Second
World War the Slovak communisits, apparently with the approval of Moscow, continued to work
their or,i ginal line. Bult when the
idea of a reborn Czecho--SlCl'Vakia
1
preva,iJed in Moscow. the Slovak
communists had to be satisfied
with only a guarantee of autonomy for Slovakia, gramited under
commuruist pressure by President
Dr. Edlward Benes in the Slovak
city of Kosice. Nevertheless, following the communis:t coup d'etat
of 1948, the Ozech communists gradually liquidated Slovak nationalist commun~·sts branding them as
national bourgeois deviationists
aind rescinding all Slovak autonomous pr,erogatives . After 1'948,
cenitralism, stricter than that of
the First Czecho--Slovak Repulblic,
was re-established.
The book of Rev. Bue not only
pro,j ects objective light over Slovak nationalism in its historical
structure, but also gives a pr.aspec t
for a sound solution of the Slovak
question. This solution, in the conclusions of Rev. Bue, is no-thin,g
less tha1n full independence for the
Slovaks within their ethnographic
Boundaries. - T. Z.
Gj~bert L. Oddo: Slovakia and
People, :Robert Speller and
Sons, New York, 1960,. 370 pp. ,
$6.00.
The eyes and ears of the world
are focused as .never before on the
African and! Asiat ic peoples in
their frenzied attempt to !break
encrusted •colonial political patterns and1 asser,t their right of pol i tic al self-determinatio n. That
right is not som•et hing newly conceived iby the no,n .mhite world; the
non -w-hite peoples, however, have
newly disc01Vered it. The right of
self-determinatio n of peoples was
popularized for European peoples
at the peace po,w-wows of 19r118-19.
[n approaching [)r. Oddo's minute history of the Slovak nation,
one should recall that the Slovaks,
like their neighbors in Cen,t ral Eurape, ,t he Sudeter:: Germans, were
among the "little" Il'atio·ns Wils·on
had in mind when he ipropounded
its
SLOVAKIA
his aims of self-determinatoin, a
worthy cause that was frustrated
by C'hauv,i nis,t exploitation, later
tossed' into the political waste-masket.
iHere we find a long-needed presentation of 11:J.istoric 1b ac~ground
events requisite to the underst1and
ing of the formation ·a nd growth of
Slovakia into a politically conscious ethnic group seeking independence from foreign overlords,
even to the present dlay.
Dr. Oddo shows the emergence
of Great Miorarvia, starting with the
d,3wn of history and moving into
the Christian- era; he tells of the
warring elements that, made tlhe
Slovak country little more than a
battleground for centuries, highlights t he age of !Maria Theresia,
then o.f her son Jioseph I[ and the
influence ·of the Slovak life of his
reforms. One by one Oddo peels
off the coats of legendary myt'h
that have olbscured the true telling of the Slova,k story for de
cades.
Boldly the author daubs his canvas with vivid colors of historical
truth, producing a series of coherent scenes that show a people
tenacious, conscious of pur:pose,
idealistic and proud, slowly bu t
surely emerging from oppression
ar.d imposed servitude into a cohesive political and ehhnic entity.
The talblea ux take the reader on
through tJhe 'Europeon revolution
of '1848 jnto the era of the Dual
Monal"chy, continuing• into the
"tro1.11blous days o.f the '1~20's . . .
and t,he more cha'Otic years of the
30's. We see Slovakia's saga as a
never-ending, torment•ed striving
for ethnic self-eX,pression an,d, poliWhat a
tical se1f-determination.
tragic coin:ciden'Ce that inde-p endence, however short-liv,ed , had to
come -a t a time when National Socialism was to :form its political
back-dro,p, casting unwarranted as-
79
persions on- the aims and methods
of SlO'Vak statesmen.
A£ter the short brea,tJhing s,pell of
rnberty we see the light o.f truth
and freedom quenched again, this
time from the !East. The con'Cluding chapter on Slovak emigration
deals prilJ'Ilarily with the Slovaks
who emigrated to the USA and
tells what they harve been a!ble to
achieve from their new home on
belhalf of their captive fellowcountrymen: "We ask for the Slovak nation ·c omp lete autonomy and
freedom of self-determination both
in the field of politi'cs as well as in
the cultural and' economic !fields.
1
In completing the reading of
Slovakia and its People the reader
chances thes•e
what
won-der.s
dreams h-aive of !fulfillment now
that all unli.berated peoples are on
the march. Will they be forgotten,
over-slhadowed by the dark man's
world,, or will the ,plea for selfdetermination be strengthend, now
that other voi•c es have strengthened, now that other voices have
joon-ed the chorus? - Frances McPoyne.
The Origin of the Name "Slav,"
by J. B. Riudnyc:ky,j, Winnipeg;
Ukrainian Free Acad'emy of S'Ciences (Box 3•597 S,tn. B, Winnipeg
4, Man .) (Onoonastica Series No.
21) Second revised edition, '1961,
24 pages 50c.
'Ilh.e origin of the namie "Slav"
is a controversial swbject as this
b~ief survey shows. In the eight
pages devoted to the topic there
are over a dozen possilble etymological d•erivations of "Slav" summarized.
Pro.f. Rudnycky,j , head of the
University of Manito1b a Slavic Dep:i,r tmen t, originally d,elivered this
survey as a presidential address at
an Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. It was firs t
80
SLOVAKIA
printed in the June 11960 issue o,f
the journal Names andr is pro'baliYl!Y
the <first such syino,ptic survey in
the 'Englislh language.
All -the most important etyimological d'erivations are summarized.
The first suggested is from trhe
root of slava (,glory), lin which cas•e
the Slavs -are •t he "glorious" people. The second possi!ble exipJ..anation de·r ives it fu-OIIll slovo (rword)
in which case the Slavs were ,t hose
people who spoke an understandable language.
The tlhird explanation is the
topographic or t01Ponyimic (geographic place-name) origin. Sug,gestions fur this source are from an
anrcier..t Slavic capital Slauna, from
a root meaning "hiill, mounliain,"
or another meaning "lowlands."
Another interesting suggestion
is that the common ending "-slav"
in names such as Yarosiav, IMstislav and, My<roslav exipanded into
the nlllIIle of the people. This is
also sugg.ested as the origin of t,he
Englislh word "s1'ave." The Slavic
captives lby repeating their n.ames
may 'hav,e clearly impressed the
common 1atter part orf their captors.
'Ptrofessor iRudnyrckyj concludes
that there is no unanimous agreement on the etymology of the
word "SfaN" although the topographic ex;planation seems to be
the most convincing. Howeiver, th,e
derivation from slovo (rword) is
sti-Il :possiible.
It may be mentioned tha K.
Mos7JYnski lin Original Extension
of the Pre-Slavic !Language (Wroclaw: IPolrish Arcademy of S'Cienc.es,
1'957) S'llg,g ests yet another view
not touched on in this survey. iHe
derives a .torpogr,aiphic view from
the name given by ,northerners
"to the drwellers of 'orpen fields' "
(page 145), implying "dear' 'or
'clean" 'from the sunny open
steppe of Uikraine.
He gives this etymology: from
the "Lart in cluo ([ clean.), Greeik kluzo (I wash, purge) kludon (striking
orf waves), Old !High German hl11t•
tar (clean, clear), Old iNordiic hler
(lake, sea.), Litlhuanfan slavu, sluoti (to rweep (originally to clean,
compare the Slav wo,rd cistiti,
which in Uikrainian, Bulgarian and
Serbo..Croat asswmed a secondary
meaning 'to sweep')" (from page
13·9.)
In the English language the
word "Slav" has been used i nm-any
forms•. llt has finaUy distilled down
to three interchangeaible forms :
Slaiv, Sla'Vlic, and Slavonic. The (Proressor's consistent use of "Slavic"
in ,t he text indicates his preference "Slavonic" is used 1Inostly in
En,gl'and.
A useful featUTe of Pro!essor
Rudnyrckiyj's monograph is the extensive list of lbi!bliogrruphical footnotes. This will guide the situdent
to a wealth o'f sourees on the s-wbject.
Mso includ•e d in this Onoma-stica issue is an ar,ti:cle, "Ten Years
of Onomastaica {100lel961i)'' by M.
H. Scargill. It is a history of this
toip'O and anthrorponyimic series
edited, ·tiwice a ye•ar 1b y J. B. Rudn,yckyj .
Although brief, this survey is
a real contrilbution !bercause it
makes avaiilaible to the !English
read'er the !basic tlheories on the
origin of the word "S1av." otherwise they would lbe inaccess1ble
to him. -It is an important step in
eliminating ,part of the prevailing
ignoranrce, in -the western world,
o,f the !Slavs. Andrew Gregorovich, IM!ClMiaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
,(iEditor's Note: See rDr. Henrich
Bartelk's "The Origin of 'Slovan'
and 'Slovak'" in SWI\I\AlKlliA, June
'1958.)
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presicent3
Michael
Msgr. F . J. Dubosh, P.A.
Sas
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Peter P. H letko
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia Rd ., Box 48
Warrensville, III.
George Kantor
President
Philip A. Hrobak
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York 61, N. Y.
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-Presidents
Joseph Bendik
John
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Julia Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 \V. 18th Street
Chicago 8. Ill.
National President
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Secretary-Treasurer
Stephen J. Tkach
Paul C. Kazim er
1122 Sy! van Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
:-.'atinnal President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Paul
Fallat
:-.'alional Presiden:
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Anna
Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
Andrew Hudak
15701 Bennett Rd.
:-So. Royalton 33, Ohio
National President
Slovak Catholic Cadet Union
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slov;ik League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSK.A. JEDNOTA
Middletown. Pa.
Sr-ranton. Pa.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Ilarre. Pa.
SLOVENSKE NOVINY
ClevPland. Ohio
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
Pa,.salc. N . J .
SVORNOST
OSADNE. HLASY
Whitaker. Pa.
Chicago, Ill.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Middletown, Pa.
ZORNICKA
SLOVAKIA: The Castle of Brunovce ( 17th Century)
Dublin Core
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Title
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Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 11, No. 1 (33)
Description
An account of the resource
includes book reviews, pp. 74-80, and photo of Castle of Brunovce, back cover
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March-June 1961
-
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Text
SLOVAKIA
43
COMMUNIST ILLUSION AND DEMOCRATIC REALITY
By J. Edgar Hoover,
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(tAd•a pted from article preipared for memibers of the
National Strategy S•eminar)
A five-year study of the conduct of American prisoners of war during the Korean conflict was made by the
United States Army. This study disclosed that there was,
in the morale of American prisoners of war, a breakdown
which reached disturbing proportions. Almost one out of
every three American prisoners of war collaborated to
some degree with the communists. This colla'boration included broadcasting anti-American propaganda, writing
articles praising life under communism, "con.fessing" to
the use of germ warfare, an\d signing peace appeals and
other communist petitions. Our soldiers informed on one
andther and fraternized with the enemy. The death of
some American prisoners could have been prevented if
they had not been completely neglected by their fellow
captives. Not one American prisoner of war succeeded in
escaping. Some even chose to remain in Communist China
rather than return to the United States. That American
military personnel collaborated alt aH is difficult to understand. Even more disturbing are the extent of the collaboration and the casual attitude of those who were guilty.
As a result of the study, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in August, 1955, promulgalteld for members of the
Armed Forces a Code of Conduct specifying the duties and
obligations of our fighting men. The report of the special
committee which had recommended the adoption of tih!s
.code pointedly noted:
"The uninformed P.0.W.'s were up against it. They
couldn't answer arguments in favor of communism with
arguments in favor of Americanism because they knew
very little a<bout their America ... "
The report concluded that our Armed Forces had not
adequately prepared their men for the rigors of commu •
nist indoctrination. It lookeld behind this failure, however,
and stressed that our homes, schools, churches, and pa-
�44
SLOVAKIA
triotic organizations must also assume greater responsibility in educating Americans in the principles which un,
derlie our way of life. The importance of such an affirr;.a.tive long-range educational program is borne out by the
special committee's finding that, in many cases, our fighting men were at a disadvantage because they knew less
about the ideals and traditions of their own country, than
did their communist interrogators.
The behavior of these prisoners of war was less an
individual failure than it was an indictment of our entire
society which had not prepared them adequately for their
head-on collision with communist indoctrination. All Americans must share some responsibility for the conduct of
these prisoners of war. More important, we must not ignore this forceful example of the impact of communist
psychological pressures. Our continued survival may well
depend upon the action we take now to insure that all
citizens, not only military personnel, are fortified against
the continuous communist ideological assault.
We can defeat communist ideology and - at the same
time - reinforce the structure of our own form of government by the combined process of exposure and education.
The illusions of communism cannot withstand the
penetrating light of truth. For a number of years, congressional and state investigations of communism, essential for the consideration of legislation, have focused the
pitiless glare of publicity on many phases of communis t
activity. The reports of these investigative bodies are readily availaJble and include detailed information regarding
the activities of the Communist Party, USA, throughout
the country .
The Committee on Un-American Activi·ties United
States House of Representatives, has issued a conveniern~
"Guide to Sulbversive Organizations and Publications."
This is a listing of the various organizations cited by the
Attorney General of the United Sta:tes, as well as other
organiza:tions and publications found by congressional or
state investigative committees to be communist dominated.
The introduction to this publication consists of a brief historical review of communist front group activity, an ex-
�SLOVAKIA
45
1Planation of the methods by which communist front groups
are established, and a set of cniteria to assist in detecting
them.
Some measures of the effectiveness of these investigative committees in exposing the aims, principles, and
methods of communism is indicated by the bitterness and
the intensity of communist attacks upon them, as well as
by the continuous communist campaigns to abolish them.
Former communisbs are a:lso victims of communist
vituperation because of the important role they play in
exposing the true nature of communism. Many of these
persons, after renouncing communism, have testified before courts, administrativ e hearings, and investigative
committees. Through books, articles, and lectures based
on their firsthand knowledge, they have helped to alert
the public. In addition, their testimony has provided valuable evidence which has enabled the Government to prosecute communists who violate our laws. By these actions,
many former communists have not only rehabilitated themselves but have, in the process, made a substantial contribution to the security of all Americans.
Every exposure of communism's false premises, inherent contradictions , deceitful tactics, and empty promises
he'lps to shatter its ideologiical appeal and to fortify aga:inst
its psychological pressures. But, in this struggle for men's
minds, exposure alone is not enough. Exposure must be
complemented by a long-range educational program with
a dual purpose. This program must encompass, not only
a penetrating study of communism, but also a thorough
grounding in ,the basic prindples of our individual freedom under law. This educational program must be designed
to train people to think and to distinguish between truth
and error.
Each year, more colleges are offering courses which
present a critical ana:lysis of tJhe theory and practice of
communism. In at least one college, a course of this type
is compulsory. Books contrasting communism with our
form of government are now being published for our use
in our high schools. This academic instruction can be supplemented by individual study of the wealth of anti-com-
�46
SLOVAKIA
munist material available as well as by participation in
group discussions and public forums. This program of education in communism must not, of course, constitute or be
confused with the advocacy of communist doctrine. It can
and should be limited to a critical study of communist
strategy and tactics and the materialistic philosophy underlying them.
Knowing what communism really is and how it operates will also help us to avoid tJhe danger of confusing
;Communism with legitimate dissent on controversial issues.
Communism feeds on social ferment. On both the local and
national levels, the Communist Parity, USA, is continually
-e ~ploiting social, economic, and political grievances for its
own tadical purposes. For this reason, the "Party line"
will frequently coincide with the views of many non-communists on speci£ic issues. We must not, therefore, indiscriminately la:bel as communists those whose opinions on a
particular question may, on occasion, parallel the official
Party position. We must also guard against the tendency
to characterize as communists those who merely disagree
with us or who advocate unorthodox or unpopular beliefs.
When anyone is erroneously branded a communist,
it not only constitutes an injustice to the individual, but
also helps communism by diffusing the strength of anti-communist forces. In combatting communism, we must be
aware of vigilante action. The responsibilities of citizens
are to be certain of the facts and to report these facts to
the proper authorities.
Knowledge of communism is only the first phase of the
battle. This knowledge must be augmented by a continuous revitalization of our own inherently superior strength
through the prac tical, daily exercise and development of
our American principles. Too frequently, emphasis is
placed on acquiring an understanding only of the me~haniical functions of our Government, such as elections, the
enactment of legislation, or judicial review. ':Dhis knowledge, important as it is, becomes a mere collection of sterile
•facts without a deep appreciation and a continuing awareness of the reason for the very existence of our form of
Government - the freedom of the individual under law.
�47
SLOVAKIA
------------- - -
Without the realization of this f.undamental phJlosophy of
freedom, such basic individual rights as freedom of s,peech,
the press, anld religion are taken for granted. Forgoitten is
man's bitter fight through the centuries to wrest these
freedoms from tyranny.
The exel'cise of these individual freedoms, which we
often take for granted, is largely responsi'ble for our Nation's reputation for getting things done. Many of us have
seen, or have even participated in, programs for community improvement promoted by private organizations and
civic groups. Recognizing a specific problem which required cooperative action, and sparkled by individual initiative, whole communities have organized, for example, to
attract new industry, to eradicate blighted slum areas, to
eliminate racial tensions, or to improve educational opportunities. Public officials, religious leaders, and representatives of business, labor, and the professions, realizing a
common interest, have fused their energies and in many
cases, have literally transformed their commuruties. Signif,i cantly, however, while many of tJhe problems these communities faced were similar, there was no set pattern in
the solutions which were devised.
Just as specific local problems and resources have determined the nature of the response, so too any organized
program to immunize a community against communist penetration must be tailored to prevailing local conditions.
All that is required is imagination, resourcefulness, and
some personal sacrifice coupled with the wi'll to inspire
positive action to combat communism and to strengthen
democracy at the community level.
In the State of Florida, for example, the Bar Association developed a lecture program on the theme of the
advantages of our system over communism. These lectures
are ,g iven to high school students throug,hout the state by
specially trained practicing attorneys. The speakers explain how our Government operates, what must be done to
keep it functioning effectively, and why it is superior to
the Soviet system. All of the lectures given under this program stress the duty of each citizen to interest himself
actively in publi-c affairs. The American Bar Association,
1
�48
SLOVAKIA
in cooperation with the American Heritage Foundation, annually observes Law Day with ceremonies which contrast
the Rule of Law in our country with the rule of fear in
communist nations.
To offset the Communist Party's celebration of May
Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars sponsor an annual
Loyalty Day parade in New York City. At its Indianapolis headquarters, The American Legion maintains an
Americanism Commission, which provides information
about communism to the public.
Individual religious faiths have held training classes
for members of trade-unions who are actively opposing
communist attempts to infiltrate the labor movement. The
interdenominational Foundation for Religious Action in
the Social and Civil Order, of Washington, D. C., has been
organized to stress the importance of religious truth in
the preservation and development of our way of life. Its
goal is to unite all who believe in God in the struggle
against atheistic communism.
'Dhe Assembly of Captive European Nations prepaired
a large photographic exhibit featuring scenes of communist domestic terror and Soviet imperialism. Sponsored
by various organizations, this dramatic exhibition was
sown in a number of our large cities, as well as in cities
abroad. The Freedom Train, which toured the United States
with such documents as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, gave many of our citizens, who would
not ordinarily have had the opportunity, a chance to view
these hallowed symbo'1s of American freedom.
As a public service, many individuals and private organizations prepare, or reprint, and distribute anti-communist literature. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Public Instruction had the Library of Congress prepare a selected annotated bibliography on communism for use by
teachers and students.
Local activity can have far-reaching effects. A group
and undergraduate students decided to capigraduate
of
communist-inspired Seventh World You!th
the
on
talize
in Vienna in 1959. For a year prior to
held
be
to
Festival
college campuses searching for
visited
they
festival,
the
�SLOVAKIA
49
students who could effectively represent the United States
and who were wining to atJtend. They di,s tri'buted pamphlets outlining the communist background of this and previous festivals, as weH as booklets of facts and figures on
issues which communist propaganda has been exploiting.
·This group also conducted briefing sessions for the anticommunists who planned to attend. News accounts of the
festival highlighted how the anti-communist American delegates stole the communists' thunder as a result of their
ability to correct the misconceptions and distortions of
American society which have always characterized these
festivals.
Americans, both military and civilian, who are working in or visiting foreign na,tions can play a,n important
role in the struggle against communism. Every citizen
abroad is, in a very real sense, a full-time "ambassador"
not only of our Nation but also of t:he American way of
life. An understanding of and a respect for the rights of
others are fundamental to our concept of individual freedom. This also applies in our dealings with citirens of other
nations regardless of their educational attainments, social
status, or economic level. By exercising his individual freedom in a responsible manner without violating ,the rights
of others, every American traveling abroad can serve as a
forceful example of how our system of government works.
The American aJbroad, by his conduct, can sow positive and
constructive ideas which one day may help to produce a
harvest on which the Free World can grow stronger.
Individual initiative and originality, geared to local action, are the wellsprings by which our system of government is continuously nourished. These examples illustrate
how the moral strength of our Nation is constantly replenished. Programs such as these, infused with a renewed sense
of dedication, should be expanded, coordinated, and continued on a long-range basis.
The importance of local communiities cannot be overemphasized. It is there that social understanding and
growth take root. It is there that education, business, labor, and reHgion take on form and substance to influence,
nourish, vitalize, and give direction to our national life. Lt
�50
SLOVAKIA
is in our local communities that cogent, penetrative thinking should be done now to re-evaluate the position of this
Nation in the present worM crisis. From this constructive
effort can come a decisive contribution to formulating and
carrying out a coordinated, comprehensive, affirmative
global strategy which will insure the supremacy of freedom over a'll types of totalitarianism.
Communism has hurled us a moral challenge. Our response, and the response of free men everywhere, will de-·
.termine whether or not freedom itself survives. It is no
longer suf.ficient for us to adopt the negative approach of
merely reacting defensively to every shift in communist
tactics. We must place greater emphasis on the positive
role which our American way of life can perform in this
struggle.
A CREMATORY is being planned in Braitislava, SloV'akia, according to the d'aily PRAOA. ]t should be ready by the end of 1,963;
the cost: 9 million Crowns; and location: near Vhe present Bratislava cemetery. 11he Reds are happy that finally consideraition has beer:
given "to this modern and scienitific way of burying tihe dead ."
e
•
•
urgent assignments of the oow FiveYear Pla.n 01961,1005) of the Czec'h Communist Party's Cenitral Committee is t!he coimpletion of the huge ]r.ornworks in Kosice, Slovakia.
Blueprints for this "second steel heart" as it is termed by
Praue Reds - was drawn up in the USSR It will be the largest
four.,dry in all Europe and one ·of the ten, largesit works of tts kind
in the world. Et will cost an estimated 10.5 billions Crown,s. Soviet
experts are in charge of construction and operation.
ONIE
OF
THIE
MOST
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
"CZECHOSWVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM"
an expose of the pro-Soviet "National Fronters" in the socalled Council af Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet published by the Slovaik League of America, which
should be read by every one seeking the answer to the
question of how "Czecho-Slovak democracy" converted to a
"people's democracy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to
the SLOVAKIA for your copy today.
�
SLOVAKIA
43
COMMUNIST ILLUSION AND DEMOCRATIC REALITY
By J. Edgar Hoover,
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(tAd•a pted from article preipared for memibers of the
National Strategy S•eminar)
A five-year study of the conduct of American prisoners of war during the Korean conflict was made by the
United States Army. This study disclosed that there was,
in the morale of American prisoners of war, a breakdown
which reached disturbing proportions. Almost one out of
every three American prisoners of war collaborated to
some degree with the communists. This colla'boration included broadcasting anti-American propaganda, writing
articles praising life under communism, "con.fessing" to
the use of germ warfare, an\d signing peace appeals and
other communist petitions. Our soldiers informed on one
andther and fraternized with the enemy. The death of
some American prisoners could have been prevented if
they had not been completely neglected by their fellow
captives. Not one American prisoner of war succeeded in
escaping. Some even chose to remain in Communist China
rather than return to the United States. That American
military personnel collaborated alt aH is difficult to understand. Even more disturbing are the extent of the collaboration and the casual attitude of those who were guilty.
As a result of the study, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in August, 1955, promulgalteld for members of the
Armed Forces a Code of Conduct specifying the duties and
obligations of our fighting men. The report of the special
committee which had recommended the adoption of tih!s
.code pointedly noted:
"The uninformed P.0.W.'s were up against it. They
couldn't answer arguments in favor of communism with
arguments in favor of Americanism because they knew
very little a<bout their America ... "
The report concluded that our Armed Forces had not
adequately prepared their men for the rigors of commu •
nist indoctrination. It lookeld behind this failure, however,
and stressed that our homes, schools, churches, and pa-
�44
SLOVAKIA
triotic organizations must also assume greater responsibility in educating Americans in the principles which un,
derlie our way of life. The importance of such an affirr;.a.tive long-range educational program is borne out by the
special committee's finding that, in many cases, our fighting men were at a disadvantage because they knew less
about the ideals and traditions of their own country, than
did their communist interrogators.
The behavior of these prisoners of war was less an
individual failure than it was an indictment of our entire
society which had not prepared them adequately for their
head-on collision with communist indoctrination. All Americans must share some responsibility for the conduct of
these prisoners of war. More important, we must not ignore this forceful example of the impact of communist
psychological pressures. Our continued survival may well
depend upon the action we take now to insure that all
citizens, not only military personnel, are fortified against
the continuous communist ideological assault.
We can defeat communist ideology and - at the same
time - reinforce the structure of our own form of government by the combined process of exposure and education.
The illusions of communism cannot withstand the
penetrating light of truth. For a number of years, congressional and state investigations of communism, essential for the consideration of legislation, have focused the
pitiless glare of publicity on many phases of communis t
activity. The reports of these investigative bodies are readily availaJble and include detailed information regarding
the activities of the Communist Party, USA, throughout
the country .
The Committee on Un-American Activi·ties United
States House of Representatives, has issued a conveniern~
"Guide to Sulbversive Organizations and Publications."
This is a listing of the various organizations cited by the
Attorney General of the United Sta:tes, as well as other
organiza:tions and publications found by congressional or
state investigative committees to be communist dominated.
The introduction to this publication consists of a brief historical review of communist front group activity, an ex-
�SLOVAKIA
45
1Planation of the methods by which communist front groups
are established, and a set of cniteria to assist in detecting
them.
Some measures of the effectiveness of these investigative committees in exposing the aims, principles, and
methods of communism is indicated by the bitterness and
the intensity of communist attacks upon them, as well as
by the continuous communist campaigns to abolish them.
Former communisbs are a:lso victims of communist
vituperation because of the important role they play in
exposing the true nature of communism. Many of these
persons, after renouncing communism, have testified before courts, administrativ e hearings, and investigative
committees. Through books, articles, and lectures based
on their firsthand knowledge, they have helped to alert
the public. In addition, their testimony has provided valuable evidence which has enabled the Government to prosecute communists who violate our laws. By these actions,
many former communists have not only rehabilitated themselves but have, in the process, made a substantial contribution to the security of all Americans.
Every exposure of communism's false premises, inherent contradictions , deceitful tactics, and empty promises
he'lps to shatter its ideologiical appeal and to fortify aga:inst
its psychological pressures. But, in this struggle for men's
minds, exposure alone is not enough. Exposure must be
complemented by a long-range educational program with
a dual purpose. This program must encompass, not only
a penetrating study of communism, but also a thorough
grounding in ,the basic prindples of our individual freedom under law. This educational program must be designed
to train people to think and to distinguish between truth
and error.
Each year, more colleges are offering courses which
present a critical ana:lysis of tJhe theory and practice of
communism. In at least one college, a course of this type
is compulsory. Books contrasting communism with our
form of government are now being published for our use
in our high schools. This academic instruction can be supplemented by individual study of the wealth of anti-com-
�46
SLOVAKIA
munist material available as well as by participation in
group discussions and public forums. This program of education in communism must not, of course, constitute or be
confused with the advocacy of communist doctrine. It can
and should be limited to a critical study of communist
strategy and tactics and the materialistic philosophy underlying them.
Knowing what communism really is and how it operates will also help us to avoid tJhe danger of confusing
;Communism with legitimate dissent on controversial issues.
Communism feeds on social ferment. On both the local and
national levels, the Communist Parity, USA, is continually
-e ~ploiting social, economic, and political grievances for its
own tadical purposes. For this reason, the "Party line"
will frequently coincide with the views of many non-communists on speci£ic issues. We must not, therefore, indiscriminately la:bel as communists those whose opinions on a
particular question may, on occasion, parallel the official
Party position. We must also guard against the tendency
to characterize as communists those who merely disagree
with us or who advocate unorthodox or unpopular beliefs.
When anyone is erroneously branded a communist,
it not only constitutes an injustice to the individual, but
also helps communism by diffusing the strength of anti-communist forces. In combatting communism, we must be
aware of vigilante action. The responsibilities of citizens
are to be certain of the facts and to report these facts to
the proper authorities.
Knowledge of communism is only the first phase of the
battle. This knowledge must be augmented by a continuous revitalization of our own inherently superior strength
through the prac tical, daily exercise and development of
our American principles. Too frequently, emphasis is
placed on acquiring an understanding only of the me~haniical functions of our Government, such as elections, the
enactment of legislation, or judicial review. ':Dhis knowledge, important as it is, becomes a mere collection of sterile
•facts without a deep appreciation and a continuing awareness of the reason for the very existence of our form of
Government - the freedom of the individual under law.
�47
SLOVAKIA
------------- - -
Without the realization of this f.undamental phJlosophy of
freedom, such basic individual rights as freedom of s,peech,
the press, anld religion are taken for granted. Forgoitten is
man's bitter fight through the centuries to wrest these
freedoms from tyranny.
The exel'cise of these individual freedoms, which we
often take for granted, is largely responsi'ble for our Nation's reputation for getting things done. Many of us have
seen, or have even participated in, programs for community improvement promoted by private organizations and
civic groups. Recognizing a specific problem which required cooperative action, and sparkled by individual initiative, whole communities have organized, for example, to
attract new industry, to eradicate blighted slum areas, to
eliminate racial tensions, or to improve educational opportunities. Public officials, religious leaders, and representatives of business, labor, and the professions, realizing a
common interest, have fused their energies and in many
cases, have literally transformed their commuruties. Signif,i cantly, however, while many of tJhe problems these communities faced were similar, there was no set pattern in
the solutions which were devised.
Just as specific local problems and resources have determined the nature of the response, so too any organized
program to immunize a community against communist penetration must be tailored to prevailing local conditions.
All that is required is imagination, resourcefulness, and
some personal sacrifice coupled with the wi'll to inspire
positive action to combat communism and to strengthen
democracy at the community level.
In the State of Florida, for example, the Bar Association developed a lecture program on the theme of the
advantages of our system over communism. These lectures
are ,g iven to high school students throug,hout the state by
specially trained practicing attorneys. The speakers explain how our Government operates, what must be done to
keep it functioning effectively, and why it is superior to
the Soviet system. All of the lectures given under this program stress the duty of each citizen to interest himself
actively in publi-c affairs. The American Bar Association,
1
�48
SLOVAKIA
in cooperation with the American Heritage Foundation, annually observes Law Day with ceremonies which contrast
the Rule of Law in our country with the rule of fear in
communist nations.
To offset the Communist Party's celebration of May
Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars sponsor an annual
Loyalty Day parade in New York City. At its Indianapolis headquarters, The American Legion maintains an
Americanism Commission, which provides information
about communism to the public.
Individual religious faiths have held training classes
for members of trade-unions who are actively opposing
communist attempts to infiltrate the labor movement. The
interdenominational Foundation for Religious Action in
the Social and Civil Order, of Washington, D. C., has been
organized to stress the importance of religious truth in
the preservation and development of our way of life. Its
goal is to unite all who believe in God in the struggle
against atheistic communism.
'Dhe Assembly of Captive European Nations prepaired
a large photographic exhibit featuring scenes of communist domestic terror and Soviet imperialism. Sponsored
by various organizations, this dramatic exhibition was
sown in a number of our large cities, as well as in cities
abroad. The Freedom Train, which toured the United States
with such documents as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, gave many of our citizens, who would
not ordinarily have had the opportunity, a chance to view
these hallowed symbo'1s of American freedom.
As a public service, many individuals and private organizations prepare, or reprint, and distribute anti-communist literature. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Public Instruction had the Library of Congress prepare a selected annotated bibliography on communism for use by
teachers and students.
Local activity can have far-reaching effects. A group
and undergraduate students decided to capigraduate
of
communist-inspired Seventh World You!th
the
on
talize
in Vienna in 1959. For a year prior to
held
be
to
Festival
college campuses searching for
visited
they
festival,
the
�SLOVAKIA
49
students who could effectively represent the United States
and who were wining to atJtend. They di,s tri'buted pamphlets outlining the communist background of this and previous festivals, as weH as booklets of facts and figures on
issues which communist propaganda has been exploiting.
·This group also conducted briefing sessions for the anticommunists who planned to attend. News accounts of the
festival highlighted how the anti-communist American delegates stole the communists' thunder as a result of their
ability to correct the misconceptions and distortions of
American society which have always characterized these
festivals.
Americans, both military and civilian, who are working in or visiting foreign na,tions can play a,n important
role in the struggle against communism. Every citizen
abroad is, in a very real sense, a full-time "ambassador"
not only of our Nation but also of t:he American way of
life. An understanding of and a respect for the rights of
others are fundamental to our concept of individual freedom. This also applies in our dealings with citirens of other
nations regardless of their educational attainments, social
status, or economic level. By exercising his individual freedom in a responsible manner without violating ,the rights
of others, every American traveling abroad can serve as a
forceful example of how our system of government works.
The American aJbroad, by his conduct, can sow positive and
constructive ideas which one day may help to produce a
harvest on which the Free World can grow stronger.
Individual initiative and originality, geared to local action, are the wellsprings by which our system of government is continuously nourished. These examples illustrate
how the moral strength of our Nation is constantly replenished. Programs such as these, infused with a renewed sense
of dedication, should be expanded, coordinated, and continued on a long-range basis.
The importance of local communiities cannot be overemphasized. It is there that social understanding and
growth take root. It is there that education, business, labor, and reHgion take on form and substance to influence,
nourish, vitalize, and give direction to our national life. Lt
�50
SLOVAKIA
is in our local communities that cogent, penetrative thinking should be done now to re-evaluate the position of this
Nation in the present worM crisis. From this constructive
effort can come a decisive contribution to formulating and
carrying out a coordinated, comprehensive, affirmative
global strategy which will insure the supremacy of freedom over a'll types of totalitarianism.
Communism has hurled us a moral challenge. Our response, and the response of free men everywhere, will de-·
.termine whether or not freedom itself survives. It is no
longer suf.ficient for us to adopt the negative approach of
merely reacting defensively to every shift in communist
tactics. We must place greater emphasis on the positive
role which our American way of life can perform in this
struggle.
A CREMATORY is being planned in Braitislava, SloV'akia, according to the d'aily PRAOA. ]t should be ready by the end of 1,963;
the cost: 9 million Crowns; and location: near Vhe present Bratislava cemetery. 11he Reds are happy that finally consideraition has beer:
given "to this modern and scienitific way of burying tihe dead ."
e
•
•
urgent assignments of the oow FiveYear Pla.n 01961,1005) of the Czec'h Communist Party's Cenitral Committee is t!he coimpletion of the huge ]r.ornworks in Kosice, Slovakia.
Blueprints for this "second steel heart" as it is termed by
Praue Reds - was drawn up in the USSR It will be the largest
four.,dry in all Europe and one ·of the ten, largesit works of tts kind
in the world. Et will cost an estimated 10.5 billions Crown,s. Soviet
experts are in charge of construction and operation.
ONIE
OF
THIE
MOST
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
"CZECHOSWVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM"
an expose of the pro-Soviet "National Fronters" in the socalled Council af Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet published by the Slovaik League of America, which
should be read by every one seeking the answer to the
question of how "Czecho-Slovak democracy" converted to a
"people's democracy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to
the SLOVAKIA for your copy today.
�
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
1961, Vol. 11
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 33), March-June 1961.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 34), September-December June 1961.</li>
</ul>
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
1961
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
43
COMMUNIST ILLUSION AND DEMOCRATIC REALITY
By J. Edgar Hoover,
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(tAd•a pted from article preipared for memibers of the
National Strategy S•eminar)
A five-year study of the conduct of American prisoners of war during the Korean conflict was made by the
United States Army. This study disclosed that there was,
in the morale of American prisoners of war, a breakdown
which reached disturbing proportions. Almost one out of
every three American prisoners of war collaborated to
some degree with the communists. This colla'boration included broadcasting anti-American propaganda, writing
articles praising life under communism, "con.fessing" to
the use of germ warfare, an\d signing peace appeals and
other communist petitions. Our soldiers informed on one
andther and fraternized with the enemy. The death of
some American prisoners could have been prevented if
they had not been completely neglected by their fellow
captives. Not one American prisoner of war succeeded in
escaping. Some even chose to remain in Communist China
rather than return to the United States. That American
military personnel collaborated alt aH is difficult to understand. Even more disturbing are the extent of the collaboration and the casual attitude of those who were guilty.
As a result of the study, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in August, 1955, promulgalteld for members of the
Armed Forces a Code of Conduct specifying the duties and
obligations of our fighting men. The report of the special
committee which had recommended the adoption of tih!s
.code pointedly noted:
"The uninformed P.0.W.'s were up against it. They
couldn't answer arguments in favor of communism with
arguments in favor of Americanism because they knew
very little a<bout their America ... "
The report concluded that our Armed Forces had not
adequately prepared their men for the rigors of commu •
nist indoctrination. It lookeld behind this failure, however,
and stressed that our homes, schools, churches, and pa-
44
SLOVAKIA
triotic organizations must also assume greater responsibility in educating Americans in the principles which un,
derlie our way of life. The importance of such an affirr;.a.tive long-range educational program is borne out by the
special committee's finding that, in many cases, our fighting men were at a disadvantage because they knew less
about the ideals and traditions of their own country, than
did their communist interrogators.
The behavior of these prisoners of war was less an
individual failure than it was an indictment of our entire
society which had not prepared them adequately for their
head-on collision with communist indoctrination. All Americans must share some responsibility for the conduct of
these prisoners of war. More important, we must not ignore this forceful example of the impact of communist
psychological pressures. Our continued survival may well
depend upon the action we take now to insure that all
citizens, not only military personnel, are fortified against
the continuous communist ideological assault.
We can defeat communist ideology and - at the same
time - reinforce the structure of our own form of government by the combined process of exposure and education.
The illusions of communism cannot withstand the
penetrating light of truth. For a number of years, congressional and state investigations of communism, essential for the consideration of legislation, have focused the
pitiless glare of publicity on many phases of communis t
activity. The reports of these investigative bodies are readily availaJble and include detailed information regarding
the activities of the Communist Party, USA, throughout
the country .
The Committee on Un-American Activi·ties United
States House of Representatives, has issued a conveniern~
"Guide to Sulbversive Organizations and Publications."
This is a listing of the various organizations cited by the
Attorney General of the United Sta:tes, as well as other
organiza:tions and publications found by congressional or
state investigative committees to be communist dominated.
The introduction to this publication consists of a brief historical review of communist front group activity, an ex-
SLOVAKIA
45
1Planation of the methods by which communist front groups
are established, and a set of cniteria to assist in detecting
them.
Some measures of the effectiveness of these investigative committees in exposing the aims, principles, and
methods of communism is indicated by the bitterness and
the intensity of communist attacks upon them, as well as
by the continuous communist campaigns to abolish them.
Former communisbs are a:lso victims of communist
vituperation because of the important role they play in
exposing the true nature of communism. Many of these
persons, after renouncing communism, have testified before courts, administrativ e hearings, and investigative
committees. Through books, articles, and lectures based
on their firsthand knowledge, they have helped to alert
the public. In addition, their testimony has provided valuable evidence which has enabled the Government to prosecute communists who violate our laws. By these actions,
many former communists have not only rehabilitated themselves but have, in the process, made a substantial contribution to the security of all Americans.
Every exposure of communism's false premises, inherent contradictions , deceitful tactics, and empty promises
he'lps to shatter its ideologiical appeal and to fortify aga:inst
its psychological pressures. But, in this struggle for men's
minds, exposure alone is not enough. Exposure must be
complemented by a long-range educational program with
a dual purpose. This program must encompass, not only
a penetrating study of communism, but also a thorough
grounding in ,the basic prindples of our individual freedom under law. This educational program must be designed
to train people to think and to distinguish between truth
and error.
Each year, more colleges are offering courses which
present a critical ana:lysis of tJhe theory and practice of
communism. In at least one college, a course of this type
is compulsory. Books contrasting communism with our
form of government are now being published for our use
in our high schools. This academic instruction can be supplemented by individual study of the wealth of anti-com-
46
SLOVAKIA
munist material available as well as by participation in
group discussions and public forums. This program of education in communism must not, of course, constitute or be
confused with the advocacy of communist doctrine. It can
and should be limited to a critical study of communist
strategy and tactics and the materialistic philosophy underlying them.
Knowing what communism really is and how it operates will also help us to avoid tJhe danger of confusing
;Communism with legitimate dissent on controversial issues.
Communism feeds on social ferment. On both the local and
national levels, the Communist Parity, USA, is continually
-e ~ploiting social, economic, and political grievances for its
own tadical purposes. For this reason, the "Party line"
will frequently coincide with the views of many non-communists on speci£ic issues. We must not, therefore, indiscriminately la:bel as communists those whose opinions on a
particular question may, on occasion, parallel the official
Party position. We must also guard against the tendency
to characterize as communists those who merely disagree
with us or who advocate unorthodox or unpopular beliefs.
When anyone is erroneously branded a communist,
it not only constitutes an injustice to the individual, but
also helps communism by diffusing the strength of anti-communist forces. In combatting communism, we must be
aware of vigilante action. The responsibilities of citizens
are to be certain of the facts and to report these facts to
the proper authorities.
Knowledge of communism is only the first phase of the
battle. This knowledge must be augmented by a continuous revitalization of our own inherently superior strength
through the prac tical, daily exercise and development of
our American principles. Too frequently, emphasis is
placed on acquiring an understanding only of the me~haniical functions of our Government, such as elections, the
enactment of legislation, or judicial review. ':Dhis knowledge, important as it is, becomes a mere collection of sterile
•facts without a deep appreciation and a continuing awareness of the reason for the very existence of our form of
Government - the freedom of the individual under law.
47
SLOVAKIA
------------- - -
Without the realization of this f.undamental phJlosophy of
freedom, such basic individual rights as freedom of s,peech,
the press, anld religion are taken for granted. Forgoitten is
man's bitter fight through the centuries to wrest these
freedoms from tyranny.
The exel'cise of these individual freedoms, which we
often take for granted, is largely responsi'ble for our Nation's reputation for getting things done. Many of us have
seen, or have even participated in, programs for community improvement promoted by private organizations and
civic groups. Recognizing a specific problem which required cooperative action, and sparkled by individual initiative, whole communities have organized, for example, to
attract new industry, to eradicate blighted slum areas, to
eliminate racial tensions, or to improve educational opportunities. Public officials, religious leaders, and representatives of business, labor, and the professions, realizing a
common interest, have fused their energies and in many
cases, have literally transformed their commuruties. Signif,i cantly, however, while many of tJhe problems these communities faced were similar, there was no set pattern in
the solutions which were devised.
Just as specific local problems and resources have determined the nature of the response, so too any organized
program to immunize a community against communist penetration must be tailored to prevailing local conditions.
All that is required is imagination, resourcefulness, and
some personal sacrifice coupled with the wi'll to inspire
positive action to combat communism and to strengthen
democracy at the community level.
In the State of Florida, for example, the Bar Association developed a lecture program on the theme of the
advantages of our system over communism. These lectures
are ,g iven to high school students throug,hout the state by
specially trained practicing attorneys. The speakers explain how our Government operates, what must be done to
keep it functioning effectively, and why it is superior to
the Soviet system. All of the lectures given under this program stress the duty of each citizen to interest himself
actively in publi-c affairs. The American Bar Association,
1
48
SLOVAKIA
in cooperation with the American Heritage Foundation, annually observes Law Day with ceremonies which contrast
the Rule of Law in our country with the rule of fear in
communist nations.
To offset the Communist Party's celebration of May
Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars sponsor an annual
Loyalty Day parade in New York City. At its Indianapolis headquarters, The American Legion maintains an
Americanism Commission, which provides information
about communism to the public.
Individual religious faiths have held training classes
for members of trade-unions who are actively opposing
communist attempts to infiltrate the labor movement. The
interdenominational Foundation for Religious Action in
the Social and Civil Order, of Washington, D. C., has been
organized to stress the importance of religious truth in
the preservation and development of our way of life. Its
goal is to unite all who believe in God in the struggle
against atheistic communism.
'Dhe Assembly of Captive European Nations prepaired
a large photographic exhibit featuring scenes of communist domestic terror and Soviet imperialism. Sponsored
by various organizations, this dramatic exhibition was
sown in a number of our large cities, as well as in cities
abroad. The Freedom Train, which toured the United States
with such documents as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, gave many of our citizens, who would
not ordinarily have had the opportunity, a chance to view
these hallowed symbo'1s of American freedom.
As a public service, many individuals and private organizations prepare, or reprint, and distribute anti-communist literature. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Public Instruction had the Library of Congress prepare a selected annotated bibliography on communism for use by
teachers and students.
Local activity can have far-reaching effects. A group
and undergraduate students decided to capigraduate
of
communist-inspired Seventh World You!th
the
on
talize
in Vienna in 1959. For a year prior to
held
be
to
Festival
college campuses searching for
visited
they
festival,
the
SLOVAKIA
49
students who could effectively represent the United States
and who were wining to atJtend. They di,s tri'buted pamphlets outlining the communist background of this and previous festivals, as weH as booklets of facts and figures on
issues which communist propaganda has been exploiting.
·This group also conducted briefing sessions for the anticommunists who planned to attend. News accounts of the
festival highlighted how the anti-communist American delegates stole the communists' thunder as a result of their
ability to correct the misconceptions and distortions of
American society which have always characterized these
festivals.
Americans, both military and civilian, who are working in or visiting foreign na,tions can play a,n important
role in the struggle against communism. Every citizen
abroad is, in a very real sense, a full-time "ambassador"
not only of our Nation but also of t:he American way of
life. An understanding of and a respect for the rights of
others are fundamental to our concept of individual freedom. This also applies in our dealings with citirens of other
nations regardless of their educational attainments, social
status, or economic level. By exercising his individual freedom in a responsible manner without violating ,the rights
of others, every American traveling abroad can serve as a
forceful example of how our system of government works.
The American aJbroad, by his conduct, can sow positive and
constructive ideas which one day may help to produce a
harvest on which the Free World can grow stronger.
Individual initiative and originality, geared to local action, are the wellsprings by which our system of government is continuously nourished. These examples illustrate
how the moral strength of our Nation is constantly replenished. Programs such as these, infused with a renewed sense
of dedication, should be expanded, coordinated, and continued on a long-range basis.
The importance of local communiities cannot be overemphasized. It is there that social understanding and
growth take root. It is there that education, business, labor, and reHgion take on form and substance to influence,
nourish, vitalize, and give direction to our national life. Lt
50
SLOVAKIA
is in our local communities that cogent, penetrative thinking should be done now to re-evaluate the position of this
Nation in the present worM crisis. From this constructive
effort can come a decisive contribution to formulating and
carrying out a coordinated, comprehensive, affirmative
global strategy which will insure the supremacy of freedom over a'll types of totalitarianism.
Communism has hurled us a moral challenge. Our response, and the response of free men everywhere, will de-·
.termine whether or not freedom itself survives. It is no
longer suf.ficient for us to adopt the negative approach of
merely reacting defensively to every shift in communist
tactics. We must place greater emphasis on the positive
role which our American way of life can perform in this
struggle.
A CREMATORY is being planned in Braitislava, SloV'akia, according to the d'aily PRAOA. ]t should be ready by the end of 1,963;
the cost: 9 million Crowns; and location: near Vhe present Bratislava cemetery. 11he Reds are happy that finally consideraition has beer:
given "to this modern and scienitific way of burying tihe dead ."
e
•
•
urgent assignments of the oow FiveYear Pla.n 01961,1005) of the Czec'h Communist Party's Cenitral Committee is t!he coimpletion of the huge ]r.ornworks in Kosice, Slovakia.
Blueprints for this "second steel heart" as it is termed by
Praue Reds - was drawn up in the USSR It will be the largest
four.,dry in all Europe and one ·of the ten, largesit works of tts kind
in the world. Et will cost an estimated 10.5 billions Crown,s. Soviet
experts are in charge of construction and operation.
ONIE
OF
THIE
MOST
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
"CZECHOSWVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM"
an expose of the pro-Soviet "National Fronters" in the socalled Council af Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet published by the Slovaik League of America, which
should be read by every one seeking the answer to the
question of how "Czecho-Slovak democracy" converted to a
"people's democracy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to
the SLOVAKIA for your copy today.
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
Communist Illusion and Democratic Reality
Description
An account of the resource
J. Edgar Hoover
Slovakia, Vol. 11, No. 1 (33), March-June 1961
pp. 43-50
Adapted from article prepared for members of the National Strategy Seminar
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March-June 1961
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/666209bbbd04fcb300b59526ef1a4c71.pdf
86c23180fa7426083e3e79db147a35fe
PDF Text
Text
MARCH-JUNE, 1961
VOL. XI
NO . 1 (33 )
IN THIS ISSUE:
P.RAGUE: RED ES-Pl'ONAGE CIDNffER
SLOV,AKIA UNDER CO,YIM U NI-S-M
MISCONClDPTIONS OF AMERI CA.:>! SLAVISTS ABOUT
SLOVAK Ll'TER,A T U,RE
CO.M1MUN-LST ILLUSION AND DElMOCRATIC REALITY
SOVIET RUSSIA~ PUP.PETS
'l' HE
I◄'A1ILURE
OF OOYIM'UNLST SCHOO,L S
A POLI-CY OF GENOC1'DE
A STUDY I~ SLAVIC- IRA.:--:IA,N ARCHITECTURAL TRADITIO>,T
BOOK REVIEVl·S
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHIL·IP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown. Pa .
•
•
•
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschb,mm; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UiNIOONQUIDRAiBI.JES, Pauco; $2.00
I;UDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00 .
• • •
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
Sl.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
MARCH-JUNE, 1961
VOL. XI
NO . 1 (33 )
IN THIS ISSUE:
P.RAGUE: RED ES-Pl'ONAGE CIDNffER
SLOV,AKIA UNDER CO,YIM U NI-S-M
MISCONClDPTIONS OF AMERI CA.:>! SLAVISTS ABOUT
SLOVAK Ll'TER,A T U,RE
CO.M1MUN-LST ILLUSION AND DElMOCRATIC REALITY
SOVIET RUSSIA~ PUP.PETS
'l' HE
I◄'A1ILURE
OF OOYIM'UNLST SCHOO,L S
A POLI-CY OF GENOC1'DE
A STUDY I~ SLAVIC- IRA.:--:IA,N ARCHITECTURAL TRADITIO>,T
BOOK REVIEVl·S
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHIL·IP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown. Pa .
•
•
•
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschb,mm; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UiNIOONQUIDRAiBI.JES, Pauco; $2.00
I;UDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00 .
• • •
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
Sl.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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1961, Vol. 11
Description
An account of the resource
<ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 33), March-June 1961.</li>
<li>Issue 2 (No. 34), September-December June 1961.</li>
</ul>
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The Slovak League of America
Date
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1961
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MARCH-JUNE, 1961
VOL. XI
NO . 1 (33 )
IN THIS ISSUE:
P.RAGUE: RED ES-Pl'ONAGE CIDNffER
SLOV,AKIA UNDER CO,YIM U NI-S-M
MISCONClDPTIONS OF AMERI CA.:>! SLAVISTS ABOUT
SLOVAK Ll'TER,A T U,RE
CO.M1MUN-LST ILLUSION AND DElMOCRATIC REALITY
SOVIET RUSSIA~ PUP.PETS
'l' HE
I◄'A1ILURE
OF OOYIM'UNLST SCHOO,L S
A POLI-CY OF GENOC1'DE
A STUDY I~ SLAVIC- IRA.:--:IA,N ARCHITECTURAL TRADITIO>,T
BOOK REVIEVl·S
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHIL·IP A. HROBAK
SLOVAKIA
P. 0 . Box 150
Middletown. Pa .
•
•
•
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschb,mm; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA, $3.75.
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
FALSE FREEDOM, Delaney; $2.00.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA'' - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UiNIOONQUIDRAiBI.JES, Pauco; $2.00
I;UDOViT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00 .
• • •
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
Sl.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, 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
Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 11, No. 1 (33)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March-June 1961
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/ca7006fb5736f99986eeaa5048b17003.pdf
409b536755270fbf3f251b1d95f3bbb9
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
75
to arrange not only additional arms allotments but munition for the tanks and artillery guns and the exchange
of more officers and specialists. At the beginning of 1961,
at least 200 Cubans went to Czecho-Slovakia to get practical experience in larger industries there.
While the Czechs are doing everything they can to
aid material ends, they are also trying to ,p ut a peaceful
foot forward by sponsoring expositions in Havana. Plans
for these shows were prepared by the Brno architects
Denk and Pospisil. The Czechs want to show the Cubans just what socialism looks like. They will display
all kinds of Czech export goods including Prague hams,
Pilsner beer, all kinds of machinery and, of course, their
brand of plum brandy (Slivovice).
BOOK REVIEWS
Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its ' the form of yet unpublished ma,People, New York, Speller ' nuSC'l'lipts.
and Sons, Inc., 1960, xi-361
IReviewirug the end results, one
pp., $6.00.
can, be grateful fur Prof. Oddo's
Prolfessor Oddo, a native-fuoirn limit_a~o.ns, whitc'h forced him to
Amerkan, undertook a dilflficult , a di.iif1~~lt process of research
and demanding task in copinlg . and w:iiiltmg, as they wo:iik t~ !he
with a phase of the history of a I a~va•nt~ge of t?~ reader, proVId~ng
country whose la!llguage he lh'as I him with a cri~ical_ Slovak version
the country s h1s'toriy from the
no't mastered and to whose na- /
tional arehives and otJher insti- n,mbh centu,r y to the present day.
tuti«ms he has never had access. ,• ~ddo's version, m~ed~y ?1>jectConseq,uenrtly, in an olbje'ctive a,p- 1ve and compreh~~s1ve rn its asproa'Oh, he had to rely on sources s~s;1111e~_t ai:id critique of Slo~,a(scarce as they are) pulbHshed in k1a s Justoncal mov~ents, ~ill,
English and French. In am,a,1,yzing I ~ c?urse, .con-trast w1'tlh previous
Professors
works in the Slovak la•n,guage, or 1nteripre'tahons lby
studying documents in the airch- T,homson, Busek-sipullber, K~rner,
ives o,f S,lova•k cultural assolcia- etc., w.ho were markedly mflutions in America, (there are over eniced hY C~ech sources.
bwo million Americans of Slovak 1 '.Ilhe history of Slovakia is a suiboru,gin, wiitJh a scor,e of associa- ject which, in languages other
tions, newspaiperis and period'ica1's), than Slovak, was until recen'tly
he was aided, arccordi,ng to his given the silent treaJtrrnent; and
severa'l the little that was reported was
by
aclcnO'Wlledgeimenlts,
Slov,ak intellectua,ls, professors done so i.nicompetently and withand linguists, teachiong at Canadian out adequate rese'areh, and - in
not
and American universities, and by I Professor Oddo's views their English language works in without unnecessary pa-ejudice.
'°~
I
�76
SLOVAKIA
His book will, theirefore, nalburally stimllllate controversies.
By his own ad'mi!ssfon in the
Introduction to his wock, Prof.essor Oddo saw tlhat part o:f his
task lay in hrupintg to "exipos·e
and exiped myths which, for ooe
r•eason or other, have fownd their
way into the long and poi,gnarut
history of the Slovak people."
Basically, the author attempts to
expo.se the myths that (1) the
Czechs a•nd tlhe Slovaks are now
and always have been a cultural,
linguishc and nationau uniity; (2)
that Czedh◊'"Slova!lda was the "picture demdcracy" of the post-Versailles Europe; and (3,) that the
S1'ovak Repu[Jjlilc was not a natural d·e vclopment in the histocy
of the Slovak people.
The author gaithered many
availalb le s-ources and inv,e stigated
arguments pro and con to prove
his points and draw his conclusions, and they .ire mostly correct. His scy1e is clear and plain.
Studenlts di history, un.fiortunatel,y,
may be inconivenienced in the a["rangement of ref.erences, which
the allllthor mentions at the end
of tJhe book a<nd will mi1Ss footnotes.
Since the thesis of a distinct
national, cultural and linguistic
Slo\'ak enrtity has been generally
aooepted in recent years, the autho,r will! not encouIJ1ter much
objection on this point from the
students od' Central European history. HoweveT, as for t'he ''<pictmre democracy" olf pre,wair Czecho.:slo"'1kia, many readers, aocustome'd •to the sta·ndardized picture
presented for over fourr decades
in so milillY wofiks, may hesi'taite
to accept P,rof. Oddo's ,n,ewcypresented ve·r sion, ev,e n though
it has been corrolborated by the
views of C. A. Ma1Cartney, H. A.
Gilbbons, F . Lee Benns, and some
Slovak historians or by suich "Czechoslovak" politicians a,s the for-
mer Premier MiJ.a,n Rodi.a (in his.
Federation of Central Europe).
The most di'Dfiicult task for
American readers and students.
of modern hiistoriY will be, of
course, to· accept Prod'. Oddo's inte11pretation of the origin and politkal organization od' the Slowik
Repulblic which emerged in Central Eui-o,pe on Mairch 14, 1009,.
aifter Olecho-JS1'oviakia had been
abandCl'Iled art; Muni!ch by the Eu,ro,pean Great P-O<Wers, a,nd thus.
left rut the mercy of Hitler's Germany. The war pl'opag•a nda and
several symposia, inspired mostlry
by eimLgre poli'ticians and intellectuals, injected into the minds
.of millions who fought German
exipansion am adverse image oif
Sloviaki,a and her wartime existe,nice as a Repulblic. ]t cannot be
assumed ,t hat Rr.of. Oddo's book
will su:fifice to exipel aH the mtYths
aioorut the or~g,m, interna<tional
recogruition and war pooicy of the
Slovak Repulbli'c, which had allre,ady penetm<ted into the Ameirican hi:storiograiphy, before several
seri•ous and comprehensive wor-ks
were written on the ba,s is of scholariLy r,e search and 1nlteirnaitio,n,al
ddcwments. The diidlf<i:culty ror Canadian and Amerilcan readei-s in
aclcepting P<raf. Oddo's inter,pretation od' ·t he Slovalk Repu:blic will
perh'<!.lps be greatly reduced in
li:ght af present-day Aaneri<ean policy and heav.y responsihility tn
prevenrtJ1ng
newly
•i ndependent
small artd buffer countries fir,o m
either being eX1¢0Jted by orr seeking proteotion in a/Jiliance or aid
from adrvers.a,ries attemptin:g to
upset the bal:mce of power.
Slovakia
and
Its
People com-
prises twelve chayters and, in addition to outl<ines cxf historical
events, it deals also with the oultul"al and elconomilc liife of Slo~
v,aikia. One charpter deals with
SLovak emtg,r ation and its role in
Slovaik naltionail lilre. Severall mlllPS,
�SLOVAKIA
bi'bliogl'arpbiy and index add to
the value of the book which,
conitain·i.n,g the basic in,formation
about Sloviakia and the Slovaks in
a popular rather bhan scholarlry
style, is a new contr~bution to
English written literatul'e on Sfovailcia and has its va1ue for Oil"·
diina[1y re•a ders as well as for
scholars.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Unw,er,silty of Montreall.
(A re!pcint from Sfavic and East
Eurropeam, Etudies, Vol. V'I, Part
I-TI, Montreal, 1'962).
)Jg
H.
)Jg
)Jg
G. Adler: Die Jude n in
Deutschland. From the Enlightenment to Nationa,l SoMucialism. Kosel-Verlag,
nich, 1960; 1718 pp., DM 6.80.
Nationial Socialism produced no,
thing rea:&liy new, particularly antiSemitism, alth-0ug,h it remained
for said regiime to exercise it
in tihe modern age in a•n arpocaty.ptic way. H. G. Adler is a Jew
.fu--0m Pra,gue, survivor of the
concentration camps oif 'l\h&esienstadt and Auschwitz, who has
arua:yq;ed the origins oi anti-Semitism, the Emancipation, and
the plight of the Jews in Germany.
The results af the author's e.ndea,v-0r are procu,r,a ble in a small
book proli,filc with quotes and
sources. Adler candidly acknowledges tha't durin1g the Middle
A,g.es a Jewish prdblem was possilble only in Gernnany because
the European naJtionrul States, ruf.
ter a period of severe oppression
"divested themselves of their
Jews" by means of expu]sio,n,,
England in 1200, France in li306,
(,a,n d after ,temrpora,r,y readmitta'Ilce, a.g ain in moo), Spain in
1492 and Portugal in 1497."
IHa'tred of tihe Jews was due
for centuries to their belonging
to a dilfifer-elllt religion,; the sol u-
77
tion laiY ther,e fore in conversion
to Christianity or by remedying
their "otherness." Heine spoke of
his rbaiptism as the "ticket of adm[ssion to EUI'O'Pean cul'twre."
Yet the position of the Jews in
German,y was as varied as the
ver,y diirversilfied nature of the
First Reich itsellf. As lalte as 18'17.
for example, the English prov:ince of Haillil<)lVer quite firmly
resisted the proposed emancipation oif the Jews which had been
souwht by Ohristians and Jews
alilke ever since the Enlightenment.
Amter the founding of the Second Reich re!Lgious dimference
was, to be su'l"e, no longer the
tr-ue cause of anti-semitism, fur
i.n, the Bismarclci-an constitution
one's religious alffiliation wa-s irrelevant. Adler ciites in addiltion
to the long-standing religious aspect of the Jewish question German anH-Semites like the BexHn cour't preacher StockeQ", the
Viennese Btirgermeister Lueger,
Richa,r d Wa-gner, Lagarde, and
FrLtsch. Accord!ing to these a pe,rsom.'s race and not reliigion was the
cause of anti.Jewish feclilnlg. One
noites a breach in devclopm~nts
that is not bridged by any explanation and one wonders wlh,y
this sooprising ohange. Was it due
to the rapid increase aifrer 187'1
of Jeiwi9h ba,nki,n,g and trading
firms, the en:tirance of Jewish
laiw,y ers, doctors and teaichers .into 1Pr-01fessions ,t hat had been
barred to them hrither.to? Was ilt
due to envy of their quick so-cial
climb? Even ducing the period
of rcli,gious anlti.Jiewish hatred the
C'll!rse 'IJ!is blood be on us and
on our chi'ldren" was not the sole
reason for tJhe pogiroms, bult a'lso
the desire to be rid of the annoyi111g oreditors. A similar trend
developed i.n many large German
cities in the "golden twenties."
German anti-Semitism, in the
�78
SLOVAKIA
final! anal'Ysis, has come to be a
stain not only on the name dI
Germany for years to coone but
has actually estram,g ed one of the
most M'dent German prataigonists
thrnughO'Ut the world, the German speaking J ews. Adler's book
sh01Ws •primariliy, too, th•e zeal with
which the Gerunan Jews all o·v er
the world were read1Y to serve
t!h•eir people, a fact whioh is seldom reim.embered toda'Y.
1
L. Rainalter.
31:
31:
31:
Robert Kee: Refugee World, Oxford University Press, London., 11961-; '1531 pag,es.
" ... to h-av•e been a refugee
over a lo'lllg period of years is to
hav-e built up an inner world cxf
feelirug and experience dI which
the outsider ca,n often have liittle
idea. " Dt is this inner woI"ld, as
~hl as tihe outer world, that Mr.
Kee brings to the r,e ader in a s·eries of peI"sonal visits to refugees in German'Y aind Al\lS'tlria, in
camps, in private huts, in aibandoned buses, wherever th•ey happen to be.
One irnimediateliy feels one is
chatting with Ulmcinia•ns, Slo:viaks,,
Ju,goslaivs, Boles, Riumanians, wi1fh
•ex,pe1lees, displaced persons, aind
with escapees. Possessed oif a
rare power of descrifption, aruthor
Eee makes every new contact
with his c·haracters a unique experience.
Unfortunat,e is Mr. Kee's relferenJc,e to an elder,ly couple he
visited in TI"aiskirchen, Austr\i•a,
as "Czech Volksdellltscbe." The designation "Czech Volksdeutsche"
is a misnomer, for the very word
"V:olkdsd·eultoohie" means ethnic
Germa,ns, and, in this case, Volilcsdeutsche from
Czecho-&lovakia
coulld only be ei'1lher S.udeten Germans or the German e11hnic peop1e from one of the v•airious "language islands" withirn Czecho-
Slovalcia, e .g., Spisska Nova Ves
or the (Spls) Mountain region.
SHgh'tl'Y painful is th-e second
incorr.e!ct r,eference ,to the s-aane
couple as "the old Czech cou~le
who had wailk•e d out dI Communist Czecho.,S}ov-akia because the
aruthorities had tried to suggest
that they should do heaV1Y work
to keep a'1iive." Painlful because
tlhe VoLksdeutsche, Sude'ten Germans, and a.11 other "expellees od'
German ethnic origin" were expressly denied any of the ands
a1lotted to other displ,aced pffsons (.DPs) under the IIRIO (lnternahonal Refugee Or.ganization)
character, for the sole reason
that they wer,e German. '11he clause
that stipulated thei,r exolus1on,
pla,ced them in the same bracket
with ''Nazis and criminals."
The outstanding featur.e of Mr.
Kee's book is its drive,home
power which acqualints the reader
not with viague and shad'O'W(Y
forms but wit,h flesh a,n d blood
men, women and children.
Graitifyi111g is the fair ev>a,luation of Germany's part in ha1n,dling the refugee prdlllem that the
CO'Untry w:as •coruiironted with in
its own p!"ostra·t e post,war condition when rougMy nine mil11lion
German eXJpellees from the Gocman East were shum,ted into the
country to be housed, alothed,
£ed and employed. Mr. Kee says:
"It is poinUess to say tha.t the
Germans had themselv,es inflicted :liar more terr.ilble sulflferirug on
even more people or, wlhat is also
true, thalt the vast majority ru
the GeI"mans on whom this suif£ering was now infilicted had tacitly approved dI such things being done to other people im, the
daiys when to be •a good German was to be a good Nlazi. Hoth
mass deportations were crimes
against humanity pei,pe'tr.i.'ted for
selfish politicall interes'ts."
A point one might take ex.cep-
�SLOVAKIA
tion to the statement tha,t "the
crime against the e~e11ed Germa,ns ... was one moo:-,e of indiilferenx:e rather tlham, caliculatiion, as the Nia:lli-s' crimes had
been." These inlfCJII'lmed, know too
well that Edlwar<l Bene!'; and his
accompilii:ces planned meticulously the ex,pulsion Olf three and a
hailif mil]ion, Sudeten Germarus
and sa-i<l aJt& ordering their expuJS'ion: ''!Leave th-em om,Ly a
han<lk.e:rchief to shed their tears
in."
The aulthor is an En,glishman
wri'tling for Englli!sh r-eaders l)rimairily. This fact need not disturib
other English-i1anguage readers
for anyone whose interest runs
froon simple humam, curiosity and
corrupassion to social service field
work an<l other refugee a,n d expellee exiperience in theory an<l
pira:ctice wi1ll :filnd Mr. Kee's book
arlive an<l iruformati:ve.
Alppendix "A" giv-es a nut-shell
aicqua,inltance with r,ediugee situ1aWlorl<l War El, lllnd Alppen,dix "B"
with a few of the or.gan~zations
workiing for refugees.
M. E.W.
li(!
li(!
li(!
William L. Shirer: The Rise and
Fall of the Third Reich: A
!History of Nazi Germany, Simon and Schuster, N. Y. ,
1960; 124'5 pp., $10.00.
In the guise of olbjective histocy this volume presents a harTowim,g, massiv,e but one-sided record of unrelieved Gernnan crimes
an'd blunders. WilU.am L. Shirer,
foreign correspon<lent and news
commentator, is also on the boa,r d
of diireotors of the "Society for
the PI"evention of Wo·rl<l War m,
Inc." of Wlhich Dorothy Thompson
wrote (May 31, 11950) that it "has
conduclted a systematic campaign
a1gaimst any constructive peace
with
Gernianiy ... land
vilifi.ed
every person iln pulblic life who
79
tried to warn that procedure
alon,g MorgenJthau lines wouild encomipa-ss the ruiTI olf Eur()ll)'e."
Shirer does n:ot allow that the
Versailles Treacy was unjust (p.
58). He states that "Nazism -a nd
the Third Reic-h, in fiact were but
a lo.g ica,l conltinuation otf German
history" (p. 90). His piling up otf
Nia7li crimes, faLling to put them
iin, perspective with the crimes otf
the opponents, never in fad!; a•lludin,g to the worst Soviet crimes,
such as their brutal population
transfers and their mass ra,ping otf
not only German but -a lso Hungarian and Austrian woonen, seem
calculated to· make any wruwacy
rea'd er hate more than ever the
Gemna-n people - now our allies
who tOilerated the monstrous
Nazis, and to think of the equally
monstrous Bolsheviks, now ou<r
cold war enemies, as reaHy not
so bad!
[n pa1ges on the Nazi abuse of
SOIV'iet and Poli&h prisoners of
wair he does not once al1ude to the
Soviet mass murder of Poli-sh
odificers at Kllltyn. He never mantions General Vlassov an<l his insurgent Russi·a ns who preferred
fighting for the Germans to Living under the Soviets.
IHe gives good information on
sev,era,l German attempts to remove Hit-Ioer, three even before
'11941, but he maikes no r-etfeir.e nce
to the Morgenthau plan, Communist-inspired, which was oalcu4ated to d!'i'Ve the Germans to
desperate resistance instead of
revo:llt. F<o,r the rest, d-e spite distorti-ons and some cuea,r fa~sehoods, there is much interesiting
inlformart,ion in the book. Hitler is
depicted as an uncanrny genius,
almoslt purirtan, fa,niatical<Ly warped
on loyalty and honoir, pathologica.U,y anti.iBolshevik and anti-JewiSl'h,
aibsolute.cy a.g ainst war with the
West, but certaionl,y plotting it
ag,a'inst Poland and Russia.
�SLOVAKIA
Readirug of Hitler's crimes •a nd
tilunders in d,etail, deducting firom
facts that truly morail statesmaill•
s'hiiip anywhere .from .l ,91\8 on
could have prevenlted the colossal
miseey of World War IiI and aft:er,
makes on,e feel aibout the human
raJCe as Sw.ilflt did.
'In sum: more .harmful than good
e,ocept for trained historians.
A. J. App.
~
)lg
)lg
Ernst Bil'ke and Kurit Oberdorifer: Das bohmische Staatsrecht in
chischen
gen des
hunderts,
den deu,t sch-tscheAuseinandersetzu n•
19. und 20. Jahrpulblished 1960 by
N. D. Elwert Verla.g, Mia,rburg-Lahn; 147 pp.
The book a.fifers four a51Pects
on the question otf historic Boh•emian State Ri<glhts. While Richaro
P1aschkia presents the Cz.ooh point
of view, Helmut Slalmicka deals
with the German side of the
question. EU/gen LemJberg writes
on the Ozeich corucepts of n,ation
and State ideology. Kurt Riabl
searehes into t:he legal aspects
and co.ruf.r onts the "histock State
rights" wilth the r1ghts otf seLfdetermination at the time when
Czecho-Sllovalk<ia was created.
One k•e y to understamding
Cz.ech--German rel-ations, accords
and discords, is to stud:y the concept od' Bo'h emian State rights.
Bohemia, a const1tutional erntity
within the dld Haibsbur,g Empire
was partly inhalbited by Czechs
and partly by Germans. One of
the debated questions wi.thin thre
two nation.s wa.s whether the
country should be divlided into
two administrative regions, a
Czech and a German one, or wthether it should be ~ept as an administrativ,e u n i try. Althoog'h
opinions w-ere diivided in both the
Czech aind the German camps, it
can be said that, as a general
rule, the Czechs tri,ed to maintain
the feudailist concept of "orownJ:and Bohemia" as a consUtutional
entity, while the Gernnans found
that nat ional and politicail developments in bhe niineteenth century made obsolete the oo.d conoopts of State r.iights. They striived
for an administrative division of
Bohemia into Geriman and Czec!h
districts.
lt ma,y be safe1y said todary in
retr,ospeict that an administrative
diivision otf Bohemia into a German and a Ozech part mright
havre saved the country aind both
nations from m11.uneroos nationa[
r,i valries and fruitless struggles.
11he historry of Bohemi'a and with
it ,t he history otf Czecho-Slovakia might haive taken a different
course, if the old feudal1st concept od' historic Bohemian State
riglhts would have been replaced
in time by a reailistirc arnd liibera,l
ooncept of national equality amd
administrative separation.
People who give thought to
a reorg,a nization of EuirO'l)e on t,he
basis od' sellf-.deternnination ,md
justice wilil find the contr~butions
of th·e aforementioned a,u thors irn
"Das bohmische Sta-atsre<:ht" most
informative aind a rich soorce for
historic or interna,tional studies.
In add~tion, copious footnotes provide a fine bi'bliograiphiy on the
tOlpiC. -
A. W.
Kozarovcie im, Slovakia has a
farm cooperative that is not doJng so wel[. According to Stefan
Hano of Nitra (iPravda, Jian. 1:5,
1962), the young peopJ.e have run
otff to the faotory in TlmaCJie arnd
bhose over fifty spend more time
as musicians, playing at weddings,
birtbdays, anniiversarires, etc., than
as farm workers. Thek favorite
tum,e: "Neorem, nesejem, vsetko
samo sa mi rodi" (I plOIW not, I
sow not, everything g,r ,ows by itself for me)!
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presiden ts
I
4,
Michael S-as
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Peter P. H letko
"'
George Kantor
President
Ph i lip A. Hrobak
i.
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenu e
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia R d., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York ol, N. Y.
P. 0 . Box 150
Midd letown, P a.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-P resi dents
Joseph Bendik
John
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
A.
Sabo l
National President
First Catholic Slovak Un ion
Ju l ia Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 W . 18th S t r eet
Chicago 8, Ill.
National P resident
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-T reas ur er
Paul C. Kazimer
Stephen J, Tkach
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
An,na Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Mari e Ave.
Pitts burgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
Andrew Hudak
National President
SloV'ak Catholic Cad e t Union
15701 Bennett Rd.
No. Royalton 33, Ohio
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Mid dletown , Pa.
Scran ton , P a.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNlCKA
Cleveland, Oh io
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Passaic, N. J.
Whita ker. Pa .
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barr e, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Mi ddletown , P a.
�SLOVAKIA: The city of Kremnica, famous for its gold and silver mines,
minted money for cenh•ries. Castle and City Hall in the foreground.
�
SLOVAKIA
75
to arrange not only additional arms allotments but munition for the tanks and artillery guns and the exchange
of more officers and specialists. At the beginning of 1961,
at least 200 Cubans went to Czecho-Slovakia to get practical experience in larger industries there.
While the Czechs are doing everything they can to
aid material ends, they are also trying to ,p ut a peaceful
foot forward by sponsoring expositions in Havana. Plans
for these shows were prepared by the Brno architects
Denk and Pospisil. The Czechs want to show the Cubans just what socialism looks like. They will display
all kinds of Czech export goods including Prague hams,
Pilsner beer, all kinds of machinery and, of course, their
brand of plum brandy (Slivovice).
BOOK REVIEWS
Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its ' the form of yet unpublished ma,People, New York, Speller ' nuSC'l'lipts.
and Sons, Inc., 1960, xi-361
IReviewirug the end results, one
pp., $6.00.
can, be grateful fur Prof. Oddo's
Prolfessor Oddo, a native-fuoirn limit_a~o.ns, whitc'h forced him to
Amerkan, undertook a dilflficult , a di.iif1~~lt process of research
and demanding task in copinlg . and w:iiiltmg, as they wo:iik t~ !he
with a phase of the history of a I a~va•nt~ge of t?~ reader, proVId~ng
country whose la!llguage he lh'as I him with a cri~ical_ Slovak version
the country s h1s'toriy from the
no't mastered and to whose na- /
tional arehives and otJher insti- n,mbh centu,r y to the present day.
tuti«ms he has never had access. ,• ~ddo's version, m~ed~y ?1>jectConseq,uenrtly, in an olbje'ctive a,p- 1ve and compreh~~s1ve rn its asproa'Oh, he had to rely on sources s~s;1111e~_t ai:id critique of Slo~,a(scarce as they are) pulbHshed in k1a s Justoncal mov~ents, ~ill,
English and French. In am,a,1,yzing I ~ c?urse, .con-trast w1'tlh previous
Professors
works in the Slovak la•n,guage, or 1nteripre'tahons lby
studying documents in the airch- T,homson, Busek-sipullber, K~rner,
ives o,f S,lova•k cultural assolcia- etc., w.ho were markedly mflutions in America, (there are over eniced hY C~ech sources.
bwo million Americans of Slovak 1 '.Ilhe history of Slovakia is a suiboru,gin, wiitJh a scor,e of associa- ject which, in languages other
tions, newspaiperis and period'ica1's), than Slovak, was until recen'tly
he was aided, arccordi,ng to his given the silent treaJtrrnent; and
severa'l the little that was reported was
by
aclcnO'Wlledgeimenlts,
Slov,ak intellectua,ls, professors done so i.nicompetently and withand linguists, teachiong at Canadian out adequate rese'areh, and - in
not
and American universities, and by I Professor Oddo's views their English language works in without unnecessary pa-ejudice.
'°~
I
�76
SLOVAKIA
His book will, theirefore, nalburally stimllllate controversies.
By his own ad'mi!ssfon in the
Introduction to his wock, Prof.essor Oddo saw tlhat part o:f his
task lay in hrupintg to "exipos·e
and exiped myths which, for ooe
r•eason or other, have fownd their
way into the long and poi,gnarut
history of the Slovak people."
Basically, the author attempts to
expo.se the myths that (1) the
Czechs a•nd tlhe Slovaks are now
and always have been a cultural,
linguishc and nationau uniity; (2)
that Czedh◊'"Slova!lda was the "picture demdcracy" of the post-Versailles Europe; and (3,) that the
S1'ovak Repu[Jjlilc was not a natural d·e vclopment in the histocy
of the Slovak people.
The author gaithered many
availalb le s-ources and inv,e stigated
arguments pro and con to prove
his points and draw his conclusions, and they .ire mostly correct. His scy1e is clear and plain.
Studenlts di history, un.fiortunatel,y,
may be inconivenienced in the a["rangement of ref.erences, which
the allllthor mentions at the end
of tJhe book a<nd will mi1Ss footnotes.
Since the thesis of a distinct
national, cultural and linguistic
Slo\'ak enrtity has been generally
aooepted in recent years, the autho,r will! not encouIJ1ter much
objection on this point from the
students od' Central European history. HoweveT, as for t'he ''<pictmre democracy" olf pre,wair Czecho.:slo"'1kia, many readers, aocustome'd •to the sta·ndardized picture
presented for over fourr decades
in so milillY wofiks, may hesi'taite
to accept P,rof. Oddo's ,n,ewcypresented ve·r sion, ev,e n though
it has been corrolborated by the
views of C. A. Ma1Cartney, H. A.
Gilbbons, F . Lee Benns, and some
Slovak historians or by suich "Czechoslovak" politicians a,s the for-
mer Premier MiJ.a,n Rodi.a (in his.
Federation of Central Europe).
The most di'Dfiicult task for
American readers and students.
of modern hiistoriY will be, of
course, to· accept Prod'. Oddo's inte11pretation of the origin and politkal organization od' the Slowik
Repulblic which emerged in Central Eui-o,pe on Mairch 14, 1009,.
aifter Olecho-JS1'oviakia had been
abandCl'Iled art; Muni!ch by the Eu,ro,pean Great P-O<Wers, a,nd thus.
left rut the mercy of Hitler's Germany. The war pl'opag•a nda and
several symposia, inspired mostlry
by eimLgre poli'ticians and intellectuals, injected into the minds
.of millions who fought German
exipansion am adverse image oif
Sloviaki,a and her wartime existe,nice as a Repulblic. ]t cannot be
assumed ,t hat Rr.of. Oddo's book
will su:fifice to exipel aH the mtYths
aioorut the or~g,m, interna<tional
recogruition and war pooicy of the
Slovak Repulbli'c, which had allre,ady penetm<ted into the Ameirican hi:storiograiphy, before several
seri•ous and comprehensive wor-ks
were written on the ba,s is of scholariLy r,e search and 1nlteirnaitio,n,al
ddcwments. The diidlf<i:culty ror Canadian and Amerilcan readei-s in
aclcepting P<raf. Oddo's inter,pretation od' ·t he Slovalk Repu:blic will
perh'<!.lps be greatly reduced in
li:ght af present-day Aaneri<ean policy and heav.y responsihility tn
prevenrtJ1ng
newly
•i ndependent
small artd buffer countries fir,o m
either being eX1¢0Jted by orr seeking proteotion in a/Jiliance or aid
from adrvers.a,ries attemptin:g to
upset the bal:mce of power.
Slovakia
and
Its
People com-
prises twelve chayters and, in addition to outl<ines cxf historical
events, it deals also with the oultul"al and elconomilc liife of Slo~
v,aikia. One charpter deals with
SLovak emtg,r ation and its role in
Slovaik naltionail lilre. Severall mlllPS,
�SLOVAKIA
bi'bliogl'arpbiy and index add to
the value of the book which,
conitain·i.n,g the basic in,formation
about Sloviakia and the Slovaks in
a popular rather bhan scholarlry
style, is a new contr~bution to
English written literatul'e on Sfovailcia and has its va1ue for Oil"·
diina[1y re•a ders as well as for
scholars.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Unw,er,silty of Montreall.
(A re!pcint from Sfavic and East
Eurropeam, Etudies, Vol. V'I, Part
I-TI, Montreal, 1'962).
)Jg
H.
)Jg
)Jg
G. Adler: Die Jude n in
Deutschland. From the Enlightenment to Nationa,l SoMucialism. Kosel-Verlag,
nich, 1960; 1718 pp., DM 6.80.
Nationial Socialism produced no,
thing rea:&liy new, particularly antiSemitism, alth-0ug,h it remained
for said regiime to exercise it
in tihe modern age in a•n arpocaty.ptic way. H. G. Adler is a Jew
.fu--0m Pra,gue, survivor of the
concentration camps oif 'l\h&esienstadt and Auschwitz, who has
arua:yq;ed the origins oi anti-Semitism, the Emancipation, and
the plight of the Jews in Germany.
The results af the author's e.ndea,v-0r are procu,r,a ble in a small
book proli,filc with quotes and
sources. Adler candidly acknowledges tha't durin1g the Middle
A,g.es a Jewish prdblem was possilble only in Gernnany because
the European naJtionrul States, ruf.
ter a period of severe oppression
"divested themselves of their
Jews" by means of expu]sio,n,,
England in 1200, France in li306,
(,a,n d after ,temrpora,r,y readmitta'Ilce, a.g ain in moo), Spain in
1492 and Portugal in 1497."
IHa'tred of tihe Jews was due
for centuries to their belonging
to a dilfifer-elllt religion,; the sol u-
77
tion laiY ther,e fore in conversion
to Christianity or by remedying
their "otherness." Heine spoke of
his rbaiptism as the "ticket of adm[ssion to EUI'O'Pean cul'twre."
Yet the position of the Jews in
German,y was as varied as the
ver,y diirversilfied nature of the
First Reich itsellf. As lalte as 18'17.
for example, the English prov:ince of Haillil<)lVer quite firmly
resisted the proposed emancipation oif the Jews which had been
souwht by Ohristians and Jews
alilke ever since the Enlightenment.
Amter the founding of the Second Reich re!Lgious dimference
was, to be su'l"e, no longer the
tr-ue cause of anti-semitism, fur
i.n, the Bismarclci-an constitution
one's religious alffiliation wa-s irrelevant. Adler ciites in addiltion
to the long-standing religious aspect of the Jewish question German anH-Semites like the BexHn cour't preacher StockeQ", the
Viennese Btirgermeister Lueger,
Richa,r d Wa-gner, Lagarde, and
FrLtsch. Accord!ing to these a pe,rsom.'s race and not reliigion was the
cause of anti.Jewish feclilnlg. One
noites a breach in devclopm~nts
that is not bridged by any explanation and one wonders wlh,y
this sooprising ohange. Was it due
to the rapid increase aifrer 187'1
of Jeiwi9h ba,nki,n,g and trading
firms, the en:tirance of Jewish
laiw,y ers, doctors and teaichers .into 1Pr-01fessions ,t hat had been
barred to them hrither.to? Was ilt
due to envy of their quick so-cial
climb? Even ducing the period
of rcli,gious anlti.Jiewish hatred the
C'll!rse 'IJ!is blood be on us and
on our chi'ldren" was not the sole
reason for tJhe pogiroms, bult a'lso
the desire to be rid of the annoyi111g oreditors. A similar trend
developed i.n many large German
cities in the "golden twenties."
German anti-Semitism, in the
�78
SLOVAKIA
final! anal'Ysis, has come to be a
stain not only on the name dI
Germany for years to coone but
has actually estram,g ed one of the
most M'dent German prataigonists
thrnughO'Ut the world, the German speaking J ews. Adler's book
sh01Ws •primariliy, too, th•e zeal with
which the Gerunan Jews all o·v er
the world were read1Y to serve
t!h•eir people, a fact whioh is seldom reim.embered toda'Y.
1
L. Rainalter.
31:
31:
31:
Robert Kee: Refugee World, Oxford University Press, London., 11961-; '1531 pag,es.
" ... to h-av•e been a refugee
over a lo'lllg period of years is to
hav-e built up an inner world cxf
feelirug and experience dI which
the outsider ca,n often have liittle
idea. " Dt is this inner woI"ld, as
~hl as tihe outer world, that Mr.
Kee brings to the r,e ader in a s·eries of peI"sonal visits to refugees in German'Y aind Al\lS'tlria, in
camps, in private huts, in aibandoned buses, wherever th•ey happen to be.
One irnimediateliy feels one is
chatting with Ulmcinia•ns, Slo:viaks,,
Ju,goslaivs, Boles, Riumanians, wi1fh
•ex,pe1lees, displaced persons, aind
with escapees. Possessed oif a
rare power of descrifption, aruthor
Eee makes every new contact
with his c·haracters a unique experience.
Unfortunat,e is Mr. Kee's relferenJc,e to an elder,ly couple he
visited in TI"aiskirchen, Austr\i•a,
as "Czech Volksdellltscbe." The designation "Czech Volksdeutsche"
is a misnomer, for the very word
"V:olkdsd·eultoohie" means ethnic
Germa,ns, and, in this case, Volilcsdeutsche from
Czecho-&lovakia
coulld only be ei'1lher S.udeten Germans or the German e11hnic peop1e from one of the v•airious "language islands" withirn Czecho-
Slovalcia, e .g., Spisska Nova Ves
or the (Spls) Mountain region.
SHgh'tl'Y painful is th-e second
incorr.e!ct r,eference ,to the s-aane
couple as "the old Czech cou~le
who had wailk•e d out dI Communist Czecho.,S}ov-akia because the
aruthorities had tried to suggest
that they should do heaV1Y work
to keep a'1iive." Painlful because
tlhe VoLksdeutsche, Sude'ten Germans, and a.11 other "expellees od'
German ethnic origin" were expressly denied any of the ands
a1lotted to other displ,aced pffsons (.DPs) under the IIRIO (lnternahonal Refugee Or.ganization)
character, for the sole reason
that they wer,e German. '11he clause
that stipulated thei,r exolus1on,
pla,ced them in the same bracket
with ''Nazis and criminals."
The outstanding featur.e of Mr.
Kee's book is its drive,home
power which acqualints the reader
not with viague and shad'O'W(Y
forms but wit,h flesh a,n d blood
men, women and children.
Graitifyi111g is the fair ev>a,luation of Germany's part in ha1n,dling the refugee prdlllem that the
CO'Untry w:as •coruiironted with in
its own p!"ostra·t e post,war condition when rougMy nine mil11lion
German eXJpellees from the Gocman East were shum,ted into the
country to be housed, alothed,
£ed and employed. Mr. Kee says:
"It is poinUess to say tha.t the
Germans had themselv,es inflicted :liar more terr.ilble sulflferirug on
even more people or, wlhat is also
true, thalt the vast majority ru
the GeI"mans on whom this suif£ering was now infilicted had tacitly approved dI such things being done to other people im, the
daiys when to be •a good German was to be a good Nlazi. Hoth
mass deportations were crimes
against humanity pei,pe'tr.i.'ted for
selfish politicall interes'ts."
A point one might take ex.cep-
�SLOVAKIA
tion to the statement tha,t "the
crime against the e~e11ed Germa,ns ... was one moo:-,e of indiilferenx:e rather tlham, caliculatiion, as the Nia:lli-s' crimes had
been." These inlfCJII'lmed, know too
well that Edlwar<l Bene!'; and his
accompilii:ces planned meticulously the ex,pulsion Olf three and a
hailif mil]ion, Sudeten Germarus
and sa-i<l aJt& ordering their expuJS'ion: ''!Leave th-em om,Ly a
han<lk.e:rchief to shed their tears
in."
The aulthor is an En,glishman
wri'tling for Englli!sh r-eaders l)rimairily. This fact need not disturib
other English-i1anguage readers
for anyone whose interest runs
froon simple humam, curiosity and
corrupassion to social service field
work an<l other refugee a,n d expellee exiperience in theory an<l
pira:ctice wi1ll :filnd Mr. Kee's book
arlive an<l iruformati:ve.
Alppendix "A" giv-es a nut-shell
aicqua,inltance with r,ediugee situ1aWlorl<l War El, lllnd Alppen,dix "B"
with a few of the or.gan~zations
workiing for refugees.
M. E.W.
li(!
li(!
li(!
William L. Shirer: The Rise and
Fall of the Third Reich: A
!History of Nazi Germany, Simon and Schuster, N. Y. ,
1960; 124'5 pp., $10.00.
In the guise of olbjective histocy this volume presents a harTowim,g, massiv,e but one-sided record of unrelieved Gernnan crimes
an'd blunders. WilU.am L. Shirer,
foreign correspon<lent and news
commentator, is also on the boa,r d
of diireotors of the "Society for
the PI"evention of Wo·rl<l War m,
Inc." of Wlhich Dorothy Thompson
wrote (May 31, 11950) that it "has
conduclted a systematic campaign
a1gaimst any constructive peace
with
Gernianiy ... land
vilifi.ed
every person iln pulblic life who
79
tried to warn that procedure
alon,g MorgenJthau lines wouild encomipa-ss the ruiTI olf Eur()ll)'e."
Shirer does n:ot allow that the
Versailles Treacy was unjust (p.
58). He states that "Nazism -a nd
the Third Reic-h, in fiact were but
a lo.g ica,l conltinuation otf German
history" (p. 90). His piling up otf
Nia7li crimes, faLling to put them
iin, perspective with the crimes otf
the opponents, never in fad!; a•lludin,g to the worst Soviet crimes,
such as their brutal population
transfers and their mass ra,ping otf
not only German but -a lso Hungarian and Austrian woonen, seem
calculated to· make any wruwacy
rea'd er hate more than ever the
Gemna-n people - now our allies
who tOilerated the monstrous
Nazis, and to think of the equally
monstrous Bolsheviks, now ou<r
cold war enemies, as reaHy not
so bad!
[n pa1ges on the Nazi abuse of
SOIV'iet and Poli&h prisoners of
wair he does not once al1ude to the
Soviet mass murder of Poli-sh
odificers at Kllltyn. He never mantions General Vlassov an<l his insurgent Russi·a ns who preferred
fighting for the Germans to Living under the Soviets.
IHe gives good information on
sev,era,l German attempts to remove Hit-Ioer, three even before
'11941, but he maikes no r-etfeir.e nce
to the Morgenthau plan, Communist-inspired, which was oalcu4ated to d!'i'Ve the Germans to
desperate resistance instead of
revo:llt. F<o,r the rest, d-e spite distorti-ons and some cuea,r fa~sehoods, there is much interesiting
inlformart,ion in the book. Hitler is
depicted as an uncanrny genius,
almoslt purirtan, fa,niatical<Ly warped
on loyalty and honoir, pathologica.U,y anti.iBolshevik and anti-JewiSl'h,
aibsolute.cy a.g ainst war with the
West, but certaionl,y plotting it
ag,a'inst Poland and Russia.
�SLOVAKIA
Readirug of Hitler's crimes •a nd
tilunders in d,etail, deducting firom
facts that truly morail statesmaill•
s'hiiip anywhere .from .l ,91\8 on
could have prevenlted the colossal
miseey of World War IiI and aft:er,
makes on,e feel aibout the human
raJCe as Sw.ilflt did.
'In sum: more .harmful than good
e,ocept for trained historians.
A. J. App.
~
)lg
)lg
Ernst Bil'ke and Kurit Oberdorifer: Das bohmische Staatsrecht in
chischen
gen des
hunderts,
den deu,t sch-tscheAuseinandersetzu n•
19. und 20. Jahrpulblished 1960 by
N. D. Elwert Verla.g, Mia,rburg-Lahn; 147 pp.
The book a.fifers four a51Pects
on the question otf historic Boh•emian State Ri<glhts. While Richaro
P1aschkia presents the Cz.ooh point
of view, Helmut Slalmicka deals
with the German side of the
question. EU/gen LemJberg writes
on the Ozeich corucepts of n,ation
and State ideology. Kurt Riabl
searehes into t:he legal aspects
and co.ruf.r onts the "histock State
rights" wilth the r1ghts otf seLfdetermination at the time when
Czecho-Sllovalk<ia was created.
One k•e y to understamding
Cz.ech--German rel-ations, accords
and discords, is to stud:y the concept od' Bo'h emian State rights.
Bohemia, a const1tutional erntity
within the dld Haibsbur,g Empire
was partly inhalbited by Czechs
and partly by Germans. One of
the debated questions wi.thin thre
two nation.s wa.s whether the
country should be divlided into
two administrative regions, a
Czech and a German one, or wthether it should be ~ept as an administrativ,e u n i try. Althoog'h
opinions w-ere diivided in both the
Czech aind the German camps, it
can be said that, as a general
rule, the Czechs tri,ed to maintain
the feudailist concept of "orownJ:and Bohemia" as a consUtutional
entity, while the Gernnans found
that nat ional and politicail developments in bhe niineteenth century made obsolete the oo.d conoopts of State r.iights. They striived
for an administrative division of
Bohemia into Geriman and Czec!h
districts.
lt ma,y be safe1y said todary in
retr,ospeict that an administrative
diivision otf Bohemia into a German and a Ozech part mright
havre saved the country aind both
nations from m11.uneroos nationa[
r,i valries and fruitless struggles.
11he historry of Bohemi'a and with
it ,t he history otf Czecho-Slovakia might haive taken a different
course, if the old feudal1st concept od' historic Bohemian State
riglhts would have been replaced
in time by a reailistirc arnd liibera,l
ooncept of national equality amd
administrative separation.
People who give thought to
a reorg,a nization of EuirO'l)e on t,he
basis od' sellf-.deternnination ,md
justice wilil find the contr~butions
of th·e aforementioned a,u thors irn
"Das bohmische Sta-atsre<:ht" most
informative aind a rich soorce for
historic or interna,tional studies.
In add~tion, copious footnotes provide a fine bi'bliograiphiy on the
tOlpiC. -
A. W.
Kozarovcie im, Slovakia has a
farm cooperative that is not doJng so wel[. According to Stefan
Hano of Nitra (iPravda, Jian. 1:5,
1962), the young peopJ.e have run
otff to the faotory in TlmaCJie arnd
bhose over fifty spend more time
as musicians, playing at weddings,
birtbdays, anniiversarires, etc., than
as farm workers. Thek favorite
tum,e: "Neorem, nesejem, vsetko
samo sa mi rodi" (I plOIW not, I
sow not, everything g,r ,ows by itself for me)!
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presiden ts
I
4,
Michael S-as
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Peter P. H letko
"'
George Kantor
President
Ph i lip A. Hrobak
i.
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenu e
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia R d., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York ol, N. Y.
P. 0 . Box 150
Midd letown, P a.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-P resi dents
Joseph Bendik
John
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
A.
Sabo l
National President
First Catholic Slovak Un ion
Ju l ia Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 W . 18th S t r eet
Chicago 8, Ill.
National P resident
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-T reas ur er
Paul C. Kazimer
Stephen J, Tkach
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
An,na Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Mari e Ave.
Pitts burgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
Andrew Hudak
National President
SloV'ak Catholic Cad e t Union
15701 Bennett Rd.
No. Royalton 33, Ohio
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Mid dletown , Pa.
Scran ton , P a.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNlCKA
Cleveland, Oh io
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Passaic, N. J.
Whita ker. Pa .
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barr e, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Mi ddletown , P a.
�SLOVAKIA: The city of Kremnica, famous for its gold and silver mines,
minted money for cenh•ries. Castle and City Hall in the foreground.
�
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1962, Vol. 12
Description
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Issue 1 (No. 35), March-June 1962.
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The Slovak League of America
Date
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1962
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SLOVAKIA
75
to arrange not only additional arms allotments but munition for the tanks and artillery guns and the exchange
of more officers and specialists. At the beginning of 1961,
at least 200 Cubans went to Czecho-Slovakia to get practical experience in larger industries there.
While the Czechs are doing everything they can to
aid material ends, they are also trying to ,p ut a peaceful
foot forward by sponsoring expositions in Havana. Plans
for these shows were prepared by the Brno architects
Denk and Pospisil. The Czechs want to show the Cubans just what socialism looks like. They will display
all kinds of Czech export goods including Prague hams,
Pilsner beer, all kinds of machinery and, of course, their
brand of plum brandy (Slivovice).
BOOK REVIEWS
Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its ' the form of yet unpublished ma,People, New York, Speller ' nuSC'l'lipts.
and Sons, Inc., 1960, xi-361
IReviewirug the end results, one
pp., $6.00.
can, be grateful fur Prof. Oddo's
Prolfessor Oddo, a native-fuoirn limit_a~o.ns, whitc'h forced him to
Amerkan, undertook a dilflficult , a di.iif1~~lt process of research
and demanding task in copinlg . and w:iiiltmg, as they wo:iik t~ !he
with a phase of the history of a I a~va•nt~ge of t?~ reader, proVId~ng
country whose la!llguage he lh'as I him with a cri~ical_ Slovak version
the country s h1s'toriy from the
no't mastered and to whose na- /
tional arehives and otJher insti- n,mbh centu,r y to the present day.
tuti«ms he has never had access. ,• ~ddo's version, m~ed~y ?1>jectConseq,uenrtly, in an olbje'ctive a,p- 1ve and compreh~~s1ve rn its asproa'Oh, he had to rely on sources s~s;1111e~_t ai:id critique of Slo~,a(scarce as they are) pulbHshed in k1a s Justoncal mov~ents, ~ill,
English and French. In am,a,1,yzing I ~ c?urse, .con-trast w1'tlh previous
Professors
works in the Slovak la•n,guage, or 1nteripre'tahons lby
studying documents in the airch- T,homson, Busek-sipullber, K~rner,
ives o,f S,lova•k cultural assolcia- etc., w.ho were markedly mflutions in America, (there are over eniced hY C~ech sources.
bwo million Americans of Slovak 1 '.Ilhe history of Slovakia is a suiboru,gin, wiitJh a scor,e of associa- ject which, in languages other
tions, newspaiperis and period'ica1's), than Slovak, was until recen'tly
he was aided, arccordi,ng to his given the silent treaJtrrnent; and
severa'l the little that was reported was
by
aclcnO'Wlledgeimenlts,
Slov,ak intellectua,ls, professors done so i.nicompetently and withand linguists, teachiong at Canadian out adequate rese'areh, and - in
not
and American universities, and by I Professor Oddo's views their English language works in without unnecessary pa-ejudice.
'°~
I
76
SLOVAKIA
His book will, theirefore, nalburally stimllllate controversies.
By his own ad'mi!ssfon in the
Introduction to his wock, Prof.essor Oddo saw tlhat part o:f his
task lay in hrupintg to "exipos·e
and exiped myths which, for ooe
r•eason or other, have fownd their
way into the long and poi,gnarut
history of the Slovak people."
Basically, the author attempts to
expo.se the myths that (1) the
Czechs a•nd tlhe Slovaks are now
and always have been a cultural,
linguishc and nationau uniity; (2)
that Czedh◊'"Slova!lda was the "picture demdcracy" of the post-Versailles Europe; and (3,) that the
S1'ovak Repu[Jjlilc was not a natural d·e vclopment in the histocy
of the Slovak people.
The author gaithered many
availalb le s-ources and inv,e stigated
arguments pro and con to prove
his points and draw his conclusions, and they .ire mostly correct. His scy1e is clear and plain.
Studenlts di history, un.fiortunatel,y,
may be inconivenienced in the a["rangement of ref.erences, which
the allllthor mentions at the end
of tJhe book a<nd will mi1Ss footnotes.
Since the thesis of a distinct
national, cultural and linguistic
Slo\'ak enrtity has been generally
aooepted in recent years, the autho,r will! not encouIJ1ter much
objection on this point from the
students od' Central European history. HoweveT, as for t'he ''<pictmre democracy" olf pre,wair Czecho.:slo"'1kia, many readers, aocustome'd •to the sta·ndardized picture
presented for over fourr decades
in so milillY wofiks, may hesi'taite
to accept P,rof. Oddo's ,n,ewcypresented ve·r sion, ev,e n though
it has been corrolborated by the
views of C. A. Ma1Cartney, H. A.
Gilbbons, F . Lee Benns, and some
Slovak historians or by suich "Czechoslovak" politicians a,s the for-
mer Premier MiJ.a,n Rodi.a (in his.
Federation of Central Europe).
The most di'Dfiicult task for
American readers and students.
of modern hiistoriY will be, of
course, to· accept Prod'. Oddo's inte11pretation of the origin and politkal organization od' the Slowik
Repulblic which emerged in Central Eui-o,pe on Mairch 14, 1009,.
aifter Olecho-JS1'oviakia had been
abandCl'Iled art; Muni!ch by the Eu,ro,pean Great P-O<Wers, a,nd thus.
left rut the mercy of Hitler's Germany. The war pl'opag•a nda and
several symposia, inspired mostlry
by eimLgre poli'ticians and intellectuals, injected into the minds
.of millions who fought German
exipansion am adverse image oif
Sloviaki,a and her wartime existe,nice as a Repulblic. ]t cannot be
assumed ,t hat Rr.of. Oddo's book
will su:fifice to exipel aH the mtYths
aioorut the or~g,m, interna<tional
recogruition and war pooicy of the
Slovak Repulbli'c, which had allre,ady penetm<ted into the Ameirican hi:storiograiphy, before several
seri•ous and comprehensive wor-ks
were written on the ba,s is of scholariLy r,e search and 1nlteirnaitio,n,al
ddcwments. The diidlf<i:culty ror Canadian and Amerilcan readei-s in
aclcepting P<raf. Oddo's inter,pretation od' ·t he Slovalk Repu:blic will
perh'<!.lps be greatly reduced in
li:ght af present-day Aaneri<ean policy and heav.y responsihility tn
prevenrtJ1ng
newly
•i ndependent
small artd buffer countries fir,o m
either being eX1¢0Jted by orr seeking proteotion in a/Jiliance or aid
from adrvers.a,ries attemptin:g to
upset the bal:mce of power.
Slovakia
and
Its
People com-
prises twelve chayters and, in addition to outl<ines cxf historical
events, it deals also with the oultul"al and elconomilc liife of Slo~
v,aikia. One charpter deals with
SLovak emtg,r ation and its role in
Slovaik naltionail lilre. Severall mlllPS,
SLOVAKIA
bi'bliogl'arpbiy and index add to
the value of the book which,
conitain·i.n,g the basic in,formation
about Sloviakia and the Slovaks in
a popular rather bhan scholarlry
style, is a new contr~bution to
English written literatul'e on Sfovailcia and has its va1ue for Oil"·
diina[1y re•a ders as well as for
scholars.
J. M. Kirschbaum,
Unw,er,silty of Montreall.
(A re!pcint from Sfavic and East
Eurropeam, Etudies, Vol. V'I, Part
I-TI, Montreal, 1'962).
)Jg
H.
)Jg
)Jg
G. Adler: Die Jude n in
Deutschland. From the Enlightenment to Nationa,l SoMucialism. Kosel-Verlag,
nich, 1960; 1718 pp., DM 6.80.
Nationial Socialism produced no,
thing rea:&liy new, particularly antiSemitism, alth-0ug,h it remained
for said regiime to exercise it
in tihe modern age in a•n arpocaty.ptic way. H. G. Adler is a Jew
.fu--0m Pra,gue, survivor of the
concentration camps oif 'l\h&esienstadt and Auschwitz, who has
arua:yq;ed the origins oi anti-Semitism, the Emancipation, and
the plight of the Jews in Germany.
The results af the author's e.ndea,v-0r are procu,r,a ble in a small
book proli,filc with quotes and
sources. Adler candidly acknowledges tha't durin1g the Middle
A,g.es a Jewish prdblem was possilble only in Gernnany because
the European naJtionrul States, ruf.
ter a period of severe oppression
"divested themselves of their
Jews" by means of expu]sio,n,,
England in 1200, France in li306,
(,a,n d after ,temrpora,r,y readmitta'Ilce, a.g ain in moo), Spain in
1492 and Portugal in 1497."
IHa'tred of tihe Jews was due
for centuries to their belonging
to a dilfifer-elllt religion,; the sol u-
77
tion laiY ther,e fore in conversion
to Christianity or by remedying
their "otherness." Heine spoke of
his rbaiptism as the "ticket of adm[ssion to EUI'O'Pean cul'twre."
Yet the position of the Jews in
German,y was as varied as the
ver,y diirversilfied nature of the
First Reich itsellf. As lalte as 18'17.
for example, the English prov:ince of Haillil<)lVer quite firmly
resisted the proposed emancipation oif the Jews which had been
souwht by Ohristians and Jews
alilke ever since the Enlightenment.
Amter the founding of the Second Reich re!Lgious dimference
was, to be su'l"e, no longer the
tr-ue cause of anti-semitism, fur
i.n, the Bismarclci-an constitution
one's religious alffiliation wa-s irrelevant. Adler ciites in addiltion
to the long-standing religious aspect of the Jewish question German anH-Semites like the BexHn cour't preacher StockeQ", the
Viennese Btirgermeister Lueger,
Richa,r d Wa-gner, Lagarde, and
FrLtsch. Accord!ing to these a pe,rsom.'s race and not reliigion was the
cause of anti.Jewish feclilnlg. One
noites a breach in devclopm~nts
that is not bridged by any explanation and one wonders wlh,y
this sooprising ohange. Was it due
to the rapid increase aifrer 187'1
of Jeiwi9h ba,nki,n,g and trading
firms, the en:tirance of Jewish
laiw,y ers, doctors and teaichers .into 1Pr-01fessions ,t hat had been
barred to them hrither.to? Was ilt
due to envy of their quick so-cial
climb? Even ducing the period
of rcli,gious anlti.Jiewish hatred the
C'll!rse 'IJ!is blood be on us and
on our chi'ldren" was not the sole
reason for tJhe pogiroms, bult a'lso
the desire to be rid of the annoyi111g oreditors. A similar trend
developed i.n many large German
cities in the "golden twenties."
German anti-Semitism, in the
78
SLOVAKIA
final! anal'Ysis, has come to be a
stain not only on the name dI
Germany for years to coone but
has actually estram,g ed one of the
most M'dent German prataigonists
thrnughO'Ut the world, the German speaking J ews. Adler's book
sh01Ws •primariliy, too, th•e zeal with
which the Gerunan Jews all o·v er
the world were read1Y to serve
t!h•eir people, a fact whioh is seldom reim.embered toda'Y.
1
L. Rainalter.
31:
31:
31:
Robert Kee: Refugee World, Oxford University Press, London., 11961-; '1531 pag,es.
" ... to h-av•e been a refugee
over a lo'lllg period of years is to
hav-e built up an inner world cxf
feelirug and experience dI which
the outsider ca,n often have liittle
idea. " Dt is this inner woI"ld, as
~hl as tihe outer world, that Mr.
Kee brings to the r,e ader in a s·eries of peI"sonal visits to refugees in German'Y aind Al\lS'tlria, in
camps, in private huts, in aibandoned buses, wherever th•ey happen to be.
One irnimediateliy feels one is
chatting with Ulmcinia•ns, Slo:viaks,,
Ju,goslaivs, Boles, Riumanians, wi1fh
•ex,pe1lees, displaced persons, aind
with escapees. Possessed oif a
rare power of descrifption, aruthor
Eee makes every new contact
with his c·haracters a unique experience.
Unfortunat,e is Mr. Kee's relferenJc,e to an elder,ly couple he
visited in TI"aiskirchen, Austr\i•a,
as "Czech Volksdellltscbe." The designation "Czech Volksdeutsche"
is a misnomer, for the very word
"V:olkdsd·eultoohie" means ethnic
Germa,ns, and, in this case, Volilcsdeutsche from
Czecho-&lovakia
coulld only be ei'1lher S.udeten Germans or the German e11hnic peop1e from one of the v•airious "language islands" withirn Czecho-
Slovalcia, e .g., Spisska Nova Ves
or the (Spls) Mountain region.
SHgh'tl'Y painful is th-e second
incorr.e!ct r,eference ,to the s-aane
couple as "the old Czech cou~le
who had wailk•e d out dI Communist Czecho.,S}ov-akia because the
aruthorities had tried to suggest
that they should do heaV1Y work
to keep a'1iive." Painlful because
tlhe VoLksdeutsche, Sude'ten Germans, and a.11 other "expellees od'
German ethnic origin" were expressly denied any of the ands
a1lotted to other displ,aced pffsons (.DPs) under the IIRIO (lnternahonal Refugee Or.ganization)
character, for the sole reason
that they wer,e German. '11he clause
that stipulated thei,r exolus1on,
pla,ced them in the same bracket
with ''Nazis and criminals."
The outstanding featur.e of Mr.
Kee's book is its drive,home
power which acqualints the reader
not with viague and shad'O'W(Y
forms but wit,h flesh a,n d blood
men, women and children.
Graitifyi111g is the fair ev>a,luation of Germany's part in ha1n,dling the refugee prdlllem that the
CO'Untry w:as •coruiironted with in
its own p!"ostra·t e post,war condition when rougMy nine mil11lion
German eXJpellees from the Gocman East were shum,ted into the
country to be housed, alothed,
£ed and employed. Mr. Kee says:
"It is poinUess to say tha.t the
Germans had themselv,es inflicted :liar more terr.ilble sulflferirug on
even more people or, wlhat is also
true, thalt the vast majority ru
the GeI"mans on whom this suif£ering was now infilicted had tacitly approved dI such things being done to other people im, the
daiys when to be •a good German was to be a good Nlazi. Hoth
mass deportations were crimes
against humanity pei,pe'tr.i.'ted for
selfish politicall interes'ts."
A point one might take ex.cep-
SLOVAKIA
tion to the statement tha,t "the
crime against the e~e11ed Germa,ns ... was one moo:-,e of indiilferenx:e rather tlham, caliculatiion, as the Nia:lli-s' crimes had
been." These inlfCJII'lmed, know too
well that Edlwar<l Bene!'; and his
accompilii:ces planned meticulously the ex,pulsion Olf three and a
hailif mil]ion, Sudeten Germarus
and sa-i<l aJt& ordering their expuJS'ion: ''!Leave th-em om,Ly a
han<lk.e:rchief to shed their tears
in."
The aulthor is an En,glishman
wri'tling for Englli!sh r-eaders l)rimairily. This fact need not disturib
other English-i1anguage readers
for anyone whose interest runs
froon simple humam, curiosity and
corrupassion to social service field
work an<l other refugee a,n d expellee exiperience in theory an<l
pira:ctice wi1ll :filnd Mr. Kee's book
arlive an<l iruformati:ve.
Alppendix "A" giv-es a nut-shell
aicqua,inltance with r,ediugee situ1aWlorl<l War El, lllnd Alppen,dix "B"
with a few of the or.gan~zations
workiing for refugees.
M. E.W.
li(!
li(!
li(!
William L. Shirer: The Rise and
Fall of the Third Reich: A
!History of Nazi Germany, Simon and Schuster, N. Y. ,
1960; 124'5 pp., $10.00.
In the guise of olbjective histocy this volume presents a harTowim,g, massiv,e but one-sided record of unrelieved Gernnan crimes
an'd blunders. WilU.am L. Shirer,
foreign correspon<lent and news
commentator, is also on the boa,r d
of diireotors of the "Society for
the PI"evention of Wo·rl<l War m,
Inc." of Wlhich Dorothy Thompson
wrote (May 31, 11950) that it "has
conduclted a systematic campaign
a1gaimst any constructive peace
with
Gernianiy ... land
vilifi.ed
every person iln pulblic life who
79
tried to warn that procedure
alon,g MorgenJthau lines wouild encomipa-ss the ruiTI olf Eur()ll)'e."
Shirer does n:ot allow that the
Versailles Treacy was unjust (p.
58). He states that "Nazism -a nd
the Third Reic-h, in fiact were but
a lo.g ica,l conltinuation otf German
history" (p. 90). His piling up otf
Nia7li crimes, faLling to put them
iin, perspective with the crimes otf
the opponents, never in fad!; a•lludin,g to the worst Soviet crimes,
such as their brutal population
transfers and their mass ra,ping otf
not only German but -a lso Hungarian and Austrian woonen, seem
calculated to· make any wruwacy
rea'd er hate more than ever the
Gemna-n people - now our allies
who tOilerated the monstrous
Nazis, and to think of the equally
monstrous Bolsheviks, now ou<r
cold war enemies, as reaHy not
so bad!
[n pa1ges on the Nazi abuse of
SOIV'iet and Poli&h prisoners of
wair he does not once al1ude to the
Soviet mass murder of Poli-sh
odificers at Kllltyn. He never mantions General Vlassov an<l his insurgent Russi·a ns who preferred
fighting for the Germans to Living under the Soviets.
IHe gives good information on
sev,era,l German attempts to remove Hit-Ioer, three even before
'11941, but he maikes no r-etfeir.e nce
to the Morgenthau plan, Communist-inspired, which was oalcu4ated to d!'i'Ve the Germans to
desperate resistance instead of
revo:llt. F<o,r the rest, d-e spite distorti-ons and some cuea,r fa~sehoods, there is much interesiting
inlformart,ion in the book. Hitler is
depicted as an uncanrny genius,
almoslt purirtan, fa,niatical<Ly warped
on loyalty and honoir, pathologica.U,y anti.iBolshevik and anti-JewiSl'h,
aibsolute.cy a.g ainst war with the
West, but certaionl,y plotting it
ag,a'inst Poland and Russia.
SLOVAKIA
Readirug of Hitler's crimes •a nd
tilunders in d,etail, deducting firom
facts that truly morail statesmaill•
s'hiiip anywhere .from .l ,91\8 on
could have prevenlted the colossal
miseey of World War IiI and aft:er,
makes on,e feel aibout the human
raJCe as Sw.ilflt did.
'In sum: more .harmful than good
e,ocept for trained historians.
A. J. App.
~
)lg
)lg
Ernst Bil'ke and Kurit Oberdorifer: Das bohmische Staatsrecht in
chischen
gen des
hunderts,
den deu,t sch-tscheAuseinandersetzu n•
19. und 20. Jahrpulblished 1960 by
N. D. Elwert Verla.g, Mia,rburg-Lahn; 147 pp.
The book a.fifers four a51Pects
on the question otf historic Boh•emian State Ri<glhts. While Richaro
P1aschkia presents the Cz.ooh point
of view, Helmut Slalmicka deals
with the German side of the
question. EU/gen LemJberg writes
on the Ozeich corucepts of n,ation
and State ideology. Kurt Riabl
searehes into t:he legal aspects
and co.ruf.r onts the "histock State
rights" wilth the r1ghts otf seLfdetermination at the time when
Czecho-Sllovalk<ia was created.
One k•e y to understamding
Cz.ech--German rel-ations, accords
and discords, is to stud:y the concept od' Bo'h emian State rights.
Bohemia, a const1tutional erntity
within the dld Haibsbur,g Empire
was partly inhalbited by Czechs
and partly by Germans. One of
the debated questions wi.thin thre
two nation.s wa.s whether the
country should be divlided into
two administrative regions, a
Czech and a German one, or wthether it should be ~ept as an administrativ,e u n i try. Althoog'h
opinions w-ere diivided in both the
Czech aind the German camps, it
can be said that, as a general
rule, the Czechs tri,ed to maintain
the feudailist concept of "orownJ:and Bohemia" as a consUtutional
entity, while the Gernnans found
that nat ional and politicail developments in bhe niineteenth century made obsolete the oo.d conoopts of State r.iights. They striived
for an administrative division of
Bohemia into Geriman and Czec!h
districts.
lt ma,y be safe1y said todary in
retr,ospeict that an administrative
diivision otf Bohemia into a German and a Ozech part mright
havre saved the country aind both
nations from m11.uneroos nationa[
r,i valries and fruitless struggles.
11he historry of Bohemi'a and with
it ,t he history otf Czecho-Slovakia might haive taken a different
course, if the old feudal1st concept od' historic Bohemian State
riglhts would have been replaced
in time by a reailistirc arnd liibera,l
ooncept of national equality amd
administrative separation.
People who give thought to
a reorg,a nization of EuirO'l)e on t,he
basis od' sellf-.deternnination ,md
justice wilil find the contr~butions
of th·e aforementioned a,u thors irn
"Das bohmische Sta-atsre<:ht" most
informative aind a rich soorce for
historic or interna,tional studies.
In add~tion, copious footnotes provide a fine bi'bliograiphiy on the
tOlpiC. -
A. W.
Kozarovcie im, Slovakia has a
farm cooperative that is not doJng so wel[. According to Stefan
Hano of Nitra (iPravda, Jian. 1:5,
1962), the young peopJ.e have run
otff to the faotory in TlmaCJie arnd
bhose over fifty spend more time
as musicians, playing at weddings,
birtbdays, anniiversarires, etc., than
as farm workers. Thek favorite
tum,e: "Neorem, nesejem, vsetko
samo sa mi rodi" (I plOIW not, I
sow not, everything g,r ,ows by itself for me)!
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
Honorary Presiden ts
I
4,
Michael S-as
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
3803 Cresson Street
Philadelphia 27, Pa.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, hio
Joseph
Dr. Peter P. H letko
"'
George Kantor
President
Ph i lip A. Hrobak
i.
Klucar
1617 Alameda Avenu e
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Batavia R d., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
281 Hollywood Ave.
New York ol, N. Y.
P. 0 . Box 150
Midd letown, P a.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Vice-P resi dents
Joseph Bendik
John
P. 0. Box 230
Uniontown, Pa.
A.
Sabo l
National President
First Catholic Slovak Un ion
Ju l ia Krajcovic
Helen Kocan
1648 W . 18th S t r eet
Chicago 8, Ill.
National P resident
First Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
Recording Secretary
John Horecky
Paul
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 53, N. Y.
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
Secretary-T reas ur er
Paul C. Kazimer
Stephen J, Tkach
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homestead, Pa.
National President
Pa. Catholic Slovak Union
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
An,na Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Mari e Ave.
Pitts burgh 2, Pa.
Emrich Valko
Andrew Hudak
National President
SloV'ak Catholic Cad e t Union
15701 Bennett Rd.
No. Royalton 33, Ohio
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
SLOVENSKA OBRANA
ZENSKA JEDNOTA
Mid dletown , Pa.
Scran ton , P a.
Cleveland, Ohio
BRATSTVO
SLOVENSKE
NOVINY
ZORNlCKA
Cleveland, Oh io
Scranton, Pa.
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
OSADNE HLASY
Passaic, N. J.
Whita ker. Pa .
Chicago, Ill.
Wilkes-Barr e, Pa.
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Mi ddletown , P a.
SLOVAKIA: The city of Kremnica, famous for its gold and silver mines,
minted money for cenh•ries. Castle and City Hall in the foreground.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 12, No. 1 (35)
Description
An account of the resource
includes book reviews, 75-80, and photo of Kremnica Castle and City Hall
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March-June 1962
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/18568cf87072b2d0c785fb1de512d85a.pdf
fee1e957cbc49432acfcc6df3a2354d6
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Text
74
SLOVAKIA
CZECH REDS ROOST RED AIMS IN CUBA
For over a year transports have been rolling from
Polish and former German eastern ports, loaded with
war material for Castro's Cuba. Czech weapons depots
and barracks have been combed over and practically all
German rifles and heavy artillery left from World War
II were prepared for shipment, some of which were still
being used by Czech soldiers.
The Czech general staff readily dispensed with tanks
of the T-34 type, however, and the Skoda anti-aircraft
guns, since they are being regularly replaced by the latest
T-54 tanks and anti-aircraft missiles. The Cuban crisis
gave the Czechs an opportunity to discard some of their
old supplies and pocket a pretty penny on the deal. The
tanks and heavy guns were shipped without munition,
which was allegedly "forgotten."
More than 500 Czech officers and non-coms are said
to have entered Cuban barracks along with the aforementioned supplies, where they immediately set to work to
train Cuban men and women in their use.
During the big military parade on J anue.ry 4, 1961
- celebrating the second 3jnniversary of the Cuban revolutionaries - there were even Czech officers and noncoms seated in the tanks that filed past Fidel Castro. It
may be assumed that the natives were still not adept
enough at running them to take over the controls themselves. They may be now.
While all this is going on in Cuba, Prague is turning
out tons of propaganda for Cuban consumption. Castro
and his henchmen can rely on their Czech helpers whose
methods and measures have been tried out successfully in
other countries.
Prague credit to Castro to the tune of $20 million
was cited in Novotny's propaganda organ in small print.
This sum does not seem to have been exhausted, for at
the close of 1960 president of the Cuban National Bank,
Commandant Dr. Ernesto Guevaro was reported in Prague
�SLOVAKIA
75
to arrange not only additional arms allotments but munition for the tanks and artillery guns and the exchange
of more officers and specialists. At the beginning of 1961,
at least 200 Cubans went to Czecho-Slovakia to get practical experience in larger industries there.
While the Czechs are doing everything they can to
aid material ends, they are also trying to ,p ut a peaceful
foot forward by sponsoring expositions in Havana. Plans
for these shows were prepared by the Brno architects
Denk and Pospisil. The Czechs want to show the Cubans just what socialism looks like. They will display
all kinds of Czech export goods including Prague hams,
Pilsner beer, all kinds of machinery and, of course, their
brand of plum brandy (Slivovice).
BOOK REVIEWS
Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its ' the form of yet unpublished ma,People, New York, Speller ' nuSC'l'lipts.
and Sons, Inc., 1960, xi-361
IReviewirug the end results, one
pp., $6.00.
can, be grateful fur Prof. Oddo's
Prolfessor Oddo, a native-fuoirn limit_a~o.ns, whitc'h forced him to
Amerkan, undertook a dilflficult , a di.iif1~~lt process of research
and demanding task in copinlg . and w:iiiltmg, as they wo:iik t~ !he
with a phase of the history of a I a~va•nt~ge of t?~ reader, proVId~ng
country whose la!llguage he lh'as I him with a cri~ical_ Slovak version
the country s h1s'toriy from the
no't mastered and to whose na- /
tional arehives and otJher insti- n,mbh centu,r y to the present day.
tuti«ms he has never had access. ,• ~ddo's version, m~ed~y ?1>jectConseq,uenrtly, in an olbje'ctive a,p- 1ve and compreh~~s1ve rn its asproa'Oh, he had to rely on sources s~s;1111e~_t ai:id critique of Slo~,a(scarce as they are) pulbHshed in k1a s Justoncal mov~ents, ~ill,
English and French. In am,a,1,yzing I ~ c?urse, .con-trast w1'tlh previous
Professors
works in the Slovak la•n,guage, or 1nteripre'tahons lby
studying documents in the airch- T,homson, Busek-sipullber, K~rner,
ives o,f S,lova•k cultural assolcia- etc., w.ho were markedly mflutions in America, (there are over eniced hY C~ech sources.
bwo million Americans of Slovak 1 '.Ilhe history of Slovakia is a suiboru,gin, wiitJh a scor,e of associa- ject which, in languages other
tions, newspaiperis and period'ica1's), than Slovak, was until recen'tly
he was aided, arccordi,ng to his given the silent treaJtrrnent; and
severa'l the little that was reported was
by
aclcnO'Wlledgeimenlts,
Slov,ak intellectua,ls, professors done so i.nicompetently and withand linguists, teachiong at Canadian out adequate rese'areh, and - in
not
and American universities, and by I Professor Oddo's views their English language works in without unnecessary pa-ejudice.
'°~
I
�
74
SLOVAKIA
CZECH REDS ROOST RED AIMS IN CUBA
For over a year transports have been rolling from
Polish and former German eastern ports, loaded with
war material for Castro's Cuba. Czech weapons depots
and barracks have been combed over and practically all
German rifles and heavy artillery left from World War
II were prepared for shipment, some of which were still
being used by Czech soldiers.
The Czech general staff readily dispensed with tanks
of the T-34 type, however, and the Skoda anti-aircraft
guns, since they are being regularly replaced by the latest
T-54 tanks and anti-aircraft missiles. The Cuban crisis
gave the Czechs an opportunity to discard some of their
old supplies and pocket a pretty penny on the deal. The
tanks and heavy guns were shipped without munition,
which was allegedly "forgotten."
More than 500 Czech officers and non-coms are said
to have entered Cuban barracks along with the aforementioned supplies, where they immediately set to work to
train Cuban men and women in their use.
During the big military parade on J anue.ry 4, 1961
- celebrating the second 3jnniversary of the Cuban revolutionaries - there were even Czech officers and noncoms seated in the tanks that filed past Fidel Castro. It
may be assumed that the natives were still not adept
enough at running them to take over the controls themselves. They may be now.
While all this is going on in Cuba, Prague is turning
out tons of propaganda for Cuban consumption. Castro
and his henchmen can rely on their Czech helpers whose
methods and measures have been tried out successfully in
other countries.
Prague credit to Castro to the tune of $20 million
was cited in Novotny's propaganda organ in small print.
This sum does not seem to have been exhausted, for at
the close of 1960 president of the Cuban National Bank,
Commandant Dr. Ernesto Guevaro was reported in Prague
�SLOVAKIA
75
to arrange not only additional arms allotments but munition for the tanks and artillery guns and the exchange
of more officers and specialists. At the beginning of 1961,
at least 200 Cubans went to Czecho-Slovakia to get practical experience in larger industries there.
While the Czechs are doing everything they can to
aid material ends, they are also trying to ,p ut a peaceful
foot forward by sponsoring expositions in Havana. Plans
for these shows were prepared by the Brno architects
Denk and Pospisil. The Czechs want to show the Cubans just what socialism looks like. They will display
all kinds of Czech export goods including Prague hams,
Pilsner beer, all kinds of machinery and, of course, their
brand of plum brandy (Slivovice).
BOOK REVIEWS
Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its ' the form of yet unpublished ma,People, New York, Speller ' nuSC'l'lipts.
and Sons, Inc., 1960, xi-361
IReviewirug the end results, one
pp., $6.00.
can, be grateful fur Prof. Oddo's
Prolfessor Oddo, a native-fuoirn limit_a~o.ns, whitc'h forced him to
Amerkan, undertook a dilflficult , a di.iif1~~lt process of research
and demanding task in copinlg . and w:iiiltmg, as they wo:iik t~ !he
with a phase of the history of a I a~va•nt~ge of t?~ reader, proVId~ng
country whose la!llguage he lh'as I him with a cri~ical_ Slovak version
the country s h1s'toriy from the
no't mastered and to whose na- /
tional arehives and otJher insti- n,mbh centu,r y to the present day.
tuti«ms he has never had access. ,• ~ddo's version, m~ed~y ?1>jectConseq,uenrtly, in an olbje'ctive a,p- 1ve and compreh~~s1ve rn its asproa'Oh, he had to rely on sources s~s;1111e~_t ai:id critique of Slo~,a(scarce as they are) pulbHshed in k1a s Justoncal mov~ents, ~ill,
English and French. In am,a,1,yzing I ~ c?urse, .con-trast w1'tlh previous
Professors
works in the Slovak la•n,guage, or 1nteripre'tahons lby
studying documents in the airch- T,homson, Busek-sipullber, K~rner,
ives o,f S,lova•k cultural assolcia- etc., w.ho were markedly mflutions in America, (there are over eniced hY C~ech sources.
bwo million Americans of Slovak 1 '.Ilhe history of Slovakia is a suiboru,gin, wiitJh a scor,e of associa- ject which, in languages other
tions, newspaiperis and period'ica1's), than Slovak, was until recen'tly
he was aided, arccordi,ng to his given the silent treaJtrrnent; and
severa'l the little that was reported was
by
aclcnO'Wlledgeimenlts,
Slov,ak intellectua,ls, professors done so i.nicompetently and withand linguists, teachiong at Canadian out adequate rese'areh, and - in
not
and American universities, and by I Professor Oddo's views their English language works in without unnecessary pa-ejudice.
'°~
I
�
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
1962, Vol. 12
Description
An account of the resource
Issue 1 (No. 35), March-June 1962.
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
1962
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
74
SLOVAKIA
CZECH REDS ROOST RED AIMS IN CUBA
For over a year transports have been rolling from
Polish and former German eastern ports, loaded with
war material for Castro's Cuba. Czech weapons depots
and barracks have been combed over and practically all
German rifles and heavy artillery left from World War
II were prepared for shipment, some of which were still
being used by Czech soldiers.
The Czech general staff readily dispensed with tanks
of the T-34 type, however, and the Skoda anti-aircraft
guns, since they are being regularly replaced by the latest
T-54 tanks and anti-aircraft missiles. The Cuban crisis
gave the Czechs an opportunity to discard some of their
old supplies and pocket a pretty penny on the deal. The
tanks and heavy guns were shipped without munition,
which was allegedly "forgotten."
More than 500 Czech officers and non-coms are said
to have entered Cuban barracks along with the aforementioned supplies, where they immediately set to work to
train Cuban men and women in their use.
During the big military parade on J anue.ry 4, 1961
- celebrating the second 3jnniversary of the Cuban revolutionaries - there were even Czech officers and noncoms seated in the tanks that filed past Fidel Castro. It
may be assumed that the natives were still not adept
enough at running them to take over the controls themselves. They may be now.
While all this is going on in Cuba, Prague is turning
out tons of propaganda for Cuban consumption. Castro
and his henchmen can rely on their Czech helpers whose
methods and measures have been tried out successfully in
other countries.
Prague credit to Castro to the tune of $20 million
was cited in Novotny's propaganda organ in small print.
This sum does not seem to have been exhausted, for at
the close of 1960 president of the Cuban National Bank,
Commandant Dr. Ernesto Guevaro was reported in Prague
SLOVAKIA
75
to arrange not only additional arms allotments but munition for the tanks and artillery guns and the exchange
of more officers and specialists. At the beginning of 1961,
at least 200 Cubans went to Czecho-Slovakia to get practical experience in larger industries there.
While the Czechs are doing everything they can to
aid material ends, they are also trying to ,p ut a peaceful
foot forward by sponsoring expositions in Havana. Plans
for these shows were prepared by the Brno architects
Denk and Pospisil. The Czechs want to show the Cubans just what socialism looks like. They will display
all kinds of Czech export goods including Prague hams,
Pilsner beer, all kinds of machinery and, of course, their
brand of plum brandy (Slivovice).
BOOK REVIEWS
Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its ' the form of yet unpublished ma,People, New York, Speller ' nuSC'l'lipts.
and Sons, Inc., 1960, xi-361
IReviewirug the end results, one
pp., $6.00.
can, be grateful fur Prof. Oddo's
Prolfessor Oddo, a native-fuoirn limit_a~o.ns, whitc'h forced him to
Amerkan, undertook a dilflficult , a di.iif1~~lt process of research
and demanding task in copinlg . and w:iiiltmg, as they wo:iik t~ !he
with a phase of the history of a I a~va•nt~ge of t?~ reader, proVId~ng
country whose la!llguage he lh'as I him with a cri~ical_ Slovak version
the country s h1s'toriy from the
no't mastered and to whose na- /
tional arehives and otJher insti- n,mbh centu,r y to the present day.
tuti«ms he has never had access. ,• ~ddo's version, m~ed~y ?1>jectConseq,uenrtly, in an olbje'ctive a,p- 1ve and compreh~~s1ve rn its asproa'Oh, he had to rely on sources s~s;1111e~_t ai:id critique of Slo~,a(scarce as they are) pulbHshed in k1a s Justoncal mov~ents, ~ill,
English and French. In am,a,1,yzing I ~ c?urse, .con-trast w1'tlh previous
Professors
works in the Slovak la•n,guage, or 1nteripre'tahons lby
studying documents in the airch- T,homson, Busek-sipullber, K~rner,
ives o,f S,lova•k cultural assolcia- etc., w.ho were markedly mflutions in America, (there are over eniced hY C~ech sources.
bwo million Americans of Slovak 1 '.Ilhe history of Slovakia is a suiboru,gin, wiitJh a scor,e of associa- ject which, in languages other
tions, newspaiperis and period'ica1's), than Slovak, was until recen'tly
he was aided, arccordi,ng to his given the silent treaJtrrnent; and
severa'l the little that was reported was
by
aclcnO'Wlledgeimenlts,
Slov,ak intellectua,ls, professors done so i.nicompetently and withand linguists, teachiong at Canadian out adequate rese'areh, and - in
not
and American universities, and by I Professor Oddo's views their English language works in without unnecessary pa-ejudice.
'°~
I
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
Czech Reds Boost Red Aims in Cuba
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 12, No. 1 (35), March-June 1962
pp. 74-75
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March-June 1962
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a390369a47f2ec6a9d55d5165a7b6612.pdf
af8032c28cfccc20c42200d15af957f1
PDF Text
Text
72
SLOVAKIA
MAJORITY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FREE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA"
A recent statement of the so-called Council of Free
Czechoslovakia revealed the break-up of that organization.
Leading members left the US-subsidized Council and founded a new organization in exile calling it "Committee of
Free Czechoslovakia." The Committe's secretaries, Arnost
Heidrich and Jozef Lettrich, claimed that the Council was
composed "only of National Socialists and satellites of Dr.
Peter Zenkl" and that the members of free democratic
Czech parties had no seat and say in it.
The new Committee is said to represent the Catholic
Czech P eoples Party, the Czech Agrarian Republican Party, the Slovak Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party, as well as Czech, Slovak and Carpatho-Ukrainian personages of no party affiliation.
Proponents of self-determination and independence for
Slovakia are excluded.
Among those who quit the Council of Free Czechoslovakia were: V. Bernard, Josef Cerny, V. Fedinec, A.
Heidrich, Fedor Hod.fa (son of the late Czech premier),
Holub, M. Kvetko , J . L ettrich, T . Lipcik, V. Majer, J. Mrazek, Stefan Osusky, Adolf Prochazka, L. Sliva, and M.
Tumlifova. Dr. V. Brdlik, who was also named among the
dissenters, did not confirm the news that he, too, had
left the Council, saying that he did not know anything
about it.
The present quarrels among Czechs and Slovaks in
exile are mainly caused by the questions of citizenship
and membership in the Assembly of Captive European
Nations (ACEN). Regarding the question of citizenship,
the dissenters claim, the Council officers violated the constitution by admitting members who no longer were Czecho-Slovak citizens. The Council on the other hand, holds
that Czech citizenship is not a prerequisite for membership in the Council.
More serious is the dispute about the Council's membership in ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations accepts as members only persons who have main-
�SLOVAKIA
73
tained their former citizenship in East European States.
According to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, this regulation does not affect membership in the member organizations who send their representatives to ACEN.
The Assembly of Captive European Nations is, indeed, intended as an organization for exiled politicians.
It was launched and financed with U. S. help. Its members receive a modest salary. Some of the older exiled politicians have only this to live on.
Besides there is a parallel organization, the "Ameri<!an Friends of Captive European Nations," which is
<!omposed of American citizens only.
The members of the Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, including some of the most prominent Czech and
Slovak politicians in exile, managed to receive recognition as representatives of Czecho.1Slovakia by the Assembly of Captive European Nations. Later the ACEN
main executive committee revised its opinion and reserved six seats of the Czecho-Slovak delegation to the
Council of Free Czechoslovakia. The Council, however, is
claiming all seats for itself.
From the news thus far received it seems as if most
prominent Czech and Slovak exile leaders have joined the
dissenting Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, leaving behind in the Council only Dr. Peter Zenkl (who after the
war served under Communist Party boss Klement Gottwald as deputy prime minister), Dr. Juraj Slavik (a prewar Czecho-Slovak ambassador to Warsaw and native Slovak), and Dr. Jifi Horak. - S. B.
"CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM" an e:x;pose of ,the pr()-!Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Council of Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet pU!blished by the SlovaJk League of Ameiiica, which
should be read by every one seeking the answer to the
question o:f how "Ozecho ...Slovruk democracy" conrverted to a
"people's democ!l"a;cy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to
the SDOVA.Ki_IA for your copy today.
�
72
SLOVAKIA
MAJORITY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FREE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA"
A recent statement of the so-called Council of Free
Czechoslovakia revealed the break-up of that organization.
Leading members left the US-subsidized Council and founded a new organization in exile calling it "Committee of
Free Czechoslovakia." The Committe's secretaries, Arnost
Heidrich and Jozef Lettrich, claimed that the Council was
composed "only of National Socialists and satellites of Dr.
Peter Zenkl" and that the members of free democratic
Czech parties had no seat and say in it.
The new Committee is said to represent the Catholic
Czech P eoples Party, the Czech Agrarian Republican Party, the Slovak Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party, as well as Czech, Slovak and Carpatho-Ukrainian personages of no party affiliation.
Proponents of self-determination and independence for
Slovakia are excluded.
Among those who quit the Council of Free Czechoslovakia were: V. Bernard, Josef Cerny, V. Fedinec, A.
Heidrich, Fedor Hod.fa (son of the late Czech premier),
Holub, M. Kvetko , J . L ettrich, T . Lipcik, V. Majer, J. Mrazek, Stefan Osusky, Adolf Prochazka, L. Sliva, and M.
Tumlifova. Dr. V. Brdlik, who was also named among the
dissenters, did not confirm the news that he, too, had
left the Council, saying that he did not know anything
about it.
The present quarrels among Czechs and Slovaks in
exile are mainly caused by the questions of citizenship
and membership in the Assembly of Captive European
Nations (ACEN). Regarding the question of citizenship,
the dissenters claim, the Council officers violated the constitution by admitting members who no longer were Czecho-Slovak citizens. The Council on the other hand, holds
that Czech citizenship is not a prerequisite for membership in the Council.
More serious is the dispute about the Council's membership in ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations accepts as members only persons who have main-
�SLOVAKIA
73
tained their former citizenship in East European States.
According to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, this regulation does not affect membership in the member organizations who send their representatives to ACEN.
The Assembly of Captive European Nations is, indeed, intended as an organization for exiled politicians.
It was launched and financed with U. S. help. Its members receive a modest salary. Some of the older exiled politicians have only this to live on.
Besides there is a parallel organization, the "Ameri<!an Friends of Captive European Nations," which is
<!omposed of American citizens only.
The members of the Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, including some of the most prominent Czech and
Slovak politicians in exile, managed to receive recognition as representatives of Czecho.1Slovakia by the Assembly of Captive European Nations. Later the ACEN
main executive committee revised its opinion and reserved six seats of the Czecho-Slovak delegation to the
Council of Free Czechoslovakia. The Council, however, is
claiming all seats for itself.
From the news thus far received it seems as if most
prominent Czech and Slovak exile leaders have joined the
dissenting Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, leaving behind in the Council only Dr. Peter Zenkl (who after the
war served under Communist Party boss Klement Gottwald as deputy prime minister), Dr. Juraj Slavik (a prewar Czecho-Slovak ambassador to Warsaw and native Slovak), and Dr. Jifi Horak. - S. B.
"CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM" an e:x;pose of ,the pr()-!Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Council of Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet pU!blished by the SlovaJk League of Ameiiica, which
should be read by every one seeking the answer to the
question o:f how "Ozecho ...Slovruk democracy" conrverted to a
"people's democ!l"a;cy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to
the SDOVA.Ki_IA for your copy today.
�
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
1962, Vol. 12
Description
An account of the resource
Issue 1 (No. 35), March-June 1962.
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
1962
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
72
SLOVAKIA
MAJORITY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FREE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA"
A recent statement of the so-called Council of Free
Czechoslovakia revealed the break-up of that organization.
Leading members left the US-subsidized Council and founded a new organization in exile calling it "Committee of
Free Czechoslovakia." The Committe's secretaries, Arnost
Heidrich and Jozef Lettrich, claimed that the Council was
composed "only of National Socialists and satellites of Dr.
Peter Zenkl" and that the members of free democratic
Czech parties had no seat and say in it.
The new Committee is said to represent the Catholic
Czech P eoples Party, the Czech Agrarian Republican Party, the Slovak Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party, as well as Czech, Slovak and Carpatho-Ukrainian personages of no party affiliation.
Proponents of self-determination and independence for
Slovakia are excluded.
Among those who quit the Council of Free Czechoslovakia were: V. Bernard, Josef Cerny, V. Fedinec, A.
Heidrich, Fedor Hod.fa (son of the late Czech premier),
Holub, M. Kvetko , J . L ettrich, T . Lipcik, V. Majer, J. Mrazek, Stefan Osusky, Adolf Prochazka, L. Sliva, and M.
Tumlifova. Dr. V. Brdlik, who was also named among the
dissenters, did not confirm the news that he, too, had
left the Council, saying that he did not know anything
about it.
The present quarrels among Czechs and Slovaks in
exile are mainly caused by the questions of citizenship
and membership in the Assembly of Captive European
Nations (ACEN). Regarding the question of citizenship,
the dissenters claim, the Council officers violated the constitution by admitting members who no longer were Czecho-Slovak citizens. The Council on the other hand, holds
that Czech citizenship is not a prerequisite for membership in the Council.
More serious is the dispute about the Council's membership in ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations accepts as members only persons who have main-
SLOVAKIA
73
tained their former citizenship in East European States.
According to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, this regulation does not affect membership in the member organizations who send their representatives to ACEN.
The Assembly of Captive European Nations is, indeed, intended as an organization for exiled politicians.
It was launched and financed with U. S. help. Its members receive a modest salary. Some of the older exiled politicians have only this to live on.
Besides there is a parallel organization, the "Ameri<!an Friends of Captive European Nations," which is
<!omposed of American citizens only.
The members of the Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, including some of the most prominent Czech and
Slovak politicians in exile, managed to receive recognition as representatives of Czecho.1Slovakia by the Assembly of Captive European Nations. Later the ACEN
main executive committee revised its opinion and reserved six seats of the Czecho-Slovak delegation to the
Council of Free Czechoslovakia. The Council, however, is
claiming all seats for itself.
From the news thus far received it seems as if most
prominent Czech and Slovak exile leaders have joined the
dissenting Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, leaving behind in the Council only Dr. Peter Zenkl (who after the
war served under Communist Party boss Klement Gottwald as deputy prime minister), Dr. Juraj Slavik (a prewar Czecho-Slovak ambassador to Warsaw and native Slovak), and Dr. Jifi Horak. - S. B.
"CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM" an e:x;pose of ,the pr()-!Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Council of Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet pU!blished by the SlovaJk League of Ameiiica, which
should be read by every one seeking the answer to the
question o:f how "Ozecho ...Slovruk democracy" conrverted to a
"people's democ!l"a;cy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to
the SDOVA.Ki_IA for your copy today.
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
Majority Quits "Council of Free Czechoslovakia"
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 12, No. 1 (35), March-June 1962
pp. 72-73
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March-June 1962
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/f26f3c89543bf66337a858600f069c2e.pdf
5afc7753ccac4537f81e723c1d19e869
PDF Text
Text
VOL. XII
MARCH-JUNE, 1962
NO. 1 (35)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
THE ORilGIN AN1D DEVE1LOPMENT OF THE SLOVAK
LANGUAGE
EXPELLEE,S AND THE EUROPEAN IDIEA
MISCON,CEPTIONS OF AMERICAN S,LAVISTS ON THE
SLOVAK LANGUAGE
DEFENSE ALON,E IS NOT ENOUGH
CZECH GROUPS IN EXILE
EXIT CZiECHO-S1LOVAKIA'S "BERIA"
A "LUMUMBA UNIVERSITY" IN ~RAGUE
MAJORHY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FRE1E CZECHOSLOVAKIA"
CZ/BCH RE,DS BOOST RED AIMS IN CUBA
BOOK REVIEWS
NEWS ITE!MS: 17, 24, 49, 64, 67, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A . HROBAK
SLOV _AKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown. Pa •
•
•
•
Pwblished by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CRiOSS!ROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVA.KS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA" - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
lJNIOONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00
UUDOVlT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Prm ted in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
VOL. XII
MARCH-JUNE, 1962
NO. 1 (35)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
THE ORilGIN AN1D DEVE1LOPMENT OF THE SLOVAK
LANGUAGE
EXPELLEE,S AND THE EUROPEAN IDIEA
MISCON,CEPTIONS OF AMERICAN S,LAVISTS ON THE
SLOVAK LANGUAGE
DEFENSE ALON,E IS NOT ENOUGH
CZECH GROUPS IN EXILE
EXIT CZiECHO-S1LOVAKIA'S "BERIA"
A "LUMUMBA UNIVERSITY" IN ~RAGUE
MAJORHY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FRE1E CZECHOSLOVAKIA"
CZ/BCH RE,DS BOOST RED AIMS IN CUBA
BOOK REVIEWS
NEWS ITE!MS: 17, 24, 49, 64, 67, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A . HROBAK
SLOV _AKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown. Pa •
•
•
•
Pwblished by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CRiOSS!ROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVA.KS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA" - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
lJNIOONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00
UUDOVlT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Prm ted in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, 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
1962, Vol. 12
Description
An account of the resource
Issue 1 (No. 35), March-June 1962.
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
1962
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
VOL. XII
MARCH-JUNE, 1962
NO. 1 (35)
IN TIDS ISSUE:
THE ORilGIN AN1D DEVE1LOPMENT OF THE SLOVAK
LANGUAGE
EXPELLEE,S AND THE EUROPEAN IDIEA
MISCON,CEPTIONS OF AMERICAN S,LAVISTS ON THE
SLOVAK LANGUAGE
DEFENSE ALON,E IS NOT ENOUGH
CZECH GROUPS IN EXILE
EXIT CZiECHO-S1LOVAKIA'S "BERIA"
A "LUMUMBA UNIVERSITY" IN ~RAGUE
MAJORHY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FRE1E CZECHOSLOVAKIA"
CZ/BCH RE,DS BOOST RED AIMS IN CUBA
BOOK REVIEWS
NEWS ITE!MS: 17, 24, 49, 64, 67, 80
•
•
•
Edited and compiled by
PHILIP A . HROBAK
SLOV _AKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown. Pa •
•
•
•
Pwblished by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CRiOSS!ROADS OF CENTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THIS IS SLOVAKIA, Hrusovsky; $1.00.
THE SLOVA.KS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA" - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
lJNIOONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00
UUDOVlT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A. -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Prm ted in the U. S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, 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
Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 12, No. 1 (35)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March-June 1962
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6975baf9fc6c254775c22bb4a9bff5dc.pdf
868807e15e6bf8bb2249ce732d4d2b80
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Kurt Glaser: Czecho-Slovakia, a
Critical
History, published
by tlhe Caxton Printers Ltd.,
Ca,ldwell, Idaho, 1961.. Tm-ee
maps, U photogra,phic plates,
275 pp., $5.50.
Visitors to NA'l10 headquarters
in Paris are shown a moving picture od: the "oolfapse O!f democra11ic Czecho-Slov,ak~a" under president Dr. Edward Bene§ in FebI'luary 1948, as one o'f the impeiti
toward crea.ting ain, Atlantic def8llse organizartion. Indeed, there
are many contemporaries, whose
opinions are moulded 3Jfter superficial or slanted reports, who
hold that Communism came suddenly to Czecho-Siovakia in 194'8,
overthrowirug whalt was previously a "\little island of Westernbrand democracy in a sea of totallitarian-ruled States" in Central Europe.
This pulblication has ()({ten
poiin,t ed out that such a concept
does not jibe with the historrc
facts. Professor Glaser of Soothem Illinois Univ-er.silty, prQlbes
deep1y into the matter. By collecting proliifiic facts from Czech,
Slovak, ~11man and American
sources (not anicy from those who
staged the February cowp d'etat),
he has gathered ample material
for his ·thoroug;h-goinig, schola-r1¥
and objective evaluation of developments in and around Czecho-Slovakia from the birth of
that State iin, 1918 to the present.
Frequent quotations from documents and other source materiall in the text make Glaser's
book not on[y interesting reading but give the reader a,n opportunity to dr,a,w conclusi.lOns of his
own from the facts and judge
the aptitude or i,naiptitude with
which histoo-ic situaltion1S were
handled at the time by decisive
(WeS'tEf!'n and Eastern) policymaking bodies and leaders.
'J.1his reviewer, who lived i-n
Czecho-Slov,a!ldia for maniy years
and eXJperienced first-hand llhe
naHonality, economic, and political pl"o'blems of that State was
astonished at Professor GU~ser's
keen _sense O!f o~rvation, understandmg, and Judlgment of the
historic facts.
Caxton pri,nters are to be cong,ratulated on pulblisrhing this excellent piece of scholarly research
and objective evaluation.
Dr. Glaser, American-born, a
Harv,ard graduate, served with the
U. S. Mill.itary Governmenlt im, occupied Germa,n y in 19416. While
serving overseas he saw at first
hand Communist encroachment in
Centraa Europe. This proximate
exiperience prompted him to
adopt, as one O!f his pri111Ci,pal interests, t-he development oo a
dynamiic anti-Oommun,ilSt policy.
With this in mind, he searched
for the reason for the Bolshevizafaon oo East-Oentral Europe,
a•n d of Czecho-Slovaki-a in particular.
The author's findings are o;f value to the student of histocy, to
contemiporacy writers on international alffairs, and to fore~
policy makers. The sulbject he
deals with is not a dead topic. It
is of timely concern and holds a
lesson for future behavior in
dealing with the Soviets and in
ma-naging effective](y psycliologicall war strategy.
Glaser aJ.so warns against misj udig-ing advke and pro,pagamda
activities of Czech politidans in
eX'ile who before 19418 had kowtowed to Staliin, and, consciously
or unconscioosly, paved tlhe w~
for Communi-st rule in OzechoSlovakia. He spotlights otbjection-
�96
SLOVAKIA
able policy and personnel management of R!adio ftee Europe and
in the c-0oo1udi.n•g chapter shows
ways for an effective anti-Commuru.st Western policy with regard t-0 Czooho-SloV'altia and EastCentral Europe.
Summing up: He, who woulld
know a•n d understand happenings
in Czecho-Slovakia during the past
decades, wil11 find Plrofessor Glaser's book a valuable guide.
American Slovaks this yewr are
commemorating their "Grand Jubilee" - the 1,lOOth a:nniversary of
the advent of SS. Cyrll and Methodius to t he land of the ancient Slova~, Great Moravia - under tlhe
SJ)onwrs hi/I) of the Slovak League
of America. A conterence of Ame·rican S 1 o v a k s is scheduled far
Waishington, D. C., April 15-6, 1963;
'1 ater a pilgritmage to Slov,a,kla aind
Rome, •I taly, where the ,p ilgrimage
will end with the dedication of the
Institute of .SS. Cyril and Methodius on Sept. 15.
X
X
Ill!
The Slovak Catholic Federation
of America 1s sponsoring the ddve
'for $600,00-0 to ·b uild and equip the
new Institute of SS. Cy'lil and Metihodiuis in Ro m e. The drive is
headed by the Most Rev. Andrew
G. Grutka, Bishop of Gary, Indiana,
who will also hea<l rthe Americain
delegation to Rome for the dedioo.tion of the Institute on •S ept. 16.
Clevela,nd and Youngs-toW1J1, 0 ., have
already held their celebrations of
the 1,lOOth anniversary of SS. Cyril
and Methodius; so have Scra'llton
and Wi.1.kes-BaTre, Pa. , an<l Brl<lg•eport, Conn. Other Slovak centel'B
in America and Gamada will keep
the celebrations going to the end
of 1963. Almost ha!lf the goal had
been rnached by tJhe end of Mareh.
X
!JC
!JC
Tido J. Gaipar, Slov·a k jour:nalist
and novelist, was 70 years obd on
MaTch 7. He "cel~brate<l" the event
,in jail, where he was placed "for
life" by the Czech Reos after W.
W . II. His "crimes" : Mlti-State activities (In his articles he ~efended
the f.nd,e,pendence o·r S!o-yl),'kia, con-
demned Stalin's mass murderis in
Katyn an<l Vinica, and opposed the
pro-Moscow policy of Prague). Gaspar, one of the most cha•mcteristic
and most expressive personalities
of Slova'k >life ,si'llce W. W. I, was
described by his colleagues a,s Slovakia's best stylist and di!plomat.
At his trial, no witnesses were allowe<l to testMy •i n his beha.lf.
X
X
!JC
Father Vojtech Trizna wa,s given
a three-year jail .term in Kosice,
Slovakia, because he allegedly "attaoked the athe.fstis, opposed coliectiviza.tdon and mass poliiticall organizaitlons," accordi'llg to a report
from Vienna..
Anton F. · Wuschttk.
YOU CAN
LEARN SLOVAK
-
IF YOU WANT TO
The New, Revised
"SLOVAK LESSONS"
Will do the trick!
•
400 PAGES • 92 LESSONS
. Bound in . Cloth
-
$8.50
ORDER TODAY!
•
Jednota Printery
Middletown. Pa.
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
President
Joseph G. Prusa
Dr. Peter P. H letko
205 Madison Street,
Passaic, N. J.
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
John A. Sabol
Vice-Presidents
140 First Avenue,
Phoenixville, Pa.
John Horecky
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 63, N. Y.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Julia Krajcovlc
John
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Secretary
Helen Kocan
Joseph Pauco
National President
Fir11t Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
107 Bradford Avenue
Middletown, Pa.
Treasurer
Paul
Paul C. Kazimer
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homes tead, Pa.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Stephen J. Tkach
National President
Pennsylvania Slovak
Catholic Union
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Philip A. Hrobak
Emrich Valko
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
National President
SloV'ak Catholic Cadet Union
(Affiliated
JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Middletown,
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
Pas.sale, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
�•
~ry:,,.---¾ ..
.
55. CYRIL AN·O METHODIU S -
~.i,-..,, ~ ··-
SLOVAK APOSTLES
�
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Kurt Glaser: Czecho-Slovakia, a
Critical
History, published
by tlhe Caxton Printers Ltd.,
Ca,ldwell, Idaho, 1961.. Tm-ee
maps, U photogra,phic plates,
275 pp., $5.50.
Visitors to NA'l10 headquarters
in Paris are shown a moving picture od: the "oolfapse O!f democra11ic Czecho-Slov,ak~a" under president Dr. Edward Bene§ in FebI'luary 1948, as one o'f the impeiti
toward crea.ting ain, Atlantic def8llse organizartion. Indeed, there
are many contemporaries, whose
opinions are moulded 3Jfter superficial or slanted reports, who
hold that Communism came suddenly to Czecho-Siovakia in 194'8,
overthrowirug whalt was previously a "\little island of Westernbrand democracy in a sea of totallitarian-ruled States" in Central Europe.
This pulblication has ()({ten
poiin,t ed out that such a concept
does not jibe with the historrc
facts. Professor Glaser of Soothem Illinois Univ-er.silty, prQlbes
deep1y into the matter. By collecting proliifiic facts from Czech,
Slovak, ~11man and American
sources (not anicy from those who
staged the February cowp d'etat),
he has gathered ample material
for his ·thoroug;h-goinig, schola-r1¥
and objective evaluation of developments in and around Czecho-Slovakia from the birth of
that State iin, 1918 to the present.
Frequent quotations from documents and other source materiall in the text make Glaser's
book not on[y interesting reading but give the reader a,n opportunity to dr,a,w conclusi.lOns of his
own from the facts and judge
the aptitude or i,naiptitude with
which histoo-ic situaltion1S were
handled at the time by decisive
(WeS'tEf!'n and Eastern) policymaking bodies and leaders.
'J.1his reviewer, who lived i-n
Czecho-Slov,a!ldia for maniy years
and eXJperienced first-hand llhe
naHonality, economic, and political pl"o'blems of that State was
astonished at Professor GU~ser's
keen _sense O!f o~rvation, understandmg, and Judlgment of the
historic facts.
Caxton pri,nters are to be cong,ratulated on pulblisrhing this excellent piece of scholarly research
and objective evaluation.
Dr. Glaser, American-born, a
Harv,ard graduate, served with the
U. S. Mill.itary Governmenlt im, occupied Germa,n y in 19416. While
serving overseas he saw at first
hand Communist encroachment in
Centraa Europe. This proximate
exiperience prompted him to
adopt, as one O!f his pri111Ci,pal interests, t-he development oo a
dynamiic anti-Oommun,ilSt policy.
With this in mind, he searched
for the reason for the Bolshevizafaon oo East-Oentral Europe,
a•n d of Czecho-Slovaki-a in particular.
The author's findings are o;f value to the student of histocy, to
contemiporacy writers on international alffairs, and to fore~
policy makers. The sulbject he
deals with is not a dead topic. It
is of timely concern and holds a
lesson for future behavior in
dealing with the Soviets and in
ma-naging effective](y psycliologicall war strategy.
Glaser aJ.so warns against misj udig-ing advke and pro,pagamda
activities of Czech politidans in
eX'ile who before 19418 had kowtowed to Staliin, and, consciously
or unconscioosly, paved tlhe w~
for Communi-st rule in OzechoSlovakia. He spotlights otbjection-
�96
SLOVAKIA
able policy and personnel management of R!adio ftee Europe and
in the c-0oo1udi.n•g chapter shows
ways for an effective anti-Commuru.st Western policy with regard t-0 Czooho-SloV'altia and EastCentral Europe.
Summing up: He, who woulld
know a•n d understand happenings
in Czecho-Slovakia during the past
decades, wil11 find Plrofessor Glaser's book a valuable guide.
American Slovaks this yewr are
commemorating their "Grand Jubilee" - the 1,lOOth a:nniversary of
the advent of SS. Cyrll and Methodius to t he land of the ancient Slova~, Great Moravia - under tlhe
SJ)onwrs hi/I) of the Slovak League
of America. A conterence of Ame·rican S 1 o v a k s is scheduled far
Waishington, D. C., April 15-6, 1963;
'1 ater a pilgritmage to Slov,a,kla aind
Rome, •I taly, where the ,p ilgrimage
will end with the dedication of the
Institute of .SS. Cyril and Methodius on Sept. 15.
X
X
Ill!
The Slovak Catholic Federation
of America 1s sponsoring the ddve
'for $600,00-0 to ·b uild and equip the
new Institute of SS. Cy'lil and Metihodiuis in Ro m e. The drive is
headed by the Most Rev. Andrew
G. Grutka, Bishop of Gary, Indiana,
who will also hea<l rthe Americain
delegation to Rome for the dedioo.tion of the Institute on •S ept. 16.
Clevela,nd and Youngs-toW1J1, 0 ., have
already held their celebrations of
the 1,lOOth anniversary of SS. Cyril
and Methodius; so have Scra'llton
and Wi.1.kes-BaTre, Pa. , an<l Brl<lg•eport, Conn. Other Slovak centel'B
in America and Gamada will keep
the celebrations going to the end
of 1963. Almost ha!lf the goal had
been rnached by tJhe end of Mareh.
X
!JC
!JC
Tido J. Gaipar, Slov·a k jour:nalist
and novelist, was 70 years obd on
MaTch 7. He "cel~brate<l" the event
,in jail, where he was placed "for
life" by the Czech Reos after W.
W . II. His "crimes" : Mlti-State activities (In his articles he ~efended
the f.nd,e,pendence o·r S!o-yl),'kia, con-
demned Stalin's mass murderis in
Katyn an<l Vinica, and opposed the
pro-Moscow policy of Prague). Gaspar, one of the most cha•mcteristic
and most expressive personalities
of Slova'k >life ,si'llce W. W. I, was
described by his colleagues a,s Slovakia's best stylist and di!plomat.
At his trial, no witnesses were allowe<l to testMy •i n his beha.lf.
X
X
!JC
Father Vojtech Trizna wa,s given
a three-year jail .term in Kosice,
Slovakia, because he allegedly "attaoked the athe.fstis, opposed coliectiviza.tdon and mass poliiticall organizaitlons," accordi'llg to a report
from Vienna..
Anton F. · Wuschttk.
YOU CAN
LEARN SLOVAK
-
IF YOU WANT TO
The New, Revised
"SLOVAK LESSONS"
Will do the trick!
•
400 PAGES • 92 LESSONS
. Bound in . Cloth
-
$8.50
ORDER TODAY!
•
Jednota Printery
Middletown. Pa.
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
President
Joseph G. Prusa
Dr. Peter P. H letko
205 Madison Street,
Passaic, N. J.
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
John A. Sabol
Vice-Presidents
140 First Avenue,
Phoenixville, Pa.
John Horecky
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 63, N. Y.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Julia Krajcovlc
John
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Secretary
Helen Kocan
Joseph Pauco
National President
Fir11t Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
107 Bradford Avenue
Middletown, Pa.
Treasurer
Paul
Paul C. Kazimer
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homes tead, Pa.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Stephen J. Tkach
National President
Pennsylvania Slovak
Catholic Union
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Philip A. Hrobak
Emrich Valko
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
National President
SloV'ak Catholic Cadet Union
(Affiliated
JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Middletown,
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
Pas.sale, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
�•
~ry:,,.---¾ ..
.
55. CYRIL AN·O METHODIU S -
~.i,-..,, ~ ··-
SLOVAK APOSTLES
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
1963, Vol. 13
Description
An account of the resource
Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963.
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
1963
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
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SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Kurt Glaser: Czecho-Slovakia, a
Critical
History, published
by tlhe Caxton Printers Ltd.,
Ca,ldwell, Idaho, 1961.. Tm-ee
maps, U photogra,phic plates,
275 pp., $5.50.
Visitors to NA'l10 headquarters
in Paris are shown a moving picture od: the "oolfapse O!f democra11ic Czecho-Slov,ak~a" under president Dr. Edward Bene§ in FebI'luary 1948, as one o'f the impeiti
toward crea.ting ain, Atlantic def8llse organizartion. Indeed, there
are many contemporaries, whose
opinions are moulded 3Jfter superficial or slanted reports, who
hold that Communism came suddenly to Czecho-Siovakia in 194'8,
overthrowirug whalt was previously a "\little island of Westernbrand democracy in a sea of totallitarian-ruled States" in Central Europe.
This pulblication has ()({ten
poiin,t ed out that such a concept
does not jibe with the historrc
facts. Professor Glaser of Soothem Illinois Univ-er.silty, prQlbes
deep1y into the matter. By collecting proliifiic facts from Czech,
Slovak, ~11man and American
sources (not anicy from those who
staged the February cowp d'etat),
he has gathered ample material
for his ·thoroug;h-goinig, schola-r1¥
and objective evaluation of developments in and around Czecho-Slovakia from the birth of
that State iin, 1918 to the present.
Frequent quotations from documents and other source materiall in the text make Glaser's
book not on[y interesting reading but give the reader a,n opportunity to dr,a,w conclusi.lOns of his
own from the facts and judge
the aptitude or i,naiptitude with
which histoo-ic situaltion1S were
handled at the time by decisive
(WeS'tEf!'n and Eastern) policymaking bodies and leaders.
'J.1his reviewer, who lived i-n
Czecho-Slov,a!ldia for maniy years
and eXJperienced first-hand llhe
naHonality, economic, and political pl"o'blems of that State was
astonished at Professor GU~ser's
keen _sense O!f o~rvation, understandmg, and Judlgment of the
historic facts.
Caxton pri,nters are to be cong,ratulated on pulblisrhing this excellent piece of scholarly research
and objective evaluation.
Dr. Glaser, American-born, a
Harv,ard graduate, served with the
U. S. Mill.itary Governmenlt im, occupied Germa,n y in 19416. While
serving overseas he saw at first
hand Communist encroachment in
Centraa Europe. This proximate
exiperience prompted him to
adopt, as one O!f his pri111Ci,pal interests, t-he development oo a
dynamiic anti-Oommun,ilSt policy.
With this in mind, he searched
for the reason for the Bolshevizafaon oo East-Oentral Europe,
a•n d of Czecho-Slovaki-a in particular.
The author's findings are o;f value to the student of histocy, to
contemiporacy writers on international alffairs, and to fore~
policy makers. The sulbject he
deals with is not a dead topic. It
is of timely concern and holds a
lesson for future behavior in
dealing with the Soviets and in
ma-naging effective](y psycliologicall war strategy.
Glaser aJ.so warns against misj udig-ing advke and pro,pagamda
activities of Czech politidans in
eX'ile who before 19418 had kowtowed to Staliin, and, consciously
or unconscioosly, paved tlhe w~
for Communi-st rule in OzechoSlovakia. He spotlights otbjection-
96
SLOVAKIA
able policy and personnel management of R!adio ftee Europe and
in the c-0oo1udi.n•g chapter shows
ways for an effective anti-Commuru.st Western policy with regard t-0 Czooho-SloV'altia and EastCentral Europe.
Summing up: He, who woulld
know a•n d understand happenings
in Czecho-Slovakia during the past
decades, wil11 find Plrofessor Glaser's book a valuable guide.
American Slovaks this yewr are
commemorating their "Grand Jubilee" - the 1,lOOth a:nniversary of
the advent of SS. Cyrll and Methodius to t he land of the ancient Slova~, Great Moravia - under tlhe
SJ)onwrs hi/I) of the Slovak League
of America. A conterence of Ame·rican S 1 o v a k s is scheduled far
Waishington, D. C., April 15-6, 1963;
'1 ater a pilgritmage to Slov,a,kla aind
Rome, •I taly, where the ,p ilgrimage
will end with the dedication of the
Institute of .SS. Cyril and Methodius on Sept. 15.
X
X
Ill!
The Slovak Catholic Federation
of America 1s sponsoring the ddve
'for $600,00-0 to ·b uild and equip the
new Institute of SS. Cy'lil and Metihodiuis in Ro m e. The drive is
headed by the Most Rev. Andrew
G. Grutka, Bishop of Gary, Indiana,
who will also hea<l rthe Americain
delegation to Rome for the dedioo.tion of the Institute on •S ept. 16.
Clevela,nd and Youngs-toW1J1, 0 ., have
already held their celebrations of
the 1,lOOth anniversary of SS. Cyril
and Methodius; so have Scra'llton
and Wi.1.kes-BaTre, Pa. , an<l Brl<lg•eport, Conn. Other Slovak centel'B
in America and Gamada will keep
the celebrations going to the end
of 1963. Almost ha!lf the goal had
been rnached by tJhe end of Mareh.
X
!JC
!JC
Tido J. Gaipar, Slov·a k jour:nalist
and novelist, was 70 years obd on
MaTch 7. He "cel~brate<l" the event
,in jail, where he was placed "for
life" by the Czech Reos after W.
W . II. His "crimes" : Mlti-State activities (In his articles he ~efended
the f.nd,e,pendence o·r S!o-yl),'kia, con-
demned Stalin's mass murderis in
Katyn an<l Vinica, and opposed the
pro-Moscow policy of Prague). Gaspar, one of the most cha•mcteristic
and most expressive personalities
of Slova'k >life ,si'llce W. W. I, was
described by his colleagues a,s Slovakia's best stylist and di!plomat.
At his trial, no witnesses were allowe<l to testMy •i n his beha.lf.
X
X
!JC
Father Vojtech Trizna wa,s given
a three-year jail .term in Kosice,
Slovakia, because he allegedly "attaoked the athe.fstis, opposed coliectiviza.tdon and mass poliiticall organizaitlons," accordi'llg to a report
from Vienna..
Anton F. · Wuschttk.
YOU CAN
LEARN SLOVAK
-
IF YOU WANT TO
The New, Revised
"SLOVAK LESSONS"
Will do the trick!
•
400 PAGES • 92 LESSONS
. Bound in . Cloth
-
$8.50
ORDER TODAY!
•
Jednota Printery
Middletown. Pa.
Officers of the Slovak League of America
(Organized May 26, 1907, Cleveland, Ohio)
President
Joseph G. Prusa
Dr. Peter P. H letko
205 Madison Street,
Passaic, N. J.
Batavia Rd., Box 48
Warrensville, Ill.
John A. Sabol
Vice-Presidents
140 First Avenue,
Phoenixville, Pa.
John Horecky
2264 Walton Ave.
New York 63, N. Y.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Julia Krajcovlc
John
1648 W. 18th Street
Chicago 8, Ill.
A.
Sabol
National President
First Catholic Slovak Union
Secretary
Helen Kocan
Joseph Pauco
National President
Fir11t Catholic Slovak
Ladies Union
107 Bradford Avenue
Middletown, Pa.
Treasurer
Paul
Paul C. Kazimer
Fallat
National President
Slovak Catholic Sokol
1122 Sylvan Avenue
Homes tead, Pa.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Stephen J. Tkach
National President
Pennsylvania Slovak
Catholic Union
Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P.A.
12608 Madison Avenue
Lakewood 7, Ohio
Anna Sotak
National President
Ladies Pennsylvania
Slovak Catholic Union
Paul P. Jamriska
536 Marie Ave.
Pittsburgh 2, Pa.
Philip A. Hrobak
Emrich Valko
P. 0. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
National President
SloV'ak Catholic Cadet Union
(Affiliated
JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
BRATSTVO
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Middletown,
KATOLiCKY SOKOL
SVORNOST
Pas.sale, N. J.
Whitaker, Pa.
•
~ry:,,.---¾ ..
.
55. CYRIL AN·O METHODIU S -
~.i,-..,, ~ ··-
SLOVAK APOSTLES
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. 13, No. 1 (36)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1963
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6588459817e56258aac0fa3c887ef501.pdf
9948f8cbe996bd48112c43a072ff5208
PDF Text
Text
SWVAKIA
91
CZECH COMMUNISM AND SWVAK RESENTMENT
Impressions from Czecho-Slovakia
From a Correspondent
Travelling in Czecho-Slovakia, I found a good deal altered in a year: that Czecho-Slovakia in 1961 was more relaxed than in 1960; that people were paying less attention to official pronouncements; that they were venturing
some timid criticism; that they were more ready to exchange views with visitors from the West. They still dislike Poles, considering them "dangerous rebels," but again
it seems that in Czecho-Polish relations there is more ease
than a few years ago, and that some of the thorny problems of traffic across the frontiers ( especially in the region
of the Tatra Mountains) have been solved.
The ferocity of Czech press announcements about
Berlin is really astounding. Even the E . German press
eannot be surpassed in the force of their artifically con,cocted chauvinism. Czech papers are full to the brim of
stol"ies about Berlin and an atmosphere of crisis is worked
up by those preposterous Czech papers, which offer a
strong contrast with Polish papers, still rather restrained
in their comments. The Czech official policy demands a
" quick solution" of the problem; they are all for an immediate signing of the Peace Treaty with DDR.. For the
first time in years one discovers in those papers a really
warlike attitude: almost a Martian one, if it were not
ordered from above. For the average Czech is not at all
inclined to risk any adventure. Berlin or no Berlin: they
are not for sabre rattling. They are quite happy in selling guns, and very good guns at that, to Cuba and Egypt,
and Iraq, and many countries around the globe ( China included). But they abhor war.
Czech arms seem to be produced at overtime speed and
in enormous quantities. I was told by an engineer in Brno
that the Skoda works are producing more now than during the German rule in Bohemia. "The quality is probably lower," he explained, "but the quantity is huge. We
send arms to China on an enormous scale. We supply Cuba
and Egypt and the whole of the Middle East. And Africa.
This is our chief export today." Czech cars - Skoda and
�92
SLOVAKIA
Tatra - are exported not only to the satellite countries
and to Russia but also to the Middle East. So are Czech
aircraft, or, rather, Russian aircraft manufactured or assembled in Czecho-Slovakia.
Bohemia is a huge milit.ary fact,ory, a schooling centre
for foreign communists, and . an assembly place for Communists from Asia and Africa. In Prague one is always
meeting delegations from Asia and Africa, from South
America and from Cuba; there are young Communists who
attend special schools and courses. Czecho-Slovakia more particularly Bohemia - knows how to exploit its
central position and the fact that long before the war there
was a well-established Communist Party; the present-day
officiai' organ, Rude .Pri.,·o, has been appearing for many
years and Czech Communists survived much better than
the Polish variety: Most of them escaped purges; actually,
purges before the war were extremely mild and did not
touch the core of the Party ( as they did in Poland and in
other East European countries).
So the Czechs are selling their arms and their ideology
to foreign countries with great zeal and ingenuity. They
want to export, they want to trade, they want to receive
tourists. Marianske Lazne and Karlove Vary, the former
Marienbad and Karsbad, are almost flourishing again,
together with that wonderful Slovak spa, Piest:any, probably the watering place most effective against rheumatism and arthritis Europe can offer. In Karlove Vary
thousands of French, German, English, Russian and Belgian tourists are much in evidence. And the Czechs are
willing to do anything to attract foreigners. They are doing this much better than the Poles: but they have more
to offer to the outside world - a string of world-famous
spas, lovely mountains (the Tatra range) and one of the
finest towns in Europe, Prague, untouched by the ravages of war.
But what strikes an observt,r who has been to Slovakia after a long absence is the steady dislike, through so
many political changes, the Slovaks have for the Czechs.
The enmity of the Slovaks vis-a-vis the C7.echs is now
great.er than before the war. They openly accuse the
Czechs of a "policy of grab and plunder" which does not
seem entirely to tally with facts as Slovakia appears to
�SLOVAKIA
93
be a much more prosperous country than before the war.
Factories and workshops pop up in most unlikely places,
some of them hidden among the forests and in the picturesque valleys. Slovakia reminds one of the Tyrol and
the mountainous provinces of Austria which, after the
war, have been subjected to industrialization with the result that Austria has now achieved a much better balance between industry and agriculture.
But a rider should be added here: while in the Western
provinces of Austria the newly created industries - some
built to make post-war Austria independent of the Eastern provinces then under Russian occupation - belonged
to the domain of light industries, the same is not true of
Slovakia. In the Vah Valley and in other places Slovak
industries belong without doubt to the heavy category. In
the over-all Russian plan for industrialization of satellites,
Slovakia was assigned a quite important place. Some of
the factories work for war industry, some of the heavy
industry plants are well hidden in forests and woods or
among the undulating slopes of the Fatra and other mountain ranges. They are thoroughly camouflaged in case of
war, and their importance must not be underrated. There
are, I learned, several aircraft factories in the Fatra rerion, and the country is dotted - that one can tell even
during a car journey across Slovakia - with airfields and
runways. Slovakia has been made into a military camp.
This Slovakia resents bitterly. "As if they had not
enough in their Skoda works and what-not," I heard in
Banska Bystrica. "Why did they come to us and make our
lovely countryside hateful and ugly! Our mountains and
hills, our valleys and forests, are changing beyond .recognition. Smoke, and din and noise everywhere."
The Slovaks feel they are being exploited both by
Russians and by Czechs. ''The Czechs want to take from
us all the food and best positions," I was told in Lubochna,
the lovely watering place on the River Vah. ''They haven't
leamed anything from the past. They are at their tricks
again. We hate them like poison."
The feeling of intense dislike towards the "oppressor
Czechs" and "exploiting Russians" prevails in the toWDS,
villages and hamlets of Slovakia. The Slovak Communists
are as vociferous in their criticism of their <n.ech comrades
�94
SLOVAKIA
as any peasant in a village inn. They resent the "omnipresence of the Czech element" and the "arrogant attitude of
those people from Prague." Before the war this dislikewas not so strongly colored; it was toned down in places
like Bratislava and in the region of the Tatra. In the Tatra
region, in the Tatranska Lomnica and other places ( where
the Hungarians have left their pre-first World War splendid
sanatoria and residences), the enmity towards the "Czech
overlords" speaks in an undisguised voice.
It is a tragedy, but the new Czecho-Slovakia (a twopartite country, for it has lost its third "canton," Subcarpathian Ruthenia, as well as its unofficial fourth, Sudetenland, as the Germans were driven from there almost to a
man) has not succeeded in satisfactorily reshaping the
country and uniting it with bonds of loyalty and genuine
collaboration. The differences between Slovaks and Czechs
have become accentuated; in all problems where the Czechs
say "white," the Slovaks say "black." And so, for instance,
in the matter of the Berlin crisis the Czechs are more or
less behind their official policy: They are voicing very
stridently the view that "West Berlin should be liquidated."
The Slovaks assert that there is no reason for such a move
and that East Germans are oppressed by their regime ...
-
THE TABLET, London, Sept. 23, 1961.
Learn Slova!k, the key language to all Slav languages, the easy way. You can do it in several months
if you use the newest book by P. A. Hrobak.
LET'S LEARN SWVAK
Recomended for ·b oth the young and the old. The
book contains 64 lessons on 200 pages and is bound in
a hard ,p aper cover. You can get a copy by sending
Two Dollars ($2.00) to:
P.A.HROBAK
Jednota Printery
Middletown, PA .
•
�
SWVAKIA
91
CZECH COMMUNISM AND SWVAK RESENTMENT
Impressions from Czecho-Slovakia
From a Correspondent
Travelling in Czecho-Slovakia, I found a good deal altered in a year: that Czecho-Slovakia in 1961 was more relaxed than in 1960; that people were paying less attention to official pronouncements; that they were venturing
some timid criticism; that they were more ready to exchange views with visitors from the West. They still dislike Poles, considering them "dangerous rebels," but again
it seems that in Czecho-Polish relations there is more ease
than a few years ago, and that some of the thorny problems of traffic across the frontiers ( especially in the region
of the Tatra Mountains) have been solved.
The ferocity of Czech press announcements about
Berlin is really astounding. Even the E . German press
eannot be surpassed in the force of their artifically con,cocted chauvinism. Czech papers are full to the brim of
stol"ies about Berlin and an atmosphere of crisis is worked
up by those preposterous Czech papers, which offer a
strong contrast with Polish papers, still rather restrained
in their comments. The Czech official policy demands a
" quick solution" of the problem; they are all for an immediate signing of the Peace Treaty with DDR.. For the
first time in years one discovers in those papers a really
warlike attitude: almost a Martian one, if it were not
ordered from above. For the average Czech is not at all
inclined to risk any adventure. Berlin or no Berlin: they
are not for sabre rattling. They are quite happy in selling guns, and very good guns at that, to Cuba and Egypt,
and Iraq, and many countries around the globe ( China included). But they abhor war.
Czech arms seem to be produced at overtime speed and
in enormous quantities. I was told by an engineer in Brno
that the Skoda works are producing more now than during the German rule in Bohemia. "The quality is probably lower," he explained, "but the quantity is huge. We
send arms to China on an enormous scale. We supply Cuba
and Egypt and the whole of the Middle East. And Africa.
This is our chief export today." Czech cars - Skoda and
�92
SLOVAKIA
Tatra - are exported not only to the satellite countries
and to Russia but also to the Middle East. So are Czech
aircraft, or, rather, Russian aircraft manufactured or assembled in Czecho-Slovakia.
Bohemia is a huge milit.ary fact,ory, a schooling centre
for foreign communists, and . an assembly place for Communists from Asia and Africa. In Prague one is always
meeting delegations from Asia and Africa, from South
America and from Cuba; there are young Communists who
attend special schools and courses. Czecho-Slovakia more particularly Bohemia - knows how to exploit its
central position and the fact that long before the war there
was a well-established Communist Party; the present-day
officiai' organ, Rude .Pri.,·o, has been appearing for many
years and Czech Communists survived much better than
the Polish variety: Most of them escaped purges; actually,
purges before the war were extremely mild and did not
touch the core of the Party ( as they did in Poland and in
other East European countries).
So the Czechs are selling their arms and their ideology
to foreign countries with great zeal and ingenuity. They
want to export, they want to trade, they want to receive
tourists. Marianske Lazne and Karlove Vary, the former
Marienbad and Karsbad, are almost flourishing again,
together with that wonderful Slovak spa, Piest:any, probably the watering place most effective against rheumatism and arthritis Europe can offer. In Karlove Vary
thousands of French, German, English, Russian and Belgian tourists are much in evidence. And the Czechs are
willing to do anything to attract foreigners. They are doing this much better than the Poles: but they have more
to offer to the outside world - a string of world-famous
spas, lovely mountains (the Tatra range) and one of the
finest towns in Europe, Prague, untouched by the ravages of war.
But what strikes an observt,r who has been to Slovakia after a long absence is the steady dislike, through so
many political changes, the Slovaks have for the Czechs.
The enmity of the Slovaks vis-a-vis the C7.echs is now
great.er than before the war. They openly accuse the
Czechs of a "policy of grab and plunder" which does not
seem entirely to tally with facts as Slovakia appears to
�SLOVAKIA
93
be a much more prosperous country than before the war.
Factories and workshops pop up in most unlikely places,
some of them hidden among the forests and in the picturesque valleys. Slovakia reminds one of the Tyrol and
the mountainous provinces of Austria which, after the
war, have been subjected to industrialization with the result that Austria has now achieved a much better balance between industry and agriculture.
But a rider should be added here: while in the Western
provinces of Austria the newly created industries - some
built to make post-war Austria independent of the Eastern provinces then under Russian occupation - belonged
to the domain of light industries, the same is not true of
Slovakia. In the Vah Valley and in other places Slovak
industries belong without doubt to the heavy category. In
the over-all Russian plan for industrialization of satellites,
Slovakia was assigned a quite important place. Some of
the factories work for war industry, some of the heavy
industry plants are well hidden in forests and woods or
among the undulating slopes of the Fatra and other mountain ranges. They are thoroughly camouflaged in case of
war, and their importance must not be underrated. There
are, I learned, several aircraft factories in the Fatra rerion, and the country is dotted - that one can tell even
during a car journey across Slovakia - with airfields and
runways. Slovakia has been made into a military camp.
This Slovakia resents bitterly. "As if they had not
enough in their Skoda works and what-not," I heard in
Banska Bystrica. "Why did they come to us and make our
lovely countryside hateful and ugly! Our mountains and
hills, our valleys and forests, are changing beyond .recognition. Smoke, and din and noise everywhere."
The Slovaks feel they are being exploited both by
Russians and by Czechs. ''The Czechs want to take from
us all the food and best positions," I was told in Lubochna,
the lovely watering place on the River Vah. ''They haven't
leamed anything from the past. They are at their tricks
again. We hate them like poison."
The feeling of intense dislike towards the "oppressor
Czechs" and "exploiting Russians" prevails in the toWDS,
villages and hamlets of Slovakia. The Slovak Communists
are as vociferous in their criticism of their <n.ech comrades
�94
SLOVAKIA
as any peasant in a village inn. They resent the "omnipresence of the Czech element" and the "arrogant attitude of
those people from Prague." Before the war this dislikewas not so strongly colored; it was toned down in places
like Bratislava and in the region of the Tatra. In the Tatra
region, in the Tatranska Lomnica and other places ( where
the Hungarians have left their pre-first World War splendid
sanatoria and residences), the enmity towards the "Czech
overlords" speaks in an undisguised voice.
It is a tragedy, but the new Czecho-Slovakia (a twopartite country, for it has lost its third "canton," Subcarpathian Ruthenia, as well as its unofficial fourth, Sudetenland, as the Germans were driven from there almost to a
man) has not succeeded in satisfactorily reshaping the
country and uniting it with bonds of loyalty and genuine
collaboration. The differences between Slovaks and Czechs
have become accentuated; in all problems where the Czechs
say "white," the Slovaks say "black." And so, for instance,
in the matter of the Berlin crisis the Czechs are more or
less behind their official policy: They are voicing very
stridently the view that "West Berlin should be liquidated."
The Slovaks assert that there is no reason for such a move
and that East Germans are oppressed by their regime ...
-
THE TABLET, London, Sept. 23, 1961.
Learn Slova!k, the key language to all Slav languages, the easy way. You can do it in several months
if you use the newest book by P. A. Hrobak.
LET'S LEARN SWVAK
Recomended for ·b oth the young and the old. The
book contains 64 lessons on 200 pages and is bound in
a hard ,p aper cover. You can get a copy by sending
Two Dollars ($2.00) to:
P.A.HROBAK
Jednota Printery
Middletown, 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
1963, Vol. 13
Description
An account of the resource
Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963.
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
1963
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
SWVAKIA
91
CZECH COMMUNISM AND SWVAK RESENTMENT
Impressions from Czecho-Slovakia
From a Correspondent
Travelling in Czecho-Slovakia, I found a good deal altered in a year: that Czecho-Slovakia in 1961 was more relaxed than in 1960; that people were paying less attention to official pronouncements; that they were venturing
some timid criticism; that they were more ready to exchange views with visitors from the West. They still dislike Poles, considering them "dangerous rebels," but again
it seems that in Czecho-Polish relations there is more ease
than a few years ago, and that some of the thorny problems of traffic across the frontiers ( especially in the region
of the Tatra Mountains) have been solved.
The ferocity of Czech press announcements about
Berlin is really astounding. Even the E . German press
eannot be surpassed in the force of their artifically con,cocted chauvinism. Czech papers are full to the brim of
stol"ies about Berlin and an atmosphere of crisis is worked
up by those preposterous Czech papers, which offer a
strong contrast with Polish papers, still rather restrained
in their comments. The Czech official policy demands a
" quick solution" of the problem; they are all for an immediate signing of the Peace Treaty with DDR.. For the
first time in years one discovers in those papers a really
warlike attitude: almost a Martian one, if it were not
ordered from above. For the average Czech is not at all
inclined to risk any adventure. Berlin or no Berlin: they
are not for sabre rattling. They are quite happy in selling guns, and very good guns at that, to Cuba and Egypt,
and Iraq, and many countries around the globe ( China included). But they abhor war.
Czech arms seem to be produced at overtime speed and
in enormous quantities. I was told by an engineer in Brno
that the Skoda works are producing more now than during the German rule in Bohemia. "The quality is probably lower," he explained, "but the quantity is huge. We
send arms to China on an enormous scale. We supply Cuba
and Egypt and the whole of the Middle East. And Africa.
This is our chief export today." Czech cars - Skoda and
92
SLOVAKIA
Tatra - are exported not only to the satellite countries
and to Russia but also to the Middle East. So are Czech
aircraft, or, rather, Russian aircraft manufactured or assembled in Czecho-Slovakia.
Bohemia is a huge milit.ary fact,ory, a schooling centre
for foreign communists, and . an assembly place for Communists from Asia and Africa. In Prague one is always
meeting delegations from Asia and Africa, from South
America and from Cuba; there are young Communists who
attend special schools and courses. Czecho-Slovakia more particularly Bohemia - knows how to exploit its
central position and the fact that long before the war there
was a well-established Communist Party; the present-day
officiai' organ, Rude .Pri.,·o, has been appearing for many
years and Czech Communists survived much better than
the Polish variety: Most of them escaped purges; actually,
purges before the war were extremely mild and did not
touch the core of the Party ( as they did in Poland and in
other East European countries).
So the Czechs are selling their arms and their ideology
to foreign countries with great zeal and ingenuity. They
want to export, they want to trade, they want to receive
tourists. Marianske Lazne and Karlove Vary, the former
Marienbad and Karsbad, are almost flourishing again,
together with that wonderful Slovak spa, Piest:any, probably the watering place most effective against rheumatism and arthritis Europe can offer. In Karlove Vary
thousands of French, German, English, Russian and Belgian tourists are much in evidence. And the Czechs are
willing to do anything to attract foreigners. They are doing this much better than the Poles: but they have more
to offer to the outside world - a string of world-famous
spas, lovely mountains (the Tatra range) and one of the
finest towns in Europe, Prague, untouched by the ravages of war.
But what strikes an observt,r who has been to Slovakia after a long absence is the steady dislike, through so
many political changes, the Slovaks have for the Czechs.
The enmity of the Slovaks vis-a-vis the C7.echs is now
great.er than before the war. They openly accuse the
Czechs of a "policy of grab and plunder" which does not
seem entirely to tally with facts as Slovakia appears to
SLOVAKIA
93
be a much more prosperous country than before the war.
Factories and workshops pop up in most unlikely places,
some of them hidden among the forests and in the picturesque valleys. Slovakia reminds one of the Tyrol and
the mountainous provinces of Austria which, after the
war, have been subjected to industrialization with the result that Austria has now achieved a much better balance between industry and agriculture.
But a rider should be added here: while in the Western
provinces of Austria the newly created industries - some
built to make post-war Austria independent of the Eastern provinces then under Russian occupation - belonged
to the domain of light industries, the same is not true of
Slovakia. In the Vah Valley and in other places Slovak
industries belong without doubt to the heavy category. In
the over-all Russian plan for industrialization of satellites,
Slovakia was assigned a quite important place. Some of
the factories work for war industry, some of the heavy
industry plants are well hidden in forests and woods or
among the undulating slopes of the Fatra and other mountain ranges. They are thoroughly camouflaged in case of
war, and their importance must not be underrated. There
are, I learned, several aircraft factories in the Fatra rerion, and the country is dotted - that one can tell even
during a car journey across Slovakia - with airfields and
runways. Slovakia has been made into a military camp.
This Slovakia resents bitterly. "As if they had not
enough in their Skoda works and what-not," I heard in
Banska Bystrica. "Why did they come to us and make our
lovely countryside hateful and ugly! Our mountains and
hills, our valleys and forests, are changing beyond .recognition. Smoke, and din and noise everywhere."
The Slovaks feel they are being exploited both by
Russians and by Czechs. ''The Czechs want to take from
us all the food and best positions," I was told in Lubochna,
the lovely watering place on the River Vah. ''They haven't
leamed anything from the past. They are at their tricks
again. We hate them like poison."
The feeling of intense dislike towards the "oppressor
Czechs" and "exploiting Russians" prevails in the toWDS,
villages and hamlets of Slovakia. The Slovak Communists
are as vociferous in their criticism of their <n.ech comrades
94
SLOVAKIA
as any peasant in a village inn. They resent the "omnipresence of the Czech element" and the "arrogant attitude of
those people from Prague." Before the war this dislikewas not so strongly colored; it was toned down in places
like Bratislava and in the region of the Tatra. In the Tatra
region, in the Tatranska Lomnica and other places ( where
the Hungarians have left their pre-first World War splendid
sanatoria and residences), the enmity towards the "Czech
overlords" speaks in an undisguised voice.
It is a tragedy, but the new Czecho-Slovakia (a twopartite country, for it has lost its third "canton," Subcarpathian Ruthenia, as well as its unofficial fourth, Sudetenland, as the Germans were driven from there almost to a
man) has not succeeded in satisfactorily reshaping the
country and uniting it with bonds of loyalty and genuine
collaboration. The differences between Slovaks and Czechs
have become accentuated; in all problems where the Czechs
say "white," the Slovaks say "black." And so, for instance,
in the matter of the Berlin crisis the Czechs are more or
less behind their official policy: They are voicing very
stridently the view that "West Berlin should be liquidated."
The Slovaks assert that there is no reason for such a move
and that East Germans are oppressed by their regime ...
-
THE TABLET, London, Sept. 23, 1961.
Learn Slova!k, the key language to all Slav languages, the easy way. You can do it in several months
if you use the newest book by P. A. Hrobak.
LET'S LEARN SWVAK
Recomended for ·b oth the young and the old. The
book contains 64 lessons on 200 pages and is bound in
a hard ,p aper cover. You can get a copy by sending
Two Dollars ($2.00) to:
P.A.HROBAK
Jednota Printery
Middletown, PA .
•
Dublin Core
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Title
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Czech Communism and Slovak Resentment: Impressions from Czecho-Slovakia
Description
An account of the resource
From a Correspondent
Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963
pp. 91-94
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1963
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/562a6f327343acfaed35e21ca845f7c7.pdf
f5967ce27e0b557cc3bf75ba1956eb56
PDF Text
Text
SLO V
VOL. XIII
MARCH, 1963
NO 1 36)
IN Tms ISSUE:
How Christian-ity Came to the Slovaks
The Meaning of the Cyrilo-Methodian Jubilee
Where Did St. Methodius Die?
The Paintings in the Basilica of St. Clement
American Slovaks and SS. Cyril and Methodius
The La'nguage of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
The Slovanic Church and Slovanic Literature
SS. Cyril and Methodius: Their First Trip
to Rome
A Hundred Years of the Matica Slovenska
The Matica ·s 1ovenska in America
Prague Between Moscow and Berlin
Czech Reds Have School T.rouble
A Policy of Genocide
Czech Communism and Slovak Resentment
Book Review
News Items: 12, 16, 96
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
·r •1co
pl IL p . H
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CfilNTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA" -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00
L'UDOviT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better under·
standing and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A . -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P.O. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U.S.A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
�
SLO V
VOL. XIII
MARCH, 1963
NO 1 36)
IN Tms ISSUE:
How Christian-ity Came to the Slovaks
The Meaning of the Cyrilo-Methodian Jubilee
Where Did St. Methodius Die?
The Paintings in the Basilica of St. Clement
American Slovaks and SS. Cyril and Methodius
The La'nguage of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
The Slovanic Church and Slovanic Literature
SS. Cyril and Methodius: Their First Trip
to Rome
A Hundred Years of the Matica Slovenska
The Matica ·s 1ovenska in America
Prague Between Moscow and Berlin
Czech Reds Have School T.rouble
A Policy of Genocide
Czech Communism and Slovak Resentment
Book Review
News Items: 12, 16, 96
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
·r •1co
pl IL p . H
�RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CfilNTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA" -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00
L'UDOviT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better under·
standing and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A . -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P.O. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U.S.A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, 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
1963, Vol. 13
Description
An account of the resource
Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963.
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
1963
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
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SLO V
VOL. XIII
MARCH, 1963
NO 1 36)
IN Tms ISSUE:
How Christian-ity Came to the Slovaks
The Meaning of the Cyrilo-Methodian Jubilee
Where Did St. Methodius Die?
The Paintings in the Basilica of St. Clement
American Slovaks and SS. Cyril and Methodius
The La'nguage of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
The Slovanic Church and Slovanic Literature
SS. Cyril and Methodius: Their First Trip
to Rome
A Hundred Years of the Matica Slovenska
The Matica ·s 1ovenska in America
Prague Between Moscow and Berlin
Czech Reds Have School T.rouble
A Policy of Genocide
Czech Communism and Slovak Resentment
Book Review
News Items: 12, 16, 96
Published by
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
·r •1co
pl IL p . H
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00.
SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CfilNTRAL
EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00.
THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00.
SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper);
$2.00 (cloth cover).
THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50.
SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50.
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA" -
History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c.
UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00
L'UDOviT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD,
Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c.
ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00.
♦
♦
♦
SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of
America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak
descent.
The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better under·
standing and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard
struggle for freedom and independence.
$1.00 per annum in the U. S. A . -
$2.00 elsewhere.
SLOVAKIA
P.O. Box 150
Middletown, Pa.
Printed in the U.S.A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
Middletown, Pa.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 1963
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b6fb8863460a53f5387d2c57104cb1a9.jpg
2df17f65cd028fbc4e0ec016fb34b014
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
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Title
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Ruins of the Spiš Castle
Description
An account of the resource
Ruins of the Spiš Castle from the western side, Spiš County, Slovakia. The fortress, built inthe 13th century, was destroyed by fire in 1780.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Source: <a href="/items/show/193">Vol. 5, No. 1 (Issue No. 14), 1955, back cover</a>.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1955
castles
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/ce332654afd2e34c2be719229798e1a1.pdf
fd85ea60f735a041e9b4050b531a7f3a
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
85
BOOK REVIEW
Slovakia - A Political History 1918-1950 by Joseph A.
Mikus, The Marquette University Press Milwaukee, Wisc.
1963, XXXIII - 392 pages. Appendices, Bibliography, statistical tables, indices.
Not only scholars but anyone interested in the problems
of Central Eastern Europe
will find in Mikus' book a serious attempt at a scholarly analysis and an objective presentation of Slovakia's history in
the pre-war and post-war
Czecho-Slovakia. Since Prague
remains the most faithful satellite of Moscow, the book
might be of great interest also
for students of East-West relations.
The original French edition
published in 1955, was received by many critics in Europe
and in United States as a valuable contribution to an understanding of Central European
history. The English edition,
in its revised and completed
form, will serve that purpose
now in the Anglo-Saxon cultural orbit, where, for years,
many misconceptions on Slovakia and Czecho-Slovakia
were spread, not only through
political media, but also by
scholarly works.
By contradicting the accept-
ed versions of Czecho-Slovakia's history, the book is bound
to be labeled as controversial,
even if the author (former
diplomat and lecturer in history at an American university) supports his conclusions
with a rich abundance of documents, statistics and careful analysis of events. Serious
students of Central European
history would, however, value
the book for this reason even
higher, since the monotony of
Czech versions is broken by a
well founded and academically elaborate challenge. Historiography on Slovakia in English, so far represented only
by a few scholarly works (R.
W. Seton-Watson, C. A. Macartney, J. M. Kirschbaum, G.
L. Oddo), is undoubtedly enriched by this volume, and
even if some interpretations
were already formulated in
other English writings of Slovak authors, Mikus' book is
larger in scope, more detailed
and covers a longer period
than any other of the recent
English publications by Slovak
authors.
Besides being "a study of
the internal weaknesses of
Czecho-Slovakia as reflected in
the political, cultural, economic, and social relations of the
�SLOVAKIA
86
Czechs and Slovaks" the book
contains also a positive approac~ to the future of Central Europe. The author rightly
sees the only durable solution
in "the political, military and
economic integration of Central Europe, which would respect the national personalities and self-government of all
peoples". Needless to say, the
book advocates democracy and
unveils all the mistakes and
inadequacy of the present
Communist regime in Slovakia, a country with thousand
years old Christian traditions.
The value of the book is enhanced by many documents as
well as by the fact that literature in several languages was
used by the author to support
his conclusions.
J. M . Kirschbaum
Challenge
of the
Steppes
by Joseph F. Rudinsky, D. D.,
L.L.D. Robert Speller and
Sons, New York, 1963, XX
342 pages. Index.
Among several books which
try to explain to the American
reader the phenomenon of the
Soviet expansion in Central
Europe, this book by an outstanding Slovak intellectual
and former professor at the
School of Political science in
Prague, is differenent by its
approach and method. Unlike
the other writings of Central
European refugee politicians
or authors, Rudinsky approaches the problems also
from the philosophical and religious point of view and from
centuries long development
of Europe. There is no exageration in saying that the book
is a thought provoking account of the age-old conflict
between East and West from
the time of the Huns to Stalin.
Rudinsky's assertion that
Marxism-Leninism of the Soviet brand is essentially a philosophy and way of life of seminomads seems logical and ac-ceptable in his well founded
analysis.
In this age-long conflict, the
.peoples of Central and Eastern
Europe had acted as barricades against Eastern invaders in
Rudinsky's view and, therefore, the book deals with the
problem of Austria-Hungary
and with the states and politicians who came after the dismemberment of the Habsburg
empire. Even if there are numerous books on this subject,
Rudinsky brings new observations and treats the old empire with much more objectivity than it was done - especially by Czech writers until now. His analysis of the
collapse of the Empire and of
the policy of the new states in
Central Eastern Europe be-
�SLOVAKIA
tween the two wars is a valuable contribution to the history of that area.
With its chapter on CzechoSlovakia and the policy of Dr.
E. Benes, the book also completes the writings of other
Slovak authors (Durcansky,
Kirschbaum, Mikus, Pauco,
Culen, Durica, Vnuk, etc.),
not only by Rudinsky's first
hand knowledge of Dr. Benes
and Prague government's policy toward Slovakia (he was a
close confidence-man of Dr.
M. Hodza), but also by the approach to the subject. While
the Slovak writers on political
matters rather follow the descriptive method and sober
style of American political literature, Dr. Rudinsky's style
and approach to the subject
reminds us of the French political school of the pre-war
generation. Methodical[y the
book is also different. It is
composed of several essays
which are linked together only
by the general idea. It is, in
any case, a book of interesL
and a refined intellectual
reading material.
87
Slovak literature being either unknown or misinterpreted
in American symposia on Slavic civilization, is a study that
will be welcome by students
of literatures and professors,
but also by many educated
Americans of Slovak and Slavic background. It is, so far,
the best and most complete
English survey and introduction to Slovak literature. The
author, former professor of
Slavic civilization at the Department of Slavic studies in
Montreal, used an abundance
of sources in several languages to present Slovak literature
in a new and objective light.
The author proves the thesis, maintained by Western
literary historians, that Slovak
literature began only in the
19th century is without foundation. This misconception
was spread, says the writer,
mainly by Czech scholars and
foreign slavists educated at
Czech universities. According
to Marxist scholars, Slovak
history of literature goes back
to the period of St. Cyril and
Methodius and literature in
Slovakia developed in several
jk
languages before the Slovak
vernacular was codified by
Slovak Literary History in
Anton Bernolak in the 18th
Marxist Interpretation s. By J.
century.
M. Kirschbaum, Ph. D., A reThe value of the study lies
print from Canadian Slavonic
Papers, published by Univer- also in acquainting the reader
with many sources in Slavic
sity of Toronto Press, 1964.
�1
88
SLOVAKIA
or foreign languages which
deal with Slovak literature.
T h e Marxist interpretation
seems to be treated for the
first time in the English language in this concise and well
written survey. Published in
Canadian S 1 a v o n i c Papers,
whose editors are several outstanding Canadian Slavists,
the study undoubtedly went
through a thorough examination before printed, which
adds to its value.
J.P.
An Outline of Slovakia' s
Struggle for Independence .
By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D.,
Ph. D. Published by the Canadian Slovak League, Toronto,
1964. 40 pages, llustrated appendices, biblography.
The controversial subject of
Slovakia's independence is
treated in this concise publication with the evident aim to
refute the false legends which
the hostile propaganda of the
Czech and Communist politicians spread in the West. The
booklet was published on the
occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Slovakia's independence, but its
value is far greater than is usual with publications written
for celebrating anniversaries
of political events.
In five short chapters the
author gathered all the evidence available in diplomatic
and other sources to prove
that Slovakia's striving for independence developed independently of German policy
and that Berlin for some time
preferred other solutions. The
chapter on international recognition of the Slovak Republic also shows that originally
Great Britian, the Soviet Union and some other 30 state:;
established diplomatic or consular relations with Slovakia
and not only Germany and the
Axis, as tendenciously write
American sources on the Second World War.
The closing chapters give
an account on Sovietization of
Slovakia and on the prospects
of Slovak democracy. Three
appeals for Slovakia's freedom, recorded in the Congress
of the United States, some statistical data and bibliography
complete the picture ancl
make of this concise publication a source of useful information for politicians, diplomats and students of history
of Central Europe.
J.P.
�independence, the right of every nation to freely choose
its cwn form of government and freely elect persons
of its own choice by whom it shall be governed;
condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny,
every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak
League of America has always recognized the Godless
philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread
evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is,
as the political system which threatens mankind with
utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely
against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off
the face of the earth;
firmly believes that the national existence and welfare
of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the
Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak
Republic;
as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely
against the dominat ion and exploitation of the Slovak
nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks
did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation;
heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and
other organs to f erret 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 ;
stands for honesty, integrity, industry and justice in
government.
SLOVAKIA
$2 .00 per annum in the U.S.A. Published by
$3.00 elsewhere.
~
\~~
y.~ \)
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
313 Ridge Avenue
M i d d l etown , Pa., 17057
PRINTED IN THE U.S. A .
JEDNOTA PRESS
M i ddletown , Pa. 17057
,L
.
c..\ ,Q
v;:/ ·
-;:;,
[.f!- (!},,
-:.,.,'
, ":'-?
:
,·
~-"' ._ .• ,.'i
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
Stephen J. Tkach, President
173 North Main Street
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Dr. Jos~ph Pauc o, Sec'y-Treasurer
313 Ridge Avenue
MiddletOWlll, Pa.
Edwal'd J. Behuncik, Vice-Pres. Mrs. Julla Krajcovic, Ladies Vice-Pres.
Executiv-e Cpmmibtee: Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P .A., Dr. Peter P . Hletko,
Paul Jamris ka, Jose.p h G. Pmsa, John A. Sabol, Eli.zaibeth Andrejko
SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS
(Alffillated wi,th the Slovak League of America)
THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION
Cleveland, Ohio - Membership: 104,000
THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES UNION
Cl eveland, Oh io - Membership: 95 ,000
THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL
Passaic, N. J. - Membership: 52,000
PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION
Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Membership 18.000
PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC LADIES UNION
Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Members-hip: 16,500
SLOVAK NEWSPAPER'S JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION
(Affiliated with the Slovak Lea,g ue of America)
Joseph G. Prusa, President
V. J . Tylka, Secretary, 2103 W. Oermak Road. Chicago 8, ill.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
SLOVENSKA OBRANA ZENSKAJEDNOTA
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland. Ohio
BRATSTVO
SVORNOSt
ZORNltKA
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Braddock, Pa.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
KATOLICKY SOKOL
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Passaic, N. J .
Middletown, Pa.
Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the
Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership
dues are only $1.50 per year.
�
SLOVAKIA
85
BOOK REVIEW
Slovakia - A Political History 1918-1950 by Joseph A.
Mikus, The Marquette University Press Milwaukee, Wisc.
1963, XXXIII - 392 pages. Appendices, Bibliography, statistical tables, indices.
Not only scholars but anyone interested in the problems
of Central Eastern Europe
will find in Mikus' book a serious attempt at a scholarly analysis and an objective presentation of Slovakia's history in
the pre-war and post-war
Czecho-Slovakia. Since Prague
remains the most faithful satellite of Moscow, the book
might be of great interest also
for students of East-West relations.
The original French edition
published in 1955, was received by many critics in Europe
and in United States as a valuable contribution to an understanding of Central European
history. The English edition,
in its revised and completed
form, will serve that purpose
now in the Anglo-Saxon cultural orbit, where, for years,
many misconceptions on Slovakia and Czecho-Slovakia
were spread, not only through
political media, but also by
scholarly works.
By contradicting the accept-
ed versions of Czecho-Slovakia's history, the book is bound
to be labeled as controversial,
even if the author (former
diplomat and lecturer in history at an American university) supports his conclusions
with a rich abundance of documents, statistics and careful analysis of events. Serious
students of Central European
history would, however, value
the book for this reason even
higher, since the monotony of
Czech versions is broken by a
well founded and academically elaborate challenge. Historiography on Slovakia in English, so far represented only
by a few scholarly works (R.
W. Seton-Watson, C. A. Macartney, J. M. Kirschbaum, G.
L. Oddo), is undoubtedly enriched by this volume, and
even if some interpretations
were already formulated in
other English writings of Slovak authors, Mikus' book is
larger in scope, more detailed
and covers a longer period
than any other of the recent
English publications by Slovak
authors.
Besides being "a study of
the internal weaknesses of
Czecho-Slovakia as reflected in
the political, cultural, economic, and social relations of the
�SLOVAKIA
86
Czechs and Slovaks" the book
contains also a positive approac~ to the future of Central Europe. The author rightly
sees the only durable solution
in "the political, military and
economic integration of Central Europe, which would respect the national personalities and self-government of all
peoples". Needless to say, the
book advocates democracy and
unveils all the mistakes and
inadequacy of the present
Communist regime in Slovakia, a country with thousand
years old Christian traditions.
The value of the book is enhanced by many documents as
well as by the fact that literature in several languages was
used by the author to support
his conclusions.
J. M . Kirschbaum
Challenge
of the
Steppes
by Joseph F. Rudinsky, D. D.,
L.L.D. Robert Speller and
Sons, New York, 1963, XX
342 pages. Index.
Among several books which
try to explain to the American
reader the phenomenon of the
Soviet expansion in Central
Europe, this book by an outstanding Slovak intellectual
and former professor at the
School of Political science in
Prague, is differenent by its
approach and method. Unlike
the other writings of Central
European refugee politicians
or authors, Rudinsky approaches the problems also
from the philosophical and religious point of view and from
centuries long development
of Europe. There is no exageration in saying that the book
is a thought provoking account of the age-old conflict
between East and West from
the time of the Huns to Stalin.
Rudinsky's assertion that
Marxism-Leninism of the Soviet brand is essentially a philosophy and way of life of seminomads seems logical and ac-ceptable in his well founded
analysis.
In this age-long conflict, the
.peoples of Central and Eastern
Europe had acted as barricades against Eastern invaders in
Rudinsky's view and, therefore, the book deals with the
problem of Austria-Hungary
and with the states and politicians who came after the dismemberment of the Habsburg
empire. Even if there are numerous books on this subject,
Rudinsky brings new observations and treats the old empire with much more objectivity than it was done - especially by Czech writers until now. His analysis of the
collapse of the Empire and of
the policy of the new states in
Central Eastern Europe be-
�SLOVAKIA
tween the two wars is a valuable contribution to the history of that area.
With its chapter on CzechoSlovakia and the policy of Dr.
E. Benes, the book also completes the writings of other
Slovak authors (Durcansky,
Kirschbaum, Mikus, Pauco,
Culen, Durica, Vnuk, etc.),
not only by Rudinsky's first
hand knowledge of Dr. Benes
and Prague government's policy toward Slovakia (he was a
close confidence-man of Dr.
M. Hodza), but also by the approach to the subject. While
the Slovak writers on political
matters rather follow the descriptive method and sober
style of American political literature, Dr. Rudinsky's style
and approach to the subject
reminds us of the French political school of the pre-war
generation. Methodical[y the
book is also different. It is
composed of several essays
which are linked together only
by the general idea. It is, in
any case, a book of interesL
and a refined intellectual
reading material.
87
Slovak literature being either unknown or misinterpreted
in American symposia on Slavic civilization, is a study that
will be welcome by students
of literatures and professors,
but also by many educated
Americans of Slovak and Slavic background. It is, so far,
the best and most complete
English survey and introduction to Slovak literature. The
author, former professor of
Slavic civilization at the Department of Slavic studies in
Montreal, used an abundance
of sources in several languages to present Slovak literature
in a new and objective light.
The author proves the thesis, maintained by Western
literary historians, that Slovak
literature began only in the
19th century is without foundation. This misconception
was spread, says the writer,
mainly by Czech scholars and
foreign slavists educated at
Czech universities. According
to Marxist scholars, Slovak
history of literature goes back
to the period of St. Cyril and
Methodius and literature in
Slovakia developed in several
jk
languages before the Slovak
vernacular was codified by
Slovak Literary History in
Anton Bernolak in the 18th
Marxist Interpretation s. By J.
century.
M. Kirschbaum, Ph. D., A reThe value of the study lies
print from Canadian Slavonic
Papers, published by Univer- also in acquainting the reader
with many sources in Slavic
sity of Toronto Press, 1964.
�1
88
SLOVAKIA
or foreign languages which
deal with Slovak literature.
T h e Marxist interpretation
seems to be treated for the
first time in the English language in this concise and well
written survey. Published in
Canadian S 1 a v o n i c Papers,
whose editors are several outstanding Canadian Slavists,
the study undoubtedly went
through a thorough examination before printed, which
adds to its value.
J.P.
An Outline of Slovakia' s
Struggle for Independence .
By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D.,
Ph. D. Published by the Canadian Slovak League, Toronto,
1964. 40 pages, llustrated appendices, biblography.
The controversial subject of
Slovakia's independence is
treated in this concise publication with the evident aim to
refute the false legends which
the hostile propaganda of the
Czech and Communist politicians spread in the West. The
booklet was published on the
occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Slovakia's independence, but its
value is far greater than is usual with publications written
for celebrating anniversaries
of political events.
In five short chapters the
author gathered all the evidence available in diplomatic
and other sources to prove
that Slovakia's striving for independence developed independently of German policy
and that Berlin for some time
preferred other solutions. The
chapter on international recognition of the Slovak Republic also shows that originally
Great Britian, the Soviet Union and some other 30 state:;
established diplomatic or consular relations with Slovakia
and not only Germany and the
Axis, as tendenciously write
American sources on the Second World War.
The closing chapters give
an account on Sovietization of
Slovakia and on the prospects
of Slovak democracy. Three
appeals for Slovakia's freedom, recorded in the Congress
of the United States, some statistical data and bibliography
complete the picture ancl
make of this concise publication a source of useful information for politicians, diplomats and students of history
of Central Europe.
J.P.
�independence, the right of every nation to freely choose
its cwn form of government and freely elect persons
of its own choice by whom it shall be governed;
condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny,
every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak
League of America has always recognized the Godless
philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread
evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is,
as the political system which threatens mankind with
utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely
against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off
the face of the earth;
firmly believes that the national existence and welfare
of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the
Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak
Republic;
as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely
against the dominat ion and exploitation of the Slovak
nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks
did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation;
heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and
other organs to f erret 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 ;
stands for honesty, integrity, industry and justice in
government.
SLOVAKIA
$2 .00 per annum in the U.S.A. Published by
$3.00 elsewhere.
~
\~~
y.~ \)
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
313 Ridge Avenue
M i d d l etown , Pa., 17057
PRINTED IN THE U.S. A .
JEDNOTA PRESS
M i ddletown , Pa. 17057
,L
.
c..\ ,Q
v;:/ ·
-;:;,
[.f!- (!},,
-:.,.,'
, ":'-?
:
,·
~-"' ._ .• ,.'i
�Officers of the Slovak League of America
Stephen J. Tkach, President
173 North Main Street
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Dr. Jos~ph Pauc o, Sec'y-Treasurer
313 Ridge Avenue
MiddletOWlll, Pa.
Edwal'd J. Behuncik, Vice-Pres. Mrs. Julla Krajcovic, Ladies Vice-Pres.
Executiv-e Cpmmibtee: Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P .A., Dr. Peter P . Hletko,
Paul Jamris ka, Jose.p h G. Pmsa, John A. Sabol, Eli.zaibeth Andrejko
SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS
(Alffillated wi,th the Slovak League of America)
THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION
Cleveland, Ohio - Membership: 104,000
THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES UNION
Cl eveland, Oh io - Membership: 95 ,000
THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL
Passaic, N. J. - Membership: 52,000
PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION
Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Membership 18.000
PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC LADIES UNION
Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Members-hip: 16,500
SLOVAK NEWSPAPER'S JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION
(Affiliated with the Slovak Lea,g ue of America)
Joseph G. Prusa, President
V. J . Tylka, Secretary, 2103 W. Oermak Road. Chicago 8, ill.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
SLOVENSKA OBRANA ZENSKAJEDNOTA
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland. Ohio
BRATSTVO
SVORNOSt
ZORNltKA
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Braddock, Pa.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
KATOLICKY SOKOL
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Passaic, N. J .
Middletown, Pa.
Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the
Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership
dues are only $1.50 per year.
�
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Title
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1964, Vol. 14
Description
An account of the resource
Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964.
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
1964
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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.
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SLOVAKIA
85
BOOK REVIEW
Slovakia - A Political History 1918-1950 by Joseph A.
Mikus, The Marquette University Press Milwaukee, Wisc.
1963, XXXIII - 392 pages. Appendices, Bibliography, statistical tables, indices.
Not only scholars but anyone interested in the problems
of Central Eastern Europe
will find in Mikus' book a serious attempt at a scholarly analysis and an objective presentation of Slovakia's history in
the pre-war and post-war
Czecho-Slovakia. Since Prague
remains the most faithful satellite of Moscow, the book
might be of great interest also
for students of East-West relations.
The original French edition
published in 1955, was received by many critics in Europe
and in United States as a valuable contribution to an understanding of Central European
history. The English edition,
in its revised and completed
form, will serve that purpose
now in the Anglo-Saxon cultural orbit, where, for years,
many misconceptions on Slovakia and Czecho-Slovakia
were spread, not only through
political media, but also by
scholarly works.
By contradicting the accept-
ed versions of Czecho-Slovakia's history, the book is bound
to be labeled as controversial,
even if the author (former
diplomat and lecturer in history at an American university) supports his conclusions
with a rich abundance of documents, statistics and careful analysis of events. Serious
students of Central European
history would, however, value
the book for this reason even
higher, since the monotony of
Czech versions is broken by a
well founded and academically elaborate challenge. Historiography on Slovakia in English, so far represented only
by a few scholarly works (R.
W. Seton-Watson, C. A. Macartney, J. M. Kirschbaum, G.
L. Oddo), is undoubtedly enriched by this volume, and
even if some interpretations
were already formulated in
other English writings of Slovak authors, Mikus' book is
larger in scope, more detailed
and covers a longer period
than any other of the recent
English publications by Slovak
authors.
Besides being "a study of
the internal weaknesses of
Czecho-Slovakia as reflected in
the political, cultural, economic, and social relations of the
SLOVAKIA
86
Czechs and Slovaks" the book
contains also a positive approac~ to the future of Central Europe. The author rightly
sees the only durable solution
in "the political, military and
economic integration of Central Europe, which would respect the national personalities and self-government of all
peoples". Needless to say, the
book advocates democracy and
unveils all the mistakes and
inadequacy of the present
Communist regime in Slovakia, a country with thousand
years old Christian traditions.
The value of the book is enhanced by many documents as
well as by the fact that literature in several languages was
used by the author to support
his conclusions.
J. M . Kirschbaum
Challenge
of the
Steppes
by Joseph F. Rudinsky, D. D.,
L.L.D. Robert Speller and
Sons, New York, 1963, XX
342 pages. Index.
Among several books which
try to explain to the American
reader the phenomenon of the
Soviet expansion in Central
Europe, this book by an outstanding Slovak intellectual
and former professor at the
School of Political science in
Prague, is differenent by its
approach and method. Unlike
the other writings of Central
European refugee politicians
or authors, Rudinsky approaches the problems also
from the philosophical and religious point of view and from
centuries long development
of Europe. There is no exageration in saying that the book
is a thought provoking account of the age-old conflict
between East and West from
the time of the Huns to Stalin.
Rudinsky's assertion that
Marxism-Leninism of the Soviet brand is essentially a philosophy and way of life of seminomads seems logical and ac-ceptable in his well founded
analysis.
In this age-long conflict, the
.peoples of Central and Eastern
Europe had acted as barricades against Eastern invaders in
Rudinsky's view and, therefore, the book deals with the
problem of Austria-Hungary
and with the states and politicians who came after the dismemberment of the Habsburg
empire. Even if there are numerous books on this subject,
Rudinsky brings new observations and treats the old empire with much more objectivity than it was done - especially by Czech writers until now. His analysis of the
collapse of the Empire and of
the policy of the new states in
Central Eastern Europe be-
SLOVAKIA
tween the two wars is a valuable contribution to the history of that area.
With its chapter on CzechoSlovakia and the policy of Dr.
E. Benes, the book also completes the writings of other
Slovak authors (Durcansky,
Kirschbaum, Mikus, Pauco,
Culen, Durica, Vnuk, etc.),
not only by Rudinsky's first
hand knowledge of Dr. Benes
and Prague government's policy toward Slovakia (he was a
close confidence-man of Dr.
M. Hodza), but also by the approach to the subject. While
the Slovak writers on political
matters rather follow the descriptive method and sober
style of American political literature, Dr. Rudinsky's style
and approach to the subject
reminds us of the French political school of the pre-war
generation. Methodical[y the
book is also different. It is
composed of several essays
which are linked together only
by the general idea. It is, in
any case, a book of interesL
and a refined intellectual
reading material.
87
Slovak literature being either unknown or misinterpreted
in American symposia on Slavic civilization, is a study that
will be welcome by students
of literatures and professors,
but also by many educated
Americans of Slovak and Slavic background. It is, so far,
the best and most complete
English survey and introduction to Slovak literature. The
author, former professor of
Slavic civilization at the Department of Slavic studies in
Montreal, used an abundance
of sources in several languages to present Slovak literature
in a new and objective light.
The author proves the thesis, maintained by Western
literary historians, that Slovak
literature began only in the
19th century is without foundation. This misconception
was spread, says the writer,
mainly by Czech scholars and
foreign slavists educated at
Czech universities. According
to Marxist scholars, Slovak
history of literature goes back
to the period of St. Cyril and
Methodius and literature in
Slovakia developed in several
jk
languages before the Slovak
vernacular was codified by
Slovak Literary History in
Anton Bernolak in the 18th
Marxist Interpretation s. By J.
century.
M. Kirschbaum, Ph. D., A reThe value of the study lies
print from Canadian Slavonic
Papers, published by Univer- also in acquainting the reader
with many sources in Slavic
sity of Toronto Press, 1964.
1
88
SLOVAKIA
or foreign languages which
deal with Slovak literature.
T h e Marxist interpretation
seems to be treated for the
first time in the English language in this concise and well
written survey. Published in
Canadian S 1 a v o n i c Papers,
whose editors are several outstanding Canadian Slavists,
the study undoubtedly went
through a thorough examination before printed, which
adds to its value.
J.P.
An Outline of Slovakia' s
Struggle for Independence .
By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D.,
Ph. D. Published by the Canadian Slovak League, Toronto,
1964. 40 pages, llustrated appendices, biblography.
The controversial subject of
Slovakia's independence is
treated in this concise publication with the evident aim to
refute the false legends which
the hostile propaganda of the
Czech and Communist politicians spread in the West. The
booklet was published on the
occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Slovakia's independence, but its
value is far greater than is usual with publications written
for celebrating anniversaries
of political events.
In five short chapters the
author gathered all the evidence available in diplomatic
and other sources to prove
that Slovakia's striving for independence developed independently of German policy
and that Berlin for some time
preferred other solutions. The
chapter on international recognition of the Slovak Republic also shows that originally
Great Britian, the Soviet Union and some other 30 state:;
established diplomatic or consular relations with Slovakia
and not only Germany and the
Axis, as tendenciously write
American sources on the Second World War.
The closing chapters give
an account on Sovietization of
Slovakia and on the prospects
of Slovak democracy. Three
appeals for Slovakia's freedom, recorded in the Congress
of the United States, some statistical data and bibliography
complete the picture ancl
make of this concise publication a source of useful information for politicians, diplomats and students of history
of Central Europe.
J.P.
independence, the right of every nation to freely choose
its cwn form of government and freely elect persons
of its own choice by whom it shall be governed;
condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny,
every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak
League of America has always recognized the Godless
philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread
evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is,
as the political system which threatens mankind with
utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely
against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off
the face of the earth;
firmly believes that the national existence and welfare
of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the
Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak
Republic;
as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely
against the dominat ion and exploitation of the Slovak
nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks
did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation;
heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and
other organs to f erret 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 ;
stands for honesty, integrity, industry and justice in
government.
SLOVAKIA
$2 .00 per annum in the U.S.A. Published by
$3.00 elsewhere.
~
\~~
y.~ \)
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
313 Ridge Avenue
M i d d l etown , Pa., 17057
PRINTED IN THE U.S. A .
JEDNOTA PRESS
M i ddletown , Pa. 17057
,L
.
c..\ ,Q
v;:/ ·
-;:;,
[.f!- (!},,
-:.,.,'
, ":'-?
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~-"' ._ .• ,.'i
Officers of the Slovak League of America
Stephen J. Tkach, President
173 North Main Street
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Dr. Jos~ph Pauc o, Sec'y-Treasurer
313 Ridge Avenue
MiddletOWlll, Pa.
Edwal'd J. Behuncik, Vice-Pres. Mrs. Julla Krajcovic, Ladies Vice-Pres.
Executiv-e Cpmmibtee: Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P .A., Dr. Peter P . Hletko,
Paul Jamris ka, Jose.p h G. Pmsa, John A. Sabol, Eli.zaibeth Andrejko
SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS
(Alffillated wi,th the Slovak League of America)
THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION
Cleveland, Ohio - Membership: 104,000
THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES UNION
Cl eveland, Oh io - Membership: 95 ,000
THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL
Passaic, N. J. - Membership: 52,000
PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION
Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Membership 18.000
PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC LADIES UNION
Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Members-hip: 16,500
SLOVAK NEWSPAPER'S JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION
(Affiliated with the Slovak Lea,g ue of America)
Joseph G. Prusa, President
V. J . Tylka, Secretary, 2103 W. Oermak Road. Chicago 8, ill.
SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS
(Affiliated with the Slovak League of America)
JEDNOTA
Middletown, Pa.
SLOVENSKA OBRANA ZENSKAJEDNOTA
Scranton, Pa.
Cleveland. Ohio
BRATSTVO
SVORNOSt
ZORNltKA
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Braddock, Pa.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
KATOLICKY SOKOL
SLOVAK V AMERIKE
Passaic, N. J .
Middletown, Pa.
Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the
Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership
dues are only $1.50 per year.
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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. 14 (No. 37)
Description
An account of the resource
includes Book Reviews
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1964
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1ba25e3ce77f4d4ae303482c4a7ed928.pdf
181d533e68fea0a8254ec172501f436b
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
83
CONSTANTINE CULEN
( 1904-1964)
, writing and public speaking
led him in his early school
years to journalism and later
to writings on the political and
cultural subjects pertaining to
the national struggles of the
Slovak people. His first book,
The Years of Slovak Hopes
and Disappointments appear-
//
( ~ c.
r,
•
/
./
~~~~
~
ed in 1932, when Culen was
28 years of age, and won him
acclaim and a literary prize.
Even though he remained
, an employee in the civil ser~ Jih ! vice of the Ministry of Transf port, he published nearly
- 1'<\.-'
11
! every year a book on histori...., ~ <'t~t
8::Jn~~-
=
j ~:!t/o~:~~~e~~~r,lit~~ar~~~~~
An outstanding newspaperman, writer on cultural and
political history and a courageous fighter f o r his
people's freedom and independence, Constantine Culen
was born February 26, 1904
in Brodske in Slovakia.
He received his primary
education at a time when Slovakia was still a part of Austria-Hungary, and secondary
education in Czecho-Slovakia,
at a high school in Skalica and
at an engineering school in
Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia.
His strong inclination to
and several manuscripts, besides a great number of articles and short studies, were
written a n d published by
Culen between the year 1932
and 1964. Some books and studies appeared also in foreign
languages, namely English
and German.
During his lifetime, Culen
was closely linked with the
United States, where he died
on April 7th, 1964 at the University Hospital in New York.
He came to the U.S.A. first as
a child, later, in 1935, as a
member of a delegation of
Matica Slovenska, Slovakia's
Academy of History, Arts and
�84
SLOVAKIA
Science. In 1938 he came
again as a cultural attache at
the Legation of Czecho-Slovakia in Washington, but before
the end of 1939 he returned
to Slovakia, where he achieved great popularity as a member of Parliament, journalist
and public speaker. Soon,
however, he came into conflict with Germans, and, being a staunch adversary of
Communism, he left Slovakia
at the end of the Second
World War. For several years
he lived in Canada as editorin-chief of a Slovak newspaper
Kanadsky Slovak, and since
1953 he was a resident of the
United States.
From 1938, when his book
on the Pittsburgh Agreement
appeared in Slovakia, Culen
wrote a score of books and
studies and thousands of arti cles pertaining to the history,
cultural and social activities
of American Slovaks, including History of Ameri can Slo-
~~--......
vaks, in two volumes. His Hist ory of the Slovaks in New
Yor k as published in instal-
ments even after his death.
In his literary works as well
as in his journalistic writings,
Culen never ceased to wage a
staunch defence of Slovakia's
right to self-determination
and was a merciless critic of
the oppressors of Slovakia. He
was a member of all Slovak
literary institutions and recipient of several literary prizes, and of two high honor
awards from the Slovak republic. In exile, he was vicepresident of the Slovak National Council Abroad, member
of the Slovak Institute of
Cleveland, and contributor to
nearly all Slovak newspapers
and periodicals in the fnie
world. The Communist regime
condemned him in absentia to
20 years. His untimely death
is regretted by thousands of
Slovaks over the world.
,..,,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,..,,.,,.,,,.,..,,,.,,.,~~-
JMK
.................. ,_
"What the Slovaks brought from America th ey sough t to valid ate
at home. The American way of life encouraged and d ire cted their
plans in Slovakia. Slovak liife waxed strong ev·oo during th e har dest
times, because it was no urished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiritua l weal,th f rom America.
"In the rec-e,nt paE,t, American Slovaks formed the crnost nationalistic group of the Slovak nation. W.hat th e Slovak at home coul d n ot
say, the Slovak in Amer ica express·ed for him. J.t is undoub tedly an
intere sting reality that the wide Slovak masses became ard•en,t nationalists in America. And th e fact that Slovak newspaper s becam e
a,n indis,pensruble necessity of the Slovak people, that, too, must ·b e
credited to America." - CONSTANTINE CUL EN
�
SLOVAKIA
83
CONSTANTINE CULEN
( 1904-1964)
, writing and public speaking
led him in his early school
years to journalism and later
to writings on the political and
cultural subjects pertaining to
the national struggles of the
Slovak people. His first book,
The Years of Slovak Hopes
and Disappointments appear-
//
( ~ c.
r,
•
/
./
~~~~
~
ed in 1932, when Culen was
28 years of age, and won him
acclaim and a literary prize.
Even though he remained
, an employee in the civil ser~ Jih ! vice of the Ministry of Transf port, he published nearly
- 1'<\.-'
11
! every year a book on histori...., ~ <'t~t
8::Jn~~-
=
j ~:!t/o~:~~~e~~~r,lit~~ar~~~~~
An outstanding newspaperman, writer on cultural and
political history and a courageous fighter f o r his
people's freedom and independence, Constantine Culen
was born February 26, 1904
in Brodske in Slovakia.
He received his primary
education at a time when Slovakia was still a part of Austria-Hungary, and secondary
education in Czecho-Slovakia,
at a high school in Skalica and
at an engineering school in
Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia.
His strong inclination to
and several manuscripts, besides a great number of articles and short studies, were
written a n d published by
Culen between the year 1932
and 1964. Some books and studies appeared also in foreign
languages, namely English
and German.
During his lifetime, Culen
was closely linked with the
United States, where he died
on April 7th, 1964 at the University Hospital in New York.
He came to the U.S.A. first as
a child, later, in 1935, as a
member of a delegation of
Matica Slovenska, Slovakia's
Academy of History, Arts and
�84
SLOVAKIA
Science. In 1938 he came
again as a cultural attache at
the Legation of Czecho-Slovakia in Washington, but before
the end of 1939 he returned
to Slovakia, where he achieved great popularity as a member of Parliament, journalist
and public speaker. Soon,
however, he came into conflict with Germans, and, being a staunch adversary of
Communism, he left Slovakia
at the end of the Second
World War. For several years
he lived in Canada as editorin-chief of a Slovak newspaper
Kanadsky Slovak, and since
1953 he was a resident of the
United States.
From 1938, when his book
on the Pittsburgh Agreement
appeared in Slovakia, Culen
wrote a score of books and
studies and thousands of arti cles pertaining to the history,
cultural and social activities
of American Slovaks, including History of Ameri can Slo-
~~--......
vaks, in two volumes. His Hist ory of the Slovaks in New
Yor k as published in instal-
ments even after his death.
In his literary works as well
as in his journalistic writings,
Culen never ceased to wage a
staunch defence of Slovakia's
right to self-determination
and was a merciless critic of
the oppressors of Slovakia. He
was a member of all Slovak
literary institutions and recipient of several literary prizes, and of two high honor
awards from the Slovak republic. In exile, he was vicepresident of the Slovak National Council Abroad, member
of the Slovak Institute of
Cleveland, and contributor to
nearly all Slovak newspapers
and periodicals in the fnie
world. The Communist regime
condemned him in absentia to
20 years. His untimely death
is regretted by thousands of
Slovaks over the world.
,..,,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,..,,.,,.,,,.,..,,,.,,.,~~-
JMK
.................. ,_
"What the Slovaks brought from America th ey sough t to valid ate
at home. The American way of life encouraged and d ire cted their
plans in Slovakia. Slovak liife waxed strong ev·oo during th e har dest
times, because it was no urished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiritua l weal,th f rom America.
"In the rec-e,nt paE,t, American Slovaks formed the crnost nationalistic group of the Slovak nation. W.hat th e Slovak at home coul d n ot
say, the Slovak in Amer ica express·ed for him. J.t is undoub tedly an
intere sting reality that the wide Slovak masses became ard•en,t nationalists in America. And th e fact that Slovak newspaper s becam e
a,n indis,pensruble necessity of the Slovak people, that, too, must ·b e
credited to America." - CONSTANTINE CUL EN
�
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
1964, Vol. 14
Description
An account of the resource
Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964.
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
1964
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
83
CONSTANTINE CULEN
( 1904-1964)
, writing and public speaking
led him in his early school
years to journalism and later
to writings on the political and
cultural subjects pertaining to
the national struggles of the
Slovak people. His first book,
The Years of Slovak Hopes
and Disappointments appear-
//
( ~ c.
r,
•
/
./
~~~~
~
ed in 1932, when Culen was
28 years of age, and won him
acclaim and a literary prize.
Even though he remained
, an employee in the civil ser~ Jih ! vice of the Ministry of Transf port, he published nearly
- 1'<\.-'
11
! every year a book on histori...., ~ <'t~t
8::Jn~~-
=
j ~:!t/o~:~~~e~~~r,lit~~ar~~~~~
An outstanding newspaperman, writer on cultural and
political history and a courageous fighter f o r his
people's freedom and independence, Constantine Culen
was born February 26, 1904
in Brodske in Slovakia.
He received his primary
education at a time when Slovakia was still a part of Austria-Hungary, and secondary
education in Czecho-Slovakia,
at a high school in Skalica and
at an engineering school in
Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia.
His strong inclination to
and several manuscripts, besides a great number of articles and short studies, were
written a n d published by
Culen between the year 1932
and 1964. Some books and studies appeared also in foreign
languages, namely English
and German.
During his lifetime, Culen
was closely linked with the
United States, where he died
on April 7th, 1964 at the University Hospital in New York.
He came to the U.S.A. first as
a child, later, in 1935, as a
member of a delegation of
Matica Slovenska, Slovakia's
Academy of History, Arts and
84
SLOVAKIA
Science. In 1938 he came
again as a cultural attache at
the Legation of Czecho-Slovakia in Washington, but before
the end of 1939 he returned
to Slovakia, where he achieved great popularity as a member of Parliament, journalist
and public speaker. Soon,
however, he came into conflict with Germans, and, being a staunch adversary of
Communism, he left Slovakia
at the end of the Second
World War. For several years
he lived in Canada as editorin-chief of a Slovak newspaper
Kanadsky Slovak, and since
1953 he was a resident of the
United States.
From 1938, when his book
on the Pittsburgh Agreement
appeared in Slovakia, Culen
wrote a score of books and
studies and thousands of arti cles pertaining to the history,
cultural and social activities
of American Slovaks, including History of Ameri can Slo-
~~--......
vaks, in two volumes. His Hist ory of the Slovaks in New
Yor k as published in instal-
ments even after his death.
In his literary works as well
as in his journalistic writings,
Culen never ceased to wage a
staunch defence of Slovakia's
right to self-determination
and was a merciless critic of
the oppressors of Slovakia. He
was a member of all Slovak
literary institutions and recipient of several literary prizes, and of two high honor
awards from the Slovak republic. In exile, he was vicepresident of the Slovak National Council Abroad, member
of the Slovak Institute of
Cleveland, and contributor to
nearly all Slovak newspapers
and periodicals in the fnie
world. The Communist regime
condemned him in absentia to
20 years. His untimely death
is regretted by thousands of
Slovaks over the world.
,..,,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,..,,.,,.,,,.,..,,,.,,.,~~-
JMK
.................. ,_
"What the Slovaks brought from America th ey sough t to valid ate
at home. The American way of life encouraged and d ire cted their
plans in Slovakia. Slovak liife waxed strong ev·oo during th e har dest
times, because it was no urished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiritua l weal,th f rom America.
"In the rec-e,nt paE,t, American Slovaks formed the crnost nationalistic group of the Slovak nation. W.hat th e Slovak at home coul d n ot
say, the Slovak in Amer ica express·ed for him. J.t is undoub tedly an
intere sting reality that the wide Slovak masses became ard•en,t nationalists in America. And th e fact that Slovak newspaper s becam e
a,n indis,pensruble necessity of the Slovak people, that, too, must ·b e
credited to America." - CONSTANTINE CUL EN
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
Constantine Čulen (1904-1964)
Description
An account of the resource
jmk
Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964
pp. 83-84
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1964
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b0796fa8b2660b4705e3a2cbbc295b77.pdf
23d26ddc20d8142914d94cc45e480bbc
PDF Text
Text
34
SLOVAKIA
PROCLAMATION
of 39th Congress -
Slovak League of America May 5, 1964 - Gree,t ingsl
Philadelphia, Pa.,
On the occasion of the 39th Congress of the Slovak
League of America convened in Philadelphia, the cradle of
American liberty, the home of the Liberty Bell and the birthplace of the American flag, the officers and delegates of the
Slovak League of America declare that:
1. We rededicate ourselves and our membership to the preservation of the basic moral principles set forth in the
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill
of Rights of the United States of America.
2. We condemn all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political
systems, especially repudiating the atheistic philosophy
of materialistic Communism as the most ruthless conspiracy against free humanity.
3. We respectfully request that appropriate action be taken
by our own government as well as the United Nations organization in accordance with the views so well expressed
by our late lamentd President, John F. Kennedy, in bis renowned Yale University address, namely, that we must
distinguish between the myths of the past and the realities of the present. This especially as it pertains to the
myth of a so-called Czechoslovak tongue and a Czechoslovak people and the reality of tormented and freedomseeking Slovaks in Slovakia.
4. As we mark the completion of eleven centuries since the·
Christianization of Slovakia in 863 A.D. by the great Slav
Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we ask the entire
world to give an attentive ear to the pleas and cries of the·
Slovak nation with its ancient and continuous Christian culture, especially now when younger, smaller and
less mature ethnic groups are being given national, cultural, diplomatic and international recognition by the
leading powers of the world and by the United Nations.
5. As stated on many previous historic and memorable occasions, we, individually and as representatives of more
�SLOVAKIA
35
than 250,000 organized Americans of Slovak birth or descent, submit that in justice and equity, the nation of our
forbears should likewise enjoy the blessings of freedom
and independence. In this regard, we call attention, by
way of example, to the following salient and revelant
facts:
(a) In 1962 alone, four new states were admitted to the
famliy of the United Nations-Sierra Leone, Outer
Mongolia, Mauritania and Tanganyika;
(b) None of these states has the 1100-year old Christian heritage of Slovakia;
(c) None of these states has the high population to
area ratio as does Slovakia; and
(d) None of these states has had the self-governing
experience of Slovakia.
In support of the above, all in keeping with the basic
fundamental truths of our American way of life, we have
prepared and will make available the research and historic
proof which will substantiate and justify our legitimate
claims and aspirations.
THEREFORE, on the solemn occasion of this, our
39th Congress as representatives of the vast majority of
the Slovak ethnic group of Americans, we deem it our moral
duty to move for, seek and, as dutiful citizens, rightfully
demand, that our duly elected officials-national , state and
municipal-give a sympathetic ear to our pleas and that
they take all legitimate avenues of action to bring about
their fruition.
Soberly mindful of the soul searching efforts of the
Constitutional Fathers, here in this City of Brotherly Love,
and in a humble effort to make comparable worthy contributions towards the liberation of our brethren and kinfolk
from the tyranny and yolk of atheistic Soviet Communism
in our ancestral land of Slovakia, we unanimously adopt this
form of proclamation to put in operation our highly principled aims.
We, accordingly, request our member organizations
and their memberships to solicit their local, state and federal
�SLOVAKIA
36
officials for the assistance needed to reestablish, in God's
good time, Slovakia as a free state in central Europe, an indepndent Slovakia, firmly dedicated to the moral principles
upon which our own United States of America and all Western civilization stand and must stand or be doomed to the
extinction that befell the Roman civilization and its predecessors.
Finally, we take this means to convey to President
Lyndon B. Johnson, our warmest wishes for continued good
health and success in his arduous task as our Chief executive, and to assure him of our continued prayers that God's
choicest blessings may come to him and his family, personal
and official, as he seeks to bring about God's greater honor
and glory in a Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of
God.
In Witness Whereof, we have caused these sentiments
to be published on this 5th day of May, 1964 at historicPhiladelphia.
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
(Signatures)
Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President
Dr. Joseph Pauco, Executive Secretary
Edward J. Behuncik, Chairman, Resolutions Committee
V. J. Tylka, Member, Resolutions Committee
Ed. Kovac, Member, Resolutions Committee.
"SLOVAK!A AND ITS PEOPLE"
by Professor Gilbert L. Oddo can now be sent on order.
Get your copy TODAY, beca use the supply is limited. Over
2,100 copies have been sold. The first real history of the
Slovaks and their country in English. The book has 384
pa ges and sells for $6.00 per copy postpaid. Order your
copy TODAY from: Slovak Institute, 2900 East Blvd. Cleveland 4, Ohio
�
34
SLOVAKIA
PROCLAMATION
of 39th Congress -
Slovak League of America May 5, 1964 - Gree,t ingsl
Philadelphia, Pa.,
On the occasion of the 39th Congress of the Slovak
League of America convened in Philadelphia, the cradle of
American liberty, the home of the Liberty Bell and the birthplace of the American flag, the officers and delegates of the
Slovak League of America declare that:
1. We rededicate ourselves and our membership to the preservation of the basic moral principles set forth in the
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill
of Rights of the United States of America.
2. We condemn all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political
systems, especially repudiating the atheistic philosophy
of materialistic Communism as the most ruthless conspiracy against free humanity.
3. We respectfully request that appropriate action be taken
by our own government as well as the United Nations organization in accordance with the views so well expressed
by our late lamentd President, John F. Kennedy, in bis renowned Yale University address, namely, that we must
distinguish between the myths of the past and the realities of the present. This especially as it pertains to the
myth of a so-called Czechoslovak tongue and a Czechoslovak people and the reality of tormented and freedomseeking Slovaks in Slovakia.
4. As we mark the completion of eleven centuries since the·
Christianization of Slovakia in 863 A.D. by the great Slav
Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we ask the entire
world to give an attentive ear to the pleas and cries of the·
Slovak nation with its ancient and continuous Christian culture, especially now when younger, smaller and
less mature ethnic groups are being given national, cultural, diplomatic and international recognition by the
leading powers of the world and by the United Nations.
5. As stated on many previous historic and memorable occasions, we, individually and as representatives of more
�SLOVAKIA
35
than 250,000 organized Americans of Slovak birth or descent, submit that in justice and equity, the nation of our
forbears should likewise enjoy the blessings of freedom
and independence. In this regard, we call attention, by
way of example, to the following salient and revelant
facts:
(a) In 1962 alone, four new states were admitted to the
famliy of the United Nations-Sierra Leone, Outer
Mongolia, Mauritania and Tanganyika;
(b) None of these states has the 1100-year old Christian heritage of Slovakia;
(c) None of these states has the high population to
area ratio as does Slovakia; and
(d) None of these states has had the self-governing
experience of Slovakia.
In support of the above, all in keeping with the basic
fundamental truths of our American way of life, we have
prepared and will make available the research and historic
proof which will substantiate and justify our legitimate
claims and aspirations.
THEREFORE, on the solemn occasion of this, our
39th Congress as representatives of the vast majority of
the Slovak ethnic group of Americans, we deem it our moral
duty to move for, seek and, as dutiful citizens, rightfully
demand, that our duly elected officials-national , state and
municipal-give a sympathetic ear to our pleas and that
they take all legitimate avenues of action to bring about
their fruition.
Soberly mindful of the soul searching efforts of the
Constitutional Fathers, here in this City of Brotherly Love,
and in a humble effort to make comparable worthy contributions towards the liberation of our brethren and kinfolk
from the tyranny and yolk of atheistic Soviet Communism
in our ancestral land of Slovakia, we unanimously adopt this
form of proclamation to put in operation our highly principled aims.
We, accordingly, request our member organizations
and their memberships to solicit their local, state and federal
�SLOVAKIA
36
officials for the assistance needed to reestablish, in God's
good time, Slovakia as a free state in central Europe, an indepndent Slovakia, firmly dedicated to the moral principles
upon which our own United States of America and all Western civilization stand and must stand or be doomed to the
extinction that befell the Roman civilization and its predecessors.
Finally, we take this means to convey to President
Lyndon B. Johnson, our warmest wishes for continued good
health and success in his arduous task as our Chief executive, and to assure him of our continued prayers that God's
choicest blessings may come to him and his family, personal
and official, as he seeks to bring about God's greater honor
and glory in a Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of
God.
In Witness Whereof, we have caused these sentiments
to be published on this 5th day of May, 1964 at historicPhiladelphia.
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
(Signatures)
Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President
Dr. Joseph Pauco, Executive Secretary
Edward J. Behuncik, Chairman, Resolutions Committee
V. J. Tylka, Member, Resolutions Committee
Ed. Kovac, Member, Resolutions Committee.
"SLOVAK!A AND ITS PEOPLE"
by Professor Gilbert L. Oddo can now be sent on order.
Get your copy TODAY, beca use the supply is limited. Over
2,100 copies have been sold. The first real history of the
Slovaks and their country in English. The book has 384
pa ges and sells for $6.00 per copy postpaid. Order your
copy TODAY from: Slovak Institute, 2900 East Blvd. Cleveland 4, Ohio
�
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
1964, Vol. 14
Description
An account of the resource
Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964.
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
1964
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
34
SLOVAKIA
PROCLAMATION
of 39th Congress -
Slovak League of America May 5, 1964 - Gree,t ingsl
Philadelphia, Pa.,
On the occasion of the 39th Congress of the Slovak
League of America convened in Philadelphia, the cradle of
American liberty, the home of the Liberty Bell and the birthplace of the American flag, the officers and delegates of the
Slovak League of America declare that:
1. We rededicate ourselves and our membership to the preservation of the basic moral principles set forth in the
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill
of Rights of the United States of America.
2. We condemn all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political
systems, especially repudiating the atheistic philosophy
of materialistic Communism as the most ruthless conspiracy against free humanity.
3. We respectfully request that appropriate action be taken
by our own government as well as the United Nations organization in accordance with the views so well expressed
by our late lamentd President, John F. Kennedy, in bis renowned Yale University address, namely, that we must
distinguish between the myths of the past and the realities of the present. This especially as it pertains to the
myth of a so-called Czechoslovak tongue and a Czechoslovak people and the reality of tormented and freedomseeking Slovaks in Slovakia.
4. As we mark the completion of eleven centuries since the·
Christianization of Slovakia in 863 A.D. by the great Slav
Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we ask the entire
world to give an attentive ear to the pleas and cries of the·
Slovak nation with its ancient and continuous Christian culture, especially now when younger, smaller and
less mature ethnic groups are being given national, cultural, diplomatic and international recognition by the
leading powers of the world and by the United Nations.
5. As stated on many previous historic and memorable occasions, we, individually and as representatives of more
SLOVAKIA
35
than 250,000 organized Americans of Slovak birth or descent, submit that in justice and equity, the nation of our
forbears should likewise enjoy the blessings of freedom
and independence. In this regard, we call attention, by
way of example, to the following salient and revelant
facts:
(a) In 1962 alone, four new states were admitted to the
famliy of the United Nations-Sierra Leone, Outer
Mongolia, Mauritania and Tanganyika;
(b) None of these states has the 1100-year old Christian heritage of Slovakia;
(c) None of these states has the high population to
area ratio as does Slovakia; and
(d) None of these states has had the self-governing
experience of Slovakia.
In support of the above, all in keeping with the basic
fundamental truths of our American way of life, we have
prepared and will make available the research and historic
proof which will substantiate and justify our legitimate
claims and aspirations.
THEREFORE, on the solemn occasion of this, our
39th Congress as representatives of the vast majority of
the Slovak ethnic group of Americans, we deem it our moral
duty to move for, seek and, as dutiful citizens, rightfully
demand, that our duly elected officials-national , state and
municipal-give a sympathetic ear to our pleas and that
they take all legitimate avenues of action to bring about
their fruition.
Soberly mindful of the soul searching efforts of the
Constitutional Fathers, here in this City of Brotherly Love,
and in a humble effort to make comparable worthy contributions towards the liberation of our brethren and kinfolk
from the tyranny and yolk of atheistic Soviet Communism
in our ancestral land of Slovakia, we unanimously adopt this
form of proclamation to put in operation our highly principled aims.
We, accordingly, request our member organizations
and their memberships to solicit their local, state and federal
SLOVAKIA
36
officials for the assistance needed to reestablish, in God's
good time, Slovakia as a free state in central Europe, an indepndent Slovakia, firmly dedicated to the moral principles
upon which our own United States of America and all Western civilization stand and must stand or be doomed to the
extinction that befell the Roman civilization and its predecessors.
Finally, we take this means to convey to President
Lyndon B. Johnson, our warmest wishes for continued good
health and success in his arduous task as our Chief executive, and to assure him of our continued prayers that God's
choicest blessings may come to him and his family, personal
and official, as he seeks to bring about God's greater honor
and glory in a Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of
God.
In Witness Whereof, we have caused these sentiments
to be published on this 5th day of May, 1964 at historicPhiladelphia.
THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA
(Signatures)
Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President
Dr. Joseph Pauco, Executive Secretary
Edward J. Behuncik, Chairman, Resolutions Committee
V. J. Tylka, Member, Resolutions Committee
Ed. Kovac, Member, Resolutions Committee.
"SLOVAK!A AND ITS PEOPLE"
by Professor Gilbert L. Oddo can now be sent on order.
Get your copy TODAY, beca use the supply is limited. Over
2,100 copies have been sold. The first real history of the
Slovaks and their country in English. The book has 384
pa ges and sells for $6.00 per copy postpaid. Order your
copy TODAY from: Slovak Institute, 2900 East Blvd. Cleveland 4, Ohio
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Proclamation of the 39th Congress, Slovak League of America, Philadelphia, Pa., May 5, 1964
Description
An account of the resource
Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964
pp. 34-36
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1964
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/904aa051296c14ded3dbd969ec4e50ea.pdf
341063b2eba90cfcf7efe8c5e2e973f8
PDF Text
Text
26
SLOVAKIA
Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the
Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but
the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava.
24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia
de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda
Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H .
La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources
used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932;
Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922.
25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961,
Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211.
26. Ibidem, p . 16.
23.
MEMORANDUM
On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America
issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of
State Dean Rusk:
On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic
meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General
of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared
as follows, among other things:
"As a representative of the United States government
the President has asked me to tell you that the United
States will continue to support the just aspirations of all
people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other
captive nations."
We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you
graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of
America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of
Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to
speak before the American Government in behalf of the
Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of
government and is unable to speak out for its rights and
self-determination of its freedom and independence.
We would be most pleased if our State Department
would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our
Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera-
�SLOVAKIA
27
tion of such a question as the Voice of America broadcast.
According to our information, there exists only the so<!alled "Czechoslovak" division, 1and the Slovaks have no sayso in it. In the interest of peace between the Slovaks and
the Czechs it would be most fitting if our government effected a separation and division of the "Czechoslovak" division and created two: a Slovak division and a Czech
division-completely distinct and separate divisions, mutually independent. We would so wish to see American citizens
of Slovak extraction in the Slovak division who would regularly and correctly inform the Slovaks behind the Iron
Curtain about all happenings in America and among American-Slovaks, and who would correctly interpret the message
of President Kennedy as relayed to us by his brother,
Robert F. Kennedy, in Youngstown, 0., to the effect that
even the Slovaks have a right to their independence and
their own sovereign state.
The movement for an independent Slovakia is very
strong at this time in Europe as well as here in America.
Just in the past few months-as may be verified by our
Ambassador in Prague, a strong wave of resistance swept
across Slovakia against the Czech Stalinists who for years
were represented in Bratislava by their own man, Karel
Bacilek, the secretary general of the Communist party.
Slovak Communists with strong nationalistic inclinations
forced the Prague government to recall Bacilek, and another
Stalinist, Premier Viliam Siroky.
In addition, they forced the posthumous rehabilitation
of the former secretary of foreign affairs, Vlado Clementis,
a Slovak, whom the Stalinists have executed. Along with
Clementis, other nationalistically inclined Communists in
Slovakia, who had been jailed during the era of the Czech
Stalinists, were pardoned, namely: Dr. Gustav Husak and
Ladislav Novomesky. Membership in the Communist party
was restored to both and their voice is now being heard
more and more in Slovakia. Husak was removed some 10
years ago because immediately after the Second World War
he clamored for an independent Soviet Slovak Republic
and took a stand against the Czecho-Slovak Republic.
According to information we have, the situation in
Slovakia during the last four months is very similar and
�28
SLOVAKIA
almost as explosive as was the situation in Hungary in
1956, which led to the well-known revolt against the Soviets.
The Slovaks, of course, have no assurance from the outside world that they would be provided help if they revolted
against the Prague and Moscow governments. Without such
assurance any attempted revolt must prove foolhardy.
The recent retreat of Moscow in Prague, while only
in the Communist ranks thus far, is apparent in Slovakia.
The nationalists are acquiring a voice and it appears that
there is no force that can stop them.
Naturally, we in no way support and will not support
any Communist movement. But it is apparent and clear to
us that Slovak patriotism in the political aspects has deep
roots in the anti-Communist movement in Slovakia as well
as in the ranks of the Slovak Communists themselves.
For that reason we are stronger and stronger in our
conviction that it is our mor,al duty to come to the defense
of the sovereign rights of the Slovak nation from which
we have decended and to ask for that much recognition
in a practical political sense as was expressed and interpreted to us by the brother of our President, John F. Kennedy.
We respectfully submit this to you, Mr. Secretary of
State, with the hope that our present administration will
do all in its power to assure the Slovaks in America and in
Europe that they do not stand alone in this fight for the
independence of Slovakia.
As always, we should like to assure you that the Slovak
League of America was and remains an organization loyal
to the United States of America and that the welfare of
our American country and the liberty of its citizens and
their equality before the law are still our primary concern.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President,
Slovak League of America
Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary
Members of the Executive Committee:
Philip A. Hrobak
John A. Sabol
Joseph G. Prusa
�
26
SLOVAKIA
Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the
Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but
the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava.
24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia
de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda
Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H .
La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources
used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932;
Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922.
25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961,
Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211.
26. Ibidem, p . 16.
23.
MEMORANDUM
On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America
issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of
State Dean Rusk:
On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic
meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General
of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared
as follows, among other things:
"As a representative of the United States government
the President has asked me to tell you that the United
States will continue to support the just aspirations of all
people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other
captive nations."
We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you
graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of
America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of
Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to
speak before the American Government in behalf of the
Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of
government and is unable to speak out for its rights and
self-determination of its freedom and independence.
We would be most pleased if our State Department
would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our
Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera-
�SLOVAKIA
27
tion of such a question as the Voice of America broadcast.
According to our information, there exists only the so<!alled "Czechoslovak" division, 1and the Slovaks have no sayso in it. In the interest of peace between the Slovaks and
the Czechs it would be most fitting if our government effected a separation and division of the "Czechoslovak" division and created two: a Slovak division and a Czech
division-completely distinct and separate divisions, mutually independent. We would so wish to see American citizens
of Slovak extraction in the Slovak division who would regularly and correctly inform the Slovaks behind the Iron
Curtain about all happenings in America and among American-Slovaks, and who would correctly interpret the message
of President Kennedy as relayed to us by his brother,
Robert F. Kennedy, in Youngstown, 0., to the effect that
even the Slovaks have a right to their independence and
their own sovereign state.
The movement for an independent Slovakia is very
strong at this time in Europe as well as here in America.
Just in the past few months-as may be verified by our
Ambassador in Prague, a strong wave of resistance swept
across Slovakia against the Czech Stalinists who for years
were represented in Bratislava by their own man, Karel
Bacilek, the secretary general of the Communist party.
Slovak Communists with strong nationalistic inclinations
forced the Prague government to recall Bacilek, and another
Stalinist, Premier Viliam Siroky.
In addition, they forced the posthumous rehabilitation
of the former secretary of foreign affairs, Vlado Clementis,
a Slovak, whom the Stalinists have executed. Along with
Clementis, other nationalistically inclined Communists in
Slovakia, who had been jailed during the era of the Czech
Stalinists, were pardoned, namely: Dr. Gustav Husak and
Ladislav Novomesky. Membership in the Communist party
was restored to both and their voice is now being heard
more and more in Slovakia. Husak was removed some 10
years ago because immediately after the Second World War
he clamored for an independent Soviet Slovak Republic
and took a stand against the Czecho-Slovak Republic.
According to information we have, the situation in
Slovakia during the last four months is very similar and
�28
SLOVAKIA
almost as explosive as was the situation in Hungary in
1956, which led to the well-known revolt against the Soviets.
The Slovaks, of course, have no assurance from the outside world that they would be provided help if they revolted
against the Prague and Moscow governments. Without such
assurance any attempted revolt must prove foolhardy.
The recent retreat of Moscow in Prague, while only
in the Communist ranks thus far, is apparent in Slovakia.
The nationalists are acquiring a voice and it appears that
there is no force that can stop them.
Naturally, we in no way support and will not support
any Communist movement. But it is apparent and clear to
us that Slovak patriotism in the political aspects has deep
roots in the anti-Communist movement in Slovakia as well
as in the ranks of the Slovak Communists themselves.
For that reason we are stronger and stronger in our
conviction that it is our mor,al duty to come to the defense
of the sovereign rights of the Slovak nation from which
we have decended and to ask for that much recognition
in a practical political sense as was expressed and interpreted to us by the brother of our President, John F. Kennedy.
We respectfully submit this to you, Mr. Secretary of
State, with the hope that our present administration will
do all in its power to assure the Slovaks in America and in
Europe that they do not stand alone in this fight for the
independence of Slovakia.
As always, we should like to assure you that the Slovak
League of America was and remains an organization loyal
to the United States of America and that the welfare of
our American country and the liberty of its citizens and
their equality before the law are still our primary concern.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President,
Slovak League of America
Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary
Members of the Executive Committee:
Philip A. Hrobak
John A. Sabol
Joseph G. Prusa
�
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
1964, Vol. 14
Description
An account of the resource
Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964.
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
1964
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
26
SLOVAKIA
Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the
Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but
the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava.
24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia
de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda
Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H .
La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources
used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932;
Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922.
25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961,
Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211.
26. Ibidem, p . 16.
23.
MEMORANDUM
On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America
issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of
State Dean Rusk:
On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic
meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General
of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared
as follows, among other things:
"As a representative of the United States government
the President has asked me to tell you that the United
States will continue to support the just aspirations of all
people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other
captive nations."
We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you
graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of
America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of
Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to
speak before the American Government in behalf of the
Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of
government and is unable to speak out for its rights and
self-determination of its freedom and independence.
We would be most pleased if our State Department
would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our
Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera-
SLOVAKIA
27
tion of such a question as the Voice of America broadcast.
According to our information, there exists only the so<!alled "Czechoslovak" division, 1and the Slovaks have no sayso in it. In the interest of peace between the Slovaks and
the Czechs it would be most fitting if our government effected a separation and division of the "Czechoslovak" division and created two: a Slovak division and a Czech
division-completely distinct and separate divisions, mutually independent. We would so wish to see American citizens
of Slovak extraction in the Slovak division who would regularly and correctly inform the Slovaks behind the Iron
Curtain about all happenings in America and among American-Slovaks, and who would correctly interpret the message
of President Kennedy as relayed to us by his brother,
Robert F. Kennedy, in Youngstown, 0., to the effect that
even the Slovaks have a right to their independence and
their own sovereign state.
The movement for an independent Slovakia is very
strong at this time in Europe as well as here in America.
Just in the past few months-as may be verified by our
Ambassador in Prague, a strong wave of resistance swept
across Slovakia against the Czech Stalinists who for years
were represented in Bratislava by their own man, Karel
Bacilek, the secretary general of the Communist party.
Slovak Communists with strong nationalistic inclinations
forced the Prague government to recall Bacilek, and another
Stalinist, Premier Viliam Siroky.
In addition, they forced the posthumous rehabilitation
of the former secretary of foreign affairs, Vlado Clementis,
a Slovak, whom the Stalinists have executed. Along with
Clementis, other nationalistically inclined Communists in
Slovakia, who had been jailed during the era of the Czech
Stalinists, were pardoned, namely: Dr. Gustav Husak and
Ladislav Novomesky. Membership in the Communist party
was restored to both and their voice is now being heard
more and more in Slovakia. Husak was removed some 10
years ago because immediately after the Second World War
he clamored for an independent Soviet Slovak Republic
and took a stand against the Czecho-Slovak Republic.
According to information we have, the situation in
Slovakia during the last four months is very similar and
28
SLOVAKIA
almost as explosive as was the situation in Hungary in
1956, which led to the well-known revolt against the Soviets.
The Slovaks, of course, have no assurance from the outside world that they would be provided help if they revolted
against the Prague and Moscow governments. Without such
assurance any attempted revolt must prove foolhardy.
The recent retreat of Moscow in Prague, while only
in the Communist ranks thus far, is apparent in Slovakia.
The nationalists are acquiring a voice and it appears that
there is no force that can stop them.
Naturally, we in no way support and will not support
any Communist movement. But it is apparent and clear to
us that Slovak patriotism in the political aspects has deep
roots in the anti-Communist movement in Slovakia as well
as in the ranks of the Slovak Communists themselves.
For that reason we are stronger and stronger in our
conviction that it is our mor,al duty to come to the defense
of the sovereign rights of the Slovak nation from which
we have decended and to ask for that much recognition
in a practical political sense as was expressed and interpreted to us by the brother of our President, John F. Kennedy.
We respectfully submit this to you, Mr. Secretary of
State, with the hope that our present administration will
do all in its power to assure the Slovaks in America and in
Europe that they do not stand alone in this fight for the
independence of Slovakia.
As always, we should like to assure you that the Slovak
League of America was and remains an organization loyal
to the United States of America and that the welfare of
our American country and the liberty of its citizens and
their equality before the law are still our primary concern.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President,
Slovak League of America
Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary
Members of the Executive Committee:
Philip A. Hrobak
John A. Sabol
Joseph G. Prusa
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
Memorandum from the Slovak League of America
Description
An account of the resource
Memorandum from the Slovak League of America to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, dated October 7, 1963
Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964
pp. 26-28
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1964
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1726a68a7188b2a45786f7eddc0c10ab.pdf
23225b02dd1458d49b67012c8cae6b5f
PDF Text
Text
SLOVAKIA
VOL. XIV
1964
A N DR EJ HLI N KA1 S CENT EN N I A l
NO. 37
�The Slovak League of America
-
is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May
26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0 ., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek ;
-
is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organization of Americans of
Slovak descent;
is interested primarily in promoting t he welfare and security of t he United States of America;
represents an overwhelming majority of organized
Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it
are the largest Slovak fratemals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the
United States;
is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way
of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak d~scent
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;
is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally
aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of
such aid; it suppor ts the American Red Cross, Red
F eather Campaigns and other American charitable projects;
wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American
political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines;
through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees),
sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures,
art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim
is to have a "Hive" o_f our "Vcielky" in every large
Slovak community;
promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the
Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence;
firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right
of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and
�
SLOVAKIA
VOL. XIV
1964
A N DR EJ HLI N KA1 S CENT EN N I A l
NO. 37
�The Slovak League of America
-
is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May
26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0 ., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek ;
-
is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organization of Americans of
Slovak descent;
is interested primarily in promoting t he welfare and security of t he United States of America;
represents an overwhelming majority of organized
Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it
are the largest Slovak fratemals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the
United States;
is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way
of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak d~scent
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;
is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally
aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of
such aid; it suppor ts the American Red Cross, Red
F eather Campaigns and other American charitable projects;
wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American
political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines;
through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees),
sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures,
art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim
is to have a "Hive" o_f our "Vcielky" in every large
Slovak community;
promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the
Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence;
firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right
of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and
�
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1964, Vol. 14
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1964
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SLOVAKIA
VOL. XIV
1964
A N DR EJ HLI N KA1 S CENT EN N I A l
NO. 37
The Slovak League of America
-
is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May
26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0 ., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek ;
-
is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organization of Americans of
Slovak descent;
is interested primarily in promoting t he welfare and security of t he United States of America;
represents an overwhelming majority of organized
Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it
are the largest Slovak fratemals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the
United States;
is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way
of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak d~scent
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;
is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally
aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of
such aid; it suppor ts the American Red Cross, Red
F eather Campaigns and other American charitable projects;
wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American
political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines;
through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees),
sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures,
art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim
is to have a "Hive" o_f our "Vcielky" in every large
Slovak community;
promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the
Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence;
firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right
of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and
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. 14 (No. 37)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1964
-
https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/769635e2364a7189d5a2c1f98263f219.pdf
56d063a8bde528fa9dbe67bef21c308f
PDF Text
Text
150
SLOVAKIA
WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAKS
IN U. S. A. A!ND OANADA
Hletko, Peter Paul, M.D., physlcian-s urge on; (semi-retired);
med. examiner of many insurance
Co's; born June 26, 1'902 in Chicago,
Ill.; son of Martin and Catherine
(IHargas ) Hletko; educated, St.
Michael's School (1908-1915), Chicago, St. Procopius Academy and
College, Lisle, Ill. (1915-19) and
(1919-21); De Paul Univ., Chicago
(1921-23, B. Sc. in Chem. 1923);
Loyola University, Chicago, (M.D.
1927) ; Resident Staff (interne)
Cook County Hosp., Chicrugo (19271928); instructor in clinical neurology, Loyola U. Medical School
(1931-35) ; wed Anna E. Remijas
in 1938; led Slovak League of
Am. delegation to Czecho-Slovakia
in 1938 in behal! of Pittsburgh
Pact recognition; pres. Slovak League of Am. (1935-1939) and (1963M); Hon. Presid•ent and member of
Exec. Committee of Slovak League
(19·3 8-196i); Tice-pres. Slov. Cath.
F ed er ation of Amer. (19314); Supr.
Med. Examiner, Slovak Cath. Sokol (1927-19&4); Hon. Med. Examiner (emeritus), and Member of
Exec. Comm. •Slovak Cath. Sokol;
Supr. Med. Examiner Nat. Slovak
Society (1934-39); secretary, Supreme Court 01' Na:t. Slovak Society
(l'll26-19.3 4); organizer and 1s t
pres . 'Club Furdek' (Oath. Slovak
Cultural Society, Chicago) 1929;
member Amer. Med. Assn., Ill.
Med. Assn. and Chicago Medical
Assn. since 1929; med. examiner
of Municipal Court and Law Dept.
Benefit and .Pension Fund, Chica~o. (1936-61); Pl!"esident, Gage
Park Savings & Loan Assn., Chica~o. ,since .1985. Author: "The
Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact"
(publi,shed by 'Slovak Catholic Federation 1934); vrote "Islm,r"
- rQprint of satko-comic column
in the Osad n e Hlasy (Slovak Parish N liws), 19,311 ; edited the "Catholic Slovak Sokol Cook-Book", 1964;
contrib. editor, Osadne Hlasy (Chi-
cago P a rish News, 1927-63); editor
'Jaro", English supplement to 'Jednota, 1927-3·6. Editor, 'Chicagsky
Dennik' (Chicago Slovak D a i 1 y
News), 1926-27. Democrat. Hobbies : Books, philately, pinochle.
Home : Warrenville, Ill. Office :
2740 W. 55th St., Chicago 32, Ill.
Mlynarovic h, Clement, Milos,
Born October 1'1, 1·887, Hasprunka
1
( Studlenka),
S 1 ova k i a, son of
Stephen and Stephanie (Heiny)
Mlynarovich; educated in Studienka, Trnava, Bratislava; ordained
May 21, 1910 Bratislava; doc ent
of Eloquence and Blblicum in
Franciscan Seminary 1911-1914.
Assistant at St. J oh n Parish,
Whiting, Indiana 1915; organizer
of Assumption Parish, East Chicago, Indiana. /Pastor of A s sumpt.ion Pwrish 1915; ,b uilt church 1917,
rectory 1919, school and convent
1,926. Organized Sacred Heart Parish, East Chicago, Indiana (East
side) and ·b uilt church 1g3'7.
Toured Central Europe 1925; elected Supr,e me Judge of Slovak
Catholic Sokol 1930; elected chaplain or ISlovak Catholic Sokol 193.:'l.
Elected •Supreme •P resident Slovak
Catholic ·F ederwtion 1930-193•5. Made Very Rev. Monsignor 194•5 ; visited Peace Conference 1945.
Elected l!"egul ar member of the
Gallery-Academy of Livi n g Authors 1949; resigned the Assumption (Parish, East Chicago, Indiana,
and moved to Seven Dolors 1Shrine, Valparaiso, .Indiana 1950. Reelected 1Supreme Presid ent Slovak
Catholic Federation or America.
19>50.
Visited ,I taly and Germany 1955
In re: Slovak ,seminarians in Pontifical Nepomucenum, Rome, and
In re: Slovak emigll"ants in Germany. Was made Rt. R ev. Monsignor 1955; made r egular member
the International Marian Academy
1955.
1
�SLOVAKIA
Visited Europe in 1962 and 1963
In re: St. Cyril and IMethodius
Institu te in Rome.
Literary works:
Slavia
J>oems
Novels from American Life
Great God (poems)
Christmas Telephone
Two Worlds
"In Search of God," (poems)
"In The 'Shadow of Skyscrapers,"
( short novels)
"S,truggle With Fate," (short
novels)
"Birds in The Storm," (novel)
"From the People for the People," {poems)
"Mary the Divine Design,"
"IRoseta," (novel)
Sermons
"Story of a Hea rt," (poems)
All literary works aire in Slovak.
!Awarded with Hlinka Silver Cup
and with Gold Medal of the Slovak Catholic Intellectuals.
Stephen B. Roman is widely recognized as a leading spokesman
for the Canadian uranium industry. He has been in the forefront
of those who have claimed that the
demand for nuclear fuel and power would build up rapidly in the
next few years. Today, he and his
company, Denison Mines Limited,
are on the threshhold of a solid,
long-term association with European customers. Details in full have
to be ironed out, but negotiations
involve the sale of 100,000,000 lbs.
of uranium oxide over a 25-year
period.
In honoring Stephen Roman recently, Western Miner recognizes
that even greater things lie ahead
for the ambitious 43-year old executive who heads one of Canada's
most important mining and industrial complexes. Denison, with its
diversified investments b o th in
Canada and the U. S. A., appears
destined to b e c o m e one of the
great "growth" organizations of
North America.
Born in Slovakia, Stephen Ro-
151
man came to Canada as an immigrant lad of 17 in the company of
an older brother. He began his
life in Canada by spending his
first three years on a farm near
Port Perry. Nights were consumed
with study, furthering both his
cultural interests and his knowledge of a new language. Following service in the Canadian army,
he married, worked in industry
and, briefly, as an editor of a Slovak weekly newspaper. His subsequent, phenomenal financial career
evolved over a period of 18 years.
As president of Denison Mines
Limited, he brought the world's
largest uranium mine into production, at Elliot Lake, Ontario. He
has made "Denison" synonymous
with dynamism and diversification. The company today is a leading g a s and o i 1 producer, with
large proven reserves in Western
Canada. Through its investments,
it is also a manufacturer of cement
and building materials (Lake Ontario Cement Company, Premier
Building Materials Limited, Primeau Argo Block Company). Un,
der Denison's guidance, a b a s emetal property, Black Hawk Mining Limited, is being currently developed in Maine, U.S.A.
In this perspective, a not her
newsworthy accomplishment was
his prominent role in the merging
of Roman Corporation with TransCanada Explorations. Roman Corporation, the new company, in addition to its interests in a variety
of attractive mining properties and
its own diversified holdings, has
a substantial investment in Denison stock, its most important single asset.
With Denison as a base, Mr.
Roman has built a $85 million industrial empire of diversified investments. Now with Roman Corporation Limited as an active new
agency of investment, he is advancing on another phase of his
meteoric career.
�152
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Pauco, Joseph, Ph.D.: 75 rokov
Prvej Katoiickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, . Pa., 1965, p. 664,
Illustrated.
Not infrequently one encounters in life a specific circumstance which calls for the
accomplishment of a momentous task, but there is no one
at hand with the necessary
competence to perform it;
and, vice versa, one oftentimes meets with a person of
marked ability for a particular task, who is denied the
opportunity to exercise his
talent.
Matthew Arn old neatly
states the outcome when the
two appear simultaneously in
the literary field: "Great creative works in literature result from the happy concurrence of two notable powers,
the power of the man and the
power of the moment."
Such a happy concurrence
of two notable power~ has
been strikingly exemplified
before our eyes this year. For
the power of the moment
there was the 75th anniversary of the First Catholic
Slovak Union in 1965, calling
for the writing of the history
of this remarkable organization. For the power of the
man there was Joseph Pauco,
Ph.D., a gifted author, historian and scholar, capable and
willing to assume the task of
writing this history.
The result is a truly monumental contribution to Slovak
history and literature, entitled, "75 Rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej J ednoty."
The history of the First
Catholic Siovak Union can
well be considered concommitant with that of the adjustment of S l o v a k immigrants to the American way
of life. On page one of its
June 2, 1965 issue, the JEDNOTA weekly notes : "The
75-year history of the First
Catholic Slovak Union is interlocked with the story of
the Slovaks in America from
their very first days in this
country, embodying their
dreams and aspirations, their
programs and campaigns of
action, their accomplishments,
their contributions to the ideals of this great country ... "
It is important that we Slovaks f a m i 1 i a rize ourselves
with this record. Only too
often we are confronted by
inquirers seeking information
on matters which they quite
rightly expect us to know.
A careful reading of Dr. Pauco's book will enable us to
furnish answers to questions
like the following: When and
why did the Slovaks emigrate
�SLOVAKIA
to the United States in such
large numbers? Why all this
concern about conditions in
Central Europe? What part
was played by American Slovak leaders in the founding of
the Czecho-Slovak Republic in
1918 and of the Independent
Slovakia in 1939?
Thus the book portrays the
early struggles of the Slovak
immigrants, their traits of
<:haracter, their involvement
in events, both here and in
their fatherland, their progress from life in simple settlements to flourishing parishes
and to the founding of religious, educational, cultural,
and charitable institutions.
The book presents thumb·n ail sketches of institutions
like the Catholic Slovak Federation, the Slovak League of
America, the various Religious
Congregations of men and
women, and the newly established Institute of SS. Cyril
and Methodius in Rome for
'the training of priests for
Slovakia. It includes biographical sketches of notable persons in Slovak life, contemporary as well a.s past, persons
whose names were ·household
w0rds iR their day-Furdek,
.Jankola, Pavco, Di an is k a,
Murgas, Rusek, Hrobak, Kozak, Lach, Rovnianek, all ac·tive in American Slovak life.
Nor are there lacking names
like Culen, Hronsky, Hlinka,
153
Razus, Hrusovsky, Urbanek,
Sasinek, Skultety, 0 s v a 1 d,
whose area of action stemmed
from Slovakia and whose influence was felt in America.
Scores of other names appear
in the record of persons still
living and active in the Slovak
cause.
Furthermore, Dr. Pauco's
book records events like the
following: The Consecration
of the first Slovak bishop in
America in 1957; a Slovak
pilgrimage to the National
Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception in Washington, D.
C. and the erection within
its walls of the altar of our
Mother of Sorrows, Patroness
of Slovakia; visits made to
America by Msgr. Hlinka, the
Slovak Bishops: Blaha, Vojtassak, Cars k y, and Jantausch; visits of delegations
representitng national, educational and cultural societies
in Slovakia; Papal honors conferred upon distinguished Slovaks. It contains hi&torical
documents such a.s: Memoranda on behalf of Slovakia addressed to the President and
Congress of the United States
and to the U.N.; messages
to the Slovak people by eminent churchmen, like Cardinal
S p e 11 m a n a n d Cardinal
Stritch, climaxed by the memorable address of Pope Paul
VI to the Slovak pilgrims a~
sembled in Rome from the
�154
SLOVAKIA
United States, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy,
South America and the Far
Ea;st on September 14, 1963.
Moreover, the author has authentically annotated e a c h
fact so that if the reader
wishes further information he
can pursue the topic further.
The foregoing is but a superficin.l s u m m a r y of the
wealth of information contained in Dr. Pauco's book.
~cholars will appreciate the
amount of painstaking and
persistent research and methodical organization of material that produced in one
volume a veritable treasury
of information.
To the older members of
the J ednota, the book offers
precious reminiscences of past
struggles, labors, trials, triumps, and achievements; to
the discerning reader it offers
historical data on a gallant
and courageous nation; to the
student it offers a valuable
r eference in the field of research.
In recent years there · has
been in America a welcome
awakening of interest in the
Slovak people. Students in
high schools and colleges are
encouraged to write papers
on topics relating to Slovak
history, literature, culture,
and politics. There is immense
need for source material. Dr.
Pauco has pr o v i d e d this
source material in his book
"Seventy-five Years of the
First Catholic Slovak Union",
so rich in content, in abundant
notes and references, and in
bibliographic data.
On the occasion of an anniversary it is customary for
the celebrating jubilarian to
r eceive gifts; now the order
has been reversed; the celebrating jubilarian, the 75year old Jednota, does not
receive a gift, but bestows
one-a gift of lasting value ·
to its members, to the Slovak
people, and to history and
literature in general.
Speaking of value draws
attention to the price of the
volume. Only $5.00! A small
sum indeed for such a valuruble 'book-'lllllieommOllllly valuable in content and proportionately valuable in its digno.fled fomna;t~iits tyipe, its
numerous illustrations, and its
durable binding.
One more important
thought. The statement of
Matthew Arnold about the
power of the moment and the
power of the man applies here
again.
'Dhere :i!S urgent need-the
power of .t he moment-to provide source material in Eng- ·
lish for students and to make ·
Slovak information available
to the general American reader.
This need calls for a writer
�SLOVAKIA
_,the power of the mancaJPa!ble and willing to translaite Dr. P.auc's booO{ imito
ffingHsh.
God grant that the two
powers concur very soon to
fulfill this need of the times.
Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M.
M!lan S. Durica, LA SL0VAICC'HI!A.
E LE SUE RELAZIONI POLITIOHE 0ON LA GEJRMANIA - 1938/
194 5, (Slovakia and Her Political
Relations with Germany), Marsilio
E ditor!, Padova, Italy, 1964, Sarmatlca Series, Introduction by Ettore Anchleri, p. 274.
Books on Slovakia in foreign
languages are growing in number
and quality, and the present volume counts undoubtedly among
the bes,t bo th for its scholarly method and objective analysis of the
events and for -the use of documents rela ted to Slovakia's recent
history. Admitted to unpublished
diplomatic archives of the Third
Reich, the author tried to find an
ansvrer to and put in proper per~pQctive 1.) The origin of the Slovak 'Republic, 2.) The rel ation s of
Slovakia with Germany, and 3.)
The policy of the Slovak Government towards Berlin.
All these topics were casually
treated in Western European languages in connection with the Eastern Europea n problems or with
the Second WGrld War, but the
writers, except for those of Slovak origin mostly accepted biased
opinions from anti,Slovak sources
and were not concerned with archives and do cuments . Profesor DuTica is the first social scientist
who has used his knowledge of
foreign languages to look into the
-primary sources and find out wheTe the truth lies and where the
Western historiography relied on
political myths. The result of his
research is consequently in dis.agreement with many a thesis on
155
both the origm of the Slovak state in March 1939 and on the policy of the Slovak government towards the German attempts to
limit Slovakia's sovereignty and
to impose national socialism upo n
the Slovak people. Without any
intention ,t o exculpate or apologize, a tendency which can be found
in other works, professor Durica
depicts the relations betwee n Germany and Slovakia as they appear
in the light of the documents of
German diploma ts, Slovak cabinet
ministers, or other personalities,
playing a role in Slovak politics.
The present volume which ls
the first o! a series, deals with
the events of the years 1938-1939,
from the Munich Agreement to
the outburst of the Second World
War. A'\vare of the scarce knowledge of the Slovak problem in
the West, including Italy, the author also gives a brief survey of
the Slovak national aspirations
before the First World War and
during the years 1918-1938 in Czecho-Slovakia. Jn an extensive introduction he deals with Wes tern
historiography concerning Slovakia and shows considerable knowledge of literature in several European languages.
On ,the 'basis of such documentation and research, Profesor Durica came to the conclusion that
"a direct influence of Germans
on Slovak politician<.! with regard
to an immediate declaration or independence of Slovakia can be
documented only from March 7,
1939", and "that the principal Slovak personalities gave a proof of
firmness wh en enco untered with
German press ure and faced witih
dignity even the personal intervention of Hitler on March 13."
(p. 11-5) The declaration of Slovak
independence on March H, 1939
"was made under the pressure of
the international situation, pa rticularly und er that of Germany,
but the independence was nevertheless proclaimed by the diet of
the autonomous Slovakia on the
�156
SLOVAKIA
basis of delibera:tions basically
free, and by a free and unanimous
vote of all members of the Diet
present in the Parliament." (p.
115)
,P rofesor Durica states emphatically ,tha,t; "the Slovak state cannot be considered as a creation
of Hitler's Germany. In the secret
documents of Nazi Germany preceding the crisis of March 1939,
there is no project of this kind.
The subsequent documents clearly
prove instead that there was on
one hand, an initial disorientaition
in Berlin as to the viability of
the independent Slovak state, and
on the other, a decisive and constant resistance of Slovakia against
repeated attempts, by the Third
Reich, first at the military occupation of the Slovak territory, and
later, at reducing <the Slovak state
to a German protectorate" (p. 116)
As for the viability and ideological
orientation of Slovakia the author
concludes that "in the period of
March-September 1939 <the Slovak
State consolidated noteworthy its
administrative structure, adopted
a republican constitution inspired
by the Christian traditions or its
people and obtained sufficiently
large recognition as the member
of the international community."
(P. 116).
Durica came to these conclusions on the basis of an extensive
study, as shown by his footnotes
and bibliography, of secondary and
primary sources of which the 86
documents in German and English, attached to the book enhance thtl value of his work.
He also cleared a confusion around two ducuments, .na mely a
letter by the Hungarian regent
Nicholas Horthy of March 13,
1939, and a telegram, allegedly sent
by Dr. Tiso to Hitler on March
15th, 1939. This reviewer has been
responsible for a part of the
confusion since he was the first
to use, in good faith, Horthy's letter as a document referring to Slovakia in an article published in
1948 and later in 1958 in my book
"Nas boj o samostatnost: Slovenska", from which it passed into
Mikus French book and Oddo's
work. It was left out from my
English book SLOVAKIA (publ.
1960) since I found out in the
meantime that the document referred to the Carphato-Ukraine.
The other document was publish•
ed in the DOCUMENTS ON GER•
MA!N FOiREIGN PO[,!CY SERIES
D and since I was aware of a
telegram sent to Hitler on March
14, 1939 (I was personal secretary
to the Minister of External Affairs of Slovakia at that time),
I mistakingly considered the draft,
found in Berlin and never used,
as the text of Tiso's telegram. It
is now clear that Tiso never sent
that teleg,r am and the message I
was aware of, was signed by Durcansky as published . by Durica
(Doc. 51, p. 196).
If the following volumes of Durica's work will be of the same
scholarly precision and objectivity,
he will undoubtedly make a valu•
able contribution to Western historiography on Central Eastern
Europe. We hope that he will adcI
to the fortcomiug volumes a resume in English and French which
he did not attach this time and
which Is one o-f the short-comings
of this valuable work.
J. M. KIRSCHBAUM
Ludwig v. Gogolak, BEITRAGE
ZUR GElSCHICHTE DES SLOV A·
KISCHE~ VOLKES I, (Contribut•
ions to the History of the Slovak
People), Verlag R. Oldenburg,
Munchen, 1963, p. 265.
This scholarly work by a professor of •Central European history at the University of Vienna,
is the first critical work by a
foreign scholar on the rise of
Slovak national consciousness and
on the origin of the Czecho- Slovak question. It deserves, therefore, more than casual attention
�SLOVAKIA
o! Slavists and experts in Central ·E astern European problems.
:As the subtitle indicates (Die
Natiornalwerdung der Slowaken
und die Anfange der tschechoslowakischen 1F rage 1526-1790), the
author made a thorough research,
facilitated lby his knowledge of
German, Hungarian, Slovak and
Czech, into two contested questions on which not only politicians but also linguists and historians for a long time held and
defended divergent positions and
opinions. Western historiography
predominantly accepted the Czech
thesis ,t hat ethnically, and linguistically Slovaks were a part
of the Czech people or a:t the
best a part of the "Czechoslovak people". The Slovaks vehemently defended their linguistic,
cultural and political identity, but
until recently they scarcely found
understanding or support among
Western scholars.
The first serious attempt on the
part of Western scholars to present a critical analysis of the
q u e s t i o n, base.d on original
sources; dates only from 19.3'1 and
was made by Th. J. Locher in his
D1E NIA:T.IONAIJE DH'FERENZIER UN G UND INTEGRIERUNG
DER SLOWAKEN UND TSCHECHEN IN IHREM GESCHICHTLICHEN VERLAUF 'BIS 1848 (The
Natrona! Differentation and Integration of 1Slovaks and Czechs in
its historical development until
1848). Dr. 'Locher completed two
years of post-graduate studies in
Prague and IBratislava (after graduating .from the University of
Leiden in his native Holland) and
to the dismay of his Czech professors (J. Susta in Prague and V.
Chaloupecky in Bratislava) he
came to conclusions contradicting the Czech t h e s i s of fue
ethnic linguistic, cultural and political unity of the Slovaks and
Czechs.
The work by professor v. Gogolak confirms Lecher's conclusions,
but it is at the same time more de-
157
tailed, broader in scope and much
better documen,ted. We might say
that this is the first foreig n-language book which goes de eper into the problem of the relations
between the Slovaks and Czechs
than any other book in Slovak or
Czech, and -there were many books
written on this ,topic in the last
hundred years. Gogolak's knowledge of sources in the languages
pertainin.g to the topic is unique
among the Western historians and
he displays a rare objectivity !ri
his analysis not only with regard to the Czechs but also with
regard to Hungarians, who similarly attempted to create "a Hungari an people" of the inhabitants
of !Hungary by the assimilation of
Slovaks and other nationalities.
It does not mean, however ithat
the book is not bound to stir up
controversy among C z e ch and
Hungarian historians alike; it may
provoke disag,r eement in some det ails even among the Slovaks,
and particularly among the Pro-·
testant Slovaks.
;Frofessor v. Gog o 1 a k defends
not only the thesis of an independent Slovak linguistic and cultural entity, but correctly states·
that the so-called Czechoslovak·
problem or ,the thesis of the unity
of Czechs and Slovaks is of very
late date and was masterminded
by the Slovak Protestant minority (about 18% at the present time)
which ,was to a great degree
of Czech ancestry and has been
linked wi,th the. Czechs by their
liturgical language (see pp. 214
and fol.). Gogolak goes so .far as
to say that "had the Protestant
intelligentsia, which in fact lived
mostly on their historical heritage
and foreign German-Czech connections, r emained in the leading
role, the result would have been
the complete disappearance of the
Slovak people" (p. 229)
In his view "it is thanks
only to the activity of several
Catholic priests and scholars, who.
were conscious of their goal and
�_158
SLOVAKIA
mission, that the Slovak national
character did not lose its own
characteristics and identity in the
clash with the menacing political
magyarization and the spiritual
'self-czechizatlon' ... " Such statements, even if basically true, are
undoubtedly bound to provoke reaction on the side of the Slovak
Protestant intellectuals of whom
many reel, like their ancestors ait
the beginning of ,the 19th century,
that they are "the ex c I u s iv e
leaders of the Slovak people"
whose "bold consciousness of their
mi s s ion (Sendungsbewusstsein )
came again and again in the foreground until 1918-1919". (p. 217).
Besides these two main problems the author deals with many
other questions related to the rise
of Slovak national consciousness,
as for instance the role of the
aristocracy and bourgeoisie in Slovak cultural life, the role of the
German element, Hungarian assimilatory t e n d e n c i es etc., on
which topics there are some monographic works in Slovak, which
were not analyzed from a global
point of view.
This concise and well-documented scholarly work deserves attention not only from SloTak scholars,
but also from Slavists in general.
JK.
Edward E . Delaney, FREEDOM'S
FRONTIER, .Published by H. A.
Nickel, Sacramento, Cal., 211 p.
The author is a n,vell-known news
reporter, whose area of opera,tion
was Central Europe during World
War II. On more than one oc-
casion he visited Slovakia and
learned its problems firsthand. In
this book he sets forth a challenging analysis of western policy,
pointing out its blunders with
regard to Soviet expansion. In no
uncer,tain terms the a uthor expr esses his condemnation of western appeasement and calls for a
constructive policy of liberation of
captive nations, tearing down the
Iron C urtain and the Berlin Wall,
and undoing the brainwashing to
which the American public has
been subjected.
In his references ,to Slovakia h e
names Slovak intellectuals and
politicians whose anti-Communist
stand has been known in the West
and n,vho rightfully claim freedom
and independence for their nation.
In his view Slovakia is a captive
nation, now occupied by the Soviets. After Hs so-called liberation,
it was combined again with Bohemia and Moravia in a restored
Czecho,Slovakia to compensate Benes for services rendered to Moscow by himself and other Czech
politicians.
Delaney condemns such disr egard or a nation's rights as well
as the unjust condemnation or
Slovak politicias and specifically
•the execution of Dr. Tiso. Quoting Slovak scholars like Dr. J . M.
Kirschbaum and Dr. F. Durcansky, he presses for Slovakia's independence.
A perusal of the book proves
that the author is acquainted with
the literature and basic problems
of Central Europe and has personally met some of its leaders.
JK .
Die Slowaken und das Grossmiihrishe Reich (The Slovaks and the
Great-Moravian Empire), by Dr. Arved Grebert, Munich, 1965, p. 64,
bibl.
For a long time a matter of interest for a few historians and linguists, the Great-Moravian Empire became during the past two decades
an object of scholarly research by experts in many fields, especially
of archeologists, ethnographers and social scientists. The booklet under review is a contribution to the ethnic character of the Great-Moravian Empire, according to its subtitle, but it also sheds a new light
on many other problems.
�SLOVAKIA
159
After having outlined historical and geographical data of this first
empire of Carpathian and Danubian Slavs, called Sclaveni or Sclavi
Marahenses in contemporary Latin sources and Slovene in eastern re•
cords, the author attempts to give an answer to the following ques•
tions: Which Slavic tribes lived on the territory of the Great-Moravian
Empire in the 9th Century? What is the ethnic character of the population of today's Moravia? What was the relation of the Slovaks to the
Czechs in the 9th century?
Dr. Grebert's answer is based on a thorough study of sources, of
historical and linguistic works of renown scholars of various nationali•
ties, published in half a dozen languages. Nevertheless, it is an answer
which is bound to provoke controversy, since it contradicts or refutes
many an outdated thesis of Czech Slavists or of historians guided by
political considerations.
In his conclusion Dr. Grebert states that his research and quoted
sources and data prove that "the Great-Moravian Empire was a Slovak
state, formed by Slovaks" (p. 50). Though amply supported by the
views of scholars not only of the Slovak, German, Hungarian, but also
of the Czech origin, the author refers in his conclusion also to the
so-called Marxist experts to give his study an objective basis beyond
any doubt.
It will be now to the experts in this period of history to accept or
refute Grebert's new look at the first Slavic empire which was claimed
mainly by the Czechs as a part of their national heritage. The essay is
written in a clear style, concise form, and convincing manner. The
writer apparently was guided by the dictum "non multa, sed multun".
J. M. Kirschbaum
ANTON BERNOLAK-The First Codifier of the Slovak Language
(1762-1813). By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. Publishers: Slovak In•
stitute, Cleveland, Ohio, 48 pages.
Bernolak's 200th birthday anniversary provided the occasion for
the author's masterful address at McMaster University in Hamilton,
Ontario, which fortunately has been preserved for us in this highly
documented work. The wide scope of his research is shown in the Bibliography in which sources are quoted from works in Latin, German,
Slovak, Polish, English, Czech, French and Italian.
No one so far has come up with such a concise and scholarly his•
torical and literary background to the development of the modern Slovak language as Dr. Kirschbaum in this brochure in English and French.
This small volume is an excellent and invaluable handbook for
future scholars who may want to treat the subject more extensively.
They will find in it not only the Slovak literary and national leaders
who saved the Slovak nation from extinction in a period of historic
crisis but a list of names of philologists, historians, etc. as references
to authorities on the subject. Rarely does one find such an imposing
array of distinguished men quoted as we find in Dr. Kirschbaum's
priceless work. To mention a few: Bajza, Safarik, Holly, Pa?lrnvic, Fandly, stur, Jungman, Niederle, Vlcek, Mraz, Kotvan, Bartek, Mihal, Sta•
nislav. Pauliny, Seton-Watson, Denis, Dobrov,sky, Auty, de Bray, von
Gogolak, Skultety, Krcmery, Miskovic, Tibensky, Pisut, Banik, Lepacek,
MeriggL
A.P.
�160
SLOVAKIA
CONTRIBUTORS
Zatko, James J., Ph.D., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the
University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he
studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowships in 1962.
He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre
Dame. Just off the press is his book Descent Into Darkness -The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, published
by Notre Dame University.
Kona, William, was born in Slovakia where he was reared and
took his secondary education. He received part of his education in
law at Bratislava in Slovakia. He continued his education in law in
Rome and in Madrid. Attended Roosevelt University, Chicago Teachers
College; Chicago Real Estate Board Institute. At Rosary College in
River Forest, Illinois, he received his M.A. He also took advanced
:studies in library science at the University of Chicago.
In his travels Mr. Kona has been to Austria, Germany, Italy,
Slovenia, Monaco France, Portugal, Gibraltar, Croatia, Spain, Canada,
Mexico, and has toured the United States extensively.
Mr. Kona is a Member of the Association of Hospital and Institutional Libraries of the American Library Association of which he is
on the Publications Advisory Committee ( 1962-64) and Bibliotherapy
Committee (1962-66); Medical Library Association in which he is the
Chairman of the Nursing Libraries Group (1963-64 and 1964-65),
Chairman of Membership Committee (1964-65), and member of the
Exchange Committee ( 1963-64 and 1964-65). As well as these two
national organizations he is a member of the Midwest Regional Group
of the Medical Library Association (Member of the Board of Directors) and also he was Program chairman for the Tri-State Hospital
Assembly Medical Library Service (1963-64); Permanent Chairman
since 1960 of the Nursing Librarians of Metropolitan Chicago; VicePresident of A.P.P. (1962-64); American Hospital Association of which
he was faculty member to the Institute on Hospital Librarianship in
1961 and 1964.
Evangela, M. Sister, B.S., M.A., the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius whose Motherhouse is in Danville, Pa., is working toward a doctorate in history at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. She is
the recipient of a summer grant in history under the National Defense
Educational Act. For her Master's thesis from De Paul University in
1964, Sister wrote on: Foreign Relations Between the United States and
Czecho-Slovakia with Special Emphasis on Slovakia, 1920-1960.
Essay in this issue of Slovakia is a part of her thesis.
Krajsa, Joseph C., B.S., with majors in Health and Physical Education, History, and English - plus graduate work in Philosophy at
Lehigh University, was born in Allentown, Pa. For 11 years he taught
high school English and History and was Head Coach in three sports;
tor 15 years he was associated in a finance business; and since February 1964, he has been the Editor of the Catholic Weekly JEDNOTA.
�Misan11, N. Joseph, is a well-known lawyer. President of Mil-
waukee Assemb!y 20 of the .Slovak L eague of America, an Assistant
City Attorney of Milwaukee, Wis., Comma nder of Post 508, Catholic
War Veterans, Adju tant of Wisco nsin Pos t 490, Inc, The Am erican
Legion, and is a member of •the Sokols, J ednota and Narodny Spolok;
a parishione r o! St. Stephen's (Slovak) Catholic Church, Milwaukee,
Wis., Misany graduated from ?.forquette University an d the Law
School, helped organize the Father Blinka Club there, and wrote h is
political science thesis on Slova kia, Yester day and Today : The
Feelings and Sen,timen ts of a Catholic People (M. U. L ibrar y, 1940),
believed to be one of the fi r st such works on a University level in
U.S.A.
Kirschbaum, J . M., LL.D., Ph.D., former Slovak diplomat in Rome,
Italy, and Bern, Switzerland, born in Slovakia and residing in c;anada.
For a decade, he was professor at the Unive. sity of Montreal, Department of Slavic Studies, and contributor to French, English and Slovak
periodicals and symposia. Some of his writings were also published in
Spanish and German.
His best known books: Slovakia: A Nation at the Crossroads of
Central Europe (Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., 1960) and Neis boj
o samostatnost' Slovenska (Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1958).
Urban, Eugene, was born January 2, 1914 at Podolie, Slovakia. He
completed his studies of Slovak and French language and literature at
the University in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a M.A. in Education degree
in 1938. In 1935 he studied slavistics at the Slovenian University at
Ljubljana, Slovenia, and French language and literature at the Universite Catholique, Lille, France. In 1960 he received his M.A. in Library
Science degree from the Rosary College, River Forest, Ill.
In World War II he was assigned as press attache to the Legation
of the Slovak Republic in Vatican City. Actually, he is librarian in the
Research Library of Inland Steel Company, Hammond, Ind.
Many of his articles on Slovak literary, historical and J>Qlitical topics were published in Slovak, Slovenian and Italian journals. The publishing house Sandron, Rome, Italy, published in 1945 his translation
into Italian of Slovak short stories by the Slovak author Milo Urban,
with the title Novelle Slovacche.
Vnuk, Frantisek, P.Eng., professor at a Technological Institute in
Adelaide, Australia, was born in Slovakia. He belongs to the younger
generation of Slovak intellectuals who did not give up their fight a: ainst communism and strive for freedom and democracy in Slovakia.
Profilic and gifted historian writer, he covers in his Slovak and
English writings several fields of intellectual activities, from politics
to literature.
Recently he published the book Neuveritel'ne sprisahanie dealing
with the invasion of the communists into Slovakia in 1944.
SLOVAKIA
$2.00 per annum in the U.S.A. -
$3.00 elsewhere.
PRI NTED IN THE U.S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
M idd letown, Pa. 17057
�The Slovak League of America
-
-
is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May
26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek;
is a CULTURAL and CMC organization of Americans of
Slovak descent;
is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States 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;
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;
promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the
Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence;
firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right
of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and
independence, the right of every nation to freely choose
its own form of government and freely elect persons
of its own choice by whom it shall be governed;
condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny,
every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak
League of America has always recognized the Godless
philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread
evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is,
as the political system which threatens mankind with
utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely
against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off
the face of the earth,
�
150
SLOVAKIA
WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAKS
IN U. S. A. A!ND OANADA
Hletko, Peter Paul, M.D., physlcian-s urge on; (semi-retired);
med. examiner of many insurance
Co's; born June 26, 1'902 in Chicago,
Ill.; son of Martin and Catherine
(IHargas ) Hletko; educated, St.
Michael's School (1908-1915), Chicago, St. Procopius Academy and
College, Lisle, Ill. (1915-19) and
(1919-21); De Paul Univ., Chicago
(1921-23, B. Sc. in Chem. 1923);
Loyola University, Chicago, (M.D.
1927) ; Resident Staff (interne)
Cook County Hosp., Chicrugo (19271928); instructor in clinical neurology, Loyola U. Medical School
(1931-35) ; wed Anna E. Remijas
in 1938; led Slovak League of
Am. delegation to Czecho-Slovakia
in 1938 in behal! of Pittsburgh
Pact recognition; pres. Slovak League of Am. (1935-1939) and (1963M); Hon. Presid•ent and member of
Exec. Committee of Slovak League
(19·3 8-196i); Tice-pres. Slov. Cath.
F ed er ation of Amer. (19314); Supr.
Med. Examiner, Slovak Cath. Sokol (1927-19&4); Hon. Med. Examiner (emeritus), and Member of
Exec. Comm. •Slovak Cath. Sokol;
Supr. Med. Examiner Nat. Slovak
Society (1934-39); secretary, Supreme Court 01' Na:t. Slovak Society
(l'll26-19.3 4); organizer and 1s t
pres . 'Club Furdek' (Oath. Slovak
Cultural Society, Chicago) 1929;
member Amer. Med. Assn., Ill.
Med. Assn. and Chicago Medical
Assn. since 1929; med. examiner
of Municipal Court and Law Dept.
Benefit and .Pension Fund, Chica~o. (1936-61); Pl!"esident, Gage
Park Savings & Loan Assn., Chica~o. ,since .1985. Author: "The
Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact"
(publi,shed by 'Slovak Catholic Federation 1934); vrote "Islm,r"
- rQprint of satko-comic column
in the Osad n e Hlasy (Slovak Parish N liws), 19,311 ; edited the "Catholic Slovak Sokol Cook-Book", 1964;
contrib. editor, Osadne Hlasy (Chi-
cago P a rish News, 1927-63); editor
'Jaro", English supplement to 'Jednota, 1927-3·6. Editor, 'Chicagsky
Dennik' (Chicago Slovak D a i 1 y
News), 1926-27. Democrat. Hobbies : Books, philately, pinochle.
Home : Warrenville, Ill. Office :
2740 W. 55th St., Chicago 32, Ill.
Mlynarovic h, Clement, Milos,
Born October 1'1, 1·887, Hasprunka
1
( Studlenka),
S 1 ova k i a, son of
Stephen and Stephanie (Heiny)
Mlynarovich; educated in Studienka, Trnava, Bratislava; ordained
May 21, 1910 Bratislava; doc ent
of Eloquence and Blblicum in
Franciscan Seminary 1911-1914.
Assistant at St. J oh n Parish,
Whiting, Indiana 1915; organizer
of Assumption Parish, East Chicago, Indiana. /Pastor of A s sumpt.ion Pwrish 1915; ,b uilt church 1917,
rectory 1919, school and convent
1,926. Organized Sacred Heart Parish, East Chicago, Indiana (East
side) and ·b uilt church 1g3'7.
Toured Central Europe 1925; elected Supr,e me Judge of Slovak
Catholic Sokol 1930; elected chaplain or ISlovak Catholic Sokol 193.:'l.
Elected •Supreme •P resident Slovak
Catholic ·F ederwtion 1930-193•5. Made Very Rev. Monsignor 194•5 ; visited Peace Conference 1945.
Elected l!"egul ar member of the
Gallery-Academy of Livi n g Authors 1949; resigned the Assumption (Parish, East Chicago, Indiana,
and moved to Seven Dolors 1Shrine, Valparaiso, .Indiana 1950. Reelected 1Supreme Presid ent Slovak
Catholic Federation or America.
19>50.
Visited ,I taly and Germany 1955
In re: Slovak ,seminarians in Pontifical Nepomucenum, Rome, and
In re: Slovak emigll"ants in Germany. Was made Rt. R ev. Monsignor 1955; made r egular member
the International Marian Academy
1955.
1
�SLOVAKIA
Visited Europe in 1962 and 1963
In re: St. Cyril and IMethodius
Institu te in Rome.
Literary works:
Slavia
J>oems
Novels from American Life
Great God (poems)
Christmas Telephone
Two Worlds
"In Search of God," (poems)
"In The 'Shadow of Skyscrapers,"
( short novels)
"S,truggle With Fate," (short
novels)
"Birds in The Storm," (novel)
"From the People for the People," {poems)
"Mary the Divine Design,"
"IRoseta," (novel)
Sermons
"Story of a Hea rt," (poems)
All literary works aire in Slovak.
!Awarded with Hlinka Silver Cup
and with Gold Medal of the Slovak Catholic Intellectuals.
Stephen B. Roman is widely recognized as a leading spokesman
for the Canadian uranium industry. He has been in the forefront
of those who have claimed that the
demand for nuclear fuel and power would build up rapidly in the
next few years. Today, he and his
company, Denison Mines Limited,
are on the threshhold of a solid,
long-term association with European customers. Details in full have
to be ironed out, but negotiations
involve the sale of 100,000,000 lbs.
of uranium oxide over a 25-year
period.
In honoring Stephen Roman recently, Western Miner recognizes
that even greater things lie ahead
for the ambitious 43-year old executive who heads one of Canada's
most important mining and industrial complexes. Denison, with its
diversified investments b o th in
Canada and the U. S. A., appears
destined to b e c o m e one of the
great "growth" organizations of
North America.
Born in Slovakia, Stephen Ro-
151
man came to Canada as an immigrant lad of 17 in the company of
an older brother. He began his
life in Canada by spending his
first three years on a farm near
Port Perry. Nights were consumed
with study, furthering both his
cultural interests and his knowledge of a new language. Following service in the Canadian army,
he married, worked in industry
and, briefly, as an editor of a Slovak weekly newspaper. His subsequent, phenomenal financial career
evolved over a period of 18 years.
As president of Denison Mines
Limited, he brought the world's
largest uranium mine into production, at Elliot Lake, Ontario. He
has made "Denison" synonymous
with dynamism and diversification. The company today is a leading g a s and o i 1 producer, with
large proven reserves in Western
Canada. Through its investments,
it is also a manufacturer of cement
and building materials (Lake Ontario Cement Company, Premier
Building Materials Limited, Primeau Argo Block Company). Un,
der Denison's guidance, a b a s emetal property, Black Hawk Mining Limited, is being currently developed in Maine, U.S.A.
In this perspective, a not her
newsworthy accomplishment was
his prominent role in the merging
of Roman Corporation with TransCanada Explorations. Roman Corporation, the new company, in addition to its interests in a variety
of attractive mining properties and
its own diversified holdings, has
a substantial investment in Denison stock, its most important single asset.
With Denison as a base, Mr.
Roman has built a $85 million industrial empire of diversified investments. Now with Roman Corporation Limited as an active new
agency of investment, he is advancing on another phase of his
meteoric career.
�152
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Pauco, Joseph, Ph.D.: 75 rokov
Prvej Katoiickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, . Pa., 1965, p. 664,
Illustrated.
Not infrequently one encounters in life a specific circumstance which calls for the
accomplishment of a momentous task, but there is no one
at hand with the necessary
competence to perform it;
and, vice versa, one oftentimes meets with a person of
marked ability for a particular task, who is denied the
opportunity to exercise his
talent.
Matthew Arn old neatly
states the outcome when the
two appear simultaneously in
the literary field: "Great creative works in literature result from the happy concurrence of two notable powers,
the power of the man and the
power of the moment."
Such a happy concurrence
of two notable power~ has
been strikingly exemplified
before our eyes this year. For
the power of the moment
there was the 75th anniversary of the First Catholic
Slovak Union in 1965, calling
for the writing of the history
of this remarkable organization. For the power of the
man there was Joseph Pauco,
Ph.D., a gifted author, historian and scholar, capable and
willing to assume the task of
writing this history.
The result is a truly monumental contribution to Slovak
history and literature, entitled, "75 Rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej J ednoty."
The history of the First
Catholic Siovak Union can
well be considered concommitant with that of the adjustment of S l o v a k immigrants to the American way
of life. On page one of its
June 2, 1965 issue, the JEDNOTA weekly notes : "The
75-year history of the First
Catholic Slovak Union is interlocked with the story of
the Slovaks in America from
their very first days in this
country, embodying their
dreams and aspirations, their
programs and campaigns of
action, their accomplishments,
their contributions to the ideals of this great country ... "
It is important that we Slovaks f a m i 1 i a rize ourselves
with this record. Only too
often we are confronted by
inquirers seeking information
on matters which they quite
rightly expect us to know.
A careful reading of Dr. Pauco's book will enable us to
furnish answers to questions
like the following: When and
why did the Slovaks emigrate
�SLOVAKIA
to the United States in such
large numbers? Why all this
concern about conditions in
Central Europe? What part
was played by American Slovak leaders in the founding of
the Czecho-Slovak Republic in
1918 and of the Independent
Slovakia in 1939?
Thus the book portrays the
early struggles of the Slovak
immigrants, their traits of
<:haracter, their involvement
in events, both here and in
their fatherland, their progress from life in simple settlements to flourishing parishes
and to the founding of religious, educational, cultural,
and charitable institutions.
The book presents thumb·n ail sketches of institutions
like the Catholic Slovak Federation, the Slovak League of
America, the various Religious
Congregations of men and
women, and the newly established Institute of SS. Cyril
and Methodius in Rome for
'the training of priests for
Slovakia. It includes biographical sketches of notable persons in Slovak life, contemporary as well a.s past, persons
whose names were ·household
w0rds iR their day-Furdek,
.Jankola, Pavco, Di an is k a,
Murgas, Rusek, Hrobak, Kozak, Lach, Rovnianek, all ac·tive in American Slovak life.
Nor are there lacking names
like Culen, Hronsky, Hlinka,
153
Razus, Hrusovsky, Urbanek,
Sasinek, Skultety, 0 s v a 1 d,
whose area of action stemmed
from Slovakia and whose influence was felt in America.
Scores of other names appear
in the record of persons still
living and active in the Slovak
cause.
Furthermore, Dr. Pauco's
book records events like the
following: The Consecration
of the first Slovak bishop in
America in 1957; a Slovak
pilgrimage to the National
Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception in Washington, D.
C. and the erection within
its walls of the altar of our
Mother of Sorrows, Patroness
of Slovakia; visits made to
America by Msgr. Hlinka, the
Slovak Bishops: Blaha, Vojtassak, Cars k y, and Jantausch; visits of delegations
representitng national, educational and cultural societies
in Slovakia; Papal honors conferred upon distinguished Slovaks. It contains hi&torical
documents such a.s: Memoranda on behalf of Slovakia addressed to the President and
Congress of the United States
and to the U.N.; messages
to the Slovak people by eminent churchmen, like Cardinal
S p e 11 m a n a n d Cardinal
Stritch, climaxed by the memorable address of Pope Paul
VI to the Slovak pilgrims a~
sembled in Rome from the
�154
SLOVAKIA
United States, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy,
South America and the Far
Ea;st on September 14, 1963.
Moreover, the author has authentically annotated e a c h
fact so that if the reader
wishes further information he
can pursue the topic further.
The foregoing is but a superficin.l s u m m a r y of the
wealth of information contained in Dr. Pauco's book.
~cholars will appreciate the
amount of painstaking and
persistent research and methodical organization of material that produced in one
volume a veritable treasury
of information.
To the older members of
the J ednota, the book offers
precious reminiscences of past
struggles, labors, trials, triumps, and achievements; to
the discerning reader it offers
historical data on a gallant
and courageous nation; to the
student it offers a valuable
r eference in the field of research.
In recent years there · has
been in America a welcome
awakening of interest in the
Slovak people. Students in
high schools and colleges are
encouraged to write papers
on topics relating to Slovak
history, literature, culture,
and politics. There is immense
need for source material. Dr.
Pauco has pr o v i d e d this
source material in his book
"Seventy-five Years of the
First Catholic Slovak Union",
so rich in content, in abundant
notes and references, and in
bibliographic data.
On the occasion of an anniversary it is customary for
the celebrating jubilarian to
r eceive gifts; now the order
has been reversed; the celebrating jubilarian, the 75year old Jednota, does not
receive a gift, but bestows
one-a gift of lasting value ·
to its members, to the Slovak
people, and to history and
literature in general.
Speaking of value draws
attention to the price of the
volume. Only $5.00! A small
sum indeed for such a valuruble 'book-'lllllieommOllllly valuable in content and proportionately valuable in its digno.fled fomna;t~iits tyipe, its
numerous illustrations, and its
durable binding.
One more important
thought. The statement of
Matthew Arnold about the
power of the moment and the
power of the man applies here
again.
'Dhere :i!S urgent need-the
power of .t he moment-to provide source material in Eng- ·
lish for students and to make ·
Slovak information available
to the general American reader.
This need calls for a writer
�SLOVAKIA
_,the power of the mancaJPa!ble and willing to translaite Dr. P.auc's booO{ imito
ffingHsh.
God grant that the two
powers concur very soon to
fulfill this need of the times.
Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M.
M!lan S. Durica, LA SL0VAICC'HI!A.
E LE SUE RELAZIONI POLITIOHE 0ON LA GEJRMANIA - 1938/
194 5, (Slovakia and Her Political
Relations with Germany), Marsilio
E ditor!, Padova, Italy, 1964, Sarmatlca Series, Introduction by Ettore Anchleri, p. 274.
Books on Slovakia in foreign
languages are growing in number
and quality, and the present volume counts undoubtedly among
the bes,t bo th for its scholarly method and objective analysis of the
events and for -the use of documents rela ted to Slovakia's recent
history. Admitted to unpublished
diplomatic archives of the Third
Reich, the author tried to find an
ansvrer to and put in proper per~pQctive 1.) The origin of the Slovak 'Republic, 2.) The rel ation s of
Slovakia with Germany, and 3.)
The policy of the Slovak Government towards Berlin.
All these topics were casually
treated in Western European languages in connection with the Eastern Europea n problems or with
the Second WGrld War, but the
writers, except for those of Slovak origin mostly accepted biased
opinions from anti,Slovak sources
and were not concerned with archives and do cuments . Profesor DuTica is the first social scientist
who has used his knowledge of
foreign languages to look into the
-primary sources and find out wheTe the truth lies and where the
Western historiography relied on
political myths. The result of his
research is consequently in dis.agreement with many a thesis on
155
both the origm of the Slovak state in March 1939 and on the policy of the Slovak government towards the German attempts to
limit Slovakia's sovereignty and
to impose national socialism upo n
the Slovak people. Without any
intention ,t o exculpate or apologize, a tendency which can be found
in other works, professor Durica
depicts the relations betwee n Germany and Slovakia as they appear
in the light of the documents of
German diploma ts, Slovak cabinet
ministers, or other personalities,
playing a role in Slovak politics.
The present volume which ls
the first o! a series, deals with
the events of the years 1938-1939,
from the Munich Agreement to
the outburst of the Second World
War. A'\vare of the scarce knowledge of the Slovak problem in
the West, including Italy, the author also gives a brief survey of
the Slovak national aspirations
before the First World War and
during the years 1918-1938 in Czecho-Slovakia. Jn an extensive introduction he deals with Wes tern
historiography concerning Slovakia and shows considerable knowledge of literature in several European languages.
On ,the 'basis of such documentation and research, Profesor Durica came to the conclusion that
"a direct influence of Germans
on Slovak politician<.! with regard
to an immediate declaration or independence of Slovakia can be
documented only from March 7,
1939", and "that the principal Slovak personalities gave a proof of
firmness wh en enco untered with
German press ure and faced witih
dignity even the personal intervention of Hitler on March 13."
(p. 11-5) The declaration of Slovak
independence on March H, 1939
"was made under the pressure of
the international situation, pa rticularly und er that of Germany,
but the independence was nevertheless proclaimed by the diet of
the autonomous Slovakia on the
�156
SLOVAKIA
basis of delibera:tions basically
free, and by a free and unanimous
vote of all members of the Diet
present in the Parliament." (p.
115)
,P rofesor Durica states emphatically ,tha,t; "the Slovak state cannot be considered as a creation
of Hitler's Germany. In the secret
documents of Nazi Germany preceding the crisis of March 1939,
there is no project of this kind.
The subsequent documents clearly
prove instead that there was on
one hand, an initial disorientaition
in Berlin as to the viability of
the independent Slovak state, and
on the other, a decisive and constant resistance of Slovakia against
repeated attempts, by the Third
Reich, first at the military occupation of the Slovak territory, and
later, at reducing <the Slovak state
to a German protectorate" (p. 116)
As for the viability and ideological
orientation of Slovakia the author
concludes that "in the period of
March-September 1939 <the Slovak
State consolidated noteworthy its
administrative structure, adopted
a republican constitution inspired
by the Christian traditions or its
people and obtained sufficiently
large recognition as the member
of the international community."
(P. 116).
Durica came to these conclusions on the basis of an extensive
study, as shown by his footnotes
and bibliography, of secondary and
primary sources of which the 86
documents in German and English, attached to the book enhance thtl value of his work.
He also cleared a confusion around two ducuments, .na mely a
letter by the Hungarian regent
Nicholas Horthy of March 13,
1939, and a telegram, allegedly sent
by Dr. Tiso to Hitler on March
15th, 1939. This reviewer has been
responsible for a part of the
confusion since he was the first
to use, in good faith, Horthy's letter as a document referring to Slovakia in an article published in
1948 and later in 1958 in my book
"Nas boj o samostatnost: Slovenska", from which it passed into
Mikus French book and Oddo's
work. It was left out from my
English book SLOVAKIA (publ.
1960) since I found out in the
meantime that the document referred to the Carphato-Ukraine.
The other document was publish•
ed in the DOCUMENTS ON GER•
MA!N FOiREIGN PO[,!CY SERIES
D and since I was aware of a
telegram sent to Hitler on March
14, 1939 (I was personal secretary
to the Minister of External Affairs of Slovakia at that time),
I mistakingly considered the draft,
found in Berlin and never used,
as the text of Tiso's telegram. It
is now clear that Tiso never sent
that teleg,r am and the message I
was aware of, was signed by Durcansky as published . by Durica
(Doc. 51, p. 196).
If the following volumes of Durica's work will be of the same
scholarly precision and objectivity,
he will undoubtedly make a valu•
able contribution to Western historiography on Central Eastern
Europe. We hope that he will adcI
to the fortcomiug volumes a resume in English and French which
he did not attach this time and
which Is one o-f the short-comings
of this valuable work.
J. M. KIRSCHBAUM
Ludwig v. Gogolak, BEITRAGE
ZUR GElSCHICHTE DES SLOV A·
KISCHE~ VOLKES I, (Contribut•
ions to the History of the Slovak
People), Verlag R. Oldenburg,
Munchen, 1963, p. 265.
This scholarly work by a professor of •Central European history at the University of Vienna,
is the first critical work by a
foreign scholar on the rise of
Slovak national consciousness and
on the origin of the Czecho- Slovak question. It deserves, therefore, more than casual attention
�SLOVAKIA
o! Slavists and experts in Central ·E astern European problems.
:As the subtitle indicates (Die
Natiornalwerdung der Slowaken
und die Anfange der tschechoslowakischen 1F rage 1526-1790), the
author made a thorough research,
facilitated lby his knowledge of
German, Hungarian, Slovak and
Czech, into two contested questions on which not only politicians but also linguists and historians for a long time held and
defended divergent positions and
opinions. Western historiography
predominantly accepted the Czech
thesis ,t hat ethnically, and linguistically Slovaks were a part
of the Czech people or a:t the
best a part of the "Czechoslovak people". The Slovaks vehemently defended their linguistic,
cultural and political identity, but
until recently they scarcely found
understanding or support among
Western scholars.
The first serious attempt on the
part of Western scholars to present a critical analysis of the
q u e s t i o n, base.d on original
sources; dates only from 19.3'1 and
was made by Th. J. Locher in his
D1E NIA:T.IONAIJE DH'FERENZIER UN G UND INTEGRIERUNG
DER SLOWAKEN UND TSCHECHEN IN IHREM GESCHICHTLICHEN VERLAUF 'BIS 1848 (The
Natrona! Differentation and Integration of 1Slovaks and Czechs in
its historical development until
1848). Dr. 'Locher completed two
years of post-graduate studies in
Prague and IBratislava (after graduating .from the University of
Leiden in his native Holland) and
to the dismay of his Czech professors (J. Susta in Prague and V.
Chaloupecky in Bratislava) he
came to conclusions contradicting the Czech t h e s i s of fue
ethnic linguistic, cultural and political unity of the Slovaks and
Czechs.
The work by professor v. Gogolak confirms Lecher's conclusions,
but it is at the same time more de-
157
tailed, broader in scope and much
better documen,ted. We might say
that this is the first foreig n-language book which goes de eper into the problem of the relations
between the Slovaks and Czechs
than any other book in Slovak or
Czech, and -there were many books
written on this ,topic in the last
hundred years. Gogolak's knowledge of sources in the languages
pertainin.g to the topic is unique
among the Western historians and
he displays a rare objectivity !ri
his analysis not only with regard to the Czechs but also with
regard to Hungarians, who similarly attempted to create "a Hungari an people" of the inhabitants
of !Hungary by the assimilation of
Slovaks and other nationalities.
It does not mean, however ithat
the book is not bound to stir up
controversy among C z e ch and
Hungarian historians alike; it may
provoke disag,r eement in some det ails even among the Slovaks,
and particularly among the Pro-·
testant Slovaks.
;Frofessor v. Gog o 1 a k defends
not only the thesis of an independent Slovak linguistic and cultural entity, but correctly states·
that the so-called Czechoslovak·
problem or ,the thesis of the unity
of Czechs and Slovaks is of very
late date and was masterminded
by the Slovak Protestant minority (about 18% at the present time)
which ,was to a great degree
of Czech ancestry and has been
linked wi,th the. Czechs by their
liturgical language (see pp. 214
and fol.). Gogolak goes so .far as
to say that "had the Protestant
intelligentsia, which in fact lived
mostly on their historical heritage
and foreign German-Czech connections, r emained in the leading
role, the result would have been
the complete disappearance of the
Slovak people" (p. 229)
In his view "it is thanks
only to the activity of several
Catholic priests and scholars, who.
were conscious of their goal and
�_158
SLOVAKIA
mission, that the Slovak national
character did not lose its own
characteristics and identity in the
clash with the menacing political
magyarization and the spiritual
'self-czechizatlon' ... " Such statements, even if basically true, are
undoubtedly bound to provoke reaction on the side of the Slovak
Protestant intellectuals of whom
many reel, like their ancestors ait
the beginning of ,the 19th century,
that they are "the ex c I u s iv e
leaders of the Slovak people"
whose "bold consciousness of their
mi s s ion (Sendungsbewusstsein )
came again and again in the foreground until 1918-1919". (p. 217).
Besides these two main problems the author deals with many
other questions related to the rise
of Slovak national consciousness,
as for instance the role of the
aristocracy and bourgeoisie in Slovak cultural life, the role of the
German element, Hungarian assimilatory t e n d e n c i es etc., on
which topics there are some monographic works in Slovak, which
were not analyzed from a global
point of view.
This concise and well-documented scholarly work deserves attention not only from SloTak scholars,
but also from Slavists in general.
JK.
Edward E . Delaney, FREEDOM'S
FRONTIER, .Published by H. A.
Nickel, Sacramento, Cal., 211 p.
The author is a n,vell-known news
reporter, whose area of opera,tion
was Central Europe during World
War II. On more than one oc-
casion he visited Slovakia and
learned its problems firsthand. In
this book he sets forth a challenging analysis of western policy,
pointing out its blunders with
regard to Soviet expansion. In no
uncer,tain terms the a uthor expr esses his condemnation of western appeasement and calls for a
constructive policy of liberation of
captive nations, tearing down the
Iron C urtain and the Berlin Wall,
and undoing the brainwashing to
which the American public has
been subjected.
In his references ,to Slovakia h e
names Slovak intellectuals and
politicians whose anti-Communist
stand has been known in the West
and n,vho rightfully claim freedom
and independence for their nation.
In his view Slovakia is a captive
nation, now occupied by the Soviets. After Hs so-called liberation,
it was combined again with Bohemia and Moravia in a restored
Czecho,Slovakia to compensate Benes for services rendered to Moscow by himself and other Czech
politicians.
Delaney condemns such disr egard or a nation's rights as well
as the unjust condemnation or
Slovak politicias and specifically
•the execution of Dr. Tiso. Quoting Slovak scholars like Dr. J . M.
Kirschbaum and Dr. F. Durcansky, he presses for Slovakia's independence.
A perusal of the book proves
that the author is acquainted with
the literature and basic problems
of Central Europe and has personally met some of its leaders.
JK .
Die Slowaken und das Grossmiihrishe Reich (The Slovaks and the
Great-Moravian Empire), by Dr. Arved Grebert, Munich, 1965, p. 64,
bibl.
For a long time a matter of interest for a few historians and linguists, the Great-Moravian Empire became during the past two decades
an object of scholarly research by experts in many fields, especially
of archeologists, ethnographers and social scientists. The booklet under review is a contribution to the ethnic character of the Great-Moravian Empire, according to its subtitle, but it also sheds a new light
on many other problems.
�SLOVAKIA
159
After having outlined historical and geographical data of this first
empire of Carpathian and Danubian Slavs, called Sclaveni or Sclavi
Marahenses in contemporary Latin sources and Slovene in eastern re•
cords, the author attempts to give an answer to the following ques•
tions: Which Slavic tribes lived on the territory of the Great-Moravian
Empire in the 9th Century? What is the ethnic character of the population of today's Moravia? What was the relation of the Slovaks to the
Czechs in the 9th century?
Dr. Grebert's answer is based on a thorough study of sources, of
historical and linguistic works of renown scholars of various nationali•
ties, published in half a dozen languages. Nevertheless, it is an answer
which is bound to provoke controversy, since it contradicts or refutes
many an outdated thesis of Czech Slavists or of historians guided by
political considerations.
In his conclusion Dr. Grebert states that his research and quoted
sources and data prove that "the Great-Moravian Empire was a Slovak
state, formed by Slovaks" (p. 50). Though amply supported by the
views of scholars not only of the Slovak, German, Hungarian, but also
of the Czech origin, the author refers in his conclusion also to the
so-called Marxist experts to give his study an objective basis beyond
any doubt.
It will be now to the experts in this period of history to accept or
refute Grebert's new look at the first Slavic empire which was claimed
mainly by the Czechs as a part of their national heritage. The essay is
written in a clear style, concise form, and convincing manner. The
writer apparently was guided by the dictum "non multa, sed multun".
J. M. Kirschbaum
ANTON BERNOLAK-The First Codifier of the Slovak Language
(1762-1813). By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. Publishers: Slovak In•
stitute, Cleveland, Ohio, 48 pages.
Bernolak's 200th birthday anniversary provided the occasion for
the author's masterful address at McMaster University in Hamilton,
Ontario, which fortunately has been preserved for us in this highly
documented work. The wide scope of his research is shown in the Bibliography in which sources are quoted from works in Latin, German,
Slovak, Polish, English, Czech, French and Italian.
No one so far has come up with such a concise and scholarly his•
torical and literary background to the development of the modern Slovak language as Dr. Kirschbaum in this brochure in English and French.
This small volume is an excellent and invaluable handbook for
future scholars who may want to treat the subject more extensively.
They will find in it not only the Slovak literary and national leaders
who saved the Slovak nation from extinction in a period of historic
crisis but a list of names of philologists, historians, etc. as references
to authorities on the subject. Rarely does one find such an imposing
array of distinguished men quoted as we find in Dr. Kirschbaum's
priceless work. To mention a few: Bajza, Safarik, Holly, Pa?lrnvic, Fandly, stur, Jungman, Niederle, Vlcek, Mraz, Kotvan, Bartek, Mihal, Sta•
nislav. Pauliny, Seton-Watson, Denis, Dobrov,sky, Auty, de Bray, von
Gogolak, Skultety, Krcmery, Miskovic, Tibensky, Pisut, Banik, Lepacek,
MeriggL
A.P.
�160
SLOVAKIA
CONTRIBUTORS
Zatko, James J., Ph.D., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the
University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he
studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowships in 1962.
He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre
Dame. Just off the press is his book Descent Into Darkness -The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, published
by Notre Dame University.
Kona, William, was born in Slovakia where he was reared and
took his secondary education. He received part of his education in
law at Bratislava in Slovakia. He continued his education in law in
Rome and in Madrid. Attended Roosevelt University, Chicago Teachers
College; Chicago Real Estate Board Institute. At Rosary College in
River Forest, Illinois, he received his M.A. He also took advanced
:studies in library science at the University of Chicago.
In his travels Mr. Kona has been to Austria, Germany, Italy,
Slovenia, Monaco France, Portugal, Gibraltar, Croatia, Spain, Canada,
Mexico, and has toured the United States extensively.
Mr. Kona is a Member of the Association of Hospital and Institutional Libraries of the American Library Association of which he is
on the Publications Advisory Committee ( 1962-64) and Bibliotherapy
Committee (1962-66); Medical Library Association in which he is the
Chairman of the Nursing Libraries Group (1963-64 and 1964-65),
Chairman of Membership Committee (1964-65), and member of the
Exchange Committee ( 1963-64 and 1964-65). As well as these two
national organizations he is a member of the Midwest Regional Group
of the Medical Library Association (Member of the Board of Directors) and also he was Program chairman for the Tri-State Hospital
Assembly Medical Library Service (1963-64); Permanent Chairman
since 1960 of the Nursing Librarians of Metropolitan Chicago; VicePresident of A.P.P. (1962-64); American Hospital Association of which
he was faculty member to the Institute on Hospital Librarianship in
1961 and 1964.
Evangela, M. Sister, B.S., M.A., the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius whose Motherhouse is in Danville, Pa., is working toward a doctorate in history at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. She is
the recipient of a summer grant in history under the National Defense
Educational Act. For her Master's thesis from De Paul University in
1964, Sister wrote on: Foreign Relations Between the United States and
Czecho-Slovakia with Special Emphasis on Slovakia, 1920-1960.
Essay in this issue of Slovakia is a part of her thesis.
Krajsa, Joseph C., B.S., with majors in Health and Physical Education, History, and English - plus graduate work in Philosophy at
Lehigh University, was born in Allentown, Pa. For 11 years he taught
high school English and History and was Head Coach in three sports;
tor 15 years he was associated in a finance business; and since February 1964, he has been the Editor of the Catholic Weekly JEDNOTA.
�Misan11, N. Joseph, is a well-known lawyer. President of Mil-
waukee Assemb!y 20 of the .Slovak L eague of America, an Assistant
City Attorney of Milwaukee, Wis., Comma nder of Post 508, Catholic
War Veterans, Adju tant of Wisco nsin Pos t 490, Inc, The Am erican
Legion, and is a member of •the Sokols, J ednota and Narodny Spolok;
a parishione r o! St. Stephen's (Slovak) Catholic Church, Milwaukee,
Wis., Misany graduated from ?.forquette University an d the Law
School, helped organize the Father Blinka Club there, and wrote h is
political science thesis on Slova kia, Yester day and Today : The
Feelings and Sen,timen ts of a Catholic People (M. U. L ibrar y, 1940),
believed to be one of the fi r st such works on a University level in
U.S.A.
Kirschbaum, J . M., LL.D., Ph.D., former Slovak diplomat in Rome,
Italy, and Bern, Switzerland, born in Slovakia and residing in c;anada.
For a decade, he was professor at the Unive. sity of Montreal, Department of Slavic Studies, and contributor to French, English and Slovak
periodicals and symposia. Some of his writings were also published in
Spanish and German.
His best known books: Slovakia: A Nation at the Crossroads of
Central Europe (Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., 1960) and Neis boj
o samostatnost' Slovenska (Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1958).
Urban, Eugene, was born January 2, 1914 at Podolie, Slovakia. He
completed his studies of Slovak and French language and literature at
the University in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a M.A. in Education degree
in 1938. In 1935 he studied slavistics at the Slovenian University at
Ljubljana, Slovenia, and French language and literature at the Universite Catholique, Lille, France. In 1960 he received his M.A. in Library
Science degree from the Rosary College, River Forest, Ill.
In World War II he was assigned as press attache to the Legation
of the Slovak Republic in Vatican City. Actually, he is librarian in the
Research Library of Inland Steel Company, Hammond, Ind.
Many of his articles on Slovak literary, historical and J>Qlitical topics were published in Slovak, Slovenian and Italian journals. The publishing house Sandron, Rome, Italy, published in 1945 his translation
into Italian of Slovak short stories by the Slovak author Milo Urban,
with the title Novelle Slovacche.
Vnuk, Frantisek, P.Eng., professor at a Technological Institute in
Adelaide, Australia, was born in Slovakia. He belongs to the younger
generation of Slovak intellectuals who did not give up their fight a: ainst communism and strive for freedom and democracy in Slovakia.
Profilic and gifted historian writer, he covers in his Slovak and
English writings several fields of intellectual activities, from politics
to literature.
Recently he published the book Neuveritel'ne sprisahanie dealing
with the invasion of the communists into Slovakia in 1944.
SLOVAKIA
$2.00 per annum in the U.S.A. -
$3.00 elsewhere.
PRI NTED IN THE U.S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
M idd letown, Pa. 17057
�The Slovak League of America
-
-
is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May
26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek;
is a CULTURAL and CMC organization of Americans of
Slovak descent;
is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States 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;
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;
promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the
Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence;
firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right
of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and
independence, the right of every nation to freely choose
its own form of government and freely elect persons
of its own choice by whom it shall be governed;
condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny,
every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak
League of America has always recognized the Godless
philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread
evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is,
as the political system which threatens mankind with
utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely
against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off
the face of the earth,
�
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1965, Vol. 15
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Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965.
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The Slovak League of America
Date
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1965
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150
SLOVAKIA
WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAKS
IN U. S. A. A!ND OANADA
Hletko, Peter Paul, M.D., physlcian-s urge on; (semi-retired);
med. examiner of many insurance
Co's; born June 26, 1'902 in Chicago,
Ill.; son of Martin and Catherine
(IHargas ) Hletko; educated, St.
Michael's School (1908-1915), Chicago, St. Procopius Academy and
College, Lisle, Ill. (1915-19) and
(1919-21); De Paul Univ., Chicago
(1921-23, B. Sc. in Chem. 1923);
Loyola University, Chicago, (M.D.
1927) ; Resident Staff (interne)
Cook County Hosp., Chicrugo (19271928); instructor in clinical neurology, Loyola U. Medical School
(1931-35) ; wed Anna E. Remijas
in 1938; led Slovak League of
Am. delegation to Czecho-Slovakia
in 1938 in behal! of Pittsburgh
Pact recognition; pres. Slovak League of Am. (1935-1939) and (1963M); Hon. Presid•ent and member of
Exec. Committee of Slovak League
(19·3 8-196i); Tice-pres. Slov. Cath.
F ed er ation of Amer. (19314); Supr.
Med. Examiner, Slovak Cath. Sokol (1927-19&4); Hon. Med. Examiner (emeritus), and Member of
Exec. Comm. •Slovak Cath. Sokol;
Supr. Med. Examiner Nat. Slovak
Society (1934-39); secretary, Supreme Court 01' Na:t. Slovak Society
(l'll26-19.3 4); organizer and 1s t
pres . 'Club Furdek' (Oath. Slovak
Cultural Society, Chicago) 1929;
member Amer. Med. Assn., Ill.
Med. Assn. and Chicago Medical
Assn. since 1929; med. examiner
of Municipal Court and Law Dept.
Benefit and .Pension Fund, Chica~o. (1936-61); Pl!"esident, Gage
Park Savings & Loan Assn., Chica~o. ,since .1985. Author: "The
Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact"
(publi,shed by 'Slovak Catholic Federation 1934); vrote "Islm,r"
- rQprint of satko-comic column
in the Osad n e Hlasy (Slovak Parish N liws), 19,311 ; edited the "Catholic Slovak Sokol Cook-Book", 1964;
contrib. editor, Osadne Hlasy (Chi-
cago P a rish News, 1927-63); editor
'Jaro", English supplement to 'Jednota, 1927-3·6. Editor, 'Chicagsky
Dennik' (Chicago Slovak D a i 1 y
News), 1926-27. Democrat. Hobbies : Books, philately, pinochle.
Home : Warrenville, Ill. Office :
2740 W. 55th St., Chicago 32, Ill.
Mlynarovic h, Clement, Milos,
Born October 1'1, 1·887, Hasprunka
1
( Studlenka),
S 1 ova k i a, son of
Stephen and Stephanie (Heiny)
Mlynarovich; educated in Studienka, Trnava, Bratislava; ordained
May 21, 1910 Bratislava; doc ent
of Eloquence and Blblicum in
Franciscan Seminary 1911-1914.
Assistant at St. J oh n Parish,
Whiting, Indiana 1915; organizer
of Assumption Parish, East Chicago, Indiana. /Pastor of A s sumpt.ion Pwrish 1915; ,b uilt church 1917,
rectory 1919, school and convent
1,926. Organized Sacred Heart Parish, East Chicago, Indiana (East
side) and ·b uilt church 1g3'7.
Toured Central Europe 1925; elected Supr,e me Judge of Slovak
Catholic Sokol 1930; elected chaplain or ISlovak Catholic Sokol 193.:'l.
Elected •Supreme •P resident Slovak
Catholic ·F ederwtion 1930-193•5. Made Very Rev. Monsignor 194•5 ; visited Peace Conference 1945.
Elected l!"egul ar member of the
Gallery-Academy of Livi n g Authors 1949; resigned the Assumption (Parish, East Chicago, Indiana,
and moved to Seven Dolors 1Shrine, Valparaiso, .Indiana 1950. Reelected 1Supreme Presid ent Slovak
Catholic Federation or America.
19>50.
Visited ,I taly and Germany 1955
In re: Slovak ,seminarians in Pontifical Nepomucenum, Rome, and
In re: Slovak emigll"ants in Germany. Was made Rt. R ev. Monsignor 1955; made r egular member
the International Marian Academy
1955.
1
SLOVAKIA
Visited Europe in 1962 and 1963
In re: St. Cyril and IMethodius
Institu te in Rome.
Literary works:
Slavia
J>oems
Novels from American Life
Great God (poems)
Christmas Telephone
Two Worlds
"In Search of God," (poems)
"In The 'Shadow of Skyscrapers,"
( short novels)
"S,truggle With Fate," (short
novels)
"Birds in The Storm," (novel)
"From the People for the People," {poems)
"Mary the Divine Design,"
"IRoseta," (novel)
Sermons
"Story of a Hea rt," (poems)
All literary works aire in Slovak.
!Awarded with Hlinka Silver Cup
and with Gold Medal of the Slovak Catholic Intellectuals.
Stephen B. Roman is widely recognized as a leading spokesman
for the Canadian uranium industry. He has been in the forefront
of those who have claimed that the
demand for nuclear fuel and power would build up rapidly in the
next few years. Today, he and his
company, Denison Mines Limited,
are on the threshhold of a solid,
long-term association with European customers. Details in full have
to be ironed out, but negotiations
involve the sale of 100,000,000 lbs.
of uranium oxide over a 25-year
period.
In honoring Stephen Roman recently, Western Miner recognizes
that even greater things lie ahead
for the ambitious 43-year old executive who heads one of Canada's
most important mining and industrial complexes. Denison, with its
diversified investments b o th in
Canada and the U. S. A., appears
destined to b e c o m e one of the
great "growth" organizations of
North America.
Born in Slovakia, Stephen Ro-
151
man came to Canada as an immigrant lad of 17 in the company of
an older brother. He began his
life in Canada by spending his
first three years on a farm near
Port Perry. Nights were consumed
with study, furthering both his
cultural interests and his knowledge of a new language. Following service in the Canadian army,
he married, worked in industry
and, briefly, as an editor of a Slovak weekly newspaper. His subsequent, phenomenal financial career
evolved over a period of 18 years.
As president of Denison Mines
Limited, he brought the world's
largest uranium mine into production, at Elliot Lake, Ontario. He
has made "Denison" synonymous
with dynamism and diversification. The company today is a leading g a s and o i 1 producer, with
large proven reserves in Western
Canada. Through its investments,
it is also a manufacturer of cement
and building materials (Lake Ontario Cement Company, Premier
Building Materials Limited, Primeau Argo Block Company). Un,
der Denison's guidance, a b a s emetal property, Black Hawk Mining Limited, is being currently developed in Maine, U.S.A.
In this perspective, a not her
newsworthy accomplishment was
his prominent role in the merging
of Roman Corporation with TransCanada Explorations. Roman Corporation, the new company, in addition to its interests in a variety
of attractive mining properties and
its own diversified holdings, has
a substantial investment in Denison stock, its most important single asset.
With Denison as a base, Mr.
Roman has built a $85 million industrial empire of diversified investments. Now with Roman Corporation Limited as an active new
agency of investment, he is advancing on another phase of his
meteoric career.
152
SLOVAKIA
BOOK REVIEWS
Pauco, Joseph, Ph.D.: 75 rokov
Prvej Katoiickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, . Pa., 1965, p. 664,
Illustrated.
Not infrequently one encounters in life a specific circumstance which calls for the
accomplishment of a momentous task, but there is no one
at hand with the necessary
competence to perform it;
and, vice versa, one oftentimes meets with a person of
marked ability for a particular task, who is denied the
opportunity to exercise his
talent.
Matthew Arn old neatly
states the outcome when the
two appear simultaneously in
the literary field: "Great creative works in literature result from the happy concurrence of two notable powers,
the power of the man and the
power of the moment."
Such a happy concurrence
of two notable power~ has
been strikingly exemplified
before our eyes this year. For
the power of the moment
there was the 75th anniversary of the First Catholic
Slovak Union in 1965, calling
for the writing of the history
of this remarkable organization. For the power of the
man there was Joseph Pauco,
Ph.D., a gifted author, historian and scholar, capable and
willing to assume the task of
writing this history.
The result is a truly monumental contribution to Slovak
history and literature, entitled, "75 Rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej J ednoty."
The history of the First
Catholic Siovak Union can
well be considered concommitant with that of the adjustment of S l o v a k immigrants to the American way
of life. On page one of its
June 2, 1965 issue, the JEDNOTA weekly notes : "The
75-year history of the First
Catholic Slovak Union is interlocked with the story of
the Slovaks in America from
their very first days in this
country, embodying their
dreams and aspirations, their
programs and campaigns of
action, their accomplishments,
their contributions to the ideals of this great country ... "
It is important that we Slovaks f a m i 1 i a rize ourselves
with this record. Only too
often we are confronted by
inquirers seeking information
on matters which they quite
rightly expect us to know.
A careful reading of Dr. Pauco's book will enable us to
furnish answers to questions
like the following: When and
why did the Slovaks emigrate
SLOVAKIA
to the United States in such
large numbers? Why all this
concern about conditions in
Central Europe? What part
was played by American Slovak leaders in the founding of
the Czecho-Slovak Republic in
1918 and of the Independent
Slovakia in 1939?
Thus the book portrays the
early struggles of the Slovak
immigrants, their traits of
<:haracter, their involvement
in events, both here and in
their fatherland, their progress from life in simple settlements to flourishing parishes
and to the founding of religious, educational, cultural,
and charitable institutions.
The book presents thumb·n ail sketches of institutions
like the Catholic Slovak Federation, the Slovak League of
America, the various Religious
Congregations of men and
women, and the newly established Institute of SS. Cyril
and Methodius in Rome for
'the training of priests for
Slovakia. It includes biographical sketches of notable persons in Slovak life, contemporary as well a.s past, persons
whose names were ·household
w0rds iR their day-Furdek,
.Jankola, Pavco, Di an is k a,
Murgas, Rusek, Hrobak, Kozak, Lach, Rovnianek, all ac·tive in American Slovak life.
Nor are there lacking names
like Culen, Hronsky, Hlinka,
153
Razus, Hrusovsky, Urbanek,
Sasinek, Skultety, 0 s v a 1 d,
whose area of action stemmed
from Slovakia and whose influence was felt in America.
Scores of other names appear
in the record of persons still
living and active in the Slovak
cause.
Furthermore, Dr. Pauco's
book records events like the
following: The Consecration
of the first Slovak bishop in
America in 1957; a Slovak
pilgrimage to the National
Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception in Washington, D.
C. and the erection within
its walls of the altar of our
Mother of Sorrows, Patroness
of Slovakia; visits made to
America by Msgr. Hlinka, the
Slovak Bishops: Blaha, Vojtassak, Cars k y, and Jantausch; visits of delegations
representitng national, educational and cultural societies
in Slovakia; Papal honors conferred upon distinguished Slovaks. It contains hi&torical
documents such a.s: Memoranda on behalf of Slovakia addressed to the President and
Congress of the United States
and to the U.N.; messages
to the Slovak people by eminent churchmen, like Cardinal
S p e 11 m a n a n d Cardinal
Stritch, climaxed by the memorable address of Pope Paul
VI to the Slovak pilgrims a~
sembled in Rome from the
154
SLOVAKIA
United States, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy,
South America and the Far
Ea;st on September 14, 1963.
Moreover, the author has authentically annotated e a c h
fact so that if the reader
wishes further information he
can pursue the topic further.
The foregoing is but a superficin.l s u m m a r y of the
wealth of information contained in Dr. Pauco's book.
~cholars will appreciate the
amount of painstaking and
persistent research and methodical organization of material that produced in one
volume a veritable treasury
of information.
To the older members of
the J ednota, the book offers
precious reminiscences of past
struggles, labors, trials, triumps, and achievements; to
the discerning reader it offers
historical data on a gallant
and courageous nation; to the
student it offers a valuable
r eference in the field of research.
In recent years there · has
been in America a welcome
awakening of interest in the
Slovak people. Students in
high schools and colleges are
encouraged to write papers
on topics relating to Slovak
history, literature, culture,
and politics. There is immense
need for source material. Dr.
Pauco has pr o v i d e d this
source material in his book
"Seventy-five Years of the
First Catholic Slovak Union",
so rich in content, in abundant
notes and references, and in
bibliographic data.
On the occasion of an anniversary it is customary for
the celebrating jubilarian to
r eceive gifts; now the order
has been reversed; the celebrating jubilarian, the 75year old Jednota, does not
receive a gift, but bestows
one-a gift of lasting value ·
to its members, to the Slovak
people, and to history and
literature in general.
Speaking of value draws
attention to the price of the
volume. Only $5.00! A small
sum indeed for such a valuruble 'book-'lllllieommOllllly valuable in content and proportionately valuable in its digno.fled fomna;t~iits tyipe, its
numerous illustrations, and its
durable binding.
One more important
thought. The statement of
Matthew Arnold about the
power of the moment and the
power of the man applies here
again.
'Dhere :i!S urgent need-the
power of .t he moment-to provide source material in Eng- ·
lish for students and to make ·
Slovak information available
to the general American reader.
This need calls for a writer
SLOVAKIA
_,the power of the mancaJPa!ble and willing to translaite Dr. P.auc's booO{ imito
ffingHsh.
God grant that the two
powers concur very soon to
fulfill this need of the times.
Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M.
M!lan S. Durica, LA SL0VAICC'HI!A.
E LE SUE RELAZIONI POLITIOHE 0ON LA GEJRMANIA - 1938/
194 5, (Slovakia and Her Political
Relations with Germany), Marsilio
E ditor!, Padova, Italy, 1964, Sarmatlca Series, Introduction by Ettore Anchleri, p. 274.
Books on Slovakia in foreign
languages are growing in number
and quality, and the present volume counts undoubtedly among
the bes,t bo th for its scholarly method and objective analysis of the
events and for -the use of documents rela ted to Slovakia's recent
history. Admitted to unpublished
diplomatic archives of the Third
Reich, the author tried to find an
ansvrer to and put in proper per~pQctive 1.) The origin of the Slovak 'Republic, 2.) The rel ation s of
Slovakia with Germany, and 3.)
The policy of the Slovak Government towards Berlin.
All these topics were casually
treated in Western European languages in connection with the Eastern Europea n problems or with
the Second WGrld War, but the
writers, except for those of Slovak origin mostly accepted biased
opinions from anti,Slovak sources
and were not concerned with archives and do cuments . Profesor DuTica is the first social scientist
who has used his knowledge of
foreign languages to look into the
-primary sources and find out wheTe the truth lies and where the
Western historiography relied on
political myths. The result of his
research is consequently in dis.agreement with many a thesis on
155
both the origm of the Slovak state in March 1939 and on the policy of the Slovak government towards the German attempts to
limit Slovakia's sovereignty and
to impose national socialism upo n
the Slovak people. Without any
intention ,t o exculpate or apologize, a tendency which can be found
in other works, professor Durica
depicts the relations betwee n Germany and Slovakia as they appear
in the light of the documents of
German diploma ts, Slovak cabinet
ministers, or other personalities,
playing a role in Slovak politics.
The present volume which ls
the first o! a series, deals with
the events of the years 1938-1939,
from the Munich Agreement to
the outburst of the Second World
War. A'\vare of the scarce knowledge of the Slovak problem in
the West, including Italy, the author also gives a brief survey of
the Slovak national aspirations
before the First World War and
during the years 1918-1938 in Czecho-Slovakia. Jn an extensive introduction he deals with Wes tern
historiography concerning Slovakia and shows considerable knowledge of literature in several European languages.
On ,the 'basis of such documentation and research, Profesor Durica came to the conclusion that
"a direct influence of Germans
on Slovak politician<.! with regard
to an immediate declaration or independence of Slovakia can be
documented only from March 7,
1939", and "that the principal Slovak personalities gave a proof of
firmness wh en enco untered with
German press ure and faced witih
dignity even the personal intervention of Hitler on March 13."
(p. 11-5) The declaration of Slovak
independence on March H, 1939
"was made under the pressure of
the international situation, pa rticularly und er that of Germany,
but the independence was nevertheless proclaimed by the diet of
the autonomous Slovakia on the
156
SLOVAKIA
basis of delibera:tions basically
free, and by a free and unanimous
vote of all members of the Diet
present in the Parliament." (p.
115)
,P rofesor Durica states emphatically ,tha,t; "the Slovak state cannot be considered as a creation
of Hitler's Germany. In the secret
documents of Nazi Germany preceding the crisis of March 1939,
there is no project of this kind.
The subsequent documents clearly
prove instead that there was on
one hand, an initial disorientaition
in Berlin as to the viability of
the independent Slovak state, and
on the other, a decisive and constant resistance of Slovakia against
repeated attempts, by the Third
Reich, first at the military occupation of the Slovak territory, and
later, at reducing <the Slovak state
to a German protectorate" (p. 116)
As for the viability and ideological
orientation of Slovakia the author
concludes that "in the period of
March-September 1939 <the Slovak
State consolidated noteworthy its
administrative structure, adopted
a republican constitution inspired
by the Christian traditions or its
people and obtained sufficiently
large recognition as the member
of the international community."
(P. 116).
Durica came to these conclusions on the basis of an extensive
study, as shown by his footnotes
and bibliography, of secondary and
primary sources of which the 86
documents in German and English, attached to the book enhance thtl value of his work.
He also cleared a confusion around two ducuments, .na mely a
letter by the Hungarian regent
Nicholas Horthy of March 13,
1939, and a telegram, allegedly sent
by Dr. Tiso to Hitler on March
15th, 1939. This reviewer has been
responsible for a part of the
confusion since he was the first
to use, in good faith, Horthy's letter as a document referring to Slovakia in an article published in
1948 and later in 1958 in my book
"Nas boj o samostatnost: Slovenska", from which it passed into
Mikus French book and Oddo's
work. It was left out from my
English book SLOVAKIA (publ.
1960) since I found out in the
meantime that the document referred to the Carphato-Ukraine.
The other document was publish•
ed in the DOCUMENTS ON GER•
MA!N FOiREIGN PO[,!CY SERIES
D and since I was aware of a
telegram sent to Hitler on March
14, 1939 (I was personal secretary
to the Minister of External Affairs of Slovakia at that time),
I mistakingly considered the draft,
found in Berlin and never used,
as the text of Tiso's telegram. It
is now clear that Tiso never sent
that teleg,r am and the message I
was aware of, was signed by Durcansky as published . by Durica
(Doc. 51, p. 196).
If the following volumes of Durica's work will be of the same
scholarly precision and objectivity,
he will undoubtedly make a valu•
able contribution to Western historiography on Central Eastern
Europe. We hope that he will adcI
to the fortcomiug volumes a resume in English and French which
he did not attach this time and
which Is one o-f the short-comings
of this valuable work.
J. M. KIRSCHBAUM
Ludwig v. Gogolak, BEITRAGE
ZUR GElSCHICHTE DES SLOV A·
KISCHE~ VOLKES I, (Contribut•
ions to the History of the Slovak
People), Verlag R. Oldenburg,
Munchen, 1963, p. 265.
This scholarly work by a professor of •Central European history at the University of Vienna,
is the first critical work by a
foreign scholar on the rise of
Slovak national consciousness and
on the origin of the Czecho- Slovak question. It deserves, therefore, more than casual attention
SLOVAKIA
o! Slavists and experts in Central ·E astern European problems.
:As the subtitle indicates (Die
Natiornalwerdung der Slowaken
und die Anfange der tschechoslowakischen 1F rage 1526-1790), the
author made a thorough research,
facilitated lby his knowledge of
German, Hungarian, Slovak and
Czech, into two contested questions on which not only politicians but also linguists and historians for a long time held and
defended divergent positions and
opinions. Western historiography
predominantly accepted the Czech
thesis ,t hat ethnically, and linguistically Slovaks were a part
of the Czech people or a:t the
best a part of the "Czechoslovak people". The Slovaks vehemently defended their linguistic,
cultural and political identity, but
until recently they scarcely found
understanding or support among
Western scholars.
The first serious attempt on the
part of Western scholars to present a critical analysis of the
q u e s t i o n, base.d on original
sources; dates only from 19.3'1 and
was made by Th. J. Locher in his
D1E NIA:T.IONAIJE DH'FERENZIER UN G UND INTEGRIERUNG
DER SLOWAKEN UND TSCHECHEN IN IHREM GESCHICHTLICHEN VERLAUF 'BIS 1848 (The
Natrona! Differentation and Integration of 1Slovaks and Czechs in
its historical development until
1848). Dr. 'Locher completed two
years of post-graduate studies in
Prague and IBratislava (after graduating .from the University of
Leiden in his native Holland) and
to the dismay of his Czech professors (J. Susta in Prague and V.
Chaloupecky in Bratislava) he
came to conclusions contradicting the Czech t h e s i s of fue
ethnic linguistic, cultural and political unity of the Slovaks and
Czechs.
The work by professor v. Gogolak confirms Lecher's conclusions,
but it is at the same time more de-
157
tailed, broader in scope and much
better documen,ted. We might say
that this is the first foreig n-language book which goes de eper into the problem of the relations
between the Slovaks and Czechs
than any other book in Slovak or
Czech, and -there were many books
written on this ,topic in the last
hundred years. Gogolak's knowledge of sources in the languages
pertainin.g to the topic is unique
among the Western historians and
he displays a rare objectivity !ri
his analysis not only with regard to the Czechs but also with
regard to Hungarians, who similarly attempted to create "a Hungari an people" of the inhabitants
of !Hungary by the assimilation of
Slovaks and other nationalities.
It does not mean, however ithat
the book is not bound to stir up
controversy among C z e ch and
Hungarian historians alike; it may
provoke disag,r eement in some det ails even among the Slovaks,
and particularly among the Pro-·
testant Slovaks.
;Frofessor v. Gog o 1 a k defends
not only the thesis of an independent Slovak linguistic and cultural entity, but correctly states·
that the so-called Czechoslovak·
problem or ,the thesis of the unity
of Czechs and Slovaks is of very
late date and was masterminded
by the Slovak Protestant minority (about 18% at the present time)
which ,was to a great degree
of Czech ancestry and has been
linked wi,th the. Czechs by their
liturgical language (see pp. 214
and fol.). Gogolak goes so .far as
to say that "had the Protestant
intelligentsia, which in fact lived
mostly on their historical heritage
and foreign German-Czech connections, r emained in the leading
role, the result would have been
the complete disappearance of the
Slovak people" (p. 229)
In his view "it is thanks
only to the activity of several
Catholic priests and scholars, who.
were conscious of their goal and
_158
SLOVAKIA
mission, that the Slovak national
character did not lose its own
characteristics and identity in the
clash with the menacing political
magyarization and the spiritual
'self-czechizatlon' ... " Such statements, even if basically true, are
undoubtedly bound to provoke reaction on the side of the Slovak
Protestant intellectuals of whom
many reel, like their ancestors ait
the beginning of ,the 19th century,
that they are "the ex c I u s iv e
leaders of the Slovak people"
whose "bold consciousness of their
mi s s ion (Sendungsbewusstsein )
came again and again in the foreground until 1918-1919". (p. 217).
Besides these two main problems the author deals with many
other questions related to the rise
of Slovak national consciousness,
as for instance the role of the
aristocracy and bourgeoisie in Slovak cultural life, the role of the
German element, Hungarian assimilatory t e n d e n c i es etc., on
which topics there are some monographic works in Slovak, which
were not analyzed from a global
point of view.
This concise and well-documented scholarly work deserves attention not only from SloTak scholars,
but also from Slavists in general.
JK.
Edward E . Delaney, FREEDOM'S
FRONTIER, .Published by H. A.
Nickel, Sacramento, Cal., 211 p.
The author is a n,vell-known news
reporter, whose area of opera,tion
was Central Europe during World
War II. On more than one oc-
casion he visited Slovakia and
learned its problems firsthand. In
this book he sets forth a challenging analysis of western policy,
pointing out its blunders with
regard to Soviet expansion. In no
uncer,tain terms the a uthor expr esses his condemnation of western appeasement and calls for a
constructive policy of liberation of
captive nations, tearing down the
Iron C urtain and the Berlin Wall,
and undoing the brainwashing to
which the American public has
been subjected.
In his references ,to Slovakia h e
names Slovak intellectuals and
politicians whose anti-Communist
stand has been known in the West
and n,vho rightfully claim freedom
and independence for their nation.
In his view Slovakia is a captive
nation, now occupied by the Soviets. After Hs so-called liberation,
it was combined again with Bohemia and Moravia in a restored
Czecho,Slovakia to compensate Benes for services rendered to Moscow by himself and other Czech
politicians.
Delaney condemns such disr egard or a nation's rights as well
as the unjust condemnation or
Slovak politicias and specifically
•the execution of Dr. Tiso. Quoting Slovak scholars like Dr. J . M.
Kirschbaum and Dr. F. Durcansky, he presses for Slovakia's independence.
A perusal of the book proves
that the author is acquainted with
the literature and basic problems
of Central Europe and has personally met some of its leaders.
JK .
Die Slowaken und das Grossmiihrishe Reich (The Slovaks and the
Great-Moravian Empire), by Dr. Arved Grebert, Munich, 1965, p. 64,
bibl.
For a long time a matter of interest for a few historians and linguists, the Great-Moravian Empire became during the past two decades
an object of scholarly research by experts in many fields, especially
of archeologists, ethnographers and social scientists. The booklet under review is a contribution to the ethnic character of the Great-Moravian Empire, according to its subtitle, but it also sheds a new light
on many other problems.
SLOVAKIA
159
After having outlined historical and geographical data of this first
empire of Carpathian and Danubian Slavs, called Sclaveni or Sclavi
Marahenses in contemporary Latin sources and Slovene in eastern re•
cords, the author attempts to give an answer to the following ques•
tions: Which Slavic tribes lived on the territory of the Great-Moravian
Empire in the 9th Century? What is the ethnic character of the population of today's Moravia? What was the relation of the Slovaks to the
Czechs in the 9th century?
Dr. Grebert's answer is based on a thorough study of sources, of
historical and linguistic works of renown scholars of various nationali•
ties, published in half a dozen languages. Nevertheless, it is an answer
which is bound to provoke controversy, since it contradicts or refutes
many an outdated thesis of Czech Slavists or of historians guided by
political considerations.
In his conclusion Dr. Grebert states that his research and quoted
sources and data prove that "the Great-Moravian Empire was a Slovak
state, formed by Slovaks" (p. 50). Though amply supported by the
views of scholars not only of the Slovak, German, Hungarian, but also
of the Czech origin, the author refers in his conclusion also to the
so-called Marxist experts to give his study an objective basis beyond
any doubt.
It will be now to the experts in this period of history to accept or
refute Grebert's new look at the first Slavic empire which was claimed
mainly by the Czechs as a part of their national heritage. The essay is
written in a clear style, concise form, and convincing manner. The
writer apparently was guided by the dictum "non multa, sed multun".
J. M. Kirschbaum
ANTON BERNOLAK-The First Codifier of the Slovak Language
(1762-1813). By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. Publishers: Slovak In•
stitute, Cleveland, Ohio, 48 pages.
Bernolak's 200th birthday anniversary provided the occasion for
the author's masterful address at McMaster University in Hamilton,
Ontario, which fortunately has been preserved for us in this highly
documented work. The wide scope of his research is shown in the Bibliography in which sources are quoted from works in Latin, German,
Slovak, Polish, English, Czech, French and Italian.
No one so far has come up with such a concise and scholarly his•
torical and literary background to the development of the modern Slovak language as Dr. Kirschbaum in this brochure in English and French.
This small volume is an excellent and invaluable handbook for
future scholars who may want to treat the subject more extensively.
They will find in it not only the Slovak literary and national leaders
who saved the Slovak nation from extinction in a period of historic
crisis but a list of names of philologists, historians, etc. as references
to authorities on the subject. Rarely does one find such an imposing
array of distinguished men quoted as we find in Dr. Kirschbaum's
priceless work. To mention a few: Bajza, Safarik, Holly, Pa?lrnvic, Fandly, stur, Jungman, Niederle, Vlcek, Mraz, Kotvan, Bartek, Mihal, Sta•
nislav. Pauliny, Seton-Watson, Denis, Dobrov,sky, Auty, de Bray, von
Gogolak, Skultety, Krcmery, Miskovic, Tibensky, Pisut, Banik, Lepacek,
MeriggL
A.P.
160
SLOVAKIA
CONTRIBUTORS
Zatko, James J., Ph.D., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the
University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he
studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowships in 1962.
He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre
Dame. Just off the press is his book Descent Into Darkness -The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, published
by Notre Dame University.
Kona, William, was born in Slovakia where he was reared and
took his secondary education. He received part of his education in
law at Bratislava in Slovakia. He continued his education in law in
Rome and in Madrid. Attended Roosevelt University, Chicago Teachers
College; Chicago Real Estate Board Institute. At Rosary College in
River Forest, Illinois, he received his M.A. He also took advanced
:studies in library science at the University of Chicago.
In his travels Mr. Kona has been to Austria, Germany, Italy,
Slovenia, Monaco France, Portugal, Gibraltar, Croatia, Spain, Canada,
Mexico, and has toured the United States extensively.
Mr. Kona is a Member of the Association of Hospital and Institutional Libraries of the American Library Association of which he is
on the Publications Advisory Committee ( 1962-64) and Bibliotherapy
Committee (1962-66); Medical Library Association in which he is the
Chairman of the Nursing Libraries Group (1963-64 and 1964-65),
Chairman of Membership Committee (1964-65), and member of the
Exchange Committee ( 1963-64 and 1964-65). As well as these two
national organizations he is a member of the Midwest Regional Group
of the Medical Library Association (Member of the Board of Directors) and also he was Program chairman for the Tri-State Hospital
Assembly Medical Library Service (1963-64); Permanent Chairman
since 1960 of the Nursing Librarians of Metropolitan Chicago; VicePresident of A.P.P. (1962-64); American Hospital Association of which
he was faculty member to the Institute on Hospital Librarianship in
1961 and 1964.
Evangela, M. Sister, B.S., M.A., the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius whose Motherhouse is in Danville, Pa., is working toward a doctorate in history at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. She is
the recipient of a summer grant in history under the National Defense
Educational Act. For her Master's thesis from De Paul University in
1964, Sister wrote on: Foreign Relations Between the United States and
Czecho-Slovakia with Special Emphasis on Slovakia, 1920-1960.
Essay in this issue of Slovakia is a part of her thesis.
Krajsa, Joseph C., B.S., with majors in Health and Physical Education, History, and English - plus graduate work in Philosophy at
Lehigh University, was born in Allentown, Pa. For 11 years he taught
high school English and History and was Head Coach in three sports;
tor 15 years he was associated in a finance business; and since February 1964, he has been the Editor of the Catholic Weekly JEDNOTA.
Misan11, N. Joseph, is a well-known lawyer. President of Mil-
waukee Assemb!y 20 of the .Slovak L eague of America, an Assistant
City Attorney of Milwaukee, Wis., Comma nder of Post 508, Catholic
War Veterans, Adju tant of Wisco nsin Pos t 490, Inc, The Am erican
Legion, and is a member of •the Sokols, J ednota and Narodny Spolok;
a parishione r o! St. Stephen's (Slovak) Catholic Church, Milwaukee,
Wis., Misany graduated from ?.forquette University an d the Law
School, helped organize the Father Blinka Club there, and wrote h is
political science thesis on Slova kia, Yester day and Today : The
Feelings and Sen,timen ts of a Catholic People (M. U. L ibrar y, 1940),
believed to be one of the fi r st such works on a University level in
U.S.A.
Kirschbaum, J . M., LL.D., Ph.D., former Slovak diplomat in Rome,
Italy, and Bern, Switzerland, born in Slovakia and residing in c;anada.
For a decade, he was professor at the Unive. sity of Montreal, Department of Slavic Studies, and contributor to French, English and Slovak
periodicals and symposia. Some of his writings were also published in
Spanish and German.
His best known books: Slovakia: A Nation at the Crossroads of
Central Europe (Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., 1960) and Neis boj
o samostatnost' Slovenska (Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1958).
Urban, Eugene, was born January 2, 1914 at Podolie, Slovakia. He
completed his studies of Slovak and French language and literature at
the University in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a M.A. in Education degree
in 1938. In 1935 he studied slavistics at the Slovenian University at
Ljubljana, Slovenia, and French language and literature at the Universite Catholique, Lille, France. In 1960 he received his M.A. in Library
Science degree from the Rosary College, River Forest, Ill.
In World War II he was assigned as press attache to the Legation
of the Slovak Republic in Vatican City. Actually, he is librarian in the
Research Library of Inland Steel Company, Hammond, Ind.
Many of his articles on Slovak literary, historical and J>Qlitical topics were published in Slovak, Slovenian and Italian journals. The publishing house Sandron, Rome, Italy, published in 1945 his translation
into Italian of Slovak short stories by the Slovak author Milo Urban,
with the title Novelle Slovacche.
Vnuk, Frantisek, P.Eng., professor at a Technological Institute in
Adelaide, Australia, was born in Slovakia. He belongs to the younger
generation of Slovak intellectuals who did not give up their fight a: ainst communism and strive for freedom and democracy in Slovakia.
Profilic and gifted historian writer, he covers in his Slovak and
English writings several fields of intellectual activities, from politics
to literature.
Recently he published the book Neuveritel'ne sprisahanie dealing
with the invasion of the communists into Slovakia in 1944.
SLOVAKIA
$2.00 per annum in the U.S.A. -
$3.00 elsewhere.
PRI NTED IN THE U.S. A.
JEDNOTA PRESS
M idd letown, Pa. 17057
The Slovak League of America
-
-
is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May
26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek;
is a CULTURAL and CMC organization of Americans of
Slovak descent;
is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States 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;
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;
promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the
Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence;
firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right
of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and
independence, the right of every nation to freely choose
its own form of government and freely elect persons
of its own choice by whom it shall be governed;
condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny,
every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak
League of America has always recognized the Godless
philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread
evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is,
as the political system which threatens mankind with
utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely
against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off
the face of the earth,
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Title
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Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38)
Description
An account of the resource
includes Who's Who Among Slovaks in U.S.A. and Canada; Book Reviews; Contributors
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1965
-
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Text
14-0
SLOVAKIA
A SAD COUNTRY
IS CZECHO-SLOVAKIA BREAKING UP?
From a Correspondent
Slovak historians sent a lengthy memorandum to the
Czech Government in Prague arguing the case for a federation between Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. In their memorandum the historians said that such a solution would satisfy
the legitimate longings of the Slovaks for their own State
within the frame work of a larger unity; and that a federation
or a confederation of the two countries would remove various
internal tensions and introduce an era of peaceful cohabitation between the two Slavonic races.
This memorandum, which appeared to crown a prolonged
strife between Prague and Bratislava, did not come as a surprise to foreign observers who have been witnessing during
the last four years or so a gradual deterioration of relations
between the two component parts of the Czecho-Slovak State,
Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. Such a move was only to be.
expected, and the rising hostility between Prague and Bratislava, finding expression in the Press of the two countries,
left no doubt as to the intensity of feelings on both sides. One
can say without exaggeration that never in the history of Czecho-Slovak relations has there been a period of such open
enmity between the two capitals of the Republic. Some people in Bratislava speak freely of the possibility of the breaking-up of the People's Republic: 'This tension', one is assured,
'can't last much longer. Slovakia is fed up with Prague rule.
The Czechs will be compelled to acknowledge the claims of
the Slovak nation. We no longer want Czech tutelage.'
The recent flare-up of hostility between Czechs and Slovaks calls for a short recapitulation of the history of the relations between those two countries. In 1918 a dual or, rather,
a triple, Republic, taking into account Subcarpathian Ruthenia, now torn from Czecho-Slovakia and made into a part of
the 'Western Ukraine' t0ge~her with the former Eastern Galicia of Poland, was born, with Slovakia liberated from Hunga-
�SLOVAKIA
141
rian rule and Bohemia-Moravia from the Austrian yoke. There
has been since the very inception of the dual, or triple, Republic (some even say that the Sudetenland should be counted
as a fourth unit of Czecho-Slovakia), an inherent difference
between the two parts of the country. Bohemia-Moravia was
for decades a highly developed industrial country while Slovakia was a rural community. In comparison with Slovakia,
Bohemia was also an advanced country in the domain of culture. Slovakia suffered under the heavy Hungarian heel and
had no time in which to build up its cadres of intellectuals
and professional classes.
The result of this disparity was domination by the more
prosperous Czechs in Slovakia. The country complained that
the Czechs were lording it and that the Slovaks had again
become a subject race. These claims were no doubt exaggerated, but it does seem that the Czechs were taking unfair advantage of their position as rulers and were relegating Slovaks
to the background. Best positions and jobs went to the Czechs,
who arrived in great numbers in Slovakia and plucked the
best fruit. Enmity was growing between the two communities,
and German propaganda aimed at the disruption of the State
and at the same time trying a dual line: fawning on the Sudeten German claims and sponsoring the case for an independent Slovakia.
Many Slovaks began to regard Hitler as the liberator of
their country from the Czechs; and reasonable plans for transforming Czecho-Slovakia into a kind of Central European
Switzerland with four autonomous 'cantons', were shelved.
The policy of Benes was at the same time trying to softpedal
the ambitions of the Slovaks and override their claims. But
when Czecho-Slovakia was dismembered, an independent Slovakia was created. Slovaks took part in the march on Moscow
and rebelled against the Germans only in 1944.
Slovakia was whitewashed and a new Republic came into
being minus the Subcarpathian Ruthenia and minus the Su,.
detendeutsche, who were expelled from the borderlands. But
Slovak aspirations were by no means quenched. The Czechs
tried to repeat the prewar gambit and again sent great numbers of their people into Slovakia. But this time the country
was already on the way to vast transformations; a procedure
was developed there similar to that- in postwar Austria: indus-
�142
SLOVAKIA
trialization. After the war ithe Western provinces of Austria,
Tyrol, for example, underwent violent industrialization, and
the same happened in formerly agricultural Slovakia. Exigencies of war industry and atomic research, as well as the Soviet
economic planning, made it imperative to convert the once
idyllic valley of the Vah and other areas into bustling industrial centers. The character of the country was largely
changed; the rural districts were transformed, huge movements of the population took place, as in postwar Poland, with
the result that ,the social composition of the Slovak nation also
underwent a serious change.
The new professional classes and the new intelligentsia
became more and more rebellious and not at all ready to suffer Czech preponderance. The Slovak Communist Party could
noit compete with the Czech CP as the latter was among the
oldest and best organized CP in Europe. Let us not forget that
before the war the CP in Bohemia was one of the strongest
in Europe, with extremely long traditions and connections
with Moscow which regarded Czech Communists as most reliable, while dreading Polish. Czech Communists had a sizeable representation in the Prague Parliament and could publish the daily Rude Pravo, still the leading Communist publication in the country. The Czech CP was based on the frankly
Slavophile attitude of the country, with its many illusions
about Russia which have never been shared by the Poles, who
had a chance of experiencing Russian rule for over 120 years.
The Slovaks cannot compete in their CP with Prague and
the execution of such leaders as Vlado Clementis has weakened the budding cadres of the professional Slovak Communists. Now rehabilitation of Clementis has been sought, but
Prague seems aloof and does not want to speed up the long
overdue tribute to an idealist who could not imagine the
depths of 'brotherly' intrigues.
The Slovak Communists have no such long traditions as
the Czech Communists, and they have no open access to Moscow, as has Novotny. They are, however, brave and dynamic
people and they want to emancipate themselves from Czecµ
rule. The Slovak papers in Bratislava and elsewhere try to
show more independence of opinion than the Czechs; some
of the Slovak literary magazines publish rather astonishing
articles and disclosures. There is an open rift between the
�SLOVAKIA
143
Slovak and Czech Press: the Slovaks demonstrate much more
courage and a will to get free from the Party fetters, but the
Czechs stick meekly to orthodox doctrine.
Slovakia has become a different country from the creation
of Tiso. It is an industrial country where the balance between
industry and agriculture is almost perfect. National consciousness has taken root and ,the masses are now far better educated than they were some thirty or forty years ago. Intellectuals are more numerous and the professional classes are also
increasing. Slovakia wants to be freed from the meddling of
Prague, and the praotice of the Czech bureaucrats cannot be
any longer suffered by a country which feels that it deserves
to be left alone to shape its own economic and cultural destiny.
This seems to be the main issue in Czecho-Slovakia today. Strolling along the lovely Prague streets and boulevards,
one is constantly reminded of that deep internal strife. People
discuss it in cafes and restaurants, in the bars and in the
'automats', the places with the 'vending machines', one of the
city's specialities. (They are a feature of Rumanian life, too:
Bucharest, even before the war, was famous for its 'automats',
selfservice bars where everything from cocoa to beer and
sandwiches and salads could be obtained from a special taps or
from movable or turntable trays.) The clash with Slovakia crops
up in every conversation. People are not optimistic: 'We no
longer have such wizards as Bene~, who managed to patch up
the strife for years . . . and especially old Masaryk, who had
such -enormous prestige. Our Novotny is clever but not up to
the standard of a real statesman. He's still very successful in
swimming against the tide, for the tide is against him. People
want more freedom. And our economy must change, too. We
can't tolerate the Russian brand of doctrinaire waste. We don't
produce enough.'
Czechs are fully aware that so-called 'Socialist model'
economy proved a complete fiasco. They know that CzechoSlovakia cannot copy the Soviet Union and that production is
not rising quickly enough. · They know t.h at Czech products
could have competed in world markets but for the fact that
the Czechs are not given enough rein by the Russians and
that they work too patchily.
The country is moving slowly towards a more relaxed
�144
SLOVAKIA
way of life, but the innate apathy continues unabated. The
Czechs are no heroes and they do not want to rebel. They play
Schveiks with a regime which is just plodding along with very
meagre economic results. They try to explore every vista, and
consequently foreign tourism is now the slogan and countless
people from abroad, especially from the German Federal Republic, are streaming into the country. But tourists from the
GRF are m'.:lre often than not the Sudetendeutsche who are
amazed by ithe deterioration of conditions in their fatherland.
The districts once populated by those Sudeten Germans are
now derelict, often no-man's-land, or melancholy wasteland.
The Czechs did not follow the policy of the Poles who repopulated the Western Territories with settlers from the Eastern marches of Poland. Hardly anybody wanted to go to the
former Sudetenland. It is a deserted, fallow land. Again the
waste in Communist policy is exposed on these frontier and
borderland regions.
Many Czechs also arrive from Austria, where they have
made good careers (especially in Vienna, though under the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy Vienna already had a considerable Czech population). They declare they will never consider
returning for good; they make a better living in Austria. This
angers the natives, and they say with bitterness that 'even this
wretched little Austria, which was a pauper before the war,
has succeeded in building up prosperity, while we .. .'. Those
arrivals from Austria and the GFR seem to haunt the conscience of the practical Czechs: 'Look, what other nations had
done with their unfettered economies. Damn Socialist planning ... they can claim successes only on paper, and paper is
patient, as the Germans used to say.'
There is bitterness against all those more fortunate contries who managed to escape Russian guardianship. Rumani:ms are often criticized for their too free attitude: 'One day
Moscow will resent their courage. Moscow doesn't f o r g e t
things.' There is also a marked racial enmity against the various Negro and Asiatic races and immigrants, students and
diplomats. Czech girls who consort with them, for they seem
to like their generosity, are branded as a 'shameful element'.
New names are being invented for girls who prefer the company of colored people to that of Czechs. Racial hatred is rife
in Prague and one has to remember the tolerant climate of
�SLOVAKIA
145
London and Paris to see the difference: obviously Communism is no antidote against the sting of racialism.
Czecho-Slovakia is a sad country. It hardly seems to stir
in its sleep. It is planned apathy, the willed apathy of a dispirited country which wants to play safe. Even the shock of Mr.
K's departure was a short-lived affair: Czecho-Slovakia was
the first country to settle down in a belief that 'there is no
danger for us in that Moscow change ... we shall survive all
upheavals.' But no amount of the will for security would save
the country from the nightmare of a break-up of the dual
State, as the Slovak element appears to be much more dynamic and may prove able to force its own will on a largely indifferent, hesitant Czech community.
(Contemporary Review, London, England. January 1965; pp. 21-24.)
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED
f>urica, M. St.: La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni con la Germania
1938/ 1945, Marsilio Editori, Padova, Italy, 1964, p. 274.
Grebert, Arved, LL.D.: Die Slowaken und das Grossmahrishe Reich,
Munich, 1965, p. 64.
Kirschbaum, J. M., LL.D., Ph.D.: Pavel J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Winnipeg, Man.-Cleveland,
Ohio, 1962, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.
Hacia una nueva democracia para la Europa Central, Sep. Istituts
de Estudios Politicos, Madrid, 1962, p. 23.
La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves, An offprint from
:f:tudes slaves et Est-europennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de
Montreal, 1963.
Anton Bernolak--The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762·
1813), Slavistica No. 52, Winnipeg, Man., 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleve•
land, Ohio.
Literature of the Cyrillo-Methodian Period and Slovakia, A reprint
from Most, Vol. XI, 1-2, 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.
An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence, Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964, p. 40. Second edition.
Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations, A
reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto
Press, Toronto, 1964.
Pauco, J ., Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty,
Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 664, Ill.
�
14-0
SLOVAKIA
A SAD COUNTRY
IS CZECHO-SLOVAKIA BREAKING UP?
From a Correspondent
Slovak historians sent a lengthy memorandum to the
Czech Government in Prague arguing the case for a federation between Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. In their memorandum the historians said that such a solution would satisfy
the legitimate longings of the Slovaks for their own State
within the frame work of a larger unity; and that a federation
or a confederation of the two countries would remove various
internal tensions and introduce an era of peaceful cohabitation between the two Slavonic races.
This memorandum, which appeared to crown a prolonged
strife between Prague and Bratislava, did not come as a surprise to foreign observers who have been witnessing during
the last four years or so a gradual deterioration of relations
between the two component parts of the Czecho-Slovak State,
Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. Such a move was only to be.
expected, and the rising hostility between Prague and Bratislava, finding expression in the Press of the two countries,
left no doubt as to the intensity of feelings on both sides. One
can say without exaggeration that never in the history of Czecho-Slovak relations has there been a period of such open
enmity between the two capitals of the Republic. Some people in Bratislava speak freely of the possibility of the breaking-up of the People's Republic: 'This tension', one is assured,
'can't last much longer. Slovakia is fed up with Prague rule.
The Czechs will be compelled to acknowledge the claims of
the Slovak nation. We no longer want Czech tutelage.'
The recent flare-up of hostility between Czechs and Slovaks calls for a short recapitulation of the history of the relations between those two countries. In 1918 a dual or, rather,
a triple, Republic, taking into account Subcarpathian Ruthenia, now torn from Czecho-Slovakia and made into a part of
the 'Western Ukraine' t0ge~her with the former Eastern Galicia of Poland, was born, with Slovakia liberated from Hunga-
�SLOVAKIA
141
rian rule and Bohemia-Moravia from the Austrian yoke. There
has been since the very inception of the dual, or triple, Republic (some even say that the Sudetenland should be counted
as a fourth unit of Czecho-Slovakia), an inherent difference
between the two parts of the country. Bohemia-Moravia was
for decades a highly developed industrial country while Slovakia was a rural community. In comparison with Slovakia,
Bohemia was also an advanced country in the domain of culture. Slovakia suffered under the heavy Hungarian heel and
had no time in which to build up its cadres of intellectuals
and professional classes.
The result of this disparity was domination by the more
prosperous Czechs in Slovakia. The country complained that
the Czechs were lording it and that the Slovaks had again
become a subject race. These claims were no doubt exaggerated, but it does seem that the Czechs were taking unfair advantage of their position as rulers and were relegating Slovaks
to the background. Best positions and jobs went to the Czechs,
who arrived in great numbers in Slovakia and plucked the
best fruit. Enmity was growing between the two communities,
and German propaganda aimed at the disruption of the State
and at the same time trying a dual line: fawning on the Sudeten German claims and sponsoring the case for an independent Slovakia.
Many Slovaks began to regard Hitler as the liberator of
their country from the Czechs; and reasonable plans for transforming Czecho-Slovakia into a kind of Central European
Switzerland with four autonomous 'cantons', were shelved.
The policy of Benes was at the same time trying to softpedal
the ambitions of the Slovaks and override their claims. But
when Czecho-Slovakia was dismembered, an independent Slovakia was created. Slovaks took part in the march on Moscow
and rebelled against the Germans only in 1944.
Slovakia was whitewashed and a new Republic came into
being minus the Subcarpathian Ruthenia and minus the Su,.
detendeutsche, who were expelled from the borderlands. But
Slovak aspirations were by no means quenched. The Czechs
tried to repeat the prewar gambit and again sent great numbers of their people into Slovakia. But this time the country
was already on the way to vast transformations; a procedure
was developed there similar to that- in postwar Austria: indus-
�142
SLOVAKIA
trialization. After the war ithe Western provinces of Austria,
Tyrol, for example, underwent violent industrialization, and
the same happened in formerly agricultural Slovakia. Exigencies of war industry and atomic research, as well as the Soviet
economic planning, made it imperative to convert the once
idyllic valley of the Vah and other areas into bustling industrial centers. The character of the country was largely
changed; the rural districts were transformed, huge movements of the population took place, as in postwar Poland, with
the result that ,the social composition of the Slovak nation also
underwent a serious change.
The new professional classes and the new intelligentsia
became more and more rebellious and not at all ready to suffer Czech preponderance. The Slovak Communist Party could
noit compete with the Czech CP as the latter was among the
oldest and best organized CP in Europe. Let us not forget that
before the war the CP in Bohemia was one of the strongest
in Europe, with extremely long traditions and connections
with Moscow which regarded Czech Communists as most reliable, while dreading Polish. Czech Communists had a sizeable representation in the Prague Parliament and could publish the daily Rude Pravo, still the leading Communist publication in the country. The Czech CP was based on the frankly
Slavophile attitude of the country, with its many illusions
about Russia which have never been shared by the Poles, who
had a chance of experiencing Russian rule for over 120 years.
The Slovaks cannot compete in their CP with Prague and
the execution of such leaders as Vlado Clementis has weakened the budding cadres of the professional Slovak Communists. Now rehabilitation of Clementis has been sought, but
Prague seems aloof and does not want to speed up the long
overdue tribute to an idealist who could not imagine the
depths of 'brotherly' intrigues.
The Slovak Communists have no such long traditions as
the Czech Communists, and they have no open access to Moscow, as has Novotny. They are, however, brave and dynamic
people and they want to emancipate themselves from Czecµ
rule. The Slovak papers in Bratislava and elsewhere try to
show more independence of opinion than the Czechs; some
of the Slovak literary magazines publish rather astonishing
articles and disclosures. There is an open rift between the
�SLOVAKIA
143
Slovak and Czech Press: the Slovaks demonstrate much more
courage and a will to get free from the Party fetters, but the
Czechs stick meekly to orthodox doctrine.
Slovakia has become a different country from the creation
of Tiso. It is an industrial country where the balance between
industry and agriculture is almost perfect. National consciousness has taken root and ,the masses are now far better educated than they were some thirty or forty years ago. Intellectuals are more numerous and the professional classes are also
increasing. Slovakia wants to be freed from the meddling of
Prague, and the praotice of the Czech bureaucrats cannot be
any longer suffered by a country which feels that it deserves
to be left alone to shape its own economic and cultural destiny.
This seems to be the main issue in Czecho-Slovakia today. Strolling along the lovely Prague streets and boulevards,
one is constantly reminded of that deep internal strife. People
discuss it in cafes and restaurants, in the bars and in the
'automats', the places with the 'vending machines', one of the
city's specialities. (They are a feature of Rumanian life, too:
Bucharest, even before the war, was famous for its 'automats',
selfservice bars where everything from cocoa to beer and
sandwiches and salads could be obtained from a special taps or
from movable or turntable trays.) The clash with Slovakia crops
up in every conversation. People are not optimistic: 'We no
longer have such wizards as Bene~, who managed to patch up
the strife for years . . . and especially old Masaryk, who had
such -enormous prestige. Our Novotny is clever but not up to
the standard of a real statesman. He's still very successful in
swimming against the tide, for the tide is against him. People
want more freedom. And our economy must change, too. We
can't tolerate the Russian brand of doctrinaire waste. We don't
produce enough.'
Czechs are fully aware that so-called 'Socialist model'
economy proved a complete fiasco. They know that CzechoSlovakia cannot copy the Soviet Union and that production is
not rising quickly enough. · They know t.h at Czech products
could have competed in world markets but for the fact that
the Czechs are not given enough rein by the Russians and
that they work too patchily.
The country is moving slowly towards a more relaxed
�144
SLOVAKIA
way of life, but the innate apathy continues unabated. The
Czechs are no heroes and they do not want to rebel. They play
Schveiks with a regime which is just plodding along with very
meagre economic results. They try to explore every vista, and
consequently foreign tourism is now the slogan and countless
people from abroad, especially from the German Federal Republic, are streaming into the country. But tourists from the
GRF are m'.:lre often than not the Sudetendeutsche who are
amazed by ithe deterioration of conditions in their fatherland.
The districts once populated by those Sudeten Germans are
now derelict, often no-man's-land, or melancholy wasteland.
The Czechs did not follow the policy of the Poles who repopulated the Western Territories with settlers from the Eastern marches of Poland. Hardly anybody wanted to go to the
former Sudetenland. It is a deserted, fallow land. Again the
waste in Communist policy is exposed on these frontier and
borderland regions.
Many Czechs also arrive from Austria, where they have
made good careers (especially in Vienna, though under the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy Vienna already had a considerable Czech population). They declare they will never consider
returning for good; they make a better living in Austria. This
angers the natives, and they say with bitterness that 'even this
wretched little Austria, which was a pauper before the war,
has succeeded in building up prosperity, while we .. .'. Those
arrivals from Austria and the GFR seem to haunt the conscience of the practical Czechs: 'Look, what other nations had
done with their unfettered economies. Damn Socialist planning ... they can claim successes only on paper, and paper is
patient, as the Germans used to say.'
There is bitterness against all those more fortunate contries who managed to escape Russian guardianship. Rumani:ms are often criticized for their too free attitude: 'One day
Moscow will resent their courage. Moscow doesn't f o r g e t
things.' There is also a marked racial enmity against the various Negro and Asiatic races and immigrants, students and
diplomats. Czech girls who consort with them, for they seem
to like their generosity, are branded as a 'shameful element'.
New names are being invented for girls who prefer the company of colored people to that of Czechs. Racial hatred is rife
in Prague and one has to remember the tolerant climate of
�SLOVAKIA
145
London and Paris to see the difference: obviously Communism is no antidote against the sting of racialism.
Czecho-Slovakia is a sad country. It hardly seems to stir
in its sleep. It is planned apathy, the willed apathy of a dispirited country which wants to play safe. Even the shock of Mr.
K's departure was a short-lived affair: Czecho-Slovakia was
the first country to settle down in a belief that 'there is no
danger for us in that Moscow change ... we shall survive all
upheavals.' But no amount of the will for security would save
the country from the nightmare of a break-up of the dual
State, as the Slovak element appears to be much more dynamic and may prove able to force its own will on a largely indifferent, hesitant Czech community.
(Contemporary Review, London, England. January 1965; pp. 21-24.)
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED
f>urica, M. St.: La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni con la Germania
1938/ 1945, Marsilio Editori, Padova, Italy, 1964, p. 274.
Grebert, Arved, LL.D.: Die Slowaken und das Grossmahrishe Reich,
Munich, 1965, p. 64.
Kirschbaum, J. M., LL.D., Ph.D.: Pavel J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Winnipeg, Man.-Cleveland,
Ohio, 1962, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.
Hacia una nueva democracia para la Europa Central, Sep. Istituts
de Estudios Politicos, Madrid, 1962, p. 23.
La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves, An offprint from
:f:tudes slaves et Est-europennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de
Montreal, 1963.
Anton Bernolak--The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762·
1813), Slavistica No. 52, Winnipeg, Man., 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleve•
land, Ohio.
Literature of the Cyrillo-Methodian Period and Slovakia, A reprint
from Most, Vol. XI, 1-2, 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.
An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence, Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964, p. 40. Second edition.
Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations, A
reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto
Press, Toronto, 1964.
Pauco, J ., Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty,
Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 664, Ill.
�
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
1965, Vol. 15
Description
An account of the resource
Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965.
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
1965
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
14-0
SLOVAKIA
A SAD COUNTRY
IS CZECHO-SLOVAKIA BREAKING UP?
From a Correspondent
Slovak historians sent a lengthy memorandum to the
Czech Government in Prague arguing the case for a federation between Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. In their memorandum the historians said that such a solution would satisfy
the legitimate longings of the Slovaks for their own State
within the frame work of a larger unity; and that a federation
or a confederation of the two countries would remove various
internal tensions and introduce an era of peaceful cohabitation between the two Slavonic races.
This memorandum, which appeared to crown a prolonged
strife between Prague and Bratislava, did not come as a surprise to foreign observers who have been witnessing during
the last four years or so a gradual deterioration of relations
between the two component parts of the Czecho-Slovak State,
Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. Such a move was only to be.
expected, and the rising hostility between Prague and Bratislava, finding expression in the Press of the two countries,
left no doubt as to the intensity of feelings on both sides. One
can say without exaggeration that never in the history of Czecho-Slovak relations has there been a period of such open
enmity between the two capitals of the Republic. Some people in Bratislava speak freely of the possibility of the breaking-up of the People's Republic: 'This tension', one is assured,
'can't last much longer. Slovakia is fed up with Prague rule.
The Czechs will be compelled to acknowledge the claims of
the Slovak nation. We no longer want Czech tutelage.'
The recent flare-up of hostility between Czechs and Slovaks calls for a short recapitulation of the history of the relations between those two countries. In 1918 a dual or, rather,
a triple, Republic, taking into account Subcarpathian Ruthenia, now torn from Czecho-Slovakia and made into a part of
the 'Western Ukraine' t0ge~her with the former Eastern Galicia of Poland, was born, with Slovakia liberated from Hunga-
SLOVAKIA
141
rian rule and Bohemia-Moravia from the Austrian yoke. There
has been since the very inception of the dual, or triple, Republic (some even say that the Sudetenland should be counted
as a fourth unit of Czecho-Slovakia), an inherent difference
between the two parts of the country. Bohemia-Moravia was
for decades a highly developed industrial country while Slovakia was a rural community. In comparison with Slovakia,
Bohemia was also an advanced country in the domain of culture. Slovakia suffered under the heavy Hungarian heel and
had no time in which to build up its cadres of intellectuals
and professional classes.
The result of this disparity was domination by the more
prosperous Czechs in Slovakia. The country complained that
the Czechs were lording it and that the Slovaks had again
become a subject race. These claims were no doubt exaggerated, but it does seem that the Czechs were taking unfair advantage of their position as rulers and were relegating Slovaks
to the background. Best positions and jobs went to the Czechs,
who arrived in great numbers in Slovakia and plucked the
best fruit. Enmity was growing between the two communities,
and German propaganda aimed at the disruption of the State
and at the same time trying a dual line: fawning on the Sudeten German claims and sponsoring the case for an independent Slovakia.
Many Slovaks began to regard Hitler as the liberator of
their country from the Czechs; and reasonable plans for transforming Czecho-Slovakia into a kind of Central European
Switzerland with four autonomous 'cantons', were shelved.
The policy of Benes was at the same time trying to softpedal
the ambitions of the Slovaks and override their claims. But
when Czecho-Slovakia was dismembered, an independent Slovakia was created. Slovaks took part in the march on Moscow
and rebelled against the Germans only in 1944.
Slovakia was whitewashed and a new Republic came into
being minus the Subcarpathian Ruthenia and minus the Su,.
detendeutsche, who were expelled from the borderlands. But
Slovak aspirations were by no means quenched. The Czechs
tried to repeat the prewar gambit and again sent great numbers of their people into Slovakia. But this time the country
was already on the way to vast transformations; a procedure
was developed there similar to that- in postwar Austria: indus-
142
SLOVAKIA
trialization. After the war ithe Western provinces of Austria,
Tyrol, for example, underwent violent industrialization, and
the same happened in formerly agricultural Slovakia. Exigencies of war industry and atomic research, as well as the Soviet
economic planning, made it imperative to convert the once
idyllic valley of the Vah and other areas into bustling industrial centers. The character of the country was largely
changed; the rural districts were transformed, huge movements of the population took place, as in postwar Poland, with
the result that ,the social composition of the Slovak nation also
underwent a serious change.
The new professional classes and the new intelligentsia
became more and more rebellious and not at all ready to suffer Czech preponderance. The Slovak Communist Party could
noit compete with the Czech CP as the latter was among the
oldest and best organized CP in Europe. Let us not forget that
before the war the CP in Bohemia was one of the strongest
in Europe, with extremely long traditions and connections
with Moscow which regarded Czech Communists as most reliable, while dreading Polish. Czech Communists had a sizeable representation in the Prague Parliament and could publish the daily Rude Pravo, still the leading Communist publication in the country. The Czech CP was based on the frankly
Slavophile attitude of the country, with its many illusions
about Russia which have never been shared by the Poles, who
had a chance of experiencing Russian rule for over 120 years.
The Slovaks cannot compete in their CP with Prague and
the execution of such leaders as Vlado Clementis has weakened the budding cadres of the professional Slovak Communists. Now rehabilitation of Clementis has been sought, but
Prague seems aloof and does not want to speed up the long
overdue tribute to an idealist who could not imagine the
depths of 'brotherly' intrigues.
The Slovak Communists have no such long traditions as
the Czech Communists, and they have no open access to Moscow, as has Novotny. They are, however, brave and dynamic
people and they want to emancipate themselves from Czecµ
rule. The Slovak papers in Bratislava and elsewhere try to
show more independence of opinion than the Czechs; some
of the Slovak literary magazines publish rather astonishing
articles and disclosures. There is an open rift between the
SLOVAKIA
143
Slovak and Czech Press: the Slovaks demonstrate much more
courage and a will to get free from the Party fetters, but the
Czechs stick meekly to orthodox doctrine.
Slovakia has become a different country from the creation
of Tiso. It is an industrial country where the balance between
industry and agriculture is almost perfect. National consciousness has taken root and ,the masses are now far better educated than they were some thirty or forty years ago. Intellectuals are more numerous and the professional classes are also
increasing. Slovakia wants to be freed from the meddling of
Prague, and the praotice of the Czech bureaucrats cannot be
any longer suffered by a country which feels that it deserves
to be left alone to shape its own economic and cultural destiny.
This seems to be the main issue in Czecho-Slovakia today. Strolling along the lovely Prague streets and boulevards,
one is constantly reminded of that deep internal strife. People
discuss it in cafes and restaurants, in the bars and in the
'automats', the places with the 'vending machines', one of the
city's specialities. (They are a feature of Rumanian life, too:
Bucharest, even before the war, was famous for its 'automats',
selfservice bars where everything from cocoa to beer and
sandwiches and salads could be obtained from a special taps or
from movable or turntable trays.) The clash with Slovakia crops
up in every conversation. People are not optimistic: 'We no
longer have such wizards as Bene~, who managed to patch up
the strife for years . . . and especially old Masaryk, who had
such -enormous prestige. Our Novotny is clever but not up to
the standard of a real statesman. He's still very successful in
swimming against the tide, for the tide is against him. People
want more freedom. And our economy must change, too. We
can't tolerate the Russian brand of doctrinaire waste. We don't
produce enough.'
Czechs are fully aware that so-called 'Socialist model'
economy proved a complete fiasco. They know that CzechoSlovakia cannot copy the Soviet Union and that production is
not rising quickly enough. · They know t.h at Czech products
could have competed in world markets but for the fact that
the Czechs are not given enough rein by the Russians and
that they work too patchily.
The country is moving slowly towards a more relaxed
144
SLOVAKIA
way of life, but the innate apathy continues unabated. The
Czechs are no heroes and they do not want to rebel. They play
Schveiks with a regime which is just plodding along with very
meagre economic results. They try to explore every vista, and
consequently foreign tourism is now the slogan and countless
people from abroad, especially from the German Federal Republic, are streaming into the country. But tourists from the
GRF are m'.:lre often than not the Sudetendeutsche who are
amazed by ithe deterioration of conditions in their fatherland.
The districts once populated by those Sudeten Germans are
now derelict, often no-man's-land, or melancholy wasteland.
The Czechs did not follow the policy of the Poles who repopulated the Western Territories with settlers from the Eastern marches of Poland. Hardly anybody wanted to go to the
former Sudetenland. It is a deserted, fallow land. Again the
waste in Communist policy is exposed on these frontier and
borderland regions.
Many Czechs also arrive from Austria, where they have
made good careers (especially in Vienna, though under the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy Vienna already had a considerable Czech population). They declare they will never consider
returning for good; they make a better living in Austria. This
angers the natives, and they say with bitterness that 'even this
wretched little Austria, which was a pauper before the war,
has succeeded in building up prosperity, while we .. .'. Those
arrivals from Austria and the GFR seem to haunt the conscience of the practical Czechs: 'Look, what other nations had
done with their unfettered economies. Damn Socialist planning ... they can claim successes only on paper, and paper is
patient, as the Germans used to say.'
There is bitterness against all those more fortunate contries who managed to escape Russian guardianship. Rumani:ms are often criticized for their too free attitude: 'One day
Moscow will resent their courage. Moscow doesn't f o r g e t
things.' There is also a marked racial enmity against the various Negro and Asiatic races and immigrants, students and
diplomats. Czech girls who consort with them, for they seem
to like their generosity, are branded as a 'shameful element'.
New names are being invented for girls who prefer the company of colored people to that of Czechs. Racial hatred is rife
in Prague and one has to remember the tolerant climate of
SLOVAKIA
145
London and Paris to see the difference: obviously Communism is no antidote against the sting of racialism.
Czecho-Slovakia is a sad country. It hardly seems to stir
in its sleep. It is planned apathy, the willed apathy of a dispirited country which wants to play safe. Even the shock of Mr.
K's departure was a short-lived affair: Czecho-Slovakia was
the first country to settle down in a belief that 'there is no
danger for us in that Moscow change ... we shall survive all
upheavals.' But no amount of the will for security would save
the country from the nightmare of a break-up of the dual
State, as the Slovak element appears to be much more dynamic and may prove able to force its own will on a largely indifferent, hesitant Czech community.
(Contemporary Review, London, England. January 1965; pp. 21-24.)
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED
f>urica, M. St.: La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni con la Germania
1938/ 1945, Marsilio Editori, Padova, Italy, 1964, p. 274.
Grebert, Arved, LL.D.: Die Slowaken und das Grossmahrishe Reich,
Munich, 1965, p. 64.
Kirschbaum, J. M., LL.D., Ph.D.: Pavel J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Winnipeg, Man.-Cleveland,
Ohio, 1962, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.
Hacia una nueva democracia para la Europa Central, Sep. Istituts
de Estudios Politicos, Madrid, 1962, p. 23.
La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves, An offprint from
:f:tudes slaves et Est-europennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de
Montreal, 1963.
Anton Bernolak--The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762·
1813), Slavistica No. 52, Winnipeg, Man., 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleve•
land, Ohio.
Literature of the Cyrillo-Methodian Period and Slovakia, A reprint
from Most, Vol. XI, 1-2, 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.
An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence, Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964, p. 40. Second edition.
Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations, A
reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto
Press, Toronto, 1964.
Pauco, J ., Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty,
Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 664, Ill.
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
Is Czecho-Slovakia Breaking Up?
Description
An account of the resource
From a Correspondent
Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965
pp. 140-145
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1965