3 50 763 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c261397e85eed23c862735032fef621e.pdf 4100e82bdcd463eb507b52bc5b6fb54f PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 13 MILESTONES OF SLOVAK HISTORY OCTOBER 6, 1938 The Slovaik nation, one olf the olde.st Christian nations in Central Europe, decided to fonm a c01mmon political state with the Czech nation during World War I. Equality in all matters ,w as the basis Ol:f that decision. Slovakia ,w as to be governed as a state of the Ozech-Slova:k federation by the Slovruks and the Czech lands by the Ozechs. The Pittsburgh Pact of May 30, 1918, drawn UJP and signed by T. G. Masarylk and irepresentati'Ves of the Czechs and the •S lovaks of America, guaranteed Sloivakia complete autonomy, i e., home rule or states rights. Unfortunately, T. G. Masaryk repudiated the pruct and condemned the very state he prop8!gated to premature ruin. For twenty years the. Slovaks kerpt clamoring for recognition of and respect for their inherent rights, for the fulfillment of the ,b argain they had concluded with T. G. Masaryk, but to .no avail. The Ruthe1I1ians,, who had voluntarily entered the political state of Czeicho~Slovakia on the basis of an autonomous region, were also sadly disaippointed by the regime olf T. G. Masaryik and his underst/Udy, Dr. Edward Benes. The forceful inchtsion of 3,500,000 Sudeten Germans in the Ozecho~lo:vaik Repulbliic did not help relieve the tensiOIIlS or to consolidate the state, burt rather aggravated the situation. The regimes of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes antrugonized the non-Czech majority of the population against the Czechs and doomed the Republic to an early death. When the first major crisis stmmk, there was no one to defend the ill~fated Ozecho~SlovaJkia and it collapsed like a house ibuilt of cards. On October 6, 193,8, the Slo1V1aiks mrude a great step forward toward urufiying their fOiI1Ces in their struggle for state independence. All paTties, except the .Social Democrats and the Communists, accepted the principle of an autonomous SlovaJkia in the spirit of the draft of a bill, which was prepared by the ID:inka Slovak People's Party and made pU!blic Jun€ 5, 1938. The result of the October meet~ �14 SLOVAKIA ing,s oif the representatives of all Slovak parties in Zilina,, S1ovalkia, was that "the Government of the Ozecho..slovalk Repulblic named, in the p1ruce of the President of the RepuJblic (a paragrruph of the Constitutional Document), deputy Dr. Joseph Tiso, the executive vice-president of the SlO'Vak POOlple's Party, as mii.nister for the administration of SloV'a!kia. By a supplement to this law, the Government requested Dr. Tiso to name other SlovaJk ministers to execute governmental power in Slovakia. From this it is evident that the Prague Government had accepted the fundamental propositions of the Slo:vaJk People's Party and the other participating parties" (A-l~ET, official organ of Dr. Benes's National Socialistic Party, Octolber 7, 1938). Dr. Edward Benes, as is iknown, resigned the presidency of the Republic V1oluntarily on Octolber 5, 1938. The first Slovak ruutonomous government oif Slova.kia was composed oif the following: Dr. Joseph Tiso, Premier and Minister O'f Interior; ,professor Matthew Cernak, Minister oif Education and National Enlightenment; Dr. Ferdinand DUT'canSlky, Minister of Justl!ce, Social Welfare and Health; Paul TeplanSlky, Minister of Agriculture,, Prublic WOTks, Commerce, Business and Finance; John Lichner, Minister of the Mail and the Railroads. ( Slovensky mas, Dr. Milan Hodza's 1pulblication, October 8, 1938). Dr. J,o seph Tiso, •CernaJk and :Dwcansky were representatives of the Hlinka Slovalk PeQple's Party, while Teplans:ky and Lkhner represented the party oif Slovak republicans, since there really were only two genuine Slovak parties in Slovakia - the People's Party and the National $loiv~k Party. All the other parties were only affiliates of the ;variOUJs Ozeich and so-<Called "Czechoslovak" ,p arties; the representatives of these parties sp0ike of the Slova;k coalition ,parties, as 1s attested to by the "A-~ET" article of Emil Boleslav Lukac orf October 7, 193'8. Analy~g and evaluating the Zilina events, LuJkac wrote: "It was ,plainly necessary that the Slovalk People's Party pass over from the ,position of opposition to a responsible position, one commensu,r ate with its strength, to a leading position. It was necessary that it use its strength �SLOVAKIA 15 especially today to protect Slovak national interests inside and outside its territory. Even the cbalition parties of Slova1da haJVe united on its main demand - the decentralization of pulbliic administraA:ion and a ,b road autonomy for SlovaJkia. And it was aecepted even by the Governrment of the Repulblic. SlovaJkia shall hruve its legislaitive assembly, a Slovruk government of all resorts, except finances , national defense, and ,f oreign affairs - whi-ch are common resorts. Today all S-loivaJk parties stand behind this agreement, behind this new arrangement of Slovruk afrfairs, and, hence, even our Nationai Socialistic Party in Slovakia. We shall stand by it loyally and responsibly." The republicans (agrarians) welcomed the first .SlovaJk Autonomous Government even more enthusiasticaH y. In their '"SLOVENSK Y TY~DEJNNfK." (Slovalk Weekly) of OctOlber 13, 1938, their leadiillg editorial "M8JIIle Slovensku Vladiu" (We Have a Sloivak Goivernment) , contained the following: "We recall that the ('IDinka Sl01VaJk) ·People's Party not so long ago thought and appeared to 1b e sufficient of itself for such a role. But when it actuaHy came to the brealking of bread, it realized what a great responstbility it is before the nation ·a nd how much woirk must 1b e aocompUshed to organize Slo.'V'aik statehood and an autonomous, independent Slovruk life. Under these circumstances and dtflficulties it was a real blessing that the Republican ,P arty of Slovakia was deternnined rwith all its forces to build a Slovak autonomous state unit. . . " SlovaJk centralists - the so~a,lled "Ozechoslova,ks" who had defended .and propagated a strong, centralized Prague government - openly and enthusiastkal ly spoke out not only for a;utonomy, but for SlovaJk statehood after October 6,. 1938. Their -w illingness to wor,k with the SloivaJk People's Party was not only evident, but also quite convincing, as demonstrawd by their manifestation s and the ,parti~ipation of the RepU'blican Party in the Slovak Government. Analyzing the whole brucikgro.und of these events, we find that the representative s of the political parties in Slovakia did nothing in 2ilina which was not approved of by �16 SLOVAKIA Prague. And the Prague leadership oif the coalition iparties even gaive pU!blic testimoniy of this on October 8, 193'8, by stating: ''The undersigned representatiive s of the Crech political parties declare that - in the sense of the 2ilina agreement of Octolber 6, 1938 - we adopt the ,proiposition of the Hlinika .SlovaJk People's Party to issue a Constitutiona l law in regard to the autonomy of SlovaJkia as ~t was presented in the .Asoornlbly of Deputies in 1938 and pulblished in the SLOVAK, No. 129, of Jrune 5, 1938, and we ibind ourselves that we shal,l endeavor to have it acted on and aoceipted as soon as possilble." The statement was, signed .by: Deputy Rudoliph Beran, chairman of the Repulbli<can Party; Deputy Anthony Hampl. chairman of the ,Social Democratic Party; Deputy Dr. Klaipka for the National Socialist Party; Deputy Monsignor Stasetk for the 0ze:ch Poople's Parly; Dr. Franicis Hodac. vice-ichairman oif the Party of Unity; and De:puty Rudolph Mlcoch, chail'lffian of Tradesman's Party. (!SLOVAK, October 9, 1938). Here we harve proof that even the leadership of the Social Democrati1c Party in Prague fully approrved the Zilina .A!greement, despite the fad that the Slovak Pe01ple's Party did not come to an:y agreement with the Slovruk Socialists. It is quite obvious, therefore, that October 6, 1938 Slova!k Autonomy Day - was baoked not only by the H1inka Slovak People's Party, but also the rest of the Slovak civk parties then in existence. All went along with the Peoiple's Party willingly and spontaneously and accepted the resiponsilbility for the future development of Sloiva!lda. Whether they were sincere 8'bout it or not is questionable in the light of what transpireid later, but the fact is that all ·political parties operating in Slova·k ia in 1938 - except the Social Demdcrats and the Communists - realized ,t he necessity od' uniting in the common interests oif .Slovakia, in fact in the interests of the national existence of the SlOIVruk nation itself. They were not re$ponsihle for the tense international political situation of that time, but were sufficiently intelligent to adapt themselves accordingly and save �SLOVAKIA 17 whatever could ,b e saved under the given cir~umstances. It was, in fact, the old Btory Oi:f history repeating its.elf all poJitioal leaders wo11king together for the benefit of all the people of Slovakia, or hanging separately. On October 6, 1938, the just demands of. the Slovak nation,; so aiptly e~ressed by the Pittsiburgh Pact of May 30, 191'8, were finally recognized and fulfilled by the recalcitrant gorvernment of Prague. As we looik bruclk in retrospect today, we can only say that lruok of foresi:ght, statesmansMp, Christian charity and democracy on the part of Dr. Edward Benes and his National Socialists and other Ozech leftist - so...called "progressive" - growps prevented the realization o;f Slovak autonomy sooner and ,p recipatated the collapse of the Czecho,. Slova:k Repll!blic. October 6, 1938, no matter how enemies o;f Slovaik freedom and indeipendenoe may look ,wpon it, was a milestone in Slovak history, maI1king another lap olf the march of the Slovak nation to free dom and complete political independence. • • • WHO SAID IT? "After the Turkish invasion came tile religious wars which many historians made the mistake orf regarding as manifestaJtions of nationaJ1. resistance against Germanism. Here in Cenltrai Europe the conflicts were identical with those taJking plaice in other prurts o:f the Continent at the same time. The struggle Oi:f the Huguenots against Henry IV was no more -a nationaJl. conflict than the share of the Czechs in the Thi.irty Years.' War was a radal fight against Germanism. They fought against the HaJbsboogs beeause the latter were Catholks, _and the Battle of the White Mountain (1620) the Ozechs, together with their German rully, Prince Frederick, Elector of the Palatinate, were !b eaten 1by the Catholic tro01ps of the Austrian emperor. The legend about the Mountain is an outstanding exMn.ple Off historical forgery, for it was. a purely religious and dynastic affaiir." (F. 0. Miksche - a Czech - in UNCONDITIONA L SURREND@R, p. 71; Faber and Fruber, Ltd., London). � SLOVAKIA 13 MILESTONES OF SLOVAK HISTORY OCTOBER 6, 1938 The Slovaik nation, one olf the olde.st Christian nations in Central Europe, decided to fonm a c01mmon political state with the Czech nation during World War I. Equality in all matters ,w as the basis Ol:f that decision. Slovakia ,w as to be governed as a state of the Ozech-Slova:k federation by the Slovruks and the Czech lands by the Ozechs. The Pittsburgh Pact of May 30, 1918, drawn UJP and signed by T. G. Masarylk and irepresentati'Ves of the Czechs and the •S lovaks of America, guaranteed Sloivakia complete autonomy, i e., home rule or states rights. Unfortunately, T. G. Masaryk repudiated the pruct and condemned the very state he prop8!gated to premature ruin. For twenty years the. Slovaks kerpt clamoring for recognition of and respect for their inherent rights, for the fulfillment of the ,b argain they had concluded with T. G. Masaryk, but to .no avail. The Ruthe1I1ians,, who had voluntarily entered the political state of Czeicho~Slovakia on the basis of an autonomous region, were also sadly disaippointed by the regime olf T. G. Masaryik and his underst/Udy, Dr. Edward Benes. The forceful inchtsion of 3,500,000 Sudeten Germans in the Ozecho~lo:vaik Repulbliic did not help relieve the tensiOIIlS or to consolidate the state, burt rather aggravated the situation. The regimes of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes antrugonized the non-Czech majority of the population against the Czechs and doomed the Republic to an early death. When the first major crisis stmmk, there was no one to defend the ill~fated Ozecho~SlovaJkia and it collapsed like a house ibuilt of cards. On October 6, 193,8, the Slo1V1aiks mrude a great step forward toward urufiying their fOiI1Ces in their struggle for state independence. All paTties, except the .Social Democrats and the Communists, accepted the principle of an autonomous SlovaJkia in the spirit of the draft of a bill, which was prepared by the ID:inka Slovak People's Party and made pU!blic Jun€ 5, 1938. The result of the October meet~ �14 SLOVAKIA ing,s oif the representatives of all Slovak parties in Zilina,, S1ovalkia, was that "the Government of the Ozecho..slovalk Repulblic named, in the p1ruce of the President of the RepuJblic (a paragrruph of the Constitutional Document), deputy Dr. Joseph Tiso, the executive vice-president of the SlO'Vak POOlple's Party, as mii.nister for the administration of SloV'a!kia. By a supplement to this law, the Government requested Dr. Tiso to name other SlovaJk ministers to execute governmental power in Slovakia. From this it is evident that the Prague Government had accepted the fundamental propositions of the Slo:vaJk People's Party and the other participating parties" (A-l~ET, official organ of Dr. Benes's National Socialistic Party, Octolber 7, 1938). Dr. Edward Benes, as is iknown, resigned the presidency of the Republic V1oluntarily on Octolber 5, 1938. The first Slovak ruutonomous government oif Slova.kia was composed oif the following: Dr. Joseph Tiso, Premier and Minister O'f Interior; ,professor Matthew Cernak, Minister oif Education and National Enlightenment; Dr. Ferdinand DUT'canSlky, Minister of Justl!ce, Social Welfare and Health; Paul TeplanSlky, Minister of Agriculture,, Prublic WOTks, Commerce, Business and Finance; John Lichner, Minister of the Mail and the Railroads. ( Slovensky mas, Dr. Milan Hodza's 1pulblication, October 8, 1938). Dr. J,o seph Tiso, •CernaJk and :Dwcansky were representatives of the Hlinka Slovalk PeQple's Party, while Teplans:ky and Lkhner represented the party oif Slovak republicans, since there really were only two genuine Slovak parties in Slovakia - the People's Party and the National $loiv~k Party. All the other parties were only affiliates of the ;variOUJs Ozeich and so-<Called "Czechoslovak" ,p arties; the representatives of these parties sp0ike of the Slova;k coalition ,parties, as 1s attested to by the "A-~ET" article of Emil Boleslav Lukac orf October 7, 193'8. Analy~g and evaluating the Zilina events, LuJkac wrote: "It was ,plainly necessary that the Slovalk People's Party pass over from the ,position of opposition to a responsible position, one commensu,r ate with its strength, to a leading position. It was necessary that it use its strength �SLOVAKIA 15 especially today to protect Slovak national interests inside and outside its territory. Even the cbalition parties of Slova1da haJVe united on its main demand - the decentralization of pulbliic administraA:ion and a ,b road autonomy for SlovaJkia. And it was aecepted even by the Governrment of the Repulblic. SlovaJkia shall hruve its legislaitive assembly, a Slovruk government of all resorts, except finances , national defense, and ,f oreign affairs - whi-ch are common resorts. Today all S-loivaJk parties stand behind this agreement, behind this new arrangement of Slovruk afrfairs, and, hence, even our Nationai Socialistic Party in Slovakia. We shall stand by it loyally and responsibly." The republicans (agrarians) welcomed the first .SlovaJk Autonomous Government even more enthusiasticaH y. In their '"SLOVENSK Y TY~DEJNNfK." (Slovalk Weekly) of OctOlber 13, 1938, their leadiillg editorial "M8JIIle Slovensku Vladiu" (We Have a Sloivak Goivernment) , contained the following: "We recall that the ('IDinka Sl01VaJk) ·People's Party not so long ago thought and appeared to 1b e sufficient of itself for such a role. But when it actuaHy came to the brealking of bread, it realized what a great responstbility it is before the nation ·a nd how much woirk must 1b e aocompUshed to organize Slo.'V'aik statehood and an autonomous, independent Slovruk life. Under these circumstances and dtflficulties it was a real blessing that the Republican ,P arty of Slovakia was deternnined rwith all its forces to build a Slovak autonomous state unit. . . " SlovaJk centralists - the so~a,lled "Ozechoslova,ks" who had defended .and propagated a strong, centralized Prague government - openly and enthusiastkal ly spoke out not only for a;utonomy, but for SlovaJk statehood after October 6,. 1938. Their -w illingness to wor,k with the SloivaJk People's Party was not only evident, but also quite convincing, as demonstrawd by their manifestation s and the ,parti~ipation of the RepU'blican Party in the Slovak Government. Analyzing the whole brucikgro.und of these events, we find that the representative s of the political parties in Slovakia did nothing in 2ilina which was not approved of by �16 SLOVAKIA Prague. And the Prague leadership oif the coalition iparties even gaive pU!blic testimoniy of this on October 8, 193'8, by stating: ''The undersigned representatiive s of the Crech political parties declare that - in the sense of the 2ilina agreement of Octolber 6, 1938 - we adopt the ,proiposition of the Hlinika .SlovaJk People's Party to issue a Constitutiona l law in regard to the autonomy of SlovaJkia as ~t was presented in the .Asoornlbly of Deputies in 1938 and pulblished in the SLOVAK, No. 129, of Jrune 5, 1938, and we ibind ourselves that we shal,l endeavor to have it acted on and aoceipted as soon as possilble." The statement was, signed .by: Deputy Rudoliph Beran, chairman of the Repulbli<can Party; Deputy Anthony Hampl. chairman of the ,Social Democratic Party; Deputy Dr. Klaipka for the National Socialist Party; Deputy Monsignor Stasetk for the 0ze:ch Poople's Parly; Dr. Franicis Hodac. vice-ichairman oif the Party of Unity; and De:puty Rudolph Mlcoch, chail'lffian of Tradesman's Party. (!SLOVAK, October 9, 1938). Here we harve proof that even the leadership of the Social Democrati1c Party in Prague fully approrved the Zilina .A!greement, despite the fad that the Slovak Pe01ple's Party did not come to an:y agreement with the Slovruk Socialists. It is quite obvious, therefore, that October 6, 1938 Slova!k Autonomy Day - was baoked not only by the H1inka Slovak People's Party, but also the rest of the Slovak civk parties then in existence. All went along with the Peoiple's Party willingly and spontaneously and accepted the resiponsilbility for the future development of Sloiva!lda. Whether they were sincere 8'bout it or not is questionable in the light of what transpireid later, but the fact is that all ·political parties operating in Slova·k ia in 1938 - except the Social Demdcrats and the Communists - realized ,t he necessity od' uniting in the common interests oif .Slovakia, in fact in the interests of the national existence of the SlOIVruk nation itself. They were not re$ponsihle for the tense international political situation of that time, but were sufficiently intelligent to adapt themselves accordingly and save �SLOVAKIA 17 whatever could ,b e saved under the given cir~umstances. It was, in fact, the old Btory Oi:f history repeating its.elf all poJitioal leaders wo11king together for the benefit of all the people of Slovakia, or hanging separately. On October 6, 1938, the just demands of. the Slovak nation,; so aiptly e~ressed by the Pittsiburgh Pact of May 30, 191'8, were finally recognized and fulfilled by the recalcitrant gorvernment of Prague. As we looik bruclk in retrospect today, we can only say that lruok of foresi:ght, statesmansMp, Christian charity and democracy on the part of Dr. Edward Benes and his National Socialists and other Ozech leftist - so...called "progressive" - growps prevented the realization o;f Slovak autonomy sooner and ,p recipatated the collapse of the Czecho,. Slova:k Repll!blic. October 6, 1938, no matter how enemies o;f Slovaik freedom and indeipendenoe may look ,wpon it, was a milestone in Slovak history, maI1king another lap olf the march of the Slovak nation to free dom and complete political independence. • • • WHO SAID IT? "After the Turkish invasion came tile religious wars which many historians made the mistake orf regarding as manifestaJtions of nationaJ1. resistance against Germanism. Here in Cenltrai Europe the conflicts were identical with those taJking plaice in other prurts o:f the Continent at the same time. The struggle Oi:f the Huguenots against Henry IV was no more -a nationaJl. conflict than the share of the Czechs in the Thi.irty Years.' War was a radal fight against Germanism. They fought against the HaJbsboogs beeause the latter were Catholks, _and the Battle of the White Mountain (1620) the Ozechs, together with their German rully, Prince Frederick, Elector of the Palatinate, were !b eaten 1by the Catholic tro01ps of the Austrian emperor. The legend about the Mountain is an outstanding exMn.ple Off historical forgery, for it was. a purely religious and dynastic affaiir." (F. 0. Miksche - a Czech - in UNCONDITIONA L SURREND@R, p. 71; Faber and Fruber, Ltd., London). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 13 MILESTONES OF SLOVAK HISTORY OCTOBER 6, 1938 The Slovaik nation, one olf the olde.st Christian nations in Central Europe, decided to fonm a c01mmon political state with the Czech nation during World War I. Equality in all matters ,w as the basis Ol:f that decision. Slovakia ,w as to be governed as a state of the Ozech-Slova:k federation by the Slovruks and the Czech lands by the Ozechs. The Pittsburgh Pact of May 30, 1918, drawn UJP and signed by T. G. Masarylk and irepresentati'Ves of the Czechs and the •S lovaks of America, guaranteed Sloivakia complete autonomy, i e., home rule or states rights. Unfortunately, T. G. Masaryk repudiated the pruct and condemned the very state he prop8!gated to premature ruin. For twenty years the. Slovaks kerpt clamoring for recognition of and respect for their inherent rights, for the fulfillment of the ,b argain they had concluded with T. G. Masaryk, but to .no avail. The Ruthe1I1ians,, who had voluntarily entered the political state of Czeicho~Slovakia on the basis of an autonomous region, were also sadly disaippointed by the regime olf T. G. Masaryik and his underst/Udy, Dr. Edward Benes. The forceful inchtsion of 3,500,000 Sudeten Germans in the Ozecho~lo:vaik Repulbliic did not help relieve the tensiOIIlS or to consolidate the state, burt rather aggravated the situation. The regimes of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes antrugonized the non-Czech majority of the population against the Czechs and doomed the Republic to an early death. When the first major crisis stmmk, there was no one to defend the ill~fated Ozecho~SlovaJkia and it collapsed like a house ibuilt of cards. On October 6, 193,8, the Slo1V1aiks mrude a great step forward toward urufiying their fOiI1Ces in their struggle for state independence. All paTties, except the .Social Democrats and the Communists, accepted the principle of an autonomous SlovaJkia in the spirit of the draft of a bill, which was prepared by the ID:inka Slovak People's Party and made pU!blic Jun€ 5, 1938. The result of the October meet~ 14 SLOVAKIA ing,s oif the representatives of all Slovak parties in Zilina,, S1ovalkia, was that "the Government of the Ozecho..slovalk Repulblic named, in the p1ruce of the President of the RepuJblic (a paragrruph of the Constitutional Document), deputy Dr. Joseph Tiso, the executive vice-president of the SlO'Vak POOlple's Party, as mii.nister for the administration of SloV'a!kia. By a supplement to this law, the Government requested Dr. Tiso to name other SlovaJk ministers to execute governmental power in Slovakia. From this it is evident that the Prague Government had accepted the fundamental propositions of the Slo:vaJk People's Party and the other participating parties" (A-l~ET, official organ of Dr. Benes's National Socialistic Party, Octolber 7, 1938). Dr. Edward Benes, as is iknown, resigned the presidency of the Republic V1oluntarily on Octolber 5, 1938. The first Slovak ruutonomous government oif Slova.kia was composed oif the following: Dr. Joseph Tiso, Premier and Minister O'f Interior; ,professor Matthew Cernak, Minister oif Education and National Enlightenment; Dr. Ferdinand DUT'canSlky, Minister of Justl!ce, Social Welfare and Health; Paul TeplanSlky, Minister of Agriculture,, Prublic WOTks, Commerce, Business and Finance; John Lichner, Minister of the Mail and the Railroads. ( Slovensky mas, Dr. Milan Hodza's 1pulblication, October 8, 1938). Dr. J,o seph Tiso, •CernaJk and :Dwcansky were representatives of the Hlinka Slovalk PeQple's Party, while Teplans:ky and Lkhner represented the party oif Slovak republicans, since there really were only two genuine Slovak parties in Slovakia - the People's Party and the National $loiv~k Party. All the other parties were only affiliates of the ;variOUJs Ozeich and so-<Called "Czechoslovak" ,p arties; the representatives of these parties sp0ike of the Slova;k coalition ,parties, as 1s attested to by the "A-~ET" article of Emil Boleslav Lukac orf October 7, 193'8. Analy~g and evaluating the Zilina events, LuJkac wrote: "It was ,plainly necessary that the Slovalk People's Party pass over from the ,position of opposition to a responsible position, one commensu,r ate with its strength, to a leading position. It was necessary that it use its strength SLOVAKIA 15 especially today to protect Slovak national interests inside and outside its territory. Even the cbalition parties of Slova1da haJVe united on its main demand - the decentralization of pulbliic administraA:ion and a ,b road autonomy for SlovaJkia. And it was aecepted even by the Governrment of the Repulblic. SlovaJkia shall hruve its legislaitive assembly, a Slovruk government of all resorts, except finances , national defense, and ,f oreign affairs - whi-ch are common resorts. Today all S-loivaJk parties stand behind this agreement, behind this new arrangement of Slovruk afrfairs, and, hence, even our Nationai Socialistic Party in Slovakia. We shall stand by it loyally and responsibly." The republicans (agrarians) welcomed the first .SlovaJk Autonomous Government even more enthusiasticaH y. In their '"SLOVENSK Y TY~DEJNNfK." (Slovalk Weekly) of OctOlber 13, 1938, their leadiillg editorial "M8JIIle Slovensku Vladiu" (We Have a Sloivak Goivernment) , contained the following: "We recall that the ('IDinka Sl01VaJk) ·People's Party not so long ago thought and appeared to 1b e sufficient of itself for such a role. But when it actuaHy came to the brealking of bread, it realized what a great responstbility it is before the nation ·a nd how much woirk must 1b e aocompUshed to organize Slo.'V'aik statehood and an autonomous, independent Slovruk life. Under these circumstances and dtflficulties it was a real blessing that the Republican ,P arty of Slovakia was deternnined rwith all its forces to build a Slovak autonomous state unit. . . " SlovaJk centralists - the so~a,lled "Ozechoslova,ks" who had defended .and propagated a strong, centralized Prague government - openly and enthusiastkal ly spoke out not only for a;utonomy, but for SlovaJk statehood after October 6,. 1938. Their -w illingness to wor,k with the SloivaJk People's Party was not only evident, but also quite convincing, as demonstrawd by their manifestation s and the ,parti~ipation of the RepU'blican Party in the Slovak Government. Analyzing the whole brucikgro.und of these events, we find that the representative s of the political parties in Slovakia did nothing in 2ilina which was not approved of by 16 SLOVAKIA Prague. And the Prague leadership oif the coalition iparties even gaive pU!blic testimoniy of this on October 8, 193'8, by stating: ''The undersigned representatiive s of the Crech political parties declare that - in the sense of the 2ilina agreement of Octolber 6, 1938 - we adopt the ,proiposition of the Hlinika .SlovaJk People's Party to issue a Constitutiona l law in regard to the autonomy of SlovaJkia as ~t was presented in the .Asoornlbly of Deputies in 1938 and pulblished in the SLOVAK, No. 129, of Jrune 5, 1938, and we ibind ourselves that we shal,l endeavor to have it acted on and aoceipted as soon as possilble." The statement was, signed .by: Deputy Rudoliph Beran, chairman of the Repulbli<can Party; Deputy Anthony Hampl. chairman of the ,Social Democratic Party; Deputy Dr. Klaipka for the National Socialist Party; Deputy Monsignor Stasetk for the 0ze:ch Poople's Parly; Dr. Franicis Hodac. vice-ichairman oif the Party of Unity; and De:puty Rudolph Mlcoch, chail'lffian of Tradesman's Party. (!SLOVAK, October 9, 1938). Here we harve proof that even the leadership of the Social Democrati1c Party in Prague fully approrved the Zilina .A!greement, despite the fad that the Slovak Pe01ple's Party did not come to an:y agreement with the Slovruk Socialists. It is quite obvious, therefore, that October 6, 1938 Slova!k Autonomy Day - was baoked not only by the H1inka Slovak People's Party, but also the rest of the Slovak civk parties then in existence. All went along with the Peoiple's Party willingly and spontaneously and accepted the resiponsilbility for the future development of Sloiva!lda. Whether they were sincere 8'bout it or not is questionable in the light of what transpireid later, but the fact is that all ·political parties operating in Slova·k ia in 1938 - except the Social Demdcrats and the Communists - realized ,t he necessity od' uniting in the common interests oif .Slovakia, in fact in the interests of the national existence of the SlOIVruk nation itself. They were not re$ponsihle for the tense international political situation of that time, but were sufficiently intelligent to adapt themselves accordingly and save SLOVAKIA 17 whatever could ,b e saved under the given cir~umstances. It was, in fact, the old Btory Oi:f history repeating its.elf all poJitioal leaders wo11king together for the benefit of all the people of Slovakia, or hanging separately. On October 6, 1938, the just demands of. the Slovak nation,; so aiptly e~ressed by the Pittsiburgh Pact of May 30, 191'8, were finally recognized and fulfilled by the recalcitrant gorvernment of Prague. As we looik bruclk in retrospect today, we can only say that lruok of foresi:ght, statesmansMp, Christian charity and democracy on the part of Dr. Edward Benes and his National Socialists and other Ozech leftist - so...called "progressive" - growps prevented the realization o;f Slovak autonomy sooner and ,p recipatated the collapse of the Czecho,. Slova:k Repll!blic. October 6, 1938, no matter how enemies o;f Slovaik freedom and indeipendenoe may look ,wpon it, was a milestone in Slovak history, maI1king another lap olf the march of the Slovak nation to free dom and complete political independence. • • • WHO SAID IT? "After the Turkish invasion came tile religious wars which many historians made the mistake orf regarding as manifestaJtions of nationaJ1. resistance against Germanism. Here in Cenltrai Europe the conflicts were identical with those taJking plaice in other prurts o:f the Continent at the same time. The struggle Oi:f the Huguenots against Henry IV was no more -a nationaJl. conflict than the share of the Czechs in the Thi.irty Years.' War was a radal fight against Germanism. They fought against the HaJbsboogs beeause the latter were Catholks, _and the Battle of the White Mountain (1620) the Ozechs, together with their German rully, Prince Frederick, Elector of the Palatinate, were !b eaten 1by the Catholic tro01ps of the Austrian emperor. The legend about the Mountain is an outstanding exMn.ple Off historical forgery, for it was. a purely religious and dynastic affaiir." (F. 0. Miksche - a Czech - in UNCONDITIONA L SURREND@R, p. 71; Faber and Fruber, Ltd., London).  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 Milestones of Slovak History: October 6, 1938 Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 3 (8), September 1953 pp. 13-17 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/49499471653b0ae34bb29ad85de401a0.pdf 0b7385f1831145e9c99e09d87a7bbd09 PDF Text Text SEPT~MBER, 1953 SLOVAKIA 1 WAS CZEOHO-SWVAK IA A DEMOCRACY? Dr. Arved Grebert The wo.r ld at large has become aiccustomed to regarding the first Ozecho..Slovruk Republic as an exemplary democratk state, a real "isle of democracy" in Central Europe. From the beginnmg o,f this state in 1918, official Czech propaganda exipended large SJUms of money to convince the world pulblic that such actually was the case. On the other hand, however, aibout a haiif of the total rpotpulation of Czecho~lovakia (The Slo1Vaiks, Germans, Po-les, Magyars, Ruthenians) continually protested this erroneous view and judgement oif conditions in the RepUlblic, ibut little came of it. In view Olf what has ha:pperned in Ozecho-iSlo,va)kia sinc 2 1938 - the ease with which it colla:psed in 1939 and laiter, in 1945, accepted the hegemony of communistic Moscow, it may be interesting to loo!k a .bit closer at the kind o.f democracy the: first Ozecho-'Sloivak Re.public actuaHy was. The Right of Self-Determinatlon and Czecho-Slovakia T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes set aJbout to break up the Austro-Hungarian Monarichy during World War I in the nrume od: and with the aid of the right of self-determination of nations. They evoiked this basic principle con~ sistenUy and consitantliy. This is attested to .by the literature they pro,pagated, as well as the "Memoirs" they placed before the Peace Conference, wherein they -c laimed the right of self-detemnination of nations in the interests of Czech independence. As soon as the war ended, however, and AUJstria-Hungary lay in ashes, Masaryk and Benes very quickly and conveniently forgot 8J'bout the democratilc princilple oif the right of selif--detemnination of nations and labored to create a state which in suibstance became only a small and bad copy of the old monarehy they had helped to destroy. This newly created and artificial state, which never existed before that time, was first called ib;y the Czechs under Masaryk a.ind Benes "Ozeoho.;Slovrukia" - a synthetic n ame 1 �2 SLOV.AKil u111kn0,wn in the history of either the Czech nation or the Slovak nation before World War . At the ,v ery outset, this synthetic State rol)bed approximately 4,500,000 (3,700,000 Germans, 800,000 Magyars and aJbout 100,000 Poles) of their basic democratic right, the right of self-determination. The Germans, Magyars and Poles were forced within the framework of this artificial State against their eX!pressed will. And three million S1ova:ks and aJbout a ha1f million SUJb-CaI"pathian Ukrainians (the Ruthenians) favored the State only conditionally, that is, on1y if they enjoyed full autonomy within the Repulblk ; when this condition remained unfulfilled they found themselves in opposition to the existence of this :State. A political state is supposed to be the exipression oif the free will of the peoiple the existence of a state is SUIPposed to be in accoro with the will of its inhaJbitants. But Ozecho-lSlova!kia was not such a state; the Prague government, once it was set Uip in ,power, repudiated the basic democratic ,principle of the right of self-deter- . mination of nations - the very principle which brought it into being. We must not forget that the occupation of non-Czech lands took place with wea:pons in hand against the will of the native ,p opulation. Manifestations for the realization of the right of self-determination were bloodily suppressed by the Ozech army. For examiple, in a. single day, on March 4, 1919, the Czech arm,y killed 57 Gemnans and wounded over 100 more, when they demonstrated in German towns for their right to self-determination. Uip to 1921 there were 130 GeI"mans killed during street demonstrations iby the Ozech occupation for,ces. The same situation prevailed in territories inhaJbited iby the Magyars and Poles. Aocording to 1923 statistics, the newly created Czech~lovaJkia was inhabited by some 6,400,000 Czechs and a!bout 7,000,000 non-Czechs. The latter felt that they we,r e roM>ed of their democratirc right to self-determination, when Masaryk and Benes repudiated the promises and agreements made 1b y them when the ReipUJblic was in a state of formation. This was all the more grave and momentous, since the principle of the right of self-determination was a,pplied �SLOVAKIA 3 practkally in the case of Estonia (1,200,000 pop.), Lithuania (2,500,000), Latvia (2,000,000) Finland (3,800,000), M))ania (1,000,000), Nonway (3,000,000), Iceland (110,000), Denmark (3,800,000), etc. - states of wthich the entire popufation numbered less or 8Jpproximately the S3Jllle as, for example, there were Slovaks or Germans in the OzechoSlovaik Repulblfo. So that we might have some idea of the extent oif these realities, we must recall that at that very same time when Ozecho-iSlo1Vakia originated, there originated three small independent states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in a far more threatened territory, on the !b orders of the UISISR (160,000,000), without the protection of natural borders or synthetic fortiifreations; eaoh one of these states h!!Jd less inhaibitants than Ozecho-;Slo.vaJkia had Slovaiks or Germans who weTe .r obbed ()If their right to selif-.deternnination. And on the borders od' the Soviet colossus there originated Finland, which at that time had only alb out 4,000,000 inhabitants and, therefore, much less than the non-Ozech na tionalities of Ozecho.Slorvalkia who were deprived of their right to se.J.lf-deter.min•a tion. In the case of the A]banians, who inhabit the dangerous Balkan crossroads orf the interests of Italy, Greece and Yugoslaivia, their right to state independence was recognized an,d respected. But the Sudeten Germans were not permitted to join either Austria or Ge:rttnany in 11919, as they h!!Jd desired to, do. And the will of the Slovak nation (3,000,000) was not respected when it decided to join the Ozechs in a common state only on condition that it would enjoy full autonomy within the framework of the Republic. Once in ,p ower, the government of Masaryik and Benes also refosed -to respect the rights of the Ruthenians and the Polish and Magyar minorities. From this standpoint, "Czecho-Slovak" democraicy for the 7,000,000 inhaJbitants of that State was only an empty phrase, a propaganda tenn devoid of content and foundation. A Dict.at.ed Constitution The foundations oif the political structure of every state are represented iby its constitution. The basic prin- �SLOVAKIA ci:ple of every genuine democratic state is that its constitution is the exipression oif the will o!f its inhaJbJ.tants. It is quite ohvious to asslli!lle, where a multinational state is concerned, that all strata of the population, all regions of the state, and all nationalities are properly and duly rep resented when the constitution is created. In Ozecho-.SlO!Vakia, however, the Constitution of Febmary 29, 1920, was exclusively a Czech product, and the Czechs under Masaryk and Benes simply dktated it and forced it upon the majority of the non-Czech population of the State In the so-called Constitutional National Assemibly there was not a single representative of the 3,700,000 Germans, not a single representative of the 800,000 Magyars, and not a single representative of the 100,000 Poles. And the representatives of the Slo,vak nation were not ele ~ted by the people, but simply ~pointed by Prague, and this was done in such a way that ,w ould ibest satisfy Prague: the overwhelming majority of them were proponents of "Czeohoslovalk ism" - the opponents of Slovak autonomy - even though the vast majority of Slo,vaiks were proiponents oif SloiVak autonomy within the framework of the OzechoS1ovak Repulblic. The representatives o.f Czech imperialism and "progressiveness" went so far as to name Czechs as re,presentatiives of Sl01VaJkia , as, for example, Dr. Edward Benes, Dr. Alice .Masaryk, Ing. Joseph Rotnagl, Dr. Aloysius Kolisek, and Ing. Joseph Zaruiba-,P:fofifermann. When Ozecho'-lSlo:vakia was ,b orn not more than 5000 Czechs lived in Slovakia, hence these, Ozechs could hardly be considered as repres enta.tilves of their pec;ple in Slc,v akia. In the twentieth century, when the solution or the granting od' sel!f..,manageiment or independence to some colonial nation of Africa or Asia is debated and negotiated, it is cus tomary that representatives oif the native population spealk in their name. Hut the Czech imperialists under Masaryk and Benes thought otherwise. They prolbaJbly regarded the Slo,vaJks as a nation beneath the level of colonial nations, because they named also five Czechs to, represent it on the Constitutional National Assembly Czechs who were practically ,unknown to the vast majority of the Slovak 1 �SLOVAKIA 5 peoiple. For example, up to that time, Dr. Edward Benes had never been in Slovakia. In this ha:ndpi'oked "parliament" there were 204 Czech, but only 56 Sl()!Valk deputies, and this number included five :C zechs mentioned albo1Ve. Furthermore, there weTe only eight Slovak deputies from the autonomdst bloc in that ruppointed Constitutional National Assem1bly. And it was significant, indeed, that on the very day that the Prague parliament voted for this Constitution, the leader of the Slovak nation and undoubtedly the most eminent polit1cal figure o.f the Slov8!k struggle against Magyarism, Andrew Hlinlka, was beihind bars in a Ozech prison. 1 The Slo;vaik r€ipresentation in that assembly was so unjust that eiven such a notorious adherent of "Ozechoslovaikism" as Dr. Juraj Slavik - now a member of the socalloo "Council cd' Free Ozechoslovakia" which operates out of New Yo,I'lk and Washi.Il!gton - protested at that time that the Slovaks did not hav e sufficient and ,proper representation. The Ozechs reiplie-0. that an adjustment would be made, but nothing hrupipene<l. Because Mr . .SlaiVik did not continue protesting against the injustice, Prague rewarded him for it. In a very short time he ibe1came a minister in the Czech goivernment in Prague. Even Seton-Watson, a close a:nd loyal .friend of T. G. Mas,a,ryk, noted that Sl0vak seats in the legislative assembly were to a certain extent filled by arnitrary a,ppointments (Sloivakia Then And Now" - ipg. 12). Under sU!ch undemocratic conditions the Constitution that emerged enthroned: a regime of Oz~h hegemony in the Czecho-iSloivaJk State. The entire Ozecho-Slova>k politi,cal system rested on this Constitution which is dictated iby the Czechs . And since the Constituiton was diotated, therefore dicfated was also the entire system in its relationshi1p to the 7,000,000 non-CzeiCh citizens. Where a state is foriced on a half of its, ,poipulation, where a Constitution is dictated to half the ;poipulation and against its most elementary political, economic and ooltUTal interests, where 7,000,000 'people are overruled and made a minority od', there can be no serious talk aibout a democratic state. In Czecho-rS'lovakia the �G SLOVAKIA Czechs sought to realize the very thing they had fought against so furiously in Austria. And realize it they did, even if eventually it did mean the utter ruin of the, State they had created under Masa.ryik and Benes. Centralism vs. Federalism The dictated Ozech Constitution installed a rugged centralistic sy,stem in Ozecho-Sloivakia; ,p ractically all key political positions and all power rested in Czech hands. Among the fundamental :principles of democratic states belongs tihe principle that multinational or multilingual states should .be origaruzed on a federalistic basis, that is, with the aid of aiutonomy of the indirvidrual minorities, since it is only in this manner that the ,p rinciples of . justice in a mutual relationshtp of the individual nationalities of the state can be realized in pra,,ctiice. But the great "Czech,oslovaJk Democrats" rapudiated this prin'Ciiple and instituted a strong centralistic regime. By so doing they not only failed to keep the -promises made and given the Slovaks and, Ruthenians and the minorities, but also instituted a regime which was in sulbstance a profanation and mookery of democracy. Behind the mask of democratic phrases they installed a regime of Ozech national imperialism. To safeguard their hegemony, the Czechs dictated into the Constitution paragrruphs which in practice prevented a change of the Constitution (the enactments about the- necessity of a 3/ 5 and 2/ 3 ,majority). Ozech hegemony was thus secured, because representatives of the non-Czech p01pulation could never attain this required majority in the Prag;ue Parliament without the Ozechs and, hence, could never uipset Czech hegemony in the State in constitutional or parliamentary manner. The dictated constitution and the Ozech hegemony emanating therefrom were then safeguarded by the notorious "law for the protection of the Republic" (No. 50) of March 23, 1923, which made the 7,000,000 non-Czech citizens of the various nationalities liaible to rprosecution on the grounds of anti...state a;ctivities, if they rpersisted in their rightful demands for the recognition of and respect for their �SLOVAKIA 7 right to sehf-detemrination , the 1principle upon which the Republic was sU1pposed to ha,ve 'b een founded. The Czech Communists ,wsed this law to advantage when they got hold af the key .p ositions in the State in 1945 and, later, in 1948, had practically no trouible at all in seizing a1l power in the Reipulblitc in a "legal and constitutional" way. Another laJW, the law regarding political parties (No. 201 of Octolber 25, 1953) , provided for the outlawing and dissolution of any political ,p arty if its arctivity seriously endangered the "constitutional unity" - and "constitutional unity'' in practice simply :meant Ozech rule oiver the nonCzech citizens. On the basis of this law, the ,political demand for the territorial legislatiive autonomy of SlovaJkia the -c ondition under which the .Slovak,s decided to form a joint state with the Czechs - was cause for prooecution by the State. Dr. Ivan Derer, who sold his Slovak birthright for a mess Olf Ozech pottage, as Minister of Justice demanded on various occasions to use this law against the Hlin!ka Sloivak Poople's Party, because it persistently demanded the f.uilifillment olf the Pittsburgh ·P act of May 30, 1918 - that is, states, rights or foll aiutonoony for Slovakia. Prague, however, ordered Derer to withhold action; the centralists were not entirely ,bl.ind to the development olf the internationaJl situation, and the consequencoo of such action: the RepuibUc would have undoUibtedly collapsed 10\Il!g before 1939 if Derer was not overruled. Ozech centralism. pulled in its horns a little _and attempted to show the Slovaks that it favored them by not aipplying the law. Of course, the Slova;ks, by that time, .were wise to the Czech centn1.lists. The Anti-Democratic Regrme of Czech Hegemony . Czech hegemony was also protected b~ a whole series of la.ws and regulations which emanated from the undemocratic' Constitution which was forced on the non-Ozech popuiation. The Constitution, for example, "legalized" the notorious fiction - better said the international fraud oif the i•Ozechoslovak nation" in the political · and ethnic sense·, a nation which had never existed and, in the end, from the ·existence of which even its creators and propaga~ �SLOVAKIA tors fled with their notorious Kosice .Agreement with the Communists in 1'946. With the he1p of this fraud, the fiction of a national state was ipromo.ted against the reality of a nationa,listic state. On this dictated Constituti:on rested also the language, law with its notorious monstrosity - the "CzechoslovaJk languruge" - which was legali1zed and given a special status even though no such tongue ever existed. In prad1ce this ructualliy meant the hegemony o;f the Ozech languruge on the territo,r.y oif the entire state, including the lands inhabited tby the 7,000,000 non-Ozech inhrubitants, a part o;f whom, for example the Sudeten Germans, had a higher level o;f culture and ciivili,z ation than the "ruling" Czech nation. While the o,ld Austrian Constitution issued from the prin:ciiple of language equality, the CZeiCiho~lovak language law introduced the iprindple oif the .p rivileged position od' the non-existent "Ozechoslovaik" language in the Reiplllblic. Regional, county and loca1 se1f-ad!Ininistration was maimed lby legal regulations, which gaive the Prague government the dght to ruppoint one~third of the members of these "se1f-administering" organs.. SinJCe the government nrumed 33 per cent of the officials, it only needed to gain 18 ver cent o;f the electorate so that it could continue to rule "democratically'' with the hel•p of such an artificial majority against the actual majority oif inhaibitants olf Slovakia, Ruthenia and the territories inhalbited by the Gemnans. In Slovakia this 18 .p er cent was not too difficult to attain, with the aid {)If Czech oifficia:ls under Prague, who :placed thousands of Ozechs in Slovakia in various capacities, and the help oif the entire iprnpaganda aipparatus of the state, and ·political corruption, as well as 1police pressure. With the helip of a bit o.f "political geometry" in the Czech lands, for example, in the Prague voting district, only about 22,000 voters were needed to elect one deputy to pM'liament, whereas in many SlovaJk, Magyar, Ruthenian and German districts almost 30,000 votes were needed for one minister. This evidently helped the Czech minority to attain a ma;jority in the Prag,ue parliament. Here we had an actual case where the "largest minority ruled as a state �SLOVAKIA 9 nation over the other :minorities, which together numbered more adherents than the ruling nation" - as Dr. Hassinger of the university o;f Basel claimed. Czech bureaucratic officials censored the non-Czech press ruthlessly; .protests against the existing order were squashed. For examrple, in 1922 alone 1498 editions of newspapers were confiscated by the Ozech censor; instances of deletions of words, sentences, whole para,graphs and entire arUcles were more Il/UmerOUS. In harmony with the stmcture and the sipirit of this regime in so-called "Czechoslovak" governments, the Czechs as a rule held 7'5-------80 1per cent of the ministershirps and the maijority in parliament, so that the Ozech minority in the State, contrary to the most fundamental princiJples of democracy, US1Urt1ped ipractically al,l power of government and absolute control in the issuance of iaws. How the Slovaks, for example, regarded the "Slo1Va;k" ministers in the Prague Government, iwas prOibalbly best described. by d~uty Martin Ra:zus, a Protestant minister and the president of the Slovalk National Party, when on November 4, 1932, in the Prague ,p arliament, he said: "Yes, by obligation we do have two Slo1Vak ministers. But the sad .part aibout it is the fact we do have ministers; but these ministers, however, are not the ministers of the Slovak nation; they are the ministers of the present Herrenvolk, but not the ministers of the SlovaJk nation." OriginaHy, by the peace ~greements, the name of the country created lb y the Czechs and the Slovaks 1w,as spelled with a h~hen: Czecho-Slovakia. Therelby the federaUve character of that State was supposed to be stressed; also that the Ozechs and and the Slo,vaiks were regarded as equal partners in the administration of the joint Republic; f,urtheI1II1ore., it was SUIPP<>sed to indicate that the Czechs would rule in Czech lands and the Slovaks would rule in Slovakia, that is, states riights, of each would be fully enjoyed and respected by ·both nations. AU the ;peace agreements where:by this State was created designated the State in such a manner as a matter of principle; the hyphen prevailed. But as soon as the Czechs gained and consolidated �10 SLOVAKIA their hegemOilJY, the tetirn "Czecho,SlO!Vakia" was, changed to "Czechosl()IV'ahla." From 1923 the law declared thi.$ rup-pelation leg,a lly proper and correct, and any one using the hyiphen was lialble to ,p rosecution by the State. Thereby in a symbolic manner was SIUlppOsed to ,b e demonstrated the thesis rega'I'd:ing the fusion, or better said, the ~bsorption of the SlovaJks by the C?,eehs, so that Czech supremacy in the State could ibe guaranteed even numerically. Official statistics told the world how many Germans, Magyars, Poles, Ruthenians and Jews there were in Ozecho.SlovaJda, but not the nurmlber of Sloivaiks; how many seats were held _in parliament biy the Gernnans, Poles, Magyars and Ruthe~ µians, but not how many were h~d lby the SlOIVaJks. And it was with alil statistics. The Slovaks,. however,. stubborn.ly resisted the spelling of the name of the R~1mlbli:c without the hyphen. · so Rights of Minorities Repudiated The regime of Czech ,hegemony in the Repulblic had ruinous conseque~es not only for the ,Slo;vruks, .but the other nationalities as welt The Germans, Magyars, Poles and Ruthenians complained albout injustices as mlllch as the Slovaiks did. It was not on:ly Slo,vakia that was flooded .with ~ h officials and workers, but also the lands inhabited' by the Ruthenians, Poles, Mrugyars and Germans. ·F or example1 between 191·8 and 1938 there emigrated into Slova,kia more than 200,000 ~ h officials, businessmen and entrepreneurs: During that same time more than 200,000 Slovalks, lacking woy,king opportunities in their homeland, had to emigrate to. Australia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, the United States, Bra:zil, Franice and Belgium. In that same ,p eriod rupproximately 150,000 Czechs moved into the territoriy inhabited by the Germans. Simi~ larly, the territories of the Magyars, Po.les and ·Ruthenians were also flooded with Ozechs,. The Ge'.Mlails, for example, who represented 22.3 iper cent of the- population .o f the Republic, held on1y 12.2 per cent official posts on the railmads, 14.4 ,p er cent in the Post Office, in _the state :ii.<}; ministration only 13.1 per cent, and in the · Officers Coi,p·s· only 5.1 per cent were in ructive service. �SLOVAKIA 11 In the central offices, ministries, the highest control offices, etc., the Slovaks represented only 1.3 rper cent of the o!fficials, ibut even these were subordinate and insignificant positions. All the citizens of the Repulblirc, regardless of their nationality, were bound by the same obligations, but the Czechs alone enjoyed special prirvileges and better opportunities. The centralisti'c Prague government was in the hands of Czeichs who regarded their nation as the ruling nation, their people as first-r.a te citizens, while the other nationalities were regarded. as ~ond..,rate. The Ozech government cried that Sl01Valkia ,w as just so. much economic ballast, but fought tooth and nail to keep it in hand at all costs. "Ozechosl01Va!k" democracy as propagandized by the Oooohs and ,p aid iProlfessional non..,Ozerch ipro.paga:.ndists was one thing, while the •b rand actually prevailing in Czecho-'Slovalkia something entirely different. A repetition of history: the Magyars, too, used to ,p roclaim iblatantl;y that the democratic system prevailed in Hungary, while at the same time they were ibr.uWly s,uppre.ssing and exploiting all non-Magyar elements in the country. In the light of these facts, any reference to "Ozechoslovak " democracy evoked a strong revulsion in the hearts of the millions of non-OLech inhabitants who were .burdened with it. They knew in their hearts that it was fraud, even though the Cz~hs presented it to. the world- as the ultimate in democratk systems. The non..,Czerch nationalities were burdened with the same civic obligations as the Czechs were, ibut they did not enjoy equal rights and ;privileges and, therei:fore, it is quite understandruble that at the first opportune moment - and that came in 1938-1939 - they did everything rpossi.lble to escape from the emlbrace of this "isle of, demorcracy." .. "Czechoslovak'! Democracy W.a s a Fraud In this !brief review o!f the "dettnocracy" that was Czecho-Slovakia, the reader will not find details of all the aspects oif the politics oif Czech hegemony in the Republic. That would require a voluminous wo:nk. And practical~ nothing was said regarding the conditions after 1945, inasmuch the trampling upon the most :fundamental rights of �12 SLOVAKIA man, carried out by the Benes-Communist coalition, was so general that many pruges would be needed to delineate only the most important of its aspocts. The mass deportation of millions Olf ,p eople from their homeland, the outlawing and prevention of politica,l ,parties, the limitation of the freedom of the 1press and assemlbly, tens of thousands of political ,p risoners, hundreds of the executed, the many unconstitutional decrees af Benes, etc. - all this had happened with the cooperation of the Czech 1p oliticians, who to<lay pose as champions of democracy. It is regrettable that some .p eople in the West even today do not IOOJke any noticeable effort to imonn themselves of the true nature otf so~called "Czechoslovalk dem<X:ra<cy" and its representatives. It is regrettruble, indeed, that responsible people otf western democracies stiU continue to recognize and favor the ipr~agators of "Czechoslovaikism" former members of the Communist-dominated "National Front" government oif Bene-s and Gottwald, who Slllpiported the proJSoviet poli:cy oif Benes and, hence, ·a re in a great measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Czech and Slovaik nations. Ozecho-Slo:vakia was not a true democracy, but a fraud and a mockery orf democracy. That was proved by the inhaJbitants Olf the State when the first grea;t crisis struclc and Czecho-Slovakia colla_psed completely. No one, not even the Czechs themsel,ves, fired a single shot to preserve it. Why should any western democratic gcwernment endeawor to preseI1Ve it a;gainst the will of the Sl01Va;ks and others of ~ho-SlovaJkia who are kept in that .State only by force? There must be an answer S01Ineiwhere! • • • WHO SAID IT? The Czechs and .Slovaks had their .State but not for longer than .twenty years. What now remains is infinite!~ worse .than what existed before. . . The politic,a[ theories of (T. G.) Masaryk and Benes collapsed because they could not beair the pra<dtioal test of the times." (·S KUTECNOST, review of the Ozach refugees, London, Vot III, No. 2, p. 33, Feib. 1951). � SEPT~MBER, 1953 SLOVAKIA 1 WAS CZEOHO-SWVAK IA A DEMOCRACY? Dr. Arved Grebert The wo.r ld at large has become aiccustomed to regarding the first Ozecho..Slovruk Republic as an exemplary democratk state, a real "isle of democracy" in Central Europe. From the beginnmg o,f this state in 1918, official Czech propaganda exipended large SJUms of money to convince the world pulblic that such actually was the case. On the other hand, however, aibout a haiif of the total rpotpulation of Czecho~lovakia (The Slo1Vaiks, Germans, Po-les, Magyars, Ruthenians) continually protested this erroneous view and judgement oif conditions in the RepUlblic, ibut little came of it. In view Olf what has ha:pperned in Ozecho-iSlo,va)kia sinc 2 1938 - the ease with which it colla:psed in 1939 and laiter, in 1945, accepted the hegemony of communistic Moscow, it may be interesting to loo!k a .bit closer at the kind o.f democracy the: first Ozecho-'Sloivak Re.public actuaHy was. The Right of Self-Determinatlon and Czecho-Slovakia T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes set aJbout to break up the Austro-Hungarian Monarichy during World War I in the nrume od: and with the aid of the right of self-determination of nations. They evoiked this basic principle con~ sistenUy and consitantliy. This is attested to .by the literature they pro,pagated, as well as the "Memoirs" they placed before the Peace Conference, wherein they -c laimed the right of self-detemnination of nations in the interests of Czech independence. As soon as the war ended, however, and AUJstria-Hungary lay in ashes, Masaryk and Benes very quickly and conveniently forgot 8J'bout the democratilc princilple oif the right of selif--detemnination of nations and labored to create a state which in suibstance became only a small and bad copy of the old monarehy they had helped to destroy. This newly created and artificial state, which never existed before that time, was first called ib;y the Czechs under Masaryk a.ind Benes "Ozeoho.;Slovrukia" - a synthetic n ame 1 �2 SLOV.AKil u111kn0,wn in the history of either the Czech nation or the Slovak nation before World War . At the ,v ery outset, this synthetic State rol)bed approximately 4,500,000 (3,700,000 Germans, 800,000 Magyars and aJbout 100,000 Poles) of their basic democratic right, the right of self-determination. The Germans, Magyars and Poles were forced within the framework of this artificial State against their eX!pressed will. And three million S1ova:ks and aJbout a ha1f million SUJb-CaI"pathian Ukrainians (the Ruthenians) favored the State only conditionally, that is, on1y if they enjoyed full autonomy within the Repulblk ; when this condition remained unfulfilled they found themselves in opposition to the existence of this :State. A political state is supposed to be the exipression oif the free will of the peoiple the existence of a state is SUIPposed to be in accoro with the will of its inhaJbitants. But Ozecho-lSlova!kia was not such a state; the Prague government, once it was set Uip in ,power, repudiated the basic democratic ,principle of the right of self-deter- . mination of nations - the very principle which brought it into being. We must not forget that the occupation of non-Czech lands took place with wea:pons in hand against the will of the native ,p opulation. Manifestations for the realization of the right of self-determination were bloodily suppressed by the Ozech army. For examiple, in a. single day, on March 4, 1919, the Czech arm,y killed 57 Gemnans and wounded over 100 more, when they demonstrated in German towns for their right to self-determination. Uip to 1921 there were 130 GeI"mans killed during street demonstrations iby the Ozech occupation for,ces. The same situation prevailed in territories inhaJbited iby the Magyars and Poles. Aocording to 1923 statistics, the newly created Czech~lovaJkia was inhabited by some 6,400,000 Czechs and a!bout 7,000,000 non-Czechs. The latter felt that they we,r e roM>ed of their democratirc right to self-determination, when Masaryk and Benes repudiated the promises and agreements made 1b y them when the ReipUJblic was in a state of formation. This was all the more grave and momentous, since the principle of the right of self-determination was a,pplied �SLOVAKIA 3 practkally in the case of Estonia (1,200,000 pop.), Lithuania (2,500,000), Latvia (2,000,000) Finland (3,800,000), M))ania (1,000,000), Nonway (3,000,000), Iceland (110,000), Denmark (3,800,000), etc. - states of wthich the entire popufation numbered less or 8Jpproximately the S3Jllle as, for example, there were Slovaks or Germans in the OzechoSlovaik Repulblfo. So that we might have some idea of the extent oif these realities, we must recall that at that very same time when Ozecho-iSlo1Vakia originated, there originated three small independent states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in a far more threatened territory, on the !b orders of the UISISR (160,000,000), without the protection of natural borders or synthetic fortiifreations; eaoh one of these states h!!Jd less inhaibitants than Ozecho-;Slo.vaJkia had Slovaiks or Germans who weTe .r obbed ()If their right to selif-.deternnination. And on the borders od' the Soviet colossus there originated Finland, which at that time had only alb out 4,000,000 inhabitants and, therefore, much less than the non-Ozech na tionalities of Ozecho.Slorvalkia who were deprived of their right to se.J.lf-deter.min•a tion. In the case of the A]banians, who inhabit the dangerous Balkan crossroads orf the interests of Italy, Greece and Yugoslaivia, their right to state independence was recognized an,d respected. But the Sudeten Germans were not permitted to join either Austria or Ge:rttnany in 11919, as they h!!Jd desired to, do. And the will of the Slovak nation (3,000,000) was not respected when it decided to join the Ozechs in a common state only on condition that it would enjoy full autonomy within the framework of the Republic. Once in ,p ower, the government of Masaryik and Benes also refosed -to respect the rights of the Ruthenians and the Polish and Magyar minorities. From this standpoint, "Czecho-Slovak" democraicy for the 7,000,000 inhaJbitants of that State was only an empty phrase, a propaganda tenn devoid of content and foundation. A Dict.at.ed Constitution The foundations oif the political structure of every state are represented iby its constitution. The basic prin- �SLOVAKIA ci:ple of every genuine democratic state is that its constitution is the exipression oif the will o!f its inhaJbJ.tants. It is quite ohvious to asslli!lle, where a multinational state is concerned, that all strata of the population, all regions of the state, and all nationalities are properly and duly rep resented when the constitution is created. In Ozecho-.SlO!Vakia, however, the Constitution of Febmary 29, 1920, was exclusively a Czech product, and the Czechs under Masaryk and Benes simply dktated it and forced it upon the majority of the non-Czech population of the State In the so-called Constitutional National Assemibly there was not a single representative of the 3,700,000 Germans, not a single representative of the 800,000 Magyars, and not a single representative of the 100,000 Poles. And the representatives of the Slo,vak nation were not ele ~ted by the people, but simply ~pointed by Prague, and this was done in such a way that ,w ould ibest satisfy Prague: the overwhelming majority of them were proponents of "Czeohoslovalk ism" - the opponents of Slovak autonomy - even though the vast majority of Slo,vaiks were proiponents oif SloiVak autonomy within the framework of the OzechoS1ovak Repulblic. The representatives o.f Czech imperialism and "progressiveness" went so far as to name Czechs as re,presentatiives of Sl01VaJkia , as, for example, Dr. Edward Benes, Dr. Alice .Masaryk, Ing. Joseph Rotnagl, Dr. Aloysius Kolisek, and Ing. Joseph Zaruiba-,P:fofifermann. When Ozecho'-lSlo:vakia was ,b orn not more than 5000 Czechs lived in Slovakia, hence these, Ozechs could hardly be considered as repres enta.tilves of their pec;ple in Slc,v akia. In the twentieth century, when the solution or the granting od' sel!f..,manageiment or independence to some colonial nation of Africa or Asia is debated and negotiated, it is cus tomary that representatives oif the native population spealk in their name. Hut the Czech imperialists under Masaryk and Benes thought otherwise. They prolbaJbly regarded the Slo,vaJks as a nation beneath the level of colonial nations, because they named also five Czechs to, represent it on the Constitutional National Assembly Czechs who were practically ,unknown to the vast majority of the Slovak 1 �SLOVAKIA 5 peoiple. For example, up to that time, Dr. Edward Benes had never been in Slovakia. In this ha:ndpi'oked "parliament" there were 204 Czech, but only 56 Sl()!Valk deputies, and this number included five :C zechs mentioned albo1Ve. Furthermore, there weTe only eight Slovak deputies from the autonomdst bloc in that ruppointed Constitutional National Assem1bly. And it was significant, indeed, that on the very day that the Prague parliament voted for this Constitution, the leader of the Slovak nation and undoubtedly the most eminent polit1cal figure o.f the Slov8!k struggle against Magyarism, Andrew Hlinlka, was beihind bars in a Ozech prison. 1 The Slo;vaik r€ipresentation in that assembly was so unjust that eiven such a notorious adherent of "Ozechoslovaikism" as Dr. Juraj Slavik - now a member of the socalloo "Council cd' Free Ozechoslovakia" which operates out of New Yo,I'lk and Washi.Il!gton - protested at that time that the Slovaks did not hav e sufficient and ,proper representation. The Ozechs reiplie-0. that an adjustment would be made, but nothing hrupipene<l. Because Mr . .SlaiVik did not continue protesting against the injustice, Prague rewarded him for it. In a very short time he ibe1came a minister in the Czech goivernment in Prague. Even Seton-Watson, a close a:nd loyal .friend of T. G. Mas,a,ryk, noted that Sl0vak seats in the legislative assembly were to a certain extent filled by arnitrary a,ppointments (Sloivakia Then And Now" - ipg. 12). Under sU!ch undemocratic conditions the Constitution that emerged enthroned: a regime of Oz~h hegemony in the Czecho-iSloivaJk State. The entire Ozecho-Slova>k politi,cal system rested on this Constitution which is dictated iby the Czechs . And since the Constituiton was diotated, therefore dicfated was also the entire system in its relationshi1p to the 7,000,000 non-CzeiCh citizens. Where a state is foriced on a half of its, ,poipulation, where a Constitution is dictated to half the ;poipulation and against its most elementary political, economic and ooltUTal interests, where 7,000,000 'people are overruled and made a minority od', there can be no serious talk aibout a democratic state. In Czecho-rS'lovakia the �G SLOVAKIA Czechs sought to realize the very thing they had fought against so furiously in Austria. And realize it they did, even if eventually it did mean the utter ruin of the, State they had created under Masa.ryik and Benes. Centralism vs. Federalism The dictated Ozech Constitution installed a rugged centralistic sy,stem in Ozecho-Sloivakia; ,p ractically all key political positions and all power rested in Czech hands. Among the fundamental :principles of democratic states belongs tihe principle that multinational or multilingual states should .be origaruzed on a federalistic basis, that is, with the aid of aiutonomy of the indirvidrual minorities, since it is only in this manner that the ,p rinciples of . justice in a mutual relationshtp of the individual nationalities of the state can be realized in pra,,ctiice. But the great "Czech,oslovaJk Democrats" rapudiated this prin'Ciiple and instituted a strong centralistic regime. By so doing they not only failed to keep the -promises made and given the Slovaks and, Ruthenians and the minorities, but also instituted a regime which was in sulbstance a profanation and mookery of democracy. Behind the mask of democratic phrases they installed a regime of Ozech national imperialism. To safeguard their hegemony, the Czechs dictated into the Constitution paragrruphs which in practice prevented a change of the Constitution (the enactments about the- necessity of a 3/ 5 and 2/ 3 ,majority). Ozech hegemony was thus secured, because representatives of the non-Czech p01pulation could never attain this required majority in the Prag;ue Parliament without the Ozechs and, hence, could never uipset Czech hegemony in the State in constitutional or parliamentary manner. The dictated constitution and the Ozech hegemony emanating therefrom were then safeguarded by the notorious "law for the protection of the Republic" (No. 50) of March 23, 1923, which made the 7,000,000 non-Czech citizens of the various nationalities liaible to rprosecution on the grounds of anti...state a;ctivities, if they rpersisted in their rightful demands for the recognition of and respect for their �SLOVAKIA 7 right to sehf-detemrination , the 1principle upon which the Republic was sU1pposed to ha,ve 'b een founded. The Czech Communists ,wsed this law to advantage when they got hold af the key .p ositions in the State in 1945 and, later, in 1948, had practically no trouible at all in seizing a1l power in the Reipulblitc in a "legal and constitutional" way. Another laJW, the law regarding political parties (No. 201 of Octolber 25, 1953) , provided for the outlawing and dissolution of any political ,p arty if its arctivity seriously endangered the "constitutional unity" - and "constitutional unity'' in practice simply :meant Ozech rule oiver the nonCzech citizens. On the basis of this law, the ,political demand for the territorial legislatiive autonomy of SlovaJkia the -c ondition under which the .Slovak,s decided to form a joint state with the Czechs - was cause for prooecution by the State. Dr. Ivan Derer, who sold his Slovak birthright for a mess Olf Ozech pottage, as Minister of Justice demanded on various occasions to use this law against the Hlin!ka Sloivak Poople's Party, because it persistently demanded the f.uilifillment olf the Pittsburgh ·P act of May 30, 1918 - that is, states, rights or foll aiutonoony for Slovakia. Prague, however, ordered Derer to withhold action; the centralists were not entirely ,bl.ind to the development olf the internationaJl situation, and the consequencoo of such action: the RepuibUc would have undoUibtedly collapsed 10\Il!g before 1939 if Derer was not overruled. Ozech centralism. pulled in its horns a little _and attempted to show the Slovaks that it favored them by not aipplying the law. Of course, the Slova;ks, by that time, .were wise to the Czech centn1.lists. The Anti-Democratic Regrme of Czech Hegemony . Czech hegemony was also protected b~ a whole series of la.ws and regulations which emanated from the undemocratic' Constitution which was forced on the non-Ozech popuiation. The Constitution, for example, "legalized" the notorious fiction - better said the international fraud oif the i•Ozechoslovak nation" in the political · and ethnic sense·, a nation which had never existed and, in the end, from the ·existence of which even its creators and propaga~ �SLOVAKIA tors fled with their notorious Kosice .Agreement with the Communists in 1'946. With the he1p of this fraud, the fiction of a national state was ipromo.ted against the reality of a nationa,listic state. On this dictated Constituti:on rested also the language, law with its notorious monstrosity - the "CzechoslovaJk languruge" - which was legali1zed and given a special status even though no such tongue ever existed. In prad1ce this ructualliy meant the hegemony o;f the Ozech languruge on the territo,r.y oif the entire state, including the lands inhabited tby the 7,000,000 non-Ozech inhrubitants, a part o;f whom, for example the Sudeten Germans, had a higher level o;f culture and ciivili,z ation than the "ruling" Czech nation. While the o,ld Austrian Constitution issued from the prin:ciiple of language equality, the CZeiCiho~lovak language law introduced the iprindple oif the .p rivileged position od' the non-existent "Ozechoslovaik" language in the Reiplllblic. Regional, county and loca1 se1f-ad!Ininistration was maimed lby legal regulations, which gaive the Prague government the dght to ruppoint one~third of the members of these "se1f-administering" organs.. SinJCe the government nrumed 33 per cent of the officials, it only needed to gain 18 ver cent o;f the electorate so that it could continue to rule "democratically'' with the hel•p of such an artificial majority against the actual majority oif inhaibitants olf Slovakia, Ruthenia and the territories inhalbited by the Gemnans. In Slovakia this 18 .p er cent was not too difficult to attain, with the aid {)If Czech oifficia:ls under Prague, who :placed thousands of Ozechs in Slovakia in various capacities, and the help oif the entire iprnpaganda aipparatus of the state, and ·political corruption, as well as 1police pressure. With the helip of a bit o.f "political geometry" in the Czech lands, for example, in the Prague voting district, only about 22,000 voters were needed to elect one deputy to pM'liament, whereas in many SlovaJk, Magyar, Ruthenian and German districts almost 30,000 votes were needed for one minister. This evidently helped the Czech minority to attain a ma;jority in the Prag,ue parliament. Here we had an actual case where the "largest minority ruled as a state �SLOVAKIA 9 nation over the other :minorities, which together numbered more adherents than the ruling nation" - as Dr. Hassinger of the university o;f Basel claimed. Czech bureaucratic officials censored the non-Czech press ruthlessly; .protests against the existing order were squashed. For examrple, in 1922 alone 1498 editions of newspapers were confiscated by the Ozech censor; instances of deletions of words, sentences, whole para,graphs and entire arUcles were more Il/UmerOUS. In harmony with the stmcture and the sipirit of this regime in so-called "Czechoslovak" governments, the Czechs as a rule held 7'5-------80 1per cent of the ministershirps and the maijority in parliament, so that the Ozech minority in the State, contrary to the most fundamental princiJples of democracy, US1Urt1ped ipractically al,l power of government and absolute control in the issuance of iaws. How the Slovaks, for example, regarded the "Slo1Va;k" ministers in the Prague Government, iwas prOibalbly best described. by d~uty Martin Ra:zus, a Protestant minister and the president of the Slovalk National Party, when on November 4, 1932, in the Prague ,p arliament, he said: "Yes, by obligation we do have two Slo1Vak ministers. But the sad .part aibout it is the fact we do have ministers; but these ministers, however, are not the ministers of the Slovak nation; they are the ministers of the present Herrenvolk, but not the ministers of the SlovaJk nation." OriginaHy, by the peace ~greements, the name of the country created lb y the Czechs and the Slovaks 1w,as spelled with a h~hen: Czecho-Slovakia. Therelby the federaUve character of that State was supposed to be stressed; also that the Ozechs and and the Slo,vaiks were regarded as equal partners in the administration of the joint Republic; f,urtheI1II1ore., it was SUIPP<>sed to indicate that the Czechs would rule in Czech lands and the Slovaks would rule in Slovakia, that is, states riights, of each would be fully enjoyed and respected by ·both nations. AU the ;peace agreements where:by this State was created designated the State in such a manner as a matter of principle; the hyphen prevailed. But as soon as the Czechs gained and consolidated �10 SLOVAKIA their hegemOilJY, the tetirn "Czecho,SlO!Vakia" was, changed to "Czechosl()IV'ahla." From 1923 the law declared thi.$ rup-pelation leg,a lly proper and correct, and any one using the hyiphen was lialble to ,p rosecution by the State. Thereby in a symbolic manner was SIUlppOsed to ,b e demonstrated the thesis rega'I'd:ing the fusion, or better said, the ~bsorption of the SlovaJks by the C?,eehs, so that Czech supremacy in the State could ibe guaranteed even numerically. Official statistics told the world how many Germans, Magyars, Poles, Ruthenians and Jews there were in Ozecho.SlovaJda, but not the nurmlber of Sloivaiks; how many seats were held _in parliament biy the Gernnans, Poles, Magyars and Ruthe~ µians, but not how many were h~d lby the SlOIVaJks. And it was with alil statistics. The Slovaks,. however,. stubborn.ly resisted the spelling of the name of the R~1mlbli:c without the hyphen. · so Rights of Minorities Repudiated The regime of Czech ,hegemony in the Repulblic had ruinous conseque~es not only for the ,Slo;vruks, .but the other nationalities as welt The Germans, Magyars, Poles and Ruthenians complained albout injustices as mlllch as the Slovaiks did. It was not on:ly Slo,vakia that was flooded .with ~ h officials and workers, but also the lands inhabited' by the Ruthenians, Poles, Mrugyars and Germans. ·F or example1 between 191·8 and 1938 there emigrated into Slova,kia more than 200,000 ~ h officials, businessmen and entrepreneurs: During that same time more than 200,000 Slovalks, lacking woy,king opportunities in their homeland, had to emigrate to. Australia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, the United States, Bra:zil, Franice and Belgium. In that same ,p eriod rupproximately 150,000 Czechs moved into the territoriy inhabited by the Germans. Simi~ larly, the territories of the Magyars, Po.les and ·Ruthenians were also flooded with Ozechs,. The Ge'.Mlails, for example, who represented 22.3 iper cent of the- population .o f the Republic, held on1y 12.2 per cent official posts on the railmads, 14.4 ,p er cent in the Post Office, in _the state :ii.<}; ministration only 13.1 per cent, and in the · Officers Coi,p·s· only 5.1 per cent were in ructive service. �SLOVAKIA 11 In the central offices, ministries, the highest control offices, etc., the Slovaks represented only 1.3 rper cent of the o!fficials, ibut even these were subordinate and insignificant positions. All the citizens of the Repulblirc, regardless of their nationality, were bound by the same obligations, but the Czechs alone enjoyed special prirvileges and better opportunities. The centralisti'c Prague government was in the hands of Czeichs who regarded their nation as the ruling nation, their people as first-r.a te citizens, while the other nationalities were regarded. as ~ond..,rate. The Ozech government cried that Sl01Valkia ,w as just so. much economic ballast, but fought tooth and nail to keep it in hand at all costs. "Ozechosl01Va!k" democracy as propagandized by the Oooohs and ,p aid iProlfessional non..,Ozerch ipro.paga:.ndists was one thing, while the •b rand actually prevailing in Czecho-'Slovalkia something entirely different. A repetition of history: the Magyars, too, used to ,p roclaim iblatantl;y that the democratic system prevailed in Hungary, while at the same time they were ibr.uWly s,uppre.ssing and exploiting all non-Magyar elements in the country. In the light of these facts, any reference to "Ozechoslovak " democracy evoked a strong revulsion in the hearts of the millions of non-OLech inhabitants who were .burdened with it. They knew in their hearts that it was fraud, even though the Cz~hs presented it to. the world- as the ultimate in democratk systems. The non..,Czerch nationalities were burdened with the same civic obligations as the Czechs were, ibut they did not enjoy equal rights and ;privileges and, therei:fore, it is quite understandruble that at the first opportune moment - and that came in 1938-1939 - they did everything rpossi.lble to escape from the emlbrace of this "isle of, demorcracy." .. "Czechoslovak'! Democracy W.a s a Fraud In this !brief review o!f the "dettnocracy" that was Czecho-Slovakia, the reader will not find details of all the aspects oif the politics oif Czech hegemony in the Republic. That would require a voluminous wo:nk. And practical~ nothing was said regarding the conditions after 1945, inasmuch the trampling upon the most :fundamental rights of �12 SLOVAKIA man, carried out by the Benes-Communist coalition, was so general that many pruges would be needed to delineate only the most important of its aspocts. The mass deportation of millions Olf ,p eople from their homeland, the outlawing and prevention of politica,l ,parties, the limitation of the freedom of the 1press and assemlbly, tens of thousands of political ,p risoners, hundreds of the executed, the many unconstitutional decrees af Benes, etc. - all this had happened with the cooperation of the Czech 1p oliticians, who to<lay pose as champions of democracy. It is regrettable that some .p eople in the West even today do not IOOJke any noticeable effort to imonn themselves of the true nature otf so~called "Czechoslovalk dem<X:ra<cy" and its representatives. It is regrettruble, indeed, that responsible people otf western democracies stiU continue to recognize and favor the ipr~agators of "Czechoslovaikism" former members of the Communist-dominated "National Front" government oif Bene-s and Gottwald, who Slllpiported the proJSoviet poli:cy oif Benes and, hence, ·a re in a great measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Czech and Slovaik nations. Ozecho-Slo:vakia was not a true democracy, but a fraud and a mockery orf democracy. That was proved by the inhaJbitants Olf the State when the first grea;t crisis struclc and Czecho-Slovakia colla_psed completely. No one, not even the Czechs themsel,ves, fired a single shot to preserve it. Why should any western democratic gcwernment endeawor to preseI1Ve it a;gainst the will of the Sl01Va;ks and others of ~ho-SlovaJkia who are kept in that .State only by force? There must be an answer S01Ineiwhere! • • • WHO SAID IT? The Czechs and .Slovaks had their .State but not for longer than .twenty years. What now remains is infinite!~ worse .than what existed before. . . The politic,a[ theories of (T. G.) Masaryk and Benes collapsed because they could not beair the pra<dtioal test of the times." (·S KUTECNOST, review of the Ozach refugees, London, Vot III, No. 2, p. 33, Feib. 1951). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 SEPT~MBER, 1953 SLOVAKIA 1 WAS CZEOHO-SWVAK IA A DEMOCRACY? Dr. Arved Grebert The wo.r ld at large has become aiccustomed to regarding the first Ozecho..Slovruk Republic as an exemplary democratk state, a real "isle of democracy" in Central Europe. From the beginnmg o,f this state in 1918, official Czech propaganda exipended large SJUms of money to convince the world pulblic that such actually was the case. On the other hand, however, aibout a haiif of the total rpotpulation of Czecho~lovakia (The Slo1Vaiks, Germans, Po-les, Magyars, Ruthenians) continually protested this erroneous view and judgement oif conditions in the RepUlblic, ibut little came of it. In view Olf what has ha:pperned in Ozecho-iSlo,va)kia sinc 2 1938 - the ease with which it colla:psed in 1939 and laiter, in 1945, accepted the hegemony of communistic Moscow, it may be interesting to loo!k a .bit closer at the kind o.f democracy the: first Ozecho-'Sloivak Re.public actuaHy was. The Right of Self-Determinatlon and Czecho-Slovakia T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes set aJbout to break up the Austro-Hungarian Monarichy during World War I in the nrume od: and with the aid of the right of self-determination of nations. They evoiked this basic principle con~ sistenUy and consitantliy. This is attested to .by the literature they pro,pagated, as well as the "Memoirs" they placed before the Peace Conference, wherein they -c laimed the right of self-detemnination of nations in the interests of Czech independence. As soon as the war ended, however, and AUJstria-Hungary lay in ashes, Masaryk and Benes very quickly and conveniently forgot 8J'bout the democratilc princilple oif the right of selif--detemnination of nations and labored to create a state which in suibstance became only a small and bad copy of the old monarehy they had helped to destroy. This newly created and artificial state, which never existed before that time, was first called ib;y the Czechs under Masaryk a.ind Benes "Ozeoho.;Slovrukia" - a synthetic n ame 1 2 SLOV.AKil u111kn0,wn in the history of either the Czech nation or the Slovak nation before World War . At the ,v ery outset, this synthetic State rol)bed approximately 4,500,000 (3,700,000 Germans, 800,000 Magyars and aJbout 100,000 Poles) of their basic democratic right, the right of self-determination. The Germans, Magyars and Poles were forced within the framework of this artificial State against their eX!pressed will. And three million S1ova:ks and aJbout a ha1f million SUJb-CaI"pathian Ukrainians (the Ruthenians) favored the State only conditionally, that is, on1y if they enjoyed full autonomy within the Repulblk ; when this condition remained unfulfilled they found themselves in opposition to the existence of this :State. A political state is supposed to be the exipression oif the free will of the peoiple the existence of a state is SUIPposed to be in accoro with the will of its inhaJbitants. But Ozecho-lSlova!kia was not such a state; the Prague government, once it was set Uip in ,power, repudiated the basic democratic ,principle of the right of self-deter- . mination of nations - the very principle which brought it into being. We must not forget that the occupation of non-Czech lands took place with wea:pons in hand against the will of the native ,p opulation. Manifestations for the realization of the right of self-determination were bloodily suppressed by the Ozech army. For examiple, in a. single day, on March 4, 1919, the Czech arm,y killed 57 Gemnans and wounded over 100 more, when they demonstrated in German towns for their right to self-determination. Uip to 1921 there were 130 GeI"mans killed during street demonstrations iby the Ozech occupation for,ces. The same situation prevailed in territories inhaJbited iby the Magyars and Poles. Aocording to 1923 statistics, the newly created Czech~lovaJkia was inhabited by some 6,400,000 Czechs and a!bout 7,000,000 non-Czechs. The latter felt that they we,r e roM>ed of their democratirc right to self-determination, when Masaryk and Benes repudiated the promises and agreements made 1b y them when the ReipUJblic was in a state of formation. This was all the more grave and momentous, since the principle of the right of self-determination was a,pplied SLOVAKIA 3 practkally in the case of Estonia (1,200,000 pop.), Lithuania (2,500,000), Latvia (2,000,000) Finland (3,800,000), M))ania (1,000,000), Nonway (3,000,000), Iceland (110,000), Denmark (3,800,000), etc. - states of wthich the entire popufation numbered less or 8Jpproximately the S3Jllle as, for example, there were Slovaks or Germans in the OzechoSlovaik Repulblfo. So that we might have some idea of the extent oif these realities, we must recall that at that very same time when Ozecho-iSlo1Vakia originated, there originated three small independent states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in a far more threatened territory, on the !b orders of the UISISR (160,000,000), without the protection of natural borders or synthetic fortiifreations; eaoh one of these states h!!Jd less inhaibitants than Ozecho-;Slo.vaJkia had Slovaiks or Germans who weTe .r obbed ()If their right to selif-.deternnination. And on the borders od' the Soviet colossus there originated Finland, which at that time had only alb out 4,000,000 inhabitants and, therefore, much less than the non-Ozech na tionalities of Ozecho.Slorvalkia who were deprived of their right to se.J.lf-deter.min•a tion. In the case of the A]banians, who inhabit the dangerous Balkan crossroads orf the interests of Italy, Greece and Yugoslaivia, their right to state independence was recognized an,d respected. But the Sudeten Germans were not permitted to join either Austria or Ge:rttnany in 11919, as they h!!Jd desired to, do. And the will of the Slovak nation (3,000,000) was not respected when it decided to join the Ozechs in a common state only on condition that it would enjoy full autonomy within the framework of the Republic. Once in ,p ower, the government of Masaryik and Benes also refosed -to respect the rights of the Ruthenians and the Polish and Magyar minorities. From this standpoint, "Czecho-Slovak" democraicy for the 7,000,000 inhaJbitants of that State was only an empty phrase, a propaganda tenn devoid of content and foundation. A Dict.at.ed Constitution The foundations oif the political structure of every state are represented iby its constitution. The basic prin- SLOVAKIA ci:ple of every genuine democratic state is that its constitution is the exipression oif the will o!f its inhaJbJ.tants. It is quite ohvious to asslli!lle, where a multinational state is concerned, that all strata of the population, all regions of the state, and all nationalities are properly and duly rep resented when the constitution is created. In Ozecho-.SlO!Vakia, however, the Constitution of Febmary 29, 1920, was exclusively a Czech product, and the Czechs under Masaryk and Benes simply dktated it and forced it upon the majority of the non-Czech population of the State In the so-called Constitutional National Assemibly there was not a single representative of the 3,700,000 Germans, not a single representative of the 800,000 Magyars, and not a single representative of the 100,000 Poles. And the representatives of the Slo,vak nation were not ele ~ted by the people, but simply ~pointed by Prague, and this was done in such a way that ,w ould ibest satisfy Prague: the overwhelming majority of them were proponents of "Czeohoslovalk ism" - the opponents of Slovak autonomy - even though the vast majority of Slo,vaiks were proiponents oif SloiVak autonomy within the framework of the OzechoS1ovak Repulblic. The representatives o.f Czech imperialism and "progressiveness" went so far as to name Czechs as re,presentatiives of Sl01VaJkia , as, for example, Dr. Edward Benes, Dr. Alice .Masaryk, Ing. Joseph Rotnagl, Dr. Aloysius Kolisek, and Ing. Joseph Zaruiba-,P:fofifermann. When Ozecho'-lSlo:vakia was ,b orn not more than 5000 Czechs lived in Slovakia, hence these, Ozechs could hardly be considered as repres enta.tilves of their pec;ple in Slc,v akia. In the twentieth century, when the solution or the granting od' sel!f..,manageiment or independence to some colonial nation of Africa or Asia is debated and negotiated, it is cus tomary that representatives oif the native population spealk in their name. Hut the Czech imperialists under Masaryk and Benes thought otherwise. They prolbaJbly regarded the Slo,vaJks as a nation beneath the level of colonial nations, because they named also five Czechs to, represent it on the Constitutional National Assembly Czechs who were practically ,unknown to the vast majority of the Slovak 1 SLOVAKIA 5 peoiple. For example, up to that time, Dr. Edward Benes had never been in Slovakia. In this ha:ndpi'oked "parliament" there were 204 Czech, but only 56 Sl()!Valk deputies, and this number included five :C zechs mentioned albo1Ve. Furthermore, there weTe only eight Slovak deputies from the autonomdst bloc in that ruppointed Constitutional National Assem1bly. And it was significant, indeed, that on the very day that the Prague parliament voted for this Constitution, the leader of the Slovak nation and undoubtedly the most eminent polit1cal figure o.f the Slov8!k struggle against Magyarism, Andrew Hlinlka, was beihind bars in a Ozech prison. 1 The Slo;vaik r€ipresentation in that assembly was so unjust that eiven such a notorious adherent of "Ozechoslovaikism" as Dr. Juraj Slavik - now a member of the socalloo "Council cd' Free Ozechoslovakia" which operates out of New Yo,I'lk and Washi.Il!gton - protested at that time that the Slovaks did not hav e sufficient and ,proper representation. The Ozechs reiplie-0. that an adjustment would be made, but nothing hrupipene<l. Because Mr . .SlaiVik did not continue protesting against the injustice, Prague rewarded him for it. In a very short time he ibe1came a minister in the Czech goivernment in Prague. Even Seton-Watson, a close a:nd loyal .friend of T. G. Mas,a,ryk, noted that Sl0vak seats in the legislative assembly were to a certain extent filled by arnitrary a,ppointments (Sloivakia Then And Now" - ipg. 12). Under sU!ch undemocratic conditions the Constitution that emerged enthroned: a regime of Oz~h hegemony in the Czecho-iSloivaJk State. The entire Ozecho-Slova>k politi,cal system rested on this Constitution which is dictated iby the Czechs . And since the Constituiton was diotated, therefore dicfated was also the entire system in its relationshi1p to the 7,000,000 non-CzeiCh citizens. Where a state is foriced on a half of its, ,poipulation, where a Constitution is dictated to half the ;poipulation and against its most elementary political, economic and ooltUTal interests, where 7,000,000 'people are overruled and made a minority od', there can be no serious talk aibout a democratic state. In Czecho-rS'lovakia the G SLOVAKIA Czechs sought to realize the very thing they had fought against so furiously in Austria. And realize it they did, even if eventually it did mean the utter ruin of the, State they had created under Masa.ryik and Benes. Centralism vs. Federalism The dictated Ozech Constitution installed a rugged centralistic sy,stem in Ozecho-Sloivakia; ,p ractically all key political positions and all power rested in Czech hands. Among the fundamental :principles of democratic states belongs tihe principle that multinational or multilingual states should .be origaruzed on a federalistic basis, that is, with the aid of aiutonomy of the indirvidrual minorities, since it is only in this manner that the ,p rinciples of . justice in a mutual relationshtp of the individual nationalities of the state can be realized in pra,,ctiice. But the great "Czech,oslovaJk Democrats" rapudiated this prin'Ciiple and instituted a strong centralistic regime. By so doing they not only failed to keep the -promises made and given the Slovaks and, Ruthenians and the minorities, but also instituted a regime which was in sulbstance a profanation and mookery of democracy. Behind the mask of democratic phrases they installed a regime of Ozech national imperialism. To safeguard their hegemony, the Czechs dictated into the Constitution paragrruphs which in practice prevented a change of the Constitution (the enactments about the- necessity of a 3/ 5 and 2/ 3 ,majority). Ozech hegemony was thus secured, because representatives of the non-Czech p01pulation could never attain this required majority in the Prag;ue Parliament without the Ozechs and, hence, could never uipset Czech hegemony in the State in constitutional or parliamentary manner. The dictated constitution and the Ozech hegemony emanating therefrom were then safeguarded by the notorious "law for the protection of the Republic" (No. 50) of March 23, 1923, which made the 7,000,000 non-Czech citizens of the various nationalities liaible to rprosecution on the grounds of anti...state a;ctivities, if they rpersisted in their rightful demands for the recognition of and respect for their SLOVAKIA 7 right to sehf-detemrination , the 1principle upon which the Republic was sU1pposed to ha,ve 'b een founded. The Czech Communists ,wsed this law to advantage when they got hold af the key .p ositions in the State in 1945 and, later, in 1948, had practically no trouible at all in seizing a1l power in the Reipulblitc in a "legal and constitutional" way. Another laJW, the law regarding political parties (No. 201 of Octolber 25, 1953) , provided for the outlawing and dissolution of any political ,p arty if its arctivity seriously endangered the "constitutional unity" - and "constitutional unity'' in practice simply :meant Ozech rule oiver the nonCzech citizens. On the basis of this law, the ,political demand for the territorial legislatiive autonomy of SlovaJkia the -c ondition under which the .Slovak,s decided to form a joint state with the Czechs - was cause for prooecution by the State. Dr. Ivan Derer, who sold his Slovak birthright for a mess Olf Ozech pottage, as Minister of Justice demanded on various occasions to use this law against the Hlin!ka Sloivak Poople's Party, because it persistently demanded the f.uilifillment olf the Pittsburgh ·P act of May 30, 1918 - that is, states, rights or foll aiutonoony for Slovakia. Prague, however, ordered Derer to withhold action; the centralists were not entirely ,bl.ind to the development olf the internationaJl situation, and the consequencoo of such action: the RepuibUc would have undoUibtedly collapsed 10\Il!g before 1939 if Derer was not overruled. Ozech centralism. pulled in its horns a little _and attempted to show the Slovaks that it favored them by not aipplying the law. Of course, the Slova;ks, by that time, .were wise to the Czech centn1.lists. The Anti-Democratic Regrme of Czech Hegemony . Czech hegemony was also protected b~ a whole series of la.ws and regulations which emanated from the undemocratic' Constitution which was forced on the non-Ozech popuiation. The Constitution, for example, "legalized" the notorious fiction - better said the international fraud oif the i•Ozechoslovak nation" in the political · and ethnic sense·, a nation which had never existed and, in the end, from the ·existence of which even its creators and propaga~ SLOVAKIA tors fled with their notorious Kosice .Agreement with the Communists in 1'946. With the he1p of this fraud, the fiction of a national state was ipromo.ted against the reality of a nationa,listic state. On this dictated Constituti:on rested also the language, law with its notorious monstrosity - the "CzechoslovaJk languruge" - which was legali1zed and given a special status even though no such tongue ever existed. In prad1ce this ructualliy meant the hegemony o;f the Ozech languruge on the territo,r.y oif the entire state, including the lands inhabited tby the 7,000,000 non-Ozech inhrubitants, a part o;f whom, for example the Sudeten Germans, had a higher level o;f culture and ciivili,z ation than the "ruling" Czech nation. While the o,ld Austrian Constitution issued from the prin:ciiple of language equality, the CZeiCiho~lovak language law introduced the iprindple oif the .p rivileged position od' the non-existent "Ozechoslovaik" language in the Reiplllblic. Regional, county and loca1 se1f-ad!Ininistration was maimed lby legal regulations, which gaive the Prague government the dght to ruppoint one~third of the members of these "se1f-administering" organs.. SinJCe the government nrumed 33 per cent of the officials, it only needed to gain 18 ver cent o;f the electorate so that it could continue to rule "democratically'' with the hel•p of such an artificial majority against the actual majority oif inhaibitants olf Slovakia, Ruthenia and the territories inhalbited by the Gemnans. In Slovakia this 18 .p er cent was not too difficult to attain, with the aid {)If Czech oifficia:ls under Prague, who :placed thousands of Ozechs in Slovakia in various capacities, and the help oif the entire iprnpaganda aipparatus of the state, and ·political corruption, as well as 1police pressure. With the helip of a bit o.f "political geometry" in the Czech lands, for example, in the Prague voting district, only about 22,000 voters were needed to elect one deputy to pM'liament, whereas in many SlovaJk, Magyar, Ruthenian and German districts almost 30,000 votes were needed for one minister. This evidently helped the Czech minority to attain a ma;jority in the Prag,ue parliament. Here we had an actual case where the "largest minority ruled as a state SLOVAKIA 9 nation over the other :minorities, which together numbered more adherents than the ruling nation" - as Dr. Hassinger of the university o;f Basel claimed. Czech bureaucratic officials censored the non-Czech press ruthlessly; .protests against the existing order were squashed. For examrple, in 1922 alone 1498 editions of newspapers were confiscated by the Ozech censor; instances of deletions of words, sentences, whole para,graphs and entire arUcles were more Il/UmerOUS. In harmony with the stmcture and the sipirit of this regime in so-called "Czechoslovak" governments, the Czechs as a rule held 7'5-------80 1per cent of the ministershirps and the maijority in parliament, so that the Ozech minority in the State, contrary to the most fundamental princiJples of democracy, US1Urt1ped ipractically al,l power of government and absolute control in the issuance of iaws. How the Slovaks, for example, regarded the "Slo1Va;k" ministers in the Prague Government, iwas prOibalbly best described. by d~uty Martin Ra:zus, a Protestant minister and the president of the Slovalk National Party, when on November 4, 1932, in the Prague ,p arliament, he said: "Yes, by obligation we do have two Slo1Vak ministers. But the sad .part aibout it is the fact we do have ministers; but these ministers, however, are not the ministers of the Slovak nation; they are the ministers of the present Herrenvolk, but not the ministers of the SlovaJk nation." OriginaHy, by the peace ~greements, the name of the country created lb y the Czechs and the Slovaks 1w,as spelled with a h~hen: Czecho-Slovakia. Therelby the federaUve character of that State was supposed to be stressed; also that the Ozechs and and the Slo,vaiks were regarded as equal partners in the administration of the joint Republic; f,urtheI1II1ore., it was SUIPP<>sed to indicate that the Czechs would rule in Czech lands and the Slovaks would rule in Slovakia, that is, states riights, of each would be fully enjoyed and respected by ·both nations. AU the ;peace agreements where:by this State was created designated the State in such a manner as a matter of principle; the hyphen prevailed. But as soon as the Czechs gained and consolidated 10 SLOVAKIA their hegemOilJY, the tetirn "Czecho,SlO!Vakia" was, changed to "Czechosl()IV'ahla." From 1923 the law declared thi.$ rup-pelation leg,a lly proper and correct, and any one using the hyiphen was lialble to ,p rosecution by the State. Thereby in a symbolic manner was SIUlppOsed to ,b e demonstrated the thesis rega'I'd:ing the fusion, or better said, the ~bsorption of the SlovaJks by the C?,eehs, so that Czech supremacy in the State could ibe guaranteed even numerically. Official statistics told the world how many Germans, Magyars, Poles, Ruthenians and Jews there were in Ozecho.SlovaJda, but not the nurmlber of Sloivaiks; how many seats were held _in parliament biy the Gernnans, Poles, Magyars and Ruthe~ µians, but not how many were h~d lby the SlOIVaJks. And it was with alil statistics. The Slovaks,. however,. stubborn.ly resisted the spelling of the name of the R~1mlbli:c without the hyphen. · so Rights of Minorities Repudiated The regime of Czech ,hegemony in the Repulblic had ruinous conseque~es not only for the ,Slo;vruks, .but the other nationalities as welt The Germans, Magyars, Poles and Ruthenians complained albout injustices as mlllch as the Slovaiks did. It was not on:ly Slo,vakia that was flooded .with ~ h officials and workers, but also the lands inhabited' by the Ruthenians, Poles, Mrugyars and Germans. ·F or example1 between 191·8 and 1938 there emigrated into Slova,kia more than 200,000 ~ h officials, businessmen and entrepreneurs: During that same time more than 200,000 Slovalks, lacking woy,king opportunities in their homeland, had to emigrate to. Australia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, the United States, Bra:zil, Franice and Belgium. In that same ,p eriod rupproximately 150,000 Czechs moved into the territoriy inhabited by the Germans. Simi~ larly, the territories of the Magyars, Po.les and ·Ruthenians were also flooded with Ozechs,. The Ge'.Mlails, for example, who represented 22.3 iper cent of the- population .o f the Republic, held on1y 12.2 per cent official posts on the railmads, 14.4 ,p er cent in the Post Office, in _the state :ii.<}; ministration only 13.1 per cent, and in the · Officers Coi,p·s· only 5.1 per cent were in ructive service. SLOVAKIA 11 In the central offices, ministries, the highest control offices, etc., the Slovaks represented only 1.3 rper cent of the o!fficials, ibut even these were subordinate and insignificant positions. All the citizens of the Repulblirc, regardless of their nationality, were bound by the same obligations, but the Czechs alone enjoyed special prirvileges and better opportunities. The centralisti'c Prague government was in the hands of Czeichs who regarded their nation as the ruling nation, their people as first-r.a te citizens, while the other nationalities were regarded. as ~ond..,rate. The Ozech government cried that Sl01Valkia ,w as just so. much economic ballast, but fought tooth and nail to keep it in hand at all costs. "Ozechosl01Va!k" democracy as propagandized by the Oooohs and ,p aid iProlfessional non..,Ozerch ipro.paga:.ndists was one thing, while the •b rand actually prevailing in Czecho-'Slovalkia something entirely different. A repetition of history: the Magyars, too, used to ,p roclaim iblatantl;y that the democratic system prevailed in Hungary, while at the same time they were ibr.uWly s,uppre.ssing and exploiting all non-Magyar elements in the country. In the light of these facts, any reference to "Ozechoslovak " democracy evoked a strong revulsion in the hearts of the millions of non-OLech inhabitants who were .burdened with it. They knew in their hearts that it was fraud, even though the Cz~hs presented it to. the world- as the ultimate in democratk systems. The non..,Czerch nationalities were burdened with the same civic obligations as the Czechs were, ibut they did not enjoy equal rights and ;privileges and, therei:fore, it is quite understandruble that at the first opportune moment - and that came in 1938-1939 - they did everything rpossi.lble to escape from the emlbrace of this "isle of, demorcracy." .. "Czechoslovak'! Democracy W.a s a Fraud In this !brief review o!f the "dettnocracy" that was Czecho-Slovakia, the reader will not find details of all the aspects oif the politics oif Czech hegemony in the Republic. That would require a voluminous wo:nk. And practical~ nothing was said regarding the conditions after 1945, inasmuch the trampling upon the most :fundamental rights of 12 SLOVAKIA man, carried out by the Benes-Communist coalition, was so general that many pruges would be needed to delineate only the most important of its aspocts. The mass deportation of millions Olf ,p eople from their homeland, the outlawing and prevention of politica,l ,parties, the limitation of the freedom of the 1press and assemlbly, tens of thousands of political ,p risoners, hundreds of the executed, the many unconstitutional decrees af Benes, etc. - all this had happened with the cooperation of the Czech 1p oliticians, who to<lay pose as champions of democracy. It is regrettable that some .p eople in the West even today do not IOOJke any noticeable effort to imonn themselves of the true nature otf so~called "Czechoslovalk dem<X:ra<cy" and its representatives. It is regrettruble, indeed, that responsible people otf western democracies stiU continue to recognize and favor the ipr~agators of "Czechoslovaikism" former members of the Communist-dominated "National Front" government oif Bene-s and Gottwald, who Slllpiported the proJSoviet poli:cy oif Benes and, hence, ·a re in a great measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Czech and Slovaik nations. Ozecho-Slo:vakia was not a true democracy, but a fraud and a mockery orf democracy. That was proved by the inhaJbitants Olf the State when the first grea;t crisis struclc and Czecho-Slovakia colla_psed completely. No one, not even the Czechs themsel,ves, fired a single shot to preserve it. Why should any western democratic gcwernment endeawor to preseI1Ve it a;gainst the will of the Sl01Va;ks and others of ~ho-SlovaJkia who are kept in that .State only by force? There must be an answer S01Ineiwhere! • • • WHO SAID IT? The Czechs and .Slovaks had their .State but not for longer than .twenty years. What now remains is infinite!~ worse .than what existed before. . . The politic,a[ theories of (T. G.) Masaryk and Benes collapsed because they could not beair the pra<dtioal test of the times." (·S KUTECNOST, review of the Ozach refugees, London, Vot III, No. 2, p. 33, Feib. 1951).  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 Was Czecho-Slovakia a Democracy? Description An account of the resource Dr. Arvéd Grébert Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 3 (8), September 1953 pp. 1-12 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grébert, Arvéd, 1915-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 1953 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/99390e5254760796a92608d0eccdcbbf.pdf af051250952e6ff94281853f1da67576 PDF Text Text SEPTEMBER 1953 VOL. Ill IN THJS ISSUE : WAS CZECHO-SLOVAKIA A DEMOCRACY ? OCTOBER 6, 1938 BERNOLAK ' S INFLUENCE ON SLOVAK LITERATURE SLOVAK AND EUROPEAN SEPARATISM RIPKA ON THE " PUTSCH " IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA CASTLES DR . JOSEPH OF SLOVAKIA : LETTRICH BECKOV IN RETROSPECT WHO SAID IT ?: 12, 17, 64 • • • Edi t ed and co m pi l ed by P HI LI P A . HROBA K Pub lish ed by THE SLOV A K L EAGUE OF AMERICA NO. 3 �Sl. OV AKL\ is published periodically by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent. 'l'he chief purpose of SLOVAKIA 1s to promote a better understanding an<l appreciation of the Slovak nation a11<l its long struggle for freedom and independence. As Americans, members of the 3ltiv~k 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 Middletown, Pa. � SEPTEMBER 1953 VOL. Ill IN THJS ISSUE : WAS CZECHO-SLOVAKIA A DEMOCRACY ? OCTOBER 6, 1938 BERNOLAK ' S INFLUENCE ON SLOVAK LITERATURE SLOVAK AND EUROPEAN SEPARATISM RIPKA ON THE " PUTSCH " IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA CASTLES DR . JOSEPH OF SLOVAKIA : LETTRICH BECKOV IN RETROSPECT WHO SAID IT ?: 12, 17, 64 • • • Edi t ed and co m pi l ed by P HI LI P A . HROBA K Pub lish ed by THE SLOV A K L EAGUE OF AMERICA NO. 3 �Sl. OV AKL\ is published periodically by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent. 'l'he chief purpose of SLOVAKIA 1s to promote a better understanding an<l appreciation of the Slovak nation a11<l its long struggle for freedom and independence. As Americans, members of the 3ltiv~k 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 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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. 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. 3, No. 3 (8) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/31f6bdae7735eaa1e341e18e7d571f61.pdf dad8a00651f64e8e41d04ea0d96d617d PDF Text Text YOU CAN LEARN SLOVAK as easily as you can any other modern language. Slovak should be a MUST for students of Slovanic languages, because it is the simplest of all of them and a KEY to all of them. Prove it to yourself with the most scholarly text on Slovak, the SLOVAl( LESSONS A practical study of the Slovak Grammar, 92 lessons, 400 pages ; exercises in Slovak and English; English-Slovak and Slovak-English vocabulary. Hard cover, bound in cloth, $3.50 HROBAK'S ENGLISH DICTIONARY - the best and most complete dictionary of its kind; 702 pages with a brief sumary of the Slovak Grammar. Hard cover, bound in cloth, $4.00 THE SLOVAKS, by Peter P. Yurchak, should be read by all students interested in the history and traditions of the Slovak nation; 312 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $3.00; paper cover - $2.00 SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY by Joseph Skultety, translation by 0. D. Koreff; a documented refutation of several errors propagated by writers and historians; 229 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $2.00; paper cover $1.00. Order from: P.A.HROBAK Box 150 Middletown, Pa. �PRINCE PRIBINA, the first Slovak prince mentioned in history, resided in Nitra, Slovakia, where he built a Christian church in 830. The Slovaks are one of the oldest Christian nations of Central Europe. � YOU CAN LEARN SLOVAK as easily as you can any other modern language. Slovak should be a MUST for students of Slovanic languages, because it is the simplest of all of them and a KEY to all of them. Prove it to yourself with the most scholarly text on Slovak, the SLOVAl( LESSONS A practical study of the Slovak Grammar, 92 lessons, 400 pages ; exercises in Slovak and English; English-Slovak and Slovak-English vocabulary. Hard cover, bound in cloth, $3.50 HROBAK'S ENGLISH DICTIONARY - the best and most complete dictionary of its kind; 702 pages with a brief sumary of the Slovak Grammar. Hard cover, bound in cloth, $4.00 THE SLOVAKS, by Peter P. Yurchak, should be read by all students interested in the history and traditions of the Slovak nation; 312 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $3.00; paper cover - $2.00 SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY by Joseph Skultety, translation by 0. D. Koreff; a documented refutation of several errors propagated by writers and historians; 229 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $2.00; paper cover $1.00. Order from: P.A.HROBAK Box 150 Middletown, Pa. �PRINCE PRIBINA, the first Slovak prince mentioned in history, resided in Nitra, Slovakia, where he built a Christian church in 830. The Slovaks are one of the oldest Christian nations of Central Europe. � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 PRINCE PRIBINA, the first Slovak prince mentioned in history, resided in Nitra, Slovakia, where he built a Christian church in 830. The Slovaks are one of the oldest Christian nations of Central Europe.  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. 3, No. 2 (7) Description An account of the resource includes bust of Prince Pribina Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c068f9fc7cd4a586d430a70de3f6c892.pdf 0ad587cb3ca08c1b499e0ec4d59b5d33 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 62 SLOVAK FOLKLORE THE DEVIl, HAS TO WORK One .poor woodkmtter went into the mountains with his last piece of ibread, which he ca:rried in a small d:ooh bag. It was to 1ast him t!he wh<ile diay. When he came into the mountams, he hung the bag on a •b ranch and went to worik. The poor fellow choipped. and ch'Opped and split thick oaks until stirerums of sweat flowed from his. brow. Suddenly out of nowhere a blaick, dirty devil oame unawares f.rom the deepest depths of hades and stdl.e the last ,piece of bread fr·om the woodcutter's brug. When ,he returned to hades, the horny rascal boasted of his deed to his comrades.. "Look, 'bhi•s was supposed to last one woodcutter a who'le d:ay and I stole it from him." "What',s that, wihat's that?" roared Lulcifer himself. Wihen Luicifer heard the sto~y, he became very angry at the horny litble thief for having drured to steal the last piece of ,b read from a poor man. "And for that," said Lucifer, "you win have to serve that poor man for a whole yerur, commencing forthwith." The next day, as the woodcuitter was a:gain preparing to go into the hills with his ax on his shoU!lder, the door suddenly opened and a strong young man entered tlhe room. "Good day, .b oss!" the stranger said, "how albout letting me wo:rik for you?" "Aoh, my son, what would I do with you?" replied the woodcutter. "I have nothing to eat myse1f and, as you see, in that corner al[ my chil.dren a:re weeping ibecaooe they are hung-r y." "Well, just taike me on a:nyway. For my services you shall owe me nothing, and I assure you that you wiU be completely satisfied with me." "Well, ,t hen, come with me to chop trees, if that is what you want," said the woodcutter handing him an ax Before three days had passed, the hill, which the woodcutter wOUJld not have out in a year by himself, was aJlmos,t bare of brees, and the rows and rows of cord wood made the old woodoutter hruppy. From t!hait time on our woodcutter �SLOVAKIA 6::1 got along very wal!l, 8.!lld his chikliren no longer cried in the corner from huniger; they were ,h appy and healthy, because they were satfated. "Well, ,b oss," began :the servant, "you just keep on chopping little 1b y litJtle while l ,g o athreshing somewhere so that you might have bread and enoUJgh of everything in the howse for the wh'ole winter." "Go ahead, just go ahead," replied the woodcutter, "and whi1le you're gone, I',11 out as many trees as l can." In a g,r eat wN~erness dlweUed a wealthy man. Three hundred stooks of g,rain were in his fields and in his pens he had three htliildreld steers and tllree hundred ipigs. The woodicmrtter's serwant oarrne to this weaiLthy man and offered to thresh his graJin. "But wihere are you,r companions?" asked the man. "Do not worry abol.lit my compan~ons, just let me know whether you want yOU'r grain threshed." "Of coorse, I ,a m going to hawe it threshed, but don't tell me that you are going to d'O it yourrelf ?" "Whether I do it or not, yoo sha:N see the jdb done." "And w'haJt do you want for the threshing?" "Nothing my lorn, e:ireept whaJt I can carry away at one time," answered the serivant. "We11," the wea,l'thy man mused, "you will not be able to truke ten kilos away, so go to it." When it was .midnighlt, three thousand flails suddenly reso,u,ntled a,round the .stoclks of grain with a: whis:h, whash, whees'h, whoosh! The devils from the fires of hades came to helip their comrade By morni.intg the whole jdb of threshing was comp'leted and the grain stored in lra:rge saclks. Dawn was just .brealking as the thresher cruNed on the wea:lthy man to come out and see the jdb he had done. The man oo,tili:l not believe his eyes. The threshing was finished and the rich man was glad it was done so quickly. "Welil done, my lad," said the weialthy man, "and now you may taike whalt is y01UJrs for the threshing." Therewpon the disguised little devil ordered the lcmi's servants to plaJCe sa:clks of grain upon his shoU!l.ders. After ten kilos of wheat were 1plaieed upon his sh.ouJlders, the master smi>led and said: "WeN, young man, is that enough?" �64 SLOVAKIA "What do you mean encrugh ?" laughed ,t he thresher. "Ju.st keep pi'l.ing it on; look I can still hop around with it spryly.'' So the servants kept :p iling the saJoks of grain on the thresher's baok ,u ntil lib.ere were no more left. The wealthy man's hairr stood 'Uip from fear. "Well, w-eJl-1, now do ydu thinlk you have enough?" he asked. But the thresher let out a roar of laugihter, saying: "Not quite enOill!gh, my lord, just keep ptling on whatever you hruve. You see I .can stm dance around wit'h this stwflf " A huniclTed fattened ho,g s were taken out of their pens and pu<t on the bhres:her's .baok. The rich man was stupefied. "WeH, now perha•ps yoiu il:m'Ve enough?" he stuttered. But the ,l ittle devil danced around gayly and howled with giee: "J.ust keep ,pi.'ling it on!" The wealthy man was bUTsting with aD!ger, but he kept his word. "Let ouit a hundred fattened steers," he bar,ked at his senvants, "these he certainly ,wi!i not be able to carry." But the devil-thresher todk even the hundred steers, laughed in the master's face and then ran off to his boss as if he carried nothing at all. "WeH, boss, this is for y01U," said the servant ,ooiburdenh11g himself in t!he woodcutter's yard. "Now, even if I do leaive you, I do not thinlk that you shaM haive to fear hunger any more. My year is u1p, you know, but say, do you know who I am? Do you remember the day when yowr last piece of bread disappeared in the mountain?" The woodcutter shook his head and said: "I remember, yes, I do remem1ber." "Well, now I'U tell you who I am. I am a devil. It was I who stole your last piece of bread and as punishment I had to work for you one whole year Now my time is up. Fareweill." At that very moment the woodcutter's home was surrounded by laughter as if three thousand horses had brayed. It was the deviils who laughed at their comrade because he had to work for a poor woodcutter. � SLOVAKIA 62 SLOVAK FOLKLORE THE DEVIl, HAS TO WORK One .poor woodkmtter went into the mountains with his last piece of ibread, which he ca:rried in a small d:ooh bag. It was to 1ast him t!he wh<ile diay. When he came into the mountams, he hung the bag on a •b ranch and went to worik. The poor fellow choipped. and ch'Opped and split thick oaks until stirerums of sweat flowed from his. brow. Suddenly out of nowhere a blaick, dirty devil oame unawares f.rom the deepest depths of hades and stdl.e the last ,piece of bread fr·om the woodcutter's brug. When ,he returned to hades, the horny rascal boasted of his deed to his comrades.. "Look, 'bhi•s was supposed to last one woodcutter a who'le d:ay and I stole it from him." "What',s that, wihat's that?" roared Lulcifer himself. Wihen Luicifer heard the sto~y, he became very angry at the horny litble thief for having drured to steal the last piece of ,b read from a poor man. "And for that," said Lucifer, "you win have to serve that poor man for a whole yerur, commencing forthwith." The next day, as the woodcuitter was a:gain preparing to go into the hills with his ax on his shoU!lder, the door suddenly opened and a strong young man entered tlhe room. "Good day, .b oss!" the stranger said, "how albout letting me wo:rik for you?" "Aoh, my son, what would I do with you?" replied the woodcutter. "I have nothing to eat myse1f and, as you see, in that corner al[ my chil.dren a:re weeping ibecaooe they are hung-r y." "Well, just taike me on a:nyway. For my services you shall owe me nothing, and I assure you that you wiU be completely satisfied with me." "Well, ,t hen, come with me to chop trees, if that is what you want," said the woodcutter handing him an ax Before three days had passed, the hill, which the woodcutter wOUJld not have out in a year by himself, was aJlmos,t bare of brees, and the rows and rows of cord wood made the old woodoutter hruppy. From t!hait time on our woodcutter �SLOVAKIA 6::1 got along very wal!l, 8.!lld his chikliren no longer cried in the corner from huniger; they were ,h appy and healthy, because they were satfated. "Well, ,b oss," began :the servant, "you just keep on chopping little 1b y litJtle while l ,g o athreshing somewhere so that you might have bread and enoUJgh of everything in the howse for the wh'ole winter." "Go ahead, just go ahead," replied the woodcutter, "and whi1le you're gone, I',11 out as many trees as l can." In a g,r eat wN~erness dlweUed a wealthy man. Three hundred stooks of g,rain were in his fields and in his pens he had three htliildreld steers and tllree hundred ipigs. The woodicmrtter's serwant oarrne to this weaiLthy man and offered to thresh his graJin. "But wihere are you,r companions?" asked the man. "Do not worry abol.lit my compan~ons, just let me know whether you want yOU'r grain threshed." "Of coorse, I ,a m going to hawe it threshed, but don't tell me that you are going to d'O it yourrelf ?" "Whether I do it or not, yoo sha:N see the jdb done." "And w'haJt do you want for the threshing?" "Nothing my lorn, e:ireept whaJt I can carry away at one time," answered the serivant. "We11," the wea,l'thy man mused, "you will not be able to truke ten kilos away, so go to it." When it was .midnighlt, three thousand flails suddenly reso,u,ntled a,round the .stoclks of grain with a: whis:h, whash, whees'h, whoosh! The devils from the fires of hades came to helip their comrade By morni.intg the whole jdb of threshing was comp'leted and the grain stored in lra:rge saclks. Dawn was just .brealking as the thresher cruNed on the wea:lthy man to come out and see the jdb he had done. The man oo,tili:l not believe his eyes. The threshing was finished and the rich man was glad it was done so quickly. "Welil done, my lad," said the weialthy man, "and now you may taike whalt is y01UJrs for the threshing." Therewpon the disguised little devil ordered the lcmi's servants to plaJCe sa:clks of grain upon his shoU!l.ders. After ten kilos of wheat were 1plaieed upon his sh.ouJlders, the master smi>led and said: "WeN, young man, is that enough?" �64 SLOVAKIA "What do you mean encrugh ?" laughed ,t he thresher. "Ju.st keep pi'l.ing it on; look I can still hop around with it spryly.'' So the servants kept :p iling the saJoks of grain on the thresher's baok ,u ntil lib.ere were no more left. The wealthy man's hairr stood 'Uip from fear. "Well, w-eJl-1, now do ydu thinlk you have enough?" he asked. But the thresher let out a roar of laugihter, saying: "Not quite enOill!gh, my lord, just keep ptling on whatever you hruve. You see I .can stm dance around wit'h this stwflf " A huniclTed fattened ho,g s were taken out of their pens and pu<t on the bhres:her's .baok. The rich man was stupefied. "WeH, now perha•ps yoiu il:m'Ve enough?" he stuttered. But the ,l ittle devil danced around gayly and howled with giee: "J.ust keep ,pi.'ling it on!" The wealthy man was bUTsting with aD!ger, but he kept his word. "Let ouit a hundred fattened steers," he bar,ked at his senvants, "these he certainly ,wi!i not be able to carry." But the devil-thresher todk even the hundred steers, laughed in the master's face and then ran off to his boss as if he carried nothing at all. "WeH, boss, this is for y01U," said the servant ,ooiburdenh11g himself in t!he woodcutter's yard. "Now, even if I do leaive you, I do not thinlk that you shaM haive to fear hunger any more. My year is u1p, you know, but say, do you know who I am? Do you remember the day when yowr last piece of bread disappeared in the mountain?" The woodcutter shook his head and said: "I remember, yes, I do remem1ber." "Well, now I'U tell you who I am. I am a devil. It was I who stole your last piece of bread and as punishment I had to work for you one whole year Now my time is up. Fareweill." At that very moment the woodcutter's home was surrounded by laughter as if three thousand horses had brayed. It was the deviils who laughed at their comrade because he had to work for a poor woodcutter. � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 62 SLOVAK FOLKLORE THE DEVIl, HAS TO WORK One .poor woodkmtter went into the mountains with his last piece of ibread, which he ca:rried in a small d:ooh bag. It was to 1ast him t!he wh<ile diay. When he came into the mountams, he hung the bag on a •b ranch and went to worik. The poor fellow choipped. and ch'Opped and split thick oaks until stirerums of sweat flowed from his. brow. Suddenly out of nowhere a blaick, dirty devil oame unawares f.rom the deepest depths of hades and stdl.e the last ,piece of bread fr·om the woodcutter's brug. When ,he returned to hades, the horny rascal boasted of his deed to his comrades.. "Look, 'bhi•s was supposed to last one woodcutter a who'le d:ay and I stole it from him." "What',s that, wihat's that?" roared Lulcifer himself. Wihen Luicifer heard the sto~y, he became very angry at the horny litble thief for having drured to steal the last piece of ,b read from a poor man. "And for that," said Lucifer, "you win have to serve that poor man for a whole yerur, commencing forthwith." The next day, as the woodcuitter was a:gain preparing to go into the hills with his ax on his shoU!lder, the door suddenly opened and a strong young man entered tlhe room. "Good day, .b oss!" the stranger said, "how albout letting me wo:rik for you?" "Aoh, my son, what would I do with you?" replied the woodcutter. "I have nothing to eat myse1f and, as you see, in that corner al[ my chil.dren a:re weeping ibecaooe they are hung-r y." "Well, just taike me on a:nyway. For my services you shall owe me nothing, and I assure you that you wiU be completely satisfied with me." "Well, ,t hen, come with me to chop trees, if that is what you want," said the woodcutter handing him an ax Before three days had passed, the hill, which the woodcutter wOUJld not have out in a year by himself, was aJlmos,t bare of brees, and the rows and rows of cord wood made the old woodoutter hruppy. From t!hait time on our woodcutter SLOVAKIA 6::1 got along very wal!l, 8.!lld his chikliren no longer cried in the corner from huniger; they were ,h appy and healthy, because they were satfated. "Well, ,b oss," began :the servant, "you just keep on chopping little 1b y litJtle while l ,g o athreshing somewhere so that you might have bread and enoUJgh of everything in the howse for the wh'ole winter." "Go ahead, just go ahead," replied the woodcutter, "and whi1le you're gone, I',11 out as many trees as l can." In a g,r eat wN~erness dlweUed a wealthy man. Three hundred stooks of g,rain were in his fields and in his pens he had three htliildreld steers and tllree hundred ipigs. The woodicmrtter's serwant oarrne to this weaiLthy man and offered to thresh his graJin. "But wihere are you,r companions?" asked the man. "Do not worry abol.lit my compan~ons, just let me know whether you want yOU'r grain threshed." "Of coorse, I ,a m going to hawe it threshed, but don't tell me that you are going to d'O it yourrelf ?" "Whether I do it or not, yoo sha:N see the jdb done." "And w'haJt do you want for the threshing?" "Nothing my lorn, e:ireept whaJt I can carry away at one time," answered the serivant. "We11," the wea,l'thy man mused, "you will not be able to truke ten kilos away, so go to it." When it was .midnighlt, three thousand flails suddenly reso,u,ntled a,round the .stoclks of grain with a: whis:h, whash, whees'h, whoosh! The devils from the fires of hades came to helip their comrade By morni.intg the whole jdb of threshing was comp'leted and the grain stored in lra:rge saclks. Dawn was just .brealking as the thresher cruNed on the wea:lthy man to come out and see the jdb he had done. The man oo,tili:l not believe his eyes. The threshing was finished and the rich man was glad it was done so quickly. "Welil done, my lad," said the weialthy man, "and now you may taike whalt is y01UJrs for the threshing." Therewpon the disguised little devil ordered the lcmi's servants to plaJCe sa:clks of grain upon his shoU!l.ders. After ten kilos of wheat were 1plaieed upon his sh.ouJlders, the master smi>led and said: "WeN, young man, is that enough?" 64 SLOVAKIA "What do you mean encrugh ?" laughed ,t he thresher. "Ju.st keep pi'l.ing it on; look I can still hop around with it spryly.'' So the servants kept :p iling the saJoks of grain on the thresher's baok ,u ntil lib.ere were no more left. The wealthy man's hairr stood 'Uip from fear. "Well, w-eJl-1, now do ydu thinlk you have enough?" he asked. But the thresher let out a roar of laugihter, saying: "Not quite enOill!gh, my lord, just keep ptling on whatever you hruve. You see I .can stm dance around wit'h this stwflf " A huniclTed fattened ho,g s were taken out of their pens and pu<t on the bhres:her's .baok. The rich man was stupefied. "WeH, now perha•ps yoiu il:m'Ve enough?" he stuttered. But the ,l ittle devil danced around gayly and howled with giee: "J.ust keep ,pi.'ling it on!" The wealthy man was bUTsting with aD!ger, but he kept his word. "Let ouit a hundred fattened steers," he bar,ked at his senvants, "these he certainly ,wi!i not be able to carry." But the devil-thresher todk even the hundred steers, laughed in the master's face and then ran off to his boss as if he carried nothing at all. "WeH, boss, this is for y01U," said the servant ,ooiburdenh11g himself in t!he woodcutter's yard. "Now, even if I do leaive you, I do not thinlk that you shaM haive to fear hunger any more. My year is u1p, you know, but say, do you know who I am? Do you remember the day when yowr last piece of bread disappeared in the mountain?" The woodcutter shook his head and said: "I remember, yes, I do remem1ber." "Well, now I'U tell you who I am. I am a devil. It was I who stole your last piece of bread and as punishment I had to work for you one whole year Now my time is up. Fareweill." At that very moment the woodcutter's home was surrounded by laughter as if three thousand horses had brayed. It was the deviils who laughed at their comrade because he had to work for a poor woodcutter.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Slovak Folklore: The Devil Has to Work Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 62-64 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/f7c9d1a75e0451ddb6cf16ce129e65fa.pdf 50aa08ee2cb27a68097dac0f0dcc5754 PDF Text Text 57 SLOVAKIA PAST AND PRESENT OF CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY IN SLOVAKIA JOSEPH A. MIKUS Firom 1918 untirl 1948, Ohristian democracy was a dominant poliltical fo11ce ,i n S}ovrukia. Orig1nated ,u nder Hungarian rll!le at the >beginning olf the twentieth cenrtn.ury, Sloviak Chilistiian demo·c r-rucy realflf,iirmed i.itself and a,r ose ,v i1ctorious from ,t he i:dedl'og~all. cha:O's whicli existed in Czecho-iSlovakia and in Centrail EuTope af1ter 1918. W:hi'le Trj,anon Hunga,r y was the vidiim of the Oommilliru.Sm of Belia Kuihn in 1919, SociaJl Demo:crat:s fomne:d the .strongest :po1itica1 pairty in Czecho.,Sloivaikia. It remains t'he histodcal merit of the great Slovaik Caitholi:c and nationa[ leader, Msg1r. Andrew Hlinlka, for having saved Slo,vaJkia from spi.ri.itual anarchy. As founder of ,t he Slovak Peo:ple'·s Party amd. i.ts. leader, Hli:nlka designed for .SlovaJkia the right way of Christian demoCTa'Cy. 'Tihe ,program of his party w:as Ito work "foir God and the nation." - What did it mean? From the .r eligious standpoint, the People's Party always defended the Oa;tholic tramtion of the country against a narrow and panti-cmlarist Ozecih Husritiscrn which attempted to conquer the Slovak people. In the hard spirituaJl struggle Slovakia remained loyally on the side of the Roman Catholic Chu:rc:h amd in opposirt:ion to .t'he effo,r t of the governmental circles of P:mgiue which used ail[ the iresauirces. of the State to bring ,a bowt the "emancipati on" of Ozecho~Slovakia from the infllueI11Ce ~ Rome. T. G . Ma:saryk authored the •s 'logans "Asway from Rome" and •~Rome must ibe brought to tria•l and ,e;onrvioted !" The Slovruks were decidedly opposed ,to the estiaJb!lishment of the soJcal,led national "Czechoglovruk cihurClh" in Sil01v;akia, whtch .they re:cognirzed onl,y as a tool orf foreign spi.rii.itil.la1 influence. 1 From the naJtionall point orf view, the People's Party defended the natUTal rights of the Sloivak nation which were systema:tiica:Uy being abbTe-viated by the Prague Administration. The Czecho-S1-o;vak State in 1918, was sUipposed to be a federal union, such as the United States, be- �58 SLOVAKIA tween two equial par.tneTs, Ozechia (Bohemia, Moravia and SHesia) and Slova~ia, with a common cm,rency, forei1gn policy and m~litaey defel1$e. In fa.dt, howeveT, the Ce;echs ar'bitraril;y ohanged this nationally drualistic State into a strong centralized, umoorian "Czoohoslovaik" State by the Cons,titution of Fe/brua:ry 29, 1920, which was imipdsed on the Slo:vak nation lby the so-Oal[ed "RevoluJtiorrary Pa,rliament" tihat had .been handpicked by the Prague Government. In this way, .u nder Czech :r,ule, the SlOIV'aks were deprived of thek nationa!l rights and ;b ecame an initernal minority. In 1923, the Czech major1ty in Parfa1ment su,ppressed the ind'iJviidu,a,l consti'burtionaJ libertiies of minorities (the right olf free press•, tree spooclh, free asseniibl,y, etc) by adopting the Internal Seicurirty Aot. (No. 50-1923) which indica.ted alil efforts to;wa~d federa!lisrn as subversive. So, "OrechoslloviaJkia" never was, in fad, a country of f:ree politiica,l ins't!ituitfons, nor a t:riue democratic State. For these reasons, the SloJVlalk People's Party claimed in accordanice with dispositions of .t he Cleveland (191'5 ) and the Pilttshw-gh (1918) agreements signed by the Slovaik League of Ameriica and various Czech organmaitions - a dualist federation, which would bring to an end the privileged situaition of the Czechs and carry on the pr.inci,ple of equaility of bolth :peOiples in the oommon Staite If the Slovak peop'le were dlisiposed, in spkit and in ,t he interests of Christian integration, to abandon ceI1ta·i n national prerogatives in favor of a Czecho-iSlovaJk federal government, it was not at a1Jl disposed to relinquish the Slov<aJk nationa!l idea in favor of a Czech, that is a foreign nationalism. From the point of view of foreign policy, the Slovaik Peoiple's Pairty strongly .cr.ftici'Zed the miilita,:r,y alliance which MT. Benes signed in 1935 in Moscow with the Soviet Union. After the M'Uilich Agreement, when Hiit:Jler was giiven a fa:·ee hand in Central EJwro.pe by the Western Powers, Slova;k Christian democra:cy, the biggest 1po[irtica1 force in Slovakia, was charged with the task to cond~, at su.ch a d:iJfficuilt stage, th~ policy of thalt country. Foir such a small 1 �SLOVAKIA 59 nation it was very hrurd, ind:eeld, both spiritually and politically, to oppose eff~ctiivcly a totalitarian sys'tem such as Nazism. An iimipaI"tia:l historiography wiM, nevertheless, recognize the resist'a.rrce which Msgr. Joseph Tiso, the President of the Slov•aJk Repulblic, devcloped diuring World War II against the attempt of Nazism to estaJb'lish i.tself in his rarucaUy pro-German elements in the Sloivak Government, represenited m:aJinly by Vojtech Tu!k•a, the Brime Minister and the Minister of Fore,i,gn Affaiirs, and Afexander Mach, the Minister of Interior. The 'l:'uka-iMaich cornlbine iplayed uip to the Namis to win t!heir favor and thus to e:Hmina'te Tiso and his regime and ,puit 'l:'uka and his followers in their place. But they l,ruaked popular suipport. Being .previailed upon by the SlOIVak hiera~hiy and the people, Msgr. Joseph Tiso ..::.ecided to stay at his .p ost, and stay he did to the very end. Tiso's merit consists in hiruving saved Slovakia and his people from territorial d'ismeimlbeI1Inent, which was planned by Hungary and Gemniany, as proved at the Nuremberg trials, and in h'a!V,i ng preserved from Na'2li influence the spiritual individua!lilty of Slov,aJkia whose Christian tradition goes back to the eighth century. But Christian democra'Cy in Sfovakia faced its hardest task after 1'94,5. Slovalkia was at that time occupied by the Soviet Aruny and talken OIVer by Mir. Benes's Government forrr:ed in the shadow of the Kremlin. Since that time Slovakia has been exposed to a terrific ideological and po'lttical pressure from t he outside. In the elections in 1946. ChPi:sitian democra·c y in Slovakia manifested its strength. The Cathoilics, instructed by their hieiraTchy, gave an heroic example of great political disciopJ.i.ne. They •v oted for ,t he Slovalk Democratic Party, which gained 62 p€!r cent of the total ~lectorai vote; meanwhile in Czechia 56 per cent voted for pro-Communist parties ( 42 per cent for the Communists and 14 -p er cent for the Social Democrats). Those elections were the :b est expression of the Western orientation of the Slovaik people and of the fatal pro~Soviet position of the Czechs. In this distinction we . the internal ,p aradox of Czecho-Slova,kia. Though territorially farther West, the Czechs looked to Soviet Rus- see �60 SLOVAKIA sia as their best ally and protector, while the S[o,vaiks, the immediate neighbors of the Soviet Union, looked to the Western Powers. The Benes~Gottwa!ld regime regarded this altitude of the Sl~aks as "trea:cherouis" and, theTefore, decided to do s01rnething aJbout it to save face in Moscow. In the autumn of 1947, under the pretext oif con1eealing a girouip of "sepaJI1aJtists and consptrators agaiins.t the secwrity of ,t,he State," the Sl:ovak Demo'CraNc Party was attacked - not ontlry ,b y the Cotnmiun.ists, Qt.I't the Ozec,h democratic par,ties, too - !n ruch a way that it could never recover from the blo,w ''.Dwo thoU1Sand of its memlbers were imprisonoo, among them thrne olf its: deputies (iBugar, Kempny, Stasko) and. bne of its representatiJVes in the_ GoJVernment of the "Nationrul Fronrt," Vi'Ce~Premier John Uirsiny. With this "coup de fooce'' by which fta:gue imposed on democratic Slovakia a Oo:mrmunist ma:jorrty in the autonomous. Government in Bmtislava, the biggest political fac'tor in that country was crushed. HaJVing removed in this manner their strongest opponent in the Prague P.arJiament, the Communists coulld afterwards easiil y consoHda.te their ,p osition, shi,fting sirrnply from the system of "Na'tiona'1 Front" to that of the "M_a rxist majority." Contrary to what Mr. Hubert Ripka states in his book "Le coup d'Etat de Prague en 1948," there was, therefore, no revolution in Prague in February 1948. There was only a change in the internal structure of the government. 'Jihe present situation oi Christian demoomc,y in Slo·v akia is that of a resisting force to the Communist impact. This resistance is both religious and national. Catholiroism in Slovakia is a proven eounter-force to Communis:n. By the imprisonment of three Bishops, Msgr. V:oJtassruk, Msgr. Buza:lka and Msgr. Gojclic, and by keeping in house-arrest others of the Hierarchy, .the Chrur.ch finds it icrr:ipossilble to full.fill its obligations. But though there aire several hundred priests in jaH, though aH the Catholic lay elite has been "eliminated," though Christian demooracy as a poliiticail force has been crushed, . the Sl01V'8Jk peopie neventheless have retained a deep re!i,gious ooillViiction a:nd have defended chU'I'Ches an:d 'Priests with no more than �61 SLOVAKIA sticks and bare hands against the intervention of the State police. From the naHonal point of view, present-day OzechoSlavaJkia offers Vhe Slovaks nothing common to a national 'Staite. 'Bheir mherenit and ,a utonomous rights hruve been repudiated by Prag;ue once again. Ozecho~S!lwalkia today is simply one of the nll!mer()!U:s Socia[ist Reipuibl,ic.s of the Soviet orbit. Slovrukia has been depri·v ed of naitionail liberty in the name of the SocialiSIID preached by Moscow and executed by Prague. The Slovaks are firmly convinced that there is only one possible solution to the situation: the application of the right of national self-determination within the framework of a Federated Europe. This 'belief is shaired by the Slovak Lea,g ue of America and by aJl:l organie;ations of Slo-, J.!k political ref,u,gees in the free world. Slovak Ohnist:ian deimocraoy counts and relies on a nu1C'l eus oif prominent exi1ed peI'.sonallitities in the United .Jtrutes and Canada : some former Deiputies orf the Praigue Parlrarrnernt (Dr. :EJmanruel Boehm, St€iphen B1 aslko, John Daxner, Dr. Michael Zi:brin, Rev. Ferdinad Mondok, Dr. Francis Orlicky, Siteiphen BeniaJk), se;veral professors (Dr. J,o seph Cin:cik, Rev. Bonarventwre Ewe, Dr. Francis. Hrrusovsky, Reiv. Joseph PaJpin), nU1merous writers and jaurnaJlists George Gajdos-Bre~a, Rev. Nicha1as Sprinc, Constantine Ct.den, Dr. Joseipih Pa.iuco, Louis Kandra, Charles Sitrmen, John Okal'). and s.evera!l former Sllova!k diploona;ts (Charles Sidor, Dr. John Kassovk, Dr. Joseiph Kirs'Cihibaum, Dr. Joseph OmiliaJk) . All these men consider the United Statt•s as a fixed poh11t i;n the unive~se of Archi!Inides, frOim which it wilfil be possi,ble one day, by spiritual and physi.cal strength, to rock Communism from its foundations. They are most willing to conbrilbute their aJbilities and talents to effect the h'beration of Centra!l ffiurope and the formation of a European Federati'On with a free Slovrukia in it 1 WHO SAi D IT? - • • • "The importance of our trea ty with the U. S. S. R. is self-evident. Soviet Russia is rapidly freeing Europe from Nazi tyranny. Close ties have always existed between Russia and Czechoslovakia, and they have now been strengthened. We are proud to be an ally of that great power, which is bound to play the leading role in Europe after the war." - (Jan Mas aryk to "Overseas News Agency," February 6, 1944) . � 57 SLOVAKIA PAST AND PRESENT OF CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY IN SLOVAKIA JOSEPH A. MIKUS Firom 1918 untirl 1948, Ohristian democracy was a dominant poliltical fo11ce ,i n S}ovrukia. Orig1nated ,u nder Hungarian rll!le at the >beginning olf the twentieth cenrtn.ury, Sloviak Chilistiian demo·c r-rucy realflf,iirmed i.itself and a,r ose ,v i1ctorious from ,t he i:dedl'og~all. cha:O's whicli existed in Czecho-iSlovakia and in Centrail EuTope af1ter 1918. W:hi'le Trj,anon Hunga,r y was the vidiim of the Oommilliru.Sm of Belia Kuihn in 1919, SociaJl Demo:crat:s fomne:d the .strongest :po1itica1 pairty in Czecho.,Sloivaikia. It remains t'he histodcal merit of the great Slovaik Caitholi:c and nationa[ leader, Msg1r. Andrew Hlinlka, for having saved Slo,vaJkia from spi.ri.itual anarchy. As founder of ,t he Slovak Peo:ple'·s Party amd. i.ts. leader, Hli:nlka designed for .SlovaJkia the right way of Christian demoCTa'Cy. 'Tihe ,program of his party w:as Ito work "foir God and the nation." - What did it mean? From the .r eligious standpoint, the People's Party always defended the Oa;tholic tramtion of the country against a narrow and panti-cmlarist Ozecih Husritiscrn which attempted to conquer the Slovak people. In the hard spirituaJl struggle Slovakia remained loyally on the side of the Roman Catholic Chu:rc:h amd in opposirt:ion to .t'he effo,r t of the governmental circles of P:mgiue which used ail[ the iresauirces. of the State to bring ,a bowt the "emancipati on" of Ozecho~Slovakia from the infllueI11Ce ~ Rome. T. G . Ma:saryk authored the •s 'logans "Asway from Rome" and •~Rome must ibe brought to tria•l and ,e;onrvioted !" The Slovruks were decidedly opposed ,to the estiaJb!lishment of the soJcal,led national "Czechoglovruk cihurClh" in Sil01v;akia, whtch .they re:cognirzed onl,y as a tool orf foreign spi.rii.itil.la1 influence. 1 From the naJtionall point orf view, the People's Party defended the natUTal rights of the Sloivak nation which were systema:tiica:Uy being abbTe-viated by the Prague Administration. The Czecho-S1-o;vak State in 1918, was sUipposed to be a federal union, such as the United States, be- �58 SLOVAKIA tween two equial par.tneTs, Ozechia (Bohemia, Moravia and SHesia) and Slova~ia, with a common cm,rency, forei1gn policy and m~litaey defel1$e. In fa.dt, howeveT, the Ce;echs ar'bitraril;y ohanged this nationally drualistic State into a strong centralized, umoorian "Czoohoslovaik" State by the Cons,titution of Fe/brua:ry 29, 1920, which was imipdsed on the Slo:vak nation lby the so-Oal[ed "RevoluJtiorrary Pa,rliament" tihat had .been handpicked by the Prague Government. In this way, .u nder Czech :r,ule, the SlOIV'aks were deprived of thek nationa!l rights and ;b ecame an initernal minority. In 1923, the Czech major1ty in Parfa1ment su,ppressed the ind'iJviidu,a,l consti'burtionaJ libertiies of minorities (the right olf free press•, tree spooclh, free asseniibl,y, etc) by adopting the Internal Seicurirty Aot. (No. 50-1923) which indica.ted alil efforts to;wa~d federa!lisrn as subversive. So, "OrechoslloviaJkia" never was, in fad, a country of f:ree politiica,l ins't!ituitfons, nor a t:riue democratic State. For these reasons, the SloJVlalk People's Party claimed in accordanice with dispositions of .t he Cleveland (191'5 ) and the Pilttshw-gh (1918) agreements signed by the Slovaik League of Ameriica and various Czech organmaitions - a dualist federation, which would bring to an end the privileged situaition of the Czechs and carry on the pr.inci,ple of equaility of bolth :peOiples in the oommon Staite If the Slovak peop'le were dlisiposed, in spkit and in ,t he interests of Christian integration, to abandon ceI1ta·i n national prerogatives in favor of a Czecho-iSlovaJk federal government, it was not at a1Jl disposed to relinquish the Slov<aJk nationa!l idea in favor of a Czech, that is a foreign nationalism. From the point of view of foreign policy, the Slovaik Peoiple's Pairty strongly .cr.ftici'Zed the miilita,:r,y alliance which MT. Benes signed in 1935 in Moscow with the Soviet Union. After the M'Uilich Agreement, when Hiit:Jler was giiven a fa:·ee hand in Central EJwro.pe by the Western Powers, Slova;k Christian democra:cy, the biggest 1po[irtica1 force in Slovakia, was charged with the task to cond~, at su.ch a d:iJfficuilt stage, th~ policy of thalt country. Foir such a small 1 �SLOVAKIA 59 nation it was very hrurd, ind:eeld, both spiritually and politically, to oppose eff~ctiivcly a totalitarian sys'tem such as Nazism. An iimipaI"tia:l historiography wiM, nevertheless, recognize the resist'a.rrce which Msgr. Joseph Tiso, the President of the Slov•aJk Repulblic, devcloped diuring World War II against the attempt of Nazism to estaJb'lish i.tself in his rarucaUy pro-German elements in the Sloivak Government, represenited m:aJinly by Vojtech Tu!k•a, the Brime Minister and the Minister of Fore,i,gn Affaiirs, and Afexander Mach, the Minister of Interior. The 'l:'uka-iMaich cornlbine iplayed uip to the Namis to win t!heir favor and thus to e:Hmina'te Tiso and his regime and ,puit 'l:'uka and his followers in their place. But they l,ruaked popular suipport. Being .previailed upon by the SlOIVak hiera~hiy and the people, Msgr. Joseph Tiso ..::.ecided to stay at his .p ost, and stay he did to the very end. Tiso's merit consists in hiruving saved Slovakia and his people from territorial d'ismeimlbeI1Inent, which was planned by Hungary and Gemniany, as proved at the Nuremberg trials, and in h'a!V,i ng preserved from Na'2li influence the spiritual individua!lilty of Slov,aJkia whose Christian tradition goes back to the eighth century. But Christian democra'Cy in Sfovakia faced its hardest task after 1'94,5. Slovalkia was at that time occupied by the Soviet Aruny and talken OIVer by Mir. Benes's Government forrr:ed in the shadow of the Kremlin. Since that time Slovakia has been exposed to a terrific ideological and po'lttical pressure from t he outside. In the elections in 1946. ChPi:sitian democra·c y in Slovakia manifested its strength. The Cathoilics, instructed by their hieiraTchy, gave an heroic example of great political disciopJ.i.ne. They •v oted for ,t he Slovalk Democratic Party, which gained 62 p€!r cent of the total ~lectorai vote; meanwhile in Czechia 56 per cent voted for pro-Communist parties ( 42 per cent for the Communists and 14 -p er cent for the Social Democrats). Those elections were the :b est expression of the Western orientation of the Slovaik people and of the fatal pro~Soviet position of the Czechs. In this distinction we . the internal ,p aradox of Czecho-Slova,kia. Though territorially farther West, the Czechs looked to Soviet Rus- see �60 SLOVAKIA sia as their best ally and protector, while the S[o,vaiks, the immediate neighbors of the Soviet Union, looked to the Western Powers. The Benes~Gottwa!ld regime regarded this altitude of the Sl~aks as "trea:cherouis" and, theTefore, decided to do s01rnething aJbout it to save face in Moscow. In the autumn of 1947, under the pretext oif con1eealing a girouip of "sepaJI1aJtists and consptrators agaiins.t the secwrity of ,t,he State," the Sl:ovak Demo'CraNc Party was attacked - not ontlry ,b y the Cotnmiun.ists, Qt.I't the Ozec,h democratic par,ties, too - !n ruch a way that it could never recover from the blo,w ''.Dwo thoU1Sand of its memlbers were imprisonoo, among them thrne olf its: deputies (iBugar, Kempny, Stasko) and. bne of its representatiJVes in the_ GoJVernment of the "Nationrul Fronrt," Vi'Ce~Premier John Uirsiny. With this "coup de fooce'' by which fta:gue imposed on democratic Slovakia a Oo:mrmunist ma:jorrty in the autonomous. Government in Bmtislava, the biggest political fac'tor in that country was crushed. HaJVing removed in this manner their strongest opponent in the Prague P.arJiament, the Communists coulld afterwards easiil y consoHda.te their ,p osition, shi,fting sirrnply from the system of "Na'tiona'1 Front" to that of the "M_a rxist majority." Contrary to what Mr. Hubert Ripka states in his book "Le coup d'Etat de Prague en 1948," there was, therefore, no revolution in Prague in February 1948. There was only a change in the internal structure of the government. 'Jihe present situation oi Christian demoomc,y in Slo·v akia is that of a resisting force to the Communist impact. This resistance is both religious and national. Catholiroism in Slovakia is a proven eounter-force to Communis:n. By the imprisonment of three Bishops, Msgr. V:oJtassruk, Msgr. Buza:lka and Msgr. Gojclic, and by keeping in house-arrest others of the Hierarchy, .the Chrur.ch finds it icrr:ipossilble to full.fill its obligations. But though there aire several hundred priests in jaH, though aH the Catholic lay elite has been "eliminated," though Christian demooracy as a poliiticail force has been crushed, . the Sl01V'8Jk peopie neventheless have retained a deep re!i,gious ooillViiction a:nd have defended chU'I'Ches an:d 'Priests with no more than �61 SLOVAKIA sticks and bare hands against the intervention of the State police. From the naHonal point of view, present-day OzechoSlavaJkia offers Vhe Slovaks nothing common to a national 'Staite. 'Bheir mherenit and ,a utonomous rights hruve been repudiated by Prag;ue once again. Ozecho~S!lwalkia today is simply one of the nll!mer()!U:s Socia[ist Reipuibl,ic.s of the Soviet orbit. Slovrukia has been depri·v ed of naitionail liberty in the name of the SocialiSIID preached by Moscow and executed by Prague. The Slovaks are firmly convinced that there is only one possible solution to the situation: the application of the right of national self-determination within the framework of a Federated Europe. This 'belief is shaired by the Slovak Lea,g ue of America and by aJl:l organie;ations of Slo-, J.!k political ref,u,gees in the free world. Slovak Ohnist:ian deimocraoy counts and relies on a nu1C'l eus oif prominent exi1ed peI'.sonallitities in the United .Jtrutes and Canada : some former Deiputies orf the Praigue Parlrarrnernt (Dr. :EJmanruel Boehm, St€iphen B1 aslko, John Daxner, Dr. Michael Zi:brin, Rev. Ferdinad Mondok, Dr. Francis Orlicky, Siteiphen BeniaJk), se;veral professors (Dr. J,o seph Cin:cik, Rev. Bonarventwre Ewe, Dr. Francis. Hrrusovsky, Reiv. Joseph PaJpin), nU1merous writers and jaurnaJlists George Gajdos-Bre~a, Rev. Nicha1as Sprinc, Constantine Ct.den, Dr. Joseipih Pa.iuco, Louis Kandra, Charles Sitrmen, John Okal'). and s.evera!l former Sllova!k diploona;ts (Charles Sidor, Dr. John Kassovk, Dr. Joseiph Kirs'Cihibaum, Dr. Joseph OmiliaJk) . All these men consider the United Statt•s as a fixed poh11t i;n the unive~se of Archi!Inides, frOim which it wilfil be possi,ble one day, by spiritual and physi.cal strength, to rock Communism from its foundations. They are most willing to conbrilbute their aJbilities and talents to effect the h'beration of Centra!l ffiurope and the formation of a European Federati'On with a free Slovrukia in it 1 WHO SAi D IT? - • • • "The importance of our trea ty with the U. S. S. R. is self-evident. Soviet Russia is rapidly freeing Europe from Nazi tyranny. Close ties have always existed between Russia and Czechoslovakia, and they have now been strengthened. We are proud to be an ally of that great power, which is bound to play the leading role in Europe after the war." - (Jan Mas aryk to "Overseas News Agency," February 6, 1944) . � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 57 SLOVAKIA PAST AND PRESENT OF CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY IN SLOVAKIA JOSEPH A. MIKUS Firom 1918 untirl 1948, Ohristian democracy was a dominant poliltical fo11ce ,i n S}ovrukia. Orig1nated ,u nder Hungarian rll!le at the >beginning olf the twentieth cenrtn.ury, Sloviak Chilistiian demo·c r-rucy realflf,iirmed i.itself and a,r ose ,v i1ctorious from ,t he i:dedl'og~all. cha:O's whicli existed in Czecho-iSlovakia and in Centrail EuTope af1ter 1918. W:hi'le Trj,anon Hunga,r y was the vidiim of the Oommilliru.Sm of Belia Kuihn in 1919, SociaJl Demo:crat:s fomne:d the .strongest :po1itica1 pairty in Czecho.,Sloivaikia. It remains t'he histodcal merit of the great Slovaik Caitholi:c and nationa[ leader, Msg1r. Andrew Hlinlka, for having saved Slo,vaJkia from spi.ri.itual anarchy. As founder of ,t he Slovak Peo:ple'·s Party amd. i.ts. leader, Hli:nlka designed for .SlovaJkia the right way of Christian demoCTa'Cy. 'Tihe ,program of his party w:as Ito work "foir God and the nation." - What did it mean? From the .r eligious standpoint, the People's Party always defended the Oa;tholic tramtion of the country against a narrow and panti-cmlarist Ozecih Husritiscrn which attempted to conquer the Slovak people. In the hard spirituaJl struggle Slovakia remained loyally on the side of the Roman Catholic Chu:rc:h amd in opposirt:ion to .t'he effo,r t of the governmental circles of P:mgiue which used ail[ the iresauirces. of the State to bring ,a bowt the "emancipati on" of Ozecho~Slovakia from the infllueI11Ce ~ Rome. T. G . Ma:saryk authored the •s 'logans "Asway from Rome" and •~Rome must ibe brought to tria•l and ,e;onrvioted !" The Slovruks were decidedly opposed ,to the estiaJb!lishment of the soJcal,led national "Czechoglovruk cihurClh" in Sil01v;akia, whtch .they re:cognirzed onl,y as a tool orf foreign spi.rii.itil.la1 influence. 1 From the naJtionall point orf view, the People's Party defended the natUTal rights of the Sloivak nation which were systema:tiica:Uy being abbTe-viated by the Prague Administration. The Czecho-S1-o;vak State in 1918, was sUipposed to be a federal union, such as the United States, be- 58 SLOVAKIA tween two equial par.tneTs, Ozechia (Bohemia, Moravia and SHesia) and Slova~ia, with a common cm,rency, forei1gn policy and m~litaey defel1$e. In fa.dt, howeveT, the Ce;echs ar'bitraril;y ohanged this nationally drualistic State into a strong centralized, umoorian "Czoohoslovaik" State by the Cons,titution of Fe/brua:ry 29, 1920, which was imipdsed on the Slo:vak nation lby the so-Oal[ed "RevoluJtiorrary Pa,rliament" tihat had .been handpicked by the Prague Government. In this way, .u nder Czech :r,ule, the SlOIV'aks were deprived of thek nationa!l rights and ;b ecame an initernal minority. In 1923, the Czech major1ty in Parfa1ment su,ppressed the ind'iJviidu,a,l consti'burtionaJ libertiies of minorities (the right olf free press•, tree spooclh, free asseniibl,y, etc) by adopting the Internal Seicurirty Aot. (No. 50-1923) which indica.ted alil efforts to;wa~d federa!lisrn as subversive. So, "OrechoslloviaJkia" never was, in fad, a country of f:ree politiica,l ins't!ituitfons, nor a t:riue democratic State. For these reasons, the SloJVlalk People's Party claimed in accordanice with dispositions of .t he Cleveland (191'5 ) and the Pilttshw-gh (1918) agreements signed by the Slovaik League of Ameriica and various Czech organmaitions - a dualist federation, which would bring to an end the privileged situaition of the Czechs and carry on the pr.inci,ple of equaility of bolth :peOiples in the oommon Staite If the Slovak peop'le were dlisiposed, in spkit and in ,t he interests of Christian integration, to abandon ceI1ta·i n national prerogatives in favor of a Czecho-iSlovaJk federal government, it was not at a1Jl disposed to relinquish the Slov<aJk nationa!l idea in favor of a Czech, that is a foreign nationalism. From the point of view of foreign policy, the Slovaik Peoiple's Pairty strongly .cr.ftici'Zed the miilita,:r,y alliance which MT. Benes signed in 1935 in Moscow with the Soviet Union. After the M'Uilich Agreement, when Hiit:Jler was giiven a fa:·ee hand in Central EJwro.pe by the Western Powers, Slova;k Christian democra:cy, the biggest 1po[irtica1 force in Slovakia, was charged with the task to cond~, at su.ch a d:iJfficuilt stage, th~ policy of thalt country. Foir such a small 1 SLOVAKIA 59 nation it was very hrurd, ind:eeld, both spiritually and politically, to oppose eff~ctiivcly a totalitarian sys'tem such as Nazism. An iimipaI"tia:l historiography wiM, nevertheless, recognize the resist'a.rrce which Msgr. Joseph Tiso, the President of the Slov•aJk Repulblic, devcloped diuring World War II against the attempt of Nazism to estaJb'lish i.tself in his rarucaUy pro-German elements in the Sloivak Government, represenited m:aJinly by Vojtech Tu!k•a, the Brime Minister and the Minister of Fore,i,gn Affaiirs, and Afexander Mach, the Minister of Interior. The 'l:'uka-iMaich cornlbine iplayed uip to the Namis to win t!heir favor and thus to e:Hmina'te Tiso and his regime and ,puit 'l:'uka and his followers in their place. But they l,ruaked popular suipport. Being .previailed upon by the SlOIVak hiera~hiy and the people, Msgr. Joseph Tiso ..::.ecided to stay at his .p ost, and stay he did to the very end. Tiso's merit consists in hiruving saved Slovakia and his people from territorial d'ismeimlbeI1Inent, which was planned by Hungary and Gemniany, as proved at the Nuremberg trials, and in h'a!V,i ng preserved from Na'2li influence the spiritual individua!lilty of Slov,aJkia whose Christian tradition goes back to the eighth century. But Christian democra'Cy in Sfovakia faced its hardest task after 1'94,5. Slovalkia was at that time occupied by the Soviet Aruny and talken OIVer by Mir. Benes's Government forrr:ed in the shadow of the Kremlin. Since that time Slovakia has been exposed to a terrific ideological and po'lttical pressure from t he outside. In the elections in 1946. ChPi:sitian democra·c y in Slovakia manifested its strength. The Cathoilics, instructed by their hieiraTchy, gave an heroic example of great political disciopJ.i.ne. They •v oted for ,t he Slovalk Democratic Party, which gained 62 p€!r cent of the total ~lectorai vote; meanwhile in Czechia 56 per cent voted for pro-Communist parties ( 42 per cent for the Communists and 14 -p er cent for the Social Democrats). Those elections were the :b est expression of the Western orientation of the Slovaik people and of the fatal pro~Soviet position of the Czechs. In this distinction we . the internal ,p aradox of Czecho-Slova,kia. Though territorially farther West, the Czechs looked to Soviet Rus- see 60 SLOVAKIA sia as their best ally and protector, while the S[o,vaiks, the immediate neighbors of the Soviet Union, looked to the Western Powers. The Benes~Gottwa!ld regime regarded this altitude of the Sl~aks as "trea:cherouis" and, theTefore, decided to do s01rnething aJbout it to save face in Moscow. In the autumn of 1947, under the pretext oif con1eealing a girouip of "sepaJI1aJtists and consptrators agaiins.t the secwrity of ,t,he State," the Sl:ovak Demo'CraNc Party was attacked - not ontlry ,b y the Cotnmiun.ists, Qt.I't the Ozec,h democratic par,ties, too - !n ruch a way that it could never recover from the blo,w ''.Dwo thoU1Sand of its memlbers were imprisonoo, among them thrne olf its: deputies (iBugar, Kempny, Stasko) and. bne of its representatiJVes in the_ GoJVernment of the "Nationrul Fronrt," Vi'Ce~Premier John Uirsiny. With this "coup de fooce'' by which fta:gue imposed on democratic Slovakia a Oo:mrmunist ma:jorrty in the autonomous. Government in Bmtislava, the biggest political fac'tor in that country was crushed. HaJVing removed in this manner their strongest opponent in the Prague P.arJiament, the Communists coulld afterwards easiil y consoHda.te their ,p osition, shi,fting sirrnply from the system of "Na'tiona'1 Front" to that of the "M_a rxist majority." Contrary to what Mr. Hubert Ripka states in his book "Le coup d'Etat de Prague en 1948," there was, therefore, no revolution in Prague in February 1948. There was only a change in the internal structure of the government. 'Jihe present situation oi Christian demoomc,y in Slo·v akia is that of a resisting force to the Communist impact. This resistance is both religious and national. Catholiroism in Slovakia is a proven eounter-force to Communis:n. By the imprisonment of three Bishops, Msgr. V:oJtassruk, Msgr. Buza:lka and Msgr. Gojclic, and by keeping in house-arrest others of the Hierarchy, .the Chrur.ch finds it icrr:ipossilble to full.fill its obligations. But though there aire several hundred priests in jaH, though aH the Catholic lay elite has been "eliminated," though Christian demooracy as a poliiticail force has been crushed, . the Sl01V'8Jk peopie neventheless have retained a deep re!i,gious ooillViiction a:nd have defended chU'I'Ches an:d 'Priests with no more than 61 SLOVAKIA sticks and bare hands against the intervention of the State police. From the naHonal point of view, present-day OzechoSlavaJkia offers Vhe Slovaks nothing common to a national 'Staite. 'Bheir mherenit and ,a utonomous rights hruve been repudiated by Prag;ue once again. Ozecho~S!lwalkia today is simply one of the nll!mer()!U:s Socia[ist Reipuibl,ic.s of the Soviet orbit. Slovrukia has been depri·v ed of naitionail liberty in the name of the SocialiSIID preached by Moscow and executed by Prague. The Slovaks are firmly convinced that there is only one possible solution to the situation: the application of the right of national self-determination within the framework of a Federated Europe. This 'belief is shaired by the Slovak Lea,g ue of America and by aJl:l organie;ations of Slo-, J.!k political ref,u,gees in the free world. Slovak Ohnist:ian deimocraoy counts and relies on a nu1C'l eus oif prominent exi1ed peI'.sonallitities in the United .Jtrutes and Canada : some former Deiputies orf the Praigue Parlrarrnernt (Dr. :EJmanruel Boehm, St€iphen B1 aslko, John Daxner, Dr. Michael Zi:brin, Rev. Ferdinad Mondok, Dr. Francis Orlicky, Siteiphen BeniaJk), se;veral professors (Dr. J,o seph Cin:cik, Rev. Bonarventwre Ewe, Dr. Francis. Hrrusovsky, Reiv. Joseph PaJpin), nU1merous writers and jaurnaJlists George Gajdos-Bre~a, Rev. Nicha1as Sprinc, Constantine Ct.den, Dr. Joseipih Pa.iuco, Louis Kandra, Charles Sitrmen, John Okal'). and s.evera!l former Sllova!k diploona;ts (Charles Sidor, Dr. John Kassovk, Dr. Joseiph Kirs'Cihibaum, Dr. Joseph OmiliaJk) . All these men consider the United Statt•s as a fixed poh11t i;n the unive~se of Archi!Inides, frOim which it wilfil be possi,ble one day, by spiritual and physi.cal strength, to rock Communism from its foundations. They are most willing to conbrilbute their aJbilities and talents to effect the h'beration of Centra!l ffiurope and the formation of a European Federati'On with a free Slovrukia in it 1 WHO SAi D IT? - • • • "The importance of our trea ty with the U. S. S. R. is self-evident. Soviet Russia is rapidly freeing Europe from Nazi tyranny. Close ties have always existed between Russia and Czechoslovakia, and they have now been strengthened. We are proud to be an ally of that great power, which is bound to play the leading role in Europe after the war." - (Jan Mas aryk to "Overseas News Agency," February 6, 1944) .  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 Christian Democracy in Slovakia Description An account of the resource Joseph A. Mikuš Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 57-61 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mikuš, Joseph A., 1909-2005 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a15debfb5d6d1ab2940f0d9a0159c322.pdf 764e50b948cc470aff2359cbfcb1c1bd PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 39 THREE MONTHS IN "LIBERAT ED" BRATISLA VA BY: AN EYEWITNES S Urut'hl 1944 tJhe capiW city of S10V1akira, Bralbis1ava, lived far remoived from mililtaey operations. Ltfe wars a,,1together nor,ma;J. both c1.1llltmraUy and sodaiJ.l.y. 'Dhe siltuation dhanged. sU!bstantli.la!ley after Italy wars occuipied, when Bratislava came withi111 the range of the alliied air :f.iorce. Mirl itary oib'jeldt:s of Bratisl ruva were first bombed rby the al'lied aiir force in the focenooo. of June 16, 1944. The "ApO'llo" ref.inery, the adjacenit faotory and lha!1bor quarters we.re hit. But indrirscriminaite Russian 1b om11:iing was more fatal. Soviet flliers did not specialize on miiitairy objects, but let bombs loose anyiw\here in the city. They ce11ba:irillry did not glorify themselves witih the 1bombing of SpitMsrka street, where tlhey destroyed a church, a convent and the hospital of St. EliizaJbeth. Sorviet planes ruppea:red aibove Braitislava on Holy Satu,rdary and peppered the civi[fans on the crowded streets with tlherir deck guns. The front had moved up consideraJblly and Soviielt p:lranes were comin,g over practically every houir to drop their b.ombs into the streets. 1 Easter 1945 in Bratislava During Holy Weelk it. was evident to most of us that the Germa'I1S were preparing ,t o defend Bratisfav.a. The streets were emptied, bM'ricades were constructed , huge g'uns were put u,p The Germans themsel;ves, '.however, did not appear to be very interested in tlhe defense of our ctity and hauled whaitever they couftd out of it. 'Dhe units whkJh remained were to be used to c01Ver the retrea,ting Germans. The Ger-• man com.man.der urged the Slovak Governmen t to leave Bratislava. Since only a small number of Germans remained, it was ~rieved that tJhey were not going to defend the city very lon.g. The poipuilation co'l.tld not decide whether to leave tbe ciity or stay putt. Sa.Jturday evening everything was being taiken into cel10Jrs and hritl!ing places. The monotonou s bomibing of the Russian air force, the ofose booming of cannons annOIUll1Ced that the Russians we.re a:pproachin g steadily U111spea.JkaJble ne:rrV'O!U'Sness gr.~pped the crirty. AH the men h~d �40 SLOVAKIA themselves, booaiuse iJt was said thait the Germans were going to taJke rull 1!he men out of Braitislava. On Easter Sunday, at nine o'dock in the morning, Soviet fliers aigain ffilade them- appearance and in the afternoon huge Russian g,uns were 'bombarding Bralti:slava. The we'l!l-.Jmown Ruissian "Kaltuse", also da!lled "1Sta~ iln'is organs," began to pJ.ay the following day, i.e., Easter Monday. Every. thiinig shook to the foundatio!l'S and fires hroike out in many p'lia;ces. T,h e retreating Germans fired the SloV'ak University and ala the reserwe piiles of food and war maJterials. Thick smoike rose from Bratiis'lruva for three days and three niighlbs, and the fire sprerud because there were neither waiter nor the pe01ple to f,i ght tlhe fires. The heaviiest fii:ghting took place in the ea'S'tern paJI't of the cilty, where praeitiic~ly every factory quariter wrus ruined, the stireets of Trnruva and Krizna, Stein's Brewery and the viJcinity. On 'l'uesday tlhe Gemnans began to f11ee, destroying every;th'i ng that had n~t a-lre'ad,y <been desitvoyed. They blew u1p the bridge ,to PetrizJalka and the last g,rowp bariricruded iltself in the Braitis,la,va Castrle. The Russians aiready were in the sulburbs of Bratislava, when the Germans in the western hil!J.s of the c1ty began cannonading it. Thiis hurl BTati'slava the moist. On Thursday morning fue first Russian d'i•visions were in the very heart oif the city. Graduailly the booming died aiway and the streets began to be filled w1th Russian soldiers. The "Liberation" Begins 1 The SolV'iet soldiers first Hib.e.rated us from our watches with their well-tlmown "Davaj easy" (Give your waltches). EX!cept for solldiers, tlhe streets were empty; on1y coz,pses were being b alked in .the sipring sun. After a few days, when we cra.,wled out of our bunlkers and cellairs., we saiw the ghastly pioture of ruin anld desolation. Sffiloke s,tii-1 ro!Hed out of buildings and 1:lhe atmosphere was. satwrated Wli'th dust and gunpowder. Glass wa·s ground under foolt. Rdl::fueries were in fU'l'l swing. Soviet soidiers brdke windows of business places with their rule butts and sa-cked and pitMaiged everything. A few dats later, not a sitIJ.g1le shop remamed whO'le. Wh'atever could rrot be taken �SLOVAKIA 41 was knocked to pieces. Of course, the l'a wless mob helped very efferdtive1y in thi's work. Reports. olf the raping of women began coming in. It was nothing um.t'sua!l to see franltic W()lffien rUIUNng wildly from their aJttaokeirs; they sm-eamed, k'iciked and fought, -but to no avail. The 'hordes of the RUJSsii'an steppe's were on the loose. Who shall desc,dbe the sta.rk terror- in the eyes of the Slo;v:ak women and girls who 00U!l.1d not get away f,r -()lffi the beasts olf Moscow? Even ii£ I tmoo, I believe that my pen woul:d have to blush if it had to detail the brutalities and abroc'~ties committed. There is no need to exipand on :the fate of many, many women, who remained lya.ng in their bllood aflter such a ba'I1barian shaw of "a!f.feotion" of the Sov,i et soldiers. They to,l d us that it was the "nationa!l duty" o.f the S1avaJk women to repay the So'Vliet arimies rih love! Vinko, Vinko, Vinko Cervene We thOUJght that SlovaJk wiine would not attract the Soviets after tJhey had tasted of strong Tokay in Hurngary. Bult we were mi!stJaken even tJhis time (as usu:a1). Slovak wine memhanits di:d not wanit to sel'l us wine since January, becau:se they had 'hiOiped to sell it at a high price to the Soviet sohliers. But how quijic,k1ly they soibered UJP, when, instead of the jingle-jangle of gCJld 11ulbles, they he:ard shots from rifiles anld. aUlbomaitics in their otherwise irnmcessible ceUars. Barrels were shot wp and the precious liquid o.f the Slova1k earth began flowing; first into pitchers an'<i all so!'ts of containers, dean and uncilean, even bernzine cans. When aU these were fi'1le'd, tlhe wine t11ic'k:led iruto soLdieirs' boots, then flowed over the cellars and vestilbll!les an'<i finaliy onto. the streets. Tos strong aroma mixed w1th the gih:astly stench of decayiing cO'l",pses, whk:h even after a week were stili lying on the sidewaiJ.ks. of the city. The soldiers drank and so d<id the civilians; ch!iMren drank and so did the oldsters. It seemed that the barrels were bottomless. "Viniko, vinko, vinko cerivene" (Wtine, wine, red wine - a popclaT Slovak drinlking song) ! I shail1l never forget tJhe tovaris-comrade who had two botJtles of reld. champaigne stucik in his fuT crup, a bottle in �42 SLOVAKIA eadh. pocket and his hands full. He was approached by another comrade whn .rolblbed hiim on the street of his precious bu.Tden in broad d'a.yuilghlt. The two lashed at each other li'ke antlmals and drew blood on the 'ha.rd pavement of Kapitulska street. Bratishwa wine merchants. 'loolk ed on stupidly and si.'lently ait this Sodiomic destruction of their cellars, and the SO!Ulr odor of the wine reminded them of the old times, when they were s'till:l. bosses of their wine and thought that they themselrves wolU.ld ·haive the honor to treat the "liberat0rs." They rea[irz;eJd tlhe bitter truth that they we·r e "liberated," i.e. comip1etely roiblbed of all their world!ly possessions on the very threshold of a neiw life, the new order promised by the men of the K.re:rnUn. Where Do You Stay, Tovaris? If you were in the aI1II1y, you know w'hat obedience and di'Scilplme means. Withoult bhe:rn, there hardly could be an effecltiive rurmy. A soldier beil.ong,s to some particular company or di'Vlisi:on, must haJVe his gear, be fed and quartered, even th<Ylligh it be under a tent or in a barn. Bult the Soviet soltl!iers wlho swa:runed iiruto Bratislava had no definite quarters and, hence, were everywhere. Usuany aJbout midnight it occurred to· tihe:rn that they had to get some sleep, so the,y began to looik for shelter. Door:s and lodks and bars were no hindrance. Wihether of glass or wood, doors were booted in or smasheJd wiitJh rifile butts, if they were niot opened immediately. "You, bourgeoisie, you did not fighlt ... " Threatened, 1:Jhere wa·s nothing one cou[d c1o bult flee from .h is own home and consider himse1f liUCky if he was not shot- A soldier does not undress for sleep very oflte:n at the fuiont, bult Ivan the RUJSsian never ll!Ildressed even when he had a bed, bwt simply piled on the bed f.wl1y g,ar,bed, 'boots, rifle, pi•s tols, grena:des and a:M. And the frolllt was sixty miles away from us. Investigation After Investigation We thought the war was over when the slh!ooting subsided and the boomdng resounded f.rom a dristanice. We began �SLOVAKIA 43 to clean the streets, coll!lect the dead, and put whatever was left oif ,ouir homes in order. A ,penson slO!Wly fongets what he lost, because onlly then, when he did not die during the bomfbardment, does he reaili.ize that it is beaultiifiu[ to live, even tJhoug'h in feaJr, hunger rund thirst, and in raJgs. Things tha,t were a.ire no more, and other things tfhat were not will oome into being. L'iife is all that matters. On'l,y he knows the reail meamng of water and light who has li,v ed thI10UJgh the terror of the front in hiding wilthoult light and water. I.Me will returm to iits dld ways and time wiH heal aJhl wounds ()If the soiwl a,nd bod,y ()If inld.wii.dUJaJl's and nations. Well, wlh,y shoUJld nO/t a person a:gaJin imagine that liJfe can be beruuttilfiull, when he is sitting on tile 'l'Uins ()If his home ~nd the ashes of hi1s dreams? Why, there is no more bc»nibing and even the streets are lighted up in the evenings. Buit empty a.ire the inns, empty are the ce11'3JI"s, empty are tJhe stores and shops Brolken windows and smashed doors attest tJo the min which the Soviet soldiers had WOOU1ght. But the wihl to live r,i,ses alb,ove all this. We must forget everyttJhing thaJt pruined us, a.IN the in:justi<Ces, subdue om thd,r st for blood, when the sap of a new spring is awakening, when everythfun.g is being ren01Vateld, everything is in bloom, the thrush sings and the chiildren play. Burt aH this is but a dream, an ~lluision. '.Dhe 'b attle has ended on the streets, but just the sa:me a mare fiurious invi:siib1e baittle is going on. As you step out of your home, you are co,nrfronlted with tJhe bayonet o;f a Russian soldier or the various "safety" ciommittees. You look a:rO'llnd and notice that yornr home, nay the whole street is sUJITounded by guards. You re'tl.l!rn h'llITTriedly to your room and wait to see what wiM h'appen. Y.ou wait and wait and waJit unti[ the sUISpense aJlrrnost d11ives you mad. Your blood thins in your veins and you look sadly aJbowt you - and wait! F'iinaMy they came, sO'l1d iers and civiili ians: they go through the house and take whatever they want. '.Dhey ask you whether you are a GeI1IDan or not, whebher any Germans or "coll'<llbaratilonists" a,re in your house. You lod.k them icily in the face. 'Tihey depart but only to come rugruin. �44 SLOVAKIA Organs of Security Mter two weeks oif the Russian occupation everything was phmdered. People had no more than they had buried or secreted in such a place where even the Russian hunters and t,hey are eXlpe'tUy schooled in the art of flinding wailled-in objects - would not come. There was a clirth oif everything, even a serforus lack of bread. But we had plenty o.f police! They sprang Ulp like m:ushrnoms aflter a rain. In t'he first place, ,t he dreaded NKVD (OGPU), the Secret So,vi•e t Police, n10toirioo~ for its birurt:al and ghasitl;y crimes. Woe to him that faHis intto its hanids. The NiKViD goes from home to home, drags peoipile aiway and nolbody ever hears of their fate. Fvom eastern S'JO'V'aJkia alone more tihan 4,000 peo~e were draigiged oiff into Siiberia. I was fonbunate to be 'home during the investigation. AU the en'tralllces to the 'bwil.ding were covered by soldiers wit!h a:utomattics. I •t r:wersed my room ne.rvous•ly. A'lthough I had a c:leair clon1science, yet I was di-squited. (No one is sufficiently olear or safe with the Soviet Po[ice) . Finally I wenlt into the haiJ.llway. I was greeted by a soMier and a civilian. A IDQlfilenrt later came the caiptain. He asked me my naJme, what I wa:s doing here, what my profession was, and wheither I was a mem1ber orf IIlin:ka's People'1s Parity. A mac1hinist l,iived on the same floo,r. His room was locketl. Tlhe caiptain OII'<lered me to open it. "I haven't the key," I told hlm. The maic!hini.st had the key and the soldiers had him in hand alt the gate. I ran to the gate. The NKVD g,u1a rd had an a.ultomatti~ on the machinist. I approached him and said that tlhe c~pta;in wants to open the machinist's room, but the madh~nrist had the key. The latter alre'ardy wanted to hand it to me, when the s:o'ldier suddenly tuirned the aurt:omatiic on me and said: "You ha.ve the key" - "'BUit I dlo not have t'he key, the madhinlist has it" - "No, you will 'h,ruve it, if the caiptain says so." - "But I do not have it; loolk, tovaris, the machimst has. it." - "No, I have a.Qready told you that you wi-11 have the key and will open the door, when the captam orders you to do so." I was dumlbfounded by the profound stU1piclilty and returned without t1he key. I told the captain thait the to:varis �SLOVAKIA 45 wowd not let me take the key from the machinist because, he said, the captain had ordered me and not the machinist to open the room. I also was a sOJldier and I know whait military dbedience means. Bult this cannot be called obedience, but some kind of unmentionaJble stupidilty or i!Illfbecility which wouid be capable of sticking pins under my fingernails just to find a key on me whirch I do not haive. I realized then wlhy people, during the investigaltions in tJhe tortrure cha.im!bers of the NKVD, confess to things which they never committed. The invest1gation began at seven in the morning and lasted un1ti'l nine. I went to town on business arrd returned a1boU1t eleven. Upon my arr,ivai the building was a·gai,n surrounded biy guards, but this time by the Prurtisans Security c:1it. I wanted to enter the bui'1ding, but they wouid not let me. I identified myse1f and said that I ld.ved there. Finailly a boy, about 17, wit:Jh an automatic in his hands, let me enter. It was very liive:ly in the hallways. The partrsa,n captain was giving orders. I did not know wh1at they were seeiking. I went through the investigation tortures again, but qUJite fortunately. Again aftl the rooms, closets, desks, and dressing cabinets were opened. The investigation was over at about one o'ciock. Again some innocent peoiple were taken. But that was not alt That was onJy t'he beginning. Night feJ.,l and the stars shone brighUy over Br.atislava. Finany, a lilttle rest, I thought But there is no restful or peaceful night duiring a Russian occl..llpaition. A'boUJt midnight I was awa.ikened by some one pounding on my door. Another investigaition ! I was on my feet in an instant and <jpened the door. Before me in the semidankness stood a man and a lady. Instead of identifying themselves, t!hey opened their short coats so that I could see the revolvers in leather 'holsters. "But, but, this is a spe:cia l visit, and so laite at night!" "Your documents," said the man. "Here they a,re, t:hank you." "Were you a memlber of IDinka's Party?" - "I was." "Since when?" - "From 1933." - "Were you in the 1 �46 SLOVAKIA Hlinka Guards?" - "I was not." - "Did you be'1ong to Hlinlka's Youth?" - "No." - "Are you a So'ld!ieir?" - "I am an oftfircer in the Sloivalk airnny." - "Did you ta.Ike pa.rt in the revollit ?" - "No." - "Why not?" - "I was on druty in Nitra." - "Are you a Slova;k ?" - "I am." Then they entered my room. On my taJble was a small bust o{ Andrew Hlin!k'a. "And .t his?" - "That is a bust of Andrew Hilinlka." "Hman., we adivi,se you, to destroy irt." - "I don't understand, whiy?" - "Welil, may!be tomorrow you will understand." Wilth that t'.hey depa,rited. Ait thrr-ee in the morning the inrve-stigat'ion olf .tlhe secret police was completed. At eight in the morn.mg came the olffictaJl police, the so-calied "Naitiona1 Secruritiy" po~ice, to find out who i,t was thaJt a1hlowro an in1VestigaJtion at mghit when the ipolice knew nothing aJbout it. "What kind o{ peop1e were they, how did they look, w:hiat did they want?" I was asked. This then was the new oroer - so ter:rrilbly dangerous because iit had so many .srufety biU1reaus thalt one dlid not know aibout the other! Or did they? The Bratislava Commander Complains A month had already passed since the occ'Ulpation of Bratisla1Va , but the streets were stilil wn:swept; dirt and ruiblble were everywhere; liice and infectious diseases were spreading rapidly. 'Ilhe local "National Oommittee" had a loog session to decirle what to do with the riwbbish and rull:fule clutterinig and burning in the streets. But how was the mess to be C'leared ruway, wlhen the Ru'Ssians took an the city dump trucks, a1l pri,v ate cars and al,l wagons and horse's ? Typhoid fever spread danger01Us ly; the numibers of inflicted increased. The Office of P.ropruganda, or, as it was then called, the "Commissary of InfoTfl'nation" pfa'stered the city witJh huge plaic-ards depio'ting a s'keleton poUII"iing lice over BraJtis lava and t'.he wairning : "WATCH THID LICE, THEY SPREAD TYPHOID. '' People stared at the placarids and barked: "Bwt who in �SLOVAKIA 47 tarnation broughlt lice here? Send the lousy Russians baok to their lousy ooumrtey !" 'I.1he first plwcards had liiittle e.fifoot. Severrul druys later new ones appeared: Origanilze energeti'C brig,ades of clearuiness ! But Il!cibodiy paid any atJtenMon. The :riUJbbish iblliI'Iled on and spread its poisonous fiumes over the .popuil.<ati.on. There were no autos, no wrugons wiith which to do the hau[ing. Hiarses, oows and siheeip were kept in the panks. The hot sun blruzeid away and laughingJy loolked at the me!SS, which the "new" government prdbalbly did not dear aJWay to this day. And so the skeleton keipt pouring the lice, and t:Jhe placaros aJb,o ut the brig,a des. of cleanliness were covered witlh new red ones, whicih unged us to attend lec!tUll'es on the moraie of the SoVli.et man, So:vieit woman, and the Soviet youth. The Soviet Russians wasted no time in edlucating the masses accordtinlg to the dootrines orf Marx and Lenin. A Soviet Soldier Confesses lit wrus a bea:urtri.:titd June afternoon in K 1rurl'ova Ves near Bratislava, when a Riu'SSian sOlldier rupproacihed us and struclk up a oonvwsaiti.on. He reproved us saying tha.Jt we Slovruks were Ullldiscipllined amid un.gratefUll. We shOIUJd not siay OII' believe tJhat t:Jhe RJussi,ans rure taikin.g everything that can be ha'l.lll€1d aJWay, booau1se thaJt is only ibrud propaganda. Since he was in a t~aJtiive mood', and did not have a revolver, we dooided to malke WIOrds with him. He spdke at length albout d!i.scipil[n.e in RUISSia, both in thiin.lk.ing and in spealk~ng. In Slovaki·a, he said, everyone says whatever he 'Pleases. "ThaJt does not exist in Ruissia. One must hiO:ld to what St-a!lin says. That is the truth and a.Ill else is ,proprugantla. Sta!lin to-Id UIS thaJt in Russia everything iis fine a!nd dandy, everyrtJhin,g is beaut.if.td, that we have enoUJgh to eait. And even though we know that everything i:s not fine and dan:dy, be.mt'i:fiul, and thtat we do not ha;ve enough to eaJt, yet we must say that everythmg is f,i ne and dandy, and thaJt we have plenty to ea.t. Stalin has so ordered! Stalin has so spdken!" He bec'ame so excited trying to prove his impossible stand that I reaHy pit'ioo. him. I s:m:il.ed and sa,id softly: �48 SLOVAKIA "My dear tovaris! We're a different kind of people, strange to you, indeed. When a tihinrg is white, we say it is white; when it is bladk, we say iJt is black. When we have nothing to eat, we say thaJt we a~ hungry oir that we are starving And if anyone orders us to speak otheirwise, we still. say the truth. Stra'lin telJs you different, so be hruppy in your belief. We believe in God, too, but with reason, never against reason." But our tovaris seemed to be far away; his mouth opened, but he said nothing further. Shaiking hiis head, he pwlled at his ear as he slowly wa;llked away. The Soviet Lady Doct.or We weire oirdered to hand 01Ver the miili'ta,r y hospdital in Bratishwa to the RUJSsians. As we were preparing inventory lists, a Rmlssilan l'ady doctor stepped iruto .the room. After talking for a time, we struck upon religion, belieif in God, and other ba.pics. But my Russian colleague, a lieutenant, !)TOclaimetl thait it was in vain we were trying to convince her, becruuse she wm.tltl nort believe l1'S no matter what the airgumenlts. I assured her that she had nothing to fear, because I had no ruposJtoilic intentions. "Why do we write 1945," I asked her. "I know but I won't tell you!" "Burt even you designalte this year by thaJt numlber." "You won't oon'V'ince me " "I db not want to. But even the unbelieving world admits that Christ was born." "I heard rubout that also; burt I do not believe i,t." "Why?" "Becruuse in the history of the Communist Party there isn't anything aJbout it." "Alh, so!" WhaJt is the use of debating? We looked at each other srgnifioa,ntly, smiled, and talked aibout otheir things. "How long did you study medicine?" "I finished the course during the wair in a year and a haJlf. In peaceful times the study takes aliJ. of two and a half years." �SLOVAKIA 49 We 1,amghed loud1iy amd pitied the prutients who happened to get under her kmfe. Placards: Religious Freedom DtN-ing the veriy first weelk:s of occupatfon the Slovak Communist Party posted placiar:ds everywhere, arnnlQuncing that the ComJmuni'Slts wiant to respect the relii.g,ioos feelings of a!hl the SloviaJk people and, therefore, are c,alloog aU Slovaks, regardless of the:ir religious convictions, into the Party. Nay, eiven Catho'l:ic priests coul'd and shlOuiltl join the party, we were to1ld. People sing a nfoe tune, when they want to catch a biro! But wlhrut if a mira'Cle had rea!Uy happened? Suppose Comrm.mism had made a tll!I"11 for the ,better? May/be Commun:ism was no longer so excilusive; perhrups it was even reipernting and had decided to let itself be baptized in Christian SlO'V'a'l da! We knew that the Communists were not sincere, but the fact is thaJt oultwarilly they did try tb deal humanely with the peopie for a wht[e to convince them that Communism was not as bad as they thought. It was evident that they were instiru~teld not to insult the sacred and traditionai feel'ings of the SlOIVak ,peop1e. But the pretense soon wore off and the Reds opecl,y a1:>t8iC'ked a11 ece'lesfastical instilbutions. Catholic Schools in Nationalized Slovakia lf there were some Sloivaiks who had iHu'Sions a,bout the Communists going sofit., thek tllu1sions eJOPloded like b,u!bbles, W:hen Laoo Novomesky, Commissar ('br:ulsitee) of Exiucation, annOlmceld that ai11 Catholic scbioo[,s m Slovakia were to be aJbo:Iished and their property was to be taken over iby t!he Stale. He was leld to this action, he said, because it wais inadimissaJble that the Ohiurich should o!ffer a different kind of education than the State. The unity of the nation, sa•: d No;voimesky, required a unifo:r,m eduicaJtiona1 system, cultural and religious st!'.ife must cease, etc. What could not be accomplished even during the first Ozooho.jSloV'ruk republk, was done now with one stroke of the pen · in tJhe shadow of Russi8JI1 bayionets. The Cat'ho[ic institrntions were hit first for ob:vious reasoos. The Reds had �50 SLOVAKIA little dififiicuM.y in getting the badking of the non-Caitholiic Christians. Al!l they ha:d to dt> was promise them that they w()IU[d get the CaJthoiJ.ii:c Churelh proiperrt:.ies. So-cailled followers oif Christ a1Jtadking and despoiling the fo1lowers of Christ! The Reds knew what they were doing, but evidently the non.CathoJic Christians did not, because they tooik the bait. Slovaik IJuithera.ns, Jews, Unitarians, Baptists, etic , expected to gain by the deail against the Catho[ic Slovaks (80 per cent oif tJhe poipuliaibi.on) and, therefore, went a'long with the Reds. !Ton mrust be forged while it is hot. After publishing the decree, all diredtors of Cruthoiic sciho01ls were dismissed. Their places were taken over by so-ca;Ued "Czechoslovaks" and Lwtherans. That was done e:spe'Cially in gymna'Sit1ms managed by the reJl'igiorus <YI'ders, for example, alt the UrS'llline s:c!hools in BrrutislJ.ava and Tuna.va. It was done designecily and systemaiticaHy. Fists were clenched and hearts were steeled. Freedom, freedom! The Slova!k Catholic public becrume extremely inili.gnarnt. People were saying that the women of Tmava were getting ready to storm the Ursuline institution there and throw oot tlhe new di!rectre'SIS, who was perseC'lllting and intimidating the reiigioruis Sisters there. The Bishops of Slovakia Protest E:ven though Siova..ks knew that nothing would be accomplished by protests, neverthe'Jess ail Catholics we.re a.rgreed that they simply coufttl ndt a!hlow the fundamental right of the Ohurch to iits own school's be taken away from them without uttering a word. The peopile had to make thernse1ves heard, or else the stones wmcld complain. The CaithOllic Bishop's Collliloil presented a memorandll!In to the government and the Central Cat holic Chancery was organizing a si-grratn.ure C·Mnipaign against the nationaHzing of scllodls. Lerufllets were distmi.lb uted, and on July 8, 1945, 1!he protest aigainst the confiscrution of the schools was read from ahl puipiits. 1 Well, alter Ju:ly 8, the Bratislava radio was heard from. It blasted and attacked the Bishop's Council, using the wellknown phrase: The parish church belongs to the Church, �SLOVAKIA 51 Mlld the school to the StaJte ! Things came to a head and the resrullt Olf the ,protest was that the dirootors Olf the Central Cath~lic Bureau, who teohmca;Ny organi!Zed the action, were jailed. We were again gilven prood' thaJt we were living in a "democracy" and thiaJt the people were dooiding their own fOiitunes. Wlhat a modkery ! Catholic Bishops Imprisoned The ffrst wa,s Hlis ExicellJency John Vojtassak, bjshop of Spis. Hailf of Slwaikia was a'1ready occupied by the Russian rumy. The Sl'O!VaJk National Council was already giving orders from Kosice. At the end of .AipriJ, Dr. Vav,r o Srobar, chalirma.n of the S1ov,aik NaJtiorra1 CouncH at that time, came to the Spisslka Ifupiroula (ISpis Chapter) to gain Bishop Vojtassak for the Slov:aJk Na.lbiona:l COIUnoil and for Dr. Edwa..ro Benes. Srobar wanted ,t hat prilze catch, bec'ause he knew that Bishop Vojttassa'k was an old and 'hard Slovak. As they meit in the corri'd.10r of the bi,s hop's residence, Dr. Srolbar explained why he came and then asked the bishO!p to back the new government. The bishop eyed him co:l d[y for a moment and then srud: "I do nolt reoogni ze any S'1ovruk Nationall Council and president Benes. My government is stilil in Bratislava, and as president of the SlrovaJks I recognize oruy the Siovak, Ms.g r. Dr. Tiso!" The ~ytihe stmrok upon a stone. Dr. Srobar departed, and bishop John VojtassaJk went to his room. Several days later when the bishop received an order from the Slovak N atiorral OownJCirl to beget himsellif to his p1race of confinement i-n Stl,ruvru:k, Vojtassaik replied energetica.!Uy: "I do not have an auto, nor any means of transportation, not even a horse. They -took ever.yrthing from me. I wi'M yie[d only to force." On May 5, 1945, an auto stopped in front oif the Kaipitula; it was a,mned with machine guns and severrul men with auito:matiJc:s. The wovds of Ohris't again rang ou't: You are come out as it were aigain,st a robber with clubs. The good bishop of Spis was forcefuilily talken to Stiaivnik and, later, to the jaml of the federal court in Bratislava. 1 �52 SLOVAKIA What hruppened to him? A1[ I knew at that time was that the commwn1i1,it "Plravd'a" of Bramislava was inciting aigainst h!im., head!linirrug its avticleis thus: "The Lord Bishop is against chi:ldren of tJhe wmikers." It was a brazen lie, designed to U!Ilderunine the 1:Jrnst of the fovthfol in the social ideO'logy of iits bishop, who during hd:s whole life proved himself to be the most social o,f alil episcopa:l dignitaries in Sl0V1aikia. Soon aflter the OOOU1pation of Bratislava by the Russians, the bishoip Ol.f Trnava, Mii.H'.tary Vicar and Rector of the BraJtislaiva seminary, J. E. BwzaLka, was ja1iled. F\irst he wais lodged in the pohce stati'On and tJhen transferred to the federail prison where "heiavy offenders" weire penned. He slept on a spring, no m'aJttress ,b eing availaJble, and the siliveT-haired poet, Va'lentine Beniruk, slept alongside him on the bare stone :flloor. After the bishops, t:he Slwialk National Co'Ullcil "took care" of the oonons and other pre1'aJtes. Among the first to be truken was Joseph Srobar of BraJti.sl'a:va, brother of Dr. Vaviro Srdbar. The old churehman, ail heart, would never hairun even a fly. But bo[shev,rk justice did not consider that. In him it sa,w an "enem:y of the people" and inrcaTcerated him. . Ma:nry othevs foHowed him, among them Dr. Charles Kovper, weH-iknown among .American S:lova\ks, former editor of a Cathoi1'i'c neWS1pruper. Monsignor Marsina of Trenci.n cO'llild not even OOJt for nothing in the jail, but had to work. And what work! He was forced to dig c011pses wit!h his bare hand's firom ma$$ graves, then forced to wash and ·k!iss each one. I have a strong su1S1pidon thalt those mass graives were made lby the Russians and not by the Germans as claimed by the So:vie'ts. "Fascist Post.enyi Arrest.ed" That's what a heai!'line said in the communist "Pravda." And it stumned just albout the whole of Slo.vrukila. The discovery of America O!I' the Law of GI"avitation was no more sensationall. Up to that time nobody knew that Monsignor Postenyi was a fascilSt. Aime11ida,ri Slovaks know Msgr. �SLOVAKIA 53 Postenyi very weiN. He visiited America in the interests of the S't Ada!llbert Society, pulljlisher of Catholiic literature and inrf.cmmat<ion, an origanwation equiivalent to the Book of the Month 01wbs in Amerti!C'a. The Reds knew that his Slovak ,paltriotism was beyond question and that his merits, as far as the l31rgesit CIUll,bural, Slovak, Catholk institution was concerned, were greaJt. Monsignoir Po:s tenyi is an exemplary priest of Gad, a S1ovaik hough and through, and an indefatfJi,gruble worlcer for the common people of his nation. He was pe!I1S€Kmted for his Slovak ,p atriotism when the Commumst leaders and editors of the "Pravda" were strn in the bOSOIIn of Albraham. Never aclmvel.l,y interested in politics, Msg,r. Postenyi sUldden!ly became a "fascist!" We knew whalt the C01Inmunisits wanted to aJOcorrniplish. 'Do put Posteny,i out of the way woold me'an to destroy the Society of St. Ad•rutbert with iJts libraries, priillt sh01ps and origan.izationrul appruratus. And so the SlOViaJk N ationa;l CO'U!Ilici1 appointed the fina.ncirul secretary of the Sooiety, a Ozedh named Wa;gner, as the commissary of the Society. A few days l1ater a new management was named, one that was rucceptaJble to the spirit and program of tJhe C01Inmunist-idk>minia.ted SlovaJk NaJtional Cooncil. This institution which was bui[it by generations of Slov,a ks inrto a going cultural concern wrus wiped oult in a momenit by the ruthilegs Reds The 150.000 members of the Society of St. Ada1be,rtt co:uM not say a word against the action without inviting punishment, either inciariceration or exile into Silberia. That is how the "people's demooracy" of the Soviets operates. Charit,a,ble Ecclesiastical Institutions The la;rgesit oharitalble ooganization in Slovrukia wa,s the Central Charity (Ustredna Karita), the central Catho1.ic institute of al'l the welfare, socitail, anld religious societi'es. It ha;d its own hea11th cenltets, hospiita!ls for incuraJbO.es, children's nurseries, etc. The women'1s "Charilta:s" was a'1so a mem~ of tJhe organi.<Za,tion. 'Dhe CommUll!ists took (Wer ruH soci:ail insbitiuttions of the Church. Some weeks after the ocCUipation, tihe Communist Union of Sloviak Women confi:s- �54 SLOVAKIA cated the children's nuTsery of the Ustredna ~arita in Dornk~le, BraJtislava, and the Union of SloivaJk Y ouith toolk over the ·b oarding sch06l nea,r the forestry school in Koliba, Braltislavia. The hwmanitari.an division oif the city o.f Bratislava comisoated the estate of "Oharitas" in Braltisfava near the Red Bridge. For the women's home of "Charitas" the commissari'at foT Social Welifare named as commissary the Communist Fla:TIIIly Hirusovsky. Dr. Ivan Horvath, the commissary for sooiall welfare, prod.aimed that a:1'1 the charitable, social instituJtions of the Church would be taken over by the state. Protests clid not mean a thing, as usual. "Freedom" of the Press One of the first ,a cts of the Commissariat for Initernal AffaiTs was the suppression o;f aM news,prupers. With th~s general order all Oathollic newpaJpers and :periodicais weTe wiped out aultomalt!roally; noit only cruturrul and literrury periodicals, such as the "Ku!litura" (a.rl.,tmre.) and the "Obroda" (Rffi"ilvaJl), but even an the religious and educational periodicals, such as The MessengeT of the Srucred Heart, The Holy Family, The Queen of May, etc. And, ]ater the only Caltholk Sloivruk weeldy "Katolicke Noviny" (The Catholic News), which had a suibscription of 170,000, was also swppressed and ta:ken 01Ver by 1:!he Reds. Cathollics protested to the authorities, but in. vadn. The Catholic press was gone. Attaclks against the Church and its priests increased daily, but they could not defend themselves; it was an unequa:l strwggk The enemy fought wfth powerfU!l we8lpons, whi[e the Catholics had none. "Freedom" of Conscience The wax was fought, we were told, aga.inst the suppressi~n of consoien.ce by imperial~stic means, and we haJVe lived to see sucll a diclatorship and s:uch a barbaric viOllia.tion of conscience and its inlterrra:l freedom, the likes of whl'C'h perhrups not even the most frurious f:aslci'Slt ever dreamed of. On aH fronts of tlhis terrible wrur died the best sons of humanity for the rigih:t to speak free'ly about the most fundamental questions of 1iife against tlhe fascist terror. Men �SLOVAKIA 55 shed their blood so that concentration camps, wiith all theiT horrors, might never a:ga:in operaJte. But soon aif.ter the war's end aN dliistriot cities in SlovaJlda were ordered to set up a concent.Taition camp and jaill. The war was fol.light for the freed'Olffi of poilft.ic-aiJ. conviotlions, but in Sl'OVlalkia today there are not enOUJgh jai!ls to talke care of aH those, whose only gui,It is that they wilM not swear on the Siclcl.e anld: Hammer, but prefer to rematin loyal to the fupal eneyclilc'als and the fiUJnd:amen'ta:l princiiples of demooraJCy. ln a wore, the Slovaks want to be demO!crat:s and not 'boisiheviks. What has rea;filry changed? Every ni!ght we waited tensely to see whether they were coming for us. We had no peace duirmg the day or night. Forever they were screening and investiigaJting UIS just 'becaUJSe we haippened to live during the past era, and had to wor1k and keeip OUir families. They perseouted us for "co'l:1-aborating" because we recorded oftficiail writings, in some office, or because we were insigruffoant wiheells in the great machinery of life. In Conclusion If I had not seen it, I would not hruve be'liieived it. Those first three months in "l~beraJted" Bra;tislruva were a nightmare. It .st;ilfil hamnts me. The S[ovalk people dild not ha,ve a clharuce. The,i r country was overrun bry bar:barians whom the .AilHes had Wlken on as pa:rtners. Slovalkia was ru!led bry terror and violence f.rom the moment it was "rnberaJted" lby the so-calil ed "Uniiteld Nations," which placed it in the Soviet sphere o!f irufiluence. ]t was ruied 'by the Communist-dominated regime o!f the man who r~gned the presitleTIJCy in 1938 and returned as president..a.venger behind the Soviet ho:rdes in 1945. 'Dhe independenJt Slo.ivaJk Repull:Afc, established by the dully eledted representatives olf t!he Slovak people in 1939 and reoognlizetl by 27 countries, including GreaJt Britain and F,r ance, was wanton!ly destroyed against the wiili of the Slova:k people. The vast majority of the Slovaik nation, the Catholics of Slovakia - representing 80 per cent of the poipll1ation was oulUawed. No politioail parities, newspaipers, organizations, and eilltenprises cou~d exist, except th()[se aUowed by �56 SLOVAKIA Dr. IDdwa,rd Benes and his Communist-dominated regime. The non-Catholic minority in Slovakia - including aN those who ca;Ned t!hemsetlives "Christians" - hel,p ed Benes and the Co!Ir.JII1UJill1S'ts ruin Ca1fud1irc Slovrukia and so helped to ruin themseilves and thetk in:stilbulticms. Whereas, in the beginning, only Crutholics were perisem.uted and onily Cathol'i:c institUJtion:s and enter,prises were nabion:a,lized, laJter the foNowers of ail Christian faiths were crucified and their institulti'ons confiscalted b;y the State. Hi:istor:y repeateld itseJ.if. But ha,tred of the Cathohc Ch'l11l'ch in S'lovakia did n01t solive any of the social or economic probllems, bult oll!l.y aggrawated them; in faot, it only he'lped the Communists realize their ends all the more speedilly. It is high time thait a'11 Christians realized this an:d aoted accordmgly. In Slovalkia tihere sha/U be no rea;l peace, no flI'eedom, as long 3IS 1t is governed by peopte wlho are hostile to the nationa1 traditions of the Slovak nation and its rel:i!gious and political convictions and, hence, are bent on the destru<:tion of the SIJ.O'Vruk people. Slovaikia, one of the oldest Christian countries of Centra1 :Eiu!rope, never sho:uil(l. haive been desbroyed as an independent StaJte. That is more evident today than it was in 1945. No nrution has fought Coonmunism more pel'.sistentily and consistently than the Slovaik nation It's time that this trutlh was recognized by a.Ill freedom-rl<wing, a:ruti-Com:rrmmist coll!Il1Jri-es and that they adj1U1st theiir pOllicies to,w ard the Slovaks to fit the present siitU1aition. Even today the people of Slovruk.ia find iJt ha~d to belrieve that they were sdld oUJt to the men of the Kremlin with the help of file United StaJtes and Great Britain, the great sym'bols of freedom and demooraicy. But they stitl exipect to be liberated by them. • • • "THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is an American institu- tion. Its primary interest is America. As an American of Slovak descent, I say again and again that it ls in the interest of Amerlc-a and the democratic world at large to work for the freedom and Independence of Slovakia. The Individuals and organizations affiliated with the Slovak League of America - as true Americans - cannot wish their brethren in Slovakia less fre edom than they themselves enjoy in the U. S. A. We say: Give Slovakia back to the Slovak people!" - (P. A. Hrobak, Detroit. Mich., 11-18-51) � SLOVAKIA 39 THREE MONTHS IN "LIBERAT ED" BRATISLA VA BY: AN EYEWITNES S Urut'hl 1944 tJhe capiW city of S10V1akira, Bralbis1ava, lived far remoived from mililtaey operations. Ltfe wars a,,1together nor,ma;J. both c1.1llltmraUy and sodaiJ.l.y. 'Dhe siltuation dhanged. sU!bstantli.la!ley after Italy wars occuipied, when Bratislava came withi111 the range of the alliied air :f.iorce. Mirl itary oib'jeldt:s of Bratisl ruva were first bombed rby the al'lied aiir force in the focenooo. of June 16, 1944. The "ApO'llo" ref.inery, the adjacenit faotory and lha!1bor quarters we.re hit. But indrirscriminaite Russian 1b om11:iing was more fatal. Soviet flliers did not specialize on miiitairy objects, but let bombs loose anyiw\here in the city. They ce11ba:irillry did not glorify themselves witih the 1bombing of SpitMsrka street, where tlhey destroyed a church, a convent and the hospital of St. EliizaJbeth. Sorviet planes ruppea:red aibove Braitislava on Holy Satu,rdary and peppered the civi[fans on the crowded streets with tlherir deck guns. The front had moved up consideraJblly and Soviielt p:lranes were comin,g over practically every houir to drop their b.ombs into the streets. 1 Easter 1945 in Bratislava During Holy Weelk it. was evident to most of us that the Germa'I1S were preparing ,t o defend Bratisfav.a. The streets were emptied, bM'ricades were constructed , huge g'uns were put u,p The Germans themsel;ves, '.however, did not appear to be very interested in tlhe defense of our ctity and hauled whaitever they couftd out of it. 'Dhe units whkJh remained were to be used to c01Ver the retrea,ting Germans. The Ger-• man com.man.der urged the Slovak Governmen t to leave Bratislava. Since only a small number of Germans remained, it was ~rieved that tJhey were not going to defend the city very lon.g. The poipuilation co'l.tld not decide whether to leave tbe ciity or stay putt. Sa.Jturday evening everything was being taiken into cel10Jrs and hritl!ing places. The monotonou s bomibing of the Russian air force, the ofose booming of cannons annOIUll1Ced that the Russians we.re a:pproachin g steadily U111spea.JkaJble ne:rrV'O!U'Sness gr.~pped the crirty. AH the men h~d �40 SLOVAKIA themselves, booaiuse iJt was said thait the Germans were going to taJke rull 1!he men out of Braitislava. On Easter Sunday, at nine o'dock in the morning, Soviet fliers aigain ffilade them- appearance and in the afternoon huge Russian g,uns were 'bombarding Bralti:slava. The we'l!l-.Jmown Ruissian "Kaltuse", also da!lled "1Sta~ iln'is organs," began to pJ.ay the following day, i.e., Easter Monday. Every. thiinig shook to the foundatio!l'S and fires hroike out in many p'lia;ces. T,h e retreating Germans fired the SloV'ak University and ala the reserwe piiles of food and war maJterials. Thick smoike rose from Bratiis'lruva for three days and three niighlbs, and the fire sprerud because there were neither waiter nor the pe01ple to f,i ght tlhe fires. The heaviiest fii:ghting took place in the ea'S'tern paJI't of the cilty, where praeitiic~ly every factory quariter wrus ruined, the stireets of Trnruva and Krizna, Stein's Brewery and the viJcinity. On 'l'uesday tlhe Gemnans began to f11ee, destroying every;th'i ng that had n~t a-lre'ad,y <been desitvoyed. They blew u1p the bridge ,to PetrizJalka and the last g,rowp bariricruded iltself in the Braitis,la,va Castrle. The Russians aiready were in the sulburbs of Bratislava, when the Germans in the western hil!J.s of the c1ty began cannonading it. Thiis hurl BTati'slava the moist. On Thursday morning fue first Russian d'i•visions were in the very heart oif the city. Graduailly the booming died aiway and the streets began to be filled w1th Russian soldiers. The "Liberation" Begins 1 The SolV'iet soldiers first Hib.e.rated us from our watches with their well-tlmown "Davaj easy" (Give your waltches). EX!cept for solldiers, tlhe streets were empty; on1y coz,pses were being b alked in .the sipring sun. After a few days, when we cra.,wled out of our bunlkers and cellairs., we saiw the ghastly pioture of ruin anld desolation. Sffiloke s,tii-1 ro!Hed out of buildings and 1:lhe atmosphere was. satwrated Wli'th dust and gunpowder. Glass wa·s ground under foolt. Rdl::fueries were in fU'l'l swing. Soviet soidiers brdke windows of business places with their rule butts and sa-cked and pitMaiged everything. A few dats later, not a sitIJ.g1le shop remamed whO'le. Wh'atever could rrot be taken �SLOVAKIA 41 was knocked to pieces. Of course, the l'a wless mob helped very efferdtive1y in thi's work. Reports. olf the raping of women began coming in. It was nothing um.t'sua!l to see franltic W()lffien rUIUNng wildly from their aJttaokeirs; they sm-eamed, k'iciked and fought, -but to no avail. The 'hordes of the RUJSsii'an steppe's were on the loose. Who shall desc,dbe the sta.rk terror- in the eyes of the Slo;v:ak women and girls who 00U!l.1d not get away f,r -()lffi the beasts olf Moscow? Even ii£ I tmoo, I believe that my pen woul:d have to blush if it had to detail the brutalities and abroc'~ties committed. There is no need to exipand on :the fate of many, many women, who remained lya.ng in their bllood aflter such a ba'I1barian shaw of "a!f.feotion" of the Sov,i et soldiers. They to,l d us that it was the "nationa!l duty" o.f the S1avaJk women to repay the So'Vliet arimies rih love! Vinko, Vinko, Vinko Cervene We thOUJght that SlovaJk wiine would not attract the Soviets after tJhey had tasted of strong Tokay in Hurngary. Bult we were mi!stJaken even tJhis time (as usu:a1). Slovak wine memhanits di:d not wanit to sel'l us wine since January, becau:se they had 'hiOiped to sell it at a high price to the Soviet sohliers. But how quijic,k1ly they soibered UJP, when, instead of the jingle-jangle of gCJld 11ulbles, they he:ard shots from rifiles anld. aUlbomaitics in their otherwise irnmcessible ceUars. Barrels were shot wp and the precious liquid o.f the Slova1k earth began flowing; first into pitchers an'<i all so!'ts of containers, dean and uncilean, even bernzine cans. When aU these were fi'1le'd, tlhe wine t11ic'k:led iruto soLdieirs' boots, then flowed over the cellars and vestilbll!les an'<i finaliy onto. the streets. Tos strong aroma mixed w1th the gih:astly stench of decayiing cO'l",pses, whk:h even after a week were stili lying on the sidewaiJ.ks. of the city. The soldiers drank and so d<id the civilians; ch!iMren drank and so did the oldsters. It seemed that the barrels were bottomless. "Viniko, vinko, vinko cerivene" (Wtine, wine, red wine - a popclaT Slovak drinlking song) ! I shail1l never forget tJhe tovaris-comrade who had two botJtles of reld. champaigne stucik in his fuT crup, a bottle in �42 SLOVAKIA eadh. pocket and his hands full. He was approached by another comrade whn .rolblbed hiim on the street of his precious bu.Tden in broad d'a.yuilghlt. The two lashed at each other li'ke antlmals and drew blood on the 'ha.rd pavement of Kapitulska street. Bratishwa wine merchants. 'loolk ed on stupidly and si.'lently ait this Sodiomic destruction of their cellars, and the SO!Ulr odor of the wine reminded them of the old times, when they were s'till:l. bosses of their wine and thought that they themselrves wolU.ld ·haive the honor to treat the "liberat0rs." They rea[irz;eJd tlhe bitter truth that they we·r e "liberated," i.e. comip1etely roiblbed of all their world!ly possessions on the very threshold of a neiw life, the new order promised by the men of the K.re:rnUn. Where Do You Stay, Tovaris? If you were in the aI1II1y, you know w'hat obedience and di'Scilplme means. Withoult bhe:rn, there hardly could be an effecltiive rurmy. A soldier beil.ong,s to some particular company or di'Vlisi:on, must haJVe his gear, be fed and quartered, even th<Ylligh it be under a tent or in a barn. Bult the Soviet soltl!iers wlho swa:runed iiruto Bratislava had no definite quarters and, hence, were everywhere. Usuany aJbout midnight it occurred to· tihe:rn that they had to get some sleep, so the,y began to looik for shelter. Door:s and lodks and bars were no hindrance. Wihether of glass or wood, doors were booted in or smasheJd wiitJh rifile butts, if they were niot opened immediately. "You, bourgeoisie, you did not fighlt ... " Threatened, 1:Jhere wa·s nothing one cou[d c1o bult flee from .h is own home and consider himse1f liUCky if he was not shot- A soldier does not undress for sleep very oflte:n at the fuiont, bult Ivan the RUJSsian never ll!Ildressed even when he had a bed, bwt simply piled on the bed f.wl1y g,ar,bed, 'boots, rifle, pi•s tols, grena:des and a:M. And the frolllt was sixty miles away from us. Investigation After Investigation We thought the war was over when the slh!ooting subsided and the boomdng resounded f.rom a dristanice. We began �SLOVAKIA 43 to clean the streets, coll!lect the dead, and put whatever was left oif ,ouir homes in order. A ,penson slO!Wly fongets what he lost, because onlly then, when he did not die during the bomfbardment, does he reaili.ize that it is beaultiifiu[ to live, even tJhoug'h in feaJr, hunger rund thirst, and in raJgs. Things tha,t were a.ire no more, and other things tfhat were not will oome into being. L'iife is all that matters. On'l,y he knows the reail meamng of water and light who has li,v ed thI10UJgh the terror of the front in hiding wilthoult light and water. I.Me will returm to iits dld ways and time wiH heal aJhl wounds ()If the soiwl a,nd bod,y ()If inld.wii.dUJaJl's and nations. Well, wlh,y shoUJld nO/t a person a:gaJin imagine that liJfe can be beruuttilfiull, when he is sitting on tile 'l'Uins ()If his home ~nd the ashes of hi1s dreams? Why, there is no more bc»nibing and even the streets are lighted up in the evenings. Buit empty a.ire the inns, empty are the ce11'3JI"s, empty are tJhe stores and shops Brolken windows and smashed doors attest tJo the min which the Soviet soldiers had WOOU1ght. But the wihl to live r,i,ses alb,ove all this. We must forget everyttJhing thaJt pruined us, a.IN the in:justi<Ces, subdue om thd,r st for blood, when the sap of a new spring is awakening, when everythfun.g is being ren01Vateld, everything is in bloom, the thrush sings and the chiildren play. Burt aH this is but a dream, an ~lluision. '.Dhe 'b attle has ended on the streets, but just the sa:me a mare fiurious invi:siib1e baittle is going on. As you step out of your home, you are co,nrfronlted with tJhe bayonet o;f a Russian soldier or the various "safety" ciommittees. You look a:rO'llnd and notice that yornr home, nay the whole street is sUJITounded by guards. You re'tl.l!rn h'llITTriedly to your room and wait to see what wiM h'appen. Y.ou wait and wait and waJit unti[ the sUISpense aJlrrnost d11ives you mad. Your blood thins in your veins and you look sadly aJbowt you - and wait! F'iinaMy they came, sO'l1d iers and civiili ians: they go through the house and take whatever they want. '.Dhey ask you whether you are a GeI1IDan or not, whebher any Germans or "coll'<llbaratilonists" a,re in your house. You lod.k them icily in the face. 'Tihey depart but only to come rugruin. �44 SLOVAKIA Organs of Security Mter two weeks oif the Russian occupation everything was phmdered. People had no more than they had buried or secreted in such a place where even the Russian hunters and t,hey are eXlpe'tUy schooled in the art of flinding wailled-in objects - would not come. There was a clirth oif everything, even a serforus lack of bread. But we had plenty o.f police! They sprang Ulp like m:ushrnoms aflter a rain. In t'he first place, ,t he dreaded NKVD (OGPU), the Secret So,vi•e t Police, n10toirioo~ for its birurt:al and ghasitl;y crimes. Woe to him that faHis intto its hanids. The NiKViD goes from home to home, drags peoipile aiway and nolbody ever hears of their fate. Fvom eastern S'JO'V'aJkia alone more tihan 4,000 peo~e were draigiged oiff into Siiberia. I was fonbunate to be 'home during the investigation. AU the en'tralllces to the 'bwil.ding were covered by soldiers wit!h a:utomattics. I •t r:wersed my room ne.rvous•ly. A'lthough I had a c:leair clon1science, yet I was di-squited. (No one is sufficiently olear or safe with the Soviet Po[ice) . Finally I wenlt into the haiJ.llway. I was greeted by a soMier and a civilian. A IDQlfilenrt later came the caiptain. He asked me my naJme, what I wa:s doing here, what my profession was, and wheither I was a mem1ber orf IIlin:ka's People'1s Parity. A mac1hinist l,iived on the same floo,r. His room was locketl. Tlhe caiptain OII'<lered me to open it. "I haven't the key," I told hlm. The maic!hini.st had the key and the soldiers had him in hand alt the gate. I ran to the gate. The NKVD g,u1a rd had an a.ultomatti~ on the machinist. I approached him and said that tlhe c~pta;in wants to open the machinist's room, but the madh~nrist had the key. The latter alre'ardy wanted to hand it to me, when the s:o'ldier suddenly tuirned the aurt:omatiic on me and said: "You ha.ve the key" - "'BUit I dlo not have t'he key, the madhinlist has it" - "No, you will 'h,ruve it, if the caiptain says so." - "But I do not have it; loolk, tovaris, the machimst has. it." - "No, I have a.Qready told you that you wi-11 have the key and will open the door, when the captam orders you to do so." I was dumlbfounded by the profound stU1piclilty and returned without t1he key. I told the captain thait the to:varis �SLOVAKIA 45 wowd not let me take the key from the machinist because, he said, the captain had ordered me and not the machinist to open the room. I also was a sOJldier and I know whait military dbedience means. Bult this cannot be called obedience, but some kind of unmentionaJble stupidilty or i!Illfbecility which wouid be capable of sticking pins under my fingernails just to find a key on me whirch I do not haive. I realized then wlhy people, during the investigaltions in tJhe tortrure cha.im!bers of the NKVD, confess to things which they never committed. The invest1gation began at seven in the morning and lasted un1ti'l nine. I went to town on business arrd returned a1boU1t eleven. Upon my arr,ivai the building was a·gai,n surrounded biy guards, but this time by the Prurtisans Security c:1it. I wanted to enter the bui'1ding, but they wouid not let me. I identified myse1f and said that I ld.ved there. Finailly a boy, about 17, wit:Jh an automatic in his hands, let me enter. It was very liive:ly in the hallways. The partrsa,n captain was giving orders. I did not know wh1at they were seeiking. I went through the investigation tortures again, but qUJite fortunately. Again aftl the rooms, closets, desks, and dressing cabinets were opened. The investigation was over at about one o'ciock. Again some innocent peoiple were taken. But that was not alt That was onJy t'he beginning. Night feJ.,l and the stars shone brighUy over Br.atislava. Finany, a lilttle rest, I thought But there is no restful or peaceful night duiring a Russian occl..llpaition. A'boUJt midnight I was awa.ikened by some one pounding on my door. Another investigaition ! I was on my feet in an instant and <jpened the door. Before me in the semidankness stood a man and a lady. Instead of identifying themselves, t!hey opened their short coats so that I could see the revolvers in leather 'holsters. "But, but, this is a spe:cia l visit, and so laite at night!" "Your documents," said the man. "Here they a,re, t:hank you." "Were you a memlber of IDinka's Party?" - "I was." "Since when?" - "From 1933." - "Were you in the 1 �46 SLOVAKIA Hlinka Guards?" - "I was not." - "Did you be'1ong to Hlinlka's Youth?" - "No." - "Are you a So'ld!ieir?" - "I am an oftfircer in the Sloivalk airnny." - "Did you ta.Ike pa.rt in the revollit ?" - "No." - "Why not?" - "I was on druty in Nitra." - "Are you a Slova;k ?" - "I am." Then they entered my room. On my taJble was a small bust o{ Andrew Hlin!k'a. "And .t his?" - "That is a bust of Andrew Hilinlka." "Hman., we adivi,se you, to destroy irt." - "I don't understand, whiy?" - "Welil, may!be tomorrow you will understand." Wilth that t'.hey depa,rited. Ait thrr-ee in the morning the inrve-stigat'ion olf .tlhe secret police was completed. At eight in the morn.mg came the olffictaJl police, the so-calied "Naitiona1 Secruritiy" po~ice, to find out who i,t was thaJt a1hlowro an in1VestigaJtion at mghit when the ipolice knew nothing aJbout it. "What kind o{ peop1e were they, how did they look, w:hiat did they want?" I was asked. This then was the new oroer - so ter:rrilbly dangerous because iit had so many .srufety biU1reaus thalt one dlid not know aibout the other! Or did they? The Bratislava Commander Complains A month had already passed since the occ'Ulpation of Bratisla1Va , but the streets were stilil wn:swept; dirt and ruiblble were everywhere; liice and infectious diseases were spreading rapidly. 'Ilhe local "National Oommittee" had a loog session to decirle what to do with the riwbbish and rull:fule clutterinig and burning in the streets. But how was the mess to be C'leared ruway, wlhen the Ru'Ssians took an the city dump trucks, a1l pri,v ate cars and al,l wagons and horse's ? Typhoid fever spread danger01Us ly; the numibers of inflicted increased. The Office of P.ropruganda, or, as it was then called, the "Commissary of InfoTfl'nation" pfa'stered the city witJh huge plaic-ards depio'ting a s'keleton poUII"iing lice over BraJtis lava and t'.he wairning : "WATCH THID LICE, THEY SPREAD TYPHOID. '' People stared at the placarids and barked: "Bwt who in �SLOVAKIA 47 tarnation broughlt lice here? Send the lousy Russians baok to their lousy ooumrtey !" 'I.1he first plwcards had liiittle e.fifoot. Severrul druys later new ones appeared: Origanilze energeti'C brig,ades of clearuiness ! But Il!cibodiy paid any atJtenMon. The :riUJbbish iblliI'Iled on and spread its poisonous fiumes over the .popuil.<ati.on. There were no autos, no wrugons wiith which to do the hau[ing. Hiarses, oows and siheeip were kept in the panks. The hot sun blruzeid away and laughingJy loolked at the me!SS, which the "new" government prdbalbly did not dear aJWay to this day. And so the skeleton keipt pouring the lice, and t:Jhe placaros aJb,o ut the brig,a des. of cleanliness were covered witlh new red ones, whicih unged us to attend lec!tUll'es on the moraie of the SoVli.et man, So:vieit woman, and the Soviet youth. The Soviet Russians wasted no time in edlucating the masses accordtinlg to the dootrines orf Marx and Lenin. A Soviet Soldier Confesses lit wrus a bea:urtri.:titd June afternoon in K 1rurl'ova Ves near Bratislava, when a Riu'SSian sOlldier rupproacihed us and struclk up a oonvwsaiti.on. He reproved us saying tha.Jt we Slovruks were Ullldiscipllined amid un.gratefUll. We shOIUJd not siay OII' believe tJhat t:Jhe RJussi,ans rure taikin.g everything that can be ha'l.lll€1d aJWay, booau1se thaJt is only ibrud propaganda. Since he was in a t~aJtiive mood', and did not have a revolver, we dooided to malke WIOrds with him. He spdke at length albout d!i.scipil[n.e in RUISSia, both in thiin.lk.ing and in spealk~ng. In Slovaki·a, he said, everyone says whatever he 'Pleases. "ThaJt does not exist in Ruissia. One must hiO:ld to what St-a!lin says. That is the truth and a.Ill else is ,proprugantla. Sta!lin to-Id UIS thaJt in Russia everything iis fine a!nd dandy, everyrtJhin,g is beaut.if.td, that we have enoUJgh to eait. And even though we know that everything i:s not fine and dan:dy, be.mt'i:fiul, and thtat we do not ha;ve enough to eaJt, yet we must say that everythmg is f,i ne and dandy, and thaJt we have plenty to ea.t. Stalin has so ordered! Stalin has so spdken!" He bec'ame so excited trying to prove his impossible stand that I reaHy pit'ioo. him. I s:m:il.ed and sa,id softly: �48 SLOVAKIA "My dear tovaris! We're a different kind of people, strange to you, indeed. When a tihinrg is white, we say it is white; when it is bladk, we say iJt is black. When we have nothing to eat, we say thaJt we a~ hungry oir that we are starving And if anyone orders us to speak otheirwise, we still. say the truth. Stra'lin telJs you different, so be hruppy in your belief. We believe in God, too, but with reason, never against reason." But our tovaris seemed to be far away; his mouth opened, but he said nothing further. Shaiking hiis head, he pwlled at his ear as he slowly wa;llked away. The Soviet Lady Doct.or We weire oirdered to hand 01Ver the miili'ta,r y hospdital in Bratishwa to the RUJSsians. As we were preparing inventory lists, a Rmlssilan l'ady doctor stepped iruto .the room. After talking for a time, we struck upon religion, belieif in God, and other ba.pics. But my Russian colleague, a lieutenant, !)TOclaimetl thait it was in vain we were trying to convince her, becruuse she wm.tltl nort believe l1'S no matter what the airgumenlts. I assured her that she had nothing to fear, because I had no ruposJtoilic intentions. "Why do we write 1945," I asked her. "I know but I won't tell you!" "Burt even you designalte this year by thaJt numlber." "You won't oon'V'ince me " "I db not want to. But even the unbelieving world admits that Christ was born." "I heard rubout that also; burt I do not believe i,t." "Why?" "Becruuse in the history of the Communist Party there isn't anything aJbout it." "Alh, so!" WhaJt is the use of debating? We looked at each other srgnifioa,ntly, smiled, and talked aibout otheir things. "How long did you study medicine?" "I finished the course during the wair in a year and a haJlf. In peaceful times the study takes aliJ. of two and a half years." �SLOVAKIA 49 We 1,amghed loud1iy amd pitied the prutients who happened to get under her kmfe. Placards: Religious Freedom DtN-ing the veriy first weelk:s of occupatfon the Slovak Communist Party posted placiar:ds everywhere, arnnlQuncing that the ComJmuni'Slts wiant to respect the relii.g,ioos feelings of a!hl the SloviaJk people and, therefore, are c,alloog aU Slovaks, regardless of the:ir religious convictions, into the Party. Nay, eiven Catho'l:ic priests coul'd and shlOuiltl join the party, we were to1ld. People sing a nfoe tune, when they want to catch a biro! But wlhrut if a mira'Cle had rea!Uy happened? Suppose Comrm.mism had made a tll!I"11 for the ,better? May/be Commun:ism was no longer so excilusive; perhrups it was even reipernting and had decided to let itself be baptized in Christian SlO'V'a'l da! We knew that the Communists were not sincere, but the fact is thaJt oultwarilly they did try tb deal humanely with the peopie for a wht[e to convince them that Communism was not as bad as they thought. It was evident that they were instiru~teld not to insult the sacred and traditionai feel'ings of the SlOIVak ,peop1e. But the pretense soon wore off and the Reds opecl,y a1:>t8iC'ked a11 ece'lesfastical instilbutions. Catholic Schools in Nationalized Slovakia lf there were some Sloivaiks who had iHu'Sions a,bout the Communists going sofit., thek tllu1sions eJOPloded like b,u!bbles, W:hen Laoo Novomesky, Commissar ('br:ulsitee) of Exiucation, annOlmceld that ai11 Catholic scbioo[,s m Slovakia were to be aJbo:Iished and their property was to be taken over iby t!he Stale. He was leld to this action, he said, because it wais inadimissaJble that the Ohiurich should o!ffer a different kind of education than the State. The unity of the nation, sa•: d No;voimesky, required a unifo:r,m eduicaJtiona1 system, cultural and religious st!'.ife must cease, etc. What could not be accomplished even during the first Ozooho.jSloV'ruk republk, was done now with one stroke of the pen · in tJhe shadow of Russi8JI1 bayionets. The Cat'ho[ic institrntions were hit first for ob:vious reasoos. The Reds had �50 SLOVAKIA little dififiicuM.y in getting the badking of the non-Caitholiic Christians. Al!l they ha:d to dt> was promise them that they w()IU[d get the CaJthoiJ.ii:c Churelh proiperrt:.ies. So-cailled followers oif Christ a1Jtadking and despoiling the fo1lowers of Christ! The Reds knew what they were doing, but evidently the non.CathoJic Christians did not, because they tooik the bait. Slovaik IJuithera.ns, Jews, Unitarians, Baptists, etic , expected to gain by the deail against the Catho[ic Slovaks (80 per cent oif tJhe poipuliaibi.on) and, therefore, went a'long with the Reds. !Ton mrust be forged while it is hot. After publishing the decree, all diredtors of Cruthoiic sciho01ls were dismissed. Their places were taken over by so-ca;Ued "Czechoslovaks" and Lwtherans. That was done e:spe'Cially in gymna'Sit1ms managed by the reJl'igiorus <YI'ders, for example, alt the UrS'llline s:c!hools in BrrutislJ.ava and Tuna.va. It was done designecily and systemaiticaHy. Fists were clenched and hearts were steeled. Freedom, freedom! The Slova!k Catholic public becrume extremely inili.gnarnt. People were saying that the women of Tmava were getting ready to storm the Ursuline institution there and throw oot tlhe new di!rectre'SIS, who was perseC'lllting and intimidating the reiigioruis Sisters there. The Bishops of Slovakia Protest E:ven though Siova..ks knew that nothing would be accomplished by protests, neverthe'Jess ail Catholics we.re a.rgreed that they simply coufttl ndt a!hlow the fundamental right of the Ohurch to iits own school's be taken away from them without uttering a word. The peopile had to make thernse1ves heard, or else the stones wmcld complain. The CaithOllic Bishop's Collliloil presented a memorandll!In to the government and the Central Cat holic Chancery was organizing a si-grratn.ure C·Mnipaign against the nationaHzing of scllodls. Lerufllets were distmi.lb uted, and on July 8, 1945, 1!he protest aigainst the confiscrution of the schools was read from ahl puipiits. 1 Well, alter Ju:ly 8, the Bratislava radio was heard from. It blasted and attacked the Bishop's Council, using the wellknown phrase: The parish church belongs to the Church, �SLOVAKIA 51 Mlld the school to the StaJte ! Things came to a head and the resrullt Olf the ,protest was that the dirootors Olf the Central Cath~lic Bureau, who teohmca;Ny organi!Zed the action, were jailed. We were again gilven prood' thaJt we were living in a "democracy" and thiaJt the people were dooiding their own fOiitunes. Wlhat a modkery ! Catholic Bishops Imprisoned The ffrst wa,s Hlis ExicellJency John Vojtassak, bjshop of Spis. Hailf of Slwaikia was a'1ready occupied by the Russian rumy. The Sl'O!VaJk National Council was already giving orders from Kosice. At the end of .AipriJ, Dr. Vav,r o Srobar, chalirma.n of the S1ov,aik NaJtiorra1 CouncH at that time, came to the Spisslka Ifupiroula (ISpis Chapter) to gain Bishop Vojtassak for the Slov:aJk Na.lbiona:l COIUnoil and for Dr. Edwa..ro Benes. Srobar wanted ,t hat prilze catch, bec'ause he knew that Bishop Vojttassa'k was an old and 'hard Slovak. As they meit in the corri'd.10r of the bi,s hop's residence, Dr. Srolbar explained why he came and then asked the bishO!p to back the new government. The bishop eyed him co:l d[y for a moment and then srud: "I do nolt reoogni ze any S'1ovruk Nationall Council and president Benes. My government is stilil in Bratislava, and as president of the SlrovaJks I recognize oruy the Siovak, Ms.g r. Dr. Tiso!" The ~ytihe stmrok upon a stone. Dr. Srobar departed, and bishop John VojtassaJk went to his room. Several days later when the bishop received an order from the Slovak N atiorral OownJCirl to beget himsellif to his p1race of confinement i-n Stl,ruvru:k, Vojtassaik replied energetica.!Uy: "I do not have an auto, nor any means of transportation, not even a horse. They -took ever.yrthing from me. I wi'M yie[d only to force." On May 5, 1945, an auto stopped in front oif the Kaipitula; it was a,mned with machine guns and severrul men with auito:matiJc:s. The wovds of Ohris't again rang ou't: You are come out as it were aigain,st a robber with clubs. The good bishop of Spis was forcefuilily talken to Stiaivnik and, later, to the jaml of the federal court in Bratislava. 1 �52 SLOVAKIA What hruppened to him? A1[ I knew at that time was that the commwn1i1,it "Plravd'a" of Bramislava was inciting aigainst h!im., head!linirrug its avticleis thus: "The Lord Bishop is against chi:ldren of tJhe wmikers." It was a brazen lie, designed to U!Ilderunine the 1:Jrnst of the fovthfol in the social ideO'logy of iits bishop, who during hd:s whole life proved himself to be the most social o,f alil episcopa:l dignitaries in Sl0V1aikia. Soon aflter the OOOU1pation of Bratislava by the Russians, the bishoip Ol.f Trnava, Mii.H'.tary Vicar and Rector of the BraJtislaiva seminary, J. E. BwzaLka, was ja1iled. F\irst he wais lodged in the pohce stati'On and tJhen transferred to the federail prison where "heiavy offenders" weire penned. He slept on a spring, no m'aJttress ,b eing availaJble, and the siliveT-haired poet, Va'lentine Beniruk, slept alongside him on the bare stone :flloor. After the bishops, t:he Slwialk National Co'Ullcil "took care" of the oonons and other pre1'aJtes. Among the first to be truken was Joseph Srobar of BraJti.sl'a:va, brother of Dr. Vaviro Srdbar. The old churehman, ail heart, would never hairun even a fly. But bo[shev,rk justice did not consider that. In him it sa,w an "enem:y of the people" and inrcaTcerated him. . Ma:nry othevs foHowed him, among them Dr. Charles Kovper, weH-iknown among .American S:lova\ks, former editor of a Cathoi1'i'c neWS1pruper. Monsignor Marsina of Trenci.n cO'llild not even OOJt for nothing in the jail, but had to work. And what work! He was forced to dig c011pses wit!h his bare hand's firom ma$$ graves, then forced to wash and ·k!iss each one. I have a strong su1S1pidon thalt those mass graives were made lby the Russians and not by the Germans as claimed by the So:vie'ts. "Fascist Post.enyi Arrest.ed" That's what a heai!'line said in the communist "Pravda." And it stumned just albout the whole of Slo.vrukila. The discovery of America O!I' the Law of GI"avitation was no more sensationall. Up to that time nobody knew that Monsignor Postenyi was a fascilSt. Aime11ida,ri Slovaks know Msgr. �SLOVAKIA 53 Postenyi very weiN. He visiited America in the interests of the S't Ada!llbert Society, pulljlisher of Catholiic literature and inrf.cmmat<ion, an origanwation equiivalent to the Book of the Month 01wbs in Amerti!C'a. The Reds knew that his Slovak ,paltriotism was beyond question and that his merits, as far as the l31rgesit CIUll,bural, Slovak, Catholk institution was concerned, were greaJt. Monsignoir Po:s tenyi is an exemplary priest of Gad, a S1ovaik hough and through, and an indefatfJi,gruble worlcer for the common people of his nation. He was pe!I1S€Kmted for his Slovak ,p atriotism when the Commumst leaders and editors of the "Pravda" were strn in the bOSOIIn of Albraham. Never aclmvel.l,y interested in politics, Msg,r. Postenyi sUldden!ly became a "fascist!" We knew whalt the C01Inmunisits wanted to aJOcorrniplish. 'Do put Posteny,i out of the way woold me'an to destroy the Society of St. Ad•rutbert with iJts libraries, priillt sh01ps and origan.izationrul appruratus. And so the SlOViaJk N ationa;l CO'U!Ilici1 appointed the fina.ncirul secretary of the Sooiety, a Ozedh named Wa;gner, as the commissary of the Society. A few days l1ater a new management was named, one that was rucceptaJble to the spirit and program of tJhe C01Inmunist-idk>minia.ted SlovaJk NaJtional Cooncil. This institution which was bui[it by generations of Slov,a ks inrto a going cultural concern wrus wiped oult in a momenit by the ruthilegs Reds The 150.000 members of the Society of St. Ada1be,rtt co:uM not say a word against the action without inviting punishment, either inciariceration or exile into Silberia. That is how the "people's demooracy" of the Soviets operates. Charit,a,ble Ecclesiastical Institutions The la;rgesit oharitalble ooganization in Slovrukia wa,s the Central Charity (Ustredna Karita), the central Catho1.ic institute of al'l the welfare, socitail, anld religious societi'es. It ha;d its own hea11th cenltets, hospiita!ls for incuraJbO.es, children's nurseries, etc. The women'1s "Charilta:s" was a'1so a mem~ of tJhe organi.<Za,tion. 'Dhe CommUll!ists took (Wer ruH soci:ail insbitiuttions of the Church. Some weeks after the ocCUipation, tihe Communist Union of Sloviak Women confi:s- �54 SLOVAKIA cated the children's nuTsery of the Ustredna ~arita in Dornk~le, BraJtislava, and the Union of SloivaJk Y ouith toolk over the ·b oarding sch06l nea,r the forestry school in Koliba, Braltislavia. The hwmanitari.an division oif the city o.f Bratislava comisoated the estate of "Oharitas" in Braltisfava near the Red Bridge. For the women's home of "Charitas" the commissari'at foT Social Welifare named as commissary the Communist Fla:TIIIly Hirusovsky. Dr. Ivan Horvath, the commissary for sooiall welfare, prod.aimed that a:1'1 the charitable, social instituJtions of the Church would be taken over by the state. Protests clid not mean a thing, as usual. "Freedom" of the Press One of the first ,a cts of the Commissariat for Initernal AffaiTs was the suppression o;f aM news,prupers. With th~s general order all Oathollic newpaJpers and :periodicais weTe wiped out aultomalt!roally; noit only cruturrul and literrury periodicals, such as the "Ku!litura" (a.rl.,tmre.) and the "Obroda" (Rffi"ilvaJl), but even an the religious and educational periodicals, such as The MessengeT of the Srucred Heart, The Holy Family, The Queen of May, etc. And, ]ater the only Caltholk Sloivruk weeldy "Katolicke Noviny" (The Catholic News), which had a suibscription of 170,000, was also swppressed and ta:ken 01Ver by 1:!he Reds. Cathollics protested to the authorities, but in. vadn. The Catholic press was gone. Attaclks against the Church and its priests increased daily, but they could not defend themselves; it was an unequa:l strwggk The enemy fought wfth powerfU!l we8lpons, whi[e the Catholics had none. "Freedom" of Conscience The wax was fought, we were told, aga.inst the suppressi~n of consoien.ce by imperial~stic means, and we haJVe lived to see sucll a diclatorship and s:uch a barbaric viOllia.tion of conscience and its inlterrra:l freedom, the likes of whl'C'h perhrups not even the most frurious f:aslci'Slt ever dreamed of. On aH fronts of tlhis terrible wrur died the best sons of humanity for the rigih:t to speak free'ly about the most fundamental questions of 1iife against tlhe fascist terror. Men �SLOVAKIA 55 shed their blood so that concentration camps, wiith all theiT horrors, might never a:ga:in operaJte. But soon aif.ter the war's end aN dliistriot cities in SlovaJlda were ordered to set up a concent.Taition camp and jaill. The war was fol.light for the freed'Olffi of poilft.ic-aiJ. conviotlions, but in Sl'OVlalkia today there are not enOUJgh jai!ls to talke care of aH those, whose only gui,It is that they wilM not swear on the Siclcl.e anld: Hammer, but prefer to rematin loyal to the fupal eneyclilc'als and the fiUJnd:amen'ta:l princiiples of demooraJCy. ln a wore, the Slovaks want to be demO!crat:s and not 'boisiheviks. What has rea;filry changed? Every ni!ght we waited tensely to see whether they were coming for us. We had no peace duirmg the day or night. Forever they were screening and investiigaJting UIS just 'becaUJSe we haippened to live during the past era, and had to wor1k and keeip OUir families. They perseouted us for "co'l:1-aborating" because we recorded oftficiail writings, in some office, or because we were insigruffoant wiheells in the great machinery of life. In Conclusion If I had not seen it, I would not hruve be'liieived it. Those first three months in "l~beraJted" Bra;tislruva were a nightmare. It .st;ilfil hamnts me. The S[ovalk people dild not ha,ve a clharuce. The,i r country was overrun bry bar:barians whom the .AilHes had Wlken on as pa:rtners. Slovalkia was ru!led bry terror and violence f.rom the moment it was "rnberaJted" lby the so-calil ed "Uniiteld Nations," which placed it in the Soviet sphere o!f irufiluence. ]t was ruied 'by the Communist-dominated regime o!f the man who r~gned the presitleTIJCy in 1938 and returned as president..a.venger behind the Soviet ho:rdes in 1945. 'Dhe independenJt Slo.ivaJk Repull:Afc, established by the dully eledted representatives olf t!he Slovak people in 1939 and reoognlizetl by 27 countries, including GreaJt Britain and F,r ance, was wanton!ly destroyed against the wiili of the Slova:k people. The vast majority of the Slovaik nation, the Catholics of Slovakia - representing 80 per cent of the poipll1ation was oulUawed. No politioail parities, newspaipers, organizations, and eilltenprises cou~d exist, except th()[se aUowed by �56 SLOVAKIA Dr. IDdwa,rd Benes and his Communist-dominated regime. The non-Catholic minority in Slovakia - including aN those who ca;Ned t!hemsetlives "Christians" - hel,p ed Benes and the Co!Ir.JII1UJill1S'ts ruin Ca1fud1irc Slovrukia and so helped to ruin themseilves and thetk in:stilbulticms. Whereas, in the beginning, only Crutholics were perisem.uted and onily Cathol'i:c institUJtion:s and enter,prises were nabion:a,lized, laJter the foNowers of ail Christian faiths were crucified and their institulti'ons confiscalted b;y the State. Hi:istor:y repeateld itseJ.if. But ha,tred of the Cathohc Ch'l11l'ch in S'lovakia did n01t solive any of the social or economic probllems, bult oll!l.y aggrawated them; in faot, it only he'lped the Communists realize their ends all the more speedilly. It is high time thait a'11 Christians realized this an:d aoted accordmgly. In Slovalkia tihere sha/U be no rea;l peace, no flI'eedom, as long 3IS 1t is governed by peopte wlho are hostile to the nationa1 traditions of the Slovak nation and its rel:i!gious and political convictions and, hence, are bent on the destru<:tion of the SIJ.O'Vruk people. Slovaikia, one of the oldest Christian countries of Centra1 :Eiu!rope, never sho:uil(l. haive been desbroyed as an independent StaJte. That is more evident today than it was in 1945. No nrution has fought Coonmunism more pel'.sistentily and consistently than the Slovaik nation It's time that this trutlh was recognized by a.Ill freedom-rl<wing, a:ruti-Com:rrmmist coll!Il1Jri-es and that they adj1U1st theiir pOllicies to,w ard the Slovaks to fit the present siitU1aition. Even today the people of Slovruk.ia find iJt ha~d to belrieve that they were sdld oUJt to the men of the Kremlin with the help of file United StaJtes and Great Britain, the great sym'bols of freedom and demooraicy. But they stitl exipect to be liberated by them. • • • "THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is an American institu- tion. Its primary interest is America. As an American of Slovak descent, I say again and again that it ls in the interest of Amerlc-a and the democratic world at large to work for the freedom and Independence of Slovakia. The Individuals and organizations affiliated with the Slovak League of America - as true Americans - cannot wish their brethren in Slovakia less fre edom than they themselves enjoy in the U. S. A. We say: Give Slovakia back to the Slovak people!" - (P. A. Hrobak, Detroit. Mich., 11-18-51) � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 39 THREE MONTHS IN "LIBERAT ED" BRATISLA VA BY: AN EYEWITNES S Urut'hl 1944 tJhe capiW city of S10V1akira, Bralbis1ava, lived far remoived from mililtaey operations. Ltfe wars a,,1together nor,ma;J. both c1.1llltmraUy and sodaiJ.l.y. 'Dhe siltuation dhanged. sU!bstantli.la!ley after Italy wars occuipied, when Bratislava came withi111 the range of the alliied air :f.iorce. Mirl itary oib'jeldt:s of Bratisl ruva were first bombed rby the al'lied aiir force in the focenooo. of June 16, 1944. The "ApO'llo" ref.inery, the adjacenit faotory and lha!1bor quarters we.re hit. But indrirscriminaite Russian 1b om11:iing was more fatal. Soviet flliers did not specialize on miiitairy objects, but let bombs loose anyiw\here in the city. They ce11ba:irillry did not glorify themselves witih the 1bombing of SpitMsrka street, where tlhey destroyed a church, a convent and the hospital of St. EliizaJbeth. Sorviet planes ruppea:red aibove Braitislava on Holy Satu,rdary and peppered the civi[fans on the crowded streets with tlherir deck guns. The front had moved up consideraJblly and Soviielt p:lranes were comin,g over practically every houir to drop their b.ombs into the streets. 1 Easter 1945 in Bratislava During Holy Weelk it. was evident to most of us that the Germa'I1S were preparing ,t o defend Bratisfav.a. The streets were emptied, bM'ricades were constructed , huge g'uns were put u,p The Germans themsel;ves, '.however, did not appear to be very interested in tlhe defense of our ctity and hauled whaitever they couftd out of it. 'Dhe units whkJh remained were to be used to c01Ver the retrea,ting Germans. The Ger-• man com.man.der urged the Slovak Governmen t to leave Bratislava. Since only a small number of Germans remained, it was ~rieved that tJhey were not going to defend the city very lon.g. The poipuilation co'l.tld not decide whether to leave tbe ciity or stay putt. Sa.Jturday evening everything was being taiken into cel10Jrs and hritl!ing places. The monotonou s bomibing of the Russian air force, the ofose booming of cannons annOIUll1Ced that the Russians we.re a:pproachin g steadily U111spea.JkaJble ne:rrV'O!U'Sness gr.~pped the crirty. AH the men h~d 40 SLOVAKIA themselves, booaiuse iJt was said thait the Germans were going to taJke rull 1!he men out of Braitislava. On Easter Sunday, at nine o'dock in the morning, Soviet fliers aigain ffilade them- appearance and in the afternoon huge Russian g,uns were 'bombarding Bralti:slava. The we'l!l-.Jmown Ruissian "Kaltuse", also da!lled "1Sta~ iln'is organs," began to pJ.ay the following day, i.e., Easter Monday. Every. thiinig shook to the foundatio!l'S and fires hroike out in many p'lia;ces. T,h e retreating Germans fired the SloV'ak University and ala the reserwe piiles of food and war maJterials. Thick smoike rose from Bratiis'lruva for three days and three niighlbs, and the fire sprerud because there were neither waiter nor the pe01ple to f,i ght tlhe fires. The heaviiest fii:ghting took place in the ea'S'tern paJI't of the cilty, where praeitiic~ly every factory quariter wrus ruined, the stireets of Trnruva and Krizna, Stein's Brewery and the viJcinity. On 'l'uesday tlhe Gemnans began to f11ee, destroying every;th'i ng that had n~t a-lre'ad,y <been desitvoyed. They blew u1p the bridge ,to PetrizJalka and the last g,rowp bariricruded iltself in the Braitis,la,va Castrle. The Russians aiready were in the sulburbs of Bratislava, when the Germans in the western hil!J.s of the c1ty began cannonading it. Thiis hurl BTati'slava the moist. On Thursday morning fue first Russian d'i•visions were in the very heart oif the city. Graduailly the booming died aiway and the streets began to be filled w1th Russian soldiers. The "Liberation" Begins 1 The SolV'iet soldiers first Hib.e.rated us from our watches with their well-tlmown "Davaj easy" (Give your waltches). EX!cept for solldiers, tlhe streets were empty; on1y coz,pses were being b alked in .the sipring sun. After a few days, when we cra.,wled out of our bunlkers and cellairs., we saiw the ghastly pioture of ruin anld desolation. Sffiloke s,tii-1 ro!Hed out of buildings and 1:lhe atmosphere was. satwrated Wli'th dust and gunpowder. Glass wa·s ground under foolt. Rdl::fueries were in fU'l'l swing. Soviet soidiers brdke windows of business places with their rule butts and sa-cked and pitMaiged everything. A few dats later, not a sitIJ.g1le shop remamed whO'le. Wh'atever could rrot be taken SLOVAKIA 41 was knocked to pieces. Of course, the l'a wless mob helped very efferdtive1y in thi's work. Reports. olf the raping of women began coming in. It was nothing um.t'sua!l to see franltic W()lffien rUIUNng wildly from their aJttaokeirs; they sm-eamed, k'iciked and fought, -but to no avail. The 'hordes of the RUJSsii'an steppe's were on the loose. Who shall desc,dbe the sta.rk terror- in the eyes of the Slo;v:ak women and girls who 00U!l.1d not get away f,r -()lffi the beasts olf Moscow? Even ii£ I tmoo, I believe that my pen woul:d have to blush if it had to detail the brutalities and abroc'~ties committed. There is no need to exipand on :the fate of many, many women, who remained lya.ng in their bllood aflter such a ba'I1barian shaw of "a!f.feotion" of the Sov,i et soldiers. They to,l d us that it was the "nationa!l duty" o.f the S1avaJk women to repay the So'Vliet arimies rih love! Vinko, Vinko, Vinko Cervene We thOUJght that SlovaJk wiine would not attract the Soviets after tJhey had tasted of strong Tokay in Hurngary. Bult we were mi!stJaken even tJhis time (as usu:a1). Slovak wine memhanits di:d not wanit to sel'l us wine since January, becau:se they had 'hiOiped to sell it at a high price to the Soviet sohliers. But how quijic,k1ly they soibered UJP, when, instead of the jingle-jangle of gCJld 11ulbles, they he:ard shots from rifiles anld. aUlbomaitics in their otherwise irnmcessible ceUars. Barrels were shot wp and the precious liquid o.f the Slova1k earth began flowing; first into pitchers an'<i all so!'ts of containers, dean and uncilean, even bernzine cans. When aU these were fi'1le'd, tlhe wine t11ic'k:led iruto soLdieirs' boots, then flowed over the cellars and vestilbll!les an'<i finaliy onto. the streets. Tos strong aroma mixed w1th the gih:astly stench of decayiing cO'l",pses, whk:h even after a week were stili lying on the sidewaiJ.ks. of the city. The soldiers drank and so d<id the civilians; ch!iMren drank and so did the oldsters. It seemed that the barrels were bottomless. "Viniko, vinko, vinko cerivene" (Wtine, wine, red wine - a popclaT Slovak drinlking song) ! I shail1l never forget tJhe tovaris-comrade who had two botJtles of reld. champaigne stucik in his fuT crup, a bottle in 42 SLOVAKIA eadh. pocket and his hands full. He was approached by another comrade whn .rolblbed hiim on the street of his precious bu.Tden in broad d'a.yuilghlt. The two lashed at each other li'ke antlmals and drew blood on the 'ha.rd pavement of Kapitulska street. Bratishwa wine merchants. 'loolk ed on stupidly and si.'lently ait this Sodiomic destruction of their cellars, and the SO!Ulr odor of the wine reminded them of the old times, when they were s'till:l. bosses of their wine and thought that they themselrves wolU.ld ·haive the honor to treat the "liberat0rs." They rea[irz;eJd tlhe bitter truth that they we·r e "liberated," i.e. comip1etely roiblbed of all their world!ly possessions on the very threshold of a neiw life, the new order promised by the men of the K.re:rnUn. Where Do You Stay, Tovaris? If you were in the aI1II1y, you know w'hat obedience and di'Scilplme means. Withoult bhe:rn, there hardly could be an effecltiive rurmy. A soldier beil.ong,s to some particular company or di'Vlisi:on, must haJVe his gear, be fed and quartered, even th<Ylligh it be under a tent or in a barn. Bult the Soviet soltl!iers wlho swa:runed iiruto Bratislava had no definite quarters and, hence, were everywhere. Usuany aJbout midnight it occurred to· tihe:rn that they had to get some sleep, so the,y began to looik for shelter. Door:s and lodks and bars were no hindrance. Wihether of glass or wood, doors were booted in or smasheJd wiitJh rifile butts, if they were niot opened immediately. "You, bourgeoisie, you did not fighlt ... " Threatened, 1:Jhere wa·s nothing one cou[d c1o bult flee from .h is own home and consider himse1f liUCky if he was not shot- A soldier does not undress for sleep very oflte:n at the fuiont, bult Ivan the RUJSsian never ll!Ildressed even when he had a bed, bwt simply piled on the bed f.wl1y g,ar,bed, 'boots, rifle, pi•s tols, grena:des and a:M. And the frolllt was sixty miles away from us. Investigation After Investigation We thought the war was over when the slh!ooting subsided and the boomdng resounded f.rom a dristanice. We began SLOVAKIA 43 to clean the streets, coll!lect the dead, and put whatever was left oif ,ouir homes in order. A ,penson slO!Wly fongets what he lost, because onlly then, when he did not die during the bomfbardment, does he reaili.ize that it is beaultiifiu[ to live, even tJhoug'h in feaJr, hunger rund thirst, and in raJgs. Things tha,t were a.ire no more, and other things tfhat were not will oome into being. L'iife is all that matters. On'l,y he knows the reail meamng of water and light who has li,v ed thI10UJgh the terror of the front in hiding wilthoult light and water. I.Me will returm to iits dld ways and time wiH heal aJhl wounds ()If the soiwl a,nd bod,y ()If inld.wii.dUJaJl's and nations. Well, wlh,y shoUJld nO/t a person a:gaJin imagine that liJfe can be beruuttilfiull, when he is sitting on tile 'l'Uins ()If his home ~nd the ashes of hi1s dreams? Why, there is no more bc»nibing and even the streets are lighted up in the evenings. Buit empty a.ire the inns, empty are the ce11'3JI"s, empty are tJhe stores and shops Brolken windows and smashed doors attest tJo the min which the Soviet soldiers had WOOU1ght. But the wihl to live r,i,ses alb,ove all this. We must forget everyttJhing thaJt pruined us, a.IN the in:justi<Ces, subdue om thd,r st for blood, when the sap of a new spring is awakening, when everythfun.g is being ren01Vateld, everything is in bloom, the thrush sings and the chiildren play. Burt aH this is but a dream, an ~lluision. '.Dhe 'b attle has ended on the streets, but just the sa:me a mare fiurious invi:siib1e baittle is going on. As you step out of your home, you are co,nrfronlted with tJhe bayonet o;f a Russian soldier or the various "safety" ciommittees. You look a:rO'llnd and notice that yornr home, nay the whole street is sUJITounded by guards. You re'tl.l!rn h'llITTriedly to your room and wait to see what wiM h'appen. Y.ou wait and wait and waJit unti[ the sUISpense aJlrrnost d11ives you mad. Your blood thins in your veins and you look sadly aJbowt you - and wait! F'iinaMy they came, sO'l1d iers and civiili ians: they go through the house and take whatever they want. '.Dhey ask you whether you are a GeI1IDan or not, whebher any Germans or "coll'<llbaratilonists" a,re in your house. You lod.k them icily in the face. 'Tihey depart but only to come rugruin. 44 SLOVAKIA Organs of Security Mter two weeks oif the Russian occupation everything was phmdered. People had no more than they had buried or secreted in such a place where even the Russian hunters and t,hey are eXlpe'tUy schooled in the art of flinding wailled-in objects - would not come. There was a clirth oif everything, even a serforus lack of bread. But we had plenty o.f police! They sprang Ulp like m:ushrnoms aflter a rain. In t'he first place, ,t he dreaded NKVD (OGPU), the Secret So,vi•e t Police, n10toirioo~ for its birurt:al and ghasitl;y crimes. Woe to him that faHis intto its hanids. The NiKViD goes from home to home, drags peoipile aiway and nolbody ever hears of their fate. Fvom eastern S'JO'V'aJkia alone more tihan 4,000 peo~e were draigiged oiff into Siiberia. I was fonbunate to be 'home during the investigation. AU the en'tralllces to the 'bwil.ding were covered by soldiers wit!h a:utomattics. I •t r:wersed my room ne.rvous•ly. A'lthough I had a c:leair clon1science, yet I was di-squited. (No one is sufficiently olear or safe with the Soviet Po[ice) . Finally I wenlt into the haiJ.llway. I was greeted by a soMier and a civilian. A IDQlfilenrt later came the caiptain. He asked me my naJme, what I wa:s doing here, what my profession was, and wheither I was a mem1ber orf IIlin:ka's People'1s Parity. A mac1hinist l,iived on the same floo,r. His room was locketl. Tlhe caiptain OII'<lered me to open it. "I haven't the key," I told hlm. The maic!hini.st had the key and the soldiers had him in hand alt the gate. I ran to the gate. The NKVD g,u1a rd had an a.ultomatti~ on the machinist. I approached him and said that tlhe c~pta;in wants to open the machinist's room, but the madh~nrist had the key. The latter alre'ardy wanted to hand it to me, when the s:o'ldier suddenly tuirned the aurt:omatiic on me and said: "You ha.ve the key" - "'BUit I dlo not have t'he key, the madhinlist has it" - "No, you will 'h,ruve it, if the caiptain says so." - "But I do not have it; loolk, tovaris, the machimst has. it." - "No, I have a.Qready told you that you wi-11 have the key and will open the door, when the captam orders you to do so." I was dumlbfounded by the profound stU1piclilty and returned without t1he key. I told the captain thait the to:varis SLOVAKIA 45 wowd not let me take the key from the machinist because, he said, the captain had ordered me and not the machinist to open the room. I also was a sOJldier and I know whait military dbedience means. Bult this cannot be called obedience, but some kind of unmentionaJble stupidilty or i!Illfbecility which wouid be capable of sticking pins under my fingernails just to find a key on me whirch I do not haive. I realized then wlhy people, during the investigaltions in tJhe tortrure cha.im!bers of the NKVD, confess to things which they never committed. The invest1gation began at seven in the morning and lasted un1ti'l nine. I went to town on business arrd returned a1boU1t eleven. Upon my arr,ivai the building was a·gai,n surrounded biy guards, but this time by the Prurtisans Security c:1it. I wanted to enter the bui'1ding, but they wouid not let me. I identified myse1f and said that I ld.ved there. Finailly a boy, about 17, wit:Jh an automatic in his hands, let me enter. It was very liive:ly in the hallways. The partrsa,n captain was giving orders. I did not know wh1at they were seeiking. I went through the investigation tortures again, but qUJite fortunately. Again aftl the rooms, closets, desks, and dressing cabinets were opened. The investigation was over at about one o'ciock. Again some innocent peoiple were taken. But that was not alt That was onJy t'he beginning. Night feJ.,l and the stars shone brighUy over Br.atislava. Finany, a lilttle rest, I thought But there is no restful or peaceful night duiring a Russian occl..llpaition. A'boUJt midnight I was awa.ikened by some one pounding on my door. Another investigaition ! I was on my feet in an instant and <jpened the door. Before me in the semidankness stood a man and a lady. Instead of identifying themselves, t!hey opened their short coats so that I could see the revolvers in leather 'holsters. "But, but, this is a spe:cia l visit, and so laite at night!" "Your documents," said the man. "Here they a,re, t:hank you." "Were you a memlber of IDinka's Party?" - "I was." "Since when?" - "From 1933." - "Were you in the 1 46 SLOVAKIA Hlinka Guards?" - "I was not." - "Did you be'1ong to Hlinlka's Youth?" - "No." - "Are you a So'ld!ieir?" - "I am an oftfircer in the Sloivalk airnny." - "Did you ta.Ike pa.rt in the revollit ?" - "No." - "Why not?" - "I was on druty in Nitra." - "Are you a Slova;k ?" - "I am." Then they entered my room. On my taJble was a small bust o{ Andrew Hlin!k'a. "And .t his?" - "That is a bust of Andrew Hilinlka." "Hman., we adivi,se you, to destroy irt." - "I don't understand, whiy?" - "Welil, may!be tomorrow you will understand." Wilth that t'.hey depa,rited. Ait thrr-ee in the morning the inrve-stigat'ion olf .tlhe secret police was completed. At eight in the morn.mg came the olffictaJl police, the so-calied "Naitiona1 Secruritiy" po~ice, to find out who i,t was thaJt a1hlowro an in1VestigaJtion at mghit when the ipolice knew nothing aJbout it. "What kind o{ peop1e were they, how did they look, w:hiat did they want?" I was asked. This then was the new oroer - so ter:rrilbly dangerous because iit had so many .srufety biU1reaus thalt one dlid not know aibout the other! Or did they? The Bratislava Commander Complains A month had already passed since the occ'Ulpation of Bratisla1Va , but the streets were stilil wn:swept; dirt and ruiblble were everywhere; liice and infectious diseases were spreading rapidly. 'Ilhe local "National Oommittee" had a loog session to decirle what to do with the riwbbish and rull:fule clutterinig and burning in the streets. But how was the mess to be C'leared ruway, wlhen the Ru'Ssians took an the city dump trucks, a1l pri,v ate cars and al,l wagons and horse's ? Typhoid fever spread danger01Us ly; the numibers of inflicted increased. The Office of P.ropruganda, or, as it was then called, the "Commissary of InfoTfl'nation" pfa'stered the city witJh huge plaic-ards depio'ting a s'keleton poUII"iing lice over BraJtis lava and t'.he wairning : "WATCH THID LICE, THEY SPREAD TYPHOID. '' People stared at the placarids and barked: "Bwt who in SLOVAKIA 47 tarnation broughlt lice here? Send the lousy Russians baok to their lousy ooumrtey !" 'I.1he first plwcards had liiittle e.fifoot. Severrul druys later new ones appeared: Origanilze energeti'C brig,ades of clearuiness ! But Il!cibodiy paid any atJtenMon. The :riUJbbish iblliI'Iled on and spread its poisonous fiumes over the .popuil.<ati.on. There were no autos, no wrugons wiith which to do the hau[ing. Hiarses, oows and siheeip were kept in the panks. The hot sun blruzeid away and laughingJy loolked at the me!SS, which the "new" government prdbalbly did not dear aJWay to this day. And so the skeleton keipt pouring the lice, and t:Jhe placaros aJb,o ut the brig,a des. of cleanliness were covered witlh new red ones, whicih unged us to attend lec!tUll'es on the moraie of the SoVli.et man, So:vieit woman, and the Soviet youth. The Soviet Russians wasted no time in edlucating the masses accordtinlg to the dootrines orf Marx and Lenin. A Soviet Soldier Confesses lit wrus a bea:urtri.:titd June afternoon in K 1rurl'ova Ves near Bratislava, when a Riu'SSian sOlldier rupproacihed us and struclk up a oonvwsaiti.on. He reproved us saying tha.Jt we Slovruks were Ullldiscipllined amid un.gratefUll. We shOIUJd not siay OII' believe tJhat t:Jhe RJussi,ans rure taikin.g everything that can be ha'l.lll€1d aJWay, booau1se thaJt is only ibrud propaganda. Since he was in a t~aJtiive mood', and did not have a revolver, we dooided to malke WIOrds with him. He spdke at length albout d!i.scipil[n.e in RUISSia, both in thiin.lk.ing and in spealk~ng. In Slovaki·a, he said, everyone says whatever he 'Pleases. "ThaJt does not exist in Ruissia. One must hiO:ld to what St-a!lin says. That is the truth and a.Ill else is ,proprugantla. Sta!lin to-Id UIS thaJt in Russia everything iis fine a!nd dandy, everyrtJhin,g is beaut.if.td, that we have enoUJgh to eait. And even though we know that everything i:s not fine and dan:dy, be.mt'i:fiul, and thtat we do not ha;ve enough to eaJt, yet we must say that everythmg is f,i ne and dandy, and thaJt we have plenty to ea.t. Stalin has so ordered! Stalin has so spdken!" He bec'ame so excited trying to prove his impossible stand that I reaHy pit'ioo. him. I s:m:il.ed and sa,id softly: 48 SLOVAKIA "My dear tovaris! We're a different kind of people, strange to you, indeed. When a tihinrg is white, we say it is white; when it is bladk, we say iJt is black. When we have nothing to eat, we say thaJt we a~ hungry oir that we are starving And if anyone orders us to speak otheirwise, we still. say the truth. Stra'lin telJs you different, so be hruppy in your belief. We believe in God, too, but with reason, never against reason." But our tovaris seemed to be far away; his mouth opened, but he said nothing further. Shaiking hiis head, he pwlled at his ear as he slowly wa;llked away. The Soviet Lady Doct.or We weire oirdered to hand 01Ver the miili'ta,r y hospdital in Bratishwa to the RUJSsians. As we were preparing inventory lists, a Rmlssilan l'ady doctor stepped iruto .the room. After talking for a time, we struck upon religion, belieif in God, and other ba.pics. But my Russian colleague, a lieutenant, !)TOclaimetl thait it was in vain we were trying to convince her, becruuse she wm.tltl nort believe l1'S no matter what the airgumenlts. I assured her that she had nothing to fear, because I had no ruposJtoilic intentions. "Why do we write 1945," I asked her. "I know but I won't tell you!" "Burt even you designalte this year by thaJt numlber." "You won't oon'V'ince me " "I db not want to. But even the unbelieving world admits that Christ was born." "I heard rubout that also; burt I do not believe i,t." "Why?" "Becruuse in the history of the Communist Party there isn't anything aJbout it." "Alh, so!" WhaJt is the use of debating? We looked at each other srgnifioa,ntly, smiled, and talked aibout otheir things. "How long did you study medicine?" "I finished the course during the wair in a year and a haJlf. In peaceful times the study takes aliJ. of two and a half years." SLOVAKIA 49 We 1,amghed loud1iy amd pitied the prutients who happened to get under her kmfe. Placards: Religious Freedom DtN-ing the veriy first weelk:s of occupatfon the Slovak Communist Party posted placiar:ds everywhere, arnnlQuncing that the ComJmuni'Slts wiant to respect the relii.g,ioos feelings of a!hl the SloviaJk people and, therefore, are c,alloog aU Slovaks, regardless of the:ir religious convictions, into the Party. Nay, eiven Catho'l:ic priests coul'd and shlOuiltl join the party, we were to1ld. People sing a nfoe tune, when they want to catch a biro! But wlhrut if a mira'Cle had rea!Uy happened? Suppose Comrm.mism had made a tll!I"11 for the ,better? May/be Commun:ism was no longer so excilusive; perhrups it was even reipernting and had decided to let itself be baptized in Christian SlO'V'a'l da! We knew that the Communists were not sincere, but the fact is thaJt oultwarilly they did try tb deal humanely with the peopie for a wht[e to convince them that Communism was not as bad as they thought. It was evident that they were instiru~teld not to insult the sacred and traditionai feel'ings of the SlOIVak ,peop1e. But the pretense soon wore off and the Reds opecl,y a1:>t8iC'ked a11 ece'lesfastical instilbutions. Catholic Schools in Nationalized Slovakia lf there were some Sloivaiks who had iHu'Sions a,bout the Communists going sofit., thek tllu1sions eJOPloded like b,u!bbles, W:hen Laoo Novomesky, Commissar ('br:ulsitee) of Exiucation, annOlmceld that ai11 Catholic scbioo[,s m Slovakia were to be aJbo:Iished and their property was to be taken over iby t!he Stale. He was leld to this action, he said, because it wais inadimissaJble that the Ohiurich should o!ffer a different kind of education than the State. The unity of the nation, sa•: d No;voimesky, required a unifo:r,m eduicaJtiona1 system, cultural and religious st!'.ife must cease, etc. What could not be accomplished even during the first Ozooho.jSloV'ruk republk, was done now with one stroke of the pen · in tJhe shadow of Russi8JI1 bayionets. The Cat'ho[ic institrntions were hit first for ob:vious reasoos. The Reds had 50 SLOVAKIA little dififiicuM.y in getting the badking of the non-Caitholiic Christians. Al!l they ha:d to dt> was promise them that they w()IU[d get the CaJthoiJ.ii:c Churelh proiperrt:.ies. So-cailled followers oif Christ a1Jtadking and despoiling the fo1lowers of Christ! The Reds knew what they were doing, but evidently the non.CathoJic Christians did not, because they tooik the bait. Slovaik IJuithera.ns, Jews, Unitarians, Baptists, etic , expected to gain by the deail against the Catho[ic Slovaks (80 per cent oif tJhe poipuliaibi.on) and, therefore, went a'long with the Reds. !Ton mrust be forged while it is hot. After publishing the decree, all diredtors of Cruthoiic sciho01ls were dismissed. Their places were taken over by so-ca;Ued "Czechoslovaks" and Lwtherans. That was done e:spe'Cially in gymna'Sit1ms managed by the reJl'igiorus <YI'ders, for example, alt the UrS'llline s:c!hools in BrrutislJ.ava and Tuna.va. It was done designecily and systemaiticaHy. Fists were clenched and hearts were steeled. Freedom, freedom! The Slova!k Catholic public becrume extremely inili.gnarnt. People were saying that the women of Tmava were getting ready to storm the Ursuline institution there and throw oot tlhe new di!rectre'SIS, who was perseC'lllting and intimidating the reiigioruis Sisters there. The Bishops of Slovakia Protest E:ven though Siova..ks knew that nothing would be accomplished by protests, neverthe'Jess ail Catholics we.re a.rgreed that they simply coufttl ndt a!hlow the fundamental right of the Ohurch to iits own school's be taken away from them without uttering a word. The peopile had to make thernse1ves heard, or else the stones wmcld complain. The CaithOllic Bishop's Collliloil presented a memorandll!In to the government and the Central Cat holic Chancery was organizing a si-grratn.ure C·Mnipaign against the nationaHzing of scllodls. Lerufllets were distmi.lb uted, and on July 8, 1945, 1!he protest aigainst the confiscrution of the schools was read from ahl puipiits. 1 Well, alter Ju:ly 8, the Bratislava radio was heard from. It blasted and attacked the Bishop's Council, using the wellknown phrase: The parish church belongs to the Church, SLOVAKIA 51 Mlld the school to the StaJte ! Things came to a head and the resrullt Olf the ,protest was that the dirootors Olf the Central Cath~lic Bureau, who teohmca;Ny organi!Zed the action, were jailed. We were again gilven prood' thaJt we were living in a "democracy" and thiaJt the people were dooiding their own fOiitunes. Wlhat a modkery ! Catholic Bishops Imprisoned The ffrst wa,s Hlis ExicellJency John Vojtassak, bjshop of Spis. Hailf of Slwaikia was a'1ready occupied by the Russian rumy. The Sl'O!VaJk National Council was already giving orders from Kosice. At the end of .AipriJ, Dr. Vav,r o Srobar, chalirma.n of the S1ov,aik NaJtiorra1 CouncH at that time, came to the Spisslka Ifupiroula (ISpis Chapter) to gain Bishop Vojtassak for the Slov:aJk Na.lbiona:l COIUnoil and for Dr. Edwa..ro Benes. Srobar wanted ,t hat prilze catch, bec'ause he knew that Bishop Vojttassa'k was an old and 'hard Slovak. As they meit in the corri'd.10r of the bi,s hop's residence, Dr. Srolbar explained why he came and then asked the bishO!p to back the new government. The bishop eyed him co:l d[y for a moment and then srud: "I do nolt reoogni ze any S'1ovruk Nationall Council and president Benes. My government is stilil in Bratislava, and as president of the SlrovaJks I recognize oruy the Siovak, Ms.g r. Dr. Tiso!" The ~ytihe stmrok upon a stone. Dr. Srobar departed, and bishop John VojtassaJk went to his room. Several days later when the bishop received an order from the Slovak N atiorral OownJCirl to beget himsellif to his p1race of confinement i-n Stl,ruvru:k, Vojtassaik replied energetica.!Uy: "I do not have an auto, nor any means of transportation, not even a horse. They -took ever.yrthing from me. I wi'M yie[d only to force." On May 5, 1945, an auto stopped in front oif the Kaipitula; it was a,mned with machine guns and severrul men with auito:matiJc:s. The wovds of Ohris't again rang ou't: You are come out as it were aigain,st a robber with clubs. The good bishop of Spis was forcefuilily talken to Stiaivnik and, later, to the jaml of the federal court in Bratislava. 1 52 SLOVAKIA What hruppened to him? A1[ I knew at that time was that the commwn1i1,it "Plravd'a" of Bramislava was inciting aigainst h!im., head!linirrug its avticleis thus: "The Lord Bishop is against chi:ldren of tJhe wmikers." It was a brazen lie, designed to U!Ilderunine the 1:Jrnst of the fovthfol in the social ideO'logy of iits bishop, who during hd:s whole life proved himself to be the most social o,f alil episcopa:l dignitaries in Sl0V1aikia. Soon aflter the OOOU1pation of Bratislava by the Russians, the bishoip Ol.f Trnava, Mii.H'.tary Vicar and Rector of the BraJtislaiva seminary, J. E. BwzaLka, was ja1iled. F\irst he wais lodged in the pohce stati'On and tJhen transferred to the federail prison where "heiavy offenders" weire penned. He slept on a spring, no m'aJttress ,b eing availaJble, and the siliveT-haired poet, Va'lentine Beniruk, slept alongside him on the bare stone :flloor. After the bishops, t:he Slwialk National Co'Ullcil "took care" of the oonons and other pre1'aJtes. Among the first to be truken was Joseph Srobar of BraJti.sl'a:va, brother of Dr. Vaviro Srdbar. The old churehman, ail heart, would never hairun even a fly. But bo[shev,rk justice did not consider that. In him it sa,w an "enem:y of the people" and inrcaTcerated him. . Ma:nry othevs foHowed him, among them Dr. Charles Kovper, weH-iknown among .American S:lova\ks, former editor of a Cathoi1'i'c neWS1pruper. Monsignor Marsina of Trenci.n cO'llild not even OOJt for nothing in the jail, but had to work. And what work! He was forced to dig c011pses wit!h his bare hand's firom ma$$ graves, then forced to wash and ·k!iss each one. I have a strong su1S1pidon thalt those mass graives were made lby the Russians and not by the Germans as claimed by the So:vie'ts. "Fascist Post.enyi Arrest.ed" That's what a heai!'line said in the communist "Pravda." And it stumned just albout the whole of Slo.vrukila. The discovery of America O!I' the Law of GI"avitation was no more sensationall. Up to that time nobody knew that Monsignor Postenyi was a fascilSt. Aime11ida,ri Slovaks know Msgr. SLOVAKIA 53 Postenyi very weiN. He visiited America in the interests of the S't Ada!llbert Society, pulljlisher of Catholiic literature and inrf.cmmat<ion, an origanwation equiivalent to the Book of the Month 01wbs in Amerti!C'a. The Reds knew that his Slovak ,paltriotism was beyond question and that his merits, as far as the l31rgesit CIUll,bural, Slovak, Catholk institution was concerned, were greaJt. Monsignoir Po:s tenyi is an exemplary priest of Gad, a S1ovaik hough and through, and an indefatfJi,gruble worlcer for the common people of his nation. He was pe!I1S€Kmted for his Slovak ,p atriotism when the Commumst leaders and editors of the "Pravda" were strn in the bOSOIIn of Albraham. Never aclmvel.l,y interested in politics, Msg,r. Postenyi sUldden!ly became a "fascist!" We knew whalt the C01Inmunisits wanted to aJOcorrniplish. 'Do put Posteny,i out of the way woold me'an to destroy the Society of St. Ad•rutbert with iJts libraries, priillt sh01ps and origan.izationrul appruratus. And so the SlOViaJk N ationa;l CO'U!Ilici1 appointed the fina.ncirul secretary of the Sooiety, a Ozedh named Wa;gner, as the commissary of the Society. A few days l1ater a new management was named, one that was rucceptaJble to the spirit and program of tJhe C01Inmunist-idk>minia.ted SlovaJk NaJtional Cooncil. This institution which was bui[it by generations of Slov,a ks inrto a going cultural concern wrus wiped oult in a momenit by the ruthilegs Reds The 150.000 members of the Society of St. Ada1be,rtt co:uM not say a word against the action without inviting punishment, either inciariceration or exile into Silberia. That is how the "people's demooracy" of the Soviets operates. Charit,a,ble Ecclesiastical Institutions The la;rgesit oharitalble ooganization in Slovrukia wa,s the Central Charity (Ustredna Karita), the central Catho1.ic institute of al'l the welfare, socitail, anld religious societi'es. It ha;d its own hea11th cenltets, hospiita!ls for incuraJbO.es, children's nurseries, etc. The women'1s "Charilta:s" was a'1so a mem~ of tJhe organi.<Za,tion. 'Dhe CommUll!ists took (Wer ruH soci:ail insbitiuttions of the Church. Some weeks after the ocCUipation, tihe Communist Union of Sloviak Women confi:s- 54 SLOVAKIA cated the children's nuTsery of the Ustredna ~arita in Dornk~le, BraJtislava, and the Union of SloivaJk Y ouith toolk over the ·b oarding sch06l nea,r the forestry school in Koliba, Braltislavia. The hwmanitari.an division oif the city o.f Bratislava comisoated the estate of "Oharitas" in Braltisfava near the Red Bridge. For the women's home of "Charitas" the commissari'at foT Social Welifare named as commissary the Communist Fla:TIIIly Hirusovsky. Dr. Ivan Horvath, the commissary for sooiall welfare, prod.aimed that a:1'1 the charitable, social instituJtions of the Church would be taken over by the state. Protests clid not mean a thing, as usual. "Freedom" of the Press One of the first ,a cts of the Commissariat for Initernal AffaiTs was the suppression o;f aM news,prupers. With th~s general order all Oathollic newpaJpers and :periodicais weTe wiped out aultomalt!roally; noit only cruturrul and literrury periodicals, such as the "Ku!litura" (a.rl.,tmre.) and the "Obroda" (Rffi"ilvaJl), but even an the religious and educational periodicals, such as The MessengeT of the Srucred Heart, The Holy Family, The Queen of May, etc. And, ]ater the only Caltholk Sloivruk weeldy "Katolicke Noviny" (The Catholic News), which had a suibscription of 170,000, was also swppressed and ta:ken 01Ver by 1:!he Reds. Cathollics protested to the authorities, but in. vadn. The Catholic press was gone. Attaclks against the Church and its priests increased daily, but they could not defend themselves; it was an unequa:l strwggk The enemy fought wfth powerfU!l we8lpons, whi[e the Catholics had none. "Freedom" of Conscience The wax was fought, we were told, aga.inst the suppressi~n of consoien.ce by imperial~stic means, and we haJVe lived to see sucll a diclatorship and s:uch a barbaric viOllia.tion of conscience and its inlterrra:l freedom, the likes of whl'C'h perhrups not even the most frurious f:aslci'Slt ever dreamed of. On aH fronts of tlhis terrible wrur died the best sons of humanity for the rigih:t to speak free'ly about the most fundamental questions of 1iife against tlhe fascist terror. Men SLOVAKIA 55 shed their blood so that concentration camps, wiith all theiT horrors, might never a:ga:in operaJte. But soon aif.ter the war's end aN dliistriot cities in SlovaJlda were ordered to set up a concent.Taition camp and jaill. The war was fol.light for the freed'Olffi of poilft.ic-aiJ. conviotlions, but in Sl'OVlalkia today there are not enOUJgh jai!ls to talke care of aH those, whose only gui,It is that they wilM not swear on the Siclcl.e anld: Hammer, but prefer to rematin loyal to the fupal eneyclilc'als and the fiUJnd:amen'ta:l princiiples of demooraJCy. ln a wore, the Slovaks want to be demO!crat:s and not 'boisiheviks. What has rea;filry changed? Every ni!ght we waited tensely to see whether they were coming for us. We had no peace duirmg the day or night. Forever they were screening and investiigaJting UIS just 'becaUJSe we haippened to live during the past era, and had to wor1k and keeip OUir families. They perseouted us for "co'l:1-aborating" because we recorded oftficiail writings, in some office, or because we were insigruffoant wiheells in the great machinery of life. In Conclusion If I had not seen it, I would not hruve be'liieived it. Those first three months in "l~beraJted" Bra;tislruva were a nightmare. It .st;ilfil hamnts me. The S[ovalk people dild not ha,ve a clharuce. The,i r country was overrun bry bar:barians whom the .AilHes had Wlken on as pa:rtners. Slovalkia was ru!led bry terror and violence f.rom the moment it was "rnberaJted" lby the so-calil ed "Uniiteld Nations," which placed it in the Soviet sphere o!f irufiluence. ]t was ruied 'by the Communist-dominated regime o!f the man who r~gned the presitleTIJCy in 1938 and returned as president..a.venger behind the Soviet ho:rdes in 1945. 'Dhe independenJt Slo.ivaJk Repull:Afc, established by the dully eledted representatives olf t!he Slovak people in 1939 and reoognlizetl by 27 countries, including GreaJt Britain and F,r ance, was wanton!ly destroyed against the wiili of the Slova:k people. The vast majority of the Slovaik nation, the Catholics of Slovakia - representing 80 per cent of the poipll1ation was oulUawed. No politioail parities, newspaipers, organizations, and eilltenprises cou~d exist, except th()[se aUowed by 56 SLOVAKIA Dr. IDdwa,rd Benes and his Communist-dominated regime. The non-Catholic minority in Slovakia - including aN those who ca;Ned t!hemsetlives "Christians" - hel,p ed Benes and the Co!Ir.JII1UJill1S'ts ruin Ca1fud1irc Slovrukia and so helped to ruin themseilves and thetk in:stilbulticms. Whereas, in the beginning, only Crutholics were perisem.uted and onily Cathol'i:c institUJtion:s and enter,prises were nabion:a,lized, laJter the foNowers of ail Christian faiths were crucified and their institulti'ons confiscalted b;y the State. Hi:istor:y repeateld itseJ.if. But ha,tred of the Cathohc Ch'l11l'ch in S'lovakia did n01t solive any of the social or economic probllems, bult oll!l.y aggrawated them; in faot, it only he'lped the Communists realize their ends all the more speedilly. It is high time thait a'11 Christians realized this an:d aoted accordmgly. In Slovalkia tihere sha/U be no rea;l peace, no flI'eedom, as long 3IS 1t is governed by peopte wlho are hostile to the nationa1 traditions of the Slovak nation and its rel:i!gious and political convictions and, hence, are bent on the destru<:tion of the SIJ.O'Vruk people. Slovaikia, one of the oldest Christian countries of Centra1 :Eiu!rope, never sho:uil(l. haive been desbroyed as an independent StaJte. That is more evident today than it was in 1945. No nrution has fought Coonmunism more pel'.sistentily and consistently than the Slovaik nation It's time that this trutlh was recognized by a.Ill freedom-rl<wing, a:ruti-Com:rrmmist coll!Il1Jri-es and that they adj1U1st theiir pOllicies to,w ard the Slovaks to fit the present siitU1aition. Even today the people of Slovruk.ia find iJt ha~d to belrieve that they were sdld oUJt to the men of the Kremlin with the help of file United StaJtes and Great Britain, the great sym'bols of freedom and demooraicy. But they stitl exipect to be liberated by them. • • • "THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is an American institu- tion. Its primary interest is America. As an American of Slovak descent, I say again and again that it ls in the interest of Amerlc-a and the democratic world at large to work for the freedom and Independence of Slovakia. The Individuals and organizations affiliated with the Slovak League of America - as true Americans - cannot wish their brethren in Slovakia less fre edom than they themselves enjoy in the U. S. A. We say: Give Slovakia back to the Slovak people!" - (P. A. Hrobak, Detroit. Mich., 11-18-51)  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 Three Months in "Liberated" Bratislava Description An account of the resource By: An Eyewitness Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 39-56 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/897116960dab5f9b4d9855af6c6c4ab7.pdf fa85b96fb9aaef7f59a38563e06e5135 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 37 CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA HRICOV The ruins of Hni 001v (IHiritcllov) Castle m the Trencin Distriot aire the smallest orf thO'se which stud the Vah vialley. At ()IIl.e time it was connected with the Sul'O!V Castle by a road whildh sna'ked i'ts way over tlhe ,rMJge:s of mountains. The ruins of Hiri.1co,v rest on a steep roc:k wit!h whi:c!h the rem'a ins of the waJ111s are. grown toge'fuer. The rulins are almlQls't ih'atelcess;iJble. The s,u mmiit on which the :mins rest is one of the last sipll'I's orf the St'.rl'ov Roiciks, and tlhe castle reaUy loolks like a ,rOlbber's hideout. 1 Hric·ov, it seems did not m'8Jke history, thoUJgh a document from 1'265 mentions it and chronicles say that the castle wa'S buHt iby one Kia1i:jan, .the manager of the Bytca Castile. The story goes tihia t t!he Lehar robber clan took it from Kriliijan arud held it for many years. When the widOIW of the la;st ~har d!ied, the caJSt'le rpassed on to her adopted son, Franiciis Thur,zo. ~rom rtJhe time of Blazej Podmanin (1496) 1Jhe f1ate of Htiicloiv was closely tied up wi'th 1Jhat of Byitca and: the Lieitav<a Castle. After the deatih of the 1'ast Lehar, his widow ,r emained in SO'l'rOW for three years, as. it wrus ouistorrl'ary in those time!S. Hricoiv was a s;aJd and mournfu1l place. But rufter three years the gates orf Hricoiv weire thrown open to receive guests. Among the hopeifo1 caillers, who exipeeted to wed the widow of Hriicov, was Frandis Tht1ir210, t!he you~g and gallant owner of ithe neig1hlbo,r ing Lietaiva •s ltronghold. Thrur,zo had his eye on Hricov for some time and wrus de'term'ine'd to get i,t even if 'he had to marry the aging Leharr wiidow. The widow took a f1aney to 'Dhruirz•o, ,b ut told him t!hait marriage was out af the questi'()IIl becalllSe orf her age. But she did ad'opt him as her son and maJde him heir of her possessions . 'DhuJ:1zo, it seeims, soon became tired of waiting for hi's "mother" to die, so he decided to truke possession of Hricov by foul means. One ni.ghlt he oirdered his men to seize her and imprison her in the dungeon. The following morning Francis an- �38 SLOVAKIA nOUDJCed that the wlidow had become mental11y unbalanced and had ito be placed in the dungeon. But Ftranci's Thurzo, to keep his evil deed wvered Ulp at all times, had to be oo glll'ard am.d ,t hat v.irtuiailly made him a prisoner in the castle also. And so the years roB.e!d. on. The legend has it thait a monk approached the castle pO!rtaJls, made knolW'Il his ,p resence with his stafd', and begged a mght''S lodging. Thwrzo ordered the monk away. The latter ,t urned Ulpon Thuma and threatened to di,sdose th€ haugfu..ty lard's orime. Thu11"2Jo flared up and 'Set his dogs on the monk. Bult the moolk returned and toid Thurzo to do penance. Thunzo, in turn, ordered his men to seize the monk, beat him Ulp, cast lhfilll into the dungeon and starved him to death. In the meantime fea:r .ruled Hlrifov and Thurao himself was losing his nerwe. While ,t he monlk was starving, his ima;ge ilil stone ,beg,an to grow before the castle entrance. Thwrzo had the petrified monk smashed to bits, but the following mornmg the same petrified monk stood guard at his door. This was too mucih even for Tihuirzo. Overcome by compurnc,tion and fear, he decided to iet the Lehar widow h•aive !her freediom. He set out for the dungeon with hisserv,anits - on1y to find the widow dead. Thurno .became 1Jhe sole owner of Hricov at last. But he did not stay for 1ong; his servants fled one by one and, fina['ly, evern 'J:1hurzo aibantloned the haunlted castle. In time H11icov foll into de-caiy. Bu:t the legend goes on to say th'at the peitrifd.ed monlk stilil stands witness to 1:Jhe crime of F,rancis Thuirzo at the castle entrance. The S1~wa:ks liiV'i!ng in the vioiruty of HricolV, however, say that Thurzo did not get away so easily with hls crime. T.hey claim that he actually did lO'Se his mind and committed suicide by jumipin!g off the ca$tle wa'tl into the precipice below. At nd,g1ht the pitifll!l cries anrl screams cxf tJhe imprisoned widow coulld be heard by the V'fill:agers below. And Thnrr:z:o, beca:u:se o,f his crime, evern rur.ter death wandered restlessly aJbout the vicinri:ty od' Hr.icov . .Alf1ter Tihurno's death, the 1100k on whkh Hricov was built burst into flames which ruined everything. That is the st'Olry being passed on by generrutlions of Slovaks from Hrioov. � SLOVAKIA 37 CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA HRICOV The ruins of Hni 001v (IHiritcllov) Castle m the Trencin Distriot aire the smallest orf thO'se which stud the Vah vialley. At ()IIl.e time it was connected with the Sul'O!V Castle by a road whildh sna'ked i'ts way over tlhe ,rMJge:s of mountains. The ruins of Hiri.1co,v rest on a steep roc:k wit!h whi:c!h the rem'a ins of the waJ111s are. grown toge'fuer. The rulins are almlQls't ih'atelcess;iJble. The s,u mmiit on which the :mins rest is one of the last sipll'I's orf the St'.rl'ov Roiciks, and tlhe castle reaUy loolks like a ,rOlbber's hideout. 1 Hric·ov, it seems did not m'8Jke history, thoUJgh a document from 1'265 mentions it and chronicles say that the castle wa'S buHt iby one Kia1i:jan, .the manager of the Bytca Castile. The story goes tihia t t!he Lehar robber clan took it from Kriliijan arud held it for many years. When the widOIW of the la;st ~har d!ied, the caJSt'le rpassed on to her adopted son, Franiciis Thur,zo. ~rom rtJhe time of Blazej Podmanin (1496) 1Jhe f1ate of Htiicloiv was closely tied up wi'th 1Jhat of Byitca and: the Lieitav<a Castle. After the deatih of the 1'ast Lehar, his widow ,r emained in SO'l'rOW for three years, as. it wrus ouistorrl'ary in those time!S. Hricoiv was a s;aJd and mournfu1l place. But rufter three years the gates orf Hricoiv weire thrown open to receive guests. Among the hopeifo1 caillers, who exipeeted to wed the widow of Hriicov, was Frandis Tht1ir210, t!he you~g and gallant owner of ithe neig1hlbo,r ing Lietaiva •s ltronghold. Thrur,zo had his eye on Hricov for some time and wrus de'term'ine'd to get i,t even if 'he had to marry the aging Leharr wiidow. The widow took a f1aney to 'Dhruirz•o, ,b ut told him t!hait marriage was out af the questi'()IIl becalllSe orf her age. But she did ad'opt him as her son and maJde him heir of her possessions . 'DhuJ:1zo, it seeims, soon became tired of waiting for hi's "mother" to die, so he decided to truke possession of Hricov by foul means. One ni.ghlt he oirdered his men to seize her and imprison her in the dungeon. The following morning Francis an- �38 SLOVAKIA nOUDJCed that the wlidow had become mental11y unbalanced and had ito be placed in the dungeon. But Ftranci's Thurzo, to keep his evil deed wvered Ulp at all times, had to be oo glll'ard am.d ,t hat v.irtuiailly made him a prisoner in the castle also. And so the years roB.e!d. on. The legend has it thait a monk approached the castle pO!rtaJls, made knolW'Il his ,p resence with his stafd', and begged a mght''S lodging. Thwrzo ordered the monk away. The latter ,t urned Ulpon Thuma and threatened to di,sdose th€ haugfu..ty lard's orime. Thu11"2Jo flared up and 'Set his dogs on the monk. Bult the moolk returned and toid Thurzo to do penance. Thunzo, in turn, ordered his men to seize the monk, beat him Ulp, cast lhfilll into the dungeon and starved him to death. In the meantime fea:r .ruled Hlrifov and Thurao himself was losing his nerwe. While ,t he monlk was starving, his ima;ge ilil stone ,beg,an to grow before the castle entrance. Thwrzo had the petrified monk smashed to bits, but the following mornmg the same petrified monk stood guard at his door. This was too mucih even for Tihuirzo. Overcome by compurnc,tion and fear, he decided to iet the Lehar widow h•aive !her freediom. He set out for the dungeon with hisserv,anits - on1y to find the widow dead. Thurno .became 1Jhe sole owner of Hricov at last. But he did not stay for 1ong; his servants fled one by one and, fina['ly, evern 'J:1hurzo aibantloned the haunlted castle. In time H11icov foll into de-caiy. Bu:t the legend goes on to say th'at the peitrifd.ed monlk stilil stands witness to 1:Jhe crime of F,rancis Thuirzo at the castle entrance. The S1~wa:ks liiV'i!ng in the vioiruty of HricolV, however, say that Thurzo did not get away so easily with hls crime. T.hey claim that he actually did lO'Se his mind and committed suicide by jumipin!g off the ca$tle wa'tl into the precipice below. At nd,g1ht the pitifll!l cries anrl screams cxf tJhe imprisoned widow coulld be heard by the V'fill:agers below. And Thnrr:z:o, beca:u:se o,f his crime, evern rur.ter death wandered restlessly aJbout the vicinri:ty od' Hr.icov . .Alf1ter Tihurno's death, the 1100k on whkh Hricov was built burst into flames which ruined everything. That is the st'Olry being passed on by generrutlions of Slovaks from Hrioov. � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 37 CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA HRICOV The ruins of Hni 001v (IHiritcllov) Castle m the Trencin Distriot aire the smallest orf thO'se which stud the Vah vialley. At ()IIl.e time it was connected with the Sul'O!V Castle by a road whildh sna'ked i'ts way over tlhe ,rMJge:s of mountains. The ruins of Hiri.1co,v rest on a steep roc:k wit!h whi:c!h the rem'a ins of the waJ111s are. grown toge'fuer. The rulins are almlQls't ih'atelcess;iJble. The s,u mmiit on which the :mins rest is one of the last sipll'I's orf the St'.rl'ov Roiciks, and tlhe castle reaUy loolks like a ,rOlbber's hideout. 1 Hric·ov, it seems did not m'8Jke history, thoUJgh a document from 1'265 mentions it and chronicles say that the castle wa'S buHt iby one Kia1i:jan, .the manager of the Bytca Castile. The story goes tihia t t!he Lehar robber clan took it from Kriliijan arud held it for many years. When the widOIW of the la;st ~har d!ied, the caJSt'le rpassed on to her adopted son, Franiciis Thur,zo. ~rom rtJhe time of Blazej Podmanin (1496) 1Jhe f1ate of Htiicloiv was closely tied up wi'th 1Jhat of Byitca and: the Lieitav<a Castle. After the deatih of the 1'ast Lehar, his widow ,r emained in SO'l'rOW for three years, as. it wrus ouistorrl'ary in those time!S. Hricoiv was a s;aJd and mournfu1l place. But rufter three years the gates orf Hricoiv weire thrown open to receive guests. Among the hopeifo1 caillers, who exipeeted to wed the widow of Hriicov, was Frandis Tht1ir210, t!he you~g and gallant owner of ithe neig1hlbo,r ing Lietaiva •s ltronghold. Thrur,zo had his eye on Hricov for some time and wrus de'term'ine'd to get i,t even if 'he had to marry the aging Leharr wiidow. The widow took a f1aney to 'Dhruirz•o, ,b ut told him t!hait marriage was out af the questi'()IIl becalllSe orf her age. But she did ad'opt him as her son and maJde him heir of her possessions . 'DhuJ:1zo, it seeims, soon became tired of waiting for hi's "mother" to die, so he decided to truke possession of Hricov by foul means. One ni.ghlt he oirdered his men to seize her and imprison her in the dungeon. The following morning Francis an- 38 SLOVAKIA nOUDJCed that the wlidow had become mental11y unbalanced and had ito be placed in the dungeon. But Ftranci's Thurzo, to keep his evil deed wvered Ulp at all times, had to be oo glll'ard am.d ,t hat v.irtuiailly made him a prisoner in the castle also. And so the years roB.e!d. on. The legend has it thait a monk approached the castle pO!rtaJls, made knolW'Il his ,p resence with his stafd', and begged a mght''S lodging. Thwrzo ordered the monk away. The latter ,t urned Ulpon Thuma and threatened to di,sdose th€ haugfu..ty lard's orime. Thu11"2Jo flared up and 'Set his dogs on the monk. Bult the moolk returned and toid Thurzo to do penance. Thunzo, in turn, ordered his men to seize the monk, beat him Ulp, cast lhfilll into the dungeon and starved him to death. In the meantime fea:r .ruled Hlrifov and Thurao himself was losing his nerwe. While ,t he monlk was starving, his ima;ge ilil stone ,beg,an to grow before the castle entrance. Thwrzo had the petrified monk smashed to bits, but the following mornmg the same petrified monk stood guard at his door. This was too mucih even for Tihuirzo. Overcome by compurnc,tion and fear, he decided to iet the Lehar widow h•aive !her freediom. He set out for the dungeon with hisserv,anits - on1y to find the widow dead. Thurno .became 1Jhe sole owner of Hricov at last. But he did not stay for 1ong; his servants fled one by one and, fina['ly, evern 'J:1hurzo aibantloned the haunlted castle. In time H11icov foll into de-caiy. Bu:t the legend goes on to say th'at the peitrifd.ed monlk stilil stands witness to 1:Jhe crime of F,rancis Thuirzo at the castle entrance. The S1~wa:ks liiV'i!ng in the vioiruty of HricolV, however, say that Thurzo did not get away so easily with hls crime. T.hey claim that he actually did lO'Se his mind and committed suicide by jumipin!g off the ca$tle wa'tl into the precipice below. At nd,g1ht the pitifll!l cries anrl screams cxf tJhe imprisoned widow coulld be heard by the V'fill:agers below. And Thnrr:z:o, beca:u:se o,f his crime, evern rur.ter death wandered restlessly aJbout the vicinri:ty od' Hr.icov . .Alf1ter Tihurno's death, the 1100k on whkh Hricov was built burst into flames which ruined everything. That is the st'Olry being passed on by generrutlions of Slovaks from Hrioov.  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: Hričov Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 37-38 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 castles https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/65d497ab39df6b0f93cbb39130c9fec7.pdf 7b27e4881f6d9f38358ccc2e2afa5066 PDF Text Text 26 SLOVAKIA THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF A FEDERATION Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. I Eastern Europe provides a political observer with a motley mosaic of opinions. Living here are many nations and ra.c es which even a Central European does not properly recognize and many times does not know whether to classify them with European nations or with the Asiatics. Whoever searches more profoundly into their history and studies their political struggles at least cursorily will notice that in many regards their history and their programs are very similar to those of every p.ation in Central or Western Europe. You will find smaller and larger groups; small nations bound to the destiny of great ones, and their mutual relationship is manifested nearly always by the same complaints as those of other nations-suppressi on, imperialism, wars, revolutions, heroic deeds of national leaders, etc. In general, it is said that the East-European nations a.re politically less developed. Enemies of their freedom say that they are the more primitive nations and, therefore, certain slogans and principles of program are more highly spirited and sometimes sound like a voice from the romantic times of the past century. One thing is certain, that generally in almost all East-European nations, as can be seen from the course of their emigration, there is a great deal of conservatism both with regard to the form of warfare as well as the peaceful arrangement of Eastern Europe, or the territory of Asia Minor. Usually in all ideological proclamations, which are designated not only for the limited domestic public, but also for foreign countries, the stereotyped assertion is re-iterated that it is imperative to build national states in the whole of Eastern Europe. They promote not only the disintegration of Soviet Russia, but also oppose every form of a greater Russian empire. And systematically they oppose the much used Russian thesis about several Russian nations, incidentally, the false naming of some non-Russian nations (Little Russia, correctly the Ukrainia, etc.). �SLOVAKIA 27 Taken <Ybjectively, these nations must be fully understood. Not only small nations, that is tribes (as for example, of the Upper Caucasus), but also large nations (forty million Ukrainian and eighteen million Byelorussian people) did not have their own state for long centuries. Then in this conglomeration of East-European nations there also are such that cannot at all claim that they are building upon their own state traditions. And we may go even farther. Not until the twentieth century did small tribes or groups begin to create individual units which claimed national rights as nations with all the attributes of culturally and politically mature nations to manage their own destiny (Upper Caucasus). It was, for example, quite unknown to Europeans and less so to Americans that the Cossacks declared themselves an independent nation. History discloses that the Cossacks were in the service of Russian Czars and one part of them was inclined towards the Ukrainians; their language is Russian and Ukrainian. But we were acquainted only with legendary Cossack heroes. We knew very little about their political endeavors. But now there exists a strong movement for a Cossackia, i. e. an independent Cossack state. Besides all this, many of the East-European nations experienced a transfer process, especially during the Soviet reign of terror. The Ceceni (Tchetchene) of the Upper Caucasus are no longer in their original place. They were spread over the entire Soviet Union simply because they were a healthy and belligerent nation. A similar fate befell the small (two hundred thousands) Kalmuck nation and many other small nations. Transfer or resettling of nations is the best tactic of the Soviet. Already a whole million inhabitants of the Baltic states has been forcefully transferred to the Soviet interior and to Siberia; Russi.ans, Tartars, Uzbcks, and many others have supplanted them. It is no wonder then that all the nations of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor nations from an instinct of self-preservation insist on national independent states. Naturally, these tendencies manifest themselves most acutely within the strong nations, as for example, the Ukrainians. The Ukrainian �28 SLOVAKIA emigration is divided into at least ten political parties: from the most extreme rightists to socialists. But there is hardly one Ukrainian factor in emigration who does not favor an independent Great Ukrainia. Many times it appears that it is impossible to speak with East-European representatives about any other type of political organization other than national states. Fear of the entire future arrangement is often responsible for this. But all things considered, there is no fundamental aversion toward fedemlistic endeavors. True, the East-European is little interested in a West-European federation, because he is convinced that Western Europe has an insignificant interest in the correct solution of the Eastern question. But, inadvertantly, all thoughts and manifestations, which come to light in connection with either a West-European or a federation involving the whole of Europe, affect also the spiritual stratum of East-European emigration. And so, in their club meetings and their reviews, periodicals, and newspapers, they often discuss this most recent political problem seriously and minutely. This is not merely a confirmation of what has already been done in this matter, but learned East-European professors, politicians and publicists have the courage to draw a parallel between the West and East, between the intellectual efforts for a federation in the West and the practical ,possibilities in the East. Few are those who will analyze all the problems publicly. However, we have found many instances of debates concerning a European and a. regional Central-European and East-EuropeanAsia Minor federation. And it was not always a voice from the East which took a negative stand to the conception of a federation itself. Finally, even exclusive, nationalistic, international emigrant organizations allow for a closer or liberal relationship of individual nations. Such an International of Freedom, consisting of twenty one Central and East-European emigrations, bases its fundamental program on an inter-continental confederation of states, including all of Eastern Europe, except Russia and all of Asia Minor. The Anti-Bolshevik Block of nations, building exclusively on national states, has within its Constitution a clause which �SLOVAKIA 29 speaks of the possibility of creating smaller or larger units and co-states. The oldest East-European anti-bolshevik international emigrant organization, Prometheus, working already twenty eight years, receives most sympathetically the trends which favor a European federation and a regional federation. Therefore, the idea of federalism is not foreign to the East-European peoples, nor to those who never had their own state and who yearn to be free. In comparing these efforts from the East, undoubtedly the thought arises with regard to Central Europe where the Slov,a ks dwell. What is the situation there? II One argument against Slovak persistence and perseverance in the struggle for an indpendent state usually is its national "youthfulness". This argument was used especially during the years following World War I, when the struggle of the Slovaks began to be serious both in form and intensivity, and opponents of Slovak freedom had to resort to all kinds of, and many times, less successful arguments. This argument could have been valid to a certain extent only until Slovak intellectuals refuted the false legend that the Slovak nation has no history and until the Slovaks themselves proved by their creative spirit that their naJt:ion can ad~pt itself m a'Il!y period to its neiighibors in all fields and that its cultural endeavors are not more inferior, but in many respects the Slovak genius surpasses its partners and becomes distinctly original. Therefore, such an argument could not carry weight for very long. It lost in realism very quickly with the Slo• vak people, and it was the spirit of the Slovaks that proved it is possible to create a new Slovak environement in the spiritual and national-political regard without lures and snares, without thorough saturation from secondary sources. The "youthful" Slovak nation had chosen its own course so that it could live its own national life. Against facts, and particularly the vitality of all the component parts of the Slovak nation, it was difficult to �30 SLOVAKIA keep on using endlessly the arguments used during the first few years following World War I. Quickly, therefore, as the views of the Slovak people began to change, and as the course of the policy of "lures" was changed by facts, the very same people suddenly ascertained that the Slovak nation is biologically so strong that its neighbors will have to draw from this healthy blood bank to preserve themselves, to revive, and also become stronger. This was an immoral attempt to destroy the national Slovak body. After drawing upon the biological vitality, a degeneration of spiritual values among the Slovak nation would be inevitable. It was not possible, therefore, from motives of self-preservation, to agree with such "allurements." From this theory our Czech neighbors moved further. Not only biologically were we supposed to save one of our neighbors, but we were also supposed to contribute to its cultural and religious revival. These voices were heard frequently after World War II. All this is defective and for the Slovaks extremely dangerous. Surely, to save, let us say, a nation twice as large, from certain ruin, is a beautiful and historically valuable sacrifice. But nothing more or less than a sacrifice. Probably, our investments would be faulty and all our magnanimity could once avenge itself on our nation. By our own efforts we would be perhaps the cause of new dramas in the years to come, similar to the various struggles of the past. On the surface, it would 'be a sublime act, but in reality the murder of our own nation. We would in fact be guilty of perpetrating national suicide. We admit that we feel sorry for the decline and demise of any nation and its culture. Higher motives and self-love prevent us from pouring into the disintegrating body of our neighbor - even if he asks us to do so - all that God has given us as a manifestation of our own strength and cultural development. We realize that our development was hampered, that we are just beginning to live, that the culmination of our life is yet to come. Because of this motive -- that we would not collapse before we present evidence of our spiritual and �SLOVAKIA 31 national-political heroism to the world - there is for us no enticement which would lead us from the path of our very own interests. True, this is not an egotistic and selfish course. We have the highest interest in this only because we do not want to fall and perish under the guise of such dangerous and, frequently, even enticing allurements. On the other hand, we are fully convinced that in a more extensive Central and All-European society we will be able to do more even from the spiritual and material viewpoints. Binding ourselves exclusively to the interests of just one neighbor would mean our gradual extinction and destruction. Even if we were the center of attraction for a definite time, this would be a very narrow circle and our rapid exhaustion would soon turn away the attention of all friends. Nevertheless, natural development can be assured to us only in a healthy competition in a normal advancement which is not weighed down with too great a burden. An alliance, let us say, with the Czechs - an alliance of complete biological and spiritual growing-together - would stifle within us all manifestations of individuality exclusively for the benefit of the larger Czech nation. We are for co-operation, but we wish to put it on a real foundation of as extensive a co-operation as possible. If it is true that we are still a "youthful" nation, immature, but full of life and having all the prerequisites for the restoration of biological and cultural life of a certain nation, then the realistic hypothesis is more valid, that is, that all the energy which we should invest in behalf of one of our neighbors, in time will uphold the Slovak nation much longer as an individual factor within the Central European family of nations, healthy and capable of its own undertakings. The healthy Slovak nation, being fully willing to accept the closest co-operation within the framework of an European federation, wants to be equal with its political and cultural sense to the most serious factors of world political planning. The health and resources in which the Slovak nation abounds - and in this respect it has many preferences �32 SLOVAKIA over some European nations - assures it of all suppositions, that it will know how to maintain itself in the European family of states. And, of course, everything it produces with its intellect and hands above the average and above its living standards, it will gladly let its partners have. There is a great difference whether the healthy and elementally powerful expressions of the Slovaks, about which many do not doubt, should benefit one of our neighbors exclusively, or whether we should share them with the whole of Europe. Definitely, we shall choose the latter course. It is direct, logical and free of allurements. We do not fear a contest, competition, or spiritual rivalry. Our healthy construction, which others envy, certainly will overcome all remnants of prejudice and, above all, will convince all the other European partners that they can count on the Slovak nation in every field of endeavor that this nation is aware of its duty not only to itself, but also to others. It is not envious, or even hazardous. III There is no doUJbt ,t hat the time will come for the creation of larige staite unilts even in the Old World. Europe already has '1:a,id 1Jhe fourndat'ions of a .federation which, in the eyes of 1Jheori1S1ts - the mo·s t oUJtstanding contemporrury politicians oif :Eill!rope - ii.,s. dea;r f.ro:rn almost every side. Oillly groUJps nolt ,i nterested in the welfare of Europe tum away fll'om tMs ,i,d'ea. We SlcwaJks cannot but be interested even in the pracllical side of the maJtter, i'nasmruch as we wolllld liike to see ouriselves, on the one hand, among the independent naltiorrs of Centra'l Europe, who are waiting for the creation of a European f ederrution, anld, on the other, we do not wamrt ,t o stand unipreprured .toward aJll those facto1rs, who rure placing obstacles in the way of Slovakia beco ming a member of sUldh a European federrution. One of tlhe most serious rea!sons why some groups op,pose our diredt pairbic~pation in the European federaJtion, and at best wish to see us in it only through the medium of Czecho..Slovakia, usually is an alleged extreme Slovak nrutionali:s m. Pruradoxically as it sounds, this allegation �SLOVAKIA 33 is not casua!l, ,b ut is used systemaiticruly as a seriOUJS rurgu,men,t ·a gainst us. ]t simply d0€S not sound naJtuiral and serious that the Slovaks come w.iith the thawght of mer,ginig Slovakia, as an ,i ndependent state unit, into run EUII'Opean federaltion. Many SJlo;v,aJk politicians aire figihting very effectively for this idea already sevarall decades. Dr. M,;IJ.an Ho~a was noit an extreme Slovak naMonalist, even though he we:nit tJhrough a CO!Ill/Paratiively motley degree of .poilitical thoughit. Thiis MiJan Hlod:za dedicated all h~s intelilect Ito the federalistic idea and, therefore, belongs among tihe most s,i,g,n!iificant figwres in this modern movement not on!ly in owr Slovak enVliromnent, but in relation to Central Emrope as well. Even though he was a ceilltra[ist in the Ozec!ho-Slo:vaik Republic, nevertheless, with the greater pairt of hlis spirilt he belonged .to the broader CentralEJuropean environment. Olther Sl01Vak politicians also emerged and aTe still emer,gi,rug wiith the ildea o!f a fedarrutJion. The Ptresidenlt of the Slovak Repulb1:ic, Dr. Joseph 'Dirso, did not conceal his convicltion tihat evolution coU!ld not proceed otfherwise than in the sipinit of federa[iization. In his ,pUlbli'C wtterances he made several allusions to .this grave pr-ob'lem as if to prepare tlhe Slo,v~k puibHc for a new epoch of national and state life. Kairol Sidor, lfo11mer .Sl'ovak ambassador, does noit deny his conception of federal,i'SIID. Even the officia,l program of the Sllova!k NaJtiona1 Oouncil Abroad, which Karol Sidor heads, is ma;rked as a pro·g ram for an independent Slovak State within a framework Olf an EurQpean federation. Per'hrups, the moslt pr6dluotive ,t heol'ist, in the ranks of those ,w ho comprise the .Slovak NaJtional Com11ci1 and are coming on the scene from the young Slo,vaJk generation to take the responsiJM.lity for trhe devel01p.merut of affairs, is Dr. Joseph Kinschlbamn. Not only firom the view.point of evo[utionary necessity, bwt chiefly because he grrusped 1:!his complex of questions sensibly and soientificahly, KiTsch!baum, since the end of World War II, prepared and pu.fbliished numemus d.Jisserta;tions and studies which aiim to prove to the wor+ld that Sfova:ks have t!heir own modern poilitica,l con- �34 SLOVAKIA ceiption amJd also people who display an animruted an:d interest ~111 the problem of a fedel'a!lirzed ffiurolpe. 'Siimill'a dy, other SIJ.avak ipoliltical wOII1kers, publ!idats and wriiters, tea/Che.rs a!Ild iinltellootuals are worlmnig for a federation (Dr. Iilin.amJUel Bohm, Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Reiv. Niicho'las Siprinc, Dr. Joseph Mi!lrus, Dr. JO'Seph Cieker, Tu-. Imrrich KrUIZlia:k, Dr . .A;r.ved Grr-ebert., Louis IVcmdra and many othem). In contemporary trends of Sllorvaik politics the most foscinalting connedt:ling lilnk is the idea of federa,tion. Thruruk. !imig in a pradtiicaJl way, i1t is imipossiible to picture a Slovalk p,oliitician or pol'ilticaJ theorist who seriiously de<~ls wiltih the idea of lar,ge un1its, s'U/Ch as a Cerubrrul-Ewropeam or Eiulropean federation WOllfild be, and wOllNd wish to lead his nation along the path oif inltoierance and of nationally scOIUTg'ed p8JSISions. Therefore, tJhe Slovaks and t!heir politiicrul and oUJlrtural representatives are not ibwillding a diam on the poinlted edge of chaUMiin:iSlm, but adhere to the notion of a futm-·e EUTopean federation. IV U'IllU'Sual ]t is interesting to note that it was chiefly rthe Czech Socialistic pam'ties wlhreh both in Czechia and Siovalkia ooleashed the most saiv-age conflict about the unfilty of the "Czeclhoslavialk" langwa.ge. 'Dhe same parties who diid not forget to pdse even in our country as progressive prurties. in oocoirdlalllCe to Marxislt ideolo.g y. Iif tJhe Slov3/k naltion opposed this the'ir "progress," then it was in a lar,ge meaiswre becaJUJse they ibrOll.lglht confusion inlto the tiundamenitaJ oonceipts of polliitiiJool Iiife, and, in fact, reaction which excludes aiN criticism. Czech socl,rulism has shown ilbself as the pioneer of f,r ustrruted thinking, and if we tiram:sfer i'ts conception to a practlicall field, we see that it has 1,i1dikuled iltself as has no otller move1ment whiibh had anything to do, directly or indirectly, wti.th the SlO!Vak natioo.. For twenty fuM yerurs, Ozecll poliitiios tenaciously held to ''OzoohO'SlovaikiSin" as a sally bridge into S'lov:alkia. Other Ozedh parties ad/Opted thlis slogan from the socirulists. Scientists seized wpon i1t and were fuhlowed by OI.ech journalists. �SLOVAKIA 35 And thus, in fact, a period ensued when representatirves of Ozech spirit and prruatioa1 pdliitircs were more enraged in gaining a position for the artificial construdtion of "OzechiQslavaJkism" than a real settlement of relaitionshi1ps among 'the minorilties Indisputably we muist thank their inC'ons!i.derate, one-si'ded and undemocratic pol1'tiicail program fo:r the faot 1:hat Prague centralism found irt:se'lf in ruirrs wilt!h the first thrust. The so-called "Czechoslovaks" have denied the Slovaiks the right to self-existence. The Slo,v ak naltion, nevertheless, persistently fought for the recognition otf this most naturaJl right. And it did so in harmony witlh cmltural Europe, which no one, except the Communhrts labeled as reactionary or backward. In politica! morals, tile stirug,gle for the recognition of the suptreme riig1hlts of a nation signifies, in ,t he .p ositive sense d:f the ward, the most noble expression of progressiveness. The Slovaks, therefore, a.ire ahead of the Ozetdhs in thlis re~ard by t!hirtty years. Many exipeniments were .necessary to reform. the "Czechoslovruks" rut least prurtliail'1.y. There had to be a war - for tfrlem new exiperieniceis both on the domestic and fureig.n fronts. Once moce they had ,t o ascertain the mmd of the S'lO,VM{ nation, to scrutinize the trends of European and nonIDuropean politilc's, so that rome of them ta:o'tica.1.[,y, others per1haps sincerely, woulld rubandon the ruinous policy of •~czeichosllO'V'alkifum." After WoI"ld War H, less was said albout "OzeclhO's:lovaJk" unity and, partliculrurly, about a united lan.guiage. It mu'Slt be mentioned again, tha.'t :the most Ulillprog.ressirve of all in this regarrtl were the ~etch Socialists. The otfrler Czech polrnicians and theiT Slovak a.Hies rewgn.ized the right of the Sfovruk nation to its own existence . But at that time the Slovaks were more advanced. They had gone through the hist.orically rich segment of their own state. ft is certain that there is a greait deaft of difference between "Oze1ehosi1ova'k" comprehension - it stilil is bound Uip with a joint state aind the standipdinrt: of t!he Slovaks. To get ruhead by means oif a steady for-warn effort and in aiM farms - to find what benefi't!s best t!he 11:fe am.d development of the nation - the SlovaJks provoo that they rure marehing �36 SLOVAKIA in 1:Jhe spirit of the ,t imes and, as an independenlt ,and competitiive ,_po1fficai unit, seek to persevere aloll!gside the most cmltwred European naltions. Toda,y, ffiurope ,is ffillllch frul"bher a'long t'he way than the "0zec'ho,SilovaJks." Theorelti.cafily and practica'lliy it i,s prepa,r ed for a federation of ai1l nations. The so-caUed "Czecihoslova'k1s " are ait tJhe crossroa;dis. Some a~ere to the form of the fiirt;t Ozecho-!SlovaJk Repuiblic, while others rure silent and say nolt!hlil!g a!boult a forurtlh or fitfth Czecho-Slova.!k Repulblic for whiich they would want to fight. StillJ. others ta:l:k obscurely about the possibillity of a federafted Czecho·~SIJ.oivakia. There i's allso a founth 0zech g,r1oop whi'ch does not wish to interfere in Slova!k affaiiI"S and i's f[gh'ting for a CentralEuropean or IDwopean federation in w'hiich it reckons wilth an inde,pendent Czech Ulnit and a separate Sloivaik unilt. On tlhe ort:her hand, conltemporary SIJ.ovak ,p oHtits is following clearly and .ll!nreserveidly whait is best for an inde,pendenrt Sl01Vak State wli:thin the framework of a European federation. Compari.Il!g 1:Jhe effort's of t'he "Czechoslava1ki:;" wi'bh those of the Sl0iv-alks, we see, that even now there is a brusiic dliifrferenice b.e'tween them and that "CzechoSl01Va:k,i sm" wppears in the role of the mo'sit reactionary factor in Central Ewrope. But, willy-nilly, some of its representatiives have come oloser to the tlhinking of the .S1'oivaJk nati:on and ,g radually are rcliinquish~n,g their b1goited and ar,chaii.c views. Hoiweiver, t'here stiifl remains the difference of thirty yerurs. We can, therefore, clearly see from these .s imply-staited realities thaJt llhe sen:se of SlovaJk pol,i rtks tended toward a broader lilirI10ipean and worM society. There its a basic diffeirence whether we get into tJhi,s broader so'o iety of nations throrugh owr OiWll doors, or wihether we shalJ.l be led m'to it throrugh foreign dooirs wiit!h those of others; whether we wm lodk ,pa.ssi.rvely lllpOn the work, or whether we shali talke part in ilt w~tJh joint forces. A IDuropean fed:era/tlion will bring run end to these mistaJkes. We are det:inilteliy decfarin1g for a European associatioo, becruuse, rucicording to moral,s , ciulltll!re and p<Ylitical ma!tuirity, we rightfully beloD!g in it. � 26 SLOVAKIA THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF A FEDERATION Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. I Eastern Europe provides a political observer with a motley mosaic of opinions. Living here are many nations and ra.c es which even a Central European does not properly recognize and many times does not know whether to classify them with European nations or with the Asiatics. Whoever searches more profoundly into their history and studies their political struggles at least cursorily will notice that in many regards their history and their programs are very similar to those of every p.ation in Central or Western Europe. You will find smaller and larger groups; small nations bound to the destiny of great ones, and their mutual relationship is manifested nearly always by the same complaints as those of other nations-suppressi on, imperialism, wars, revolutions, heroic deeds of national leaders, etc. In general, it is said that the East-European nations a.re politically less developed. Enemies of their freedom say that they are the more primitive nations and, therefore, certain slogans and principles of program are more highly spirited and sometimes sound like a voice from the romantic times of the past century. One thing is certain, that generally in almost all East-European nations, as can be seen from the course of their emigration, there is a great deal of conservatism both with regard to the form of warfare as well as the peaceful arrangement of Eastern Europe, or the territory of Asia Minor. Usually in all ideological proclamations, which are designated not only for the limited domestic public, but also for foreign countries, the stereotyped assertion is re-iterated that it is imperative to build national states in the whole of Eastern Europe. They promote not only the disintegration of Soviet Russia, but also oppose every form of a greater Russian empire. And systematically they oppose the much used Russian thesis about several Russian nations, incidentally, the false naming of some non-Russian nations (Little Russia, correctly the Ukrainia, etc.). �SLOVAKIA 27 Taken <Ybjectively, these nations must be fully understood. Not only small nations, that is tribes (as for example, of the Upper Caucasus), but also large nations (forty million Ukrainian and eighteen million Byelorussian people) did not have their own state for long centuries. Then in this conglomeration of East-European nations there also are such that cannot at all claim that they are building upon their own state traditions. And we may go even farther. Not until the twentieth century did small tribes or groups begin to create individual units which claimed national rights as nations with all the attributes of culturally and politically mature nations to manage their own destiny (Upper Caucasus). It was, for example, quite unknown to Europeans and less so to Americans that the Cossacks declared themselves an independent nation. History discloses that the Cossacks were in the service of Russian Czars and one part of them was inclined towards the Ukrainians; their language is Russian and Ukrainian. But we were acquainted only with legendary Cossack heroes. We knew very little about their political endeavors. But now there exists a strong movement for a Cossackia, i. e. an independent Cossack state. Besides all this, many of the East-European nations experienced a transfer process, especially during the Soviet reign of terror. The Ceceni (Tchetchene) of the Upper Caucasus are no longer in their original place. They were spread over the entire Soviet Union simply because they were a healthy and belligerent nation. A similar fate befell the small (two hundred thousands) Kalmuck nation and many other small nations. Transfer or resettling of nations is the best tactic of the Soviet. Already a whole million inhabitants of the Baltic states has been forcefully transferred to the Soviet interior and to Siberia; Russi.ans, Tartars, Uzbcks, and many others have supplanted them. It is no wonder then that all the nations of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor nations from an instinct of self-preservation insist on national independent states. Naturally, these tendencies manifest themselves most acutely within the strong nations, as for example, the Ukrainians. The Ukrainian �28 SLOVAKIA emigration is divided into at least ten political parties: from the most extreme rightists to socialists. But there is hardly one Ukrainian factor in emigration who does not favor an independent Great Ukrainia. Many times it appears that it is impossible to speak with East-European representatives about any other type of political organization other than national states. Fear of the entire future arrangement is often responsible for this. But all things considered, there is no fundamental aversion toward fedemlistic endeavors. True, the East-European is little interested in a West-European federation, because he is convinced that Western Europe has an insignificant interest in the correct solution of the Eastern question. But, inadvertantly, all thoughts and manifestations, which come to light in connection with either a West-European or a federation involving the whole of Europe, affect also the spiritual stratum of East-European emigration. And so, in their club meetings and their reviews, periodicals, and newspapers, they often discuss this most recent political problem seriously and minutely. This is not merely a confirmation of what has already been done in this matter, but learned East-European professors, politicians and publicists have the courage to draw a parallel between the West and East, between the intellectual efforts for a federation in the West and the practical ,possibilities in the East. Few are those who will analyze all the problems publicly. However, we have found many instances of debates concerning a European and a. regional Central-European and East-EuropeanAsia Minor federation. And it was not always a voice from the East which took a negative stand to the conception of a federation itself. Finally, even exclusive, nationalistic, international emigrant organizations allow for a closer or liberal relationship of individual nations. Such an International of Freedom, consisting of twenty one Central and East-European emigrations, bases its fundamental program on an inter-continental confederation of states, including all of Eastern Europe, except Russia and all of Asia Minor. The Anti-Bolshevik Block of nations, building exclusively on national states, has within its Constitution a clause which �SLOVAKIA 29 speaks of the possibility of creating smaller or larger units and co-states. The oldest East-European anti-bolshevik international emigrant organization, Prometheus, working already twenty eight years, receives most sympathetically the trends which favor a European federation and a regional federation. Therefore, the idea of federalism is not foreign to the East-European peoples, nor to those who never had their own state and who yearn to be free. In comparing these efforts from the East, undoubtedly the thought arises with regard to Central Europe where the Slov,a ks dwell. What is the situation there? II One argument against Slovak persistence and perseverance in the struggle for an indpendent state usually is its national "youthfulness". This argument was used especially during the years following World War I, when the struggle of the Slovaks began to be serious both in form and intensivity, and opponents of Slovak freedom had to resort to all kinds of, and many times, less successful arguments. This argument could have been valid to a certain extent only until Slovak intellectuals refuted the false legend that the Slovak nation has no history and until the Slovaks themselves proved by their creative spirit that their naJt:ion can ad~pt itself m a'Il!y period to its neiighibors in all fields and that its cultural endeavors are not more inferior, but in many respects the Slovak genius surpasses its partners and becomes distinctly original. Therefore, such an argument could not carry weight for very long. It lost in realism very quickly with the Slo• vak people, and it was the spirit of the Slovaks that proved it is possible to create a new Slovak environement in the spiritual and national-political regard without lures and snares, without thorough saturation from secondary sources. The "youthful" Slovak nation had chosen its own course so that it could live its own national life. Against facts, and particularly the vitality of all the component parts of the Slovak nation, it was difficult to �30 SLOVAKIA keep on using endlessly the arguments used during the first few years following World War I. Quickly, therefore, as the views of the Slovak people began to change, and as the course of the policy of "lures" was changed by facts, the very same people suddenly ascertained that the Slovak nation is biologically so strong that its neighbors will have to draw from this healthy blood bank to preserve themselves, to revive, and also become stronger. This was an immoral attempt to destroy the national Slovak body. After drawing upon the biological vitality, a degeneration of spiritual values among the Slovak nation would be inevitable. It was not possible, therefore, from motives of self-preservation, to agree with such "allurements." From this theory our Czech neighbors moved further. Not only biologically were we supposed to save one of our neighbors, but we were also supposed to contribute to its cultural and religious revival. These voices were heard frequently after World War II. All this is defective and for the Slovaks extremely dangerous. Surely, to save, let us say, a nation twice as large, from certain ruin, is a beautiful and historically valuable sacrifice. But nothing more or less than a sacrifice. Probably, our investments would be faulty and all our magnanimity could once avenge itself on our nation. By our own efforts we would be perhaps the cause of new dramas in the years to come, similar to the various struggles of the past. On the surface, it would 'be a sublime act, but in reality the murder of our own nation. We would in fact be guilty of perpetrating national suicide. We admit that we feel sorry for the decline and demise of any nation and its culture. Higher motives and self-love prevent us from pouring into the disintegrating body of our neighbor - even if he asks us to do so - all that God has given us as a manifestation of our own strength and cultural development. We realize that our development was hampered, that we are just beginning to live, that the culmination of our life is yet to come. Because of this motive -- that we would not collapse before we present evidence of our spiritual and �SLOVAKIA 31 national-political heroism to the world - there is for us no enticement which would lead us from the path of our very own interests. True, this is not an egotistic and selfish course. We have the highest interest in this only because we do not want to fall and perish under the guise of such dangerous and, frequently, even enticing allurements. On the other hand, we are fully convinced that in a more extensive Central and All-European society we will be able to do more even from the spiritual and material viewpoints. Binding ourselves exclusively to the interests of just one neighbor would mean our gradual extinction and destruction. Even if we were the center of attraction for a definite time, this would be a very narrow circle and our rapid exhaustion would soon turn away the attention of all friends. Nevertheless, natural development can be assured to us only in a healthy competition in a normal advancement which is not weighed down with too great a burden. An alliance, let us say, with the Czechs - an alliance of complete biological and spiritual growing-together - would stifle within us all manifestations of individuality exclusively for the benefit of the larger Czech nation. We are for co-operation, but we wish to put it on a real foundation of as extensive a co-operation as possible. If it is true that we are still a "youthful" nation, immature, but full of life and having all the prerequisites for the restoration of biological and cultural life of a certain nation, then the realistic hypothesis is more valid, that is, that all the energy which we should invest in behalf of one of our neighbors, in time will uphold the Slovak nation much longer as an individual factor within the Central European family of nations, healthy and capable of its own undertakings. The healthy Slovak nation, being fully willing to accept the closest co-operation within the framework of an European federation, wants to be equal with its political and cultural sense to the most serious factors of world political planning. The health and resources in which the Slovak nation abounds - and in this respect it has many preferences �32 SLOVAKIA over some European nations - assures it of all suppositions, that it will know how to maintain itself in the European family of states. And, of course, everything it produces with its intellect and hands above the average and above its living standards, it will gladly let its partners have. There is a great difference whether the healthy and elementally powerful expressions of the Slovaks, about which many do not doubt, should benefit one of our neighbors exclusively, or whether we should share them with the whole of Europe. Definitely, we shall choose the latter course. It is direct, logical and free of allurements. We do not fear a contest, competition, or spiritual rivalry. Our healthy construction, which others envy, certainly will overcome all remnants of prejudice and, above all, will convince all the other European partners that they can count on the Slovak nation in every field of endeavor that this nation is aware of its duty not only to itself, but also to others. It is not envious, or even hazardous. III There is no doUJbt ,t hat the time will come for the creation of larige staite unilts even in the Old World. Europe already has '1:a,id 1Jhe fourndat'ions of a .federation which, in the eyes of 1Jheori1S1ts - the mo·s t oUJtstanding contemporrury politicians oif :Eill!rope - ii.,s. dea;r f.ro:rn almost every side. Oillly groUJps nolt ,i nterested in the welfare of Europe tum away fll'om tMs ,i,d'ea. We SlcwaJks cannot but be interested even in the pracllical side of the maJtter, i'nasmruch as we wolllld liike to see ouriselves, on the one hand, among the independent naltiorrs of Centra'l Europe, who are waiting for the creation of a European f ederrution, anld, on the other, we do not wamrt ,t o stand unipreprured .toward aJll those facto1rs, who rure placing obstacles in the way of Slovakia beco ming a member of sUldh a European federrution. One of tlhe most serious rea!sons why some groups op,pose our diredt pairbic~pation in the European federaJtion, and at best wish to see us in it only through the medium of Czecho..Slovakia, usually is an alleged extreme Slovak nrutionali:s m. Pruradoxically as it sounds, this allegation �SLOVAKIA 33 is not casua!l, ,b ut is used systemaiticruly as a seriOUJS rurgu,men,t ·a gainst us. ]t simply d0€S not sound naJtuiral and serious that the Slovaks come w.iith the thawght of mer,ginig Slovakia, as an ,i ndependent state unit, into run EUII'Opean federaltion. Many SJlo;v,aJk politicians aire figihting very effectively for this idea already sevarall decades. Dr. M,;IJ.an Ho~a was noit an extreme Slovak naMonalist, even though he we:nit tJhrough a CO!Ill/Paratiively motley degree of .poilitical thoughit. Thiis MiJan Hlod:za dedicated all h~s intelilect Ito the federalistic idea and, therefore, belongs among tihe most s,i,g,n!iificant figwres in this modern movement not on!ly in owr Slovak enVliromnent, but in relation to Central Emrope as well. Even though he was a ceilltra[ist in the Ozec!ho-Slo:vaik Republic, nevertheless, with the greater pairt of hlis spirilt he belonged .to the broader CentralEJuropean environment. Olther Sl01Vak politicians also emerged and aTe still emer,gi,rug wiith the ildea o!f a fedarrutJion. The Ptresidenlt of the Slovak Repulb1:ic, Dr. Joseph 'Dirso, did not conceal his convicltion tihat evolution coU!ld not proceed otfherwise than in the sipinit of federa[iization. In his ,pUlbli'C wtterances he made several allusions to .this grave pr-ob'lem as if to prepare tlhe Slo,v~k puibHc for a new epoch of national and state life. Kairol Sidor, lfo11mer .Sl'ovak ambassador, does noit deny his conception of federal,i'SIID. Even the officia,l program of the Sllova!k NaJtiona1 Oouncil Abroad, which Karol Sidor heads, is ma;rked as a pro·g ram for an independent Slovak State within a framework Olf an EurQpean federation. Per'hrups, the moslt pr6dluotive ,t heol'ist, in the ranks of those ,w ho comprise the .Slovak NaJtional Com11ci1 and are coming on the scene from the young Slo,vaJk generation to take the responsiJM.lity for trhe devel01p.merut of affairs, is Dr. Joseph Kinschlbamn. Not only firom the view.point of evo[utionary necessity, bwt chiefly because he grrusped 1:!his complex of questions sensibly and soientificahly, KiTsch!baum, since the end of World War II, prepared and pu.fbliished numemus d.Jisserta;tions and studies which aiim to prove to the wor+ld that Sfova:ks have t!heir own modern poilitica,l con- �34 SLOVAKIA ceiption amJd also people who display an animruted an:d interest ~111 the problem of a fedel'a!lirzed ffiurolpe. 'Siimill'a dy, other SIJ.avak ipoliltical wOII1kers, publ!idats and wriiters, tea/Che.rs a!Ild iinltellootuals are worlmnig for a federation (Dr. Iilin.amJUel Bohm, Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Reiv. Niicho'las Siprinc, Dr. Joseph Mi!lrus, Dr. JO'Seph Cieker, Tu-. Imrrich KrUIZlia:k, Dr . .A;r.ved Grr-ebert., Louis IVcmdra and many othem). In contemporary trends of Sllorvaik politics the most foscinalting connedt:ling lilnk is the idea of federa,tion. Thruruk. !imig in a pradtiicaJl way, i1t is imipossiible to picture a Slovalk p,oliitician or pol'ilticaJ theorist who seriiously de<~ls wiltih the idea of lar,ge un1its, s'U/Ch as a Cerubrrul-Ewropeam or Eiulropean federation WOllfild be, and wOllNd wish to lead his nation along the path oif inltoierance and of nationally scOIUTg'ed p8JSISions. Therefore, tJhe Slovaks and t!heir politiicrul and oUJlrtural representatives are not ibwillding a diam on the poinlted edge of chaUMiin:iSlm, but adhere to the notion of a futm-·e EUTopean federation. IV U'IllU'Sual ]t is interesting to note that it was chiefly rthe Czech Socialistic pam'ties wlhreh both in Czechia and Siovalkia ooleashed the most saiv-age conflict about the unfilty of the "Czeclhoslavialk" langwa.ge. 'Dhe same parties who diid not forget to pdse even in our country as progressive prurties. in oocoirdlalllCe to Marxislt ideolo.g y. Iif tJhe Slov3/k naltion opposed this the'ir "progress," then it was in a lar,ge meaiswre becaJUJse they ibrOll.lglht confusion inlto the tiundamenitaJ oonceipts of polliitiiJool Iiife, and, in fact, reaction which excludes aiN criticism. Czech socl,rulism has shown ilbself as the pioneer of f,r ustrruted thinking, and if we tiram:sfer i'ts conception to a practlicall field, we see that it has 1,i1dikuled iltself as has no otller move1ment whiibh had anything to do, directly or indirectly, wti.th the SlO!Vak natioo.. For twenty fuM yerurs, Ozecll poliitiios tenaciously held to ''OzoohO'SlovaikiSin" as a sally bridge into S'lov:alkia. Other Ozedh parties ad/Opted thlis slogan from the socirulists. Scientists seized wpon i1t and were fuhlowed by OI.ech journalists. �SLOVAKIA 35 And thus, in fact, a period ensued when representatirves of Ozech spirit and prruatioa1 pdliitircs were more enraged in gaining a position for the artificial construdtion of "OzechiQslavaJkism" than a real settlement of relaitionshi1ps among 'the minorilties Indisputably we muist thank their inC'ons!i.derate, one-si'ded and undemocratic pol1'tiicail program fo:r the faot 1:hat Prague centralism found irt:se'lf in ruirrs wilt!h the first thrust. The so-called "Czechoslovaks" have denied the Slovaiks the right to self-existence. The Slo,v ak naltion, nevertheless, persistently fought for the recognition otf this most naturaJl right. And it did so in harmony witlh cmltural Europe, which no one, except the Communhrts labeled as reactionary or backward. In politica! morals, tile stirug,gle for the recognition of the suptreme riig1hlts of a nation signifies, in ,t he .p ositive sense d:f the ward, the most noble expression of progressiveness. The Slovaks, therefore, a.ire ahead of the Ozetdhs in thlis re~ard by t!hirtty years. Many exipeniments were .necessary to reform. the "Czechoslovruks" rut least prurtliail'1.y. There had to be a war - for tfrlem new exiperieniceis both on the domestic and fureig.n fronts. Once moce they had ,t o ascertain the mmd of the S'lO,VM{ nation, to scrutinize the trends of European and nonIDuropean politilc's, so that rome of them ta:o'tica.1.[,y, others per1haps sincerely, woulld rubandon the ruinous policy of •~czeichosllO'V'alkifum." After WoI"ld War H, less was said albout "OzeclhO's:lovaJk" unity and, partliculrurly, about a united lan.guiage. It mu'Slt be mentioned again, tha.'t :the most Ulillprog.ressirve of all in this regarrtl were the ~etch Socialists. The otfrler Czech polrnicians and theiT Slovak a.Hies rewgn.ized the right of the Sfovruk nation to its own existence . But at that time the Slovaks were more advanced. They had gone through the hist.orically rich segment of their own state. ft is certain that there is a greait deaft of difference between "Oze1ehosi1ova'k" comprehension - it stilil is bound Uip with a joint state aind the standipdinrt: of t!he Slovaks. To get ruhead by means oif a steady for-warn effort and in aiM farms - to find what benefi't!s best t!he 11:fe am.d development of the nation - the SlovaJks provoo that they rure marehing �36 SLOVAKIA in 1:Jhe spirit of the ,t imes and, as an independenlt ,and competitiive ,_po1fficai unit, seek to persevere aloll!gside the most cmltwred European naltions. Toda,y, ffiurope ,is ffillllch frul"bher a'long t'he way than the "0zec'ho,SilovaJks." Theorelti.cafily and practica'lliy it i,s prepa,r ed for a federation of ai1l nations. The so-caUed "Czecihoslova'k1s " are ait tJhe crossroa;dis. Some a~ere to the form of the fiirt;t Ozecho-!SlovaJk Repuiblic, while others rure silent and say nolt!hlil!g a!boult a forurtlh or fitfth Czecho-Slova.!k Repulblic for whiich they would want to fight. StillJ. others ta:l:k obscurely about the possibillity of a federafted Czecho·~SIJ.oivakia. There i's allso a founth 0zech g,r1oop whi'ch does not wish to interfere in Slova!k affaiiI"S and i's f[gh'ting for a CentralEuropean or IDwopean federation in w'hiich it reckons wilth an inde,pendent Czech Ulnit and a separate Sloivaik unilt. On tlhe ort:her hand, conltemporary SIJ.ovak ,p oHtits is following clearly and .ll!nreserveidly whait is best for an inde,pendenrt Sl01Vak State wli:thin the framework of a European federation. Compari.Il!g 1:Jhe effort's of t'he "Czechoslava1ki:;" wi'bh those of the Sl0iv-alks, we see, that even now there is a brusiic dliifrferenice b.e'tween them and that "CzechoSl01Va:k,i sm" wppears in the role of the mo'sit reactionary factor in Central Ewrope. But, willy-nilly, some of its representatiives have come oloser to the tlhinking of the .S1'oivaJk nati:on and ,g radually are rcliinquish~n,g their b1goited and ar,chaii.c views. Hoiweiver, t'here stiifl remains the difference of thirty yerurs. We can, therefore, clearly see from these .s imply-staited realities thaJt llhe sen:se of SlovaJk pol,i rtks tended toward a broader lilirI10ipean and worM society. There its a basic diffeirence whether we get into tJhi,s broader so'o iety of nations throrugh owr OiWll doors, or wihether we shalJ.l be led m'to it throrugh foreign dooirs wiit!h those of others; whether we wm lodk ,pa.ssi.rvely lllpOn the work, or whether we shali talke part in ilt w~tJh joint forces. A IDuropean fed:era/tlion will bring run end to these mistaJkes. We are det:inilteliy decfarin1g for a European associatioo, becruuse, rucicording to moral,s , ciulltll!re and p<Ylitical ma!tuirity, we rightfully beloD!g in it. � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF A FEDERATION Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. I Eastern Europe provides a political observer with a motley mosaic of opinions. Living here are many nations and ra.c es which even a Central European does not properly recognize and many times does not know whether to classify them with European nations or with the Asiatics. Whoever searches more profoundly into their history and studies their political struggles at least cursorily will notice that in many regards their history and their programs are very similar to those of every p.ation in Central or Western Europe. You will find smaller and larger groups; small nations bound to the destiny of great ones, and their mutual relationship is manifested nearly always by the same complaints as those of other nations-suppressi on, imperialism, wars, revolutions, heroic deeds of national leaders, etc. In general, it is said that the East-European nations a.re politically less developed. Enemies of their freedom say that they are the more primitive nations and, therefore, certain slogans and principles of program are more highly spirited and sometimes sound like a voice from the romantic times of the past century. One thing is certain, that generally in almost all East-European nations, as can be seen from the course of their emigration, there is a great deal of conservatism both with regard to the form of warfare as well as the peaceful arrangement of Eastern Europe, or the territory of Asia Minor. Usually in all ideological proclamations, which are designated not only for the limited domestic public, but also for foreign countries, the stereotyped assertion is re-iterated that it is imperative to build national states in the whole of Eastern Europe. They promote not only the disintegration of Soviet Russia, but also oppose every form of a greater Russian empire. And systematically they oppose the much used Russian thesis about several Russian nations, incidentally, the false naming of some non-Russian nations (Little Russia, correctly the Ukrainia, etc.). SLOVAKIA 27 Taken <Ybjectively, these nations must be fully understood. Not only small nations, that is tribes (as for example, of the Upper Caucasus), but also large nations (forty million Ukrainian and eighteen million Byelorussian people) did not have their own state for long centuries. Then in this conglomeration of East-European nations there also are such that cannot at all claim that they are building upon their own state traditions. And we may go even farther. Not until the twentieth century did small tribes or groups begin to create individual units which claimed national rights as nations with all the attributes of culturally and politically mature nations to manage their own destiny (Upper Caucasus). It was, for example, quite unknown to Europeans and less so to Americans that the Cossacks declared themselves an independent nation. History discloses that the Cossacks were in the service of Russian Czars and one part of them was inclined towards the Ukrainians; their language is Russian and Ukrainian. But we were acquainted only with legendary Cossack heroes. We knew very little about their political endeavors. But now there exists a strong movement for a Cossackia, i. e. an independent Cossack state. Besides all this, many of the East-European nations experienced a transfer process, especially during the Soviet reign of terror. The Ceceni (Tchetchene) of the Upper Caucasus are no longer in their original place. They were spread over the entire Soviet Union simply because they were a healthy and belligerent nation. A similar fate befell the small (two hundred thousands) Kalmuck nation and many other small nations. Transfer or resettling of nations is the best tactic of the Soviet. Already a whole million inhabitants of the Baltic states has been forcefully transferred to the Soviet interior and to Siberia; Russi.ans, Tartars, Uzbcks, and many others have supplanted them. It is no wonder then that all the nations of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor nations from an instinct of self-preservation insist on national independent states. Naturally, these tendencies manifest themselves most acutely within the strong nations, as for example, the Ukrainians. The Ukrainian 28 SLOVAKIA emigration is divided into at least ten political parties: from the most extreme rightists to socialists. But there is hardly one Ukrainian factor in emigration who does not favor an independent Great Ukrainia. Many times it appears that it is impossible to speak with East-European representatives about any other type of political organization other than national states. Fear of the entire future arrangement is often responsible for this. But all things considered, there is no fundamental aversion toward fedemlistic endeavors. True, the East-European is little interested in a West-European federation, because he is convinced that Western Europe has an insignificant interest in the correct solution of the Eastern question. But, inadvertantly, all thoughts and manifestations, which come to light in connection with either a West-European or a federation involving the whole of Europe, affect also the spiritual stratum of East-European emigration. And so, in their club meetings and their reviews, periodicals, and newspapers, they often discuss this most recent political problem seriously and minutely. This is not merely a confirmation of what has already been done in this matter, but learned East-European professors, politicians and publicists have the courage to draw a parallel between the West and East, between the intellectual efforts for a federation in the West and the practical ,possibilities in the East. Few are those who will analyze all the problems publicly. However, we have found many instances of debates concerning a European and a. regional Central-European and East-EuropeanAsia Minor federation. And it was not always a voice from the East which took a negative stand to the conception of a federation itself. Finally, even exclusive, nationalistic, international emigrant organizations allow for a closer or liberal relationship of individual nations. Such an International of Freedom, consisting of twenty one Central and East-European emigrations, bases its fundamental program on an inter-continental confederation of states, including all of Eastern Europe, except Russia and all of Asia Minor. The Anti-Bolshevik Block of nations, building exclusively on national states, has within its Constitution a clause which SLOVAKIA 29 speaks of the possibility of creating smaller or larger units and co-states. The oldest East-European anti-bolshevik international emigrant organization, Prometheus, working already twenty eight years, receives most sympathetically the trends which favor a European federation and a regional federation. Therefore, the idea of federalism is not foreign to the East-European peoples, nor to those who never had their own state and who yearn to be free. In comparing these efforts from the East, undoubtedly the thought arises with regard to Central Europe where the Slov,a ks dwell. What is the situation there? II One argument against Slovak persistence and perseverance in the struggle for an indpendent state usually is its national "youthfulness". This argument was used especially during the years following World War I, when the struggle of the Slovaks began to be serious both in form and intensivity, and opponents of Slovak freedom had to resort to all kinds of, and many times, less successful arguments. This argument could have been valid to a certain extent only until Slovak intellectuals refuted the false legend that the Slovak nation has no history and until the Slovaks themselves proved by their creative spirit that their naJt:ion can ad~pt itself m a'Il!y period to its neiighibors in all fields and that its cultural endeavors are not more inferior, but in many respects the Slovak genius surpasses its partners and becomes distinctly original. Therefore, such an argument could not carry weight for very long. It lost in realism very quickly with the Slo• vak people, and it was the spirit of the Slovaks that proved it is possible to create a new Slovak environement in the spiritual and national-political regard without lures and snares, without thorough saturation from secondary sources. The "youthful" Slovak nation had chosen its own course so that it could live its own national life. Against facts, and particularly the vitality of all the component parts of the Slovak nation, it was difficult to 30 SLOVAKIA keep on using endlessly the arguments used during the first few years following World War I. Quickly, therefore, as the views of the Slovak people began to change, and as the course of the policy of "lures" was changed by facts, the very same people suddenly ascertained that the Slovak nation is biologically so strong that its neighbors will have to draw from this healthy blood bank to preserve themselves, to revive, and also become stronger. This was an immoral attempt to destroy the national Slovak body. After drawing upon the biological vitality, a degeneration of spiritual values among the Slovak nation would be inevitable. It was not possible, therefore, from motives of self-preservation, to agree with such "allurements." From this theory our Czech neighbors moved further. Not only biologically were we supposed to save one of our neighbors, but we were also supposed to contribute to its cultural and religious revival. These voices were heard frequently after World War II. All this is defective and for the Slovaks extremely dangerous. Surely, to save, let us say, a nation twice as large, from certain ruin, is a beautiful and historically valuable sacrifice. But nothing more or less than a sacrifice. Probably, our investments would be faulty and all our magnanimity could once avenge itself on our nation. By our own efforts we would be perhaps the cause of new dramas in the years to come, similar to the various struggles of the past. On the surface, it would 'be a sublime act, but in reality the murder of our own nation. We would in fact be guilty of perpetrating national suicide. We admit that we feel sorry for the decline and demise of any nation and its culture. Higher motives and self-love prevent us from pouring into the disintegrating body of our neighbor - even if he asks us to do so - all that God has given us as a manifestation of our own strength and cultural development. We realize that our development was hampered, that we are just beginning to live, that the culmination of our life is yet to come. Because of this motive -- that we would not collapse before we present evidence of our spiritual and SLOVAKIA 31 national-political heroism to the world - there is for us no enticement which would lead us from the path of our very own interests. True, this is not an egotistic and selfish course. We have the highest interest in this only because we do not want to fall and perish under the guise of such dangerous and, frequently, even enticing allurements. On the other hand, we are fully convinced that in a more extensive Central and All-European society we will be able to do more even from the spiritual and material viewpoints. Binding ourselves exclusively to the interests of just one neighbor would mean our gradual extinction and destruction. Even if we were the center of attraction for a definite time, this would be a very narrow circle and our rapid exhaustion would soon turn away the attention of all friends. Nevertheless, natural development can be assured to us only in a healthy competition in a normal advancement which is not weighed down with too great a burden. An alliance, let us say, with the Czechs - an alliance of complete biological and spiritual growing-together - would stifle within us all manifestations of individuality exclusively for the benefit of the larger Czech nation. We are for co-operation, but we wish to put it on a real foundation of as extensive a co-operation as possible. If it is true that we are still a "youthful" nation, immature, but full of life and having all the prerequisites for the restoration of biological and cultural life of a certain nation, then the realistic hypothesis is more valid, that is, that all the energy which we should invest in behalf of one of our neighbors, in time will uphold the Slovak nation much longer as an individual factor within the Central European family of nations, healthy and capable of its own undertakings. The healthy Slovak nation, being fully willing to accept the closest co-operation within the framework of an European federation, wants to be equal with its political and cultural sense to the most serious factors of world political planning. The health and resources in which the Slovak nation abounds - and in this respect it has many preferences 32 SLOVAKIA over some European nations - assures it of all suppositions, that it will know how to maintain itself in the European family of states. And, of course, everything it produces with its intellect and hands above the average and above its living standards, it will gladly let its partners have. There is a great difference whether the healthy and elementally powerful expressions of the Slovaks, about which many do not doubt, should benefit one of our neighbors exclusively, or whether we should share them with the whole of Europe. Definitely, we shall choose the latter course. It is direct, logical and free of allurements. We do not fear a contest, competition, or spiritual rivalry. Our healthy construction, which others envy, certainly will overcome all remnants of prejudice and, above all, will convince all the other European partners that they can count on the Slovak nation in every field of endeavor that this nation is aware of its duty not only to itself, but also to others. It is not envious, or even hazardous. III There is no doUJbt ,t hat the time will come for the creation of larige staite unilts even in the Old World. Europe already has '1:a,id 1Jhe fourndat'ions of a .federation which, in the eyes of 1Jheori1S1ts - the mo·s t oUJtstanding contemporrury politicians oif :Eill!rope - ii.,s. dea;r f.ro:rn almost every side. Oillly groUJps nolt ,i nterested in the welfare of Europe tum away fll'om tMs ,i,d'ea. We SlcwaJks cannot but be interested even in the pracllical side of the maJtter, i'nasmruch as we wolllld liike to see ouriselves, on the one hand, among the independent naltiorrs of Centra'l Europe, who are waiting for the creation of a European f ederrution, anld, on the other, we do not wamrt ,t o stand unipreprured .toward aJll those facto1rs, who rure placing obstacles in the way of Slovakia beco ming a member of sUldh a European federrution. One of tlhe most serious rea!sons why some groups op,pose our diredt pairbic~pation in the European federaJtion, and at best wish to see us in it only through the medium of Czecho..Slovakia, usually is an alleged extreme Slovak nrutionali:s m. Pruradoxically as it sounds, this allegation SLOVAKIA 33 is not casua!l, ,b ut is used systemaiticruly as a seriOUJS rurgu,men,t ·a gainst us. ]t simply d0€S not sound naJtuiral and serious that the Slovaks come w.iith the thawght of mer,ginig Slovakia, as an ,i ndependent state unit, into run EUII'Opean federaltion. Many SJlo;v,aJk politicians aire figihting very effectively for this idea already sevarall decades. Dr. M,;IJ.an Ho~a was noit an extreme Slovak naMonalist, even though he we:nit tJhrough a CO!Ill/Paratiively motley degree of .poilitical thoughit. Thiis MiJan Hlod:za dedicated all h~s intelilect Ito the federalistic idea and, therefore, belongs among tihe most s,i,g,n!iificant figwres in this modern movement not on!ly in owr Slovak enVliromnent, but in relation to Central Emrope as well. Even though he was a ceilltra[ist in the Ozec!ho-Slo:vaik Republic, nevertheless, with the greater pairt of hlis spirilt he belonged .to the broader CentralEJuropean environment. Olther Sl01Vak politicians also emerged and aTe still emer,gi,rug wiith the ildea o!f a fedarrutJion. The Ptresidenlt of the Slovak Repulb1:ic, Dr. Joseph 'Dirso, did not conceal his convicltion tihat evolution coU!ld not proceed otfherwise than in the sipinit of federa[iization. In his ,pUlbli'C wtterances he made several allusions to .this grave pr-ob'lem as if to prepare tlhe Slo,v~k puibHc for a new epoch of national and state life. Kairol Sidor, lfo11mer .Sl'ovak ambassador, does noit deny his conception of federal,i'SIID. Even the officia,l program of the Sllova!k NaJtiona1 Oouncil Abroad, which Karol Sidor heads, is ma;rked as a pro·g ram for an independent Slovak State within a framework Olf an EurQpean federation. Per'hrups, the moslt pr6dluotive ,t heol'ist, in the ranks of those ,w ho comprise the .Slovak NaJtional Com11ci1 and are coming on the scene from the young Slo,vaJk generation to take the responsiJM.lity for trhe devel01p.merut of affairs, is Dr. Joseph Kinschlbamn. Not only firom the view.point of evo[utionary necessity, bwt chiefly because he grrusped 1:!his complex of questions sensibly and soientificahly, KiTsch!baum, since the end of World War II, prepared and pu.fbliished numemus d.Jisserta;tions and studies which aiim to prove to the wor+ld that Sfova:ks have t!heir own modern poilitica,l con- 34 SLOVAKIA ceiption amJd also people who display an animruted an:d interest ~111 the problem of a fedel'a!lirzed ffiurolpe. 'Siimill'a dy, other SIJ.avak ipoliltical wOII1kers, publ!idats and wriiters, tea/Che.rs a!Ild iinltellootuals are worlmnig for a federation (Dr. Iilin.amJUel Bohm, Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Reiv. Niicho'las Siprinc, Dr. Joseph Mi!lrus, Dr. JO'Seph Cieker, Tu-. Imrrich KrUIZlia:k, Dr . .A;r.ved Grr-ebert., Louis IVcmdra and many othem). In contemporary trends of Sllorvaik politics the most foscinalting connedt:ling lilnk is the idea of federa,tion. Thruruk. !imig in a pradtiicaJl way, i1t is imipossiible to picture a Slovalk p,oliitician or pol'ilticaJ theorist who seriiously de<~ls wiltih the idea of lar,ge un1its, s'U/Ch as a Cerubrrul-Ewropeam or Eiulropean federation WOllfild be, and wOllNd wish to lead his nation along the path oif inltoierance and of nationally scOIUTg'ed p8JSISions. Therefore, tJhe Slovaks and t!heir politiicrul and oUJlrtural representatives are not ibwillding a diam on the poinlted edge of chaUMiin:iSlm, but adhere to the notion of a futm-·e EUTopean federation. IV U'IllU'Sual ]t is interesting to note that it was chiefly rthe Czech Socialistic pam'ties wlhreh both in Czechia and Siovalkia ooleashed the most saiv-age conflict about the unfilty of the "Czeclhoslavialk" langwa.ge. 'Dhe same parties who diid not forget to pdse even in our country as progressive prurties. in oocoirdlalllCe to Marxislt ideolo.g y. Iif tJhe Slov3/k naltion opposed this the'ir "progress," then it was in a lar,ge meaiswre becaJUJse they ibrOll.lglht confusion inlto the tiundamenitaJ oonceipts of polliitiiJool Iiife, and, in fact, reaction which excludes aiN criticism. Czech socl,rulism has shown ilbself as the pioneer of f,r ustrruted thinking, and if we tiram:sfer i'ts conception to a practlicall field, we see that it has 1,i1dikuled iltself as has no otller move1ment whiibh had anything to do, directly or indirectly, wti.th the SlO!Vak natioo.. For twenty fuM yerurs, Ozecll poliitiios tenaciously held to ''OzoohO'SlovaikiSin" as a sally bridge into S'lov:alkia. Other Ozedh parties ad/Opted thlis slogan from the socirulists. Scientists seized wpon i1t and were fuhlowed by OI.ech journalists. SLOVAKIA 35 And thus, in fact, a period ensued when representatirves of Ozech spirit and prruatioa1 pdliitircs were more enraged in gaining a position for the artificial construdtion of "OzechiQslavaJkism" than a real settlement of relaitionshi1ps among 'the minorilties Indisputably we muist thank their inC'ons!i.derate, one-si'ded and undemocratic pol1'tiicail program fo:r the faot 1:hat Prague centralism found irt:se'lf in ruirrs wilt!h the first thrust. The so-called "Czechoslovaks" have denied the Slovaiks the right to self-existence. The Slo,v ak naltion, nevertheless, persistently fought for the recognition otf this most naturaJl right. And it did so in harmony witlh cmltural Europe, which no one, except the Communhrts labeled as reactionary or backward. In politica! morals, tile stirug,gle for the recognition of the suptreme riig1hlts of a nation signifies, in ,t he .p ositive sense d:f the ward, the most noble expression of progressiveness. The Slovaks, therefore, a.ire ahead of the Ozetdhs in thlis re~ard by t!hirtty years. Many exipeniments were .necessary to reform. the "Czechoslovruks" rut least prurtliail'1.y. There had to be a war - for tfrlem new exiperieniceis both on the domestic and fureig.n fronts. Once moce they had ,t o ascertain the mmd of the S'lO,VM{ nation, to scrutinize the trends of European and nonIDuropean politilc's, so that rome of them ta:o'tica.1.[,y, others per1haps sincerely, woulld rubandon the ruinous policy of •~czeichosllO'V'alkifum." After WoI"ld War H, less was said albout "OzeclhO's:lovaJk" unity and, partliculrurly, about a united lan.guiage. It mu'Slt be mentioned again, tha.'t :the most Ulillprog.ressirve of all in this regarrtl were the ~etch Socialists. The otfrler Czech polrnicians and theiT Slovak a.Hies rewgn.ized the right of the Sfovruk nation to its own existence . But at that time the Slovaks were more advanced. They had gone through the hist.orically rich segment of their own state. ft is certain that there is a greait deaft of difference between "Oze1ehosi1ova'k" comprehension - it stilil is bound Uip with a joint state aind the standipdinrt: of t!he Slovaks. To get ruhead by means oif a steady for-warn effort and in aiM farms - to find what benefi't!s best t!he 11:fe am.d development of the nation - the SlovaJks provoo that they rure marehing 36 SLOVAKIA in 1:Jhe spirit of the ,t imes and, as an independenlt ,and competitiive ,_po1fficai unit, seek to persevere aloll!gside the most cmltwred European naltions. Toda,y, ffiurope ,is ffillllch frul"bher a'long t'he way than the "0zec'ho,SilovaJks." Theorelti.cafily and practica'lliy it i,s prepa,r ed for a federation of ai1l nations. The so-caUed "Czecihoslova'k1s " are ait tJhe crossroa;dis. Some a~ere to the form of the fiirt;t Ozecho-!SlovaJk Repuiblic, while others rure silent and say nolt!hlil!g a!boult a forurtlh or fitfth Czecho-Slova.!k Repulblic for whiich they would want to fight. StillJ. others ta:l:k obscurely about the possibillity of a federafted Czecho·~SIJ.oivakia. There i's allso a founth 0zech g,r1oop whi'ch does not wish to interfere in Slova!k affaiiI"S and i's f[gh'ting for a CentralEuropean or IDwopean federation in w'hiich it reckons wilth an inde,pendent Czech Ulnit and a separate Sloivaik unilt. On tlhe ort:her hand, conltemporary SIJ.ovak ,p oHtits is following clearly and .ll!nreserveidly whait is best for an inde,pendenrt Sl01Vak State wli:thin the framework of a European federation. Compari.Il!g 1:Jhe effort's of t'he "Czechoslava1ki:;" wi'bh those of the Sl0iv-alks, we see, that even now there is a brusiic dliifrferenice b.e'tween them and that "CzechoSl01Va:k,i sm" wppears in the role of the mo'sit reactionary factor in Central Ewrope. But, willy-nilly, some of its representatiives have come oloser to the tlhinking of the .S1'oivaJk nati:on and ,g radually are rcliinquish~n,g their b1goited and ar,chaii.c views. Hoiweiver, t'here stiifl remains the difference of thirty yerurs. We can, therefore, clearly see from these .s imply-staited realities thaJt llhe sen:se of SlovaJk pol,i rtks tended toward a broader lilirI10ipean and worM society. There its a basic diffeirence whether we get into tJhi,s broader so'o iety of nations throrugh owr OiWll doors, or wihether we shalJ.l be led m'to it throrugh foreign dooirs wiit!h those of others; whether we wm lodk ,pa.ssi.rvely lllpOn the work, or whether we shali talke part in ilt w~tJh joint forces. A IDuropean fed:era/tlion will bring run end to these mistaJkes. We are det:inilteliy decfarin1g for a European associatioo, becruuse, rucicording to moral,s , ciulltll!re and p<Ylitical ma!tuirity, we rightfully beloD!g in it.  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 Practical Aspect of a Federation Description An account of the resource Joseph Pauco, Ph. D. Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 26-36 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Paučo, Jozef, 1914-1975 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/076c0becfb8ddb04f20fab1757680249.pdf 40dfe516a506f1adc73d3519afc189e2 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 17 OUR BLUNDERING CZECHO-SLOVAH.IA POLICY By Kurt Gl.a ser " Dea·1 ing w.iith his Mos'Cow journey, Dr. Benes said it could be regarded in the future as t·h e logi cal culmination of an ancient policy." News Flashes from Czechoslovakia, Chicago, F e,b ruary 21, 1944. "He who rules Bohemia rules Europe" is an old saying. In this vital area, American policy has been built around a myth, spread by a public-relations program for which the Czecho-Slovak Government spent millions of dollars from 1918 to 1938. To understand what this myth has done to American interests, we must study the true story of Czecho-Slovakia, the story which the Administration has never told us. When founded in 1918 by Masaryk and Benes, who gained support for the idea at home only after they had sold it to the Allies, Czecho-Slovakia had six different nationalities. As of the end of World War II, there were six and one-half million Czechs in Bohemia and Moravia, and three and one-half million Sudeten Germans, mostly in a crescent north, west and southwest of the Czech core, but with large German colonies in Prague, Bruenn and other centers. The Teschen district, predominantly Polish, had been ceded to Poland in 1938. Slovakia, to the east, had more than three million Slovaks, 700,000 Hungarians and some Germans. The extreme eastern province was Ruthenia, with a population of about 700,000, ceded to the U.S.S.R. in 1945. The Slovaks were induced to join with the Czechs by the so-called "Pittsburgh Agreement" which promised them absolute equality: Czecho-Slovakia would be "like Switzerland," as Benes put it. The Sudetens wanted to stay with Austria, but they were not asked, and Czech troops overthrew their elected provincial government in March 1919. Masaryk and Benes did not keep their promise of equal rights. Instead, they set up a centralized government in Prague, gave preference to Czechs in the civil service, in business and in finance, undertook to "Czechify" the edu- �18 SLOVAKIA cational system and refused to allow Slovak autonomy. Although the Sudeten region furnished the bulk of CzechoSlovak exports, Prague economic policies kept the area in a state of perpetual depression. It was inevitable that Slovaks, Sudetens and Hungarians should become increasingly anxious to "get out from under". All this time Czech professors and journalists in America, and Americans paid by them (Hitler had a list compiled from Czechs archives) were telling the wonders of "Czechoslovak" democracy. The original aim of Henlein's Sudeten-German Party was simply to gain equal rights for the Sudetens within Czecho-Slovakia. Only after 1935, when the Party won a majority in the German-speaking area, offered to cooperate with Benes and was rebuffed, did pro-Nazi elements become dominant. When the Czech-Sudeten crisis became acute in 1938, the British Government sent Lord Runciman to mediate. The refusal of Benes to make timely concessions led Lord Runciman to recommend cession of the Sudeten areas to Germany. Slovak pressure during and after the Munich crisis forced the Prague Government to grant autonomy to Slovakia on October 6, 1938. In March 1939, however, the Czech President Hacha deposed Slovak Prime Minister Tiso, occupied Bratislava with Czech troops and installed a new Slovak Government. This intervention was used by Hitler as an excuse for marching into Prague, an action which the Slovaks neither requested or suggested. It is true that Hitler seizure of Bohemia made possible the establishment of the Slovak Republic. But this did not make it a Nazi sta.te any more than German aid to Finland nazified that country. The Slovak Republic was what the Slovak people wanted, and it was recognized by 27 countries, including Great Britain, France and even the Soviet Union. In spite of intense Nazi pressure, President Tiso and the Slovak Government did their best to protect the Jews of Slovakia until 1944, when a "rebellion" organized by Communist parachutists led Hitler to install a reign of terror. Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941, but it was never at war with the United States. Slovaks �SLOVAKIA 19 repeatedly protected American airmen forced down over their country. Although President Benes, who had resigned after the Munich Agreement in 1938, had recognized his successor Hacha, he decided after the dismemberment of Czecho-Slovakia in 1939 to work toward a political come-back. He and his followers formed the Czechoslovakian Liberation Movement in Paris in 1939, and moved it to London in 1940, later securing Allied recognition as the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government." It was necessary to face the fact that the Czech population at home was not particularly anti-German. Of all the territories under Nazi control, the Czech Protectorate had the highest standard of living. Official rations were the same as in Germany, and since they were actually distributed (which was not always the case in the Reich) the Czechs actually had more to eat than the Germans. Czech industry gave adive support to the German war effort, and large numbers of Czechs volunteered for the German Army. As Kenneth de Courcey (Review of World Affairs, April 28, 1944) pointed out, there was "almost no resistance movement at all" so that it was necessary to parachute in territories to assasinate the Nazi Commissioner Heydrich and provoke the Lidice atrocity with which Hitler was stupid enough to oblige. Since Benes and his followers were determined to pursue their policy of Czech ultra-nationalism, it was evident that they could not count on Czech support at home, let alone the allegiance of the Slovaks. The anti-Nazi Sudeten Germans were willing to reach a settlement, but Benes decided instead to expel them from Czecho-Slovakia. This policy could only be executed with outside assistance, and the only government which could give effective support was that of the Soviet Union. The "Czechoslovakist" policy of Benes and his followers was, therefore, bound to make their government permanently dependent on Russia. The blunder of American policy is that we supported Soviet policy, recognized the Benes "Government" and even now (December 1952) accept those of Benes' followers who broke with Gottwald in 1948 as "democratic exiles" even though they have not changed their policies in the slightest. �20 SLOVAKIA The policy of the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government," which supplied the "non-Commun ist" politicians in the "National Front" which governed Czecho-Slovakia from 1945 to 1948 and whose members are now mostly in the United States under State Department protection, was that of absolute adherence to the Soviet Union. As Dr. Peter Zenkl, today President of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" with headquarters in Washington, explained to the temporary parliament in November 1945: "The nationally conscious Czechs and Slovaks have no doubt that in their own interest, as well as in international interests, permanent collaboration with the USSR is necessary. Never without the USSR, never against the USSR, always at its side!" Hubert Ripka, who in 1939 hid the Soviet agent SimonKatz from the French police, later became Minister of Information in the London "Government " and who is now a professor at the New School for Social Research in New York, summarizes the policy in more details in his book East and West (London, 1944): "Since, in the new situation, it was impo,s sible to collaborate officially with the Sovielt Union, we ... did nothing which might prejudice or preven1t the renewal of co-operation at the earliest possible moment; I need only recall how strong ly OUT aJttitude contrasted with that of many others during the Soviet-Finnish War. Moreover, even in that period, there was no inilerruption of the personal contacts and exchange of informrution between ourselves and important Soviet representatives in London, Paris, Washington and elsewhere." Apparently both the British and United States Governments were willing to accept as a "Czechoslovak democratic exile" anyone with a passport from the Czech "Governmentin-exile." The London "Czechoslovak s" took advantage of this fact to infiltrate a large number of Soviet agents, who were in the direct service of the Kremlin, into both the United Kingdom and the United States. The "Czech-Slovak " service of the British Broadcasting Company was taken over by Communists; others worked for the Communist party paper Daily Worker, the two staffs being for operating purposes interchangeab le. Douglas Hyde, a former Communist, relates in his book I Believe (London, 1951) a typical example of infiltration �SLOVAKIA 21 involving one Ludwig Freund•, a German Communist masquerading as a Czech. Freund was assigned to the Daily Worker but his salary was paid by the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government" with British funds. Hyde tells us: "Freund a.c hieved considera,ble standing with member.s of the Benes Government and was ruble to put us (the Communist Party) in touch with them at any time. He was able, also, of course, to keep us mfo.rmed of most of whwt was going on in Czech Government circles. "Freund in co-operation with members of our Editorial Foreign Departmerut would write articles Ito which -non-Communist members of his Government would willing put their names." • The Ludwig Freund mentioned here is not the s·aime person as the Chicago professor of rthat name. The effectiveness of this arrangement is suggested by Minister Ripka's speech of November 7, 1942, over the British Broadcasting Company, in which he said: " ... the Russian November Revolurtion not only increased the strength of the Russian Soviet State, it a,lso raised to greater heighrts than ever ,before the standard of -civilizalt.ion, culture and living of the wide masses of the Soviet peoples ... "Bolshevism is a supe,r -national ideal, an eternal ideal, a human ideal, an ideal which has kindled the mind·s of the noblest of men from the time of Plato and through the Christian era, through the French Revolution and until today ... Just as the French Revolution strove to realize the ideal of freedOllll, so did the Russian Revolution try 1to reali'ze :the ideal of equality." The "non-Communist" politicians in London, whom the State Department has since 1948 undertaken to palm off on the American public as anti-Communists, planned with Stalin during the war to destroy the Slovak Republic and to expel the German-speaking minority. The price exacted by the Kremlin was the complete Sovietization of CzechoSlovakia, which became a Communist satellite in 1945, not in 1948. To assure that the sell-out would work, the "nonCommunists" agreed with the Kremlin to allow only those political parties which would join a United Front under Communist domination, a procedure which General Eisenhower rejected for the U. S. Zone of Germany as undemocratic (New York Times, October 17, 1945). Other parties were prohibited and their leaders thrown into concentration camps. The true policies of the "non-Communist" CzechoSlovak politicians can best be shown by their public statements made between 1945 and 1948. �22 SLOVAKJA "Our alliance with the Soviet Union is the main pillar of our foreign policy (applau se) . . . Our alliance with the Sovie;t Union gu arantees u s immediate he1p of Soviet armies in case of emergency." Dr. Ivo Duchacek, President of the Foreign Com:milbtee of the National Assembly, speech oif March 8, 1946. "Let us declare war against fear of bolshevi•sm and forbid , at the same time, the t'onm,a,tliolJ'l of an,y an1ti,Oommuntst front whaltever." Pravo lidu, organ of Social Democratic Party. "Centrifugal forces shall be jailed ... Centrifugal force,s are ,today eradicated and liquidaited." - Dr. Jozef Le ttri ch , writing in Cas, B rati slava, o. 130, 194G. Question: "Why does no opposition party ex,ist in Czecho-Slovakia ?" Answer: "The need for an opposition party in reality has not yet arisen in our coun1try." - Pavel Viboch at press conference in England, May 1947. "Never in hi sto ry was Russia so mighty, never were the forces of socialism so colossally forged together. This is a new historical epoch. Neve11theless some people think in a stick-in-the-mud fashion. It has not yet •been possible to convince everyone of the necessity of the oventhrow of capitalism ... " Ferdinand Peroutka, Tak nebo tak ("So or so"), Prague, 1947, p. 8. "In Ozech politics, in Czech .national life, it is urgent that we come to an understanding with the Commun ist Party. .. The Communist Party shall remain the greatest force in our p olitical scheme even a!ter the elections are over; and socialism shall remain t he foundation of our national life ... Coming to terms with the Oommunists is t h e golden theme of our political philosophy." - Ferdinand Peroutka, writing In Dnesek, Prague, February 9, rn48. Together with Communist "partisans," the "non-Communist" politicians of the National Front supervised the wholesale murder of more than 300,000 innocent people. They voted unanimously the Communist-drafted Kosice Program which wiped out private business, they set up a system of "People's Courts" on the Soviet model and in Slovakia they established forced labor camps, to which confinement could be imposed without trial for persons "who profess an ideology inimical to the State". And then one day Stalin and Gottwald decided they needed their "liberal allies no longer - because the Sovietization of Czecho-Slovakia had been completed. After the so-called "Gottwald Putsch" of 1948, the leading Communist collaborators and fellow-travellers - including all those quoted above - came to the United States. �SLOVAKIA 23 The State Department received them as "democratic exiles" and set them up in the research business, partly with taxpayers' money. Mr. Duchacek, who once claimed credit for helping to negotiate the Czech-Soviet Treaty of 1943, was employed by the Voice of America. Ferdinand Peroutka, who had written as late as December 1947 that it would be "unthinkable" to take the side of the United States in a war with the Soviet Union, was placed in charge of the "Czechoslovak" operations of Radio Free Europe, financed by the Crusade for Freedom. Two of his principal assistants were Pavel Tigrid and Joseph Kodicek, both forme:· members of the BBC's Communist-dominated "Czech-Slovak" staff. Tigrid was a member of the Communist Party until 1945, when he joined the "Catholic" Party headed by the "Red Monsignor" Sramek under circumstances which are to say the least equivocal. All the other Czecho-Slovak politicians favored by the State Department (up to December 1952) meet the same standard of (,pro-Soviet) loyalty. The "Council for Free Czechoslovakia," headed by Peter Zenkl, boasted in a pamphlet (In Search of Havens, Washington, 1950) that the State Department takes its advice on which Czech and Slovak refugees to admit to the United States and which to exclude. It is well known in Europe even though American newspapers maintaining correspondents in Germany have for some reason never seen fit to publish the facts - that pro-Communists and left-wing socialists get preference for immigration, whereas known anti-Communists are put on a blacklist. The attitude of those favored by the Council is illustrated by the f.arewell speech of one Rostislav Foukal, who before leaving for America told his comrades in Germany: "Every democraticthinking person must recognize that the present economic system in America is rotten to the core, the workers are exploited by their employers and stifled by Taft and Company ... We Czechoslovakian socialists ... will help America to escape from the claws of the capitalists ... We will help the Americans to reshape their history!" As for Slovakia, the overwhelming majority of the nation was and remains today firmly anti-Communist. The �24 SLOVAKIA Slovaks hoped fervently that the end of World War II would not destroy their Republic, but would bring them liberation so that they could govern themselves without German, Russian or Czech interference. But the "Czechoslovak" Government in London had already made its deal with the Kremlin, a deal explicitly sanctioned by an American Administration. The Slovak Republic was liquidated. In spite of asylum granted to the Slovak Cabinet by General Walton H. Walker at Kremsmuenster, Austria, the State Department ordered the surrender of Father Tiso and his government to the "Czechoslovak War Crimes Commission" without even the formality of an extradiction hearing. The kangaroo trial of Father Tiso - conducted before a judge who had sworn in advance "I will hang Tiso!" - is a classic case of judicial murder. After the Slovak Republic had been wantonly destroyed by the Red Armies by pre-arrangement between the Kremlin and the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government," the Communist-dominated government of Dr. Benes mobilized '. 'people's courts" on the Soviet model for a drive against patriotic Slovaks. The Catholic Bishops John Vojtassak and Michael Buzalka were incarcerated, church institutions were nationalized and private and corporate property was confiscated arbitrarily. Up to 1948, during a period when Ambassador Steinhardt assured the American public that "there is definitely no iron curtain in Czechoslovakia" (New York Times, Febrµary 1, 1947), over 100,000 Slovaks were jailed, about 30,000 deported to Russia and over a hundred executed. Slovakia was placed under the joint rule of the Communist Party and the so-called "Slovak Democratic Party" headed by Dr. Joseph Lettrich, now a member of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia." The "Democratic Party" was created arbitrarily to provide an ostensibly "non-Communist" partner for the Bolshevists, since the Slovak parties with popular support refused to cooperate with the Communists and were therefore liquidated. Government positions were divided by the two parties on a 50-50 basis. In the May 1946 elections the Democratic Party (for which �SLOVAKIA 25 non-Communists felt constrained to vote, fault de mieux) received 62 per cent of the votes, two minor parties 8 per cent and the Communist Party 30 per cent. The Communists continued, however, to enjoy key positions in the provincial government of Slovakia out of all proportion to their actual strength. Their collaborators and supporters, such as Messrs. Lettrich, Kvetko, Viboch, Slavik, Kocvara and Ferjencik, are all in the United States, where they pose as "anti-Communist democratic exiles" from Czecho-Slovakia. The tensions created by the brutal expropriation of the Sudeten Germans and by the rape of Slovakia are factors which perpetuate the Soviet Russian stranglehold on Czecho-Slovakia. It is the aim of the "Czechoslovak" politicians in the United States to re.turn to power with American assistance. But if they succeed, they will again be dependent on Russian support, since the majority of citizens of Czecho-Slovakia (including vast numbers of Czechs who object to socialism and were revolted by the atrocities and the police terror) are strongly opposed to them. As long as the United States Government maintains its unholy alliance with this group, it will never be able to pursue a firm or consistent anti-Communist policy in Central Europe. (Reprinted by permission from the author's "The Iron Curtain and American Policy," Public Affairs Press, 2153 Florida Avenue, Washington 8, D. C.) • • • WHO SAID IT? "THE SLOVAK PEOPLE is one of the great Christian nations of central Europe. History tells us that the forefathers of the Slovaks inhabited their present territory s ince about the fifth century. The Slo· vaks are a plain, humorous, intelligent, song-loving, industrious and religious peo,ple, devoted to the peaceful development of their national life and their national culture. They did not seek domination over other peoples, but only sought to safeguard their own national existence. No other nation of Europe suffered longer under alien domination than the Slovaks. The recognition and respect of their Inherent right to free development and political independence will be a corner stone of peace and coo peration among nations. It is necessary and right for Americans, including Americans of Slovak descent who wish all nationa of the earth as mu ch freedom and independence as they themselves enjoy in our blesesd Country, to show at least an equal amount of love and sympathy for the Slovak people in its long struggle for freedom and independence." (P. A. Hrobak, M!lwaukee, Wis., 10-28-51) � SLOVAKIA 17 OUR BLUNDERING CZECHO-SLOVAH.IA POLICY By Kurt Gl.a ser " Dea·1 ing w.iith his Mos'Cow journey, Dr. Benes said it could be regarded in the future as t·h e logi cal culmination of an ancient policy." News Flashes from Czechoslovakia, Chicago, F e,b ruary 21, 1944. "He who rules Bohemia rules Europe" is an old saying. In this vital area, American policy has been built around a myth, spread by a public-relations program for which the Czecho-Slovak Government spent millions of dollars from 1918 to 1938. To understand what this myth has done to American interests, we must study the true story of Czecho-Slovakia, the story which the Administration has never told us. When founded in 1918 by Masaryk and Benes, who gained support for the idea at home only after they had sold it to the Allies, Czecho-Slovakia had six different nationalities. As of the end of World War II, there were six and one-half million Czechs in Bohemia and Moravia, and three and one-half million Sudeten Germans, mostly in a crescent north, west and southwest of the Czech core, but with large German colonies in Prague, Bruenn and other centers. The Teschen district, predominantly Polish, had been ceded to Poland in 1938. Slovakia, to the east, had more than three million Slovaks, 700,000 Hungarians and some Germans. The extreme eastern province was Ruthenia, with a population of about 700,000, ceded to the U.S.S.R. in 1945. The Slovaks were induced to join with the Czechs by the so-called "Pittsburgh Agreement" which promised them absolute equality: Czecho-Slovakia would be "like Switzerland," as Benes put it. The Sudetens wanted to stay with Austria, but they were not asked, and Czech troops overthrew their elected provincial government in March 1919. Masaryk and Benes did not keep their promise of equal rights. Instead, they set up a centralized government in Prague, gave preference to Czechs in the civil service, in business and in finance, undertook to "Czechify" the edu- �18 SLOVAKIA cational system and refused to allow Slovak autonomy. Although the Sudeten region furnished the bulk of CzechoSlovak exports, Prague economic policies kept the area in a state of perpetual depression. It was inevitable that Slovaks, Sudetens and Hungarians should become increasingly anxious to "get out from under". All this time Czech professors and journalists in America, and Americans paid by them (Hitler had a list compiled from Czechs archives) were telling the wonders of "Czechoslovak" democracy. The original aim of Henlein's Sudeten-German Party was simply to gain equal rights for the Sudetens within Czecho-Slovakia. Only after 1935, when the Party won a majority in the German-speaking area, offered to cooperate with Benes and was rebuffed, did pro-Nazi elements become dominant. When the Czech-Sudeten crisis became acute in 1938, the British Government sent Lord Runciman to mediate. The refusal of Benes to make timely concessions led Lord Runciman to recommend cession of the Sudeten areas to Germany. Slovak pressure during and after the Munich crisis forced the Prague Government to grant autonomy to Slovakia on October 6, 1938. In March 1939, however, the Czech President Hacha deposed Slovak Prime Minister Tiso, occupied Bratislava with Czech troops and installed a new Slovak Government. This intervention was used by Hitler as an excuse for marching into Prague, an action which the Slovaks neither requested or suggested. It is true that Hitler seizure of Bohemia made possible the establishment of the Slovak Republic. But this did not make it a Nazi sta.te any more than German aid to Finland nazified that country. The Slovak Republic was what the Slovak people wanted, and it was recognized by 27 countries, including Great Britain, France and even the Soviet Union. In spite of intense Nazi pressure, President Tiso and the Slovak Government did their best to protect the Jews of Slovakia until 1944, when a "rebellion" organized by Communist parachutists led Hitler to install a reign of terror. Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941, but it was never at war with the United States. Slovaks �SLOVAKIA 19 repeatedly protected American airmen forced down over their country. Although President Benes, who had resigned after the Munich Agreement in 1938, had recognized his successor Hacha, he decided after the dismemberment of Czecho-Slovakia in 1939 to work toward a political come-back. He and his followers formed the Czechoslovakian Liberation Movement in Paris in 1939, and moved it to London in 1940, later securing Allied recognition as the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government." It was necessary to face the fact that the Czech population at home was not particularly anti-German. Of all the territories under Nazi control, the Czech Protectorate had the highest standard of living. Official rations were the same as in Germany, and since they were actually distributed (which was not always the case in the Reich) the Czechs actually had more to eat than the Germans. Czech industry gave adive support to the German war effort, and large numbers of Czechs volunteered for the German Army. As Kenneth de Courcey (Review of World Affairs, April 28, 1944) pointed out, there was "almost no resistance movement at all" so that it was necessary to parachute in territories to assasinate the Nazi Commissioner Heydrich and provoke the Lidice atrocity with which Hitler was stupid enough to oblige. Since Benes and his followers were determined to pursue their policy of Czech ultra-nationalism, it was evident that they could not count on Czech support at home, let alone the allegiance of the Slovaks. The anti-Nazi Sudeten Germans were willing to reach a settlement, but Benes decided instead to expel them from Czecho-Slovakia. This policy could only be executed with outside assistance, and the only government which could give effective support was that of the Soviet Union. The "Czechoslovakist" policy of Benes and his followers was, therefore, bound to make their government permanently dependent on Russia. The blunder of American policy is that we supported Soviet policy, recognized the Benes "Government" and even now (December 1952) accept those of Benes' followers who broke with Gottwald in 1948 as "democratic exiles" even though they have not changed their policies in the slightest. �20 SLOVAKIA The policy of the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government," which supplied the "non-Commun ist" politicians in the "National Front" which governed Czecho-Slovakia from 1945 to 1948 and whose members are now mostly in the United States under State Department protection, was that of absolute adherence to the Soviet Union. As Dr. Peter Zenkl, today President of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" with headquarters in Washington, explained to the temporary parliament in November 1945: "The nationally conscious Czechs and Slovaks have no doubt that in their own interest, as well as in international interests, permanent collaboration with the USSR is necessary. Never without the USSR, never against the USSR, always at its side!" Hubert Ripka, who in 1939 hid the Soviet agent SimonKatz from the French police, later became Minister of Information in the London "Government " and who is now a professor at the New School for Social Research in New York, summarizes the policy in more details in his book East and West (London, 1944): "Since, in the new situation, it was impo,s sible to collaborate officially with the Sovielt Union, we ... did nothing which might prejudice or preven1t the renewal of co-operation at the earliest possible moment; I need only recall how strong ly OUT aJttitude contrasted with that of many others during the Soviet-Finnish War. Moreover, even in that period, there was no inilerruption of the personal contacts and exchange of informrution between ourselves and important Soviet representatives in London, Paris, Washington and elsewhere." Apparently both the British and United States Governments were willing to accept as a "Czechoslovak democratic exile" anyone with a passport from the Czech "Governmentin-exile." The London "Czechoslovak s" took advantage of this fact to infiltrate a large number of Soviet agents, who were in the direct service of the Kremlin, into both the United Kingdom and the United States. The "Czech-Slovak " service of the British Broadcasting Company was taken over by Communists; others worked for the Communist party paper Daily Worker, the two staffs being for operating purposes interchangeab le. Douglas Hyde, a former Communist, relates in his book I Believe (London, 1951) a typical example of infiltration �SLOVAKIA 21 involving one Ludwig Freund•, a German Communist masquerading as a Czech. Freund was assigned to the Daily Worker but his salary was paid by the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government" with British funds. Hyde tells us: "Freund a.c hieved considera,ble standing with member.s of the Benes Government and was ruble to put us (the Communist Party) in touch with them at any time. He was able, also, of course, to keep us mfo.rmed of most of whwt was going on in Czech Government circles. "Freund in co-operation with members of our Editorial Foreign Departmerut would write articles Ito which -non-Communist members of his Government would willing put their names." • The Ludwig Freund mentioned here is not the s·aime person as the Chicago professor of rthat name. The effectiveness of this arrangement is suggested by Minister Ripka's speech of November 7, 1942, over the British Broadcasting Company, in which he said: " ... the Russian November Revolurtion not only increased the strength of the Russian Soviet State, it a,lso raised to greater heighrts than ever ,before the standard of -civilizalt.ion, culture and living of the wide masses of the Soviet peoples ... "Bolshevism is a supe,r -national ideal, an eternal ideal, a human ideal, an ideal which has kindled the mind·s of the noblest of men from the time of Plato and through the Christian era, through the French Revolution and until today ... Just as the French Revolution strove to realize the ideal of freedOllll, so did the Russian Revolution try 1to reali'ze :the ideal of equality." The "non-Communist" politicians in London, whom the State Department has since 1948 undertaken to palm off on the American public as anti-Communists, planned with Stalin during the war to destroy the Slovak Republic and to expel the German-speaking minority. The price exacted by the Kremlin was the complete Sovietization of CzechoSlovakia, which became a Communist satellite in 1945, not in 1948. To assure that the sell-out would work, the "nonCommunists" agreed with the Kremlin to allow only those political parties which would join a United Front under Communist domination, a procedure which General Eisenhower rejected for the U. S. Zone of Germany as undemocratic (New York Times, October 17, 1945). Other parties were prohibited and their leaders thrown into concentration camps. The true policies of the "non-Communist" CzechoSlovak politicians can best be shown by their public statements made between 1945 and 1948. �22 SLOVAKJA "Our alliance with the Soviet Union is the main pillar of our foreign policy (applau se) . . . Our alliance with the Sovie;t Union gu arantees u s immediate he1p of Soviet armies in case of emergency." Dr. Ivo Duchacek, President of the Foreign Com:milbtee of the National Assembly, speech oif March 8, 1946. "Let us declare war against fear of bolshevi•sm and forbid , at the same time, the t'onm,a,tliolJ'l of an,y an1ti,Oommuntst front whaltever." Pravo lidu, organ of Social Democratic Party. "Centrifugal forces shall be jailed ... Centrifugal force,s are ,today eradicated and liquidaited." - Dr. Jozef Le ttri ch , writing in Cas, B rati slava, o. 130, 194G. Question: "Why does no opposition party ex,ist in Czecho-Slovakia ?" Answer: "The need for an opposition party in reality has not yet arisen in our coun1try." - Pavel Viboch at press conference in England, May 1947. "Never in hi sto ry was Russia so mighty, never were the forces of socialism so colossally forged together. This is a new historical epoch. Neve11theless some people think in a stick-in-the-mud fashion. It has not yet •been possible to convince everyone of the necessity of the oventhrow of capitalism ... " Ferdinand Peroutka, Tak nebo tak ("So or so"), Prague, 1947, p. 8. "In Ozech politics, in Czech .national life, it is urgent that we come to an understanding with the Commun ist Party. .. The Communist Party shall remain the greatest force in our p olitical scheme even a!ter the elections are over; and socialism shall remain t he foundation of our national life ... Coming to terms with the Oommunists is t h e golden theme of our political philosophy." - Ferdinand Peroutka, writing In Dnesek, Prague, February 9, rn48. Together with Communist "partisans," the "non-Communist" politicians of the National Front supervised the wholesale murder of more than 300,000 innocent people. They voted unanimously the Communist-drafted Kosice Program which wiped out private business, they set up a system of "People's Courts" on the Soviet model and in Slovakia they established forced labor camps, to which confinement could be imposed without trial for persons "who profess an ideology inimical to the State". And then one day Stalin and Gottwald decided they needed their "liberal allies no longer - because the Sovietization of Czecho-Slovakia had been completed. After the so-called "Gottwald Putsch" of 1948, the leading Communist collaborators and fellow-travellers - including all those quoted above - came to the United States. �SLOVAKIA 23 The State Department received them as "democratic exiles" and set them up in the research business, partly with taxpayers' money. Mr. Duchacek, who once claimed credit for helping to negotiate the Czech-Soviet Treaty of 1943, was employed by the Voice of America. Ferdinand Peroutka, who had written as late as December 1947 that it would be "unthinkable" to take the side of the United States in a war with the Soviet Union, was placed in charge of the "Czechoslovak" operations of Radio Free Europe, financed by the Crusade for Freedom. Two of his principal assistants were Pavel Tigrid and Joseph Kodicek, both forme:· members of the BBC's Communist-dominated "Czech-Slovak" staff. Tigrid was a member of the Communist Party until 1945, when he joined the "Catholic" Party headed by the "Red Monsignor" Sramek under circumstances which are to say the least equivocal. All the other Czecho-Slovak politicians favored by the State Department (up to December 1952) meet the same standard of (,pro-Soviet) loyalty. The "Council for Free Czechoslovakia," headed by Peter Zenkl, boasted in a pamphlet (In Search of Havens, Washington, 1950) that the State Department takes its advice on which Czech and Slovak refugees to admit to the United States and which to exclude. It is well known in Europe even though American newspapers maintaining correspondents in Germany have for some reason never seen fit to publish the facts - that pro-Communists and left-wing socialists get preference for immigration, whereas known anti-Communists are put on a blacklist. The attitude of those favored by the Council is illustrated by the f.arewell speech of one Rostislav Foukal, who before leaving for America told his comrades in Germany: "Every democraticthinking person must recognize that the present economic system in America is rotten to the core, the workers are exploited by their employers and stifled by Taft and Company ... We Czechoslovakian socialists ... will help America to escape from the claws of the capitalists ... We will help the Americans to reshape their history!" As for Slovakia, the overwhelming majority of the nation was and remains today firmly anti-Communist. The �24 SLOVAKIA Slovaks hoped fervently that the end of World War II would not destroy their Republic, but would bring them liberation so that they could govern themselves without German, Russian or Czech interference. But the "Czechoslovak" Government in London had already made its deal with the Kremlin, a deal explicitly sanctioned by an American Administration. The Slovak Republic was liquidated. In spite of asylum granted to the Slovak Cabinet by General Walton H. Walker at Kremsmuenster, Austria, the State Department ordered the surrender of Father Tiso and his government to the "Czechoslovak War Crimes Commission" without even the formality of an extradiction hearing. The kangaroo trial of Father Tiso - conducted before a judge who had sworn in advance "I will hang Tiso!" - is a classic case of judicial murder. After the Slovak Republic had been wantonly destroyed by the Red Armies by pre-arrangement between the Kremlin and the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government," the Communist-dominated government of Dr. Benes mobilized '. 'people's courts" on the Soviet model for a drive against patriotic Slovaks. The Catholic Bishops John Vojtassak and Michael Buzalka were incarcerated, church institutions were nationalized and private and corporate property was confiscated arbitrarily. Up to 1948, during a period when Ambassador Steinhardt assured the American public that "there is definitely no iron curtain in Czechoslovakia" (New York Times, Febrµary 1, 1947), over 100,000 Slovaks were jailed, about 30,000 deported to Russia and over a hundred executed. Slovakia was placed under the joint rule of the Communist Party and the so-called "Slovak Democratic Party" headed by Dr. Joseph Lettrich, now a member of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia." The "Democratic Party" was created arbitrarily to provide an ostensibly "non-Communist" partner for the Bolshevists, since the Slovak parties with popular support refused to cooperate with the Communists and were therefore liquidated. Government positions were divided by the two parties on a 50-50 basis. In the May 1946 elections the Democratic Party (for which �SLOVAKIA 25 non-Communists felt constrained to vote, fault de mieux) received 62 per cent of the votes, two minor parties 8 per cent and the Communist Party 30 per cent. The Communists continued, however, to enjoy key positions in the provincial government of Slovakia out of all proportion to their actual strength. Their collaborators and supporters, such as Messrs. Lettrich, Kvetko, Viboch, Slavik, Kocvara and Ferjencik, are all in the United States, where they pose as "anti-Communist democratic exiles" from Czecho-Slovakia. The tensions created by the brutal expropriation of the Sudeten Germans and by the rape of Slovakia are factors which perpetuate the Soviet Russian stranglehold on Czecho-Slovakia. It is the aim of the "Czechoslovak" politicians in the United States to re.turn to power with American assistance. But if they succeed, they will again be dependent on Russian support, since the majority of citizens of Czecho-Slovakia (including vast numbers of Czechs who object to socialism and were revolted by the atrocities and the police terror) are strongly opposed to them. As long as the United States Government maintains its unholy alliance with this group, it will never be able to pursue a firm or consistent anti-Communist policy in Central Europe. (Reprinted by permission from the author's "The Iron Curtain and American Policy," Public Affairs Press, 2153 Florida Avenue, Washington 8, D. C.) • • • WHO SAID IT? "THE SLOVAK PEOPLE is one of the great Christian nations of central Europe. History tells us that the forefathers of the Slovaks inhabited their present territory s ince about the fifth century. The Slo· vaks are a plain, humorous, intelligent, song-loving, industrious and religious peo,ple, devoted to the peaceful development of their national life and their national culture. They did not seek domination over other peoples, but only sought to safeguard their own national existence. No other nation of Europe suffered longer under alien domination than the Slovaks. The recognition and respect of their Inherent right to free development and political independence will be a corner stone of peace and coo peration among nations. It is necessary and right for Americans, including Americans of Slovak descent who wish all nationa of the earth as mu ch freedom and independence as they themselves enjoy in our blesesd Country, to show at least an equal amount of love and sympathy for the Slovak people in its long struggle for freedom and independence." (P. A. Hrobak, M!lwaukee, Wis., 10-28-51) � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 17 OUR BLUNDERING CZECHO-SLOVAH.IA POLICY By Kurt Gl.a ser " Dea·1 ing w.iith his Mos'Cow journey, Dr. Benes said it could be regarded in the future as t·h e logi cal culmination of an ancient policy." News Flashes from Czechoslovakia, Chicago, F e,b ruary 21, 1944. "He who rules Bohemia rules Europe" is an old saying. In this vital area, American policy has been built around a myth, spread by a public-relations program for which the Czecho-Slovak Government spent millions of dollars from 1918 to 1938. To understand what this myth has done to American interests, we must study the true story of Czecho-Slovakia, the story which the Administration has never told us. When founded in 1918 by Masaryk and Benes, who gained support for the idea at home only after they had sold it to the Allies, Czecho-Slovakia had six different nationalities. As of the end of World War II, there were six and one-half million Czechs in Bohemia and Moravia, and three and one-half million Sudeten Germans, mostly in a crescent north, west and southwest of the Czech core, but with large German colonies in Prague, Bruenn and other centers. The Teschen district, predominantly Polish, had been ceded to Poland in 1938. Slovakia, to the east, had more than three million Slovaks, 700,000 Hungarians and some Germans. The extreme eastern province was Ruthenia, with a population of about 700,000, ceded to the U.S.S.R. in 1945. The Slovaks were induced to join with the Czechs by the so-called "Pittsburgh Agreement" which promised them absolute equality: Czecho-Slovakia would be "like Switzerland," as Benes put it. The Sudetens wanted to stay with Austria, but they were not asked, and Czech troops overthrew their elected provincial government in March 1919. Masaryk and Benes did not keep their promise of equal rights. Instead, they set up a centralized government in Prague, gave preference to Czechs in the civil service, in business and in finance, undertook to "Czechify" the edu- 18 SLOVAKIA cational system and refused to allow Slovak autonomy. Although the Sudeten region furnished the bulk of CzechoSlovak exports, Prague economic policies kept the area in a state of perpetual depression. It was inevitable that Slovaks, Sudetens and Hungarians should become increasingly anxious to "get out from under". All this time Czech professors and journalists in America, and Americans paid by them (Hitler had a list compiled from Czechs archives) were telling the wonders of "Czechoslovak" democracy. The original aim of Henlein's Sudeten-German Party was simply to gain equal rights for the Sudetens within Czecho-Slovakia. Only after 1935, when the Party won a majority in the German-speaking area, offered to cooperate with Benes and was rebuffed, did pro-Nazi elements become dominant. When the Czech-Sudeten crisis became acute in 1938, the British Government sent Lord Runciman to mediate. The refusal of Benes to make timely concessions led Lord Runciman to recommend cession of the Sudeten areas to Germany. Slovak pressure during and after the Munich crisis forced the Prague Government to grant autonomy to Slovakia on October 6, 1938. In March 1939, however, the Czech President Hacha deposed Slovak Prime Minister Tiso, occupied Bratislava with Czech troops and installed a new Slovak Government. This intervention was used by Hitler as an excuse for marching into Prague, an action which the Slovaks neither requested or suggested. It is true that Hitler seizure of Bohemia made possible the establishment of the Slovak Republic. But this did not make it a Nazi sta.te any more than German aid to Finland nazified that country. The Slovak Republic was what the Slovak people wanted, and it was recognized by 27 countries, including Great Britain, France and even the Soviet Union. In spite of intense Nazi pressure, President Tiso and the Slovak Government did their best to protect the Jews of Slovakia until 1944, when a "rebellion" organized by Communist parachutists led Hitler to install a reign of terror. Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941, but it was never at war with the United States. Slovaks SLOVAKIA 19 repeatedly protected American airmen forced down over their country. Although President Benes, who had resigned after the Munich Agreement in 1938, had recognized his successor Hacha, he decided after the dismemberment of Czecho-Slovakia in 1939 to work toward a political come-back. He and his followers formed the Czechoslovakian Liberation Movement in Paris in 1939, and moved it to London in 1940, later securing Allied recognition as the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government." It was necessary to face the fact that the Czech population at home was not particularly anti-German. Of all the territories under Nazi control, the Czech Protectorate had the highest standard of living. Official rations were the same as in Germany, and since they were actually distributed (which was not always the case in the Reich) the Czechs actually had more to eat than the Germans. Czech industry gave adive support to the German war effort, and large numbers of Czechs volunteered for the German Army. As Kenneth de Courcey (Review of World Affairs, April 28, 1944) pointed out, there was "almost no resistance movement at all" so that it was necessary to parachute in territories to assasinate the Nazi Commissioner Heydrich and provoke the Lidice atrocity with which Hitler was stupid enough to oblige. Since Benes and his followers were determined to pursue their policy of Czech ultra-nationalism, it was evident that they could not count on Czech support at home, let alone the allegiance of the Slovaks. The anti-Nazi Sudeten Germans were willing to reach a settlement, but Benes decided instead to expel them from Czecho-Slovakia. This policy could only be executed with outside assistance, and the only government which could give effective support was that of the Soviet Union. The "Czechoslovakist" policy of Benes and his followers was, therefore, bound to make their government permanently dependent on Russia. The blunder of American policy is that we supported Soviet policy, recognized the Benes "Government" and even now (December 1952) accept those of Benes' followers who broke with Gottwald in 1948 as "democratic exiles" even though they have not changed their policies in the slightest. 20 SLOVAKIA The policy of the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government," which supplied the "non-Commun ist" politicians in the "National Front" which governed Czecho-Slovakia from 1945 to 1948 and whose members are now mostly in the United States under State Department protection, was that of absolute adherence to the Soviet Union. As Dr. Peter Zenkl, today President of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" with headquarters in Washington, explained to the temporary parliament in November 1945: "The nationally conscious Czechs and Slovaks have no doubt that in their own interest, as well as in international interests, permanent collaboration with the USSR is necessary. Never without the USSR, never against the USSR, always at its side!" Hubert Ripka, who in 1939 hid the Soviet agent SimonKatz from the French police, later became Minister of Information in the London "Government " and who is now a professor at the New School for Social Research in New York, summarizes the policy in more details in his book East and West (London, 1944): "Since, in the new situation, it was impo,s sible to collaborate officially with the Sovielt Union, we ... did nothing which might prejudice or preven1t the renewal of co-operation at the earliest possible moment; I need only recall how strong ly OUT aJttitude contrasted with that of many others during the Soviet-Finnish War. Moreover, even in that period, there was no inilerruption of the personal contacts and exchange of informrution between ourselves and important Soviet representatives in London, Paris, Washington and elsewhere." Apparently both the British and United States Governments were willing to accept as a "Czechoslovak democratic exile" anyone with a passport from the Czech "Governmentin-exile." The London "Czechoslovak s" took advantage of this fact to infiltrate a large number of Soviet agents, who were in the direct service of the Kremlin, into both the United Kingdom and the United States. The "Czech-Slovak " service of the British Broadcasting Company was taken over by Communists; others worked for the Communist party paper Daily Worker, the two staffs being for operating purposes interchangeab le. Douglas Hyde, a former Communist, relates in his book I Believe (London, 1951) a typical example of infiltration SLOVAKIA 21 involving one Ludwig Freund•, a German Communist masquerading as a Czech. Freund was assigned to the Daily Worker but his salary was paid by the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government" with British funds. Hyde tells us: "Freund a.c hieved considera,ble standing with member.s of the Benes Government and was ruble to put us (the Communist Party) in touch with them at any time. He was able, also, of course, to keep us mfo.rmed of most of whwt was going on in Czech Government circles. "Freund in co-operation with members of our Editorial Foreign Departmerut would write articles Ito which -non-Communist members of his Government would willing put their names." • The Ludwig Freund mentioned here is not the s·aime person as the Chicago professor of rthat name. The effectiveness of this arrangement is suggested by Minister Ripka's speech of November 7, 1942, over the British Broadcasting Company, in which he said: " ... the Russian November Revolurtion not only increased the strength of the Russian Soviet State, it a,lso raised to greater heighrts than ever ,before the standard of -civilizalt.ion, culture and living of the wide masses of the Soviet peoples ... "Bolshevism is a supe,r -national ideal, an eternal ideal, a human ideal, an ideal which has kindled the mind·s of the noblest of men from the time of Plato and through the Christian era, through the French Revolution and until today ... Just as the French Revolution strove to realize the ideal of freedOllll, so did the Russian Revolution try 1to reali'ze :the ideal of equality." The "non-Communist" politicians in London, whom the State Department has since 1948 undertaken to palm off on the American public as anti-Communists, planned with Stalin during the war to destroy the Slovak Republic and to expel the German-speaking minority. The price exacted by the Kremlin was the complete Sovietization of CzechoSlovakia, which became a Communist satellite in 1945, not in 1948. To assure that the sell-out would work, the "nonCommunists" agreed with the Kremlin to allow only those political parties which would join a United Front under Communist domination, a procedure which General Eisenhower rejected for the U. S. Zone of Germany as undemocratic (New York Times, October 17, 1945). Other parties were prohibited and their leaders thrown into concentration camps. The true policies of the "non-Communist" CzechoSlovak politicians can best be shown by their public statements made between 1945 and 1948. 22 SLOVAKJA "Our alliance with the Soviet Union is the main pillar of our foreign policy (applau se) . . . Our alliance with the Sovie;t Union gu arantees u s immediate he1p of Soviet armies in case of emergency." Dr. Ivo Duchacek, President of the Foreign Com:milbtee of the National Assembly, speech oif March 8, 1946. "Let us declare war against fear of bolshevi•sm and forbid , at the same time, the t'onm,a,tliolJ'l of an,y an1ti,Oommuntst front whaltever." Pravo lidu, organ of Social Democratic Party. "Centrifugal forces shall be jailed ... Centrifugal force,s are ,today eradicated and liquidaited." - Dr. Jozef Le ttri ch , writing in Cas, B rati slava, o. 130, 194G. Question: "Why does no opposition party ex,ist in Czecho-Slovakia ?" Answer: "The need for an opposition party in reality has not yet arisen in our coun1try." - Pavel Viboch at press conference in England, May 1947. "Never in hi sto ry was Russia so mighty, never were the forces of socialism so colossally forged together. This is a new historical epoch. Neve11theless some people think in a stick-in-the-mud fashion. It has not yet •been possible to convince everyone of the necessity of the oventhrow of capitalism ... " Ferdinand Peroutka, Tak nebo tak ("So or so"), Prague, 1947, p. 8. "In Ozech politics, in Czech .national life, it is urgent that we come to an understanding with the Commun ist Party. .. The Communist Party shall remain the greatest force in our p olitical scheme even a!ter the elections are over; and socialism shall remain t he foundation of our national life ... Coming to terms with the Oommunists is t h e golden theme of our political philosophy." - Ferdinand Peroutka, writing In Dnesek, Prague, February 9, rn48. Together with Communist "partisans," the "non-Communist" politicians of the National Front supervised the wholesale murder of more than 300,000 innocent people. They voted unanimously the Communist-drafted Kosice Program which wiped out private business, they set up a system of "People's Courts" on the Soviet model and in Slovakia they established forced labor camps, to which confinement could be imposed without trial for persons "who profess an ideology inimical to the State". And then one day Stalin and Gottwald decided they needed their "liberal allies no longer - because the Sovietization of Czecho-Slovakia had been completed. After the so-called "Gottwald Putsch" of 1948, the leading Communist collaborators and fellow-travellers - including all those quoted above - came to the United States. SLOVAKIA 23 The State Department received them as "democratic exiles" and set them up in the research business, partly with taxpayers' money. Mr. Duchacek, who once claimed credit for helping to negotiate the Czech-Soviet Treaty of 1943, was employed by the Voice of America. Ferdinand Peroutka, who had written as late as December 1947 that it would be "unthinkable" to take the side of the United States in a war with the Soviet Union, was placed in charge of the "Czechoslovak" operations of Radio Free Europe, financed by the Crusade for Freedom. Two of his principal assistants were Pavel Tigrid and Joseph Kodicek, both forme:· members of the BBC's Communist-dominated "Czech-Slovak" staff. Tigrid was a member of the Communist Party until 1945, when he joined the "Catholic" Party headed by the "Red Monsignor" Sramek under circumstances which are to say the least equivocal. All the other Czecho-Slovak politicians favored by the State Department (up to December 1952) meet the same standard of (,pro-Soviet) loyalty. The "Council for Free Czechoslovakia," headed by Peter Zenkl, boasted in a pamphlet (In Search of Havens, Washington, 1950) that the State Department takes its advice on which Czech and Slovak refugees to admit to the United States and which to exclude. It is well known in Europe even though American newspapers maintaining correspondents in Germany have for some reason never seen fit to publish the facts - that pro-Communists and left-wing socialists get preference for immigration, whereas known anti-Communists are put on a blacklist. The attitude of those favored by the Council is illustrated by the f.arewell speech of one Rostislav Foukal, who before leaving for America told his comrades in Germany: "Every democraticthinking person must recognize that the present economic system in America is rotten to the core, the workers are exploited by their employers and stifled by Taft and Company ... We Czechoslovakian socialists ... will help America to escape from the claws of the capitalists ... We will help the Americans to reshape their history!" As for Slovakia, the overwhelming majority of the nation was and remains today firmly anti-Communist. The 24 SLOVAKIA Slovaks hoped fervently that the end of World War II would not destroy their Republic, but would bring them liberation so that they could govern themselves without German, Russian or Czech interference. But the "Czechoslovak" Government in London had already made its deal with the Kremlin, a deal explicitly sanctioned by an American Administration. The Slovak Republic was liquidated. In spite of asylum granted to the Slovak Cabinet by General Walton H. Walker at Kremsmuenster, Austria, the State Department ordered the surrender of Father Tiso and his government to the "Czechoslovak War Crimes Commission" without even the formality of an extradiction hearing. The kangaroo trial of Father Tiso - conducted before a judge who had sworn in advance "I will hang Tiso!" - is a classic case of judicial murder. After the Slovak Republic had been wantonly destroyed by the Red Armies by pre-arrangement between the Kremlin and the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government," the Communist-dominated government of Dr. Benes mobilized '. 'people's courts" on the Soviet model for a drive against patriotic Slovaks. The Catholic Bishops John Vojtassak and Michael Buzalka were incarcerated, church institutions were nationalized and private and corporate property was confiscated arbitrarily. Up to 1948, during a period when Ambassador Steinhardt assured the American public that "there is definitely no iron curtain in Czechoslovakia" (New York Times, Febrµary 1, 1947), over 100,000 Slovaks were jailed, about 30,000 deported to Russia and over a hundred executed. Slovakia was placed under the joint rule of the Communist Party and the so-called "Slovak Democratic Party" headed by Dr. Joseph Lettrich, now a member of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia." The "Democratic Party" was created arbitrarily to provide an ostensibly "non-Communist" partner for the Bolshevists, since the Slovak parties with popular support refused to cooperate with the Communists and were therefore liquidated. Government positions were divided by the two parties on a 50-50 basis. In the May 1946 elections the Democratic Party (for which SLOVAKIA 25 non-Communists felt constrained to vote, fault de mieux) received 62 per cent of the votes, two minor parties 8 per cent and the Communist Party 30 per cent. The Communists continued, however, to enjoy key positions in the provincial government of Slovakia out of all proportion to their actual strength. Their collaborators and supporters, such as Messrs. Lettrich, Kvetko, Viboch, Slavik, Kocvara and Ferjencik, are all in the United States, where they pose as "anti-Communist democratic exiles" from Czecho-Slovakia. The tensions created by the brutal expropriation of the Sudeten Germans and by the rape of Slovakia are factors which perpetuate the Soviet Russian stranglehold on Czecho-Slovakia. It is the aim of the "Czechoslovak" politicians in the United States to re.turn to power with American assistance. But if they succeed, they will again be dependent on Russian support, since the majority of citizens of Czecho-Slovakia (including vast numbers of Czechs who object to socialism and were revolted by the atrocities and the police terror) are strongly opposed to them. As long as the United States Government maintains its unholy alliance with this group, it will never be able to pursue a firm or consistent anti-Communist policy in Central Europe. (Reprinted by permission from the author's "The Iron Curtain and American Policy," Public Affairs Press, 2153 Florida Avenue, Washington 8, D. C.) • • • WHO SAID IT? "THE SLOVAK PEOPLE is one of the great Christian nations of central Europe. History tells us that the forefathers of the Slovaks inhabited their present territory s ince about the fifth century. The Slo· vaks are a plain, humorous, intelligent, song-loving, industrious and religious peo,ple, devoted to the peaceful development of their national life and their national culture. They did not seek domination over other peoples, but only sought to safeguard their own national existence. No other nation of Europe suffered longer under alien domination than the Slovaks. The recognition and respect of their Inherent right to free development and political independence will be a corner stone of peace and coo peration among nations. It is necessary and right for Americans, including Americans of Slovak descent who wish all nationa of the earth as mu ch freedom and independence as they themselves enjoy in our blesesd Country, to show at least an equal amount of love and sympathy for the Slovak people in its long struggle for freedom and independence." (P. A. Hrobak, M!lwaukee, Wis., 10-28-51)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Our Blundering Czecho-Slovakia Policy Description An account of the resource Kurt Glaser Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 17-25 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Glaser, Kurt, 1914-1993 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/14d9aa1cd0a470dc9de5ca76a6d90670.pdf fff1cd896634d603fd9f016a79e43d98 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 13 INTERVIEW Sir Robert Bruce Lockhardt and_ the Slovak Aviators (Broadcast by the B.B.C. May 8 at 7 p. m. EST and May 9 at 2:45 p. m. EST. Released on May 8, 1953, 7 p. m. EST.) Tlh e thrree Slovak avfatars, Lieutenant Kmrnan, Sergeant FleiS'Clhhacker and Sergeant Momar, who .fiew, Mrurch 13, 1953, from Piest'.amy into the Brr,i'tish 2i0Ile 'in Austria, are now in London. Sill' Robert Bruce Locldlardlt had an interview ,wJtJh them there whiicll was brooo'casit by the B.B.C. into Czecho-Slovrukfo.. Sir Robert Bruce Loci{hardt, former di'Plomat in Pirague, spoke in Czech while the three aviaJtors answered in Sfovak. Sir Robert: Tell me, plea;se, the reason foir yoUJr courageouis escaipe :Erorn Ozeicfuo~Slovakia? Have you fled beca UJSe ()(f rpoJi'tiK!a,l or ooonomiic motives, or ibecause of both? Krman: We .fled Czech·o~Slovrukiia because of pdli'tical and economic reasons. Our 1poli.tical convictions have never been along Communist lines and our sympathies went to the Western AJI:li~s. To .remain in Communist Czecho,Slovalkda when we had the ;pos!silbility of flying abroad wou!ld have been equal to giviing Ulp living. Any acti:viity against the Communist regime at lbhe pr~enrt time ~ing irmpossllble, theire is now ibult one opportuni,'ty to work for our people and !this oppontunilty lies outside of the lron Curtain. For these reasons we had no pers_peotirve in"' Ozec'llo,SlovaJkia. 01.l1I' officers reproached U'S many times on. accoun/t of our political ind;tfference. FuPthermore, conditions in a:11 branches of life were tenrilble, impossible to imrugine for people in the Western World. Sir Robert: What diflference did you olbserwe after your escape between the life in Ozecllo-Slovakia and tJhaJt ilil Wes.tern IDurope? War imltance, what do people on the stre~s looik Hke or what !kind of .artilcles are being sold in ,t he stores? Fleischhacker: After my escaipe I wa·s sU1I1prised to see how many rtJhings people were a!ble to buy for a small amount of money . For example, I had to spend my two month's salary to get a decent suit, while here a worker can �14 SLOVAKIA bu~ a silt with one week of worik. Freedom of speec'h impressed me deeply and I was immensely sur,pziised to see in a London ,prur'k a crowd which any one, wlho desilred to do so, icowld address on a sulbject of hiis f.ree choice. I was most impressed by ,t he faces of the persons -:- wilbh whom I am not yet aJble to speak -- which reflected satisfaction and poise. ENery one is rwel.1.iJ. dressed and every(bodiy belhaves nicely with one andt:Jher. Motorists rure very courteous to pedestrians, and waiitJin,g lfoc the buses - in so orderly a manner rwi'bhou't even one pushing - seems to me ailmost unbelievaible. Sir Robert: Blow st-rong is rt'he anti-communist feeling in Czecho-Slovakia:? Couid you tell me, Wlhat is, in _your ~ timation, the per,centage of the po,p ulation whiic'h adheres to Communi,s m? Molnar: W!hait ,t he conditions are in this respect in Czechia, I do not ,knorw. As for Slo'Vakia, .the anti-Comunist attitude of tlhe ipopu4ation e~ends all over the counltry. Resistance a;ga'ioot the regime is 'Very strong. Every person who follows with open eyes the activities of the :regume is, as a matter of prin!Ciiple, a,gaiilllst it. Expressed in .p ercentage, the ,situa;tion [odk•s ld!ke this: eighty per cent of tlle Slovaks are not memb~rs of tlle Communist Party, neiJther a;re they adherents of Communism. The o.v erwhelmmg majority of them are against Communism wilbh tlhei:r wiho1e hearts and souJs. Twenty per cenlt are Communists, but even ha1:f of tllese are only because they w,ant ,t o keep theilr jobs or get better ones. Sir Robert: Do you mean t:haJt the Communist regime is more hated now ltJhan it was in 1948? Krman: I know that in Slovaikia resistance to Communism is of an older date. Alf1ter the First World War, OU!l' fatillers tasted of Communism during the strug.gle against the Bo:lshevism of Bella lfohn in Hungary. So, the dldest generation have inifornned us very we1'1 '3J'bout this danger. During the Hife of the Slovak State, W1hen Slovak soldiers fOU!ght against Coonmun:ism on Soviet temitory, they had tlle oppoa:-tunilty to e,operience fiirst 'hand what Oommtmism is. T,here- �SLOVAKIA 15 fore, I am coiwinced .fuaJt in S'loIValkia there was from tihe beginning of fue Comlmltmist dominamion greater and moire decisive oppO'siltion aigainst the regime than in Ozechiia. T,he Red A'I1my, aJt tlhe ti!me of ' 11:iJberaticm" of our cotm'try, only conf:iimned whait our soldiera saw in Sovti.et Russia. Sir Robert: Wlhat is the alttitude of the non-Communist population towa,rd foz,mer ipolitical parties and refugees? Molnar: The non-Communist population of SlovaJkia condemns these parties and bhcir leading personaJltities who fled to the Western coU!Illtries. 'Dhe reason for bb/is attitude is that in 'Spite of the fact that t!hey have had a greater percentage of people on theiir side, they weire unable to check the expansion of the CommU!Ilist reg1ime and ,t o prevent its taking over of the ,w'hole Government. Sir Robert: Iis the anti-CommUillisit attiltulde stronger among fuose who are ll!Ildeir 30 years of age or among the older ones·? Fleischlt3(cker: The anltli..Communist feeling is stronger among ·people more than 30 yeairs old, because, s1ionce tlhe end of fue Second Wo,r,ld War, the youth is educ-aJted in the Communist spirilt in tlhe sohools, in the factories, in the military servke. There are many yOU!Il.g men of 25 wiho fall for Communist promises. The majo:rd.ty of men of 30, however, still remembers well the times of lilberty, the times when food and cl·o thes were not rationed and wlhen there was a great possilbility for everylbod,y to get a job. Sir Robert: Do the Czechs and S1oivaks stiH remember the great men like T. G. Masairyk, Milan Steifanrnk, Edward Benes, Jan Masa.iryik, and Alrchlbishop Beram.? Are these personalities known ,b y the young generaJtion? Krman: '11he young ,p eople know very little o!f ,tihese men, because the Commll!Ilist regime - wifuout any consideraition for theli,r merilts - is ipresenlting them in a very bad 1ight. Neverth~less, Milan Ra'stislav Stefanik enjo,yetl the fame of a national saint in Slovakia. Lately, however, tJhe Communists in our country try to destroy everything which draws the attention of our people to his memory. �16 SLOVAKIA In Bohemia and Moraivia the names Olf T. G. Masaryk, Edward Benes and Archbishop Beran axe still. quite popuiar, but not m S1ovaJkia, where the names of Hlinka, Tiso, Stefanik preva,i'l. Sir Robert: How do the anti-Communist Czecho~Slovalks im~,gii,ne lbhe ,1ilberation of Ozecho-Siovrukia. and the future of their Staite in a li!beraited Elllrope? Molnar: The majorilty of the anti-Communist Slovaks i:. for a Central-European federaJtion of peoples, in which every nation wi.N decide its. own af,fa:II'ls and wihere every memlber whlll have equal,i ty o,f r~ghrts wtiith oither pairtners. But :t!he main task i'S to be seen in the common decision o!f all these peoip[e,s - Czeclhs, S1ovaJks, Magyars and alt.hens to destroy the Communist tyranny. - ('Slovruk League PTess BU!reau by pemnission of the BBC, London, and ,t he interviewed). • • • WHO SAID IT? "I fully understand the reasons which led France and Great Britain to demand that we should not fight in September 1938 • . . . In that year, I think the only countries in Europe prepared for the war were GERMANY, THE SOVIET UNION AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA. I had no doubts whatever about Czechoslovak preparedness. Our resources were great and they were fully mobilized. From 1933, when Hitler took the whole power in Germany into his hands, I WAS SU RE that Europe was moving rapidly towards a great and terrible crisis . . . . In 1938 in September we had ONE MILLION AND A HALF splendidly equipped soldiers. They were at the disposal of the struggle for democracy and freedom together with all our powerful industries. The events in 1938 prevented it.' Nazi Germany disbanded and destroyed this splendid army. Only a very small part of it succeeded In reaching the Allied countries." Dr. Benes, Speech, New York, May 26, 1943). • • • "Czecho-Slovakia and Germany were the only two countries in Europe, which, in the September 1938 crisis, were TOTALLY PREPARED FOR WAR. As for us, our resources were mobilized to the highest degree. And these resources were very great! • . • Had not PRAGUE adopted during the September crisis a passive attitude, Hitler would have unleashed the war then • • • . WE, therefore, under irresistible pressure submitted to the decision which had been made. I RESIGNED THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT, made preparations in the country for a struggle against Naziism in the event of war, and went into exile. The whole nation very soon understood." - Dr. Edward Benes, Central European Observer, 1-17-41) . � SLOVAKIA 13 INTERVIEW Sir Robert Bruce Lockhardt and_ the Slovak Aviators (Broadcast by the B.B.C. May 8 at 7 p. m. EST and May 9 at 2:45 p. m. EST. Released on May 8, 1953, 7 p. m. EST.) Tlh e thrree Slovak avfatars, Lieutenant Kmrnan, Sergeant FleiS'Clhhacker and Sergeant Momar, who .fiew, Mrurch 13, 1953, from Piest'.amy into the Brr,i'tish 2i0Ile 'in Austria, are now in London. Sill' Robert Bruce Locldlardlt had an interview ,wJtJh them there whiicll was brooo'casit by the B.B.C. into Czecho-Slovrukfo.. Sir Robert Bruce Loci{hardt, former di'Plomat in Pirague, spoke in Czech while the three aviaJtors answered in Sfovak. Sir Robert: Tell me, plea;se, the reason foir yoUJr courageouis escaipe :Erorn Ozeicfuo~Slovakia? Have you fled beca UJSe ()(f rpoJi'tiK!a,l or ooonomiic motives, or ibecause of both? Krman: We .fled Czech·o~Slovrukiia because of pdli'tical and economic reasons. Our 1poli.tical convictions have never been along Communist lines and our sympathies went to the Western AJI:li~s. To .remain in Communist Czecho,Slovalkda when we had the ;pos!silbility of flying abroad wou!ld have been equal to giviing Ulp living. Any acti:viity against the Communist regime at lbhe pr~enrt time ~ing irmpossllble, theire is now ibult one opportuni,'ty to work for our people and !this oppontunilty lies outside of the lron Curtain. For these reasons we had no pers_peotirve in"' Ozec'llo,SlovaJkia. 01.l1I' officers reproached U'S many times on. accoun/t of our political ind;tfference. FuPthermore, conditions in a:11 branches of life were tenrilble, impossible to imrugine for people in the Western World. Sir Robert: What diflference did you olbserwe after your escape between the life in Ozecllo-Slovakia and tJhaJt ilil Wes.tern IDurope? War imltance, what do people on the stre~s looik Hke or what !kind of .artilcles are being sold in ,t he stores? Fleischhacker: After my escaipe I wa·s sU1I1prised to see how many rtJhings people were a!ble to buy for a small amount of money . For example, I had to spend my two month's salary to get a decent suit, while here a worker can �14 SLOVAKIA bu~ a silt with one week of worik. Freedom of speec'h impressed me deeply and I was immensely sur,pziised to see in a London ,prur'k a crowd which any one, wlho desilred to do so, icowld address on a sulbject of hiis f.ree choice. I was most impressed by ,t he faces of the persons -:- wilbh whom I am not yet aJble to speak -- which reflected satisfaction and poise. ENery one is rwel.1.iJ. dressed and every(bodiy belhaves nicely with one andt:Jher. Motorists rure very courteous to pedestrians, and waiitJin,g lfoc the buses - in so orderly a manner rwi'bhou't even one pushing - seems to me ailmost unbelievaible. Sir Robert: Blow st-rong is rt'he anti-communist feeling in Czecho-Slovakia:? Couid you tell me, Wlhat is, in _your ~ timation, the per,centage of the po,p ulation whiic'h adheres to Communi,s m? Molnar: W!hait ,t he conditions are in this respect in Czechia, I do not ,knorw. As for Slo'Vakia, .the anti-Comunist attitude of tlhe ipopu4ation e~ends all over the counltry. Resistance a;ga'ioot the regime is 'Very strong. Every person who follows with open eyes the activities of the :regume is, as a matter of prin!Ciiple, a,gaiilllst it. Expressed in .p ercentage, the ,situa;tion [odk•s ld!ke this: eighty per cent of tlle Slovaks are not memb~rs of tlle Communist Party, neiJther a;re they adherents of Communism. The o.v erwhelmmg majority of them are against Communism wilbh tlhei:r wiho1e hearts and souJs. Twenty per cenlt are Communists, but even ha1:f of tllese are only because they w,ant ,t o keep theilr jobs or get better ones. Sir Robert: Do you mean t:haJt the Communist regime is more hated now ltJhan it was in 1948? Krman: I know that in Slovaikia resistance to Communism is of an older date. Alf1ter the First World War, OU!l' fatillers tasted of Communism during the strug.gle against the Bo:lshevism of Bella lfohn in Hungary. So, the dldest generation have inifornned us very we1'1 '3J'bout this danger. During the Hife of the Slovak State, W1hen Slovak soldiers fOU!ght against Coonmun:ism on Soviet temitory, they had tlle oppoa:-tunilty to e,operience fiirst 'hand what Oommtmism is. T,here- �SLOVAKIA 15 fore, I am coiwinced .fuaJt in S'loIValkia there was from tihe beginning of fue Comlmltmist dominamion greater and moire decisive oppO'siltion aigainst the regime than in Ozechiia. T,he Red A'I1my, aJt tlhe ti!me of ' 11:iJberaticm" of our cotm'try, only conf:iimned whait our soldiera saw in Sovti.et Russia. Sir Robert: Wlhat is the alttitude of the non-Communist population towa,rd foz,mer ipolitical parties and refugees? Molnar: The non-Communist population of SlovaJkia condemns these parties and bhcir leading personaJltities who fled to the Western coU!Illtries. 'Dhe reason for bb/is attitude is that in 'Spite of the fact that t!hey have had a greater percentage of people on theiir side, they weire unable to check the expansion of the CommU!Ilist reg1ime and ,t o prevent its taking over of the ,w'hole Government. Sir Robert: Iis the anti-CommUillisit attiltulde stronger among fuose who are ll!Ildeir 30 years of age or among the older ones·? Fleischlt3(cker: The anltli..Communist feeling is stronger among ·people more than 30 yeairs old, because, s1ionce tlhe end of fue Second Wo,r,ld War, the youth is educ-aJted in the Communist spirilt in tlhe sohools, in the factories, in the military servke. There are many yOU!Il.g men of 25 wiho fall for Communist promises. The majo:rd.ty of men of 30, however, still remembers well the times of lilberty, the times when food and cl·o thes were not rationed and wlhen there was a great possilbility for everylbod,y to get a job. Sir Robert: Do the Czechs and S1oivaks stiH remember the great men like T. G. Masairyk, Milan Steifanrnk, Edward Benes, Jan Masa.iryik, and Alrchlbishop Beram.? Are these personalities known ,b y the young generaJtion? Krman: '11he young ,p eople know very little o!f ,tihese men, because the Commll!Ilist regime - wifuout any consideraition for theli,r merilts - is ipresenlting them in a very bad 1ight. Neverth~less, Milan Ra'stislav Stefanik enjo,yetl the fame of a national saint in Slovakia. Lately, however, tJhe Communists in our country try to destroy everything which draws the attention of our people to his memory. �16 SLOVAKIA In Bohemia and Moraivia the names Olf T. G. Masaryk, Edward Benes and Archbishop Beran axe still. quite popuiar, but not m S1ovaJkia, where the names of Hlinka, Tiso, Stefanik preva,i'l. Sir Robert: How do the anti-Communist Czecho~Slovalks im~,gii,ne lbhe ,1ilberation of Ozecho-Siovrukia. and the future of their Staite in a li!beraited Elllrope? Molnar: The majorilty of the anti-Communist Slovaks i:. for a Central-European federaJtion of peoples, in which every nation wi.N decide its. own af,fa:II'ls and wihere every memlber whlll have equal,i ty o,f r~ghrts wtiith oither pairtners. But :t!he main task i'S to be seen in the common decision o!f all these peoip[e,s - Czeclhs, S1ovaJks, Magyars and alt.hens to destroy the Communist tyranny. - ('Slovruk League PTess BU!reau by pemnission of the BBC, London, and ,t he interviewed). • • • WHO SAID IT? "I fully understand the reasons which led France and Great Britain to demand that we should not fight in September 1938 • . . . In that year, I think the only countries in Europe prepared for the war were GERMANY, THE SOVIET UNION AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA. I had no doubts whatever about Czechoslovak preparedness. Our resources were great and they were fully mobilized. From 1933, when Hitler took the whole power in Germany into his hands, I WAS SU RE that Europe was moving rapidly towards a great and terrible crisis . . . . In 1938 in September we had ONE MILLION AND A HALF splendidly equipped soldiers. They were at the disposal of the struggle for democracy and freedom together with all our powerful industries. The events in 1938 prevented it.' Nazi Germany disbanded and destroyed this splendid army. Only a very small part of it succeeded In reaching the Allied countries." Dr. Benes, Speech, New York, May 26, 1943). • • • "Czecho-Slovakia and Germany were the only two countries in Europe, which, in the September 1938 crisis, were TOTALLY PREPARED FOR WAR. As for us, our resources were mobilized to the highest degree. And these resources were very great! • . • Had not PRAGUE adopted during the September crisis a passive attitude, Hitler would have unleashed the war then • • • . WE, therefore, under irresistible pressure submitted to the decision which had been made. I RESIGNED THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT, made preparations in the country for a struggle against Naziism in the event of war, and went into exile. The whole nation very soon understood." - Dr. Edward Benes, Central European Observer, 1-17-41) . � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 13 INTERVIEW Sir Robert Bruce Lockhardt and_ the Slovak Aviators (Broadcast by the B.B.C. May 8 at 7 p. m. EST and May 9 at 2:45 p. m. EST. Released on May 8, 1953, 7 p. m. EST.) Tlh e thrree Slovak avfatars, Lieutenant Kmrnan, Sergeant FleiS'Clhhacker and Sergeant Momar, who .fiew, Mrurch 13, 1953, from Piest'.amy into the Brr,i'tish 2i0Ile 'in Austria, are now in London. Sill' Robert Bruce Locldlardlt had an interview ,wJtJh them there whiicll was brooo'casit by the B.B.C. into Czecho-Slovrukfo.. Sir Robert Bruce Loci{hardt, former di'Plomat in Pirague, spoke in Czech while the three aviaJtors answered in Sfovak. Sir Robert: Tell me, plea;se, the reason foir yoUJr courageouis escaipe :Erorn Ozeicfuo~Slovakia? Have you fled beca UJSe ()(f rpoJi'tiK!a,l or ooonomiic motives, or ibecause of both? Krman: We .fled Czech·o~Slovrukiia because of pdli'tical and economic reasons. Our 1poli.tical convictions have never been along Communist lines and our sympathies went to the Western AJI:li~s. To .remain in Communist Czecho,Slovalkda when we had the ;pos!silbility of flying abroad wou!ld have been equal to giviing Ulp living. Any acti:viity against the Communist regime at lbhe pr~enrt time ~ing irmpossllble, theire is now ibult one opportuni,'ty to work for our people and !this oppontunilty lies outside of the lron Curtain. For these reasons we had no pers_peotirve in"' Ozec'llo,SlovaJkia. 01.l1I' officers reproached U'S many times on. accoun/t of our political ind;tfference. FuPthermore, conditions in a:11 branches of life were tenrilble, impossible to imrugine for people in the Western World. Sir Robert: What diflference did you olbserwe after your escape between the life in Ozecllo-Slovakia and tJhaJt ilil Wes.tern IDurope? War imltance, what do people on the stre~s looik Hke or what !kind of .artilcles are being sold in ,t he stores? Fleischhacker: After my escaipe I wa·s sU1I1prised to see how many rtJhings people were a!ble to buy for a small amount of money . For example, I had to spend my two month's salary to get a decent suit, while here a worker can 14 SLOVAKIA bu~ a silt with one week of worik. Freedom of speec'h impressed me deeply and I was immensely sur,pziised to see in a London ,prur'k a crowd which any one, wlho desilred to do so, icowld address on a sulbject of hiis f.ree choice. I was most impressed by ,t he faces of the persons -:- wilbh whom I am not yet aJble to speak -- which reflected satisfaction and poise. ENery one is rwel.1.iJ. dressed and every(bodiy belhaves nicely with one andt:Jher. Motorists rure very courteous to pedestrians, and waiitJin,g lfoc the buses - in so orderly a manner rwi'bhou't even one pushing - seems to me ailmost unbelievaible. Sir Robert: Blow st-rong is rt'he anti-communist feeling in Czecho-Slovakia:? Couid you tell me, Wlhat is, in _your ~ timation, the per,centage of the po,p ulation whiic'h adheres to Communi,s m? Molnar: W!hait ,t he conditions are in this respect in Czechia, I do not ,knorw. As for Slo'Vakia, .the anti-Comunist attitude of tlhe ipopu4ation e~ends all over the counltry. Resistance a;ga'ioot the regime is 'Very strong. Every person who follows with open eyes the activities of the :regume is, as a matter of prin!Ciiple, a,gaiilllst it. Expressed in .p ercentage, the ,situa;tion [odk•s ld!ke this: eighty per cent of tlle Slovaks are not memb~rs of tlle Communist Party, neiJther a;re they adherents of Communism. The o.v erwhelmmg majority of them are against Communism wilbh tlhei:r wiho1e hearts and souJs. Twenty per cenlt are Communists, but even ha1:f of tllese are only because they w,ant ,t o keep theilr jobs or get better ones. Sir Robert: Do you mean t:haJt the Communist regime is more hated now ltJhan it was in 1948? Krman: I know that in Slovaikia resistance to Communism is of an older date. Alf1ter the First World War, OU!l' fatillers tasted of Communism during the strug.gle against the Bo:lshevism of Bella lfohn in Hungary. So, the dldest generation have inifornned us very we1'1 '3J'bout this danger. During the Hife of the Slovak State, W1hen Slovak soldiers fOU!ght against Coonmun:ism on Soviet temitory, they had tlle oppoa:-tunilty to e,operience fiirst 'hand what Oommtmism is. T,here- SLOVAKIA 15 fore, I am coiwinced .fuaJt in S'loIValkia there was from tihe beginning of fue Comlmltmist dominamion greater and moire decisive oppO'siltion aigainst the regime than in Ozechiia. T,he Red A'I1my, aJt tlhe ti!me of ' 11:iJberaticm" of our cotm'try, only conf:iimned whait our soldiera saw in Sovti.et Russia. Sir Robert: Wlhat is the alttitude of the non-Communist population towa,rd foz,mer ipolitical parties and refugees? Molnar: The non-Communist population of SlovaJkia condemns these parties and bhcir leading personaJltities who fled to the Western coU!Illtries. 'Dhe reason for bb/is attitude is that in 'Spite of the fact that t!hey have had a greater percentage of people on theiir side, they weire unable to check the expansion of the CommU!Ilist reg1ime and ,t o prevent its taking over of the ,w'hole Government. Sir Robert: Iis the anti-CommUillisit attiltulde stronger among fuose who are ll!Ildeir 30 years of age or among the older ones·? Fleischlt3(cker: The anltli..Communist feeling is stronger among ·people more than 30 yeairs old, because, s1ionce tlhe end of fue Second Wo,r,ld War, the youth is educ-aJted in the Communist spirilt in tlhe sohools, in the factories, in the military servke. There are many yOU!Il.g men of 25 wiho fall for Communist promises. The majo:rd.ty of men of 30, however, still remembers well the times of lilberty, the times when food and cl·o thes were not rationed and wlhen there was a great possilbility for everylbod,y to get a job. Sir Robert: Do the Czechs and S1oivaks stiH remember the great men like T. G. Masairyk, Milan Steifanrnk, Edward Benes, Jan Masa.iryik, and Alrchlbishop Beram.? Are these personalities known ,b y the young generaJtion? Krman: '11he young ,p eople know very little o!f ,tihese men, because the Commll!Ilist regime - wifuout any consideraition for theli,r merilts - is ipresenlting them in a very bad 1ight. Neverth~less, Milan Ra'stislav Stefanik enjo,yetl the fame of a national saint in Slovakia. Lately, however, tJhe Communists in our country try to destroy everything which draws the attention of our people to his memory. 16 SLOVAKIA In Bohemia and Moraivia the names Olf T. G. Masaryk, Edward Benes and Archbishop Beran axe still. quite popuiar, but not m S1ovaJkia, where the names of Hlinka, Tiso, Stefanik preva,i'l. Sir Robert: How do the anti-Communist Czecho~Slovalks im~,gii,ne lbhe ,1ilberation of Ozecho-Siovrukia. and the future of their Staite in a li!beraited Elllrope? Molnar: The majorilty of the anti-Communist Slovaks i:. for a Central-European federaJtion of peoples, in which every nation wi.N decide its. own af,fa:II'ls and wihere every memlber whlll have equal,i ty o,f r~ghrts wtiith oither pairtners. But :t!he main task i'S to be seen in the common decision o!f all these peoip[e,s - Czeclhs, S1ovaJks, Magyars and alt.hens to destroy the Communist tyranny. - ('Slovruk League PTess BU!reau by pemnission of the BBC, London, and ,t he interviewed). • • • WHO SAID IT? "I fully understand the reasons which led France and Great Britain to demand that we should not fight in September 1938 • . . . In that year, I think the only countries in Europe prepared for the war were GERMANY, THE SOVIET UNION AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA. I had no doubts whatever about Czechoslovak preparedness. Our resources were great and they were fully mobilized. From 1933, when Hitler took the whole power in Germany into his hands, I WAS SU RE that Europe was moving rapidly towards a great and terrible crisis . . . . In 1938 in September we had ONE MILLION AND A HALF splendidly equipped soldiers. They were at the disposal of the struggle for democracy and freedom together with all our powerful industries. The events in 1938 prevented it.' Nazi Germany disbanded and destroyed this splendid army. Only a very small part of it succeeded In reaching the Allied countries." Dr. Benes, Speech, New York, May 26, 1943). • • • "Czecho-Slovakia and Germany were the only two countries in Europe, which, in the September 1938 crisis, were TOTALLY PREPARED FOR WAR. As for us, our resources were mobilized to the highest degree. And these resources were very great! • . • Had not PRAGUE adopted during the September crisis a passive attitude, Hitler would have unleashed the war then • • • . WE, therefore, under irresistible pressure submitted to the decision which had been made. I RESIGNED THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT, made preparations in the country for a struggle against Naziism in the event of war, and went into exile. The whole nation very soon understood." - Dr. Edward Benes, Central European Observer, 1-17-41) .  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 Sir Robert Bruce Lockhardt and the Slovak Aviators Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 13-16 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/2c82a300fcc80b3010544178ccc6c9e4.pdf 57656682930c6a62eefb3d76cdf36399 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 9 BUILDING ANOTHER BRIDGE? Genera,l Lev :PIIX:'ha'la, head of the Czech Nationa'l Committee in London, broke ,wiltfh lli. Edwaxd Benes /When he could no longer ,surfifer in silenice ,his dildtatorial, :imperiom; and pro-lSOVliet 1po1'icy. ]t hruppened in London during the wair. Prchala fost .his lave for Benes in 1938, when he oapitullarted to the M1.midh Alg;reemen't witlhourt 1the consent of the 0zecho~Slovruk Prurliarrnent, .then resigned ifrom :the Presidency, thus surrendering his coll!Iltry, lodk, stock and ba,rrel, :to HiltJler w.iithout -Olffering tJhe slightest physical resistance, and then cowardly fled rto London. From thrut time on, Prchwla re.gamded Benes and his political clii.que - .the Czech NaJtional Socialists, or Ozedh N aizis, as they axe .referred to - as hypocrites and frauds who h elched forth volumes of democratic slogans and S'peeches, bwt kept idiri'Vliing Czooho-iSlovrukia and tlhe who-le of Erurope inito ,t he dultldhe:s af -Moscow. In the Fcllruacy . 9, 19153, ,i ssue of the "<Ceske Listy" (Ozech News), .t he oflfilcial organ of ,B rehala's ·giroll!p, the General .reilates ,a nother inciderut to ,p rove the ,hy;pocrisy of the (in)lfamous ,bridge-ib-ui[der, Dr. Edward Benes, who brought Communism into Ozecho-Slovakia and Centrail Eu•r ope to threaJten ,tJhe secudty and democraitlic ,l:tfe of the entire Euiropean contilllerut. 'Dhe i'Il!ci:dent goes baok to ,tfue time of the :presidenltial elec'tlionlS in 1935. Uncertam of the swpport of ,the Caitholics in the various par.ties, especially ,t he support of tlhe Slovalks, ibecause Dr. Edwar.d Benes dlid cOiilltrilbute many articles to "f.ree-thinkriillg" iperiodica!lis and iwas a Freemason even before World War I, lri's followers (,rut his 1b ehest) suddenly ,d iscovered that Benes was a "loyall SOIIl of the Roman Catholic Ohurdh since the dlay he was lbarn." Monsignor John Sraimek',s caiptains in his 0zech People's Party tooik up the cry, even though Sramek .knew 1betlter, and used every me·a ns to convince the Vatican that Benes •reruJily was a "loyal son" of the Catholic Church. Prc,hal-a -clai.!ffis thaJt eventll!ally the Sramek Czechs put their: story across and Rome urgently requested the CaJt!ho- �10 SLOVAKIA l:i!c members of the Ozecho-'SlovaJk National Assemlbly to vote and wonk for !the election of Dr. Edward iBenes. We know thalt Benes ,was eleclted. lwen the Sfova'ks 'Voted for brim wilthout a dissenlt!ing vote, · !beoamse Dr. Joseph Tiso had cornrinced them ito do so on the stTeng:th of the piromise m'ade iby Benes that :Slovruk!ia wowld ibe granted full au'tonom~ wiitihin a yerur. We :know ,tlhaJt Benes never fulfilled it!hat ipromi'se, or eiven meant to fulifiM ilt. And he ireipaid iDr. J ·O'Seplh Ti:so in 1947 by senldling him to .the igallows. That's the kind of man Benes was. W:hat hruppened after ,t he elections of 1935, aJs told lby Prchala, wfillJ. oorlou\btedily •s hook €/Ven the most ardent admiireirs of Benes, General Lev Prcha.O.a says: "Alflter ithe presidential elections, jjt was by sheer a.ocidenit that tlhe edge of the curtain, which had hid'den the 1rea;lrity, was rai!sed. Alf1teir the elootion of Benes as 'Presidenlt, I wa·s just leaving the Vladis1av Hill in the Brag,ue Castle, when suddenllY I overheard a very familiar voiice sing olllt in open •rrupture: 'Well, we put it across, didn't we? !' The senltenice wais spoken in godd Russian. I was right - it .rea:Hy was A lexandrovsky, the Russian ambassadw, who was joyously swinging his amns. The inlto~ication over the sU1CCeSIS was stronger than the diplom!atic resei,ve for wlhich I had previiously known him. Those Russian words opened my eyes. "When I iresigned .firom the .:£unction of Vke-Commander of ithe Czed'no-Sl'ovak General Staff in 1933 and went to eastern SlovaJkia, I was quft.te a di stan1Ce from eveirything that was 1::a.king jplace in P,r ague I wrus a soldier and not a poilitician; I did not belong to any panty, bl.lit inlterna1 and foreign. deve'loipments. did interest me. AB I traveled by tra:in :frrom Kosi'Ce to Praigue, I met the Slova'k depulties and senaJtors. I learned that Hlinka's party probaJbly woulltl ivote for Benes in the presidentia:1 elections. This su!I1prised rme a:nd, therefore, after my arrival in Brague I soug1ht the .reason for ffiinka''S turning over to the Castle and to Benes. I found ouJt tih at tJhe V:aJt~can had recommended Benes to Hlinlka. 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 11 "However, after accidentally oivezfuearing the words of .Am'baJSador Afex:andirovsky, it was c[ear to me ,t hat · Benes was Sta'1in's candidaite ! I was aware that the V a,tJican knowin,gJy ,coll!ld nOlt recommend a candidate of the Bolshewks. '.Dhe exp1anaitioin was simple: tlhe V:atican wias a vtl.dtim of an unheard af hoax!" It is very mudh ;possi!ble tha;t even now some of the Benes "Ozechosloviaik!s" rure lbrying rto dece'i!ve tJhe Vatican. 'llhe .puiblfuhers of i'bhe "Tribuna" (The Tribune), the official organ of itlhe •~Ozeclloslovalk Foreign Institute in Exile" pub:J.ished in .Paris, do nolt say so directly, but their articles tend in thaJt di-rect_ion. The socialists writing for the '":Dribuna" keep on bringmg Ulp T. G. Masaryk and hils statement that tihe proiblem of the sigmficance of Czech hristory is a religfoUJS qu~on. Of course, they oonvenientliy forget to mention that T. G. MasaJr!Ylk ,had ,1!he Ozeoh Reifonmaation ,in mind ·a nd tJhat ait ,t he time he :had sai'd those words, he was the Jeader of tJhe mti-Caitholic firght in Czedho-!SlovaJlda. Ag:ain it is evident ltJhaJt the Benes sociaAi'sts thriive on frauds, deceiits and initmig!ll'e. Referring to the itrend lin the "Tri!bU111a," General P'lrohala says: "By means of this ,t rick, however, the 'Dribuna is endeavoring to realize a muich greater firaJUd. It is try. ing to evdke in the high Roman Caitlholic Hierarclhy a faJVOraJble impression for itself and iits cmn political ends. 'Jlhis time, however, uninformed .readers and tlh.e 'Czechoslovak' exi:les in genera;! are ·swppo.sed to bre inspked to ~buikl a 1brid!ge' to Rome. It wi!H not sw-prise me ,i f this is being done by atlteimpting a f1raudlulent explanaJtion Olf Masary1k's thesis, becM1se every one knows that the peopl'e in t:Jh.e 'Councii of Free ~echo-SIJ.01Vakiiia.' are not interested m princi~es, hut only in tactics, aJltoget'her an:ording to the reci,pe of old MachiavelJi anrl his modern a<lmilrer'S." We rure inclined to lbelieve General .Brohala. Enough damage and suffering has been inflidted by the lfoHowers of Benes and his ruinous poHcy of "CzechOislovaklism" and pro. SO'V'ietism on the Czech and Slovak nations, nay, on the �12 SLOVAKIA whcle of tJhe EU1ropean conrtinent. '.Dhe former Ozecll National !Socialists - all memlbers of the Communist-dominated "Naltional F1ront" ,go;vernmenlt of Benes and Gottwald s'hou[(i not 1b e tir:u1sted, 1b ut releg.aJted ,to the po[iibi.cal rubbish herup. Today theli,r ,l eaders (Zenkll, Rilpka) a.re disc:redi1ted and disowned ,b y the Ozecihs at home and aJbroad and represenlt no one hut themselves and their mercenrury clique. The saime may be said for lthe "Wlindow-dressin,g " Slovak renegades in tile ,servJce am:l 1pay of t;he Benes CzecihlS. (Leittricli, Sla:vilk, OsUJSky, Kocivara), ,w ho spealk for and represent oniy themseilves and not tlhe Slovaik nation. Under the leadership of Dr EdwaTd Benes they lb uilt the "lb;rM1ge" between the Ewst and the West, over wlhiich oame ,S talin's h-011des into Central Europe. They must not be given the chance to build S'lllc:h "bridges" to Rome, or ,b etween the USA and Moscow. • • • "The story of the gradual adoption by ·the Allies of the (Czechoslovak) theses of Mas aryk and his group cannot and need not be retold h ere. By patient and lndefatiga.ble propaganda they Implanted their major postulates - the existence of a 'CzechoSlovak nation ' and the desire of the Slovak branch of it to form a part of a Czechoslovak State - so firmly in the minds of the Allies that they were never seriously questioned at the Peace Conference. The 'Czecho-Slovak' Govern ment h ad b een recognized by all the Principal Allied a nd Ass o ciated Powers even BEFORE the peace negotiations began - an act which implied that the Slovak question was in principle already settled - while when the moment arrived for settling all questions of de tail, including the drafting of a frontier, it found the Czecho-Slovak Government firmly established as a :negotiating party; Indeed, in something like a privileged position." ~A . Mac a rtney: HUNGA'RY AND HER SUCCESSORS, London, 1937, page 98) . WHO SAID IT? - • WHO SAi D IT? - • • " If a single dynasty h ad united both peoples (Czechs and Slovaks) in a permanent, or at least an enduring union, a Czechoslovak nationality would assuredly have been formed and with ft ···a Czechoslovak lang uage any minor dialectal differences which existed would have been smoothed out. This did not happen; and w hil e t he Slavs of Bohemia developed the Czech nationality and language, to which the intermediate dialects of Moravia graiitated, the Slovaks, under l,lungarian rule, not only developed along different lines from the ·czechs, but were not even able to form a single literary language with them." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS.::..:_ London, 1937). � SLOVAKIA 9 BUILDING ANOTHER BRIDGE? Genera,l Lev :PIIX:'ha'la, head of the Czech Nationa'l Committee in London, broke ,wiltfh lli. Edwaxd Benes /When he could no longer ,surfifer in silenice ,his dildtatorial, :imperiom; and pro-lSOVliet 1po1'icy. ]t hruppened in London during the wair. Prchala fost .his lave for Benes in 1938, when he oapitullarted to the M1.midh Alg;reemen't witlhourt 1the consent of the 0zecho~Slovruk Prurliarrnent, .then resigned ifrom :the Presidency, thus surrendering his coll!Iltry, lodk, stock and ba,rrel, :to HiltJler w.iithout -Olffering tJhe slightest physical resistance, and then cowardly fled rto London. From thrut time on, Prchwla re.gamded Benes and his political clii.que - .the Czech NaJtional Socialists, or Ozedh N aizis, as they axe .referred to - as hypocrites and frauds who h elched forth volumes of democratic slogans and S'peeches, bwt kept idiri'Vliing Czooho-iSlovrukia and tlhe who-le of Erurope inito ,t he dultldhe:s af -Moscow. In the Fcllruacy . 9, 19153, ,i ssue of the "<Ceske Listy" (Ozech News), .t he oflfilcial organ of ,B rehala's ·giroll!p, the General .reilates ,a nother inciderut to ,p rove the ,hy;pocrisy of the (in)lfamous ,bridge-ib-ui[der, Dr. Edward Benes, who brought Communism into Ozecho-Slovakia and Centrail Eu•r ope to threaJten ,tJhe secudty and democraitlic ,l:tfe of the entire Euiropean contilllerut. 'Dhe i'Il!ci:dent goes baok to ,tfue time of the :presidenltial elec'tlionlS in 1935. Uncertam of the swpport of ,the Caitholics in the various par.ties, especially ,t he support of tlhe Slovalks, ibecause Dr. Edwar.d Benes dlid cOiilltrilbute many articles to "f.ree-thinkriillg" iperiodica!lis and iwas a Freemason even before World War I, lri's followers (,rut his 1b ehest) suddenly ,d iscovered that Benes was a "loyall SOIIl of the Roman Catholic Ohurdh since the dlay he was lbarn." Monsignor John Sraimek',s caiptains in his 0zech People's Party tooik up the cry, even though Sramek .knew 1betlter, and used every me·a ns to convince the Vatican that Benes •reruJily was a "loyal son" of the Catholic Church. Prc,hal-a -clai.!ffis thaJt eventll!ally the Sramek Czechs put their: story across and Rome urgently requested the CaJt!ho- �10 SLOVAKIA l:i!c members of the Ozecho-'SlovaJk National Assemlbly to vote and wonk for !the election of Dr. Edward iBenes. We know thalt Benes ,was eleclted. lwen the Sfova'ks 'Voted for brim wilthout a dissenlt!ing vote, · !beoamse Dr. Joseph Tiso had cornrinced them ito do so on the stTeng:th of the piromise m'ade iby Benes that :Slovruk!ia wowld ibe granted full au'tonom~ wiitihin a yerur. We :know ,tlhaJt Benes never fulfilled it!hat ipromi'se, or eiven meant to fulifiM ilt. And he ireipaid iDr. J ·O'Seplh Ti:so in 1947 by senldling him to .the igallows. That's the kind of man Benes was. W:hat hruppened after ,t he elections of 1935, aJs told lby Prchala, wfillJ. oorlou\btedily •s hook €/Ven the most ardent admiireirs of Benes, General Lev Prcha.O.a says: "Alflter ithe presidential elections, jjt was by sheer a.ocidenit that tlhe edge of the curtain, which had hid'den the 1rea;lrity, was rai!sed. Alf1teir the elootion of Benes as 'Presidenlt, I wa·s just leaving the Vladis1av Hill in the Brag,ue Castle, when suddenllY I overheard a very familiar voiice sing olllt in open •rrupture: 'Well, we put it across, didn't we? !' The senltenice wais spoken in godd Russian. I was right - it .rea:Hy was A lexandrovsky, the Russian ambassadw, who was joyously swinging his amns. The inlto~ication over the sU1CCeSIS was stronger than the diplom!atic resei,ve for wlhich I had previiously known him. Those Russian words opened my eyes. "When I iresigned .firom the .:£unction of Vke-Commander of ithe Czed'no-Sl'ovak General Staff in 1933 and went to eastern SlovaJkia, I was quft.te a di stan1Ce from eveirything that was 1::a.king jplace in P,r ague I wrus a soldier and not a poilitician; I did not belong to any panty, bl.lit inlterna1 and foreign. deve'loipments. did interest me. AB I traveled by tra:in :frrom Kosi'Ce to Praigue, I met the Slova'k depulties and senaJtors. I learned that Hlinka's party probaJbly woulltl ivote for Benes in the presidentia:1 elections. This su!I1prised rme a:nd, therefore, after my arrival in Brague I soug1ht the .reason for ffiinka''S turning over to the Castle and to Benes. I found ouJt tih at tJhe V:aJt~can had recommended Benes to Hlinlka. 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 11 "However, after accidentally oivezfuearing the words of .Am'baJSador Afex:andirovsky, it was c[ear to me ,t hat · Benes was Sta'1in's candidaite ! I was aware that the V a,tJican knowin,gJy ,coll!ld nOlt recommend a candidate of the Bolshewks. '.Dhe exp1anaitioin was simple: tlhe V:atican wias a vtl.dtim of an unheard af hoax!" It is very mudh ;possi!ble tha;t even now some of the Benes "Ozechosloviaik!s" rure lbrying rto dece'i!ve tJhe Vatican. 'llhe .puiblfuhers of i'bhe "Tribuna" (The Tribune), the official organ of itlhe •~Ozeclloslovalk Foreign Institute in Exile" pub:J.ished in .Paris, do nolt say so directly, but their articles tend in thaJt di-rect_ion. The socialists writing for the '":Dribuna" keep on bringmg Ulp T. G. Masaryk and hils statement that tihe proiblem of the sigmficance of Czech hristory is a religfoUJS qu~on. Of course, they oonvenientliy forget to mention that T. G. MasaJr!Ylk ,had ,1!he Ozeoh Reifonmaation ,in mind ·a nd tJhat ait ,t he time he :had sai'd those words, he was the Jeader of tJhe mti-Caitholic firght in Czedho-!SlovaJlda. Ag:ain it is evident ltJhaJt the Benes sociaAi'sts thriive on frauds, deceiits and initmig!ll'e. Referring to the itrend lin the "Tri!bU111a," General P'lrohala says: "By means of this ,t rick, however, the 'Dribuna is endeavoring to realize a muich greater firaJUd. It is try. ing to evdke in the high Roman Caitlholic Hierarclhy a faJVOraJble impression for itself and iits cmn political ends. 'Jlhis time, however, uninformed .readers and tlh.e 'Czechoslovak' exi:les in genera;! are ·swppo.sed to bre inspked to ~buikl a 1brid!ge' to Rome. It wi!H not sw-prise me ,i f this is being done by atlteimpting a f1raudlulent explanaJtion Olf Masary1k's thesis, becM1se every one knows that the peopl'e in t:Jh.e 'Councii of Free ~echo-SIJ.01Vakiiia.' are not interested m princi~es, hut only in tactics, aJltoget'her an:ording to the reci,pe of old MachiavelJi anrl his modern a<lmilrer'S." We rure inclined to lbelieve General .Brohala. Enough damage and suffering has been inflidted by the lfoHowers of Benes and his ruinous poHcy of "CzechOislovaklism" and pro. SO'V'ietism on the Czech and Slovak nations, nay, on the �12 SLOVAKIA whcle of tJhe EU1ropean conrtinent. '.Dhe former Ozecll National !Socialists - all memlbers of the Communist-dominated "Naltional F1ront" ,go;vernmenlt of Benes and Gottwald s'hou[(i not 1b e tir:u1sted, 1b ut releg.aJted ,to the po[iibi.cal rubbish herup. Today theli,r ,l eaders (Zenkll, Rilpka) a.re disc:redi1ted and disowned ,b y the Ozecihs at home and aJbroad and represenlt no one hut themselves and their mercenrury clique. The saime may be said for lthe "Wlindow-dressin,g " Slovak renegades in tile ,servJce am:l 1pay of t;he Benes CzecihlS. (Leittricli, Sla:vilk, OsUJSky, Kocivara), ,w ho spealk for and represent oniy themseilves and not tlhe Slovaik nation. Under the leadership of Dr EdwaTd Benes they lb uilt the "lb;rM1ge" between the Ewst and the West, over wlhiich oame ,S talin's h-011des into Central Europe. They must not be given the chance to build S'lllc:h "bridges" to Rome, or ,b etween the USA and Moscow. • • • "The story of the gradual adoption by ·the Allies of the (Czechoslovak) theses of Mas aryk and his group cannot and need not be retold h ere. By patient and lndefatiga.ble propaganda they Implanted their major postulates - the existence of a 'CzechoSlovak nation ' and the desire of the Slovak branch of it to form a part of a Czechoslovak State - so firmly in the minds of the Allies that they were never seriously questioned at the Peace Conference. The 'Czecho-Slovak' Govern ment h ad b een recognized by all the Principal Allied a nd Ass o ciated Powers even BEFORE the peace negotiations began - an act which implied that the Slovak question was in principle already settled - while when the moment arrived for settling all questions of de tail, including the drafting of a frontier, it found the Czecho-Slovak Government firmly established as a :negotiating party; Indeed, in something like a privileged position." ~A . Mac a rtney: HUNGA'RY AND HER SUCCESSORS, London, 1937, page 98) . WHO SAID IT? - • WHO SAi D IT? - • • " If a single dynasty h ad united both peoples (Czechs and Slovaks) in a permanent, or at least an enduring union, a Czechoslovak nationality would assuredly have been formed and with ft ···a Czechoslovak lang uage any minor dialectal differences which existed would have been smoothed out. This did not happen; and w hil e t he Slavs of Bohemia developed the Czech nationality and language, to which the intermediate dialects of Moravia graiitated, the Slovaks, under l,lungarian rule, not only developed along different lines from the ·czechs, but were not even able to form a single literary language with them." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS.::..:_ London, 1937). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 9 BUILDING ANOTHER BRIDGE? Genera,l Lev :PIIX:'ha'la, head of the Czech Nationa'l Committee in London, broke ,wiltfh lli. Edwaxd Benes /When he could no longer ,surfifer in silenice ,his dildtatorial, :imperiom; and pro-lSOVliet 1po1'icy. ]t hruppened in London during the wair. Prchala fost .his lave for Benes in 1938, when he oapitullarted to the M1.midh Alg;reemen't witlhourt 1the consent of the 0zecho~Slovruk Prurliarrnent, .then resigned ifrom :the Presidency, thus surrendering his coll!Iltry, lodk, stock and ba,rrel, :to HiltJler w.iithout -Olffering tJhe slightest physical resistance, and then cowardly fled rto London. From thrut time on, Prchwla re.gamded Benes and his political clii.que - .the Czech NaJtional Socialists, or Ozedh N aizis, as they axe .referred to - as hypocrites and frauds who h elched forth volumes of democratic slogans and S'peeches, bwt kept idiri'Vliing Czooho-iSlovrukia and tlhe who-le of Erurope inito ,t he dultldhe:s af -Moscow. In the Fcllruacy . 9, 19153, ,i ssue of the "<Ceske Listy" (Ozech News), .t he oflfilcial organ of ,B rehala's ·giroll!p, the General .reilates ,a nother inciderut to ,p rove the ,hy;pocrisy of the (in)lfamous ,bridge-ib-ui[der, Dr. Edward Benes, who brought Communism into Ozecho-Slovakia and Centrail Eu•r ope to threaJten ,tJhe secudty and democraitlic ,l:tfe of the entire Euiropean contilllerut. 'Dhe i'Il!ci:dent goes baok to ,tfue time of the :presidenltial elec'tlionlS in 1935. Uncertam of the swpport of ,the Caitholics in the various par.ties, especially ,t he support of tlhe Slovalks, ibecause Dr. Edwar.d Benes dlid cOiilltrilbute many articles to "f.ree-thinkriillg" iperiodica!lis and iwas a Freemason even before World War I, lri's followers (,rut his 1b ehest) suddenly ,d iscovered that Benes was a "loyall SOIIl of the Roman Catholic Ohurdh since the dlay he was lbarn." Monsignor John Sraimek',s caiptains in his 0zech People's Party tooik up the cry, even though Sramek .knew 1betlter, and used every me·a ns to convince the Vatican that Benes •reruJily was a "loyal son" of the Catholic Church. Prc,hal-a -clai.!ffis thaJt eventll!ally the Sramek Czechs put their: story across and Rome urgently requested the CaJt!ho- 10 SLOVAKIA l:i!c members of the Ozecho-'SlovaJk National Assemlbly to vote and wonk for !the election of Dr. Edward iBenes. We know thalt Benes ,was eleclted. lwen the Sfova'ks 'Voted for brim wilthout a dissenlt!ing vote, · !beoamse Dr. Joseph Tiso had cornrinced them ito do so on the stTeng:th of the piromise m'ade iby Benes that :Slovruk!ia wowld ibe granted full au'tonom~ wiitihin a yerur. We :know ,tlhaJt Benes never fulfilled it!hat ipromi'se, or eiven meant to fulifiM ilt. And he ireipaid iDr. J ·O'Seplh Ti:so in 1947 by senldling him to .the igallows. That's the kind of man Benes was. W:hat hruppened after ,t he elections of 1935, aJs told lby Prchala, wfillJ. oorlou\btedily •s hook €/Ven the most ardent admiireirs of Benes, General Lev Prcha.O.a says: "Alflter ithe presidential elections, jjt was by sheer a.ocidenit that tlhe edge of the curtain, which had hid'den the 1rea;lrity, was rai!sed. Alf1teir the elootion of Benes as 'Presidenlt, I wa·s just leaving the Vladis1av Hill in the Brag,ue Castle, when suddenllY I overheard a very familiar voiice sing olllt in open •rrupture: 'Well, we put it across, didn't we? !' The senltenice wais spoken in godd Russian. I was right - it .rea:Hy was A lexandrovsky, the Russian ambassadw, who was joyously swinging his amns. The inlto~ication over the sU1CCeSIS was stronger than the diplom!atic resei,ve for wlhich I had previiously known him. Those Russian words opened my eyes. "When I iresigned .firom the .:£unction of Vke-Commander of ithe Czed'no-Sl'ovak General Staff in 1933 and went to eastern SlovaJkia, I was quft.te a di stan1Ce from eveirything that was 1::a.king jplace in P,r ague I wrus a soldier and not a poilitician; I did not belong to any panty, bl.lit inlterna1 and foreign. deve'loipments. did interest me. AB I traveled by tra:in :frrom Kosi'Ce to Praigue, I met the Slova'k depulties and senaJtors. I learned that Hlinka's party probaJbly woulltl ivote for Benes in the presidentia:1 elections. This su!I1prised rme a:nd, therefore, after my arrival in Brague I soug1ht the .reason for ffiinka''S turning over to the Castle and to Benes. I found ouJt tih at tJhe V:aJt~can had recommended Benes to Hlinlka. 1 1 SLOVAKIA 11 "However, after accidentally oivezfuearing the words of .Am'baJSador Afex:andirovsky, it was c[ear to me ,t hat · Benes was Sta'1in's candidaite ! I was aware that the V a,tJican knowin,gJy ,coll!ld nOlt recommend a candidate of the Bolshewks. '.Dhe exp1anaitioin was simple: tlhe V:atican wias a vtl.dtim of an unheard af hoax!" It is very mudh ;possi!ble tha;t even now some of the Benes "Ozechosloviaik!s" rure lbrying rto dece'i!ve tJhe Vatican. 'llhe .puiblfuhers of i'bhe "Tribuna" (The Tribune), the official organ of itlhe •~Ozeclloslovalk Foreign Institute in Exile" pub:J.ished in .Paris, do nolt say so directly, but their articles tend in thaJt di-rect_ion. The socialists writing for the '":Dribuna" keep on bringmg Ulp T. G. Masaryk and hils statement that tihe proiblem of the sigmficance of Czech hristory is a religfoUJS qu~on. Of course, they oonvenientliy forget to mention that T. G. MasaJr!Ylk ,had ,1!he Ozeoh Reifonmaation ,in mind ·a nd tJhat ait ,t he time he :had sai'd those words, he was the Jeader of tJhe mti-Caitholic firght in Czedho-!SlovaJlda. Ag:ain it is evident ltJhaJt the Benes sociaAi'sts thriive on frauds, deceiits and initmig!ll'e. Referring to the itrend lin the "Tri!bU111a," General P'lrohala says: "By means of this ,t rick, however, the 'Dribuna is endeavoring to realize a muich greater firaJUd. It is try. ing to evdke in the high Roman Caitlholic Hierarclhy a faJVOraJble impression for itself and iits cmn political ends. 'Jlhis time, however, uninformed .readers and tlh.e 'Czechoslovak' exi:les in genera;! are ·swppo.sed to bre inspked to ~buikl a 1brid!ge' to Rome. It wi!H not sw-prise me ,i f this is being done by atlteimpting a f1raudlulent explanaJtion Olf Masary1k's thesis, becM1se every one knows that the peopl'e in t:Jh.e 'Councii of Free ~echo-SIJ.01Vakiiia.' are not interested m princi~es, hut only in tactics, aJltoget'her an:ording to the reci,pe of old MachiavelJi anrl his modern a<lmilrer'S." We rure inclined to lbelieve General .Brohala. Enough damage and suffering has been inflidted by the lfoHowers of Benes and his ruinous poHcy of "CzechOislovaklism" and pro. SO'V'ietism on the Czech and Slovak nations, nay, on the 12 SLOVAKIA whcle of tJhe EU1ropean conrtinent. '.Dhe former Ozecll National !Socialists - all memlbers of the Communist-dominated "Naltional F1ront" ,go;vernmenlt of Benes and Gottwald s'hou[(i not 1b e tir:u1sted, 1b ut releg.aJted ,to the po[iibi.cal rubbish herup. Today theli,r ,l eaders (Zenkll, Rilpka) a.re disc:redi1ted and disowned ,b y the Ozecihs at home and aJbroad and represenlt no one hut themselves and their mercenrury clique. The saime may be said for lthe "Wlindow-dressin,g " Slovak renegades in tile ,servJce am:l 1pay of t;he Benes CzecihlS. (Leittricli, Sla:vilk, OsUJSky, Kocivara), ,w ho spealk for and represent oniy themseilves and not tlhe Slovaik nation. Under the leadership of Dr EdwaTd Benes they lb uilt the "lb;rM1ge" between the Ewst and the West, over wlhiich oame ,S talin's h-011des into Central Europe. They must not be given the chance to build S'lllc:h "bridges" to Rome, or ,b etween the USA and Moscow. • • • "The story of the gradual adoption by ·the Allies of the (Czechoslovak) theses of Mas aryk and his group cannot and need not be retold h ere. By patient and lndefatiga.ble propaganda they Implanted their major postulates - the existence of a 'CzechoSlovak nation ' and the desire of the Slovak branch of it to form a part of a Czechoslovak State - so firmly in the minds of the Allies that they were never seriously questioned at the Peace Conference. The 'Czecho-Slovak' Govern ment h ad b een recognized by all the Principal Allied a nd Ass o ciated Powers even BEFORE the peace negotiations began - an act which implied that the Slovak question was in principle already settled - while when the moment arrived for settling all questions of de tail, including the drafting of a frontier, it found the Czecho-Slovak Government firmly established as a :negotiating party; Indeed, in something like a privileged position." ~A . Mac a rtney: HUNGA'RY AND HER SUCCESSORS, London, 1937, page 98) . WHO SAID IT? - • WHO SAi D IT? - • • " If a single dynasty h ad united both peoples (Czechs and Slovaks) in a permanent, or at least an enduring union, a Czechoslovak nationality would assuredly have been formed and with ft ···a Czechoslovak lang uage any minor dialectal differences which existed would have been smoothed out. This did not happen; and w hil e t he Slavs of Bohemia developed the Czech nationality and language, to which the intermediate dialects of Moravia graiitated, the Slovaks, under l,lungarian rule, not only developed along different lines from the ·czechs, but were not even able to form a single literary language with them." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS.::..:_ London, 1937).  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 Building Another Bridge? Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 9-12 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/044357522c52853da1a344e606669d95.pdf 69c2b082e074d0f90f76f0df0cc936cd PDF Text Text JULY, 1953 SLOV.AKI.A 1 THE TRUE FACE OF SLOVAK.IA Joseph M. Kirschbaum, M.A., LL.D. There is a peculiar phenomenon in the political and historical works of American or English scholars about Slovakia. With the exception of the British author C. A. Macartney, followed to a certain extent by A. J. D. Taylor and professor Seton-Watson, the Anglo-Saxon history writers an:d -p ublicists show not only a considerable lack of knowledge of historical facts concerning Slovakia, but they serve, probably unconsciously, the aims of imperialistic tendencies of some Central-European ,peoples. For many of them "Slovak is the name given to the easternmost division of the Czech speaking people" (1) and they seem to know nothing about the fact that the Slovaks were among the first Slovanic peoples converted to Christianity and that as early as the ninth century they founded the first Slovanic state, known in history under the name of the Great Moravian Empire (2); they also persistently present Slovakia as a backward agrarian country marked by illiteracy and poverty. This misrepresentation happens especially when comparison is made between Slovaks and, in the Anglo-Saxon world, the very favored Czechs who are, from the linguistic point of view, quite close to the Slovaks, from the cultural and historical standpoint, however, quite different. Or as Wm. Diamond writes: "Slovakia and the Czech lands are two areas speaking quite similar languages but having different histories and political traditions. They have a deep-rooted and intense distrust, sometimes amounting to antipathy, for each other. A thousand years of separat~on, during which ,p olitical and economic development went off on different tracks, were neither forgotten nor overcome after the establishment of the (Czecho-'Slovak) Republic." The line followed by Anglo-Saxon writers when speaking about Slovakia is nearly the same as that expressed in the books of J. S. Roucek (Eastern-Central Europe, crucible of world wars, and Slavonic Encyclopedia) and R. J. Kerner (Czechoslovakia), who as late as 1946-1949 presented Slovakia as follows: �SLOVAKIA 1. "In the Slovak province of Czechoslovakia, for instance, as many as 57 per cent could not read and write. The (Czechoslovak) Republic esta:blished middleschool and university education in Slovakia, where it was practically non-existent ,b efore 1918." - J. S. Roucek (3). 2. "Wherea'S 1:Jhe standard of ,] iteracy among the Czechs was high, the •p ercentage of Slovaks who could read and write was very low in 1919. For that reason, many officials, teachers and intellectuals from the Czech regions had to be sent to Slovakia" - Kerner <4). 1 3. The Slovaks are according to Mr. Roucek "simple and pastoral" and in the opinion of Mr. Kerner "the Slovaks remained agriculturists and under a Magyar (that is, Eastern) type of culture." This portrayal of Slovakia i,s so general in the American and English ,p ress that to many people, who are not acquainted with the Slovak past and the actual circm;nstances, it may appear not only probruble ,b ut true. Slovakia has been presented in this light for about 35 years. The world is supposed to 'believe that culture, literacy and civilization were brought into Slovakia only by the Czechs in 1918-19, according to these "scientific revelations", and that Slovakia remained even during the last 30 years predominantly agrarian, pastoral and illiterate. What is the truth? Now, the truth is quite different. After having lost their political independence in the tenth and definitely in the 13th century in favor of the· Hungarians, the Slovaks did not appear in European history as a political factor for many centuries. Germans, Hungarians and Czechs, who in a common effort succeeded to disintegrate the first Slovak State, could not, however, destroy the civilization which had already existed in that country. As a result Slovakia became even under the Hungarian rule a first-rate cultural centre in Ce11tral Europe with a university at Bratislava as early as the 1'5th century and a Catholic university in the 17th century at Trnava (5). �SLOVAKIA 3 The culture spread from these universities developed, naturally, not in the 'Slovak, but in the Latin language, a general phenomenon at that time in Central Europe. Nevertheless, it was a culture of the •p opulation of Slovakia which at all times has been predominantly of Slovak origin, and the archives prove that the majority of professors and students was Slovak also. The same rule can be applied to the epoch when, under the influence of nationalism, the Hungarians began to demand the use of the Magyar language instead of the Latin and when expressions of growing national consciousness of the non~Magyar nationalities were answered by an increased attempt at Magyarization. It is true that .Slovak schools were closed by the Hungarian regime in the last decades of the 19th century, and nobody can deny the tendency of Budapest to assimilate the Slovak population. On the other hand, it is false and tendencious to say that Slova:kia before 1918 was a .b ackward and illiterate country and that culture was brought into Slovakia by Czech teachers and intellectuals. If we can measure the cultural level of any country by the number of schools, as it is generally done, then the statistics regarding the number of schools in Slovakia at the end of the Hungarian rule (1918) and at the end of the Czech rule (1939) obviously deny the Czech .propaganda about the illiteracy and the Czech cultural mission in Slovakia. The data pU!blished in this regard by a former member of the Prague government, Prof. A. Stefanek (6) give us the following picture: A) Number of public schools in Slovakia 1917-18 1937-38 Schools administered by church ____ 2723 2487 Schools administered by state _____ 797 1104 Total ________________ 3520 3591 B) Number of high schools in Slovakia 1918-19 1936-37 High schools ____________________ _ 44 46 Teachers' schools ________________ _ 15 16 Tot~ _________________ _ 61 63 �4 SLOVAKIA The number of students at the above schools in 1918 was 15,354; and in 1939 - 23,937; but only 20,018 of them were of Slovak origin. As far as the percentage of Slovaks who could not read and write is concerned, the above quoted statement of Prof. Roucek is obviously at odds with the truth. Unfortunately, there are in exile no statistics available aJbout the situation in this regard in Slovakia at the end of the Hungarian rule. But if we take into consideration the fact that according to the official Czech statistics there were in 1930 only 6.8 % inhabitants of Slovak origin who could not read and write and the number of schools was as shown above, it may be safely assumed that in 1919, when the number of schools was nearly the same, the percentage of analphabets could hardly be much different. Logic does not admit any doubt in this regard. At present about 3 % of the inhabitants of Slovakia cannot read and write, which means that Slovakia comes not only before many Central-European countries, but is much ahead of countries like Italy, Spain, etc. II As false at the presentation of Slovakia in the light of illiteracy is also any talk about Slovakia's economic backwardness. After the first World War when the Slovaks and Czechs came together, it was decided ,b y the Czech government that Slovakia must remain an agricultural complement of the Czech lands. Consequently, the rise in the industrial population of Slovakia which 1b egan in the 19th century, when the industrial revolution took hold in Hungary, not only began to slow down, but, according to Macartney, one third of Slovakia's industry was dismantled and destroyed by the Czech banks and industrialists who did not wish to have any competition in Slovakia (7). 1 Despite these anti-Slovak economic measures of the Prague government and Czech industrialists, the majority of Slovakia's population was neither ",pastoral" nor agrarian. According to Czech official statistics the percentage of Slovakia's population which gave their occupation as agriculture was as follows (8) : �SLOVAKIA Year 1900 1921 1930 5 % 63.0 60.6 56.8 Measured by Central-European standards, Slovakia in 1930 was one of the well industrialized countries, since in Poland, ,Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Yugoslavia the percentage of agrarian population at that time was much higher (Poland 69 % , Bulgaria 80 % , Romania 80% , etc.) even according Mr. Roucek's "Central Eastern Europe". Since 1930 the above percentage changed in Slovakia to a considera'ble extent, especially during the years 19391945. Wm. Dia:mond in his book "Czechoslovakia between East and West" - very favorable to the post-war Czechoslovakia and to Czechs writes in this regard: "Slovakia's brief experience as an independent state had a salutary effect on its industry, which expanded in an effort to replace products once obtained from the factories of the Czech lands and, under German pressure, to increase the output of armaments. The esta'blishment of new enteq,rises and the increase in the number of industrial workers raised the importance of Slovak industry in the country as a whole. The industrial ca:pacity of Slovakia increased particularly in metal- and wood-working, mining, textiles, footwear, and food processing" (9). The Czech Minister on Industry described the situation as follows: •~on the whole, it may ,b e said of Slovak industry that its development in the last few years, with the exception of armament production, was, comparatively speaking, quick and sound. It is true that not many new factories have been built, but many of the existing ones have been enlarged and modernized. The most important structural change 'has :b een an increased emphasis on metallurgy, textiles and, to a certain extent, on mining" (10). �6 SLOVAKIA The Communist regime in Slovakia did not stop this development. On the contrary, if we can trust Communist statistics, many new industries have been built in Slovakia and the percentage of the population working in agriculture should be only a,bout 35 % at the .present time. The regime is inhuman, tyrannic and cruel, but it changes the social structure of Slovakia in favor of the industrial "proletariat" not only in order to furnish Russia industrial products, ibut also because of political reasons: a peasant is considered an enemy of Communism. III · While, consciously or unconsciously, American authors present, under the cover of "scientific" works, the Slovak people as a part of the Czech nation and Slovakia as a backward country in order to support the Czech claim to rule over Slovakia, life marks quite different tracks of evolution in the relations between Czechs and Slovaks. "Slovak tradition and economy stand as a barrier between Czechs and Slovaks," writes Wm. Diamond and continues: "So important was the Slovak problem in the minds of both Czech and Slovak leaders, that it was a major subject of study and debate during the war and has continued to be ever since. An effort was made to solve the problem in 194'5 in the Kosice .Programme, in which Czechs and Slovaks are defined as two distinct nations united by common interest in a single state. This is in itself a complete reversal of the ethni~ theory on which the first Repubilc was built: the belief that Czechs and Slovaks constituted a single nation. The Kosice Program further provided that "the Slovaks should :be the masters in their Slovak lands, just as the Czechs in their Czech homeland" and that the government "will regard the Slovak National Council not only as the rightful representative of the individual Slovak nation, but also as the bearer of sovereign right on Slovak territory" (11). The same change as in the political relations between Czechs and Slovaks was ,b rought a;bout in regard to the �S LOVAKIA 7 general level of civilization in Slovakia. Already during the Second World War there was no lack of trained and educateq. officials, professors, lawyers, physicians, etc., but a constderable surplus. When the "Czechoslovak Republic" had been restored against the wishes of the majority of Slovakia's population in 1945 and a bout 5 thousand Slovak intellectuals left the country and other thousands were jailed, deported to Siberia, and confined in concentration camps for alleged collaboration with Nazis, but in fact for their anti-Communism, there was no difficulty to replace them, ·b ecause the trend of civilization and development, which, since the First World War, brought to maturity and self-government about 30 former colonies and mandatory territories, did not stop in Slovakia in order to fulfill the wishes of some Czech politicians who desired to see Slovakia as a backward country and the Slovaks as a part of the Czech nation. Slovakia developed considerably not only economically during its short separation from the Czech lands, but also from the point of view of culture and civilization. This can be seen again in the light of statistics concerning the number of university students during the Czech rule (1918--38) and during the Slovakia's independence (1939-415) ,published by Prof. Stefanek. 1 After 20 years of Czech rule in Slovakia, there were at the University in Bratislava in the schoolyear 1938--39 only 153'5 students of Slovak origin, but this number increased to 4485 in the third year of Slovakia's independence (1942-43), while aibout 500 others studied abroad. Altogether, during the five years of Slovakia's separation from Czechs, 14,965 students studied at the University of Bratislava, which also became an attractive center for foreign students. In the year 1941-42, for instance, there were 518 students from Bulgaria, 120 Czech students, 154 Germans, 106 Russians, 171 Hungarians and many others. As far as the professors were concerned, out of a total of 107 professors, 78 were of Slovak origin, 20 Czechs, 7 Russians, one German, one Italian; the 1'59 assistants and lecturers were all of Slovak origin (12). This is the true face of Slovakia, ,p resented by some 1 �SLOVAKIA 8 American writers and university professors as a backward country of illiteracy and poverty. Do not American students deserve professors and lecturers who respect facts and the truth more objectively and more consistently? (1) J. S. Roucek, Central Eastern Europe, New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1946, p. 353; 2) Dr. Milan Hodza, Federation in Central Europe, London, Jarolds, 1942, pp. 85-94, 104, 131, etc.; 3) Lbidem, p. 354; 4) "Czechoslovakia" edited by R. J. Kerner, University of California Press, Berkeley, Cal. 1949, pp. 184-185; 5) Dr. M. Hodza, op. cit.; 6) Anton Stefanek, Zur Sociographie Der Geistigen Kultur in der Slowakei, Academia Scientiarum et Artiurn Slovaca, Bratislava, 1944, pp. 40'4-405; 7) C. A. Macartney, Hungary and Her Successors, London, 19·3 7; 8) Annuaire statistique de la Republique Tcheco,Slovaque, 1938, p. 15; 9) William Diamond, Czechoslovakia between East and West, London, Stevens and Sons Ltd., 1947, p. 172; 10) Prumyslovy Vestnik, March 10, 1947, p. 180-1; 11) Ibidem, p. 50; 12) A. Stefanek, op. cit., ·p. 413-15. WHO SAID IT? - "Basically our political program, our political llne, completely agrees with the line and the program of the Slovak Communist Party. Up to the rebellion there really was no difference between an adherent of the Slovak Communist Party and an adherent of the Democratic Party. When did this relationship deteriorate? I t.hink it was after our complete liberation. Well, in general, there can be no taJk about any great deterioration. But I think that if we let ourselves get drunk by our present victory in the elections and if, incidentally, even the effectiveness of the Slovak Communist Party should decrease because of the factual failure in the elections, then we would fall and the communists also would fail. I emphasize that we must mutually help each other and th 'l-t all of us mu.st solve common problems together, because onoe and for all time we must realize that there is no fundamental difference between the Slovak Communist Party and the Democratic Party. Differences have appeared a.nd are appearing, but only In methods." (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, former Chairman of the Slovak Democratic Party and President of the Slovak National Council and now Y.ice-Preeident of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia: "My 46" - No. 23, June 8, 1946 - Prague) . WHO SAID IT? - • • • "The religious cleft (between the Slovaks ana the Czechs) is deep. For the Czechs, Master John Hus was and is not only a religious but essentially a national figure; and, if the nation returned to Catholicism under the pressure of the Counter-Reformation, it is a truism that every Czech is a H ussite at heart - a Hussfte in the wider sense of the term, denoting a blend of somewhat selfassertive nationalism with a "Protestant" attitude towards all authority, social, national, or religious, which is felt to be in any way alien. For the Slovaks, Hussitism was the alien doctrine, Catholicism the natural faith." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS - London, 1937). � JULY, 1953 SLOV.AKI.A 1 THE TRUE FACE OF SLOVAK.IA Joseph M. Kirschbaum, M.A., LL.D. There is a peculiar phenomenon in the political and historical works of American or English scholars about Slovakia. With the exception of the British author C. A. Macartney, followed to a certain extent by A. J. D. Taylor and professor Seton-Watson, the Anglo-Saxon history writers an:d -p ublicists show not only a considerable lack of knowledge of historical facts concerning Slovakia, but they serve, probably unconsciously, the aims of imperialistic tendencies of some Central-European ,peoples. For many of them "Slovak is the name given to the easternmost division of the Czech speaking people" (1) and they seem to know nothing about the fact that the Slovaks were among the first Slovanic peoples converted to Christianity and that as early as the ninth century they founded the first Slovanic state, known in history under the name of the Great Moravian Empire (2); they also persistently present Slovakia as a backward agrarian country marked by illiteracy and poverty. This misrepresentation happens especially when comparison is made between Slovaks and, in the Anglo-Saxon world, the very favored Czechs who are, from the linguistic point of view, quite close to the Slovaks, from the cultural and historical standpoint, however, quite different. Or as Wm. Diamond writes: "Slovakia and the Czech lands are two areas speaking quite similar languages but having different histories and political traditions. They have a deep-rooted and intense distrust, sometimes amounting to antipathy, for each other. A thousand years of separat~on, during which ,p olitical and economic development went off on different tracks, were neither forgotten nor overcome after the establishment of the (Czecho-'Slovak) Republic." The line followed by Anglo-Saxon writers when speaking about Slovakia is nearly the same as that expressed in the books of J. S. Roucek (Eastern-Central Europe, crucible of world wars, and Slavonic Encyclopedia) and R. J. Kerner (Czechoslovakia), who as late as 1946-1949 presented Slovakia as follows: �SLOVAKIA 1. "In the Slovak province of Czechoslovakia, for instance, as many as 57 per cent could not read and write. The (Czechoslovak) Republic esta:blished middleschool and university education in Slovakia, where it was practically non-existent ,b efore 1918." - J. S. Roucek (3). 2. "Wherea'S 1:Jhe standard of ,] iteracy among the Czechs was high, the •p ercentage of Slovaks who could read and write was very low in 1919. For that reason, many officials, teachers and intellectuals from the Czech regions had to be sent to Slovakia" - Kerner <4). 1 3. The Slovaks are according to Mr. Roucek "simple and pastoral" and in the opinion of Mr. Kerner "the Slovaks remained agriculturists and under a Magyar (that is, Eastern) type of culture." This portrayal of Slovakia i,s so general in the American and English ,p ress that to many people, who are not acquainted with the Slovak past and the actual circm;nstances, it may appear not only probruble ,b ut true. Slovakia has been presented in this light for about 35 years. The world is supposed to 'believe that culture, literacy and civilization were brought into Slovakia only by the Czechs in 1918-19, according to these "scientific revelations", and that Slovakia remained even during the last 30 years predominantly agrarian, pastoral and illiterate. What is the truth? Now, the truth is quite different. After having lost their political independence in the tenth and definitely in the 13th century in favor of the· Hungarians, the Slovaks did not appear in European history as a political factor for many centuries. Germans, Hungarians and Czechs, who in a common effort succeeded to disintegrate the first Slovak State, could not, however, destroy the civilization which had already existed in that country. As a result Slovakia became even under the Hungarian rule a first-rate cultural centre in Ce11tral Europe with a university at Bratislava as early as the 1'5th century and a Catholic university in the 17th century at Trnava (5). �SLOVAKIA 3 The culture spread from these universities developed, naturally, not in the 'Slovak, but in the Latin language, a general phenomenon at that time in Central Europe. Nevertheless, it was a culture of the •p opulation of Slovakia which at all times has been predominantly of Slovak origin, and the archives prove that the majority of professors and students was Slovak also. The same rule can be applied to the epoch when, under the influence of nationalism, the Hungarians began to demand the use of the Magyar language instead of the Latin and when expressions of growing national consciousness of the non~Magyar nationalities were answered by an increased attempt at Magyarization. It is true that .Slovak schools were closed by the Hungarian regime in the last decades of the 19th century, and nobody can deny the tendency of Budapest to assimilate the Slovak population. On the other hand, it is false and tendencious to say that Slova:kia before 1918 was a .b ackward and illiterate country and that culture was brought into Slovakia by Czech teachers and intellectuals. If we can measure the cultural level of any country by the number of schools, as it is generally done, then the statistics regarding the number of schools in Slovakia at the end of the Hungarian rule (1918) and at the end of the Czech rule (1939) obviously deny the Czech .propaganda about the illiteracy and the Czech cultural mission in Slovakia. The data pU!blished in this regard by a former member of the Prague government, Prof. A. Stefanek (6) give us the following picture: A) Number of public schools in Slovakia 1917-18 1937-38 Schools administered by church ____ 2723 2487 Schools administered by state _____ 797 1104 Total ________________ 3520 3591 B) Number of high schools in Slovakia 1918-19 1936-37 High schools ____________________ _ 44 46 Teachers' schools ________________ _ 15 16 Tot~ _________________ _ 61 63 �4 SLOVAKIA The number of students at the above schools in 1918 was 15,354; and in 1939 - 23,937; but only 20,018 of them were of Slovak origin. As far as the percentage of Slovaks who could not read and write is concerned, the above quoted statement of Prof. Roucek is obviously at odds with the truth. Unfortunately, there are in exile no statistics available aJbout the situation in this regard in Slovakia at the end of the Hungarian rule. But if we take into consideration the fact that according to the official Czech statistics there were in 1930 only 6.8 % inhabitants of Slovak origin who could not read and write and the number of schools was as shown above, it may be safely assumed that in 1919, when the number of schools was nearly the same, the percentage of analphabets could hardly be much different. Logic does not admit any doubt in this regard. At present about 3 % of the inhabitants of Slovakia cannot read and write, which means that Slovakia comes not only before many Central-European countries, but is much ahead of countries like Italy, Spain, etc. II As false at the presentation of Slovakia in the light of illiteracy is also any talk about Slovakia's economic backwardness. After the first World War when the Slovaks and Czechs came together, it was decided ,b y the Czech government that Slovakia must remain an agricultural complement of the Czech lands. Consequently, the rise in the industrial population of Slovakia which 1b egan in the 19th century, when the industrial revolution took hold in Hungary, not only began to slow down, but, according to Macartney, one third of Slovakia's industry was dismantled and destroyed by the Czech banks and industrialists who did not wish to have any competition in Slovakia (7). 1 Despite these anti-Slovak economic measures of the Prague government and Czech industrialists, the majority of Slovakia's population was neither ",pastoral" nor agrarian. According to Czech official statistics the percentage of Slovakia's population which gave their occupation as agriculture was as follows (8) : �SLOVAKIA Year 1900 1921 1930 5 % 63.0 60.6 56.8 Measured by Central-European standards, Slovakia in 1930 was one of the well industrialized countries, since in Poland, ,Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Yugoslavia the percentage of agrarian population at that time was much higher (Poland 69 % , Bulgaria 80 % , Romania 80% , etc.) even according Mr. Roucek's "Central Eastern Europe". Since 1930 the above percentage changed in Slovakia to a considera'ble extent, especially during the years 19391945. Wm. Dia:mond in his book "Czechoslovakia between East and West" - very favorable to the post-war Czechoslovakia and to Czechs writes in this regard: "Slovakia's brief experience as an independent state had a salutary effect on its industry, which expanded in an effort to replace products once obtained from the factories of the Czech lands and, under German pressure, to increase the output of armaments. The esta'blishment of new enteq,rises and the increase in the number of industrial workers raised the importance of Slovak industry in the country as a whole. The industrial ca:pacity of Slovakia increased particularly in metal- and wood-working, mining, textiles, footwear, and food processing" (9). The Czech Minister on Industry described the situation as follows: •~on the whole, it may ,b e said of Slovak industry that its development in the last few years, with the exception of armament production, was, comparatively speaking, quick and sound. It is true that not many new factories have been built, but many of the existing ones have been enlarged and modernized. The most important structural change 'has :b een an increased emphasis on metallurgy, textiles and, to a certain extent, on mining" (10). �6 SLOVAKIA The Communist regime in Slovakia did not stop this development. On the contrary, if we can trust Communist statistics, many new industries have been built in Slovakia and the percentage of the population working in agriculture should be only a,bout 35 % at the .present time. The regime is inhuman, tyrannic and cruel, but it changes the social structure of Slovakia in favor of the industrial "proletariat" not only in order to furnish Russia industrial products, ibut also because of political reasons: a peasant is considered an enemy of Communism. III · While, consciously or unconsciously, American authors present, under the cover of "scientific" works, the Slovak people as a part of the Czech nation and Slovakia as a backward country in order to support the Czech claim to rule over Slovakia, life marks quite different tracks of evolution in the relations between Czechs and Slovaks. "Slovak tradition and economy stand as a barrier between Czechs and Slovaks," writes Wm. Diamond and continues: "So important was the Slovak problem in the minds of both Czech and Slovak leaders, that it was a major subject of study and debate during the war and has continued to be ever since. An effort was made to solve the problem in 194'5 in the Kosice .Programme, in which Czechs and Slovaks are defined as two distinct nations united by common interest in a single state. This is in itself a complete reversal of the ethni~ theory on which the first Repubilc was built: the belief that Czechs and Slovaks constituted a single nation. The Kosice Program further provided that "the Slovaks should :be the masters in their Slovak lands, just as the Czechs in their Czech homeland" and that the government "will regard the Slovak National Council not only as the rightful representative of the individual Slovak nation, but also as the bearer of sovereign right on Slovak territory" (11). The same change as in the political relations between Czechs and Slovaks was ,b rought a;bout in regard to the �S LOVAKIA 7 general level of civilization in Slovakia. Already during the Second World War there was no lack of trained and educateq. officials, professors, lawyers, physicians, etc., but a constderable surplus. When the "Czechoslovak Republic" had been restored against the wishes of the majority of Slovakia's population in 1945 and a bout 5 thousand Slovak intellectuals left the country and other thousands were jailed, deported to Siberia, and confined in concentration camps for alleged collaboration with Nazis, but in fact for their anti-Communism, there was no difficulty to replace them, ·b ecause the trend of civilization and development, which, since the First World War, brought to maturity and self-government about 30 former colonies and mandatory territories, did not stop in Slovakia in order to fulfill the wishes of some Czech politicians who desired to see Slovakia as a backward country and the Slovaks as a part of the Czech nation. Slovakia developed considerably not only economically during its short separation from the Czech lands, but also from the point of view of culture and civilization. This can be seen again in the light of statistics concerning the number of university students during the Czech rule (1918--38) and during the Slovakia's independence (1939-415) ,published by Prof. Stefanek. 1 After 20 years of Czech rule in Slovakia, there were at the University in Bratislava in the schoolyear 1938--39 only 153'5 students of Slovak origin, but this number increased to 4485 in the third year of Slovakia's independence (1942-43), while aibout 500 others studied abroad. Altogether, during the five years of Slovakia's separation from Czechs, 14,965 students studied at the University of Bratislava, which also became an attractive center for foreign students. In the year 1941-42, for instance, there were 518 students from Bulgaria, 120 Czech students, 154 Germans, 106 Russians, 171 Hungarians and many others. As far as the professors were concerned, out of a total of 107 professors, 78 were of Slovak origin, 20 Czechs, 7 Russians, one German, one Italian; the 1'59 assistants and lecturers were all of Slovak origin (12). This is the true face of Slovakia, ,p resented by some 1 �SLOVAKIA 8 American writers and university professors as a backward country of illiteracy and poverty. Do not American students deserve professors and lecturers who respect facts and the truth more objectively and more consistently? (1) J. S. Roucek, Central Eastern Europe, New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1946, p. 353; 2) Dr. Milan Hodza, Federation in Central Europe, London, Jarolds, 1942, pp. 85-94, 104, 131, etc.; 3) Lbidem, p. 354; 4) "Czechoslovakia" edited by R. J. Kerner, University of California Press, Berkeley, Cal. 1949, pp. 184-185; 5) Dr. M. Hodza, op. cit.; 6) Anton Stefanek, Zur Sociographie Der Geistigen Kultur in der Slowakei, Academia Scientiarum et Artiurn Slovaca, Bratislava, 1944, pp. 40'4-405; 7) C. A. Macartney, Hungary and Her Successors, London, 19·3 7; 8) Annuaire statistique de la Republique Tcheco,Slovaque, 1938, p. 15; 9) William Diamond, Czechoslovakia between East and West, London, Stevens and Sons Ltd., 1947, p. 172; 10) Prumyslovy Vestnik, March 10, 1947, p. 180-1; 11) Ibidem, p. 50; 12) A. Stefanek, op. cit., ·p. 413-15. WHO SAID IT? - "Basically our political program, our political llne, completely agrees with the line and the program of the Slovak Communist Party. Up to the rebellion there really was no difference between an adherent of the Slovak Communist Party and an adherent of the Democratic Party. When did this relationship deteriorate? I t.hink it was after our complete liberation. Well, in general, there can be no taJk about any great deterioration. But I think that if we let ourselves get drunk by our present victory in the elections and if, incidentally, even the effectiveness of the Slovak Communist Party should decrease because of the factual failure in the elections, then we would fall and the communists also would fail. I emphasize that we must mutually help each other and th 'l-t all of us mu.st solve common problems together, because onoe and for all time we must realize that there is no fundamental difference between the Slovak Communist Party and the Democratic Party. Differences have appeared a.nd are appearing, but only In methods." (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, former Chairman of the Slovak Democratic Party and President of the Slovak National Council and now Y.ice-Preeident of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia: "My 46" - No. 23, June 8, 1946 - Prague) . WHO SAID IT? - • • • "The religious cleft (between the Slovaks ana the Czechs) is deep. For the Czechs, Master John Hus was and is not only a religious but essentially a national figure; and, if the nation returned to Catholicism under the pressure of the Counter-Reformation, it is a truism that every Czech is a H ussite at heart - a Hussfte in the wider sense of the term, denoting a blend of somewhat selfassertive nationalism with a "Protestant" attitude towards all authority, social, national, or religious, which is felt to be in any way alien. For the Slovaks, Hussitism was the alien doctrine, Catholicism the natural faith." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS - London, 1937). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 JULY, 1953 SLOV.AKI.A 1 THE TRUE FACE OF SLOVAK.IA Joseph M. Kirschbaum, M.A., LL.D. There is a peculiar phenomenon in the political and historical works of American or English scholars about Slovakia. With the exception of the British author C. A. Macartney, followed to a certain extent by A. J. D. Taylor and professor Seton-Watson, the Anglo-Saxon history writers an:d -p ublicists show not only a considerable lack of knowledge of historical facts concerning Slovakia, but they serve, probably unconsciously, the aims of imperialistic tendencies of some Central-European ,peoples. For many of them "Slovak is the name given to the easternmost division of the Czech speaking people" (1) and they seem to know nothing about the fact that the Slovaks were among the first Slovanic peoples converted to Christianity and that as early as the ninth century they founded the first Slovanic state, known in history under the name of the Great Moravian Empire (2); they also persistently present Slovakia as a backward agrarian country marked by illiteracy and poverty. This misrepresentation happens especially when comparison is made between Slovaks and, in the Anglo-Saxon world, the very favored Czechs who are, from the linguistic point of view, quite close to the Slovaks, from the cultural and historical standpoint, however, quite different. Or as Wm. Diamond writes: "Slovakia and the Czech lands are two areas speaking quite similar languages but having different histories and political traditions. They have a deep-rooted and intense distrust, sometimes amounting to antipathy, for each other. A thousand years of separat~on, during which ,p olitical and economic development went off on different tracks, were neither forgotten nor overcome after the establishment of the (Czecho-'Slovak) Republic." The line followed by Anglo-Saxon writers when speaking about Slovakia is nearly the same as that expressed in the books of J. S. Roucek (Eastern-Central Europe, crucible of world wars, and Slavonic Encyclopedia) and R. J. Kerner (Czechoslovakia), who as late as 1946-1949 presented Slovakia as follows: SLOVAKIA 1. "In the Slovak province of Czechoslovakia, for instance, as many as 57 per cent could not read and write. The (Czechoslovak) Republic esta:blished middleschool and university education in Slovakia, where it was practically non-existent ,b efore 1918." - J. S. Roucek (3). 2. "Wherea'S 1:Jhe standard of ,] iteracy among the Czechs was high, the •p ercentage of Slovaks who could read and write was very low in 1919. For that reason, many officials, teachers and intellectuals from the Czech regions had to be sent to Slovakia" - Kerner <4). 1 3. The Slovaks are according to Mr. Roucek "simple and pastoral" and in the opinion of Mr. Kerner "the Slovaks remained agriculturists and under a Magyar (that is, Eastern) type of culture." This portrayal of Slovakia i,s so general in the American and English ,p ress that to many people, who are not acquainted with the Slovak past and the actual circm;nstances, it may appear not only probruble ,b ut true. Slovakia has been presented in this light for about 35 years. The world is supposed to 'believe that culture, literacy and civilization were brought into Slovakia only by the Czechs in 1918-19, according to these "scientific revelations", and that Slovakia remained even during the last 30 years predominantly agrarian, pastoral and illiterate. What is the truth? Now, the truth is quite different. After having lost their political independence in the tenth and definitely in the 13th century in favor of the· Hungarians, the Slovaks did not appear in European history as a political factor for many centuries. Germans, Hungarians and Czechs, who in a common effort succeeded to disintegrate the first Slovak State, could not, however, destroy the civilization which had already existed in that country. As a result Slovakia became even under the Hungarian rule a first-rate cultural centre in Ce11tral Europe with a university at Bratislava as early as the 1'5th century and a Catholic university in the 17th century at Trnava (5). SLOVAKIA 3 The culture spread from these universities developed, naturally, not in the 'Slovak, but in the Latin language, a general phenomenon at that time in Central Europe. Nevertheless, it was a culture of the •p opulation of Slovakia which at all times has been predominantly of Slovak origin, and the archives prove that the majority of professors and students was Slovak also. The same rule can be applied to the epoch when, under the influence of nationalism, the Hungarians began to demand the use of the Magyar language instead of the Latin and when expressions of growing national consciousness of the non~Magyar nationalities were answered by an increased attempt at Magyarization. It is true that .Slovak schools were closed by the Hungarian regime in the last decades of the 19th century, and nobody can deny the tendency of Budapest to assimilate the Slovak population. On the other hand, it is false and tendencious to say that Slova:kia before 1918 was a .b ackward and illiterate country and that culture was brought into Slovakia by Czech teachers and intellectuals. If we can measure the cultural level of any country by the number of schools, as it is generally done, then the statistics regarding the number of schools in Slovakia at the end of the Hungarian rule (1918) and at the end of the Czech rule (1939) obviously deny the Czech .propaganda about the illiteracy and the Czech cultural mission in Slovakia. The data pU!blished in this regard by a former member of the Prague government, Prof. A. Stefanek (6) give us the following picture: A) Number of public schools in Slovakia 1917-18 1937-38 Schools administered by church ____ 2723 2487 Schools administered by state _____ 797 1104 Total ________________ 3520 3591 B) Number of high schools in Slovakia 1918-19 1936-37 High schools ____________________ _ 44 46 Teachers' schools ________________ _ 15 16 Tot~ _________________ _ 61 63 4 SLOVAKIA The number of students at the above schools in 1918 was 15,354; and in 1939 - 23,937; but only 20,018 of them were of Slovak origin. As far as the percentage of Slovaks who could not read and write is concerned, the above quoted statement of Prof. Roucek is obviously at odds with the truth. Unfortunately, there are in exile no statistics available aJbout the situation in this regard in Slovakia at the end of the Hungarian rule. But if we take into consideration the fact that according to the official Czech statistics there were in 1930 only 6.8 % inhabitants of Slovak origin who could not read and write and the number of schools was as shown above, it may be safely assumed that in 1919, when the number of schools was nearly the same, the percentage of analphabets could hardly be much different. Logic does not admit any doubt in this regard. At present about 3 % of the inhabitants of Slovakia cannot read and write, which means that Slovakia comes not only before many Central-European countries, but is much ahead of countries like Italy, Spain, etc. II As false at the presentation of Slovakia in the light of illiteracy is also any talk about Slovakia's economic backwardness. After the first World War when the Slovaks and Czechs came together, it was decided ,b y the Czech government that Slovakia must remain an agricultural complement of the Czech lands. Consequently, the rise in the industrial population of Slovakia which 1b egan in the 19th century, when the industrial revolution took hold in Hungary, not only began to slow down, but, according to Macartney, one third of Slovakia's industry was dismantled and destroyed by the Czech banks and industrialists who did not wish to have any competition in Slovakia (7). 1 Despite these anti-Slovak economic measures of the Prague government and Czech industrialists, the majority of Slovakia's population was neither ",pastoral" nor agrarian. According to Czech official statistics the percentage of Slovakia's population which gave their occupation as agriculture was as follows (8) : SLOVAKIA Year 1900 1921 1930 5 % 63.0 60.6 56.8 Measured by Central-European standards, Slovakia in 1930 was one of the well industrialized countries, since in Poland, ,Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Yugoslavia the percentage of agrarian population at that time was much higher (Poland 69 % , Bulgaria 80 % , Romania 80% , etc.) even according Mr. Roucek's "Central Eastern Europe". Since 1930 the above percentage changed in Slovakia to a considera'ble extent, especially during the years 19391945. Wm. Dia:mond in his book "Czechoslovakia between East and West" - very favorable to the post-war Czechoslovakia and to Czechs writes in this regard: "Slovakia's brief experience as an independent state had a salutary effect on its industry, which expanded in an effort to replace products once obtained from the factories of the Czech lands and, under German pressure, to increase the output of armaments. The esta'blishment of new enteq,rises and the increase in the number of industrial workers raised the importance of Slovak industry in the country as a whole. The industrial ca:pacity of Slovakia increased particularly in metal- and wood-working, mining, textiles, footwear, and food processing" (9). The Czech Minister on Industry described the situation as follows: •~on the whole, it may ,b e said of Slovak industry that its development in the last few years, with the exception of armament production, was, comparatively speaking, quick and sound. It is true that not many new factories have been built, but many of the existing ones have been enlarged and modernized. The most important structural change 'has :b een an increased emphasis on metallurgy, textiles and, to a certain extent, on mining" (10). 6 SLOVAKIA The Communist regime in Slovakia did not stop this development. On the contrary, if we can trust Communist statistics, many new industries have been built in Slovakia and the percentage of the population working in agriculture should be only a,bout 35 % at the .present time. The regime is inhuman, tyrannic and cruel, but it changes the social structure of Slovakia in favor of the industrial "proletariat" not only in order to furnish Russia industrial products, ibut also because of political reasons: a peasant is considered an enemy of Communism. III · While, consciously or unconsciously, American authors present, under the cover of "scientific" works, the Slovak people as a part of the Czech nation and Slovakia as a backward country in order to support the Czech claim to rule over Slovakia, life marks quite different tracks of evolution in the relations between Czechs and Slovaks. "Slovak tradition and economy stand as a barrier between Czechs and Slovaks," writes Wm. Diamond and continues: "So important was the Slovak problem in the minds of both Czech and Slovak leaders, that it was a major subject of study and debate during the war and has continued to be ever since. An effort was made to solve the problem in 194'5 in the Kosice .Programme, in which Czechs and Slovaks are defined as two distinct nations united by common interest in a single state. This is in itself a complete reversal of the ethni~ theory on which the first Repubilc was built: the belief that Czechs and Slovaks constituted a single nation. The Kosice Program further provided that "the Slovaks should :be the masters in their Slovak lands, just as the Czechs in their Czech homeland" and that the government "will regard the Slovak National Council not only as the rightful representative of the individual Slovak nation, but also as the bearer of sovereign right on Slovak territory" (11). The same change as in the political relations between Czechs and Slovaks was ,b rought a;bout in regard to the S LOVAKIA 7 general level of civilization in Slovakia. Already during the Second World War there was no lack of trained and educateq. officials, professors, lawyers, physicians, etc., but a constderable surplus. When the "Czechoslovak Republic" had been restored against the wishes of the majority of Slovakia's population in 1945 and a bout 5 thousand Slovak intellectuals left the country and other thousands were jailed, deported to Siberia, and confined in concentration camps for alleged collaboration with Nazis, but in fact for their anti-Communism, there was no difficulty to replace them, ·b ecause the trend of civilization and development, which, since the First World War, brought to maturity and self-government about 30 former colonies and mandatory territories, did not stop in Slovakia in order to fulfill the wishes of some Czech politicians who desired to see Slovakia as a backward country and the Slovaks as a part of the Czech nation. Slovakia developed considerably not only economically during its short separation from the Czech lands, but also from the point of view of culture and civilization. This can be seen again in the light of statistics concerning the number of university students during the Czech rule (1918--38) and during the Slovakia's independence (1939-415) ,published by Prof. Stefanek. 1 After 20 years of Czech rule in Slovakia, there were at the University in Bratislava in the schoolyear 1938--39 only 153'5 students of Slovak origin, but this number increased to 4485 in the third year of Slovakia's independence (1942-43), while aibout 500 others studied abroad. Altogether, during the five years of Slovakia's separation from Czechs, 14,965 students studied at the University of Bratislava, which also became an attractive center for foreign students. In the year 1941-42, for instance, there were 518 students from Bulgaria, 120 Czech students, 154 Germans, 106 Russians, 171 Hungarians and many others. As far as the professors were concerned, out of a total of 107 professors, 78 were of Slovak origin, 20 Czechs, 7 Russians, one German, one Italian; the 1'59 assistants and lecturers were all of Slovak origin (12). This is the true face of Slovakia, ,p resented by some 1 SLOVAKIA 8 American writers and university professors as a backward country of illiteracy and poverty. Do not American students deserve professors and lecturers who respect facts and the truth more objectively and more consistently? (1) J. S. Roucek, Central Eastern Europe, New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1946, p. 353; 2) Dr. Milan Hodza, Federation in Central Europe, London, Jarolds, 1942, pp. 85-94, 104, 131, etc.; 3) Lbidem, p. 354; 4) "Czechoslovakia" edited by R. J. Kerner, University of California Press, Berkeley, Cal. 1949, pp. 184-185; 5) Dr. M. Hodza, op. cit.; 6) Anton Stefanek, Zur Sociographie Der Geistigen Kultur in der Slowakei, Academia Scientiarum et Artiurn Slovaca, Bratislava, 1944, pp. 40'4-405; 7) C. A. Macartney, Hungary and Her Successors, London, 19·3 7; 8) Annuaire statistique de la Republique Tcheco,Slovaque, 1938, p. 15; 9) William Diamond, Czechoslovakia between East and West, London, Stevens and Sons Ltd., 1947, p. 172; 10) Prumyslovy Vestnik, March 10, 1947, p. 180-1; 11) Ibidem, p. 50; 12) A. Stefanek, op. cit., ·p. 413-15. WHO SAID IT? - "Basically our political program, our political llne, completely agrees with the line and the program of the Slovak Communist Party. Up to the rebellion there really was no difference between an adherent of the Slovak Communist Party and an adherent of the Democratic Party. When did this relationship deteriorate? I t.hink it was after our complete liberation. Well, in general, there can be no taJk about any great deterioration. But I think that if we let ourselves get drunk by our present victory in the elections and if, incidentally, even the effectiveness of the Slovak Communist Party should decrease because of the factual failure in the elections, then we would fall and the communists also would fail. I emphasize that we must mutually help each other and th 'l-t all of us mu.st solve common problems together, because onoe and for all time we must realize that there is no fundamental difference between the Slovak Communist Party and the Democratic Party. Differences have appeared a.nd are appearing, but only In methods." (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, former Chairman of the Slovak Democratic Party and President of the Slovak National Council and now Y.ice-Preeident of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia: "My 46" - No. 23, June 8, 1946 - Prague) . WHO SAID IT? - • • • "The religious cleft (between the Slovaks ana the Czechs) is deep. For the Czechs, Master John Hus was and is not only a religious but essentially a national figure; and, if the nation returned to Catholicism under the pressure of the Counter-Reformation, it is a truism that every Czech is a H ussite at heart - a Hussfte in the wider sense of the term, denoting a blend of somewhat selfassertive nationalism with a "Protestant" attitude towards all authority, social, national, or religious, which is felt to be in any way alien. For the Slovaks, Hussitism was the alien doctrine, Catholicism the natural faith." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS - London, 1937).  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 True Face of Slovakia Description An account of the resource Joseph Kirschbaum, M. A., LL. D. Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 2 (7), July 1953 pp. 1-8 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Jozef M., 1913-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/30370abbad833529b5b5369b482485bc.pdf d042de9e573abccd4ef69fd6b09254b6 PDF Text Text JULY 195 3 VOL. Ill IN THIS ISSUE : THE TRUE FACE OF SLOVAKIA BUILDING ANOTHER BRIDGE ? R. B. LOCKHARDT AND THE SLOVAK AVIATORS OUR BLUNDERING CZECHO-SLOVAKIA POLICY_ THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF A FEDERATION CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA : HRICOV THREE MONTHS IN " LIBERATED" BRATIS L AVA CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY I N SLOVAKI A SLOVAK F OLKLORE: THE DEVIL HAS TO WORK WHO SAID IT ?: 8, 12, 16, 25, 56, 61 Edi t ed and compi led by P HILIP A . H RO BAK Published by THE SLOV A K LEAGUE OF AMERICA NO. 2 �SLOV A.KIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Amerteans of Slovak descent. The chief purpose of SLOVA.KIA s to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedom and independence. 1 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 Middletown, Pa. � JULY 195 3 VOL. Ill IN THIS ISSUE : THE TRUE FACE OF SLOVAKIA BUILDING ANOTHER BRIDGE ? R. B. LOCKHARDT AND THE SLOVAK AVIATORS OUR BLUNDERING CZECHO-SLOVAKIA POLICY_ THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF A FEDERATION CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA : HRICOV THREE MONTHS IN " LIBERATED" BRATIS L AVA CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY I N SLOVAKI A SLOVAK F OLKLORE: THE DEVIL HAS TO WORK WHO SAID IT ?: 8, 12, 16, 25, 56, 61 Edi t ed and compi led by P HILIP A . H RO BAK Published by THE SLOV A K LEAGUE OF AMERICA NO. 2 �SLOV A.KIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Amerteans of Slovak descent. The chief purpose of SLOVA.KIA s to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedom and independence. 1 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 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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. 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. 3, No. 2 (7) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c7b85cca4b0b64d97a27d4955f292f97.pdf dc679d7aa01724a49ab22387c94bb99d PDF Text Text YOU CAN LEARN SLOVAK as easily as you can any other modern language. Slovak should be a MUST for students of Slovanic languages, because it is the simplest of all of them and a KEY to all of them. Prove it to yourself with the most scholarly text on Slovak, the SLOVAK LESSONS A practical study of the Slovak Grammar, 92 lessons, 400 pages ; exercises in Slovak and English; English-Slovak and Slovak-English vocabulary. Hard cover, bound in cloth, $3.50 HROBAK'S ENGLISH DICTIONARY - the best and most complete dictionary of its kind; 702 pages with a brief sumary of the Slovak Grammar. Hard cover, bound in cloth, $4.00 THE SLOVAKS, by Peter P. Yurchak, should be read by all students interested in the history and traditions of the Slovak nation; 312 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $3.00; paper cover - $2.00 SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK IUSTORY by Joseph Skultety, translation by 0. D. Koreff; a documented refutation of several errors propagated by writers and historians; 229 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $2.00; paper cover $1.00. Order from: P.A.HROBAK Box 150 Middletown, Pa. �SLOVAKIA Festive headdress of the women of Vefky Lorn, southeastern Slovakia � YOU CAN LEARN SLOVAK as easily as you can any other modern language. Slovak should be a MUST for students of Slovanic languages, because it is the simplest of all of them and a KEY to all of them. Prove it to yourself with the most scholarly text on Slovak, the SLOVAK LESSONS A practical study of the Slovak Grammar, 92 lessons, 400 pages ; exercises in Slovak and English; English-Slovak and Slovak-English vocabulary. Hard cover, bound in cloth, $3.50 HROBAK'S ENGLISH DICTIONARY - the best and most complete dictionary of its kind; 702 pages with a brief sumary of the Slovak Grammar. Hard cover, bound in cloth, $4.00 THE SLOVAKS, by Peter P. Yurchak, should be read by all students interested in the history and traditions of the Slovak nation; 312 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $3.00; paper cover - $2.00 SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK IUSTORY by Joseph Skultety, translation by 0. D. Koreff; a documented refutation of several errors propagated by writers and historians; 229 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $2.00; paper cover $1.00. Order from: P.A.HROBAK Box 150 Middletown, Pa. �SLOVAKIA Festive headdress of the women of Vefky Lorn, southeastern 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 Festive headdress of the women of Vefky Lorn, southeastern 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 Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6) Description An account of the resource includes portrait of woman showing festive headdress of Veľký Lom, southeastern Slovakia Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e671f9a0729587476aa87bdf6b89fe1d.pdf df8a30534e23f2d62470a780e171cea0 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 63 IT'S HISTORY NOW - CZECHO-SLOV AKIA F. A. VOIGHT The submissive nature of the Czechs, which has made them collaborate almost as closely with the Germans as they are now collaborating with the Russians, has promoted the delusion that, unlike the Poles and Yugoslavs, they have recovered their national independence. The truth is that they have as little independence under the Russians as they had under the Germans, perhaps even less, for German domination, ruthless as it was, did not go as deep as Russian and was not so comprehensive. The Czecho-Slovak Government in Prague is but a fiction. The country is administered, in effect, by the National Committees, which are controlled by the Communists who, like Communists everywhere, are but Russian agents. By 'the country' we mean Bohemia and Moravia, for Czecho-Slovakia has ceased to exist. Poland exists, though she is mutilated and a vassal, but Czecho-Slovakia does not exist. Carpathian-Ruthenia has been annexed by Russia (without a ·p rotest from anyone), and Slovakia, though not independent of Moscow, is independent from Prague. It is hardly conceivable that Czecho-Slovakia will ever be restored - not even when Europe will at last have been liberated. When that happens, the Sudetenlanders will surely return to their own country and the Slovaks will surely proclaim their independence. But the liberation of Europe, which will surely include the liberation of the Czechs, can but perpetuate the extinction of Czecho-Slovakia. There is no failure in Europe so complete and so enduring as the failure of Dr. Benes. • "To-day all Slavs are being forced into unity by Russia." She dominates all North-Eastern, Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe (except for Greece and a part of Austria). Karl Marx himself was highly critical of the PanSlav movement as an instrument of Russia imperialism. He maintained that unless the Slav nations enjoyed complete independence, Russia's western frontier would run 'from Danzig or Stettin to Trieste'. This is almost exactly what �64 SLOV.AXIA has come to pass. Russia's European conquests can mean much, even now - far more than is realized in this country. But they mean even more for the future, seeing that they are a base, a hinterland, a glacis, a.ind a source of supply, from which Russia can advance westwards towards further conquests. Her control over the countries she has conquered is absolute. Their populations number 130,000,000 or 140,000,000 in all ( death through war, hunger, and disease, deportations and 'transfers' make it impossible to give a .p recise figure), their fighting forces, their skilled labour, their experts _a nd technicians, their science, art, and literature, their natural resources, their trade and industry, their canals, roads, and railways, their strategic advantages, and so on, are all at the disposal of Russia. AH these countries are severally and collectively a means to her ends - not one of them can live for itself, no one person in them can live for himself, or for his country, or for Europe, for mankind, for science, art, or religion, but only .for Russia. And yet, save for a few zealots, there are none who wish to live for Russia - ninetynine out of a hundred at least have the wish that the Russians may leave Europe, never to return. But, for the time being at least, Russia. is omnipotent in the countries she has conquered. Legally they are independent - that is so, even of the Baltic States which have been i,;icorpo-r ated in the Soviet Union. But even those which have not been incorporated are being forced into one political and economic order which approximates more and more closely to that of the Soviet Union. In all of them, the Russians are hated by the entire population, except for that small minority of ·p ersons who derive some advantage - office, a job, money, or influence - from the new Russian order. If there were to be free elections, and the issue were for or against the withdrawal of the Russians, the majority for withdrawal would· be overwhelming. If the Russians were to withdraw, their instniments - Tito, Bierut, Groza, Benes, and so on, would be swept out of existence. The ,R ussians would have to take -the Communists along with them to save (The Nineteenth Century and them from massacre." After, April 1946.) � SLOVAKIA 63 IT'S HISTORY NOW - CZECHO-SLOV AKIA F. A. VOIGHT The submissive nature of the Czechs, which has made them collaborate almost as closely with the Germans as they are now collaborating with the Russians, has promoted the delusion that, unlike the Poles and Yugoslavs, they have recovered their national independence. The truth is that they have as little independence under the Russians as they had under the Germans, perhaps even less, for German domination, ruthless as it was, did not go as deep as Russian and was not so comprehensive. The Czecho-Slovak Government in Prague is but a fiction. The country is administered, in effect, by the National Committees, which are controlled by the Communists who, like Communists everywhere, are but Russian agents. By 'the country' we mean Bohemia and Moravia, for Czecho-Slovakia has ceased to exist. Poland exists, though she is mutilated and a vassal, but Czecho-Slovakia does not exist. Carpathian-Ruthenia has been annexed by Russia (without a ·p rotest from anyone), and Slovakia, though not independent of Moscow, is independent from Prague. It is hardly conceivable that Czecho-Slovakia will ever be restored - not even when Europe will at last have been liberated. When that happens, the Sudetenlanders will surely return to their own country and the Slovaks will surely proclaim their independence. But the liberation of Europe, which will surely include the liberation of the Czechs, can but perpetuate the extinction of Czecho-Slovakia. There is no failure in Europe so complete and so enduring as the failure of Dr. Benes. • "To-day all Slavs are being forced into unity by Russia." She dominates all North-Eastern, Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe (except for Greece and a part of Austria). Karl Marx himself was highly critical of the PanSlav movement as an instrument of Russia imperialism. He maintained that unless the Slav nations enjoyed complete independence, Russia's western frontier would run 'from Danzig or Stettin to Trieste'. This is almost exactly what �64 SLOV.AXIA has come to pass. Russia's European conquests can mean much, even now - far more than is realized in this country. But they mean even more for the future, seeing that they are a base, a hinterland, a glacis, a.ind a source of supply, from which Russia can advance westwards towards further conquests. Her control over the countries she has conquered is absolute. Their populations number 130,000,000 or 140,000,000 in all ( death through war, hunger, and disease, deportations and 'transfers' make it impossible to give a .p recise figure), their fighting forces, their skilled labour, their experts _a nd technicians, their science, art, and literature, their natural resources, their trade and industry, their canals, roads, and railways, their strategic advantages, and so on, are all at the disposal of Russia. AH these countries are severally and collectively a means to her ends - not one of them can live for itself, no one person in them can live for himself, or for his country, or for Europe, for mankind, for science, art, or religion, but only .for Russia. And yet, save for a few zealots, there are none who wish to live for Russia - ninetynine out of a hundred at least have the wish that the Russians may leave Europe, never to return. But, for the time being at least, Russia. is omnipotent in the countries she has conquered. Legally they are independent - that is so, even of the Baltic States which have been i,;icorpo-r ated in the Soviet Union. But even those which have not been incorporated are being forced into one political and economic order which approximates more and more closely to that of the Soviet Union. In all of them, the Russians are hated by the entire population, except for that small minority of ·p ersons who derive some advantage - office, a job, money, or influence - from the new Russian order. If there were to be free elections, and the issue were for or against the withdrawal of the Russians, the majority for withdrawal would· be overwhelming. If the Russians were to withdraw, their instniments - Tito, Bierut, Groza, Benes, and so on, would be swept out of existence. The ,R ussians would have to take -the Communists along with them to save (The Nineteenth Century and them from massacre." After, April 1946.) � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 63 IT'S HISTORY NOW - CZECHO-SLOV AKIA F. A. VOIGHT The submissive nature of the Czechs, which has made them collaborate almost as closely with the Germans as they are now collaborating with the Russians, has promoted the delusion that, unlike the Poles and Yugoslavs, they have recovered their national independence. The truth is that they have as little independence under the Russians as they had under the Germans, perhaps even less, for German domination, ruthless as it was, did not go as deep as Russian and was not so comprehensive. The Czecho-Slovak Government in Prague is but a fiction. The country is administered, in effect, by the National Committees, which are controlled by the Communists who, like Communists everywhere, are but Russian agents. By 'the country' we mean Bohemia and Moravia, for Czecho-Slovakia has ceased to exist. Poland exists, though she is mutilated and a vassal, but Czecho-Slovakia does not exist. Carpathian-Ruthenia has been annexed by Russia (without a ·p rotest from anyone), and Slovakia, though not independent of Moscow, is independent from Prague. It is hardly conceivable that Czecho-Slovakia will ever be restored - not even when Europe will at last have been liberated. When that happens, the Sudetenlanders will surely return to their own country and the Slovaks will surely proclaim their independence. But the liberation of Europe, which will surely include the liberation of the Czechs, can but perpetuate the extinction of Czecho-Slovakia. There is no failure in Europe so complete and so enduring as the failure of Dr. Benes. • "To-day all Slavs are being forced into unity by Russia." She dominates all North-Eastern, Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe (except for Greece and a part of Austria). Karl Marx himself was highly critical of the PanSlav movement as an instrument of Russia imperialism. He maintained that unless the Slav nations enjoyed complete independence, Russia's western frontier would run 'from Danzig or Stettin to Trieste'. This is almost exactly what 64 SLOV.AXIA has come to pass. Russia's European conquests can mean much, even now - far more than is realized in this country. But they mean even more for the future, seeing that they are a base, a hinterland, a glacis, a.ind a source of supply, from which Russia can advance westwards towards further conquests. Her control over the countries she has conquered is absolute. Their populations number 130,000,000 or 140,000,000 in all ( death through war, hunger, and disease, deportations and 'transfers' make it impossible to give a .p recise figure), their fighting forces, their skilled labour, their experts _a nd technicians, their science, art, and literature, their natural resources, their trade and industry, their canals, roads, and railways, their strategic advantages, and so on, are all at the disposal of Russia. AH these countries are severally and collectively a means to her ends - not one of them can live for itself, no one person in them can live for himself, or for his country, or for Europe, for mankind, for science, art, or religion, but only .for Russia. And yet, save for a few zealots, there are none who wish to live for Russia - ninetynine out of a hundred at least have the wish that the Russians may leave Europe, never to return. But, for the time being at least, Russia. is omnipotent in the countries she has conquered. Legally they are independent - that is so, even of the Baltic States which have been i,;icorpo-r ated in the Soviet Union. But even those which have not been incorporated are being forced into one political and economic order which approximates more and more closely to that of the Soviet Union. In all of them, the Russians are hated by the entire population, except for that small minority of ·p ersons who derive some advantage - office, a job, money, or influence - from the new Russian order. If there were to be free elections, and the issue were for or against the withdrawal of the Russians, the majority for withdrawal would· be overwhelming. If the Russians were to withdraw, their instniments - Tito, Bierut, Groza, Benes, and so on, would be swept out of existence. The ,R ussians would have to take -the Communists along with them to save (The Nineteenth Century and them from massacre." After, April 1946.)  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 It's History Now - Czecho-Slovakia Description An account of the resource F. A. Voight Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 63-64 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Voight, F. A. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/4492c25b0d17d146832900fba8e031c6.pdf 751016d5778459600a6bdada2d7bbfbc PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 61 MEDICINAL SPRINGS OF SLOVAKIA Nature has endowed Slovakia with medicinal springs in a truly prolific manner. In fact, Slovakia, in this respect, is the first land of Europe. There are fifteen larger thermal watering places, forty-six medicinal springs, and a large number of spots where cold mineral water gushes forth out of the earth. In addition there are several springs to which until about 1930 no attention had been paid. Some of the spas have rbeen operating for many decades, even centuries, and enjoy a worldwide reputation. In respect to the perfect comfort of their inner furnishings, they can be placed side by side with any of the world's great watering places. Especially well-known are Piesfany and Trencianske Teplice with their hot springs which have temperatures of 67 and 42 degrees Centigrade respectively. At these two spas rheumatism, ischias, and related diseases are healed. Unique is Sliac, the Slovak Nauheim, where there are warm carbon springs having a temperature of forty degrees Centigrade. Women's ailments, severe heart diseases, and illnesses of the spine are cured here in almost miraculous manner. At Vysne Ruzbachy there is a swimming basin, in the middle of the woods, supplied by a warm mineral spring. The springs at Ciz are considered the strongest in Europe in their content of iodine and bromium. Herlany has a geyser 180 feet high which comes out of a depth of 1200 feet. Korytnica is the best-known of the alkali-saline baths. Bojnice is a sulphur spa with strongly radioactive slime. The sulphur water has a temperature of forty-six degrees Centigrade. Rajecke Teplice, Sklenne Teplice, Brusno, Kovacovo, Bardejovske kupele, Ganovce, and Vyhne, are a few of the many otoor mineral spas of Slovakia. The magnificent scenic situation of the spas of Slovakia makes them particularly beautiful places to tarry at. Most of them are located in the romantic valleys of rivers and are surrounded by extensive forests. Unlimited opportunities �tiZ :::;LOVAKIA are provided for walks and drives. There is abundant chance to fish and to hunt, and to enjoy other sports as well. The best known climatic resorts are situated in the High Tatra Mountains. The hotels are unusually comfortable and lie at high altitudes, the maximum being 1360 meters above sea level. They possess the advantage of complete protection against North winds and are nestled in vast forests. Among them are Strbske Pleso, Tatranska Poljanka, Stary Smokovec, Novy Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica, and Tatranske Matliary. The intense radiation of the sun in protected areas makes them comparable with the most famous mountain resort of Switzerland. Here there are de luxe hotels as well as simpler pensions and tourist homes. Adjacent to the mountain resorts is a natural park which serves as a reservation for the flora and fauna of the region. The other chains of the Carpathian Mountains, as the Bela Alps, the so-called Low Tatras, etc, offer an inexhaustible multitude of places where provisions for visitors are comfortable though simple. Lubochna possesses especially comfortable villas and hotels. Unfortunately, today everything in Slovakia belongs to the Czecho-Communis t state which is greatly concerned about who visits Slovakia. However, tourists will again visit the springs of Slovakia when the present tyranny passes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "TODAY it is clear to every observer who is not blind that if Slovakia is liberated from the power of communism, it w ill be an independent state. Just as independent as my own homeland, the Cze<:h kingdom. The certainty of this prospect in the future is prompted by: a) the enthusiastic will of the great majority of Slovaks; b) by the absence of a factor which could prevent this." (Dr. Bohdan Chu- ,loba, former member of the CZECH People's Party and the Prague Parliament). • • • "We have been accused of sullying the good relations between the USSR and the Czechoslovak Republic, but the Democratic Party has clearly stated that it is aware of what it is doing on that score. It is aware of the fact that only an intimately united friendship with the USSR must be our policy in the future. Thereby we do not follow our narrow party interests, but we are convinced that this is in the interest of the entire Czechoslovak Republic." (Jan Lichner, one of Lettrich's democrats, CAS, 5-14-46). � SLOVAKIA 61 MEDICINAL SPRINGS OF SLOVAKIA Nature has endowed Slovakia with medicinal springs in a truly prolific manner. In fact, Slovakia, in this respect, is the first land of Europe. There are fifteen larger thermal watering places, forty-six medicinal springs, and a large number of spots where cold mineral water gushes forth out of the earth. In addition there are several springs to which until about 1930 no attention had been paid. Some of the spas have rbeen operating for many decades, even centuries, and enjoy a worldwide reputation. In respect to the perfect comfort of their inner furnishings, they can be placed side by side with any of the world's great watering places. Especially well-known are Piesfany and Trencianske Teplice with their hot springs which have temperatures of 67 and 42 degrees Centigrade respectively. At these two spas rheumatism, ischias, and related diseases are healed. Unique is Sliac, the Slovak Nauheim, where there are warm carbon springs having a temperature of forty degrees Centigrade. Women's ailments, severe heart diseases, and illnesses of the spine are cured here in almost miraculous manner. At Vysne Ruzbachy there is a swimming basin, in the middle of the woods, supplied by a warm mineral spring. The springs at Ciz are considered the strongest in Europe in their content of iodine and bromium. Herlany has a geyser 180 feet high which comes out of a depth of 1200 feet. Korytnica is the best-known of the alkali-saline baths. Bojnice is a sulphur spa with strongly radioactive slime. The sulphur water has a temperature of forty-six degrees Centigrade. Rajecke Teplice, Sklenne Teplice, Brusno, Kovacovo, Bardejovske kupele, Ganovce, and Vyhne, are a few of the many otoor mineral spas of Slovakia. The magnificent scenic situation of the spas of Slovakia makes them particularly beautiful places to tarry at. Most of them are located in the romantic valleys of rivers and are surrounded by extensive forests. Unlimited opportunities �tiZ :::;LOVAKIA are provided for walks and drives. There is abundant chance to fish and to hunt, and to enjoy other sports as well. The best known climatic resorts are situated in the High Tatra Mountains. The hotels are unusually comfortable and lie at high altitudes, the maximum being 1360 meters above sea level. They possess the advantage of complete protection against North winds and are nestled in vast forests. Among them are Strbske Pleso, Tatranska Poljanka, Stary Smokovec, Novy Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica, and Tatranske Matliary. The intense radiation of the sun in protected areas makes them comparable with the most famous mountain resort of Switzerland. Here there are de luxe hotels as well as simpler pensions and tourist homes. Adjacent to the mountain resorts is a natural park which serves as a reservation for the flora and fauna of the region. The other chains of the Carpathian Mountains, as the Bela Alps, the so-called Low Tatras, etc, offer an inexhaustible multitude of places where provisions for visitors are comfortable though simple. Lubochna possesses especially comfortable villas and hotels. Unfortunately, today everything in Slovakia belongs to the Czecho-Communis t state which is greatly concerned about who visits Slovakia. However, tourists will again visit the springs of Slovakia when the present tyranny passes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "TODAY it is clear to every observer who is not blind that if Slovakia is liberated from the power of communism, it w ill be an independent state. Just as independent as my own homeland, the Cze<:h kingdom. The certainty of this prospect in the future is prompted by: a) the enthusiastic will of the great majority of Slovaks; b) by the absence of a factor which could prevent this." (Dr. Bohdan Chu- ,loba, former member of the CZECH People's Party and the Prague Parliament). • • • "We have been accused of sullying the good relations between the USSR and the Czechoslovak Republic, but the Democratic Party has clearly stated that it is aware of what it is doing on that score. It is aware of the fact that only an intimately united friendship with the USSR must be our policy in the future. Thereby we do not follow our narrow party interests, but we are convinced that this is in the interest of the entire Czechoslovak Republic." (Jan Lichner, one of Lettrich's democrats, CAS, 5-14-46). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 MEDICINAL SPRINGS OF SLOVAKIA Nature has endowed Slovakia with medicinal springs in a truly prolific manner. In fact, Slovakia, in this respect, is the first land of Europe. There are fifteen larger thermal watering places, forty-six medicinal springs, and a large number of spots where cold mineral water gushes forth out of the earth. In addition there are several springs to which until about 1930 no attention had been paid. Some of the spas have rbeen operating for many decades, even centuries, and enjoy a worldwide reputation. In respect to the perfect comfort of their inner furnishings, they can be placed side by side with any of the world's great watering places. Especially well-known are Piesfany and Trencianske Teplice with their hot springs which have temperatures of 67 and 42 degrees Centigrade respectively. At these two spas rheumatism, ischias, and related diseases are healed. Unique is Sliac, the Slovak Nauheim, where there are warm carbon springs having a temperature of forty degrees Centigrade. Women's ailments, severe heart diseases, and illnesses of the spine are cured here in almost miraculous manner. At Vysne Ruzbachy there is a swimming basin, in the middle of the woods, supplied by a warm mineral spring. The springs at Ciz are considered the strongest in Europe in their content of iodine and bromium. Herlany has a geyser 180 feet high which comes out of a depth of 1200 feet. Korytnica is the best-known of the alkali-saline baths. Bojnice is a sulphur spa with strongly radioactive slime. The sulphur water has a temperature of forty-six degrees Centigrade. Rajecke Teplice, Sklenne Teplice, Brusno, Kovacovo, Bardejovske kupele, Ganovce, and Vyhne, are a few of the many otoor mineral spas of Slovakia. The magnificent scenic situation of the spas of Slovakia makes them particularly beautiful places to tarry at. Most of them are located in the romantic valleys of rivers and are surrounded by extensive forests. Unlimited opportunities tiZ :::;LOVAKIA are provided for walks and drives. There is abundant chance to fish and to hunt, and to enjoy other sports as well. The best known climatic resorts are situated in the High Tatra Mountains. The hotels are unusually comfortable and lie at high altitudes, the maximum being 1360 meters above sea level. They possess the advantage of complete protection against North winds and are nestled in vast forests. Among them are Strbske Pleso, Tatranska Poljanka, Stary Smokovec, Novy Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica, and Tatranske Matliary. The intense radiation of the sun in protected areas makes them comparable with the most famous mountain resort of Switzerland. Here there are de luxe hotels as well as simpler pensions and tourist homes. Adjacent to the mountain resorts is a natural park which serves as a reservation for the flora and fauna of the region. The other chains of the Carpathian Mountains, as the Bela Alps, the so-called Low Tatras, etc, offer an inexhaustible multitude of places where provisions for visitors are comfortable though simple. Lubochna possesses especially comfortable villas and hotels. Unfortunately, today everything in Slovakia belongs to the Czecho-Communis t state which is greatly concerned about who visits Slovakia. However, tourists will again visit the springs of Slovakia when the present tyranny passes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "TODAY it is clear to every observer who is not blind that if Slovakia is liberated from the power of communism, it w ill be an independent state. Just as independent as my own homeland, the Cze<:h kingdom. The certainty of this prospect in the future is prompted by: a) the enthusiastic will of the great majority of Slovaks; b) by the absence of a factor which could prevent this." (Dr. Bohdan Chu- ,loba, former member of the CZECH People's Party and the Prague Parliament). • • • "We have been accused of sullying the good relations between the USSR and the Czechoslovak Republic, but the Democratic Party has clearly stated that it is aware of what it is doing on that score. It is aware of the fact that only an intimately united friendship with the USSR must be our policy in the future. Thereby we do not follow our narrow party interests, but we are convinced that this is in the interest of the entire Czechoslovak Republic." (Jan Lichner, one of Lettrich's democrats, CAS, 5-14-46).  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 Medicinal Springs in Slovakia Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 61-62 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b53c4395391beb62c9c502a71a3b4099.pdf 02ecce86e7f735a5d9d6ac3243f9e1f5 PDF Text Text 68 SLOVAKIA IN RETROSPECT - SLOVAK ISSUES IN EVERY LI'.lTLE TOWN Alexander Kendrick (In the Chicago Sun, Sept. 14, 1947.) In every little town in Slovakia the Cross of the Church stands high above everything else. In many places there is an industrial plant not far away, with a hammer and sickle or a red star above its gates. There two symbols starkly represent the struggle that is taking place among 3,500,000 Slovaks, from the high Tatras to the Danube lowland. And the conflict has become compounded by the fact that the religious symbol, the Cross, has entered -p olitics also. In most pf the things which make this one third of the Czecho.:Slovak Republic a real economic, political and psychological problem - indeed, the chief problem by all odds of the coalition government - the Catholic Church and the Communist party are on opposing sides. On the No. 1 issue of Slovak autonomy, many church leaders who before the war belonged to the IIlinka party and who during the German occupation fared extremely well in the "independent" Slovak State, continue to be for full separation of 'Slovakia from the rest of the land. The Communists used to favor the "one state, one Czechoslovak nation" idea, but under pressure of the traditional and very real Slovak urge for as much self-rule as possible, they now are willing to place a hyphen in Czecho-Slovakia and have adopted the formula "two nationals in a single state." But they are against federation and, of course, against Slovak independence. On the basic economic issue of nationalization and state planning, which are accomplished facts, the church and its civil arm, the Slovakian Democratic Party, are for less of them while the Communists are for more. On the surface, Slovakia, the Ireland of central Europe, is a pleasant land, much more easy-going that the busy �SLOVAKIA 69 "Czech lands" up north. There is no rationing here as in the rest of Czecho-Slovakia. There is plenty to eat, good ibeer to drink, and fine native wines including a .p assable imitation of French champagne called Chateau Trencin. The Carpathians are filled with rest homes for workers. Everything looks fine. But underneath there are unhealed scars and smoldering fires·. Many people feel that "it was better under the Germans." Hitler, trying to demonstrate a model "independent" state, let the Slovaks pretty much alone. The other side of the picture is equally clear. The Slovak legions which Hitler sent to fight the Soviet Union deserted to the other side and came back to fight the Germans. The Slov;ak uprising in Banska Bystrica and Turciansky Svaty Martin - the third anniversary of which was joyously celebrated here the other day - were the first signs of a new Slovakia being born. Though they were put down with heavy bloodshed and the leaders had to flee to Moscow - I have talked with one of them, who flew all of Slovakia's gold reserve there - they came back with the returning Czecho-Slovakian government, and many of them hold high places in the present Slovakian Council of Trustees, the governing body, and in the trade unions. Most of them are Communists. This explains the phenomenom of the hammer and sickle and the red star over factory plants. They merely denote the fact that the plant union happens to be a Communist union. For more than two years, since the liberation of CzechoSlovakia, the opposing forces in Slovakia have had an armed truce. Now it appears to be coming to an end. Elections and a new constitution are due next year, and the campaign for both has started. Feelings run high. Armed bands are reported roving the lower Slovakian countryside, making attacks on small villages. They are the remnants of the socalled Benderovtsi, formed by a Ukrainian nationalist named Bender for anti-'Soviet action. Slovak Partisans who fought the Germans have demanded that they be rearmed to clean up the Benderovtsi, and this has aroused fears of Democratic party members that some other sort of "plot" may be afoot. �60 SLOVAKIA Members of Husak's entourage made no bones about the part they thought the Catholic church was playing in the present Slovakian turmoil. They said that by adopting an outright anti-Commun ist platform the Catholic leaders were able to attract a great many Slovak Protestants who also have no love for Communism or Russia, and were using the supposedly non-sectarian Democratic party as their instrument. In addition to anti-Commun ist and anti-Soviet feeling, anti-Czech sentiments are widespread. The recent war has heightened these feelings, for as an "independent" State Slovakia speeded up her economy and attained a considerable prosperity. Now Slovaks say they were held back by the Czechs from showing what they could do. But not all the sentiment here is anti-Commun ist, anti-.Soviet and anti-Czech. As far as the Russians are concerned, there are too many Russian graves and markers along every footpath in the Carpathians to let Slovaks forget what the Red Army did there. Agriculture and transport are to be modernized. Moreover, although the Slovaks are eating well this year, the harvest is poor because of the drqught. The Soviet grain which Czecho-Slovakia is now receiving under the new Cz.echSoviet trade agreement will go largely to Slovakia. Thus the economics of the full stomach, a language always understood in Slovakia, may help to bring about a solution of a politically terider and potentially dangerous situation. But even such a solution will not resolve the inner conflict which is outwardly represented here by the Cross on one side and the hammer and sickle on the other. That conflict will go on as long as there is a Czecho-Slovak Republic. • • • WHO SAID IT? " It is not true that an anti-Communist front exists in our coun, try (Slovakia) . . . . And nobody Is thinking of organizing one . ... such is the situation in our country today. What shall it be tomorrow? We do not think the conditions exist tor forming an anti-Communist front in our country. We do not feel the necessity for it and we do not ever( \1esire it. But just the opposite." - (CAS, offi ci al organ of Lettrich's D'E!mocratlc "Party, January 11, 19-t7.) � 68 SLOVAKIA IN RETROSPECT - SLOVAK ISSUES IN EVERY LI'.lTLE TOWN Alexander Kendrick (In the Chicago Sun, Sept. 14, 1947.) In every little town in Slovakia the Cross of the Church stands high above everything else. In many places there is an industrial plant not far away, with a hammer and sickle or a red star above its gates. There two symbols starkly represent the struggle that is taking place among 3,500,000 Slovaks, from the high Tatras to the Danube lowland. And the conflict has become compounded by the fact that the religious symbol, the Cross, has entered -p olitics also. In most pf the things which make this one third of the Czecho.:Slovak Republic a real economic, political and psychological problem - indeed, the chief problem by all odds of the coalition government - the Catholic Church and the Communist party are on opposing sides. On the No. 1 issue of Slovak autonomy, many church leaders who before the war belonged to the IIlinka party and who during the German occupation fared extremely well in the "independent" Slovak State, continue to be for full separation of 'Slovakia from the rest of the land. The Communists used to favor the "one state, one Czechoslovak nation" idea, but under pressure of the traditional and very real Slovak urge for as much self-rule as possible, they now are willing to place a hyphen in Czecho-Slovakia and have adopted the formula "two nationals in a single state." But they are against federation and, of course, against Slovak independence. On the basic economic issue of nationalization and state planning, which are accomplished facts, the church and its civil arm, the Slovakian Democratic Party, are for less of them while the Communists are for more. On the surface, Slovakia, the Ireland of central Europe, is a pleasant land, much more easy-going that the busy �SLOVAKIA 69 "Czech lands" up north. There is no rationing here as in the rest of Czecho-Slovakia. There is plenty to eat, good ibeer to drink, and fine native wines including a .p assable imitation of French champagne called Chateau Trencin. The Carpathians are filled with rest homes for workers. Everything looks fine. But underneath there are unhealed scars and smoldering fires·. Many people feel that "it was better under the Germans." Hitler, trying to demonstrate a model "independent" state, let the Slovaks pretty much alone. The other side of the picture is equally clear. The Slovak legions which Hitler sent to fight the Soviet Union deserted to the other side and came back to fight the Germans. The Slov;ak uprising in Banska Bystrica and Turciansky Svaty Martin - the third anniversary of which was joyously celebrated here the other day - were the first signs of a new Slovakia being born. Though they were put down with heavy bloodshed and the leaders had to flee to Moscow - I have talked with one of them, who flew all of Slovakia's gold reserve there - they came back with the returning Czecho-Slovakian government, and many of them hold high places in the present Slovakian Council of Trustees, the governing body, and in the trade unions. Most of them are Communists. This explains the phenomenom of the hammer and sickle and the red star over factory plants. They merely denote the fact that the plant union happens to be a Communist union. For more than two years, since the liberation of CzechoSlovakia, the opposing forces in Slovakia have had an armed truce. Now it appears to be coming to an end. Elections and a new constitution are due next year, and the campaign for both has started. Feelings run high. Armed bands are reported roving the lower Slovakian countryside, making attacks on small villages. They are the remnants of the socalled Benderovtsi, formed by a Ukrainian nationalist named Bender for anti-'Soviet action. Slovak Partisans who fought the Germans have demanded that they be rearmed to clean up the Benderovtsi, and this has aroused fears of Democratic party members that some other sort of "plot" may be afoot. �60 SLOVAKIA Members of Husak's entourage made no bones about the part they thought the Catholic church was playing in the present Slovakian turmoil. They said that by adopting an outright anti-Commun ist platform the Catholic leaders were able to attract a great many Slovak Protestants who also have no love for Communism or Russia, and were using the supposedly non-sectarian Democratic party as their instrument. In addition to anti-Commun ist and anti-Soviet feeling, anti-Czech sentiments are widespread. The recent war has heightened these feelings, for as an "independent" State Slovakia speeded up her economy and attained a considerable prosperity. Now Slovaks say they were held back by the Czechs from showing what they could do. But not all the sentiment here is anti-Commun ist, anti-.Soviet and anti-Czech. As far as the Russians are concerned, there are too many Russian graves and markers along every footpath in the Carpathians to let Slovaks forget what the Red Army did there. Agriculture and transport are to be modernized. Moreover, although the Slovaks are eating well this year, the harvest is poor because of the drqught. The Soviet grain which Czecho-Slovakia is now receiving under the new Cz.echSoviet trade agreement will go largely to Slovakia. Thus the economics of the full stomach, a language always understood in Slovakia, may help to bring about a solution of a politically terider and potentially dangerous situation. But even such a solution will not resolve the inner conflict which is outwardly represented here by the Cross on one side and the hammer and sickle on the other. That conflict will go on as long as there is a Czecho-Slovak Republic. • • • WHO SAID IT? " It is not true that an anti-Communist front exists in our coun, try (Slovakia) . . . . And nobody Is thinking of organizing one . ... such is the situation in our country today. What shall it be tomorrow? We do not think the conditions exist tor forming an anti-Communist front in our country. We do not feel the necessity for it and we do not ever( \1esire it. But just the opposite." - (CAS, offi ci al organ of Lettrich's D'E!mocratlc "Party, January 11, 19-t7.) � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data 58 SLOVAKIA IN RETROSPECT - SLOVAK ISSUES IN EVERY LI'.lTLE TOWN Alexander Kendrick (In the Chicago Sun, Sept. 14, 1947.) In every little town in Slovakia the Cross of the Church stands high above everything else. In many places there is an industrial plant not far away, with a hammer and sickle or a red star above its gates. There two symbols starkly represent the struggle that is taking place among 3,500,000 Slovaks, from the high Tatras to the Danube lowland. And the conflict has become compounded by the fact that the religious symbol, the Cross, has entered -p olitics also. In most pf the things which make this one third of the Czecho.:Slovak Republic a real economic, political and psychological problem - indeed, the chief problem by all odds of the coalition government - the Catholic Church and the Communist party are on opposing sides. On the No. 1 issue of Slovak autonomy, many church leaders who before the war belonged to the IIlinka party and who during the German occupation fared extremely well in the "independent" Slovak State, continue to be for full separation of 'Slovakia from the rest of the land. The Communists used to favor the "one state, one Czechoslovak nation" idea, but under pressure of the traditional and very real Slovak urge for as much self-rule as possible, they now are willing to place a hyphen in Czecho-Slovakia and have adopted the formula "two nationals in a single state." But they are against federation and, of course, against Slovak independence. On the basic economic issue of nationalization and state planning, which are accomplished facts, the church and its civil arm, the Slovakian Democratic Party, are for less of them while the Communists are for more. On the surface, Slovakia, the Ireland of central Europe, is a pleasant land, much more easy-going that the busy SLOVAKIA 69 "Czech lands" up north. There is no rationing here as in the rest of Czecho-Slovakia. There is plenty to eat, good ibeer to drink, and fine native wines including a .p assable imitation of French champagne called Chateau Trencin. The Carpathians are filled with rest homes for workers. Everything looks fine. But underneath there are unhealed scars and smoldering fires·. Many people feel that "it was better under the Germans." Hitler, trying to demonstrate a model "independent" state, let the Slovaks pretty much alone. The other side of the picture is equally clear. The Slovak legions which Hitler sent to fight the Soviet Union deserted to the other side and came back to fight the Germans. The Slov;ak uprising in Banska Bystrica and Turciansky Svaty Martin - the third anniversary of which was joyously celebrated here the other day - were the first signs of a new Slovakia being born. Though they were put down with heavy bloodshed and the leaders had to flee to Moscow - I have talked with one of them, who flew all of Slovakia's gold reserve there - they came back with the returning Czecho-Slovakian government, and many of them hold high places in the present Slovakian Council of Trustees, the governing body, and in the trade unions. Most of them are Communists. This explains the phenomenom of the hammer and sickle and the red star over factory plants. They merely denote the fact that the plant union happens to be a Communist union. For more than two years, since the liberation of CzechoSlovakia, the opposing forces in Slovakia have had an armed truce. Now it appears to be coming to an end. Elections and a new constitution are due next year, and the campaign for both has started. Feelings run high. Armed bands are reported roving the lower Slovakian countryside, making attacks on small villages. They are the remnants of the socalled Benderovtsi, formed by a Ukrainian nationalist named Bender for anti-'Soviet action. Slovak Partisans who fought the Germans have demanded that they be rearmed to clean up the Benderovtsi, and this has aroused fears of Democratic party members that some other sort of "plot" may be afoot. 60 SLOVAKIA Members of Husak's entourage made no bones about the part they thought the Catholic church was playing in the present Slovakian turmoil. They said that by adopting an outright anti-Commun ist platform the Catholic leaders were able to attract a great many Slovak Protestants who also have no love for Communism or Russia, and were using the supposedly non-sectarian Democratic party as their instrument. In addition to anti-Commun ist and anti-Soviet feeling, anti-Czech sentiments are widespread. The recent war has heightened these feelings, for as an "independent" State Slovakia speeded up her economy and attained a considerable prosperity. Now Slovaks say they were held back by the Czechs from showing what they could do. But not all the sentiment here is anti-Commun ist, anti-.Soviet and anti-Czech. As far as the Russians are concerned, there are too many Russian graves and markers along every footpath in the Carpathians to let Slovaks forget what the Red Army did there. Agriculture and transport are to be modernized. Moreover, although the Slovaks are eating well this year, the harvest is poor because of the drqught. The Soviet grain which Czecho-Slovakia is now receiving under the new Cz.echSoviet trade agreement will go largely to Slovakia. Thus the economics of the full stomach, a language always understood in Slovakia, may help to bring about a solution of a politically terider and potentially dangerous situation. But even such a solution will not resolve the inner conflict which is outwardly represented here by the Cross on one side and the hammer and sickle on the other. That conflict will go on as long as there is a Czecho-Slovak Republic. • • • WHO SAID IT? " It is not true that an anti-Communist front exists in our coun, try (Slovakia) . . . . And nobody Is thinking of organizing one . ... such is the situation in our country today. What shall it be tomorrow? We do not think the conditions exist tor forming an anti-Communist front in our country. We do not feel the necessity for it and we do not ever( \1esire it. But just the opposite." - (CAS, offi ci al organ of Lettrich's D'E!mocratlc "Party, January 11, 19-t7.)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Slovak Issues in Every Little Town Description An account of the resource Alexander Kendrick Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 58-60 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kendrick, Alexander Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/2d909cb69a653bba71ed2694b6634a63.pdf 39bf3de4330edf0c7818a25645cd2711 PDF Text Text fi6 SLOVAKIA THE SWVAK TONGUE John Dater After the Almighty had distributed tongues of speech to all peoples even as He thought ·b est for them, there came from somewhere a little nation <o stand before Him with pleading, tear-filled eyes - but not to ask for power, lands, or a great name. It was love and understanding the Slovaks sought for their weary hearts. The Lord gave ear to their humble pleadings and said: "Where had you been when I was distributing My gifts among men?" "Alas, forgive us, Father," the little Slovak nation meekly implored, "the crowds were too great for us and made up of stronger peoples than we. Being weak, we had to stand afar, You see. Even those of our own Slav progeny, for having given us a helpful hand, wanted to steal our liberty." "Ah!" the Lord replied, "what now, then? Do you not know that I have given all I had away?" Thereupon the Slovak people cried: "Alas, is naught of creation left for us?" And the Lord said: "Stay, have hope!" And, turning, He reached to the thrones of singing choirs of angels and took of the incense that wafted around the throne. And, bending, He placed His Hand in the Heaven's crystal waters, and with noble gentleness touched the tongues of the forgotten people. "Let this 1b e your language," the Lord, said; "such that no other can equal: as melodious as the music of heaven, as beautifttl as sparkling gems in the rays of the sun, as soothing as the lulling winds of May, as loving as the voice of a mother, as sweet as the smile of an infant babe, so tender and soft and smooth and true, its sound will make hearts of the old and bent and gray young once again." �SLOVAKIA Thus, with the tones of angelic voices, God made a balm for aching Slovak hearts. "This dowry," He said, "is for Slovak maids, that when they sing, their sadness may be changed to joy, that at their sound birds may cease their song to listen, the hills rise in glory, the fields bloom anew, the valleys with music ring, the brooks flow with ripples of melody, all the vales rejoice, and the very earth be changed to a paradise." Thus gloriously did God array the Slovak people and place them a,part in a world greedy for prominence, glory and power. Endowed with a heavenly gift, they cared not what awaited them among throngs greater than they. In God's hand they rest, and under His care they will always be. Sheltered in the protecting Tatra,s for long ages, they survive cruelty, tyranny, and power; to live and stand strong forever - a people of peace, beloved of God, may the Slovak people ever be! • • • "The treaties concluded at the Peace Conference (1918) made no reference to Slovak autonomy. After this episode the rift be!Jween the Centralists and the Autonomists was very deep. . . . The Czechs appear also to have objected to the validity of the document (Pittsburgh Pact) on th e ground that the Slovak League was not officialty recognized by the American authorities until 1919, although it was good enough for the advocacy of Czechoslovak claims (prior to that time.) . . . Slovakia was ruled by the two main Centralist parties •- the Agrarians and the Social Democrats with the support of the Czechs; and this continued to be the case even after the 1925 elections had shown the (Hlinka Slovak) People's Party to be at that time, much the strongest single Slovak party." (C. A. Macartney : HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS - London, 1937). WHO SAi D IT? - • • • "Great Moravia, after many centuries of peaceful burial, was dug up for the benefit of the Peace Conference in 1918, to be paraded as the earliest Czecho-Slovak State. . . The case for including Northern Hungary in Czecho-Slovakia does not rest on historical .rights, although the ghost of Svatopluk, ruler of Great Moravia, was made to serve its turn. But Svatopluk's historic claims were obviously less valid than those of Hungary, with her thousand-odd yeai;i;;.- of .u .ninterrupted possession . He was more important as supporting, by the evidence whi ch he gave of an early connection between the Czechs and Slovaks, the rea,I claim, which was that of self-determination." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER -~ljfiC~C~SSOR~ - London, 1937). WHO SAID IT? - � fi6 SLOVAKIA THE SWVAK TONGUE John Dater After the Almighty had distributed tongues of speech to all peoples even as He thought ·b est for them, there came from somewhere a little nation <o stand before Him with pleading, tear-filled eyes - but not to ask for power, lands, or a great name. It was love and understanding the Slovaks sought for their weary hearts. The Lord gave ear to their humble pleadings and said: "Where had you been when I was distributing My gifts among men?" "Alas, forgive us, Father," the little Slovak nation meekly implored, "the crowds were too great for us and made up of stronger peoples than we. Being weak, we had to stand afar, You see. Even those of our own Slav progeny, for having given us a helpful hand, wanted to steal our liberty." "Ah!" the Lord replied, "what now, then? Do you not know that I have given all I had away?" Thereupon the Slovak people cried: "Alas, is naught of creation left for us?" And the Lord said: "Stay, have hope!" And, turning, He reached to the thrones of singing choirs of angels and took of the incense that wafted around the throne. And, bending, He placed His Hand in the Heaven's crystal waters, and with noble gentleness touched the tongues of the forgotten people. "Let this 1b e your language," the Lord, said; "such that no other can equal: as melodious as the music of heaven, as beautifttl as sparkling gems in the rays of the sun, as soothing as the lulling winds of May, as loving as the voice of a mother, as sweet as the smile of an infant babe, so tender and soft and smooth and true, its sound will make hearts of the old and bent and gray young once again." �SLOVAKIA Thus, with the tones of angelic voices, God made a balm for aching Slovak hearts. "This dowry," He said, "is for Slovak maids, that when they sing, their sadness may be changed to joy, that at their sound birds may cease their song to listen, the hills rise in glory, the fields bloom anew, the valleys with music ring, the brooks flow with ripples of melody, all the vales rejoice, and the very earth be changed to a paradise." Thus gloriously did God array the Slovak people and place them a,part in a world greedy for prominence, glory and power. Endowed with a heavenly gift, they cared not what awaited them among throngs greater than they. In God's hand they rest, and under His care they will always be. Sheltered in the protecting Tatra,s for long ages, they survive cruelty, tyranny, and power; to live and stand strong forever - a people of peace, beloved of God, may the Slovak people ever be! • • • "The treaties concluded at the Peace Conference (1918) made no reference to Slovak autonomy. After this episode the rift be!Jween the Centralists and the Autonomists was very deep. . . . The Czechs appear also to have objected to the validity of the document (Pittsburgh Pact) on th e ground that the Slovak League was not officialty recognized by the American authorities until 1919, although it was good enough for the advocacy of Czechoslovak claims (prior to that time.) . . . Slovakia was ruled by the two main Centralist parties •- the Agrarians and the Social Democrats with the support of the Czechs; and this continued to be the case even after the 1925 elections had shown the (Hlinka Slovak) People's Party to be at that time, much the strongest single Slovak party." (C. A. Macartney : HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS - London, 1937). WHO SAi D IT? - • • • "Great Moravia, after many centuries of peaceful burial, was dug up for the benefit of the Peace Conference in 1918, to be paraded as the earliest Czecho-Slovak State. . . The case for including Northern Hungary in Czecho-Slovakia does not rest on historical .rights, although the ghost of Svatopluk, ruler of Great Moravia, was made to serve its turn. But Svatopluk's historic claims were obviously less valid than those of Hungary, with her thousand-odd yeai;i;;.- of .u .ninterrupted possession . He was more important as supporting, by the evidence whi ch he gave of an early connection between the Czechs and Slovaks, the rea,I claim, which was that of self-determination." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER -~ljfiC~C~SSOR~ - London, 1937). WHO SAID IT? - � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 56 SLOVAKIA THE SWVAK TONGUE John Dater After the Almighty had distributed tongues of speech to all peoples even as He thought ·b est for them, there came from somewhere a little nation <o stand before Him with pleading, tear-filled eyes - but not to ask for power, lands, or a great name. It was love and understanding the Slovaks sought for their weary hearts. The Lord gave ear to their humble pleadings and said: "Where had you been when I was distributing My gifts among men?" "Alas, forgive us, Father," the little Slovak nation meekly implored, "the crowds were too great for us and made up of stronger peoples than we. Being weak, we had to stand afar, You see. Even those of our own Slav progeny, for having given us a helpful hand, wanted to steal our liberty." "Ah!" the Lord replied, "what now, then? Do you not know that I have given all I had away?" Thereupon the Slovak people cried: "Alas, is naught of creation left for us?" And the Lord said: "Stay, have hope!" And, turning, He reached to the thrones of singing choirs of angels and took of the incense that wafted around the throne. And, bending, He placed His Hand in the Heaven's crystal waters, and with noble gentleness touched the tongues of the forgotten people. "Let this 1b e your language," the Lord, said; "such that no other can equal: as melodious as the music of heaven, as beautifttl as sparkling gems in the rays of the sun, as soothing as the lulling winds of May, as loving as the voice of a mother, as sweet as the smile of an infant babe, so tender and soft and smooth and true, its sound will make hearts of the old and bent and gray young once again." SLOVAKIA Thus, with the tones of angelic voices, God made a balm for aching Slovak hearts. "This dowry," He said, "is for Slovak maids, that when they sing, their sadness may be changed to joy, that at their sound birds may cease their song to listen, the hills rise in glory, the fields bloom anew, the valleys with music ring, the brooks flow with ripples of melody, all the vales rejoice, and the very earth be changed to a paradise." Thus gloriously did God array the Slovak people and place them a,part in a world greedy for prominence, glory and power. Endowed with a heavenly gift, they cared not what awaited them among throngs greater than they. In God's hand they rest, and under His care they will always be. Sheltered in the protecting Tatra,s for long ages, they survive cruelty, tyranny, and power; to live and stand strong forever - a people of peace, beloved of God, may the Slovak people ever be! • • • "The treaties concluded at the Peace Conference (1918) made no reference to Slovak autonomy. After this episode the rift be!Jween the Centralists and the Autonomists was very deep. . . . The Czechs appear also to have objected to the validity of the document (Pittsburgh Pact) on th e ground that the Slovak League was not officialty recognized by the American authorities until 1919, although it was good enough for the advocacy of Czechoslovak claims (prior to that time.) . . . Slovakia was ruled by the two main Centralist parties •- the Agrarians and the Social Democrats with the support of the Czechs; and this continued to be the case even after the 1925 elections had shown the (Hlinka Slovak) People's Party to be at that time, much the strongest single Slovak party." (C. A. Macartney : HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS - London, 1937). WHO SAi D IT? - • • • "Great Moravia, after many centuries of peaceful burial, was dug up for the benefit of the Peace Conference in 1918, to be paraded as the earliest Czecho-Slovak State. . . The case for including Northern Hungary in Czecho-Slovakia does not rest on historical .rights, although the ghost of Svatopluk, ruler of Great Moravia, was made to serve its turn. But Svatopluk's historic claims were obviously less valid than those of Hungary, with her thousand-odd yeai;i;;.- of .u .ninterrupted possession . He was more important as supporting, by the evidence whi ch he gave of an early connection between the Czechs and Slovaks, the rea,I claim, which was that of self-determination." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER -~ljfiC~C~SSOR~ - London, 1937). WHO SAID IT? -  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Slovak Tongue Description An account of the resource John Ďateľ Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 56-57 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ďateľ, John Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/7d97e1ae997cc00824b72d452319f796.pdf 25acadf4a597bdd67b6c46605eb3835b PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- ----- -JOHN HOLLY.:.:.:.. PIONEER IN SLOVAK POETRY Cyril J. Potocek What ma dness beset you, what evil spirit urged you, That brother s redden their swords with brothers' blood; And the kingd om for which your ancestors toiled, Should through your ha te, crumble to dust? Thus did John Holly (1785-1849) in his ELEGIES lament the fall of the Great Moravian Empire. The Bernolak school produced this first Slovak poet, Holly, whose works were composed in the classical style. ,·~1··.1. The Age of Romanticism had been ushered into the .literatures of Britain by Byron, France by Hugo, Italy by Leopardi, Germany by Heine, Russia by Pushkin, and Poland by Mickiewicz. The Slovaks were familiar with the new romanticism appeared in 1833, retained the classical form. Holly's adherence to the classical form stemmed directly from the pattern of his life. He w~· born in Bury, nea:r Sastin, Bratislava County. He attended school at Skalica and Bratislava and then went to the seminary at Trnava to study for the priesthood. After his ordination in 1808, John Holly served as curate in Pobedim and IDohovec and in 1814 became the pastor at Madunice, a village overlooking the beautiful Vah River. In his ODES, Hollf tells how he composed his poetry under the leafy arms of an old oak tree. But his pastoral idyll ended abruptly in 1843 when his house took fire and the flames left him badly burned and almost blind. Holly went to live with a friend, the parish priest at Dobra Voda, and died there, totally blind, on April 14, 1849. In 1854 his grateful countrymen erected a monument over his grave in Dobra Voda. We have seen that the spirit of romanticism did not touch the poet, and from the review .of his life one can surmise the reason. Holly's education-jn•, .the Greek and Latin classics and his life as a priest, spent,·amid the Latin liturgical services, contributed to his preference of the classical form. �64 SLOVAKIA As a student, Holly had rendered translations from Virgil, Homer, Ovid, and Horace, which he published at Trnava in 1824 under the title MISCffiLLANEX)US POEMS (Rozlicne basne). The translations from Homer won the commendation of Jungmann, Safarik, and Niederle. In 1828 his translation of Virgil's AENEID was published at Trnava. In 1833 appeared Holly's longest poem, SVATOPLUK , a heroic epic in twelve cantos, also published at Trnava. This work, on which he had labored from 1827 to 1830, evidenced the author's profound study of Homer and Virgil. But the Svatopluk of Holly is not the Svatopluk of history, the ruler of the Great Moravian Empire from 870 to 894. Holly entwined history and mythology to present an ideal Svatopluk, not the treacherous prince of Nitra who joined the Germans against his uncle, Rastislav, the ruler of the empire, in the hope of winning the crown for himself. Holly's poetic genius had used a Slovak dialect in the composition of a masterpiece of Slovak literature. DAWN (Zora), the organ of Bernolak's school in Budapest, published his next work IDYLIJS (rSelanky) in 1835. These verses are poetic pictures of the happy pastoral life, composed between 1830 to 1835. The poet takes his reader through fertile fields watered by the river Vah, which served as the pasture ground for the villagers' cows and sheep, to meet the playful, music-loving, pastoral people. In a series of twenty-one idylls you meet the shepherd; mourn the death of the popular village singer ; greet a young couple on their way to be married; witness the fight between two powerful shepherds ; console the spurned lover; attend a marriage feast; and tend sheep in the lush meadows. Of his poetry Holly loved most his IDYiLLS because they recalled to him the pleasant life of his pastorate among a kind, simple, loveable flock. In 1835 at Budapest Holly's heroic epic in six cantos, CYRILLO-ME THODIADA, was published. Unlike his Svatopluk, this poem is historically accurate. Again the poet returns to the time of the Great Moravian Empire to describe the coming of the Apostles of the Slovaks and their missionary labors. �SLOVAKIA 66 In his SLAV, another heroic epic poem, Holly describes in seven cantos the deeds of Slav, the mythical father of the Slovaks, who led his people to victory against their enemies, the fierce Cudi. The events of this poem are wholly imaginative. The final creations of the first Slovak poet were his ELEGIES (Zalospevy) and ODES (Ody), published in 1839 and 1840, followed by two Catholic hymnals (Spevniky) in 1842 and 1846. The ffiLEGIES were the poetic lament of Holly for the destruction of the Slovak kingdom, the Great Moravian Empire, in 907 by Magyar horsemen. Again and again he returns to the rulers of that empire, Mojmir, Rastislav, Svatopluk; to the treachery, perfidy, and villainy that brought ruin to the Slovak State. His ODES treat of the present: the ode on Anton Bernolak glowingly praises the Slovak language; the one on the Slovak nation looks to the future with firm faith. The works of Holly created a Slovak national poetry and, despite their absorption in the Slovak past, these poems served to r evive the Slovak spirit then at a very low ebb. They urged the people to regard their past with pride and look to the future with hope. When we consider the difficulties that Holly had overcome in using the western Slovak dialect, a new literary medium, in the composition of his poetry, we must admire the talent of an artist forced to use imperfect tools for his creations. Holly's genius influenced his contemporaries, who were to establish central Slovak as the literary language. In 1846, when Andrew Sladkovic, the greatest poet of Stu.r's school, gave his lovely MARINA to the Slovak people, a blind old priest, spending his last years at Dobra V oda, was fondly recalling the .p leasant days when he lay beneath an ancient oak at Madunice composing his pastoral idylls . • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Russians like ourselves are Slavs, but when our blood brothers are Communists and Bolsheviks, we'll figlit them to the last man." (Statemen t m ade b y Dr. Josef Tiso, m ar- tyred P resident of Slovakia, to E . L. Delan ey, inite rnaUonally k nown American writer, co rre,s,pondenlt, speake r and n ew s commentator.) � SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- ----- -JOHN HOLLY.:.:.:.. PIONEER IN SLOVAK POETRY Cyril J. Potocek What ma dness beset you, what evil spirit urged you, That brother s redden their swords with brothers' blood; And the kingd om for which your ancestors toiled, Should through your ha te, crumble to dust? Thus did John Holly (1785-1849) in his ELEGIES lament the fall of the Great Moravian Empire. The Bernolak school produced this first Slovak poet, Holly, whose works were composed in the classical style. ,·~1··.1. The Age of Romanticism had been ushered into the .literatures of Britain by Byron, France by Hugo, Italy by Leopardi, Germany by Heine, Russia by Pushkin, and Poland by Mickiewicz. The Slovaks were familiar with the new romanticism appeared in 1833, retained the classical form. Holly's adherence to the classical form stemmed directly from the pattern of his life. He w~· born in Bury, nea:r Sastin, Bratislava County. He attended school at Skalica and Bratislava and then went to the seminary at Trnava to study for the priesthood. After his ordination in 1808, John Holly served as curate in Pobedim and IDohovec and in 1814 became the pastor at Madunice, a village overlooking the beautiful Vah River. In his ODES, Hollf tells how he composed his poetry under the leafy arms of an old oak tree. But his pastoral idyll ended abruptly in 1843 when his house took fire and the flames left him badly burned and almost blind. Holly went to live with a friend, the parish priest at Dobra Voda, and died there, totally blind, on April 14, 1849. In 1854 his grateful countrymen erected a monument over his grave in Dobra Voda. We have seen that the spirit of romanticism did not touch the poet, and from the review .of his life one can surmise the reason. Holly's education-jn•, .the Greek and Latin classics and his life as a priest, spent,·amid the Latin liturgical services, contributed to his preference of the classical form. �64 SLOVAKIA As a student, Holly had rendered translations from Virgil, Homer, Ovid, and Horace, which he published at Trnava in 1824 under the title MISCffiLLANEX)US POEMS (Rozlicne basne). The translations from Homer won the commendation of Jungmann, Safarik, and Niederle. In 1828 his translation of Virgil's AENEID was published at Trnava. In 1833 appeared Holly's longest poem, SVATOPLUK , a heroic epic in twelve cantos, also published at Trnava. This work, on which he had labored from 1827 to 1830, evidenced the author's profound study of Homer and Virgil. But the Svatopluk of Holly is not the Svatopluk of history, the ruler of the Great Moravian Empire from 870 to 894. Holly entwined history and mythology to present an ideal Svatopluk, not the treacherous prince of Nitra who joined the Germans against his uncle, Rastislav, the ruler of the empire, in the hope of winning the crown for himself. Holly's poetic genius had used a Slovak dialect in the composition of a masterpiece of Slovak literature. DAWN (Zora), the organ of Bernolak's school in Budapest, published his next work IDYLIJS (rSelanky) in 1835. These verses are poetic pictures of the happy pastoral life, composed between 1830 to 1835. The poet takes his reader through fertile fields watered by the river Vah, which served as the pasture ground for the villagers' cows and sheep, to meet the playful, music-loving, pastoral people. In a series of twenty-one idylls you meet the shepherd; mourn the death of the popular village singer ; greet a young couple on their way to be married; witness the fight between two powerful shepherds ; console the spurned lover; attend a marriage feast; and tend sheep in the lush meadows. Of his poetry Holly loved most his IDYiLLS because they recalled to him the pleasant life of his pastorate among a kind, simple, loveable flock. In 1835 at Budapest Holly's heroic epic in six cantos, CYRILLO-ME THODIADA, was published. Unlike his Svatopluk, this poem is historically accurate. Again the poet returns to the time of the Great Moravian Empire to describe the coming of the Apostles of the Slovaks and their missionary labors. �SLOVAKIA 66 In his SLAV, another heroic epic poem, Holly describes in seven cantos the deeds of Slav, the mythical father of the Slovaks, who led his people to victory against their enemies, the fierce Cudi. The events of this poem are wholly imaginative. The final creations of the first Slovak poet were his ELEGIES (Zalospevy) and ODES (Ody), published in 1839 and 1840, followed by two Catholic hymnals (Spevniky) in 1842 and 1846. The ffiLEGIES were the poetic lament of Holly for the destruction of the Slovak kingdom, the Great Moravian Empire, in 907 by Magyar horsemen. Again and again he returns to the rulers of that empire, Mojmir, Rastislav, Svatopluk; to the treachery, perfidy, and villainy that brought ruin to the Slovak State. His ODES treat of the present: the ode on Anton Bernolak glowingly praises the Slovak language; the one on the Slovak nation looks to the future with firm faith. The works of Holly created a Slovak national poetry and, despite their absorption in the Slovak past, these poems served to r evive the Slovak spirit then at a very low ebb. They urged the people to regard their past with pride and look to the future with hope. When we consider the difficulties that Holly had overcome in using the western Slovak dialect, a new literary medium, in the composition of his poetry, we must admire the talent of an artist forced to use imperfect tools for his creations. Holly's genius influenced his contemporaries, who were to establish central Slovak as the literary language. In 1846, when Andrew Sladkovic, the greatest poet of Stu.r's school, gave his lovely MARINA to the Slovak people, a blind old priest, spending his last years at Dobra V oda, was fondly recalling the .p leasant days when he lay beneath an ancient oak at Madunice composing his pastoral idylls . • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Russians like ourselves are Slavs, but when our blood brothers are Communists and Bolsheviks, we'll figlit them to the last man." (Statemen t m ade b y Dr. Josef Tiso, m ar- tyred P resident of Slovakia, to E . L. Delan ey, inite rnaUonally k nown American writer, co rre,s,pondenlt, speake r and n ew s commentator.) � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 JOHN HOLLY. - PIONEER IN SLOVAK POETRY Cyril J. Potocek What ma dness beset you, what evil spirit urged you, That brother s redden their swords with brothers' blood; And the kingd om for which your ancestors toiled, Should through your ha te, crumble to dust? Thus did John Holly (1785-1849) in his ELEGIES lament the fall of the Great Moravian Empire. The Bernolak school produced this first Slovak poet, Holly, whose works were composed in the classical style. ,·~1··.1. The Age of Romanticism had been ushered into the .literatures of Britain by Byron, France by Hugo, Italy by Leopardi, Germany by Heine, Russia by Pushkin, and Poland by Mickiewicz. The Slovaks were familiar with the new romanticism appeared in 1833, retained the classical form. Holly's adherence to the classical form stemmed directly from the pattern of his life. He w~· born in Bury, nea:r Sastin, Bratislava County. He attended school at Skalica and Bratislava and then went to the seminary at Trnava to study for the priesthood. After his ordination in 1808, John Holly served as curate in Pobedim and IDohovec and in 1814 became the pastor at Madunice, a village overlooking the beautiful Vah River. In his ODES, Hollf tells how he composed his poetry under the leafy arms of an old oak tree. But his pastoral idyll ended abruptly in 1843 when his house took fire and the flames left him badly burned and almost blind. Holly went to live with a friend, the parish priest at Dobra Voda, and died there, totally blind, on April 14, 1849. In 1854 his grateful countrymen erected a monument over his grave in Dobra Voda. We have seen that the spirit of romanticism did not touch the poet, and from the review .of his life one can surmise the reason. Holly's education-jn•, .the Greek and Latin classics and his life as a priest, spent,·amid the Latin liturgical services, contributed to his preference of the classical form. 64 SLOVAKIA As a student, Holly had rendered translations from Virgil, Homer, Ovid, and Horace, which he published at Trnava in 1824 under the title MISCffiLLANEX)US POEMS (Rozlicne basne). The translations from Homer won the commendation of Jungmann, Safarik, and Niederle. In 1828 his translation of Virgil's AENEID was published at Trnava. In 1833 appeared Holly's longest poem, SVATOPLUK , a heroic epic in twelve cantos, also published at Trnava. This work, on which he had labored from 1827 to 1830, evidenced the author's profound study of Homer and Virgil. But the Svatopluk of Holly is not the Svatopluk of history, the ruler of the Great Moravian Empire from 870 to 894. Holly entwined history and mythology to present an ideal Svatopluk, not the treacherous prince of Nitra who joined the Germans against his uncle, Rastislav, the ruler of the empire, in the hope of winning the crown for himself. Holly's poetic genius had used a Slovak dialect in the composition of a masterpiece of Slovak literature. DAWN (Zora), the organ of Bernolak's school in Budapest, published his next work IDYLIJS (rSelanky) in 1835. These verses are poetic pictures of the happy pastoral life, composed between 1830 to 1835. The poet takes his reader through fertile fields watered by the river Vah, which served as the pasture ground for the villagers' cows and sheep, to meet the playful, music-loving, pastoral people. In a series of twenty-one idylls you meet the shepherd; mourn the death of the popular village singer ; greet a young couple on their way to be married; witness the fight between two powerful shepherds ; console the spurned lover; attend a marriage feast; and tend sheep in the lush meadows. Of his poetry Holly loved most his IDYiLLS because they recalled to him the pleasant life of his pastorate among a kind, simple, loveable flock. In 1835 at Budapest Holly's heroic epic in six cantos, CYRILLO-ME THODIADA, was published. Unlike his Svatopluk, this poem is historically accurate. Again the poet returns to the time of the Great Moravian Empire to describe the coming of the Apostles of the Slovaks and their missionary labors. SLOVAKIA 66 In his SLAV, another heroic epic poem, Holly describes in seven cantos the deeds of Slav, the mythical father of the Slovaks, who led his people to victory against their enemies, the fierce Cudi. The events of this poem are wholly imaginative. The final creations of the first Slovak poet were his ELEGIES (Zalospevy) and ODES (Ody), published in 1839 and 1840, followed by two Catholic hymnals (Spevniky) in 1842 and 1846. The ffiLEGIES were the poetic lament of Holly for the destruction of the Slovak kingdom, the Great Moravian Empire, in 907 by Magyar horsemen. Again and again he returns to the rulers of that empire, Mojmir, Rastislav, Svatopluk; to the treachery, perfidy, and villainy that brought ruin to the Slovak State. His ODES treat of the present: the ode on Anton Bernolak glowingly praises the Slovak language; the one on the Slovak nation looks to the future with firm faith. The works of Holly created a Slovak national poetry and, despite their absorption in the Slovak past, these poems served to r evive the Slovak spirit then at a very low ebb. They urged the people to regard their past with pride and look to the future with hope. When we consider the difficulties that Holly had overcome in using the western Slovak dialect, a new literary medium, in the composition of his poetry, we must admire the talent of an artist forced to use imperfect tools for his creations. Holly's genius influenced his contemporaries, who were to establish central Slovak as the literary language. In 1846, when Andrew Sladkovic, the greatest poet of Stu.r's school, gave his lovely MARINA to the Slovak people, a blind old priest, spending his last years at Dobra V oda, was fondly recalling the .p leasant days when he lay beneath an ancient oak at Madunice composing his pastoral idylls . • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Russians like ourselves are Slavs, but when our blood brothers are Communists and Bolsheviks, we'll figlit them to the last man." (Statemen t m ade b y Dr. Josef Tiso, m ar- tyred P resident of Slovakia, to E . L. Delan ey, inite rnaUonally k nown American writer, co rre,s,pondenlt, speake r and n ew s commentator.)  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 John Hollý - Pioneer in Slovak Poetry Description An account of the resource Cyril J. Potoček Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 53-55 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Potoček, Cyril J. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/cae39c6465594f6f4a0f788fb7fc510c.pdf 6fd3e7fee758d0c6d5ec88cc21a37386 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA THE TRAGIC CASE OF DUSAN SLAVIK Constantine Culen No generation of the Slovak nation sinned so grievously against its own people as did the generation of so-called "pre-revolutionary " Slovaks, who rendered service to Prague and so betrayed their Slovak birthright for a mess of Czech pottage. To this group -b elong Dr. Joseph Lettrich, former chairman of the Slovak National Front and communist collaborator, and Dr. George Slavik, former ambassador of Dr. Benes to the USA - today both are leading members of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia." They were the socalled "Czechoslovaks," the "ruling class" of Slovakia, who believed that political leaders of the overwhelming majority of the Slovak nation were not fit for any government office either in Slovakia or in the ill-fated Czecho-Slovak Republic of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes. This story is about the son of Dr. George Slavik, Dusan Slavik, who was executed several years ago along with an i.n dustrialist named Tvarozka for espionage and acts inimical fo the "people's democracy." The court which tried Slavik and others was the court set up by Dr. Edward Benes, for whom the elder Slavik worked - the court approved by Dr. Lettrich, who today roams freely about America telling people how great a democrat and anti-Communist he is! The irony of the whole affair is that Dr. Lettrich had decorated both of the executed men for services rendered to restore Czecho-Slovakia. The boys did everything in 1945 to annihilate the independent state of Slovakia and re-estab:. lish the Czecho-Slovak state of Benes which was unwanted by 90 per cent of the Slovak people. For that they were decorated by Lettrich and the Reds. Again they became members of the "ruling" class. Then in 1949: death by the 6rder of the "People's Court!" : ' .. It should be noted for 'h istory that the Slovak Republic thtotighout its six-year: existence had protected Dusan Slavik. And all the while his father, ambassador George Slavik, �iO SLOVAKIA villified and smeared the Slovak State and threatened Tiso and other Slovak leaders with terrible reprisals. What was young Dusan doing during that time? Attending Bratislava University and taking advantage of everything the Slova'k State had to offer to Slovak students. And the Tvarozkas waxed rich, just as had so many other "select" families of Brezova. When waves of the bolshevik armies inundated Slovakia in 1945, the unfinished lawyer Dusan Slavik became the "leader" of a group of Slovak students. At 23 he was a Deputy of parliament. Dr. Lettrich and the Reds knew whom to place in high positions. They could not trust the hated Catholic "separatists" and followers of IIlinka and Tiso. But they knew that they could depend on the Slaviks, Ursinys, Stefaniks, Boors, Cobrdas and others - who professed to be Christian followers of Martin Luther - to make it really tough for the overwhelming Catholic majority of the Slovak population. And tough they made it, too! The youngsters of this so-called "ruling" class in Slovakia followed closely in their fathers' footsteps. As their fathers had divided positions and functions in 1918, so also did their sons in 1945. They shared lucrative governmental positions in Slovakia with nobody but the Communists. The youthful leaders of Slovak students ,o utlawed all existing student organizations and established a new one: "The Club of Fighting Youth." Only a partisan and non-Catholic could be an officer of the Club. Rudas and Ba.zany represented the Communists in the office of the Club, and Slavik, Stefanik and Boor represented the families of the "pre-revolutionary" super-patriots. The very first thing that Dusan's Club did was to set up a screening commission to put the finger on all students "who had sinned against the Slovak nation." As a result thousands of students were expelled from universities. Their crime: they belonged to the Hlinka Youth Organization! Young Slavik further proposed that no diplomas or degrees given or acquired during the years of the Slovak Republic be recognized as valid. But that proposition fell through be- �SLOVAKIA 61 cause even the Communists thought it was going too far at that time. Young Slavik had begun his political career as a Deputy of Lettrich's Democratic Party. But when Benes saw that Lettrich was getting a bit coc'ky in Slovakia - claiming that his party represented at least 62 per cent of the voting population - he gave money to Dr. Srobar to start the Liberty Party. Young Slavik was in on the deal. He soon became a leading member of the new party and a private secretary to Srobar; he was told the party had the blessing of Benes and soon would be the largest ,p olitical party in Slovakia. But even then he was not satisfied. A year later Dusan Slavik became a member of the Socialist Democratic Party, which promised him more than Srobar's party. After the Stalinists were firmly entrenched in the government of Czecho-Slovakia, they staged their so-called "putsch" in February, 1948. · Everything went overboard. All Red opposition was outlawed, jailad, exiled to Siberia, put into labor camps or executed. Benes, Sramek and many other "democratic" greats who collaborated fully with the Gottwaldists were thrown out. Lettrich, Ursiny, Slavik, and all the other "select" leaders, who had set out with the Reds to smash the Catholics of Slovakia, shared a similar fate. And young Dusan Slavik, who had screened so many of his classmates and labeled them "anti-state," made out worse than most of the bigwigs who had counseled him. Lettrich and many of the leading "pre-revolutionary" Slovaks are enjoying the freedom of America and London, but Dusan was executed. Dusan Slavik was executed by order of the "people's court." His murderers were the enemies of the Slovak nation. But his father and he had thought they were friends. Dusan walked in his father's footsteps, hoping that he too, as ;a faithful follower of the anti-democratic, anti-Christian and anti-Slova.k -policies of Benes, might have an eternal claim to some ministerial job, just like his father seemed to have. Dusan, however, was just as terribly mistaken as was Benes, who had found out too late that you cannot do business with Stalin and win. �52 SLOVAKIA Dr. Benes knew how the Slovak Lutherans felt a,,bout the Slovak Catholics. So did Stalin and his man Friday in Czecho-Slovakia - the late Gottwald. Benes and Stalin used that hatred of the Lutherans against the Catholics to attain their own ends. It is high time that all Slovak Christians realize what has happened to their Slovakia, put away their hatred and work together to liberate their country from Godless, Red rule and to establish a democratic, independent Slovakia, the safe guarantee of their national existence . • • • WHO SAID IT? "lt would be a new tragedy not merely for .Elurope but for the whole world if the Soviet Union were again driven into is olation and deprived of an Influence ON THE COURSE OF EUROPEAN EVENTS. That 1s why what I hi.ve called the MIDDLE WAY has been chosen - the natural way which does not abandon the principle of federa,tlon ' or the ruture and meanwhile permits friendly agreements !or mumat assistance and post-war collaboration such as the CzechoslovakSoviet Pact. This agreement is not merely defensive, merely regional, merely based on self-Interest. It leaves room for collaboration with all the Allied nations and in essence serves WORLD PEACE and helps lay the foundations of the NEW WORLD. whicb is to be FREE from the fear of War. FREE from the curse of Naziism and Fascism IN ALL THE!h ~'ORMS, a world based on the principles of INDIVIDUAL AND NATION AL LIBERTY. It does not mean tha,t we shall be an instrument of SOVIET policy, but it CERTAINLY means that we shall not be an instrument of ANTI-SOVIET policy. Internally we shall be COMPLETELY FREE, with quite different cultural, economic and soci al conditions than exist in SOVIET RUSSIA. And 1n our external affairs we shall not abandon our efforts to reach the same relations we have established with Russia and to malnt.ain with Poland · as our traditional relations with wes tern Europe. This path FULLY accords with Czechoslovakia's national tradition of HUMANITARIAN ( Dr. Benes, Foreign Affairs, New York, October OEMOCRACY." 1944). • • • "Our relations with Germany are good and correct and they s.hall remain so In the future In every instance. Between ourselves and Germany there never were, are not, and shall not be any border d~bates and difficulties." (Dr. Ben es, Speecb to the Slovaks, 1933) . • • • "We must get rid of all those Germans in _Czechoslovakia who plunged a dagger in the back of the Czechoslovak state in 1938. Similar treatment· will be meted out to ALL collaborationists in the Czech lands and In . Slovakia and to ALL those whq _lost faith .i.n, the State, in democracy, freedom and In glorious tradition." - (Dr. Benes Brol!,d· · cast from London, October 28. 1944). � SLOVAKIA THE TRAGIC CASE OF DUSAN SLAVIK Constantine Culen No generation of the Slovak nation sinned so grievously against its own people as did the generation of so-called "pre-revolutionary " Slovaks, who rendered service to Prague and so betrayed their Slovak birthright for a mess of Czech pottage. To this group -b elong Dr. Joseph Lettrich, former chairman of the Slovak National Front and communist collaborator, and Dr. George Slavik, former ambassador of Dr. Benes to the USA - today both are leading members of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia." They were the socalled "Czechoslovaks," the "ruling class" of Slovakia, who believed that political leaders of the overwhelming majority of the Slovak nation were not fit for any government office either in Slovakia or in the ill-fated Czecho-Slovak Republic of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes. This story is about the son of Dr. George Slavik, Dusan Slavik, who was executed several years ago along with an i.n dustrialist named Tvarozka for espionage and acts inimical fo the "people's democracy." The court which tried Slavik and others was the court set up by Dr. Edward Benes, for whom the elder Slavik worked - the court approved by Dr. Lettrich, who today roams freely about America telling people how great a democrat and anti-Communist he is! The irony of the whole affair is that Dr. Lettrich had decorated both of the executed men for services rendered to restore Czecho-Slovakia. The boys did everything in 1945 to annihilate the independent state of Slovakia and re-estab:. lish the Czecho-Slovak state of Benes which was unwanted by 90 per cent of the Slovak people. For that they were decorated by Lettrich and the Reds. Again they became members of the "ruling" class. Then in 1949: death by the 6rder of the "People's Court!" : ' .. It should be noted for 'h istory that the Slovak Republic thtotighout its six-year: existence had protected Dusan Slavik. And all the while his father, ambassador George Slavik, �iO SLOVAKIA villified and smeared the Slovak State and threatened Tiso and other Slovak leaders with terrible reprisals. What was young Dusan doing during that time? Attending Bratislava University and taking advantage of everything the Slova'k State had to offer to Slovak students. And the Tvarozkas waxed rich, just as had so many other "select" families of Brezova. When waves of the bolshevik armies inundated Slovakia in 1945, the unfinished lawyer Dusan Slavik became the "leader" of a group of Slovak students. At 23 he was a Deputy of parliament. Dr. Lettrich and the Reds knew whom to place in high positions. They could not trust the hated Catholic "separatists" and followers of IIlinka and Tiso. But they knew that they could depend on the Slaviks, Ursinys, Stefaniks, Boors, Cobrdas and others - who professed to be Christian followers of Martin Luther - to make it really tough for the overwhelming Catholic majority of the Slovak population. And tough they made it, too! The youngsters of this so-called "ruling" class in Slovakia followed closely in their fathers' footsteps. As their fathers had divided positions and functions in 1918, so also did their sons in 1945. They shared lucrative governmental positions in Slovakia with nobody but the Communists. The youthful leaders of Slovak students ,o utlawed all existing student organizations and established a new one: "The Club of Fighting Youth." Only a partisan and non-Catholic could be an officer of the Club. Rudas and Ba.zany represented the Communists in the office of the Club, and Slavik, Stefanik and Boor represented the families of the "pre-revolutionary" super-patriots. The very first thing that Dusan's Club did was to set up a screening commission to put the finger on all students "who had sinned against the Slovak nation." As a result thousands of students were expelled from universities. Their crime: they belonged to the Hlinka Youth Organization! Young Slavik further proposed that no diplomas or degrees given or acquired during the years of the Slovak Republic be recognized as valid. But that proposition fell through be- �SLOVAKIA 61 cause even the Communists thought it was going too far at that time. Young Slavik had begun his political career as a Deputy of Lettrich's Democratic Party. But when Benes saw that Lettrich was getting a bit coc'ky in Slovakia - claiming that his party represented at least 62 per cent of the voting population - he gave money to Dr. Srobar to start the Liberty Party. Young Slavik was in on the deal. He soon became a leading member of the new party and a private secretary to Srobar; he was told the party had the blessing of Benes and soon would be the largest ,p olitical party in Slovakia. But even then he was not satisfied. A year later Dusan Slavik became a member of the Socialist Democratic Party, which promised him more than Srobar's party. After the Stalinists were firmly entrenched in the government of Czecho-Slovakia, they staged their so-called "putsch" in February, 1948. · Everything went overboard. All Red opposition was outlawed, jailad, exiled to Siberia, put into labor camps or executed. Benes, Sramek and many other "democratic" greats who collaborated fully with the Gottwaldists were thrown out. Lettrich, Ursiny, Slavik, and all the other "select" leaders, who had set out with the Reds to smash the Catholics of Slovakia, shared a similar fate. And young Dusan Slavik, who had screened so many of his classmates and labeled them "anti-state," made out worse than most of the bigwigs who had counseled him. Lettrich and many of the leading "pre-revolutionary" Slovaks are enjoying the freedom of America and London, but Dusan was executed. Dusan Slavik was executed by order of the "people's court." His murderers were the enemies of the Slovak nation. But his father and he had thought they were friends. Dusan walked in his father's footsteps, hoping that he too, as ;a faithful follower of the anti-democratic, anti-Christian and anti-Slova.k -policies of Benes, might have an eternal claim to some ministerial job, just like his father seemed to have. Dusan, however, was just as terribly mistaken as was Benes, who had found out too late that you cannot do business with Stalin and win. �52 SLOVAKIA Dr. Benes knew how the Slovak Lutherans felt a,,bout the Slovak Catholics. So did Stalin and his man Friday in Czecho-Slovakia - the late Gottwald. Benes and Stalin used that hatred of the Lutherans against the Catholics to attain their own ends. It is high time that all Slovak Christians realize what has happened to their Slovakia, put away their hatred and work together to liberate their country from Godless, Red rule and to establish a democratic, independent Slovakia, the safe guarantee of their national existence . • • • WHO SAID IT? "lt would be a new tragedy not merely for .Elurope but for the whole world if the Soviet Union were again driven into is olation and deprived of an Influence ON THE COURSE OF EUROPEAN EVENTS. That 1s why what I hi.ve called the MIDDLE WAY has been chosen - the natural way which does not abandon the principle of federa,tlon ' or the ruture and meanwhile permits friendly agreements !or mumat assistance and post-war collaboration such as the CzechoslovakSoviet Pact. This agreement is not merely defensive, merely regional, merely based on self-Interest. It leaves room for collaboration with all the Allied nations and in essence serves WORLD PEACE and helps lay the foundations of the NEW WORLD. whicb is to be FREE from the fear of War. FREE from the curse of Naziism and Fascism IN ALL THE!h ~'ORMS, a world based on the principles of INDIVIDUAL AND NATION AL LIBERTY. It does not mean tha,t we shall be an instrument of SOVIET policy, but it CERTAINLY means that we shall not be an instrument of ANTI-SOVIET policy. Internally we shall be COMPLETELY FREE, with quite different cultural, economic and soci al conditions than exist in SOVIET RUSSIA. And 1n our external affairs we shall not abandon our efforts to reach the same relations we have established with Russia and to malnt.ain with Poland · as our traditional relations with wes tern Europe. This path FULLY accords with Czechoslovakia's national tradition of HUMANITARIAN ( Dr. Benes, Foreign Affairs, New York, October OEMOCRACY." 1944). • • • "Our relations with Germany are good and correct and they s.hall remain so In the future In every instance. Between ourselves and Germany there never were, are not, and shall not be any border d~bates and difficulties." (Dr. Ben es, Speecb to the Slovaks, 1933) . • • • "We must get rid of all those Germans in _Czechoslovakia who plunged a dagger in the back of the Czechoslovak state in 1938. Similar treatment· will be meted out to ALL collaborationists in the Czech lands and In . Slovakia and to ALL those whq _lost faith .i.n, the State, in democracy, freedom and In glorious tradition." - (Dr. Benes Brol!,d· · cast from London, October 28. 1944). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 THE TRAGIC CASE OF DUSAN SLAVIK Constantine Culen No generation of the Slovak nation sinned so grievously against its own people as did the generation of so-called "pre-revolutionary " Slovaks, who rendered service to Prague and so betrayed their Slovak birthright for a mess of Czech pottage. To this group -b elong Dr. Joseph Lettrich, former chairman of the Slovak National Front and communist collaborator, and Dr. George Slavik, former ambassador of Dr. Benes to the USA - today both are leading members of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia." They were the socalled "Czechoslovaks," the "ruling class" of Slovakia, who believed that political leaders of the overwhelming majority of the Slovak nation were not fit for any government office either in Slovakia or in the ill-fated Czecho-Slovak Republic of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes. This story is about the son of Dr. George Slavik, Dusan Slavik, who was executed several years ago along with an i.n dustrialist named Tvarozka for espionage and acts inimical fo the "people's democracy." The court which tried Slavik and others was the court set up by Dr. Edward Benes, for whom the elder Slavik worked - the court approved by Dr. Lettrich, who today roams freely about America telling people how great a democrat and anti-Communist he is! The irony of the whole affair is that Dr. Lettrich had decorated both of the executed men for services rendered to restore Czecho-Slovakia. The boys did everything in 1945 to annihilate the independent state of Slovakia and re-estab:. lish the Czecho-Slovak state of Benes which was unwanted by 90 per cent of the Slovak people. For that they were decorated by Lettrich and the Reds. Again they became members of the "ruling" class. Then in 1949: death by the 6rder of the "People's Court!" : ' .. It should be noted for 'h istory that the Slovak Republic thtotighout its six-year: existence had protected Dusan Slavik. And all the while his father, ambassador George Slavik, iO SLOVAKIA villified and smeared the Slovak State and threatened Tiso and other Slovak leaders with terrible reprisals. What was young Dusan doing during that time? Attending Bratislava University and taking advantage of everything the Slova'k State had to offer to Slovak students. And the Tvarozkas waxed rich, just as had so many other "select" families of Brezova. When waves of the bolshevik armies inundated Slovakia in 1945, the unfinished lawyer Dusan Slavik became the "leader" of a group of Slovak students. At 23 he was a Deputy of parliament. Dr. Lettrich and the Reds knew whom to place in high positions. They could not trust the hated Catholic "separatists" and followers of IIlinka and Tiso. But they knew that they could depend on the Slaviks, Ursinys, Stefaniks, Boors, Cobrdas and others - who professed to be Christian followers of Martin Luther - to make it really tough for the overwhelming Catholic majority of the Slovak population. And tough they made it, too! The youngsters of this so-called "ruling" class in Slovakia followed closely in their fathers' footsteps. As their fathers had divided positions and functions in 1918, so also did their sons in 1945. They shared lucrative governmental positions in Slovakia with nobody but the Communists. The youthful leaders of Slovak students ,o utlawed all existing student organizations and established a new one: "The Club of Fighting Youth." Only a partisan and non-Catholic could be an officer of the Club. Rudas and Ba.zany represented the Communists in the office of the Club, and Slavik, Stefanik and Boor represented the families of the "pre-revolutionary" super-patriots. The very first thing that Dusan's Club did was to set up a screening commission to put the finger on all students "who had sinned against the Slovak nation." As a result thousands of students were expelled from universities. Their crime: they belonged to the Hlinka Youth Organization! Young Slavik further proposed that no diplomas or degrees given or acquired during the years of the Slovak Republic be recognized as valid. But that proposition fell through be- SLOVAKIA 61 cause even the Communists thought it was going too far at that time. Young Slavik had begun his political career as a Deputy of Lettrich's Democratic Party. But when Benes saw that Lettrich was getting a bit coc'ky in Slovakia - claiming that his party represented at least 62 per cent of the voting population - he gave money to Dr. Srobar to start the Liberty Party. Young Slavik was in on the deal. He soon became a leading member of the new party and a private secretary to Srobar; he was told the party had the blessing of Benes and soon would be the largest ,p olitical party in Slovakia. But even then he was not satisfied. A year later Dusan Slavik became a member of the Socialist Democratic Party, which promised him more than Srobar's party. After the Stalinists were firmly entrenched in the government of Czecho-Slovakia, they staged their so-called "putsch" in February, 1948. · Everything went overboard. All Red opposition was outlawed, jailad, exiled to Siberia, put into labor camps or executed. Benes, Sramek and many other "democratic" greats who collaborated fully with the Gottwaldists were thrown out. Lettrich, Ursiny, Slavik, and all the other "select" leaders, who had set out with the Reds to smash the Catholics of Slovakia, shared a similar fate. And young Dusan Slavik, who had screened so many of his classmates and labeled them "anti-state," made out worse than most of the bigwigs who had counseled him. Lettrich and many of the leading "pre-revolutionary" Slovaks are enjoying the freedom of America and London, but Dusan was executed. Dusan Slavik was executed by order of the "people's court." His murderers were the enemies of the Slovak nation. But his father and he had thought they were friends. Dusan walked in his father's footsteps, hoping that he too, as ;a faithful follower of the anti-democratic, anti-Christian and anti-Slova.k -policies of Benes, might have an eternal claim to some ministerial job, just like his father seemed to have. Dusan, however, was just as terribly mistaken as was Benes, who had found out too late that you cannot do business with Stalin and win. 52 SLOVAKIA Dr. Benes knew how the Slovak Lutherans felt a,,bout the Slovak Catholics. So did Stalin and his man Friday in Czecho-Slovakia - the late Gottwald. Benes and Stalin used that hatred of the Lutherans against the Catholics to attain their own ends. It is high time that all Slovak Christians realize what has happened to their Slovakia, put away their hatred and work together to liberate their country from Godless, Red rule and to establish a democratic, independent Slovakia, the safe guarantee of their national existence . • • • WHO SAID IT? "lt would be a new tragedy not merely for .Elurope but for the whole world if the Soviet Union were again driven into is olation and deprived of an Influence ON THE COURSE OF EUROPEAN EVENTS. That 1s why what I hi.ve called the MIDDLE WAY has been chosen - the natural way which does not abandon the principle of federa,tlon ' or the ruture and meanwhile permits friendly agreements !or mumat assistance and post-war collaboration such as the CzechoslovakSoviet Pact. This agreement is not merely defensive, merely regional, merely based on self-Interest. It leaves room for collaboration with all the Allied nations and in essence serves WORLD PEACE and helps lay the foundations of the NEW WORLD. whicb is to be FREE from the fear of War. FREE from the curse of Naziism and Fascism IN ALL THE!h ~'ORMS, a world based on the principles of INDIVIDUAL AND NATION AL LIBERTY. It does not mean tha,t we shall be an instrument of SOVIET policy, but it CERTAINLY means that we shall not be an instrument of ANTI-SOVIET policy. Internally we shall be COMPLETELY FREE, with quite different cultural, economic and soci al conditions than exist in SOVIET RUSSIA. And 1n our external affairs we shall not abandon our efforts to reach the same relations we have established with Russia and to malnt.ain with Poland · as our traditional relations with wes tern Europe. This path FULLY accords with Czechoslovakia's national tradition of HUMANITARIAN ( Dr. Benes, Foreign Affairs, New York, October OEMOCRACY." 1944). • • • "Our relations with Germany are good and correct and they s.hall remain so In the future In every instance. Between ourselves and Germany there never were, are not, and shall not be any border d~bates and difficulties." (Dr. Ben es, Speecb to the Slovaks, 1933) . • • • "We must get rid of all those Germans in _Czechoslovakia who plunged a dagger in the back of the Czechoslovak state in 1938. Similar treatment· will be meted out to ALL collaborationists in the Czech lands and In . Slovakia and to ALL those whq _lost faith .i.n, the State, in democracy, freedom and In glorious tradition." - (Dr. Benes Brol!,d· · cast from London, October 28. 1944).  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 Tragic Case of Dušan Slávik Description An account of the resource Constantine Čulen Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 49-52 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Čulen, Konštantín, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/4de0f9b3f07a1d48924005bb08767f0b.pdf 3fb70797b3aaf1a050b830587ab19be9 PDF Text Text 46 SLOVAKIA COULD CZECHS AND SLOVAKS AGREE? Joseph Kirschbaum, M. A., LL. D. In his schol,a rly work "The HaJbsburrg Monare'hy," the emment English historian A. J. P. Taylor, writing in regard to O.rech tenden:cies to assimilate the SIJ.ovak people and to dommate 'Slovakia, stated that the Ozechs overlooked the fact that the age of national amal gama<tion was over and, therefore, ".the Czech could outplay the Slovaks; .they could not satisfy them." According to Mr. Ta:yJor: "Masaryk revived the radical idea of 1848 and · proposed to create a sing;le 'Oreclloslovak' nation 1by will power. Masaryk knew little of ·t he Slovaks; others knew even less This was his strength in dealing 'with the al1ied leaders; it ,c ould not solve the Slovak rproiblem. Masaryk had hoped thaJt the Czechs ,amd the Slovaks would come together as the English and the Scotch had done ; the Slovaks tUTned out to lbe the Irish." 1 Just recenUy I quoted this statement of Mr. Taylor's whi:le converaing with a representative of American politics. My interilocutor said nothing a/bout 1t, but asked whether the Czechs ·t hemselves ,t hought along .those lines. "Not all Czechs," I replied; "however, I do not think that would or could alter the fact ,s tated by Taylor." In reality, even though Taylor notes olbjectively the development of the relationship between the Czechs and the Slova,ks, the leadershi1p of the Czech exile obstinately refuses to see this historic aotuality and dr.aw from i,t the logical ·c onclusion. Still imbued with imperialistic ideas, certain Ozeoh exiles continue to foHow the illusions of the hrupless past which can never return. IDven today they are ,n ot interested in a federated Ozecho-Slova'kia, but are dreaJining of forcing the Slovaks once a,gain into a political system which came into .b eing with the Constitution orf 1920, the 1preamlble of which begins wiith the words "We the Ozechoslcwak nation." That Constitution was �46 SLOV.AKJA authored. iby the Czechs without Slovak participation. Of course, the P•r ague Government, headed by T. G. Masaryik, saw to it that the Slovaks had a voice in it: it 8JPpointed. such genuine S1oivaks Hke Dr. Edward Benes and Alice Masaryk (lboth Ozechs ! ) to represent the Slovak nation on the committee on the constitution! On the other ,hand, these Ozech emigrants forget the "imponderalbilia," such as the faict that their names inevita'bly evoke in the Slovaks not only bjtter reminiscences of the twenty-yeaT-o ld centralism, but aJso the phantom orf the galllQlws, concenJtration ca:mps, deportations, murders and the destruction of properties of thousands of Slovak families after the re-establishm ent of Crecho-Slova1kia in 1945. Ail this is connected with the names of Rvpka, Peroutka, Zen1kl, Prochazka and the political parties which the Czech emigrants in the "Ootmcil of Free Czeichoslovalkia" represent. For every selt--consoious Slovaik, therefore, it i:s an insult when these Ozech emigraints thinik that the Slovak nation could agree wiith their political conceptions, or thaJt it could recognruze a representati'On of people with an antliS1ovaik record such as has practically every representative of the "Council of Free Czechoslovak ia." They definitely do 111ot represent the will of the Sllovak nation, and when the representative s of the "Council orf Free Ozechoslova:kia" pretend ,t hat they do, they are only deceiving the international pUlblic. 'Dhe mandate given them in the shadow of the gallows and under the threat of Russian bayonets for services rendered to CommUiliist expansion has long lost its validity. Does this mean that every understanding and cooperation between the Czechs and Slovaks in exile and between the Czeicih nation and the Slovak nation is excluded a priori after liberation? It does not. The Slovaik nation and its representa•ti<ves in exile are suffi•cient:Jly aware of the fact that the fig,ht against Communism and, later, the destiny of Central Eu.Tope require the understanding and cooperation of all the Central- �47 European nations. That is why the Slovaks are for an understand ing in Cent:r,al Europe. At the same time, however, it is clear to the Sfovruks that a new organizatio n of Central Europe must lbe built on realities whi'ch respect historical rea,litJies and geopolitica l laws, and !Ilot on the im1perialisti'c dreams of the emigrants in the "Council of Free Ozechoslov iakia." Therefore, the Slovaks are conrvinced tha;t cooperation with the Czech emigrants of the Council cannat be considered in the interest of a better future of Central Europe. This has already become dear even to severaJl individuals of the Czech exile. Unfortll!Ilat ely, their numlber is small, but they are pohtically sober and in.Jt:ella!tually strong. Professor Dr. Bohdian Ohuddba is the foremost among them. He has ithe oourage not only to see the problems of Europe in their right perspective , 'b ut also to •p ersistently propa;gate a;nd defend his truth against all the hatred of his own countryme n in exile. lt is self-eviden t to Dr. Chudoba that "just as a hundred years ago, so even today aH Central-IDu,r opean nations, including the Sudeten Geimans, want to have their own properties and their own administrat ions." Therefore, says Chudolba altogetiher correctly, Czech politics will either "concur with this reality and so also have chance to say somet!hing alb.o ut it, or ~lse it will continue in the captivity of imperialisti c dreams, which can be nothing else ,b ut an ephemeral chapter in Czech ,h istory, and then reality will develop without the Czechs exactly as it did during MUilli.ch" (ROZPRAV Y, Rome, Vol. IV, No. 1). In practical ,politics, for Dr. Chuddba this means: 1. A new Central European order must have the full assent of Germany right from the beginning, because otherwise it would not be real ; 2. the Czechs must resolrve the question of the Sudeten Germans as quickly as ;possible; 3. the Czechs must come to an agreement, just as quiokly a,s possible, with the Slovaks so that they could have at least one friend in Central . Europe. Undoll!bted ly no one will object to Chudoba's views, a t least no one who is realJy interested in estaiblishin g a �SLOVAKIA 48 reaJ, permanent peace in Central Europe, and not a new, dangerous, provisional condition. Conversei,y, such an outlook on CentraJ-Eu:rop ean problems must be truken as an indication that not onlry sensilble talks •w ould be possible with the younger Czech generation, but even a sober cooperatio1I1 couft.d be ef.fected with it on the ibasi.s of "suum cuique." Of course, in ,p ractical politics further development will depend on how mainy Czooh ipo1iticians will haive :bhe ooura;ge to fiace realities and also adrupt political acts to reality. Im the last amailysis, whether Ozecih politics will be governed by the spirit of mpka and Zen'kl, or by the spirit of the views fomrnfated lby Chudo!ba, on this will depend the relationship 1between the Ozechs amd ,t he Slov,a ks. Today, ail.ong with Communiism, the Czech exihle amd espedaUy the "Council oif Free Cze~hoslovaki,a" is the greatest enemy of the SlovaJks. The incontrover:t~ble fact is the Ozechs are the only nation on earth fighting a:gainst the freedom and ,independenice of Slovaks. • • • WHO SAID IT? "WE ARE THE ALLIES OF THE SOVIET UNION A.ND SHALL REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THAT ALLIANCE. We are friends of the Western Allies, we shall maintain our friendship towards them and will do our loyal best to retain their friendship and we shall sincerely (Dr. Bene!, Message to the pursue A NEW SLAVONIC Policy." Provisional N'a.tional Assembly, Prague, Oct. 28. 1945) . • • • • • • "There are some individuals who assert that we are in the hands of the Soviets, yet the governments look upon us In a different way. WE ARE ALLIES OF THE SOVIET UNION AND WE SHALL ALWAYS REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE SOVIETS. We are friends of the west, and we shall remain SUCH friends. In the form of our alliance with the Soviet Union we proceed and we shall proceed IN OUR OWN WAY." - (Dr. Bene!§ Statement to the Praesidium of the Slovak National Council, Prague, 0-ot. 9. 1945) . "But I say quite openly that the path which Soviet Russia took after the last war Is not the one which will be followed in Czechoslovakia. Our conditions are completely different from every point of view, and we shall not abandon our old method of evolutionary adaptation and our old policy of ba.Jance between the east and the west. Our geographical position does not permit us to change thl1 (Dr. Benes , Foreign Affairs, New century-old policy violently." York , Oct. 1944). � 46 SLOVAKIA COULD CZECHS AND SLOVAKS AGREE? Joseph Kirschbaum, M. A., LL. D. In his schol,a rly work "The HaJbsburrg Monare'hy," the emment English historian A. J. P. Taylor, writing in regard to O.rech tenden:cies to assimilate the SIJ.ovak people and to dommate 'Slovakia, stated that the Ozechs overlooked the fact that the age of national amal gama<tion was over and, therefore, ".the Czech could outplay the Slovaks; .they could not satisfy them." According to Mr. Ta:yJor: "Masaryk revived the radical idea of 1848 and · proposed to create a sing;le 'Oreclloslovak' nation 1by will power. Masaryk knew little of ·t he Slovaks; others knew even less This was his strength in dealing 'with the al1ied leaders; it ,c ould not solve the Slovak rproiblem. Masaryk had hoped thaJt the Czechs ,amd the Slovaks would come together as the English and the Scotch had done ; the Slovaks tUTned out to lbe the Irish." 1 Just recenUy I quoted this statement of Mr. Taylor's whi:le converaing with a representative of American politics. My interilocutor said nothing a/bout 1t, but asked whether the Czechs ·t hemselves ,t hought along .those lines. "Not all Czechs," I replied; "however, I do not think that would or could alter the fact ,s tated by Taylor." In reality, even though Taylor notes olbjectively the development of the relationship between the Czechs and the Slova,ks, the leadershi1p of the Czech exile obstinately refuses to see this historic aotuality and dr.aw from i,t the logical ·c onclusion. Still imbued with imperialistic ideas, certain Ozeoh exiles continue to foHow the illusions of the hrupless past which can never return. IDven today they are ,n ot interested in a federated Ozecho-Slova'kia, but are dreaJining of forcing the Slovaks once a,gain into a political system which came into .b eing with the Constitution orf 1920, the 1preamlble of which begins wiith the words "We the Ozechoslcwak nation." That Constitution was �46 SLOV.AKJA authored. iby the Czechs without Slovak participation. Of course, the P•r ague Government, headed by T. G. Masaryik, saw to it that the Slovaks had a voice in it: it 8JPpointed. such genuine S1oivaks Hke Dr. Edward Benes and Alice Masaryk (lboth Ozechs ! ) to represent the Slovak nation on the committee on the constitution! On the other ,hand, these Ozech emigrants forget the "imponderalbilia," such as the faict that their names inevita'bly evoke in the Slovaks not only bjtter reminiscences of the twenty-yeaT-o ld centralism, but aJso the phantom orf the galllQlws, concenJtration ca:mps, deportations, murders and the destruction of properties of thousands of Slovak families after the re-establishm ent of Crecho-Slova1kia in 1945. Ail this is connected with the names of Rvpka, Peroutka, Zen1kl, Prochazka and the political parties which the Czech emigrants in the "Ootmcil of Free Czeichoslovalkia" represent. For every selt--consoious Slovaik, therefore, it i:s an insult when these Ozech emigraints thinik that the Slovak nation could agree wiith their political conceptions, or thaJt it could recognruze a representati'On of people with an antliS1ovaik record such as has practically every representative of the "Council of Free Czechoslovak ia." They definitely do 111ot represent the will of the Sllovak nation, and when the representative s of the "Council orf Free Ozechoslova:kia" pretend ,t hat they do, they are only deceiving the international pUlblic. 'Dhe mandate given them in the shadow of the gallows and under the threat of Russian bayonets for services rendered to CommUiliist expansion has long lost its validity. Does this mean that every understanding and cooperation between the Czechs and Slovaks in exile and between the Czeicih nation and the Slovak nation is excluded a priori after liberation? It does not. The Slovaik nation and its representa•ti<ves in exile are suffi•cient:Jly aware of the fact that the fig,ht against Communism and, later, the destiny of Central Eu.Tope require the understanding and cooperation of all the Central- �47 European nations. That is why the Slovaks are for an understand ing in Cent:r,al Europe. At the same time, however, it is clear to the Sfovruks that a new organizatio n of Central Europe must lbe built on realities whi'ch respect historical rea,litJies and geopolitica l laws, and !Ilot on the im1perialisti'c dreams of the emigrants in the "Council of Free Ozechoslov iakia." Therefore, the Slovaks are conrvinced tha;t cooperation with the Czech emigrants of the Council cannat be considered in the interest of a better future of Central Europe. This has already become dear even to severaJl individuals of the Czech exile. Unfortll!Ilat ely, their numlber is small, but they are pohtically sober and in.Jt:ella!tually strong. Professor Dr. Bohdian Ohuddba is the foremost among them. He has ithe oourage not only to see the problems of Europe in their right perspective , 'b ut also to •p ersistently propa;gate a;nd defend his truth against all the hatred of his own countryme n in exile. lt is self-eviden t to Dr. Chudoba that "just as a hundred years ago, so even today aH Central-IDu,r opean nations, including the Sudeten Geimans, want to have their own properties and their own administrat ions." Therefore, says Chudolba altogetiher correctly, Czech politics will either "concur with this reality and so also have chance to say somet!hing alb.o ut it, or ~lse it will continue in the captivity of imperialisti c dreams, which can be nothing else ,b ut an ephemeral chapter in Czech ,h istory, and then reality will develop without the Czechs exactly as it did during MUilli.ch" (ROZPRAV Y, Rome, Vol. IV, No. 1). In practical ,politics, for Dr. Chuddba this means: 1. A new Central European order must have the full assent of Germany right from the beginning, because otherwise it would not be real ; 2. the Czechs must resolrve the question of the Sudeten Germans as quickly as ;possible; 3. the Czechs must come to an agreement, just as quiokly a,s possible, with the Slovaks so that they could have at least one friend in Central . Europe. Undoll!bted ly no one will object to Chudoba's views, a t least no one who is realJy interested in estaiblishin g a �SLOVAKIA 48 reaJ, permanent peace in Central Europe, and not a new, dangerous, provisional condition. Conversei,y, such an outlook on CentraJ-Eu:rop ean problems must be truken as an indication that not onlry sensilble talks •w ould be possible with the younger Czech generation, but even a sober cooperatio1I1 couft.d be ef.fected with it on the ibasi.s of "suum cuique." Of course, in ,p ractical politics further development will depend on how mainy Czooh ipo1iticians will haive :bhe ooura;ge to fiace realities and also adrupt political acts to reality. Im the last amailysis, whether Ozecih politics will be governed by the spirit of mpka and Zen'kl, or by the spirit of the views fomrnfated lby Chudo!ba, on this will depend the relationship 1between the Ozechs amd ,t he Slov,a ks. Today, ail.ong with Communiism, the Czech exihle amd espedaUy the "Council oif Free Cze~hoslovaki,a" is the greatest enemy of the SlovaJks. The incontrover:t~ble fact is the Ozechs are the only nation on earth fighting a:gainst the freedom and ,independenice of Slovaks. • • • WHO SAID IT? "WE ARE THE ALLIES OF THE SOVIET UNION A.ND SHALL REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THAT ALLIANCE. We are friends of the Western Allies, we shall maintain our friendship towards them and will do our loyal best to retain their friendship and we shall sincerely (Dr. Bene!, Message to the pursue A NEW SLAVONIC Policy." Provisional N'a.tional Assembly, Prague, Oct. 28. 1945) . • • • • • • "There are some individuals who assert that we are in the hands of the Soviets, yet the governments look upon us In a different way. WE ARE ALLIES OF THE SOVIET UNION AND WE SHALL ALWAYS REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE SOVIETS. We are friends of the west, and we shall remain SUCH friends. In the form of our alliance with the Soviet Union we proceed and we shall proceed IN OUR OWN WAY." - (Dr. Bene!§ Statement to the Praesidium of the Slovak National Council, Prague, 0-ot. 9. 1945) . "But I say quite openly that the path which Soviet Russia took after the last war Is not the one which will be followed in Czechoslovakia. Our conditions are completely different from every point of view, and we shall not abandon our old method of evolutionary adaptation and our old policy of ba.Jance between the east and the west. Our geographical position does not permit us to change thl1 (Dr. Benes , Foreign Affairs, New century-old policy violently." York , Oct. 1944). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 45 SLOVAKIA COULD CZECHS AND SLOVAKS AGREE? Joseph Kirschbaum, M. A., LL. D. In his schol,a rly work "The HaJbsburrg Monare'hy," the emment English historian A. J. P. Taylor, writing in regard to O.rech tenden:cies to assimilate the SIJ.ovak people and to dommate 'Slovakia, stated that the Ozechs overlooked the fact that the age of national amal gama<tion was over and, therefore, ".the Czech could outplay the Slovaks; .they could not satisfy them." According to Mr. Ta:yJor: "Masaryk revived the radical idea of 1848 and · proposed to create a sing;le 'Oreclloslovak' nation 1by will power. Masaryk knew little of ·t he Slovaks; others knew even less This was his strength in dealing 'with the al1ied leaders; it ,c ould not solve the Slovak rproiblem. Masaryk had hoped thaJt the Czechs ,amd the Slovaks would come together as the English and the Scotch had done ; the Slovaks tUTned out to lbe the Irish." 1 Just recenUy I quoted this statement of Mr. Taylor's whi:le converaing with a representative of American politics. My interilocutor said nothing a/bout 1t, but asked whether the Czechs ·t hemselves ,t hought along .those lines. "Not all Czechs," I replied; "however, I do not think that would or could alter the fact ,s tated by Taylor." In reality, even though Taylor notes olbjectively the development of the relationship between the Czechs and the Slova,ks, the leadershi1p of the Czech exile obstinately refuses to see this historic aotuality and dr.aw from i,t the logical ·c onclusion. Still imbued with imperialistic ideas, certain Ozeoh exiles continue to foHow the illusions of the hrupless past which can never return. IDven today they are ,n ot interested in a federated Ozecho-Slova'kia, but are dreaJining of forcing the Slovaks once a,gain into a political system which came into .b eing with the Constitution orf 1920, the 1preamlble of which begins wiith the words "We the Ozechoslcwak nation." That Constitution was 46 SLOV.AKJA authored. iby the Czechs without Slovak participation. Of course, the P•r ague Government, headed by T. G. Masaryik, saw to it that the Slovaks had a voice in it: it 8JPpointed. such genuine S1oivaks Hke Dr. Edward Benes and Alice Masaryk (lboth Ozechs ! ) to represent the Slovak nation on the committee on the constitution! On the other ,hand, these Ozech emigrants forget the "imponderalbilia," such as the faict that their names inevita'bly evoke in the Slovaks not only bjtter reminiscences of the twenty-yeaT-o ld centralism, but aJso the phantom orf the galllQlws, concenJtration ca:mps, deportations, murders and the destruction of properties of thousands of Slovak families after the re-establishm ent of Crecho-Slova1kia in 1945. Ail this is connected with the names of Rvpka, Peroutka, Zen1kl, Prochazka and the political parties which the Czech emigrants in the "Ootmcil of Free Czeichoslovalkia" represent. For every selt--consoious Slovaik, therefore, it i:s an insult when these Ozech emigraints thinik that the Slovak nation could agree wiith their political conceptions, or thaJt it could recognruze a representati'On of people with an antliS1ovaik record such as has practically every representative of the "Council of Free Czechoslovak ia." They definitely do 111ot represent the will of the Sllovak nation, and when the representative s of the "Council orf Free Ozechoslova:kia" pretend ,t hat they do, they are only deceiving the international pUlblic. 'Dhe mandate given them in the shadow of the gallows and under the threat of Russian bayonets for services rendered to CommUiliist expansion has long lost its validity. Does this mean that every understanding and cooperation between the Czechs and Slovaks in exile and between the Czeicih nation and the Slovak nation is excluded a priori after liberation? It does not. The Slovaik nation and its representa•ti<ves in exile are suffi•cient:Jly aware of the fact that the fig,ht against Communism and, later, the destiny of Central Eu.Tope require the understanding and cooperation of all the Central- 47 European nations. That is why the Slovaks are for an understand ing in Cent:r,al Europe. At the same time, however, it is clear to the Sfovruks that a new organizatio n of Central Europe must lbe built on realities whi'ch respect historical rea,litJies and geopolitica l laws, and !Ilot on the im1perialisti'c dreams of the emigrants in the "Council of Free Ozechoslov iakia." Therefore, the Slovaks are conrvinced tha;t cooperation with the Czech emigrants of the Council cannat be considered in the interest of a better future of Central Europe. This has already become dear even to severaJl individuals of the Czech exile. Unfortll!Ilat ely, their numlber is small, but they are pohtically sober and in.Jt:ella!tually strong. Professor Dr. Bohdian Ohuddba is the foremost among them. He has ithe oourage not only to see the problems of Europe in their right perspective , 'b ut also to •p ersistently propa;gate a;nd defend his truth against all the hatred of his own countryme n in exile. lt is self-eviden t to Dr. Chudoba that "just as a hundred years ago, so even today aH Central-IDu,r opean nations, including the Sudeten Geimans, want to have their own properties and their own administrat ions." Therefore, says Chudolba altogetiher correctly, Czech politics will either "concur with this reality and so also have chance to say somet!hing alb.o ut it, or ~lse it will continue in the captivity of imperialisti c dreams, which can be nothing else ,b ut an ephemeral chapter in Czech ,h istory, and then reality will develop without the Czechs exactly as it did during MUilli.ch" (ROZPRAV Y, Rome, Vol. IV, No. 1). In practical ,politics, for Dr. Chuddba this means: 1. A new Central European order must have the full assent of Germany right from the beginning, because otherwise it would not be real ; 2. the Czechs must resolrve the question of the Sudeten Germans as quickly as ;possible; 3. the Czechs must come to an agreement, just as quiokly a,s possible, with the Slovaks so that they could have at least one friend in Central . Europe. Undoll!bted ly no one will object to Chudoba's views, a t least no one who is realJy interested in estaiblishin g a SLOVAKIA 48 reaJ, permanent peace in Central Europe, and not a new, dangerous, provisional condition. Conversei,y, such an outlook on CentraJ-Eu:rop ean problems must be truken as an indication that not onlry sensilble talks •w ould be possible with the younger Czech generation, but even a sober cooperatio1I1 couft.d be ef.fected with it on the ibasi.s of "suum cuique." Of course, in ,p ractical politics further development will depend on how mainy Czooh ipo1iticians will haive :bhe ooura;ge to fiace realities and also adrupt political acts to reality. Im the last amailysis, whether Ozecih politics will be governed by the spirit of mpka and Zen'kl, or by the spirit of the views fomrnfated lby Chudo!ba, on this will depend the relationship 1between the Ozechs amd ,t he Slov,a ks. Today, ail.ong with Communiism, the Czech exihle amd espedaUy the "Council oif Free Cze~hoslovaki,a" is the greatest enemy of the SlovaJks. The incontrover:t~ble fact is the Ozechs are the only nation on earth fighting a:gainst the freedom and ,independenice of Slovaks. • • • WHO SAID IT? "WE ARE THE ALLIES OF THE SOVIET UNION A.ND SHALL REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THAT ALLIANCE. We are friends of the Western Allies, we shall maintain our friendship towards them and will do our loyal best to retain their friendship and we shall sincerely (Dr. Bene!, Message to the pursue A NEW SLAVONIC Policy." Provisional N'a.tional Assembly, Prague, Oct. 28. 1945) . • • • • • • "There are some individuals who assert that we are in the hands of the Soviets, yet the governments look upon us In a different way. WE ARE ALLIES OF THE SOVIET UNION AND WE SHALL ALWAYS REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE SOVIETS. We are friends of the west, and we shall remain SUCH friends. In the form of our alliance with the Soviet Union we proceed and we shall proceed IN OUR OWN WAY." - (Dr. Bene!§ Statement to the Praesidium of the Slovak National Council, Prague, 0-ot. 9. 1945) . "But I say quite openly that the path which Soviet Russia took after the last war Is not the one which will be followed in Czechoslovakia. Our conditions are completely different from every point of view, and we shall not abandon our old method of evolutionary adaptation and our old policy of ba.Jance between the east and the west. Our geographical position does not permit us to change thl1 (Dr. Benes , Foreign Affairs, New century-old policy violently." York , Oct. 1944).  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 Could Czechs and Slovaks Agree? Description An account of the resource Joseph Kirschbaum, M. A., LL. D. Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 45-48 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Jozef M., 1913-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/300872b1fc16055c2aec32c5cd361906.pdf 995df54c6ac5008b178fc60e105406cc PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA A VOICE FOR SWVAK.IA James McVann He stood about five feet ten, angular, and with the tenseness marked in so many priests who have fled from Communist countries. We met in Albany, N. Y ., at the home of Father B. Culver Alford, a diocesan official and a friend from Roman days. When I was introduced to the stranger, my curiosity rose at the announcement that this Father Augustin Zan came from Slovakia, where he had been assistant to Monsignor Tiso; later for six years he worked as the Papal Relief Mission's representative to Slovak D. P.'s throughout Germany and Austria. "Here was a man to interview. My first question had to do with the antecedents of Father Zan (prounonced Zan-yeh). He replied in an English by no means faultless but very good for one in this country only a year. "Forty-one years ago I was born at Prievidza, a Slovakian village in the foothills of the Carpathians. Prievidza means 'long view'; our village got the name because in old times there the government guards could see down the roads that went straight into the forests. "My seminary education was obtained at Nitra, ancient capital of Slovakia." Tiso The next question had to do with Monsignor Joseph Tiso, President of the Slovak Republic from 1939 to 1945, who was hanged in 1947 by the Red government of Prague. "How did Monsignor Tiso come to power?" "He succeeded Monsignor Andrew IIlinka as head of what was called the H'linka Party. When Slovakia, freed from the Czech government by the Nazi occupation of Bohemia, set up its own republic, Monsignor Tiso was elected president by the free votes of the country." "Wasn't Slovakia occupied by Hitler like the rest of Czechoslovakia?" �SLOVAKIA "No," he emphasized. "We stayed free. All during the war my country had neither German nor Russian occupation." "What sort of man was Tiso?" "He was a courageous - what do you call it? straight out, no speaking around." "Forthright?" "Forthright. He was a man prepared at all times to die. The Nazis tried to assassinate him at Bratislava in 1944. He had refused to let Slova,k soldiers be taken into the German army. When eleven American pilots were downed in Slovakia combatting Nazi fliers, he refused to give them up to Germany and spirited them to freedom via Jugoslavia. "Then the Reds pressed him to form a Soviet Slovak Republic. He refused, knowing they would take his life when the Allies won." "What was your own relation to Tiso?" I next asked. "Were you his political secretary or lieutenant?" "Oh, no. From 1938 to 1939 I was assistant - what you call curate - in the parish where he was pastor, at Banovce. All week Tiso was head of the government. On Sunday he came bacik to be priest of his people." "But why did he, a priest, accept the Presidency?" "He didn't want to. Sfovakia was under Nazi domination - four million against fifty million. What could they do? Tiso knew his position was almost impossible. But he accepted because he wanted to do all he could for his country. Once the West condemned him for things he had to do. They know better now. He was a great hero." Papal Almoner "Were you with him when he was executed?" "I had fled. A year before Monsignor Tiso died, the Catholic underground sent me a letter saying that the Reds had decided to hang me. The underground helped me to escape into the American zone of Austria." "Then what?" "Return to Slovakia was out of the question. I determined- to help my people - thousands of them - who were refugees in Western Germany and Austria. With the �SLOVAKIA aid of Archbishop Carlo Chiarlo, head of the Third Papal Relief Mission to G€rmany, I was appointed to look after Slovaks in eighty centers." "What was your work?" "Spiritual, charitable - not political. I tried to provide them with priests, sacraments and money raised by the Papal Relief. For that I made a hundred trips to Germany. Seventeen Slovak exile priests helped me. The Holy Father gave me the power to confer Confirmation. " "Why do you say your work was not political?" "As a priest and delegate of the Pope's charitable agency, I avoided politics. The nearest to political action I approached was when, on behalf of the Holy See, I questioned Polish, Hungarian, Slovakian, and Ukrainian refugees about church conditions in their country." Immigrant I asked him next how he came to the United States. "I knew I couJd get no help from the IRO - International Relief Organization - because some of their agents opposed my religious work. So I went direct to the American consulate at Salzburg, where I obtained entry not as a refugee official but strictly in terms of American immigration law. "Monsignor Emil Komora of New York, director of the Catholic Committee for Refugees, was helpful. And I am grateful to Bishop Gib.hons for admitting me to his diocese. They helped me to come to this nice country." I smiled a,t the little touch of newcomer's English, "nice country," Father Zan's one lapse in an otherwise good performance. The questions continued. "Why did you come to America?" "To work among the Slovaks here. There are two million in the United States and one million in Canada. And to obtain assistance for our unhappy people back home." "Tell me of your people's unhappiness " Intrepid Faith He leaned back in his chair, like a man recollecting-. "You will have to be patient with me a little if you would �SLOVAKIA 43 understand my nation's plight. We Slovaks are proud of our religious history - the oldest Christian nation in Central Europe, dating back from the fifth century. Then in 863 the great saints Cyril and Methodius came from Constantinople and renewed the Catholicism not only of the Slovaks but of all the various Slavic nations - Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, Croatians, Slovenes - as well as the Hungarians. "Though Slovakia lost its political independence in the eleventh century, it never let go its national consciousness. No, not even under the domination of the Prague government when the regimes of Masaryk and Benes, violating the autonomy assured Slovakia by Wilson at Versailles, forced on us a Czech control in government, police, and education. "So when Hitler took over Bohemia and Moravia, our people seized the chance and proclaimed their Independent Republic. Until 1945 the country was free of occupation. In the war it took sides with Nazi Germany by defending its borders against Russia; there could be no neutrality with godless Communism. "In the Red invasion many towns and villages were razed to the ground (the way the Nazis had razed Lidice ) . Women were raped, about thirty thousand Slovaks were deported to Siberia. Thousands more fled to the West. "Then when the Reds took control at Prague, the Slovaks voted 70 per cent against Communism. For that they have been persecuted by the so-called People's Courts. It is essentially a religious persecution, as the whole question of Central Europe is a religious question. "Now all churches and clergy are under Red supervision No priest may preach anything but state-issued bullet ins. Catholic education has been turned over to Marxism. The seminary at Bratislava has only Communist youth who go out passing for priests until the people detect them in their Marxist doctrine and walk out on their sermons. Every bishop is in prison or under house arrest. So severe is their confinement that they cannot go to confession except in the presence of a Red observer - · and they must confess in Slovak for him to understand. A thousand' priests are �SLOVAKIA in concentration camps, forced to ]31bor in mines and factories." I interupted him to ask, "Are any priests being sent to Siberia ?" "So far they are being kept in Slovakia. But Catholic laymen are sent to concentration camps. "Has this weakened the faith of the people?" "On the contrary." he replied with a touch of pride, "their faith is stronger. They fill the churches. Since the government seizes all Church collections, they support the clergy privately." Voice of Hope "Are you in a position now to help your nation?" "To some extent. To needy priests I send Mass stipends. and the money I collect for the people is transmitted to Father Vojtech Bucko, my successor as delegate to the Slovak exiles in Europe. We both shifted in our chairs for the last question. "Father Zan, what do you hope for your country?" "I hope Slovakia will be free again I hope it will have the same freedom as America, to worship God and decide its own affairs." - (INFORMATION, Dec. 1952). • • • • • WHO SAi D IT? - "However close the original bonds (between the Slovaks and the Czechs) may have been, the ten centuries during which the Slovaks formed a part of the kingdom of Hungary, while the ,Czechs were subjected to German and Austrian influences, naturally ' brought .. about a marked differentation between the two peoples. Even the physical stocks CaJ'iilOt be so closely related today as they were a thousand years ago, for the Czechs are today inextricably mingled with German elements, while the Slovak mountaineers have retained their racial purity to a larger degree . . . . 'l'he.re is, however, a noticeable difference both in physical appearance and in character between the dour, efficient, but somewhat ungainly Czech, and the airy, talkative, happy-go-lucky Slovak." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London) . • WHO SAID IT? "Slovakia has never been too happy in its union with Bohemia and Moravia in the synthetic Czechoslovak state. The Masaryk-Benes Government sentenced Dr. Vojtech Tuka to fifteen years imprisonment in 1928 for ,ieparatlsm. The Benes-Gottwald Government hanged Monsignor Tiso for the same offense in 1947, and Clementls Is to be tried for it In 1951." - (John MacCormac, The NEW YORK TIMES, 3-3-51). � SLOVAKIA A VOICE FOR SWVAK.IA James McVann He stood about five feet ten, angular, and with the tenseness marked in so many priests who have fled from Communist countries. We met in Albany, N. Y ., at the home of Father B. Culver Alford, a diocesan official and a friend from Roman days. When I was introduced to the stranger, my curiosity rose at the announcement that this Father Augustin Zan came from Slovakia, where he had been assistant to Monsignor Tiso; later for six years he worked as the Papal Relief Mission's representative to Slovak D. P.'s throughout Germany and Austria. "Here was a man to interview. My first question had to do with the antecedents of Father Zan (prounonced Zan-yeh). He replied in an English by no means faultless but very good for one in this country only a year. "Forty-one years ago I was born at Prievidza, a Slovakian village in the foothills of the Carpathians. Prievidza means 'long view'; our village got the name because in old times there the government guards could see down the roads that went straight into the forests. "My seminary education was obtained at Nitra, ancient capital of Slovakia." Tiso The next question had to do with Monsignor Joseph Tiso, President of the Slovak Republic from 1939 to 1945, who was hanged in 1947 by the Red government of Prague. "How did Monsignor Tiso come to power?" "He succeeded Monsignor Andrew IIlinka as head of what was called the H'linka Party. When Slovakia, freed from the Czech government by the Nazi occupation of Bohemia, set up its own republic, Monsignor Tiso was elected president by the free votes of the country." "Wasn't Slovakia occupied by Hitler like the rest of Czechoslovakia?" �SLOVAKIA "No," he emphasized. "We stayed free. All during the war my country had neither German nor Russian occupation." "What sort of man was Tiso?" "He was a courageous - what do you call it? straight out, no speaking around." "Forthright?" "Forthright. He was a man prepared at all times to die. The Nazis tried to assassinate him at Bratislava in 1944. He had refused to let Slova,k soldiers be taken into the German army. When eleven American pilots were downed in Slovakia combatting Nazi fliers, he refused to give them up to Germany and spirited them to freedom via Jugoslavia. "Then the Reds pressed him to form a Soviet Slovak Republic. He refused, knowing they would take his life when the Allies won." "What was your own relation to Tiso?" I next asked. "Were you his political secretary or lieutenant?" "Oh, no. From 1938 to 1939 I was assistant - what you call curate - in the parish where he was pastor, at Banovce. All week Tiso was head of the government. On Sunday he came bacik to be priest of his people." "But why did he, a priest, accept the Presidency?" "He didn't want to. Sfovakia was under Nazi domination - four million against fifty million. What could they do? Tiso knew his position was almost impossible. But he accepted because he wanted to do all he could for his country. Once the West condemned him for things he had to do. They know better now. He was a great hero." Papal Almoner "Were you with him when he was executed?" "I had fled. A year before Monsignor Tiso died, the Catholic underground sent me a letter saying that the Reds had decided to hang me. The underground helped me to escape into the American zone of Austria." "Then what?" "Return to Slovakia was out of the question. I determined- to help my people - thousands of them - who were refugees in Western Germany and Austria. With the �SLOVAKIA aid of Archbishop Carlo Chiarlo, head of the Third Papal Relief Mission to G€rmany, I was appointed to look after Slovaks in eighty centers." "What was your work?" "Spiritual, charitable - not political. I tried to provide them with priests, sacraments and money raised by the Papal Relief. For that I made a hundred trips to Germany. Seventeen Slovak exile priests helped me. The Holy Father gave me the power to confer Confirmation. " "Why do you say your work was not political?" "As a priest and delegate of the Pope's charitable agency, I avoided politics. The nearest to political action I approached was when, on behalf of the Holy See, I questioned Polish, Hungarian, Slovakian, and Ukrainian refugees about church conditions in their country." Immigrant I asked him next how he came to the United States. "I knew I couJd get no help from the IRO - International Relief Organization - because some of their agents opposed my religious work. So I went direct to the American consulate at Salzburg, where I obtained entry not as a refugee official but strictly in terms of American immigration law. "Monsignor Emil Komora of New York, director of the Catholic Committee for Refugees, was helpful. And I am grateful to Bishop Gib.hons for admitting me to his diocese. They helped me to come to this nice country." I smiled a,t the little touch of newcomer's English, "nice country," Father Zan's one lapse in an otherwise good performance. The questions continued. "Why did you come to America?" "To work among the Slovaks here. There are two million in the United States and one million in Canada. And to obtain assistance for our unhappy people back home." "Tell me of your people's unhappiness " Intrepid Faith He leaned back in his chair, like a man recollecting-. "You will have to be patient with me a little if you would �SLOVAKIA 43 understand my nation's plight. We Slovaks are proud of our religious history - the oldest Christian nation in Central Europe, dating back from the fifth century. Then in 863 the great saints Cyril and Methodius came from Constantinople and renewed the Catholicism not only of the Slovaks but of all the various Slavic nations - Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, Croatians, Slovenes - as well as the Hungarians. "Though Slovakia lost its political independence in the eleventh century, it never let go its national consciousness. No, not even under the domination of the Prague government when the regimes of Masaryk and Benes, violating the autonomy assured Slovakia by Wilson at Versailles, forced on us a Czech control in government, police, and education. "So when Hitler took over Bohemia and Moravia, our people seized the chance and proclaimed their Independent Republic. Until 1945 the country was free of occupation. In the war it took sides with Nazi Germany by defending its borders against Russia; there could be no neutrality with godless Communism. "In the Red invasion many towns and villages were razed to the ground (the way the Nazis had razed Lidice ) . Women were raped, about thirty thousand Slovaks were deported to Siberia. Thousands more fled to the West. "Then when the Reds took control at Prague, the Slovaks voted 70 per cent against Communism. For that they have been persecuted by the so-called People's Courts. It is essentially a religious persecution, as the whole question of Central Europe is a religious question. "Now all churches and clergy are under Red supervision No priest may preach anything but state-issued bullet ins. Catholic education has been turned over to Marxism. The seminary at Bratislava has only Communist youth who go out passing for priests until the people detect them in their Marxist doctrine and walk out on their sermons. Every bishop is in prison or under house arrest. So severe is their confinement that they cannot go to confession except in the presence of a Red observer - · and they must confess in Slovak for him to understand. A thousand' priests are �SLOVAKIA in concentration camps, forced to ]31bor in mines and factories." I interupted him to ask, "Are any priests being sent to Siberia ?" "So far they are being kept in Slovakia. But Catholic laymen are sent to concentration camps. "Has this weakened the faith of the people?" "On the contrary." he replied with a touch of pride, "their faith is stronger. They fill the churches. Since the government seizes all Church collections, they support the clergy privately." Voice of Hope "Are you in a position now to help your nation?" "To some extent. To needy priests I send Mass stipends. and the money I collect for the people is transmitted to Father Vojtech Bucko, my successor as delegate to the Slovak exiles in Europe. We both shifted in our chairs for the last question. "Father Zan, what do you hope for your country?" "I hope Slovakia will be free again I hope it will have the same freedom as America, to worship God and decide its own affairs." - (INFORMATION, Dec. 1952). • • • • • WHO SAi D IT? - "However close the original bonds (between the Slovaks and the Czechs) may have been, the ten centuries during which the Slovaks formed a part of the kingdom of Hungary, while the ,Czechs were subjected to German and Austrian influences, naturally ' brought .. about a marked differentation between the two peoples. Even the physical stocks CaJ'iilOt be so closely related today as they were a thousand years ago, for the Czechs are today inextricably mingled with German elements, while the Slovak mountaineers have retained their racial purity to a larger degree . . . . 'l'he.re is, however, a noticeable difference both in physical appearance and in character between the dour, efficient, but somewhat ungainly Czech, and the airy, talkative, happy-go-lucky Slovak." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London) . • WHO SAID IT? "Slovakia has never been too happy in its union with Bohemia and Moravia in the synthetic Czechoslovak state. The Masaryk-Benes Government sentenced Dr. Vojtech Tuka to fifteen years imprisonment in 1928 for ,ieparatlsm. The Benes-Gottwald Government hanged Monsignor Tiso for the same offense in 1947, and Clementls Is to be tried for it In 1951." - (John MacCormac, The NEW YORK TIMES, 3-3-51). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 A VOICE FOR SLOVAKIA James McVann He stood about five feet ten, angular, and with the tenseness marked in so many priests who have fled from Communist countries. We met in Albany, N. Y ., at the home of Father B. Culver Alford, a diocesan official and a friend from Roman days. When I was introduced to the stranger, my curiosity rose at the announcement that this Father Augustin Zan came from Slovakia, where he had been assistant to Monsignor Tiso; later for six years he worked as the Papal Relief Mission's representative to Slovak D. P.'s throughout Germany and Austria. "Here was a man to interview. My first question had to do with the antecedents of Father Zan (prounonced Zan-yeh). He replied in an English by no means faultless but very good for one in this country only a year. "Forty-one years ago I was born at Prievidza, a Slovakian village in the foothills of the Carpathians. Prievidza means 'long view'; our village got the name because in old times there the government guards could see down the roads that went straight into the forests. "My seminary education was obtained at Nitra, ancient capital of Slovakia." Tiso The next question had to do with Monsignor Joseph Tiso, President of the Slovak Republic from 1939 to 1945, who was hanged in 1947 by the Red government of Prague. "How did Monsignor Tiso come to power?" "He succeeded Monsignor Andrew IIlinka as head of what was called the H'linka Party. When Slovakia, freed from the Czech government by the Nazi occupation of Bohemia, set up its own republic, Monsignor Tiso was elected president by the free votes of the country." "Wasn't Slovakia occupied by Hitler like the rest of Czechoslovakia?" SLOVAKIA "No," he emphasized. "We stayed free. All during the war my country had neither German nor Russian occupation." "What sort of man was Tiso?" "He was a courageous - what do you call it? straight out, no speaking around." "Forthright?" "Forthright. He was a man prepared at all times to die. The Nazis tried to assassinate him at Bratislava in 1944. He had refused to let Slova,k soldiers be taken into the German army. When eleven American pilots were downed in Slovakia combatting Nazi fliers, he refused to give them up to Germany and spirited them to freedom via Jugoslavia. "Then the Reds pressed him to form a Soviet Slovak Republic. He refused, knowing they would take his life when the Allies won." "What was your own relation to Tiso?" I next asked. "Were you his political secretary or lieutenant?" "Oh, no. From 1938 to 1939 I was assistant - what you call curate - in the parish where he was pastor, at Banovce. All week Tiso was head of the government. On Sunday he came bacik to be priest of his people." "But why did he, a priest, accept the Presidency?" "He didn't want to. Sfovakia was under Nazi domination - four million against fifty million. What could they do? Tiso knew his position was almost impossible. But he accepted because he wanted to do all he could for his country. Once the West condemned him for things he had to do. They know better now. He was a great hero." Papal Almoner "Were you with him when he was executed?" "I had fled. A year before Monsignor Tiso died, the Catholic underground sent me a letter saying that the Reds had decided to hang me. The underground helped me to escape into the American zone of Austria." "Then what?" "Return to Slovakia was out of the question. I determined- to help my people - thousands of them - who were refugees in Western Germany and Austria. With the SLOVAKIA aid of Archbishop Carlo Chiarlo, head of the Third Papal Relief Mission to G€rmany, I was appointed to look after Slovaks in eighty centers." "What was your work?" "Spiritual, charitable - not political. I tried to provide them with priests, sacraments and money raised by the Papal Relief. For that I made a hundred trips to Germany. Seventeen Slovak exile priests helped me. The Holy Father gave me the power to confer Confirmation. " "Why do you say your work was not political?" "As a priest and delegate of the Pope's charitable agency, I avoided politics. The nearest to political action I approached was when, on behalf of the Holy See, I questioned Polish, Hungarian, Slovakian, and Ukrainian refugees about church conditions in their country." Immigrant I asked him next how he came to the United States. "I knew I couJd get no help from the IRO - International Relief Organization - because some of their agents opposed my religious work. So I went direct to the American consulate at Salzburg, where I obtained entry not as a refugee official but strictly in terms of American immigration law. "Monsignor Emil Komora of New York, director of the Catholic Committee for Refugees, was helpful. And I am grateful to Bishop Gib.hons for admitting me to his diocese. They helped me to come to this nice country." I smiled a,t the little touch of newcomer's English, "nice country," Father Zan's one lapse in an otherwise good performance. The questions continued. "Why did you come to America?" "To work among the Slovaks here. There are two million in the United States and one million in Canada. And to obtain assistance for our unhappy people back home." "Tell me of your people's unhappiness " Intrepid Faith He leaned back in his chair, like a man recollecting-. "You will have to be patient with me a little if you would SLOVAKIA 43 understand my nation's plight. We Slovaks are proud of our religious history - the oldest Christian nation in Central Europe, dating back from the fifth century. Then in 863 the great saints Cyril and Methodius came from Constantinople and renewed the Catholicism not only of the Slovaks but of all the various Slavic nations - Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, Croatians, Slovenes - as well as the Hungarians. "Though Slovakia lost its political independence in the eleventh century, it never let go its national consciousness. No, not even under the domination of the Prague government when the regimes of Masaryk and Benes, violating the autonomy assured Slovakia by Wilson at Versailles, forced on us a Czech control in government, police, and education. "So when Hitler took over Bohemia and Moravia, our people seized the chance and proclaimed their Independent Republic. Until 1945 the country was free of occupation. In the war it took sides with Nazi Germany by defending its borders against Russia; there could be no neutrality with godless Communism. "In the Red invasion many towns and villages were razed to the ground (the way the Nazis had razed Lidice ) . Women were raped, about thirty thousand Slovaks were deported to Siberia. Thousands more fled to the West. "Then when the Reds took control at Prague, the Slovaks voted 70 per cent against Communism. For that they have been persecuted by the so-called People's Courts. It is essentially a religious persecution, as the whole question of Central Europe is a religious question. "Now all churches and clergy are under Red supervision No priest may preach anything but state-issued bullet ins. Catholic education has been turned over to Marxism. The seminary at Bratislava has only Communist youth who go out passing for priests until the people detect them in their Marxist doctrine and walk out on their sermons. Every bishop is in prison or under house arrest. So severe is their confinement that they cannot go to confession except in the presence of a Red observer - · and they must confess in Slovak for him to understand. A thousand' priests are SLOVAKIA in concentration camps, forced to ]31bor in mines and factories." I interupted him to ask, "Are any priests being sent to Siberia ?" "So far they are being kept in Slovakia. But Catholic laymen are sent to concentration camps. "Has this weakened the faith of the people?" "On the contrary." he replied with a touch of pride, "their faith is stronger. They fill the churches. Since the government seizes all Church collections, they support the clergy privately." Voice of Hope "Are you in a position now to help your nation?" "To some extent. To needy priests I send Mass stipends. and the money I collect for the people is transmitted to Father Vojtech Bucko, my successor as delegate to the Slovak exiles in Europe. We both shifted in our chairs for the last question. "Father Zan, what do you hope for your country?" "I hope Slovakia will be free again I hope it will have the same freedom as America, to worship God and decide its own affairs." - (INFORMATION, Dec. 1952). • • • • • WHO SAi D IT? - "However close the original bonds (between the Slovaks and the Czechs) may have been, the ten centuries during which the Slovaks formed a part of the kingdom of Hungary, while the ,Czechs were subjected to German and Austrian influences, naturally ' brought .. about a marked differentation between the two peoples. Even the physical stocks CaJ'iilOt be so closely related today as they were a thousand years ago, for the Czechs are today inextricably mingled with German elements, while the Slovak mountaineers have retained their racial purity to a larger degree . . . . 'l'he.re is, however, a noticeable difference both in physical appearance and in character between the dour, efficient, but somewhat ungainly Czech, and the airy, talkative, happy-go-lucky Slovak." (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London) . • WHO SAID IT? "Slovakia has never been too happy in its union with Bohemia and Moravia in the synthetic Czechoslovak state. The Masaryk-Benes Government sentenced Dr. Vojtech Tuka to fifteen years imprisonment in 1928 for ,ieparatlsm. The Benes-Gottwald Government hanged Monsignor Tiso for the same offense in 1947, and Clementls Is to be tried for it In 1951." - (John MacCormac, The NEW YORK TIMES, 3-3-51).  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 A Voice for Slovakia Description An account of the resource James McVann Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 40-44 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McVann, James Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/7a3033fbc750bf84e96852cef9a672bb.pdf f62ed6b74ec119818831168f1938ea87 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA STREONO One orf the fourteen fortresses in ruins along the river Vah is the castle Sltrecno, lbuiit, they say, by the fea-rless Matthew C8ik, "the Lord orf the Vah and the Tatras." Mainy were the occupants of this stronghold, the glory orf a past era, nestled on the summit of Mt. Bieda. We read that St·r ecno was the home orf Francis Veseliny in the 17th century. The wife of Veseliny, Sophia Bosniak, died in the stronghold .A!pril 28, 1644, Mld her body, interned in the Lamretanian side-cllapel of the Teplicka ohuroh, has remained practicailly whole for over 300 years. Sophia married the haJndsome Veseliny in her best years; they were ve-ry h-ruppy at Streono. They were haippy, thaJt is untH Veseliny was cailed aiway by duty. When he returned Veseliny was ra very changed man. He practicaJUy ignored Sophia who had n.m out to welcome him home. He spent daiys ,a t a time in his room or on the hunt and ate his meals alone. Sophia became very sad indeed; she was alone and in tears. Then the news came to her . that Vese1iny was prepa,ring to leave the castle the Tuesday before IDaster. The night before the said Tuesday, Solphia receiived a letter from her slister, W1hiClh explained why her husband acted so strangely. The news broke her heart, when she learned that Veseliny had fallen in love with another rund wanted to lea,ve her. Near the narrow pa,th which led to Stroono was a higih boulder, inside of which was an altiar of the Blessed Virgin Maxy. Sophia hastened there with a heavy heart and spent the whole night in prayer. The following morning, Veseliny noticed her as he was ready to leave the castle. Sophie was all spent from tears. Veseliiny was moved exceedingly. Sophia's prayers were heard. Her husband leaped from his horse, embraced his wife, a,nd begged her forg~veness. That was easy enough to do for the fuithful, haippy witfe. That Tuesday beoome a special day for Sophia. �SLOVAKIA 39 Every year on ,t he Tuesday before Easter she would go baxefoot to the caive of the Blessed Mother. She visited the church in Tepli'c:ka every day and during advent made the visit ib,amoot. Sophia was noted for her kindness, the ipoor were her wards and she founded a hospitall. Mter Sophia died at Strecno, April 28, 1644, the chrupel of the Blessed Mother was oipened to the pulblic, as the saintly Sophia had wished before her death. Her body w8JS not preserved artificially or scientifioaUy, yet it has not fallen into decay. The story goes on to say that when Thokoly invaded the vicinity in 1678, he plundered and burned Stroono ;and had the casket conta!ining the body of Sophia taken from the chapel and opened, intending to rab it of jewelry and valuaibles. Wihen he found but 01J1e finger bearing a ring, Thokoly flew into a rage, cut the ring finger off, and threw the 1body of Sophia into lime. But her body remained practically the same as it was. Sophia's body was removed to the Teplmka church in 1'698, when Leopold I. ordered Strecno destro3/ed. In 1729 the ·casket was placed in the Lau:retanian Ohapel. Albove the casket i s a portrait of Sophia. The Slovaks of the vicinity say that the casket contains the body of a saint. The people of 2iHna even today honor Sophia as the mother- of widows rund onphruns. 1 • • • "In the most important decisions, such for instance as concerned the foreign policy of the state, the government never consulted the parliament. In the summer of 1947, when the government was confronted with a Soviet demand not to participate in the Paris conference on the Marshall Plan, it did not even consult the parliamentary committee of foreign affairs, and the chairman of the committee. lvo Duchacek, a former Socialist newsWHO SAID IT? - paperman, refused my demand for an immediate convocation of the committee. Although the great majority of citizens, including even most of the supporters of the Socialist parties, were in favor of participation and although the minis ters were warned to this effect by several deputies, the government unanimously decided not to participate. This was extraordinary in view of the fact that there were only nine Communist members in the government of twenty-aix minis- ters, the seventeen non-Communists clearly having a preponderant majority. Through this decision, the last opportunity to have new elections was probably lost." (Bohdan Chudoba, former member of the Czech Parliament, in THOUGHT, Fordham University Quarterly, Vol 25. No 96, 1950) . � SLOVAKIA CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA STREONO One orf the fourteen fortresses in ruins along the river Vah is the castle Sltrecno, lbuiit, they say, by the fea-rless Matthew C8ik, "the Lord orf the Vah and the Tatras." Mainy were the occupants of this stronghold, the glory orf a past era, nestled on the summit of Mt. Bieda. We read that St·r ecno was the home orf Francis Veseliny in the 17th century. The wife of Veseliny, Sophia Bosniak, died in the stronghold .A!pril 28, 1644, Mld her body, interned in the Lamretanian side-cllapel of the Teplicka ohuroh, has remained practicailly whole for over 300 years. Sophia married the haJndsome Veseliny in her best years; they were ve-ry h-ruppy at Streono. They were haippy, thaJt is untH Veseliny was cailed aiway by duty. When he returned Veseliny was ra very changed man. He practicaJUy ignored Sophia who had n.m out to welcome him home. He spent daiys ,a t a time in his room or on the hunt and ate his meals alone. Sophia became very sad indeed; she was alone and in tears. Then the news came to her . that Vese1iny was prepa,ring to leave the castle the Tuesday before IDaster. The night before the said Tuesday, Solphia receiived a letter from her slister, W1hiClh explained why her husband acted so strangely. The news broke her heart, when she learned that Veseliny had fallen in love with another rund wanted to lea,ve her. Near the narrow pa,th which led to Stroono was a higih boulder, inside of which was an altiar of the Blessed Virgin Maxy. Sophia hastened there with a heavy heart and spent the whole night in prayer. The following morning, Veseliny noticed her as he was ready to leave the castle. Sophie was all spent from tears. Veseliiny was moved exceedingly. Sophia's prayers were heard. Her husband leaped from his horse, embraced his wife, a,nd begged her forg~veness. That was easy enough to do for the fuithful, haippy witfe. That Tuesday beoome a special day for Sophia. �SLOVAKIA 39 Every year on ,t he Tuesday before Easter she would go baxefoot to the caive of the Blessed Mother. She visited the church in Tepli'c:ka every day and during advent made the visit ib,amoot. Sophia was noted for her kindness, the ipoor were her wards and she founded a hospitall. Mter Sophia died at Strecno, April 28, 1644, the chrupel of the Blessed Mother was oipened to the pulblic, as the saintly Sophia had wished before her death. Her body w8JS not preserved artificially or scientifioaUy, yet it has not fallen into decay. The story goes on to say that when Thokoly invaded the vicinity in 1678, he plundered and burned Stroono ;and had the casket conta!ining the body of Sophia taken from the chapel and opened, intending to rab it of jewelry and valuaibles. Wihen he found but 01J1e finger bearing a ring, Thokoly flew into a rage, cut the ring finger off, and threw the 1body of Sophia into lime. But her body remained practically the same as it was. Sophia's body was removed to the Teplmka church in 1'698, when Leopold I. ordered Strecno destro3/ed. In 1729 the ·casket was placed in the Lau:retanian Ohapel. Albove the casket i s a portrait of Sophia. The Slovaks of the vicinity say that the casket contains the body of a saint. The people of 2iHna even today honor Sophia as the mother- of widows rund onphruns. 1 • • • "In the most important decisions, such for instance as concerned the foreign policy of the state, the government never consulted the parliament. In the summer of 1947, when the government was confronted with a Soviet demand not to participate in the Paris conference on the Marshall Plan, it did not even consult the parliamentary committee of foreign affairs, and the chairman of the committee. lvo Duchacek, a former Socialist newsWHO SAID IT? - paperman, refused my demand for an immediate convocation of the committee. Although the great majority of citizens, including even most of the supporters of the Socialist parties, were in favor of participation and although the minis ters were warned to this effect by several deputies, the government unanimously decided not to participate. This was extraordinary in view of the fact that there were only nine Communist members in the government of twenty-aix minis- ters, the seventeen non-Communists clearly having a preponderant majority. Through this decision, the last opportunity to have new elections was probably lost." (Bohdan Chudoba, former member of the Czech Parliament, in THOUGHT, Fordham University Quarterly, Vol 25. No 96, 1950) . � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA STREONO One orf the fourteen fortresses in ruins along the river Vah is the castle Sltrecno, lbuiit, they say, by the fea-rless Matthew C8ik, "the Lord orf the Vah and the Tatras." Mainy were the occupants of this stronghold, the glory orf a past era, nestled on the summit of Mt. Bieda. We read that St·r ecno was the home orf Francis Veseliny in the 17th century. The wife of Veseliny, Sophia Bosniak, died in the stronghold .A!pril 28, 1644, Mld her body, interned in the Lamretanian side-cllapel of the Teplicka ohuroh, has remained practicailly whole for over 300 years. Sophia married the haJndsome Veseliny in her best years; they were ve-ry h-ruppy at Streono. They were haippy, thaJt is untH Veseliny was cailed aiway by duty. When he returned Veseliny was ra very changed man. He practicaJUy ignored Sophia who had n.m out to welcome him home. He spent daiys ,a t a time in his room or on the hunt and ate his meals alone. Sophia became very sad indeed; she was alone and in tears. Then the news came to her . that Vese1iny was prepa,ring to leave the castle the Tuesday before IDaster. The night before the said Tuesday, Solphia receiived a letter from her slister, W1hiClh explained why her husband acted so strangely. The news broke her heart, when she learned that Veseliny had fallen in love with another rund wanted to lea,ve her. Near the narrow pa,th which led to Stroono was a higih boulder, inside of which was an altiar of the Blessed Virgin Maxy. Sophia hastened there with a heavy heart and spent the whole night in prayer. The following morning, Veseliny noticed her as he was ready to leave the castle. Sophie was all spent from tears. Veseliiny was moved exceedingly. Sophia's prayers were heard. Her husband leaped from his horse, embraced his wife, a,nd begged her forg~veness. That was easy enough to do for the fuithful, haippy witfe. That Tuesday beoome a special day for Sophia. SLOVAKIA 39 Every year on ,t he Tuesday before Easter she would go baxefoot to the caive of the Blessed Mother. She visited the church in Tepli'c:ka every day and during advent made the visit ib,amoot. Sophia was noted for her kindness, the ipoor were her wards and she founded a hospitall. Mter Sophia died at Strecno, April 28, 1644, the chrupel of the Blessed Mother was oipened to the pulblic, as the saintly Sophia had wished before her death. Her body w8JS not preserved artificially or scientifioaUy, yet it has not fallen into decay. The story goes on to say that when Thokoly invaded the vicinity in 1678, he plundered and burned Stroono ;and had the casket conta!ining the body of Sophia taken from the chapel and opened, intending to rab it of jewelry and valuaibles. Wihen he found but 01J1e finger bearing a ring, Thokoly flew into a rage, cut the ring finger off, and threw the 1body of Sophia into lime. But her body remained practically the same as it was. Sophia's body was removed to the Teplmka church in 1'698, when Leopold I. ordered Strecno destro3/ed. In 1729 the ·casket was placed in the Lau:retanian Ohapel. Albove the casket i s a portrait of Sophia. The Slovaks of the vicinity say that the casket contains the body of a saint. The people of 2iHna even today honor Sophia as the mother- of widows rund onphruns. 1 • • • "In the most important decisions, such for instance as concerned the foreign policy of the state, the government never consulted the parliament. In the summer of 1947, when the government was confronted with a Soviet demand not to participate in the Paris conference on the Marshall Plan, it did not even consult the parliamentary committee of foreign affairs, and the chairman of the committee. lvo Duchacek, a former Socialist newsWHO SAID IT? - paperman, refused my demand for an immediate convocation of the committee. Although the great majority of citizens, including even most of the supporters of the Socialist parties, were in favor of participation and although the minis ters were warned to this effect by several deputies, the government unanimously decided not to participate. This was extraordinary in view of the fact that there were only nine Communist members in the government of twenty-aix minis- ters, the seventeen non-Communists clearly having a preponderant majority. Through this decision, the last opportunity to have new elections was probably lost." (Bohdan Chudoba, former member of the Czech Parliament, in THOUGHT, Fordham University Quarterly, Vol 25. No 96, 1950) .  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: Strečno Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 38-39 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 castles https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a4e4be273902bd0b9c3f5c3e5061d44f.pdf 05780bcaf6956f5072fb1f0dd69a84c6 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 11 THE "RUSSIA FIRST" BOYS IN RADIO FREE EUROPE By Kurt Glaser (Reprinted from the February, 1953, issue of the NATIONAL REPUBLIC by permission) If you are one of sixteen million Americans who have given to the "Crusade for Freedom" to "help lift the iron curtain," you are naturally interested in what's being done with your money. Even if you're just a taxpayer, you may be interested in an operation which is costing you and me plenty and possibly doing the United States more harm than good. The money collected by the "Crusade for Freedom" goes to the "National Committee for a Free Europe" in New York. With these funds plus a seven-figure subsidy from the Government, the Committee finances Radio Free Europe which broadcasts from Germany to countries behind the Iron Curtain. RFE is supposed to fight Communism and according to its own public relations department it does. Obviously an American propoganda agency should employ only proven antiCommunists who can speak from conviction. To do otherwise would endanger directly the security of the United States. Here are some facts about the principal Czechs and Slovaks who write, edit, produce and broadcast RFE's Czechoslovakian program: 1 They are no more anti-Communists than Mrs. O'Leary's cow was a giraffe: they themselves sold C?.echoslovakia down the river to the Communists. 2. The "intelligence" agency operated in Germany by the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, to which the more important of these individuals belong, is infested with Communist agents and tips off anti-Communists in Czechoslovakia to Dictator Gottwald's secret police. 3. Their political line promotes hatred and rivalry between European peoples, thereby helping Stalin. �32 SLOVAKIA 4. With the help of State Department friends they have stacked immigration procedures to help left-wingers get to the United States and to keep out real anti-Communists. To get down to cases, the Czechs and Slovaks running the "Czechoslovak " section of RFE are all members of the "National Front" parties which governed Czechoslovakia, together with the Communists, from 1945 to 1948. The most important persons associated with this group are Jan Stransky (a leader in the Czech National Socialist Party) , Martin Kvetko and Pavel Viboch (members of parliament) and Ferdinand Peroutka and Pavel Tigrid (editors) , all of whom are or were until recently employed by RFE. Peroutka is the chief of the "Czechoslovak" section of RFE in New York; Tigrid was until October 1, 1952, chief of the broadcasting station in Munich. Not directly associated with RFE, but playing important background roles, are Peter Zenkl and Hubert Ripka (cabinet ministers), Jan Papanek (former Czechoslovak delegate to the U. N.), Josef Lettrich (National Councillor in Slovakia) and Andrew Valushek (editor of the New Yorksky Dennik). All these individuals (except Papanek and Valushek, who were already in the United States) left Czechoslovakia during or after the reorganization of February, 1948, sometimes reforred to incorrectly as the "Gottwald Putsch." The "National Front" politicians were accepted immediately by the State Department as "democratic exiles" and their organization in America, the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," was recognized as a quasi-official spokesman representing democratic Czechs and Slovaks. American officials were either unaware of or closed their eyes to the fact that the "non-Communist' parties of the "National Front" had begun to collaborate with the Communists as early as 1935, and had continued to do so until 1948. The National Front's "line" was expounded by Minister Zenkl in a speech to the Temporary National Assembly in November. 1945, in which he said: "The nationally conscious CzE;ehs and Slovaks have no doubt that ... permanent collaboration with the USSR is �SLOVAKIA 33 necessary. Never without the USSR, never against the USSR, always at its side!" During World War II the National Front's forerunner, the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government" in London, planned its post-war policies in such a way that they could only be carried out with Soviet support. It would take too long to explain these policies here, but we may take the word of Dr. Ivo Duchacek (now working for the Voice of America) who said in 1946 that: "Our alliance with the Soviet Union is the main pillar of our foreign policy ... (It) guarantees us the immediate help of the Soviet armies in case of emergency." To compensate for Soviet support, the Czechoslovak Government in London issued passports to a number of Communist agents, and got them jobs on either the British Broadcasting Company's Czechoslovak section or the Communist Party's Daily Worker, the. two staffs being interchangeable for operating purposes. Other agents were infiltrated into . the United States, such as the Communists Bension Batt and Karel Leitner of the New Yorkske Listy (Czech-language paper), and Desider Benau, a subordinate of Valushek on the (Slovak-language) New Yorksky Dennik, now merged with the Listy. Batt, Leitner and Benau are now back in Communist Czechoslovakia, where they occupy important positions. After the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 the National Front politicians continued to collaborate with the Communists. "Let us declare war on fear of bolshevism and forbid, at the same time. the formation of any anti-Communist front whatever!" declared the Social Democratic newspaper Pravo Lidu. On February 9, 1948, only a few weeks before the State Department took him over as a "democratic exile," RFE's Ferdinand Peroutka restated the "line" as follows: "In Czech politics, in Czech national life, it i,s urgent that we come to an understanding with the Communist Party.... The Communist Party shall remain the greatest force in our political scheme even after the elections are over, and socialism shall remain the foundation of our na- �SLOVAKIA . tional life.... Coming to terms with the Communists is the golden theme of our political philosophy." ("What Do We Want of Them?" Dnesek, February 9, 1948.) Since arriving in the United States, the National Fronters have sold their wealthy backers and apparently the Government the myth that the Communists "took over" Czechoslovakia in 1948 despite their efforts to prevent it. The fact is: they themselves had sold Czechoslovakia down the river to the Communists long before 1948, and did nothing to prevent the "Gottwald Putsch." The first step was a secret treaty with the Soviets in 1941, followed by an open treaty in 1943, and a number of supplemental agreements which set up a Moscow-planned program for sovietizing Czechoslovakia. The main elements of this program were (1) the prohibition of political parties which would not go along with the Communists; (2) the "Kosice Program" of socialization which liquidated the anti-Communist middle class; and (3) the expulsion of the anti-Communist German-speaking minority, most of whom had had nothing to do with Nazi atrocities. To carry out this program there was established in 1945 (not 1948) a police state with socalled "People's Courts" on the Soviet model (Ripka and Stransky . signed the decree setting them up) and a Czech secret police under a Communist minister. In Slovakia it was not necessary to have a communist minister for police. The Slovak Democratic Party's Mikulas Ferjencik, an associate of Lettrich, jailed 130,000 Slovaks in 1945-47, and did such a good job of liquidating anti-Communists that the Communists thanked him for it. Lettrich applauded this action, writing: "Centrifugal forces shall be jailed. . . . Centrifugal forces are today eradicated and liquidated." RFE's Martin Kvetko backed up the action by issuing an "Executive Decree on Labor Camps" providing for confinement without trial, which Communist Gottwald liked so well he extended it later to the whole of Czechoslovakia. Lettrich's and Kvetko's Slovak "Democratic" Party passed a resolution in 1948 stating that: "The leaders of the Democratic Party .. . will give full �SLOVAKIA 36 support to the Commissioner of the [nterior in all matters pertaining to obstructing any anti-State activity whatsoever . . . . We are in accord with a thorough purge of antiState elements." .. . . As for Commissioner Ferjencik, he later tried to enter the United States and was held on Ellis Island on complaints of Americans of Slovak descent. But Jan Papanek evidently pulled some wires in Washington and the decision of the Immigration Service was reversed by "higher authority." · The National Fronters supported unanimously all measures to carry out the Sovietization plan. It was useful for the Communists to have a majority of "non-Communists" in the Government, since this allayed the suspicions of the West. By February, 1948, the process of Sovietization was substantially completed, and Gottwald did not need the "non-Communists" any more. Whether the National Fronters made a secret deal with the Communists, as suggested by Robert Ingrim and other writers, is a moot point, but it is a fact that they could be much more useful to Gottwald in the United States (or in RFE Munich) than in Czechoslovakia. It is also a fact that most of them got out of Czechoslovakia without the least interference by the Communists, some even driving their own cars. Having arrived in the United States, the National Front politicians organized the "Council for Free Czechoslovakia" and its sister organization, the "American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees." The Fund has big names such as Professor Shotwell of Columbia, Drew Pearson and Mrs. Roosevelt, but is actually run by Papanek and Valushek, who have also been active in the "American Slav Congress," cited by the Attorney General as "subversive and Communist" and by the House Committee on Un-American Activities as "a Moscow-inspired and directed federation of Communist-dominated organizations." The "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" boasts in one of its own leaflets that it convinced the State Department to let its agents in Germany pre-screen Czech and Slovak refugees who wanted to come to the United States. Among the screeners have been such individuals as Dr. Schenk, Dr. �36 SLOVAKIA Rebhahn and Dr. Jerabek, who are notorious in Germany for their open left-wing sympathies and associations. It is obvious that these gentlemen did their best to blackball any genuine anti-Communists who wanted a United States visa. Typical of those who did get in is one Rostislav Foukal, who shortly before his departure for America delivered himself of the following: Every democratic thinking person must recognize that the present economic system in America is rotten to the core, the workers are exploited by their employers and stifled by Taft and Company . . . . We Czechoslovakian socialists . . . . will help America to escape from the claws of the capitalists ... We will help the Americans to re-shape their history." As a communications channel between the "Council of Free Cze<!hoslovakia" and the "underground" remaining in that country, a message center was set up in Frankfurt, Germany, under the management of General Moravec, formerly head of the "Czechoslovakian Intelligence Service" in London This organization was heavily infiltrated with Communist agents, a numb.er of whom have been arrested as Gottwald spies by U. S. intelligence agencies. It is quite obvious that the "Moravec" organization contains other spies who have not yet been discovered. It managed to leak enough information to the Czech State Prosecutor to convict the most prominent members of the "underground" and it is considered by West German officials to be dangerously. subversive. Yet RFE, evidently with State Department approval, uses the "Moravec" outfit to gather some of the "intelligence" which it broadcasts. American agencies sometimes use it too; a recent case involved a "Moravec" reporl; on Czech fortifications, complete with diagrams, for which American officers paid a goodly sum. It was a fine report except for one thing - a further examination showed that the fortifications did not exist. The National Fronters have not, to my knowledge, recanted their pre-1948 policies. Peroutka, who late in 1947 wrote that it would be "unthinkable" to take the side of the United States in conflict with the Soviet Union, stated in 1949 that he would endeavor to remove from the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" all member opposed to socialism �SLOVAKIA 17 (Navrat, Paris, July 15, 1949). The Tribuna, intellectual magazine of the National Front, declared ·in 1950 that "private illlitiative is a thing of the past," and in 1951 that "private possession of the means of . production ... is immoral, anti-social, unjust, inefficient and disadvantageous." By turning over an American-financed propaganda operation to the National Front, we are sabotaging our own "fight for freedom" in Europe. This is all the more so since RFE, although theo:r:etically private, is considered by most Europeans to be associated with the United States Government, which in fact it is. It is apparent that RFE tends to .undermine American popularity in Europe. To begin with,· .its policies and personnel are anathema to the Slovaks, of whom at least 80 per cent (as estimated by Dr. Kvetko, a N~tional Fronter) want an independent Slovak state. Among the Czechs, the strictly non-Communist organizations, such as General Prchala's Czech National Committee';. appear to be more popular than the left-wing National ·Front. Those Czechs who like the National Front's policy ·of advanced socialism bordering on Communism won't find· too much wrong with the Gottwald regime anyway. Finally, the rabid anti-German attitude taken by many of the National Front's politicians and writers - not so much over the air, where they have been subject to some censorship, but in their outside writings ~nd . speeches - has infuriated large sectors of the German public. The · net result is that RFE antagonizes exactly those people, on both sides of the iron curtain, whom it is vital to have on our side for our own security. Nor has it helped that the Chief and Personnel Director of the proposed American-financed Russian.. broadcasting station to parallel RFID, Yakovlev alias Nareikis, and Vasiliev alias Gottlieb alias Bogolyubov, are both long-time members of Stalin's MVD (secret police, formerly NKVD) who continued to work for that agency after they had left the Soviet Union and had theoretically joined Stalin's enemies. The American people have elected a new administration which has promised to proceed vigor.011s.ly against Communist dangers which threaten j,he _United States. It is Glear that in the sector just described there. is plenty to do. � SLOVAKIA 11 THE "RUSSIA FIRST" BOYS IN RADIO FREE EUROPE By Kurt Glaser (Reprinted from the February, 1953, issue of the NATIONAL REPUBLIC by permission) If you are one of sixteen million Americans who have given to the "Crusade for Freedom" to "help lift the iron curtain," you are naturally interested in what's being done with your money. Even if you're just a taxpayer, you may be interested in an operation which is costing you and me plenty and possibly doing the United States more harm than good. The money collected by the "Crusade for Freedom" goes to the "National Committee for a Free Europe" in New York. With these funds plus a seven-figure subsidy from the Government, the Committee finances Radio Free Europe which broadcasts from Germany to countries behind the Iron Curtain. RFE is supposed to fight Communism and according to its own public relations department it does. Obviously an American propoganda agency should employ only proven antiCommunists who can speak from conviction. To do otherwise would endanger directly the security of the United States. Here are some facts about the principal Czechs and Slovaks who write, edit, produce and broadcast RFE's Czechoslovakian program: 1 They are no more anti-Communists than Mrs. O'Leary's cow was a giraffe: they themselves sold C?.echoslovakia down the river to the Communists. 2. The "intelligence" agency operated in Germany by the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, to which the more important of these individuals belong, is infested with Communist agents and tips off anti-Communists in Czechoslovakia to Dictator Gottwald's secret police. 3. Their political line promotes hatred and rivalry between European peoples, thereby helping Stalin. �32 SLOVAKIA 4. With the help of State Department friends they have stacked immigration procedures to help left-wingers get to the United States and to keep out real anti-Communists. To get down to cases, the Czechs and Slovaks running the "Czechoslovak " section of RFE are all members of the "National Front" parties which governed Czechoslovakia, together with the Communists, from 1945 to 1948. The most important persons associated with this group are Jan Stransky (a leader in the Czech National Socialist Party) , Martin Kvetko and Pavel Viboch (members of parliament) and Ferdinand Peroutka and Pavel Tigrid (editors) , all of whom are or were until recently employed by RFE. Peroutka is the chief of the "Czechoslovak" section of RFE in New York; Tigrid was until October 1, 1952, chief of the broadcasting station in Munich. Not directly associated with RFE, but playing important background roles, are Peter Zenkl and Hubert Ripka (cabinet ministers), Jan Papanek (former Czechoslovak delegate to the U. N.), Josef Lettrich (National Councillor in Slovakia) and Andrew Valushek (editor of the New Yorksky Dennik). All these individuals (except Papanek and Valushek, who were already in the United States) left Czechoslovakia during or after the reorganization of February, 1948, sometimes reforred to incorrectly as the "Gottwald Putsch." The "National Front" politicians were accepted immediately by the State Department as "democratic exiles" and their organization in America, the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," was recognized as a quasi-official spokesman representing democratic Czechs and Slovaks. American officials were either unaware of or closed their eyes to the fact that the "non-Communist' parties of the "National Front" had begun to collaborate with the Communists as early as 1935, and had continued to do so until 1948. The National Front's "line" was expounded by Minister Zenkl in a speech to the Temporary National Assembly in November. 1945, in which he said: "The nationally conscious CzE;ehs and Slovaks have no doubt that ... permanent collaboration with the USSR is �SLOVAKIA 33 necessary. Never without the USSR, never against the USSR, always at its side!" During World War II the National Front's forerunner, the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government" in London, planned its post-war policies in such a way that they could only be carried out with Soviet support. It would take too long to explain these policies here, but we may take the word of Dr. Ivo Duchacek (now working for the Voice of America) who said in 1946 that: "Our alliance with the Soviet Union is the main pillar of our foreign policy ... (It) guarantees us the immediate help of the Soviet armies in case of emergency." To compensate for Soviet support, the Czechoslovak Government in London issued passports to a number of Communist agents, and got them jobs on either the British Broadcasting Company's Czechoslovak section or the Communist Party's Daily Worker, the. two staffs being interchangeable for operating purposes. Other agents were infiltrated into . the United States, such as the Communists Bension Batt and Karel Leitner of the New Yorkske Listy (Czech-language paper), and Desider Benau, a subordinate of Valushek on the (Slovak-language) New Yorksky Dennik, now merged with the Listy. Batt, Leitner and Benau are now back in Communist Czechoslovakia, where they occupy important positions. After the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 the National Front politicians continued to collaborate with the Communists. "Let us declare war on fear of bolshevism and forbid, at the same time. the formation of any anti-Communist front whatever!" declared the Social Democratic newspaper Pravo Lidu. On February 9, 1948, only a few weeks before the State Department took him over as a "democratic exile," RFE's Ferdinand Peroutka restated the "line" as follows: "In Czech politics, in Czech national life, it i,s urgent that we come to an understanding with the Communist Party.... The Communist Party shall remain the greatest force in our political scheme even after the elections are over, and socialism shall remain the foundation of our na- �SLOVAKIA . tional life.... Coming to terms with the Communists is the golden theme of our political philosophy." ("What Do We Want of Them?" Dnesek, February 9, 1948.) Since arriving in the United States, the National Fronters have sold their wealthy backers and apparently the Government the myth that the Communists "took over" Czechoslovakia in 1948 despite their efforts to prevent it. The fact is: they themselves had sold Czechoslovakia down the river to the Communists long before 1948, and did nothing to prevent the "Gottwald Putsch." The first step was a secret treaty with the Soviets in 1941, followed by an open treaty in 1943, and a number of supplemental agreements which set up a Moscow-planned program for sovietizing Czechoslovakia. The main elements of this program were (1) the prohibition of political parties which would not go along with the Communists; (2) the "Kosice Program" of socialization which liquidated the anti-Communist middle class; and (3) the expulsion of the anti-Communist German-speaking minority, most of whom had had nothing to do with Nazi atrocities. To carry out this program there was established in 1945 (not 1948) a police state with socalled "People's Courts" on the Soviet model (Ripka and Stransky . signed the decree setting them up) and a Czech secret police under a Communist minister. In Slovakia it was not necessary to have a communist minister for police. The Slovak Democratic Party's Mikulas Ferjencik, an associate of Lettrich, jailed 130,000 Slovaks in 1945-47, and did such a good job of liquidating anti-Communists that the Communists thanked him for it. Lettrich applauded this action, writing: "Centrifugal forces shall be jailed. . . . Centrifugal forces are today eradicated and liquidated." RFE's Martin Kvetko backed up the action by issuing an "Executive Decree on Labor Camps" providing for confinement without trial, which Communist Gottwald liked so well he extended it later to the whole of Czechoslovakia. Lettrich's and Kvetko's Slovak "Democratic" Party passed a resolution in 1948 stating that: "The leaders of the Democratic Party .. . will give full �SLOVAKIA 36 support to the Commissioner of the [nterior in all matters pertaining to obstructing any anti-State activity whatsoever . . . . We are in accord with a thorough purge of antiState elements." .. . . As for Commissioner Ferjencik, he later tried to enter the United States and was held on Ellis Island on complaints of Americans of Slovak descent. But Jan Papanek evidently pulled some wires in Washington and the decision of the Immigration Service was reversed by "higher authority." · The National Fronters supported unanimously all measures to carry out the Sovietization plan. It was useful for the Communists to have a majority of "non-Communists" in the Government, since this allayed the suspicions of the West. By February, 1948, the process of Sovietization was substantially completed, and Gottwald did not need the "non-Communists" any more. Whether the National Fronters made a secret deal with the Communists, as suggested by Robert Ingrim and other writers, is a moot point, but it is a fact that they could be much more useful to Gottwald in the United States (or in RFE Munich) than in Czechoslovakia. It is also a fact that most of them got out of Czechoslovakia without the least interference by the Communists, some even driving their own cars. Having arrived in the United States, the National Front politicians organized the "Council for Free Czechoslovakia" and its sister organization, the "American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees." The Fund has big names such as Professor Shotwell of Columbia, Drew Pearson and Mrs. Roosevelt, but is actually run by Papanek and Valushek, who have also been active in the "American Slav Congress," cited by the Attorney General as "subversive and Communist" and by the House Committee on Un-American Activities as "a Moscow-inspired and directed federation of Communist-dominated organizations." The "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" boasts in one of its own leaflets that it convinced the State Department to let its agents in Germany pre-screen Czech and Slovak refugees who wanted to come to the United States. Among the screeners have been such individuals as Dr. Schenk, Dr. �36 SLOVAKIA Rebhahn and Dr. Jerabek, who are notorious in Germany for their open left-wing sympathies and associations. It is obvious that these gentlemen did their best to blackball any genuine anti-Communists who wanted a United States visa. Typical of those who did get in is one Rostislav Foukal, who shortly before his departure for America delivered himself of the following: Every democratic thinking person must recognize that the present economic system in America is rotten to the core, the workers are exploited by their employers and stifled by Taft and Company . . . . We Czechoslovakian socialists . . . . will help America to escape from the claws of the capitalists ... We will help the Americans to re-shape their history." As a communications channel between the "Council of Free Cze<!hoslovakia" and the "underground" remaining in that country, a message center was set up in Frankfurt, Germany, under the management of General Moravec, formerly head of the "Czechoslovakian Intelligence Service" in London This organization was heavily infiltrated with Communist agents, a numb.er of whom have been arrested as Gottwald spies by U. S. intelligence agencies. It is quite obvious that the "Moravec" organization contains other spies who have not yet been discovered. It managed to leak enough information to the Czech State Prosecutor to convict the most prominent members of the "underground" and it is considered by West German officials to be dangerously. subversive. Yet RFE, evidently with State Department approval, uses the "Moravec" outfit to gather some of the "intelligence" which it broadcasts. American agencies sometimes use it too; a recent case involved a "Moravec" reporl; on Czech fortifications, complete with diagrams, for which American officers paid a goodly sum. It was a fine report except for one thing - a further examination showed that the fortifications did not exist. The National Fronters have not, to my knowledge, recanted their pre-1948 policies. Peroutka, who late in 1947 wrote that it would be "unthinkable" to take the side of the United States in conflict with the Soviet Union, stated in 1949 that he would endeavor to remove from the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" all member opposed to socialism �SLOVAKIA 17 (Navrat, Paris, July 15, 1949). The Tribuna, intellectual magazine of the National Front, declared ·in 1950 that "private illlitiative is a thing of the past," and in 1951 that "private possession of the means of . production ... is immoral, anti-social, unjust, inefficient and disadvantageous." By turning over an American-financed propaganda operation to the National Front, we are sabotaging our own "fight for freedom" in Europe. This is all the more so since RFE, although theo:r:etically private, is considered by most Europeans to be associated with the United States Government, which in fact it is. It is apparent that RFE tends to .undermine American popularity in Europe. To begin with,· .its policies and personnel are anathema to the Slovaks, of whom at least 80 per cent (as estimated by Dr. Kvetko, a N~tional Fronter) want an independent Slovak state. Among the Czechs, the strictly non-Communist organizations, such as General Prchala's Czech National Committee';. appear to be more popular than the left-wing National ·Front. Those Czechs who like the National Front's policy ·of advanced socialism bordering on Communism won't find· too much wrong with the Gottwald regime anyway. Finally, the rabid anti-German attitude taken by many of the National Front's politicians and writers - not so much over the air, where they have been subject to some censorship, but in their outside writings ~nd . speeches - has infuriated large sectors of the German public. The · net result is that RFE antagonizes exactly those people, on both sides of the iron curtain, whom it is vital to have on our side for our own security. Nor has it helped that the Chief and Personnel Director of the proposed American-financed Russian.. broadcasting station to parallel RFID, Yakovlev alias Nareikis, and Vasiliev alias Gottlieb alias Bogolyubov, are both long-time members of Stalin's MVD (secret police, formerly NKVD) who continued to work for that agency after they had left the Soviet Union and had theoretically joined Stalin's enemies. The American people have elected a new administration which has promised to proceed vigor.011s.ly against Communist dangers which threaten j,he _United States. It is Glear that in the sector just described there. is plenty to do. � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 31 THE "RUSSIA FIRST" BOYS IN RADIO FREE EUROPE By Kurt Glaser (Reprinted from the February, 1953, issue of the NATIONAL REPUBLIC by permission) If you are one of sixteen million Americans who have given to the "Crusade for Freedom" to "help lift the iron curtain," you are naturally interested in what's being done with your money. Even if you're just a taxpayer, you may be interested in an operation which is costing you and me plenty and possibly doing the United States more harm than good. The money collected by the "Crusade for Freedom" goes to the "National Committee for a Free Europe" in New York. With these funds plus a seven-figure subsidy from the Government, the Committee finances Radio Free Europe which broadcasts from Germany to countries behind the Iron Curtain. RFE is supposed to fight Communism and according to its own public relations department it does. Obviously an American propoganda agency should employ only proven antiCommunists who can speak from conviction. To do otherwise would endanger directly the security of the United States. Here are some facts about the principal Czechs and Slovaks who write, edit, produce and broadcast RFE's Czechoslovakian program: 1 They are no more anti-Communists than Mrs. O'Leary's cow was a giraffe: they themselves sold C?.echoslovakia down the river to the Communists. 2. The "intelligence" agency operated in Germany by the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, to which the more important of these individuals belong, is infested with Communist agents and tips off anti-Communists in Czechoslovakia to Dictator Gottwald's secret police. 3. Their political line promotes hatred and rivalry between European peoples, thereby helping Stalin. 32 SLOVAKIA 4. With the help of State Department friends they have stacked immigration procedures to help left-wingers get to the United States and to keep out real anti-Communists. To get down to cases, the Czechs and Slovaks running the "Czechoslovak " section of RFE are all members of the "National Front" parties which governed Czechoslovakia, together with the Communists, from 1945 to 1948. The most important persons associated with this group are Jan Stransky (a leader in the Czech National Socialist Party) , Martin Kvetko and Pavel Viboch (members of parliament) and Ferdinand Peroutka and Pavel Tigrid (editors) , all of whom are or were until recently employed by RFE. Peroutka is the chief of the "Czechoslovak" section of RFE in New York; Tigrid was until October 1, 1952, chief of the broadcasting station in Munich. Not directly associated with RFE, but playing important background roles, are Peter Zenkl and Hubert Ripka (cabinet ministers), Jan Papanek (former Czechoslovak delegate to the U. N.), Josef Lettrich (National Councillor in Slovakia) and Andrew Valushek (editor of the New Yorksky Dennik). All these individuals (except Papanek and Valushek, who were already in the United States) left Czechoslovakia during or after the reorganization of February, 1948, sometimes reforred to incorrectly as the "Gottwald Putsch." The "National Front" politicians were accepted immediately by the State Department as "democratic exiles" and their organization in America, the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," was recognized as a quasi-official spokesman representing democratic Czechs and Slovaks. American officials were either unaware of or closed their eyes to the fact that the "non-Communist' parties of the "National Front" had begun to collaborate with the Communists as early as 1935, and had continued to do so until 1948. The National Front's "line" was expounded by Minister Zenkl in a speech to the Temporary National Assembly in November. 1945, in which he said: "The nationally conscious CzE;ehs and Slovaks have no doubt that ... permanent collaboration with the USSR is SLOVAKIA 33 necessary. Never without the USSR, never against the USSR, always at its side!" During World War II the National Front's forerunner, the "Czechoslovak Democratic Government" in London, planned its post-war policies in such a way that they could only be carried out with Soviet support. It would take too long to explain these policies here, but we may take the word of Dr. Ivo Duchacek (now working for the Voice of America) who said in 1946 that: "Our alliance with the Soviet Union is the main pillar of our foreign policy ... (It) guarantees us the immediate help of the Soviet armies in case of emergency." To compensate for Soviet support, the Czechoslovak Government in London issued passports to a number of Communist agents, and got them jobs on either the British Broadcasting Company's Czechoslovak section or the Communist Party's Daily Worker, the. two staffs being interchangeable for operating purposes. Other agents were infiltrated into . the United States, such as the Communists Bension Batt and Karel Leitner of the New Yorkske Listy (Czech-language paper), and Desider Benau, a subordinate of Valushek on the (Slovak-language) New Yorksky Dennik, now merged with the Listy. Batt, Leitner and Benau are now back in Communist Czechoslovakia, where they occupy important positions. After the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 the National Front politicians continued to collaborate with the Communists. "Let us declare war on fear of bolshevism and forbid, at the same time. the formation of any anti-Communist front whatever!" declared the Social Democratic newspaper Pravo Lidu. On February 9, 1948, only a few weeks before the State Department took him over as a "democratic exile," RFE's Ferdinand Peroutka restated the "line" as follows: "In Czech politics, in Czech national life, it i,s urgent that we come to an understanding with the Communist Party.... The Communist Party shall remain the greatest force in our political scheme even after the elections are over, and socialism shall remain the foundation of our na- SLOVAKIA . tional life.... Coming to terms with the Communists is the golden theme of our political philosophy." ("What Do We Want of Them?" Dnesek, February 9, 1948.) Since arriving in the United States, the National Fronters have sold their wealthy backers and apparently the Government the myth that the Communists "took over" Czechoslovakia in 1948 despite their efforts to prevent it. The fact is: they themselves had sold Czechoslovakia down the river to the Communists long before 1948, and did nothing to prevent the "Gottwald Putsch." The first step was a secret treaty with the Soviets in 1941, followed by an open treaty in 1943, and a number of supplemental agreements which set up a Moscow-planned program for sovietizing Czechoslovakia. The main elements of this program were (1) the prohibition of political parties which would not go along with the Communists; (2) the "Kosice Program" of socialization which liquidated the anti-Communist middle class; and (3) the expulsion of the anti-Communist German-speaking minority, most of whom had had nothing to do with Nazi atrocities. To carry out this program there was established in 1945 (not 1948) a police state with socalled "People's Courts" on the Soviet model (Ripka and Stransky . signed the decree setting them up) and a Czech secret police under a Communist minister. In Slovakia it was not necessary to have a communist minister for police. The Slovak Democratic Party's Mikulas Ferjencik, an associate of Lettrich, jailed 130,000 Slovaks in 1945-47, and did such a good job of liquidating anti-Communists that the Communists thanked him for it. Lettrich applauded this action, writing: "Centrifugal forces shall be jailed. . . . Centrifugal forces are today eradicated and liquidated." RFE's Martin Kvetko backed up the action by issuing an "Executive Decree on Labor Camps" providing for confinement without trial, which Communist Gottwald liked so well he extended it later to the whole of Czechoslovakia. Lettrich's and Kvetko's Slovak "Democratic" Party passed a resolution in 1948 stating that: "The leaders of the Democratic Party .. . will give full SLOVAKIA 36 support to the Commissioner of the [nterior in all matters pertaining to obstructing any anti-State activity whatsoever . . . . We are in accord with a thorough purge of antiState elements." .. . . As for Commissioner Ferjencik, he later tried to enter the United States and was held on Ellis Island on complaints of Americans of Slovak descent. But Jan Papanek evidently pulled some wires in Washington and the decision of the Immigration Service was reversed by "higher authority." · The National Fronters supported unanimously all measures to carry out the Sovietization plan. It was useful for the Communists to have a majority of "non-Communists" in the Government, since this allayed the suspicions of the West. By February, 1948, the process of Sovietization was substantially completed, and Gottwald did not need the "non-Communists" any more. Whether the National Fronters made a secret deal with the Communists, as suggested by Robert Ingrim and other writers, is a moot point, but it is a fact that they could be much more useful to Gottwald in the United States (or in RFE Munich) than in Czechoslovakia. It is also a fact that most of them got out of Czechoslovakia without the least interference by the Communists, some even driving their own cars. Having arrived in the United States, the National Front politicians organized the "Council for Free Czechoslovakia" and its sister organization, the "American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees." The Fund has big names such as Professor Shotwell of Columbia, Drew Pearson and Mrs. Roosevelt, but is actually run by Papanek and Valushek, who have also been active in the "American Slav Congress," cited by the Attorney General as "subversive and Communist" and by the House Committee on Un-American Activities as "a Moscow-inspired and directed federation of Communist-dominated organizations." The "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" boasts in one of its own leaflets that it convinced the State Department to let its agents in Germany pre-screen Czech and Slovak refugees who wanted to come to the United States. Among the screeners have been such individuals as Dr. Schenk, Dr. 36 SLOVAKIA Rebhahn and Dr. Jerabek, who are notorious in Germany for their open left-wing sympathies and associations. It is obvious that these gentlemen did their best to blackball any genuine anti-Communists who wanted a United States visa. Typical of those who did get in is one Rostislav Foukal, who shortly before his departure for America delivered himself of the following: Every democratic thinking person must recognize that the present economic system in America is rotten to the core, the workers are exploited by their employers and stifled by Taft and Company . . . . We Czechoslovakian socialists . . . . will help America to escape from the claws of the capitalists ... We will help the Americans to re-shape their history." As a communications channel between the "Council of Free Cze<!hoslovakia" and the "underground" remaining in that country, a message center was set up in Frankfurt, Germany, under the management of General Moravec, formerly head of the "Czechoslovakian Intelligence Service" in London This organization was heavily infiltrated with Communist agents, a numb.er of whom have been arrested as Gottwald spies by U. S. intelligence agencies. It is quite obvious that the "Moravec" organization contains other spies who have not yet been discovered. It managed to leak enough information to the Czech State Prosecutor to convict the most prominent members of the "underground" and it is considered by West German officials to be dangerously. subversive. Yet RFE, evidently with State Department approval, uses the "Moravec" outfit to gather some of the "intelligence" which it broadcasts. American agencies sometimes use it too; a recent case involved a "Moravec" reporl; on Czech fortifications, complete with diagrams, for which American officers paid a goodly sum. It was a fine report except for one thing - a further examination showed that the fortifications did not exist. The National Fronters have not, to my knowledge, recanted their pre-1948 policies. Peroutka, who late in 1947 wrote that it would be "unthinkable" to take the side of the United States in conflict with the Soviet Union, stated in 1949 that he would endeavor to remove from the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" all member opposed to socialism SLOVAKIA 17 (Navrat, Paris, July 15, 1949). The Tribuna, intellectual magazine of the National Front, declared ·in 1950 that "private illlitiative is a thing of the past," and in 1951 that "private possession of the means of . production ... is immoral, anti-social, unjust, inefficient and disadvantageous." By turning over an American-financed propaganda operation to the National Front, we are sabotaging our own "fight for freedom" in Europe. This is all the more so since RFE, although theo:r:etically private, is considered by most Europeans to be associated with the United States Government, which in fact it is. It is apparent that RFE tends to .undermine American popularity in Europe. To begin with,· .its policies and personnel are anathema to the Slovaks, of whom at least 80 per cent (as estimated by Dr. Kvetko, a N~tional Fronter) want an independent Slovak state. Among the Czechs, the strictly non-Communist organizations, such as General Prchala's Czech National Committee';. appear to be more popular than the left-wing National ·Front. Those Czechs who like the National Front's policy ·of advanced socialism bordering on Communism won't find· too much wrong with the Gottwald regime anyway. Finally, the rabid anti-German attitude taken by many of the National Front's politicians and writers - not so much over the air, where they have been subject to some censorship, but in their outside writings ~nd . speeches - has infuriated large sectors of the German public. The · net result is that RFE antagonizes exactly those people, on both sides of the iron curtain, whom it is vital to have on our side for our own security. Nor has it helped that the Chief and Personnel Director of the proposed American-financed Russian.. broadcasting station to parallel RFID, Yakovlev alias Nareikis, and Vasiliev alias Gottlieb alias Bogolyubov, are both long-time members of Stalin's MVD (secret police, formerly NKVD) who continued to work for that agency after they had left the Soviet Union and had theoretically joined Stalin's enemies. The American people have elected a new administration which has promised to proceed vigor.011s.ly against Communist dangers which threaten j,he _United States. It is Glear that in the sector just described there. is plenty to do.  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 "Russia First" Boys in Radio Free Europe Description An account of the resource Kurt Glaser Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 31-37 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Glaser, Kurt, 1914-1993 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/2e00c1a5a00320878474ec6eeb1cf4c2.pdf fd3d26399edffe1e6a7635c4c34b45b6 PDF Text Text SLOVAKI.A ANNIVERSARY OF A MURDER · April 18, 1953, marks the sixth anniversary of the blackest deed in the history of Czecho-Slovakia - the µiµ,rder of Dr. Joseph Tiso, champion of Slovak freedom, exemplary priest of God, and first president of the independent Slovak Republic. This day will be solemnly commemorated by Slovaks everywhere, at home and abroad, as long as they live. For them Tiso will always be a hero and a martyr; he was the most beloved man in Slovakia, because he ruled his country wisely under the most trying circumstances and saved his nation from destruction. During the summer of 1946, Dr. Edward Benes told the Slovak Council of Commissioners that Dr. Joseph Tiso would be put to death, but the majority of Slovaks still believed that Benes would change his mind and spare Tiso's life. When the "peo·p le's" court pronounced sentence on Dr. Tiso and ordered him to be hanged, Dr. Edward Benes had the opportunity to improve the deteriorated relationship between the Czechs and the Slovaks, As president, he could have granted clemency after Tiso filed his plea for mercy, but Benes preferred to reject it. Benes refused clemency to and ordered the execution of the man who was in a large measure responsible for his election to the presidency in 1935 ! _When Dr. Benes gave in to the demand of the CzechoSlovak stooges of the Kremlin who demanded Tiso's head, he drove the last nail into the coffin of Czecho-Slovakia and killed the last hope of ever bringing the Czechs and the Slovaks together again under one political roof. True, the Slovaks are under that roof today, but not because they willed it; they were forced under it. And nothing but force and terror will keep them under it. The Slovaks proclaimed the independence of their country through their duly elected representatives in the Slovak Parliament on March 14, 1939. The same parliament elected Dr. Joseph Tiso president of the independent Slovak Republic in October of that same year. From then un- �ILOVAKIA 29 til the wanton and violent destruction of the Slovak Re- pulic in 1945, when the Slovak Government and Dr. Joseph Tiso were forced to flee Bratislava, there was not a single official execution in Slovakia bearing Dr. Tiso's signature. And .during the war the people of Slovakia fared . better than even most neutral countries. The Slovaks still firmly believe that no matter what the circumstances under which the independent Slovak Republic was born, it should have never been destroyed. It could have served Christianity and the western democracies effectively after 1945. Dr. Joseph Tiso, who had refused to have Slovakia join the Soviet system as an "independent" state during the war, died on the gallows in the courtyard of the Bratislava prison when dawn broke on April 18, 1947. His greatest crime was his great love for his people and the Christian-democratic way of life. He believed that his nation, just as all nations large and small, had the God-given, inherent right to freedom and independence. Tiso was an implacable enemy of Godless, materialistic Communism. In the tradition of his people he fought the dread plague. of Communism in and out of season. Even as he was being led to the gallows, Dr. Tiso prayed and begged his people to continue their fight against the system which would pervert and enslave mankind. Father Joseph Tiso, who had not signed a single order of execution and had saved thousands of Christians and Jews from death at the hands of Hitler's madmen, was himself shamefully put to death on the gallows by the man who resigned and betrayed the highest trust of his people and cowardly fled his country during its darkest hour - - Dr. Edward Benes. But the Communistdominated Prague Government of Dr. Edward Benes was not satisfied with the murder of Tiso- It even denied him his last request: to be buried in a plot in his own parish cemetery in Banovce. The lifeless body of Tiso was buried secretly; later, it is said, it was disintered and cremated, the ashes being ~attered to the winds, or, as , some say, cast into the waters of the Vltava which long ago •claimed the life of St. John Nepomucene. �30 SLOVAKIA The Prague government tried to erase the memory of Tiso from the hearts and minds of the Slovak people by all means at its disposal. It was and still is a crime to utter Tiso's name publicly, or mention it in the CzechoSlovak press or broadcasts. Bu~ the more Prague tries to suppress the memory of Tiso, the more it becomes endeared and steeled in the hearts of Slovaks everywhere. They know that Tiso died for his faith and for his people. Father Tiso still lives in his countrymen, who today are more determined than ever that Communism shall be crushed and that they shall once again have their own independent Slovak Republic. They believe that, because Father Tiso believed it. And they believe, too, that the murderers of their beloved martyr and hero shall not escape the just punishment of God. When a Slovak meets a Slovak at home or in exile, he says: "Remember Tiso - carry on!" • • • WHO SAID IT? "TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES : - Your comment of November 18 (1947) on 'the dark curtain descending on Prague' seems to me to be overrated. that the Communist power in Czechoslovakia is 'entrenched in the internal administration' Is an ii· Jusion. It is untru e that the Army is In the Communist hand s. The fact that a Communist is Secretary of the Interior doesn't mean at all that Communists control the internal machinery of the State. . . . Your comment on the new leadership of the Socialist (Marxist) party appears to be influenced by yom fear of the Russi an interference in the Internal affairs of Czechoslovakia. Everi your correspondent at Prague had to state, however {THE TIMES, Oct. 19 ), that 'the Czechs and Slovaks are made of different stuff from that of some of the ir neighboring countries.' The replacement of a pro-Soviet president of the party by a new man, which was carried out by a free voting of the members, is new evidence of the independent spirit of the 70. year-old Socialist party in Bohemia, whiob is friendly to the Russians but which always has beeu opposed to the overrule of the competitive Communist party." Vlastimal Kybal, THE NEW YORK TIMES. 11-27-47. • • • "Our people at home are united. All the Czechs are . .. as is the overwhelming majority of the Slovaks. . . . They have tabled all internal issues; t;hey are interested only in the liberation of the nation and the state and the reunification of the Czech lands with Slovakia." - Dr. Edward Benes, Nov. 12, 194-2 (BENE$ AND SLOVAKIA by Dr. Stephen Osusky, 19'43). � SLOVAKI.A ANNIVERSARY OF A MURDER · April 18, 1953, marks the sixth anniversary of the blackest deed in the history of Czecho-Slovakia - the µiµ,rder of Dr. Joseph Tiso, champion of Slovak freedom, exemplary priest of God, and first president of the independent Slovak Republic. This day will be solemnly commemorated by Slovaks everywhere, at home and abroad, as long as they live. For them Tiso will always be a hero and a martyr; he was the most beloved man in Slovakia, because he ruled his country wisely under the most trying circumstances and saved his nation from destruction. During the summer of 1946, Dr. Edward Benes told the Slovak Council of Commissioners that Dr. Joseph Tiso would be put to death, but the majority of Slovaks still believed that Benes would change his mind and spare Tiso's life. When the "peo·p le's" court pronounced sentence on Dr. Tiso and ordered him to be hanged, Dr. Edward Benes had the opportunity to improve the deteriorated relationship between the Czechs and the Slovaks, As president, he could have granted clemency after Tiso filed his plea for mercy, but Benes preferred to reject it. Benes refused clemency to and ordered the execution of the man who was in a large measure responsible for his election to the presidency in 1935 ! _When Dr. Benes gave in to the demand of the CzechoSlovak stooges of the Kremlin who demanded Tiso's head, he drove the last nail into the coffin of Czecho-Slovakia and killed the last hope of ever bringing the Czechs and the Slovaks together again under one political roof. True, the Slovaks are under that roof today, but not because they willed it; they were forced under it. And nothing but force and terror will keep them under it. The Slovaks proclaimed the independence of their country through their duly elected representatives in the Slovak Parliament on March 14, 1939. The same parliament elected Dr. Joseph Tiso president of the independent Slovak Republic in October of that same year. From then un- �ILOVAKIA 29 til the wanton and violent destruction of the Slovak Re- pulic in 1945, when the Slovak Government and Dr. Joseph Tiso were forced to flee Bratislava, there was not a single official execution in Slovakia bearing Dr. Tiso's signature. And .during the war the people of Slovakia fared . better than even most neutral countries. The Slovaks still firmly believe that no matter what the circumstances under which the independent Slovak Republic was born, it should have never been destroyed. It could have served Christianity and the western democracies effectively after 1945. Dr. Joseph Tiso, who had refused to have Slovakia join the Soviet system as an "independent" state during the war, died on the gallows in the courtyard of the Bratislava prison when dawn broke on April 18, 1947. His greatest crime was his great love for his people and the Christian-democratic way of life. He believed that his nation, just as all nations large and small, had the God-given, inherent right to freedom and independence. Tiso was an implacable enemy of Godless, materialistic Communism. In the tradition of his people he fought the dread plague. of Communism in and out of season. Even as he was being led to the gallows, Dr. Tiso prayed and begged his people to continue their fight against the system which would pervert and enslave mankind. Father Joseph Tiso, who had not signed a single order of execution and had saved thousands of Christians and Jews from death at the hands of Hitler's madmen, was himself shamefully put to death on the gallows by the man who resigned and betrayed the highest trust of his people and cowardly fled his country during its darkest hour - - Dr. Edward Benes. But the Communistdominated Prague Government of Dr. Edward Benes was not satisfied with the murder of Tiso- It even denied him his last request: to be buried in a plot in his own parish cemetery in Banovce. The lifeless body of Tiso was buried secretly; later, it is said, it was disintered and cremated, the ashes being ~attered to the winds, or, as , some say, cast into the waters of the Vltava which long ago •claimed the life of St. John Nepomucene. �30 SLOVAKIA The Prague government tried to erase the memory of Tiso from the hearts and minds of the Slovak people by all means at its disposal. It was and still is a crime to utter Tiso's name publicly, or mention it in the CzechoSlovak press or broadcasts. Bu~ the more Prague tries to suppress the memory of Tiso, the more it becomes endeared and steeled in the hearts of Slovaks everywhere. They know that Tiso died for his faith and for his people. Father Tiso still lives in his countrymen, who today are more determined than ever that Communism shall be crushed and that they shall once again have their own independent Slovak Republic. They believe that, because Father Tiso believed it. And they believe, too, that the murderers of their beloved martyr and hero shall not escape the just punishment of God. When a Slovak meets a Slovak at home or in exile, he says: "Remember Tiso - carry on!" • • • WHO SAID IT? "TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES : - Your comment of November 18 (1947) on 'the dark curtain descending on Prague' seems to me to be overrated. that the Communist power in Czechoslovakia is 'entrenched in the internal administration' Is an ii· Jusion. It is untru e that the Army is In the Communist hand s. The fact that a Communist is Secretary of the Interior doesn't mean at all that Communists control the internal machinery of the State. . . . Your comment on the new leadership of the Socialist (Marxist) party appears to be influenced by yom fear of the Russi an interference in the Internal affairs of Czechoslovakia. Everi your correspondent at Prague had to state, however {THE TIMES, Oct. 19 ), that 'the Czechs and Slovaks are made of different stuff from that of some of the ir neighboring countries.' The replacement of a pro-Soviet president of the party by a new man, which was carried out by a free voting of the members, is new evidence of the independent spirit of the 70. year-old Socialist party in Bohemia, whiob is friendly to the Russians but which always has beeu opposed to the overrule of the competitive Communist party." Vlastimal Kybal, THE NEW YORK TIMES. 11-27-47. • • • "Our people at home are united. All the Czechs are . .. as is the overwhelming majority of the Slovaks. . . . They have tabled all internal issues; t;hey are interested only in the liberation of the nation and the state and the reunification of the Czech lands with Slovakia." - Dr. Edward Benes, Nov. 12, 194-2 (BENE$ AND SLOVAKIA by Dr. Stephen Osusky, 19'43). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 SLOVAKI.A ANNIVERSARY OF A MURDER · April 18, 1953, marks the sixth anniversary of the blackest deed in the history of Czecho-Slovakia - the µiµ,rder of Dr. Joseph Tiso, champion of Slovak freedom, exemplary priest of God, and first president of the independent Slovak Republic. This day will be solemnly commemorated by Slovaks everywhere, at home and abroad, as long as they live. For them Tiso will always be a hero and a martyr; he was the most beloved man in Slovakia, because he ruled his country wisely under the most trying circumstances and saved his nation from destruction. During the summer of 1946, Dr. Edward Benes told the Slovak Council of Commissioners that Dr. Joseph Tiso would be put to death, but the majority of Slovaks still believed that Benes would change his mind and spare Tiso's life. When the "peo·p le's" court pronounced sentence on Dr. Tiso and ordered him to be hanged, Dr. Edward Benes had the opportunity to improve the deteriorated relationship between the Czechs and the Slovaks, As president, he could have granted clemency after Tiso filed his plea for mercy, but Benes preferred to reject it. Benes refused clemency to and ordered the execution of the man who was in a large measure responsible for his election to the presidency in 1935 ! _When Dr. Benes gave in to the demand of the CzechoSlovak stooges of the Kremlin who demanded Tiso's head, he drove the last nail into the coffin of Czecho-Slovakia and killed the last hope of ever bringing the Czechs and the Slovaks together again under one political roof. True, the Slovaks are under that roof today, but not because they willed it; they were forced under it. And nothing but force and terror will keep them under it. The Slovaks proclaimed the independence of their country through their duly elected representatives in the Slovak Parliament on March 14, 1939. The same parliament elected Dr. Joseph Tiso president of the independent Slovak Republic in October of that same year. From then un- ILOVAKIA 29 til the wanton and violent destruction of the Slovak Re- pulic in 1945, when the Slovak Government and Dr. Joseph Tiso were forced to flee Bratislava, there was not a single official execution in Slovakia bearing Dr. Tiso's signature. And .during the war the people of Slovakia fared . better than even most neutral countries. The Slovaks still firmly believe that no matter what the circumstances under which the independent Slovak Republic was born, it should have never been destroyed. It could have served Christianity and the western democracies effectively after 1945. Dr. Joseph Tiso, who had refused to have Slovakia join the Soviet system as an "independent" state during the war, died on the gallows in the courtyard of the Bratislava prison when dawn broke on April 18, 1947. His greatest crime was his great love for his people and the Christian-democratic way of life. He believed that his nation, just as all nations large and small, had the God-given, inherent right to freedom and independence. Tiso was an implacable enemy of Godless, materialistic Communism. In the tradition of his people he fought the dread plague. of Communism in and out of season. Even as he was being led to the gallows, Dr. Tiso prayed and begged his people to continue their fight against the system which would pervert and enslave mankind. Father Joseph Tiso, who had not signed a single order of execution and had saved thousands of Christians and Jews from death at the hands of Hitler's madmen, was himself shamefully put to death on the gallows by the man who resigned and betrayed the highest trust of his people and cowardly fled his country during its darkest hour - - Dr. Edward Benes. But the Communistdominated Prague Government of Dr. Edward Benes was not satisfied with the murder of Tiso- It even denied him his last request: to be buried in a plot in his own parish cemetery in Banovce. The lifeless body of Tiso was buried secretly; later, it is said, it was disintered and cremated, the ashes being ~attered to the winds, or, as , some say, cast into the waters of the Vltava which long ago •claimed the life of St. John Nepomucene. 30 SLOVAKIA The Prague government tried to erase the memory of Tiso from the hearts and minds of the Slovak people by all means at its disposal. It was and still is a crime to utter Tiso's name publicly, or mention it in the CzechoSlovak press or broadcasts. Bu~ the more Prague tries to suppress the memory of Tiso, the more it becomes endeared and steeled in the hearts of Slovaks everywhere. They know that Tiso died for his faith and for his people. Father Tiso still lives in his countrymen, who today are more determined than ever that Communism shall be crushed and that they shall once again have their own independent Slovak Republic. They believe that, because Father Tiso believed it. And they believe, too, that the murderers of their beloved martyr and hero shall not escape the just punishment of God. When a Slovak meets a Slovak at home or in exile, he says: "Remember Tiso - carry on!" • • • WHO SAID IT? "TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES : - Your comment of November 18 (1947) on 'the dark curtain descending on Prague' seems to me to be overrated. that the Communist power in Czechoslovakia is 'entrenched in the internal administration' Is an ii· Jusion. It is untru e that the Army is In the Communist hand s. The fact that a Communist is Secretary of the Interior doesn't mean at all that Communists control the internal machinery of the State. . . . Your comment on the new leadership of the Socialist (Marxist) party appears to be influenced by yom fear of the Russi an interference in the Internal affairs of Czechoslovakia. Everi your correspondent at Prague had to state, however {THE TIMES, Oct. 19 ), that 'the Czechs and Slovaks are made of different stuff from that of some of the ir neighboring countries.' The replacement of a pro-Soviet president of the party by a new man, which was carried out by a free voting of the members, is new evidence of the independent spirit of the 70. year-old Socialist party in Bohemia, whiob is friendly to the Russians but which always has beeu opposed to the overrule of the competitive Communist party." Vlastimal Kybal, THE NEW YORK TIMES. 11-27-47. • • • "Our people at home are united. All the Czechs are . .. as is the overwhelming majority of the Slovaks. . . . They have tabled all internal issues; t;hey are interested only in the liberation of the nation and the state and the reunification of the Czech lands with Slovakia." - Dr. Edward Benes, Nov. 12, 194-2 (BENE$ AND SLOVAKIA by Dr. Stephen Osusky, 19'43).  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 Anniversary of a Murder Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 28-30 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a83255c1c53af815564410caaea602e8.pdf d36d283cbe9e54d89f9c0fd782c87040 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA CAPRONI: NUMBER 11,495 THE TRAGEDY OF GENERAL STEFANIK May 4, 1919, was a beautiful day. The Slov3Jks of BTatislaJVa and vi~i.Jni,ty were uip bright and ear.1y polis'hiing their boots and dressing in their best clothes. And there was a good reason for it. Genera:l Millan R- Stefam&, wa,r id01l cxf the Slwak nation, was returniil!g home to Slova:kia - the Slo'Vl8Jkia that was beginning to /breathe a new ilife, the life of a free nation wiit:h.in the foamework of the newly born Czecho slovak Repulblic. He wa:s coming home to taike up his duties as minister of Defense in ,t he sta;te he helped create with T. G. Masaryk and Dr. fildward' Benes. A Httle ai,ter 11 A. M., the Italian plane - Oaproni No. 11,495 - cire1ed the field near BratisJ!ava (Vajnocy) and prepared for a landing. Then something terrible happened. The Ca:pI1001ii rocked, bUII"st into flames and crashed to the .grolliild, oaim-ymg General Stefanik and his Italian friends to their death. The plane was shot down by the Ozecho-S1ova:k mililtairy ga,rrison staJtioned near Vajnory ai'I'pOrt. lit was shot down oo. orders from the commanding officem at the garirison. Masruryik's government explained that it was a;Il a tiraig,iic mistake. T,he oomrrnandring officer thought it was an enemy plane - the men did not know Stefani!k was arriving in an Italian plane - they did not know he was in that particular pliane. And more. There were eye witnesses. Some of the men in that garrison, still alive today, insisted thait Stefanik was murdered. The fi:rst volley, they saiy, missed the ipliane, /but the second hit its target. stefaniik the sold!ie:r, statesman a:nd astronomer was dead. The SloV13Jks demanded that an inrvestigatiron ·b e made by the government. Masaryk ·a nd his government wouM not aillow it. IDvertihing wa,s done to hush up the affair. The world got to kn'()IW little rubout the tragedy cxf Stefanik. But the Slova:ks kept ga,thering evidence. It pointed to one thlng: Stefanik, co-creator of the Ozecho~Slovak Repufblic, �SLOVAKIA 27 wa,s not wamted rby the men orf Prague; he wouid be in their way and appose every act of the Ozechs to mruke a cdlooy of SlO'Vak,i a; he would msist on a free Slo:vaki1a within the framework of Czec'ho-Slovaki!a as Masaryk haJd promised the :SlovaJks it wow1d be. Today - thirty-fowr years af.ter Stefanik's tr.agic death - the Slovak,s still beliieve thiat General Milan R. Stefanilk was murdered - murdered by the men who had plotted against the hfe of the S1ovaik nation. By the men who promised the Slovalks a free life, their own state government, thei,r own legdslaltive assembly, Slovak schools and institutions to get them into a common state with the Ozechs and then failled to keep their promises- The ,anti-demooratic, anti-!Slovak and anti-Ohrat1an polilcy of those men wias responsible for what happened in and to Czecho-Slovakia since 191'8. Czecho-Slova'kiia wa;s a fallacy from the start. It was bud!l.t on sand. It coll.aipsed when the fimt hurri'crune struck, because there was no one to defend it. Even the OLechs would not fire a shot at the NaJzis or Communists in its defense. Stefarak's wor,k of liberating his nation from tyranny is not done. The Slovaks at home and in emigration are determined more than ever to complete the joib that he had begun. Slovrukia shaH. ibe free and the Slova:ks s!ha.ll · again Liive a life of firee men in their 01W11 independent Slovak Repuiblic. • WHO SAID IT? - • • "In a more general way, the Czechs have <lone much to arouse the resentment even of Slovak naturally favorable towards them, and have grievously damaged their own cause by overstressing the "Czechoslovak" idea and by certain measures regarded by the Slovaks as attempts to deprive them of their own nationality. It is paradoxical, but natural, that the weakness of the foundations on whi ch the "Czechoslovak" Idea rested became most apparent the moment tliat the idea received official recognition. Such phrases as "Czechoslovak nationallty" and "Czechoslovak Ian• guage" might be used for the benefit of the out.side world and in constitutional and other State documents, but the fact remains that to the vast majority of both peoples the idea remained a pure fiction, and the languages, like the peoples, were, in solid fact, two and not one." - (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London). � SLOVAKIA CAPRONI: NUMBER 11,495 THE TRAGEDY OF GENERAL STEFANIK May 4, 1919, was a beautiful day. The Slov3Jks of BTatislaJVa and vi~i.Jni,ty were uip bright and ear.1y polis'hiing their boots and dressing in their best clothes. And there was a good reason for it. Genera:l Millan R- Stefam&, wa,r id01l cxf the Slwak nation, was returniil!g home to Slova:kia - the Slo'Vl8Jkia that was beginning to /breathe a new ilife, the life of a free nation wiit:h.in the foamework of the newly born Czecho slovak Repulblic. He wa:s coming home to taike up his duties as minister of Defense in ,t he sta;te he helped create with T. G. Masaryk and Dr. fildward' Benes. A Httle ai,ter 11 A. M., the Italian plane - Oaproni No. 11,495 - cire1ed the field near BratisJ!ava (Vajnocy) and prepared for a landing. Then something terrible happened. The Ca:pI1001ii rocked, bUII"st into flames and crashed to the .grolliild, oaim-ymg General Stefanik and his Italian friends to their death. The plane was shot down by the Ozecho-S1ova:k mililtairy ga,rrison staJtioned near Vajnory ai'I'pOrt. lit was shot down oo. orders from the commanding officem at the garirison. Masruryik's government explained that it was a;Il a tiraig,iic mistake. T,he oomrrnandring officer thought it was an enemy plane - the men did not know Stefani!k was arriving in an Italian plane - they did not know he was in that particular pliane. And more. There were eye witnesses. Some of the men in that garrison, still alive today, insisted thait Stefanik was murdered. The fi:rst volley, they saiy, missed the ipliane, /but the second hit its target. stefaniik the sold!ie:r, statesman a:nd astronomer was dead. The SloV13Jks demanded that an inrvestigatiron ·b e made by the government. Masaryk ·a nd his government wouM not aillow it. IDvertihing wa,s done to hush up the affair. The world got to kn'()IW little rubout the tragedy cxf Stefanik. But the Slova:ks kept ga,thering evidence. It pointed to one thlng: Stefanik, co-creator of the Ozecho~Slovak Repufblic, �SLOVAKIA 27 wa,s not wamted rby the men orf Prague; he wouid be in their way and appose every act of the Ozechs to mruke a cdlooy of SlO'Vak,i a; he would msist on a free Slo:vaki1a within the framework of Czec'ho-Slovaki!a as Masaryk haJd promised the :SlovaJks it wow1d be. Today - thirty-fowr years af.ter Stefanik's tr.agic death - the Slovak,s still beliieve thiat General Milan R. Stefanilk was murdered - murdered by the men who had plotted against the hfe of the S1ovaik nation. By the men who promised the Slovalks a free life, their own state government, thei,r own legdslaltive assembly, Slovak schools and institutions to get them into a common state with the Ozechs and then failled to keep their promises- The ,anti-demooratic, anti-!Slovak and anti-Ohrat1an polilcy of those men wias responsible for what happened in and to Czecho-Slovakia since 191'8. Czecho-Slova'kiia wa;s a fallacy from the start. It was bud!l.t on sand. It coll.aipsed when the fimt hurri'crune struck, because there was no one to defend it. Even the OLechs would not fire a shot at the NaJzis or Communists in its defense. Stefarak's wor,k of liberating his nation from tyranny is not done. The Slovaks at home and in emigration are determined more than ever to complete the joib that he had begun. Slovrukia shaH. ibe free and the Slova:ks s!ha.ll · again Liive a life of firee men in their 01W11 independent Slovak Repuiblic. • WHO SAID IT? - • • "In a more general way, the Czechs have <lone much to arouse the resentment even of Slovak naturally favorable towards them, and have grievously damaged their own cause by overstressing the "Czechoslovak" idea and by certain measures regarded by the Slovaks as attempts to deprive them of their own nationality. It is paradoxical, but natural, that the weakness of the foundations on whi ch the "Czechoslovak" Idea rested became most apparent the moment tliat the idea received official recognition. Such phrases as "Czechoslovak nationallty" and "Czechoslovak Ian• guage" might be used for the benefit of the out.side world and in constitutional and other State documents, but the fact remains that to the vast majority of both peoples the idea remained a pure fiction, and the languages, like the peoples, were, in solid fact, two and not one." - (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London). � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 CAPRONI: NUMBER 11,495 THE TRAGEDY OF GENERAL STEFANIK May 4, 1919, was a beautiful day. The Slov3Jks of BTatislaJVa and vi~i.Jni,ty were uip bright and ear.1y polis'hiing their boots and dressing in their best clothes. And there was a good reason for it. Genera:l Millan R- Stefam&, wa,r id01l cxf the Slwak nation, was returniil!g home to Slova:kia - the Slo'Vl8Jkia that was beginning to /breathe a new ilife, the life of a free nation wiit:h.in the foamework of the newly born Czecho slovak Repulblic. He wa:s coming home to taike up his duties as minister of Defense in ,t he sta;te he helped create with T. G. Masaryk and Dr. fildward' Benes. A Httle ai,ter 11 A. M., the Italian plane - Oaproni No. 11,495 - cire1ed the field near BratisJ!ava (Vajnocy) and prepared for a landing. Then something terrible happened. The Ca:pI1001ii rocked, bUII"st into flames and crashed to the .grolliild, oaim-ymg General Stefanik and his Italian friends to their death. The plane was shot down by the Ozecho-S1ova:k mililtairy ga,rrison staJtioned near Vajnory ai'I'pOrt. lit was shot down oo. orders from the commanding officem at the garirison. Masruryik's government explained that it was a;Il a tiraig,iic mistake. T,he oomrrnandring officer thought it was an enemy plane - the men did not know Stefani!k was arriving in an Italian plane - they did not know he was in that particular pliane. And more. There were eye witnesses. Some of the men in that garrison, still alive today, insisted thait Stefanik was murdered. The fi:rst volley, they saiy, missed the ipliane, /but the second hit its target. stefaniik the sold!ie:r, statesman a:nd astronomer was dead. The SloV13Jks demanded that an inrvestigatiron ·b e made by the government. Masaryk ·a nd his government wouM not aillow it. IDvertihing wa,s done to hush up the affair. The world got to kn'()IW little rubout the tragedy cxf Stefanik. But the Slova:ks kept ga,thering evidence. It pointed to one thlng: Stefanik, co-creator of the Ozecho~Slovak Repufblic, SLOVAKIA 27 wa,s not wamted rby the men orf Prague; he wouid be in their way and appose every act of the Ozechs to mruke a cdlooy of SlO'Vak,i a; he would msist on a free Slo:vaki1a within the framework of Czec'ho-Slovaki!a as Masaryk haJd promised the :SlovaJks it wow1d be. Today - thirty-fowr years af.ter Stefanik's tr.agic death - the Slovak,s still beliieve thiat General Milan R. Stefanilk was murdered - murdered by the men who had plotted against the hfe of the S1ovaik nation. By the men who promised the Slovalks a free life, their own state government, thei,r own legdslaltive assembly, Slovak schools and institutions to get them into a common state with the Ozechs and then failled to keep their promises- The ,anti-demooratic, anti-!Slovak and anti-Ohrat1an polilcy of those men wias responsible for what happened in and to Czecho-Slovakia since 191'8. Czecho-Slova'kiia wa;s a fallacy from the start. It was bud!l.t on sand. It coll.aipsed when the fimt hurri'crune struck, because there was no one to defend it. Even the OLechs would not fire a shot at the NaJzis or Communists in its defense. Stefarak's wor,k of liberating his nation from tyranny is not done. The Slovaks at home and in emigration are determined more than ever to complete the joib that he had begun. Slovrukia shaH. ibe free and the Slova:ks s!ha.ll · again Liive a life of firee men in their 01W11 independent Slovak Repuiblic. • WHO SAID IT? - • • "In a more general way, the Czechs have <lone much to arouse the resentment even of Slovak naturally favorable towards them, and have grievously damaged their own cause by overstressing the "Czechoslovak" idea and by certain measures regarded by the Slovaks as attempts to deprive them of their own nationality. It is paradoxical, but natural, that the weakness of the foundations on whi ch the "Czechoslovak" Idea rested became most apparent the moment tliat the idea received official recognition. Such phrases as "Czechoslovak nationallty" and "Czechoslovak Ian• guage" might be used for the benefit of the out.side world and in constitutional and other State documents, but the fact remains that to the vast majority of both peoples the idea remained a pure fiction, and the languages, like the peoples, were, in solid fact, two and not one." - (C. A. Macartney: HUNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London).  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 Tragedy of General Štefánik Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 26-27 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1951bd42fdbbf67544fc5306088ea250.pdf 6b22492b534f792f66247946149db4bb PDF Text Text u SLOVAKIA THE SLOVAKS AND PRESIDENT EISENHOWER Matthew Cernak What do the Slovaik s expect of President Eisenhower ? From the Government orf President Eisenhower we expect a new American politcy: basica:lly, a change of policy toward Bolshevism and, secondly, a change of policy as far as the Slova;k nation is concerned. During the past three decades the Unlted States of North America has shown very little understanding for the nwtural and self-evident right of the Slovaks to independentce. The Sllova:k nation cannot logicaHy understand why this should be so. This la:ck of understanding for the fundamental right of the Slo;va'k nation is all the more striking, ibecause the USA has always aippeared everywhere; from its very ibeginnmg, in the spirit of the beautiful tra;diibions of Wa;shinigton and Jefferson as the ipioneer of national rights and freedom. The Declaration of Lndependance, Wilson's "Fourteen Points," and the principles of the Atlantic Charter - all these in principle express the equal right of the Slovaks to freedom and independence, the ri•g ht to statehood amd the right to a government of their choke. And America,ns oif Slovak descent proba:bly have been more amazed and confused by the situation than there brethren in Slovakia, ,beca;use they had brought these "self-evident" ,t ruths to the attention of their Government many times in the past. This striking conf:liot between the princip1es of American pol11ey on the one hand, amd the practical appli~ation of them in the Slovak instance, on the other, undoubtedly is not the result of hostile intentions toward the Slovruk nation, hut rather the resu1t of incorrect information. It is certamly :p1aiimy evident ,t hat leading Amerioan statesmen olb tained their knowledge about the Slovruks and the Slovak problem mainly from the silty sources of Dr. Edward Benes and his odllalborators. Knowingly they misinformed the entire western world a}bout Slovakia and the Sloviaks to rpromote their fa;ntastic, undemocratic schemes in the intereE.t of Czech imperialism. �SLOVAKIA 23 Today the western world /better knows Benes and his colla'borators for what they really were than it did in the past deoa.des. The greaJt trust enjoyed by Benes in the West and his unreal conception had bad effects not only for the Sloivak nation, ibut even for his own Czech nation ailld for the who1le western world. It was the misfortune of aU of us that the West woike up too late to rea'1ize the fact that Benes was most instrumental in clearililg the wary for Bo1she!Vism into Central Europe. Benes is, therefore respoTI!Silble in a large measure for the terrilble siituation of the world today, which is costing all of us, and even the America.in people, plenty in material goods and blood. Benes, it seems, learned nothing from history; he knew what happened to the Russi:an nation under Communism and he witnessed what had !happened in Poland; but he still insisted on te'.l:ling the western world that this could not and would not hruppen ,t o Czecho~S!lovakia. He promoted StaHn and Moscow in Britain and the United States; they were gullible, a.ind the whole world is paying dearly for it today. Unfortunatelry, even some leading personalities of the Democratic Party of the lJIS!A became the victims of the Sovietophile, simultaneaously the a,nti-Sfovak, prop~anda of the Benesites. In poiwer, they even invited some orf them to the USA to work in va:r.i,ou:s agencies of government, even though the Truman AdministraJtion must have known that most olf them were members of the Commimljgt-tlominated National Fro:nt Government from 1'945 to 1948 and, thernfore, responsilble in a measure for the insta:Uation of the tyranny of Communism in Ozecho..:Slorvakia. Since Mr. Eisenhower has taken office, indli'catioills are that he and his party will not trust any advi1ce or information which mlight lbe offered .b y the Benesites in the so-called ''Council of Free Ozechoslovakia." They were not reliaJble in matters concerning the USSR and are no more reliaJble in oither ·matters, including even the Slovak question. They certainly do- not represent the ,w,i.Jl o,f the Slovak nation, and it ·is sedous1y doUJbted that they speak even for the Czechs ,a:t home or in exile. Positiive e~res- �SLOVAKIA sions of various memlbera of Congress of the USA aJbout the inherent rights of the Slovaks confirm our position in this rega:rd. ·' It is known that the RepUJblican Party of the USA has hitherto regarded the .American pol.icy towaTd Moscow as not suffilCiently self~conscious and out of line with .Ame11:i'can interests. lit haJS regarded rand stm rega:rds Acheson's thesis o!f contaiinmenrt ,a s not sufficient and insists on a firnner polioy of sUJppressinig Bolshevism. This is something thait the people lbehind the Iron Curtain waited a looig time to hear. And ,t he sooner the words are translated into action, the !better. General IDisenhower exipressed this clearly at the American Legion Convention in New York on Aug.ust 25, 195Q, when he said : "We must telil the Kremlin that never shall we desist i,n ouir aid to every man a'IId woman of those shackled lands who seeks refuge with us, any man who keeps burning among his own people the flame of freedom or who js ded!1ciarted to the Hbeiration of his fellows." From this staltement, a:nd others 'b y Eisenhower and other Repulblicam statements, it is evident that a systematic, energetic and firm poli:oy to surppress Bolesheviism is being planned. I beliEWe, itlherefore, that our hope is justified that American polilcy will endeavor, with the dose cooperation of aU an,ti"Bolshevik forces, to helip all the haipless nations behind the · Iron Curtain to freedom, including the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, however, welcome not only this general change in the course of American policy, but have motives to welcome even the ipoliiey' of the new Repulblicam government toward the Slovak na,,tron. A number of Repulblican members of Congress have openly stated that they aTe for the realization of the desires of SlOV!ak nation for its own staJte. Senator Robert Taift of Ohio did not hesitaite to express his views in this regard, neither did the new President of the USA, Dwiig'ht D. Eisenhower. We hope, theretfore, thait the new .Americam President, together with his oo-workers and the whole American nation will. bring aJbout a necessary a:nd invitaJble, erpochai and �26 SLOVA.KIA ipolirtioail corrootion cxf the western Christian world in regard to .t he tyranny cxf Bol,s hevism, but also a corresponding change in policy towaTd the SllQ!Vak nation. By doing so, he will render service to the truth and the ndble principles of Woodrow Wilson and the Atlantic Charter, as well a:s all idears of freedom whi~h have from the time of Geo:r,ge W a'Shington 'been the pride of the American people. In this sense we w.i-sh President Dwight D. Eisenhower a mu!ltitude of God's blessing on all his ructions . • • • WHO SAID IT7 "It can be said w ,ithout hesitation that the Czecho-Slovak Government-in-Exile has accepted the leadership of Moscow freely and voluntarily. The Czecho.,Slovak Government-in-Exile became the full ally of Moscow ·by the pact signed in Moscow last year. and when Dr. Be- nes went baclk to the part of Czecho•Slovakia li•b erated by the Russians, he went by way of •Moscow. The new provisional government he set up in Ko.sice was th1:i result of consultatioru; in Moscow conducted, it seems, very much under the pressure of the CZECH Communist ,g,roup there. For although it was ignored by the American Press, 1:iven Czecho-Slovakfa had her mvn Moscow group, a distinctly Commun'istic councB, headed by the CZECH Communist leader, Klement Gottwald, ,a nd the intellectual leader of CZECH Commundsts, Profossor Zdenek Nej,edly. Th€ difference betwe1:in the CZECH commilttee in Moscow and the Polish grouip there was that the CZECH Government-inExile was in complete agreement with the CZECH Com. munist group in Moscow with respect to the Russian orientation." E. M. Voyta, AMERICA, June 9, 1945. • • • The author of the above quote is a CZECH, formerly of Prague, now residing in the Unit1:id States, who saw and reported events objectiv1:ily. Voyta calls a CZECH a CZECH, and not a "CZECHOSLOVAK," as the propaganda of Dr. Benes did when it suited its purpose to confu:se the western world. The Slovak nation had nothing to do with the 1Moscow deal but, n1:iv1:irtheless, had to surfor the consequen,ces of it. The "Czecho,Slo,v ak Government-in-Exile" mentioned by Voyta was selected by Dr. Edward Benes ; it repres1:inted not the wiil of the Czech and Slovak nations, ,b ut only the wlll of Dr. Benes. Slovaks, es·pecially those of America, condemned Ben1:is and his proSoviet policy long before 1945, but their's was but voice in the wilderness. Today we know they wer1:i right in th1:ilr claim that Benes •s old out to Mo.scow. a • • • we "Don't believe the stupid Nazi perol"aitlons saying tha.t are in the service ot England OR THAT THE SOVIET UNION WISHES TO INCLUDE US WITHIN ITS BOUNDARIES. We are a free and independent state. We are the friends of ALL DEMOCRATIC, treedomlovlng nations, o! the SOVIETS, as well as or Brita.in and America." - (Dr. Bene§, Broadcast to Czechoslovakia, London, June 24, 1943) � u SLOVAKIA THE SLOVAKS AND PRESIDENT EISENHOWER Matthew Cernak What do the Slovaik s expect of President Eisenhower ? From the Government orf President Eisenhower we expect a new American politcy: basica:lly, a change of policy toward Bolshevism and, secondly, a change of policy as far as the Slova;k nation is concerned. During the past three decades the Unlted States of North America has shown very little understanding for the nwtural and self-evident right of the Slovaks to independentce. The Sllova:k nation cannot logicaHy understand why this should be so. This la:ck of understanding for the fundamental right of the Slo;va'k nation is all the more striking, ibecause the USA has always aippeared everywhere; from its very ibeginnmg, in the spirit of the beautiful tra;diibions of Wa;shinigton and Jefferson as the ipioneer of national rights and freedom. The Declaration of Lndependance, Wilson's "Fourteen Points," and the principles of the Atlantic Charter - all these in principle express the equal right of the Slovaks to freedom and independence, the ri•g ht to statehood amd the right to a government of their choke. And America,ns oif Slovak descent proba:bly have been more amazed and confused by the situation than there brethren in Slovakia, ,beca;use they had brought these "self-evident" ,t ruths to the attention of their Government many times in the past. This striking conf:liot between the princip1es of American pol11ey on the one hand, amd the practical appli~ation of them in the Slovak instance, on the other, undoubtedly is not the result of hostile intentions toward the Slovruk nation, hut rather the resu1t of incorrect information. It is certamly :p1aiimy evident ,t hat leading Amerioan statesmen olb tained their knowledge about the Slovruks and the Slovak problem mainly from the silty sources of Dr. Edward Benes and his odllalborators. Knowingly they misinformed the entire western world a}bout Slovakia and the Sloviaks to rpromote their fa;ntastic, undemocratic schemes in the intereE.t of Czech imperialism. �SLOVAKIA 23 Today the western world /better knows Benes and his colla'borators for what they really were than it did in the past deoa.des. The greaJt trust enjoyed by Benes in the West and his unreal conception had bad effects not only for the Sloivak nation, ibut even for his own Czech nation ailld for the who1le western world. It was the misfortune of aU of us that the West woike up too late to rea'1ize the fact that Benes was most instrumental in clearililg the wary for Bo1she!Vism into Central Europe. Benes is, therefore respoTI!Silble in a large measure for the terrilble siituation of the world today, which is costing all of us, and even the America.in people, plenty in material goods and blood. Benes, it seems, learned nothing from history; he knew what happened to the Russi:an nation under Communism and he witnessed what had !happened in Poland; but he still insisted on te'.l:ling the western world that this could not and would not hruppen ,t o Czecho~S!lovakia. He promoted StaHn and Moscow in Britain and the United States; they were gullible, a.ind the whole world is paying dearly for it today. Unfortunatelry, even some leading personalities of the Democratic Party of the lJIS!A became the victims of the Sovietophile, simultaneaously the a,nti-Sfovak, prop~anda of the Benesites. In poiwer, they even invited some orf them to the USA to work in va:r.i,ou:s agencies of government, even though the Truman AdministraJtion must have known that most olf them were members of the Commimljgt-tlominated National Fro:nt Government from 1'945 to 1948 and, thernfore, responsilble in a measure for the insta:Uation of the tyranny of Communism in Ozecho..:Slorvakia. Since Mr. Eisenhower has taken office, indli'catioills are that he and his party will not trust any advi1ce or information which mlight lbe offered .b y the Benesites in the so-called ''Council of Free Ozechoslovakia." They were not reliaJble in matters concerning the USSR and are no more reliaJble in oither ·matters, including even the Slovak question. They certainly do- not represent the ,w,i.Jl o,f the Slovak nation, and it ·is sedous1y doUJbted that they speak even for the Czechs ,a:t home or in exile. Positiive e~res- �SLOVAKIA sions of various memlbera of Congress of the USA aJbout the inherent rights of the Slovaks confirm our position in this rega:rd. ·' It is known that the RepUJblican Party of the USA has hitherto regarded the .American pol.icy towaTd Moscow as not suffilCiently self~conscious and out of line with .Ame11:i'can interests. lit haJS regarded rand stm rega:rds Acheson's thesis o!f contaiinmenrt ,a s not sufficient and insists on a firnner polioy of sUJppressinig Bolshevism. This is something thait the people lbehind the Iron Curtain waited a looig time to hear. And ,t he sooner the words are translated into action, the !better. General IDisenhower exipressed this clearly at the American Legion Convention in New York on Aug.ust 25, 195Q, when he said : "We must telil the Kremlin that never shall we desist i,n ouir aid to every man a'IId woman of those shackled lands who seeks refuge with us, any man who keeps burning among his own people the flame of freedom or who js ded!1ciarted to the Hbeiration of his fellows." From this staltement, a:nd others 'b y Eisenhower and other Repulblicam statements, it is evident that a systematic, energetic and firm poli:oy to surppress Bolesheviism is being planned. I beliEWe, itlherefore, that our hope is justified that American polilcy will endeavor, with the dose cooperation of aU an,ti"Bolshevik forces, to helip all the haipless nations behind the · Iron Curtain to freedom, including the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, however, welcome not only this general change in the course of American policy, but have motives to welcome even the ipoliiey' of the new Repulblicam government toward the Slovak na,,tron. A number of Repulblican members of Congress have openly stated that they aTe for the realization of the desires of SlOV!ak nation for its own staJte. Senator Robert Taift of Ohio did not hesitaite to express his views in this regard, neither did the new President of the USA, Dwiig'ht D. Eisenhower. We hope, theretfore, thait the new .Americam President, together with his oo-workers and the whole American nation will. bring aJbout a necessary a:nd invitaJble, erpochai and �26 SLOVA.KIA ipolirtioail corrootion cxf the western Christian world in regard to .t he tyranny cxf Bol,s hevism, but also a corresponding change in policy towaTd the SllQ!Vak nation. By doing so, he will render service to the truth and the ndble principles of Woodrow Wilson and the Atlantic Charter, as well a:s all idears of freedom whi~h have from the time of Geo:r,ge W a'Shington 'been the pride of the American people. In this sense we w.i-sh President Dwight D. Eisenhower a mu!ltitude of God's blessing on all his ructions . • • • WHO SAID IT7 "It can be said w ,ithout hesitation that the Czecho-Slovak Government-in-Exile has accepted the leadership of Moscow freely and voluntarily. The Czecho.,Slovak Government-in-Exile became the full ally of Moscow ·by the pact signed in Moscow last year. and when Dr. Be- nes went baclk to the part of Czecho•Slovakia li•b erated by the Russians, he went by way of •Moscow. The new provisional government he set up in Ko.sice was th1:i result of consultatioru; in Moscow conducted, it seems, very much under the pressure of the CZECH Communist ,g,roup there. For although it was ignored by the American Press, 1:iven Czecho-Slovakfa had her mvn Moscow group, a distinctly Commun'istic councB, headed by the CZECH Communist leader, Klement Gottwald, ,a nd the intellectual leader of CZECH Commundsts, Profossor Zdenek Nej,edly. Th€ difference betwe1:in the CZECH commilttee in Moscow and the Polish grouip there was that the CZECH Government-inExile was in complete agreement with the CZECH Com. munist group in Moscow with respect to the Russian orientation." E. M. Voyta, AMERICA, June 9, 1945. • • • The author of the above quote is a CZECH, formerly of Prague, now residing in the Unit1:id States, who saw and reported events objectiv1:ily. Voyta calls a CZECH a CZECH, and not a "CZECHOSLOVAK," as the propaganda of Dr. Benes did when it suited its purpose to confu:se the western world. The Slovak nation had nothing to do with the 1Moscow deal but, n1:iv1:irtheless, had to surfor the consequen,ces of it. The "Czecho,Slo,v ak Government-in-Exile" mentioned by Voyta was selected by Dr. Edward Benes ; it repres1:inted not the wiil of the Czech and Slovak nations, ,b ut only the wlll of Dr. Benes. Slovaks, es·pecially those of America, condemned Ben1:is and his proSoviet policy long before 1945, but their's was but voice in the wilderness. Today we know they wer1:i right in th1:ilr claim that Benes •s old out to Mo.scow. a • • • we "Don't believe the stupid Nazi perol"aitlons saying tha.t are in the service ot England OR THAT THE SOVIET UNION WISHES TO INCLUDE US WITHIN ITS BOUNDARIES. We are a free and independent state. We are the friends of ALL DEMOCRATIC, treedomlovlng nations, o! the SOVIETS, as well as or Brita.in and America." - (Dr. Bene§, Broadcast to Czechoslovakia, London, June 24, 1943) � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 22 SLOVAKIA THE SLOVAKS AND PRESIDENT EISENHOWER Matthew Cernak What do the Slovaik s expect of President Eisenhower ? From the Government orf President Eisenhower we expect a new American politcy: basica:lly, a change of policy toward Bolshevism and, secondly, a change of policy as far as the Slova;k nation is concerned. During the past three decades the Unlted States of North America has shown very little understanding for the nwtural and self-evident right of the Slovaks to independentce. The Sllova:k nation cannot logicaHy understand why this should be so. This la:ck of understanding for the fundamental right of the Slo;va'k nation is all the more striking, ibecause the USA has always aippeared everywhere; from its very ibeginnmg, in the spirit of the beautiful tra;diibions of Wa;shinigton and Jefferson as the ipioneer of national rights and freedom. The Declaration of Lndependance, Wilson's "Fourteen Points," and the principles of the Atlantic Charter - all these in principle express the equal right of the Slovaks to freedom and independence, the ri•g ht to statehood amd the right to a government of their choke. And America,ns oif Slovak descent proba:bly have been more amazed and confused by the situation than there brethren in Slovakia, ,beca;use they had brought these "self-evident" ,t ruths to the attention of their Government many times in the past. This striking conf:liot between the princip1es of American pol11ey on the one hand, amd the practical appli~ation of them in the Slovak instance, on the other, undoubtedly is not the result of hostile intentions toward the Slovruk nation, hut rather the resu1t of incorrect information. It is certamly :p1aiimy evident ,t hat leading Amerioan statesmen olb tained their knowledge about the Slovruks and the Slovak problem mainly from the silty sources of Dr. Edward Benes and his odllalborators. Knowingly they misinformed the entire western world a}bout Slovakia and the Sloviaks to rpromote their fa;ntastic, undemocratic schemes in the intereE.t of Czech imperialism. SLOVAKIA 23 Today the western world /better knows Benes and his colla'borators for what they really were than it did in the past deoa.des. The greaJt trust enjoyed by Benes in the West and his unreal conception had bad effects not only for the Sloivak nation, ibut even for his own Czech nation ailld for the who1le western world. It was the misfortune of aU of us that the West woike up too late to rea'1ize the fact that Benes was most instrumental in clearililg the wary for Bo1she!Vism into Central Europe. Benes is, therefore respoTI!Silble in a large measure for the terrilble siituation of the world today, which is costing all of us, and even the America.in people, plenty in material goods and blood. Benes, it seems, learned nothing from history; he knew what happened to the Russi:an nation under Communism and he witnessed what had !happened in Poland; but he still insisted on te'.l:ling the western world that this could not and would not hruppen ,t o Czecho~S!lovakia. He promoted StaHn and Moscow in Britain and the United States; they were gullible, a.ind the whole world is paying dearly for it today. Unfortunatelry, even some leading personalities of the Democratic Party of the lJIS!A became the victims of the Sovietophile, simultaneaously the a,nti-Sfovak, prop~anda of the Benesites. In poiwer, they even invited some orf them to the USA to work in va:r.i,ou:s agencies of government, even though the Truman AdministraJtion must have known that most olf them were members of the Commimljgt-tlominated National Fro:nt Government from 1'945 to 1948 and, thernfore, responsilble in a measure for the insta:Uation of the tyranny of Communism in Ozecho..:Slorvakia. Since Mr. Eisenhower has taken office, indli'catioills are that he and his party will not trust any advi1ce or information which mlight lbe offered .b y the Benesites in the so-called ''Council of Free Ozechoslovakia." They were not reliaJble in matters concerning the USSR and are no more reliaJble in oither ·matters, including even the Slovak question. They certainly do- not represent the ,w,i.Jl o,f the Slovak nation, and it ·is sedous1y doUJbted that they speak even for the Czechs ,a:t home or in exile. Positiive e~res- SLOVAKIA sions of various memlbera of Congress of the USA aJbout the inherent rights of the Slovaks confirm our position in this rega:rd. ·' It is known that the RepUJblican Party of the USA has hitherto regarded the .American pol.icy towaTd Moscow as not suffilCiently self~conscious and out of line with .Ame11:i'can interests. lit haJS regarded rand stm rega:rds Acheson's thesis o!f contaiinmenrt ,a s not sufficient and insists on a firnner polioy of sUJppressinig Bolshevism. This is something thait the people lbehind the Iron Curtain waited a looig time to hear. And ,t he sooner the words are translated into action, the !better. General IDisenhower exipressed this clearly at the American Legion Convention in New York on Aug.ust 25, 195Q, when he said : "We must telil the Kremlin that never shall we desist i,n ouir aid to every man a'IId woman of those shackled lands who seeks refuge with us, any man who keeps burning among his own people the flame of freedom or who js ded!1ciarted to the Hbeiration of his fellows." From this staltement, a:nd others 'b y Eisenhower and other Repulblicam statements, it is evident that a systematic, energetic and firm poli:oy to surppress Bolesheviism is being planned. I beliEWe, itlherefore, that our hope is justified that American polilcy will endeavor, with the dose cooperation of aU an,ti"Bolshevik forces, to helip all the haipless nations behind the · Iron Curtain to freedom, including the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, however, welcome not only this general change in the course of American policy, but have motives to welcome even the ipoliiey' of the new Repulblicam government toward the Slovak na,,tron. A number of Repulblican members of Congress have openly stated that they aTe for the realization of the desires of SlOV!ak nation for its own staJte. Senator Robert Taift of Ohio did not hesitaite to express his views in this regard, neither did the new President of the USA, Dwiig'ht D. Eisenhower. We hope, theretfore, thait the new .Americam President, together with his oo-workers and the whole American nation will. bring aJbout a necessary a:nd invitaJble, erpochai and 26 SLOVA.KIA ipolirtioail corrootion cxf the western Christian world in regard to .t he tyranny cxf Bol,s hevism, but also a corresponding change in policy towaTd the SllQ!Vak nation. By doing so, he will render service to the truth and the ndble principles of Woodrow Wilson and the Atlantic Charter, as well a:s all idears of freedom whi~h have from the time of Geo:r,ge W a'Shington 'been the pride of the American people. In this sense we w.i-sh President Dwight D. Eisenhower a mu!ltitude of God's blessing on all his ructions . • • • WHO SAID IT7 "It can be said w ,ithout hesitation that the Czecho-Slovak Government-in-Exile has accepted the leadership of Moscow freely and voluntarily. The Czecho.,Slovak Government-in-Exile became the full ally of Moscow ·by the pact signed in Moscow last year. and when Dr. Be- nes went baclk to the part of Czecho•Slovakia li•b erated by the Russians, he went by way of •Moscow. The new provisional government he set up in Ko.sice was th1:i result of consultatioru; in Moscow conducted, it seems, very much under the pressure of the CZECH Communist ,g,roup there. For although it was ignored by the American Press, 1:iven Czecho-Slovakfa had her mvn Moscow group, a distinctly Commun'istic councB, headed by the CZECH Communist leader, Klement Gottwald, ,a nd the intellectual leader of CZECH Commundsts, Profossor Zdenek Nej,edly. Th€ difference betwe1:in the CZECH commilttee in Moscow and the Polish grouip there was that the CZECH Government-inExile was in complete agreement with the CZECH Com. munist group in Moscow with respect to the Russian orientation." E. M. Voyta, AMERICA, June 9, 1945. • • • The author of the above quote is a CZECH, formerly of Prague, now residing in the Unit1:id States, who saw and reported events objectiv1:ily. Voyta calls a CZECH a CZECH, and not a "CZECHOSLOVAK," as the propaganda of Dr. Benes did when it suited its purpose to confu:se the western world. The Slovak nation had nothing to do with the 1Moscow deal but, n1:iv1:irtheless, had to surfor the consequen,ces of it. The "Czecho,Slo,v ak Government-in-Exile" mentioned by Voyta was selected by Dr. Edward Benes ; it repres1:inted not the wiil of the Czech and Slovak nations, ,b ut only the wlll of Dr. Benes. Slovaks, es·pecially those of America, condemned Ben1:is and his proSoviet policy long before 1945, but their's was but voice in the wilderness. Today we know they wer1:i right in th1:ilr claim that Benes •s old out to Mo.scow. a • • • we "Don't believe the stupid Nazi perol"aitlons saying tha.t are in the service ot England OR THAT THE SOVIET UNION WISHES TO INCLUDE US WITHIN ITS BOUNDARIES. We are a free and independent state. We are the friends of ALL DEMOCRATIC, treedomlovlng nations, o! the SOVIETS, as well as or Brita.in and America." - (Dr. Bene§, Broadcast to Czechoslovakia, London, June 24, 1943)  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 President Eisenhower Description An account of the resource Matthew Černák Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 22-25 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Černák, Matthew Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/246aaecc7fbdb68855219d458968dfc3.pdf 71517e9c2056577c91057c7e3f1fd7af PDF Text Text APRIL, 1953 SLOVAKIA 1 SLOVAKIA AND CENTRAL-EUROPEAN FEDERATION PLANS Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum Slovrukia with its three and a haJrf million inhiaJbitants and area 45,000 square kilometers lies in the very heart of Central EUTope and its fate in the ,past has been most bitter. After losing their first State, Great Moravia, which during the reign oif King svatopluk included a part of today's Poland, Hmgary, Yugoslavia and for a short time even the Czech lands (1), the SlovaJks as a political factor could not validate themselves in CentraJl Europe for whole centuries. The leading Sloivak group shed its blood first in battles with the Ge:rmians and Magyars and, later, also in battles with the Tu:rks and Tartars. And still later it suffered under tthe pressure of the assimilatory tendencies of the Magyars, which ilrl it.he 19th century and the 1b eginn. ing of this century re8iChed the broadest masses of Slovaks and ruppreciaJbly reduced the growth of the Slovak nation . The Slovaks, who already in 830 had theiT own sta:te and chUI1Ch or,ganization and tthus placed the first foundations of European civili Z8Jtion in the Danube area (2), ap pear more clearly on the ipolitica:l scene again only in 1848, when they rebelled to regain their national independenct>. Decimated and .pushed into the mountains of the north eastern part of their first State, the Great Moravii.8Jl1 Empire, the Slov,a ks were more a cutural than politioo.l factor , up to the 18th century. "During the 17th century," wrote Dr. Milan Hodza, "when the Turks had occupied •all the rest oif old Hungary, Slovakia became the refoge of many lofty intellectual ef forts on behalif of that country. For some time to come_ 1 . 1) Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, GESCHICHTE DER S-LOWAKEI, · pp. 9-15; Julius Pauler, A MAGYARNEMZET TORTJ!JNETE SZENT ISTVAN!G; Dr. Joseph ~kult~ty, ORTY ZO SLOVENSKEJ MINU• LOSTI, p. 13 ; Dr. Milan Hodza, FEDERATION IN CEN'mlAL EUROPE, p . 86; AL'Phoise Huber, GESCHICHTE OESTERREICHE, Vol. 1. 2) Dr. Milan Hodza, FEDERATION IN CENTRAL EUROPE, p. 86. �SLOVAKIA 2 in Slovaikia, there was much morn cultural mo;vement than in Bohemia or occupied Hungacy. At the end of the eighteenth century Slovakia prepared not only her racial rebirth. Trnaiva, which housed the Catholic University before it was tra:nsferred to Budaipest, became a centre of Catholic culture in the realm. Slova!kia was going to be the seat of the first serious democratic movement which had its raimifications in the whole of Hungary and which ended in a conspiracy directed against HaJbSlburg, and Slovakia revealed itselif as a meeting place of prructi:cally all contemporary currents of cultural and ipo>litica;l ideas. (3). After 1848, on the one side under the independence and politfrcal equality of a11 nations, and on the other side under the increasing pressure of assimilaitory Magyar policy, the Slova:k nation beg8;Jl a systematic fight for its polibcal riights. After the Slovak armed revolt of 1848 failed, the Slova!ks within the Hrubsburg monarchy dared to demand an individual self-administr ative unit, such as the Croaits demanded through Ostrozinsky, the Czechs through Pala cky, the Magyars, after Kossuth's revolution was squelched, through DeaJk. This was .p roposed also by Count Valerian Krasinski in his work "Panslavi.sm and Bangernnanism . " What the Slovaks really demanded was a federative solution. The Slovaks remained faithful to the idea of a fede rative solution of the Monarchy in the memorandum , pre sented to the Emperor in 1861, and aigailll at the Conigress of Na:tionaHties in Budrupest in 1867. At the second Congress of Nationa1ities, which took plruce August 10, 1895, in Budaipes't, despite ,persecutions, "the Rumanians, Serbs and Slova:ks, who assemlbled in Buda.pest, "wrote the Neue Freie Presse," dernand ,t he division of Hungary into ethnic self-administra iti;ve units, whreh in effect is equall to the demand to aJbol:ish the un.ion between Hungary and Tr.ainsylviania, to renew the Serbian Duchy and create a selfadmini,s trati:ve Slova:kia, suoh as Huriban (,leader of the 1 1 3) Dr. Mil an Hod za, IBIDEM, pp.208- 213. �SLOVAKIA 3 1848 Slo'Vak rebellion - Author) promoted already thi•r ty years earlier" ( 4). This stand of the Slovaks, if we consider the Nuropean situation oif thaJt time and even the special position of the Slovaks, is readily understandaJble. Not only because the federalization olf the Habs!burg Monarchy, fearing Pangermanism, was the political program also of the Test of the nations of the Monarchy, except the Poles, but also because the rest of Europe was inclined toward this solution, considering the Habslburg Monarchy in its politics of "'balance of poiwer" as a factor of balance betiween Germany and Russia. In this policy, dictated primarily 'by fear of the Germans who called a congress to Frankfurt i:n 1:848 to attempt a union orf all Germans, the Czechs plruyed a leading part. Palacky's arguments and slogan "if AIU'stria did not exist, we would have to create it" gained the rest of the nations.who were satisfiied with the demand of a federalized empire. Even the Emperor seemed ·favo:rable to the idea as long as the danger lasted. "Th~ preservation of Austria, its integrity and solidification, is and must be the great and important concern not only of the Czech nation, but of the whole of Europe, nay of all hUJmanity and foreign lands," wrote Palacky to the Frankfurt Congress in 1848. In this regard Dr. Edward Benes wrote in 1908: "It is frequently spoken about the dissoluti-on of Austria. I aJbsolutely do not believe in it. The historical and economic ties, which mutua:lly u.nite the nations of Austria, are too strong to allow Austria to collaJP5e" (5). The rest of Europe, oif course, also feared Russia and its efforts to realize Panslavism as related by J . Danilevskij in his book "Russia and Europe" and by General Fadejev in his writings. "Slovanic nations," wrote Fadejev, "must try to attain two aims, that is, political and ~onomic development in their present homelands, and then a 4) Quoted from book DIE VEREINIGTEN STAATEN VON GROSSOESTER!RELCH, by Aurel Popovic!, Leipzig, 1906. 5) LE PROBLEME .ArTJTRIOHIEN ET LA QUESTION TCHEQUE, p. 307. �·4 SLOVAKIA closer union with the general Slovanic uni:on, whkh must be headed by Russia in international and military Tela. tions. Ea,ch of these Slovanic tribes needs a ruler for inter nal affairs and for the ·general interests of the great Slovanic Czar. Without the fulifiltlme:nt of these conditions self-admmistra.tion a:nd independence of the BaJikaJD. and Danube Slovak tr}bes is unthinka,ble" (6). Danilevskij, who pUlblished his boolk in 1871, also proposed a Russian-Slovanic confedemtion, in which would · be uni,ted all the Slova,nic people (Slavs) from the Adriatic to the Pacific under the leadershtp of Russia. In this situation, always feeling that it was thr~tened by Germany, France regarded the Habsbu:rg ffimpire as "the only barrier, sufficiently strong, at the beginning of the 20th century, whkh could discourage German a,mbi. tions the day when these would begin to threaten the European bafance," WTote Henry Rene (7). And France saw this balance threatened also by Russia, about whioh Th. Funk-Brentano wrote: "No longer is Rus:sia our ally, as it neither is for Germany or Austria, for England or Turkey : it has only one concern - to expand. It has only one ambition - to g,row. If it uses definite form s . besides, then it does so only to be better understood and allowed into the so-called European concern . . . We make offers to it and it · presents them to Berlin, w,hi'ch makes it a bett er oitlfer . .. Every alliance ls good thrut h elps it to exp.and. All other alliances are bad. It partakes in the divLsion of .s tates with the same ruthlessness with which it m a r ches to conquer them; it will reduce Poland and support · t he Balkans , because they are .Slovanic peoples, and it will annex · t he CJiinese, Turks, Armenians because they are not. That is Russia always . . . " (8). · Fear of Russia and Pamslavism, of which the Magyars and Ruma,nians were afraid and ·b y which the Polish · nation w1as stilf.led periodically, and the fear of the German "'Drang nach · Osten," forced the nations of Centi.·al Europe · -to seek a solution, which would expose it to the least -dangers. This solution they saw in a federalized Hrubsburg 6) Biresvija Vjedomosti; UVAHY O ORIENTA.LNEJ OT A.ZKE ; NEUESTE SCHRIFTEN, pgs.37-4 9. . 7) H enry Rene, . QUESTIONS D'AUTRICHE-HONGRIE ET . 'Q UESTIONIS D'ORIENT, Paris, 1903. 8) Th. .Funk-Brentano, LA POLITIQUE , PR·I NCIPES. ORI· .TIQUES, REFORMES. P.aris, 1892. �SLOVAKIA 5 MonaTchy. As early as 1902 a representative of the Czech nation, one Oharles Kramaf, wTOte: "The wor1d does riot need a feeble, sickly Austria; only a strong, vigorous, interna!lly healthy Empiire can perform the all important task of keeping watch over the ba:lance of power in the world" (9). And Aurel C. Popovici, a Rumanian, WI'Orte a great woirk in 1906 in the defense of the e~istence of a federaliized HalbsJburg Monarchy under the title: Die Vereinigten Staaten von Gross-Oesterreich. Of course, this cry of the nations of the Halbsiburg Monarchy could find little SU!ppolit at the Royal Court, so the natioins constituting the Empire had to seek some other solution of theiir national problems, especially when the war whi-ch broke out in 1914 offered them an opportunity to do so. Furthermore, when the war ended, fear of Russia and Genmany, it was said, precluded the necessity of Austria, because Germany was defeaited, disarmed and "decrnilitar~zed," while Russia was in the throes of a politica:l and social revolution. Emerging from this situation, which the vrotorious a:llies somehow forgot to regard as transitory, the Peace Conference sanctioned the destruction of the Halbsbw,g Empire and the estaJblishment of national and nationaJi:stic states on its ruins. Centrnl Europe got a new face and a new OI1gani'zation on the basis of the right of self-determination of nations. But even this · new organization did not bring an end to fedemtional efforts , especiaHy not those of the Slovaks. II. FEDERALIZATION EFFORTS 1918-1945 The situation,· into whi-ch the Siovaks were forced after WorJd .War I, on the one hand, and the over-all situation of Central Europe in the period between the two wars, on the other, forced the Slovaks to continue their struggle for fedemlization: for a . federalization of Czecho-Slova:kia and simuitaneousiy also for -a federali,z ation of Central Europe. 9) NATIONAL REVIIDW, 1902. �6 S LOVAKIA In fact, 0zecho~Slovaikia was born on the basis of an aigreement between the Slova:ks and the Czechs that it woU!ld be a federart:ive state. In Cleveland Agreemelllt of 1915 and the Pittsburgh A!greement of 1918, the latter undersigned by T. G. Masaryk himself, t'hiJS was promised to the Slaviak:S. At the Peace Conference in 191'9 even Dr. Edward Benes promised this in the name of the 0zechoSlovak Gorvernment when he stated that "it is the intention of the Czecho-1Slovak Government to create the organization of the State ·b y accepting as a basis of natural rights the prindples aipplied in the constitution of the Swiss RelpUJblic, that is, to mrake the 0zecho;Slovak Republic a sort of Switzerland.... " (10). These agreements and commitments, however, were not rkept 1b y the Praigue government, which was dominated by the Czechs, and Czecho-1Slovakia became a centralistk state with apparent tendencies to assimHiate the non-Czech population, especiially the Slovaks on t'he basis of the artificia.Ny created conception of an ethnic "Czechoslovak" nation. - The eminent historian C. A. Macartney saw through the situation very clea11ly when he wrote: "The fact remains that the (Czech~Slova:k) government has been obliged more of:ten than not to rule Slovakia against the wishes of most of its inhabitants, maintaining itself only by the exipedienits of .restricting the powers of the .sellfgovernmg bodies to within the narrowest possilble limits, of filling the seats designated for "ex;perts" with its own nominees, and utilizi'Il!g. freely weapons of censorshi,p and po1i:ce supervision ... " About the economic policy of the Czech toward the S'1ovruks, the same author stated : "The richer (Ozech) firms bought up, or obtained control through holding barri!ks (notable the 2ivnostenska Ba'Il!ka) over the greater part of the Slovak establishments. The latter were thus left at the mel'cy of t'he owners in the Historic Lands (Bohemia), who worked them or closed them down as they pleased. Pro'balb.ly nearly one-third of all Slovak industries disaippeared in this way during the 10) Lloyd George, THE TRU TH ABOUT THE PEACE TREA· TIES, pg. 937 . �SLOVAI\.IA 7 immediate postwar peri'Od, the heavy industries and textile factories beiing chiefly ruffe:cted" (11) . . . It was only natural, then, that the Slova;ks opposed the system whioh put them at such a great disadvaintage econooniically, politically and cultura:lly. The vast majority of Sllova1-cs, under the leadership of Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus, demanded the fedemii zation od: Ozecho-Slovakia from the very begin~ing of its existence. 1 On J•a nua;ry 23, 1920, one of the foremost Slovak politicians, Deputy Dr. Ferdis Juriga, demanded the federalization of the OzeclhoJSlovak RepUiblic on the floor of the Pa:rliament with these words : "We must tend to decentralization, toward sel:f-1administra;tion, so that the Republic could develop on a federalistic basis, because federalism is the system of the future - We must preserve our individual1ity and not let ourselves be absoribed. Federalization is not only in the interest of our naition, and the OzechoSlova!k Repwblic, but also answers the spirit of all mankind. It is an ahl-hu:man tenderrcy, the tendency of all mankind, this tendency to validate oneself, develop, to which every individual person and every national unit should have the right, whkh should crystallize out into a [egal personality, so tha;t these various nations could then become federalized in one, great world re4)u'bliic. This would be the highest ideal and the path that leads to it is : federalism (12). 1 But the Ozechs, just like the Ha'bsburgs, would not accede to the detrnands of the Siovaks and the minorities while there still was time. The Slovaks, therefore, "reacted in the form of a fl a,m'boyant Slovax nationalism which was a main reason for the albsence of revo[t with which they accepted the dissolution of the Ozecho-1Slovak State" (13). 1 11) C. A. Macartney, HUNGARY AND HER SIUCCESSOBS, London, 1937; pgs. 145, 130. J 2) Karol Sador, SLOVENSK.A. POLITJ:KA NA P<>DE PR.A2SKEHO SNEMU, Vol. I, pg.69. 13) ,C. A . Mwcartney, PROBLEMS OF 'DRE DANUBE BASIN, London; p. 122. �SLOVAKli. 8 Between 1918 and 1945, there were evident tendencies among the Slovaks for the creation of a federated Central ffiurope. The organimti{)IIl, whiich was given t!his area by the pea>ce treaties, soon proved to lbe unsatisfactory economically and poilitioolly. On the OIIle hand, the principle of the right of self--determination was valida,,ted only :parti•a lly and as a consequen!ce the several nations of Central EurO!pe awaited only the opporlunity ~o alter the given situation. States like Czecho-Slovakia or Yugoslavia, made up of several nations and minorities, resembled old Austria.JHungary sitructurally, and soon enough their unjust policies toward t'he national minorities caused distrust and revisionism and excluded harmonious cooperation in Central Europe. On May 8, 1919, Rdbert Lam.sing, Secretary of State of tJhe United States, had this to say a!bout this new organiizati'on : "Examine the Treaty and you •wiU find peoples delivered agaill.8t their wills into t,he hands of those whom they hate... Resentment and bitterness, if not desperation, are 'bound to be the oonsequen<:es oof such provisions . It may be years ·b efore these oppressed pooples are able to tih<row otif their yoke, 1but as wre as day follows night the time will eome when they will make the effort" (14). On the other hiand, the dissolution of the economic crises, especial'ly in the accession states. T,he period between 1918 and 1938 wa,,s one of constant seeking of a ·r eorgaruzaition of Central Europe into a harmonious econo.m.ic and political whole. The Little Ein.tente, estalblished in 1920, Hiantos',s plan in 1925, Tardieu's plan in 1932, the Danulbe ·Paict in 1935 and Hodza's fiTst plan in 1936, to note at least t'he better we11 known plans, all of these in sUJbstan>ce had but o~e purpose: to create in an acceptable form such an organization in Central Europe whi1ch would hasve the adivanrtaiges of former Austria-Hungary, 'but would lack al[ its politica;l and social .shortcomings. Preserving the nationaJl states and democratm regimes, the economic arising from the partition of the Danube area were to •b e .removed by a system of alHances. Thus would lb e removed the tense atmosphere whi'c h reigned in this region and provoked neighboring powers to acts of aggression. 1 14) THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS, London, 1921; p. 245. �SLOVAKIA t Naturally, aU these plans and endeavors, including the Little Entente, resulted primarily !because of economiic condiitions; and their aim was not indi,c,ated as an effort to create a Centra:1-Euiropean Federation. This ,t hought, however, was deeply rooted in the minds of political leaders, even Dr. Edwaro Benes himself. A'1ways fearing the loss Otf the political and economic role which Ozecho-Slova:kia was playing, Dr. Edward Benes fought against every plan to unite Cenitra:l IDurape, 'but in 1936 he admiltted that "the plan of a Danube Federation is t!he widely propagated and best known conception proposed as a solution Otf the Austxian and Centro-European pro'blem." The reasons why this solution was not realized -w ere, according to Benes, "much more of a sentimental, psychologicrul and mora:1 nature than of a political and economic nature" (15) . 1 At , the end of the first World War, Dr. Stephen Osusky, foreimost representative of the Slovaks at that time on the side of the Entente, wrote a lb,o ok in F,renc'h, 1n whielh we find these words: "The defenders Otf AttstriaHunga:ry, in foreign lands as well as in the interior Otf the dual Monarchy, are aJCting very Hlog,rcaMy. They are very much for the 1ilberation of Poland, !b ut do not want to allow the ltberation of the remaining nations. Let us liberate all nations who wrunt to 'b e free, allowing them to create their own independent states, and we shall fulfill one of the tasks confronting us. Fav,o ring then the approchement of great Poland, whielh shall have access to the Ba:ltic Sea in Danzig, Rumania and the land$ of Czecho-Slova!kia, on the one hand, and Ukrainia, to which we must give serious thoug,ht, on the other hand, a ,powerful federation of free states will be created in the nor,th (of Central Europe)" (16). In the southern part of this area, Osus.ky proposed to support efforts to create a federation of .Southern Slavs, (15) LE PROBLEME DE L'EUROPE CENTIRALE: p.' 47, Sources et documents tchecoslovaques, No. 24. 16) Stephen Osuslky, ClJOPIN, MAGY:ARff ET ~4-NGERM.NNISTIDS, Paris, 1918. �SLOVAKIA 10 after the realiizaition of which, "we shall on'1y have to connect these two federaitioins with a bridge which once existed but collapsed under the blow of historic events. T,hiu:s would come to an end the Orang nach Osten, to German a:ggression to the ffiast, and Europe and the world could work in peaJCe" (17). The plan, however, was Oipposed by T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes. Another Sllovaik, Dr. Milan Hod'za, came forth with a d:irfferent plan, the so-called "Danube Plan." Fkst as Minister of Agriculture , later as Premier of the Ozecho-iSlo<vak Governmen t, Dr. Hodza endeavored to develop cooperation between the Central Eruropean nations and the consolidation of the oconomic situation in this pa1t of Europe- The climax of these endeavors was his "Danu!be Plan," which aimed to create, ·aJccording to Hodza's own words, "one single, great economic urut in Central Europe." This was to be attained by removing tariff ba.roiers and establishing a customs union, regu1'atmg agriculture and industrial production, reorganizin g the system of payments and transportation, etc. (18). The first steps in this dirootion were already made in 1937 by treaJties conduded between the indwidu.ail Danulbfan States and Bulgaria. Hodm's initiatiive found understand ing both in France and ffingla.nd, but Gemnany and Italy opposed it, thinking the plan was aimed against their influence in Central Europe, nay that it was an "effort to surround Germany," a:s the Germian press e,cpressed it. The plan failed not only 'beca;use orf this opposition, but also because of the crisis which began to aippear within the framework of the Little Entente and the developmen t of an inter-natioD.ial situation which tended in the opposite direction. The politico-mil itary actions of nationaHy socialist Germany and Mussolini's ltaly began to have far-reachim.g i:nd:iluenice on the whole of EUTope, but the most marked consequenc es began to appeax in Central and Souithea:stern Europe. Yugoslavia was 17) A. Ohervin, L'AUTRIOHE ET LA HONGRIE DE DE- MAIN, Paris, 1915. 18) Dr. Milan Hodza, i;,JDDERATI-ON IN CENTRAL EUROPE, pgs. 131-133. �SLOVAKIA 11 the first to suffer the consequences froim the cha.rnged situation and, with Stojadinovic leading it, began to look toward Berlin. Mter a;n internal crisis and a change of governments, Rum-ani•a a'lso ibeca:m.e equaJil.y uncertain. The Little filntente, w'hioh •w as considered the pillar and guarantor of the OTder, created by pea:ce aigreements, went headlong into ruin. lit crashed even •b efore the Germans began their march into the DanuJbe basin and oould not prevent the colla;pse of the order built up in 1918, nor the political and economical hegemony of Hitler's Germany. UndoulbtecNy, the rea;sons for the collapse of the European system and, therefore, also of the Cenltral-European organization, were many- But it ca11!Ilot be denied that Hitler's plans and ructions in the Danube basin were suJbstantially facilitated by the political and economic conditions which governed there after 1918. Oonsequeinitly, the discontented nations, as predicted :ey Lansing, iif they did not work to overthrow that system, as did Hungary and Austria, then they certainly were not willing in the least to defend it, as was the case with c~echo-Slovatkiia a111d Yugoslavia. The dissolution of Czecho~Slova1kia was in fact caused by the German minoriity, as even Dr. Benes stated, because : In Munioh Czecho..:Slovakia was fatally wounded from the outside. " Munich, however, meant much more tha:n thaJt. "It opened the way along the Danulbe all the way to the Blacik Sea to German expamsion," as Winston Churchill said in the British Parliament O'l1 Oct. 5, 1938. Munich meant the end of the European system ,b uilt up by the •peace treaties of 19181920 and installed in Central Europe a Germ.an- Italian Russian co-dominiOIIl whioh, even though it did not last long, did bring new elements into the organization of the CentralEuropean area. Germany was in its politics consistent and adroit, and thus "milita;ry might, dwplomacy, propaganda and the feeling of helplessness before the preponderance of their neighbors, as well as the economic interests, were the causes of the voluntary or forced subordination of the Danulbian �12 SL0VAKlA nations, their new political orientation and cooperation with the Axis," says Graham Hutton (19). "•I n Belgrade, Bucharest and naturally in Sophia, kings and princes did not trust international obligations of collective security. They fuought tha,t every state must endeavor by its own means to serve the peace of all, buit t hat its first task ls to preserve its own peace" (20). And what 'hruppened in Prague was nothing else but what Dr. Benes had already told Minister Sfona in 1936: "If they (the French) aJbandon us without helping us in ·the face of German threats, we shall suI1prise the world by the limitless possilbilities of servility toward Berlin" (21) . This dissolution of the Versailles organization by German policies, whiich endeavored to make of this region a German "lebensraum," forced the representatives of the Central-European nations to return to the efforts to create a Cenitral-European federation, or confederation. A federalistic solution of Central-European problems seemed to be the only strong solution especial1.y when Gerniainy and Russia, with the pact of August 23, 1939, temporarily shared government over Central and Southeastern Europe, annexing territories, nay, even whole states and esta/t,lishing a dictatorship over them. In that situation even the most bigoted enemies of federalistic endeavors of Centr.a:l-Europe in the period between the two wars, politicians who ",p referred to see Hitler in Vienna than the Habsburgs," returned to the idea of creating a great federative unit in Central Europe after the end of the war. The Soviet-German Pact convinced even the nations, which in an effort to hold their own advantageous position in Central Europe wished its partition, that their own security, nay even their own existence in fact, could be guaranteed oltly by an intimate union of all the Central European nations. 19) Graihaim Hutton, LES NOUVEAUX DES'DINS DU DANiUBE, Paris, 1939. . 20) Gregoke Gafencu, DERNIERS J0URS DE L'EU'R0PE, p. 105. 21) Comte Sforza, ILLUS IONS ET REALITES DE L'EUR0PE, Neuch-atel 1944; p. 196. �SLOVAKIA 13 Russia, wrote Gregoire, "revea~ed her face, which had nothlng encouragin g either fur her neig1hlbors or for a peaceful order of the world. The Moscow aigreement unmasked the Soviet Union, in whrch the cult of might and the practice of dou!ble..dealing so strikingly reminded one of the times of Catherine the Great ,a nd the ooarrs of the past centuries. 'It seemed that she obeys the ancient and mighty impulses, siimilrur to those, which drove the Gennan masses in the opposite direction, to the East. But the Russian aggression was at the same time more corufusilng and mysterious. Opposing every .Umitation not because the area which this aggression included was too narrow, lbut conversely beca,use the concepti:on of borders is alien to the nature of Russia" (22). It was, therefore, only natural, that in such a situation the plans of l.lIWying Central Europe on a federalistic basis were again revived and that together . with t!he representativ es of other Central-EUTdpeain nations the Slovvaks - those who fought on the side of the Mlies, as well as the political representat ives who remained at home will:ih the people and sought to lead it into •postwar Europe with as little loss as possible - endeavored to realize a federated Central Europe. On the side of the AUies, it was especiaAly the Slovak political group led by Dr. M. Hodfa and Peter Pridavo~, which led an open strwg,gle for these conceptions . In his book "Federatio n in Central Europe" H~a writes that already in Jainuary 1940 Slovalk political emigrants had come to an understand ing that they wowld endeavor to create a Central-Eu ropean federation. The fotliildation of this federation was to be the union between Poland, the Czech. lands and Slovakia. On January 23, 1942, there wais such an agreement cone'luded between the Polish and Czecho-Slovak g(?vemmen ts with the __ jntention that it wouJd be. the nudeu:s of a great Central-Eu ropean £-Oll22) Gregoire Gafeneu, PRELIMINA,:fRES DE LA -, GUERRE A L'EST, Fri-bourg, 1944. �1-4 SLOVAKIA federation. Matters common to all were to be foreign, military, economic, social and furancial affairs, as weH as transportation, communications and the postaJl. service (23). Milan Hod'za's book, published in 1942, contained all the more serious reasO!I1s for a federated Central IDuroipe. "WaT event'S in Central Europe," wrote Hodza, "dhviously fully vindi<:ate the idea <Yf a solidly org,anized futuTe cooperatron <Yf ahl those eight States whicih aTe placed in complete geogrruphic coherenice between Russia, Germany amd Irtaily. A federali.lzed Centrall Europe is one of the absolute necessi-ties of a new postwaT order." In the preface <Yf his >book, Hodza te1ls us that the Oentral-EuTopean federation should be composed of four Sl'O'Vainic and four non"Slovanic nations, which should £ind a new, great and sohd foundation for their own national lilfe, keeping in balance all possi!ble ra;cial and imperialistic aspirations in the broad territory, the consolidated system of whioh is to be the strongest contribution to the new arraingement of Europe. The federation proposed 1b y Hodza was supposed to rest on a customs union. Fina<n:ces, trade policies, foreign ·p olicy, defense, communioations were to be managed jointly. The p1'am also called for a Ministry of Federal Law 8Jlld a Ministry <Yf Trade Unions and Professional Associations. Altogether there were to be eight commQ!Il. ministries, forming the federal government, which would be headed by a chancellor appoiinted by the president af the federation. In the central goverrunent all the nations were to ·b e represented by ministers without 1portfolio. Ministers with pol'tfOllfo were to perform their functiooo in cooperation with the state secretaries representing all.I the federated nations. The president was to be elected first by the presidents of the national governments, then 1b y the congress of the federation for a period of one yeaT. The memlbers af congress were to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the national parliaments in the proportion of 23) F.r om the French text of the Treaty in the Stoc![,holm review L'AVENIR, Vol. 1, No. 2. �SLOVAKIA one memlber for a million inhaib1tants. The ministers oif the federation, under the plan, could not be deputies of oongress. The solution ,p roposed iby Hod.fa would ha,v e a twofold advantage, wrote the "Voix des Peuples," the Swiss politicail review (Oct- 1944): "it would minimize the natio-nal antagonisms and would recreate the harmonius economic area, which !benefited Centrrul Europe before 1914. The sOilution, therefore, seems to be the wisest, because it is most advantageous for all the nations concerned." A positive stand to Hodfa's prnposal, on the assumption that SlO'Vlrukii:a iin the Europe confederation would figure as an ind~vidual member state, was truken by the main political o!I1gan in Slorva!kia, the "Slovfuk" (24), and in the Vatican diplomatic circles the interpreter of federalistic sqova,,k efforts was Ambassador Karol Sidor. At the beginniing af 1944, Dr. Ferdinand :Du11cansiky, university professoir and the first Fm·eign Minister of the Slovak Repulblic, published a technical study albout the problem of Centrail Euro;pe. The study ap:peaTed in the "Revue de droiit international, de sciences diplomatiques et politiques" (~fil annee, No. 1), putb lished in Gene,va. The status Which prevailed m Central Euro;pe up to 1938, led :Duvcansky to the log,i10al conclusion that a new Central Euro1p e must be orgaJnized on other fQ!Ulld:ations than those ()If 1'918 or those ruifteir that time; it must be organi:zed on the basis ()If coope:riation of the (Je,ntra!l-European niations and their equality. "We can imagine theoretically a cooperiati'On of the nations of Central Europe," wrote :DUTCam;ky, "either in a form of completely independent states, or in a form ()If close, mutual relation in a t.mrion of states. This cooperatiion would be directed by interna.tiona1 a:greement, or by a manner of federation in which every state would have •a special position defined by law." Campiete independence is, according .to :Dur1can:Sky, UJildou!btedly t!he most ad\.'amtageous. With regaro to the 1 24) Dr. Joseph Kirs:chlbaum, HODZ0V PLAN S'l'RED0-EUROPSKEJ F'EDERAOIE, article in tth e SLOVAK, Aug. 20, 1944. �}6 SLOVAKIA ciromnsta:nce that the majority of the Central-European nations, as far as their number and the exitent of their territories, are small nations, this coU!ld mean, said Durcansky, certain dangers. Furthermore, tendencies to limit the sovereignty of small[ nations, endeavors to create laxge eoonomiJC units, the result of technical development and experience from previous wars that sma:ller nations could not defend their independence rb y being neutral - all these led to tlle creation of larger units. :Dutcansky continues: "From these motives there is talk aJbout more active cooperation which ought to guar-amtee lasting peace aind a greater prosperity- This cooperation cannot overstep the framework of a confederation the cooperation 'between independent states diirected by norms of international law. This solution gives guarantees of independence and freedom to the nations of CentralEurope, enaJbles a s01lurti:on of incidental disputes which could arise between the individual states of the confederation and, on the other hand, could defend Central IDurope against external attacks." WthaJt are the arguments 3/gain.st the federation of Central Europe? :Duircainsky points ~mt that ail such arguments rest on the psychologica:l situation in Central-Euroipe, the prejudices emanating from the past and the tendencies of certain nations to renew their former status. The development of war events, however, did not respect the federalistic tendencies of Central-European nations as much as it did during the first World War. Desp~¼ the P-01ish-OzechJSlovak Agreement, despite the positive stand of influential Anglo~Saxon circles and despite tlle general conviction (25) that the Central-European prgaLD!ization created in 191'8 was aib,solutely unsatisfact,:ory _, :t9-r,, ~h~ majority of Centra,l-European nations, as it also ·was for the rest of Europe, nevertheless at the end of 25) What the indivrldual Centra)-Europel).n na.tions thought Stojan Pribil!evil!, about federating Central Europe is told by: WORLD WITHOUT END, New York, 1939; Edmoll'd Demaltre in the review 1/A:VENIR; Gr. Gl\,fencu, PRElJIMlNAIRES DE LA GUERRE A L'EST; ~ - A. Mccartney; PROBLEMS OF THE DANUBE BASIN. �SLOVAKIA 17 the war the very same states were renewed in their old forms, excepting maimed Poland and a smaller OzechoSlova:kia. The Altlantic Charter, the Charter of the United Nations, the natural rilght of every nation to its own state and the solemn prooLa.matioos of the waT years were qu'i.okly forgotten or e:,opediently a:bandoned. Furt:!hernnore, the dei1icate prolb'lem of the minorities began to lbe solved in a manner which was supported by the momenitary situation, in its co1I1Sequences, however, it ibroUJght new da:ngers for the Central-Ell.lropean area and ther~y for the whole of Europe. We are all witnesses of this today. The policy of the Soviet Union towaTd the n81tions of Central Euroipe and, therefore, feder81tiorral efforts did not die out even after World War II. m. THE PRESENT STRUGGLE OF THE SLOVAKS FOR A COMMONWEALTH OF CENTRAL-EUROPEAN NATIONS In 1945 Slova;kiia was occwpied by ,b oth the Russians and the Czechs, and the Communist-dOlminated regime installed there with the help of Moscow and Pr.ague reached to the very roots O!f the existence O!f the Slavalk nation. This irirefotaible fact has led the S1ov,a;k!s to fight uncompromisingly· from the very end of World War II :foT the liberation of Central Europe from alien hegemony rund for its federaJlirza:tion. The representatives O!f the Slovak nation are firmly convinced tha:t Central Europerun nations, if they do not waint to live under the hegemony of the one or the other otf their strong neig1hlbor,s, must unite in a larger · economic am.d stra:tegic unit. There i's no other solution. The entire politica1 and social development of Central EJurope from 1848 coofi:rnns this conclusfon. International policy, as well as the .p olfoy of individUJa1 1powers, is gu~ded by definilte coootants and lastinrg interests wihlch have Olll,tlived and shall out1we all changes o,f regimes. 'Dha:t is why today, just as in the past century, the CentraJl-IDuropeain nations must rookoo with the revival O!f German expansioo, �18 SLOVAKIA: which can change only its forms but not its aims, just as, on the other ham.d, Russi an JmperiaHsm haiS not changed and no regime will ever change it. The object of the expansionist endeavorrs of Russia and Gemniany is Central Europe, because of its geographical position and ethnic composition. These two powers have attaJdked each other for centuries for the control of the Centra~-Eumpeam nations. With the passage of centuries only the forms and pretenses of their imperiaJlism have changed. Pam.-Gerimanism and Pam-1Sllavism a1way:s followed and will follow the very sa:me pur,pose, and the only defense ,a grumst them is the unification of the Central-EJuropean nations on the basis of equality. ThaJt is the lesson of history. On the other hand, the experience of the ipast thirty years have proved that the system, which prevailed in Central and Eastern Europe s-ince 1918 and was again reestablished in 1945 by committing the very same mistakes, cotcld not giuai-antee Europe pea:ce and stalbNity, a:nd to the nations 'between Russia and Germany it could guarantee neither economic prosperity, nor security and freedom . ThUIS it hruppened that with the first blow of German imperiail~sm in 1938, as welil as a result of expansion of the Soviet Uni-on, the system succumbed, and with its downfall Ewrope and the wodd hruve boon thmst into dangerous crises, of whi:ch the first ended in war and the seoond threatoos with war. At the end of both waris, the nations of Central Europe were forced under regimes of terror, which were alien and hostile to the most fundamental cultur~d, po1i,tiical, economi:c and sociaiJ. traditions of all the CentraJl~Eurropeain natiions, who a.Te deeply devoted to the prindples of democr8Jcy and Christianity, the two concepts which are in prJndp1e at odds with both Nazism and materialistri1c OomJmunism. • 1 'I"housamds of Slov,ruk emigrants in Europe and elsewhere, am.d over a million Americruns of Slovak descent, have, therrefore, ,p roclaimed themselves since 194'5 for such a demooratic concepUon of a new Europe which would remove the o1d shortcomings of Europe, and especially of �SLOVAKIA 19 Central Europe, and would rest on the principle of equality of au nations alild be united in a federative uni'on. The organiization of Central and Eastern Europe, as it has proved thusfar, could not fulfill its mission orf strength against imperialism which has threatened the pea:.ce of Europe for Centuries, but conversely, it even facilitated the victory orf these imperirulismsThe weakest part of this organization was CzechoSlovakia, a heterogenous amd polyglotic state, which gave an OipipOrlU'lle excuse to ,the · Third Reich for its expansion and, on the other hand, made cooperation impossible with other Central Euiropean nations, because the millions of inhrubitants of the minorities which were included a:gainst their will into the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Instead of strength against the "Drang nach Osten," the Czecho-Slovak Repwblic became in 191'8 the gateway for the German march into the Dam.Iibe Basin, a,nd in 1945 the bridge 01Ver which the Russian-Bolshevist expainsion penetrated into the very heart of Europe without any resistence. A new orga:nization of Central Europe is therefore, according to the v,i ews orf the representatives of the Slovak emigiration, rubsoiutely ne<:essary not only in the interest of CentraiJ.-Euroipean nations, but also, and in the very first ¢ace, in the interest oif the security orf Euroipe and the peace of the world. We rememib er that both world conflrugrations broke out in this a:rea. Until the extensive region between Germany and Russia is organized on a new basis, gua1ramteeing justice, equality and freedom to every nation, Europe cannot have secured its security and prosperity. Aggression of imperialism , tending to dominaite Central Euro-pe, and then the whole of Euro,pe, could again be facilitated, nay aggressors could even find opportune pretenses and allies, if any one of the Central-European nations were wronged and forced under the rule od' another. The poHticai and economic development from the end of World War I has made the nations of Central Europe conscious enough orf the fact that a more pernnanent �SLOVAKIA !O and solid organization of this region demands that the r1ght to freedom and independence of every nation living there 'be recognired and respected. Being aiware of all this, the Slovak Lerugue of America, in the name of Americans of Slovak descent, as well as in the name of the Slovialk natioo, decl~re.d at its Congress in Oleve1and, Ohio, on Octdber 21, 1947, that "ibasicaliy it welcomes the idea of a federative union of the European nations." It was especially in agreement wiilth the thought of a fedei,aitive uni:on of the centra.1-IDuropean states, in which the nations of that part of Europe would find the prerequj.1s ities for peaceful coha/bitation, fruitful cooperation and effeicti.Jve defense of their individual and ool.lective interests. Of cou.rise, American Slovaks were for such an arrangement of Central Europe on the supposition that "the internal life of the indi,viduial member states amd their mu~ua.1 relationshi p ibe bui!l.t on the Christian principles of true democracy, mutual respect and solidarity," and if among the member states of this federation will be included "also Slovakia as an indrivid'l.Jlal , state, as an equiivalent state, as an equi,v alent and equal member." Slovak em~grants in Europe and elsewhere stand back of the same conceptions. They have so e~pressed themselves in numerous memoranda addressed to the Pe~e Conference, the United Nations, ind:ividua1l governments and to the represenitaltives of the various emigrant groups of the nations from behind the Iron Curtain. The Slovak nation never was am aggressor or imperi·a!list nation; it seeks nothing that does not rilghtfolly belong to it, and nothmg more than every naJtion, however large or small, has an inherent rig'hrt to .seek. The 'S lovaks are a deeply religious and democ-rati'c people, ruble and willing to cooperate with ·au nations of Europe who are determined to wipe out the pl,a gue oif Oommunism and fight for the freedom and independence of allil nati·ons. 1 It is, therefore, onl,y na,1:,ural that the representatiives of all the nations behintl the Iiron Curtain in emigration, among them aJlso Slo,va!k effii.gram.ts, are for the .remo,val �SLOVAKIA 21 of the organizations and regimes of terror which call themsclves "1p eople's democracies." Just as the hitherto unhealthy arralillgement clid not satisfy the needs of the Central-European nations - .one in which practreally hailf the nations of Central Europe did not attain the valid!aition of the right of selrf-detevmination - just so· the system of totali1:arian ":people's democracies" does not satisfy and ,is not in aocord with the traditions of these nations. The ,p olitical and social chaniges, effected iby the 30year economic and socia!l development in t'his region of Europe, whether in regard to the spreaJd oif cidization among the broad masses, or in the social structure, chang~ ed the features <if Cenitral Europe to such an extent that in the future onily true demooracy, extended to the e{!onomic field as ,well, can b.e the system which woU!ld satisfy the · mentality, the spiritual foundiaition and the social needs of t'he natio!IllS of Central Europe. Ainy other system than the democratic, especially the totalitarian system of the " 1people's democracies," is opposed to the most basic mOTal and poiitioail traditi'ons of these countries and, therefore, could be instaJ11ed only ,b y force and maintained only br terror. The freedom of Europe, however, cannot be · Se{!Ured as long as one half of it is under a government of tert01r. On the other hand, the ipeaice of ' Etl!iope and , tbe world cannot be secured as long as Centra1 ·: Europe _i,'s not free and tmi.ted :in sUJCh a manner that '-'it ' could cfufend its own freedom and security .and thereby , also the seciirity of Eumpe Thi,s ios ipossible only if a United Staites of Central Euro,p e be:c~mes a reality in one foT-m or another, Hugh Seton-W:atson, in the int,vodUJCtion of his book "Eiastem Europe Between the Wars," stressed this point when he wrote: "IndividuaLEastern countries ·o.fifer ·interesting fields of study to the speda,list, but are · of smaJ.l importance in world politics. But the Eastern · European proiblem, the problem of the hundred millions,· is· one :of •the ma,jor problems of oor age. Each of the peoiples of ffiaJstern Europe must enjoy liiberty aind self-government if unrest is to be aivoided." � APRIL, 1953 SLOVAKIA 1 SLOVAKIA AND CENTRAL-EUROPEAN FEDERATION PLANS Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum Slovrukia with its three and a haJrf million inhiaJbitants and area 45,000 square kilometers lies in the very heart of Central EUTope and its fate in the ,past has been most bitter. After losing their first State, Great Moravia, which during the reign oif King svatopluk included a part of today's Poland, Hmgary, Yugoslavia and for a short time even the Czech lands (1), the SlovaJks as a political factor could not validate themselves in CentraJl Europe for whole centuries. The leading Sloivak group shed its blood first in battles with the Ge:rmians and Magyars and, later, also in battles with the Tu:rks and Tartars. And still later it suffered under tthe pressure of the assimilatory tendencies of the Magyars, which ilrl it.he 19th century and the 1b eginn. ing of this century re8iChed the broadest masses of Slovaks and ruppreciaJbly reduced the growth of the Slovak nation . The Slovaks, who already in 830 had theiT own sta:te and chUI1Ch or,ganization and tthus placed the first foundations of European civili Z8Jtion in the Danube area (2), ap pear more clearly on the ipolitica:l scene again only in 1848, when they rebelled to regain their national independenct>. Decimated and .pushed into the mountains of the north eastern part of their first State, the Great Moravii.8Jl1 Empire, the Slov,a ks were more a cutural than politioo.l factor , up to the 18th century. "During the 17th century," wrote Dr. Milan Hodza, "when the Turks had occupied •all the rest oif old Hungary, Slovakia became the refoge of many lofty intellectual ef forts on behalif of that country. For some time to come_ 1 . 1) Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, GESCHICHTE DER S-LOWAKEI, · pp. 9-15; Julius Pauler, A MAGYARNEMZET TORTJ!JNETE SZENT ISTVAN!G; Dr. Joseph ~kult~ty, ORTY ZO SLOVENSKEJ MINU• LOSTI, p. 13 ; Dr. Milan Hodza, FEDERATION IN CEN'mlAL EUROPE, p . 86; AL'Phoise Huber, GESCHICHTE OESTERREICHE, Vol. 1. 2) Dr. Milan Hodza, FEDERATION IN CENTRAL EUROPE, p. 86. �SLOVAKIA 2 in Slovaikia, there was much morn cultural mo;vement than in Bohemia or occupied Hungacy. At the end of the eighteenth century Slovakia prepared not only her racial rebirth. Trnaiva, which housed the Catholic University before it was tra:nsferred to Budaipest, became a centre of Catholic culture in the realm. Slova!kia was going to be the seat of the first serious democratic movement which had its raimifications in the whole of Hungary and which ended in a conspiracy directed against HaJbSlburg, and Slovakia revealed itselif as a meeting place of prructi:cally all contemporary currents of cultural and ipo>litica;l ideas. (3). After 1848, on the one side under the independence and politfrcal equality of a11 nations, and on the other side under the increasing pressure of assimilaitory Magyar policy, the Slova:k nation beg8;Jl a systematic fight for its polibcal riights. After the Slovak armed revolt of 1848 failed, the Slova!ks within the Hrubsburg monarchy dared to demand an individual self-administr ative unit, such as the Croaits demanded through Ostrozinsky, the Czechs through Pala cky, the Magyars, after Kossuth's revolution was squelched, through DeaJk. This was .p roposed also by Count Valerian Krasinski in his work "Panslavi.sm and Bangernnanism . " What the Slovaks really demanded was a federative solution. The Slovaks remained faithful to the idea of a fede rative solution of the Monarchy in the memorandum , pre sented to the Emperor in 1861, and aigailll at the Conigress of Na:tionaHties in Budrupest in 1867. At the second Congress of Nationa1ities, which took plruce August 10, 1895, in Budaipes't, despite ,persecutions, "the Rumanians, Serbs and Slova:ks, who assemlbled in Buda.pest, "wrote the Neue Freie Presse," dernand ,t he division of Hungary into ethnic self-administra iti;ve units, whreh in effect is equall to the demand to aJbol:ish the un.ion between Hungary and Tr.ainsylviania, to renew the Serbian Duchy and create a selfadmini,s trati:ve Slova:kia, suoh as Huriban (,leader of the 1 1 3) Dr. Mil an Hod za, IBIDEM, pp.208- 213. �SLOVAKIA 3 1848 Slo'Vak rebellion - Author) promoted already thi•r ty years earlier" ( 4). This stand of the Slovaks, if we consider the Nuropean situation oif thaJt time and even the special position of the Slovaks, is readily understandaJble. Not only because the federalization olf the Habs!burg Monarchy, fearing Pangermanism, was the political program also of the Test of the nations of the Monarchy, except the Poles, but also because the rest of Europe was inclined toward this solution, considering the Habslburg Monarchy in its politics of "'balance of poiwer" as a factor of balance betiween Germany and Russia. In this policy, dictated primarily 'by fear of the Germans who called a congress to Frankfurt i:n 1:848 to attempt a union orf all Germans, the Czechs plruyed a leading part. Palacky's arguments and slogan "if AIU'stria did not exist, we would have to create it" gained the rest of the nations.who were satisfiied with the demand of a federalized empire. Even the Emperor seemed ·favo:rable to the idea as long as the danger lasted. "Th~ preservation of Austria, its integrity and solidification, is and must be the great and important concern not only of the Czech nation, but of the whole of Europe, nay of all hUJmanity and foreign lands," wrote Palacky to the Frankfurt Congress in 1848. In this regard Dr. Edward Benes wrote in 1908: "It is frequently spoken about the dissoluti-on of Austria. I aJbsolutely do not believe in it. The historical and economic ties, which mutua:lly u.nite the nations of Austria, are too strong to allow Austria to collaJP5e" (5). The rest of Europe, oif course, also feared Russia and its efforts to realize Panslavism as related by J . Danilevskij in his book "Russia and Europe" and by General Fadejev in his writings. "Slovanic nations," wrote Fadejev, "must try to attain two aims, that is, political and ~onomic development in their present homelands, and then a 4) Quoted from book DIE VEREINIGTEN STAATEN VON GROSSOESTER!RELCH, by Aurel Popovic!, Leipzig, 1906. 5) LE PROBLEME .ArTJTRIOHIEN ET LA QUESTION TCHEQUE, p. 307. �·4 SLOVAKIA closer union with the general Slovanic uni:on, whkh must be headed by Russia in international and military Tela. tions. Ea,ch of these Slovanic tribes needs a ruler for inter nal affairs and for the ·general interests of the great Slovanic Czar. Without the fulifiltlme:nt of these conditions self-admmistra.tion a:nd independence of the BaJikaJD. and Danube Slovak tr}bes is unthinka,ble" (6). Danilevskij, who pUlblished his boolk in 1871, also proposed a Russian-Slovanic confedemtion, in which would · be uni,ted all the Slova,nic people (Slavs) from the Adriatic to the Pacific under the leadershtp of Russia. In this situation, always feeling that it was thr~tened by Germany, France regarded the Habsbu:rg ffimpire as "the only barrier, sufficiently strong, at the beginning of the 20th century, whkh could discourage German a,mbi. tions the day when these would begin to threaten the European bafance," WTote Henry Rene (7). And France saw this balance threatened also by Russia, about whioh Th. Funk-Brentano wrote: "No longer is Rus:sia our ally, as it neither is for Germany or Austria, for England or Turkey : it has only one concern - to expand. It has only one ambition - to g,row. If it uses definite form s . besides, then it does so only to be better understood and allowed into the so-called European concern . . . We make offers to it and it · presents them to Berlin, w,hi'ch makes it a bett er oitlfer . .. Every alliance ls good thrut h elps it to exp.and. All other alliances are bad. It partakes in the divLsion of .s tates with the same ruthlessness with which it m a r ches to conquer them; it will reduce Poland and support · t he Balkans , because they are .Slovanic peoples, and it will annex · t he CJiinese, Turks, Armenians because they are not. That is Russia always . . . " (8). · Fear of Russia and Pamslavism, of which the Magyars and Ruma,nians were afraid and ·b y which the Polish · nation w1as stilf.led periodically, and the fear of the German "'Drang nach · Osten," forced the nations of Centi.·al Europe · -to seek a solution, which would expose it to the least -dangers. This solution they saw in a federalized Hrubsburg 6) Biresvija Vjedomosti; UVAHY O ORIENTA.LNEJ OT A.ZKE ; NEUESTE SCHRIFTEN, pgs.37-4 9. . 7) H enry Rene, . QUESTIONS D'AUTRICHE-HONGRIE ET . 'Q UESTIONIS D'ORIENT, Paris, 1903. 8) Th. .Funk-Brentano, LA POLITIQUE , PR·I NCIPES. ORI· .TIQUES, REFORMES. P.aris, 1892. �SLOVAKIA 5 MonaTchy. As early as 1902 a representative of the Czech nation, one Oharles Kramaf, wTOte: "The wor1d does riot need a feeble, sickly Austria; only a strong, vigorous, interna!lly healthy Empiire can perform the all important task of keeping watch over the ba:lance of power in the world" (9). And Aurel C. Popovici, a Rumanian, WI'Orte a great woirk in 1906 in the defense of the e~istence of a federaliized HalbsJburg Monarchy under the title: Die Vereinigten Staaten von Gross-Oesterreich. Of course, this cry of the nations of the Halbsiburg Monarchy could find little SU!ppolit at the Royal Court, so the natioins constituting the Empire had to seek some other solution of theiir national problems, especially when the war whi-ch broke out in 1914 offered them an opportunity to do so. Furthermore, when the war ended, fear of Russia and Genmany, it was said, precluded the necessity of Austria, because Germany was defeaited, disarmed and "decrnilitar~zed," while Russia was in the throes of a politica:l and social revolution. Emerging from this situation, which the vrotorious a:llies somehow forgot to regard as transitory, the Peace Conference sanctioned the destruction of the Halbsbw,g Empire and the estaJblishment of national and nationaJi:stic states on its ruins. Centrnl Europe got a new face and a new OI1gani'zation on the basis of the right of self-determination of nations. But even this · new organization did not bring an end to fedemtional efforts , especiaHy not those of the Slovaks. II. FEDERALIZATION EFFORTS 1918-1945 The situation,· into whi-ch the Siovaks were forced after WorJd .War I, on the one hand, and the over-all situation of Central Europe in the period between the two wars, on the other, forced the Slovaks to continue their struggle for fedemlization: for a . federalization of Czecho-Slova:kia and simuitaneousiy also for -a federali,z ation of Central Europe. 9) NATIONAL REVIIDW, 1902. �6 S LOVAKIA In fact, 0zecho~Slovaikia was born on the basis of an aigreement between the Slova:ks and the Czechs that it woU!ld be a federart:ive state. In Cleveland Agreemelllt of 1915 and the Pittsburgh A!greement of 1918, the latter undersigned by T. G. Masaryk himself, t'hiJS was promised to the Slaviak:S. At the Peace Conference in 191'9 even Dr. Edward Benes promised this in the name of the 0zechoSlovak Gorvernment when he stated that "it is the intention of the Czecho-1Slovak Government to create the organization of the State ·b y accepting as a basis of natural rights the prindples aipplied in the constitution of the Swiss RelpUJblic, that is, to mrake the 0zecho;Slovak Republic a sort of Switzerland.... " (10). These agreements and commitments, however, were not rkept 1b y the Praigue government, which was dominated by the Czechs, and Czecho-1Slovakia became a centralistk state with apparent tendencies to assimHiate the non-Czech population, especiially the Slovaks on t'he basis of the artificia.Ny created conception of an ethnic "Czechoslovak" nation. - The eminent historian C. A. Macartney saw through the situation very clea11ly when he wrote: "The fact remains that the (Czech~Slova:k) government has been obliged more of:ten than not to rule Slovakia against the wishes of most of its inhabitants, maintaining itself only by the exipedienits of .restricting the powers of the .sellfgovernmg bodies to within the narrowest possilble limits, of filling the seats designated for "ex;perts" with its own nominees, and utilizi'Il!g. freely weapons of censorshi,p and po1i:ce supervision ... " About the economic policy of the Czech toward the S'1ovruks, the same author stated : "The richer (Ozech) firms bought up, or obtained control through holding barri!ks (notable the 2ivnostenska Ba'Il!ka) over the greater part of the Slovak establishments. The latter were thus left at the mel'cy of t'he owners in the Historic Lands (Bohemia), who worked them or closed them down as they pleased. Pro'balb.ly nearly one-third of all Slovak industries disaippeared in this way during the 10) Lloyd George, THE TRU TH ABOUT THE PEACE TREA· TIES, pg. 937 . �SLOVAI\.IA 7 immediate postwar peri'Od, the heavy industries and textile factories beiing chiefly ruffe:cted" (11) . . . It was only natural, then, that the Slova;ks opposed the system whioh put them at such a great disadvaintage econooniically, politically and cultura:lly. The vast majority of Sllova1-cs, under the leadership of Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus, demanded the fedemii zation od: Ozecho-Slovakia from the very begin~ing of its existence. 1 On J•a nua;ry 23, 1920, one of the foremost Slovak politicians, Deputy Dr. Ferdis Juriga, demanded the federalization of the OzeclhoJSlovak RepUiblic on the floor of the Pa:rliament with these words : "We must tend to decentralization, toward sel:f-1administra;tion, so that the Republic could develop on a federalistic basis, because federalism is the system of the future - We must preserve our individual1ity and not let ourselves be absoribed. Federalization is not only in the interest of our naition, and the OzechoSlova!k Repwblic, but also answers the spirit of all mankind. It is an ahl-hu:man tenderrcy, the tendency of all mankind, this tendency to validate oneself, develop, to which every individual person and every national unit should have the right, whkh should crystallize out into a [egal personality, so tha;t these various nations could then become federalized in one, great world re4)u'bliic. This would be the highest ideal and the path that leads to it is : federalism (12). 1 But the Ozechs, just like the Ha'bsburgs, would not accede to the detrnands of the Siovaks and the minorities while there still was time. The Slovaks, therefore, "reacted in the form of a fl a,m'boyant Slovax nationalism which was a main reason for the albsence of revo[t with which they accepted the dissolution of the Ozecho-1Slovak State" (13). 1 11) C. A. Macartney, HUNGARY AND HER SIUCCESSOBS, London, 1937; pgs. 145, 130. J 2) Karol Sador, SLOVENSK.A. POLITJ:KA NA P<>DE PR.A2SKEHO SNEMU, Vol. I, pg.69. 13) ,C. A . Mwcartney, PROBLEMS OF 'DRE DANUBE BASIN, London; p. 122. �SLOVAKli. 8 Between 1918 and 1945, there were evident tendencies among the Slovaks for the creation of a federated Central ffiurope. The organimti{)IIl, whiich was given t!his area by the pea>ce treaties, soon proved to lbe unsatisfactory economically and poilitioolly. On the OIIle hand, the principle of the right of self--determination was valida,,ted only :parti•a lly and as a consequen!ce the several nations of Central EurO!pe awaited only the opporlunity ~o alter the given situation. States like Czecho-Slovakia or Yugoslavia, made up of several nations and minorities, resembled old Austria.JHungary sitructurally, and soon enough their unjust policies toward t'he national minorities caused distrust and revisionism and excluded harmonious cooperation in Central Europe. On May 8, 1919, Rdbert Lam.sing, Secretary of State of tJhe United States, had this to say a!bout this new organiizati'on : "Examine the Treaty and you •wiU find peoples delivered agaill.8t their wills into t,he hands of those whom they hate... Resentment and bitterness, if not desperation, are 'bound to be the oonsequen<:es oof such provisions . It may be years ·b efore these oppressed pooples are able to tih<row otif their yoke, 1but as wre as day follows night the time will eome when they will make the effort" (14). On the other hiand, the dissolution of the economic crises, especial'ly in the accession states. T,he period between 1918 and 1938 wa,,s one of constant seeking of a ·r eorgaruzaition of Central Europe into a harmonious econo.m.ic and political whole. The Little Ein.tente, estalblished in 1920, Hiantos',s plan in 1925, Tardieu's plan in 1932, the Danulbe ·Paict in 1935 and Hodza's fiTst plan in 1936, to note at least t'he better we11 known plans, all of these in sUJbstan>ce had but o~e purpose: to create in an acceptable form such an organization in Central Europe whi1ch would hasve the adivanrtaiges of former Austria-Hungary, 'but would lack al[ its politica;l and social .shortcomings. Preserving the nationaJl states and democratm regimes, the economic arising from the partition of the Danube area were to •b e .removed by a system of alHances. Thus would lb e removed the tense atmosphere whi'c h reigned in this region and provoked neighboring powers to acts of aggression. 1 14) THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS, London, 1921; p. 245. �SLOVAKIA t Naturally, aU these plans and endeavors, including the Little Entente, resulted primarily !because of economiic condiitions; and their aim was not indi,c,ated as an effort to create a Centra:1-Euiropean Federation. This ,t hought, however, was deeply rooted in the minds of political leaders, even Dr. Edwaro Benes himself. A'1ways fearing the loss Otf the political and economic role which Ozecho-Slova:kia was playing, Dr. Edward Benes fought against every plan to unite Cenitra:l IDurape, 'but in 1936 he admiltted that "the plan of a Danube Federation is t!he widely propagated and best known conception proposed as a solution Otf the Austxian and Centro-European pro'blem." The reasons why this solution was not realized -w ere, according to Benes, "much more of a sentimental, psychologicrul and mora:1 nature than of a political and economic nature" (15) . 1 At , the end of the first World War, Dr. Stephen Osusky, foreimost representative of the Slovaks at that time on the side of the Entente, wrote a lb,o ok in F,renc'h, 1n whielh we find these words: "The defenders Otf AttstriaHunga:ry, in foreign lands as well as in the interior Otf the dual Monarchy, are aJCting very Hlog,rcaMy. They are very much for the 1ilberation of Poland, !b ut do not want to allow the ltberation of the remaining nations. Let us liberate all nations who wrunt to 'b e free, allowing them to create their own independent states, and we shall fulfill one of the tasks confronting us. Fav,o ring then the approchement of great Poland, whielh shall have access to the Ba:ltic Sea in Danzig, Rumania and the land$ of Czecho-Slova!kia, on the one hand, and Ukrainia, to which we must give serious thoug,ht, on the other hand, a ,powerful federation of free states will be created in the nor,th (of Central Europe)" (16). In the southern part of this area, Osus.ky proposed to support efforts to create a federation of .Southern Slavs, (15) LE PROBLEME DE L'EUROPE CENTIRALE: p.' 47, Sources et documents tchecoslovaques, No. 24. 16) Stephen Osuslky, ClJOPIN, MAGY:ARff ET ~4-NGERM.NNISTIDS, Paris, 1918. �SLOVAKIA 10 after the realiizaition of which, "we shall on'1y have to connect these two federaitioins with a bridge which once existed but collapsed under the blow of historic events. T,hiu:s would come to an end the Orang nach Osten, to German a:ggression to the ffiast, and Europe and the world could work in peaJCe" (17). The plan, however, was Oipposed by T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes. Another Sllovaik, Dr. Milan Hod'za, came forth with a d:irfferent plan, the so-called "Danube Plan." Fkst as Minister of Agriculture , later as Premier of the Ozecho-iSlo<vak Governmen t, Dr. Hodza endeavored to develop cooperation between the Central Eruropean nations and the consolidation of the oconomic situation in this pa1t of Europe- The climax of these endeavors was his "Danu!be Plan," which aimed to create, ·aJccording to Hodza's own words, "one single, great economic urut in Central Europe." This was to be attained by removing tariff ba.roiers and establishing a customs union, regu1'atmg agriculture and industrial production, reorganizin g the system of payments and transportation, etc. (18). The first steps in this dirootion were already made in 1937 by treaJties conduded between the indwidu.ail Danulbfan States and Bulgaria. Hodm's initiatiive found understand ing both in France and ffingla.nd, but Gemnany and Italy opposed it, thinking the plan was aimed against their influence in Central Europe, nay that it was an "effort to surround Germany," a:s the Germian press e,cpressed it. The plan failed not only 'beca;use orf this opposition, but also because of the crisis which began to aippear within the framework of the Little Entente and the developmen t of an inter-natioD.ial situation which tended in the opposite direction. The politico-mil itary actions of nationaHy socialist Germany and Mussolini's ltaly began to have far-reachim.g i:nd:iluenice on the whole of EUTope, but the most marked consequenc es began to appeax in Central and Souithea:stern Europe. Yugoslavia was 17) A. Ohervin, L'AUTRIOHE ET LA HONGRIE DE DE- MAIN, Paris, 1915. 18) Dr. Milan Hodza, i;,JDDERATI-ON IN CENTRAL EUROPE, pgs. 131-133. �SLOVAKIA 11 the first to suffer the consequences froim the cha.rnged situation and, with Stojadinovic leading it, began to look toward Berlin. Mter a;n internal crisis and a change of governments, Rum-ani•a a'lso ibeca:m.e equaJil.y uncertain. The Little filntente, w'hioh •w as considered the pillar and guarantor of the OTder, created by pea:ce aigreements, went headlong into ruin. lit crashed even •b efore the Germans began their march into the DanuJbe basin and oould not prevent the colla;pse of the order built up in 1918, nor the political and economical hegemony of Hitler's Germany. UndoulbtecNy, the rea;sons for the collapse of the European system and, therefore, also of the Cenltral-European organization, were many- But it ca11!Ilot be denied that Hitler's plans and ructions in the Danube basin were suJbstantially facilitated by the political and economic conditions which governed there after 1918. Oonsequeinitly, the discontented nations, as predicted :ey Lansing, iif they did not work to overthrow that system, as did Hungary and Austria, then they certainly were not willing in the least to defend it, as was the case with c~echo-Slovatkiia a111d Yugoslavia. The dissolution of Czecho~Slova1kia was in fact caused by the German minoriity, as even Dr. Benes stated, because : In Munioh Czecho..:Slovakia was fatally wounded from the outside. " Munich, however, meant much more tha:n thaJt. "It opened the way along the Danulbe all the way to the Blacik Sea to German expamsion," as Winston Churchill said in the British Parliament O'l1 Oct. 5, 1938. Munich meant the end of the European system ,b uilt up by the •peace treaties of 19181920 and installed in Central Europe a Germ.an- Italian Russian co-dominiOIIl whioh, even though it did not last long, did bring new elements into the organization of the CentralEuropean area. Germany was in its politics consistent and adroit, and thus "milita;ry might, dwplomacy, propaganda and the feeling of helplessness before the preponderance of their neighbors, as well as the economic interests, were the causes of the voluntary or forced subordination of the Danulbian �12 SL0VAKlA nations, their new political orientation and cooperation with the Axis," says Graham Hutton (19). "•I n Belgrade, Bucharest and naturally in Sophia, kings and princes did not trust international obligations of collective security. They fuought tha,t every state must endeavor by its own means to serve the peace of all, buit t hat its first task ls to preserve its own peace" (20). And what 'hruppened in Prague was nothing else but what Dr. Benes had already told Minister Sfona in 1936: "If they (the French) aJbandon us without helping us in ·the face of German threats, we shall suI1prise the world by the limitless possilbilities of servility toward Berlin" (21) . This dissolution of the Versailles organization by German policies, whiich endeavored to make of this region a German "lebensraum," forced the representatives of the Central-European nations to return to the efforts to create a Cenitral-European federation, or confederation. A federalistic solution of Central-European problems seemed to be the only strong solution especial1.y when Gerniainy and Russia, with the pact of August 23, 1939, temporarily shared government over Central and Southeastern Europe, annexing territories, nay, even whole states and esta/t,lishing a dictatorship over them. In that situation even the most bigoted enemies of federalistic endeavors of Centr.a:l-Europe in the period between the two wars, politicians who ",p referred to see Hitler in Vienna than the Habsburgs," returned to the idea of creating a great federative unit in Central Europe after the end of the war. The Soviet-German Pact convinced even the nations, which in an effort to hold their own advantageous position in Central Europe wished its partition, that their own security, nay even their own existence in fact, could be guaranteed oltly by an intimate union of all the Central European nations. 19) Graihaim Hutton, LES NOUVEAUX DES'DINS DU DANiUBE, Paris, 1939. . 20) Gregoke Gafencu, DERNIERS J0URS DE L'EU'R0PE, p. 105. 21) Comte Sforza, ILLUS IONS ET REALITES DE L'EUR0PE, Neuch-atel 1944; p. 196. �SLOVAKIA 13 Russia, wrote Gregoire, "revea~ed her face, which had nothlng encouragin g either fur her neig1hlbors or for a peaceful order of the world. The Moscow aigreement unmasked the Soviet Union, in whrch the cult of might and the practice of dou!ble..dealing so strikingly reminded one of the times of Catherine the Great ,a nd the ooarrs of the past centuries. 'It seemed that she obeys the ancient and mighty impulses, siimilrur to those, which drove the Gennan masses in the opposite direction, to the East. But the Russian aggression was at the same time more corufusilng and mysterious. Opposing every .Umitation not because the area which this aggression included was too narrow, lbut conversely beca,use the concepti:on of borders is alien to the nature of Russia" (22). It was, therefore, only natural, that in such a situation the plans of l.lIWying Central Europe on a federalistic basis were again revived and that together . with t!he representativ es of other Central-EUTdpeain nations the Slovvaks - those who fought on the side of the Mlies, as well as the political representat ives who remained at home will:ih the people and sought to lead it into •postwar Europe with as little loss as possible - endeavored to realize a federated Central Europe. On the side of the AUies, it was especiaAly the Slovak political group led by Dr. M. Hodfa and Peter Pridavo~, which led an open strwg,gle for these conceptions . In his book "Federatio n in Central Europe" H~a writes that already in Jainuary 1940 Slovalk political emigrants had come to an understand ing that they wowld endeavor to create a Central-Eu ropean federation. The fotliildation of this federation was to be the union between Poland, the Czech. lands and Slovakia. On January 23, 1942, there wais such an agreement cone'luded between the Polish and Czecho-Slovak g(?vemmen ts with the __ jntention that it wouJd be. the nudeu:s of a great Central-Eu ropean £-Oll22) Gregoire Gafeneu, PRELIMINA,:fRES DE LA -, GUERRE A L'EST, Fri-bourg, 1944. �1-4 SLOVAKIA federation. Matters common to all were to be foreign, military, economic, social and furancial affairs, as weH as transportation, communications and the postaJl. service (23). Milan Hod'za's book, published in 1942, contained all the more serious reasO!I1s for a federated Central IDuroipe. "WaT event'S in Central Europe," wrote Hodza, "dhviously fully vindi<:ate the idea <Yf a solidly org,anized futuTe cooperatron <Yf ahl those eight States whicih aTe placed in complete geogrruphic coherenice between Russia, Germany amd Irtaily. A federali.lzed Centrall Europe is one of the absolute necessi-ties of a new postwaT order." In the preface <Yf his >book, Hodza te1ls us that the Oentral-EuTopean federation should be composed of four Sl'O'Vainic and four non"Slovanic nations, which should £ind a new, great and sohd foundation for their own national lilfe, keeping in balance all possi!ble ra;cial and imperialistic aspirations in the broad territory, the consolidated system of whioh is to be the strongest contribution to the new arraingement of Europe. The federation proposed 1b y Hodza was supposed to rest on a customs union. Fina<n:ces, trade policies, foreign ·p olicy, defense, communioations were to be managed jointly. The p1'am also called for a Ministry of Federal Law 8Jlld a Ministry <Yf Trade Unions and Professional Associations. Altogether there were to be eight commQ!Il. ministries, forming the federal government, which would be headed by a chancellor appoiinted by the president af the federation. In the central goverrunent all the nations were to ·b e represented by ministers without 1portfolio. Ministers with pol'tfOllfo were to perform their functiooo in cooperation with the state secretaries representing all.I the federated nations. The president was to be elected first by the presidents of the national governments, then 1b y the congress of the federation for a period of one yeaT. The memlbers af congress were to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the national parliaments in the proportion of 23) F.r om the French text of the Treaty in the Stoc![,holm review L'AVENIR, Vol. 1, No. 2. �SLOVAKIA one memlber for a million inhaib1tants. The ministers oif the federation, under the plan, could not be deputies of oongress. The solution ,p roposed iby Hod.fa would ha,v e a twofold advantage, wrote the "Voix des Peuples," the Swiss politicail review (Oct- 1944): "it would minimize the natio-nal antagonisms and would recreate the harmonius economic area, which !benefited Centrrul Europe before 1914. The sOilution, therefore, seems to be the wisest, because it is most advantageous for all the nations concerned." A positive stand to Hodfa's prnposal, on the assumption that SlO'Vlrukii:a iin the Europe confederation would figure as an ind~vidual member state, was truken by the main political o!I1gan in Slorva!kia, the "Slovfuk" (24), and in the Vatican diplomatic circles the interpreter of federalistic sqova,,k efforts was Ambassador Karol Sidor. At the beginniing af 1944, Dr. Ferdinand :Du11cansiky, university professoir and the first Fm·eign Minister of the Slovak Repulblic, published a technical study albout the problem of Centrail Euro;pe. The study ap:peaTed in the "Revue de droiit international, de sciences diplomatiques et politiques" (~fil annee, No. 1), putb lished in Gene,va. The status Which prevailed m Central Euro;pe up to 1938, led :Duvcansky to the log,i10al conclusion that a new Central Euro1p e must be orgaJnized on other fQ!Ulld:ations than those ()If 1'918 or those ruifteir that time; it must be organi:zed on the basis ()If coope:riation of the (Je,ntra!l-European niations and their equality. "We can imagine theoretically a cooperiati'On of the nations of Central Europe," wrote :DUTCam;ky, "either in a form of completely independent states, or in a form ()If close, mutual relation in a t.mrion of states. This cooperatiion would be directed by interna.tiona1 a:greement, or by a manner of federation in which every state would have •a special position defined by law." Campiete independence is, according .to :Dur1can:Sky, UJildou!btedly t!he most ad\.'amtageous. With regaro to the 1 24) Dr. Joseph Kirs:chlbaum, HODZ0V PLAN S'l'RED0-EUROPSKEJ F'EDERAOIE, article in tth e SLOVAK, Aug. 20, 1944. �}6 SLOVAKIA ciromnsta:nce that the majority of the Central-European nations, as far as their number and the exitent of their territories, are small nations, this coU!ld mean, said Durcansky, certain dangers. Furthermore, tendencies to limit the sovereignty of small[ nations, endeavors to create laxge eoonomiJC units, the result of technical development and experience from previous wars that sma:ller nations could not defend their independence rb y being neutral - all these led to tlle creation of larger units. :Dutcansky continues: "From these motives there is talk aJbout more active cooperation which ought to guar-amtee lasting peace aind a greater prosperity- This cooperation cannot overstep the framework of a confederation the cooperation 'between independent states diirected by norms of international law. This solution gives guarantees of independence and freedom to the nations of CentralEurope, enaJbles a s01lurti:on of incidental disputes which could arise between the individual states of the confederation and, on the other hand, could defend Central IDurope against external attacks." WthaJt are the arguments 3/gain.st the federation of Central Europe? :Duircainsky points ~mt that ail such arguments rest on the psychologica:l situation in Central-Euroipe, the prejudices emanating from the past and the tendencies of certain nations to renew their former status. The development of war events, however, did not respect the federalistic tendencies of Central-European nations as much as it did during the first World War. Desp~¼ the P-01ish-OzechJSlovak Agreement, despite the positive stand of influential Anglo~Saxon circles and despite tlle general conviction (25) that the Central-European prgaLD!ization created in 191'8 was aib,solutely unsatisfact,:ory _, :t9-r,, ~h~ majority of Centra,l-European nations, as it also ·was for the rest of Europe, nevertheless at the end of 25) What the indivrldual Centra)-Europel).n na.tions thought Stojan Pribil!evil!, about federating Central Europe is told by: WORLD WITHOUT END, New York, 1939; Edmoll'd Demaltre in the review 1/A:VENIR; Gr. Gl\,fencu, PRElJIMlNAIRES DE LA GUERRE A L'EST; ~ - A. Mccartney; PROBLEMS OF THE DANUBE BASIN. �SLOVAKIA 17 the war the very same states were renewed in their old forms, excepting maimed Poland and a smaller OzechoSlova:kia. The Altlantic Charter, the Charter of the United Nations, the natural rilght of every nation to its own state and the solemn prooLa.matioos of the waT years were qu'i.okly forgotten or e:,opediently a:bandoned. Furt:!hernnore, the dei1icate prolb'lem of the minorities began to lbe solved in a manner which was supported by the momenitary situation, in its co1I1Sequences, however, it ibroUJght new da:ngers for the Central-Ell.lropean area and ther~y for the whole of Europe. We are all witnesses of this today. The policy of the Soviet Union towaTd the n81tions of Central Euroipe and, therefore, feder81tiorral efforts did not die out even after World War II. m. THE PRESENT STRUGGLE OF THE SLOVAKS FOR A COMMONWEALTH OF CENTRAL-EUROPEAN NATIONS In 1945 Slova;kiia was occwpied by ,b oth the Russians and the Czechs, and the Communist-dOlminated regime installed there with the help of Moscow and Pr.ague reached to the very roots O!f the existence O!f the Slavalk nation. This irirefotaible fact has led the S1ov,a;k!s to fight uncompromisingly· from the very end of World War II :foT the liberation of Central Europe from alien hegemony rund for its federaJlirza:tion. The representatives O!f the Slovak nation are firmly convinced tha:t Central Europerun nations, if they do not waint to live under the hegemony of the one or the other otf their strong neig1hlbor,s, must unite in a larger · economic am.d stra:tegic unit. There i's no other solution. The entire politica1 and social development of Central EJurope from 1848 coofi:rnns this conclusfon. International policy, as well as the .p olfoy of individUJa1 1powers, is gu~ded by definilte coootants and lastinrg interests wihlch have Olll,tlived and shall out1we all changes o,f regimes. 'Dha:t is why today, just as in the past century, the CentraJl-IDuropeain nations must rookoo with the revival O!f German expansioo, �18 SLOVAKIA: which can change only its forms but not its aims, just as, on the other ham.d, Russi an JmperiaHsm haiS not changed and no regime will ever change it. The object of the expansionist endeavorrs of Russia and Gemniany is Central Europe, because of its geographical position and ethnic composition. These two powers have attaJdked each other for centuries for the control of the Centra~-Eumpeam nations. With the passage of centuries only the forms and pretenses of their imperiaJlism have changed. Pam.-Gerimanism and Pam-1Sllavism a1way:s followed and will follow the very sa:me pur,pose, and the only defense ,a grumst them is the unification of the Central-EJuropean nations on the basis of equality. ThaJt is the lesson of history. On the other hand, the experience of the ipast thirty years have proved that the system, which prevailed in Central and Eastern Europe s-ince 1918 and was again reestablished in 1945 by committing the very same mistakes, cotcld not giuai-antee Europe pea:ce and stalbNity, a:nd to the nations 'between Russia and Germany it could guarantee neither economic prosperity, nor security and freedom . ThUIS it hruppened that with the first blow of German imperiail~sm in 1938, as welil as a result of expansion of the Soviet Uni-on, the system succumbed, and with its downfall Ewrope and the wodd hruve boon thmst into dangerous crises, of whi:ch the first ended in war and the seoond threatoos with war. At the end of both waris, the nations of Central Europe were forced under regimes of terror, which were alien and hostile to the most fundamental cultur~d, po1i,tiical, economi:c and sociaiJ. traditions of all the CentraJl~Eurropeain natiions, who a.Te deeply devoted to the prindples of democr8Jcy and Christianity, the two concepts which are in prJndp1e at odds with both Nazism and materialistri1c OomJmunism. • 1 'I"housamds of Slov,ruk emigrants in Europe and elsewhere, am.d over a million Americruns of Slovak descent, have, therrefore, ,p roclaimed themselves since 194'5 for such a demooratic concepUon of a new Europe which would remove the o1d shortcomings of Europe, and especially of �SLOVAKIA 19 Central Europe, and would rest on the principle of equality of au nations alild be united in a federative uni'on. The organiization of Central and Eastern Europe, as it has proved thusfar, could not fulfill its mission orf strength against imperialism which has threatened the pea:.ce of Europe for Centuries, but conversely, it even facilitated the victory orf these imperirulismsThe weakest part of this organization was CzechoSlovakia, a heterogenous amd polyglotic state, which gave an OipipOrlU'lle excuse to ,the · Third Reich for its expansion and, on the other hand, made cooperation impossible with other Central Euiropean nations, because the millions of inhrubitants of the minorities which were included a:gainst their will into the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Instead of strength against the "Drang nach Osten," the Czecho-Slovak Repwblic became in 191'8 the gateway for the German march into the Dam.Iibe Basin, a,nd in 1945 the bridge 01Ver which the Russian-Bolshevist expainsion penetrated into the very heart of Europe without any resistence. A new orga:nization of Central Europe is therefore, according to the v,i ews orf the representatives of the Slovak emigiration, rubsoiutely ne<:essary not only in the interest of CentraiJ.-Euroipean nations, but also, and in the very first ¢ace, in the interest oif the security orf Euroipe and the peace of the world. We rememib er that both world conflrugrations broke out in this a:rea. Until the extensive region between Germany and Russia is organized on a new basis, gua1ramteeing justice, equality and freedom to every nation, Europe cannot have secured its security and prosperity. Aggression of imperialism , tending to dominaite Central Euro-pe, and then the whole of Euro,pe, could again be facilitated, nay aggressors could even find opportune pretenses and allies, if any one of the Central-European nations were wronged and forced under the rule od' another. The poHticai and economic development from the end of World War I has made the nations of Central Europe conscious enough orf the fact that a more pernnanent �SLOVAKIA !O and solid organization of this region demands that the r1ght to freedom and independence of every nation living there 'be recognired and respected. Being aiware of all this, the Slovak Lerugue of America, in the name of Americans of Slovak descent, as well as in the name of the Slovialk natioo, decl~re.d at its Congress in Oleve1and, Ohio, on Octdber 21, 1947, that "ibasicaliy it welcomes the idea of a federative union of the European nations." It was especially in agreement wiilth the thought of a fedei,aitive uni:on of the centra.1-IDuropean states, in which the nations of that part of Europe would find the prerequj.1s ities for peaceful coha/bitation, fruitful cooperation and effeicti.Jve defense of their individual and ool.lective interests. Of cou.rise, American Slovaks were for such an arrangement of Central Europe on the supposition that "the internal life of the indi,viduial member states amd their mu~ua.1 relationshi p ibe bui!l.t on the Christian principles of true democracy, mutual respect and solidarity," and if among the member states of this federation will be included "also Slovakia as an indrivid'l.Jlal , state, as an equiivalent state, as an equi,v alent and equal member." Slovak em~grants in Europe and elsewhere stand back of the same conceptions. They have so e~pressed themselves in numerous memoranda addressed to the Pe~e Conference, the United Nations, ind:ividua1l governments and to the represenitaltives of the various emigrant groups of the nations from behind the Iron Curtain. The Slovak nation never was am aggressor or imperi·a!list nation; it seeks nothing that does not rilghtfolly belong to it, and nothmg more than every naJtion, however large or small, has an inherent rig'hrt to .seek. The 'S lovaks are a deeply religious and democ-rati'c people, ruble and willing to cooperate with ·au nations of Europe who are determined to wipe out the pl,a gue oif Oommunism and fight for the freedom and independence of allil nati·ons. 1 It is, therefore, onl,y na,1:,ural that the representatiives of all the nations behintl the Iiron Curtain in emigration, among them aJlso Slo,va!k effii.gram.ts, are for the .remo,val �SLOVAKIA 21 of the organizations and regimes of terror which call themsclves "1p eople's democracies." Just as the hitherto unhealthy arralillgement clid not satisfy the needs of the Central-European nations - .one in which practreally hailf the nations of Central Europe did not attain the valid!aition of the right of selrf-detevmination - just so· the system of totali1:arian ":people's democracies" does not satisfy and ,is not in aocord with the traditions of these nations. The ,p olitical and social chaniges, effected iby the 30year economic and socia!l development in t'his region of Europe, whether in regard to the spreaJd oif cidization among the broad masses, or in the social structure, chang~ ed the features <if Cenitral Europe to such an extent that in the future onily true demooracy, extended to the e{!onomic field as ,well, can b.e the system which woU!ld satisfy the · mentality, the spiritual foundiaition and the social needs of t'he natio!IllS of Central Europe. Ainy other system than the democratic, especially the totalitarian system of the " 1people's democracies," is opposed to the most basic mOTal and poiitioail traditi'ons of these countries and, therefore, could be instaJ11ed only ,b y force and maintained only br terror. The freedom of Europe, however, cannot be · Se{!Ured as long as one half of it is under a government of tert01r. On the other hand, the ipeaice of ' Etl!iope and , tbe world cannot be secured as long as Centra1 ·: Europe _i,'s not free and tmi.ted :in sUJCh a manner that '-'it ' could cfufend its own freedom and security .and thereby , also the seciirity of Eumpe Thi,s ios ipossible only if a United Staites of Central Euro,p e be:c~mes a reality in one foT-m or another, Hugh Seton-W:atson, in the int,vodUJCtion of his book "Eiastem Europe Between the Wars," stressed this point when he wrote: "IndividuaLEastern countries ·o.fifer ·interesting fields of study to the speda,list, but are · of smaJ.l importance in world politics. But the Eastern · European proiblem, the problem of the hundred millions,· is· one :of •the ma,jor problems of oor age. Each of the peoiples of ffiaJstern Europe must enjoy liiberty aind self-government if unrest is to be aivoided." � 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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 APRIL, 1953 SLOVAKIA 1 SLOVAKIA AND CENTRAL-EUROPEAN FEDERATION PLANS Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum Slovrukia with its three and a haJrf million inhiaJbitants and area 45,000 square kilometers lies in the very heart of Central EUTope and its fate in the ,past has been most bitter. After losing their first State, Great Moravia, which during the reign oif King svatopluk included a part of today's Poland, Hmgary, Yugoslavia and for a short time even the Czech lands (1), the SlovaJks as a political factor could not validate themselves in CentraJl Europe for whole centuries. The leading Sloivak group shed its blood first in battles with the Ge:rmians and Magyars and, later, also in battles with the Tu:rks and Tartars. And still later it suffered under tthe pressure of the assimilatory tendencies of the Magyars, which ilrl it.he 19th century and the 1b eginn. ing of this century re8iChed the broadest masses of Slovaks and ruppreciaJbly reduced the growth of the Slovak nation . The Slovaks, who already in 830 had theiT own sta:te and chUI1Ch or,ganization and tthus placed the first foundations of European civili Z8Jtion in the Danube area (2), ap pear more clearly on the ipolitica:l scene again only in 1848, when they rebelled to regain their national independenct>. Decimated and .pushed into the mountains of the north eastern part of their first State, the Great Moravii.8Jl1 Empire, the Slov,a ks were more a cutural than politioo.l factor , up to the 18th century. "During the 17th century," wrote Dr. Milan Hodza, "when the Turks had occupied •all the rest oif old Hungary, Slovakia became the refoge of many lofty intellectual ef forts on behalif of that country. For some time to come_ 1 . 1) Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, GESCHICHTE DER S-LOWAKEI, · pp. 9-15; Julius Pauler, A MAGYARNEMZET TORTJ!JNETE SZENT ISTVAN!G; Dr. Joseph ~kult~ty, ORTY ZO SLOVENSKEJ MINU• LOSTI, p. 13 ; Dr. Milan Hodza, FEDERATION IN CEN'mlAL EUROPE, p . 86; AL'Phoise Huber, GESCHICHTE OESTERREICHE, Vol. 1. 2) Dr. Milan Hodza, FEDERATION IN CENTRAL EUROPE, p. 86. SLOVAKIA 2 in Slovaikia, there was much morn cultural mo;vement than in Bohemia or occupied Hungacy. At the end of the eighteenth century Slovakia prepared not only her racial rebirth. Trnaiva, which housed the Catholic University before it was tra:nsferred to Budaipest, became a centre of Catholic culture in the realm. Slova!kia was going to be the seat of the first serious democratic movement which had its raimifications in the whole of Hungary and which ended in a conspiracy directed against HaJbSlburg, and Slovakia revealed itselif as a meeting place of prructi:cally all contemporary currents of cultural and ipo>litica;l ideas. (3). After 1848, on the one side under the independence and politfrcal equality of a11 nations, and on the other side under the increasing pressure of assimilaitory Magyar policy, the Slova:k nation beg8;Jl a systematic fight for its polibcal riights. After the Slovak armed revolt of 1848 failed, the Slova!ks within the Hrubsburg monarchy dared to demand an individual self-administr ative unit, such as the Croaits demanded through Ostrozinsky, the Czechs through Pala cky, the Magyars, after Kossuth's revolution was squelched, through DeaJk. This was .p roposed also by Count Valerian Krasinski in his work "Panslavi.sm and Bangernnanism . " What the Slovaks really demanded was a federative solution. The Slovaks remained faithful to the idea of a fede rative solution of the Monarchy in the memorandum , pre sented to the Emperor in 1861, and aigailll at the Conigress of Na:tionaHties in Budrupest in 1867. At the second Congress of Nationa1ities, which took plruce August 10, 1895, in Budaipes't, despite ,persecutions, "the Rumanians, Serbs and Slova:ks, who assemlbled in Buda.pest, "wrote the Neue Freie Presse," dernand ,t he division of Hungary into ethnic self-administra iti;ve units, whreh in effect is equall to the demand to aJbol:ish the un.ion between Hungary and Tr.ainsylviania, to renew the Serbian Duchy and create a selfadmini,s trati:ve Slova:kia, suoh as Huriban (,leader of the 1 1 3) Dr. Mil an Hod za, IBIDEM, pp.208- 213. SLOVAKIA 3 1848 Slo'Vak rebellion - Author) promoted already thi•r ty years earlier" ( 4). This stand of the Slovaks, if we consider the Nuropean situation oif thaJt time and even the special position of the Slovaks, is readily understandaJble. Not only because the federalization olf the Habs!burg Monarchy, fearing Pangermanism, was the political program also of the Test of the nations of the Monarchy, except the Poles, but also because the rest of Europe was inclined toward this solution, considering the Habslburg Monarchy in its politics of "'balance of poiwer" as a factor of balance betiween Germany and Russia. In this policy, dictated primarily 'by fear of the Germans who called a congress to Frankfurt i:n 1:848 to attempt a union orf all Germans, the Czechs plruyed a leading part. Palacky's arguments and slogan "if AIU'stria did not exist, we would have to create it" gained the rest of the nations.who were satisfiied with the demand of a federalized empire. Even the Emperor seemed ·favo:rable to the idea as long as the danger lasted. "Th~ preservation of Austria, its integrity and solidification, is and must be the great and important concern not only of the Czech nation, but of the whole of Europe, nay of all hUJmanity and foreign lands," wrote Palacky to the Frankfurt Congress in 1848. In this regard Dr. Edward Benes wrote in 1908: "It is frequently spoken about the dissoluti-on of Austria. I aJbsolutely do not believe in it. The historical and economic ties, which mutua:lly u.nite the nations of Austria, are too strong to allow Austria to collaJP5e" (5). The rest of Europe, oif course, also feared Russia and its efforts to realize Panslavism as related by J . Danilevskij in his book "Russia and Europe" and by General Fadejev in his writings. "Slovanic nations," wrote Fadejev, "must try to attain two aims, that is, political and ~onomic development in their present homelands, and then a 4) Quoted from book DIE VEREINIGTEN STAATEN VON GROSSOESTER!RELCH, by Aurel Popovic!, Leipzig, 1906. 5) LE PROBLEME .ArTJTRIOHIEN ET LA QUESTION TCHEQUE, p. 307. ·4 SLOVAKIA closer union with the general Slovanic uni:on, whkh must be headed by Russia in international and military Tela. tions. Ea,ch of these Slovanic tribes needs a ruler for inter nal affairs and for the ·general interests of the great Slovanic Czar. Without the fulifiltlme:nt of these conditions self-admmistra.tion a:nd independence of the BaJikaJD. and Danube Slovak tr}bes is unthinka,ble" (6). Danilevskij, who pUlblished his boolk in 1871, also proposed a Russian-Slovanic confedemtion, in which would · be uni,ted all the Slova,nic people (Slavs) from the Adriatic to the Pacific under the leadershtp of Russia. In this situation, always feeling that it was thr~tened by Germany, France regarded the Habsbu:rg ffimpire as "the only barrier, sufficiently strong, at the beginning of the 20th century, whkh could discourage German a,mbi. tions the day when these would begin to threaten the European bafance," WTote Henry Rene (7). And France saw this balance threatened also by Russia, about whioh Th. Funk-Brentano wrote: "No longer is Rus:sia our ally, as it neither is for Germany or Austria, for England or Turkey : it has only one concern - to expand. It has only one ambition - to g,row. If it uses definite form s . besides, then it does so only to be better understood and allowed into the so-called European concern . . . We make offers to it and it · presents them to Berlin, w,hi'ch makes it a bett er oitlfer . .. Every alliance ls good thrut h elps it to exp.and. All other alliances are bad. It partakes in the divLsion of .s tates with the same ruthlessness with which it m a r ches to conquer them; it will reduce Poland and support · t he Balkans , because they are .Slovanic peoples, and it will annex · t he CJiinese, Turks, Armenians because they are not. That is Russia always . . . " (8). · Fear of Russia and Pamslavism, of which the Magyars and Ruma,nians were afraid and ·b y which the Polish · nation w1as stilf.led periodically, and the fear of the German "'Drang nach · Osten," forced the nations of Centi.·al Europe · -to seek a solution, which would expose it to the least -dangers. This solution they saw in a federalized Hrubsburg 6) Biresvija Vjedomosti; UVAHY O ORIENTA.LNEJ OT A.ZKE ; NEUESTE SCHRIFTEN, pgs.37-4 9. . 7) H enry Rene, . QUESTIONS D'AUTRICHE-HONGRIE ET . 'Q UESTIONIS D'ORIENT, Paris, 1903. 8) Th. .Funk-Brentano, LA POLITIQUE , PR·I NCIPES. ORI· .TIQUES, REFORMES. P.aris, 1892. SLOVAKIA 5 MonaTchy. As early as 1902 a representative of the Czech nation, one Oharles Kramaf, wTOte: "The wor1d does riot need a feeble, sickly Austria; only a strong, vigorous, interna!lly healthy Empiire can perform the all important task of keeping watch over the ba:lance of power in the world" (9). And Aurel C. Popovici, a Rumanian, WI'Orte a great woirk in 1906 in the defense of the e~istence of a federaliized HalbsJburg Monarchy under the title: Die Vereinigten Staaten von Gross-Oesterreich. Of course, this cry of the nations of the Halbsiburg Monarchy could find little SU!ppolit at the Royal Court, so the natioins constituting the Empire had to seek some other solution of theiir national problems, especially when the war whi-ch broke out in 1914 offered them an opportunity to do so. Furthermore, when the war ended, fear of Russia and Genmany, it was said, precluded the necessity of Austria, because Germany was defeaited, disarmed and "decrnilitar~zed," while Russia was in the throes of a politica:l and social revolution. Emerging from this situation, which the vrotorious a:llies somehow forgot to regard as transitory, the Peace Conference sanctioned the destruction of the Halbsbw,g Empire and the estaJblishment of national and nationaJi:stic states on its ruins. Centrnl Europe got a new face and a new OI1gani'zation on the basis of the right of self-determination of nations. But even this · new organization did not bring an end to fedemtional efforts , especiaHy not those of the Slovaks. II. FEDERALIZATION EFFORTS 1918-1945 The situation,· into whi-ch the Siovaks were forced after WorJd .War I, on the one hand, and the over-all situation of Central Europe in the period between the two wars, on the other, forced the Slovaks to continue their struggle for fedemlization: for a . federalization of Czecho-Slova:kia and simuitaneousiy also for -a federali,z ation of Central Europe. 9) NATIONAL REVIIDW, 1902. 6 S LOVAKIA In fact, 0zecho~Slovaikia was born on the basis of an aigreement between the Slova:ks and the Czechs that it woU!ld be a federart:ive state. In Cleveland Agreemelllt of 1915 and the Pittsburgh A!greement of 1918, the latter undersigned by T. G. Masaryk himself, t'hiJS was promised to the Slaviak:S. At the Peace Conference in 191'9 even Dr. Edward Benes promised this in the name of the 0zechoSlovak Gorvernment when he stated that "it is the intention of the Czecho-1Slovak Government to create the organization of the State ·b y accepting as a basis of natural rights the prindples aipplied in the constitution of the Swiss RelpUJblic, that is, to mrake the 0zecho;Slovak Republic a sort of Switzerland.... " (10). These agreements and commitments, however, were not rkept 1b y the Praigue government, which was dominated by the Czechs, and Czecho-1Slovakia became a centralistk state with apparent tendencies to assimHiate the non-Czech population, especiially the Slovaks on t'he basis of the artificia.Ny created conception of an ethnic "Czechoslovak" nation. - The eminent historian C. A. Macartney saw through the situation very clea11ly when he wrote: "The fact remains that the (Czech~Slova:k) government has been obliged more of:ten than not to rule Slovakia against the wishes of most of its inhabitants, maintaining itself only by the exipedienits of .restricting the powers of the .sellfgovernmg bodies to within the narrowest possilble limits, of filling the seats designated for "ex;perts" with its own nominees, and utilizi'Il!g. freely weapons of censorshi,p and po1i:ce supervision ... " About the economic policy of the Czech toward the S'1ovruks, the same author stated : "The richer (Ozech) firms bought up, or obtained control through holding barri!ks (notable the 2ivnostenska Ba'Il!ka) over the greater part of the Slovak establishments. The latter were thus left at the mel'cy of t'he owners in the Historic Lands (Bohemia), who worked them or closed them down as they pleased. Pro'balb.ly nearly one-third of all Slovak industries disaippeared in this way during the 10) Lloyd George, THE TRU TH ABOUT THE PEACE TREA· TIES, pg. 937 . SLOVAI\.IA 7 immediate postwar peri'Od, the heavy industries and textile factories beiing chiefly ruffe:cted" (11) . . . It was only natural, then, that the Slova;ks opposed the system whioh put them at such a great disadvaintage econooniically, politically and cultura:lly. The vast majority of Sllova1-cs, under the leadership of Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus, demanded the fedemii zation od: Ozecho-Slovakia from the very begin~ing of its existence. 1 On J•a nua;ry 23, 1920, one of the foremost Slovak politicians, Deputy Dr. Ferdis Juriga, demanded the federalization of the OzeclhoJSlovak RepUiblic on the floor of the Pa:rliament with these words : "We must tend to decentralization, toward sel:f-1administra;tion, so that the Republic could develop on a federalistic basis, because federalism is the system of the future - We must preserve our individual1ity and not let ourselves be absoribed. Federalization is not only in the interest of our naition, and the OzechoSlova!k Repwblic, but also answers the spirit of all mankind. It is an ahl-hu:man tenderrcy, the tendency of all mankind, this tendency to validate oneself, develop, to which every individual person and every national unit should have the right, whkh should crystallize out into a [egal personality, so tha;t these various nations could then become federalized in one, great world re4)u'bliic. This would be the highest ideal and the path that leads to it is : federalism (12). 1 But the Ozechs, just like the Ha'bsburgs, would not accede to the detrnands of the Siovaks and the minorities while there still was time. The Slovaks, therefore, "reacted in the form of a fl a,m'boyant Slovax nationalism which was a main reason for the albsence of revo[t with which they accepted the dissolution of the Ozecho-1Slovak State" (13). 1 11) C. A. Macartney, HUNGARY AND HER SIUCCESSOBS, London, 1937; pgs. 145, 130. J 2) Karol Sador, SLOVENSK.A. POLITJ:KA NA P<>DE PR.A2SKEHO SNEMU, Vol. I, pg.69. 13) ,C. A . Mwcartney, PROBLEMS OF 'DRE DANUBE BASIN, London; p. 122. SLOVAKli. 8 Between 1918 and 1945, there were evident tendencies among the Slovaks for the creation of a federated Central ffiurope. The organimti{)IIl, whiich was given t!his area by the pea>ce treaties, soon proved to lbe unsatisfactory economically and poilitioolly. On the OIIle hand, the principle of the right of self--determination was valida,,ted only :parti•a lly and as a consequen!ce the several nations of Central EurO!pe awaited only the opporlunity ~o alter the given situation. States like Czecho-Slovakia or Yugoslavia, made up of several nations and minorities, resembled old Austria.JHungary sitructurally, and soon enough their unjust policies toward t'he national minorities caused distrust and revisionism and excluded harmonious cooperation in Central Europe. On May 8, 1919, Rdbert Lam.sing, Secretary of State of tJhe United States, had this to say a!bout this new organiizati'on : "Examine the Treaty and you •wiU find peoples delivered agaill.8t their wills into t,he hands of those whom they hate... Resentment and bitterness, if not desperation, are 'bound to be the oonsequen<:es oof such provisions . It may be years ·b efore these oppressed pooples are able to tih<row otif their yoke, 1but as wre as day follows night the time will eome when they will make the effort" (14). On the other hiand, the dissolution of the economic crises, especial'ly in the accession states. T,he period between 1918 and 1938 wa,,s one of constant seeking of a ·r eorgaruzaition of Central Europe into a harmonious econo.m.ic and political whole. The Little Ein.tente, estalblished in 1920, Hiantos',s plan in 1925, Tardieu's plan in 1932, the Danulbe ·Paict in 1935 and Hodza's fiTst plan in 1936, to note at least t'he better we11 known plans, all of these in sUJbstan>ce had but o~e purpose: to create in an acceptable form such an organization in Central Europe whi1ch would hasve the adivanrtaiges of former Austria-Hungary, 'but would lack al[ its politica;l and social .shortcomings. Preserving the nationaJl states and democratm regimes, the economic arising from the partition of the Danube area were to •b e .removed by a system of alHances. Thus would lb e removed the tense atmosphere whi'c h reigned in this region and provoked neighboring powers to acts of aggression. 1 14) THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS, London, 1921; p. 245. SLOVAKIA t Naturally, aU these plans and endeavors, including the Little Entente, resulted primarily !because of economiic condiitions; and their aim was not indi,c,ated as an effort to create a Centra:1-Euiropean Federation. This ,t hought, however, was deeply rooted in the minds of political leaders, even Dr. Edwaro Benes himself. A'1ways fearing the loss Otf the political and economic role which Ozecho-Slova:kia was playing, Dr. Edward Benes fought against every plan to unite Cenitra:l IDurape, 'but in 1936 he admiltted that "the plan of a Danube Federation is t!he widely propagated and best known conception proposed as a solution Otf the Austxian and Centro-European pro'blem." The reasons why this solution was not realized -w ere, according to Benes, "much more of a sentimental, psychologicrul and mora:1 nature than of a political and economic nature" (15) . 1 At , the end of the first World War, Dr. Stephen Osusky, foreimost representative of the Slovaks at that time on the side of the Entente, wrote a lb,o ok in F,renc'h, 1n whielh we find these words: "The defenders Otf AttstriaHunga:ry, in foreign lands as well as in the interior Otf the dual Monarchy, are aJCting very Hlog,rcaMy. They are very much for the 1ilberation of Poland, !b ut do not want to allow the ltberation of the remaining nations. Let us liberate all nations who wrunt to 'b e free, allowing them to create their own independent states, and we shall fulfill one of the tasks confronting us. Fav,o ring then the approchement of great Poland, whielh shall have access to the Ba:ltic Sea in Danzig, Rumania and the land$ of Czecho-Slova!kia, on the one hand, and Ukrainia, to which we must give serious thoug,ht, on the other hand, a ,powerful federation of free states will be created in the nor,th (of Central Europe)" (16). In the southern part of this area, Osus.ky proposed to support efforts to create a federation of .Southern Slavs, (15) LE PROBLEME DE L'EUROPE CENTIRALE: p.' 47, Sources et documents tchecoslovaques, No. 24. 16) Stephen Osuslky, ClJOPIN, MAGY:ARff ET ~4-NGERM.NNISTIDS, Paris, 1918. SLOVAKIA 10 after the realiizaition of which, "we shall on'1y have to connect these two federaitioins with a bridge which once existed but collapsed under the blow of historic events. T,hiu:s would come to an end the Orang nach Osten, to German a:ggression to the ffiast, and Europe and the world could work in peaJCe" (17). The plan, however, was Oipposed by T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes. Another Sllovaik, Dr. Milan Hod'za, came forth with a d:irfferent plan, the so-called "Danube Plan." Fkst as Minister of Agriculture , later as Premier of the Ozecho-iSlo<vak Governmen t, Dr. Hodza endeavored to develop cooperation between the Central Eruropean nations and the consolidation of the oconomic situation in this pa1t of Europe- The climax of these endeavors was his "Danu!be Plan," which aimed to create, ·aJccording to Hodza's own words, "one single, great economic urut in Central Europe." This was to be attained by removing tariff ba.roiers and establishing a customs union, regu1'atmg agriculture and industrial production, reorganizin g the system of payments and transportation, etc. (18). The first steps in this dirootion were already made in 1937 by treaJties conduded between the indwidu.ail Danulbfan States and Bulgaria. Hodm's initiatiive found understand ing both in France and ffingla.nd, but Gemnany and Italy opposed it, thinking the plan was aimed against their influence in Central Europe, nay that it was an "effort to surround Germany," a:s the Germian press e,cpressed it. The plan failed not only 'beca;use orf this opposition, but also because of the crisis which began to aippear within the framework of the Little Entente and the developmen t of an inter-natioD.ial situation which tended in the opposite direction. The politico-mil itary actions of nationaHy socialist Germany and Mussolini's ltaly began to have far-reachim.g i:nd:iluenice on the whole of EUTope, but the most marked consequenc es began to appeax in Central and Souithea:stern Europe. Yugoslavia was 17) A. Ohervin, L'AUTRIOHE ET LA HONGRIE DE DE- MAIN, Paris, 1915. 18) Dr. Milan Hodza, i;,JDDERATI-ON IN CENTRAL EUROPE, pgs. 131-133. SLOVAKIA 11 the first to suffer the consequences froim the cha.rnged situation and, with Stojadinovic leading it, began to look toward Berlin. Mter a;n internal crisis and a change of governments, Rum-ani•a a'lso ibeca:m.e equaJil.y uncertain. The Little filntente, w'hioh •w as considered the pillar and guarantor of the OTder, created by pea:ce aigreements, went headlong into ruin. lit crashed even •b efore the Germans began their march into the DanuJbe basin and oould not prevent the colla;pse of the order built up in 1918, nor the political and economical hegemony of Hitler's Germany. UndoulbtecNy, the rea;sons for the collapse of the European system and, therefore, also of the Cenltral-European organization, were many- But it ca11!Ilot be denied that Hitler's plans and ructions in the Danube basin were suJbstantially facilitated by the political and economic conditions which governed there after 1918. Oonsequeinitly, the discontented nations, as predicted :ey Lansing, iif they did not work to overthrow that system, as did Hungary and Austria, then they certainly were not willing in the least to defend it, as was the case with c~echo-Slovatkiia a111d Yugoslavia. The dissolution of Czecho~Slova1kia was in fact caused by the German minoriity, as even Dr. Benes stated, because : In Munioh Czecho..:Slovakia was fatally wounded from the outside. " Munich, however, meant much more tha:n thaJt. "It opened the way along the Danulbe all the way to the Blacik Sea to German expamsion," as Winston Churchill said in the British Parliament O'l1 Oct. 5, 1938. Munich meant the end of the European system ,b uilt up by the •peace treaties of 19181920 and installed in Central Europe a Germ.an- Italian Russian co-dominiOIIl whioh, even though it did not last long, did bring new elements into the organization of the CentralEuropean area. Germany was in its politics consistent and adroit, and thus "milita;ry might, dwplomacy, propaganda and the feeling of helplessness before the preponderance of their neighbors, as well as the economic interests, were the causes of the voluntary or forced subordination of the Danulbian 12 SL0VAKlA nations, their new political orientation and cooperation with the Axis," says Graham Hutton (19). "•I n Belgrade, Bucharest and naturally in Sophia, kings and princes did not trust international obligations of collective security. They fuought tha,t every state must endeavor by its own means to serve the peace of all, buit t hat its first task ls to preserve its own peace" (20). And what 'hruppened in Prague was nothing else but what Dr. Benes had already told Minister Sfona in 1936: "If they (the French) aJbandon us without helping us in ·the face of German threats, we shall suI1prise the world by the limitless possilbilities of servility toward Berlin" (21) . This dissolution of the Versailles organization by German policies, whiich endeavored to make of this region a German "lebensraum," forced the representatives of the Central-European nations to return to the efforts to create a Cenitral-European federation, or confederation. A federalistic solution of Central-European problems seemed to be the only strong solution especial1.y when Gerniainy and Russia, with the pact of August 23, 1939, temporarily shared government over Central and Southeastern Europe, annexing territories, nay, even whole states and esta/t,lishing a dictatorship over them. In that situation even the most bigoted enemies of federalistic endeavors of Centr.a:l-Europe in the period between the two wars, politicians who ",p referred to see Hitler in Vienna than the Habsburgs," returned to the idea of creating a great federative unit in Central Europe after the end of the war. The Soviet-German Pact convinced even the nations, which in an effort to hold their own advantageous position in Central Europe wished its partition, that their own security, nay even their own existence in fact, could be guaranteed oltly by an intimate union of all the Central European nations. 19) Graihaim Hutton, LES NOUVEAUX DES'DINS DU DANiUBE, Paris, 1939. . 20) Gregoke Gafencu, DERNIERS J0URS DE L'EU'R0PE, p. 105. 21) Comte Sforza, ILLUS IONS ET REALITES DE L'EUR0PE, Neuch-atel 1944; p. 196. SLOVAKIA 13 Russia, wrote Gregoire, "revea~ed her face, which had nothlng encouragin g either fur her neig1hlbors or for a peaceful order of the world. The Moscow aigreement unmasked the Soviet Union, in whrch the cult of might and the practice of dou!ble..dealing so strikingly reminded one of the times of Catherine the Great ,a nd the ooarrs of the past centuries. 'It seemed that she obeys the ancient and mighty impulses, siimilrur to those, which drove the Gennan masses in the opposite direction, to the East. But the Russian aggression was at the same time more corufusilng and mysterious. Opposing every .Umitation not because the area which this aggression included was too narrow, lbut conversely beca,use the concepti:on of borders is alien to the nature of Russia" (22). It was, therefore, only natural, that in such a situation the plans of l.lIWying Central Europe on a federalistic basis were again revived and that together . with t!he representativ es of other Central-EUTdpeain nations the Slovvaks - those who fought on the side of the Mlies, as well as the political representat ives who remained at home will:ih the people and sought to lead it into •postwar Europe with as little loss as possible - endeavored to realize a federated Central Europe. On the side of the AUies, it was especiaAly the Slovak political group led by Dr. M. Hodfa and Peter Pridavo~, which led an open strwg,gle for these conceptions . In his book "Federatio n in Central Europe" H~a writes that already in Jainuary 1940 Slovalk political emigrants had come to an understand ing that they wowld endeavor to create a Central-Eu ropean federation. The fotliildation of this federation was to be the union between Poland, the Czech. lands and Slovakia. On January 23, 1942, there wais such an agreement cone'luded between the Polish and Czecho-Slovak g(?vemmen ts with the __ jntention that it wouJd be. the nudeu:s of a great Central-Eu ropean £-Oll22) Gregoire Gafeneu, PRELIMINA,:fRES DE LA -, GUERRE A L'EST, Fri-bourg, 1944. 1-4 SLOVAKIA federation. Matters common to all were to be foreign, military, economic, social and furancial affairs, as weH as transportation, communications and the postaJl. service (23). Milan Hod'za's book, published in 1942, contained all the more serious reasO!I1s for a federated Central IDuroipe. "WaT event'S in Central Europe," wrote Hodza, "dhviously fully vindi<:ate the idea <Yf a solidly org,anized futuTe cooperatron <Yf ahl those eight States whicih aTe placed in complete geogrruphic coherenice between Russia, Germany amd Irtaily. A federali.lzed Centrall Europe is one of the absolute necessi-ties of a new postwaT order." In the preface <Yf his >book, Hodza te1ls us that the Oentral-EuTopean federation should be composed of four Sl'O'Vainic and four non"Slovanic nations, which should £ind a new, great and sohd foundation for their own national lilfe, keeping in balance all possi!ble ra;cial and imperialistic aspirations in the broad territory, the consolidated system of whioh is to be the strongest contribution to the new arraingement of Europe. The federation proposed 1b y Hodza was supposed to rest on a customs union. Fina<n:ces, trade policies, foreign ·p olicy, defense, communioations were to be managed jointly. The p1'am also called for a Ministry of Federal Law 8Jlld a Ministry <Yf Trade Unions and Professional Associations. Altogether there were to be eight commQ!Il. ministries, forming the federal government, which would be headed by a chancellor appoiinted by the president af the federation. In the central goverrunent all the nations were to ·b e represented by ministers without 1portfolio. Ministers with pol'tfOllfo were to perform their functiooo in cooperation with the state secretaries representing all.I the federated nations. The president was to be elected first by the presidents of the national governments, then 1b y the congress of the federation for a period of one yeaT. The memlbers af congress were to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the national parliaments in the proportion of 23) F.r om the French text of the Treaty in the Stoc![,holm review L'AVENIR, Vol. 1, No. 2. SLOVAKIA one memlber for a million inhaib1tants. The ministers oif the federation, under the plan, could not be deputies of oongress. The solution ,p roposed iby Hod.fa would ha,v e a twofold advantage, wrote the "Voix des Peuples," the Swiss politicail review (Oct- 1944): "it would minimize the natio-nal antagonisms and would recreate the harmonius economic area, which !benefited Centrrul Europe before 1914. The sOilution, therefore, seems to be the wisest, because it is most advantageous for all the nations concerned." A positive stand to Hodfa's prnposal, on the assumption that SlO'Vlrukii:a iin the Europe confederation would figure as an ind~vidual member state, was truken by the main political o!I1gan in Slorva!kia, the "Slovfuk" (24), and in the Vatican diplomatic circles the interpreter of federalistic sqova,,k efforts was Ambassador Karol Sidor. At the beginniing af 1944, Dr. Ferdinand :Du11cansiky, university professoir and the first Fm·eign Minister of the Slovak Repulblic, published a technical study albout the problem of Centrail Euro;pe. The study ap:peaTed in the "Revue de droiit international, de sciences diplomatiques et politiques" (~fil annee, No. 1), putb lished in Gene,va. The status Which prevailed m Central Euro;pe up to 1938, led :Duvcansky to the log,i10al conclusion that a new Central Euro1p e must be orgaJnized on other fQ!Ulld:ations than those ()If 1'918 or those ruifteir that time; it must be organi:zed on the basis ()If coope:riation of the (Je,ntra!l-European niations and their equality. "We can imagine theoretically a cooperiati'On of the nations of Central Europe," wrote :DUTCam;ky, "either in a form of completely independent states, or in a form ()If close, mutual relation in a t.mrion of states. This cooperatiion would be directed by interna.tiona1 a:greement, or by a manner of federation in which every state would have •a special position defined by law." Campiete independence is, according .to :Dur1can:Sky, UJildou!btedly t!he most ad\.'amtageous. With regaro to the 1 24) Dr. Joseph Kirs:chlbaum, HODZ0V PLAN S'l'RED0-EUROPSKEJ F'EDERAOIE, article in tth e SLOVAK, Aug. 20, 1944. }6 SLOVAKIA ciromnsta:nce that the majority of the Central-European nations, as far as their number and the exitent of their territories, are small nations, this coU!ld mean, said Durcansky, certain dangers. Furthermore, tendencies to limit the sovereignty of small[ nations, endeavors to create laxge eoonomiJC units, the result of technical development and experience from previous wars that sma:ller nations could not defend their independence rb y being neutral - all these led to tlle creation of larger units. :Dutcansky continues: "From these motives there is talk aJbout more active cooperation which ought to guar-amtee lasting peace aind a greater prosperity- This cooperation cannot overstep the framework of a confederation the cooperation 'between independent states diirected by norms of international law. This solution gives guarantees of independence and freedom to the nations of CentralEurope, enaJbles a s01lurti:on of incidental disputes which could arise between the individual states of the confederation and, on the other hand, could defend Central IDurope against external attacks." WthaJt are the arguments 3/gain.st the federation of Central Europe? :Duircainsky points ~mt that ail such arguments rest on the psychologica:l situation in Central-Euroipe, the prejudices emanating from the past and the tendencies of certain nations to renew their former status. The development of war events, however, did not respect the federalistic tendencies of Central-European nations as much as it did during the first World War. Desp~¼ the P-01ish-OzechJSlovak Agreement, despite the positive stand of influential Anglo~Saxon circles and despite tlle general conviction (25) that the Central-European prgaLD!ization created in 191'8 was aib,solutely unsatisfact,:ory _, :t9-r,, ~h~ majority of Centra,l-European nations, as it also ·was for the rest of Europe, nevertheless at the end of 25) What the indivrldual Centra)-Europel).n na.tions thought Stojan Pribil!evil!, about federating Central Europe is told by: WORLD WITHOUT END, New York, 1939; Edmoll'd Demaltre in the review 1/A:VENIR; Gr. Gl\,fencu, PRElJIMlNAIRES DE LA GUERRE A L'EST; ~ - A. Mccartney; PROBLEMS OF THE DANUBE BASIN. SLOVAKIA 17 the war the very same states were renewed in their old forms, excepting maimed Poland and a smaller OzechoSlova:kia. The Altlantic Charter, the Charter of the United Nations, the natural rilght of every nation to its own state and the solemn prooLa.matioos of the waT years were qu'i.okly forgotten or e:,opediently a:bandoned. Furt:!hernnore, the dei1icate prolb'lem of the minorities began to lbe solved in a manner which was supported by the momenitary situation, in its co1I1Sequences, however, it ibroUJght new da:ngers for the Central-Ell.lropean area and ther~y for the whole of Europe. We are all witnesses of this today. The policy of the Soviet Union towaTd the n81tions of Central Euroipe and, therefore, feder81tiorral efforts did not die out even after World War II. m. THE PRESENT STRUGGLE OF THE SLOVAKS FOR A COMMONWEALTH OF CENTRAL-EUROPEAN NATIONS In 1945 Slova;kiia was occwpied by ,b oth the Russians and the Czechs, and the Communist-dOlminated regime installed there with the help of Moscow and Pr.ague reached to the very roots O!f the existence O!f the Slavalk nation. This irirefotaible fact has led the S1ov,a;k!s to fight uncompromisingly· from the very end of World War II :foT the liberation of Central Europe from alien hegemony rund for its federaJlirza:tion. The representatives O!f the Slovak nation are firmly convinced tha:t Central Europerun nations, if they do not waint to live under the hegemony of the one or the other otf their strong neig1hlbor,s, must unite in a larger · economic am.d stra:tegic unit. There i's no other solution. The entire politica1 and social development of Central EJurope from 1848 coofi:rnns this conclusfon. International policy, as well as the .p olfoy of individUJa1 1powers, is gu~ded by definilte coootants and lastinrg interests wihlch have Olll,tlived and shall out1we all changes o,f regimes. 'Dha:t is why today, just as in the past century, the CentraJl-IDuropeain nations must rookoo with the revival O!f German expansioo, 18 SLOVAKIA: which can change only its forms but not its aims, just as, on the other ham.d, Russi an JmperiaHsm haiS not changed and no regime will ever change it. The object of the expansionist endeavorrs of Russia and Gemniany is Central Europe, because of its geographical position and ethnic composition. These two powers have attaJdked each other for centuries for the control of the Centra~-Eumpeam nations. With the passage of centuries only the forms and pretenses of their imperiaJlism have changed. Pam.-Gerimanism and Pam-1Sllavism a1way:s followed and will follow the very sa:me pur,pose, and the only defense ,a grumst them is the unification of the Central-EJuropean nations on the basis of equality. ThaJt is the lesson of history. On the other hand, the experience of the ipast thirty years have proved that the system, which prevailed in Central and Eastern Europe s-ince 1918 and was again reestablished in 1945 by committing the very same mistakes, cotcld not giuai-antee Europe pea:ce and stalbNity, a:nd to the nations 'between Russia and Germany it could guarantee neither economic prosperity, nor security and freedom . ThUIS it hruppened that with the first blow of German imperiail~sm in 1938, as welil as a result of expansion of the Soviet Uni-on, the system succumbed, and with its downfall Ewrope and the wodd hruve boon thmst into dangerous crises, of whi:ch the first ended in war and the seoond threatoos with war. At the end of both waris, the nations of Central Europe were forced under regimes of terror, which were alien and hostile to the most fundamental cultur~d, po1i,tiical, economi:c and sociaiJ. traditions of all the CentraJl~Eurropeain natiions, who a.Te deeply devoted to the prindples of democr8Jcy and Christianity, the two concepts which are in prJndp1e at odds with both Nazism and materialistri1c OomJmunism. • 1 'I"housamds of Slov,ruk emigrants in Europe and elsewhere, am.d over a million Americruns of Slovak descent, have, therrefore, ,p roclaimed themselves since 194'5 for such a demooratic concepUon of a new Europe which would remove the o1d shortcomings of Europe, and especially of SLOVAKIA 19 Central Europe, and would rest on the principle of equality of au nations alild be united in a federative uni'on. The organiization of Central and Eastern Europe, as it has proved thusfar, could not fulfill its mission orf strength against imperialism which has threatened the pea:.ce of Europe for Centuries, but conversely, it even facilitated the victory orf these imperirulismsThe weakest part of this organization was CzechoSlovakia, a heterogenous amd polyglotic state, which gave an OipipOrlU'lle excuse to ,the · Third Reich for its expansion and, on the other hand, made cooperation impossible with other Central Euiropean nations, because the millions of inhrubitants of the minorities which were included a:gainst their will into the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Instead of strength against the "Drang nach Osten," the Czecho-Slovak Repwblic became in 191'8 the gateway for the German march into the Dam.Iibe Basin, a,nd in 1945 the bridge 01Ver which the Russian-Bolshevist expainsion penetrated into the very heart of Europe without any resistence. A new orga:nization of Central Europe is therefore, according to the v,i ews orf the representatives of the Slovak emigiration, rubsoiutely ne<:essary not only in the interest of CentraiJ.-Euroipean nations, but also, and in the very first ¢ace, in the interest oif the security orf Euroipe and the peace of the world. We rememib er that both world conflrugrations broke out in this a:rea. Until the extensive region between Germany and Russia is organized on a new basis, gua1ramteeing justice, equality and freedom to every nation, Europe cannot have secured its security and prosperity. Aggression of imperialism , tending to dominaite Central Euro-pe, and then the whole of Euro,pe, could again be facilitated, nay aggressors could even find opportune pretenses and allies, if any one of the Central-European nations were wronged and forced under the rule od' another. The poHticai and economic development from the end of World War I has made the nations of Central Europe conscious enough orf the fact that a more pernnanent SLOVAKIA !O and solid organization of this region demands that the r1ght to freedom and independence of every nation living there 'be recognired and respected. Being aiware of all this, the Slovak Lerugue of America, in the name of Americans of Slovak descent, as well as in the name of the Slovialk natioo, decl~re.d at its Congress in Oleve1and, Ohio, on Octdber 21, 1947, that "ibasicaliy it welcomes the idea of a federative union of the European nations." It was especially in agreement wiilth the thought of a fedei,aitive uni:on of the centra.1-IDuropean states, in which the nations of that part of Europe would find the prerequj.1s ities for peaceful coha/bitation, fruitful cooperation and effeicti.Jve defense of their individual and ool.lective interests. Of cou.rise, American Slovaks were for such an arrangement of Central Europe on the supposition that "the internal life of the indi,viduial member states amd their mu~ua.1 relationshi p ibe bui!l.t on the Christian principles of true democracy, mutual respect and solidarity," and if among the member states of this federation will be included "also Slovakia as an indrivid'l.Jlal , state, as an equiivalent state, as an equi,v alent and equal member." Slovak em~grants in Europe and elsewhere stand back of the same conceptions. They have so e~pressed themselves in numerous memoranda addressed to the Pe~e Conference, the United Nations, ind:ividua1l governments and to the represenitaltives of the various emigrant groups of the nations from behind the Iron Curtain. The Slovak nation never was am aggressor or imperi·a!list nation; it seeks nothing that does not rilghtfolly belong to it, and nothmg more than every naJtion, however large or small, has an inherent rig'hrt to .seek. The 'S lovaks are a deeply religious and democ-rati'c people, ruble and willing to cooperate with ·au nations of Europe who are determined to wipe out the pl,a gue oif Oommunism and fight for the freedom and independence of allil nati·ons. 1 It is, therefore, onl,y na,1:,ural that the representatiives of all the nations behintl the Iiron Curtain in emigration, among them aJlso Slo,va!k effii.gram.ts, are for the .remo,val SLOVAKIA 21 of the organizations and regimes of terror which call themsclves "1p eople's democracies." Just as the hitherto unhealthy arralillgement clid not satisfy the needs of the Central-European nations - .one in which practreally hailf the nations of Central Europe did not attain the valid!aition of the right of selrf-detevmination - just so· the system of totali1:arian ":people's democracies" does not satisfy and ,is not in aocord with the traditions of these nations. The ,p olitical and social chaniges, effected iby the 30year economic and socia!l development in t'his region of Europe, whether in regard to the spreaJd oif cidization among the broad masses, or in the social structure, chang~ ed the features <if Cenitral Europe to such an extent that in the future onily true demooracy, extended to the e{!onomic field as ,well, can b.e the system which woU!ld satisfy the · mentality, the spiritual foundiaition and the social needs of t'he natio!IllS of Central Europe. Ainy other system than the democratic, especially the totalitarian system of the " 1people's democracies," is opposed to the most basic mOTal and poiitioail traditi'ons of these countries and, therefore, could be instaJ11ed only ,b y force and maintained only br terror. The freedom of Europe, however, cannot be · Se{!Ured as long as one half of it is under a government of tert01r. On the other hand, the ipeaice of ' Etl!iope and , tbe world cannot be secured as long as Centra1 ·: Europe _i,'s not free and tmi.ted :in sUJCh a manner that '-'it ' could cfufend its own freedom and security .and thereby , also the seciirity of Eumpe Thi,s ios ipossible only if a United Staites of Central Euro,p e be:c~mes a reality in one foT-m or another, Hugh Seton-W:atson, in the int,vodUJCtion of his book "Eiastem Europe Between the Wars," stressed this point when he wrote: "IndividuaLEastern countries ·o.fifer ·interesting fields of study to the speda,list, but are · of smaJ.l importance in world politics. But the Eastern · European proiblem, the problem of the hundred millions,· is· one :of •the ma,jor problems of oor age. Each of the peoiples of ffiaJstern Europe must enjoy liiberty aind self-government if unrest is to be aivoided."  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 Central European Federation Plans Description An account of the resource Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 1-21 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Jozef M., 1913-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/3fccb11f4d283110b2fc8ee7a7bb96f2.pdf ab176c3e7fd44f306078bae227de8f92 PDF Text Text APRIL 195 3 VOL. Ill \1/f ,; '. :, ~ IN THilS ISSUE: SLOVAKIA AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN FEDERATION PLAN S THE SLOVAKS AND PRESIDENT EISENHOWER THE TRAGEDY OF GENERAL STEFANIK ANNIVERSARY OF A MURDER THE " RUSSIA FIRST" BOYS IN RADIO FREE EUROP E I.. , ; CA STLES OF SLOVAKIA : STRECNO . (.' A VOICE FOR SLO V A K I A i ! ; ) i COULD CZECHS AND SLOVAKS A GREE ? THE TRAGIC CASE OF DUSAN SLAVIK JOHN HOLL Y - PIONEER IN SLOVAK POETR Y Tf:I E SLOVAK TO N GUE SLOVAK ISSUES IN EVER Y LITTLE T OW N I MEDICINAL SPRINGS I N S LOVAKIA CZECHO-S L OVA K I A WHO SAID IT ? - PP. 25, 27, 30, 39, 44, 48, 52, 55, 57, 60, 62 Edited a nd compiled by ,'pf-ilLIP A. H ROBAK Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA �SLOV A.KIA 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 in dependence. As Americans, members of the Gluvak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all nat:i:ons, 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: SLOV AKIA Box 150 Middletown, Pa. Printed in the U.S. A. JEDNOTA PRESS Middletown, Pa. � APRIL 195 3 VOL. Ill \1/f ,; '. :, ~ IN THilS ISSUE: SLOVAKIA AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN FEDERATION PLAN S THE SLOVAKS AND PRESIDENT EISENHOWER THE TRAGEDY OF GENERAL STEFANIK ANNIVERSARY OF A MURDER THE " RUSSIA FIRST" BOYS IN RADIO FREE EUROP E I.. , ; CA STLES OF SLOVAKIA : STRECNO . (.' A VOICE FOR SLO V A K I A i ! ; ) i COULD CZECHS AND SLOVAKS A GREE ? THE TRAGIC CASE OF DUSAN SLAVIK JOHN HOLL Y - PIONEER IN SLOVAK POETR Y Tf:I E SLOVAK TO N GUE SLOVAK ISSUES IN EVER Y LITTLE T OW N I MEDICINAL SPRINGS I N S LOVAKIA CZECHO-S L OVA K I A WHO SAID IT ? - PP. 25, 27, 30, 39, 44, 48, 52, 55, 57, 60, 62 Edited a nd compiled by ,'pf-ilLIP A. H ROBAK Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA �SLOV A.KIA 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 in dependence. As Americans, members of the Gluvak League of America firmly believe that the Slovak nation, just as all nat:i:ons, 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: SLOV AKIA 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 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</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 1953 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. 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. 3, No. 1 (6) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8e67f5e893ce8286891d56acdce08984.pdf 551042d3dab0dbc48cb2bdd4e9c1b5de PDF Text Text Officers of the Slovak League of America (Organized 1907 in Cleveland, Ohio.) • John J . S i rotnak 610-612 Lincoln 'l'rust Bldg. Scranton 3, Pa. Honorary President Or. Peter P. H letko 1943 W. 48th Street ( 'h ic:ago 9, Illi no is Dr. Julius Janci 215 East Mason Street Owosso, Mich. President Ph ilip A. Hrobak P . 0. Box 150. Midd letown, P a. St e phan ie 0. Husek Georgian Court College Vice-President Lakewood, N. J. Jaco b Kocis ADVISORY COUNCIL 15~7 - 167th Street Michael J . Vargovich Hammond , Ind. National Presid ent First Catholic Slovak Union \'ice-President of U . S. A. J ulia Krajcovlc 1648 W. 18th St., Chicago 8, Ill. Helen Kocan National President Recording Secretary First Catholic S lovak Fra ncis H rusovsky Ladies Union 2900 East Boulevard Frank Sobus Cleveland 4, Ohio National President Slovak Catholic Sokol Secretar y-Treas urer Mil an V. Blaze k 4205 W. Cull erton Street Chicago 23, Ill. Stephen ·J . Tkach ational P r esident Penna. Slovak Union EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Gabriel-1 E. Vavrek National P r esid ent Ladies Pennsylvania S lovak Union Pa ul P . Jamriska S10 Montooth S treet Pittsb u rgh 10, P a. J oseph Prusa 205 Madison St. , Passaic, N . J. John Rozboril Natioqal President Slovak Catholic Cadet Union SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS ( Affil iated with th e Slovak Lea gu e of Am erica) JEDNOTA Middletown, Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA Scranton, Pa. ZENSKA JEDNOTA Cleveland, Ohio BRATST VO Wilk es-Ba rre, Pa. SLOVENSKE NOVI NY Cleveland , Ohio ZORNICKA Wilk es-Barre. Pa. KATOLiCKY SOKO L Pa~~aic-, N . J . SVORNOST Whi1ak er, Pa. OSADNE HLASY Chicago, Ill. SLOVAK V AMERIKE Wh.iting, Ind. �uins of Pusty Hrad (Desolate Castle), originally called Zvolen Castle, aJbove the city of Zvolen, Slovakia. � Officers of the Slovak League of America (Organized 1907 in Cleveland, Ohio.) • John J . S i rotnak 610-612 Lincoln 'l'rust Bldg. Scranton 3, Pa. Honorary President Or. Peter P. H letko 1943 W. 48th Street ( 'h ic:ago 9, Illi no is Dr. Julius Janci 215 East Mason Street Owosso, Mich. President Ph ilip A. Hrobak P . 0. Box 150. Midd letown, P a. St e phan ie 0. Husek Georgian Court College Vice-President Lakewood, N. J. Jaco b Kocis ADVISORY COUNCIL 15~7 - 167th Street Michael J . Vargovich Hammond , Ind. National Presid ent First Catholic Slovak Union \'ice-President of U . S. A. J ulia Krajcovlc 1648 W. 18th St., Chicago 8, Ill. Helen Kocan National President Recording Secretary First Catholic S lovak Fra ncis H rusovsky Ladies Union 2900 East Boulevard Frank Sobus Cleveland 4, Ohio National President Slovak Catholic Sokol Secretar y-Treas urer Mil an V. Blaze k 4205 W. Cull erton Street Chicago 23, Ill. Stephen ·J . Tkach ational P r esident Penna. Slovak Union EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Gabriel-1 E. Vavrek National P r esid ent Ladies Pennsylvania S lovak Union Pa ul P . Jamriska S10 Montooth S treet Pittsb u rgh 10, P a. J oseph Prusa 205 Madison St. , Passaic, N . J. John Rozboril Natioqal President Slovak Catholic Cadet Union SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS ( Affil iated with th e Slovak Lea gu e of Am erica) JEDNOTA Middletown, Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA Scranton, Pa. ZENSKA JEDNOTA Cleveland, Ohio BRATST VO Wilk es-Ba rre, Pa. SLOVENSKE NOVI NY Cleveland , Ohio ZORNICKA Wilk es-Barre. Pa. KATOLiCKY SOKO L Pa~~aic-, N . J . SVORNOST Whi1ak er, Pa. OSADNE HLASY Chicago, Ill. SLOVAK V AMERIKE Wh.iting, Ind. �uins of Pusty Hrad (Desolate Castle), originally called Zvolen Castle, aJbove the city of Zvolen, 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 Ruins of Pustý Hrad (Desolate Castle), originally called Zvolen Castle, above the city of Zvolen, 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 Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13) Description An account of the resource includes photo of ruins of Pustý Hrad (Desolate Castle), originally called Zvolen Castle, above the city of Zvolen, Slovakia Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/44ae109f3693bc37ab8a05b714053322.pdf d080a2570ff320c01dc77ef764d10187 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 95 JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION The mighty of the UiSSR are not respecters of persons. They use all means and all persons at an times to attain their dia1bolical ends. They did just that in Russia, in POiland, Hungary, filstlon:ia, LitJhuiania, La'tV1ila, Ohina, Korea, etc., etc. Everything a;ccording to the master pla!ll. OzechoSlovakia was no exception. The Mosoow Reds and their Czech stooges in Czecho~Slova'kia acted according to that plan. Dr. Edward Benes and John Masarylk were used by the men of the Kremlin to deceive the West and even themselives. Dr. Benes's pro-Soviet ipolicy brought ruin to CzechoSlovakia and enhanced the position of the Communists in Europe. Benes should have known better, because he cl-aimed thiat he knew Stalin and the USSR betJter 1:Jhan did the great statesmen of the West. If he did, then he deliberately betmyed the Czechs and Slo,vaJks of Ozecho-Sloivakia, nay even the whole of Europe, to Moscow. On March 1, 1948, John Masaryk, the little son of the great father, was interviewed by the editor Oif the French paper '''L'ORDRE." What he said then will certainly never be forgotten ,b y the Slovaks, but should be remembered by all peoples of the free West as well. The interview: ''Mr. Minist.er, how do you judge the Anglo-American- French proclamation?" Masa,ry;k: "It is easy to make a proclamation whereby the politics Oif a foreign state is condemned. The people of the Ozechoslova!k Republic has spoken. The change in our conception of democracy is new and notable. I always went along with the peo,ple and shall go ailong with it eiven today!" "How did the crisis come about?" Masaryk: "There were some people in our State who thought that we coUild govern without the Oommunists, or a:gainst them. I haive always ,p assionately denied this thesis. The crisis was evoked by the resignation of three parties of the National F'ro1I1t. Today we have a new National Front. It is necessary to c<>Qperate with it. The new government �96 SLOVAKIA was installed in a constitutional manner and shall conduct itself democraticalli y accoroing to the Constitution." "How did the change in government taJke place?" Masarytk: "Changes of this kind, such as is ours, are usuaUy connected with a cirvil war and great saicrifices. The nations of the Czechosl:ovruk Republic are 1peace-iloiving. They desire a lasting pea;ce. We in Czechoslovak ia know what a war is amd, therefore, foolish is the man who thinik,s that some change can talke place in this our love fo:r peace. Our na,tionrs frequent1iy iplayed an important role in the history of Europe. OUT ipeople is and shaH remain democratic, as I have said, and, therefore, I 1believe in it and love it. I entered into this Government as a convinced democrat and I shall seIWe our new democracy as long as my strength holds out." In the West it was thought that there was no democracy, no freedom, no legal certainty in Comm!Uilistic CzechoSlova;kia. But Ma:sar,yik ridiculed the thought. Ma:saryk declared that he wanted to ser.ve the "new" demO'Cracy as long as his streillgth held out. Well, he did not sexwe long. Moscow ma;d,e the de:cision. Wi11 the West ,p rofit 'by that lesson? Or wfil,l Washington, London and Paris continue to be deceiirved by the fol,]1owers of Dr. Benes's ,p ro-Sorviet poHcy who are nOIW organized in the so~called "Cooncil of Free Ozechoslo-v;aJki'a" ? Benes and Masaryk are gone. They went out of this world without repenting the evil they had perpetrated a:gainst the Slova:k and Czech nations, nay, against the whole oif Christian Europe. The Slorvaik nation, terrorized and crucified by the "new" democracy of Benes and Masary1k and their followers (Zffillkl, Rilplm., IAttri~h, etc.) , cries out :fTOim under the "democratic" gaUows and from the "democratic" concentration camps to afil Slovaks and to an the peoples of free democracies: Lettrich, Zen!k~, R~pka and the other Benes "Czechosfov3Jk s" do not and cannot speaik in our name, but only in the name oif the incredible crimes they ha;ve commi~ ted a:gainst the Slovwk n~tion in tJhe name of ,t he "new" democracy, in the name of inrternationa:l Communism which they heliped to install in OUT helpless and haipless Slova!kia. � SLOVAKIA 95 JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION The mighty of the UiSSR are not respecters of persons. They use all means and all persons at an times to attain their dia1bolical ends. They did just that in Russia, in POiland, Hungary, filstlon:ia, LitJhuiania, La'tV1ila, Ohina, Korea, etc., etc. Everything a;ccording to the master pla!ll. OzechoSlovakia was no exception. The Mosoow Reds and their Czech stooges in Czecho~Slova'kia acted according to that plan. Dr. Edward Benes and John Masarylk were used by the men of the Kremlin to deceive the West and even themselives. Dr. Benes's pro-Soviet ipolicy brought ruin to CzechoSlovakia and enhanced the position of the Communists in Europe. Benes should have known better, because he cl-aimed thiat he knew Stalin and the USSR betJter 1:Jhan did the great statesmen of the West. If he did, then he deliberately betmyed the Czechs and Slo,vaJks of Ozecho-Sloivakia, nay even the whole of Europe, to Moscow. On March 1, 1948, John Masaryk, the little son of the great father, was interviewed by the editor Oif the French paper '''L'ORDRE." What he said then will certainly never be forgotten ,b y the Slovaks, but should be remembered by all peoples of the free West as well. The interview: ''Mr. Minist.er, how do you judge the Anglo-American- French proclamation?" Masa,ry;k: "It is easy to make a proclamation whereby the politics Oif a foreign state is condemned. The people of the Ozechoslova!k Republic has spoken. The change in our conception of democracy is new and notable. I always went along with the peo,ple and shall go ailong with it eiven today!" "How did the crisis come about?" Masaryk: "There were some people in our State who thought that we coUild govern without the Oommunists, or a:gainst them. I haive always ,p assionately denied this thesis. The crisis was evoked by the resignation of three parties of the National F'ro1I1t. Today we have a new National Front. It is necessary to c<>Qperate with it. The new government �96 SLOVAKIA was installed in a constitutional manner and shall conduct itself democraticalli y accoroing to the Constitution." "How did the change in government taJke place?" Masarytk: "Changes of this kind, such as is ours, are usuaUy connected with a cirvil war and great saicrifices. The nations of the Czechosl:ovruk Republic are 1peace-iloiving. They desire a lasting pea;ce. We in Czechoslovak ia know what a war is amd, therefore, foolish is the man who thinik,s that some change can talke place in this our love fo:r peace. Our na,tionrs frequent1iy iplayed an important role in the history of Europe. OUT ipeople is and shaH remain democratic, as I have said, and, therefore, I 1believe in it and love it. I entered into this Government as a convinced democrat and I shall seIWe our new democracy as long as my strength holds out." In the West it was thought that there was no democracy, no freedom, no legal certainty in Comm!Uilistic CzechoSlova;kia. But Ma:sar,yik ridiculed the thought. Ma:saryk declared that he wanted to ser.ve the "new" demO'Cracy as long as his streillgth held out. Well, he did not sexwe long. Moscow ma;d,e the de:cision. Wi11 the West ,p rofit 'by that lesson? Or wfil,l Washington, London and Paris continue to be deceiirved by the fol,]1owers of Dr. Benes's ,p ro-Sorviet poHcy who are nOIW organized in the so~called "Cooncil of Free Ozechoslo-v;aJki'a" ? Benes and Masaryk are gone. They went out of this world without repenting the evil they had perpetrated a:gainst the Slova:k and Czech nations, nay, against the whole oif Christian Europe. The Slorvaik nation, terrorized and crucified by the "new" democracy of Benes and Masary1k and their followers (Zffillkl, Rilplm., IAttri~h, etc.) , cries out :fTOim under the "democratic" gaUows and from the "democratic" concentration camps to afil Slovaks and to an the peoples of free democracies: Lettrich, Zen!k~, R~pka and the other Benes "Czechosfov3Jk s" do not and cannot speaik in our name, but only in the name oif the incredible crimes they ha;ve commi~ ted a:gainst the Slovwk n~tion in tJhe name of ,t he "new" democracy, in the name of inrternationa:l Communism which they heliped to install in OUT helpless and haipless Slova!kia. � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 95 JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION The mighty of the UiSSR are not respecters of persons. They use all means and all persons at an times to attain their dia1bolical ends. They did just that in Russia, in POiland, Hungary, filstlon:ia, LitJhuiania, La'tV1ila, Ohina, Korea, etc., etc. Everything a;ccording to the master pla!ll. OzechoSlovakia was no exception. The Mosoow Reds and their Czech stooges in Czecho~Slova'kia acted according to that plan. Dr. Edward Benes and John Masarylk were used by the men of the Kremlin to deceive the West and even themselives. Dr. Benes's pro-Soviet ipolicy brought ruin to CzechoSlovakia and enhanced the position of the Communists in Europe. Benes should have known better, because he cl-aimed thiat he knew Stalin and the USSR betJter 1:Jhan did the great statesmen of the West. If he did, then he deliberately betmyed the Czechs and Slo,vaJks of Ozecho-Sloivakia, nay even the whole of Europe, to Moscow. On March 1, 1948, John Masaryk, the little son of the great father, was interviewed by the editor Oif the French paper '''L'ORDRE." What he said then will certainly never be forgotten ,b y the Slovaks, but should be remembered by all peoples of the free West as well. The interview: ''Mr. Minist.er, how do you judge the Anglo-American- French proclamation?" Masa,ry;k: "It is easy to make a proclamation whereby the politics Oif a foreign state is condemned. The people of the Ozechoslova!k Republic has spoken. The change in our conception of democracy is new and notable. I always went along with the peo,ple and shall go ailong with it eiven today!" "How did the crisis come about?" Masaryk: "There were some people in our State who thought that we coUild govern without the Oommunists, or a:gainst them. I haive always ,p assionately denied this thesis. The crisis was evoked by the resignation of three parties of the National F'ro1I1t. Today we have a new National Front. It is necessary to c<>Qperate with it. The new government 96 SLOVAKIA was installed in a constitutional manner and shall conduct itself democraticalli y accoroing to the Constitution." "How did the change in government taJke place?" Masarytk: "Changes of this kind, such as is ours, are usuaUy connected with a cirvil war and great saicrifices. The nations of the Czechosl:ovruk Republic are 1peace-iloiving. They desire a lasting pea;ce. We in Czechoslovak ia know what a war is amd, therefore, foolish is the man who thinik,s that some change can talke place in this our love fo:r peace. Our na,tionrs frequent1iy iplayed an important role in the history of Europe. OUT ipeople is and shaH remain democratic, as I have said, and, therefore, I 1believe in it and love it. I entered into this Government as a convinced democrat and I shall seIWe our new democracy as long as my strength holds out." In the West it was thought that there was no democracy, no freedom, no legal certainty in Comm!Uilistic CzechoSlova;kia. But Ma:sar,yik ridiculed the thought. Ma:saryk declared that he wanted to ser.ve the "new" demO'Cracy as long as his streillgth held out. Well, he did not sexwe long. Moscow ma;d,e the de:cision. Wi11 the West ,p rofit 'by that lesson? Or wfil,l Washington, London and Paris continue to be deceiirved by the fol,]1owers of Dr. Benes's ,p ro-Sorviet poHcy who are nOIW organized in the so~called "Cooncil of Free Ozechoslo-v;aJki'a" ? Benes and Masaryk are gone. They went out of this world without repenting the evil they had perpetrated a:gainst the Slova:k and Czech nations, nay, against the whole oif Christian Europe. The Slorvaik nation, terrorized and crucified by the "new" democracy of Benes and Masary1k and their followers (Zffillkl, Rilplm., IAttri~h, etc.) , cries out :fTOim under the "democratic" gaUows and from the "democratic" concentration camps to afil Slovaks and to an the peoples of free democracies: Lettrich, Zen!k~, R~pka and the other Benes "Czechosfov3Jk s" do not and cannot speaik in our name, but only in the name oif the incredible crimes they ha;ve commi~ ted a:gainst the Slovwk n~tion in tJhe name of ,t he "new" democracy, in the name of inrternationa:l Communism which they heliped to install in OUT helpless and haipless Slova!kia.  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 John Masaryk Was No Exception Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 95-96 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/62624c5173e8d5a68159941447324162.pdf 8303d0bf4edfec408f97127c03b0584b PDF Text Text 92 SLOVAKIA the Communists in February 1948. He went into exile in 1949, but returned voluntanily to Czecho-Slova:kia in December 1953. He was employed secretly by Radio Free Europe. Since leaving Czecho-,Slova,kia, Dr. Ripka has advocated a poHcy of "co-existence" in the following terms: "Today more than ever I persist in bel ieving that a free and independent Cz·ecihoslov,a kia cannot exist except in a balanced Europe in which the Western Powers and Russia are trying to live on good terms. Even the events of February 1948 h ave not been able to shake this conviction, which remain s the keystone of my whole co nception of for eign policy." (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, 1~50, p, 74) This is the record of an exile politician living in the United States and paid a salary from funds corntriihwted to fight Communism. It is for the reader to drnw hi:s own conclusions om the, /basis of this record. - (Overseas Research, Inc., Special Bulletin, Nov. 28, 1954, Washington, D. C.) • • • CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: 'JIHE OLD CASTLE ( Stary Hrad) The ruins of th£s ,o ld castle still .stand on a ,p recipitous rock aJbave the river Vah. The structure, named the Old Castle of Trencin (!Stary Hrad) 'belongs to the c1ass of fortresses which were lb:uilt ,prabaJbly during the time af tihe Great Mornvian EmpiTe. Tr,a,veli!ng against the current of the Vah, Stary Hlrad cam. be seen on the left side. We are told that it was once called Nez;budsky Oastle, which attests to -i ts antiquity. 01dest arvailaJble documents refer to it as the Old Castle ("Castmm Stargra,d"); they teU us that it was -gi,v en to Bohumir Seibaslarvorvilc aJbout 1250 for bravery displayed in -the battle against the Tatars neaT S·rujaiva. Stary Hrad is more ancient than Streicno. The structure itself suggests that it was !built ,3J'bout the same time as the Devin and Trencin castles,, i.e., during the Roman era. Bohumir ,w as lord of the castle until 1'266 ; Count Peter of Hont from 1 267 to the end of the thirteenth century, when the Balasa family gained ownership. Then iMatthew Calk, "Lord of the Vah and the Tatras," -besieged and sei'Zed it, hut did not keep it for long, because we learn that a certain Thomas Carpi exchanged it in 1'323 for his property 1 �SLOVAKIA 93 in :Darmoty. Donte, administrator (2upan) of Zvolen County became owner of it earl;y in the 15th century for a short time, when King Lottci.s donated it to Sandzi'Voj, a Polish nobleman, because he had he1ped his daughter Hedwig gain the Polish throne. Sandlzirvod, . however, remained in SlovaJkia only a short time. !Stary Hrad iwas donated to Queen ElitzaJbeth, wifo oif King Allbrecht (1439). 'Iwo year.s later the PoTIJgrac clan of Svaty Mikulas occ,upied Stary Hrad and Strecno; the family was loyal to Jiskra of Brandys. The Pongrac clan terrorized the entire Vah Valley. John Hlunady of TransyJvarnia allied himself with Po.ngrac to fiight the iking, who had procliaimed him a rebel. Pongrac was c3JPtured in Budin and condemned to jail for life; his companions iwerre hanged lby order of King Vlooisla;v. After Hun,ady made up with the iking, he entreated him to free ,Pcmgrac so that he might lead the fight against the Turks who were 'Plundering the Balkans. The expedition against the Tur.ks was disastrous for the Christians, but Pongrac escaped to· return home safely. A short time. later, with the help of Komororvsky, administrator of Liptorv County, Pongrac regained. Stary Hrad and Stre1Cno, and then seized Branc. Pongrac and his men made se,vera.J predatory ex'Peditions into Poland and caused ~ing Cazimir to complain to the HungaTian Estates, demanding that they do something aJbout the rdl:Jber knight. The ,Diet in .Segedin decided to punish Pongrac, and Ulrich Cilslky was delegated to undertake the tasik (1449). But, it seems, Cils.'ky did not measure up to it, because the sorties into Poland continued and he himself was murdered in Belgrade, in. 1456. According to the record, Pongrac was proibaJbly needed by the king, who was willing not only to forget his transgressions, but even made him the Zupan of Liptorv County. When Ladisilav Hurnady ,w as beheaded in 1'456, Pongrac joined Uip with rhis uncle Siladi and King Mathias recogruzed: him a1S1 lord orf Stary Hrad, 1Stre:eno and Brame. After Pongrfoc, the ,oiwners of Stary Hrad changed. frequently. We find the Zapolskys, Takolys and Rakoczis among them. In time it lost its strategic significance, was aJbandoned and �94 SLOVAKIA foll into ruin. Since the road leading through the valley is on the other side of the V ah, 1Stary Hrad i,s seldom visited. What is left of it hangs like an eagle's nest albove the aibyss, crumlbling aiway stone lb.y stone and falling into the foam.y waters of the V ah. The ;neighlboring rock Which towers aJbove the ruins of St,a ry Hrad is called Margaret. Legend tells us how it acquired its name. The Slo'VaJks of IStrecno say that a come-ly widow of S ~ o had a very bea.utifol step-daughter named Margaret. They got alon,g ve;ry nicely until love intervened. I:t so happened that a handsome young man, employed on the estate of the wido.w, became the obd·e ct of her affections. But the yollll1g handsome one prefer.red to cast his eyes upon the !beautiful Margaret and scorn her step-mother. [Hurt and angered, the widow decided to do away with Margaret. One day the ,w idow sent her daughter on an errand to relatives in. Vru1lky and ordered her to return the same evening. Retwrning home, Margaret tripped gayly along the 'beaiten. path near the Vah, singill'g her favorite SlovaJk melodies. As she cliirn)bed the rooky slope, Margaret paused several times to .r est. When she reached the summit of the rook, a po.mt where the path comes dangerously close to the edge of. the c1i!ff, Maragret paused again a.n.d gazed in wonderment on the bea.JUtiful !Valley 1beloiW. IBeifore the pooc girl couid realize what had happened, she was hurtling through space into the chu.rni.Il!g waters of the Vah below. The 1Vengelful, murderous widorw, questioned by the handsome one aJbout /Margaret, replied evasilvely a.n.d roused his suspicions. When the 1battered, cold, still body of Margaret was found se1Veral days later, caught ibetween the rocks, her lOIVer cried hysterically for diaJy s and finally lOSJt control of hi-s mind. But Ma:rgaret's mocderous stepmother did not gain her end. The handsome yoll'Ilg man, who had become Margaret's lover, never reooivered his mind. iHla!vinig learned the a,wful truth, he roamed aimlessly on the rook, from which hist loved one was hurtled to her death, until he also perished. &om that day to this the rock is called Margaret. � 92 SLOVAKIA the Communists in February 1948. He went into exile in 1949, but returned voluntanily to Czecho-Slova:kia in December 1953. He was employed secretly by Radio Free Europe. Since leaving Czecho-,Slova,kia, Dr. Ripka has advocated a poHcy of "co-existence" in the following terms: "Today more than ever I persist in bel ieving that a free and independent Cz·ecihoslov,a kia cannot exist except in a balanced Europe in which the Western Powers and Russia are trying to live on good terms. Even the events of February 1948 h ave not been able to shake this conviction, which remain s the keystone of my whole co nception of for eign policy." (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, 1~50, p, 74) This is the record of an exile politician living in the United States and paid a salary from funds corntriihwted to fight Communism. It is for the reader to drnw hi:s own conclusions om the, /basis of this record. - (Overseas Research, Inc., Special Bulletin, Nov. 28, 1954, Washington, D. C.) • • • CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: 'JIHE OLD CASTLE ( Stary Hrad) The ruins of th£s ,o ld castle still .stand on a ,p recipitous rock aJbave the river Vah. The structure, named the Old Castle of Trencin (!Stary Hrad) 'belongs to the c1ass of fortresses which were lb:uilt ,prabaJbly during the time af tihe Great Mornvian EmpiTe. Tr,a,veli!ng against the current of the Vah, Stary Hlrad cam. be seen on the left side. We are told that it was once called Nez;budsky Oastle, which attests to -i ts antiquity. 01dest arvailaJble documents refer to it as the Old Castle ("Castmm Stargra,d"); they teU us that it was -gi,v en to Bohumir Seibaslarvorvilc aJbout 1250 for bravery displayed in -the battle against the Tatars neaT S·rujaiva. Stary Hrad is more ancient than Streicno. The structure itself suggests that it was !built ,3J'bout the same time as the Devin and Trencin castles,, i.e., during the Roman era. Bohumir ,w as lord of the castle until 1'266 ; Count Peter of Hont from 1 267 to the end of the thirteenth century, when the Balasa family gained ownership. Then iMatthew Calk, "Lord of the Vah and the Tatras," -besieged and sei'Zed it, hut did not keep it for long, because we learn that a certain Thomas Carpi exchanged it in 1'323 for his property 1 �SLOVAKIA 93 in :Darmoty. Donte, administrator (2upan) of Zvolen County became owner of it earl;y in the 15th century for a short time, when King Lottci.s donated it to Sandzi'Voj, a Polish nobleman, because he had he1ped his daughter Hedwig gain the Polish throne. Sandlzirvod, . however, remained in SlovaJkia only a short time. !Stary Hrad iwas donated to Queen ElitzaJbeth, wifo oif King Allbrecht (1439). 'Iwo year.s later the PoTIJgrac clan of Svaty Mikulas occ,upied Stary Hrad and Strecno; the family was loyal to Jiskra of Brandys. The Pongrac clan terrorized the entire Vah Valley. John Hlunady of TransyJvarnia allied himself with Po.ngrac to fiight the iking, who had procliaimed him a rebel. Pongrac was c3JPtured in Budin and condemned to jail for life; his companions iwerre hanged lby order of King Vlooisla;v. After Hun,ady made up with the iking, he entreated him to free ,Pcmgrac so that he might lead the fight against the Turks who were 'Plundering the Balkans. The expedition against the Tur.ks was disastrous for the Christians, but Pongrac escaped to· return home safely. A short time. later, with the help of Komororvsky, administrator of Liptorv County, Pongrac regained. Stary Hrad and Stre1Cno, and then seized Branc. Pongrac and his men made se,vera.J predatory ex'Peditions into Poland and caused ~ing Cazimir to complain to the HungaTian Estates, demanding that they do something aJbout the rdl:Jber knight. The ,Diet in .Segedin decided to punish Pongrac, and Ulrich Cilslky was delegated to undertake the tasik (1449). But, it seems, Cils.'ky did not measure up to it, because the sorties into Poland continued and he himself was murdered in Belgrade, in. 1456. According to the record, Pongrac was proibaJbly needed by the king, who was willing not only to forget his transgressions, but even made him the Zupan of Liptorv County. When Ladisilav Hurnady ,w as beheaded in 1'456, Pongrac joined Uip with rhis uncle Siladi and King Mathias recogruzed: him a1S1 lord orf Stary Hrad, 1Stre:eno and Brame. After Pongrfoc, the ,oiwners of Stary Hrad changed. frequently. We find the Zapolskys, Takolys and Rakoczis among them. In time it lost its strategic significance, was aJbandoned and �94 SLOVAKIA foll into ruin. Since the road leading through the valley is on the other side of the V ah, 1Stary Hrad i,s seldom visited. What is left of it hangs like an eagle's nest albove the aibyss, crumlbling aiway stone lb.y stone and falling into the foam.y waters of the V ah. The ;neighlboring rock Which towers aJbove the ruins of St,a ry Hrad is called Margaret. Legend tells us how it acquired its name. The Slo'VaJks of IStrecno say that a come-ly widow of S ~ o had a very bea.utifol step-daughter named Margaret. They got alon,g ve;ry nicely until love intervened. I:t so happened that a handsome young man, employed on the estate of the wido.w, became the obd·e ct of her affections. But the yollll1g handsome one prefer.red to cast his eyes upon the !beautiful Margaret and scorn her step-mother. [Hurt and angered, the widow decided to do away with Margaret. One day the ,w idow sent her daughter on an errand to relatives in. Vru1lky and ordered her to return the same evening. Retwrning home, Margaret tripped gayly along the 'beaiten. path near the Vah, singill'g her favorite SlovaJk melodies. As she cliirn)bed the rooky slope, Margaret paused several times to .r est. When she reached the summit of the rook, a po.mt where the path comes dangerously close to the edge of. the c1i!ff, Maragret paused again a.n.d gazed in wonderment on the bea.JUtiful !Valley 1beloiW. IBeifore the pooc girl couid realize what had happened, she was hurtling through space into the chu.rni.Il!g waters of the Vah below. The 1Vengelful, murderous widorw, questioned by the handsome one aJbout /Margaret, replied evasilvely a.n.d roused his suspicions. When the 1battered, cold, still body of Margaret was found se1Veral days later, caught ibetween the rocks, her lOIVer cried hysterically for diaJy s and finally lOSJt control of hi-s mind. But Ma:rgaret's mocderous stepmother did not gain her end. The handsome yoll'Ilg man, who had become Margaret's lover, never reooivered his mind. iHla!vinig learned the a,wful truth, he roamed aimlessly on the rook, from which hist loved one was hurtled to her death, until he also perished. &om that day to this the rock is called Margaret. � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 92 SLOVAKIA the Communists in February 1948. He went into exile in 1949, but returned voluntanily to Czecho-Slova:kia in December 1953. He was employed secretly by Radio Free Europe. Since leaving Czecho-,Slova,kia, Dr. Ripka has advocated a poHcy of "co-existence" in the following terms: "Today more than ever I persist in bel ieving that a free and independent Cz·ecihoslov,a kia cannot exist except in a balanced Europe in which the Western Powers and Russia are trying to live on good terms. Even the events of February 1948 h ave not been able to shake this conviction, which remain s the keystone of my whole co nception of for eign policy." (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, 1~50, p, 74) This is the record of an exile politician living in the United States and paid a salary from funds corntriihwted to fight Communism. It is for the reader to drnw hi:s own conclusions om the, /basis of this record. - (Overseas Research, Inc., Special Bulletin, Nov. 28, 1954, Washington, D. C.) • • • CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: 'JIHE OLD CASTLE ( Stary Hrad) The ruins of th£s ,o ld castle still .stand on a ,p recipitous rock aJbave the river Vah. The structure, named the Old Castle of Trencin (!Stary Hrad) 'belongs to the c1ass of fortresses which were lb:uilt ,prabaJbly during the time af tihe Great Mornvian EmpiTe. Tr,a,veli!ng against the current of the Vah, Stary Hlrad cam. be seen on the left side. We are told that it was once called Nez;budsky Oastle, which attests to -i ts antiquity. 01dest arvailaJble documents refer to it as the Old Castle ("Castmm Stargra,d"); they teU us that it was -gi,v en to Bohumir Seibaslarvorvilc aJbout 1250 for bravery displayed in -the battle against the Tatars neaT S·rujaiva. Stary Hrad is more ancient than Streicno. The structure itself suggests that it was !built ,3J'bout the same time as the Devin and Trencin castles,, i.e., during the Roman era. Bohumir ,w as lord of the castle until 1'266 ; Count Peter of Hont from 1 267 to the end of the thirteenth century, when the Balasa family gained ownership. Then iMatthew Calk, "Lord of the Vah and the Tatras," -besieged and sei'Zed it, hut did not keep it for long, because we learn that a certain Thomas Carpi exchanged it in 1'323 for his property 1 SLOVAKIA 93 in :Darmoty. Donte, administrator (2upan) of Zvolen County became owner of it earl;y in the 15th century for a short time, when King Lottci.s donated it to Sandzi'Voj, a Polish nobleman, because he had he1ped his daughter Hedwig gain the Polish throne. Sandlzirvod, . however, remained in SlovaJkia only a short time. !Stary Hrad iwas donated to Queen ElitzaJbeth, wifo oif King Allbrecht (1439). 'Iwo year.s later the PoTIJgrac clan of Svaty Mikulas occ,upied Stary Hrad and Strecno; the family was loyal to Jiskra of Brandys. The Pongrac clan terrorized the entire Vah Valley. John Hlunady of TransyJvarnia allied himself with Po.ngrac to fiight the iking, who had procliaimed him a rebel. Pongrac was c3JPtured in Budin and condemned to jail for life; his companions iwerre hanged lby order of King Vlooisla;v. After Hun,ady made up with the iking, he entreated him to free ,Pcmgrac so that he might lead the fight against the Turks who were 'Plundering the Balkans. The expedition against the Tur.ks was disastrous for the Christians, but Pongrac escaped to· return home safely. A short time. later, with the help of Komororvsky, administrator of Liptorv County, Pongrac regained. Stary Hrad and Stre1Cno, and then seized Branc. Pongrac and his men made se,vera.J predatory ex'Peditions into Poland and caused ~ing Cazimir to complain to the HungaTian Estates, demanding that they do something aJbout the rdl:Jber knight. The ,Diet in .Segedin decided to punish Pongrac, and Ulrich Cilslky was delegated to undertake the tasik (1449). But, it seems, Cils.'ky did not measure up to it, because the sorties into Poland continued and he himself was murdered in Belgrade, in. 1456. According to the record, Pongrac was proibaJbly needed by the king, who was willing not only to forget his transgressions, but even made him the Zupan of Liptorv County. When Ladisilav Hurnady ,w as beheaded in 1'456, Pongrac joined Uip with rhis uncle Siladi and King Mathias recogruzed: him a1S1 lord orf Stary Hrad, 1Stre:eno and Brame. After Pongrfoc, the ,oiwners of Stary Hrad changed. frequently. We find the Zapolskys, Takolys and Rakoczis among them. In time it lost its strategic significance, was aJbandoned and 94 SLOVAKIA foll into ruin. Since the road leading through the valley is on the other side of the V ah, 1Stary Hrad i,s seldom visited. What is left of it hangs like an eagle's nest albove the aibyss, crumlbling aiway stone lb.y stone and falling into the foam.y waters of the V ah. The ;neighlboring rock Which towers aJbove the ruins of St,a ry Hrad is called Margaret. Legend tells us how it acquired its name. The Slo'VaJks of IStrecno say that a come-ly widow of S ~ o had a very bea.utifol step-daughter named Margaret. They got alon,g ve;ry nicely until love intervened. I:t so happened that a handsome young man, employed on the estate of the wido.w, became the obd·e ct of her affections. But the yollll1g handsome one prefer.red to cast his eyes upon the !beautiful Margaret and scorn her step-mother. [Hurt and angered, the widow decided to do away with Margaret. One day the ,w idow sent her daughter on an errand to relatives in. Vru1lky and ordered her to return the same evening. Retwrning home, Margaret tripped gayly along the 'beaiten. path near the Vah, singill'g her favorite SlovaJk melodies. As she cliirn)bed the rooky slope, Margaret paused several times to .r est. When she reached the summit of the rook, a po.mt where the path comes dangerously close to the edge of. the c1i!ff, Maragret paused again a.n.d gazed in wonderment on the bea.JUtiful !Valley 1beloiW. IBeifore the pooc girl couid realize what had happened, she was hurtling through space into the chu.rni.Il!g waters of the Vah below. The 1Vengelful, murderous widorw, questioned by the handsome one aJbout /Margaret, replied evasilvely a.n.d roused his suspicions. When the 1battered, cold, still body of Margaret was found se1Veral days later, caught ibetween the rocks, her lOIVer cried hysterically for diaJy s and finally lOSJt control of hi-s mind. But Ma:rgaret's mocderous stepmother did not gain her end. The handsome yoll'Ilg man, who had become Margaret's lover, never reooivered his mind. iHla!vinig learned the a,wful truth, he roamed aimlessly on the rook, from which hist loved one was hurtled to her death, until he also perished. &om that day to this the rock is called Margaret.  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: The Old Castle (Starý Hrad) Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), pp. 92-94 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 castles https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a8e4c120a965fe6fc5adad0f88bd8a57.pdf e138109b7e80df4f68854303cfc04b2d PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 86 PROFILE ON AN EXILE POLITICIAN By Kurt Glaser The Communist strategy for seizing central IDurope after World War II was that of the "popular front." So Jong as suibstantial U. S. forces remained on the Continent an 3.4YI>arent shrure of power was allowed to "non-Communist liberals." The appearance of out-and-out Communist governments might haNe led the United States to reverse its policy of withdrawal and demobilization. As the time became riJpe, first in Rumania, then in Poland and Hungary and finally in Czecho-Slovakia, the "liberals" were eased out af oiffice. Those who fled to the U. S. Zone of Germany were girven asylum without too many questions asked. Politicians of rank were airlifted to Washington, where many are now unof.ficial or paid consultants in connection with various "rpsycihwar" operations One of the most active exiles from Czecho~Slovakia is Dr. Hulbert Ripka, former Minister of Foreign Trade, who came west in March 1948. In 1949, the State Department permitted him the leadiing role in choosing exile politicians to be flown from Pa11is at .American expense to fomn the "Council of Free Czechos1ovaoo.a." As a memlber of the Council's Executive Committee until recently, Ripka has received a monthly salrury from the Free Europe Committee, which dbtains m.ruch Olf its funds from Government sources. He is a!lso a professor at the New School of Social Research in New Y o!1k. He has spolken more than OI11Ce over Radio Free Eiuro1pe, and there is no douibt that his friends wield a potent influence in that broadcasting network. No comment is made or suggested concerning Dr. Ripka's attitude toward Communism. Instead, let us revie,w the facts of hris politica,,l career. Dr. Hulbert Riipka achieved some prominence as a journalist before the war. In 1935 he conducted a group of Czech newsmen in the Soviet Union. From then until 1938 he was assistant editor of the magazine Praha-Moskva, devoted to Czechoslovak-Sov iet :firiendship. After Hitler occupied Prague in March 1939, Ripka �86 SLOVAK~A went to Paris, where he became a spokesman of former President Benes, who was working toward a political comeback in exile. In November of that year, he took charge of the informatioo. program of the "Ozechoslovak National Committee" with headquarters at 50_.52 Avenue de la Bourdonnais. Ripka's personal secretary in Paris was the known Communist Mrs. Hilda Matouskova. One of his chief assistants was the Communist agent Otto Katz-1Suchy, alias Andre Simone, late of Hallywood, Prague and points east. After a while, ,t he F,rench police became interested in Katz-Simone, and he disappeared, to turn urp later in Mexico. Guenther Reinhardt (Crime Without Punishment) links Katz with the 1943 murder of the anti-Communist Carlo Tresca in New York. Pro-Soviet Policies During World War II The "Ozechoslovalk National Committee" and the "Czechoslovak DemocratiJC Government" in London which succeeded it followed a oonsistently pro-1Soviet policy. Describing this policy during the 1939-1941 .Soviet-Nazi collaboration, Ripka himself states : "Since, In the new &ituation, it was impossible to collaborate officially with the S oviet Un ion, we .. . did nothing which might prejudice or .p revent the ren eswal of cooperation at the earliest possible moment ; I need only recall how 11tron•g ly our attitude contrasted with that of many others during the Sovle!t-Finnish war. Moreover, even In that period, there was no interruption of the personal contacts and exchanges of information b eibween ourselves and Important Soviet representatives In London, P,a ris, Was'h lngton and elsewhere." ( East and West, Lo ndon 19 44 , p. 34) HaJVing joined Benes in London in 1940, Dr. Ripka became Minister of Information of the "Government" in exile. His Ministry had close world:n:g relations with the Ozecho ..SloV'aJk section of the British Broadcasting Company. This was headed by the Slovaik Communist Vavro Hajdu, another member being Oto Biheler, later expelled from the United States for espionage under cover of diplomatic immunity. Ripka often broaidcast over BBC. Here is what he said on Novem1ber 7, 1942 over that network: " . . . The >Russi an November Revolution not only Increased the �SLOVAKIA 87 strength of the Russian Sovdet staite, it also raised to greater heights than ever ,b efore the standard of civHiza,tion, culture and living or the wide masses of the Soviet peoples. . . "Bolshevism is •a super-national ideal, an eternal ideal, a human ideal, a.n idea.I whicll has kind1ed <the mind.8 of the noblest of men from the time of Plato and through the Christian era, through the French Revolution and until today. . . Just as the French Revolution strove to realize the ideal of freedom, so did the Russian Revolution try to realiz-e the ideal of equality." Dr. Hubert Ripka was also Deputy Foreign Minister. Since Minister Jan Masaryk ran his ministry with a notoriously loose hand, Ripka really managed the foreign policy of the London "Government." This policy reached its climax in the Czechoslovak~SoV'iet Treaty of 1943, of which Ripka said: "The Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty is the foundation of our country's external security and is a fundamental contribution to the unification of national forces. . . Thanks to the Treaty, Czechoslovakia's interests are receivin,g effective support." (BBC broadcast, December 14, 1944) Of the Soviet Union in generaf, Ripka wrote : "The Bolshev,i sm of Lenin and Stalin represents a creative synthesis of specifically Russian and certain Western elements." (East and West, p. 13) "We Czechoslovaks make no secret of our satisfaction that Soviet Russia is beginning to participate in European and world politics as a strong world power." (Ibid., P. 58) The most fateful step prepaired by the London "G()IVernment" and carried out by the 1945-48 "National Front" was the expulsion from Czech~Slovakia of more than 3,000,000 Sudeten Germans. During this operation, over 300,000 Germans were shot or beaten to death, died of rape, filth, stair.vation or exposure, or were shipped to Soviet slave la'bor camps. (For details, see Documents on the Expulsion of the Sudeten Germans, Munich 1953.) The expulsion knocked out the strongest anti ..Communist block in a population of 13,000,000, and tied the Czechs firmly into the Soviet orbit by creating a fear of German "revenge." In his recent book Czechoslovakia Enslaved (London 1950), Ripka admrits authorship of the plan to expel the Sudeten Germans. To work out the details, he maintained a secret section of his Foreign Office, run by a German, �88 SLOVAKIA Wolfgang von Putlitz, who later turned up as ipolitkal adviser in the East German Communist regime. Putlitz was a friend of the vanished British diplomats Burgess and McLean, as well as of the West German security chief Dr. Otto John, who deserted to the Communists in Jruly 1954. They were in contact in London in 1944 and became members of the same British-operated intelligence unit. Their assoc_iation. conrti.nued after Prutlitiz had taken up his activities in East Berlin and while John was (ostensilbly) working for the Bonn Government. The Politburo's Plot and the "National Front" During the latter years of the war, writes Ripka (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, Chapter Ill) , "the politlbureau in Moscow was completing a plot destined to permit the Communists to seize power immediately after the liberation." This plan, as outlined by R~pka, included Communistdominated "national committees" to replace constitutional local government, sruppression of the Czech Agrarian, Tradesmen's and National Democratic Parties and the S1ovaik Catholic Party, establishment of a "National Front" coalition with no opposition, and co.Uectivization of the economy. "Punishments striking at traitors, collaJborationists and fascists" enrubled the Communists, in Ripka's own words, "to intimidate or suppress their political adversaries." "In short," Ripka concludes, "in the political, economk, military and culturail. domains, Czechoslovakia must follow in the wruke of the UISSIR." Yet we find Rilpka's signature on the laws and decrees which put this program of bolshevization into execution, such as: The Kos ice Statute of Apri I 5, 1945: Es,ta,blishment of a Soexpulsion of Sudeten Germans and Hungaviet.type economy trial of "war criminals" in Soviet-tyipe "p.eopl e's courts" rians with convioted persons handed over to Soviet organs - aLJ members of the Protectorate and Slovak Governments declared guilty of suppr,ession of the Agrarian, hi,gh treason by legisla,t ive action Tradesmen's and Nation·a l Democratic Parties. Edict of the President of the Republic, May 19, 1945: Nationalization of property of Germans and Hungarians. "traitors anrl collaiborationists." Edict of the President of the Republic, June 19, 1945: The in- �SLOVAKIA 89 famous "Retributi-on Decree" def.ining "crimes against the Republic" ex-post-facto and providing dertai1'ed organization of the Sovietty,pe "people's courts." Of the "Retribution Decree" which Ripka signed, the Aliliance for Lilberation and Freedom in Czechoslovakia, a Czech organization, has this to say: " . . . The s,i mple fact thrut an active Communist or member of the National Front wanted to have a house, a b.us,ine.ss, a f.arm or a posl<tion held by an innocent citizen was sufficient to have the latter thrown in jail under a false accusation. '' . . . The decree .• . W\as pnimarily directed agaiilllst tlhose citizens who professed true democracy and opposed national ization. In general, the confiscation of property, and the intimidation of t.hose who still held -it, •became the avowed aims of this measure." (Fe.bruary 1954 Manifesto) Under the decree, there was no a,ppeal from the decision o;f a people's court. A death sentence when pronounced was to be executed within two hours. As an act of grace, one additional ho,ur might be granted. Benes and most of his Ministers entered Czecho-Slovaikia via Moscow, where they joined with the Communists in the "National Front" coalition. Ripka remained in London through Arpril 194:15. The New York Times of April 1'5 reports his farewell message to western journalists as fdllows: "London - Dr. Hubert Ripka, Czechoslovak Minister of Foreign Trade, told a fa'Dewell press conference here today thlllt he did not consider the western Allies' apprehensions that his country might become a vassal of the Soviet Union were grounded. He said it was natural that Cze.c hoslo.vakia should seek her security primarily in friendship with the Soviet Union." To his own coruntrymen, however, Ripka took a slightly different tone. In his book on Czechoslovakia in the New Europe, which has neiver been translated into English, he wrote: "All anti.;Soviet elements must necessarHy be eliminated from schools, educational instt.ltu<tions, and literature." (Ceskoslo. vensko v nove Evr-ope, London 194-5, p. 87) our In May 1945 Ripka returned to Prague as Minister of Foreign Trade. One of his first transactions was a deal, initiated in London, to turn over to the Soviet Union, fr.ee of charge, the uranium mines at J oachimsthal ( J achym()IV) in the Sudetenland. This is a principal source from which �90 SLOVAKIA the Soviets are now extracting atomic materials to bomb the United States. Ripka's political f,r iends, especiall.y his former secretary Duchacek (now with the Voice of America), blocked a parliamentary inJVestig,a tion of the uranium affair. A decree was issued maiking it "high treason" to mention the su!bject in public. Of the National Front's foreign tTade policy, Dr. Ripka wrote: ",Closer trade relations with the Soviet Un.ion were not dictated by the CommuniS1t Party. The stren•g thenlng of these relations was In the interests ot the Czechoslovak economy and part of our own policy. Alliance with the Soviet Union has been the most Important factor in tbls country's foreign policy." ( Bulletin of the BritishCzechoslovak Chamber of Commerce, London, 1947) Ripka Since February 1948 Dr. Ri,pka was one of twelve Ministers who resigned in Feb:mary 1949 in a dispute between the "il..ibeirals" and the Communist Party. Whether this was a genuine ideological struggle or an internal squaJbble over "who gets what" is a question which cannot be answered in this short space. The fact is, however, that after the reorganization of the 1g overnment under the Communist Premier Gottwald, Dr. Ripka found himself without a job. Ripka started his flight from Ozechoslova!kia in the company of two priests, Msgr. Sramek and Msgr. Hala, who had been Ministers in the National F,r ont. They hid in a small shack on an isolated airfield at Rakovnik, where a French airplane was to pick them up. The secret police got wind of the affaiT and placed its men on the field, whereupon the French pilot flew over the field without landing. Ripka left the shack and waliked right past the seer.et police into the woods. Msgr. Sramek and Msgr. Hala were arrested and sentenced to prison. A few days later the plane returned and picked u,p Ripka alone without any difficulty. After arriving in Paris, Dr. Ripka organized an exile group which developed into the Czechoslovak Foreign In- �SLOVAKIA 91 stitute. The institute i,ssued an ideological directive summarizing its political aims as follows: "The -transfer of the means of production in.to the hands of the workers is the only way leading to the increase of well-being and prosperity among the largest classes." The InstitUJte has "operating grouips" in various locations, which resemble structurally the cells of the Communist Party. The organizationa l directive has this to say: "Wllth this system we ho,pe to create a group democracy of an elite as opposed to the false conception of a democracy of the masses, which is es,p ecially prominent in exile. Thus we would strive to penetraite and dominate the political life as broadly as possible. "The Czechoslovak FOTelgn Institute is to create a group within groups. The anonymity of Its members ls to constitute its great strength, because it is not poa&ible to defeat an Invisible power." (emphasis in original) The financial part of the directiive provides for busines.s deals with Cammunist countries. For a while a group of Institute memtb ers lived in Switrerla.nd, where they sold ball bea•r ings, cadmium and other strategic materials to states in the Soviet 011bit. When the Swiss police interfered, several of the group moved to Munich, where they got jobs with Radio Free Europe. According to the direcmve, Ripka (under the code name "Maly'') assumed cha,rge of the Institute's central office in Paris. His associates at various times have included: Vladimir Bruza, member of the Communist-cont rolled "Central Working Committee for the Nationalization of Industry." After the 1948 " February Revolution,'' the Czech Communists sent Bruza to Moscow to make further arrangements for Soviet exploitation of the uranium mines. Bruz·a ls now _editor of the Institute's publication Tribuna, which had to move to Leiden, Holland, because of difficulties with the French police. Milos Vanek, a founder of the Czech Communls.t Party and now head of the economic section of Radio Free Europe in Munich. Professor Bohumil Cerny, field man for the Institute, who fled back to Czecho./Slovakia to escape arrest by the CIC in the U. S. Zone of Austria. Frantisek Kubal, repOTts editor for the Institute and on the staff of Tribuna. He ls now in a Frooch jail awaiting trial on charges of lllegally photographing U. S. military installations for the Prague Communist Government. Bohumil Lausman, former Minister of Industry, who sided with �92 SLOVAKIA the Communists in February 1948. He went into exile in 1949, but returned voluntanily to Czecho-Slova:kia in December 1953. He was employed secretly by Radio Free Europe. Since leaving Czecho-,Slova,kia, Dr. Ripka has advocated a poHcy of "co-existence" in the following terms: "Today more than ever I persist in bel ieving that a free and independent Cz·ecihoslov,a kia cannot exist except in a balanced Europe in which the Western Powers and Russia are trying to live on good terms. Even the events of February 1948 h ave not been able to shake this conviction, which remain s the keystone of my whole co nception of for eign policy." (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, 1~50, p, 74) This is the record of an exile politician living in the United States and paid a salary from funds corntriihwted to fight Communism. It is for the reader to drnw hi:s own conclusions om the, /basis of this record. - (Overseas Research, Inc., Special Bulletin, Nov. 28, 1954, Washington, D. C.) • • • CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: 'JIHE OLD CASTLE ( Stary Hrad) The ruins of th£s ,o ld castle still .stand on a ,p recipitous rock aJbave the river Vah. The structure, named the Old Castle of Trencin (!Stary Hrad) 'belongs to the c1ass of fortresses which were lb:uilt ,prabaJbly during the time af tihe Great Mornvian EmpiTe. Tr,a,veli!ng against the current of the Vah, Stary Hlrad cam. be seen on the left side. We are told that it was once called Nez;budsky Oastle, which attests to -i ts antiquity. 01dest arvailaJble documents refer to it as the Old Castle ("Castmm Stargra,d"); they teU us that it was -gi,v en to Bohumir Seibaslarvorvilc aJbout 1250 for bravery displayed in -the battle against the Tatars neaT S·rujaiva. Stary Hrad is more ancient than Streicno. The structure itself suggests that it was !built ,3J'bout the same time as the Devin and Trencin castles,, i.e., during the Roman era. Bohumir ,w as lord of the castle until 1'266 ; Count Peter of Hont from 1 267 to the end of the thirteenth century, when the Balasa family gained ownership. Then iMatthew Calk, "Lord of the Vah and the Tatras," -besieged and sei'Zed it, hut did not keep it for long, because we learn that a certain Thomas Carpi exchanged it in 1'323 for his property 1 � SLOVAKIA 86 PROFILE ON AN EXILE POLITICIAN By Kurt Glaser The Communist strategy for seizing central IDurope after World War II was that of the "popular front." So Jong as suibstantial U. S. forces remained on the Continent an 3.4YI>arent shrure of power was allowed to "non-Communist liberals." The appearance of out-and-out Communist governments might haNe led the United States to reverse its policy of withdrawal and demobilization. As the time became riJpe, first in Rumania, then in Poland and Hungary and finally in Czecho-Slovakia, the "liberals" were eased out af oiffice. Those who fled to the U. S. Zone of Germany were girven asylum without too many questions asked. Politicians of rank were airlifted to Washington, where many are now unof.ficial or paid consultants in connection with various "rpsycihwar" operations One of the most active exiles from Czecho~Slovakia is Dr. Hulbert Ripka, former Minister of Foreign Trade, who came west in March 1948. In 1949, the State Department permitted him the leadiing role in choosing exile politicians to be flown from Pa11is at .American expense to fomn the "Council of Free Czechos1ovaoo.a." As a memlber of the Council's Executive Committee until recently, Ripka has received a monthly salrury from the Free Europe Committee, which dbtains m.ruch Olf its funds from Government sources. He is a!lso a professor at the New School of Social Research in New Y o!1k. He has spolken more than OI11Ce over Radio Free Eiuro1pe, and there is no douibt that his friends wield a potent influence in that broadcasting network. No comment is made or suggested concerning Dr. Ripka's attitude toward Communism. Instead, let us revie,w the facts of hris politica,,l career. Dr. Hulbert Riipka achieved some prominence as a journalist before the war. In 1935 he conducted a group of Czech newsmen in the Soviet Union. From then until 1938 he was assistant editor of the magazine Praha-Moskva, devoted to Czechoslovak-Sov iet :firiendship. After Hitler occupied Prague in March 1939, Ripka �86 SLOVAK~A went to Paris, where he became a spokesman of former President Benes, who was working toward a political comeback in exile. In November of that year, he took charge of the informatioo. program of the "Ozechoslovak National Committee" with headquarters at 50_.52 Avenue de la Bourdonnais. Ripka's personal secretary in Paris was the known Communist Mrs. Hilda Matouskova. One of his chief assistants was the Communist agent Otto Katz-1Suchy, alias Andre Simone, late of Hallywood, Prague and points east. After a while, ,t he F,rench police became interested in Katz-Simone, and he disappeared, to turn urp later in Mexico. Guenther Reinhardt (Crime Without Punishment) links Katz with the 1943 murder of the anti-Communist Carlo Tresca in New York. Pro-Soviet Policies During World War II The "Ozechoslovalk National Committee" and the "Czechoslovak DemocratiJC Government" in London which succeeded it followed a oonsistently pro-1Soviet policy. Describing this policy during the 1939-1941 .Soviet-Nazi collaboration, Ripka himself states : "Since, In the new &ituation, it was impossible to collaborate officially with the S oviet Un ion, we .. . did nothing which might prejudice or .p revent the ren eswal of cooperation at the earliest possible moment ; I need only recall how 11tron•g ly our attitude contrasted with that of many others during the Sovle!t-Finnish war. Moreover, even In that period, there was no interruption of the personal contacts and exchanges of information b eibween ourselves and Important Soviet representatives In London, P,a ris, Was'h lngton and elsewhere." ( East and West, Lo ndon 19 44 , p. 34) HaJVing joined Benes in London in 1940, Dr. Ripka became Minister of Information of the "Government" in exile. His Ministry had close world:n:g relations with the Ozecho ..SloV'aJk section of the British Broadcasting Company. This was headed by the Slovaik Communist Vavro Hajdu, another member being Oto Biheler, later expelled from the United States for espionage under cover of diplomatic immunity. Ripka often broaidcast over BBC. Here is what he said on Novem1ber 7, 1942 over that network: " . . . The >Russi an November Revolution not only Increased the �SLOVAKIA 87 strength of the Russian Sovdet staite, it also raised to greater heights than ever ,b efore the standard of civHiza,tion, culture and living or the wide masses of the Soviet peoples. . . "Bolshevism is •a super-national ideal, an eternal ideal, a human ideal, a.n idea.I whicll has kind1ed <the mind.8 of the noblest of men from the time of Plato and through the Christian era, through the French Revolution and until today. . . Just as the French Revolution strove to realize the ideal of freedom, so did the Russian Revolution try to realiz-e the ideal of equality." Dr. Hubert Ripka was also Deputy Foreign Minister. Since Minister Jan Masaryk ran his ministry with a notoriously loose hand, Ripka really managed the foreign policy of the London "Government." This policy reached its climax in the Czechoslovak~SoV'iet Treaty of 1943, of which Ripka said: "The Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty is the foundation of our country's external security and is a fundamental contribution to the unification of national forces. . . Thanks to the Treaty, Czechoslovakia's interests are receivin,g effective support." (BBC broadcast, December 14, 1944) Of the Soviet Union in generaf, Ripka wrote : "The Bolshev,i sm of Lenin and Stalin represents a creative synthesis of specifically Russian and certain Western elements." (East and West, p. 13) "We Czechoslovaks make no secret of our satisfaction that Soviet Russia is beginning to participate in European and world politics as a strong world power." (Ibid., P. 58) The most fateful step prepaired by the London "G()IVernment" and carried out by the 1945-48 "National Front" was the expulsion from Czech~Slovakia of more than 3,000,000 Sudeten Germans. During this operation, over 300,000 Germans were shot or beaten to death, died of rape, filth, stair.vation or exposure, or were shipped to Soviet slave la'bor camps. (For details, see Documents on the Expulsion of the Sudeten Germans, Munich 1953.) The expulsion knocked out the strongest anti ..Communist block in a population of 13,000,000, and tied the Czechs firmly into the Soviet orbit by creating a fear of German "revenge." In his recent book Czechoslovakia Enslaved (London 1950), Ripka admrits authorship of the plan to expel the Sudeten Germans. To work out the details, he maintained a secret section of his Foreign Office, run by a German, �88 SLOVAKIA Wolfgang von Putlitz, who later turned up as ipolitkal adviser in the East German Communist regime. Putlitz was a friend of the vanished British diplomats Burgess and McLean, as well as of the West German security chief Dr. Otto John, who deserted to the Communists in Jruly 1954. They were in contact in London in 1944 and became members of the same British-operated intelligence unit. Their assoc_iation. conrti.nued after Prutlitiz had taken up his activities in East Berlin and while John was (ostensilbly) working for the Bonn Government. The Politburo's Plot and the "National Front" During the latter years of the war, writes Ripka (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, Chapter Ill) , "the politlbureau in Moscow was completing a plot destined to permit the Communists to seize power immediately after the liberation." This plan, as outlined by R~pka, included Communistdominated "national committees" to replace constitutional local government, sruppression of the Czech Agrarian, Tradesmen's and National Democratic Parties and the S1ovaik Catholic Party, establishment of a "National Front" coalition with no opposition, and co.Uectivization of the economy. "Punishments striking at traitors, collaJborationists and fascists" enrubled the Communists, in Ripka's own words, "to intimidate or suppress their political adversaries." "In short," Ripka concludes, "in the political, economk, military and culturail. domains, Czechoslovakia must follow in the wruke of the UISSIR." Yet we find Rilpka's signature on the laws and decrees which put this program of bolshevization into execution, such as: The Kos ice Statute of Apri I 5, 1945: Es,ta,blishment of a Soexpulsion of Sudeten Germans and Hungaviet.type economy trial of "war criminals" in Soviet-tyipe "p.eopl e's courts" rians with convioted persons handed over to Soviet organs - aLJ members of the Protectorate and Slovak Governments declared guilty of suppr,ession of the Agrarian, hi,gh treason by legisla,t ive action Tradesmen's and Nation·a l Democratic Parties. Edict of the President of the Republic, May 19, 1945: Nationalization of property of Germans and Hungarians. "traitors anrl collaiborationists." Edict of the President of the Republic, June 19, 1945: The in- �SLOVAKIA 89 famous "Retributi-on Decree" def.ining "crimes against the Republic" ex-post-facto and providing dertai1'ed organization of the Sovietty,pe "people's courts." Of the "Retribution Decree" which Ripka signed, the Aliliance for Lilberation and Freedom in Czechoslovakia, a Czech organization, has this to say: " . . . The s,i mple fact thrut an active Communist or member of the National Front wanted to have a house, a b.us,ine.ss, a f.arm or a posl<tion held by an innocent citizen was sufficient to have the latter thrown in jail under a false accusation. '' . . . The decree .• . W\as pnimarily directed agaiilllst tlhose citizens who professed true democracy and opposed national ization. In general, the confiscation of property, and the intimidation of t.hose who still held -it, •became the avowed aims of this measure." (Fe.bruary 1954 Manifesto) Under the decree, there was no a,ppeal from the decision o;f a people's court. A death sentence when pronounced was to be executed within two hours. As an act of grace, one additional ho,ur might be granted. Benes and most of his Ministers entered Czecho-Slovaikia via Moscow, where they joined with the Communists in the "National Front" coalition. Ripka remained in London through Arpril 194:15. The New York Times of April 1'5 reports his farewell message to western journalists as fdllows: "London - Dr. Hubert Ripka, Czechoslovak Minister of Foreign Trade, told a fa'Dewell press conference here today thlllt he did not consider the western Allies' apprehensions that his country might become a vassal of the Soviet Union were grounded. He said it was natural that Cze.c hoslo.vakia should seek her security primarily in friendship with the Soviet Union." To his own coruntrymen, however, Ripka took a slightly different tone. In his book on Czechoslovakia in the New Europe, which has neiver been translated into English, he wrote: "All anti.;Soviet elements must necessarHy be eliminated from schools, educational instt.ltu<tions, and literature." (Ceskoslo. vensko v nove Evr-ope, London 194-5, p. 87) our In May 1945 Ripka returned to Prague as Minister of Foreign Trade. One of his first transactions was a deal, initiated in London, to turn over to the Soviet Union, fr.ee of charge, the uranium mines at J oachimsthal ( J achym()IV) in the Sudetenland. This is a principal source from which �90 SLOVAKIA the Soviets are now extracting atomic materials to bomb the United States. Ripka's political f,r iends, especiall.y his former secretary Duchacek (now with the Voice of America), blocked a parliamentary inJVestig,a tion of the uranium affair. A decree was issued maiking it "high treason" to mention the su!bject in public. Of the National Front's foreign tTade policy, Dr. Ripka wrote: ",Closer trade relations with the Soviet Un.ion were not dictated by the CommuniS1t Party. The stren•g thenlng of these relations was In the interests ot the Czechoslovak economy and part of our own policy. Alliance with the Soviet Union has been the most Important factor in tbls country's foreign policy." ( Bulletin of the BritishCzechoslovak Chamber of Commerce, London, 1947) Ripka Since February 1948 Dr. Ri,pka was one of twelve Ministers who resigned in Feb:mary 1949 in a dispute between the "il..ibeirals" and the Communist Party. Whether this was a genuine ideological struggle or an internal squaJbble over "who gets what" is a question which cannot be answered in this short space. The fact is, however, that after the reorganization of the 1g overnment under the Communist Premier Gottwald, Dr. Ripka found himself without a job. Ripka started his flight from Ozechoslova!kia in the company of two priests, Msgr. Sramek and Msgr. Hala, who had been Ministers in the National F,r ont. They hid in a small shack on an isolated airfield at Rakovnik, where a French airplane was to pick them up. The secret police got wind of the affaiT and placed its men on the field, whereupon the French pilot flew over the field without landing. Ripka left the shack and waliked right past the seer.et police into the woods. Msgr. Sramek and Msgr. Hala were arrested and sentenced to prison. A few days later the plane returned and picked u,p Ripka alone without any difficulty. After arriving in Paris, Dr. Ripka organized an exile group which developed into the Czechoslovak Foreign In- �SLOVAKIA 91 stitute. The institute i,ssued an ideological directive summarizing its political aims as follows: "The -transfer of the means of production in.to the hands of the workers is the only way leading to the increase of well-being and prosperity among the largest classes." The InstitUJte has "operating grouips" in various locations, which resemble structurally the cells of the Communist Party. The organizationa l directive has this to say: "Wllth this system we ho,pe to create a group democracy of an elite as opposed to the false conception of a democracy of the masses, which is es,p ecially prominent in exile. Thus we would strive to penetraite and dominate the political life as broadly as possible. "The Czechoslovak FOTelgn Institute is to create a group within groups. The anonymity of Its members ls to constitute its great strength, because it is not poa&ible to defeat an Invisible power." (emphasis in original) The financial part of the directiive provides for busines.s deals with Cammunist countries. For a while a group of Institute memtb ers lived in Switrerla.nd, where they sold ball bea•r ings, cadmium and other strategic materials to states in the Soviet 011bit. When the Swiss police interfered, several of the group moved to Munich, where they got jobs with Radio Free Europe. According to the direcmve, Ripka (under the code name "Maly'') assumed cha,rge of the Institute's central office in Paris. His associates at various times have included: Vladimir Bruza, member of the Communist-cont rolled "Central Working Committee for the Nationalization of Industry." After the 1948 " February Revolution,'' the Czech Communists sent Bruza to Moscow to make further arrangements for Soviet exploitation of the uranium mines. Bruz·a ls now _editor of the Institute's publication Tribuna, which had to move to Leiden, Holland, because of difficulties with the French police. Milos Vanek, a founder of the Czech Communls.t Party and now head of the economic section of Radio Free Europe in Munich. Professor Bohumil Cerny, field man for the Institute, who fled back to Czecho./Slovakia to escape arrest by the CIC in the U. S. Zone of Austria. Frantisek Kubal, repOTts editor for the Institute and on the staff of Tribuna. He ls now in a Frooch jail awaiting trial on charges of lllegally photographing U. S. military installations for the Prague Communist Government. Bohumil Lausman, former Minister of Industry, who sided with �92 SLOVAKIA the Communists in February 1948. He went into exile in 1949, but returned voluntanily to Czecho-Slova:kia in December 1953. He was employed secretly by Radio Free Europe. Since leaving Czecho-,Slova,kia, Dr. Ripka has advocated a poHcy of "co-existence" in the following terms: "Today more than ever I persist in bel ieving that a free and independent Cz·ecihoslov,a kia cannot exist except in a balanced Europe in which the Western Powers and Russia are trying to live on good terms. Even the events of February 1948 h ave not been able to shake this conviction, which remain s the keystone of my whole co nception of for eign policy." (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, 1~50, p, 74) This is the record of an exile politician living in the United States and paid a salary from funds corntriihwted to fight Communism. It is for the reader to drnw hi:s own conclusions om the, /basis of this record. - (Overseas Research, Inc., Special Bulletin, Nov. 28, 1954, Washington, D. C.) • • • CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: 'JIHE OLD CASTLE ( Stary Hrad) The ruins of th£s ,o ld castle still .stand on a ,p recipitous rock aJbave the river Vah. The structure, named the Old Castle of Trencin (!Stary Hrad) 'belongs to the c1ass of fortresses which were lb:uilt ,prabaJbly during the time af tihe Great Mornvian EmpiTe. Tr,a,veli!ng against the current of the Vah, Stary Hlrad cam. be seen on the left side. We are told that it was once called Nez;budsky Oastle, which attests to -i ts antiquity. 01dest arvailaJble documents refer to it as the Old Castle ("Castmm Stargra,d"); they teU us that it was -gi,v en to Bohumir Seibaslarvorvilc aJbout 1250 for bravery displayed in -the battle against the Tatars neaT S·rujaiva. Stary Hrad is more ancient than Streicno. The structure itself suggests that it was !built ,3J'bout the same time as the Devin and Trencin castles,, i.e., during the Roman era. Bohumir ,w as lord of the castle until 1'266 ; Count Peter of Hont from 1 267 to the end of the thirteenth century, when the Balasa family gained ownership. Then iMatthew Calk, "Lord of the Vah and the Tatras," -besieged and sei'Zed it, hut did not keep it for long, because we learn that a certain Thomas Carpi exchanged it in 1'323 for his property 1 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 85 PROFILE ON AN EXILE POLITICIAN By Kurt Glaser The Communist strategy for seizing central IDurope after World War II was that of the "popular front." So Jong as suibstantial U. S. forces remained on the Continent an 3.4YI>arent shrure of power was allowed to "non-Communist liberals." The appearance of out-and-out Communist governments might haNe led the United States to reverse its policy of withdrawal and demobilization. As the time became riJpe, first in Rumania, then in Poland and Hungary and finally in Czecho-Slovakia, the "liberals" were eased out af oiffice. Those who fled to the U. S. Zone of Germany were girven asylum without too many questions asked. Politicians of rank were airlifted to Washington, where many are now unof.ficial or paid consultants in connection with various "rpsycihwar" operations One of the most active exiles from Czecho~Slovakia is Dr. Hulbert Ripka, former Minister of Foreign Trade, who came west in March 1948. In 1949, the State Department permitted him the leadiing role in choosing exile politicians to be flown from Pa11is at .American expense to fomn the "Council of Free Czechos1ovaoo.a." As a memlber of the Council's Executive Committee until recently, Ripka has received a monthly salrury from the Free Europe Committee, which dbtains m.ruch Olf its funds from Government sources. He is a!lso a professor at the New School of Social Research in New Y o!1k. He has spolken more than OI11Ce over Radio Free Eiuro1pe, and there is no douibt that his friends wield a potent influence in that broadcasting network. No comment is made or suggested concerning Dr. Ripka's attitude toward Communism. Instead, let us revie,w the facts of hris politica,,l career. Dr. Hulbert Riipka achieved some prominence as a journalist before the war. In 1935 he conducted a group of Czech newsmen in the Soviet Union. From then until 1938 he was assistant editor of the magazine Praha-Moskva, devoted to Czechoslovak-Sov iet :firiendship. After Hitler occupied Prague in March 1939, Ripka 86 SLOVAK~A went to Paris, where he became a spokesman of former President Benes, who was working toward a political comeback in exile. In November of that year, he took charge of the informatioo. program of the "Ozechoslovak National Committee" with headquarters at 50_.52 Avenue de la Bourdonnais. Ripka's personal secretary in Paris was the known Communist Mrs. Hilda Matouskova. One of his chief assistants was the Communist agent Otto Katz-1Suchy, alias Andre Simone, late of Hallywood, Prague and points east. After a while, ,t he F,rench police became interested in Katz-Simone, and he disappeared, to turn urp later in Mexico. Guenther Reinhardt (Crime Without Punishment) links Katz with the 1943 murder of the anti-Communist Carlo Tresca in New York. Pro-Soviet Policies During World War II The "Ozechoslovalk National Committee" and the "Czechoslovak DemocratiJC Government" in London which succeeded it followed a oonsistently pro-1Soviet policy. Describing this policy during the 1939-1941 .Soviet-Nazi collaboration, Ripka himself states : "Since, In the new &ituation, it was impossible to collaborate officially with the S oviet Un ion, we .. . did nothing which might prejudice or .p revent the ren eswal of cooperation at the earliest possible moment ; I need only recall how 11tron•g ly our attitude contrasted with that of many others during the Sovle!t-Finnish war. Moreover, even In that period, there was no interruption of the personal contacts and exchanges of information b eibween ourselves and Important Soviet representatives In London, P,a ris, Was'h lngton and elsewhere." ( East and West, Lo ndon 19 44 , p. 34) HaJVing joined Benes in London in 1940, Dr. Ripka became Minister of Information of the "Government" in exile. His Ministry had close world:n:g relations with the Ozecho ..SloV'aJk section of the British Broadcasting Company. This was headed by the Slovaik Communist Vavro Hajdu, another member being Oto Biheler, later expelled from the United States for espionage under cover of diplomatic immunity. Ripka often broaidcast over BBC. Here is what he said on Novem1ber 7, 1942 over that network: " . . . The >Russi an November Revolution not only Increased the SLOVAKIA 87 strength of the Russian Sovdet staite, it also raised to greater heights than ever ,b efore the standard of civHiza,tion, culture and living or the wide masses of the Soviet peoples. . . "Bolshevism is •a super-national ideal, an eternal ideal, a human ideal, a.n idea.I whicll has kind1ed <the mind.8 of the noblest of men from the time of Plato and through the Christian era, through the French Revolution and until today. . . Just as the French Revolution strove to realize the ideal of freedom, so did the Russian Revolution try to realiz-e the ideal of equality." Dr. Hubert Ripka was also Deputy Foreign Minister. Since Minister Jan Masaryk ran his ministry with a notoriously loose hand, Ripka really managed the foreign policy of the London "Government." This policy reached its climax in the Czechoslovak~SoV'iet Treaty of 1943, of which Ripka said: "The Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty is the foundation of our country's external security and is a fundamental contribution to the unification of national forces. . . Thanks to the Treaty, Czechoslovakia's interests are receivin,g effective support." (BBC broadcast, December 14, 1944) Of the Soviet Union in generaf, Ripka wrote : "The Bolshev,i sm of Lenin and Stalin represents a creative synthesis of specifically Russian and certain Western elements." (East and West, p. 13) "We Czechoslovaks make no secret of our satisfaction that Soviet Russia is beginning to participate in European and world politics as a strong world power." (Ibid., P. 58) The most fateful step prepaired by the London "G()IVernment" and carried out by the 1945-48 "National Front" was the expulsion from Czech~Slovakia of more than 3,000,000 Sudeten Germans. During this operation, over 300,000 Germans were shot or beaten to death, died of rape, filth, stair.vation or exposure, or were shipped to Soviet slave la'bor camps. (For details, see Documents on the Expulsion of the Sudeten Germans, Munich 1953.) The expulsion knocked out the strongest anti ..Communist block in a population of 13,000,000, and tied the Czechs firmly into the Soviet orbit by creating a fear of German "revenge." In his recent book Czechoslovakia Enslaved (London 1950), Ripka admrits authorship of the plan to expel the Sudeten Germans. To work out the details, he maintained a secret section of his Foreign Office, run by a German, 88 SLOVAKIA Wolfgang von Putlitz, who later turned up as ipolitkal adviser in the East German Communist regime. Putlitz was a friend of the vanished British diplomats Burgess and McLean, as well as of the West German security chief Dr. Otto John, who deserted to the Communists in Jruly 1954. They were in contact in London in 1944 and became members of the same British-operated intelligence unit. Their assoc_iation. conrti.nued after Prutlitiz had taken up his activities in East Berlin and while John was (ostensilbly) working for the Bonn Government. The Politburo's Plot and the "National Front" During the latter years of the war, writes Ripka (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, Chapter Ill) , "the politlbureau in Moscow was completing a plot destined to permit the Communists to seize power immediately after the liberation." This plan, as outlined by R~pka, included Communistdominated "national committees" to replace constitutional local government, sruppression of the Czech Agrarian, Tradesmen's and National Democratic Parties and the S1ovaik Catholic Party, establishment of a "National Front" coalition with no opposition, and co.Uectivization of the economy. "Punishments striking at traitors, collaJborationists and fascists" enrubled the Communists, in Ripka's own words, "to intimidate or suppress their political adversaries." "In short," Ripka concludes, "in the political, economk, military and culturail. domains, Czechoslovakia must follow in the wruke of the UISSIR." Yet we find Rilpka's signature on the laws and decrees which put this program of bolshevization into execution, such as: The Kos ice Statute of Apri I 5, 1945: Es,ta,blishment of a Soexpulsion of Sudeten Germans and Hungaviet.type economy trial of "war criminals" in Soviet-tyipe "p.eopl e's courts" rians with convioted persons handed over to Soviet organs - aLJ members of the Protectorate and Slovak Governments declared guilty of suppr,ession of the Agrarian, hi,gh treason by legisla,t ive action Tradesmen's and Nation·a l Democratic Parties. Edict of the President of the Republic, May 19, 1945: Nationalization of property of Germans and Hungarians. "traitors anrl collaiborationists." Edict of the President of the Republic, June 19, 1945: The in- SLOVAKIA 89 famous "Retributi-on Decree" def.ining "crimes against the Republic" ex-post-facto and providing dertai1'ed organization of the Sovietty,pe "people's courts." Of the "Retribution Decree" which Ripka signed, the Aliliance for Lilberation and Freedom in Czechoslovakia, a Czech organization, has this to say: " . . . The s,i mple fact thrut an active Communist or member of the National Front wanted to have a house, a b.us,ine.ss, a f.arm or a posl<tion held by an innocent citizen was sufficient to have the latter thrown in jail under a false accusation. '' . . . The decree .• . W\as pnimarily directed agaiilllst tlhose citizens who professed true democracy and opposed national ization. In general, the confiscation of property, and the intimidation of t.hose who still held -it, •became the avowed aims of this measure." (Fe.bruary 1954 Manifesto) Under the decree, there was no a,ppeal from the decision o;f a people's court. A death sentence when pronounced was to be executed within two hours. As an act of grace, one additional ho,ur might be granted. Benes and most of his Ministers entered Czecho-Slovaikia via Moscow, where they joined with the Communists in the "National Front" coalition. Ripka remained in London through Arpril 194:15. The New York Times of April 1'5 reports his farewell message to western journalists as fdllows: "London - Dr. Hubert Ripka, Czechoslovak Minister of Foreign Trade, told a fa'Dewell press conference here today thlllt he did not consider the western Allies' apprehensions that his country might become a vassal of the Soviet Union were grounded. He said it was natural that Cze.c hoslo.vakia should seek her security primarily in friendship with the Soviet Union." To his own coruntrymen, however, Ripka took a slightly different tone. In his book on Czechoslovakia in the New Europe, which has neiver been translated into English, he wrote: "All anti.;Soviet elements must necessarHy be eliminated from schools, educational instt.ltu<tions, and literature." (Ceskoslo. vensko v nove Evr-ope, London 194-5, p. 87) our In May 1945 Ripka returned to Prague as Minister of Foreign Trade. One of his first transactions was a deal, initiated in London, to turn over to the Soviet Union, fr.ee of charge, the uranium mines at J oachimsthal ( J achym()IV) in the Sudetenland. This is a principal source from which 90 SLOVAKIA the Soviets are now extracting atomic materials to bomb the United States. Ripka's political f,r iends, especiall.y his former secretary Duchacek (now with the Voice of America), blocked a parliamentary inJVestig,a tion of the uranium affair. A decree was issued maiking it "high treason" to mention the su!bject in public. Of the National Front's foreign tTade policy, Dr. Ripka wrote: ",Closer trade relations with the Soviet Un.ion were not dictated by the CommuniS1t Party. The stren•g thenlng of these relations was In the interests ot the Czechoslovak economy and part of our own policy. Alliance with the Soviet Union has been the most Important factor in tbls country's foreign policy." ( Bulletin of the BritishCzechoslovak Chamber of Commerce, London, 1947) Ripka Since February 1948 Dr. Ri,pka was one of twelve Ministers who resigned in Feb:mary 1949 in a dispute between the "il..ibeirals" and the Communist Party. Whether this was a genuine ideological struggle or an internal squaJbble over "who gets what" is a question which cannot be answered in this short space. The fact is, however, that after the reorganization of the 1g overnment under the Communist Premier Gottwald, Dr. Ripka found himself without a job. Ripka started his flight from Ozechoslova!kia in the company of two priests, Msgr. Sramek and Msgr. Hala, who had been Ministers in the National F,r ont. They hid in a small shack on an isolated airfield at Rakovnik, where a French airplane was to pick them up. The secret police got wind of the affaiT and placed its men on the field, whereupon the French pilot flew over the field without landing. Ripka left the shack and waliked right past the seer.et police into the woods. Msgr. Sramek and Msgr. Hala were arrested and sentenced to prison. A few days later the plane returned and picked u,p Ripka alone without any difficulty. After arriving in Paris, Dr. Ripka organized an exile group which developed into the Czechoslovak Foreign In- SLOVAKIA 91 stitute. The institute i,ssued an ideological directive summarizing its political aims as follows: "The -transfer of the means of production in.to the hands of the workers is the only way leading to the increase of well-being and prosperity among the largest classes." The InstitUJte has "operating grouips" in various locations, which resemble structurally the cells of the Communist Party. The organizationa l directive has this to say: "Wllth this system we ho,pe to create a group democracy of an elite as opposed to the false conception of a democracy of the masses, which is es,p ecially prominent in exile. Thus we would strive to penetraite and dominate the political life as broadly as possible. "The Czechoslovak FOTelgn Institute is to create a group within groups. The anonymity of Its members ls to constitute its great strength, because it is not poa&ible to defeat an Invisible power." (emphasis in original) The financial part of the directiive provides for busines.s deals with Cammunist countries. For a while a group of Institute memtb ers lived in Switrerla.nd, where they sold ball bea•r ings, cadmium and other strategic materials to states in the Soviet 011bit. When the Swiss police interfered, several of the group moved to Munich, where they got jobs with Radio Free Europe. According to the direcmve, Ripka (under the code name "Maly'') assumed cha,rge of the Institute's central office in Paris. His associates at various times have included: Vladimir Bruza, member of the Communist-cont rolled "Central Working Committee for the Nationalization of Industry." After the 1948 " February Revolution,'' the Czech Communists sent Bruza to Moscow to make further arrangements for Soviet exploitation of the uranium mines. Bruz·a ls now _editor of the Institute's publication Tribuna, which had to move to Leiden, Holland, because of difficulties with the French police. Milos Vanek, a founder of the Czech Communls.t Party and now head of the economic section of Radio Free Europe in Munich. Professor Bohumil Cerny, field man for the Institute, who fled back to Czecho./Slovakia to escape arrest by the CIC in the U. S. Zone of Austria. Frantisek Kubal, repOTts editor for the Institute and on the staff of Tribuna. He ls now in a Frooch jail awaiting trial on charges of lllegally photographing U. S. military installations for the Prague Communist Government. Bohumil Lausman, former Minister of Industry, who sided with 92 SLOVAKIA the Communists in February 1948. He went into exile in 1949, but returned voluntanily to Czecho-Slova:kia in December 1953. He was employed secretly by Radio Free Europe. Since leaving Czecho-,Slova,kia, Dr. Ripka has advocated a poHcy of "co-existence" in the following terms: "Today more than ever I persist in bel ieving that a free and independent Cz·ecihoslov,a kia cannot exist except in a balanced Europe in which the Western Powers and Russia are trying to live on good terms. Even the events of February 1948 h ave not been able to shake this conviction, which remain s the keystone of my whole co nception of for eign policy." (Czechoslovakia Enslaved, 1~50, p, 74) This is the record of an exile politician living in the United States and paid a salary from funds corntriihwted to fight Communism. It is for the reader to drnw hi:s own conclusions om the, /basis of this record. - (Overseas Research, Inc., Special Bulletin, Nov. 28, 1954, Washington, D. C.) • • • CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: 'JIHE OLD CASTLE ( Stary Hrad) The ruins of th£s ,o ld castle still .stand on a ,p recipitous rock aJbave the river Vah. The structure, named the Old Castle of Trencin (!Stary Hrad) 'belongs to the c1ass of fortresses which were lb:uilt ,prabaJbly during the time af tihe Great Mornvian EmpiTe. Tr,a,veli!ng against the current of the Vah, Stary Hlrad cam. be seen on the left side. We are told that it was once called Nez;budsky Oastle, which attests to -i ts antiquity. 01dest arvailaJble documents refer to it as the Old Castle ("Castmm Stargra,d"); they teU us that it was -gi,v en to Bohumir Seibaslarvorvilc aJbout 1250 for bravery displayed in -the battle against the Tatars neaT S·rujaiva. Stary Hrad is more ancient than Streicno. The structure itself suggests that it was !built ,3J'bout the same time as the Devin and Trencin castles,, i.e., during the Roman era. Bohumir ,w as lord of the castle until 1'266 ; Count Peter of Hont from 1 267 to the end of the thirteenth century, when the Balasa family gained ownership. Then iMatthew Calk, "Lord of the Vah and the Tatras," -besieged and sei'Zed it, hut did not keep it for long, because we learn that a certain Thomas Carpi exchanged it in 1'323 for his property 1  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Profile of an Exile Politician Description An account of the resource Kurt Glaser Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 85-92 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Glaser, Kurt, 1914-1993 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/d033383ad3e73b0c22316c27576ac95d.pdf 9a1c0f39a0c07be4b8a5ddd7714e1a34 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 78 HOW '.fillE COMMUNISTS SEIZED POWER IN SWVAKIA (STATEMENT BY PHILIP A. HROBAK, PRESIDENT OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA AND EDITOR OF THE JEDNOTA, OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION, MADE BEFORE THE KERSTEN COMMITTEE ON COMMUNIST AGGRESSION, IN THE COUNTY COURT HOUSE, MILWAUKEE, FRIDAY AFTERNOON, OCT0!3ER 22, 1954) If there is a nation in the world today that really is anti-Communist, that nation is th,e Slovak nation. It is a matter of historical record that the Slovaks have fought the plague of materialistic- Communism consistently and persistently, in and OU! of season, for over a hundred years. Louis Stur, champion of democracy and Slovak freedom, repudiated the godless, materialistic philosophy of Marx in 1849. In his book "SLOV ANSTVO A SVET BUDUCNOSTI" (Slavdom and the World of the Future), written in 1849 but published after his death in 1856, he wrote: "In every instance Communism means the collapse and the destruction of the State. Communism arrived at this aim through atheism and apostacy from Christianity. In every form of Communism, n_o matter what its origin, the outlook on life is gloomy, lacking every tender joy. It brings the most cruel slavery. Communism, let it strive and pretend in any manner whatsoever that it will make all peoples share in all rights, nevertheless, knows nothing about humanity; it degrades humanity and because it holds to systems that are impractical and unrealizable, it belongs among the most stupid innovations that have thus far been created by the human mind." In 1905, at its very first session, the newly organized Hlinka Slovak Peoples Party, did not hesitate to condemn CommuniSIIIl. Fourteen years later, in 1919, when CzechoSlovakia was already established, General Milan R. Stefanik, Slovak hero of World War I and one of the founders of Czecho-Slovakia cautioned T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes not to flirt with Communism, not to make any compromises with the Bolsheviks. Stefanik was in Russia �SLOVAKIA 79 during 1918-1919 and saw Communism at work first hand. In February, he sent a telegram to Masaryk in Prague which said: "To flirt with Bolshevist tendencies would be comparable to foresaking the path of honor and sanity. The fight against Bolshevism in all its manifestations must prevail in our politics." Andrew Hlinka, fearless champion of Slovak freedom and founder and head of the Slovak Peoples Party, fought Communism and Communists all his life. So did Martin Razus, head of the Slovak National Party and distin. guished poet. Finally, Dr. Joseph Tiso, president and martyr of the Slovak Republic, exhorted his Slovak people to persevere in its fight against the dread plague of Communism even as he was being led to the gallows on April 18, 1947, by order of the Communist-dominated National Front government of the Benes-Gottwald coalition. Up to the creation of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918, materialistic Communism could not gain a foothold among the Slovaks. After the Bolshevik group headed by Bela Kun seized the government in Hungary, his Red horde: invaded southern Slovakia, murdering thousands of innocent people and pillaging their lands. This only steeled the Slova.ks in their determination to fight Communism and Communists. In the early years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Prague Gove,r nrnent sent some 200,000 "progressive and liberal-minded" Czechs to Slovakia to take over various government posts, educational positions and other tasks. Their main objective, however, was to make Czechs out of Slovaks. It was then that leftist tendrncies began to take hold among some of the intelligentsia. The Communist Party, however, had pretty rough going among the Slovaks, who were traditionally deeply religious and opposed to the godless philosophy of Marx. Up to Munich, J 938, the Communist Party never represented more than JO per cent of the electorate in Slovakia. We must not forget, however, that the Czechs in Slovakia represented about 15· per cent of the electorate. It was the Czech group that gave the greatest support to Communists in Slovakia. �80 SLOVAKIA After Munich and the cowardly resignation of president Edward Benes, Slovakia was granted autonomy by the Prague Parliament. The government of the Slovak State was in Christian democratic hands. The Communist Party was outlawed in Slovakia in 1938 by the Slovak Government. Of course, the Reds worked underground, keeping their contacts with Moscow and, later, with the London government of Dr. Edward Benes. When Benes concluded the so-called "Czechoslovak Soviet" Treaty on December 12, 1943, the Slovaks knew definitely that not only they, but even the Czechs wert' formally sold out to the Kremlin. Benes had always been pro-Soviet and admitted it openly. So did his followers, the Czech National Socialists (The Czech Nazis). The Slovaks opposed his policy consistently and resolutely even in the Prague Parliament, declaring that such a policy even. tually would bring ruin and Red enslavement to the peoples of Czecho-Slovakia. But the Slovaks were in a minority, so the policy of Benes and his followers, supported by other Czech leftist parties and the Slovak Agrarians, the socalled "Czechoslova ks" (Slovaks in the pay of the Czechs), prevailed. In 1943, Moscow parachuted Soviet partisan leaders into Slovakia to create incidents, to spread terror and confusion among the population of central Slovakia. Communists, led by Schmid,ke and Husak, and the Slovak Agrarians, led by Dr. Joseph Lettric,h, and assuming the name of Slovak "Democrats," got together on Christmas Day, 1943, and concluded an agreement to collaborate as closely as possible in all things with the USSR in the spirit of the Benes-Soviet Treaty of December 12, 1943. And they did. They planned and executed the Communist-in spired Slovak uprising in August, 1944, which they misnomered the "Slovak National Uprising," in order to make the world believe that the whole Slovak nation revolted against its government to destroy its own Republic. The terroristic acts of the partisans brought the German Anny into Slovakia, and terror and destruction, and mass murders and �SLOVAKIA 81 mass graves. Some 70,000 Slovaks were killed . The Communist revolt of August, 1944, prepared the ground for the Communists to take over key posts in SlQlVakia in 1945 and, later, In February 1948, the entire Government of Czecho-Slovakia. Benes was recognized by both the United Nations and the USSR. The Slovaks, completely abandoned, were helpless; their situation desperate. The victorious United Nations were not at all interested in the political will of the Slovak Nation. Benes and his Moscow-created government had all the say in 1945, they controlled the press and radio, Slovakia was wantonly destroyed. The Communist-dominated National Front government wasted no time in Slovakia. The Slovak National Council - a 50-50 coalition of Communists and Lettrich "Democrats" nationalized churches, ecclesiastical schools and institutions, confiscated properties, set up a concentration camp and "people's" courts to mete out "justice" to all who opposed the regime, that is Benes, the Communists and the USSR. A wave o,f ruthless, brutal perse.cution of all anti-Communist element ensued. Over 130,000 were placed under arrest, tens of thousands were deported, disfranchised and dispossessed, and hundreds were murdered. In 1946 the vast masses of the Slovak people had little choice in the elections held in May. In 1945 only two political parties were allowed to organize in Slovakia by the Benes government: the old Communist Party and the old Agrarian Party; the latter, however, had to change its name to the "Democratic" Party, because the Agrarian Party had been outlawed in Czech lands. Two other parties were allowed to form just prior to the elections of 1946 by the Communist-domin ated Prague government which were supposed to weaken the "Democrats" and, therefore strengthen the position of the Communists. The ruse, however, failed. The Slovaks could vote for the Lettrich "Democrats," or for the Communists who held the upper hand in Slovakia. The overwhelming majority of the Slovak people, which was Catholic (about 85 per cent), was not allowed to organize a political party. Being advised and instru.cted by their religious a:nd political leaders, the Slovak �82 SLOVAKIA Catholics voted for the Lettrich "Democrats" - after a,n agreement had been reached by the leaders of the Catholics and the "Democrats." Doing so, they recikoned, they chose the lesser of two evils. The Communists were beaten decisively; they received only 30 per cent of the votes cast, while the "Democrats" poled 62 per cent . The difference would have been still greater if thousands of Slovaks had not been disfranchised ; jailed and intimidated; and if the army, the partisans and imported Czech Reds had not been allowed to vote in Slovakia. In the Czech lands (Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia), where the Prague government had allowed four parties to ex,ist, the Communists and Socialists came out on top (over 54 per centJ. 'l'he Lettrich "Democrats" won the elections in Slovakia in 1946, but the Communists continued to hold on to the key positions; of course, with the blessing of Moscow and the Communist-do minated National Front Government of Prague. The Slovaks proved themselves courageous and valiant in voting against the Communists, but it availed them nothing. The Lettrich "Democrats" lacked the courage and fight; their spineless leaders conveniently forgot the working agreement with the Catholics; and yielded to the Communists on practically every score. So the Communists ran Slovakia the way they wanted to, oppressing and suppressing all non~Communist elements ruthlessly. True it is that the "Democrats" protested weakly on occasions, but nothing more, even though they did have the backing of the overwhelming majority of the Slovak people. They were gradually awakening to what collaboration with the Communists means. They were partners in the National Front and the Slovak National Counoil; they had agreed to collaborate closely with the Reds. And the Reds had only one purpose: to make Slovakia and the.n the whole of Czecho-Slovak ia subservient to them and to Moscow. If the "Democrats" balked or tried to back out, they could very easily be labeled "enemies" of the State and the National Front, according to the decrees and regulations which they had formulated with the Communists, and which they used against all so-called "Fascist and Nazi" elements, meaning, of course, anti-Communist elements �SLOVAKIA 83 in Slovakia. So they continued to collaborate and govern with the Communists, until the Reds threw them out. Dr. Eward Benes, president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, resigned in 1938 and fled his country during its worst crisis, congratulating his successor, who was elected in his place according to the Constitution of Czecho-Slovakia. Later he reappointed himself president again and, by the grace of Stalin, returned as such with his Moscowformed government behind the Red Army. This, l believe, is without precedent in history. Benes became president again, but only at a price, a very high price - the sell-out of the Slovaks and the Czechs to the men of the Kremlin. Stalin did no favors for nothing. The Slovaks and the Czechs at home had no voice in the matter. As a result of Benes's pro-Soviet policy, nothing else could have happened in Czecho-Slovakia except what did happen on February 25, 1948. Such and only such can be the conclusion of all thoroughly informed observers. Moscow and her stooges had a "sure thing" in Czecho-Slovakia ; they simply could not miss Benes and his Czech Socialists. supported by their stooges in Slovakia, the "Czechoslovaks" or Lettrich "Democrats" - the traitqrs of the Slovak nation - had prepared the way and, hence, are responsible for the sell-out of the Czech and Slovak nations to the ruthless men of the Kremlin. Benes and his political entourage firmly believed that collaboration between the USSR and Czecho-Slovakia was not only feasible, but highly desirable; that peaceful coexistence with the Reds was possible without the loss of freedoms and rights. And they promoted that policy to the bitter end. Czecho-Slovakia ended up just as did the other countries whose political leaders thought they could collaborate with Communists and the USSR, form coalition governments with them, and still preserve their independence, freedoms and rights. Moscow and its stooges deeply appreciated all such collaborations and rewarded all collaborators in the customary Red fashion - it liquidated them, proving again that Communism devours its own children. Many Slovak Communists and Lettrich "Democrat,s " have �84 SLOVAKIA already paid for their folly and the ruinous pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes with their lives. Many more languish in prisons, concentration camps and forced labor camps - the very same institutions they helped the Communists to establish. The Communists were able to seize Slovakia not beca use they had the support of the vast masses of the Slovak people, but despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the Slovak nation opposed them. And, in fact, sWl opposes them today. The victorious United Nations did not respect the will of the Slovak nation, in fact, were not even interested in ascertaining the will of the Slovaks. They did, however, respect the will of Benes and his Cze<!h Socialists, who, in the end, brought ruin and Red enslavement even on their own Czech nation. Slovakia was, therefore, sold out to the Reds by Benes and the victorious United Nations whose favor and confidence he enjo,yed. Slovakia is ruled by force and violence - the Communist system. The lesson of Slovakia, and then that of Czecho-Slovakia should be repeated over and over again so that it might be learned thoroughly. Peaceful coexistence with the USSR, the Communist world, is strictly a myth. To give it credence would be folly. Collaboration with Communists and the USSR means, in the end, a brutal suppression of all freedoms and rights and Red enslavement. • • • WHO SAID IT? "With equal enthusiasm we are today manifesting for the idea~s of our, and only our, Ozechoslovruk Democracy, which is on its way of development ,t o a new poople's fomn. . . . T.he unresel"ved alliance with our Eastern neighbor, witlh the mighty USSR, .bl.lit also our friendly contacts wi•th the rest of the world, espeoi:aUy with our western democracies, gives us the feeling of cel"tainty that no matter what might hiappen a,broad, aur internati<ona1 posilt'ion is f.imn and we need not ferur that we can come urpon new dangers and dif.ficu1ties." (!Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vic~Ohairm.an of the Executive Committee of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," C.AIS, Novemlber 18, 1947). � SLOVAKIA 78 HOW '.fillE COMMUNISTS SEIZED POWER IN SWVAKIA (STATEMENT BY PHILIP A. HROBAK, PRESIDENT OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA AND EDITOR OF THE JEDNOTA, OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION, MADE BEFORE THE KERSTEN COMMITTEE ON COMMUNIST AGGRESSION, IN THE COUNTY COURT HOUSE, MILWAUKEE, FRIDAY AFTERNOON, OCT0!3ER 22, 1954) If there is a nation in the world today that really is anti-Communist, that nation is th,e Slovak nation. It is a matter of historical record that the Slovaks have fought the plague of materialistic- Communism consistently and persistently, in and OU! of season, for over a hundred years. Louis Stur, champion of democracy and Slovak freedom, repudiated the godless, materialistic philosophy of Marx in 1849. In his book "SLOV ANSTVO A SVET BUDUCNOSTI" (Slavdom and the World of the Future), written in 1849 but published after his death in 1856, he wrote: "In every instance Communism means the collapse and the destruction of the State. Communism arrived at this aim through atheism and apostacy from Christianity. In every form of Communism, n_o matter what its origin, the outlook on life is gloomy, lacking every tender joy. It brings the most cruel slavery. Communism, let it strive and pretend in any manner whatsoever that it will make all peoples share in all rights, nevertheless, knows nothing about humanity; it degrades humanity and because it holds to systems that are impractical and unrealizable, it belongs among the most stupid innovations that have thus far been created by the human mind." In 1905, at its very first session, the newly organized Hlinka Slovak Peoples Party, did not hesitate to condemn CommuniSIIIl. Fourteen years later, in 1919, when CzechoSlovakia was already established, General Milan R. Stefanik, Slovak hero of World War I and one of the founders of Czecho-Slovakia cautioned T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes not to flirt with Communism, not to make any compromises with the Bolsheviks. Stefanik was in Russia �SLOVAKIA 79 during 1918-1919 and saw Communism at work first hand. In February, he sent a telegram to Masaryk in Prague which said: "To flirt with Bolshevist tendencies would be comparable to foresaking the path of honor and sanity. The fight against Bolshevism in all its manifestations must prevail in our politics." Andrew Hlinka, fearless champion of Slovak freedom and founder and head of the Slovak Peoples Party, fought Communism and Communists all his life. So did Martin Razus, head of the Slovak National Party and distin. guished poet. Finally, Dr. Joseph Tiso, president and martyr of the Slovak Republic, exhorted his Slovak people to persevere in its fight against the dread plague of Communism even as he was being led to the gallows on April 18, 1947, by order of the Communist-dominated National Front government of the Benes-Gottwald coalition. Up to the creation of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918, materialistic Communism could not gain a foothold among the Slovaks. After the Bolshevik group headed by Bela Kun seized the government in Hungary, his Red horde: invaded southern Slovakia, murdering thousands of innocent people and pillaging their lands. This only steeled the Slova.ks in their determination to fight Communism and Communists. In the early years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Prague Gove,r nrnent sent some 200,000 "progressive and liberal-minded" Czechs to Slovakia to take over various government posts, educational positions and other tasks. Their main objective, however, was to make Czechs out of Slovaks. It was then that leftist tendrncies began to take hold among some of the intelligentsia. The Communist Party, however, had pretty rough going among the Slovaks, who were traditionally deeply religious and opposed to the godless philosophy of Marx. Up to Munich, J 938, the Communist Party never represented more than JO per cent of the electorate in Slovakia. We must not forget, however, that the Czechs in Slovakia represented about 15· per cent of the electorate. It was the Czech group that gave the greatest support to Communists in Slovakia. �80 SLOVAKIA After Munich and the cowardly resignation of president Edward Benes, Slovakia was granted autonomy by the Prague Parliament. The government of the Slovak State was in Christian democratic hands. The Communist Party was outlawed in Slovakia in 1938 by the Slovak Government. Of course, the Reds worked underground, keeping their contacts with Moscow and, later, with the London government of Dr. Edward Benes. When Benes concluded the so-called "Czechoslovak Soviet" Treaty on December 12, 1943, the Slovaks knew definitely that not only they, but even the Czechs wert' formally sold out to the Kremlin. Benes had always been pro-Soviet and admitted it openly. So did his followers, the Czech National Socialists (The Czech Nazis). The Slovaks opposed his policy consistently and resolutely even in the Prague Parliament, declaring that such a policy even. tually would bring ruin and Red enslavement to the peoples of Czecho-Slovakia. But the Slovaks were in a minority, so the policy of Benes and his followers, supported by other Czech leftist parties and the Slovak Agrarians, the socalled "Czechoslova ks" (Slovaks in the pay of the Czechs), prevailed. In 1943, Moscow parachuted Soviet partisan leaders into Slovakia to create incidents, to spread terror and confusion among the population of central Slovakia. Communists, led by Schmid,ke and Husak, and the Slovak Agrarians, led by Dr. Joseph Lettric,h, and assuming the name of Slovak "Democrats," got together on Christmas Day, 1943, and concluded an agreement to collaborate as closely as possible in all things with the USSR in the spirit of the Benes-Soviet Treaty of December 12, 1943. And they did. They planned and executed the Communist-in spired Slovak uprising in August, 1944, which they misnomered the "Slovak National Uprising," in order to make the world believe that the whole Slovak nation revolted against its government to destroy its own Republic. The terroristic acts of the partisans brought the German Anny into Slovakia, and terror and destruction, and mass murders and �SLOVAKIA 81 mass graves. Some 70,000 Slovaks were killed . The Communist revolt of August, 1944, prepared the ground for the Communists to take over key posts in SlQlVakia in 1945 and, later, In February 1948, the entire Government of Czecho-Slovakia. Benes was recognized by both the United Nations and the USSR. The Slovaks, completely abandoned, were helpless; their situation desperate. The victorious United Nations were not at all interested in the political will of the Slovak Nation. Benes and his Moscow-created government had all the say in 1945, they controlled the press and radio, Slovakia was wantonly destroyed. The Communist-dominated National Front government wasted no time in Slovakia. The Slovak National Council - a 50-50 coalition of Communists and Lettrich "Democrats" nationalized churches, ecclesiastical schools and institutions, confiscated properties, set up a concentration camp and "people's" courts to mete out "justice" to all who opposed the regime, that is Benes, the Communists and the USSR. A wave o,f ruthless, brutal perse.cution of all anti-Communist element ensued. Over 130,000 were placed under arrest, tens of thousands were deported, disfranchised and dispossessed, and hundreds were murdered. In 1946 the vast masses of the Slovak people had little choice in the elections held in May. In 1945 only two political parties were allowed to organize in Slovakia by the Benes government: the old Communist Party and the old Agrarian Party; the latter, however, had to change its name to the "Democratic" Party, because the Agrarian Party had been outlawed in Czech lands. Two other parties were allowed to form just prior to the elections of 1946 by the Communist-domin ated Prague government which were supposed to weaken the "Democrats" and, therefore strengthen the position of the Communists. The ruse, however, failed. The Slovaks could vote for the Lettrich "Democrats," or for the Communists who held the upper hand in Slovakia. The overwhelming majority of the Slovak people, which was Catholic (about 85 per cent), was not allowed to organize a political party. Being advised and instru.cted by their religious a:nd political leaders, the Slovak �82 SLOVAKIA Catholics voted for the Lettrich "Democrats" - after a,n agreement had been reached by the leaders of the Catholics and the "Democrats." Doing so, they recikoned, they chose the lesser of two evils. The Communists were beaten decisively; they received only 30 per cent of the votes cast, while the "Democrats" poled 62 per cent . The difference would have been still greater if thousands of Slovaks had not been disfranchised ; jailed and intimidated; and if the army, the partisans and imported Czech Reds had not been allowed to vote in Slovakia. In the Czech lands (Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia), where the Prague government had allowed four parties to ex,ist, the Communists and Socialists came out on top (over 54 per centJ. 'l'he Lettrich "Democrats" won the elections in Slovakia in 1946, but the Communists continued to hold on to the key positions; of course, with the blessing of Moscow and the Communist-do minated National Front Government of Prague. The Slovaks proved themselves courageous and valiant in voting against the Communists, but it availed them nothing. The Lettrich "Democrats" lacked the courage and fight; their spineless leaders conveniently forgot the working agreement with the Catholics; and yielded to the Communists on practically every score. So the Communists ran Slovakia the way they wanted to, oppressing and suppressing all non~Communist elements ruthlessly. True it is that the "Democrats" protested weakly on occasions, but nothing more, even though they did have the backing of the overwhelming majority of the Slovak people. They were gradually awakening to what collaboration with the Communists means. They were partners in the National Front and the Slovak National Counoil; they had agreed to collaborate closely with the Reds. And the Reds had only one purpose: to make Slovakia and the.n the whole of Czecho-Slovak ia subservient to them and to Moscow. If the "Democrats" balked or tried to back out, they could very easily be labeled "enemies" of the State and the National Front, according to the decrees and regulations which they had formulated with the Communists, and which they used against all so-called "Fascist and Nazi" elements, meaning, of course, anti-Communist elements �SLOVAKIA 83 in Slovakia. So they continued to collaborate and govern with the Communists, until the Reds threw them out. Dr. Eward Benes, president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, resigned in 1938 and fled his country during its worst crisis, congratulating his successor, who was elected in his place according to the Constitution of Czecho-Slovakia. Later he reappointed himself president again and, by the grace of Stalin, returned as such with his Moscowformed government behind the Red Army. This, l believe, is without precedent in history. Benes became president again, but only at a price, a very high price - the sell-out of the Slovaks and the Czechs to the men of the Kremlin. Stalin did no favors for nothing. The Slovaks and the Czechs at home had no voice in the matter. As a result of Benes's pro-Soviet policy, nothing else could have happened in Czecho-Slovakia except what did happen on February 25, 1948. Such and only such can be the conclusion of all thoroughly informed observers. Moscow and her stooges had a "sure thing" in Czecho-Slovakia ; they simply could not miss Benes and his Czech Socialists. supported by their stooges in Slovakia, the "Czechoslovaks" or Lettrich "Democrats" - the traitqrs of the Slovak nation - had prepared the way and, hence, are responsible for the sell-out of the Czech and Slovak nations to the ruthless men of the Kremlin. Benes and his political entourage firmly believed that collaboration between the USSR and Czecho-Slovakia was not only feasible, but highly desirable; that peaceful coexistence with the Reds was possible without the loss of freedoms and rights. And they promoted that policy to the bitter end. Czecho-Slovakia ended up just as did the other countries whose political leaders thought they could collaborate with Communists and the USSR, form coalition governments with them, and still preserve their independence, freedoms and rights. Moscow and its stooges deeply appreciated all such collaborations and rewarded all collaborators in the customary Red fashion - it liquidated them, proving again that Communism devours its own children. Many Slovak Communists and Lettrich "Democrat,s " have �84 SLOVAKIA already paid for their folly and the ruinous pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes with their lives. Many more languish in prisons, concentration camps and forced labor camps - the very same institutions they helped the Communists to establish. The Communists were able to seize Slovakia not beca use they had the support of the vast masses of the Slovak people, but despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the Slovak nation opposed them. And, in fact, sWl opposes them today. The victorious United Nations did not respect the will of the Slovak nation, in fact, were not even interested in ascertaining the will of the Slovaks. They did, however, respect the will of Benes and his Cze<!h Socialists, who, in the end, brought ruin and Red enslavement even on their own Czech nation. Slovakia was, therefore, sold out to the Reds by Benes and the victorious United Nations whose favor and confidence he enjo,yed. Slovakia is ruled by force and violence - the Communist system. The lesson of Slovakia, and then that of Czecho-Slovakia should be repeated over and over again so that it might be learned thoroughly. Peaceful coexistence with the USSR, the Communist world, is strictly a myth. To give it credence would be folly. Collaboration with Communists and the USSR means, in the end, a brutal suppression of all freedoms and rights and Red enslavement. • • • WHO SAID IT? "With equal enthusiasm we are today manifesting for the idea~s of our, and only our, Ozechoslovruk Democracy, which is on its way of development ,t o a new poople's fomn. . . . T.he unresel"ved alliance with our Eastern neighbor, witlh the mighty USSR, .bl.lit also our friendly contacts wi•th the rest of the world, espeoi:aUy with our western democracies, gives us the feeling of cel"tainty that no matter what might hiappen a,broad, aur internati<ona1 posilt'ion is f.imn and we need not ferur that we can come urpon new dangers and dif.ficu1ties." (!Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vic~Ohairm.an of the Executive Committee of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," C.AIS, Novemlber 18, 1947). � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 78 HOW '.fillE COMMUNISTS SEIZED POWER IN SWVAKIA (STATEMENT BY PHILIP A. HROBAK, PRESIDENT OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA AND EDITOR OF THE JEDNOTA, OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION, MADE BEFORE THE KERSTEN COMMITTEE ON COMMUNIST AGGRESSION, IN THE COUNTY COURT HOUSE, MILWAUKEE, FRIDAY AFTERNOON, OCT0!3ER 22, 1954) If there is a nation in the world today that really is anti-Communist, that nation is th,e Slovak nation. It is a matter of historical record that the Slovaks have fought the plague of materialistic- Communism consistently and persistently, in and OU! of season, for over a hundred years. Louis Stur, champion of democracy and Slovak freedom, repudiated the godless, materialistic philosophy of Marx in 1849. In his book "SLOV ANSTVO A SVET BUDUCNOSTI" (Slavdom and the World of the Future), written in 1849 but published after his death in 1856, he wrote: "In every instance Communism means the collapse and the destruction of the State. Communism arrived at this aim through atheism and apostacy from Christianity. In every form of Communism, n_o matter what its origin, the outlook on life is gloomy, lacking every tender joy. It brings the most cruel slavery. Communism, let it strive and pretend in any manner whatsoever that it will make all peoples share in all rights, nevertheless, knows nothing about humanity; it degrades humanity and because it holds to systems that are impractical and unrealizable, it belongs among the most stupid innovations that have thus far been created by the human mind." In 1905, at its very first session, the newly organized Hlinka Slovak Peoples Party, did not hesitate to condemn CommuniSIIIl. Fourteen years later, in 1919, when CzechoSlovakia was already established, General Milan R. Stefanik, Slovak hero of World War I and one of the founders of Czecho-Slovakia cautioned T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes not to flirt with Communism, not to make any compromises with the Bolsheviks. Stefanik was in Russia SLOVAKIA 79 during 1918-1919 and saw Communism at work first hand. In February, he sent a telegram to Masaryk in Prague which said: "To flirt with Bolshevist tendencies would be comparable to foresaking the path of honor and sanity. The fight against Bolshevism in all its manifestations must prevail in our politics." Andrew Hlinka, fearless champion of Slovak freedom and founder and head of the Slovak Peoples Party, fought Communism and Communists all his life. So did Martin Razus, head of the Slovak National Party and distin. guished poet. Finally, Dr. Joseph Tiso, president and martyr of the Slovak Republic, exhorted his Slovak people to persevere in its fight against the dread plague of Communism even as he was being led to the gallows on April 18, 1947, by order of the Communist-dominated National Front government of the Benes-Gottwald coalition. Up to the creation of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918, materialistic Communism could not gain a foothold among the Slovaks. After the Bolshevik group headed by Bela Kun seized the government in Hungary, his Red horde: invaded southern Slovakia, murdering thousands of innocent people and pillaging their lands. This only steeled the Slova.ks in their determination to fight Communism and Communists. In the early years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Prague Gove,r nrnent sent some 200,000 "progressive and liberal-minded" Czechs to Slovakia to take over various government posts, educational positions and other tasks. Their main objective, however, was to make Czechs out of Slovaks. It was then that leftist tendrncies began to take hold among some of the intelligentsia. The Communist Party, however, had pretty rough going among the Slovaks, who were traditionally deeply religious and opposed to the godless philosophy of Marx. Up to Munich, J 938, the Communist Party never represented more than JO per cent of the electorate in Slovakia. We must not forget, however, that the Czechs in Slovakia represented about 15· per cent of the electorate. It was the Czech group that gave the greatest support to Communists in Slovakia. 80 SLOVAKIA After Munich and the cowardly resignation of president Edward Benes, Slovakia was granted autonomy by the Prague Parliament. The government of the Slovak State was in Christian democratic hands. The Communist Party was outlawed in Slovakia in 1938 by the Slovak Government. Of course, the Reds worked underground, keeping their contacts with Moscow and, later, with the London government of Dr. Edward Benes. When Benes concluded the so-called "Czechoslovak Soviet" Treaty on December 12, 1943, the Slovaks knew definitely that not only they, but even the Czechs wert' formally sold out to the Kremlin. Benes had always been pro-Soviet and admitted it openly. So did his followers, the Czech National Socialists (The Czech Nazis). The Slovaks opposed his policy consistently and resolutely even in the Prague Parliament, declaring that such a policy even. tually would bring ruin and Red enslavement to the peoples of Czecho-Slovakia. But the Slovaks were in a minority, so the policy of Benes and his followers, supported by other Czech leftist parties and the Slovak Agrarians, the socalled "Czechoslova ks" (Slovaks in the pay of the Czechs), prevailed. In 1943, Moscow parachuted Soviet partisan leaders into Slovakia to create incidents, to spread terror and confusion among the population of central Slovakia. Communists, led by Schmid,ke and Husak, and the Slovak Agrarians, led by Dr. Joseph Lettric,h, and assuming the name of Slovak "Democrats," got together on Christmas Day, 1943, and concluded an agreement to collaborate as closely as possible in all things with the USSR in the spirit of the Benes-Soviet Treaty of December 12, 1943. And they did. They planned and executed the Communist-in spired Slovak uprising in August, 1944, which they misnomered the "Slovak National Uprising," in order to make the world believe that the whole Slovak nation revolted against its government to destroy its own Republic. The terroristic acts of the partisans brought the German Anny into Slovakia, and terror and destruction, and mass murders and SLOVAKIA 81 mass graves. Some 70,000 Slovaks were killed . The Communist revolt of August, 1944, prepared the ground for the Communists to take over key posts in SlQlVakia in 1945 and, later, In February 1948, the entire Government of Czecho-Slovakia. Benes was recognized by both the United Nations and the USSR. The Slovaks, completely abandoned, were helpless; their situation desperate. The victorious United Nations were not at all interested in the political will of the Slovak Nation. Benes and his Moscow-created government had all the say in 1945, they controlled the press and radio, Slovakia was wantonly destroyed. The Communist-dominated National Front government wasted no time in Slovakia. The Slovak National Council - a 50-50 coalition of Communists and Lettrich "Democrats" nationalized churches, ecclesiastical schools and institutions, confiscated properties, set up a concentration camp and "people's" courts to mete out "justice" to all who opposed the regime, that is Benes, the Communists and the USSR. A wave o,f ruthless, brutal perse.cution of all anti-Communist element ensued. Over 130,000 were placed under arrest, tens of thousands were deported, disfranchised and dispossessed, and hundreds were murdered. In 1946 the vast masses of the Slovak people had little choice in the elections held in May. In 1945 only two political parties were allowed to organize in Slovakia by the Benes government: the old Communist Party and the old Agrarian Party; the latter, however, had to change its name to the "Democratic" Party, because the Agrarian Party had been outlawed in Czech lands. Two other parties were allowed to form just prior to the elections of 1946 by the Communist-domin ated Prague government which were supposed to weaken the "Democrats" and, therefore strengthen the position of the Communists. The ruse, however, failed. The Slovaks could vote for the Lettrich "Democrats," or for the Communists who held the upper hand in Slovakia. The overwhelming majority of the Slovak people, which was Catholic (about 85 per cent), was not allowed to organize a political party. Being advised and instru.cted by their religious a:nd political leaders, the Slovak 82 SLOVAKIA Catholics voted for the Lettrich "Democrats" - after a,n agreement had been reached by the leaders of the Catholics and the "Democrats." Doing so, they recikoned, they chose the lesser of two evils. The Communists were beaten decisively; they received only 30 per cent of the votes cast, while the "Democrats" poled 62 per cent . The difference would have been still greater if thousands of Slovaks had not been disfranchised ; jailed and intimidated; and if the army, the partisans and imported Czech Reds had not been allowed to vote in Slovakia. In the Czech lands (Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia), where the Prague government had allowed four parties to ex,ist, the Communists and Socialists came out on top (over 54 per centJ. 'l'he Lettrich "Democrats" won the elections in Slovakia in 1946, but the Communists continued to hold on to the key positions; of course, with the blessing of Moscow and the Communist-do minated National Front Government of Prague. The Slovaks proved themselves courageous and valiant in voting against the Communists, but it availed them nothing. The Lettrich "Democrats" lacked the courage and fight; their spineless leaders conveniently forgot the working agreement with the Catholics; and yielded to the Communists on practically every score. So the Communists ran Slovakia the way they wanted to, oppressing and suppressing all non~Communist elements ruthlessly. True it is that the "Democrats" protested weakly on occasions, but nothing more, even though they did have the backing of the overwhelming majority of the Slovak people. They were gradually awakening to what collaboration with the Communists means. They were partners in the National Front and the Slovak National Counoil; they had agreed to collaborate closely with the Reds. And the Reds had only one purpose: to make Slovakia and the.n the whole of Czecho-Slovak ia subservient to them and to Moscow. If the "Democrats" balked or tried to back out, they could very easily be labeled "enemies" of the State and the National Front, according to the decrees and regulations which they had formulated with the Communists, and which they used against all so-called "Fascist and Nazi" elements, meaning, of course, anti-Communist elements SLOVAKIA 83 in Slovakia. So they continued to collaborate and govern with the Communists, until the Reds threw them out. Dr. Eward Benes, president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, resigned in 1938 and fled his country during its worst crisis, congratulating his successor, who was elected in his place according to the Constitution of Czecho-Slovakia. Later he reappointed himself president again and, by the grace of Stalin, returned as such with his Moscowformed government behind the Red Army. This, l believe, is without precedent in history. Benes became president again, but only at a price, a very high price - the sell-out of the Slovaks and the Czechs to the men of the Kremlin. Stalin did no favors for nothing. The Slovaks and the Czechs at home had no voice in the matter. As a result of Benes's pro-Soviet policy, nothing else could have happened in Czecho-Slovakia except what did happen on February 25, 1948. Such and only such can be the conclusion of all thoroughly informed observers. Moscow and her stooges had a "sure thing" in Czecho-Slovakia ; they simply could not miss Benes and his Czech Socialists. supported by their stooges in Slovakia, the "Czechoslovaks" or Lettrich "Democrats" - the traitqrs of the Slovak nation - had prepared the way and, hence, are responsible for the sell-out of the Czech and Slovak nations to the ruthless men of the Kremlin. Benes and his political entourage firmly believed that collaboration between the USSR and Czecho-Slovakia was not only feasible, but highly desirable; that peaceful coexistence with the Reds was possible without the loss of freedoms and rights. And they promoted that policy to the bitter end. Czecho-Slovakia ended up just as did the other countries whose political leaders thought they could collaborate with Communists and the USSR, form coalition governments with them, and still preserve their independence, freedoms and rights. Moscow and its stooges deeply appreciated all such collaborations and rewarded all collaborators in the customary Red fashion - it liquidated them, proving again that Communism devours its own children. Many Slovak Communists and Lettrich "Democrat,s " have 84 SLOVAKIA already paid for their folly and the ruinous pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes with their lives. Many more languish in prisons, concentration camps and forced labor camps - the very same institutions they helped the Communists to establish. The Communists were able to seize Slovakia not beca use they had the support of the vast masses of the Slovak people, but despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the Slovak nation opposed them. And, in fact, sWl opposes them today. The victorious United Nations did not respect the will of the Slovak nation, in fact, were not even interested in ascertaining the will of the Slovaks. They did, however, respect the will of Benes and his Cze<!h Socialists, who, in the end, brought ruin and Red enslavement even on their own Czech nation. Slovakia was, therefore, sold out to the Reds by Benes and the victorious United Nations whose favor and confidence he enjo,yed. Slovakia is ruled by force and violence - the Communist system. The lesson of Slovakia, and then that of Czecho-Slovakia should be repeated over and over again so that it might be learned thoroughly. Peaceful coexistence with the USSR, the Communist world, is strictly a myth. To give it credence would be folly. Collaboration with Communists and the USSR means, in the end, a brutal suppression of all freedoms and rights and Red enslavement. • • • WHO SAID IT? "With equal enthusiasm we are today manifesting for the idea~s of our, and only our, Ozechoslovruk Democracy, which is on its way of development ,t o a new poople's fomn. . . . T.he unresel"ved alliance with our Eastern neighbor, witlh the mighty USSR, .bl.lit also our friendly contacts wi•th the rest of the world, espeoi:aUy with our western democracies, gives us the feeling of cel"tainty that no matter what might hiappen a,broad, aur internati<ona1 posilt'ion is f.imn and we need not ferur that we can come urpon new dangers and dif.ficu1ties." (!Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vic~Ohairm.an of the Executive Committee of the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," C.AIS, Novemlber 18, 1947).  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 How the Communists Seized Power in Slovakia Description An account of the resource Statement by Philip A. Hrobak, President of the Slovak League of America and editor of the Jednota, official organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, made before the Kersten Committee on Communist Aggression, in the county court house, Milwaukee, Friday afternoon, October 22, 1954 Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 78-84 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hrobak, Philip Anthony, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/10f86e64ee5e33e05bc32faa367825f8.pdf 6baea0402c78cc817142a1621e060ef9 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 61 THE AroSTLES OF BOGUS FEDERALISM By Dr. George W. Cesarich "There are o thers, however, who, under the guise of a federation, are hid ing their ou tworn conce pts whi ch would satisfy tbeir own selfis h as-pirations to powe r." - Matus Zvon. I. Zvon and Federalism There is common agreement that the present Political structure of Europe has ibecome obsolete. Nruzi,sm and fascism had contr1buted a great deal to the general disintegration of EUTopean society, but communism and its collaborators in Croatia, Slo,vakia, Bohemia, Hungary, Ser1bia, Romania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Poland, Albania, etc., ha;ve almost comp1e~ly destroyed the old political, social, and economic struoture in Central and Eastern Europe, substituting a centralistic police state for the old institutions. AmO'l1'g the exiles from that area new ,principles of order are being sought and the general trend is definitely toward federalism. This fact has not escaped the attention of those exiles, who are ,partly responsible for the present plight of the enslawed Central and Eastern European nations; so they are often too ready to pay liip service to the "great principle of federalism," however, at the same time clwerly scheming to restore their old power positioos and privileges. They have learned nothing from history, and with great ,v igor ,propagate again their old, discredited political ideas, this time using, however, a new but more deC'eptive phraseology since the old one has positively lost its former respectability For instance, in the Monthly Bulletin of the International Peasant Union (No. 4, 1953) we lfind an article under the title "Separatism or Unification" by Mr. Matus Zvon who, allegedly, is "a newspaperman of Slavaik origin." However, by his ideas he is evidently an advocate of outworn concep_ts of Ozech and Seribiam coJonialism and hegemony which he very skilfully disguises as "federal1 �62 SLOVAKIA ism." At the same time he conducts a vigorous crusade against "separatism," which is the usual abusive name frequein,tly used lby Czech and ,S eribian chauvinists to designate SlovaJk and Croatian movements for national independence. In short, Mr. Zvon attempts to spread an antiquated "Czechoslovak" and "Yugoslav" 1pro,paganda coveTed with the cloak of a respectable federalism, so that his own motto aJbourt those who "are hiding their outworn concepts under the guise of federnlism" undJO'Uibtedly applies to him and his il'k. His concepts are basically undemocratic and imperialist in nature because they implicitly deny the right to self-determinatio,n for the Slovak and Croatian nations and, thus, are cointra:ry to the idea of a tTuly democratic federalism. His "federalist" pro,posals ha'Ve been made in the spirit of the infamous Little Entente which, among other things, was an alliance of hegemonists orgamzed with the purpose to slllppress ,by force the national liberaticm movements of Croats and 1Slovaiks. Genuine fedeTalism should extend the idea of se1f-determination of nations and not restrict it, as Mr. 7-Jvon desi'I'es. Thus Mr. Zvon's case is certainly the case orf a t)'1pical bogus federalism which is used to perpetuate, 1b y using new propaganda slogans, the oppressor states known as "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugoslavia." We agree with Mr. Zvon in his aHeged objecti,ve of a future that would be free of 1both "Soviet terro;r and expfoitation and of the national jealousies, conflicts and bitterness of the prerwar past." We, too, want ",peace and voluntary cooperation among countries, without dictators and secret pol.ice." We kno,w, howeiver, that his objective is unattainable if "Oze~hoslovaJkia" and "Yugoslaivia" continue to exist. We equally despise the communist or fascist form of totalitarianism. We wholeheartedly accept th~ idea of a federation of free nations, as a synthesis of an enlightened nationalism and a democratic internationalism, which would mean a better future for Central and Eastern Europe. But we coIDIPletely and aJbsolutely disagree with Mr. Zvon's concepts of "seiparatfrm" a,nd "nationalist separatist movements" which he unjustly condemns as a "c,hild of extreme nationalism," asserting that "if left unchooked, �SLOVAKIA 63 they (the separatist movements) could bring aJbout 'the ba1kamzation of Europe'." As a matter of fact, the term "separatism," used as a "smear" term by the Oz,e,ch and Ser,bian h e.gemonists, has been extensively used as a weapon in their political and economic exiploitation of oppressed nationalities, particularly of Slovaks and Car,patho-Ukraini ans in "Czechoslovakia," and of Croatians, tSlovenes, Macedonians, Mbanians, and Montenegrins in "Yugoshwia." What is more, this term has been 1ntentionally girven an omnious connotation by some hegemonists, and Mr. Zvon is only continu·ng this smearing "activity" when painting "separatism" in the darkest possilble colors. He attacks, in effect, those "bad," "separatist" Croats and 1Slovaks who want to free themselives from SeI1bian and Cwclh ,p atronage resp. and thereby intend to destroy such nice, "democratic" states like "CzechoslorvaJkia" and "Y,ugoslaJVia," i.e., make an end to Czech and Se11bian domination. Mr. Zrvon and the International Peasant Un.ion's Bulletin evidently lbelierve that those prisons of nations, "Yugoslavia" and "Ozec'hoslov8Jk-ia," are so.me •k ind of sacred COIWS that sh01Uld not lb e touched by any;body else, in order to be milked, but only lby their ·Se11bian and Orech masters. The first and second "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovakia" have passed very strict lruws "for the protection of state" directed against "separatism," and patterned after the similar codes, thus maJking separatism a serious "crime." Some Ozech and Seiibian agitators in exile are evidently unhappy that they are not in a position to apply those laws, i.e., to 'liquidate' freedOIIn-kwing Croats, Slovaks, Macedonians, etc., rSO they engage in a deceptive propaganda against Slovak and Croat "seiparatiSlm." with arguments that could equally a,pply to those American "separatists" who fought for their inde.pendence against EJngland, or to the French resistance moJVement fighting the Germans during World War II. Mr. Zvon's description of "separatism" has as its primary purpose to create a totalitarian scarecrow to be feared and condemned in this democratic world of ours. He contends that "separatism sees the maximum fulfill- �64 SLOVAKIA ment of national life only in a sovereign, independent, &lb preme and ethnically uniform state," and that "the separatism is a dogma which says that the mooit pevfe<!t and supreme !fomn of social life lies in an ethnically uniform state." It is relatively easy to criticize separatism if defined in this manner. But why did Mr. ~on omit to say what he really had in mind when he spoke aibout "separatism"? What he actually fights are the m01Vements of an enslaved nation for liberation from two ev;i1,s: communism and foreign yoke. He aippears to fear t'he struggle of Croats and Slovaks against Se:vb and Czech co1oruzation which is exactly identical with the s.truggle of American colonists a:gainSit English colonialism. For the so-called "separatists" of Mr. ~on, i.e., the Croats and the Slova!ks, "separatism" is no,t "a faith in a dogma in an ethnica.Ny unifomn state" as he misr~esents it, because they all know well that a complete ethnical uniformity is out of the question in Central and Eastern Europe because of many mixed territories. They haJVe never advocated the idea, as he asserts, that the national state is the "supreme form of social life." However, they have become increasingly more aware of the fact, confi11med by their historical exiperience in "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovakia," that they can fully develop their spiritual, cultura:l and economic resources only if they are free of foJ"eign hegemony, i.e., h:we their OIWil independent state. For them, this state is not an absolute ivalue, or a "supreme form of social life," but a practical necessity of their free and prosperous existence. Czech and Se11bian propagandists h:we .b een desperately trying to create the impression that there is something wrong witlh Croat and SlovaJk struggle for national independence. 'Dhereifore, they speaJk of it as a form of "extreme nationalism - chauvinist nationalism - extreme and uncooperative na,tionalism" - and even "totalitarian nationalism." ThLs is ~aotl.y what Mr. Zvon, too, is doing. Of coUTse, he does not have a single word of conde:mnation for Czech and Seooian imperiruliSIIIl, sneering only at the nation aliSIIIl of the oppressed ibut not the imperialism of their oppressors. �SLOVAKIA 65 ENidently, in Mr. Zivon's, opinion, nationalism of small and enslaJVed nations who fight for their freedom and independence is "chauvinistic, e~reme," and "intolerant separatism.." But nationalism of those who have ruled in "CzechoslovaJkia" and "Yugoslavia" - of the Czechs, the Seribs, and theiir helpers - is "geilluine parioti:s m" and "creative nationalism." '.Dhis is the inescaipruble implication of Mr. Zvon's, article that attacks only nationalism of oppressed n8Jtions lalbeled as ",s eparatism" and, at the same time, keeps completely silent albout the chauvinistic nationalism of some O!f the Czechs and iSe:rlbs, and their e~loitation of other Il!ations. Such a "federalism" - as propagated by Mr. Zwon which denies to small nations their right to se1f-deter,mination, aind also attempts to pe:r,petuate their oppression in artifically created states - is undisputably a fraudulent and untrue federalism. It rwould reestalblish the old regimes which, in national respect, were not muoh better than the communist systems with their ,p hony, centralistic "federalisan." There is, indeed, an unlbridgeaible gu1f between such bogus federalism and a truly democratic federalism. Freedom and federalism are two terun.s that are inseparruble. "Yugoslavi:a" and "OzechoslO'VaJ~ia" cannot exist in freedom, because the Croats and the Slovruk•s are almost unanimously opposed to the continued existence of these states. So "Yugoslruvia" and "Czechosl01Vrukia" can be kept aliive only by force and terror. However, a genuine federation cannot ibe created from albOIVe and maintained lb y force and terror, as some "OzechoslOIVruks" and "Yugoslavs" would like to do. This fact is clearly recogruzed by Mr. George M. DimitroJV, Secretary Generrul of the futernational Peasant Union, when he writes: "The attempts to impose federations from above for the purpose of accomodatlng the int.erests of governing oligarchies and cliques - have not been productive of positive results for the nations themselves. Past governments haive spoken od', and speculaited with such sohemes only when faced with unsunmountable difficulties or as a matter of unscrupuloos opportunism." (LiJberation and Union, Washington, 1952, p. 13.). �66 SLOVAKIA As an example f.o r his viewpoint, Mr. Dimitrov descriJbes "the unifi,c ation of Selfus, Croats and Slo,venes manipulated after world War I," stressmg that "it attained no durable results because it was im_po5ed from above, ignO'ring the ideas and needs of the .peoiples involived as weLl as truiy democratic procedures." Thus, any federation should lbe a free union of national states, or as Mr. Dimitrov puts it, "a true federation of free nations, and not an artificial and from above imposed creation." Therefore, the future European Union, and equally any eventJUal future regionail federations, should be built up from ,below and rest on free indiividual nations, and not on artificial oppressor states like "Ozechos.loivakia" and "Yugoslavia." This i:s a!lso the oipinion of the President of the Croatian Peasant Party, Dr. Valdko Macelk, who, in the same pUlblication (ip. 115), inivited the exiles "to prepare plans for a future Union of Free National States in Central and Southeastern Europe." In addition, it is imiportant that such plans ,be realized throwgh truly d~ocratic procedures and in ~ccordan.ce rwith the wishes of the respective peoples which could 1b e easily ascertained lby f~ee ple!biscites. !Having in mind that these ideas are basi~ for a democratic and federalist setup in Central and Eastern Eiurope, we must draw the conclusion that Mr. Zvon's ,b ogus federalism is intenti:onailly directed against the sulbjrugated tions · of "Czechosloivakia" and "Yugoslruvia." And we, therefore, consider it very unfortunate that his article WaJS pulblished in the Bulletin of the International Peasant Union which, as a democratic o,rgani~ti:on, .should be an. instrument. of freedom and 1progress and _not a S'Uipporter of the old regimes. Mr. Zivon must certainly have known that the Croatian Peasa;nt iParty, which is a memlber of the Union, defends the right of the Croatian ,p eople to. national independence and, in this sense, is Olbviously against any "Yugoslavia," therefore "separatist' in the eyes of Mr. Zvon and his kind. This olbjective of the Croa..tian Peasant Party has been proclaimed on many occasions. Consequently, the article attacking "separatism" of the Croats and the Slova!ks, and implicitly defending "Yugoslavia" and "Ozecho- -na- �67 SIJOVAKIA slovaJkia," is entirely orut of place in the Bulletin of the I. P. U. H we were not acquainted with the ideas expressed by Dr. Maic~k and Dr. Do:rmtrov, we could easil,y .get the wrong impression that the whole International Peasant Uniolll has become ain instrument for the restoration of the old regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. The ,participation in the I. P. U. of "OzeclJ.OSilovaJk" and "Yugoslav-1Seribian" politica.'l .parties · (which are exdusively Czech and Serbian creaitions), may only strengthen this impression sin~e it is a weN-;kn01WI1 ·fact that the nam.es "Czechoslovak" and "Yugoslav" hruve always lb~en a cover..;up for Czech and Serbian hegemony. fu addition, the real representa:tive.s of the Slova!k peasant people, the leaders of the Hlinka Party in exile, are not members of tlle I. P. U. I.n our Olpiniorn, thorough reorganiization of the I. P. U. would ibe necessary if it would convince the exiles orf all nations that this organi'zation is not a hodge-ipodge assemJblage of old politi'cians imbued with old -hegemonist caru:!epts, ibut an or,g arrization with new, progressive ideas, advocating a truly democratic federalism !based on free iniliividual nations, and in no wary identified with the oippressor-states. We siil!cereily believe that a ibetter and morn equitalble international order in Europe can never ib e founded on the bogus federalism propagated by Mr. Zvon and his so-called "Czechoslo;vaks." In a •s imilar manner, some ChetniJk prorpagandists orf a Greater Seroia speaJk also of a third, "federalist" Yugosil.1aNia. All this is not a solution of national prolblems. On the contrary, the necessary prerequisit.e for a democratic fed,eralized structure in Europe lies, in our opinion, in the liberation of all subjugated nations from the oppression exerted by Moscow, Prague, and Belgrade, and the creation of independent national states, including the Croat and thre Slovak states, which would then freely unite in a higher federal union. The representatives of those nations are progressiive and democratic men who are actirve partisans of a genuine federalism, aind reject a nairrowminded. and intolera.rnt nationalism. But they resolutely orppose tJhe bogus federalism of Mr. Zvon, some "Ozechoslovaks•," and some "Yugoslavs," since it would only prolong a 1 �68 SLOVAKIA the sufferings of subjugated nations in the artificial states which the Croats aind the Slovruks definitely and finalily do accept as their own. II. Ripka and Federalism Another Ciharaicteristic example of such a bogus federalism may 1b e found in the mimeograip:he d -book by Mr. Hubert Riiplcia (A Federation of Central Europe, New York, 1953), published at aJbout the same time as Mr. Zlvon's article, and pvolbaJbly insipired by the same crOIWd of political exiles. Mr. Ripka pleads for a "federation of existing states," not of nations. He is against any "dismemberm ent of Yugoslwvia and ~hoslOJVaki a." He asserts that the "dismemberment of one or the other state would cause destructive repercussions in t.lhe Danulbian region and also in the Balkans." In his opinion, "angry disputes among small, weak states would multiply," and "all efforts to integrate politically or economicailly the quarel1ing nations would collapse in the initial staige." Mr. Ripka says that "Yugoslavia, like OzechoslovaJkia, is esential to Europe, especially to East and Centra!l Eumpe." He thus disregards the wellknown facts that the, Croats do, not want to li,ve in any "Yugoslavia," and that the Slovaks do not want "Czechoslovakia." Though he recognizes the right of the Ukraine to secede from the Russian empire, he nevertheless denies the same right •o f secession to Croatia and !Slovaikia, thus rffillaining loyal to tile old hegemonist alliance of the Czech a.n d Serb ruling circles whicli, for over twenty years, had prevented any sulbstantial reforms in "OzechoslQIVrukia" and "Yugoslavia," and so, are greatly responsible for the present plight of enslaved nations therein. As coUild haive b een expected, Mr. Riplcia, who, togerthe~ with otlier Benes Ozechs, collwlborated with the Communists before, during and after Wovld War lI, and participated in the destruction oif Slovak national independence, rejects the conception of organizing Central and ])astern Europe on the basis of nations in contradiction to existing states. Like Mr. Zlvon, he too contends that "its rea:lization �69 SDOVAKIA would result in the balkanization of the wihole East Central Europe," and for f.ull measure he adds some shallow phrases aJbout ",graive and sometimes insolwble conflicts" which would allegedly preivent "higher integration." MT. Ripka transcends, however, into the world of Aesop's fables when he attempts to put over the idea that "Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were not artificial creations of Versailles diplomacy, but were, on the contrary, organic results of the historical evolution." Of course, he forgets to mention the Pittsburgh Agreement between the Slovaks and the Ozechs which was s·o shamefully violated by the Czech ruling drcles, and he disregards the undenia:ble fact that the Croats haive never accepted "Yrugoslavia" in a free election or a free plebiscite! Mr. Ripka even ventures to make the statement that "a positive ,policy, intended to create a better organization of Central Euro:pe in the future, after the fall of Soviet domination, must be !based therefore upon the existing states which correspond to national needs and aspirations of the nations concerned" ; tJhus he regards the relationships between Czechs and Slovaks and those between Se-z,bs and Croats, as "a matter of internal politics." May be that "Czechoslova;kia" and "Yugoslavia" co,r respond to "national needs and aspirations" (to exploitation) of the •B enes Czechs and Serbian "Yugosla:vs," but it is not true that these states have never corresponded to the national needs and aspirations of the Croat and Slovak nations. On the contrary, these nations will do everything possiible to dismember the states which tJhey intensely despise, and create their own states in order to be masters of their OIWil destiny. AJS to the '~bal!kanization oif Burope," this term can only mean the use of pretense and deceit in relations between the nations It is an indisput~ble fact that these were and still are the methods used b,y some Czech and Serbian hegemonists a:gainst the enslaved natiorns. 'I'herefore, only these hegemonists are the ones who are responsilble for this strange, new ,phenomenon cahled the "lba1kanilza:tion of Europe" which came into exist.ence only after the creation of "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovarkia." 1 �70 SLOVAKIA EJvidently, the ideoloigy cYf Mr. Ripka and the Benes Ozechs, as eXiplained in their ipublica:tions, conclusively proves that they ,woU!ld like to continue t:he e~loitat.ion of the small ,b ut courageous Slovruk nation in a third "Czedhoslovrukia," and, since the case of "Yugoslavia" is a very similar one, tihey have 'been contiir:ruously inrventing flimsy arguments to effect the sulbjugation of borth the Croats and the 1Slovaik&. There is nothing peculiar aJbout it when a memlber of the Benes im!I)erialist ruling clique dn,es not recognize the right to freedom and independence to other natiOI1Js, and when he arrogantly attaoks Sloivruk and Croat "separatists" (again that disparaging word) and their national moivemenrts, since it would be swa.nge if it were othel1W'ise.. There already are, however, many progressiJve Czechs who, like t:he Czech Lt. Colonel F. 0. Mikscilie, in the spirit of a true federalism and genuine mutua;l cooperation s,a.y that only bad Ozechs and bad Slovaks can be "Ozechoslovruks." (And we saiy accordingly that only bad Croats and ba.tl Selibs can 'be "Yugoslavs"). The iprincilples of a truly democratic federalism, based on independent and free nations, has been gaining more a:nd more ground. Politics ma!kes for strange 'bedfellows, however, and the propaga:nd.i·s ts oif the old regime and political status quo find a supporter in an unexpected quarter. A former Htmgaria.n Minister to Paris, iMr Paul Auer (Liiooraition a:nd Union, p 20), has a nightmare that "the efforts oif certain nationa.il groups (as, the Slorva:ks and Croaits) to achieve greater independence than they have en!joyed up to now, also slhow the need for a federal system in Southeastern EurOipe, because if these people were to a'C'hieve their aims, we would 1b e fa.iced by a still greater numlber of small states in this a.rea with eiven less power to resist outside pressure." iMay be this is another form of bogus federalism that fears freedom and independence of en:shINed natfon and does not comprehend that this is an albsolutely necessary prerequisite for a free federal union. Mr. Ripka boldly asserts, without amy proof, that a dismemberment of "Yugoslavfa" wo•u ld make impossible any organization of the DanU!bia.n area and the iBaJl.kans. This sounds in our ea.rs Hke a:n argument for fee!ble-minded per- �SLOVAKIA 71 sons, since a solid and la.sting politicaJ orga.nimtion must be ,b ased on freedom, ,a nd freedom cannot 'be coupled, as experience teaches, Mth tJhe e~ence of the artificial creations, o!f Versailles. In fact, the first "YugoslaJvia" was kept together only by force and terror, and consequently easily disintegrated in the fi'.rst storm. The same was the case with "Czechoslova kia" which fell without any resistance. "Yugoslavia" was creat.ed against the will of the Croatian people; the Croats always regarded it as a prison of nations and gave a helping hand to destroy that prison. They will do it agam witJh Tito's "Yugoslavia," or any other "YUJgoslaivia," when the occasion arises. In "Czechoslovru kia," the Slovaks wanted first their aJUtonomy, and when this was denied to them, their independence. 'Dhey were n:ot interested in defending a state which was a clevwly disguised hegemony over them and the Carpatho-Ukr ainians, despite the fact tllat millions were spent a'broiad to propagandir7.e that state as a "bastion of democracy." "Yugoslavia" and ''Czechoslovakia" did not solve national problems. If anything, they for a time only succeeded to suppress them. But, in addition, they have created many new iprdblems that did not exist earlier; among other things, they have certainly increased the amount of mutuaJ intolerance and hatred among their component parts. 'I'he organ:iization o!f that a;rea on the basis of independent nations in a true federal union is the only alternative to the "Czechoslovak " and "Yugoslav" failures. This union would, in accordance with the wishes of the people, bring about a democraJti~ political structure, and simultaneously increase cooperation and tolerance among the respective nations. Let us make olear that the opposition to "Ozechoslovakia" and "YugosilaJvia" iby the Slovaks and Croats and Macedonians, is llJOt the opposition of a small gro111p of "separ.aJtists," as some colonialists would like the public to beliesve, but the opposition of the overwhehning majority of the respective nations. In our recently ,pulblished bOOlk ( Croatia and Serbia, why is their peaceful separation a European necessity?, Croatia Cultural PUJblishing Center, �72 SLOVAKIA 4.851 Drexel Blvd., Chicrugo 15, llinois), we have proven beyond any reasonaJble doulbt that today all the Croan, unanimously advocate the separation of Croatia and Serbia, i.e., the dismemberment of Yugoslavia, and that this solution is in the interesit of a lasting Euroipean settlement and peruce in that area. As to the SlovaJks, it is a iwell-<lmown fact that a great mrujority of tihem is today for an independent Slova,k state, and that only some of their renegades are in the camp of the so-icalled "Czechosloivruks." In fa,ce of such energetic opposition to Czech and Senb schemes, of which Mr. Ripka is certainly aware, a third "Czechoslovakia," and a third "YugoslaJVia," could be established and maintained only by undemocratic and dictatorial proce3ses, i.e., iby deceit, terror, and vi,olence. Left momentarily without po,wer to do anything else, the exiled Benes "Ozechoslova,ks" and the Serbian "Ywgoslavs" use deceit as their most potent weapon in 1:!he effort to affect their Greater Czech and Greater Ser.bian plans, engaging in a fals e and deceitful propaganda against the Croat and Slo1Vak "separatists." Freedom first, then Federalization There is no doubt in our mind that the organization of Central and Eastern Europe on the ibasis of existing states, as propagated by Mr. Ripka, Mr. Zvon and Company, is contrary to the democratic principle of self-determination of nations. Its realization would clearly meatn the restoration of the old, discTedited regimes, but the fight for national freedom on the part of enslaved nations would continue inside the states. A third "Czechosl'ovaJda" and a third "Yugoslaivia" oould lbe established only in the spirit of balkanization; deception, terror and suppression would be even more emiphasized because, in the meantime, the enslaved nations have increased their determination to find an exit from those oppressor-states. In contrast to this hegemonist spirit, we propose the national questions to lbe solved on the generally acceptable democratic principle of self-determination of nations. The S1ova'ks, Croats, Macedonians, and Sloivenes have ,t he right to choose freely their own fo,rnn of government, and to �SIJOVAKIA 73 live in their own independent states like any other nation. "Czechoslovakia" and "YugoslaJvia," therefore, cannot exist as free and democratic states since the nat1ons fordbly included in them do not want them. So they necessarily must be either Olpen dictatorSlhips, or at least pseudodemocracies based on a bogtll.Si federalism. A truly d,emocratic "Yugoslavia" and a truly democratic "Czechoslovakia" are today as unconceivable as a square circle or a round square; true democracy must inevitably lead to the dissolution of these oppressor-states. Thus an orderly, democratic and ,equitalble reorganization orf Central and Eastern Europe presupposes that its nations are first liberated, forming their own independent states and, then, as a second step, estaiblish federal unions among themselves. This means of course that further independent units must be created, i.e., a free Slovenia, a free Croatia, a free S1ova;kia, a free Macedonia, a free Montenegro, which may then freely select the fo!1lll and direction of their participation in a federal union. 'Dhese states thoug:h sma1,l are capaible of an independent existence, de-s pite the perlidio,u,s propaganda slogans of some of the "eX)perts" who, deny the right of small nations to a free existence with the flimsy arguments ab,o ut their "smallness," evidently forgetting that Denmark, Holland, Luxemiburg, Belgium, Finland, Albania, etc., are also small but, nevertheless, have ;proven their ability to live an independent life. For a tyipical hegemonist lilke Mr. Ripka the idea that Slovaks and Croats maiy acquire their freedom appears to be a horrilble nigihtmare, but for all freedom.Jlo1ving individuals, this is the ,o nly equitable solution of national problems in thait part of Europe. This is not atomization of Europe, or its lbalikanization; this is mutual coopJra.tion on the basis of freedom and a genuine democratic fed eralism. Therefore, the existing states, "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugoslavia," which evidently do not correspond to national needs and aispira,tions of their inha,bitants, must be dissolved in the interest of a just national settlement and general peace. After the existence of independent Slovak 1 �74 SLOV.AKIA. and Croatian states, irrespective of the conditions surrounding their coming into existence and their forms of government, tlhe relations between Cre<!hs and SlovaJks, and between Serl}s and Croats, are not '_'internal questions" any more, though Mr. Ripka would prefer such a formula in order that Benes Orechs could continue to dominate the Sl01Vaks without any foreign interference as they did in the past. Hence these questions are today internatiiOnal questions; they are concerned with the relations between nations with their own state ideas. The right to selrf-determination is not a ruse, as Mr. Ripka alleges, but a democrati'c right which should not be reserved onil¥ for the Ozechs and the Serbs, 'b ut sho.uld aipply also for other cultured and freedom~loving nrations. The Oild comlb,ination of Oz.ecih and Serbian ruling circles has for a long time succeeded in suppressing the will of sUlbjugated na,tionalities and nations for their independence. These ruling circles are now desperately tcying to continue this practice under the caver of a bogus federalism. They have not changed a 1b it, they have remained struble in .their insane crarvings to rule other nations. This may lbe clear.ly recognired in various international and exile OTga:ruJzaJtions where the same old hegemonist crowd iD!Sists on its old "Ozechoslo.vaik" and "'Y ugoslaJV" deceptions, maintaining the fiotions of a "CzeohJOslOIVa!k" and a "Yugoslav" unity, which is not accepta.lble to Slovaks and Croats. For instance, the Ben.es Ozechs have created a "Czechorslovak" Comrmittee, without any representation of the national Sl·o.vaJks (•i ncluding, howeiver, some dubious Slovalks who re.present only themselives and not the wishes of their ipeople). The well-ilmown fact js, however, that the Slovaik nation desires its national independence, and, therefore, a "Czeohoslovaik" Committee is an obvio.us deception ( and so are all "Czechoslovak" political parties), est:a!blished ,for the purpose to sooure the hegemo1t1y of the Ozec!h "master race" over the SlavaJks. The "Voice of America," "Ratlio Free Europe," and similar organizations, are under the influence of the same old politicians who cherish hegemon:ism. For ins,tance, the "Bulletin" (IPregled) in Croatian, published by the Na- �SLOVAKIA 75 tional Committee for a Free Europe, has been edited by a Slovenian "Yugoslav," a former mem/ber of the semi.fascist and dictatoriral iBelrg rade governments which systematica.olly persecuted the Croatian peoiple. All this despite the fact that there are many a.Ible Croatian journalists in this country. This is a deliJberate insult to all Croatians, but numerous Croatian representations that were made to end this scandal remained without any success. The old hegemonist crowd is seemingly much stronger than all the appeals to reason and .p olitical decency In the "Voice of America," the Croatian language has not ,b een recognized, and some Se11bian chauvinists broadcast to Croatia in a tongue which sounds impossible for Croatian ear:s. In this case, also, numerous Croatian protests produced no results. In the Christian-iDemocratic Union, some .Sl01Venian "Yugoslavs" speak in the name of "Yugos:lwvia," haiving no authorization whatsoever from the Croats to do so. The Slovaks, too, have had the same e:x1periences with all these and similar or.ganizations. · In this sense, an those individuals who spea,k in the name of the "OzechoslolV'all{s" and "Yugoslavs" show practically every day just what is their rea,I concept of freedom and equa,lity, and wihat they understand under "federalism." They have ibeen continually using 1!he old methods of domination, and derception, whieih they so successfully employed in the first "YugOSllavia" a,nd "Ozechoslcwa,kia," .paying liip service to "freedom, democracy and equality," but having in mind only the restoration of their old power positions. As a matter of fact, they do not fight for a free IDuro,pe, but only for a :IDu:rope without freedom for enslaved nations. Lt is only unfortunate that some American organ.IBati'ons and ind1;vidua,l s nairvely support such basically undemocratic and imperialist politicians. Mr. Ripka, IMr. 'Zenikl; and their il'k, had a wonderful opportunity to show the woriking of fueir federalism. when they were in power in first and second "Czechoslovakia." However, at that time their "federalism" consisted of an extreme centralism, of the oppression orf the SlovaJk nation, of persecutions and terror. Who could be so naive to �76 SLOVAKIA believe that their "federalism" would be any different in the future, particularly if we consider that they e1Ven now, in exile, belieive the same way as they did before, de~ nying the right of SIIIlali enslaved nations to their freedom. The same aipplies to the Serbian and Slo1Venian "Yugoslavs" wiho possess the sa:rne arrogant menrtality asthe "Ozeic:hos1ova!ks." There can be no do'U!bt that the hegemonist crowd has accepted the slogan orf federalism only to deceive· the world about their real intentions. Burt we do not see that they can ever return to po,w er. They have missed the boat. They have had their chances to create democratic federal structures in "Creclloslo1Va!kia" and "Yugoslavia." Instead they ruled dictatorially, dis;regarding completely the wishes. of the oppressed, and thus increasing the .power of centrifugal forces. Ripka and the Benes Czechs missed the boat even twice. Their prindples of political order have failed miseraJbly and, therefore, new ones are necessary. In a shameful collaJboration with the Communists, the Benes Ozechs have destroyed Slovak independence and put to death many SlovaJk patriots, among them the great Slova,k president, Monsignor 'Diso. Slovaks will never forget that. So we are sure that the Slo:va!k nation wrn sei'r e the first opportunity to, diSllllemiber Ozecho-lSlwrukia and reestrublish its own state The same will be done b,y the Croats in the Communist Greater Senbian Yugo,s lavia. These are the realities of contemporary Europe, while the hegemonist ,plans of Mr. Zvon, Mr. Ripka, and similair hegemonists, also their bogus federalism, must inelVita:bly end in the disposal containers of history. 'l"he time of colonialism, as in Africa so. in Eump~ has definitely passed. Czech and Serlb coloniailis;,;,1, under the claaik of a bogus federalism, must end in defeat. After the ineivitaJble disintegration of Communism, the enslaved nations of Eastern and Central Euroipe will sha:ke off the yokes of Moscow, Belgrade and Prague, and esitalblish their own independent states which will freel,y coorperate in a spirit of a truly democratic federalism, entering into federal unions as free, independent, democratic and equal na,tions. �SLOVAKIA 77 We Croats will certainly destroy any attempt to create a third "Yugoslavia," and we firmly believe that our old friends, the Slo,vaks, ,will do the same with respect to "OzechoslO'Vakia." The Croats and the Slovaks would not be worthy to exist as free nations,, if they permitted again the hy,pocritical hegeanonist scihemera and apostles of a bogus federalism t,o .S'l.llbdue them in the arhlficial appressor--states. There can be no free Europe without free E)uropean nations. There can ibe no equitalble settlemenit in Europe and no free Euro;pean or regional union, without an independent Sl01Vruk state, without an independent Croatian state, without a free Macedonia, without a free Slovenia. The dissolution of "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugo.sla";a" is, therefore, an absolut-ely indispensable cond.iition for a true and genuine federalist structure of the European continent. • • • WHO SAID IT? "Today more than ever before, I cannot stop believing that a free and independent Czeoho-Slovakia can exist only in Europe that is brought to balance, where the West and Russia find a proper agreement to collaborate. Even the events of February 1948 could not shake me from this conviction, which remains the basis of my whole conception of Dr. Hubert Ripka, FIGARO, Paris, national politics." April 4, 1949. • • • "Novem1ber 7, 1917, is the day thaJt is marlrnd in history as the beginning of a new era, which sought the guarantee of happiness to mankind by means of a new method of equalling differences among people and thus achieving contentment on earth. Today it is still too ealI'ly from thaJt epochal occasion to judge objootiveily the consequences of that great deed. One thing, however, is certain: it was the beginning of an enormous process full of ideas born of idealism." - (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vice-Cha.irnian of the Executive Committee of the "Counc,il of Free ~echoslo!V'a:kia," NOYE PRUDY, November 18, 194'5). � SLOVAKIA 61 THE AroSTLES OF BOGUS FEDERALISM By Dr. George W. Cesarich "There are o thers, however, who, under the guise of a federation, are hid ing their ou tworn conce pts whi ch would satisfy tbeir own selfis h as-pirations to powe r." - Matus Zvon. I. Zvon and Federalism There is common agreement that the present Political structure of Europe has ibecome obsolete. Nruzi,sm and fascism had contr1buted a great deal to the general disintegration of EUTopean society, but communism and its collaborators in Croatia, Slo,vakia, Bohemia, Hungary, Ser1bia, Romania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Poland, Albania, etc., ha;ve almost comp1e~ly destroyed the old political, social, and economic struoture in Central and Eastern Europe, substituting a centralistic police state for the old institutions. AmO'l1'g the exiles from that area new ,principles of order are being sought and the general trend is definitely toward federalism. This fact has not escaped the attention of those exiles, who are ,partly responsible for the present plight of the enslawed Central and Eastern European nations; so they are often too ready to pay liip service to the "great principle of federalism," however, at the same time clwerly scheming to restore their old power positioos and privileges. They have learned nothing from history, and with great ,v igor ,propagate again their old, discredited political ideas, this time using, however, a new but more deC'eptive phraseology since the old one has positively lost its former respectability For instance, in the Monthly Bulletin of the International Peasant Union (No. 4, 1953) we lfind an article under the title "Separatism or Unification" by Mr. Matus Zvon who, allegedly, is "a newspaperman of Slavaik origin." However, by his ideas he is evidently an advocate of outworn concep_ts of Ozech and Seribiam coJonialism and hegemony which he very skilfully disguises as "federal1 �62 SLOVAKIA ism." At the same time he conducts a vigorous crusade against "separatism," which is the usual abusive name frequein,tly used lby Czech and ,S eribian chauvinists to designate SlovaJk and Croatian movements for national independence. In short, Mr. Zvon attempts to spread an antiquated "Czechoslovak" and "Yugoslav" 1pro,paganda coveTed with the cloak of a respectable federalism, so that his own motto aJbourt those who "are hiding their outworn concepts under the guise of federnlism" undJO'Uibtedly applies to him and his il'k. His concepts are basically undemocratic and imperialist in nature because they implicitly deny the right to self-determinatio,n for the Slovak and Croatian nations and, thus, are cointra:ry to the idea of a tTuly democratic federalism. His "federalist" pro,posals ha'Ve been made in the spirit of the infamous Little Entente which, among other things, was an alliance of hegemonists orgamzed with the purpose to slllppress ,by force the national liberaticm movements of Croats and 1Slovaiks. Genuine fedeTalism should extend the idea of se1f-determination of nations and not restrict it, as Mr. 7-Jvon desi'I'es. Thus Mr. Zvon's case is certainly the case orf a t)'1pical bogus federalism which is used to perpetuate, 1b y using new propaganda slogans, the oppressor states known as "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugoslavia." We agree with Mr. Zvon in his aHeged objecti,ve of a future that would be free of 1both "Soviet terro;r and expfoitation and of the national jealousies, conflicts and bitterness of the prerwar past." We, too, want ",peace and voluntary cooperation among countries, without dictators and secret pol.ice." We kno,w, howeiver, that his objective is unattainable if "Oze~hoslovaJkia" and "Yugoslaivia" continue to exist. We equally despise the communist or fascist form of totalitarianism. We wholeheartedly accept th~ idea of a federation of free nations, as a synthesis of an enlightened nationalism and a democratic internationalism, which would mean a better future for Central and Eastern Europe. But we coIDIPletely and aJbsolutely disagree with Mr. Zvon's concepts of "seiparatfrm" a,nd "nationalist separatist movements" which he unjustly condemns as a "c,hild of extreme nationalism," asserting that "if left unchooked, �SLOVAKIA 63 they (the separatist movements) could bring aJbout 'the ba1kamzation of Europe'." As a matter of fact, the term "separatism," used as a "smear" term by the Oz,e,ch and Ser,bian h e.gemonists, has been extensively used as a weapon in their political and economic exiploitation of oppressed nationalities, particularly of Slovaks and Car,patho-Ukraini ans in "Czechoslovakia," and of Croatians, tSlovenes, Macedonians, Mbanians, and Montenegrins in "Yugoshwia." What is more, this term has been 1ntentionally girven an omnious connotation by some hegemonists, and Mr. Zvon is only continu·ng this smearing "activity" when painting "separatism" in the darkest possilble colors. He attacks, in effect, those "bad," "separatist" Croats and 1Slovaks who want to free themselives from SeI1bian and Cwclh ,p atronage resp. and thereby intend to destroy such nice, "democratic" states like "CzechoslorvaJkia" and "Y,ugoslaJVia," i.e., make an end to Czech and Se11bian domination. Mr. Zrvon and the International Peasant Un.ion's Bulletin evidently lbelierve that those prisons of nations, "Yugoslavia" and "Ozec'hoslov8Jk-ia," are so.me •k ind of sacred COIWS that sh01Uld not lb e touched by any;body else, in order to be milked, but only lby their ·Se11bian and Orech masters. The first and second "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovakia" have passed very strict lruws "for the protection of state" directed against "separatism," and patterned after the similar codes, thus maJking separatism a serious "crime." Some Ozech and Seiibian agitators in exile are evidently unhappy that they are not in a position to apply those laws, i.e., to 'liquidate' freedOIIn-kwing Croats, Slovaks, Macedonians, etc., rSO they engage in a deceptive propaganda against Slovak and Croat "seiparatiSlm." with arguments that could equally a,pply to those American "separatists" who fought for their inde.pendence against EJngland, or to the French resistance moJVement fighting the Germans during World War II. Mr. Zvon's description of "separatism" has as its primary purpose to create a totalitarian scarecrow to be feared and condemned in this democratic world of ours. He contends that "separatism sees the maximum fulfill- �64 SLOVAKIA ment of national life only in a sovereign, independent, &lb preme and ethnically uniform state," and that "the separatism is a dogma which says that the mooit pevfe<!t and supreme !fomn of social life lies in an ethnically uniform state." It is relatively easy to criticize separatism if defined in this manner. But why did Mr. ~on omit to say what he really had in mind when he spoke aibout "separatism"? What he actually fights are the m01Vements of an enslaved nation for liberation from two ev;i1,s: communism and foreign yoke. He aippears to fear t'he struggle of Croats and Slovaks against Se:vb and Czech co1oruzation which is exactly identical with the s.truggle of American colonists a:gainSit English colonialism. For the so-called "separatists" of Mr. ~on, i.e., the Croats and the Slova!ks, "separatism" is no,t "a faith in a dogma in an ethnica.Ny unifomn state" as he misr~esents it, because they all know well that a complete ethnical uniformity is out of the question in Central and Eastern Europe because of many mixed territories. They haJVe never advocated the idea, as he asserts, that the national state is the "supreme form of social life." However, they have become increasingly more aware of the fact, confi11med by their historical exiperience in "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovakia," that they can fully develop their spiritual, cultura:l and economic resources only if they are free of foJ"eign hegemony, i.e., h:we their OIWil independent state. For them, this state is not an absolute ivalue, or a "supreme form of social life," but a practical necessity of their free and prosperous existence. Czech and Se11bian propagandists h:we .b een desperately trying to create the impression that there is something wrong witlh Croat and SlovaJk struggle for national independence. 'Dhereifore, they speaJk of it as a form of "extreme nationalism - chauvinist nationalism - extreme and uncooperative na,tionalism" - and even "totalitarian nationalism." ThLs is ~aotl.y what Mr. Zvon, too, is doing. Of coUTse, he does not have a single word of conde:mnation for Czech and Seooian imperiruliSIIIl, sneering only at the nation aliSIIIl of the oppressed ibut not the imperialism of their oppressors. �SLOVAKIA 65 ENidently, in Mr. Zivon's, opinion, nationalism of small and enslaJVed nations who fight for their freedom and independence is "chauvinistic, e~reme," and "intolerant separatism.." But nationalism of those who have ruled in "CzechoslovaJkia" and "Yugoslavia" - of the Czechs, the Seribs, and theiir helpers - is "geilluine parioti:s m" and "creative nationalism." '.Dhis is the inescaipruble implication of Mr. Zvon's, article that attacks only nationalism of oppressed n8Jtions lalbeled as ",s eparatism" and, at the same time, keeps completely silent albout the chauvinistic nationalism of some O!f the Czechs and iSe:rlbs, and their e~loitation of other Il!ations. Such a "federalism" - as propagated by Mr. Zwon which denies to small nations their right to se1f-deter,mination, aind also attempts to pe:r,petuate their oppression in artifically created states - is undisputably a fraudulent and untrue federalism. It rwould reestalblish the old regimes which, in national respect, were not muoh better than the communist systems with their ,p hony, centralistic "federalisan." There is, indeed, an unlbridgeaible gu1f between such bogus federalism and a truly democratic federalism. Freedom and federalism are two terun.s that are inseparruble. "Yugoslavi:a" and "OzechoslO'VaJ~ia" cannot exist in freedom, because the Croats and the Slovruk•s are almost unanimously opposed to the continued existence of these states. So "Yugoslruvia" and "Czechosl01Vrukia" can be kept aliive only by force and terror. However, a genuine federation cannot ibe created from albOIVe and maintained lb y force and terror, as some "OzechoslOIVruks" and "Yugoslavs" would like to do. This fact is clearly recogruzed by Mr. George M. DimitroJV, Secretary Generrul of the futernational Peasant Union, when he writes: "The attempts to impose federations from above for the purpose of accomodatlng the int.erests of governing oligarchies and cliques - have not been productive of positive results for the nations themselves. Past governments haive spoken od', and speculaited with such sohemes only when faced with unsunmountable difficulties or as a matter of unscrupuloos opportunism." (LiJberation and Union, Washington, 1952, p. 13.). �66 SLOVAKIA As an example f.o r his viewpoint, Mr. Dimitrov descriJbes "the unifi,c ation of Selfus, Croats and Slo,venes manipulated after world War I," stressmg that "it attained no durable results because it was im_po5ed from above, ignO'ring the ideas and needs of the .peoiples involived as weLl as truiy democratic procedures." Thus, any federation should lbe a free union of national states, or as Mr. Dimitrov puts it, "a true federation of free nations, and not an artificial and from above imposed creation." Therefore, the future European Union, and equally any eventJUal future regionail federations, should be built up from ,below and rest on free indiividual nations, and not on artificial oppressor states like "Ozechos.loivakia" and "Yugoslavia." This i:s a!lso the oipinion of the President of the Croatian Peasant Party, Dr. Valdko Macelk, who, in the same pUlblication (ip. 115), inivited the exiles "to prepare plans for a future Union of Free National States in Central and Southeastern Europe." In addition, it is imiportant that such plans ,be realized throwgh truly d~ocratic procedures and in ~ccordan.ce rwith the wishes of the respective peoples which could 1b e easily ascertained lby f~ee ple!biscites. !Having in mind that these ideas are basi~ for a democratic and federalist setup in Central and Eastern Eiurope, we must draw the conclusion that Mr. Zvon's ,b ogus federalism is intenti:onailly directed against the sulbjrugated tions · of "Czechosloivakia" and "Yugoslruvia." And we, therefore, consider it very unfortunate that his article WaJS pulblished in the Bulletin of the International Peasant Union which, as a democratic o,rgani~ti:on, .should be an. instrument. of freedom and 1progress and _not a S'Uipporter of the old regimes. Mr. Zivon must certainly have known that the Croatian Peasa;nt iParty, which is a memlber of the Union, defends the right of the Croatian ,p eople to. national independence and, in this sense, is Olbviously against any "Yugoslavia," therefore "separatist' in the eyes of Mr. Zvon and his kind. This olbjective of the Croa..tian Peasant Party has been proclaimed on many occasions. Consequently, the article attacking "separatism" of the Croats and the Slova!ks, and implicitly defending "Yugoslavia" and "Ozecho- -na- �67 SIJOVAKIA slovaJkia," is entirely orut of place in the Bulletin of the I. P. U. H we were not acquainted with the ideas expressed by Dr. Maic~k and Dr. Do:rmtrov, we could easil,y .get the wrong impression that the whole International Peasant Uniolll has become ain instrument for the restoration of the old regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. The ,participation in the I. P. U. of "OzeclJ.OSilovaJk" and "Yugoslav-1Seribian" politica.'l .parties · (which are exdusively Czech and Serbian creaitions), may only strengthen this impression sin~e it is a weN-;kn01WI1 ·fact that the nam.es "Czechoslovak" and "Yugoslav" hruve always lb~en a cover..;up for Czech and Serbian hegemony. fu addition, the real representa:tive.s of the Slova!k peasant people, the leaders of the Hlinka Party in exile, are not members of tlle I. P. U. I.n our Olpiniorn, thorough reorganiization of the I. P. U. would ibe necessary if it would convince the exiles orf all nations that this organi'zation is not a hodge-ipodge assemJblage of old politi'cians imbued with old -hegemonist caru:!epts, ibut an or,g arrization with new, progressive ideas, advocating a truly democratic federalism !based on free iniliividual nations, and in no wary identified with the oippressor-states. We siil!cereily believe that a ibetter and morn equitalble international order in Europe can never ib e founded on the bogus federalism propagated by Mr. Zvon and his so-called "Czechoslo;vaks." In a •s imilar manner, some ChetniJk prorpagandists orf a Greater Seroia speaJk also of a third, "federalist" Yugosil.1aNia. All this is not a solution of national prolblems. On the contrary, the necessary prerequisit.e for a democratic fed,eralized structure in Europe lies, in our opinion, in the liberation of all subjugated nations from the oppression exerted by Moscow, Prague, and Belgrade, and the creation of independent national states, including the Croat and thre Slovak states, which would then freely unite in a higher federal union. The representatives of those nations are progressiive and democratic men who are actirve partisans of a genuine federalism, aind reject a nairrowminded. and intolera.rnt nationalism. But they resolutely orppose tJhe bogus federalism of Mr. Zvon, some "Ozechoslovaks•," and some "Yugoslavs," since it would only prolong a 1 �68 SLOVAKIA the sufferings of subjugated nations in the artificial states which the Croats aind the Slovruks definitely and finalily do accept as their own. II. Ripka and Federalism Another Ciharaicteristic example of such a bogus federalism may 1b e found in the mimeograip:he d -book by Mr. Hubert Riiplcia (A Federation of Central Europe, New York, 1953), published at aJbout the same time as Mr. Zlvon's article, and pvolbaJbly insipired by the same crOIWd of political exiles. Mr. Ripka pleads for a "federation of existing states," not of nations. He is against any "dismemberm ent of Yugoslwvia and ~hoslOJVaki a." He asserts that the "dismemberment of one or the other state would cause destructive repercussions in t.lhe Danulbian region and also in the Balkans." In his opinion, "angry disputes among small, weak states would multiply," and "all efforts to integrate politically or economicailly the quarel1ing nations would collapse in the initial staige." Mr. Ripka says that "Yugoslavia, like OzechoslovaJkia, is esential to Europe, especially to East and Centra!l Eumpe." He thus disregards the wellknown facts that the, Croats do, not want to li,ve in any "Yugoslavia," and that the Slovaks do not want "Czechoslovakia." Though he recognizes the right of the Ukraine to secede from the Russian empire, he nevertheless denies the same right •o f secession to Croatia and !Slovaikia, thus rffillaining loyal to tile old hegemonist alliance of the Czech a.n d Serb ruling circles whicli, for over twenty years, had prevented any sulbstantial reforms in "OzechoslQIVrukia" and "Yugoslavia," and so, are greatly responsible for the present plight of enslaved nations therein. As coUild haive b een expected, Mr. Riplcia, who, togerthe~ with otlier Benes Ozechs, collwlborated with the Communists before, during and after Wovld War lI, and participated in the destruction oif Slovak national independence, rejects the conception of organizing Central and ])astern Europe on the basis of nations in contradiction to existing states. Like Mr. Zlvon, he too contends that "its rea:lization �69 SDOVAKIA would result in the balkanization of the wihole East Central Europe," and for f.ull measure he adds some shallow phrases aJbout ",graive and sometimes insolwble conflicts" which would allegedly preivent "higher integration." MT. Ripka transcends, however, into the world of Aesop's fables when he attempts to put over the idea that "Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were not artificial creations of Versailles diplomacy, but were, on the contrary, organic results of the historical evolution." Of course, he forgets to mention the Pittsburgh Agreement between the Slovaks and the Ozechs which was s·o shamefully violated by the Czech ruling drcles, and he disregards the undenia:ble fact that the Croats haive never accepted "Yrugoslavia" in a free election or a free plebiscite! Mr. Ripka even ventures to make the statement that "a positive ,policy, intended to create a better organization of Central Euro:pe in the future, after the fall of Soviet domination, must be !based therefore upon the existing states which correspond to national needs and aspirations of the nations concerned" ; tJhus he regards the relationships between Czechs and Slovaks and those between Se-z,bs and Croats, as "a matter of internal politics." May be that "Czechoslova;kia" and "Yugoslavia" co,r respond to "national needs and aspirations" (to exploitation) of the •B enes Czechs and Serbian "Yugosla:vs," but it is not true that these states have never corresponded to the national needs and aspirations of the Croat and Slovak nations. On the contrary, these nations will do everything possiible to dismember the states which tJhey intensely despise, and create their own states in order to be masters of their OIWil destiny. AJS to the '~bal!kanization oif Burope," this term can only mean the use of pretense and deceit in relations between the nations It is an indisput~ble fact that these were and still are the methods used b,y some Czech and Serbian hegemonists a:gainst the enslaved natiorns. 'I'herefore, only these hegemonists are the ones who are responsilble for this strange, new ,phenomenon cahled the "lba1kanilza:tion of Europe" which came into exist.ence only after the creation of "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovarkia." 1 �70 SLOVAKIA EJvidently, the ideoloigy cYf Mr. Ripka and the Benes Ozechs, as eXiplained in their ipublica:tions, conclusively proves that they ,woU!ld like to continue t:he e~loitat.ion of the small ,b ut courageous Slovruk nation in a third "Czedhoslovrukia," and, since the case of "Yugoslavia" is a very similar one, tihey have 'been contiir:ruously inrventing flimsy arguments to effect the sulbjugation of borth the Croats and the 1Slovaik&. There is nothing peculiar aJbout it when a memlber of the Benes im!I)erialist ruling clique dn,es not recognize the right to freedom and independence to other natiOI1Js, and when he arrogantly attaoks Sloivruk and Croat "separatists" (again that disparaging word) and their national moivemenrts, since it would be swa.nge if it were othel1W'ise.. There already are, however, many progressiJve Czechs who, like t:he Czech Lt. Colonel F. 0. Mikscilie, in the spirit of a true federalism and genuine mutua;l cooperation s,a.y that only bad Ozechs and bad Slovaks can be "Ozechoslovruks." (And we saiy accordingly that only bad Croats and ba.tl Selibs can 'be "Yugoslavs"). The iprincilples of a truly democratic federalism, based on independent and free nations, has been gaining more a:nd more ground. Politics ma!kes for strange 'bedfellows, however, and the propaga:nd.i·s ts oif the old regime and political status quo find a supporter in an unexpected quarter. A former Htmgaria.n Minister to Paris, iMr Paul Auer (Liiooraition a:nd Union, p 20), has a nightmare that "the efforts oif certain nationa.il groups (as, the Slorva:ks and Croaits) to achieve greater independence than they have en!joyed up to now, also slhow the need for a federal system in Southeastern EurOipe, because if these people were to a'C'hieve their aims, we would 1b e fa.iced by a still greater numlber of small states in this a.rea with eiven less power to resist outside pressure." iMay be this is another form of bogus federalism that fears freedom and independence of en:shINed natfon and does not comprehend that this is an albsolutely necessary prerequisite for a free federal union. Mr. Ripka boldly asserts, without amy proof, that a dismemberment of "Yugoslavfa" wo•u ld make impossible any organization of the DanU!bia.n area and the iBaJl.kans. This sounds in our ea.rs Hke a:n argument for fee!ble-minded per- �SLOVAKIA 71 sons, since a solid and la.sting politicaJ orga.nimtion must be ,b ased on freedom, ,a nd freedom cannot 'be coupled, as experience teaches, Mth tJhe e~ence of the artificial creations, o!f Versailles. In fact, the first "YugoslaJvia" was kept together only by force and terror, and consequently easily disintegrated in the fi'.rst storm. The same was the case with "Czechoslova kia" which fell without any resistance. "Yugoslavia" was creat.ed against the will of the Croatian people; the Croats always regarded it as a prison of nations and gave a helping hand to destroy that prison. They will do it agam witJh Tito's "Yugoslavia," or any other "YUJgoslaivia," when the occasion arises. In "Czechoslovru kia," the Slovaks wanted first their aJUtonomy, and when this was denied to them, their independence. 'Dhey were n:ot interested in defending a state which was a clevwly disguised hegemony over them and the Carpatho-Ukr ainians, despite the fact tllat millions were spent a'broiad to propagandir7.e that state as a "bastion of democracy." "Yugoslavia" and ''Czechoslovakia" did not solve national problems. If anything, they for a time only succeeded to suppress them. But, in addition, they have created many new iprdblems that did not exist earlier; among other things, they have certainly increased the amount of mutuaJ intolerance and hatred among their component parts. 'I'he organ:iization o!f that a;rea on the basis of independent nations in a true federal union is the only alternative to the "Czechoslovak " and "Yugoslav" failures. This union would, in accordance with the wishes of the people, bring about a democraJti~ political structure, and simultaneously increase cooperation and tolerance among the respective nations. Let us make olear that the opposition to "Ozechoslovakia" and "YugosilaJvia" iby the Slovaks and Croats and Macedonians, is llJOt the opposition of a small gro111p of "separ.aJtists," as some colonialists would like the public to beliesve, but the opposition of the overwhehning majority of the respective nations. In our recently ,pulblished bOOlk ( Croatia and Serbia, why is their peaceful separation a European necessity?, Croatia Cultural PUJblishing Center, �72 SLOVAKIA 4.851 Drexel Blvd., Chicrugo 15, llinois), we have proven beyond any reasonaJble doulbt that today all the Croan, unanimously advocate the separation of Croatia and Serbia, i.e., the dismemberment of Yugoslavia, and that this solution is in the interesit of a lasting Euroipean settlement and peruce in that area. As to the SlovaJks, it is a iwell-<lmown fact that a great mrujority of tihem is today for an independent Slova,k state, and that only some of their renegades are in the camp of the so-icalled "Czechosloivruks." In fa,ce of such energetic opposition to Czech and Senb schemes, of which Mr. Ripka is certainly aware, a third "Czechoslovakia," and a third "YugoslaJVia," could be established and maintained only by undemocratic and dictatorial proce3ses, i.e., iby deceit, terror, and vi,olence. Left momentarily without po,wer to do anything else, the exiled Benes "Ozechoslova,ks" and the Serbian "Ywgoslavs" use deceit as their most potent weapon in 1:!he effort to affect their Greater Czech and Greater Ser.bian plans, engaging in a fals e and deceitful propaganda against the Croat and Slo1Vak "separatists." Freedom first, then Federalization There is no doubt in our mind that the organization of Central and Eastern Europe on the ibasis of existing states, as propagated by Mr. Ripka, Mr. Zvon and Company, is contrary to the democratic principle of self-determination of nations. Its realization would clearly meatn the restoration of the old, discTedited regimes, but the fight for national freedom on the part of enslaved nations would continue inside the states. A third "Czechosl'ovaJda" and a third "Yugoslaivia" oould lbe established only in the spirit of balkanization; deception, terror and suppression would be even more emiphasized because, in the meantime, the enslaved nations have increased their determination to find an exit from those oppressor-states. In contrast to this hegemonist spirit, we propose the national questions to lbe solved on the generally acceptable democratic principle of self-determination of nations. The S1ova'ks, Croats, Macedonians, and Sloivenes have ,t he right to choose freely their own fo,rnn of government, and to �SIJOVAKIA 73 live in their own independent states like any other nation. "Czechoslovakia" and "YugoslaJvia," therefore, cannot exist as free and democratic states since the nat1ons fordbly included in them do not want them. So they necessarily must be either Olpen dictatorSlhips, or at least pseudodemocracies based on a bogtll.Si federalism. A truly d,emocratic "Yugoslavia" and a truly democratic "Czechoslovakia" are today as unconceivable as a square circle or a round square; true democracy must inevitably lead to the dissolution of these oppressor-states. Thus an orderly, democratic and ,equitalble reorganization orf Central and Eastern Europe presupposes that its nations are first liberated, forming their own independent states and, then, as a second step, estaiblish federal unions among themselves. This means of course that further independent units must be created, i.e., a free Slovenia, a free Croatia, a free S1ova;kia, a free Macedonia, a free Montenegro, which may then freely select the fo!1lll and direction of their participation in a federal union. 'Dhese states thoug:h sma1,l are capaible of an independent existence, de-s pite the perlidio,u,s propaganda slogans of some of the "eX)perts" who, deny the right of small nations to a free existence with the flimsy arguments ab,o ut their "smallness," evidently forgetting that Denmark, Holland, Luxemiburg, Belgium, Finland, Albania, etc., are also small but, nevertheless, have ;proven their ability to live an independent life. For a tyipical hegemonist lilke Mr. Ripka the idea that Slovaks and Croats maiy acquire their freedom appears to be a horrilble nigihtmare, but for all freedom.Jlo1ving individuals, this is the ,o nly equitable solution of national problems in thait part of Europe. This is not atomization of Europe, or its lbalikanization; this is mutual coopJra.tion on the basis of freedom and a genuine democratic fed eralism. Therefore, the existing states, "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugoslavia," which evidently do not correspond to national needs and aispira,tions of their inha,bitants, must be dissolved in the interest of a just national settlement and general peace. After the existence of independent Slovak 1 �74 SLOV.AKIA. and Croatian states, irrespective of the conditions surrounding their coming into existence and their forms of government, tlhe relations between Cre<!hs and SlovaJks, and between Serl}s and Croats, are not '_'internal questions" any more, though Mr. Ripka would prefer such a formula in order that Benes Orechs could continue to dominate the Sl01Vaks without any foreign interference as they did in the past. Hence these questions are today internatiiOnal questions; they are concerned with the relations between nations with their own state ideas. The right to selrf-determination is not a ruse, as Mr. Ripka alleges, but a democrati'c right which should not be reserved onil¥ for the Ozechs and the Serbs, 'b ut sho.uld aipply also for other cultured and freedom~loving nrations. The Oild comlb,ination of Oz.ecih and Serbian ruling circles has for a long time succeeded in suppressing the will of sUlbjugated na,tionalities and nations for their independence. These ruling circles are now desperately tcying to continue this practice under the caver of a bogus federalism. They have not changed a 1b it, they have remained struble in .their insane crarvings to rule other nations. This may lbe clear.ly recognired in various international and exile OTga:ruJzaJtions where the same old hegemonist crowd iD!Sists on its old "Ozechoslo.vaik" and "'Y ugoslaJV" deceptions, maintaining the fiotions of a "CzeohJOslOIVa!k" and a "Yugoslav" unity, which is not accepta.lble to Slovaks and Croats. For instance, the Ben.es Ozechs have created a "Czechorslovak" Comrmittee, without any representation of the national Sl·o.vaJks (•i ncluding, howeiver, some dubious Slovalks who re.present only themselives and not the wishes of their ipeople). The well-ilmown fact js, however, that the Slovaik nation desires its national independence, and, therefore, a "Czeohoslovaik" Committee is an obvio.us deception ( and so are all "Czechoslovak" political parties), est:a!blished ,for the purpose to sooure the hegemo1t1y of the Ozec!h "master race" over the SlavaJks. The "Voice of America," "Ratlio Free Europe," and similar organizations, are under the influence of the same old politicians who cherish hegemon:ism. For ins,tance, the "Bulletin" (IPregled) in Croatian, published by the Na- �SLOVAKIA 75 tional Committee for a Free Europe, has been edited by a Slovenian "Yugoslav," a former mem/ber of the semi.fascist and dictatoriral iBelrg rade governments which systematica.olly persecuted the Croatian peoiple. All this despite the fact that there are many a.Ible Croatian journalists in this country. This is a deliJberate insult to all Croatians, but numerous Croatian representations that were made to end this scandal remained without any success. The old hegemonist crowd is seemingly much stronger than all the appeals to reason and .p olitical decency In the "Voice of America," the Croatian language has not ,b een recognized, and some Se11bian chauvinists broadcast to Croatia in a tongue which sounds impossible for Croatian ear:s. In this case, also, numerous Croatian protests produced no results. In the Christian-iDemocratic Union, some .Sl01Venian "Yugoslavs" speak in the name of "Yugos:lwvia," haiving no authorization whatsoever from the Croats to do so. The Slovaks, too, have had the same e:x1periences with all these and similar or.ganizations. · In this sense, an those individuals who spea,k in the name of the "OzechoslolV'all{s" and "Yugoslavs" show practically every day just what is their rea,I concept of freedom and equa,lity, and wihat they understand under "federalism." They have ibeen continually using 1!he old methods of domination, and derception, whieih they so successfully employed in the first "YugOSllavia" a,nd "Ozechoslcwa,kia," .paying liip service to "freedom, democracy and equality," but having in mind only the restoration of their old power positions. As a matter of fact, they do not fight for a free IDuro,pe, but only for a :IDu:rope without freedom for enslaved nations. Lt is only unfortunate that some American organ.IBati'ons and ind1;vidua,l s nairvely support such basically undemocratic and imperialist politicians. Mr. Ripka, IMr. 'Zenikl; and their il'k, had a wonderful opportunity to show the woriking of fueir federalism. when they were in power in first and second "Czechoslovakia." However, at that time their "federalism" consisted of an extreme centralism, of the oppression orf the SlovaJk nation, of persecutions and terror. Who could be so naive to �76 SLOVAKIA believe that their "federalism" would be any different in the future, particularly if we consider that they e1Ven now, in exile, belieive the same way as they did before, de~ nying the right of SIIIlali enslaved nations to their freedom. The same aipplies to the Serbian and Slo1Venian "Yugoslavs" wiho possess the sa:rne arrogant menrtality asthe "Ozeic:hos1ova!ks." There can be no do'U!bt that the hegemonist crowd has accepted the slogan orf federalism only to deceive· the world about their real intentions. Burt we do not see that they can ever return to po,w er. They have missed the boat. They have had their chances to create democratic federal structures in "Creclloslo1Va!kia" and "Yugoslavia." Instead they ruled dictatorially, dis;regarding completely the wishes. of the oppressed, and thus increasing the .power of centrifugal forces. Ripka and the Benes Czechs missed the boat even twice. Their prindples of political order have failed miseraJbly and, therefore, new ones are necessary. In a shameful collaJboration with the Communists, the Benes Ozechs have destroyed Slovak independence and put to death many SlovaJk patriots, among them the great Slova,k president, Monsignor 'Diso. Slovaks will never forget that. So we are sure that the Slo:va!k nation wrn sei'r e the first opportunity to, diSllllemiber Ozecho-lSlwrukia and reestrublish its own state The same will be done b,y the Croats in the Communist Greater Senbian Yugo,s lavia. These are the realities of contemporary Europe, while the hegemonist ,plans of Mr. Zvon, Mr. Ripka, and similair hegemonists, also their bogus federalism, must inelVita:bly end in the disposal containers of history. 'l"he time of colonialism, as in Africa so. in Eump~ has definitely passed. Czech and Serlb coloniailis;,;,1, under the claaik of a bogus federalism, must end in defeat. After the ineivitaJble disintegration of Communism, the enslaved nations of Eastern and Central Euroipe will sha:ke off the yokes of Moscow, Belgrade and Prague, and esitalblish their own independent states which will freel,y coorperate in a spirit of a truly democratic federalism, entering into federal unions as free, independent, democratic and equal na,tions. �SLOVAKIA 77 We Croats will certainly destroy any attempt to create a third "Yugoslavia," and we firmly believe that our old friends, the Slo,vaks, ,will do the same with respect to "OzechoslO'Vakia." The Croats and the Slovaks would not be worthy to exist as free nations,, if they permitted again the hy,pocritical hegeanonist scihemera and apostles of a bogus federalism t,o .S'l.llbdue them in the arhlficial appressor--states. There can be no free Europe without free E)uropean nations. There can ibe no equitalble settlemenit in Europe and no free Euro;pean or regional union, without an independent Sl01Vruk state, without an independent Croatian state, without a free Macedonia, without a free Slovenia. The dissolution of "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugo.sla";a" is, therefore, an absolut-ely indispensable cond.iition for a true and genuine federalist structure of the European continent. • • • WHO SAID IT? "Today more than ever before, I cannot stop believing that a free and independent Czeoho-Slovakia can exist only in Europe that is brought to balance, where the West and Russia find a proper agreement to collaborate. Even the events of February 1948 could not shake me from this conviction, which remains the basis of my whole conception of Dr. Hubert Ripka, FIGARO, Paris, national politics." April 4, 1949. • • • "Novem1ber 7, 1917, is the day thaJt is marlrnd in history as the beginning of a new era, which sought the guarantee of happiness to mankind by means of a new method of equalling differences among people and thus achieving contentment on earth. Today it is still too ealI'ly from thaJt epochal occasion to judge objootiveily the consequences of that great deed. One thing, however, is certain: it was the beginning of an enormous process full of ideas born of idealism." - (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vice-Cha.irnian of the Executive Committee of the "Counc,il of Free ~echoslo!V'a:kia," NOYE PRUDY, November 18, 194'5). � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 THE AroSTLES OF BOGUS FEDERALISM By Dr. George W. Cesarich "There are o thers, however, who, under the guise of a federation, are hid ing their ou tworn conce pts whi ch would satisfy tbeir own selfis h as-pirations to powe r." - Matus Zvon. I. Zvon and Federalism There is common agreement that the present Political structure of Europe has ibecome obsolete. Nruzi,sm and fascism had contr1buted a great deal to the general disintegration of EUTopean society, but communism and its collaborators in Croatia, Slo,vakia, Bohemia, Hungary, Ser1bia, Romania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Poland, Albania, etc., ha;ve almost comp1e~ly destroyed the old political, social, and economic struoture in Central and Eastern Europe, substituting a centralistic police state for the old institutions. AmO'l1'g the exiles from that area new ,principles of order are being sought and the general trend is definitely toward federalism. This fact has not escaped the attention of those exiles, who are ,partly responsible for the present plight of the enslawed Central and Eastern European nations; so they are often too ready to pay liip service to the "great principle of federalism," however, at the same time clwerly scheming to restore their old power positioos and privileges. They have learned nothing from history, and with great ,v igor ,propagate again their old, discredited political ideas, this time using, however, a new but more deC'eptive phraseology since the old one has positively lost its former respectability For instance, in the Monthly Bulletin of the International Peasant Union (No. 4, 1953) we lfind an article under the title "Separatism or Unification" by Mr. Matus Zvon who, allegedly, is "a newspaperman of Slavaik origin." However, by his ideas he is evidently an advocate of outworn concep_ts of Ozech and Seribiam coJonialism and hegemony which he very skilfully disguises as "federal1 62 SLOVAKIA ism." At the same time he conducts a vigorous crusade against "separatism," which is the usual abusive name frequein,tly used lby Czech and ,S eribian chauvinists to designate SlovaJk and Croatian movements for national independence. In short, Mr. Zvon attempts to spread an antiquated "Czechoslovak" and "Yugoslav" 1pro,paganda coveTed with the cloak of a respectable federalism, so that his own motto aJbourt those who "are hiding their outworn concepts under the guise of federnlism" undJO'Uibtedly applies to him and his il'k. His concepts are basically undemocratic and imperialist in nature because they implicitly deny the right to self-determinatio,n for the Slovak and Croatian nations and, thus, are cointra:ry to the idea of a tTuly democratic federalism. His "federalist" pro,posals ha'Ve been made in the spirit of the infamous Little Entente which, among other things, was an alliance of hegemonists orgamzed with the purpose to slllppress ,by force the national liberaticm movements of Croats and 1Slovaiks. Genuine fedeTalism should extend the idea of se1f-determination of nations and not restrict it, as Mr. 7-Jvon desi'I'es. Thus Mr. Zvon's case is certainly the case orf a t)'1pical bogus federalism which is used to perpetuate, 1b y using new propaganda slogans, the oppressor states known as "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugoslavia." We agree with Mr. Zvon in his aHeged objecti,ve of a future that would be free of 1both "Soviet terro;r and expfoitation and of the national jealousies, conflicts and bitterness of the prerwar past." We, too, want ",peace and voluntary cooperation among countries, without dictators and secret pol.ice." We kno,w, howeiver, that his objective is unattainable if "Oze~hoslovaJkia" and "Yugoslaivia" continue to exist. We equally despise the communist or fascist form of totalitarianism. We wholeheartedly accept th~ idea of a federation of free nations, as a synthesis of an enlightened nationalism and a democratic internationalism, which would mean a better future for Central and Eastern Europe. But we coIDIPletely and aJbsolutely disagree with Mr. Zvon's concepts of "seiparatfrm" a,nd "nationalist separatist movements" which he unjustly condemns as a "c,hild of extreme nationalism," asserting that "if left unchooked, SLOVAKIA 63 they (the separatist movements) could bring aJbout 'the ba1kamzation of Europe'." As a matter of fact, the term "separatism," used as a "smear" term by the Oz,e,ch and Ser,bian h e.gemonists, has been extensively used as a weapon in their political and economic exiploitation of oppressed nationalities, particularly of Slovaks and Car,patho-Ukraini ans in "Czechoslovakia," and of Croatians, tSlovenes, Macedonians, Mbanians, and Montenegrins in "Yugoshwia." What is more, this term has been 1ntentionally girven an omnious connotation by some hegemonists, and Mr. Zvon is only continu·ng this smearing "activity" when painting "separatism" in the darkest possilble colors. He attacks, in effect, those "bad," "separatist" Croats and 1Slovaks who want to free themselives from SeI1bian and Cwclh ,p atronage resp. and thereby intend to destroy such nice, "democratic" states like "CzechoslorvaJkia" and "Y,ugoslaJVia," i.e., make an end to Czech and Se11bian domination. Mr. Zrvon and the International Peasant Un.ion's Bulletin evidently lbelierve that those prisons of nations, "Yugoslavia" and "Ozec'hoslov8Jk-ia," are so.me •k ind of sacred COIWS that sh01Uld not lb e touched by any;body else, in order to be milked, but only lby their ·Se11bian and Orech masters. The first and second "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovakia" have passed very strict lruws "for the protection of state" directed against "separatism," and patterned after the similar codes, thus maJking separatism a serious "crime." Some Ozech and Seiibian agitators in exile are evidently unhappy that they are not in a position to apply those laws, i.e., to 'liquidate' freedOIIn-kwing Croats, Slovaks, Macedonians, etc., rSO they engage in a deceptive propaganda against Slovak and Croat "seiparatiSlm." with arguments that could equally a,pply to those American "separatists" who fought for their inde.pendence against EJngland, or to the French resistance moJVement fighting the Germans during World War II. Mr. Zvon's description of "separatism" has as its primary purpose to create a totalitarian scarecrow to be feared and condemned in this democratic world of ours. He contends that "separatism sees the maximum fulfill- 64 SLOVAKIA ment of national life only in a sovereign, independent, &lb preme and ethnically uniform state," and that "the separatism is a dogma which says that the mooit pevfe<!t and supreme !fomn of social life lies in an ethnically uniform state." It is relatively easy to criticize separatism if defined in this manner. But why did Mr. ~on omit to say what he really had in mind when he spoke aibout "separatism"? What he actually fights are the m01Vements of an enslaved nation for liberation from two ev;i1,s: communism and foreign yoke. He aippears to fear t'he struggle of Croats and Slovaks against Se:vb and Czech co1oruzation which is exactly identical with the s.truggle of American colonists a:gainSit English colonialism. For the so-called "separatists" of Mr. ~on, i.e., the Croats and the Slova!ks, "separatism" is no,t "a faith in a dogma in an ethnica.Ny unifomn state" as he misr~esents it, because they all know well that a complete ethnical uniformity is out of the question in Central and Eastern Europe because of many mixed territories. They haJVe never advocated the idea, as he asserts, that the national state is the "supreme form of social life." However, they have become increasingly more aware of the fact, confi11med by their historical exiperience in "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovakia," that they can fully develop their spiritual, cultura:l and economic resources only if they are free of foJ"eign hegemony, i.e., h:we their OIWil independent state. For them, this state is not an absolute ivalue, or a "supreme form of social life," but a practical necessity of their free and prosperous existence. Czech and Se11bian propagandists h:we .b een desperately trying to create the impression that there is something wrong witlh Croat and SlovaJk struggle for national independence. 'Dhereifore, they speaJk of it as a form of "extreme nationalism - chauvinist nationalism - extreme and uncooperative na,tionalism" - and even "totalitarian nationalism." ThLs is ~aotl.y what Mr. Zvon, too, is doing. Of coUTse, he does not have a single word of conde:mnation for Czech and Seooian imperiruliSIIIl, sneering only at the nation aliSIIIl of the oppressed ibut not the imperialism of their oppressors. SLOVAKIA 65 ENidently, in Mr. Zivon's, opinion, nationalism of small and enslaJVed nations who fight for their freedom and independence is "chauvinistic, e~reme," and "intolerant separatism.." But nationalism of those who have ruled in "CzechoslovaJkia" and "Yugoslavia" - of the Czechs, the Seribs, and theiir helpers - is "geilluine parioti:s m" and "creative nationalism." '.Dhis is the inescaipruble implication of Mr. Zvon's, article that attacks only nationalism of oppressed n8Jtions lalbeled as ",s eparatism" and, at the same time, keeps completely silent albout the chauvinistic nationalism of some O!f the Czechs and iSe:rlbs, and their e~loitation of other Il!ations. Such a "federalism" - as propagated by Mr. Zwon which denies to small nations their right to se1f-deter,mination, aind also attempts to pe:r,petuate their oppression in artifically created states - is undisputably a fraudulent and untrue federalism. It rwould reestalblish the old regimes which, in national respect, were not muoh better than the communist systems with their ,p hony, centralistic "federalisan." There is, indeed, an unlbridgeaible gu1f between such bogus federalism and a truly democratic federalism. Freedom and federalism are two terun.s that are inseparruble. "Yugoslavi:a" and "OzechoslO'VaJ~ia" cannot exist in freedom, because the Croats and the Slovruk•s are almost unanimously opposed to the continued existence of these states. So "Yugoslruvia" and "Czechosl01Vrukia" can be kept aliive only by force and terror. However, a genuine federation cannot ibe created from albOIVe and maintained lb y force and terror, as some "OzechoslOIVruks" and "Yugoslavs" would like to do. This fact is clearly recogruzed by Mr. George M. DimitroJV, Secretary Generrul of the futernational Peasant Union, when he writes: "The attempts to impose federations from above for the purpose of accomodatlng the int.erests of governing oligarchies and cliques - have not been productive of positive results for the nations themselves. Past governments haive spoken od', and speculaited with such sohemes only when faced with unsunmountable difficulties or as a matter of unscrupuloos opportunism." (LiJberation and Union, Washington, 1952, p. 13.). 66 SLOVAKIA As an example f.o r his viewpoint, Mr. Dimitrov descriJbes "the unifi,c ation of Selfus, Croats and Slo,venes manipulated after world War I," stressmg that "it attained no durable results because it was im_po5ed from above, ignO'ring the ideas and needs of the .peoiples involived as weLl as truiy democratic procedures." Thus, any federation should lbe a free union of national states, or as Mr. Dimitrov puts it, "a true federation of free nations, and not an artificial and from above imposed creation." Therefore, the future European Union, and equally any eventJUal future regionail federations, should be built up from ,below and rest on free indiividual nations, and not on artificial oppressor states like "Ozechos.loivakia" and "Yugoslavia." This i:s a!lso the oipinion of the President of the Croatian Peasant Party, Dr. Valdko Macelk, who, in the same pUlblication (ip. 115), inivited the exiles "to prepare plans for a future Union of Free National States in Central and Southeastern Europe." In addition, it is imiportant that such plans ,be realized throwgh truly d~ocratic procedures and in ~ccordan.ce rwith the wishes of the respective peoples which could 1b e easily ascertained lby f~ee ple!biscites. !Having in mind that these ideas are basi~ for a democratic and federalist setup in Central and Eastern Eiurope, we must draw the conclusion that Mr. Zvon's ,b ogus federalism is intenti:onailly directed against the sulbjrugated tions · of "Czechosloivakia" and "Yugoslruvia." And we, therefore, consider it very unfortunate that his article WaJS pulblished in the Bulletin of the International Peasant Union which, as a democratic o,rgani~ti:on, .should be an. instrument. of freedom and 1progress and _not a S'Uipporter of the old regimes. Mr. Zivon must certainly have known that the Croatian Peasa;nt iParty, which is a memlber of the Union, defends the right of the Croatian ,p eople to. national independence and, in this sense, is Olbviously against any "Yugoslavia," therefore "separatist' in the eyes of Mr. Zvon and his kind. This olbjective of the Croa..tian Peasant Party has been proclaimed on many occasions. Consequently, the article attacking "separatism" of the Croats and the Slova!ks, and implicitly defending "Yugoslavia" and "Ozecho- -na- 67 SIJOVAKIA slovaJkia," is entirely orut of place in the Bulletin of the I. P. U. H we were not acquainted with the ideas expressed by Dr. Maic~k and Dr. Do:rmtrov, we could easil,y .get the wrong impression that the whole International Peasant Uniolll has become ain instrument for the restoration of the old regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. The ,participation in the I. P. U. of "OzeclJ.OSilovaJk" and "Yugoslav-1Seribian" politica.'l .parties · (which are exdusively Czech and Serbian creaitions), may only strengthen this impression sin~e it is a weN-;kn01WI1 ·fact that the nam.es "Czechoslovak" and "Yugoslav" hruve always lb~en a cover..;up for Czech and Serbian hegemony. fu addition, the real representa:tive.s of the Slova!k peasant people, the leaders of the Hlinka Party in exile, are not members of tlle I. P. U. I.n our Olpiniorn, thorough reorganiization of the I. P. U. would ibe necessary if it would convince the exiles orf all nations that this organi'zation is not a hodge-ipodge assemJblage of old politi'cians imbued with old -hegemonist caru:!epts, ibut an or,g arrization with new, progressive ideas, advocating a truly democratic federalism !based on free iniliividual nations, and in no wary identified with the oippressor-states. We siil!cereily believe that a ibetter and morn equitalble international order in Europe can never ib e founded on the bogus federalism propagated by Mr. Zvon and his so-called "Czechoslo;vaks." In a •s imilar manner, some ChetniJk prorpagandists orf a Greater Seroia speaJk also of a third, "federalist" Yugosil.1aNia. All this is not a solution of national prolblems. On the contrary, the necessary prerequisit.e for a democratic fed,eralized structure in Europe lies, in our opinion, in the liberation of all subjugated nations from the oppression exerted by Moscow, Prague, and Belgrade, and the creation of independent national states, including the Croat and thre Slovak states, which would then freely unite in a higher federal union. The representatives of those nations are progressiive and democratic men who are actirve partisans of a genuine federalism, aind reject a nairrowminded. and intolera.rnt nationalism. But they resolutely orppose tJhe bogus federalism of Mr. Zvon, some "Ozechoslovaks•," and some "Yugoslavs," since it would only prolong a 1 68 SLOVAKIA the sufferings of subjugated nations in the artificial states which the Croats aind the Slovruks definitely and finalily do accept as their own. II. Ripka and Federalism Another Ciharaicteristic example of such a bogus federalism may 1b e found in the mimeograip:he d -book by Mr. Hubert Riiplcia (A Federation of Central Europe, New York, 1953), published at aJbout the same time as Mr. Zlvon's article, and pvolbaJbly insipired by the same crOIWd of political exiles. Mr. Ripka pleads for a "federation of existing states," not of nations. He is against any "dismemberm ent of Yugoslwvia and ~hoslOJVaki a." He asserts that the "dismemberment of one or the other state would cause destructive repercussions in t.lhe Danulbian region and also in the Balkans." In his opinion, "angry disputes among small, weak states would multiply," and "all efforts to integrate politically or economicailly the quarel1ing nations would collapse in the initial staige." Mr. Ripka says that "Yugoslavia, like OzechoslovaJkia, is esential to Europe, especially to East and Centra!l Eumpe." He thus disregards the wellknown facts that the, Croats do, not want to li,ve in any "Yugoslavia," and that the Slovaks do not want "Czechoslovakia." Though he recognizes the right of the Ukraine to secede from the Russian empire, he nevertheless denies the same right •o f secession to Croatia and !Slovaikia, thus rffillaining loyal to tile old hegemonist alliance of the Czech a.n d Serb ruling circles whicli, for over twenty years, had prevented any sulbstantial reforms in "OzechoslQIVrukia" and "Yugoslavia," and so, are greatly responsible for the present plight of enslaved nations therein. As coUild haive b een expected, Mr. Riplcia, who, togerthe~ with otlier Benes Ozechs, collwlborated with the Communists before, during and after Wovld War lI, and participated in the destruction oif Slovak national independence, rejects the conception of organizing Central and ])astern Europe on the basis of nations in contradiction to existing states. Like Mr. Zlvon, he too contends that "its rea:lization 69 SDOVAKIA would result in the balkanization of the wihole East Central Europe," and for f.ull measure he adds some shallow phrases aJbout ",graive and sometimes insolwble conflicts" which would allegedly preivent "higher integration." MT. Ripka transcends, however, into the world of Aesop's fables when he attempts to put over the idea that "Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were not artificial creations of Versailles diplomacy, but were, on the contrary, organic results of the historical evolution." Of course, he forgets to mention the Pittsburgh Agreement between the Slovaks and the Ozechs which was s·o shamefully violated by the Czech ruling drcles, and he disregards the undenia:ble fact that the Croats haive never accepted "Yrugoslavia" in a free election or a free plebiscite! Mr. Ripka even ventures to make the statement that "a positive ,policy, intended to create a better organization of Central Euro:pe in the future, after the fall of Soviet domination, must be !based therefore upon the existing states which correspond to national needs and aspirations of the nations concerned" ; tJhus he regards the relationships between Czechs and Slovaks and those between Se-z,bs and Croats, as "a matter of internal politics." May be that "Czechoslova;kia" and "Yugoslavia" co,r respond to "national needs and aspirations" (to exploitation) of the •B enes Czechs and Serbian "Yugosla:vs," but it is not true that these states have never corresponded to the national needs and aspirations of the Croat and Slovak nations. On the contrary, these nations will do everything possiible to dismember the states which tJhey intensely despise, and create their own states in order to be masters of their OIWil destiny. AJS to the '~bal!kanization oif Burope," this term can only mean the use of pretense and deceit in relations between the nations It is an indisput~ble fact that these were and still are the methods used b,y some Czech and Serbian hegemonists a:gainst the enslaved natiorns. 'I'herefore, only these hegemonists are the ones who are responsilble for this strange, new ,phenomenon cahled the "lba1kanilza:tion of Europe" which came into exist.ence only after the creation of "Yugoslavia" and "Czechoslovarkia." 1 70 SLOVAKIA EJvidently, the ideoloigy cYf Mr. Ripka and the Benes Ozechs, as eXiplained in their ipublica:tions, conclusively proves that they ,woU!ld like to continue t:he e~loitat.ion of the small ,b ut courageous Slovruk nation in a third "Czedhoslovrukia," and, since the case of "Yugoslavia" is a very similar one, tihey have 'been contiir:ruously inrventing flimsy arguments to effect the sulbjugation of borth the Croats and the 1Slovaik&. There is nothing peculiar aJbout it when a memlber of the Benes im!I)erialist ruling clique dn,es not recognize the right to freedom and independence to other natiOI1Js, and when he arrogantly attaoks Sloivruk and Croat "separatists" (again that disparaging word) and their national moivemenrts, since it would be swa.nge if it were othel1W'ise.. There already are, however, many progressiJve Czechs who, like t:he Czech Lt. Colonel F. 0. Mikscilie, in the spirit of a true federalism and genuine mutua;l cooperation s,a.y that only bad Ozechs and bad Slovaks can be "Ozechoslovruks." (And we saiy accordingly that only bad Croats and ba.tl Selibs can 'be "Yugoslavs"). The iprincilples of a truly democratic federalism, based on independent and free nations, has been gaining more a:nd more ground. Politics ma!kes for strange 'bedfellows, however, and the propaga:nd.i·s ts oif the old regime and political status quo find a supporter in an unexpected quarter. A former Htmgaria.n Minister to Paris, iMr Paul Auer (Liiooraition a:nd Union, p 20), has a nightmare that "the efforts oif certain nationa.il groups (as, the Slorva:ks and Croaits) to achieve greater independence than they have en!joyed up to now, also slhow the need for a federal system in Southeastern EurOipe, because if these people were to a'C'hieve their aims, we would 1b e fa.iced by a still greater numlber of small states in this a.rea with eiven less power to resist outside pressure." iMay be this is another form of bogus federalism that fears freedom and independence of en:shINed natfon and does not comprehend that this is an albsolutely necessary prerequisite for a free federal union. Mr. Ripka boldly asserts, without amy proof, that a dismemberment of "Yugoslavfa" wo•u ld make impossible any organization of the DanU!bia.n area and the iBaJl.kans. This sounds in our ea.rs Hke a:n argument for fee!ble-minded per- SLOVAKIA 71 sons, since a solid and la.sting politicaJ orga.nimtion must be ,b ased on freedom, ,a nd freedom cannot 'be coupled, as experience teaches, Mth tJhe e~ence of the artificial creations, o!f Versailles. In fact, the first "YugoslaJvia" was kept together only by force and terror, and consequently easily disintegrated in the fi'.rst storm. The same was the case with "Czechoslova kia" which fell without any resistance. "Yugoslavia" was creat.ed against the will of the Croatian people; the Croats always regarded it as a prison of nations and gave a helping hand to destroy that prison. They will do it agam witJh Tito's "Yugoslavia," or any other "YUJgoslaivia," when the occasion arises. In "Czechoslovru kia," the Slovaks wanted first their aJUtonomy, and when this was denied to them, their independence. 'Dhey were n:ot interested in defending a state which was a clevwly disguised hegemony over them and the Carpatho-Ukr ainians, despite the fact tllat millions were spent a'broiad to propagandir7.e that state as a "bastion of democracy." "Yugoslavia" and ''Czechoslovakia" did not solve national problems. If anything, they for a time only succeeded to suppress them. But, in addition, they have created many new iprdblems that did not exist earlier; among other things, they have certainly increased the amount of mutuaJ intolerance and hatred among their component parts. 'I'he organ:iization o!f that a;rea on the basis of independent nations in a true federal union is the only alternative to the "Czechoslovak " and "Yugoslav" failures. This union would, in accordance with the wishes of the people, bring about a democraJti~ political structure, and simultaneously increase cooperation and tolerance among the respective nations. Let us make olear that the opposition to "Ozechoslovakia" and "YugosilaJvia" iby the Slovaks and Croats and Macedonians, is llJOt the opposition of a small gro111p of "separ.aJtists," as some colonialists would like the public to beliesve, but the opposition of the overwhehning majority of the respective nations. In our recently ,pulblished bOOlk ( Croatia and Serbia, why is their peaceful separation a European necessity?, Croatia Cultural PUJblishing Center, 72 SLOVAKIA 4.851 Drexel Blvd., Chicrugo 15, llinois), we have proven beyond any reasonaJble doulbt that today all the Croan, unanimously advocate the separation of Croatia and Serbia, i.e., the dismemberment of Yugoslavia, and that this solution is in the interesit of a lasting Euroipean settlement and peruce in that area. As to the SlovaJks, it is a iwell-<lmown fact that a great mrujority of tihem is today for an independent Slova,k state, and that only some of their renegades are in the camp of the so-icalled "Czechosloivruks." In fa,ce of such energetic opposition to Czech and Senb schemes, of which Mr. Ripka is certainly aware, a third "Czechoslovakia," and a third "YugoslaJVia," could be established and maintained only by undemocratic and dictatorial proce3ses, i.e., iby deceit, terror, and vi,olence. Left momentarily without po,wer to do anything else, the exiled Benes "Ozechoslova,ks" and the Serbian "Ywgoslavs" use deceit as their most potent weapon in 1:!he effort to affect their Greater Czech and Greater Ser.bian plans, engaging in a fals e and deceitful propaganda against the Croat and Slo1Vak "separatists." Freedom first, then Federalization There is no doubt in our mind that the organization of Central and Eastern Europe on the ibasis of existing states, as propagated by Mr. Ripka, Mr. Zvon and Company, is contrary to the democratic principle of self-determination of nations. Its realization would clearly meatn the restoration of the old, discTedited regimes, but the fight for national freedom on the part of enslaved nations would continue inside the states. A third "Czechosl'ovaJda" and a third "Yugoslaivia" oould lbe established only in the spirit of balkanization; deception, terror and suppression would be even more emiphasized because, in the meantime, the enslaved nations have increased their determination to find an exit from those oppressor-states. In contrast to this hegemonist spirit, we propose the national questions to lbe solved on the generally acceptable democratic principle of self-determination of nations. The S1ova'ks, Croats, Macedonians, and Sloivenes have ,t he right to choose freely their own fo,rnn of government, and to SIJOVAKIA 73 live in their own independent states like any other nation. "Czechoslovakia" and "YugoslaJvia," therefore, cannot exist as free and democratic states since the nat1ons fordbly included in them do not want them. So they necessarily must be either Olpen dictatorSlhips, or at least pseudodemocracies based on a bogtll.Si federalism. A truly d,emocratic "Yugoslavia" and a truly democratic "Czechoslovakia" are today as unconceivable as a square circle or a round square; true democracy must inevitably lead to the dissolution of these oppressor-states. Thus an orderly, democratic and ,equitalble reorganization orf Central and Eastern Europe presupposes that its nations are first liberated, forming their own independent states and, then, as a second step, estaiblish federal unions among themselves. This means of course that further independent units must be created, i.e., a free Slovenia, a free Croatia, a free S1ova;kia, a free Macedonia, a free Montenegro, which may then freely select the fo!1lll and direction of their participation in a federal union. 'Dhese states thoug:h sma1,l are capaible of an independent existence, de-s pite the perlidio,u,s propaganda slogans of some of the "eX)perts" who, deny the right of small nations to a free existence with the flimsy arguments ab,o ut their "smallness," evidently forgetting that Denmark, Holland, Luxemiburg, Belgium, Finland, Albania, etc., are also small but, nevertheless, have ;proven their ability to live an independent life. For a tyipical hegemonist lilke Mr. Ripka the idea that Slovaks and Croats maiy acquire their freedom appears to be a horrilble nigihtmare, but for all freedom.Jlo1ving individuals, this is the ,o nly equitable solution of national problems in thait part of Europe. This is not atomization of Europe, or its lbalikanization; this is mutual coopJra.tion on the basis of freedom and a genuine democratic fed eralism. Therefore, the existing states, "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugoslavia," which evidently do not correspond to national needs and aispira,tions of their inha,bitants, must be dissolved in the interest of a just national settlement and general peace. After the existence of independent Slovak 1 74 SLOV.AKIA. and Croatian states, irrespective of the conditions surrounding their coming into existence and their forms of government, tlhe relations between Cre<!hs and SlovaJks, and between Serl}s and Croats, are not '_'internal questions" any more, though Mr. Ripka would prefer such a formula in order that Benes Orechs could continue to dominate the Sl01Vaks without any foreign interference as they did in the past. Hence these questions are today internatiiOnal questions; they are concerned with the relations between nations with their own state ideas. The right to selrf-determination is not a ruse, as Mr. Ripka alleges, but a democrati'c right which should not be reserved onil¥ for the Ozechs and the Serbs, 'b ut sho.uld aipply also for other cultured and freedom~loving nrations. The Oild comlb,ination of Oz.ecih and Serbian ruling circles has for a long time succeeded in suppressing the will of sUlbjugated na,tionalities and nations for their independence. These ruling circles are now desperately tcying to continue this practice under the caver of a bogus federalism. They have not changed a 1b it, they have remained struble in .their insane crarvings to rule other nations. This may lbe clear.ly recognired in various international and exile OTga:ruJzaJtions where the same old hegemonist crowd iD!Sists on its old "Ozechoslo.vaik" and "'Y ugoslaJV" deceptions, maintaining the fiotions of a "CzeohJOslOIVa!k" and a "Yugoslav" unity, which is not accepta.lble to Slovaks and Croats. For instance, the Ben.es Ozechs have created a "Czechorslovak" Comrmittee, without any representation of the national Sl·o.vaJks (•i ncluding, howeiver, some dubious Slovalks who re.present only themselives and not the wishes of their ipeople). The well-ilmown fact js, however, that the Slovaik nation desires its national independence, and, therefore, a "Czeohoslovaik" Committee is an obvio.us deception ( and so are all "Czechoslovak" political parties), est:a!blished ,for the purpose to sooure the hegemo1t1y of the Ozec!h "master race" over the SlavaJks. The "Voice of America," "Ratlio Free Europe," and similar organizations, are under the influence of the same old politicians who cherish hegemon:ism. For ins,tance, the "Bulletin" (IPregled) in Croatian, published by the Na- SLOVAKIA 75 tional Committee for a Free Europe, has been edited by a Slovenian "Yugoslav," a former mem/ber of the semi.fascist and dictatoriral iBelrg rade governments which systematica.olly persecuted the Croatian peoiple. All this despite the fact that there are many a.Ible Croatian journalists in this country. This is a deliJberate insult to all Croatians, but numerous Croatian representations that were made to end this scandal remained without any success. The old hegemonist crowd is seemingly much stronger than all the appeals to reason and .p olitical decency In the "Voice of America," the Croatian language has not ,b een recognized, and some Se11bian chauvinists broadcast to Croatia in a tongue which sounds impossible for Croatian ear:s. In this case, also, numerous Croatian protests produced no results. In the Christian-iDemocratic Union, some .Sl01Venian "Yugoslavs" speak in the name of "Yugos:lwvia," haiving no authorization whatsoever from the Croats to do so. The Slovaks, too, have had the same e:x1periences with all these and similar or.ganizations. · In this sense, an those individuals who spea,k in the name of the "OzechoslolV'all{s" and "Yugoslavs" show practically every day just what is their rea,I concept of freedom and equa,lity, and wihat they understand under "federalism." They have ibeen continually using 1!he old methods of domination, and derception, whieih they so successfully employed in the first "YugOSllavia" a,nd "Ozechoslcwa,kia," .paying liip service to "freedom, democracy and equality," but having in mind only the restoration of their old power positions. As a matter of fact, they do not fight for a free IDuro,pe, but only for a :IDu:rope without freedom for enslaved nations. Lt is only unfortunate that some American organ.IBati'ons and ind1;vidua,l s nairvely support such basically undemocratic and imperialist politicians. Mr. Ripka, IMr. 'Zenikl; and their il'k, had a wonderful opportunity to show the woriking of fueir federalism. when they were in power in first and second "Czechoslovakia." However, at that time their "federalism" consisted of an extreme centralism, of the oppression orf the SlovaJk nation, of persecutions and terror. Who could be so naive to 76 SLOVAKIA believe that their "federalism" would be any different in the future, particularly if we consider that they e1Ven now, in exile, belieive the same way as they did before, de~ nying the right of SIIIlali enslaved nations to their freedom. The same aipplies to the Serbian and Slo1Venian "Yugoslavs" wiho possess the sa:rne arrogant menrtality asthe "Ozeic:hos1ova!ks." There can be no do'U!bt that the hegemonist crowd has accepted the slogan orf federalism only to deceive· the world about their real intentions. Burt we do not see that they can ever return to po,w er. They have missed the boat. They have had their chances to create democratic federal structures in "Creclloslo1Va!kia" and "Yugoslavia." Instead they ruled dictatorially, dis;regarding completely the wishes. of the oppressed, and thus increasing the .power of centrifugal forces. Ripka and the Benes Czechs missed the boat even twice. Their prindples of political order have failed miseraJbly and, therefore, new ones are necessary. In a shameful collaJboration with the Communists, the Benes Ozechs have destroyed Slovak independence and put to death many SlovaJk patriots, among them the great Slova,k president, Monsignor 'Diso. Slovaks will never forget that. So we are sure that the Slo:va!k nation wrn sei'r e the first opportunity to, diSllllemiber Ozecho-lSlwrukia and reestrublish its own state The same will be done b,y the Croats in the Communist Greater Senbian Yugo,s lavia. These are the realities of contemporary Europe, while the hegemonist ,plans of Mr. Zvon, Mr. Ripka, and similair hegemonists, also their bogus federalism, must inelVita:bly end in the disposal containers of history. 'l"he time of colonialism, as in Africa so. in Eump~ has definitely passed. Czech and Serlb coloniailis;,;,1, under the claaik of a bogus federalism, must end in defeat. After the ineivitaJble disintegration of Communism, the enslaved nations of Eastern and Central Euroipe will sha:ke off the yokes of Moscow, Belgrade and Prague, and esitalblish their own independent states which will freel,y coorperate in a spirit of a truly democratic federalism, entering into federal unions as free, independent, democratic and equal na,tions. SLOVAKIA 77 We Croats will certainly destroy any attempt to create a third "Yugoslavia," and we firmly believe that our old friends, the Slo,vaks, ,will do the same with respect to "OzechoslO'Vakia." The Croats and the Slovaks would not be worthy to exist as free nations,, if they permitted again the hy,pocritical hegeanonist scihemera and apostles of a bogus federalism t,o .S'l.llbdue them in the arhlficial appressor--states. There can be no free Europe without free E)uropean nations. There can ibe no equitalble settlemenit in Europe and no free Euro;pean or regional union, without an independent Sl01Vruk state, without an independent Croatian state, without a free Macedonia, without a free Slovenia. The dissolution of "Czechoslovakia" and "Yugo.sla";a" is, therefore, an absolut-ely indispensable cond.iition for a true and genuine federalist structure of the European continent. • • • WHO SAID IT? "Today more than ever before, I cannot stop believing that a free and independent Czeoho-Slovakia can exist only in Europe that is brought to balance, where the West and Russia find a proper agreement to collaborate. Even the events of February 1948 could not shake me from this conviction, which remains the basis of my whole conception of Dr. Hubert Ripka, FIGARO, Paris, national politics." April 4, 1949. • • • "Novem1ber 7, 1917, is the day thaJt is marlrnd in history as the beginning of a new era, which sought the guarantee of happiness to mankind by means of a new method of equalling differences among people and thus achieving contentment on earth. Today it is still too ealI'ly from thaJt epochal occasion to judge objootiveily the consequences of that great deed. One thing, however, is certain: it was the beginning of an enormous process full of ideas born of idealism." - (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vice-Cha.irnian of the Executive Committee of the "Counc,il of Free ~echoslo!V'a:kia," NOYE PRUDY, November 18, 194'5).  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 Apostles of Bogus Federalism Description An account of the resource Dr. George W. Cesarich Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 61-77 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cesarich, George W. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/cfb74545363a15c4834be07ad31595d9.pdf da2c423b0a22dae27b6546be1de3d645 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 59 SELF-DETERMINATION FOR SLOVAKIA Hon. Edward J. Bonin I am very happy to substitute this evening in the place of Ambassador Lodge who was originally scheduled to give the principal address before this great Conference of the Slovak League of America. I consider it an honor and privilege that the members of the Slovak League of America saw fit to bring your Convention to the capital city of the United States which is oftentimes considered as the present capital of the world. As a Member of Congress from the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, I welcome you to this great city and I sincerely hope that your deliberations for a free and independent Slovakia may soon materialize. I have often said before, and I shall continue to say, that from the beginning of recorded time the force that has propelled civilization onward has been man's desire for freedom and, when that desire fails, the wheels of progress cease their turning; but when it is most active, civilization makes the most advancement. It seems apparent that the desire for freedom has virtually come to a standstill among certain elements and nationalities throughout the free world; however, the Conference of the Slovak League of America clearly demonstrates to the people o.f the world that the burning desire o.f the Slovak people for freedom, liberty and justice has not been extinguished and will never be extinguished so long as we have individuals who are ready, willing and able to fight for a cause which is right. During the last century, the life of the Slovak people has been difficult Many of you recall how the Magyars tried to engulf them in their internationalistic concept of the Hungarian state and, more recently, your Slovak brothers, the Czechs, sought to make the Slovak people disappear. Now the present Communist regime in Prague would like to dissolve Slovakia under the banners of the Kremlin. The achievement is the complete disintegration of the natural will and consciousness of the Slovak people. If this �60 SLOVAKIA socialistic concept is permitted to continue it will deprive the Slovak people of its individuality and national interest and pride. The cause for which you plead today, jUSlt as other countries now behind the Iron Curtain yearn for freedom, justice and independence after experiencing oppression, pain and suffering under foreign government, is the conviction that the Slovak people will still preserve their traditional ways of life in spite of the ruthless dictators who seek to destroy them. As a member of the Select Committee of the House often known as the Baltic Committee, I have heard eyewitness accounts of the pain and the suffering, the torture and the murder of innocent human beings. We have heard from witnesses who went through these trying ordeals - · we have been told of the persecution of the church, the clergy, and the people who refused to give up the Godgiven right of worship as they see fit. The Slovak people in Europe and in America will never relinquish their right to worship as they see fit regardless of how long the oppressors may keep them enslaved. In my work as a Congressman, I have spoken on many and many an occasion of the aspirations of the Slovak people for their right of self-determination which was so clearly and specifically set forth in the Atlantic Charter. I have spoken against the secret treaties entered into at Yalta and Teheran. The evil results of these secret agreements is causing us trouble and agony today. I commend the Slovak people for their valiant fight and I shall continue to fight along with you to eliminate the Communist threat here and abroad. There is a duty and an obligation on our part to see that Slovakia resumes its rightful place among the free nations of the world With constant prayer, and fervent appeal to Almighty God, I am certain that the des-ires of the Slovak people will eventually be accomplished. • • • � SLOVAKIA 59 SELF-DETERMINATION FOR SLOVAKIA Hon. Edward J. Bonin I am very happy to substitute this evening in the place of Ambassador Lodge who was originally scheduled to give the principal address before this great Conference of the Slovak League of America. I consider it an honor and privilege that the members of the Slovak League of America saw fit to bring your Convention to the capital city of the United States which is oftentimes considered as the present capital of the world. As a Member of Congress from the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, I welcome you to this great city and I sincerely hope that your deliberations for a free and independent Slovakia may soon materialize. I have often said before, and I shall continue to say, that from the beginning of recorded time the force that has propelled civilization onward has been man's desire for freedom and, when that desire fails, the wheels of progress cease their turning; but when it is most active, civilization makes the most advancement. It seems apparent that the desire for freedom has virtually come to a standstill among certain elements and nationalities throughout the free world; however, the Conference of the Slovak League of America clearly demonstrates to the people o.f the world that the burning desire o.f the Slovak people for freedom, liberty and justice has not been extinguished and will never be extinguished so long as we have individuals who are ready, willing and able to fight for a cause which is right. During the last century, the life of the Slovak people has been difficult Many of you recall how the Magyars tried to engulf them in their internationalistic concept of the Hungarian state and, more recently, your Slovak brothers, the Czechs, sought to make the Slovak people disappear. Now the present Communist regime in Prague would like to dissolve Slovakia under the banners of the Kremlin. The achievement is the complete disintegration of the natural will and consciousness of the Slovak people. If this �60 SLOVAKIA socialistic concept is permitted to continue it will deprive the Slovak people of its individuality and national interest and pride. The cause for which you plead today, jUSlt as other countries now behind the Iron Curtain yearn for freedom, justice and independence after experiencing oppression, pain and suffering under foreign government, is the conviction that the Slovak people will still preserve their traditional ways of life in spite of the ruthless dictators who seek to destroy them. As a member of the Select Committee of the House often known as the Baltic Committee, I have heard eyewitness accounts of the pain and the suffering, the torture and the murder of innocent human beings. We have heard from witnesses who went through these trying ordeals - · we have been told of the persecution of the church, the clergy, and the people who refused to give up the Godgiven right of worship as they see fit. The Slovak people in Europe and in America will never relinquish their right to worship as they see fit regardless of how long the oppressors may keep them enslaved. In my work as a Congressman, I have spoken on many and many an occasion of the aspirations of the Slovak people for their right of self-determination which was so clearly and specifically set forth in the Atlantic Charter. I have spoken against the secret treaties entered into at Yalta and Teheran. The evil results of these secret agreements is causing us trouble and agony today. I commend the Slovak people for their valiant fight and I shall continue to fight along with you to eliminate the Communist threat here and abroad. There is a duty and an obligation on our part to see that Slovakia resumes its rightful place among the free nations of the world With constant prayer, and fervent appeal to Almighty God, I am certain that the des-ires of the Slovak people will eventually be accomplished. • • • � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 SELF-DETERMINATION FOR SLOVAKIA Hon. Edward J. Bonin I am very happy to substitute this evening in the place of Ambassador Lodge who was originally scheduled to give the principal address before this great Conference of the Slovak League of America. I consider it an honor and privilege that the members of the Slovak League of America saw fit to bring your Convention to the capital city of the United States which is oftentimes considered as the present capital of the world. As a Member of Congress from the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, I welcome you to this great city and I sincerely hope that your deliberations for a free and independent Slovakia may soon materialize. I have often said before, and I shall continue to say, that from the beginning of recorded time the force that has propelled civilization onward has been man's desire for freedom and, when that desire fails, the wheels of progress cease their turning; but when it is most active, civilization makes the most advancement. It seems apparent that the desire for freedom has virtually come to a standstill among certain elements and nationalities throughout the free world; however, the Conference of the Slovak League of America clearly demonstrates to the people o.f the world that the burning desire o.f the Slovak people for freedom, liberty and justice has not been extinguished and will never be extinguished so long as we have individuals who are ready, willing and able to fight for a cause which is right. During the last century, the life of the Slovak people has been difficult Many of you recall how the Magyars tried to engulf them in their internationalistic concept of the Hungarian state and, more recently, your Slovak brothers, the Czechs, sought to make the Slovak people disappear. Now the present Communist regime in Prague would like to dissolve Slovakia under the banners of the Kremlin. The achievement is the complete disintegration of the natural will and consciousness of the Slovak people. If this 60 SLOVAKIA socialistic concept is permitted to continue it will deprive the Slovak people of its individuality and national interest and pride. The cause for which you plead today, jUSlt as other countries now behind the Iron Curtain yearn for freedom, justice and independence after experiencing oppression, pain and suffering under foreign government, is the conviction that the Slovak people will still preserve their traditional ways of life in spite of the ruthless dictators who seek to destroy them. As a member of the Select Committee of the House often known as the Baltic Committee, I have heard eyewitness accounts of the pain and the suffering, the torture and the murder of innocent human beings. We have heard from witnesses who went through these trying ordeals - · we have been told of the persecution of the church, the clergy, and the people who refused to give up the Godgiven right of worship as they see fit. The Slovak people in Europe and in America will never relinquish their right to worship as they see fit regardless of how long the oppressors may keep them enslaved. In my work as a Congressman, I have spoken on many and many an occasion of the aspirations of the Slovak people for their right of self-determination which was so clearly and specifically set forth in the Atlantic Charter. I have spoken against the secret treaties entered into at Yalta and Teheran. The evil results of these secret agreements is causing us trouble and agony today. I commend the Slovak people for their valiant fight and I shall continue to fight along with you to eliminate the Communist threat here and abroad. There is a duty and an obligation on our part to see that Slovakia resumes its rightful place among the free nations of the world With constant prayer, and fervent appeal to Almighty God, I am certain that the des-ires of the Slovak people will eventually be accomplished. • • •  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 Self-Determination for Slovakia Description An account of the resource Hon. Edward J. Bonin Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 59-60 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bonin, Edward John, 1904-1990 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/cff79980f19d781e4cb2beea87219d55.pdf 418c4090d55ecc02637603f5431bf84c PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 52 EASTERN SLOVAK.IA INHABITED FOR CENTURIES BY GREAT SLOVAK MAJORITY Michael S. Macuga HistoricaJlly, Western Uikrainia, extending to the Eastern Canpa;tJhians, haJS no vaiid claim to the Slovaik lands which border on Ruthenia, or Carpathian Russia, the westernmost extension of the Russian racial element. In 1930 the national census of the repU!blic of Crecho~lovakia showed that in eastern Slovakia the counties, of Spis, Saris, Zemplin and Albauj had a population of 408,129 Slovaiks and 81,960 Rusins or Ruthenians (also known as Car,pathoRussians and Little Russians). Despite these significant figures there is a 1propaganda moivement, both here and aJbroad, wibich is designed to inco:nporate these SlolV'aik counties with their predominant Slov ak popuilations in the Soiviert Republic of Ukrainia on the pretext thait they belong to Riuthenia. There is nothing to sulbsta.ntiate this wild claim. Of course, the men of the Kremlin are more than willing to force not only the eastern part but the whole of Slovakia under their dominion, history and statistics no•lJWiithstand!ing. According to the 1930 national census the facts of the case of Eastern SlovaJkia against Ruthenia are confirmed without a doUJbt in S1orvalkia's favor. The figures tell us the nU!IDlber o;f 1SlovaJks and RuitheniaillS living in the various cities and towns. City~Town Bard!io;y HU!Inenne Gelniica Giraltovce Koomarok Levoca !Julbovna Medzilruborce Michailovce P.oprad SlOIViaks Ruthe:nli!ans 21,841 19,551 17,189 15,125 15,43Q 22,1\36 12,742 2,860 41,72,2 19,961 13,216 948 110 736 655 1,008 6,228 14,944 374 99 �53 SLOVAKIA 56,086 30,599 11,388 Snina 22,760 Solhrance 9,335 Stropkw 38,853 Trebisov 29,066 Spisska Nova Ves 7,145 Spissika Stara Ve.s VranOIV (nad To:pl'ou) 24,·594 Pre.sov .Srubinov 1 937 6,797 19,891 1,8!10 16,891 216 1,396 1,192 512 So much for statistics. Furtlhermore, no valid historical arguments exist to bacik Russian views in this matter. Polish philologists tried frequently to estaJblish the Polish origins of Eastern Slovrukian dialects but lin vain. Zd. Stieber of Cracow tried to build up a case for Poland there, as did Samo Ozamlbel, the Slovak linguist. But other philologists, such as the eminent Dutchman, Van Wijk, the Magya.T scholar, Kniesza, the Ozech linguists·, Pastrnek, TralVnii.cek, Smilauer and the .SlON•aJk scholar, Stanislav, rproved satisfaotorily that the Eastern dialects of Slovrukia have a SlOIVaJk origin and fo1mdation. M. Malecki, however, a Polish Slovanic scholar, tried to estaJblish Polish origins in the northern Trenicin area. The Ukrainian sruvants see, on the other hand, onliy Ruithenian and Ulrnamian origins of the dialects in the easiteril regions of Slowklia. These theories of the late nineteenth century rupply not only to Thstern Slovakia, 'but also to the areas near Backa and Sriem where many Greek-Catholi c Slovruks settled. They, too, speak an e<8JS!tern SiovaJk dialect. Vladimir lfuafjuk's views, namely, that the dfalects of eastetn Sl01Vakia were Ukrainian, were dlisproived by Siovaik and Czooh philologists, as well a:s by the Russian 1Slav scholar, Sobolevsiky, and the Norwegian Slavist, Olaf Broch, who knew that part olf the country as weH as Ruthenia. Hnafjwk conslidered even such fundamental Slovak words as biv~ (\byvaf), mae (miae), ocec (otec) dzen (day), hodzina {hodina), pajdzesat (paedesiaf), etc., as Ukrainian! Ewery eastern SlO!Vak uses such language with its peouliar locai flavor, or color. Lt is part of his natirve vocalbulary which is distinctly ~ovak, not Uikirainian. When attention was called �54 SLOVAKIA to this discrepancy, Rn:afju'k revised his analysis and chose the White Russi.am. language as his starting point in which dz is sulbstituted for d' ·a nd c for f, respectively, in conitrast to the Greater RU!SSii. an 1anguruge. But according to his conterntion the western SlovaJk versions, e.g., dzedzina and dzeci, etc., wmtld hruve to ibe explained in the same way. Obviously, such conclusions are fall.se. 1 Professor Fr,anrtisek Pastrnek, the renowned Czech phllologist from Prague, proved in his book Rusini Jazyka Slovenskeho ('Peitrograd, 1907) that these Eastern Slovak dialects were reall,y Slovak in origin and form, not Ruthenian or UJrna:iru·a n as Hnat'juk tried to dem:onstrate.. Jin 1935, Dr. Fr. Tichy, an authority on Slav languages, pointed out (Nas Ziivot, 1935, p. 133) that the la'Illguage of the Ru.sins in Bruoka and Sriem was actually Slovak, although a grammarian, Dr. G. Kostelnik, (his very name is Slov•a k, since the Russian word for church from which it is deri'Ved is cerkev, not kostol, as in SlOWlJk) termed it Russian. Olbse.I"Ve his w,riting: "Ked' se sceme nauoic dobre pisac, abo ked' sceme dobre naucic insi jazyk, ta spredz musime nauci.c hramatiku tej besedy, chtoru najlepse zname. A taka beseda tota, cos chton'i se od dzecinstva posluhujeme - macertiiska beseda." There is ha.roly an,y need orf philologica[ learning to deterun:ine that thiis ,s ample is not Russian at aJl, bu.rt Cilear type of an eastern SlovaJldan dialect. Question Solved Ages Ago Apparently, t'his problem was ironed out many years ago to the satisfaction of intel!ligent Slovanic scholars everywhere. Nevertheless, there are aJLways some who resurrect old errors based on prejudice and ftalse prem~. And it is unfortunate that such linguists get a hearing every time. Genuine scholars, howeiver, trealt their spurioUJS views wiith utter contempt. For politicians of a certain class in Eastern S1ovrukia these incontrovertilble conclusions, based on historical 0vidence and philological research, have no ivalue because they do not oonbri.bute to their selfish interests. But true politicrul policies must ultimate[y be detemiined and sUip- �SLOVAKIA 55 ported by incontestilble scientific data and geinuine historical facts. We are wefil aware of the fact th,a;t in the high forest areas of eastern SlovaJkiia Riuthenian (Rusin) settlements are foll!lld, ,b ut we also know that they are small and few in numlber and that their inhrubi;tanits migrated there recently. We are informed that their Ruthenian stam.d is too often political rather than. national or historical. At a.my rate the pred'OIIllinant popu[aJtiOIIl of Eastern Slovakia is SloV'alk. It is qU!i.te difficult, however, to establish a definite national boundary in the easteI1Illillost !Part of Slov.aJkia, because the Ruthenian and Ukrainiia.n elements harve blended with the Sllovak dialects there, and they haJVe all become closely allied after a period of time. Hence, we have heard U.krruinian,s remark, when they hear the eastern Slovak di·a lect spoken, t118Jt it is quite like their tonigue. And the Slo:vaJks there say the same when they hear the Ukrainian spoken on the !borderline of their country. Dialoots in that area of conflict a:re like lin!ks in a chain which is raised to white heat; ,t he lJinlk.s, fuse and unite, so that no politician, or philologist, can determine precisely where the Ru'thenirun begins and the Slo;vaJk ends, jUJSt as no saivant can estaJb11sh aoowrately the line of differentiation between the French and the Irtalian on their borders, and the German in contrast to the Dutch, or Danish, because these languages unite imperceptibly on their nationrul !boundaries. It is no secret therefore, that there exist some vill:ages alongside many Sllavalk towns in eastern Slovalkia, /but there are also Slovruk towns in Car,patho-Russia, e .g., in Marmaros County. ShouiJ.d we Slovaiks demand that the eastern boundary of their country be pushed as far eastward as Marnnaros COOlllty simply because a few Slovak settlements are foll!lld in the interior of Ruthenia? 'Historica:l evidence ·cOIIltradicts the views and suJbsequent actions of those political leaden; who desire to push the western !boundary of Carpa'tho-1Russian ~nsion to Poprad in SlolV'aiklia. A few Ruthenian colonists ruppeared in eastern Slovalcia in the thirteenth century. The Ruthenians; however, did not come there irn any consideraible numbers until �56 SJ,OVAKIA the si~teenth, seventeenth aJI1d eighteenth centuries. A Russian historian, Andrej Petrov, proved this in his bo()k "Drevnesilja Gr-amoty po Istorii Karpatslroj Rusi" (in the chapter: 0 Nacale Karp. Rusi, plllblrished by the Slavonic Institute, f>mgue, 1930) . Geographical Map - the Best Proof It is unnecessary to study the history of coloniization in Carpath04Rus sia and eastern Slovakia •i n order to show who were the original inha'b,itants there. The fact that the Ruthenian villa:ges are scattered. here ood there in the higher plateaus and forest areas shows them to be of later origin, because the earlier settlers, the Slovaks, already lived on the plains and in the fertile vialleys when the Ruthenians canne. Hence, the latter, as newcomers, had to move on; they went into the hills rund mountains and becaime foresters and sheepherders. Thus, thooe who wish to move the Car-patho-Rus sian bounx1ary-iline westward as far as Poprad do a grruve injustice to Slovrukia; they ignore ages..,old traditions, cultural, social and poliiti.tca;l fiaJOtors. By doing vii.ruence to. history these men are initiating forces which will inevitaJbly bring serious disorders in 1:lhe future. Eastern Slovruks, from St:rlba to Uzhorod, speak a distinct SlOViaJkian dialect whiich iis ahln. to the dialect of the western Slovaks. 'I"hey call -t heir langua;ge, Slovaik, and tha;t is not onil.y an important philological fact, but a sociologicail and political phenomenon that cannot be explained away by those who wish to expand at Slovakia's e~pense. Eastern Slovrukia has always been within the sphere of infiueI11Ce of Slmnalk oultUTe. Consequently, when Czech was adopted for a time 1by some Slo,v-aJks as a literary language, it was introduced into that part of the country, too. And when, finally, the Slovaiks agreed on a centrail SlovaJk literary medium, it became the language of literature of the land. Moreover, Slovak pulblications canne from E:osice as early as the seventeenth aJlld eighteenth centuries, for it was the center of Slovalk culture at that time. The Jesuirts maintained a Slovak press ast their college in Kosice. �SLOVAKIA 57 Art Confirms the Slovak Stand The historiy of art in Sl01Vakia shows the uniforniity of Slov1rl{ culture throughout the country from the earliest beginnings. The difference between Slovak and Ruthenian art is not merely superficial. SloviaJk art sihai,ply tontra:sts with Rutheniian art in origin amd fonm, and the former is a part of western ol.l!lture, while the latter definitely bel01I1gs to the East. This is manifest in the study of creative art. In Kosice and P.resov the churches a.re not Rluthenian or eastern in design, lbut definitely 'belong to the West. Who would dare to cut off that land which has been influenced by a traditional cwlture for a thousand years and p}aice it iruto another cu.!ltural sphere by foree? How tragic and confusing would such an act of fully be for Slova;kia. Strongly imlbedded traditions and customs are such powerrf.1.l!l and vital forces that any attempt to efface them OT diroot them into di.lfferent channels would meet with disaster and add to the comusion already developed lby Mosoow. : .V{tal issues are lbeling consibantrry confused 'by a misuse of terminology siuic:h as, Greek-Catholic 'bemg taken as synonymous with Ruthenian (Rusin). But it .pU12JZles only the people who ha,ve . little knowiedge of the sociologicM, ling,u1sti'C, cm tural and historical elements and the conditions whlch determine true concepts of nationhood. It is we11 known that the Greek-CathoJics in Vernar and Telgart, for example, do not know the Rusin language. The term "Nationa;I Magyar-Ca.1vin Church" has no meaning •b ecause there are Slovaik and Czech Calvinists. AU Ser1bs are not Orthodox; some are Roman Catholics - a fact which few people seem to know. Showl.d the German nation, which is mostly Protestant in its religion, lay claim to our lands because some of our citizenJS profess to be Protestants? Slovanic-!Byrziantine .(Greek-Catholic) lritur.gy is not a specific means of national identity for the Rusins, becaiuse many Slovaks profess the Greek-Cathoiic rite. Anyone who is at least somewhat informed on the subject of the history of church liturgy knows that even non-Slovanic nations arlopted the anoient liturgy of their ~ovanic neighibors. To use liturgy as the basis of political orientation is not in �58 SLOVAKIA keeping with the s3;cred spirit of religion. The Slovaks, therefore, regret to see the Slovanic.Byzantine Rite being employed for political puriposes, ·b ecause they have a warm regard for the Rruthenian nation which has so nobly preserved the ancient ldturgy of the Slovak Apostles, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, who introduced this sacred rite to meet the needs of the Slawic nations. The Slwaims are not prejudiced 3;gaimst the Rusin nation which has lived in dose cont8!ct and harmony with the Slovaks for centuries. They wish them success in their social and national endeavors, but will not willingly submit to pressure from any political regime. The Slovaks realize thai this pressure does not have the S8;llction of true Ruthenians, and, therefore, they shall not lose faith in them, fw- they are their brothers. A third party, however, is endearvoring to spJ.it up the SlolV'8llic nations. The Slov8!ks and Ruthenians wiU do weH to remain calm and resolute and avoid useless arguments and misunderstandings. They can and must work together in peace and brotherhood for their common good a.g ainst theio:- common enemy. T}le abQIVe analysis of a crucia;l p11dblem should be sufficiently clear fro'In the facts presented; and it ought to discourage any further attempts to Rusin-ilze the Slovaks of eastern Slovakia. The Slovaks contributed ricltly to Rusin culture, and here, in America, many eminent Ruthenian leaders were Slovaks who did not try to denationalize them. Eastern Slovakia did not and does not belong to Ruthenia historicany. It belongs to the Slovak na,tion, as does the rest of the territory of Slovakia which has been occupied by the SlovaJks for at least the past 1'500 years. • • • WHO SAID IT? "THE SLOVAK NATION, one of the oldest Christian nations of central Europe, is a dis-tinct ethnic unit. Just as the Czechs are and want to remain Czechs, just so the Slovaks are and want to remain Slovaks. The history, culture and national traditions of the Slovak nation are Jistinct from the history, culture and national traditions of the Czechs. The Slovaks never were, nor are they no,~. a part o! the Czech nation. Slovaks here and abroad resent being called 'Cze• choslovaks'." - (P. A. Hrobak, Detroit, Mich., 11-18-51) � SLOVAKIA 52 EASTERN SLOVAK.IA INHABITED FOR CENTURIES BY GREAT SLOVAK MAJORITY Michael S. Macuga HistoricaJlly, Western Uikrainia, extending to the Eastern Canpa;tJhians, haJS no vaiid claim to the Slovaik lands which border on Ruthenia, or Carpathian Russia, the westernmost extension of the Russian racial element. In 1930 the national census of the repU!blic of Crecho~lovakia showed that in eastern Slovakia the counties, of Spis, Saris, Zemplin and Albauj had a population of 408,129 Slovaiks and 81,960 Rusins or Ruthenians (also known as Car,pathoRussians and Little Russians). Despite these significant figures there is a 1propaganda moivement, both here and aJbroad, wibich is designed to inco:nporate these SlolV'aik counties with their predominant Slov ak popuilations in the Soiviert Republic of Ukrainia on the pretext thait they belong to Riuthenia. There is nothing to sulbsta.ntiate this wild claim. Of course, the men of the Kremlin are more than willing to force not only the eastern part but the whole of Slovakia under their dominion, history and statistics no•lJWiithstand!ing. According to the 1930 national census the facts of the case of Eastern SlovaJkia against Ruthenia are confirmed without a doUJbt in S1orvalkia's favor. The figures tell us the nU!IDlber o;f 1SlovaJks and RuitheniaillS living in the various cities and towns. City~Town Bard!io;y HU!Inenne Gelniica Giraltovce Koomarok Levoca !Julbovna Medzilruborce Michailovce P.oprad SlOIViaks Ruthe:nli!ans 21,841 19,551 17,189 15,125 15,43Q 22,1\36 12,742 2,860 41,72,2 19,961 13,216 948 110 736 655 1,008 6,228 14,944 374 99 �53 SLOVAKIA 56,086 30,599 11,388 Snina 22,760 Solhrance 9,335 Stropkw 38,853 Trebisov 29,066 Spisska Nova Ves 7,145 Spissika Stara Ve.s VranOIV (nad To:pl'ou) 24,·594 Pre.sov .Srubinov 1 937 6,797 19,891 1,8!10 16,891 216 1,396 1,192 512 So much for statistics. Furtlhermore, no valid historical arguments exist to bacik Russian views in this matter. Polish philologists tried frequently to estaJblish the Polish origins of Eastern Slovrukian dialects but lin vain. Zd. Stieber of Cracow tried to build up a case for Poland there, as did Samo Ozamlbel, the Slovak linguist. But other philologists, such as the eminent Dutchman, Van Wijk, the Magya.T scholar, Kniesza, the Ozech linguists·, Pastrnek, TralVnii.cek, Smilauer and the .SlON•aJk scholar, Stanislav, rproved satisfaotorily that the Eastern dialects of Slovrukia have a SlOIVaJk origin and fo1mdation. M. Malecki, however, a Polish Slovanic scholar, tried to estaJblish Polish origins in the northern Trenicin area. The Ukrainian sruvants see, on the other hand, onliy Ruithenian and Ulrnamian origins of the dialects in the easiteril regions of Slowklia. These theories of the late nineteenth century rupply not only to Thstern Slovakia, 'but also to the areas near Backa and Sriem where many Greek-Catholi c Slovruks settled. They, too, speak an e<8JS!tern SiovaJk dialect. Vladimir lfuafjuk's views, namely, that the dfalects of eastetn Sl01Vakia were Ukrainian, were dlisproived by Siovaik and Czooh philologists, as well a:s by the Russian 1Slav scholar, Sobolevsiky, and the Norwegian Slavist, Olaf Broch, who knew that part olf the country as weH as Ruthenia. Hnafjwk conslidered even such fundamental Slovak words as biv~ (\byvaf), mae (miae), ocec (otec) dzen (day), hodzina {hodina), pajdzesat (paedesiaf), etc., as Ukrainian! Ewery eastern SlO!Vak uses such language with its peouliar locai flavor, or color. Lt is part of his natirve vocalbulary which is distinctly ~ovak, not Uikirainian. When attention was called �54 SLOVAKIA to this discrepancy, Rn:afju'k revised his analysis and chose the White Russi.am. language as his starting point in which dz is sulbstituted for d' ·a nd c for f, respectively, in conitrast to the Greater RU!SSii. an 1anguruge. But according to his conterntion the western SlovaJk versions, e.g., dzedzina and dzeci, etc., wmtld hruve to ibe explained in the same way. Obviously, such conclusions are fall.se. 1 Professor Fr,anrtisek Pastrnek, the renowned Czech phllologist from Prague, proved in his book Rusini Jazyka Slovenskeho ('Peitrograd, 1907) that these Eastern Slovak dialects were reall,y Slovak in origin and form, not Ruthenian or UJrna:iru·a n as Hnat'juk tried to dem:onstrate.. Jin 1935, Dr. Fr. Tichy, an authority on Slav languages, pointed out (Nas Ziivot, 1935, p. 133) that the la'Illguage of the Ru.sins in Bruoka and Sriem was actually Slovak, although a grammarian, Dr. G. Kostelnik, (his very name is Slov•a k, since the Russian word for church from which it is deri'Ved is cerkev, not kostol, as in SlOWlJk) termed it Russian. Olbse.I"Ve his w,riting: "Ked' se sceme nauoic dobre pisac, abo ked' sceme dobre naucic insi jazyk, ta spredz musime nauci.c hramatiku tej besedy, chtoru najlepse zname. A taka beseda tota, cos chton'i se od dzecinstva posluhujeme - macertiiska beseda." There is ha.roly an,y need orf philologica[ learning to deterun:ine that thiis ,s ample is not Russian at aJl, bu.rt Cilear type of an eastern SlovaJldan dialect. Question Solved Ages Ago Apparently, t'his problem was ironed out many years ago to the satisfaction of intel!ligent Slovanic scholars everywhere. Nevertheless, there are aJLways some who resurrect old errors based on prejudice and ftalse prem~. And it is unfortunate that such linguists get a hearing every time. Genuine scholars, howeiver, trealt their spurioUJS views wiith utter contempt. For politicians of a certain class in Eastern S1ovrukia these incontrovertilble conclusions, based on historical 0vidence and philological research, have no ivalue because they do not oonbri.bute to their selfish interests. But true politicrul policies must ultimate[y be detemiined and sUip- �SLOVAKIA 55 ported by incontestilble scientific data and geinuine historical facts. We are wefil aware of the fact th,a;t in the high forest areas of eastern SlovaJkiia Riuthenian (Rusin) settlements are foll!lld, ,b ut we also know that they are small and few in numlber and that their inhrubi;tanits migrated there recently. We are informed that their Ruthenian stam.d is too often political rather than. national or historical. At a.my rate the pred'OIIllinant popu[aJtiOIIl of Eastern Slovakia is SloV'alk. It is qU!i.te difficult, however, to establish a definite national boundary in the easteI1Illillost !Part of Slov.aJkia, because the Ruthenian and Ukrainiia.n elements harve blended with the Sllovak dialects there, and they haJVe all become closely allied after a period of time. Hence, we have heard U.krruinian,s remark, when they hear the eastern Slovak di·a lect spoken, t118Jt it is quite like their tonigue. And the Slo:vaJks there say the same when they hear the Ukrainian spoken on the !borderline of their country. Dialoots in that area of conflict a:re like lin!ks in a chain which is raised to white heat; ,t he lJinlk.s, fuse and unite, so that no politician, or philologist, can determine precisely where the Ru'thenirun begins and the Slo;vaJk ends, jUJSt as no saivant can estaJb11sh aoowrately the line of differentiation between the French and the Irtalian on their borders, and the German in contrast to the Dutch, or Danish, because these languages unite imperceptibly on their nationrul !boundaries. It is no secret therefore, that there exist some vill:ages alongside many Sllavalk towns in eastern Slovalkia, /but there are also Slovruk towns in Car,patho-Russia, e .g., in Marmaros County. ShouiJ.d we Slovaiks demand that the eastern boundary of their country be pushed as far eastward as Marnnaros COOlllty simply because a few Slovak settlements are foll!lld in the interior of Ruthenia? 'Historica:l evidence ·cOIIltradicts the views and suJbsequent actions of those political leaden; who desire to push the western !boundary of Carpa'tho-1Russian ~nsion to Poprad in SlolV'aiklia. A few Ruthenian colonists ruppeared in eastern Slovalcia in the thirteenth century. The Ruthenians; however, did not come there irn any consideraible numbers until �56 SJ,OVAKIA the si~teenth, seventeenth aJI1d eighteenth centuries. A Russian historian, Andrej Petrov, proved this in his bo()k "Drevnesilja Gr-amoty po Istorii Karpatslroj Rusi" (in the chapter: 0 Nacale Karp. Rusi, plllblrished by the Slavonic Institute, f>mgue, 1930) . Geographical Map - the Best Proof It is unnecessary to study the history of coloniization in Carpath04Rus sia and eastern Slovakia •i n order to show who were the original inha'b,itants there. The fact that the Ruthenian villa:ges are scattered. here ood there in the higher plateaus and forest areas shows them to be of later origin, because the earlier settlers, the Slovaks, already lived on the plains and in the fertile vialleys when the Ruthenians canne. Hence, the latter, as newcomers, had to move on; they went into the hills rund mountains and becaime foresters and sheepherders. Thus, thooe who wish to move the Car-patho-Rus sian bounx1ary-iline westward as far as Poprad do a grruve injustice to Slovrukia; they ignore ages..,old traditions, cultural, social and poliiti.tca;l fiaJOtors. By doing vii.ruence to. history these men are initiating forces which will inevitaJbly bring serious disorders in 1:lhe future. Eastern Slovruks, from St:rlba to Uzhorod, speak a distinct SlOViaJkian dialect whiich iis ahln. to the dialect of the western Slovaks. 'I"hey call -t heir langua;ge, Slovaik, and tha;t is not onil.y an important philological fact, but a sociologicail and political phenomenon that cannot be explained away by those who wish to expand at Slovakia's e~pense. Eastern Slovrukia has always been within the sphere of infiueI11Ce of Slmnalk oultUTe. Consequently, when Czech was adopted for a time 1by some Slo,v-aJks as a literary language, it was introduced into that part of the country, too. And when, finally, the Slovaiks agreed on a centrail SlovaJk literary medium, it became the language of literature of the land. Moreover, Slovak pulblications canne from E:osice as early as the seventeenth aJlld eighteenth centuries, for it was the center of Slovalk culture at that time. The Jesuirts maintained a Slovak press ast their college in Kosice. �SLOVAKIA 57 Art Confirms the Slovak Stand The historiy of art in Sl01Vakia shows the uniforniity of Slov1rl{ culture throughout the country from the earliest beginnings. The difference between Slovak and Ruthenian art is not merely superficial. SloviaJk art sihai,ply tontra:sts with Rutheniian art in origin amd fonm, and the former is a part of western ol.l!lture, while the latter definitely bel01I1gs to the East. This is manifest in the study of creative art. In Kosice and P.resov the churches a.re not Rluthenian or eastern in design, lbut definitely 'belong to the West. Who would dare to cut off that land which has been influenced by a traditional cwlture for a thousand years and p}aice it iruto another cu.!ltural sphere by foree? How tragic and confusing would such an act of fully be for Slova;kia. Strongly imlbedded traditions and customs are such powerrf.1.l!l and vital forces that any attempt to efface them OT diroot them into di.lfferent channels would meet with disaster and add to the comusion already developed lby Mosoow. : .V{tal issues are lbeling consibantrry confused 'by a misuse of terminology siuic:h as, Greek-Catholic 'bemg taken as synonymous with Ruthenian (Rusin). But it .pU12JZles only the people who ha,ve . little knowiedge of the sociologicM, ling,u1sti'C, cm tural and historical elements and the conditions whlch determine true concepts of nationhood. It is we11 known that the Greek-CathoJics in Vernar and Telgart, for example, do not know the Rusin language. The term "Nationa;I Magyar-Ca.1vin Church" has no meaning •b ecause there are Slovaik and Czech Calvinists. AU Ser1bs are not Orthodox; some are Roman Catholics - a fact which few people seem to know. Showl.d the German nation, which is mostly Protestant in its religion, lay claim to our lands because some of our citizenJS profess to be Protestants? Slovanic-!Byrziantine .(Greek-Catholic) lritur.gy is not a specific means of national identity for the Rusins, becaiuse many Slovaks profess the Greek-Cathoiic rite. Anyone who is at least somewhat informed on the subject of the history of church liturgy knows that even non-Slovanic nations arlopted the anoient liturgy of their ~ovanic neighibors. To use liturgy as the basis of political orientation is not in �58 SLOVAKIA keeping with the s3;cred spirit of religion. The Slovaks, therefore, regret to see the Slovanic.Byzantine Rite being employed for political puriposes, ·b ecause they have a warm regard for the Rruthenian nation which has so nobly preserved the ancient ldturgy of the Slovak Apostles, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, who introduced this sacred rite to meet the needs of the Slawic nations. The Slwaims are not prejudiced 3;gaimst the Rusin nation which has lived in dose cont8!ct and harmony with the Slovaks for centuries. They wish them success in their social and national endeavors, but will not willingly submit to pressure from any political regime. The Slovaks realize thai this pressure does not have the S8;llction of true Ruthenians, and, therefore, they shall not lose faith in them, fw- they are their brothers. A third party, however, is endearvoring to spJ.it up the SlolV'8llic nations. The Slov8!ks and Ruthenians wiU do weH to remain calm and resolute and avoid useless arguments and misunderstandings. They can and must work together in peace and brotherhood for their common good a.g ainst theio:- common enemy. T}le abQIVe analysis of a crucia;l p11dblem should be sufficiently clear fro'In the facts presented; and it ought to discourage any further attempts to Rusin-ilze the Slovaks of eastern Slovakia. The Slovaks contributed ricltly to Rusin culture, and here, in America, many eminent Ruthenian leaders were Slovaks who did not try to denationalize them. Eastern Slovakia did not and does not belong to Ruthenia historicany. It belongs to the Slovak na,tion, as does the rest of the territory of Slovakia which has been occupied by the SlovaJks for at least the past 1'500 years. • • • WHO SAID IT? "THE SLOVAK NATION, one of the oldest Christian nations of central Europe, is a dis-tinct ethnic unit. Just as the Czechs are and want to remain Czechs, just so the Slovaks are and want to remain Slovaks. The history, culture and national traditions of the Slovak nation are Jistinct from the history, culture and national traditions of the Czechs. The Slovaks never were, nor are they no,~. a part o! the Czech nation. Slovaks here and abroad resent being called 'Cze• choslovaks'." - (P. A. Hrobak, Detroit, Mich., 11-18-51) � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 52 EASTERN SLOVAK.IA INHABITED FOR CENTURIES BY GREAT SLOVAK MAJORITY Michael S. Macuga HistoricaJlly, Western Uikrainia, extending to the Eastern Canpa;tJhians, haJS no vaiid claim to the Slovaik lands which border on Ruthenia, or Carpathian Russia, the westernmost extension of the Russian racial element. In 1930 the national census of the repU!blic of Crecho~lovakia showed that in eastern Slovakia the counties, of Spis, Saris, Zemplin and Albauj had a population of 408,129 Slovaiks and 81,960 Rusins or Ruthenians (also known as Car,pathoRussians and Little Russians). Despite these significant figures there is a 1propaganda moivement, both here and aJbroad, wibich is designed to inco:nporate these SlolV'aik counties with their predominant Slov ak popuilations in the Soiviert Republic of Ukrainia on the pretext thait they belong to Riuthenia. There is nothing to sulbsta.ntiate this wild claim. Of course, the men of the Kremlin are more than willing to force not only the eastern part but the whole of Slovakia under their dominion, history and statistics no•lJWiithstand!ing. According to the 1930 national census the facts of the case of Eastern SlovaJkia against Ruthenia are confirmed without a doUJbt in S1orvalkia's favor. The figures tell us the nU!IDlber o;f 1SlovaJks and RuitheniaillS living in the various cities and towns. City~Town Bard!io;y HU!Inenne Gelniica Giraltovce Koomarok Levoca !Julbovna Medzilruborce Michailovce P.oprad SlOIViaks Ruthe:nli!ans 21,841 19,551 17,189 15,125 15,43Q 22,1\36 12,742 2,860 41,72,2 19,961 13,216 948 110 736 655 1,008 6,228 14,944 374 99 53 SLOVAKIA 56,086 30,599 11,388 Snina 22,760 Solhrance 9,335 Stropkw 38,853 Trebisov 29,066 Spisska Nova Ves 7,145 Spissika Stara Ve.s VranOIV (nad To:pl'ou) 24,·594 Pre.sov .Srubinov 1 937 6,797 19,891 1,8!10 16,891 216 1,396 1,192 512 So much for statistics. Furtlhermore, no valid historical arguments exist to bacik Russian views in this matter. Polish philologists tried frequently to estaJblish the Polish origins of Eastern Slovrukian dialects but lin vain. Zd. Stieber of Cracow tried to build up a case for Poland there, as did Samo Ozamlbel, the Slovak linguist. But other philologists, such as the eminent Dutchman, Van Wijk, the Magya.T scholar, Kniesza, the Ozech linguists·, Pastrnek, TralVnii.cek, Smilauer and the .SlON•aJk scholar, Stanislav, rproved satisfaotorily that the Eastern dialects of Slovrukia have a SlOIVaJk origin and fo1mdation. M. Malecki, however, a Polish Slovanic scholar, tried to estaJblish Polish origins in the northern Trenicin area. The Ukrainian sruvants see, on the other hand, onliy Ruithenian and Ulrnamian origins of the dialects in the easiteril regions of Slowklia. These theories of the late nineteenth century rupply not only to Thstern Slovakia, 'but also to the areas near Backa and Sriem where many Greek-Catholi c Slovruks settled. They, too, speak an e<8JS!tern SiovaJk dialect. Vladimir lfuafjuk's views, namely, that the dfalects of eastetn Sl01Vakia were Ukrainian, were dlisproived by Siovaik and Czooh philologists, as well a:s by the Russian 1Slav scholar, Sobolevsiky, and the Norwegian Slavist, Olaf Broch, who knew that part olf the country as weH as Ruthenia. Hnafjwk conslidered even such fundamental Slovak words as biv~ (\byvaf), mae (miae), ocec (otec) dzen (day), hodzina {hodina), pajdzesat (paedesiaf), etc., as Ukrainian! Ewery eastern SlO!Vak uses such language with its peouliar locai flavor, or color. Lt is part of his natirve vocalbulary which is distinctly ~ovak, not Uikirainian. When attention was called 54 SLOVAKIA to this discrepancy, Rn:afju'k revised his analysis and chose the White Russi.am. language as his starting point in which dz is sulbstituted for d' ·a nd c for f, respectively, in conitrast to the Greater RU!SSii. an 1anguruge. But according to his conterntion the western SlovaJk versions, e.g., dzedzina and dzeci, etc., wmtld hruve to ibe explained in the same way. Obviously, such conclusions are fall.se. 1 Professor Fr,anrtisek Pastrnek, the renowned Czech phllologist from Prague, proved in his book Rusini Jazyka Slovenskeho ('Peitrograd, 1907) that these Eastern Slovak dialects were reall,y Slovak in origin and form, not Ruthenian or UJrna:iru·a n as Hnat'juk tried to dem:onstrate.. Jin 1935, Dr. Fr. Tichy, an authority on Slav languages, pointed out (Nas Ziivot, 1935, p. 133) that the la'Illguage of the Ru.sins in Bruoka and Sriem was actually Slovak, although a grammarian, Dr. G. Kostelnik, (his very name is Slov•a k, since the Russian word for church from which it is deri'Ved is cerkev, not kostol, as in SlOWlJk) termed it Russian. Olbse.I"Ve his w,riting: "Ked' se sceme nauoic dobre pisac, abo ked' sceme dobre naucic insi jazyk, ta spredz musime nauci.c hramatiku tej besedy, chtoru najlepse zname. A taka beseda tota, cos chton'i se od dzecinstva posluhujeme - macertiiska beseda." There is ha.roly an,y need orf philologica[ learning to deterun:ine that thiis ,s ample is not Russian at aJl, bu.rt Cilear type of an eastern SlovaJldan dialect. Question Solved Ages Ago Apparently, t'his problem was ironed out many years ago to the satisfaction of intel!ligent Slovanic scholars everywhere. Nevertheless, there are aJLways some who resurrect old errors based on prejudice and ftalse prem~. And it is unfortunate that such linguists get a hearing every time. Genuine scholars, howeiver, trealt their spurioUJS views wiith utter contempt. For politicians of a certain class in Eastern S1ovrukia these incontrovertilble conclusions, based on historical 0vidence and philological research, have no ivalue because they do not oonbri.bute to their selfish interests. But true politicrul policies must ultimate[y be detemiined and sUip- SLOVAKIA 55 ported by incontestilble scientific data and geinuine historical facts. We are wefil aware of the fact th,a;t in the high forest areas of eastern SlovaJkiia Riuthenian (Rusin) settlements are foll!lld, ,b ut we also know that they are small and few in numlber and that their inhrubi;tanits migrated there recently. We are informed that their Ruthenian stam.d is too often political rather than. national or historical. At a.my rate the pred'OIIllinant popu[aJtiOIIl of Eastern Slovakia is SloV'alk. It is qU!i.te difficult, however, to establish a definite national boundary in the easteI1Illillost !Part of Slov.aJkia, because the Ruthenian and Ukrainiia.n elements harve blended with the Sllovak dialects there, and they haJVe all become closely allied after a period of time. Hence, we have heard U.krruinian,s remark, when they hear the eastern Slovak di·a lect spoken, t118Jt it is quite like their tonigue. And the Slo:vaJks there say the same when they hear the Ukrainian spoken on the !borderline of their country. Dialoots in that area of conflict a:re like lin!ks in a chain which is raised to white heat; ,t he lJinlk.s, fuse and unite, so that no politician, or philologist, can determine precisely where the Ru'thenirun begins and the Slo;vaJk ends, jUJSt as no saivant can estaJb11sh aoowrately the line of differentiation between the French and the Irtalian on their borders, and the German in contrast to the Dutch, or Danish, because these languages unite imperceptibly on their nationrul !boundaries. It is no secret therefore, that there exist some vill:ages alongside many Sllavalk towns in eastern Slovalkia, /but there are also Slovruk towns in Car,patho-Russia, e .g., in Marmaros County. ShouiJ.d we Slovaiks demand that the eastern boundary of their country be pushed as far eastward as Marnnaros COOlllty simply because a few Slovak settlements are foll!lld in the interior of Ruthenia? 'Historica:l evidence ·cOIIltradicts the views and suJbsequent actions of those political leaden; who desire to push the western !boundary of Carpa'tho-1Russian ~nsion to Poprad in SlolV'aiklia. A few Ruthenian colonists ruppeared in eastern Slovalcia in the thirteenth century. The Ruthenians; however, did not come there irn any consideraible numbers until 56 SJ,OVAKIA the si~teenth, seventeenth aJI1d eighteenth centuries. A Russian historian, Andrej Petrov, proved this in his bo()k "Drevnesilja Gr-amoty po Istorii Karpatslroj Rusi" (in the chapter: 0 Nacale Karp. Rusi, plllblrished by the Slavonic Institute, f>mgue, 1930) . Geographical Map - the Best Proof It is unnecessary to study the history of coloniization in Carpath04Rus sia and eastern Slovakia •i n order to show who were the original inha'b,itants there. The fact that the Ruthenian villa:ges are scattered. here ood there in the higher plateaus and forest areas shows them to be of later origin, because the earlier settlers, the Slovaks, already lived on the plains and in the fertile vialleys when the Ruthenians canne. Hence, the latter, as newcomers, had to move on; they went into the hills rund mountains and becaime foresters and sheepherders. Thus, thooe who wish to move the Car-patho-Rus sian bounx1ary-iline westward as far as Poprad do a grruve injustice to Slovrukia; they ignore ages..,old traditions, cultural, social and poliiti.tca;l fiaJOtors. By doing vii.ruence to. history these men are initiating forces which will inevitaJbly bring serious disorders in 1:lhe future. Eastern Slovruks, from St:rlba to Uzhorod, speak a distinct SlOViaJkian dialect whiich iis ahln. to the dialect of the western Slovaks. 'I"hey call -t heir langua;ge, Slovaik, and tha;t is not onil.y an important philological fact, but a sociologicail and political phenomenon that cannot be explained away by those who wish to expand at Slovakia's e~pense. Eastern Slovrukia has always been within the sphere of infiueI11Ce of Slmnalk oultUTe. Consequently, when Czech was adopted for a time 1by some Slo,v-aJks as a literary language, it was introduced into that part of the country, too. And when, finally, the Slovaiks agreed on a centrail SlovaJk literary medium, it became the language of literature of the land. Moreover, Slovak pulblications canne from E:osice as early as the seventeenth aJlld eighteenth centuries, for it was the center of Slovalk culture at that time. The Jesuirts maintained a Slovak press ast their college in Kosice. SLOVAKIA 57 Art Confirms the Slovak Stand The historiy of art in Sl01Vakia shows the uniforniity of Slov1rl{ culture throughout the country from the earliest beginnings. The difference between Slovak and Ruthenian art is not merely superficial. SloviaJk art sihai,ply tontra:sts with Rutheniian art in origin amd fonm, and the former is a part of western ol.l!lture, while the latter definitely bel01I1gs to the East. This is manifest in the study of creative art. In Kosice and P.resov the churches a.re not Rluthenian or eastern in design, lbut definitely 'belong to the West. Who would dare to cut off that land which has been influenced by a traditional cwlture for a thousand years and p}aice it iruto another cu.!ltural sphere by foree? How tragic and confusing would such an act of fully be for Slova;kia. Strongly imlbedded traditions and customs are such powerrf.1.l!l and vital forces that any attempt to efface them OT diroot them into di.lfferent channels would meet with disaster and add to the comusion already developed lby Mosoow. : .V{tal issues are lbeling consibantrry confused 'by a misuse of terminology siuic:h as, Greek-Catholic 'bemg taken as synonymous with Ruthenian (Rusin). But it .pU12JZles only the people who ha,ve . little knowiedge of the sociologicM, ling,u1sti'C, cm tural and historical elements and the conditions whlch determine true concepts of nationhood. It is we11 known that the Greek-CathoJics in Vernar and Telgart, for example, do not know the Rusin language. The term "Nationa;I Magyar-Ca.1vin Church" has no meaning •b ecause there are Slovaik and Czech Calvinists. AU Ser1bs are not Orthodox; some are Roman Catholics - a fact which few people seem to know. Showl.d the German nation, which is mostly Protestant in its religion, lay claim to our lands because some of our citizenJS profess to be Protestants? Slovanic-!Byrziantine .(Greek-Catholic) lritur.gy is not a specific means of national identity for the Rusins, becaiuse many Slovaks profess the Greek-Cathoiic rite. Anyone who is at least somewhat informed on the subject of the history of church liturgy knows that even non-Slovanic nations arlopted the anoient liturgy of their ~ovanic neighibors. To use liturgy as the basis of political orientation is not in 58 SLOVAKIA keeping with the s3;cred spirit of religion. The Slovaks, therefore, regret to see the Slovanic.Byzantine Rite being employed for political puriposes, ·b ecause they have a warm regard for the Rruthenian nation which has so nobly preserved the ancient ldturgy of the Slovak Apostles, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, who introduced this sacred rite to meet the needs of the Slawic nations. The Slwaims are not prejudiced 3;gaimst the Rusin nation which has lived in dose cont8!ct and harmony with the Slovaks for centuries. They wish them success in their social and national endeavors, but will not willingly submit to pressure from any political regime. The Slovaks realize thai this pressure does not have the S8;llction of true Ruthenians, and, therefore, they shall not lose faith in them, fw- they are their brothers. A third party, however, is endearvoring to spJ.it up the SlolV'8llic nations. The Slov8!ks and Ruthenians wiU do weH to remain calm and resolute and avoid useless arguments and misunderstandings. They can and must work together in peace and brotherhood for their common good a.g ainst theio:- common enemy. T}le abQIVe analysis of a crucia;l p11dblem should be sufficiently clear fro'In the facts presented; and it ought to discourage any further attempts to Rusin-ilze the Slovaks of eastern Slovakia. The Slovaks contributed ricltly to Rusin culture, and here, in America, many eminent Ruthenian leaders were Slovaks who did not try to denationalize them. Eastern Slovakia did not and does not belong to Ruthenia historicany. It belongs to the Slovak na,tion, as does the rest of the territory of Slovakia which has been occupied by the SlovaJks for at least the past 1'500 years. • • • WHO SAID IT? "THE SLOVAK NATION, one of the oldest Christian nations of central Europe, is a dis-tinct ethnic unit. Just as the Czechs are and want to remain Czechs, just so the Slovaks are and want to remain Slovaks. The history, culture and national traditions of the Slovak nation are Jistinct from the history, culture and national traditions of the Czechs. The Slovaks never were, nor are they no,~. a part o! the Czech nation. Slovaks here and abroad resent being called 'Cze• choslovaks'." - (P. A. Hrobak, Detroit, Mich., 11-18-51)  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 Eastern Slovakia Inhabited for Centuries by Great Slovak Majority Description An account of the resource Michael S. Mačuga Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 52-58 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mačuga, Michael S. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/3a416b849dc5c304286bb7127e026b60.pdf aabc41157f5922ee35512537dc87450e PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 49 low about 1 per cent ownership in a farm project, as mentioned a:oove in reference to JRD. After a complete turnaJbout af policy in Sl01Vrukia, in 1953, mruny farmers welcomed the chance to quit the JiRD and begin farming pri'Vately. Many see in this move, a wealkness of the Communists and are thus guilty Olf a serious er.ror, 1because the same thing is hO'Ulld to hruppen in Slovakia that haJppened in the lJISIS'R and wherever the Reds are in pOIWer: general collecti,vi,z ation is bound to come. It is unfortunate that so many people still do not understand how Communism woI"ks, the tactics 1:Jhe Communists use to attain their ends. In Slovakia, all the farmers who quit the 'kolchooes are m'3.11ked men. As soon as the economic situation improives and a surplus of farm products is lblri.lt up in Slo.vrukia, the farmers will be compelled to join the kolchooes and Sovhozes. Those who refuse to join will be lalbe-led "enemies" of the !State and dealt with accordingly . • • • SLOVAK FOLKLORE TI-IE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED In a certain village there once lived a poor but upright and devout man. Althoogh as gray as a pigeon, he had never, not even once, c<mmritted sin. He never hurt any one by word o:r deed, nor did he ever offend a siingle person in any way. This, Oif course, irritated the devil in hell, who said, scratching behind his ears : '"I1his is certainly exasperating with this man. Other persons, no matter how upright, render me a service at least once during their lifetime. This fellow, however, Slhall die today oir tomorro.w and as yet has not done my ibidding even Oll1Ce. But just wait, mister, I'll show you uip yet!" Not knowing of the trap the devil was setting for him, the poor man lirved ;peacefully in his shack, praying to God daily, never offending any one, CO'Veting not another's possessions, and conducting himself in an things according to God's commandments. �50 SLOVAKIA Suddenly, without a warning - would that he had stayed in the bottomless pit of hell! - the devil gallops into the poor man's room just as God had made him: he had teeth Hke pikes, legs like a horse, horns on his head, and even a tail behind. Without ado, he began: "Well, no dowbt albout it, you know who I am, do you not? I ha.ve ibeen trailing you since you were /born, but never once could I catch you committing sin. Now, you choose what it is you ,w ant to do: either you shall kill a man, or blaspheme God, or you shall get drunk. Whether you want to or not, Oille oif these three sins you must commit. Tomorroiw I shall come ag,ain to, hear what your decision is." As he finished spooking, the devil flew up the chimney. And what did the upright man do? Indeed, :he was not very frig\hte:ned, because he ikneiw that whosoever is Wiith God, with him God also is. Nevertheless, he spent the whole day thinlking albout what he should do. He could not ma!ke a decision. The enti.re God:-giiven day he read devout b.ooks and th.en prayed, sighing: "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." But what hruppened? The next morning the devil again came down the chimney and, facmg the poor man, said: "Well, have you thought over what I had said to you?" "Aye, I have, indeed I have. If you are a devil, go to hell, w,here the Lord Chiriist has p1'aced you and let upright ,p eople live in peace. I sha;ll not sin just to please you!" "But," retorted the deivil, ":I s,ay to you aigain that you cannot avoid this, !b ecause there is not, nor shall there be, a man in this world who shall not sin at least once during his lifetime. ltf you continue to defy me, I swear that you shall commit all three sins. Now, think it over again; I shall come again t01IDorow." With this the devil vanished up the chimney again. The poor mam. remained alooe fbehind a table with his head restinrg in t'he paJlms of his hands. He was thinking the matter over. The more he ra!ked his brains a.bout it, the more he was conviil!cing himself that the devil did say something. �51 SLOVAKIA "Indeed," he reasoned, "the devil was right. All of us axe sinners. Surely, the Lord Christ would nort ha,ve died in vain even for me - and I have not as yet sinned even once. Aye, the devil could be right. Well, I shall not pull fingers with him. But to kill a man? Thart would be a grave sin, indeed. Never in my Hfe haJVe I hurt any one, not even the smallest child, nor hruve I layed even my small finger on any one - and now I should kill some one? That I shall never do! But to iblaspheme the Lord, God, that, too, would ibe a gra,ve .sin. From my youth I have been careful not to say an evil word to any one and now, in my old age, I iaim supposed to iblasrpheme God? Even that is ourt! Get drunk? Hmm, that would perhaps lbe the smallest sin; with it I would harm no one. I shall get drUil!k, come home and sloop it off - and the matter shall lbe ended; the devil will not bother me any more." Hlaiving thought QIVer the matter in this manner, the uprigiht man rose from the talble as he uttered the last words to himself and wended his way to. a tavern. There he dranlk and drank until he could drink no more His feet quite unsteady, the poor but foolish man made his way home. Once in the house, tholl!gh it never had been his cmstom to create a scene, he now raved and ranted. Unfortunately his grandchild began to cry; un-• hesitatingly he t:Jhwm.ped it heavily QIVer the head, so that the child became silent for all eternity. Then he let loose a torrent of cur:ses and bJasrphemies that shoOlk the h(}IUSe. He cursed the devil, all the saints, a,nd blasrpemed God Himself. lBehold, the fruit of drunkeness ! 1f the poor man had avoided intoxication, he could have died a holy man. He did not want to commit murder o,r blaspheme God, but ooce under the influence of liquor he did both. And so it was that a righteous man tb ecame a scoundrel, thief and murderer. It is most difficult, they say, to get intoxicated the first time, but ever so easy after that first time. And the blacik, evil one in hell was overjoyed and is still rejoicing to the present time that his invention of whiskey was not in vain! - (Tra,nslated 1by Andrew Bachleda.) 1 � SLOVAKIA 49 low about 1 per cent ownership in a farm project, as mentioned a:oove in reference to JRD. After a complete turnaJbout af policy in Sl01Vrukia, in 1953, mruny farmers welcomed the chance to quit the JiRD and begin farming pri'Vately. Many see in this move, a wealkness of the Communists and are thus guilty Olf a serious er.ror, 1because the same thing is hO'Ulld to hruppen in Slovakia that haJppened in the lJISIS'R and wherever the Reds are in pOIWer: general collecti,vi,z ation is bound to come. It is unfortunate that so many people still do not understand how Communism woI"ks, the tactics 1:Jhe Communists use to attain their ends. In Slovakia, all the farmers who quit the 'kolchooes are m'3.11ked men. As soon as the economic situation improives and a surplus of farm products is lblri.lt up in Slo.vrukia, the farmers will be compelled to join the kolchooes and Sovhozes. Those who refuse to join will be lalbe-led "enemies" of the !State and dealt with accordingly . • • • SLOVAK FOLKLORE TI-IE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED In a certain village there once lived a poor but upright and devout man. Althoogh as gray as a pigeon, he had never, not even once, c<mmritted sin. He never hurt any one by word o:r deed, nor did he ever offend a siingle person in any way. This, Oif course, irritated the devil in hell, who said, scratching behind his ears : '"I1his is certainly exasperating with this man. Other persons, no matter how upright, render me a service at least once during their lifetime. This fellow, however, Slhall die today oir tomorro.w and as yet has not done my ibidding even Oll1Ce. But just wait, mister, I'll show you uip yet!" Not knowing of the trap the devil was setting for him, the poor man lirved ;peacefully in his shack, praying to God daily, never offending any one, CO'Veting not another's possessions, and conducting himself in an things according to God's commandments. �50 SLOVAKIA Suddenly, without a warning - would that he had stayed in the bottomless pit of hell! - the devil gallops into the poor man's room just as God had made him: he had teeth Hke pikes, legs like a horse, horns on his head, and even a tail behind. Without ado, he began: "Well, no dowbt albout it, you know who I am, do you not? I ha.ve ibeen trailing you since you were /born, but never once could I catch you committing sin. Now, you choose what it is you ,w ant to do: either you shall kill a man, or blaspheme God, or you shall get drunk. Whether you want to or not, Oille oif these three sins you must commit. Tomorroiw I shall come ag,ain to, hear what your decision is." As he finished spooking, the devil flew up the chimney. And what did the upright man do? Indeed, :he was not very frig\hte:ned, because he ikneiw that whosoever is Wiith God, with him God also is. Nevertheless, he spent the whole day thinlking albout what he should do. He could not ma!ke a decision. The enti.re God:-giiven day he read devout b.ooks and th.en prayed, sighing: "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." But what hruppened? The next morning the devil again came down the chimney and, facmg the poor man, said: "Well, have you thought over what I had said to you?" "Aye, I have, indeed I have. If you are a devil, go to hell, w,here the Lord Chiriist has p1'aced you and let upright ,p eople live in peace. I sha;ll not sin just to please you!" "But," retorted the deivil, ":I s,ay to you aigain that you cannot avoid this, !b ecause there is not, nor shall there be, a man in this world who shall not sin at least once during his lifetime. ltf you continue to defy me, I swear that you shall commit all three sins. Now, think it over again; I shall come again t01IDorow." With this the devil vanished up the chimney again. The poor mam. remained alooe fbehind a table with his head restinrg in t'he paJlms of his hands. He was thinking the matter over. The more he ra!ked his brains a.bout it, the more he was conviil!cing himself that the devil did say something. �51 SLOVAKIA "Indeed," he reasoned, "the devil was right. All of us axe sinners. Surely, the Lord Christ would nort ha,ve died in vain even for me - and I have not as yet sinned even once. Aye, the devil could be right. Well, I shall not pull fingers with him. But to kill a man? Thart would be a grave sin, indeed. Never in my Hfe haJVe I hurt any one, not even the smallest child, nor hruve I layed even my small finger on any one - and now I should kill some one? That I shall never do! But to iblaspheme the Lord, God, that, too, would ibe a gra,ve .sin. From my youth I have been careful not to say an evil word to any one and now, in my old age, I iaim supposed to iblasrpheme God? Even that is ourt! Get drunk? Hmm, that would perhaps lbe the smallest sin; with it I would harm no one. I shall get drUil!k, come home and sloop it off - and the matter shall lbe ended; the devil will not bother me any more." Hlaiving thought QIVer the matter in this manner, the uprigiht man rose from the talble as he uttered the last words to himself and wended his way to. a tavern. There he dranlk and drank until he could drink no more His feet quite unsteady, the poor but foolish man made his way home. Once in the house, tholl!gh it never had been his cmstom to create a scene, he now raved and ranted. Unfortunately his grandchild began to cry; un-• hesitatingly he t:Jhwm.ped it heavily QIVer the head, so that the child became silent for all eternity. Then he let loose a torrent of cur:ses and bJasrphemies that shoOlk the h(}IUSe. He cursed the devil, all the saints, a,nd blasrpemed God Himself. lBehold, the fruit of drunkeness ! 1f the poor man had avoided intoxication, he could have died a holy man. He did not want to commit murder o,r blaspheme God, but ooce under the influence of liquor he did both. And so it was that a righteous man tb ecame a scoundrel, thief and murderer. It is most difficult, they say, to get intoxicated the first time, but ever so easy after that first time. And the blacik, evil one in hell was overjoyed and is still rejoicing to the present time that his invention of whiskey was not in vain! - (Tra,nslated 1by Andrew Bachleda.) 1 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 49 low about 1 per cent ownership in a farm project, as mentioned a:oove in reference to JRD. After a complete turnaJbout af policy in Sl01Vrukia, in 1953, mruny farmers welcomed the chance to quit the JiRD and begin farming pri'Vately. Many see in this move, a wealkness of the Communists and are thus guilty Olf a serious er.ror, 1because the same thing is hO'Ulld to hruppen in Slovakia that haJppened in the lJISIS'R and wherever the Reds are in pOIWer: general collecti,vi,z ation is bound to come. It is unfortunate that so many people still do not understand how Communism woI"ks, the tactics 1:Jhe Communists use to attain their ends. In Slovakia, all the farmers who quit the 'kolchooes are m'3.11ked men. As soon as the economic situation improives and a surplus of farm products is lblri.lt up in Slo.vrukia, the farmers will be compelled to join the kolchooes and Sovhozes. Those who refuse to join will be lalbe-led "enemies" of the !State and dealt with accordingly . • • • SLOVAK FOLKLORE TI-IE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED In a certain village there once lived a poor but upright and devout man. Althoogh as gray as a pigeon, he had never, not even once, c<mmritted sin. He never hurt any one by word o:r deed, nor did he ever offend a siingle person in any way. This, Oif course, irritated the devil in hell, who said, scratching behind his ears : '"I1his is certainly exasperating with this man. Other persons, no matter how upright, render me a service at least once during their lifetime. This fellow, however, Slhall die today oir tomorro.w and as yet has not done my ibidding even Oll1Ce. But just wait, mister, I'll show you uip yet!" Not knowing of the trap the devil was setting for him, the poor man lirved ;peacefully in his shack, praying to God daily, never offending any one, CO'Veting not another's possessions, and conducting himself in an things according to God's commandments. 50 SLOVAKIA Suddenly, without a warning - would that he had stayed in the bottomless pit of hell! - the devil gallops into the poor man's room just as God had made him: he had teeth Hke pikes, legs like a horse, horns on his head, and even a tail behind. Without ado, he began: "Well, no dowbt albout it, you know who I am, do you not? I ha.ve ibeen trailing you since you were /born, but never once could I catch you committing sin. Now, you choose what it is you ,w ant to do: either you shall kill a man, or blaspheme God, or you shall get drunk. Whether you want to or not, Oille oif these three sins you must commit. Tomorroiw I shall come ag,ain to, hear what your decision is." As he finished spooking, the devil flew up the chimney. And what did the upright man do? Indeed, :he was not very frig\hte:ned, because he ikneiw that whosoever is Wiith God, with him God also is. Nevertheless, he spent the whole day thinlking albout what he should do. He could not ma!ke a decision. The enti.re God:-giiven day he read devout b.ooks and th.en prayed, sighing: "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." But what hruppened? The next morning the devil again came down the chimney and, facmg the poor man, said: "Well, have you thought over what I had said to you?" "Aye, I have, indeed I have. If you are a devil, go to hell, w,here the Lord Chiriist has p1'aced you and let upright ,p eople live in peace. I sha;ll not sin just to please you!" "But," retorted the deivil, ":I s,ay to you aigain that you cannot avoid this, !b ecause there is not, nor shall there be, a man in this world who shall not sin at least once during his lifetime. ltf you continue to defy me, I swear that you shall commit all three sins. Now, think it over again; I shall come again t01IDorow." With this the devil vanished up the chimney again. The poor mam. remained alooe fbehind a table with his head restinrg in t'he paJlms of his hands. He was thinking the matter over. The more he ra!ked his brains a.bout it, the more he was conviil!cing himself that the devil did say something. 51 SLOVAKIA "Indeed," he reasoned, "the devil was right. All of us axe sinners. Surely, the Lord Christ would nort ha,ve died in vain even for me - and I have not as yet sinned even once. Aye, the devil could be right. Well, I shall not pull fingers with him. But to kill a man? Thart would be a grave sin, indeed. Never in my Hfe haJVe I hurt any one, not even the smallest child, nor hruve I layed even my small finger on any one - and now I should kill some one? That I shall never do! But to iblaspheme the Lord, God, that, too, would ibe a gra,ve .sin. From my youth I have been careful not to say an evil word to any one and now, in my old age, I iaim supposed to iblasrpheme God? Even that is ourt! Get drunk? Hmm, that would perhaps lbe the smallest sin; with it I would harm no one. I shall get drUil!k, come home and sloop it off - and the matter shall lbe ended; the devil will not bother me any more." Hlaiving thought QIVer the matter in this manner, the uprigiht man rose from the talble as he uttered the last words to himself and wended his way to. a tavern. There he dranlk and drank until he could drink no more His feet quite unsteady, the poor but foolish man made his way home. Once in the house, tholl!gh it never had been his cmstom to create a scene, he now raved and ranted. Unfortunately his grandchild began to cry; un-• hesitatingly he t:Jhwm.ped it heavily QIVer the head, so that the child became silent for all eternity. Then he let loose a torrent of cur:ses and bJasrphemies that shoOlk the h(}IUSe. He cursed the devil, all the saints, a,nd blasrpemed God Himself. lBehold, the fruit of drunkeness ! 1f the poor man had avoided intoxication, he could have died a holy man. He did not want to commit murder o,r blaspheme God, but ooce under the influence of liquor he did both. And so it was that a righteous man tb ecame a scoundrel, thief and murderer. It is most difficult, they say, to get intoxicated the first time, but ever so easy after that first time. And the blacik, evil one in hell was overjoyed and is still rejoicing to the present time that his invention of whiskey was not in vain! - (Tra,nslated 1by Andrew Bachleda.) 1  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Slovak Folklore: The Man Who Never Sinned Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 49-51 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c7b94e33444b94b1e95528aea4079592.pdf 5eabc43874f7bfa7f0a988807692c463 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 44 U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) and other American institutions still try to salvage them? Why insist that such 0 political dupes" ( ?) represent the political will of the Slovak nation? They never did and never shall! • RECOMMENDED $3.00; SWVAK FOR (the set); "Hirdbak's "S'IJOVAK LffiSSONS" • • BOOKS: "The Slovaks" (Jwrchak BEGINNERS" (Books I-III) $1.50 Eniglish-,Sl{)IVa;k Dictionary" $4.00; (iHrolbak) $3.50 . • • • NATIONALIZATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY IN SLOVAKIA Andrej Gemersky When Edward Benes signed the governmental decree in 1945 to nationalize '.key (heavy) indrustry, the Communists in Slovakia and the Czech lands became the masters of the economic situation. By signing that decree Benes sealed the fate not only of heaJVy industry, Wihich thereto was owned for the most part rb y share-holders' associations, 1b ut also the industry which was owned by indirviduals. Benes's decree nationali0ed all industrial enterprises which employed: more than 50 persons. For the time bemg, therefore, enterprises with u:p to 50 emptoyees were not affeded by the decree. Bwt only for a short time. The Co1mmunists are rk nown for their consistent stand on a!bolishing all rprivaJte ownership. They ibelieve in the prinrciple that man s'hould not exiploit man, that man must not be ex!ploited 'by the bourgeois, the capitalists, who. according to the Communists are represented by private OIWltlers withO'llt regard to the iltind and ~tent of prirvate ownership. The Communists, therefore, once they were in key positliooo in SlovaJki1a , sought to nationalilze every private enter.prise, large and small. I had said that enterprises with up to 50 employees were not nationalized at the outset (1945). These the �SLOVAKIA 45 Communists first ibegan to combine into larger productiive units, into so-called maniwfacturing and selling combines or cooperatives; they !began to co1lectilvi1ze production or manufacture. They said that collectiivization was a neces-sary an:d inevitruble degree of socialistic, progressiive undertaiking and, therefore, W'ihoeiver opposed co'.hlectiivization was not priogressive but reactionary, an enemy af socialism which spelled the "good and welfare" of the ,people. Such a person, of course, was an enemy of the State and, hence, coulq ,be ,punished accoroing to existing laws. TailoTs were o,r.garuzed in the cooperatiive called "Vw~ rodev" ; ha;berdashers, merchants with mixed merchandise in the "Jednorba" and "Buducnoof"; shoemrukers in the "V'zoro!buv," lbut s1hoesihops with three employees were not affected. The latter, however, were not allowed to make new shoes, lbut only to repair old ones; their shops had to carry the sign "iidrzbar." It was thus that all manufacturing plants and selling outlets in 1Sl01Vakia were oollectiivized. Later, larger cooperati<ves fbecame so-.called "national" enterprises; \but national entffil)rises are also State enter.prises, !because the profits belong to the Strute exclusicvely, that is, to the Communists. Former "priV1ate" enterprises were given a neiw name; original trade names, carrying the names of ipri-vate entrepreneurs and owners, had to go. Now, for example, we read ,t he names of "na;tional" enterprises, such as, "Teohnokov, Masin.a, Ob111Va, Popper, Mlieicne speciaJlity," etc. Ln a word all ,business is under State control. When the Communists :niationa:li'Zed or collectivized entenprises, they allowed the former prwate OIWillera to run them for the State as "managers." But they had one of their tried men in eiveiry business place, whose duty it was to learn all the triciks of the trade. In time the original owner-mam.ager lbecame unnecessary and W&S transferred to some other enter,prise ·a s a lruborer. His understudy, classed as "aJbsolutely reliable," took 01Ver the jdb of managing the business. In many in.stances, ,private owners opposed collecticvization. In such cases the Oomm'U.Ilists simply too:k amay �46 SLOVAKIA their business permits, or closed their shops as economically unnecessary. So a person practically had to join the Red cooperatives if he wanted to live and have a roof over his head. Most of the small operators ha<l their shops in their ho.mes and could easily be dispossessed in the "public interest" - meaning of course in the interest otf the Communist Party. In Slovakia the Communists did not collectivize all prilvate enterprises at one time. At first the Reds would call the owner to attend a trade meeting of this or that national oomimittee and try to conivince him how he would benefit by joining a cooperative. :tf he could not be convinced, they would tell him that they would have to review his trade permit and ascertain whether his shop was necessary to f wfill the economic plan. Miter the lboss, the Reds would tackle ,his employees to convince them that they are not very bright if they ,let ,prirvate owners, the bourgeois, to exploit them. Why should the wo'I1kers help the owners to wax richer at their expense, the Reds would easily say, when they can work in cooperative shops and get better pay? In many cases that is how the Communists operated in their own !benefit. IDm.iplo.yees quit their old employers to wonk in the cooperatives, where they actually receirved better pay. When the Reds had all producing enterprises nationalized aJnd collectirvired, they later introduced socalled rproductitve norms, which had to be met, if the workers were to, reiceirve the pay they were getting. These norms could never be met, so the workers actually got less pay than they did f,r,om prirvate owners. This, according to the Communists, is not exploitation of the wonkers, but a co111scientioU1S and patriotic building~up of socialism. Getting control of agricultural production caused the greates~ concern to, the Communists, !because all people therefore eiven those who lirve in the communistic "paradise" - have to eat. 'Ilhe Communists knew that a ,s carcity of food would not helip them COIIlSOlidate their power in the State; they also !knew that a hungry perso:n could not work and slave for them effectively. So tliey begMl to col- �SLOVAKIA 47 lectiv1ze aigricultural units, the fazms. That is how the socalled "Uniform A,gricultuiral Cooperatives" (Jednotne rofrofnicke druzstva - JRD) originated in :SlovaJdia. 1Slovaik farmers refused to jOlin the cooiperaUves (,kolchozes) and openly resisted the Communists. They told them ,b luntly that they did not want kolchozes like those in the USISR, !because they were not prosiperous agric'l.lltural mstitutions. Official pro;pagato,rs orf the [Red Party, however, exip1ained thaJt .t hey weire not concerned about kolcho:zes, but aJbout co~ra:Uve farming, which must meet Slwalk conditions and demands which are different than those existing in the USSR and, therefore, they said, the Slovalk farm cooperatives do not have and will not have anything in cOllllmO!n with the Soiviet kolchozes. It so h:aJppened that many Slovruk faTIIners let themselves be deceived by the Red lullaJbies of the Communist agitators and joined the cooperatiives. Soon after, they learned to thek .sorr,ow that the cooperatives were nothing else but Soiviet !kol'chozes, which depri,v ed the formers of 99 per cent of their property. No· longer were they masters of their own household, but slaves of t'he Communist Party. Of course, the Ooimmunists would haJVe forced their plans OIJ1 the Slovalk farmers even though all of them would have refused to join the ikolchoizes; they prolbaibly would harve kno clked tJhem afif one 1b y one, ivilla1ge by village, .b ecause they were the l31W, they were in po,weir. Natuirrully, the Slo1w1Jk farmers, true to their Christian democvatic tradition, struck !baic'.k, even though it meaJI1t persec:ultion, prison, or eiven deportation. They figured the Reds co'l.lld not :kill, imprison o;r depO!rt all oif them without starving themselves out. Just how the Slo;valk farmer felt about ,t he situation soon made itselif felt in the whole of Sloivakia: the faruners under the new system were producing much }ess than they did before the adrvent of the kolchozes. The Red lbos:ses cursed and threatened the farmers , but to no :wail ; a lbad year was followed by a worse year. Wor.kers everyiW'here complained loudly. After years of stubborn Slovak resistance, the Reds decided to change their tactics to improve the agricultur.a:l. �48 SLOVAKIA situ3ition in Slovaikia. and increase the amount of meat, flowr, vegetable.s, eitc. m 1003 they suddenly began to ,proclaim that no one wa;s swpposed. to be forced into the oooperativesi and anyone who wished to quit them could do so and begin to farm priivately on his OIWil ,p roperty. President Zapotooky himself annou:nred the new, surpristing course of the Communists in a speech in which he hypocritically condemned all iviolence and terro~tion of the farmers, saying that they were "violations olf a local character" for which the guilty parties shall bear the responsibility. This complete turnalbout -Of ,policy may hruve surprised many innocents, ,b ut it rwas really nothing new in Communist tactics and str.ategy. It was not the first time or the last .that they reversed their policies. '!'hey did it before and shall conrtinue to do it ·a s long as it serves their interests, the interests of ,t he Communist Party and the interests of the UISSIR. Those who do not understand Communist methods and their constant goals might see in this tarna:bout of the Oommunists, their weakne.ss. This, howe;ver, would be a fundamental error, which would aNenge itself in a brutal manner. We must remember that the very same thing haJppened even in the "exemplary" Soviet Union more than once. After the Communists seii-zed the government in Russia, even during the lifetime of Lenin, the Communists began to collecti~ on a grand scale, brutally persecuting every one who opposed them. After a time they found themselves in an economic crisis; the peaSlant fairmers quit ,p roducing the necessary quotas of farm products. It did not truke Len!in long to figure ·h is way out of the impending crisis. He proclaimed a "new economic pol,ircy" (Novaja NEP), which returned the Ekonomiceskaja Politika they might work them prithat o s , farms to the farmers vately. Five years later, however, Lenin ordered the dissolution orf NIDP in the UiSSiR and a general collectiviization of all farms. isovhozes and lk:olclwzes ,w ere ag,a in formed. Sovhiozes are state aigricultural properties in which pri¥ate ownership is completely exc1uded, while kolcll01Zes al1 �SLOVAKIA 49 low about 1 per cent ownership in a farm project, as mentioned a:oove in reference to JRD. After a complete turnaJbout af policy in Sl01Vrukia, in 1953, mruny farmers welcomed the chance to quit the JiRD and begin farming pri'Vately. Many see in this move, a wealkness of the Communists and are thus guilty Olf a serious er.ror, 1because the same thing is hO'Ulld to hruppen in Slovakia that haJppened in the lJISIS'R and wherever the Reds are in pOIWer: general collecti,vi,z ation is bound to come. It is unfortunate that so many people still do not understand how Communism woI"ks, the tactics 1:Jhe Communists use to attain their ends. In Slovakia, all the farmers who quit the 'kolchooes are m'3.11ked men. As soon as the economic situation improives and a surplus of farm products is lblri.lt up in Slo.vrukia, the farmers will be compelled to join the kolchooes and Sovhozes. Those who refuse to join will be lalbe-led "enemies" of the !State and dealt with accordingly . • • • SLOVAK FOLKLORE TI-IE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED In a certain village there once lived a poor but upright and devout man. Althoogh as gray as a pigeon, he had never, not even once, c<mmritted sin. He never hurt any one by word o:r deed, nor did he ever offend a siingle person in any way. This, Oif course, irritated the devil in hell, who said, scratching behind his ears : '"I1his is certainly exasperating with this man. Other persons, no matter how upright, render me a service at least once during their lifetime. This fellow, however, Slhall die today oir tomorro.w and as yet has not done my ibidding even Oll1Ce. But just wait, mister, I'll show you uip yet!" Not knowing of the trap the devil was setting for him, the poor man lirved ;peacefully in his shack, praying to God daily, never offending any one, CO'Veting not another's possessions, and conducting himself in an things according to God's commandments. � SLOVAKIA 44 U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) and other American institutions still try to salvage them? Why insist that such 0 political dupes" ( ?) represent the political will of the Slovak nation? They never did and never shall! • RECOMMENDED $3.00; SWVAK FOR (the set); "Hirdbak's "S'IJOVAK LffiSSONS" • • BOOKS: "The Slovaks" (Jwrchak BEGINNERS" (Books I-III) $1.50 Eniglish-,Sl{)IVa;k Dictionary" $4.00; (iHrolbak) $3.50 . • • • NATIONALIZATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY IN SLOVAKIA Andrej Gemersky When Edward Benes signed the governmental decree in 1945 to nationalize '.key (heavy) indrustry, the Communists in Slovakia and the Czech lands became the masters of the economic situation. By signing that decree Benes sealed the fate not only of heaJVy industry, Wihich thereto was owned for the most part rb y share-holders' associations, 1b ut also the industry which was owned by indirviduals. Benes's decree nationali0ed all industrial enterprises which employed: more than 50 persons. For the time bemg, therefore, enterprises with u:p to 50 emptoyees were not affeded by the decree. Bwt only for a short time. The Co1mmunists are rk nown for their consistent stand on a!bolishing all rprivaJte ownership. They ibelieve in the prinrciple that man s'hould not exiploit man, that man must not be ex!ploited 'by the bourgeois, the capitalists, who. according to the Communists are represented by private OIWltlers withO'llt regard to the iltind and ~tent of prirvate ownership. The Communists, therefore, once they were in key positliooo in SlovaJki1a , sought to nationalilze every private enter.prise, large and small. I had said that enterprises with up to 50 employees were not nationalized at the outset (1945). These the �SLOVAKIA 45 Communists first ibegan to combine into larger productiive units, into so-called maniwfacturing and selling combines or cooperatives; they !began to co1lectilvi1ze production or manufacture. They said that collectiivization was a neces-sary an:d inevitruble degree of socialistic, progressiive undertaiking and, therefore, W'ihoeiver opposed co'.hlectiivization was not priogressive but reactionary, an enemy af socialism which spelled the "good and welfare" of the ,people. Such a person, of course, was an enemy of the State and, hence, coulq ,be ,punished accoroing to existing laws. TailoTs were o,r.garuzed in the cooperatiive called "Vw~ rodev" ; ha;berdashers, merchants with mixed merchandise in the "Jednorba" and "Buducnoof"; shoemrukers in the "V'zoro!buv," lbut s1hoesihops with three employees were not affected. The latter, however, were not allowed to make new shoes, lbut only to repair old ones; their shops had to carry the sign "iidrzbar." It was thus that all manufacturing plants and selling outlets in 1Sl01Vakia were oollectiivized. Later, larger cooperati<ves fbecame so-.called "national" enterprises; \but national entffil)rises are also State enter.prises, !because the profits belong to the Strute exclusicvely, that is, to the Communists. Former "priV1ate" enterprises were given a neiw name; original trade names, carrying the names of ipri-vate entrepreneurs and owners, had to go. Now, for example, we read ,t he names of "na;tional" enterprises, such as, "Teohnokov, Masin.a, Ob111Va, Popper, Mlieicne speciaJlity," etc. Ln a word all ,business is under State control. When the Communists :niationa:li'Zed or collectivized entenprises, they allowed the former prwate OIWillera to run them for the State as "managers." But they had one of their tried men in eiveiry business place, whose duty it was to learn all the triciks of the trade. In time the original owner-mam.ager lbecame unnecessary and W&S transferred to some other enter,prise ·a s a lruborer. His understudy, classed as "aJbsolutely reliable," took 01Ver the jdb of managing the business. In many in.stances, ,private owners opposed collecticvization. In such cases the Oomm'U.Ilists simply too:k amay �46 SLOVAKIA their business permits, or closed their shops as economically unnecessary. So a person practically had to join the Red cooperatives if he wanted to live and have a roof over his head. Most of the small operators ha<l their shops in their ho.mes and could easily be dispossessed in the "public interest" - meaning of course in the interest otf the Communist Party. In Slovakia the Communists did not collectivize all prilvate enterprises at one time. At first the Reds would call the owner to attend a trade meeting of this or that national oomimittee and try to conivince him how he would benefit by joining a cooperative. :tf he could not be convinced, they would tell him that they would have to review his trade permit and ascertain whether his shop was necessary to f wfill the economic plan. Miter the lboss, the Reds would tackle ,his employees to convince them that they are not very bright if they ,let ,prirvate owners, the bourgeois, to exploit them. Why should the wo'I1kers help the owners to wax richer at their expense, the Reds would easily say, when they can work in cooperative shops and get better pay? In many cases that is how the Communists operated in their own !benefit. IDm.iplo.yees quit their old employers to wonk in the cooperatives, where they actually receirved better pay. When the Reds had all producing enterprises nationalized aJnd collectirvired, they later introduced socalled rproductitve norms, which had to be met, if the workers were to, reiceirve the pay they were getting. These norms could never be met, so the workers actually got less pay than they did f,r,om prirvate owners. This, according to the Communists, is not exploitation of the wonkers, but a co111scientioU1S and patriotic building~up of socialism. Getting control of agricultural production caused the greates~ concern to, the Communists, !because all people therefore eiven those who lirve in the communistic "paradise" - have to eat. 'Ilhe Communists knew that a ,s carcity of food would not helip them COIIlSOlidate their power in the State; they also !knew that a hungry perso:n could not work and slave for them effectively. So tliey begMl to col- �SLOVAKIA 47 lectiv1ze aigricultural units, the fazms. That is how the socalled "Uniform A,gricultuiral Cooperatives" (Jednotne rofrofnicke druzstva - JRD) originated in :SlovaJdia. 1Slovaik farmers refused to jOlin the cooiperaUves (,kolchozes) and openly resisted the Communists. They told them ,b luntly that they did not want kolchozes like those in the USISR, !because they were not prosiperous agric'l.lltural mstitutions. Official pro;pagato,rs orf the [Red Party, however, exip1ained thaJt .t hey weire not concerned about kolcho:zes, but aJbout co~ra:Uve farming, which must meet Slwalk conditions and demands which are different than those existing in the USSR and, therefore, they said, the Slovalk farm cooperatives do not have and will not have anything in cOllllmO!n with the Soiviet kolchozes. It so h:aJppened that many Slovruk faTIIners let themselves be deceived by the Red lullaJbies of the Communist agitators and joined the cooperatiives. Soon after, they learned to thek .sorr,ow that the cooperatives were nothing else but Soiviet !kol'chozes, which depri,v ed the formers of 99 per cent of their property. No· longer were they masters of their own household, but slaves of t'he Communist Party. Of course, the Ooimmunists would haJVe forced their plans OIJ1 the Slovalk farmers even though all of them would have refused to join the ikolchoizes; they prolbaibly would harve kno clked tJhem afif one 1b y one, ivilla1ge by village, .b ecause they were the l31W, they were in po,weir. Natuirrully, the Slo1w1Jk farmers, true to their Christian democvatic tradition, struck !baic'.k, even though it meaJI1t persec:ultion, prison, or eiven deportation. They figured the Reds co'l.lld not :kill, imprison o;r depO!rt all oif them without starving themselves out. Just how the Slo;valk farmer felt about ,t he situation soon made itselif felt in the whole of Sloivakia: the faruners under the new system were producing much }ess than they did before the adrvent of the kolchozes. The Red lbos:ses cursed and threatened the farmers , but to no :wail ; a lbad year was followed by a worse year. Wor.kers everyiW'here complained loudly. After years of stubborn Slovak resistance, the Reds decided to change their tactics to improve the agricultur.a:l. �48 SLOVAKIA situ3ition in Slovaikia. and increase the amount of meat, flowr, vegetable.s, eitc. m 1003 they suddenly began to ,proclaim that no one wa;s swpposed. to be forced into the oooperativesi and anyone who wished to quit them could do so and begin to farm priivately on his OIWil ,p roperty. President Zapotooky himself annou:nred the new, surpristing course of the Communists in a speech in which he hypocritically condemned all iviolence and terro~tion of the farmers, saying that they were "violations olf a local character" for which the guilty parties shall bear the responsibility. This complete turnalbout -Of ,policy may hruve surprised many innocents, ,b ut it rwas really nothing new in Communist tactics and str.ategy. It was not the first time or the last .that they reversed their policies. '!'hey did it before and shall conrtinue to do it ·a s long as it serves their interests, the interests of ,t he Communist Party and the interests of the UISSIR. Those who do not understand Communist methods and their constant goals might see in this tarna:bout of the Oommunists, their weakne.ss. This, howe;ver, would be a fundamental error, which would aNenge itself in a brutal manner. We must remember that the very same thing haJppened even in the "exemplary" Soviet Union more than once. After the Communists seii-zed the government in Russia, even during the lifetime of Lenin, the Communists began to collecti~ on a grand scale, brutally persecuting every one who opposed them. After a time they found themselves in an economic crisis; the peaSlant fairmers quit ,p roducing the necessary quotas of farm products. It did not truke Len!in long to figure ·h is way out of the impending crisis. He proclaimed a "new economic pol,ircy" (Novaja NEP), which returned the Ekonomiceskaja Politika they might work them prithat o s , farms to the farmers vately. Five years later, however, Lenin ordered the dissolution orf NIDP in the UiSSiR and a general collectiviization of all farms. isovhozes and lk:olclwzes ,w ere ag,a in formed. Sovhiozes are state aigricultural properties in which pri¥ate ownership is completely exc1uded, while kolcll01Zes al1 �SLOVAKIA 49 low about 1 per cent ownership in a farm project, as mentioned a:oove in reference to JRD. After a complete turnaJbout af policy in Sl01Vrukia, in 1953, mruny farmers welcomed the chance to quit the JiRD and begin farming pri'Vately. Many see in this move, a wealkness of the Communists and are thus guilty Olf a serious er.ror, 1because the same thing is hO'Ulld to hruppen in Slovakia that haJppened in the lJISIS'R and wherever the Reds are in pOIWer: general collecti,vi,z ation is bound to come. It is unfortunate that so many people still do not understand how Communism woI"ks, the tactics 1:Jhe Communists use to attain their ends. In Slovakia, all the farmers who quit the 'kolchooes are m'3.11ked men. As soon as the economic situation improives and a surplus of farm products is lblri.lt up in Slo.vrukia, the farmers will be compelled to join the kolchooes and Sovhozes. Those who refuse to join will be lalbe-led "enemies" of the !State and dealt with accordingly . • • • SLOVAK FOLKLORE TI-IE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED In a certain village there once lived a poor but upright and devout man. Althoogh as gray as a pigeon, he had never, not even once, c<mmritted sin. He never hurt any one by word o:r deed, nor did he ever offend a siingle person in any way. This, Oif course, irritated the devil in hell, who said, scratching behind his ears : '"I1his is certainly exasperating with this man. Other persons, no matter how upright, render me a service at least once during their lifetime. This fellow, however, Slhall die today oir tomorro.w and as yet has not done my ibidding even Oll1Ce. But just wait, mister, I'll show you uip yet!" Not knowing of the trap the devil was setting for him, the poor man lirved ;peacefully in his shack, praying to God daily, never offending any one, CO'Veting not another's possessions, and conducting himself in an things according to God's commandments. � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 44 U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) and other American institutions still try to salvage them? Why insist that such 0 political dupes" ( ?) represent the political will of the Slovak nation? They never did and never shall! • RECOMMENDED $3.00; SWVAK FOR (the set); "Hirdbak's "S'IJOVAK LffiSSONS" • • BOOKS: "The Slovaks" (Jwrchak BEGINNERS" (Books I-III) $1.50 Eniglish-,Sl{)IVa;k Dictionary" $4.00; (iHrolbak) $3.50 . • • • NATIONALIZATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY IN SLOVAKIA Andrej Gemersky When Edward Benes signed the governmental decree in 1945 to nationalize '.key (heavy) indrustry, the Communists in Slovakia and the Czech lands became the masters of the economic situation. By signing that decree Benes sealed the fate not only of heaJVy industry, Wihich thereto was owned for the most part rb y share-holders' associations, 1b ut also the industry which was owned by indirviduals. Benes's decree nationali0ed all industrial enterprises which employed: more than 50 persons. For the time bemg, therefore, enterprises with u:p to 50 emptoyees were not affeded by the decree. Bwt only for a short time. The Co1mmunists are rk nown for their consistent stand on a!bolishing all rprivaJte ownership. They ibelieve in the prinrciple that man s'hould not exiploit man, that man must not be ex!ploited 'by the bourgeois, the capitalists, who. according to the Communists are represented by private OIWltlers withO'llt regard to the iltind and ~tent of prirvate ownership. The Communists, therefore, once they were in key positliooo in SlovaJki1a , sought to nationalilze every private enter.prise, large and small. I had said that enterprises with up to 50 employees were not nationalized at the outset (1945). These the SLOVAKIA 45 Communists first ibegan to combine into larger productiive units, into so-called maniwfacturing and selling combines or cooperatives; they !began to co1lectilvi1ze production or manufacture. They said that collectiivization was a neces-sary an:d inevitruble degree of socialistic, progressiive undertaiking and, therefore, W'ihoeiver opposed co'.hlectiivization was not priogressive but reactionary, an enemy af socialism which spelled the "good and welfare" of the ,people. Such a person, of course, was an enemy of the State and, hence, coulq ,be ,punished accoroing to existing laws. TailoTs were o,r.garuzed in the cooperatiive called "Vw~ rodev" ; ha;berdashers, merchants with mixed merchandise in the "Jednorba" and "Buducnoof"; shoemrukers in the "V'zoro!buv," lbut s1hoesihops with three employees were not affected. The latter, however, were not allowed to make new shoes, lbut only to repair old ones; their shops had to carry the sign "iidrzbar." It was thus that all manufacturing plants and selling outlets in 1Sl01Vakia were oollectiivized. Later, larger cooperati<ves fbecame so-.called "national" enterprises; \but national entffil)rises are also State enter.prises, !because the profits belong to the Strute exclusicvely, that is, to the Communists. Former "priV1ate" enterprises were given a neiw name; original trade names, carrying the names of ipri-vate entrepreneurs and owners, had to go. Now, for example, we read ,t he names of "na;tional" enterprises, such as, "Teohnokov, Masin.a, Ob111Va, Popper, Mlieicne speciaJlity," etc. Ln a word all ,business is under State control. When the Communists :niationa:li'Zed or collectivized entenprises, they allowed the former prwate OIWillera to run them for the State as "managers." But they had one of their tried men in eiveiry business place, whose duty it was to learn all the triciks of the trade. In time the original owner-mam.ager lbecame unnecessary and W&S transferred to some other enter,prise ·a s a lruborer. His understudy, classed as "aJbsolutely reliable," took 01Ver the jdb of managing the business. In many in.stances, ,private owners opposed collecticvization. In such cases the Oomm'U.Ilists simply too:k amay 46 SLOVAKIA their business permits, or closed their shops as economically unnecessary. So a person practically had to join the Red cooperatives if he wanted to live and have a roof over his head. Most of the small operators ha<l their shops in their ho.mes and could easily be dispossessed in the "public interest" - meaning of course in the interest otf the Communist Party. In Slovakia the Communists did not collectivize all prilvate enterprises at one time. At first the Reds would call the owner to attend a trade meeting of this or that national oomimittee and try to conivince him how he would benefit by joining a cooperative. :tf he could not be convinced, they would tell him that they would have to review his trade permit and ascertain whether his shop was necessary to f wfill the economic plan. Miter the lboss, the Reds would tackle ,his employees to convince them that they are not very bright if they ,let ,prirvate owners, the bourgeois, to exploit them. Why should the wo'I1kers help the owners to wax richer at their expense, the Reds would easily say, when they can work in cooperative shops and get better pay? In many cases that is how the Communists operated in their own !benefit. IDm.iplo.yees quit their old employers to wonk in the cooperatives, where they actually receirved better pay. When the Reds had all producing enterprises nationalized aJnd collectirvired, they later introduced socalled rproductitve norms, which had to be met, if the workers were to, reiceirve the pay they were getting. These norms could never be met, so the workers actually got less pay than they did f,r,om prirvate owners. This, according to the Communists, is not exploitation of the wonkers, but a co111scientioU1S and patriotic building~up of socialism. Getting control of agricultural production caused the greates~ concern to, the Communists, !because all people therefore eiven those who lirve in the communistic "paradise" - have to eat. 'Ilhe Communists knew that a ,s carcity of food would not helip them COIIlSOlidate their power in the State; they also !knew that a hungry perso:n could not work and slave for them effectively. So tliey begMl to col- SLOVAKIA 47 lectiv1ze aigricultural units, the fazms. That is how the socalled "Uniform A,gricultuiral Cooperatives" (Jednotne rofrofnicke druzstva - JRD) originated in :SlovaJdia. 1Slovaik farmers refused to jOlin the cooiperaUves (,kolchozes) and openly resisted the Communists. They told them ,b luntly that they did not want kolchozes like those in the USISR, !because they were not prosiperous agric'l.lltural mstitutions. Official pro;pagato,rs orf the [Red Party, however, exip1ained thaJt .t hey weire not concerned about kolcho:zes, but aJbout co~ra:Uve farming, which must meet Slwalk conditions and demands which are different than those existing in the USSR and, therefore, they said, the Slovalk farm cooperatives do not have and will not have anything in cOllllmO!n with the Soiviet kolchozes. It so h:aJppened that many Slovruk faTIIners let themselves be deceived by the Red lullaJbies of the Communist agitators and joined the cooperatiives. Soon after, they learned to thek .sorr,ow that the cooperatives were nothing else but Soiviet !kol'chozes, which depri,v ed the formers of 99 per cent of their property. No· longer were they masters of their own household, but slaves of t'he Communist Party. Of course, the Ooimmunists would haJVe forced their plans OIJ1 the Slovalk farmers even though all of them would have refused to join the ikolchoizes; they prolbaibly would harve kno clked tJhem afif one 1b y one, ivilla1ge by village, .b ecause they were the l31W, they were in po,weir. Natuirrully, the Slo1w1Jk farmers, true to their Christian democvatic tradition, struck !baic'.k, even though it meaJI1t persec:ultion, prison, or eiven deportation. They figured the Reds co'l.lld not :kill, imprison o;r depO!rt all oif them without starving themselves out. Just how the Slo;valk farmer felt about ,t he situation soon made itselif felt in the whole of Sloivakia: the faruners under the new system were producing much }ess than they did before the adrvent of the kolchozes. The Red lbos:ses cursed and threatened the farmers , but to no :wail ; a lbad year was followed by a worse year. Wor.kers everyiW'here complained loudly. After years of stubborn Slovak resistance, the Reds decided to change their tactics to improve the agricultur.a:l. 48 SLOVAKIA situ3ition in Slovaikia. and increase the amount of meat, flowr, vegetable.s, eitc. m 1003 they suddenly began to ,proclaim that no one wa;s swpposed. to be forced into the oooperativesi and anyone who wished to quit them could do so and begin to farm priivately on his OIWil ,p roperty. President Zapotooky himself annou:nred the new, surpristing course of the Communists in a speech in which he hypocritically condemned all iviolence and terro~tion of the farmers, saying that they were "violations olf a local character" for which the guilty parties shall bear the responsibility. This complete turnalbout -Of ,policy may hruve surprised many innocents, ,b ut it rwas really nothing new in Communist tactics and str.ategy. It was not the first time or the last .that they reversed their policies. '!'hey did it before and shall conrtinue to do it ·a s long as it serves their interests, the interests of ,t he Communist Party and the interests of the UISSIR. Those who do not understand Communist methods and their constant goals might see in this tarna:bout of the Oommunists, their weakne.ss. This, howe;ver, would be a fundamental error, which would aNenge itself in a brutal manner. We must remember that the very same thing haJppened even in the "exemplary" Soviet Union more than once. After the Communists seii-zed the government in Russia, even during the lifetime of Lenin, the Communists began to collecti~ on a grand scale, brutally persecuting every one who opposed them. After a time they found themselves in an economic crisis; the peaSlant fairmers quit ,p roducing the necessary quotas of farm products. It did not truke Len!in long to figure ·h is way out of the impending crisis. He proclaimed a "new economic pol,ircy" (Novaja NEP), which returned the Ekonomiceskaja Politika they might work them prithat o s , farms to the farmers vately. Five years later, however, Lenin ordered the dissolution orf NIDP in the UiSSiR and a general collectiviization of all farms. isovhozes and lk:olclwzes ,w ere ag,a in formed. Sovhiozes are state aigricultural properties in which pri¥ate ownership is completely exc1uded, while kolcll01Zes al1 SLOVAKIA 49 low about 1 per cent ownership in a farm project, as mentioned a:oove in reference to JRD. After a complete turnaJbout af policy in Sl01Vrukia, in 1953, mruny farmers welcomed the chance to quit the JiRD and begin farming pri'Vately. Many see in this move, a wealkness of the Communists and are thus guilty Olf a serious er.ror, 1because the same thing is hO'Ulld to hruppen in Slovakia that haJppened in the lJISIS'R and wherever the Reds are in pOIWer: general collecti,vi,z ation is bound to come. It is unfortunate that so many people still do not understand how Communism woI"ks, the tactics 1:Jhe Communists use to attain their ends. In Slovakia, all the farmers who quit the 'kolchooes are m'3.11ked men. As soon as the economic situation improives and a surplus of farm products is lblri.lt up in Slo.vrukia, the farmers will be compelled to join the kolchooes and Sovhozes. Those who refuse to join will be lalbe-led "enemies" of the !State and dealt with accordingly . • • • SLOVAK FOLKLORE TI-IE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED In a certain village there once lived a poor but upright and devout man. Althoogh as gray as a pigeon, he had never, not even once, c<mmritted sin. He never hurt any one by word o:r deed, nor did he ever offend a siingle person in any way. This, Oif course, irritated the devil in hell, who said, scratching behind his ears : '"I1his is certainly exasperating with this man. Other persons, no matter how upright, render me a service at least once during their lifetime. This fellow, however, Slhall die today oir tomorro.w and as yet has not done my ibidding even Oll1Ce. But just wait, mister, I'll show you uip yet!" Not knowing of the trap the devil was setting for him, the poor man lirved ;peacefully in his shack, praying to God daily, never offending any one, CO'Veting not another's possessions, and conducting himself in an things according to God's commandments.  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 Nationalization of Private Property in Slovakia Description An account of the resource Andrej Gemerský Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 44-49 Note from frontmatter: "Andrew Gemerský is the pseudonym of a Slovak who escaped from Slovakia just several months ago, ..." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gemerský, Andrej Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 name pseudonym https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c81966ab83aa490ff8e2044117e0e4b7.pdf 1c14a39865f9334c9f66438c5a8e0681 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 39 Collaboration and Coexistence: THE LETI'RICH "DEMOCRATS" AND COMMUNISTS P.A. Hrobak The Slovak Democratic Party did not exist in pre-war Slovakia, whereas the Slovak Communist Party did. The Democratic Party came into existence when the left-wing Agrarians decided to salvage their wealth and their political prestige at the expense of their own nation. They were well aware of the fact that they represented a negligible amount of the Slovak electorate in Slovakia and, hence, could never be elected as representatives of the political will of the Slovak nation in any free elections. The Communists in pre-war Slovakia were just about in the same fix; they did not have the backing of even 10 % of the electorate. But the Communists were in a more favorable position at the end of 1943, because it was quite evident at that time that the USSR would have a lot to say about the order that was to prevail in Czecho-Slovakia after the war. Dr. Edward Benes, the "resigned-and-stil'l president" of Czecho-Slovakia, had concluded the "Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty" on December 12, 1943, which formally sold out that hapless country to the USSR. The Lettrich "Democrats" were fully aware of the situation at that time. The Lettrich "Democrats" could become a power in post-war Slovakia only with the help of the Communists, so they joined up with them to destroy the Republic of Slovakia and estaiblish a "new" Czecho-Slovakia - a "people's" democracy - subordinated to the USSR. They concluded several agreements with the Communists which are referred to writers from time to time. We produce them in toto here. The 1943 "Christmas" Agreement "The ideological tendencies in Slovakia - which even after October 6, 1938, continued on the principles of antiFascist democracy and to the present day have actively opposed the political, economic and cultural violation of the Slovak people and which today represent the actual think- �SLOVAKIA ing of all groups of the Slovak people - have decided to create a common political leadership which shall be the SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL, the sole representative of the political will of the Slovak nation at home. "I. The Role and the Aims of the Slovak National Council are: . "1. Unitedly and centrally to wage the fight of the Slovak nation for the removal of the Nazi-German dictatorship, which is being enforced even by native usurpers of political power. "2. At the fi..rst opportune moment to seize all political, legislative, military, or administrative executive power in Slovakia and administer it according to the will of the people until such time as freely elected representatives of the people shall be able to take over all power. "3. As soon as possible after the seizure of power, the Slovak National Council shall see to it that the Slovak people of its own will shall freely designate its own representatives to whom the Slovak National Council shall surrender all power. "4. In its activity the Slovak National Council shall proceed in understanding with the Czecho-Slovak Government and the entire resistance movement abroad, whose work in the international and military fields it recognizes and supports. "II. The associated tendencies and groups of the Council have agreed on these principles: "1. It is our desire that the Slovak nation and the Czech nation, as the most related Slovanic nations, work out their future destiny in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, that is, in a joint State of the Slovaks and Czechs, and on a basis of equality. "2. We desire close collaboration with all Slovanic States and nations, especially with the Soviet Union in which we see the guarantee of a free life and general growth of small nations generally and of the Slovanic nations in particular . ., ~· , · "3. · ·The future Czecho-Slovak Republic shall conduct its foreign policy in the spirit of these principles and, there- �SLOVAKIA 41 fore in the field of foreign policy and in the military field shall rely on the USSR. "4. The internal order of the future Czecho-Slovak Repurblic shall be democratic, but all Fascist, racial, totalitarian tendencies, and all such as shall be in conflict with these principles, shall be eradicated. In this spirit the internal political government shall be firmly conducted, but, nevertheless, in a democratic manner. It is necessary to avoid the mistakes and errors of the past. "5. The concept of democracy must be carried over and intensified also in the economic and social fields, so that the distribution of the national income among all the inhabitants be as equal as possible and the life of every citizen be humanly dignified. "6. Culture, education and training must be conducted by these principles. Freedom of religious beliefs shall be preserved, but the influence of the churches on the tendency and the management of the State shall be excluded. "7. About the definite adjustment of these questions - and especially about the legal, constitutional adjustment of the relationship of the Slovak nation to the Czech nation - shall be decided, on the Slovak side, exclusively by freely (designated) representatives of the Slovak nation. "Bratislava, Christmas, 1943." T·h e Agreement of June 26, 1945 . "1. Neither party of the National Front has any other aims than a united, indivisible, democratic Czecho-Slovak Republic, built on the legally equal union of the Slovak and Czech nations and, in its foreign, Slovak and economic policies, depending on the Soviet Union, keeping brotherly contacts with all Slovanic States and nations, preserving the traditional friendly contacts with the western allies. "2. Both parties of the National Front - the Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia - are aware of the fact that to successfully perform the tasks of one class pr of one political party is not sufficient, but that harmonious cooperation of all working groups of the nation �42 SLOVAKIA is necessary, and that of both our political parties which represent the will of the nation. "3. It is our unalterable will to preserve and consolidate the National Front, which is built first of all on the collaboration of the Democratic Party with the Communist Party of Slovakia, so that it could fulfill its great task of consolidation and reconstruction. "In the spirit of fraternal friendship of the Czech and Slovak nations, we want to keep up the most friendly cooperation of the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party, federated in the Slovak National Front, with the political parties in the Czech lands, especially with the bloc of working people of the cities and their vicinities which forms the core of political representation of the Czech nation. "4. Just as we fought together during the national rebellion against the Gellman invaders and their Magyar helpers, so together we want to cleanse Slovakia of Nazi Germans, Fascist Magyars, to achieve the exchange of the remaining Magyar population for the Slovaks in Hungary and abroad and thus contribute to the fulfillment of the governmental program to build the Czecho-Slovak Republic as a State of the Czechs and the Slovaks. "5. By mutual collaboration we want to continue inexorably and uncompromisingly to expose and disarm all Fascist, collaborationist and exploitationary elements. "6. Just as we value highly respectable, conscientious and qualified citizens, even if they are not adherents of political parties, we shall just as certainly disarm characterless conjuncturalists, chameleons, opportunists, as well as the prejudiced, even if they should cloak themselves with adherence to some of our parties. "7. Between the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party there is complete agreement on the matter that local and district National Committees, just like economic, industrial, social, health, cultural and other institutions of a national character, shall not become the object of one of our political parties, but shall be so composed that they adequately represent all democratic and working groups of our citizenry. �SLOVAKIA 43 "8. The Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia are completely united in respecting and defending the right of religious confession, but also in the matter that Slovak citizens of whatever faith are equal citizens of our State. On the other hand, they expect that the churches shall not afford asylum to Fascist culprits and shall not become tools of any sort of political agitation. "9. The Democratic Party, just like the Communist Party of Slovakia, is striving for extensive social reforms to raise the living and cultural standard of the working people and, on the other hand, the Communist Party of Slovakia, just like the Democratic Party, resolutely respects private property of peasants, tradesmen, businessmen, small and medium entrepreneurs and officials. "10. Since there is agreement ,o n all vital questions between the Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia, both parties shall strive for the end that, in the spirit of the collacboration of the underground and the uprising, the methods of honorable, open, sincere and loyal collaboration, become domesticated in all organizations and groups of the party. "June 26, 1945. "For the Communist Party of Slovakia: Karol Schmidke, Dr. Gustav Husak, Laco Novomesky, Dr. E. Frisch, Karol Bacilek. "For the Democratic Party: Dr. Jozef Lettrich, Dr. Fedor Hodza, Dr. Matej Josko, Dr. Jozef Kysely, Milan Polak." It is obvious that the Lettrich "Democrats" collaborated with Communists and the USSR deliberately and willingly against the national interests of their own people. They wanted to coexist and co-govern with the Reds, but forgot that the Reds had other plans, their own plans, based on the Moscow blueprint or master plan. After the Reds and Moscow used them to attain their ends in Czecho-Slovakia, the Lettrich "Democrats" were relegated to the political rubbish heap. The Slovak people, whom they betrayed, want to keep them there. Why should our State Department, the �SLOVAKIA 44 U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) and other American institutions still try to salvage them? Why insist that such 0 political dupes" ( ?) represent the political will of the Slovak nation? They never did and never shall! • RECOMMENDED $3.00; SWVAK FOR (the set); "Hirdbak's "S'IJOVAK LffiSSONS" • • BOOKS: "The Slovaks" (Jwrchak BEGINNERS" (Books I-III) $1.50 Eniglish-,Sl{)IVa;k Dictionary" $4.00; (iHrolbak) $3.50 . • • • NATIONALIZATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY IN SLOVAKIA Andrej Gemersky When Edward Benes signed the governmental decree in 1945 to nationalize '.key (heavy) indrustry, the Communists in Slovakia and the Czech lands became the masters of the economic situation. By signing that decree Benes sealed the fate not only of heaJVy industry, Wihich thereto was owned for the most part rb y share-holders' associations, 1b ut also the industry which was owned by indirviduals. Benes's decree nationali0ed all industrial enterprises which employed: more than 50 persons. For the time bemg, therefore, enterprises with u:p to 50 emptoyees were not affeded by the decree. Bwt only for a short time. The Co1mmunists are rk nown for their consistent stand on a!bolishing all rprivaJte ownership. They ibelieve in the prinrciple that man s'hould not exiploit man, that man must not be ex!ploited 'by the bourgeois, the capitalists, who. according to the Communists are represented by private OIWltlers withO'llt regard to the iltind and ~tent of prirvate ownership. The Communists, therefore, once they were in key positliooo in SlovaJki1a , sought to nationalilze every private enter.prise, large and small. I had said that enterprises with up to 50 employees were not nationalized at the outset (1945). These the � SLOVAKIA 39 Collaboration and Coexistence: THE LETI'RICH "DEMOCRATS" AND COMMUNISTS P.A. Hrobak The Slovak Democratic Party did not exist in pre-war Slovakia, whereas the Slovak Communist Party did. The Democratic Party came into existence when the left-wing Agrarians decided to salvage their wealth and their political prestige at the expense of their own nation. They were well aware of the fact that they represented a negligible amount of the Slovak electorate in Slovakia and, hence, could never be elected as representatives of the political will of the Slovak nation in any free elections. The Communists in pre-war Slovakia were just about in the same fix; they did not have the backing of even 10 % of the electorate. But the Communists were in a more favorable position at the end of 1943, because it was quite evident at that time that the USSR would have a lot to say about the order that was to prevail in Czecho-Slovakia after the war. Dr. Edward Benes, the "resigned-and-stil'l president" of Czecho-Slovakia, had concluded the "Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty" on December 12, 1943, which formally sold out that hapless country to the USSR. The Lettrich "Democrats" were fully aware of the situation at that time. The Lettrich "Democrats" could become a power in post-war Slovakia only with the help of the Communists, so they joined up with them to destroy the Republic of Slovakia and estaiblish a "new" Czecho-Slovakia - a "people's" democracy - subordinated to the USSR. They concluded several agreements with the Communists which are referred to writers from time to time. We produce them in toto here. The 1943 "Christmas" Agreement "The ideological tendencies in Slovakia - which even after October 6, 1938, continued on the principles of antiFascist democracy and to the present day have actively opposed the political, economic and cultural violation of the Slovak people and which today represent the actual think- �SLOVAKIA ing of all groups of the Slovak people - have decided to create a common political leadership which shall be the SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL, the sole representative of the political will of the Slovak nation at home. "I. The Role and the Aims of the Slovak National Council are: . "1. Unitedly and centrally to wage the fight of the Slovak nation for the removal of the Nazi-German dictatorship, which is being enforced even by native usurpers of political power. "2. At the fi..rst opportune moment to seize all political, legislative, military, or administrative executive power in Slovakia and administer it according to the will of the people until such time as freely elected representatives of the people shall be able to take over all power. "3. As soon as possible after the seizure of power, the Slovak National Council shall see to it that the Slovak people of its own will shall freely designate its own representatives to whom the Slovak National Council shall surrender all power. "4. In its activity the Slovak National Council shall proceed in understanding with the Czecho-Slovak Government and the entire resistance movement abroad, whose work in the international and military fields it recognizes and supports. "II. The associated tendencies and groups of the Council have agreed on these principles: "1. It is our desire that the Slovak nation and the Czech nation, as the most related Slovanic nations, work out their future destiny in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, that is, in a joint State of the Slovaks and Czechs, and on a basis of equality. "2. We desire close collaboration with all Slovanic States and nations, especially with the Soviet Union in which we see the guarantee of a free life and general growth of small nations generally and of the Slovanic nations in particular . ., ~· , · "3. · ·The future Czecho-Slovak Republic shall conduct its foreign policy in the spirit of these principles and, there- �SLOVAKIA 41 fore in the field of foreign policy and in the military field shall rely on the USSR. "4. The internal order of the future Czecho-Slovak Repurblic shall be democratic, but all Fascist, racial, totalitarian tendencies, and all such as shall be in conflict with these principles, shall be eradicated. In this spirit the internal political government shall be firmly conducted, but, nevertheless, in a democratic manner. It is necessary to avoid the mistakes and errors of the past. "5. The concept of democracy must be carried over and intensified also in the economic and social fields, so that the distribution of the national income among all the inhabitants be as equal as possible and the life of every citizen be humanly dignified. "6. Culture, education and training must be conducted by these principles. Freedom of religious beliefs shall be preserved, but the influence of the churches on the tendency and the management of the State shall be excluded. "7. About the definite adjustment of these questions - and especially about the legal, constitutional adjustment of the relationship of the Slovak nation to the Czech nation - shall be decided, on the Slovak side, exclusively by freely (designated) representatives of the Slovak nation. "Bratislava, Christmas, 1943." T·h e Agreement of June 26, 1945 . "1. Neither party of the National Front has any other aims than a united, indivisible, democratic Czecho-Slovak Republic, built on the legally equal union of the Slovak and Czech nations and, in its foreign, Slovak and economic policies, depending on the Soviet Union, keeping brotherly contacts with all Slovanic States and nations, preserving the traditional friendly contacts with the western allies. "2. Both parties of the National Front - the Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia - are aware of the fact that to successfully perform the tasks of one class pr of one political party is not sufficient, but that harmonious cooperation of all working groups of the nation �42 SLOVAKIA is necessary, and that of both our political parties which represent the will of the nation. "3. It is our unalterable will to preserve and consolidate the National Front, which is built first of all on the collaboration of the Democratic Party with the Communist Party of Slovakia, so that it could fulfill its great task of consolidation and reconstruction. "In the spirit of fraternal friendship of the Czech and Slovak nations, we want to keep up the most friendly cooperation of the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party, federated in the Slovak National Front, with the political parties in the Czech lands, especially with the bloc of working people of the cities and their vicinities which forms the core of political representation of the Czech nation. "4. Just as we fought together during the national rebellion against the Gellman invaders and their Magyar helpers, so together we want to cleanse Slovakia of Nazi Germans, Fascist Magyars, to achieve the exchange of the remaining Magyar population for the Slovaks in Hungary and abroad and thus contribute to the fulfillment of the governmental program to build the Czecho-Slovak Republic as a State of the Czechs and the Slovaks. "5. By mutual collaboration we want to continue inexorably and uncompromisingly to expose and disarm all Fascist, collaborationist and exploitationary elements. "6. Just as we value highly respectable, conscientious and qualified citizens, even if they are not adherents of political parties, we shall just as certainly disarm characterless conjuncturalists, chameleons, opportunists, as well as the prejudiced, even if they should cloak themselves with adherence to some of our parties. "7. Between the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party there is complete agreement on the matter that local and district National Committees, just like economic, industrial, social, health, cultural and other institutions of a national character, shall not become the object of one of our political parties, but shall be so composed that they adequately represent all democratic and working groups of our citizenry. �SLOVAKIA 43 "8. The Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia are completely united in respecting and defending the right of religious confession, but also in the matter that Slovak citizens of whatever faith are equal citizens of our State. On the other hand, they expect that the churches shall not afford asylum to Fascist culprits and shall not become tools of any sort of political agitation. "9. The Democratic Party, just like the Communist Party of Slovakia, is striving for extensive social reforms to raise the living and cultural standard of the working people and, on the other hand, the Communist Party of Slovakia, just like the Democratic Party, resolutely respects private property of peasants, tradesmen, businessmen, small and medium entrepreneurs and officials. "10. Since there is agreement ,o n all vital questions between the Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia, both parties shall strive for the end that, in the spirit of the collacboration of the underground and the uprising, the methods of honorable, open, sincere and loyal collaboration, become domesticated in all organizations and groups of the party. "June 26, 1945. "For the Communist Party of Slovakia: Karol Schmidke, Dr. Gustav Husak, Laco Novomesky, Dr. E. Frisch, Karol Bacilek. "For the Democratic Party: Dr. Jozef Lettrich, Dr. Fedor Hodza, Dr. Matej Josko, Dr. Jozef Kysely, Milan Polak." It is obvious that the Lettrich "Democrats" collaborated with Communists and the USSR deliberately and willingly against the national interests of their own people. They wanted to coexist and co-govern with the Reds, but forgot that the Reds had other plans, their own plans, based on the Moscow blueprint or master plan. After the Reds and Moscow used them to attain their ends in Czecho-Slovakia, the Lettrich "Democrats" were relegated to the political rubbish heap. The Slovak people, whom they betrayed, want to keep them there. Why should our State Department, the �SLOVAKIA 44 U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) and other American institutions still try to salvage them? Why insist that such 0 political dupes" ( ?) represent the political will of the Slovak nation? They never did and never shall! • RECOMMENDED $3.00; SWVAK FOR (the set); "Hirdbak's "S'IJOVAK LffiSSONS" • • BOOKS: "The Slovaks" (Jwrchak BEGINNERS" (Books I-III) $1.50 Eniglish-,Sl{)IVa;k Dictionary" $4.00; (iHrolbak) $3.50 . • • • NATIONALIZATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY IN SLOVAKIA Andrej Gemersky When Edward Benes signed the governmental decree in 1945 to nationalize '.key (heavy) indrustry, the Communists in Slovakia and the Czech lands became the masters of the economic situation. By signing that decree Benes sealed the fate not only of heaJVy industry, Wihich thereto was owned for the most part rb y share-holders' associations, 1b ut also the industry which was owned by indirviduals. Benes's decree nationali0ed all industrial enterprises which employed: more than 50 persons. For the time bemg, therefore, enterprises with u:p to 50 emptoyees were not affeded by the decree. Bwt only for a short time. The Co1mmunists are rk nown for their consistent stand on a!bolishing all rprivaJte ownership. They ibelieve in the prinrciple that man s'hould not exiploit man, that man must not be ex!ploited 'by the bourgeois, the capitalists, who. according to the Communists are represented by private OIWltlers withO'llt regard to the iltind and ~tent of prirvate ownership. The Communists, therefore, once they were in key positliooo in SlovaJki1a , sought to nationalilze every private enter.prise, large and small. I had said that enterprises with up to 50 employees were not nationalized at the outset (1945). These 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 39 Collaboration and Coexistence: THE LETI'RICH "DEMOCRATS" AND COMMUNISTS P.A. Hrobak The Slovak Democratic Party did not exist in pre-war Slovakia, whereas the Slovak Communist Party did. The Democratic Party came into existence when the left-wing Agrarians decided to salvage their wealth and their political prestige at the expense of their own nation. They were well aware of the fact that they represented a negligible amount of the Slovak electorate in Slovakia and, hence, could never be elected as representatives of the political will of the Slovak nation in any free elections. The Communists in pre-war Slovakia were just about in the same fix; they did not have the backing of even 10 % of the electorate. But the Communists were in a more favorable position at the end of 1943, because it was quite evident at that time that the USSR would have a lot to say about the order that was to prevail in Czecho-Slovakia after the war. Dr. Edward Benes, the "resigned-and-stil'l president" of Czecho-Slovakia, had concluded the "Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty" on December 12, 1943, which formally sold out that hapless country to the USSR. The Lettrich "Democrats" were fully aware of the situation at that time. The Lettrich "Democrats" could become a power in post-war Slovakia only with the help of the Communists, so they joined up with them to destroy the Republic of Slovakia and estaiblish a "new" Czecho-Slovakia - a "people's" democracy - subordinated to the USSR. They concluded several agreements with the Communists which are referred to writers from time to time. We produce them in toto here. The 1943 "Christmas" Agreement "The ideological tendencies in Slovakia - which even after October 6, 1938, continued on the principles of antiFascist democracy and to the present day have actively opposed the political, economic and cultural violation of the Slovak people and which today represent the actual think- SLOVAKIA ing of all groups of the Slovak people - have decided to create a common political leadership which shall be the SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL, the sole representative of the political will of the Slovak nation at home. "I. The Role and the Aims of the Slovak National Council are: . "1. Unitedly and centrally to wage the fight of the Slovak nation for the removal of the Nazi-German dictatorship, which is being enforced even by native usurpers of political power. "2. At the fi..rst opportune moment to seize all political, legislative, military, or administrative executive power in Slovakia and administer it according to the will of the people until such time as freely elected representatives of the people shall be able to take over all power. "3. As soon as possible after the seizure of power, the Slovak National Council shall see to it that the Slovak people of its own will shall freely designate its own representatives to whom the Slovak National Council shall surrender all power. "4. In its activity the Slovak National Council shall proceed in understanding with the Czecho-Slovak Government and the entire resistance movement abroad, whose work in the international and military fields it recognizes and supports. "II. The associated tendencies and groups of the Council have agreed on these principles: "1. It is our desire that the Slovak nation and the Czech nation, as the most related Slovanic nations, work out their future destiny in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, that is, in a joint State of the Slovaks and Czechs, and on a basis of equality. "2. We desire close collaboration with all Slovanic States and nations, especially with the Soviet Union in which we see the guarantee of a free life and general growth of small nations generally and of the Slovanic nations in particular . ., ~· , · "3. · ·The future Czecho-Slovak Republic shall conduct its foreign policy in the spirit of these principles and, there- SLOVAKIA 41 fore in the field of foreign policy and in the military field shall rely on the USSR. "4. The internal order of the future Czecho-Slovak Repurblic shall be democratic, but all Fascist, racial, totalitarian tendencies, and all such as shall be in conflict with these principles, shall be eradicated. In this spirit the internal political government shall be firmly conducted, but, nevertheless, in a democratic manner. It is necessary to avoid the mistakes and errors of the past. "5. The concept of democracy must be carried over and intensified also in the economic and social fields, so that the distribution of the national income among all the inhabitants be as equal as possible and the life of every citizen be humanly dignified. "6. Culture, education and training must be conducted by these principles. Freedom of religious beliefs shall be preserved, but the influence of the churches on the tendency and the management of the State shall be excluded. "7. About the definite adjustment of these questions - and especially about the legal, constitutional adjustment of the relationship of the Slovak nation to the Czech nation - shall be decided, on the Slovak side, exclusively by freely (designated) representatives of the Slovak nation. "Bratislava, Christmas, 1943." T·h e Agreement of June 26, 1945 . "1. Neither party of the National Front has any other aims than a united, indivisible, democratic Czecho-Slovak Republic, built on the legally equal union of the Slovak and Czech nations and, in its foreign, Slovak and economic policies, depending on the Soviet Union, keeping brotherly contacts with all Slovanic States and nations, preserving the traditional friendly contacts with the western allies. "2. Both parties of the National Front - the Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia - are aware of the fact that to successfully perform the tasks of one class pr of one political party is not sufficient, but that harmonious cooperation of all working groups of the nation 42 SLOVAKIA is necessary, and that of both our political parties which represent the will of the nation. "3. It is our unalterable will to preserve and consolidate the National Front, which is built first of all on the collaboration of the Democratic Party with the Communist Party of Slovakia, so that it could fulfill its great task of consolidation and reconstruction. "In the spirit of fraternal friendship of the Czech and Slovak nations, we want to keep up the most friendly cooperation of the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party, federated in the Slovak National Front, with the political parties in the Czech lands, especially with the bloc of working people of the cities and their vicinities which forms the core of political representation of the Czech nation. "4. Just as we fought together during the national rebellion against the Gellman invaders and their Magyar helpers, so together we want to cleanse Slovakia of Nazi Germans, Fascist Magyars, to achieve the exchange of the remaining Magyar population for the Slovaks in Hungary and abroad and thus contribute to the fulfillment of the governmental program to build the Czecho-Slovak Republic as a State of the Czechs and the Slovaks. "5. By mutual collaboration we want to continue inexorably and uncompromisingly to expose and disarm all Fascist, collaborationist and exploitationary elements. "6. Just as we value highly respectable, conscientious and qualified citizens, even if they are not adherents of political parties, we shall just as certainly disarm characterless conjuncturalists, chameleons, opportunists, as well as the prejudiced, even if they should cloak themselves with adherence to some of our parties. "7. Between the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party there is complete agreement on the matter that local and district National Committees, just like economic, industrial, social, health, cultural and other institutions of a national character, shall not become the object of one of our political parties, but shall be so composed that they adequately represent all democratic and working groups of our citizenry. SLOVAKIA 43 "8. The Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia are completely united in respecting and defending the right of religious confession, but also in the matter that Slovak citizens of whatever faith are equal citizens of our State. On the other hand, they expect that the churches shall not afford asylum to Fascist culprits and shall not become tools of any sort of political agitation. "9. The Democratic Party, just like the Communist Party of Slovakia, is striving for extensive social reforms to raise the living and cultural standard of the working people and, on the other hand, the Communist Party of Slovakia, just like the Democratic Party, resolutely respects private property of peasants, tradesmen, businessmen, small and medium entrepreneurs and officials. "10. Since there is agreement ,o n all vital questions between the Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Slovakia, both parties shall strive for the end that, in the spirit of the collacboration of the underground and the uprising, the methods of honorable, open, sincere and loyal collaboration, become domesticated in all organizations and groups of the party. "June 26, 1945. "For the Communist Party of Slovakia: Karol Schmidke, Dr. Gustav Husak, Laco Novomesky, Dr. E. Frisch, Karol Bacilek. "For the Democratic Party: Dr. Jozef Lettrich, Dr. Fedor Hodza, Dr. Matej Josko, Dr. Jozef Kysely, Milan Polak." It is obvious that the Lettrich "Democrats" collaborated with Communists and the USSR deliberately and willingly against the national interests of their own people. They wanted to coexist and co-govern with the Reds, but forgot that the Reds had other plans, their own plans, based on the Moscow blueprint or master plan. After the Reds and Moscow used them to attain their ends in Czecho-Slovakia, the Lettrich "Democrats" were relegated to the political rubbish heap. The Slovak people, whom they betrayed, want to keep them there. Why should our State Department, the SLOVAKIA 44 U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) and other American institutions still try to salvage them? Why insist that such 0 political dupes" ( ?) represent the political will of the Slovak nation? They never did and never shall! • RECOMMENDED $3.00; SWVAK FOR (the set); "Hirdbak's "S'IJOVAK LffiSSONS" • • BOOKS: "The Slovaks" (Jwrchak BEGINNERS" (Books I-III) $1.50 Eniglish-,Sl{)IVa;k Dictionary" $4.00; (iHrolbak) $3.50 . • • • NATIONALIZATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY IN SLOVAKIA Andrej Gemersky When Edward Benes signed the governmental decree in 1945 to nationalize '.key (heavy) indrustry, the Communists in Slovakia and the Czech lands became the masters of the economic situation. By signing that decree Benes sealed the fate not only of heaJVy industry, Wihich thereto was owned for the most part rb y share-holders' associations, 1b ut also the industry which was owned by indirviduals. Benes's decree nationali0ed all industrial enterprises which employed: more than 50 persons. For the time bemg, therefore, enterprises with u:p to 50 emptoyees were not affeded by the decree. Bwt only for a short time. The Co1mmunists are rk nown for their consistent stand on a!bolishing all rprivaJte ownership. They ibelieve in the prinrciple that man s'hould not exiploit man, that man must not be ex!ploited 'by the bourgeois, the capitalists, who. according to the Communists are represented by private OIWltlers withO'llt regard to the iltind and ~tent of prirvate ownership. The Communists, therefore, once they were in key positliooo in SlovaJki1a , sought to nationalilze every private enter.prise, large and small. I had said that enterprises with up to 50 employees were not nationalized at the outset (1945). These 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 The Lettrich "Democrats" and Communists Description An account of the resource P. A. Hrobak Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 39-44 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hrobak, Philip Anthony, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/28459c5b368d229232daf4fb747046d0.pdf 08fca6cfd0ef67ad60a81281f938d785 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 35 THE SWVAK REPUBLIC AND COMMUNISM Dr. Joseph Pauco The courageous and mercileEs fight against Communism belongs among the most serious deeds of the representative s of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945). It could not have been otherwise, because the political body which had taken over the responsibility for the development of affairs in the Slovak Republic, from the very beginning of its public activity, was consistently anti~Commun ist. Already at the end of 1938, the autonomous government of Dr. Joseph Tiso dissolved and outlawed the Communist Party in Slovakia. On October 6, 1938, when the Prague Government finally recognized the rights of the Slovak nation to autonomy, according to the Pittsburgh Agreement of May 30, 1918, all the political parties of Slovakia agreed on a single program in the face of the emergency which had arisen at that time. All parties, that is, except the Social Democrats and the Communists, who refused to support the bloc of civic parties and repudiated the principle of autonomy for Slovakia. The Slovak Government, however, dissolved and outlawed the Communist Party as a matter of principle, being fully aware of the fact that every Communist organization is an enemy of all freedoms and an agent of Moscow. It was not so long ago that this act of the Slovak Government was thrust before the eyes of the Slovaks as a sin and a betrayal of Democracy. But today we see, for example, that some States of America have outlawed the Communist Party, and the Government of the United States never adopted such a sharp anti~ommun ist course as it has at present. In 1938, the Slovak Government acted most prudently and with foresight; history will never be able to criticize it for its anti-Commun ist stand. During the Second World War, the Slovak Republic had diplomatic contacts with the Soviet Union almost two years. It would be altogether useless to concern ourselves in detail with that part of the hateful anti-Slovak propaganda, which even today wants to see in this diplomatic relationship a pro-Soviet feeling or policy of the Slovak �36 SLOVAKTA Government. We know that western governments are in a "cold" war and, in places, even a "hot" war with the Communists and armies supported by the Soviets and yet they have diplomatic contacts with the Soviet dictatorship. Who would dare to accuse, for example, the Eisenhower ,A¢ninistration of following a pro-Soviet course? And we must not forget that the Slovak Government did not rescind outlawing the Communist Party even after it did establish diplomatic contacts with Soviet Russia. Speaking about diplomatic contacts of the Slovak Republic with the Soviet Union, we must also mention a matter, which at first glance might appear as an insignificant event, but which really sheds light on the anti-Communist and antiSoviet stand of the government of the Slovak Republic. Before sending its ambassador to Bratislava, Moscow had requested the Slovak Government to use one of its largest buildings, the Avion Palace, as its embassy. But Tiso refused. Why? Tiso r efused because it was quite obvious to him that the Soviets were not only interested in quarters for their diplomatic personnel, but also intended to establish an espionage center for the whole of central Europe, which would be covered by immunity. The Slovak Government acted as it did even though it was aware of the fact that it might be at the price of breaking off all diplomatic contacts with the Soviets. This act certainly cannot be construed as evidence of a "pro-Soviet" policy of the Slovak Republic! In June, 1941, the Slovak Army marched into Soviet territory. The Slovak Republic entered the war against Soviet Russia, because it was in accord with Slovak antiCommunist traditions. This it did even though it was fully aware of the geopolitical situation of Slovakia and the political combination of forces in the central Europe of that time. It may be worth mentioning, however, that formally the Slovak Republic did not declare war against anybody. According to the constitution of the Slovak Republic war could not be declared without the approval of Parliament and the signature of the President of the Republic. Where the Premier and the Minister of National Defense did declare �SLOVAKIA 37 war against anybody, they did so without the accord of Parliament and the approval and signature of President Tiso. Regarding the armed conflict of the Slovak Republic with the Soviets, we might boldly compare it, from a formal and practical standpoint, with the "police action" of the United States in Korea. The anti-Communist stand of the representatives of the Slovak Republic stands out more prominently, if we recall that two divisions of the Slovak Army (about 12,000 men) fought exclusively on the eastern, that is, the Soviet front and that not a single Slovak soldier was placed on the western front. In short, the army of the Slovak Republic did not fight against the armies of America, Great Britain and France, but only against the armies of the Soviet Union. Serious attempts were made to have the Slovak Army fight on the western front. The Slovak Government, however, adamantly opposed the move. The will of the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic was not violated in this instance. It was not, therefore, accidental that the Slovaks fought only against the Soviets. President Dr. Joseph Tiso acted soberly in the antiCommunist crusade during the war and fulfilled his historical mission regardless of consequences. When allied victory was certain, Soviet plenipotentiaries sought out Tiso and told him that he could continue in the presidency after the war, if he would only proclaim Slovakia a Soviet repuQ,fo:i; Tiso, of course, refused and sealed his doom. Stalin was not a forgetful man. Of course, this was not the only instant which attested to Tiso's crusade against Communism. His fight · against Communism had begun long before he had become President of Slovakia, in fact, from the very outset of his public activity. The Communist prosecutors and judges of the Bratislava "National" Court accused Dr. Tiso of declaring that he would fight against his own brother if he were a Communist and that Communism must be cut from the body of every nation as a malignant ulcer. Certain it is that all political actions backed by Soviet Moscow and all regimes, which knew not how to cope with �SLOVAKIA Communism or out of ignorance and naivite regarded it as Democracy, looked upon the consistent validation of the anti-Communist stand of the Slovak Republic as treason. This was demonstrated most emphatically when the Communists and their collaborators executed a host of Slovak patriots, including President Dr. Joseph Tiso. We know that the "National" Court in Bratislava considered Tiso's negative and hostile stand to the Soviets and Communists, as well as the war of the Slovak Army against the Soviets, as his greatest "crime". If one points out the guilt not only of the Communists, who demanded and got Tiso's head, but also the guilt of those, who at that time sat behind the same table with the Communists and the ministerial council when judicial murders were committed, this is in order. And that all the more so, because at that time every anti"'Communist was given the singular opportunity to manifest his conviction. During the "trial" of Dr. Tiso, the cold war between the West and the USSR was already initiated. But the persons who executed Slovak antiCommunist fighters, or those who did not move a finger to save them - though they could have - apparently forgot that the West exists at all. And today, sad to say, these very same persons, now in the West, want to prove that they always were active anti-Communists. The Slovak Republic introduced itself into world history remarkably well as an anti-Communist political and military factor. If it would have given nothing else to the Slovak nation but have taught it the correct way to look upon the danger of Communism, the wartime Slovak Republic certainly would have been worthy of its existence. Addressing his countrymen, Dr. Joseph Tiso often said: "We do not show a sufficient regard for our State, because we have not as yet sacrificed enough for it." Today it is altogether clear that the sacrifices for Slovak statehood in the fight against Communism are effectively helping the Slovaks persevere in their efforts to renew Slovak statehood and that the Slovaks can be justly proud of their anti-Communist past. � SLOVAKIA 35 THE SWVAK REPUBLIC AND COMMUNISM Dr. Joseph Pauco The courageous and mercileEs fight against Communism belongs among the most serious deeds of the representative s of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945). It could not have been otherwise, because the political body which had taken over the responsibility for the development of affairs in the Slovak Republic, from the very beginning of its public activity, was consistently anti~Commun ist. Already at the end of 1938, the autonomous government of Dr. Joseph Tiso dissolved and outlawed the Communist Party in Slovakia. On October 6, 1938, when the Prague Government finally recognized the rights of the Slovak nation to autonomy, according to the Pittsburgh Agreement of May 30, 1918, all the political parties of Slovakia agreed on a single program in the face of the emergency which had arisen at that time. All parties, that is, except the Social Democrats and the Communists, who refused to support the bloc of civic parties and repudiated the principle of autonomy for Slovakia. The Slovak Government, however, dissolved and outlawed the Communist Party as a matter of principle, being fully aware of the fact that every Communist organization is an enemy of all freedoms and an agent of Moscow. It was not so long ago that this act of the Slovak Government was thrust before the eyes of the Slovaks as a sin and a betrayal of Democracy. But today we see, for example, that some States of America have outlawed the Communist Party, and the Government of the United States never adopted such a sharp anti~ommun ist course as it has at present. In 1938, the Slovak Government acted most prudently and with foresight; history will never be able to criticize it for its anti-Commun ist stand. During the Second World War, the Slovak Republic had diplomatic contacts with the Soviet Union almost two years. It would be altogether useless to concern ourselves in detail with that part of the hateful anti-Slovak propaganda, which even today wants to see in this diplomatic relationship a pro-Soviet feeling or policy of the Slovak �36 SLOVAKTA Government. We know that western governments are in a "cold" war and, in places, even a "hot" war with the Communists and armies supported by the Soviets and yet they have diplomatic contacts with the Soviet dictatorship. Who would dare to accuse, for example, the Eisenhower ,A¢ninistration of following a pro-Soviet course? And we must not forget that the Slovak Government did not rescind outlawing the Communist Party even after it did establish diplomatic contacts with Soviet Russia. Speaking about diplomatic contacts of the Slovak Republic with the Soviet Union, we must also mention a matter, which at first glance might appear as an insignificant event, but which really sheds light on the anti-Communist and antiSoviet stand of the government of the Slovak Republic. Before sending its ambassador to Bratislava, Moscow had requested the Slovak Government to use one of its largest buildings, the Avion Palace, as its embassy. But Tiso refused. Why? Tiso r efused because it was quite obvious to him that the Soviets were not only interested in quarters for their diplomatic personnel, but also intended to establish an espionage center for the whole of central Europe, which would be covered by immunity. The Slovak Government acted as it did even though it was aware of the fact that it might be at the price of breaking off all diplomatic contacts with the Soviets. This act certainly cannot be construed as evidence of a "pro-Soviet" policy of the Slovak Republic! In June, 1941, the Slovak Army marched into Soviet territory. The Slovak Republic entered the war against Soviet Russia, because it was in accord with Slovak antiCommunist traditions. This it did even though it was fully aware of the geopolitical situation of Slovakia and the political combination of forces in the central Europe of that time. It may be worth mentioning, however, that formally the Slovak Republic did not declare war against anybody. According to the constitution of the Slovak Republic war could not be declared without the approval of Parliament and the signature of the President of the Republic. Where the Premier and the Minister of National Defense did declare �SLOVAKIA 37 war against anybody, they did so without the accord of Parliament and the approval and signature of President Tiso. Regarding the armed conflict of the Slovak Republic with the Soviets, we might boldly compare it, from a formal and practical standpoint, with the "police action" of the United States in Korea. The anti-Communist stand of the representatives of the Slovak Republic stands out more prominently, if we recall that two divisions of the Slovak Army (about 12,000 men) fought exclusively on the eastern, that is, the Soviet front and that not a single Slovak soldier was placed on the western front. In short, the army of the Slovak Republic did not fight against the armies of America, Great Britain and France, but only against the armies of the Soviet Union. Serious attempts were made to have the Slovak Army fight on the western front. The Slovak Government, however, adamantly opposed the move. The will of the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic was not violated in this instance. It was not, therefore, accidental that the Slovaks fought only against the Soviets. President Dr. Joseph Tiso acted soberly in the antiCommunist crusade during the war and fulfilled his historical mission regardless of consequences. When allied victory was certain, Soviet plenipotentiaries sought out Tiso and told him that he could continue in the presidency after the war, if he would only proclaim Slovakia a Soviet repuQ,fo:i; Tiso, of course, refused and sealed his doom. Stalin was not a forgetful man. Of course, this was not the only instant which attested to Tiso's crusade against Communism. His fight · against Communism had begun long before he had become President of Slovakia, in fact, from the very outset of his public activity. The Communist prosecutors and judges of the Bratislava "National" Court accused Dr. Tiso of declaring that he would fight against his own brother if he were a Communist and that Communism must be cut from the body of every nation as a malignant ulcer. Certain it is that all political actions backed by Soviet Moscow and all regimes, which knew not how to cope with �SLOVAKIA Communism or out of ignorance and naivite regarded it as Democracy, looked upon the consistent validation of the anti-Communist stand of the Slovak Republic as treason. This was demonstrated most emphatically when the Communists and their collaborators executed a host of Slovak patriots, including President Dr. Joseph Tiso. We know that the "National" Court in Bratislava considered Tiso's negative and hostile stand to the Soviets and Communists, as well as the war of the Slovak Army against the Soviets, as his greatest "crime". If one points out the guilt not only of the Communists, who demanded and got Tiso's head, but also the guilt of those, who at that time sat behind the same table with the Communists and the ministerial council when judicial murders were committed, this is in order. And that all the more so, because at that time every anti"'Communist was given the singular opportunity to manifest his conviction. During the "trial" of Dr. Tiso, the cold war between the West and the USSR was already initiated. But the persons who executed Slovak antiCommunist fighters, or those who did not move a finger to save them - though they could have - apparently forgot that the West exists at all. And today, sad to say, these very same persons, now in the West, want to prove that they always were active anti-Communists. The Slovak Republic introduced itself into world history remarkably well as an anti-Communist political and military factor. If it would have given nothing else to the Slovak nation but have taught it the correct way to look upon the danger of Communism, the wartime Slovak Republic certainly would have been worthy of its existence. Addressing his countrymen, Dr. Joseph Tiso often said: "We do not show a sufficient regard for our State, because we have not as yet sacrificed enough for it." Today it is altogether clear that the sacrifices for Slovak statehood in the fight against Communism are effectively helping the Slovaks persevere in their efforts to renew Slovak statehood and that the Slovaks can be justly proud of their anti-Communist past. � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 35 THE SWVAK REPUBLIC AND COMMUNISM Dr. Joseph Pauco The courageous and mercileEs fight against Communism belongs among the most serious deeds of the representative s of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945). It could not have been otherwise, because the political body which had taken over the responsibility for the development of affairs in the Slovak Republic, from the very beginning of its public activity, was consistently anti~Commun ist. Already at the end of 1938, the autonomous government of Dr. Joseph Tiso dissolved and outlawed the Communist Party in Slovakia. On October 6, 1938, when the Prague Government finally recognized the rights of the Slovak nation to autonomy, according to the Pittsburgh Agreement of May 30, 1918, all the political parties of Slovakia agreed on a single program in the face of the emergency which had arisen at that time. All parties, that is, except the Social Democrats and the Communists, who refused to support the bloc of civic parties and repudiated the principle of autonomy for Slovakia. The Slovak Government, however, dissolved and outlawed the Communist Party as a matter of principle, being fully aware of the fact that every Communist organization is an enemy of all freedoms and an agent of Moscow. It was not so long ago that this act of the Slovak Government was thrust before the eyes of the Slovaks as a sin and a betrayal of Democracy. But today we see, for example, that some States of America have outlawed the Communist Party, and the Government of the United States never adopted such a sharp anti~ommun ist course as it has at present. In 1938, the Slovak Government acted most prudently and with foresight; history will never be able to criticize it for its anti-Commun ist stand. During the Second World War, the Slovak Republic had diplomatic contacts with the Soviet Union almost two years. It would be altogether useless to concern ourselves in detail with that part of the hateful anti-Slovak propaganda, which even today wants to see in this diplomatic relationship a pro-Soviet feeling or policy of the Slovak 36 SLOVAKTA Government. We know that western governments are in a "cold" war and, in places, even a "hot" war with the Communists and armies supported by the Soviets and yet they have diplomatic contacts with the Soviet dictatorship. Who would dare to accuse, for example, the Eisenhower ,A¢ninistration of following a pro-Soviet course? And we must not forget that the Slovak Government did not rescind outlawing the Communist Party even after it did establish diplomatic contacts with Soviet Russia. Speaking about diplomatic contacts of the Slovak Republic with the Soviet Union, we must also mention a matter, which at first glance might appear as an insignificant event, but which really sheds light on the anti-Communist and antiSoviet stand of the government of the Slovak Republic. Before sending its ambassador to Bratislava, Moscow had requested the Slovak Government to use one of its largest buildings, the Avion Palace, as its embassy. But Tiso refused. Why? Tiso r efused because it was quite obvious to him that the Soviets were not only interested in quarters for their diplomatic personnel, but also intended to establish an espionage center for the whole of central Europe, which would be covered by immunity. The Slovak Government acted as it did even though it was aware of the fact that it might be at the price of breaking off all diplomatic contacts with the Soviets. This act certainly cannot be construed as evidence of a "pro-Soviet" policy of the Slovak Republic! In June, 1941, the Slovak Army marched into Soviet territory. The Slovak Republic entered the war against Soviet Russia, because it was in accord with Slovak antiCommunist traditions. This it did even though it was fully aware of the geopolitical situation of Slovakia and the political combination of forces in the central Europe of that time. It may be worth mentioning, however, that formally the Slovak Republic did not declare war against anybody. According to the constitution of the Slovak Republic war could not be declared without the approval of Parliament and the signature of the President of the Republic. Where the Premier and the Minister of National Defense did declare SLOVAKIA 37 war against anybody, they did so without the accord of Parliament and the approval and signature of President Tiso. Regarding the armed conflict of the Slovak Republic with the Soviets, we might boldly compare it, from a formal and practical standpoint, with the "police action" of the United States in Korea. The anti-Communist stand of the representatives of the Slovak Republic stands out more prominently, if we recall that two divisions of the Slovak Army (about 12,000 men) fought exclusively on the eastern, that is, the Soviet front and that not a single Slovak soldier was placed on the western front. In short, the army of the Slovak Republic did not fight against the armies of America, Great Britain and France, but only against the armies of the Soviet Union. Serious attempts were made to have the Slovak Army fight on the western front. The Slovak Government, however, adamantly opposed the move. The will of the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic was not violated in this instance. It was not, therefore, accidental that the Slovaks fought only against the Soviets. President Dr. Joseph Tiso acted soberly in the antiCommunist crusade during the war and fulfilled his historical mission regardless of consequences. When allied victory was certain, Soviet plenipotentiaries sought out Tiso and told him that he could continue in the presidency after the war, if he would only proclaim Slovakia a Soviet repuQ,fo:i; Tiso, of course, refused and sealed his doom. Stalin was not a forgetful man. Of course, this was not the only instant which attested to Tiso's crusade against Communism. His fight · against Communism had begun long before he had become President of Slovakia, in fact, from the very outset of his public activity. The Communist prosecutors and judges of the Bratislava "National" Court accused Dr. Tiso of declaring that he would fight against his own brother if he were a Communist and that Communism must be cut from the body of every nation as a malignant ulcer. Certain it is that all political actions backed by Soviet Moscow and all regimes, which knew not how to cope with SLOVAKIA Communism or out of ignorance and naivite regarded it as Democracy, looked upon the consistent validation of the anti-Communist stand of the Slovak Republic as treason. This was demonstrated most emphatically when the Communists and their collaborators executed a host of Slovak patriots, including President Dr. Joseph Tiso. We know that the "National" Court in Bratislava considered Tiso's negative and hostile stand to the Soviets and Communists, as well as the war of the Slovak Army against the Soviets, as his greatest "crime". If one points out the guilt not only of the Communists, who demanded and got Tiso's head, but also the guilt of those, who at that time sat behind the same table with the Communists and the ministerial council when judicial murders were committed, this is in order. And that all the more so, because at that time every anti"'Communist was given the singular opportunity to manifest his conviction. During the "trial" of Dr. Tiso, the cold war between the West and the USSR was already initiated. But the persons who executed Slovak antiCommunist fighters, or those who did not move a finger to save them - though they could have - apparently forgot that the West exists at all. And today, sad to say, these very same persons, now in the West, want to prove that they always were active anti-Communists. The Slovak Republic introduced itself into world history remarkably well as an anti-Communist political and military factor. If it would have given nothing else to the Slovak nation but have taught it the correct way to look upon the danger of Communism, the wartime Slovak Republic certainly would have been worthy of its existence. Addressing his countrymen, Dr. Joseph Tiso often said: "We do not show a sufficient regard for our State, because we have not as yet sacrificed enough for it." Today it is altogether clear that the sacrifices for Slovak statehood in the fight against Communism are effectively helping the Slovaks persevere in their efforts to renew Slovak statehood and that the Slovaks can be justly proud of their anti-Communist past.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Slovak Republic and Communism Description An account of the resource Dr. Joseph Paučo Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 35-38 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Paučo, Jozef, 1914-1975 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/128273b962ed1383557507a6e0186da5.pdf bd587b3aa0f8dadb8a1f82df17e8e5b7 PDF Text Text 30 SLOVAKIA DR. LETTRICH'S PRINCIPLES Dr. Michael Zibrin Jin the beginning cxf January 1948, when the presidium of the ISlOJVaJk Democratfo ,Party met in session at Bratislav:a, Dr. Joseph iLettrich recei,ved an ordinary card frOIIll an aoquatlntance, iDr. Michael Mudry--Selbilk. The latter · bluntly infomned Lettrich -that he was now in ISwitizerland and did not intend to return to Slovak~1a, It was ju.st a short time prior to th:at date, at the end of •Decemlber, 1947, that Ferjenic£k's pdlice ,c alled Miu.dry in twice for a hearing on account of an alleged meeting of Lettrich with Dr. Peter P. Hfotko during Lettrich's visit in Chicago, in 1946, where he had oome escorted by .a Comnnmist, one Rudolph Martanoivic. Miudvy, saying nothing to any one, sold his furniture and made his exit stealthily, escapmg to Switzerland, whence he sent Lettrich the card referred to aJbove. Lettri'ch .·Jbecame excited, criticized Mud.Ty, and said that the Democratic !Party had erred seriously when it toot him in. As f.a,r M Lettrich, was concerned, he was through forever with Mudry, because he did not have to run off as long -as Lettrich and Ferjentellk rprotected him. Of course, Lettrich evidently did not ik.now th.at some two and a ha1f months later he himself would be an escapee and the services of Michael Mu.dry would again lbe welcome and valuaJble. And it so haJppened that Lettrich landed in Chicago, Illinois, in the spring of ·1J9148, and ,b egan . to woI'lk togetlier again with his old pal Michael M'lidry. As soon as the so-.called "Council of Free 0.zechoslowkia" was orgarnzed lby Zenkl, Ripka :and other Czech socialists Miudry joined up. Later Lettrich was instrumental in getting iMJudry ,a job !With Radio Free Euro:pe where, together with two Ozech Marxists, Peroutka alild Tigrid, he formed the leading Ozech~lovak trio as an "encouragement" to those deputies Olf the Demooratic Party, who sat in Gottwald's prisons and whom, at the begin.ning cxf October 1938, Benes's police oommissioner, Dr. Michael Mu.dry, so energetically jailed. This jaiJer of Dr. Joseph Stas- �SLOVAKIA 31 ko, who is suffering in LeapoldQIV for his Christian and democratic conivicl.ions, was then 1gi,ven a new distinction by Lettric:h. A London report stated that there were three persons fighting for the leading position. of the 'Slova!k section of the "Ozechoslova.Jk" cliMision of Radio Free Europe. One was the well-&nOIWn distr.ilbu:ter of lands, •t he creator of the ,kolchoses and loy.al commissar of Dr. Lettrich, Dr. Martin Kivetlko; the other, a ser.viant of Lettrich, Dr. John Paulmy.fl'oth; and the third, the clever policeman, Dr. Michael Mu.dry. Radio Free Eu.rope wanted the "Council of Free Ozechoslovrukia" decide the issue; the Council in turn told Lettrich to mruke the choiice. And Lettrich did. Forgetting what he had said and thought a/bout Mudry in January, 1948, :he appointed his old friend and, Benes'a policeman headman Of (uondoo.'s Radio Free Europe. We can well imagine how the ISloviaiks at home felt about this. They were Slhooked iby R:adio Free Europe's action amd left their kinsman in exile know just hoiw they felt rubout it. Protests were shocked by Radio Free Europe's action and let their conspiracy, pardon, a policy od' its oiwn to follow. Lettrich knoiws albout the facts referred to above as well as I do. And yet Michael Miudry, who thereto never had been in London, was ,p referred to Dr. John Bauliny, who had spent eight yeaxs in London and had notaJble connections in English diplomaitic ciroles. Bau.Hny .w as smeared by both the Czech 'Socialists and non-Socialists. They !knew that he had visited (PridaJvak, the "separatist," and had written letters to K!8-rol Sidoir, chairman of the !Slovaik National Council Aibroad and chief "sepairatist," so they plied their smearing trade witll gusto. -Dr. Jan •Pauliny...T6th, the diplomat, who succeeded Mar.tin Razus as chairman of the SlO!Valk Nationa:l Party amd was ibetter known a,t home than Mudry, simply did not rate with Lettrich. · This is lesson rfor Pauliny. Not only for !Pa,uliny .hurt for all Slov.aJks, and R:adio. Free Europe, as well. It would be most fortunaJte IlJOt only for the SlQ)\naJcs, lbut for R•F E itself, if the latter would .aict realistically and put an end to its systematic a!llti~Sl-01Vruk policy. For Pauliny and for a �32 SLOVAKIA every 1Slova'k irt rwould be well, if they would speedily become aiware of the faot that they probably coUJld e~h the:mse1ves lby join.mg the Lettrichrites rand Zeruklites, but onl,y at the ~ of their own nation's interests and for the benefit cxf Czech imperialism. We Slavalks, however, are aware that the association is quite complete: Blaho, aJppointed head of State secw-ity, shall issue a list of the "umeliaJble"; Ferjencik will arrest them - 1some will lose their teeth , others will hwve their arms and ri:bs broken, as they did have prior to 1948; those who .still resist shall face the firing sq,uad of lettrich's consul ,g eneral, Gejza Krno. We certainly have somethtng to live for! The sooner every S1ovak lbecOIIlles aware of this, the better. Then every one will know just where to stand, and the Zenklites will no longer find renegades to serve them for Juda.s's pay. The 1Slova!ks who remain with them are outcasts 'Of the Slov8Jk nation. As many times as :I reproached Dr. Lettrich in exile, I neiver said anything !before the execution of Dr. Tiso, that is, !b efore April 18, 1947, when it was quite olbvious to all of us just iwha.t Benes thought ~bout the SlovaJks and that all his promises were plain humbug. Then, when deputies Kempny, Bugar and Stasko were surrendered to stand trial, lli. 1L e.ttrich did nothing to save -t hem. Shortly after thaJt, on Janiuary 27, 1948, John Ursiny, Lettrich's protector, fell. After these events, iwhen Lettrich still sang praises about our freedOIIll and democracy - saying that "our relationship to, the USSR, !based on the treaty of December 12, 1943, is unalter.alble in the poHtioal life of the future. . . " - I was conrvinced thaJt he could not forget the so-called "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, when his group voluntarily surrendered power over the SlovMcs to the Communists, even though the Communists at that time did not represent even 10 peir cent of the electorate! Returning from Prague, Febnmry 25, 1948, sev~al how-s after Gottwald -t ook over the government, Lettrich wanted to distribute functions on the train. Arriving in Bratislaiva, Lettrich called a secret session rwi-thout inV'it1 �SLOVAKIA 33 ing me; It was at this session that he swrrendered the Democratic Party to Milan Polak, LU!kalcovic rund Sevcik and Lettrich knew that Se:vlcilk was a member of the NKVD. When thls happened, there was no doubt in my mind that Lettrich was maJking great mistakes and was not a man of principle. Therefore, let all my critics a;c,know:ledge that I :had reasons, for parting with Lettrich pohtioolly ruid that I had to quit rum, since I did not want to get into serious conflict with my conscience. After that I met iwith :Or. Le:ttrich once more; that was in November, 1951, alfter the crisis in the "Council of Free Ozechoslorvakia," when I received a report that Lettrich had called Zenkl a H•a r and had come to Chicago to explain his conduct. Before meelting with 'him, I was informed that Lettrich vi,s ited .A!b!bot OndraJk at Lisle, lill., that same day and even told him that Zenkl was a political liar and descrilbed his com'Panions similarly. He asked the .A!bibot for help against the dictate orf these political swindlers. The Ozech Oatholic NAROD wrote aJbout that visit.. Lettri~h aipparooitly was through with Zenkl. And yet he waJs not. After the albove episode, Lettrich made up with the ZenJdites He even accompanied Zen!kl on a visit to Chic.ago sho:rtly after that and with him even dared to visit the very same Albbot Ondrruk before ,w hom he had excoriated Zenkl. Now then, is Lettricli a man o!f princi,ple? God only knows why he still continues to sit in the "Council of Free Ozechoslo:vrulcia" and is ready to do practically anything for Zerukl as long as he is paid for it. Oould it possilbly be the $400.00 monthly, as he himself once ac~ knowl€dged? Furthermore, quite a stir was created when Lettrich att€mpted to• get Fedora Piaul01Va (nee KR!NO), a Communist, into the USA, through his beloved friend, the "shooting consul gene~rul," Geijiza Krno. eiven providing the necessary documents. This he did, even thoug,h a year ear• lier in his OfWil paipeT, the CAS, he excoriated Fedora and one Zora JesenSlky for their lectures in the communist organizations orf S1'oiv;ruk women Weill, how could I be !blamed �34 SLOVAKIA for thinlki.Ing that Lettrich was in the train of Marxists, who are willing to become reconciled even with the devil himse1f a!t the exipense .of .the security of the UISA, just so they might earn $400.00 a mont:h from the government of the USA and the American taxpayers. In the meantime, when iRFE was reorganl:zed, Dr. Mu.dry was ma-de the headman of the Slovak pairt of the "Ozechoslo1Vla2k" division of Radio Free Europe in Munich. We can imrugine jusit how the Slovaks at home felt albout this promotion, which rwas engineered ~ Lettrich. As far as I aim concerned, it iwas at this point that Lettrich discarded the last prindple of de,c ency when he appointed Dr. Mu.dry as the head of the resistance broadcast, the very same M!udry who 'boasted in Chica;go how he arrested Stasko and, get this,, .r efused to free him even on the intervenition of Karol. 1Sidor in 11938, lbut ilnstead ,s urrendered him to the c~ech !State .representatirve in Bratislava. As I had asked my friends before, I ask aJgain - the friends who still stand by Lettrfoh: What was more corred, to quit Lettrich and continue to keep silent? Was there not ,a l.ready too much silence since HH8 to the present time? How could any honest Slo;vailr !keep silent .a f:ter Lettrich's open letter to Coingressman Charles, J. Kersten in whkh he denied ,b oth the existence and the right of the Slovrukis to determine their OM7Il destiny and future? And after his i.atest iversion of the Slovak uprising of 1944 in the NEW Y10RK TI!MElS (August 29, 1954), wherein he still promotes the Jegend faJbricated by his group amd the CommU!Ilists? It is not anger or jealousy that has 1prompted me to write as I hwve. I have 1been ,p rompted. to do so, !because I sincerely feel that it is a duty I awe to my people to shed oome light on the road L-eittrich is traiveling. Principles, it seems, do not coI11Cern Letitrich eiven today when there is so much taJ:k -rubout uniting the ISlova;ks in exile. Ho,w could any honest SlorvaJk, imbued with Christian and democratic principles, unite in any undertaiking with a man like Lettri~h? � 30 SLOVAKIA DR. LETTRICH'S PRINCIPLES Dr. Michael Zibrin Jin the beginning cxf January 1948, when the presidium of the ISlOJVaJk Democratfo ,Party met in session at Bratislav:a, Dr. Joseph iLettrich recei,ved an ordinary card frOIIll an aoquatlntance, iDr. Michael Mudry--Selbilk. The latter · bluntly infomned Lettrich -that he was now in ISwitizerland and did not intend to return to Slovak~1a, It was ju.st a short time prior to th:at date, at the end of •Decemlber, 1947, that Ferjenic£k's pdlice ,c alled Miu.dry in twice for a hearing on account of an alleged meeting of Lettrich with Dr. Peter P. Hfotko during Lettrich's visit in Chicago, in 1946, where he had oome escorted by .a Comnnmist, one Rudolph Martanoivic. Miudvy, saying nothing to any one, sold his furniture and made his exit stealthily, escapmg to Switzerland, whence he sent Lettrich the card referred to aJbove. Lettri'ch .·Jbecame excited, criticized Mud.Ty, and said that the Democratic !Party had erred seriously when it toot him in. As f.a,r M Lettrich, was concerned, he was through forever with Mudry, because he did not have to run off as long -as Lettrich and Ferjentellk rprotected him. Of course, Lettrich evidently did not ik.now th.at some two and a ha1f months later he himself would be an escapee and the services of Michael Mu.dry would again lbe welcome and valuaJble. And it so haJppened that Lettrich landed in Chicago, Illinois, in the spring of ·1J9148, and ,b egan . to woI'lk togetlier again with his old pal Michael M'lidry. As soon as the so-.called "Council of Free 0.zechoslowkia" was orgarnzed lby Zenkl, Ripka :and other Czech socialists Miudry joined up. Later Lettrich was instrumental in getting iMJudry ,a job !With Radio Free Euro:pe where, together with two Ozech Marxists, Peroutka alild Tigrid, he formed the leading Ozech~lovak trio as an "encouragement" to those deputies Olf the Demooratic Party, who sat in Gottwald's prisons and whom, at the begin.ning cxf October 1938, Benes's police oommissioner, Dr. Michael Mu.dry, so energetically jailed. This jaiJer of Dr. Joseph Stas- �SLOVAKIA 31 ko, who is suffering in LeapoldQIV for his Christian and democratic conivicl.ions, was then 1gi,ven a new distinction by Lettric:h. A London report stated that there were three persons fighting for the leading position. of the 'Slova!k section of the "Ozechoslova.Jk" cliMision of Radio Free Europe. One was the well-&nOIWn distr.ilbu:ter of lands, •t he creator of the ,kolchoses and loy.al commissar of Dr. Lettrich, Dr. Martin Kivetlko; the other, a ser.viant of Lettrich, Dr. John Paulmy.fl'oth; and the third, the clever policeman, Dr. Michael Mu.dry. Radio Free Eu.rope wanted the "Council of Free Ozechoslovrukia" decide the issue; the Council in turn told Lettrich to mruke the choiice. And Lettrich did. Forgetting what he had said and thought a/bout Mudry in January, 1948, :he appointed his old friend and, Benes'a policeman headman Of (uondoo.'s Radio Free Europe. We can well imagine how the ISloviaiks at home felt about this. They were Slhooked iby R:adio Free Europe's action amd left their kinsman in exile know just hoiw they felt rubout it. Protests were shocked by Radio Free Europe's action and let their conspiracy, pardon, a policy od' its oiwn to follow. Lettrich knoiws albout the facts referred to above as well as I do. And yet Michael Miudry, who thereto never had been in London, was ,p referred to Dr. John Bauliny, who had spent eight yeaxs in London and had notaJble connections in English diplomaitic ciroles. Bau.Hny .w as smeared by both the Czech 'Socialists and non-Socialists. They !knew that he had visited (PridaJvak, the "separatist," and had written letters to K!8-rol Sidoir, chairman of the !Slovaik National Council Aibroad and chief "sepairatist," so they plied their smearing trade witll gusto. -Dr. Jan •Pauliny...T6th, the diplomat, who succeeded Mar.tin Razus as chairman of the SlO!Valk Nationa:l Party amd was ibetter known a,t home than Mudry, simply did not rate with Lettrich. · This is lesson rfor Pauliny. Not only for !Pa,uliny .hurt for all Slov.aJks, and R:adio. Free Europe, as well. It would be most fortunaJte IlJOt only for the SlQ)\naJcs, lbut for R•F E itself, if the latter would .aict realistically and put an end to its systematic a!llti~Sl-01Vruk policy. For Pauliny and for a �32 SLOVAKIA every 1Slova'k irt rwould be well, if they would speedily become aiware of the faot that they probably coUJld e~h the:mse1ves lby join.mg the Lettrichrites rand Zeruklites, but onl,y at the ~ of their own nation's interests and for the benefit cxf Czech imperialism. We Slavalks, however, are aware that the association is quite complete: Blaho, aJppointed head of State secw-ity, shall issue a list of the "umeliaJble"; Ferjencik will arrest them - 1some will lose their teeth , others will hwve their arms and ri:bs broken, as they did have prior to 1948; those who .still resist shall face the firing sq,uad of lettrich's consul ,g eneral, Gejza Krno. We certainly have somethtng to live for! The sooner every S1ovak lbecOIIlles aware of this, the better. Then every one will know just where to stand, and the Zenklites will no longer find renegades to serve them for Juda.s's pay. The 1Slova!ks who remain with them are outcasts 'Of the Slov8Jk nation. As many times as :I reproached Dr. Lettrich in exile, I neiver said anything !before the execution of Dr. Tiso, that is, !b efore April 18, 1947, when it was quite olbvious to all of us just iwha.t Benes thought ~bout the SlovaJks and that all his promises were plain humbug. Then, when deputies Kempny, Bugar and Stasko were surrendered to stand trial, lli. 1L e.ttrich did nothing to save -t hem. Shortly after thaJt, on Janiuary 27, 1948, John Ursiny, Lettrich's protector, fell. After these events, iwhen Lettrich still sang praises about our freedOIIll and democracy - saying that "our relationship to, the USSR, !based on the treaty of December 12, 1943, is unalter.alble in the poHtioal life of the future. . . " - I was conrvinced thaJt he could not forget the so-called "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, when his group voluntarily surrendered power over the SlovMcs to the Communists, even though the Communists at that time did not represent even 10 peir cent of the electorate! Returning from Prague, Febnmry 25, 1948, sev~al how-s after Gottwald -t ook over the government, Lettrich wanted to distribute functions on the train. Arriving in Bratislaiva, Lettrich called a secret session rwi-thout inV'it1 �SLOVAKIA 33 ing me; It was at this session that he swrrendered the Democratic Party to Milan Polak, LU!kalcovic rund Sevcik and Lettrich knew that Se:vlcilk was a member of the NKVD. When thls happened, there was no doubt in my mind that Lettrich was maJking great mistakes and was not a man of principle. Therefore, let all my critics a;c,know:ledge that I :had reasons, for parting with Lettrich pohtioolly ruid that I had to quit rum, since I did not want to get into serious conflict with my conscience. After that I met iwith :Or. Le:ttrich once more; that was in November, 1951, alfter the crisis in the "Council of Free Ozechoslorvakia," when I received a report that Lettrich had called Zenkl a H•a r and had come to Chicago to explain his conduct. Before meelting with 'him, I was informed that Lettrich vi,s ited .A!b!bot OndraJk at Lisle, lill., that same day and even told him that Zenkl was a political liar and descrilbed his com'Panions similarly. He asked the .A!bibot for help against the dictate orf these political swindlers. The Ozech Oatholic NAROD wrote aJbout that visit.. Lettri~h aipparooitly was through with Zenkl. And yet he waJs not. After the albove episode, Lettrich made up with the ZenJdites He even accompanied Zen!kl on a visit to Chic.ago sho:rtly after that and with him even dared to visit the very same Albbot Ondrruk before ,w hom he had excoriated Zenkl. Now then, is Lettricli a man o!f princi,ple? God only knows why he still continues to sit in the "Council of Free Ozechoslo:vrulcia" and is ready to do practically anything for Zerukl as long as he is paid for it. Oould it possilbly be the $400.00 monthly, as he himself once ac~ knowl€dged? Furthermore, quite a stir was created when Lettrich att€mpted to• get Fedora Piaul01Va (nee KR!NO), a Communist, into the USA, through his beloved friend, the "shooting consul gene~rul," Geijiza Krno. eiven providing the necessary documents. This he did, even thoug,h a year ear• lier in his OfWil paipeT, the CAS, he excoriated Fedora and one Zora JesenSlky for their lectures in the communist organizations orf S1'oiv;ruk women Weill, how could I be !blamed �34 SLOVAKIA for thinlki.Ing that Lettrich was in the train of Marxists, who are willing to become reconciled even with the devil himse1f a!t the exipense .of .the security of the UISA, just so they might earn $400.00 a mont:h from the government of the USA and the American taxpayers. In the meantime, when iRFE was reorganl:zed, Dr. Mu.dry was ma-de the headman of the Slovak pairt of the "Ozechoslo1Vla2k" division of Radio Free Europe in Munich. We can imrugine jusit how the Slovaks at home felt albout this promotion, which rwas engineered ~ Lettrich. As far as I aim concerned, it iwas at this point that Lettrich discarded the last prindple of de,c ency when he appointed Dr. Mu.dry as the head of the resistance broadcast, the very same M!udry who 'boasted in Chica;go how he arrested Stasko and, get this,, .r efused to free him even on the intervenition of Karol. 1Sidor in 11938, lbut ilnstead ,s urrendered him to the c~ech !State .representatirve in Bratislava. As I had asked my friends before, I ask aJgain - the friends who still stand by Lettrfoh: What was more corred, to quit Lettrich and continue to keep silent? Was there not ,a l.ready too much silence since HH8 to the present time? How could any honest Slo;vailr !keep silent .a f:ter Lettrich's open letter to Coingressman Charles, J. Kersten in whkh he denied ,b oth the existence and the right of the Slovrukis to determine their OM7Il destiny and future? And after his i.atest iversion of the Slovak uprising of 1944 in the NEW Y10RK TI!MElS (August 29, 1954), wherein he still promotes the Jegend faJbricated by his group amd the CommU!Ilists? It is not anger or jealousy that has 1prompted me to write as I hwve. I have 1been ,p rompted. to do so, !because I sincerely feel that it is a duty I awe to my people to shed oome light on the road L-eittrich is traiveling. Principles, it seems, do not coI11Cern Letitrich eiven today when there is so much taJ:k -rubout uniting the ISlova;ks in exile. Ho,w could any honest SlorvaJk, imbued with Christian and democratic principles, unite in any undertaiking with a man like Lettri~h? � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 30 SLOVAKIA DR. LETTRICH'S PRINCIPLES Dr. Michael Zibrin Jin the beginning cxf January 1948, when the presidium of the ISlOJVaJk Democratfo ,Party met in session at Bratislav:a, Dr. Joseph iLettrich recei,ved an ordinary card frOIIll an aoquatlntance, iDr. Michael Mudry--Selbilk. The latter · bluntly infomned Lettrich -that he was now in ISwitizerland and did not intend to return to Slovak~1a, It was ju.st a short time prior to th:at date, at the end of •Decemlber, 1947, that Ferjenic£k's pdlice ,c alled Miu.dry in twice for a hearing on account of an alleged meeting of Lettrich with Dr. Peter P. Hfotko during Lettrich's visit in Chicago, in 1946, where he had oome escorted by .a Comnnmist, one Rudolph Martanoivic. Miudvy, saying nothing to any one, sold his furniture and made his exit stealthily, escapmg to Switzerland, whence he sent Lettrich the card referred to aJbove. Lettri'ch .·Jbecame excited, criticized Mud.Ty, and said that the Democratic !Party had erred seriously when it toot him in. As f.a,r M Lettrich, was concerned, he was through forever with Mudry, because he did not have to run off as long -as Lettrich and Ferjentellk rprotected him. Of course, Lettrich evidently did not ik.now th.at some two and a ha1f months later he himself would be an escapee and the services of Michael Mu.dry would again lbe welcome and valuaJble. And it so haJppened that Lettrich landed in Chicago, Illinois, in the spring of ·1J9148, and ,b egan . to woI'lk togetlier again with his old pal Michael M'lidry. As soon as the so-.called "Council of Free 0.zechoslowkia" was orgarnzed lby Zenkl, Ripka :and other Czech socialists Miudry joined up. Later Lettrich was instrumental in getting iMJudry ,a job !With Radio Free Euro:pe where, together with two Ozech Marxists, Peroutka alild Tigrid, he formed the leading Ozech~lovak trio as an "encouragement" to those deputies Olf the Demooratic Party, who sat in Gottwald's prisons and whom, at the begin.ning cxf October 1938, Benes's police oommissioner, Dr. Michael Mu.dry, so energetically jailed. This jaiJer of Dr. Joseph Stas- SLOVAKIA 31 ko, who is suffering in LeapoldQIV for his Christian and democratic conivicl.ions, was then 1gi,ven a new distinction by Lettric:h. A London report stated that there were three persons fighting for the leading position. of the 'Slova!k section of the "Ozechoslova.Jk" cliMision of Radio Free Europe. One was the well-&nOIWn distr.ilbu:ter of lands, •t he creator of the ,kolchoses and loy.al commissar of Dr. Lettrich, Dr. Martin Kivetlko; the other, a ser.viant of Lettrich, Dr. John Paulmy.fl'oth; and the third, the clever policeman, Dr. Michael Mu.dry. Radio Free Eu.rope wanted the "Council of Free Ozechoslovrukia" decide the issue; the Council in turn told Lettrich to mruke the choiice. And Lettrich did. Forgetting what he had said and thought a/bout Mudry in January, 1948, :he appointed his old friend and, Benes'a policeman headman Of (uondoo.'s Radio Free Europe. We can well imagine how the ISloviaiks at home felt about this. They were Slhooked iby R:adio Free Europe's action amd left their kinsman in exile know just hoiw they felt rubout it. Protests were shocked by Radio Free Europe's action and let their conspiracy, pardon, a policy od' its oiwn to follow. Lettrich knoiws albout the facts referred to above as well as I do. And yet Michael Miudry, who thereto never had been in London, was ,p referred to Dr. John Bauliny, who had spent eight yeaxs in London and had notaJble connections in English diplomaitic ciroles. Bau.Hny .w as smeared by both the Czech 'Socialists and non-Socialists. They !knew that he had visited (PridaJvak, the "separatist," and had written letters to K!8-rol Sidoir, chairman of the !Slovaik National Council Aibroad and chief "sepairatist," so they plied their smearing trade witll gusto. -Dr. Jan •Pauliny...T6th, the diplomat, who succeeded Mar.tin Razus as chairman of the SlO!Valk Nationa:l Party amd was ibetter known a,t home than Mudry, simply did not rate with Lettrich. · This is lesson rfor Pauliny. Not only for !Pa,uliny .hurt for all Slov.aJks, and R:adio. Free Europe, as well. It would be most fortunaJte IlJOt only for the SlQ)\naJcs, lbut for R•F E itself, if the latter would .aict realistically and put an end to its systematic a!llti~Sl-01Vruk policy. For Pauliny and for a 32 SLOVAKIA every 1Slova'k irt rwould be well, if they would speedily become aiware of the faot that they probably coUJld e~h the:mse1ves lby join.mg the Lettrichrites rand Zeruklites, but onl,y at the ~ of their own nation's interests and for the benefit cxf Czech imperialism. We Slavalks, however, are aware that the association is quite complete: Blaho, aJppointed head of State secw-ity, shall issue a list of the "umeliaJble"; Ferjencik will arrest them - 1some will lose their teeth , others will hwve their arms and ri:bs broken, as they did have prior to 1948; those who .still resist shall face the firing sq,uad of lettrich's consul ,g eneral, Gejza Krno. We certainly have somethtng to live for! The sooner every S1ovak lbecOIIlles aware of this, the better. Then every one will know just where to stand, and the Zenklites will no longer find renegades to serve them for Juda.s's pay. The 1Slova!ks who remain with them are outcasts 'Of the Slov8Jk nation. As many times as :I reproached Dr. Lettrich in exile, I neiver said anything !before the execution of Dr. Tiso, that is, !b efore April 18, 1947, when it was quite olbvious to all of us just iwha.t Benes thought ~bout the SlovaJks and that all his promises were plain humbug. Then, when deputies Kempny, Bugar and Stasko were surrendered to stand trial, lli. 1L e.ttrich did nothing to save -t hem. Shortly after thaJt, on Janiuary 27, 1948, John Ursiny, Lettrich's protector, fell. After these events, iwhen Lettrich still sang praises about our freedOIIll and democracy - saying that "our relationship to, the USSR, !based on the treaty of December 12, 1943, is unalter.alble in the poHtioal life of the future. . . " - I was conrvinced thaJt he could not forget the so-called "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, when his group voluntarily surrendered power over the SlovMcs to the Communists, even though the Communists at that time did not represent even 10 peir cent of the electorate! Returning from Prague, Febnmry 25, 1948, sev~al how-s after Gottwald -t ook over the government, Lettrich wanted to distribute functions on the train. Arriving in Bratislaiva, Lettrich called a secret session rwi-thout inV'it1 SLOVAKIA 33 ing me; It was at this session that he swrrendered the Democratic Party to Milan Polak, LU!kalcovic rund Sevcik and Lettrich knew that Se:vlcilk was a member of the NKVD. When thls happened, there was no doubt in my mind that Lettrich was maJking great mistakes and was not a man of principle. Therefore, let all my critics a;c,know:ledge that I :had reasons, for parting with Lettrich pohtioolly ruid that I had to quit rum, since I did not want to get into serious conflict with my conscience. After that I met iwith :Or. Le:ttrich once more; that was in November, 1951, alfter the crisis in the "Council of Free Ozechoslorvakia," when I received a report that Lettrich had called Zenkl a H•a r and had come to Chicago to explain his conduct. Before meelting with 'him, I was informed that Lettrich vi,s ited .A!b!bot OndraJk at Lisle, lill., that same day and even told him that Zenkl was a political liar and descrilbed his com'Panions similarly. He asked the .A!bibot for help against the dictate orf these political swindlers. The Ozech Oatholic NAROD wrote aJbout that visit.. Lettri~h aipparooitly was through with Zenkl. And yet he waJs not. After the albove episode, Lettrich made up with the ZenJdites He even accompanied Zen!kl on a visit to Chic.ago sho:rtly after that and with him even dared to visit the very same Albbot Ondrruk before ,w hom he had excoriated Zenkl. Now then, is Lettricli a man o!f princi,ple? God only knows why he still continues to sit in the "Council of Free Ozechoslo:vrulcia" and is ready to do practically anything for Zerukl as long as he is paid for it. Oould it possilbly be the $400.00 monthly, as he himself once ac~ knowl€dged? Furthermore, quite a stir was created when Lettrich att€mpted to• get Fedora Piaul01Va (nee KR!NO), a Communist, into the USA, through his beloved friend, the "shooting consul gene~rul," Geijiza Krno. eiven providing the necessary documents. This he did, even thoug,h a year ear• lier in his OfWil paipeT, the CAS, he excoriated Fedora and one Zora JesenSlky for their lectures in the communist organizations orf S1'oiv;ruk women Weill, how could I be !blamed 34 SLOVAKIA for thinlki.Ing that Lettrich was in the train of Marxists, who are willing to become reconciled even with the devil himse1f a!t the exipense .of .the security of the UISA, just so they might earn $400.00 a mont:h from the government of the USA and the American taxpayers. In the meantime, when iRFE was reorganl:zed, Dr. Mu.dry was ma-de the headman of the Slovak pairt of the "Ozechoslo1Vla2k" division of Radio Free Europe in Munich. We can imrugine jusit how the Slovaks at home felt albout this promotion, which rwas engineered ~ Lettrich. As far as I aim concerned, it iwas at this point that Lettrich discarded the last prindple of de,c ency when he appointed Dr. Mu.dry as the head of the resistance broadcast, the very same M!udry who 'boasted in Chica;go how he arrested Stasko and, get this,, .r efused to free him even on the intervenition of Karol. 1Sidor in 11938, lbut ilnstead ,s urrendered him to the c~ech !State .representatirve in Bratislava. As I had asked my friends before, I ask aJgain - the friends who still stand by Lettrfoh: What was more corred, to quit Lettrich and continue to keep silent? Was there not ,a l.ready too much silence since HH8 to the present time? How could any honest Slo;vailr !keep silent .a f:ter Lettrich's open letter to Coingressman Charles, J. Kersten in whkh he denied ,b oth the existence and the right of the Slovrukis to determine their OM7Il destiny and future? And after his i.atest iversion of the Slovak uprising of 1944 in the NEW Y10RK TI!MElS (August 29, 1954), wherein he still promotes the Jegend faJbricated by his group amd the CommU!Ilists? It is not anger or jealousy that has 1prompted me to write as I hwve. I have 1been ,p rompted. to do so, !because I sincerely feel that it is a duty I awe to my people to shed oome light on the road L-eittrich is traiveling. Principles, it seems, do not coI11Cern Letitrich eiven today when there is so much taJ:k -rubout uniting the ISlova;ks in exile. Ho,w could any honest SlorvaJk, imbued with Christian and democratic principles, unite in any undertaiking with a man like Lettri~h?  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dr. Lettrich's Principles Description An account of the resource Dr. Michael Zibrin Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 30-34 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zibrín, Michal, 1899-1968 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/75eb07a548c0c77c60cfb3f202c9cbe0.pdf ddecf2530d55a511fc06bdc628e03714 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 23 NATIONALISM VS INTERNATIONALISM By Michael A. Feighan, Member of U.S. Congress The sulbject of N aJtionalism vs. Internationalism has been a wpic of heated debate for well aver half a century. Vollllmes ,hSJVe been written on the sui})ject. Political pa.rti~ and ideological movements have based their platform on one or the other side of the issue. Yet today there is greaJt confusion and misunderstanding on just what these political terms mean. That is - there is great COil!.fusion in · the non..,communist world in general and among a considerable element of the non-<Xllllmlunist intellectuals in parbicular. It can be said with certainty that tltis confusi01I1 does not exist in the ideological Marx.:.st camp or among its multicolored agents. This confusion results mainly from a perversion of both political terms which -has taiken place in the last quarter of a century. The 1.mha;ppy practice of fixing an e'Vil and all inclusive meruning to words, a practice which received unusual impetus during the World War fil, has also added to this confusion. In this atmosphere the advocates of Marxism have been enjoy.i.ng an undisturbed political holiday. Their formula for maintaining an unchallenged right orf way is to occasionally stir up the false ,b eliefs they have created aibout nationalism while devoting a constant effort at promotin1g the ty,p e of internationalism best calculated to lead the way to world communism. There is a healthy nationalism and a healthy internationalism - !both of which are mortal enemies of Marxism in any form. When they are healthy they in no way conflict with one another, but in reality co.mpliment each other. Properly nurtured and ~loited. these two political forces could lead the way in lifting the heavy chains of Russian Communism which now enslave a minimum of 29 nations and part oif 4 other nations. As a first .s tep we must understand the component parts of healthy nationalism.. The te:rm na.tion:alisrrn is derived from and related to the term nation. The nation is best defined a;s a people having a common and distinctive heritage, culture, tradition, folklore and language whioh �24 SLOVAKIA is supported by a geographical oontiguity. When these basic factors are S1timulated by one or several of the ,great inspirational forces of religion, freedom or independence, the flower of nationhood blooms. Healthy n:ationaJ.ism places loy,alty to one's nation very high on the scale of human values. In a poprnar sense it is best descrilbed iby the inspiring phrase "Lorve of God and Couliltry." The American revolutionary war which gave birth to our nation has long lbeen regarded as the first major demonstration of healthy nationalism. The deep political impaJCt upon the world of our 'Victorious st:mgigle for national independence caused historiams to refer to the 19th Ce:ntuTy as the "century of niationalism." We as a nation and the policy we pursued in the conduct of our foreign affairs, frcan the birth of our nation up to 1920, associated OlUlr destiny with the f ovces of na;tionalism at work in the wor-ld. We had noithi!Ilg in common with the imperialists OT the autocrats of that period and ,i n reality we were coveted by all of them. Standing a:s the solitary republic in a world di:vided by empires which oOIIllStantly sought to extend their reailm, we survived and grew to our pres,ent stature in the world arena by sU1pporung the farces of healit:ihy nationalism. The MonToe Doctrine is a classic example of the manner in which our d'oreign policy welded the forces of nationalism. against the .predatory schemes of empires. World Wair I opened at a point in history when nationalism wa,s the most ·c01mpe1Hng force in world politics. The era rnf empires Wl3JS coming to a close as the popular demands of many !Ilations bound within them called out forr national sovereignty. 'Tihe Russian Tsarist empire, a,p propriately calloo. the prison of nations, was seething with discontent. The Austro~ungarian empire had already made many concessions to the variOl.lis national elements within the realm in an effort to stern the tide. The Ott01man empire wias tottering from the same internal pressures. As the w.aJr ,progressed into its, final stages it became increas. ingly 3!pparent that the demands of nationalism would hiwe to ibe faced up to in the p ~ a r settlements. It was in these circumstances that President Woodrow Wilson advanced the political princ1ple of national self-determin- �SLOVAKIA 25 ation as the only just formula for bringing order out of the ruins of those ibrolken empires. It is important to note that Wilson, in truking this ,position, wcted in accord with the ,b asic ,p rinciple which had guided our foreign policy for over 140 years. Iwen before the end ()If Wo:rld War I national independence movements sprrung UJP throughout central and eastern Europe and Eurasia. The non-1Russian nations of the Russian 'Dsarist Empire, long held captive by the autocrats of Muscovy, lost no time in proclaiming their national independence The Ukrainian Il!ation, the largest of these captirve nations, was in the 'Vianguard of this movement. By the time the statesmen of the gr.e at powers gathered in Paris for the peace conference, the era of empires was dead and had already 1b een replaced by the young but vig'Orous era of national sovereignty. But that golden era which held so much hope for suffering mamk.ind was short lived. Preside111t Wilson soon learned that the European statesmen were unconcerned with the popular movements supporting his principle of self-determina tioo. They rwere more concerned with settlements based UJPOil power politics, the cornerstone of which called for the estalblishment of a cordon srunitaire in eastern EurOipe. Wlhile paying lip service to the iprog,r am advanced by President Wilson, tJhe European statesmen reshaiped the map of central and eastern Europe to fit their selfish and shortsighted notions of contemporary peace. The peace settlements following World War I set the stage for the events which inevitalbly led the westeTIIl world to its present .precarious positon. ln the period between the great wars, the Uruited States pU!rsued a policy of isolationism. The hard disaippointmenits brought aJbout lby the power ,politics settlements after World War I played a major role in the estaJb1ishment of that policy. Meanwhile the Bolshevi!ks had estaJblished total power in Moscow. After creating the Russian Fedemted Socialist Republic of Soviets they then emlbar.ked upon a series m aggressive newly erected cordon sanitaire. They were engaged in those a:ggressive wars as late as 1923. It is an. estarblished fact that the Bolshevik masters of Musoovy met with all-out �26 SLOVAKIA resist:am.ce from the people of the reborn non-Russian nations whi!Ch sprang up uipon the 11uins of the feudal Tsarist empire. War in the traditional sense was not in itself sufficient to .p ut down .fille spirit of I11ationaJl independence which swept 1i1ke wildifire tfrom t!he Baltic Sea to the areas east of the Caspian 1Sea. The 'brutal tactics of forced sta11vation, forced population transfers and the vast networlr of slave l:aJbor camps follOIWed quickly on the heels of the Russian occ111pation of these reJbor.n na;tions. It was in these circumstances that the masters of the Kremlin announced to the world in 1922 the formation of the Union of Sov.iet !Socialist Repu!blics. After they ihad managed by armed ag;gression and the crime of genocide to reestaJblish the largest portion of the Russian empire, they found it necessary to create a caver name in order to hide the terrible events which had taiken place east of the Euroipean created cordon samtaire. Moreover, the iMusco~ vites were anxious to aivoid the charge ·o f a resurgence of Russian super-racism and to retain the support of the advocates oif wm-ld oociallism. Thus the high sounding and cleverly misleading cover of U.,S.1S.iR. was lall!lliched in the international ,p olitical -arena. Shortly thereafter a new political force was injected into the saim.e political a;rena. It lbeca.me known as national socialism, then as NaJz:iism, or Fascism, and :fi.nally as super-racism. .Some asturte political obseIWers of that period were quicik to recognize the i,nherenit anomaly in the po'litical laJbel ''national socialism." How was it possible to have the ingredients of nationalism and socialism mixed in the same politi~l movement? Obviously it was i,mpossilble to mix two diametrically opposed political theories. It w.as noit long 'before the one rworld propa;gandists worked out the formula to resolve the anomaly. Nationalism equalled Na!ZiiSIIn - Nazi.ism equalled everything that was evil therefore Nationalism equaUed everything that was evil. But what of socialism? By a queer turn of the 1propagM1dists pen, Socialism became the bulwarlc of democra·ey. Socialism was the politcal system of the U.iS.S.R - therefore the U.S.S.R. was a democracy. By this process the experts in the use of weasel words put an evil CU'l1se upon Il!ation- �SLOVAKIA 27 alism in any form, while at the same time manufacturing a d.ynamically effective co;yer for the Muscovite -plan of world conquest We entered World War fil the victims of tbis diabolical iperversion of political terms. The same must be said a:bout the other sovereign nations of the West which entered the struggle against the axis powers. This accounts, in large measure, for our failure to devekllp a positive plan for the reconstruction of the post-war world along truly democratic lines, with gQIVernments representatiive of the will of tJhe people. In lwger measure it accounts for the success af the masters of the Kremlin in extending their empire of ruthless control over 800 milliOIIl. people wvering an area encompassing a.l:most one-ithird of the earth's surface. It is in this context that we can best understand the "new internationalism" ,p eddled by the multi-colored agents of Moscow. Only a fool oc the Ivory Tower Theoreticians will fail to recognme that the dominant school of internationalism operating in the world today is completely pos• sessed iby the Russian communists. To ibe sure there are other schools of internationalism ~ing adhex:-en,ts and supporters which aTe not attached to the Moscow oribit. Unfortunately none of these competing schools ·p ossess any real polWcal dyniamics af a magnitude comparaJble to the Russian-Communist movement. Moreover, none of them are backed by aggressive military forces such as clearly support the "new internationalism" promoted by the Mus• covites in their age long drive for world empire. Fram this analysis one might too quiokly conclude that the Ruissian imperialists haive discredited and killed off hoolthy nationalism and healthy intemiaticmalism. So far as healthy nationalism is concerned, just the contra.Ty in the case. The clhaitwinistic practices of the Russians have tremendously in:creased healthy national.ism ,w ithin the Russian-Comrl)..unist empire. Within the past year the civilized world has had ample proof to swpport this conten· tion. These two exa:mples bear -O'Ut the point. 1. Shortly :after Stalin was elim.i,nated, MalenJmv and Beria became enga;ged m a life and death struggle fOT total �28 SLOVAKIA power. Mialenkov, a Russian, chose the course of support,. ing the historic cause of Russian super--racism. Beria, a renegade Geor,gian, attempted to ,harness the p01Werful nationalist forces of the non-<Russiam. nations of the U. S. S. R. to his side. Beria, as head of the dread secret police and oommissar of the slaive la,'bor system, certainly knew the most dynamic political forces at woiik within the U. S. S. R. Since 'he was in a liife and death struggle, he naturally wanted these forces in his camp. Malenkov on the other hand was the darlinrg of the Russian burea,ucracy and he had to cast his lot with traiditional Russ ian super-racism. Thi,s struggle raged for months during which time Beria was replacing the <Russian pro...consuls in the non~Rus:siian nations with natives of those nations. To be su:re ,t hose natives. were tied to communism ibut they opposed Russian dominratiorn of the a,ffairs of their nation. Beria eame very close to winnin'g that struggle the effect of which might haJVe well caused a great revolutionary outbrealk throughout the U .ISJS.R. Only a deal between the Russian bureaucracy and the Jea,ders of the Red Army saved the day for Russian super-racism. Beria was arrested iby the Red Army and executed, but the seeds of internal revolt weire increased in consequence af his struggle for power. 2. This year ma:riks the 300tfu a.n.niiversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslaiv - the instrument .by which the Russians enslaved the Ukrainians. The !Russians are using this occasion lfoir a never ending series of pronouncements and celebrations, all of which seeik to prove that the Russians are the true friends of the Uikraintains. The official announcement of the Kremlin inaugurating these celebrations admitted that every decent Ukranian down through history ha,d struggled for the goal of national independence . It also claimed that the Utkraill'ian n 1ation had finally attained its long struggle for national independ€!Il1Ce - "thanks to the Russians ,and the Communist Party." But what kind of national ,i ndependence? They define it as natjornia.1 in form and socialist in SU!bstance. This of course means no independence at all. IHowever it is important to note the manner in which the Muscoivites are associating nationalism with socialiSIID. Thi s is most reminiscent of the tactics of 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 29 Adolph Hitler. Healthy nationalism is very much alive in the world today. It is more vigorous within the Russian communist empire than elsewhere in the world. This fact must be understood and exiploited by the leaders of the free world if we are going to hawe .peace and freedom throughout the warild while a,voiding World War IiLI. Unfortunately the same crurmot 'be said aJbout healthy internationalism. Internationalism as a t'heocy- and a;s a po- · litical ipractice has boon thoroughly infected by the goals of world Manci,sm. The Russd.an Communist con1Spiracy has taken over the leadershlp in this field. Movements free from this infection have :neitlher the internal dynamics nor the military 'Sllllpport necessary to offiset those- sponsored or controlled by the Russian communists. Buit rwe can build a healthy internationalism and one that would be far more ,p owerful in the political arena than the Moscorw brand. To accomplish this goal we must understand healthy nationalism. Then we must foster and support it as a counteracting force to World Communism. Having done thi-s we will harve taken the first step in creating a healthy internationalism. The second step in this ,process calls for the development and support oif free regional federations. These regio1rml federations would he colffi!prised of a numlber of sovereign and independent n:ations which freely elected to become party to .the regi01I1al federation. The economic, political and security adlvantages of the regiona,l federation concept would lead the way in gaining the support of the memlber states. This pattern is completely consistent with .the charter of the United Nations. Indeed it springs from the basic idea whioh created the associatio,n of Ame.rican States which stands as a regional arrangement of the nations of the Western Hemisphere. It is a ,sollilld pattern because it recognizes that healthy internatiootalism must lbe 'based upon full recognition of healthy nationalism. Moreover it supports a political philosophy which is consistent with the American way of life and therefore the antithesis of World Communism. � SLOVAKIA 23 NATIONALISM VS INTERNATIONALISM By Michael A. Feighan, Member of U.S. Congress The sulbject of N aJtionalism vs. Internationalism has been a wpic of heated debate for well aver half a century. Vollllmes ,hSJVe been written on the sui})ject. Political pa.rti~ and ideological movements have based their platform on one or the other side of the issue. Yet today there is greaJt confusion and misunderstanding on just what these political terms mean. That is - there is great COil!.fusion in · the non..,communist world in general and among a considerable element of the non-<Xllllmlunist intellectuals in parbicular. It can be said with certainty that tltis confusi01I1 does not exist in the ideological Marx.:.st camp or among its multicolored agents. This confusion results mainly from a perversion of both political terms which -has taiken place in the last quarter of a century. The 1.mha;ppy practice of fixing an e'Vil and all inclusive meruning to words, a practice which received unusual impetus during the World War fil, has also added to this confusion. In this atmosphere the advocates of Marxism have been enjoy.i.ng an undisturbed political holiday. Their formula for maintaining an unchallenged right orf way is to occasionally stir up the false ,b eliefs they have created aibout nationalism while devoting a constant effort at promotin1g the ty,p e of internationalism best calculated to lead the way to world communism. There is a healthy nationalism and a healthy internationalism - !both of which are mortal enemies of Marxism in any form. When they are healthy they in no way conflict with one another, but in reality co.mpliment each other. Properly nurtured and ~loited. these two political forces could lead the way in lifting the heavy chains of Russian Communism which now enslave a minimum of 29 nations and part oif 4 other nations. As a first .s tep we must understand the component parts of healthy nationalism.. The te:rm na.tion:alisrrn is derived from and related to the term nation. The nation is best defined a;s a people having a common and distinctive heritage, culture, tradition, folklore and language whioh �24 SLOVAKIA is supported by a geographical oontiguity. When these basic factors are S1timulated by one or several of the ,great inspirational forces of religion, freedom or independence, the flower of nationhood blooms. Healthy n:ationaJ.ism places loy,alty to one's nation very high on the scale of human values. In a poprnar sense it is best descrilbed iby the inspiring phrase "Lorve of God and Couliltry." The American revolutionary war which gave birth to our nation has long lbeen regarded as the first major demonstration of healthy nationalism. The deep political impaJCt upon the world of our 'Victorious st:mgigle for national independence caused historiams to refer to the 19th Ce:ntuTy as the "century of niationalism." We as a nation and the policy we pursued in the conduct of our foreign affairs, frcan the birth of our nation up to 1920, associated OlUlr destiny with the f ovces of na;tionalism at work in the wor-ld. We had noithi!Ilg in common with the imperialists OT the autocrats of that period and ,i n reality we were coveted by all of them. Standing a:s the solitary republic in a world di:vided by empires which oOIIllStantly sought to extend their reailm, we survived and grew to our pres,ent stature in the world arena by sU1pporung the farces of healit:ihy nationalism. The MonToe Doctrine is a classic example of the manner in which our d'oreign policy welded the forces of nationalism. against the .predatory schemes of empires. World Wair I opened at a point in history when nationalism wa,s the most ·c01mpe1Hng force in world politics. The era rnf empires Wl3JS coming to a close as the popular demands of many !Ilations bound within them called out forr national sovereignty. 'Tihe Russian Tsarist empire, a,p propriately calloo. the prison of nations, was seething with discontent. The Austro~ungarian empire had already made many concessions to the variOl.lis national elements within the realm in an effort to stern the tide. The Ott01man empire wias tottering from the same internal pressures. As the w.aJr ,progressed into its, final stages it became increas. ingly 3!pparent that the demands of nationalism would hiwe to ibe faced up to in the p ~ a r settlements. It was in these circumstances that President Woodrow Wilson advanced the political princ1ple of national self-determin- �SLOVAKIA 25 ation as the only just formula for bringing order out of the ruins of those ibrolken empires. It is important to note that Wilson, in truking this ,position, wcted in accord with the ,b asic ,p rinciple which had guided our foreign policy for over 140 years. Iwen before the end ()If Wo:rld War I national independence movements sprrung UJP throughout central and eastern Europe and Eurasia. The non-1Russian nations of the Russian 'Dsarist Empire, long held captive by the autocrats of Muscovy, lost no time in proclaiming their national independence The Ukrainian Il!ation, the largest of these captirve nations, was in the 'Vianguard of this movement. By the time the statesmen of the gr.e at powers gathered in Paris for the peace conference, the era of empires was dead and had already 1b een replaced by the young but vig'Orous era of national sovereignty. But that golden era which held so much hope for suffering mamk.ind was short lived. Preside111t Wilson soon learned that the European statesmen were unconcerned with the popular movements supporting his principle of self-determina tioo. They rwere more concerned with settlements based UJPOil power politics, the cornerstone of which called for the estalblishment of a cordon srunitaire in eastern EurOipe. Wlhile paying lip service to the iprog,r am advanced by President Wilson, tJhe European statesmen reshaiped the map of central and eastern Europe to fit their selfish and shortsighted notions of contemporary peace. The peace settlements following World War I set the stage for the events which inevitalbly led the westeTIIl world to its present .precarious positon. ln the period between the great wars, the Uruited States pU!rsued a policy of isolationism. The hard disaippointmenits brought aJbout lby the power ,politics settlements after World War I played a major role in the estaJb1ishment of that policy. Meanwhile the Bolshevi!ks had estaJblished total power in Moscow. After creating the Russian Fedemted Socialist Republic of Soviets they then emlbar.ked upon a series m aggressive newly erected cordon sanitaire. They were engaged in those a:ggressive wars as late as 1923. It is an. estarblished fact that the Bolshevik masters of Musoovy met with all-out �26 SLOVAKIA resist:am.ce from the people of the reborn non-Russian nations whi!Ch sprang up uipon the 11uins of the feudal Tsarist empire. War in the traditional sense was not in itself sufficient to .p ut down .fille spirit of I11ationaJl independence which swept 1i1ke wildifire tfrom t!he Baltic Sea to the areas east of the Caspian 1Sea. The 'brutal tactics of forced sta11vation, forced population transfers and the vast networlr of slave l:aJbor camps follOIWed quickly on the heels of the Russian occ111pation of these reJbor.n na;tions. It was in these circumstances that the masters of the Kremlin announced to the world in 1922 the formation of the Union of Sov.iet !Socialist Repu!blics. After they ihad managed by armed ag;gression and the crime of genocide to reestaJblish the largest portion of the Russian empire, they found it necessary to create a caver name in order to hide the terrible events which had taiken place east of the Euroipean created cordon samtaire. Moreover, the iMusco~ vites were anxious to aivoid the charge ·o f a resurgence of Russian super-racism and to retain the support of the advocates oif wm-ld oociallism. Thus the high sounding and cleverly misleading cover of U.,S.1S.iR. was lall!lliched in the international ,p olitical -arena. Shortly thereafter a new political force was injected into the saim.e political a;rena. It lbeca.me known as national socialism, then as NaJz:iism, or Fascism, and :fi.nally as super-racism. .Some asturte political obseIWers of that period were quicik to recognize the i,nherenit anomaly in the po'litical laJbel ''national socialism." How was it possible to have the ingredients of nationalism and socialism mixed in the same politi~l movement? Obviously it was i,mpossilble to mix two diametrically opposed political theories. It w.as noit long 'before the one rworld propa;gandists worked out the formula to resolve the anomaly. Nationalism equalled Na!ZiiSIIn - Nazi.ism equalled everything that was evil therefore Nationalism equaUed everything that was evil. But what of socialism? By a queer turn of the 1propagM1dists pen, Socialism became the bulwarlc of democra·ey. Socialism was the politcal system of the U.iS.S.R - therefore the U.S.S.R. was a democracy. By this process the experts in the use of weasel words put an evil CU'l1se upon Il!ation- �SLOVAKIA 27 alism in any form, while at the same time manufacturing a d.ynamically effective co;yer for the Muscovite -plan of world conquest We entered World War fil the victims of tbis diabolical iperversion of political terms. The same must be said a:bout the other sovereign nations of the West which entered the struggle against the axis powers. This accounts, in large measure, for our failure to devekllp a positive plan for the reconstruction of the post-war world along truly democratic lines, with gQIVernments representatiive of the will of tJhe people. In lwger measure it accounts for the success af the masters of the Kremlin in extending their empire of ruthless control over 800 milliOIIl. people wvering an area encompassing a.l:most one-ithird of the earth's surface. It is in this context that we can best understand the "new internationalism" ,p eddled by the multi-colored agents of Moscow. Only a fool oc the Ivory Tower Theoreticians will fail to recognme that the dominant school of internationalism operating in the world today is completely pos• sessed iby the Russian communists. To ibe sure there are other schools of internationalism ~ing adhex:-en,ts and supporters which aTe not attached to the Moscow oribit. Unfortunately none of these competing schools ·p ossess any real polWcal dyniamics af a magnitude comparaJble to the Russian-Communist movement. Moreover, none of them are backed by aggressive military forces such as clearly support the "new internationalism" promoted by the Mus• covites in their age long drive for world empire. Fram this analysis one might too quiokly conclude that the Ruissian imperialists haive discredited and killed off hoolthy nationalism and healthy intemiaticmalism. So far as healthy nationalism is concerned, just the contra.Ty in the case. The clhaitwinistic practices of the Russians have tremendously in:creased healthy national.ism ,w ithin the Russian-Comrl)..unist empire. Within the past year the civilized world has had ample proof to swpport this conten· tion. These two exa:mples bear -O'Ut the point. 1. Shortly :after Stalin was elim.i,nated, MalenJmv and Beria became enga;ged m a life and death struggle fOT total �28 SLOVAKIA power. Mialenkov, a Russian, chose the course of support,. ing the historic cause of Russian super--racism. Beria, a renegade Geor,gian, attempted to ,harness the p01Werful nationalist forces of the non-<Russiam. nations of the U. S. S. R. to his side. Beria, as head of the dread secret police and oommissar of the slaive la,'bor system, certainly knew the most dynamic political forces at woiik within the U. S. S. R. Since 'he was in a liife and death struggle, he naturally wanted these forces in his camp. Malenkov on the other hand was the darlinrg of the Russian burea,ucracy and he had to cast his lot with traiditional Russ ian super-racism. Thi,s struggle raged for months during which time Beria was replacing the <Russian pro...consuls in the non~Rus:siian nations with natives of those nations. To be su:re ,t hose natives. were tied to communism ibut they opposed Russian dominratiorn of the a,ffairs of their nation. Beria eame very close to winnin'g that struggle the effect of which might haJVe well caused a great revolutionary outbrealk throughout the U .ISJS.R. Only a deal between the Russian bureaucracy and the Jea,ders of the Red Army saved the day for Russian super-racism. Beria was arrested iby the Red Army and executed, but the seeds of internal revolt weire increased in consequence af his struggle for power. 2. This year ma:riks the 300tfu a.n.niiversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslaiv - the instrument .by which the Russians enslaved the Ukrainians. The !Russians are using this occasion lfoir a never ending series of pronouncements and celebrations, all of which seeik to prove that the Russians are the true friends of the Uikraintains. The official announcement of the Kremlin inaugurating these celebrations admitted that every decent Ukranian down through history ha,d struggled for the goal of national independence . It also claimed that the Utkraill'ian n 1ation had finally attained its long struggle for national independ€!Il1Ce - "thanks to the Russians ,and the Communist Party." But what kind of national ,i ndependence? They define it as natjornia.1 in form and socialist in SU!bstance. This of course means no independence at all. IHowever it is important to note the manner in which the Muscoivites are associating nationalism with socialiSIID. Thi s is most reminiscent of the tactics of 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 29 Adolph Hitler. Healthy nationalism is very much alive in the world today. It is more vigorous within the Russian communist empire than elsewhere in the world. This fact must be understood and exiploited by the leaders of the free world if we are going to hawe .peace and freedom throughout the warild while a,voiding World War IiLI. Unfortunately the same crurmot 'be said aJbout healthy internationalism. Internationalism as a t'heocy- and a;s a po- · litical ipractice has boon thoroughly infected by the goals of world Manci,sm. The Russd.an Communist con1Spiracy has taken over the leadershlp in this field. Movements free from this infection have :neitlher the internal dynamics nor the military 'Sllllpport necessary to offiset those- sponsored or controlled by the Russian communists. Buit rwe can build a healthy internationalism and one that would be far more ,p owerful in the political arena than the Moscorw brand. To accomplish this goal we must understand healthy nationalism. Then we must foster and support it as a counteracting force to World Communism. Having done thi-s we will harve taken the first step in creating a healthy internationalism. The second step in this ,process calls for the development and support oif free regional federations. These regio1rml federations would he colffi!prised of a numlber of sovereign and independent n:ations which freely elected to become party to .the regi01I1al federation. The economic, political and security adlvantages of the regiona,l federation concept would lead the way in gaining the support of the memlber states. This pattern is completely consistent with .the charter of the United Nations. Indeed it springs from the basic idea whioh created the associatio,n of Ame.rican States which stands as a regional arrangement of the nations of the Western Hemisphere. It is a ,sollilld pattern because it recognizes that healthy internatiootalism must lbe 'based upon full recognition of healthy nationalism. Moreover it supports a political philosophy which is consistent with the American way of life and therefore the antithesis of World Communism. � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 23 NATIONALISM VS INTERNATIONALISM By Michael A. Feighan, Member of U.S. Congress The sulbject of N aJtionalism vs. Internationalism has been a wpic of heated debate for well aver half a century. Vollllmes ,hSJVe been written on the sui})ject. Political pa.rti~ and ideological movements have based their platform on one or the other side of the issue. Yet today there is greaJt confusion and misunderstanding on just what these political terms mean. That is - there is great COil!.fusion in · the non..,communist world in general and among a considerable element of the non-<Xllllmlunist intellectuals in parbicular. It can be said with certainty that tltis confusi01I1 does not exist in the ideological Marx.:.st camp or among its multicolored agents. This confusion results mainly from a perversion of both political terms which -has taiken place in the last quarter of a century. The 1.mha;ppy practice of fixing an e'Vil and all inclusive meruning to words, a practice which received unusual impetus during the World War fil, has also added to this confusion. In this atmosphere the advocates of Marxism have been enjoy.i.ng an undisturbed political holiday. Their formula for maintaining an unchallenged right orf way is to occasionally stir up the false ,b eliefs they have created aibout nationalism while devoting a constant effort at promotin1g the ty,p e of internationalism best calculated to lead the way to world communism. There is a healthy nationalism and a healthy internationalism - !both of which are mortal enemies of Marxism in any form. When they are healthy they in no way conflict with one another, but in reality co.mpliment each other. Properly nurtured and ~loited. these two political forces could lead the way in lifting the heavy chains of Russian Communism which now enslave a minimum of 29 nations and part oif 4 other nations. As a first .s tep we must understand the component parts of healthy nationalism.. The te:rm na.tion:alisrrn is derived from and related to the term nation. The nation is best defined a;s a people having a common and distinctive heritage, culture, tradition, folklore and language whioh 24 SLOVAKIA is supported by a geographical oontiguity. When these basic factors are S1timulated by one or several of the ,great inspirational forces of religion, freedom or independence, the flower of nationhood blooms. Healthy n:ationaJ.ism places loy,alty to one's nation very high on the scale of human values. In a poprnar sense it is best descrilbed iby the inspiring phrase "Lorve of God and Couliltry." The American revolutionary war which gave birth to our nation has long lbeen regarded as the first major demonstration of healthy nationalism. The deep political impaJCt upon the world of our 'Victorious st:mgigle for national independence caused historiams to refer to the 19th Ce:ntuTy as the "century of niationalism." We as a nation and the policy we pursued in the conduct of our foreign affairs, frcan the birth of our nation up to 1920, associated OlUlr destiny with the f ovces of na;tionalism at work in the wor-ld. We had noithi!Ilg in common with the imperialists OT the autocrats of that period and ,i n reality we were coveted by all of them. Standing a:s the solitary republic in a world di:vided by empires which oOIIllStantly sought to extend their reailm, we survived and grew to our pres,ent stature in the world arena by sU1pporung the farces of healit:ihy nationalism. The MonToe Doctrine is a classic example of the manner in which our d'oreign policy welded the forces of nationalism. against the .predatory schemes of empires. World Wair I opened at a point in history when nationalism wa,s the most ·c01mpe1Hng force in world politics. The era rnf empires Wl3JS coming to a close as the popular demands of many !Ilations bound within them called out forr national sovereignty. 'Tihe Russian Tsarist empire, a,p propriately calloo. the prison of nations, was seething with discontent. The Austro~ungarian empire had already made many concessions to the variOl.lis national elements within the realm in an effort to stern the tide. The Ott01man empire wias tottering from the same internal pressures. As the w.aJr ,progressed into its, final stages it became increas. ingly 3!pparent that the demands of nationalism would hiwe to ibe faced up to in the p ~ a r settlements. It was in these circumstances that President Woodrow Wilson advanced the political princ1ple of national self-determin- SLOVAKIA 25 ation as the only just formula for bringing order out of the ruins of those ibrolken empires. It is important to note that Wilson, in truking this ,position, wcted in accord with the ,b asic ,p rinciple which had guided our foreign policy for over 140 years. Iwen before the end ()If Wo:rld War I national independence movements sprrung UJP throughout central and eastern Europe and Eurasia. The non-1Russian nations of the Russian 'Dsarist Empire, long held captive by the autocrats of Muscovy, lost no time in proclaiming their national independence The Ukrainian Il!ation, the largest of these captirve nations, was in the 'Vianguard of this movement. By the time the statesmen of the gr.e at powers gathered in Paris for the peace conference, the era of empires was dead and had already 1b een replaced by the young but vig'Orous era of national sovereignty. But that golden era which held so much hope for suffering mamk.ind was short lived. Preside111t Wilson soon learned that the European statesmen were unconcerned with the popular movements supporting his principle of self-determina tioo. They rwere more concerned with settlements based UJPOil power politics, the cornerstone of which called for the estalblishment of a cordon srunitaire in eastern EurOipe. Wlhile paying lip service to the iprog,r am advanced by President Wilson, tJhe European statesmen reshaiped the map of central and eastern Europe to fit their selfish and shortsighted notions of contemporary peace. The peace settlements following World War I set the stage for the events which inevitalbly led the westeTIIl world to its present .precarious positon. ln the period between the great wars, the Uruited States pU!rsued a policy of isolationism. The hard disaippointmenits brought aJbout lby the power ,politics settlements after World War I played a major role in the estaJb1ishment of that policy. Meanwhile the Bolshevi!ks had estaJblished total power in Moscow. After creating the Russian Fedemted Socialist Republic of Soviets they then emlbar.ked upon a series m aggressive newly erected cordon sanitaire. They were engaged in those a:ggressive wars as late as 1923. It is an. estarblished fact that the Bolshevik masters of Musoovy met with all-out 26 SLOVAKIA resist:am.ce from the people of the reborn non-Russian nations whi!Ch sprang up uipon the 11uins of the feudal Tsarist empire. War in the traditional sense was not in itself sufficient to .p ut down .fille spirit of I11ationaJl independence which swept 1i1ke wildifire tfrom t!he Baltic Sea to the areas east of the Caspian 1Sea. The 'brutal tactics of forced sta11vation, forced population transfers and the vast networlr of slave l:aJbor camps follOIWed quickly on the heels of the Russian occ111pation of these reJbor.n na;tions. It was in these circumstances that the masters of the Kremlin announced to the world in 1922 the formation of the Union of Sov.iet !Socialist Repu!blics. After they ihad managed by armed ag;gression and the crime of genocide to reestaJblish the largest portion of the Russian empire, they found it necessary to create a caver name in order to hide the terrible events which had taiken place east of the Euroipean created cordon samtaire. Moreover, the iMusco~ vites were anxious to aivoid the charge ·o f a resurgence of Russian super-racism and to retain the support of the advocates oif wm-ld oociallism. Thus the high sounding and cleverly misleading cover of U.,S.1S.iR. was lall!lliched in the international ,p olitical -arena. Shortly thereafter a new political force was injected into the saim.e political a;rena. It lbeca.me known as national socialism, then as NaJz:iism, or Fascism, and :fi.nally as super-racism. .Some asturte political obseIWers of that period were quicik to recognize the i,nherenit anomaly in the po'litical laJbel ''national socialism." How was it possible to have the ingredients of nationalism and socialism mixed in the same politi~l movement? Obviously it was i,mpossilble to mix two diametrically opposed political theories. It w.as noit long 'before the one rworld propa;gandists worked out the formula to resolve the anomaly. Nationalism equalled Na!ZiiSIIn - Nazi.ism equalled everything that was evil therefore Nationalism equaUed everything that was evil. But what of socialism? By a queer turn of the 1propagM1dists pen, Socialism became the bulwarlc of democra·ey. Socialism was the politcal system of the U.iS.S.R - therefore the U.S.S.R. was a democracy. By this process the experts in the use of weasel words put an evil CU'l1se upon Il!ation- SLOVAKIA 27 alism in any form, while at the same time manufacturing a d.ynamically effective co;yer for the Muscovite -plan of world conquest We entered World War fil the victims of tbis diabolical iperversion of political terms. The same must be said a:bout the other sovereign nations of the West which entered the struggle against the axis powers. This accounts, in large measure, for our failure to devekllp a positive plan for the reconstruction of the post-war world along truly democratic lines, with gQIVernments representatiive of the will of tJhe people. In lwger measure it accounts for the success af the masters of the Kremlin in extending their empire of ruthless control over 800 milliOIIl. people wvering an area encompassing a.l:most one-ithird of the earth's surface. It is in this context that we can best understand the "new internationalism" ,p eddled by the multi-colored agents of Moscow. Only a fool oc the Ivory Tower Theoreticians will fail to recognme that the dominant school of internationalism operating in the world today is completely pos• sessed iby the Russian communists. To ibe sure there are other schools of internationalism ~ing adhex:-en,ts and supporters which aTe not attached to the Moscow oribit. Unfortunately none of these competing schools ·p ossess any real polWcal dyniamics af a magnitude comparaJble to the Russian-Communist movement. Moreover, none of them are backed by aggressive military forces such as clearly support the "new internationalism" promoted by the Mus• covites in their age long drive for world empire. Fram this analysis one might too quiokly conclude that the Ruissian imperialists haive discredited and killed off hoolthy nationalism and healthy intemiaticmalism. So far as healthy nationalism is concerned, just the contra.Ty in the case. The clhaitwinistic practices of the Russians have tremendously in:creased healthy national.ism ,w ithin the Russian-Comrl)..unist empire. Within the past year the civilized world has had ample proof to swpport this conten· tion. These two exa:mples bear -O'Ut the point. 1. Shortly :after Stalin was elim.i,nated, MalenJmv and Beria became enga;ged m a life and death struggle fOT total 28 SLOVAKIA power. Mialenkov, a Russian, chose the course of support,. ing the historic cause of Russian super--racism. Beria, a renegade Geor,gian, attempted to ,harness the p01Werful nationalist forces of the non-<Russiam. nations of the U. S. S. R. to his side. Beria, as head of the dread secret police and oommissar of the slaive la,'bor system, certainly knew the most dynamic political forces at woiik within the U. S. S. R. Since 'he was in a liife and death struggle, he naturally wanted these forces in his camp. Malenkov on the other hand was the darlinrg of the Russian burea,ucracy and he had to cast his lot with traiditional Russ ian super-racism. Thi,s struggle raged for months during which time Beria was replacing the <Russian pro...consuls in the non~Rus:siian nations with natives of those nations. To be su:re ,t hose natives. were tied to communism ibut they opposed Russian dominratiorn of the a,ffairs of their nation. Beria eame very close to winnin'g that struggle the effect of which might haJVe well caused a great revolutionary outbrealk throughout the U .ISJS.R. Only a deal between the Russian bureaucracy and the Jea,ders of the Red Army saved the day for Russian super-racism. Beria was arrested iby the Red Army and executed, but the seeds of internal revolt weire increased in consequence af his struggle for power. 2. This year ma:riks the 300tfu a.n.niiversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslaiv - the instrument .by which the Russians enslaved the Ukrainians. The !Russians are using this occasion lfoir a never ending series of pronouncements and celebrations, all of which seeik to prove that the Russians are the true friends of the Uikraintains. The official announcement of the Kremlin inaugurating these celebrations admitted that every decent Ukranian down through history ha,d struggled for the goal of national independence . It also claimed that the Utkraill'ian n 1ation had finally attained its long struggle for national independ€!Il1Ce - "thanks to the Russians ,and the Communist Party." But what kind of national ,i ndependence? They define it as natjornia.1 in form and socialist in SU!bstance. This of course means no independence at all. IHowever it is important to note the manner in which the Muscoivites are associating nationalism with socialiSIID. Thi s is most reminiscent of the tactics of 1 1 SLOVAKIA 29 Adolph Hitler. Healthy nationalism is very much alive in the world today. It is more vigorous within the Russian communist empire than elsewhere in the world. This fact must be understood and exiploited by the leaders of the free world if we are going to hawe .peace and freedom throughout the warild while a,voiding World War IiLI. Unfortunately the same crurmot 'be said aJbout healthy internationalism. Internationalism as a t'heocy- and a;s a po- · litical ipractice has boon thoroughly infected by the goals of world Manci,sm. The Russd.an Communist con1Spiracy has taken over the leadershlp in this field. Movements free from this infection have :neitlher the internal dynamics nor the military 'Sllllpport necessary to offiset those- sponsored or controlled by the Russian communists. Buit rwe can build a healthy internationalism and one that would be far more ,p owerful in the political arena than the Moscorw brand. To accomplish this goal we must understand healthy nationalism. Then we must foster and support it as a counteracting force to World Communism. Having done thi-s we will harve taken the first step in creating a healthy internationalism. The second step in this ,process calls for the development and support oif free regional federations. These regio1rml federations would he colffi!prised of a numlber of sovereign and independent n:ations which freely elected to become party to .the regi01I1al federation. The economic, political and security adlvantages of the regiona,l federation concept would lead the way in gaining the support of the memlber states. This pattern is completely consistent with .the charter of the United Nations. Indeed it springs from the basic idea whioh created the associatio,n of Ame.rican States which stands as a regional arrangement of the nations of the Western Hemisphere. It is a ,sollilld pattern because it recognizes that healthy internatiootalism must lbe 'based upon full recognition of healthy nationalism. Moreover it supports a political philosophy which is consistent with the American way of life and therefore the antithesis of World Communism.  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 Nationalism vs. Internationalism Description An account of the resource Michael A. Feighan, Member of U. S. Congress Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 23-29 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Feighan, Michael Aloysius, 1905- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c2398952a9a832ef2d719b0303bda680.pdf f3534c93f3653f59c63899e5c876bdb7 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA THE SWVAK UPRISING OF AUGUST 1944 Philip A. Hrobak Much has been said and written about the "Slovak Uprising" of August 1944, by the Benes Czechs (Socialists), the "Czechoslovaks" (Slovaks in the pay of Benes Czechs), and the Communists. Their versions of the uprising have been widely publicized and have been accepted as true, it seems, even by our State Department (Voice of America) and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe). Of course, patriotic Slovaks also have said and written much about the uprising which brought terror and confusion, death and destruction, and the German Army to thier land. But their story of that massacre, mass murders, and mass graves, has not been given publicity and has not been accepted as true by our State Department and the Free Europe Committee. Why? It seems simply for political reasons. To me it is plainly clear that forces are at work to prevent Americans and the rest of the free world from getting the true version, all the availa;ble facts, about the Slovak uprising of August 1944. After the uprising in Slovakia got under way "officially" on August 29, 1944, Dr. Edward Benes, the Lettrich "Democrats," the Husak Communists, and Moscow - all in unison - proclaimed it a spontaneous action of the Slovak nation and labeled it as the "Slovak National Uprising," which, they said would be inscribed in the history of the Slovak people with golden letters. They told us then - and keep telling us even today - that the uprising was thoroughly planned, well-timed and perfectly executed. It is true that the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Benes Czechs have given various "modifications" of their original story about the uprising since February 25, 1948, when they suddenly became "democratic and anti-Communist," but they still have not given us the whole truth, all the facts as they know them. Since they have admitted that they organized the Slovak uprising of August 1944 with the Communists, they undoubtedly do know the facts, but for obvious reasons are not willing to reveal them even today. �SLOVAKIA 5 "National Fronters" in America As late as August 29, 1954, in a letter published in the NEW YORK TIMES, recalling the "Slovak Uprising" of 1944, the signatories - Josef Lettrich, Matej Josko and Juraj Slavik (Slova:ks in the pay of Benes Czechs, regarded as traitors by all truly patriotic Slovaks), and Adolf Klimek and Peter Zenkl (Benes Czechs who promoted the pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes and were members of his Communits-dominated National Front government) - tell us: 1. The Slovak people did not want to be independent; independence was forced on them by Hitler. 2. The Slova,k people rose in armed revolt against the German Army and against the Slovak Government. 3. More than 70,000 soldiers and 12,000 partisans participated in the uprising of 1944. 4. The great majority of the fighters in this uprising and their lea,dership were of democratic, Western orientation. 5. The Slovak fighters manifested by their action their "Czechoslovwk" patriotism and "democratic" beliefs. 6. Even French partisans fought on the side of the Slovak partisans. The letter proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the Benes Czechs and their Slovak stooges have not changed their program or amended their ways. They still insist on spreading the legend about the Slovak uprising which was fabricated in Moscow and propagated by the Communists under Karol Schmidke and the so-called "Democrats" (formerly Agrarians) under Josef Lettrich after the uprising was under way. Ten years after the horrible massacre and betrayal of the Slovak people by the Husak Communists, the Lettrich "Democrats," and the Benes Czechs, the signers of the TIMES letter would still have Americans believe the lie that the Slovaks did not want to be free and independent, but preferred to be dominated and exploited by the Czechs and, therefore, the Slovak nation rose up spontaneously in armed �6 SLOVAKIA revolt against its own State and against its own Government. How stupid do they think Americans are? Yes, how stupid must they think we are, since our own State Department, the U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) still faH for their line and even help propagate the same lie? Lettrich and Josko must know the truth about the Slovak uprising, because they played an active role in it. The other three signatories did not participate actively and directly, as far as I could ascertain. All of them, however, and others of the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovak ia" which operates out of Washington and New York, do claim credit for the Communist-in spired .putsch of 1944 which they prefer to call - even as the Commu~ists do - the "Slovak National Uprising." Lettrich and Josko do not want to divulge the truth about the uprising, because they would rather not implicate themselves. But the irrefutable fact remains that they were deeply implicated in the Communist-in spired putsch which claimed the lives of some 70,000 Slovaks, resulted in mass murders and mass graves, and brought the German Army into Slovakia. Moscow Brigades in Slovakia Furthermore, it is a matter of record that up to February 25, 1948, the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" ("Czechoslova ks") celebrated the Slovak uprising annually in the same fashion as the Communists of Slovakia, glorifying the Slovak partisans under Communist Schmidke and the Soviet partisans under Velicko of the USSR, the "great and glorious achievements " of the revolt, the wisdom and leadership of Stalin, and the heroic deeds of the USSR and the Red Army, which led to the "liberation" of the Slovak nation and the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Together with the Communists they claimed credit for the "Slovak National Uprising" - and even today claim credit for it, though not together with the Communists. And patriotic, democratic Slovaks everywhere did and still do give them full credit for all the terroristic acts, mass murders and mass graves, indescribable crimes and terror, �SLOVAKIA 7 misery and Red enslavement that ensued. They hold them fully responsible for it. When the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich ",Democrats" persist in upholding the lie that the '~Slov-ak people rose in armed revolt against the German Army and against the Slovak Government," they are deliberately concealing the facts. They certainly must know that the German Army came into Slovakia only after the partisans had captured several army garrisons in central Slovakia and began terrorizing and murdering the population. And they certainly could not have forgotten the slogans used and the contents of the broadcasts made by the partisans at that time. If their memory is conveniently failing them, I might suggest that they refresh it by reading their own publications (CAS; NOVE CASY, 1944, London; PARTIZANI NA SLOVENSKU; NAD TATROU SA BL"'2'"1SKA; SLOBODNE CESKOSLOVENSKO; NARODNA OBRODA; etc.). I have it from reliable sources that no more than 35,000 sol~iers of the Slovak Army participated in the uprising the majority of whom were forced to fight on the side of the partisans against their own State and against their own government by the partisans and Red commanders of the USSR. But the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" - like the Communists - still tell us that the figure was 70,000 so that the uprising might appear as "national" in character. Furthermore, they state that 12,000 partisans participated in the Slovak uprising of 1944, in which "even French partisans fought on the side of the Slovak partisans," but conveniently omit to say that the Slovak partisans were led by the Communist Karol Schmidke, the Soviet partisans by Velicko of the USSR, while French partisans naturally were led by a French Communist. Indeed, it would not surprise me at all, if we eventually learned that other "international brigades" also participated in the 1944 putsch in Slovakia! I simply cannot believe that the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" have forgotten that various units of the rebel army were commanded by Soviet military men who were subordinate to the Soviet Chief of Staff in Kyjev, among whom were: Jegorov, Osmolov, Sukajev, Sadilenko, �8 SLOVAKIA Volkov, Smirnov, Krajuskin, Popov, Kolesnikov, Arsenev, Surkov, Solosenko, Cernogorov, Vysocky, Krasiev-Stepanov, and Poliakov. What, then, is the purpose of the balderdash that "the great majority of the fighters in this uprising and their leadership were of democratic, Western orientation"? After being accorded political asylum in America, why should Benes Czechs and Lettrich "Democrats" still want to deceive Americans in 1954? By their actions did they not then, and are they not now manifesting - like the "Slovak fighters" of the 1944 uprising - their "Czechoslovak" patriotism and "democratic" beliefs? Indeed, something that requires more looking into! Is it any wonder then that informed Americans, together with our good Slovak friends behind the Iron Curtain and in exile, are rudely shocked and thoroughly indignant, because our State Department, the U.S. Information Agency (Voice of America), and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) not only permit, but even help the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" deceive the American public and the rest of the free world? Lettrich and J osko could also tell us a bit about the background of the uprising of 1944, if they only wanted to - something of the events which preceded and the people who prepared the ground for the horrible massacre of the Slovaks in 1944, especially the agreements between the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Schmidke ...Husak Communists which were negotiated on December 25, 1943, and on June 26, 1945, and called for the closest collaboration between the parties concerned and the USSR. They negotiated and signed those agreements! The situation prior to 1944 Until about the end of 1942, there were no "illegal" groups in Slovakia, that is, active resistance groups. To the fall of Stalingrad, Slovak Communists used to meet socially with Slovak Czechs ("Czechoslovaks" - followers of Dr. Edward Benes's "one-nation" theory and his pro-Soviet policy). This was not connected with any hazards. The Slovak Government was aware of this, but did nothing to prevent �SLOVAKIA 9 their social meetings. The Communist Party had been outlawed in 1938 by the autonomous Slovak Government, but individual members were not persecuted or interned just because they were Communists. Some Communists and many Lettrich "Democrats" held government positions and other well-paying jobs. In 1943, two Moscow-trained Communists, Karol Schmidke, a Silesian half-German, and the Czech Karol Bacilek, were parachuted into Slova:kia by the Soviets to organize and direct illegal activities. But it was not until the end of that year that the Slovak Communists and left-wing Agrarians began to meet regularly to discuss organizing resistance groups and planning for the future. After Dr. Edward Benes, the "resigned-and-still-president" of CzechoSlovakia, concluded the so-called "Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty" in Moscow, on December 12, 1943, the left-wing Slovak Agrarians (Lettrich's group) got together with the Slovak Communists (the Schmidke-Husak group) to conclude the "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, whereby they created a "common political leadership" under the name of the "Slovak National Council" and declared "eternal friendship" for each other. The Slovak National Council, they declared, is "the one and only representative of the political will of the Slovak nation" and the "body supreme" as far as the affairs of Slovakia were concerned. These Slovak Agrarians, later re-christened to Slovak "Democrats," united with the Slovak Communists to collaborate with Moscow in the destruction of the Slovak Republic and in the establishment of a "new" Czecho-Slovak democracy, a "people's democratic State." From available accounts, it is quite evident that there were differences of opinion among the Husak Communists and the Lettrich "Democrats" as far as the future of Slovakia was concerned. Slovak Communists did not care whether Slovakia became a Soviet Republic or remained within the framework of Czecho-Slovakia, as a unit of a federative system, as long as it was governed by them. Lettrich's "Democrats" - the "Czechoslovaks" - how- �10 SLOVAKIA ever, did not have a clear-cut program; at times they knew not what they wanted or where they were really going. Some were for the relationship which existed prior to Munich, 1938, while others preferred that which existed after Munich, but prior to March 14, 1939, when the Slovak parliament declared Slovakia independent. The latter were for the federative system, which T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes proposed for Czecho-Slovakia to the Allies in 1918 but never inaugurated. Communists in Slovakia were aware of the fact that the ovewhelming majority of the Slovak people resolutely opposed the conception of a "one-nation" Czecho-Slovakia, which the Benes Czechs propagated. They used this knowledge to gain supporters for their cause whenever an opportunity presented itself. It so happened when they repudiated the proclamation of the "London Government" of Dr. Edward Benes of June 30, 1943, which declared that the future of Czecho-Slovakia would rest on the conception of a "onenation" Czecho-Slovakia - a unified or united "Czechoslovak" nation. The Lettrich "Democrats" - the "Czechoslovaks" on the other hand, accepted the conception of an ethnic "Czechoslovak" nation of the Benes Czechs, even though they could not agree among themselves just what the relationship between the Czechs and the Slovaks should be like in the "new" Czecho-Slovakia. After Dr. Milan Hodza, former premier of Czecho-Slovakia, parted with Benes, many of them had lost faith in the president who resigned and then made himself president again. Nevertheless, they sided with Benes, because he was recognized both by the democratic' powers and the USSR. Like the Communists, the Lettrich "Democrats" hated the Tiso regime, which was thoroughly Christian and as democratic as it possibly could be under the circumstances; like the Communists they were not interested in a truly democratic Slovak State, because they knew they could never becoming ruling figures in it by the free will of the Slovak people. So, the Lettrich "Democrats" decided to go along with the Communists, proclaiming the establishment of a �SLOVAKIA 11 "new" Czecho-Slovakia as one of their chief aims, based, of course, on the spirit and the letter of the Treaty of December 12, 1943, which Benes had concluded with the Soviet Union and by which not only the Slovaks, but also the Czechs were formally sold out to the men of the Kremlin. The right of Benes to conclude such a treaty might be justly questioned, since the nations of Czecho-Slovakia had not authorized him to act in their behalf after his resignation as president in 1938, but that would be of little consequence today. The overwhelming majority of the Slovak people, with its political and religious leadership - the followers of Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus - was definitely for a Christian, democratic, independent Slovak State, a Slovakia free of all foreign domination and rid of all Communists. It still is for such a State today. The Red Front Approaches Slovakia After concluding the "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Husak Communists, began to discuss the matter of an armed putsch or revolt. In April, 1944, Dr. Vavro Srobar, one of the oldest and most intimate friends of Dr. Edward Benes in Slovakia, asked Benes what the Slovaks should do in the event that Hungary would quit the war and join the Allies, and/ or in the event that Germany should occupy Slovakia. Benes strongly advised an open revolt in his reply, because this, he said, would enable a speedy occupation of Slovakia by the Soviet Army. Dr. Joseph Tiso, President of Slovakia, and the Slovak Government, including Slovak military leaders, had other plans. They did not want Slovakia to become an open battleground ; they tried to spare their people from the horrors of war. To avoid unnecessary bloodshed and occupation by the German and Soviet armies, they thought it best if the Slovak Army would take over the Government of Slovakia at the opportune moment. The "opportune moment" - it was understood - meant the fall of Cracow on the North, or the fall ·of Miskovec in the South. When that happened, the Slovak Army was to occupy the borders of Slovakia; �12 SLOVAKIA then the Slovak Government would step out in favor of the Army which, with the help of political parties, would form a new government, temporarily, which, in turn, would tie up with the United Nations, especially the West. Since the Slovak Government at that time had no contact with the West, thanks to Dr. Benes's refusal to deal with it, it tried to inform the West BJbout its plan through the USSR, even though it did so with great misgivings. General Augustine Malar personally contacted the Soviet Military Staff in the Ukraine, revealed the plan at least partly, and requested, in the name of the Slovak Government, that the Soviets and the Western Allies agree to this plan of action and also recognize the political independence of Slovakia. Malar, respecting the advice of the Slovak Government, wisely omitted to say anything about Slovakia's intention of joining the West. In reply, the Soviets said that they had not planned on penetrating through Slovakia; they were willing to recognize the political independence of Slovakia, as they already had in 1939, but steadfastly refused to agree on the point that military operations in Slovakia should be undertaken by the Slovak Army alone. It was quite obvious already then that the USSR wanted to occupy Slovakia for political reasons. The story of General Mala.r's contact with the Soviet Military on December 17, 1943, was told during the trial of Dr. Joseph Tiso and members of the 'Slovak Government (19461947) before the National Court in Bratislava. About the end of June the Slovak National Council decided to send a delegation to Moscow to inform Stalin of its plans and to petition the Soviets to include Slovakia in their plan of operations. Karol Schmidke and General Nicholas Ferjencik were selected to make the trip. Because of "technical" reasons, they did not undertake the trip until August 4, 1944. Ferjencik, now enjoying political asylum in America, could easily give us the details of that meeting, if he desired to do so. The partisans engaged in terroristic acts rather regularly at the end of July and the beginning of August, 1944. When they seized the command of several garrisons in �SLOVAKIA 13 central Slovakia and murdered many persons in that section of the country, General Malar, to save the situation, appealed to the Army in a radio broadcast not to be taken in by partisan rumors, not to join the partisans, because "our time has not yet arrived . . . When it does come, then we shall all pull at the same end of the rope." The terroristic acts of the partisans alarmed even Lt. Col. Golian, to whom Benes had entrusted the military preparations and operations of the "resistance" in Slovakia. G-Olian demanded that the partisans subordinate their activity to his command, the "authorized" military command of the "illegal" forces. Velicko, commander of the Soviet partisans, informed Golian that he would do so, but continued on his own any way. Angered and frustrated, Golian sent Lt. Col. Manica, August 20, 1944, with a request that Velicko order the partisans to cease their activities, otherwise the Germans would surely intervene. Velicko, however, disregarded the request and his .partisans continued to spread terror and violence in central and eastern Slovakia. The terroristic acts of the partisans created a very difficult situation for President Tiso and the Slovak Government. They did what they could to keep the German Army from occupying Slovakia. They explained that the disturbances were not widespread or "national," but local, and that the Slovak Army was capable of handling them and restoring order. The Germans, however, were reluctant to believe the Slovaks, especially after the murder of General Otto and his military mission at Banska Bystrica, August 27, 1944. Hitler's Wehrmacht began to occupy Slovakia, and the Slovaks really were in for the worst. The uprising, in which the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Communists collaborated fully to the joy of Moscow, was responsible for the Germans occupying Slovalkia in 1944. Why August 29, 1944? Benes Czechs, Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke Communists had told us - and are still telling us - that the Slovak uprising began on August 29, 1944. Why was that partic'ular date selected, when they knew - as we know now, �14 8LOVAKIA because even they themselves admitted it - that the partisans committed terroristic acts before that date? They selected that date as the "official" date so that they could tell the world that President Tiso and the Slovak Government called or invited the German Army to Slovakia and thus cover up the fact that the distuvbances created by the partisans were really responsible for the occupation of Slovakia by the Germans. Lettrich, Husak, N ovomesky and other "leaders" of the uprising were not even in Banska Bystrica on August 29, 1944. The Slovak National Council did not issue its declaration of the revolt until September 1, 1944. When German military units began moving into Slovakia as a result of partisan terroristic activities, the leaders of the uprising resorted to lies to gain the support of the Slovak Army and the Slovak people. They said: the Germans were coming to occupy the whole of ,Slovakia; that President Tiso was murdered; that members of the Slovak Government were seized and taken to Germany, etc. The ruse, however, even thoogh at first it deceiived many in SlovaJki:a and abroad, failed to attain its objective. What happened in Slovakia prior t,o August 29, 1944? Partisans committed terroristic acts in eastern and central Slovakia for at least three or four weeks before that date. The situation grew so tense that the Slovak Government conitem.iplated declaring Martial La,w on August 1, 1944, but did not resort to it till later. On several occasions the Germans warned Tiso and the Slovak Government that if they could not cope with the situation and keep order in Slovakia, the German Army definitely would move in to make order. Tiso and the Slovak Government did what they could under the circumstances to restore order and, thereby, keep the Germans out of Slovakia. They knew that their plans for joining with western forces of the United Nations could not be realized if the Germans occupied Slovakia. The partisans, however, taking orders from Moscow and London, were not interested in preserving order; they were only interested in preparing the ground for the Red Army: After �SLOVAKIA 15 the latter occupied 'Slovakia, they figured they would take over all power in Slovakia. And they did. After the German front collapsed in Rumania, German diplomatic personnel - some thirty persons, including women and children - were hurriedly evacuated. Communist agents already were quite active in Slovakia, creating chaos and confusion and provoking incidents with Germany. The train carrying German diplomats from Bucharest was halted on the evening of August 26, 1944, at Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia, by partisans. The passengers were told rather politely that it would be impossible for them to go farther, because of engine trouble. Quarters were arranged for them in the local barracks. The next morning the entire group was ordered into the barracks square by one Major Kuchta, lined up and mowed down with machine guns. It was thus that the military mission of General Otto perished. Two days later German troops came in force into Slovakia "to restore order." The partisans, of course, told the Slovaks that the German occupation was entirely ttnprovoked and that they now had to fight for their freedom, Tiso was murdered, etc., as mentioned above. Before that time, however, on August 20, 1944, Velicko and his .partisans were busy in Turiec requisitioning autos, robbing stores and farmers. During the night of August 24 a group of German field gendarmes were taken by surprise and shot while they slept in the Hotel Slavia in Vrutky. Turiec and vicinity were also terrorized and victimized by a group led by the sadistic Lutheran preacher Vojtech HruskaTerenyi, the Communist from Hungary who already back in 1919, as a young preacher, had participated in the Red revolt of Bela Kun (Cohen). Francis Slamen, member of the Slovak Assembly and chairman of the Slovak Christian Labor Union, was among several persons murdered in Brezno Natl Hronom, August 27, 1944. On August 28, 1944, partisan officers shot Col. Zverin and Col. Kanak of the Slovak Army in Banska Bystrica. In Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas they arrested Col. Kl'ucik, of the garrison there, and Lt. Frecer; later they murdered them. �16 SLOVAKIA Let's fight to the last drop of your blood! On September 1, 1944, the Slovak National Council, headed by "Democrat" Lettrich and Communist Schmidke, met in Banska Bystrica and immediately made August 29, 1944, the "official" date of the start of the Slovak uprising. Futhermore, they issued a declaration which stated that the Council was the body supreme in Slovakia, the only representative and authorized body in Slovakia which had the right to speak in the name of the Slovak nation. The Slovak National Council was composed of Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke-Hus a:k Communists (-50-50); Dr. Joseph Lettrich was chairman and Karol Schmidke co-chairman of the Council. On September 5, 1944, during its first "solemn" session, the so-called Slovak National Council sent two telegrams: one to Stalin, the other to Benes. The Stalin telegram read as follows (translated from the Slovak): Josip Visarionovic ,Stalin Marshal of the USSR Moscow, Kremlin The Slovak National Council sends You and the nations of the Soviet Union from its solemn session its most cordial greetings and thanks You for the understanding which You have manifested for our fight of liberation, waged against the common enemy. Glory to the victorious Red Army! Banska Bystrica, September 5, 1944 The Slovak National Council It is significant that the Council made up of Communists and the Lettrich "Democrats" sent no greeting at that time either to the President of the United States or the King of England, who apparently did not rate. The Slovak National Council called in all reservists and ordered full mobilization. The response was poor; not many Slovaks answered the call voluntarily. The Council had to rest satisfied with those it could force to bear arms against their country in the area held by the partisans, a few districts in central and eastern Slovakia. A part of the Trnava garrison, led by John Benko, defected and joined the partisans; General Mala.r's divisions, however, refused to join. The German forces, led by Gen. Berger and Gen. iHoffle, soon encircled the partisan putschists. The heaviest fighting �SLOVAKIA 17 took place near Telgart, Cremosne, Dubrava and Kremnicka, during which some 4,000 were killed. The partisans, who had taken to the hills and mountains of Slovakia before the Germans moved in, soon realized that their situation was quite hopeless. They lacked men and material to cope with the situation they had created. And promised help from the USSR and from Benes in London did not materialize to any noticeaible extent. Sporadic skirmishes continued for about two months; by the end of October the Communist-inspired "national" uprising in Slovakia was completely liquidated. Of course, the press of the USSR and the "Czechoslovak Press Bureau (CTK) of Dr. Benes in London supplied the world press, including our own OWI, with sensational fabrications; reports which told of the glorious and valiant stand of the Slovak nation which fought to renew the CzechoSlovak Republic - a "new" Republic, a Czecho-.Slovakia which would be a "people's" democracy - and shed its blood so that Benes might be president again; reports which told the world that the partisans had one third, then one-half and, later, almost the whole of Slovakia under their control after a week or two of "furious" fighting. Balderdash! The partisans fought in the fashion of partisans; there were practically no open, regular battles, but only sporadic skirmishes and attacks. When the "heroic" commanders of the partisan units saw that the situation was hopeless, they flew out of Slovakia into the USSR in planes that were ready just for such an eventuality. Talsky, a Czech and commander of the "eastern front" who was supposed to join with the Red Army at the opportune moment, flew to the USSR, leaving his "army" behind; there he was promptly arrested as a deserter. Generals Golian and Viest, officers who defected from the Slovak Army and joined the partisans, were ready to leave the scene of the "glorious" revolt, when their own soldiers blew up their plane with grenades. Viest and Golian hid themselves in a certain village, but were betrayed by their own men when the Germans sought them. Captured, they were taken to Germany and later shot. �18 SLOVAKIA The charact.er of the, -si.ovak uprising The Slovak National Council was busy issuing decrees to terrorize the vast masses of the Slovak population. It decreed the dissolution of the IIlinka Slovak People's Party, the German Party, and the Magyar Christian Social Party; ecclesiastical properties and institutions were nationalized and confiscated; a concentration camp was established at Slovenska Lupca, where over 700 victims were held to await partisan "justice." Partisan "people's" courts were quickly set up at Sklabina, Kunerad and elsewhere. Thousands of Slovaks were arbitrarily convicted and jailed; hundreds were liquidated without a hearing. The 1944 uprising in Slovakia pad all the earmarks of a bolshevik rebellion: partisans w~re :r:ed kerchiefs round their necks, Lenin goatees, and a rosary of grenades around their belts. They robbed and raped, plundered and murdered wherever they went. They forced priests to act friendly towards them, bless their weapons and even read the Holy Mass for the success of their diabolical venture. If a priest hesitated or refused to follow their orders, he was beaten, threatened with shooting or actually. shot. Joseph and Andrew Kocalko from Sucany, father and son respectively, were beaten to death beyond recognition by Hruska-Terenyi and his men. The father had spent quite a number of years in America. The Communist Lutheran preacher, Vojtech Hruska-Terenyi, and Jersov, a ·Russian professor, killed 147 Slovaks and buried them in a mass grave at Sklabina. Hruska-Terenyi was judge, jury and executioner. Those whom he sentenced to death had to strip down to their underclothes and march to the foot of the forest in Sklabina. There each victim was given a spade to dig his own grave. Some of the victims cracked under the ordeal and were shot forthwith; the rest kept digging slowly until Jersov blew his whistle and machine guns mowed them down into their shallow graves. The bodies of the hopeless victims were covered with twigs and a little dirt. The mass grave at Sklabina was uncovered in November 1944. Many of the victims had a bullet hole back of the neck. �SLOVAKIA 19 Among the priests who were murdered there were: Rev. Anthony Salat, member of the Slovak Parliament and pastor of the Catholic congregation at Hajniky; Rev. Martinka of Liptovsky Svaty Michal; Rev. John Nemec of Zavadka; Rev. Sedo of Liptovsky Svaty Jan. In Povazska Bystrica, -a theologian named Milan was also murdered. I might note here for the record that the Communists and Lettrich "Democrats" joyously celebrated the "silver anniversary" of the invasion of Slovakia by the bolshevik hordes of Bela Kun from Hungary during the uprising of 1944 - the first time any one in Slovakia made a hero of the Magyar Communist revolutionary who murdered Slovaks, pillaged their lands and destroyed their homes! Need any more be said about the character of the Slovak uprising of 1944? I might add, too, that the same Slovak National Council of Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke-Husak Communists was making extensive preparations to celebrate "Czechoslovak Independence Day" on October 28, 1944, as it never had been celebrated before, but the events that followed the terroristic acts of the partisans forestalled the celebration. Mass murders and mass graves We have heard of mass murders and mass graves· i'n Poland (Katyn Forest), the Ukraine (Vinnitsia), and elsewhere, but little or nothing about those in Slovakia. In Slovakia mass graves have been uncovered in Micinska Dolina, Sklene, Podsucha, Pusty Hrad, in the Prievidza Valley, Lucivna, Sklabina, Kunerad, L'ubietova; also in the vicinity of Kovacova, Ruzomberok, Zvolen, Humenne, Bosany, and Tri Vody. There is also a mass grave near Petrzalka, but this one came into being after the occupation of Bratislava by the Red Army in the spring of 1945. The partisans were responsible for most of the murders and mass graves. During the trial of President Tiso in 1947, the prosecution stated that some 4,316 persons were buried in mass graves and blamed Tiso and the Slovak Government for them for obvious reasons. There is, of course, no way of ascertaining whether that figure is accurate or not. A thorough investigation would probably at least double it. �20 SLOVAKIA Why the putsch failed When Generals Golian and Viest were apprehended by the Germans, after their own soldiers had betrayed their hidingplace, they declared that the "uprising" had failed, because: 1. low morale prevailed in the army; soldiers had no desire to fight for a "new" Czecho-Slovakia or the USSR; · and they did not want to destroy their own State and their own Government; 2. partisan provocateurs and saboteurs had absolutely no respect or regard for the feelings of the Slovak people; they were beyond the law, brutal and reckless; 3. the Germans sent captured soldiers home, after disarming and a hearing them; 4. the partisan army lacked capable leadership; 5. communications were bad; 6. the Slovak population was hostile to the partisans and their cause; 7. little help came from the USSR and the West (Benes); 8. the Red Army was not ready to march into Slovakia; 9. the partisans did not have sufficient food, munition, guns and planes ; 10. thousands of men deserted. Conclusions From the above it is evident that the Slovak uprising of August, 1944, was not national in character; it did not have the backing of the vast ma,sses of the Slovak population. It was Communist-inspired and led; it was engineered by the Reds in Moscow and London, with the participation of Benes, without regard to the interests of the Slovak people. The partisans, no matter what their origin, were guilty of the most horrible crimes. The Communist-inspired putsch of 1944 brought terror and chaos, destruction and death, misery and Red enslavement to Slovakia. In reality, the Slovak uprising of 1944 was a "Warsaw" in miniature. Only the Communists and Moscow profited from it. Slovak Communists, Lettrich "Democrats" and Benes Czechs profited from it, but only temporarily. Together they celebrated the "great and lasting achievements" of that massacre, glorifying Stalin, the USSR, the Red Army and Benes, until February 25, 1948. And they still celebrate it today; of course, not with the Communists, nor in the same fashion as they did �SLOVAKIA 21 prior to 1948. Those that were lucky enough to escape the hell they helped to create in Slovakia, that is. What fools they be, and what fools are we, if we continue to believe their version of the horrible massacre of the Slovak people in 1944, if we continue to trust them. The blood of thousands and thousands of innocent victims in mass graves of Slovakia cries to heaven for vengeance against them. Patriotic Slovaks everywhere do commemorate the Communist-inspired Slovak uprising of 1944, but not in the manner of the Benes Czechs, Lettrich "Democrats" and the Communists. Recalling the uprising as one of the darkest chapters in their history, which brought death and destruction and Red enslavement to their country, good Slovaks bow their heads reverently in prayer for the victims of that massacre and ask the almighty and just God to speed the day of judgment for all who were responsible for it and, too, that in His mercy He might also speed the day of liberation of their nation from the Godless, ruthless rule of Moscow and from all foreign domination. I firmly believe that it is in the highest interests of America and the rest of the free world that they lend a willing ear to the story patriotic Slovaks have to tell not only about the uprising of 1944, but also about the political mess that was Czecho-Slovakia, prior to Munich and after the "liberation" in 1945. I cannot and will not believe that our State Department, the U. S. Infonnation Agency (Voice of America), other U. S. government agencies, and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) are working in the interests of America and the rest of the free world, when they serve and promote the interests of the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" who collaiborated with the Communists and the USSR as members of the National Front government of the BenesGottwald coalition. Benes Czechs and Lettrich "Democrats" - now members of the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" operating out of Washington and New York - are gradually coming to the point of openly admitting that collaboration �22 SLOV.AK[A with Communists does not pay, that the history of CzechoSlovakia is clear proof of what attempted co-existence with Communists leads to. But they still are loath to admit that they did colla,borate with Communists and the USSR, that they did promote the pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes and, hence, are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the peoples of CzechoJSlovakia. And they still insist on spreading the legend about the Slovak up~ rising which was fabricated by Moscow and the LettrichSchmidke Slovak National Council. Jfow, then, can we believe that they have really broken completely with the past? • • • WHO SAID IT? "The post~war economic changes in Czechoslovakia some of them revolutionary in tiheir scope but none of them an entirely new departure in CzechoslO'Vak history - have occurred with a minimum of political friction. It seems to have been generally understood that the rebuilding of capital and the recovery of ;production were the national needs, rather than a revhnal of the conflict of ideologies which paved the way to the Second World War. For these objectives, all political parties were willing to work together. Czechoslovakia has a Communist Party which accepts joint power with non-Communist parties; its second Marxist party the Social Democrats, works ~ith non-Socialists. The other Czech parties, non-Communist but not anti-Communist, are equally willing to cooperate with the Communist Party. The Slovak Democratic Party alone contains elements of irreconcilable opposition to the Communists, with the result that it is the weatl{est linlk in the National Front. There are no deiiinitely anti-Communist parties; these were all liquidated as a result of their pre-war and wartime activities. 'I'his coHalboration of Communists, socialists and liberals in a National Front Government has boon a condition (William Diamond, Czechoslovaof post-was process." kia Between East and West, 1947, !Stevens and Sons, Ltd., London ; p. 233) . � SLOVAKIA THE SWVAK UPRISING OF AUGUST 1944 Philip A. Hrobak Much has been said and written about the "Slovak Uprising" of August 1944, by the Benes Czechs (Socialists), the "Czechoslovaks" (Slovaks in the pay of Benes Czechs), and the Communists. Their versions of the uprising have been widely publicized and have been accepted as true, it seems, even by our State Department (Voice of America) and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe). Of course, patriotic Slovaks also have said and written much about the uprising which brought terror and confusion, death and destruction, and the German Army to thier land. But their story of that massacre, mass murders, and mass graves, has not been given publicity and has not been accepted as true by our State Department and the Free Europe Committee. Why? It seems simply for political reasons. To me it is plainly clear that forces are at work to prevent Americans and the rest of the free world from getting the true version, all the availa;ble facts, about the Slovak uprising of August 1944. After the uprising in Slovakia got under way "officially" on August 29, 1944, Dr. Edward Benes, the Lettrich "Democrats," the Husak Communists, and Moscow - all in unison - proclaimed it a spontaneous action of the Slovak nation and labeled it as the "Slovak National Uprising," which, they said would be inscribed in the history of the Slovak people with golden letters. They told us then - and keep telling us even today - that the uprising was thoroughly planned, well-timed and perfectly executed. It is true that the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Benes Czechs have given various "modifications" of their original story about the uprising since February 25, 1948, when they suddenly became "democratic and anti-Communist," but they still have not given us the whole truth, all the facts as they know them. Since they have admitted that they organized the Slovak uprising of August 1944 with the Communists, they undoubtedly do know the facts, but for obvious reasons are not willing to reveal them even today. �SLOVAKIA 5 "National Fronters" in America As late as August 29, 1954, in a letter published in the NEW YORK TIMES, recalling the "Slovak Uprising" of 1944, the signatories - Josef Lettrich, Matej Josko and Juraj Slavik (Slova:ks in the pay of Benes Czechs, regarded as traitors by all truly patriotic Slovaks), and Adolf Klimek and Peter Zenkl (Benes Czechs who promoted the pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes and were members of his Communits-dominated National Front government) - tell us: 1. The Slovak people did not want to be independent; independence was forced on them by Hitler. 2. The Slova,k people rose in armed revolt against the German Army and against the Slovak Government. 3. More than 70,000 soldiers and 12,000 partisans participated in the uprising of 1944. 4. The great majority of the fighters in this uprising and their lea,dership were of democratic, Western orientation. 5. The Slovak fighters manifested by their action their "Czechoslovwk" patriotism and "democratic" beliefs. 6. Even French partisans fought on the side of the Slovak partisans. The letter proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the Benes Czechs and their Slovak stooges have not changed their program or amended their ways. They still insist on spreading the legend about the Slovak uprising which was fabricated in Moscow and propagated by the Communists under Karol Schmidke and the so-called "Democrats" (formerly Agrarians) under Josef Lettrich after the uprising was under way. Ten years after the horrible massacre and betrayal of the Slovak people by the Husak Communists, the Lettrich "Democrats," and the Benes Czechs, the signers of the TIMES letter would still have Americans believe the lie that the Slovaks did not want to be free and independent, but preferred to be dominated and exploited by the Czechs and, therefore, the Slovak nation rose up spontaneously in armed �6 SLOVAKIA revolt against its own State and against its own Government. How stupid do they think Americans are? Yes, how stupid must they think we are, since our own State Department, the U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) still faH for their line and even help propagate the same lie? Lettrich and Josko must know the truth about the Slovak uprising, because they played an active role in it. The other three signatories did not participate actively and directly, as far as I could ascertain. All of them, however, and others of the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovak ia" which operates out of Washington and New York, do claim credit for the Communist-in spired .putsch of 1944 which they prefer to call - even as the Commu~ists do - the "Slovak National Uprising." Lettrich and Josko do not want to divulge the truth about the uprising, because they would rather not implicate themselves. But the irrefutable fact remains that they were deeply implicated in the Communist-in spired putsch which claimed the lives of some 70,000 Slovaks, resulted in mass murders and mass graves, and brought the German Army into Slovakia. Moscow Brigades in Slovakia Furthermore, it is a matter of record that up to February 25, 1948, the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" ("Czechoslova ks") celebrated the Slovak uprising annually in the same fashion as the Communists of Slovakia, glorifying the Slovak partisans under Communist Schmidke and the Soviet partisans under Velicko of the USSR, the "great and glorious achievements " of the revolt, the wisdom and leadership of Stalin, and the heroic deeds of the USSR and the Red Army, which led to the "liberation" of the Slovak nation and the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Together with the Communists they claimed credit for the "Slovak National Uprising" - and even today claim credit for it, though not together with the Communists. And patriotic, democratic Slovaks everywhere did and still do give them full credit for all the terroristic acts, mass murders and mass graves, indescribable crimes and terror, �SLOVAKIA 7 misery and Red enslavement that ensued. They hold them fully responsible for it. When the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich ",Democrats" persist in upholding the lie that the '~Slov-ak people rose in armed revolt against the German Army and against the Slovak Government," they are deliberately concealing the facts. They certainly must know that the German Army came into Slovakia only after the partisans had captured several army garrisons in central Slovakia and began terrorizing and murdering the population. And they certainly could not have forgotten the slogans used and the contents of the broadcasts made by the partisans at that time. If their memory is conveniently failing them, I might suggest that they refresh it by reading their own publications (CAS; NOVE CASY, 1944, London; PARTIZANI NA SLOVENSKU; NAD TATROU SA BL"'2'"1SKA; SLOBODNE CESKOSLOVENSKO; NARODNA OBRODA; etc.). I have it from reliable sources that no more than 35,000 sol~iers of the Slovak Army participated in the uprising the majority of whom were forced to fight on the side of the partisans against their own State and against their own government by the partisans and Red commanders of the USSR. But the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" - like the Communists - still tell us that the figure was 70,000 so that the uprising might appear as "national" in character. Furthermore, they state that 12,000 partisans participated in the Slovak uprising of 1944, in which "even French partisans fought on the side of the Slovak partisans," but conveniently omit to say that the Slovak partisans were led by the Communist Karol Schmidke, the Soviet partisans by Velicko of the USSR, while French partisans naturally were led by a French Communist. Indeed, it would not surprise me at all, if we eventually learned that other "international brigades" also participated in the 1944 putsch in Slovakia! I simply cannot believe that the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" have forgotten that various units of the rebel army were commanded by Soviet military men who were subordinate to the Soviet Chief of Staff in Kyjev, among whom were: Jegorov, Osmolov, Sukajev, Sadilenko, �8 SLOVAKIA Volkov, Smirnov, Krajuskin, Popov, Kolesnikov, Arsenev, Surkov, Solosenko, Cernogorov, Vysocky, Krasiev-Stepanov, and Poliakov. What, then, is the purpose of the balderdash that "the great majority of the fighters in this uprising and their leadership were of democratic, Western orientation"? After being accorded political asylum in America, why should Benes Czechs and Lettrich "Democrats" still want to deceive Americans in 1954? By their actions did they not then, and are they not now manifesting - like the "Slovak fighters" of the 1944 uprising - their "Czechoslovak" patriotism and "democratic" beliefs? Indeed, something that requires more looking into! Is it any wonder then that informed Americans, together with our good Slovak friends behind the Iron Curtain and in exile, are rudely shocked and thoroughly indignant, because our State Department, the U.S. Information Agency (Voice of America), and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) not only permit, but even help the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" deceive the American public and the rest of the free world? Lettrich and J osko could also tell us a bit about the background of the uprising of 1944, if they only wanted to - something of the events which preceded and the people who prepared the ground for the horrible massacre of the Slovaks in 1944, especially the agreements between the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Schmidke ...Husak Communists which were negotiated on December 25, 1943, and on June 26, 1945, and called for the closest collaboration between the parties concerned and the USSR. They negotiated and signed those agreements! The situation prior to 1944 Until about the end of 1942, there were no "illegal" groups in Slovakia, that is, active resistance groups. To the fall of Stalingrad, Slovak Communists used to meet socially with Slovak Czechs ("Czechoslovaks" - followers of Dr. Edward Benes's "one-nation" theory and his pro-Soviet policy). This was not connected with any hazards. The Slovak Government was aware of this, but did nothing to prevent �SLOVAKIA 9 their social meetings. The Communist Party had been outlawed in 1938 by the autonomous Slovak Government, but individual members were not persecuted or interned just because they were Communists. Some Communists and many Lettrich "Democrats" held government positions and other well-paying jobs. In 1943, two Moscow-trained Communists, Karol Schmidke, a Silesian half-German, and the Czech Karol Bacilek, were parachuted into Slova:kia by the Soviets to organize and direct illegal activities. But it was not until the end of that year that the Slovak Communists and left-wing Agrarians began to meet regularly to discuss organizing resistance groups and planning for the future. After Dr. Edward Benes, the "resigned-and-still-president" of CzechoSlovakia, concluded the so-called "Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty" in Moscow, on December 12, 1943, the left-wing Slovak Agrarians (Lettrich's group) got together with the Slovak Communists (the Schmidke-Husak group) to conclude the "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, whereby they created a "common political leadership" under the name of the "Slovak National Council" and declared "eternal friendship" for each other. The Slovak National Council, they declared, is "the one and only representative of the political will of the Slovak nation" and the "body supreme" as far as the affairs of Slovakia were concerned. These Slovak Agrarians, later re-christened to Slovak "Democrats," united with the Slovak Communists to collaborate with Moscow in the destruction of the Slovak Republic and in the establishment of a "new" Czecho-Slovak democracy, a "people's democratic State." From available accounts, it is quite evident that there were differences of opinion among the Husak Communists and the Lettrich "Democrats" as far as the future of Slovakia was concerned. Slovak Communists did not care whether Slovakia became a Soviet Republic or remained within the framework of Czecho-Slovakia, as a unit of a federative system, as long as it was governed by them. Lettrich's "Democrats" - the "Czechoslovaks" - how- �10 SLOVAKIA ever, did not have a clear-cut program; at times they knew not what they wanted or where they were really going. Some were for the relationship which existed prior to Munich, 1938, while others preferred that which existed after Munich, but prior to March 14, 1939, when the Slovak parliament declared Slovakia independent. The latter were for the federative system, which T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes proposed for Czecho-Slovakia to the Allies in 1918 but never inaugurated. Communists in Slovakia were aware of the fact that the ovewhelming majority of the Slovak people resolutely opposed the conception of a "one-nation" Czecho-Slovakia, which the Benes Czechs propagated. They used this knowledge to gain supporters for their cause whenever an opportunity presented itself. It so happened when they repudiated the proclamation of the "London Government" of Dr. Edward Benes of June 30, 1943, which declared that the future of Czecho-Slovakia would rest on the conception of a "onenation" Czecho-Slovakia - a unified or united "Czechoslovak" nation. The Lettrich "Democrats" - the "Czechoslovaks" on the other hand, accepted the conception of an ethnic "Czechoslovak" nation of the Benes Czechs, even though they could not agree among themselves just what the relationship between the Czechs and the Slovaks should be like in the "new" Czecho-Slovakia. After Dr. Milan Hodza, former premier of Czecho-Slovakia, parted with Benes, many of them had lost faith in the president who resigned and then made himself president again. Nevertheless, they sided with Benes, because he was recognized both by the democratic' powers and the USSR. Like the Communists, the Lettrich "Democrats" hated the Tiso regime, which was thoroughly Christian and as democratic as it possibly could be under the circumstances; like the Communists they were not interested in a truly democratic Slovak State, because they knew they could never becoming ruling figures in it by the free will of the Slovak people. So, the Lettrich "Democrats" decided to go along with the Communists, proclaiming the establishment of a �SLOVAKIA 11 "new" Czecho-Slovakia as one of their chief aims, based, of course, on the spirit and the letter of the Treaty of December 12, 1943, which Benes had concluded with the Soviet Union and by which not only the Slovaks, but also the Czechs were formally sold out to the men of the Kremlin. The right of Benes to conclude such a treaty might be justly questioned, since the nations of Czecho-Slovakia had not authorized him to act in their behalf after his resignation as president in 1938, but that would be of little consequence today. The overwhelming majority of the Slovak people, with its political and religious leadership - the followers of Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus - was definitely for a Christian, democratic, independent Slovak State, a Slovakia free of all foreign domination and rid of all Communists. It still is for such a State today. The Red Front Approaches Slovakia After concluding the "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Husak Communists, began to discuss the matter of an armed putsch or revolt. In April, 1944, Dr. Vavro Srobar, one of the oldest and most intimate friends of Dr. Edward Benes in Slovakia, asked Benes what the Slovaks should do in the event that Hungary would quit the war and join the Allies, and/ or in the event that Germany should occupy Slovakia. Benes strongly advised an open revolt in his reply, because this, he said, would enable a speedy occupation of Slovakia by the Soviet Army. Dr. Joseph Tiso, President of Slovakia, and the Slovak Government, including Slovak military leaders, had other plans. They did not want Slovakia to become an open battleground ; they tried to spare their people from the horrors of war. To avoid unnecessary bloodshed and occupation by the German and Soviet armies, they thought it best if the Slovak Army would take over the Government of Slovakia at the opportune moment. The "opportune moment" - it was understood - meant the fall of Cracow on the North, or the fall ·of Miskovec in the South. When that happened, the Slovak Army was to occupy the borders of Slovakia; �12 SLOVAKIA then the Slovak Government would step out in favor of the Army which, with the help of political parties, would form a new government, temporarily, which, in turn, would tie up with the United Nations, especially the West. Since the Slovak Government at that time had no contact with the West, thanks to Dr. Benes's refusal to deal with it, it tried to inform the West BJbout its plan through the USSR, even though it did so with great misgivings. General Augustine Malar personally contacted the Soviet Military Staff in the Ukraine, revealed the plan at least partly, and requested, in the name of the Slovak Government, that the Soviets and the Western Allies agree to this plan of action and also recognize the political independence of Slovakia. Malar, respecting the advice of the Slovak Government, wisely omitted to say anything about Slovakia's intention of joining the West. In reply, the Soviets said that they had not planned on penetrating through Slovakia; they were willing to recognize the political independence of Slovakia, as they already had in 1939, but steadfastly refused to agree on the point that military operations in Slovakia should be undertaken by the Slovak Army alone. It was quite obvious already then that the USSR wanted to occupy Slovakia for political reasons. The story of General Mala.r's contact with the Soviet Military on December 17, 1943, was told during the trial of Dr. Joseph Tiso and members of the 'Slovak Government (19461947) before the National Court in Bratislava. About the end of June the Slovak National Council decided to send a delegation to Moscow to inform Stalin of its plans and to petition the Soviets to include Slovakia in their plan of operations. Karol Schmidke and General Nicholas Ferjencik were selected to make the trip. Because of "technical" reasons, they did not undertake the trip until August 4, 1944. Ferjencik, now enjoying political asylum in America, could easily give us the details of that meeting, if he desired to do so. The partisans engaged in terroristic acts rather regularly at the end of July and the beginning of August, 1944. When they seized the command of several garrisons in �SLOVAKIA 13 central Slovakia and murdered many persons in that section of the country, General Malar, to save the situation, appealed to the Army in a radio broadcast not to be taken in by partisan rumors, not to join the partisans, because "our time has not yet arrived . . . When it does come, then we shall all pull at the same end of the rope." The terroristic acts of the partisans alarmed even Lt. Col. Golian, to whom Benes had entrusted the military preparations and operations of the "resistance" in Slovakia. G-Olian demanded that the partisans subordinate their activity to his command, the "authorized" military command of the "illegal" forces. Velicko, commander of the Soviet partisans, informed Golian that he would do so, but continued on his own any way. Angered and frustrated, Golian sent Lt. Col. Manica, August 20, 1944, with a request that Velicko order the partisans to cease their activities, otherwise the Germans would surely intervene. Velicko, however, disregarded the request and his .partisans continued to spread terror and violence in central and eastern Slovakia. The terroristic acts of the partisans created a very difficult situation for President Tiso and the Slovak Government. They did what they could to keep the German Army from occupying Slovakia. They explained that the disturbances were not widespread or "national," but local, and that the Slovak Army was capable of handling them and restoring order. The Germans, however, were reluctant to believe the Slovaks, especially after the murder of General Otto and his military mission at Banska Bystrica, August 27, 1944. Hitler's Wehrmacht began to occupy Slovakia, and the Slovaks really were in for the worst. The uprising, in which the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Communists collaborated fully to the joy of Moscow, was responsible for the Germans occupying Slovalkia in 1944. Why August 29, 1944? Benes Czechs, Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke Communists had told us - and are still telling us - that the Slovak uprising began on August 29, 1944. Why was that partic'ular date selected, when they knew - as we know now, �14 8LOVAKIA because even they themselves admitted it - that the partisans committed terroristic acts before that date? They selected that date as the "official" date so that they could tell the world that President Tiso and the Slovak Government called or invited the German Army to Slovakia and thus cover up the fact that the distuvbances created by the partisans were really responsible for the occupation of Slovakia by the Germans. Lettrich, Husak, N ovomesky and other "leaders" of the uprising were not even in Banska Bystrica on August 29, 1944. The Slovak National Council did not issue its declaration of the revolt until September 1, 1944. When German military units began moving into Slovakia as a result of partisan terroristic activities, the leaders of the uprising resorted to lies to gain the support of the Slovak Army and the Slovak people. They said: the Germans were coming to occupy the whole of ,Slovakia; that President Tiso was murdered; that members of the Slovak Government were seized and taken to Germany, etc. The ruse, however, even thoogh at first it deceiived many in SlovaJki:a and abroad, failed to attain its objective. What happened in Slovakia prior t,o August 29, 1944? Partisans committed terroristic acts in eastern and central Slovakia for at least three or four weeks before that date. The situation grew so tense that the Slovak Government conitem.iplated declaring Martial La,w on August 1, 1944, but did not resort to it till later. On several occasions the Germans warned Tiso and the Slovak Government that if they could not cope with the situation and keep order in Slovakia, the German Army definitely would move in to make order. Tiso and the Slovak Government did what they could under the circumstances to restore order and, thereby, keep the Germans out of Slovakia. They knew that their plans for joining with western forces of the United Nations could not be realized if the Germans occupied Slovakia. The partisans, however, taking orders from Moscow and London, were not interested in preserving order; they were only interested in preparing the ground for the Red Army: After �SLOVAKIA 15 the latter occupied 'Slovakia, they figured they would take over all power in Slovakia. And they did. After the German front collapsed in Rumania, German diplomatic personnel - some thirty persons, including women and children - were hurriedly evacuated. Communist agents already were quite active in Slovakia, creating chaos and confusion and provoking incidents with Germany. The train carrying German diplomats from Bucharest was halted on the evening of August 26, 1944, at Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia, by partisans. The passengers were told rather politely that it would be impossible for them to go farther, because of engine trouble. Quarters were arranged for them in the local barracks. The next morning the entire group was ordered into the barracks square by one Major Kuchta, lined up and mowed down with machine guns. It was thus that the military mission of General Otto perished. Two days later German troops came in force into Slovakia "to restore order." The partisans, of course, told the Slovaks that the German occupation was entirely ttnprovoked and that they now had to fight for their freedom, Tiso was murdered, etc., as mentioned above. Before that time, however, on August 20, 1944, Velicko and his .partisans were busy in Turiec requisitioning autos, robbing stores and farmers. During the night of August 24 a group of German field gendarmes were taken by surprise and shot while they slept in the Hotel Slavia in Vrutky. Turiec and vicinity were also terrorized and victimized by a group led by the sadistic Lutheran preacher Vojtech HruskaTerenyi, the Communist from Hungary who already back in 1919, as a young preacher, had participated in the Red revolt of Bela Kun (Cohen). Francis Slamen, member of the Slovak Assembly and chairman of the Slovak Christian Labor Union, was among several persons murdered in Brezno Natl Hronom, August 27, 1944. On August 28, 1944, partisan officers shot Col. Zverin and Col. Kanak of the Slovak Army in Banska Bystrica. In Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas they arrested Col. Kl'ucik, of the garrison there, and Lt. Frecer; later they murdered them. �16 SLOVAKIA Let's fight to the last drop of your blood! On September 1, 1944, the Slovak National Council, headed by "Democrat" Lettrich and Communist Schmidke, met in Banska Bystrica and immediately made August 29, 1944, the "official" date of the start of the Slovak uprising. Futhermore, they issued a declaration which stated that the Council was the body supreme in Slovakia, the only representative and authorized body in Slovakia which had the right to speak in the name of the Slovak nation. The Slovak National Council was composed of Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke-Hus a:k Communists (-50-50); Dr. Joseph Lettrich was chairman and Karol Schmidke co-chairman of the Council. On September 5, 1944, during its first "solemn" session, the so-called Slovak National Council sent two telegrams: one to Stalin, the other to Benes. The Stalin telegram read as follows (translated from the Slovak): Josip Visarionovic ,Stalin Marshal of the USSR Moscow, Kremlin The Slovak National Council sends You and the nations of the Soviet Union from its solemn session its most cordial greetings and thanks You for the understanding which You have manifested for our fight of liberation, waged against the common enemy. Glory to the victorious Red Army! Banska Bystrica, September 5, 1944 The Slovak National Council It is significant that the Council made up of Communists and the Lettrich "Democrats" sent no greeting at that time either to the President of the United States or the King of England, who apparently did not rate. The Slovak National Council called in all reservists and ordered full mobilization. The response was poor; not many Slovaks answered the call voluntarily. The Council had to rest satisfied with those it could force to bear arms against their country in the area held by the partisans, a few districts in central and eastern Slovakia. A part of the Trnava garrison, led by John Benko, defected and joined the partisans; General Mala.r's divisions, however, refused to join. The German forces, led by Gen. Berger and Gen. iHoffle, soon encircled the partisan putschists. The heaviest fighting �SLOVAKIA 17 took place near Telgart, Cremosne, Dubrava and Kremnicka, during which some 4,000 were killed. The partisans, who had taken to the hills and mountains of Slovakia before the Germans moved in, soon realized that their situation was quite hopeless. They lacked men and material to cope with the situation they had created. And promised help from the USSR and from Benes in London did not materialize to any noticeaible extent. Sporadic skirmishes continued for about two months; by the end of October the Communist-inspired "national" uprising in Slovakia was completely liquidated. Of course, the press of the USSR and the "Czechoslovak Press Bureau (CTK) of Dr. Benes in London supplied the world press, including our own OWI, with sensational fabrications; reports which told of the glorious and valiant stand of the Slovak nation which fought to renew the CzechoSlovak Republic - a "new" Republic, a Czecho-.Slovakia which would be a "people's" democracy - and shed its blood so that Benes might be president again; reports which told the world that the partisans had one third, then one-half and, later, almost the whole of Slovakia under their control after a week or two of "furious" fighting. Balderdash! The partisans fought in the fashion of partisans; there were practically no open, regular battles, but only sporadic skirmishes and attacks. When the "heroic" commanders of the partisan units saw that the situation was hopeless, they flew out of Slovakia into the USSR in planes that were ready just for such an eventuality. Talsky, a Czech and commander of the "eastern front" who was supposed to join with the Red Army at the opportune moment, flew to the USSR, leaving his "army" behind; there he was promptly arrested as a deserter. Generals Golian and Viest, officers who defected from the Slovak Army and joined the partisans, were ready to leave the scene of the "glorious" revolt, when their own soldiers blew up their plane with grenades. Viest and Golian hid themselves in a certain village, but were betrayed by their own men when the Germans sought them. Captured, they were taken to Germany and later shot. �18 SLOVAKIA The charact.er of the, -si.ovak uprising The Slovak National Council was busy issuing decrees to terrorize the vast masses of the Slovak population. It decreed the dissolution of the IIlinka Slovak People's Party, the German Party, and the Magyar Christian Social Party; ecclesiastical properties and institutions were nationalized and confiscated; a concentration camp was established at Slovenska Lupca, where over 700 victims were held to await partisan "justice." Partisan "people's" courts were quickly set up at Sklabina, Kunerad and elsewhere. Thousands of Slovaks were arbitrarily convicted and jailed; hundreds were liquidated without a hearing. The 1944 uprising in Slovakia pad all the earmarks of a bolshevik rebellion: partisans w~re :r:ed kerchiefs round their necks, Lenin goatees, and a rosary of grenades around their belts. They robbed and raped, plundered and murdered wherever they went. They forced priests to act friendly towards them, bless their weapons and even read the Holy Mass for the success of their diabolical venture. If a priest hesitated or refused to follow their orders, he was beaten, threatened with shooting or actually. shot. Joseph and Andrew Kocalko from Sucany, father and son respectively, were beaten to death beyond recognition by Hruska-Terenyi and his men. The father had spent quite a number of years in America. The Communist Lutheran preacher, Vojtech Hruska-Terenyi, and Jersov, a ·Russian professor, killed 147 Slovaks and buried them in a mass grave at Sklabina. Hruska-Terenyi was judge, jury and executioner. Those whom he sentenced to death had to strip down to their underclothes and march to the foot of the forest in Sklabina. There each victim was given a spade to dig his own grave. Some of the victims cracked under the ordeal and were shot forthwith; the rest kept digging slowly until Jersov blew his whistle and machine guns mowed them down into their shallow graves. The bodies of the hopeless victims were covered with twigs and a little dirt. The mass grave at Sklabina was uncovered in November 1944. Many of the victims had a bullet hole back of the neck. �SLOVAKIA 19 Among the priests who were murdered there were: Rev. Anthony Salat, member of the Slovak Parliament and pastor of the Catholic congregation at Hajniky; Rev. Martinka of Liptovsky Svaty Michal; Rev. John Nemec of Zavadka; Rev. Sedo of Liptovsky Svaty Jan. In Povazska Bystrica, -a theologian named Milan was also murdered. I might note here for the record that the Communists and Lettrich "Democrats" joyously celebrated the "silver anniversary" of the invasion of Slovakia by the bolshevik hordes of Bela Kun from Hungary during the uprising of 1944 - the first time any one in Slovakia made a hero of the Magyar Communist revolutionary who murdered Slovaks, pillaged their lands and destroyed their homes! Need any more be said about the character of the Slovak uprising of 1944? I might add, too, that the same Slovak National Council of Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke-Husak Communists was making extensive preparations to celebrate "Czechoslovak Independence Day" on October 28, 1944, as it never had been celebrated before, but the events that followed the terroristic acts of the partisans forestalled the celebration. Mass murders and mass graves We have heard of mass murders and mass graves· i'n Poland (Katyn Forest), the Ukraine (Vinnitsia), and elsewhere, but little or nothing about those in Slovakia. In Slovakia mass graves have been uncovered in Micinska Dolina, Sklene, Podsucha, Pusty Hrad, in the Prievidza Valley, Lucivna, Sklabina, Kunerad, L'ubietova; also in the vicinity of Kovacova, Ruzomberok, Zvolen, Humenne, Bosany, and Tri Vody. There is also a mass grave near Petrzalka, but this one came into being after the occupation of Bratislava by the Red Army in the spring of 1945. The partisans were responsible for most of the murders and mass graves. During the trial of President Tiso in 1947, the prosecution stated that some 4,316 persons were buried in mass graves and blamed Tiso and the Slovak Government for them for obvious reasons. There is, of course, no way of ascertaining whether that figure is accurate or not. A thorough investigation would probably at least double it. �20 SLOVAKIA Why the putsch failed When Generals Golian and Viest were apprehended by the Germans, after their own soldiers had betrayed their hidingplace, they declared that the "uprising" had failed, because: 1. low morale prevailed in the army; soldiers had no desire to fight for a "new" Czecho-Slovakia or the USSR; · and they did not want to destroy their own State and their own Government; 2. partisan provocateurs and saboteurs had absolutely no respect or regard for the feelings of the Slovak people; they were beyond the law, brutal and reckless; 3. the Germans sent captured soldiers home, after disarming and a hearing them; 4. the partisan army lacked capable leadership; 5. communications were bad; 6. the Slovak population was hostile to the partisans and their cause; 7. little help came from the USSR and the West (Benes); 8. the Red Army was not ready to march into Slovakia; 9. the partisans did not have sufficient food, munition, guns and planes ; 10. thousands of men deserted. Conclusions From the above it is evident that the Slovak uprising of August, 1944, was not national in character; it did not have the backing of the vast ma,sses of the Slovak population. It was Communist-inspired and led; it was engineered by the Reds in Moscow and London, with the participation of Benes, without regard to the interests of the Slovak people. The partisans, no matter what their origin, were guilty of the most horrible crimes. The Communist-inspired putsch of 1944 brought terror and chaos, destruction and death, misery and Red enslavement to Slovakia. In reality, the Slovak uprising of 1944 was a "Warsaw" in miniature. Only the Communists and Moscow profited from it. Slovak Communists, Lettrich "Democrats" and Benes Czechs profited from it, but only temporarily. Together they celebrated the "great and lasting achievements" of that massacre, glorifying Stalin, the USSR, the Red Army and Benes, until February 25, 1948. And they still celebrate it today; of course, not with the Communists, nor in the same fashion as they did �SLOVAKIA 21 prior to 1948. Those that were lucky enough to escape the hell they helped to create in Slovakia, that is. What fools they be, and what fools are we, if we continue to believe their version of the horrible massacre of the Slovak people in 1944, if we continue to trust them. The blood of thousands and thousands of innocent victims in mass graves of Slovakia cries to heaven for vengeance against them. Patriotic Slovaks everywhere do commemorate the Communist-inspired Slovak uprising of 1944, but not in the manner of the Benes Czechs, Lettrich "Democrats" and the Communists. Recalling the uprising as one of the darkest chapters in their history, which brought death and destruction and Red enslavement to their country, good Slovaks bow their heads reverently in prayer for the victims of that massacre and ask the almighty and just God to speed the day of judgment for all who were responsible for it and, too, that in His mercy He might also speed the day of liberation of their nation from the Godless, ruthless rule of Moscow and from all foreign domination. I firmly believe that it is in the highest interests of America and the rest of the free world that they lend a willing ear to the story patriotic Slovaks have to tell not only about the uprising of 1944, but also about the political mess that was Czecho-Slovakia, prior to Munich and after the "liberation" in 1945. I cannot and will not believe that our State Department, the U. S. Infonnation Agency (Voice of America), other U. S. government agencies, and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) are working in the interests of America and the rest of the free world, when they serve and promote the interests of the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" who collaiborated with the Communists and the USSR as members of the National Front government of the BenesGottwald coalition. Benes Czechs and Lettrich "Democrats" - now members of the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" operating out of Washington and New York - are gradually coming to the point of openly admitting that collaboration �22 SLOV.AK[A with Communists does not pay, that the history of CzechoSlovakia is clear proof of what attempted co-existence with Communists leads to. But they still are loath to admit that they did colla,borate with Communists and the USSR, that they did promote the pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes and, hence, are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the peoples of CzechoJSlovakia. And they still insist on spreading the legend about the Slovak up~ rising which was fabricated by Moscow and the LettrichSchmidke Slovak National Council. Jfow, then, can we believe that they have really broken completely with the past? • • • WHO SAID IT? "The post~war economic changes in Czechoslovakia some of them revolutionary in tiheir scope but none of them an entirely new departure in CzechoslO'Vak history - have occurred with a minimum of political friction. It seems to have been generally understood that the rebuilding of capital and the recovery of ;production were the national needs, rather than a revhnal of the conflict of ideologies which paved the way to the Second World War. For these objectives, all political parties were willing to work together. Czechoslovakia has a Communist Party which accepts joint power with non-Communist parties; its second Marxist party the Social Democrats, works ~ith non-Socialists. The other Czech parties, non-Communist but not anti-Communist, are equally willing to cooperate with the Communist Party. The Slovak Democratic Party alone contains elements of irreconcilable opposition to the Communists, with the result that it is the weatl{est linlk in the National Front. There are no deiiinitely anti-Communist parties; these were all liquidated as a result of their pre-war and wartime activities. 'I'his coHalboration of Communists, socialists and liberals in a National Front Government has boon a condition (William Diamond, Czechoslovaof post-was process." kia Between East and West, 1947, !Stevens and Sons, Ltd., London ; p. 233) . � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 THE SWVAK UPRISING OF AUGUST 1944 Philip A. Hrobak Much has been said and written about the "Slovak Uprising" of August 1944, by the Benes Czechs (Socialists), the "Czechoslovaks" (Slovaks in the pay of Benes Czechs), and the Communists. Their versions of the uprising have been widely publicized and have been accepted as true, it seems, even by our State Department (Voice of America) and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe). Of course, patriotic Slovaks also have said and written much about the uprising which brought terror and confusion, death and destruction, and the German Army to thier land. But their story of that massacre, mass murders, and mass graves, has not been given publicity and has not been accepted as true by our State Department and the Free Europe Committee. Why? It seems simply for political reasons. To me it is plainly clear that forces are at work to prevent Americans and the rest of the free world from getting the true version, all the availa;ble facts, about the Slovak uprising of August 1944. After the uprising in Slovakia got under way "officially" on August 29, 1944, Dr. Edward Benes, the Lettrich "Democrats," the Husak Communists, and Moscow - all in unison - proclaimed it a spontaneous action of the Slovak nation and labeled it as the "Slovak National Uprising," which, they said would be inscribed in the history of the Slovak people with golden letters. They told us then - and keep telling us even today - that the uprising was thoroughly planned, well-timed and perfectly executed. It is true that the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Benes Czechs have given various "modifications" of their original story about the uprising since February 25, 1948, when they suddenly became "democratic and anti-Communist," but they still have not given us the whole truth, all the facts as they know them. Since they have admitted that they organized the Slovak uprising of August 1944 with the Communists, they undoubtedly do know the facts, but for obvious reasons are not willing to reveal them even today. SLOVAKIA 5 "National Fronters" in America As late as August 29, 1954, in a letter published in the NEW YORK TIMES, recalling the "Slovak Uprising" of 1944, the signatories - Josef Lettrich, Matej Josko and Juraj Slavik (Slova:ks in the pay of Benes Czechs, regarded as traitors by all truly patriotic Slovaks), and Adolf Klimek and Peter Zenkl (Benes Czechs who promoted the pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes and were members of his Communits-dominated National Front government) - tell us: 1. The Slovak people did not want to be independent; independence was forced on them by Hitler. 2. The Slova,k people rose in armed revolt against the German Army and against the Slovak Government. 3. More than 70,000 soldiers and 12,000 partisans participated in the uprising of 1944. 4. The great majority of the fighters in this uprising and their lea,dership were of democratic, Western orientation. 5. The Slovak fighters manifested by their action their "Czechoslovwk" patriotism and "democratic" beliefs. 6. Even French partisans fought on the side of the Slovak partisans. The letter proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the Benes Czechs and their Slovak stooges have not changed their program or amended their ways. They still insist on spreading the legend about the Slovak uprising which was fabricated in Moscow and propagated by the Communists under Karol Schmidke and the so-called "Democrats" (formerly Agrarians) under Josef Lettrich after the uprising was under way. Ten years after the horrible massacre and betrayal of the Slovak people by the Husak Communists, the Lettrich "Democrats," and the Benes Czechs, the signers of the TIMES letter would still have Americans believe the lie that the Slovaks did not want to be free and independent, but preferred to be dominated and exploited by the Czechs and, therefore, the Slovak nation rose up spontaneously in armed 6 SLOVAKIA revolt against its own State and against its own Government. How stupid do they think Americans are? Yes, how stupid must they think we are, since our own State Department, the U. S. Information Agency (Voice of America), and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) still faH for their line and even help propagate the same lie? Lettrich and Josko must know the truth about the Slovak uprising, because they played an active role in it. The other three signatories did not participate actively and directly, as far as I could ascertain. All of them, however, and others of the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovak ia" which operates out of Washington and New York, do claim credit for the Communist-in spired .putsch of 1944 which they prefer to call - even as the Commu~ists do - the "Slovak National Uprising." Lettrich and Josko do not want to divulge the truth about the uprising, because they would rather not implicate themselves. But the irrefutable fact remains that they were deeply implicated in the Communist-in spired putsch which claimed the lives of some 70,000 Slovaks, resulted in mass murders and mass graves, and brought the German Army into Slovakia. Moscow Brigades in Slovakia Furthermore, it is a matter of record that up to February 25, 1948, the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" ("Czechoslova ks") celebrated the Slovak uprising annually in the same fashion as the Communists of Slovakia, glorifying the Slovak partisans under Communist Schmidke and the Soviet partisans under Velicko of the USSR, the "great and glorious achievements " of the revolt, the wisdom and leadership of Stalin, and the heroic deeds of the USSR and the Red Army, which led to the "liberation" of the Slovak nation and the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Together with the Communists they claimed credit for the "Slovak National Uprising" - and even today claim credit for it, though not together with the Communists. And patriotic, democratic Slovaks everywhere did and still do give them full credit for all the terroristic acts, mass murders and mass graves, indescribable crimes and terror, SLOVAKIA 7 misery and Red enslavement that ensued. They hold them fully responsible for it. When the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich ",Democrats" persist in upholding the lie that the '~Slov-ak people rose in armed revolt against the German Army and against the Slovak Government," they are deliberately concealing the facts. They certainly must know that the German Army came into Slovakia only after the partisans had captured several army garrisons in central Slovakia and began terrorizing and murdering the population. And they certainly could not have forgotten the slogans used and the contents of the broadcasts made by the partisans at that time. If their memory is conveniently failing them, I might suggest that they refresh it by reading their own publications (CAS; NOVE CASY, 1944, London; PARTIZANI NA SLOVENSKU; NAD TATROU SA BL"'2'"1SKA; SLOBODNE CESKOSLOVENSKO; NARODNA OBRODA; etc.). I have it from reliable sources that no more than 35,000 sol~iers of the Slovak Army participated in the uprising the majority of whom were forced to fight on the side of the partisans against their own State and against their own government by the partisans and Red commanders of the USSR. But the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" - like the Communists - still tell us that the figure was 70,000 so that the uprising might appear as "national" in character. Furthermore, they state that 12,000 partisans participated in the Slovak uprising of 1944, in which "even French partisans fought on the side of the Slovak partisans," but conveniently omit to say that the Slovak partisans were led by the Communist Karol Schmidke, the Soviet partisans by Velicko of the USSR, while French partisans naturally were led by a French Communist. Indeed, it would not surprise me at all, if we eventually learned that other "international brigades" also participated in the 1944 putsch in Slovakia! I simply cannot believe that the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" have forgotten that various units of the rebel army were commanded by Soviet military men who were subordinate to the Soviet Chief of Staff in Kyjev, among whom were: Jegorov, Osmolov, Sukajev, Sadilenko, 8 SLOVAKIA Volkov, Smirnov, Krajuskin, Popov, Kolesnikov, Arsenev, Surkov, Solosenko, Cernogorov, Vysocky, Krasiev-Stepanov, and Poliakov. What, then, is the purpose of the balderdash that "the great majority of the fighters in this uprising and their leadership were of democratic, Western orientation"? After being accorded political asylum in America, why should Benes Czechs and Lettrich "Democrats" still want to deceive Americans in 1954? By their actions did they not then, and are they not now manifesting - like the "Slovak fighters" of the 1944 uprising - their "Czechoslovak" patriotism and "democratic" beliefs? Indeed, something that requires more looking into! Is it any wonder then that informed Americans, together with our good Slovak friends behind the Iron Curtain and in exile, are rudely shocked and thoroughly indignant, because our State Department, the U.S. Information Agency (Voice of America), and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) not only permit, but even help the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" deceive the American public and the rest of the free world? Lettrich and J osko could also tell us a bit about the background of the uprising of 1944, if they only wanted to - something of the events which preceded and the people who prepared the ground for the horrible massacre of the Slovaks in 1944, especially the agreements between the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Schmidke ...Husak Communists which were negotiated on December 25, 1943, and on June 26, 1945, and called for the closest collaboration between the parties concerned and the USSR. They negotiated and signed those agreements! The situation prior to 1944 Until about the end of 1942, there were no "illegal" groups in Slovakia, that is, active resistance groups. To the fall of Stalingrad, Slovak Communists used to meet socially with Slovak Czechs ("Czechoslovaks" - followers of Dr. Edward Benes's "one-nation" theory and his pro-Soviet policy). This was not connected with any hazards. The Slovak Government was aware of this, but did nothing to prevent SLOVAKIA 9 their social meetings. The Communist Party had been outlawed in 1938 by the autonomous Slovak Government, but individual members were not persecuted or interned just because they were Communists. Some Communists and many Lettrich "Democrats" held government positions and other well-paying jobs. In 1943, two Moscow-trained Communists, Karol Schmidke, a Silesian half-German, and the Czech Karol Bacilek, were parachuted into Slova:kia by the Soviets to organize and direct illegal activities. But it was not until the end of that year that the Slovak Communists and left-wing Agrarians began to meet regularly to discuss organizing resistance groups and planning for the future. After Dr. Edward Benes, the "resigned-and-still-president" of CzechoSlovakia, concluded the so-called "Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty" in Moscow, on December 12, 1943, the left-wing Slovak Agrarians (Lettrich's group) got together with the Slovak Communists (the Schmidke-Husak group) to conclude the "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, whereby they created a "common political leadership" under the name of the "Slovak National Council" and declared "eternal friendship" for each other. The Slovak National Council, they declared, is "the one and only representative of the political will of the Slovak nation" and the "body supreme" as far as the affairs of Slovakia were concerned. These Slovak Agrarians, later re-christened to Slovak "Democrats," united with the Slovak Communists to collaborate with Moscow in the destruction of the Slovak Republic and in the establishment of a "new" Czecho-Slovak democracy, a "people's democratic State." From available accounts, it is quite evident that there were differences of opinion among the Husak Communists and the Lettrich "Democrats" as far as the future of Slovakia was concerned. Slovak Communists did not care whether Slovakia became a Soviet Republic or remained within the framework of Czecho-Slovakia, as a unit of a federative system, as long as it was governed by them. Lettrich's "Democrats" - the "Czechoslovaks" - how- 10 SLOVAKIA ever, did not have a clear-cut program; at times they knew not what they wanted or where they were really going. Some were for the relationship which existed prior to Munich, 1938, while others preferred that which existed after Munich, but prior to March 14, 1939, when the Slovak parliament declared Slovakia independent. The latter were for the federative system, which T. G. Masaryk and Edward Benes proposed for Czecho-Slovakia to the Allies in 1918 but never inaugurated. Communists in Slovakia were aware of the fact that the ovewhelming majority of the Slovak people resolutely opposed the conception of a "one-nation" Czecho-Slovakia, which the Benes Czechs propagated. They used this knowledge to gain supporters for their cause whenever an opportunity presented itself. It so happened when they repudiated the proclamation of the "London Government" of Dr. Edward Benes of June 30, 1943, which declared that the future of Czecho-Slovakia would rest on the conception of a "onenation" Czecho-Slovakia - a unified or united "Czechoslovak" nation. The Lettrich "Democrats" - the "Czechoslovaks" on the other hand, accepted the conception of an ethnic "Czechoslovak" nation of the Benes Czechs, even though they could not agree among themselves just what the relationship between the Czechs and the Slovaks should be like in the "new" Czecho-Slovakia. After Dr. Milan Hodza, former premier of Czecho-Slovakia, parted with Benes, many of them had lost faith in the president who resigned and then made himself president again. Nevertheless, they sided with Benes, because he was recognized both by the democratic' powers and the USSR. Like the Communists, the Lettrich "Democrats" hated the Tiso regime, which was thoroughly Christian and as democratic as it possibly could be under the circumstances; like the Communists they were not interested in a truly democratic Slovak State, because they knew they could never becoming ruling figures in it by the free will of the Slovak people. So, the Lettrich "Democrats" decided to go along with the Communists, proclaiming the establishment of a SLOVAKIA 11 "new" Czecho-Slovakia as one of their chief aims, based, of course, on the spirit and the letter of the Treaty of December 12, 1943, which Benes had concluded with the Soviet Union and by which not only the Slovaks, but also the Czechs were formally sold out to the men of the Kremlin. The right of Benes to conclude such a treaty might be justly questioned, since the nations of Czecho-Slovakia had not authorized him to act in their behalf after his resignation as president in 1938, but that would be of little consequence today. The overwhelming majority of the Slovak people, with its political and religious leadership - the followers of Andrew Hlinka and Martin Razus - was definitely for a Christian, democratic, independent Slovak State, a Slovakia free of all foreign domination and rid of all Communists. It still is for such a State today. The Red Front Approaches Slovakia After concluding the "Christmas Agreement" of 1943, the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Husak Communists, began to discuss the matter of an armed putsch or revolt. In April, 1944, Dr. Vavro Srobar, one of the oldest and most intimate friends of Dr. Edward Benes in Slovakia, asked Benes what the Slovaks should do in the event that Hungary would quit the war and join the Allies, and/ or in the event that Germany should occupy Slovakia. Benes strongly advised an open revolt in his reply, because this, he said, would enable a speedy occupation of Slovakia by the Soviet Army. Dr. Joseph Tiso, President of Slovakia, and the Slovak Government, including Slovak military leaders, had other plans. They did not want Slovakia to become an open battleground ; they tried to spare their people from the horrors of war. To avoid unnecessary bloodshed and occupation by the German and Soviet armies, they thought it best if the Slovak Army would take over the Government of Slovakia at the opportune moment. The "opportune moment" - it was understood - meant the fall of Cracow on the North, or the fall ·of Miskovec in the South. When that happened, the Slovak Army was to occupy the borders of Slovakia; 12 SLOVAKIA then the Slovak Government would step out in favor of the Army which, with the help of political parties, would form a new government, temporarily, which, in turn, would tie up with the United Nations, especially the West. Since the Slovak Government at that time had no contact with the West, thanks to Dr. Benes's refusal to deal with it, it tried to inform the West BJbout its plan through the USSR, even though it did so with great misgivings. General Augustine Malar personally contacted the Soviet Military Staff in the Ukraine, revealed the plan at least partly, and requested, in the name of the Slovak Government, that the Soviets and the Western Allies agree to this plan of action and also recognize the political independence of Slovakia. Malar, respecting the advice of the Slovak Government, wisely omitted to say anything about Slovakia's intention of joining the West. In reply, the Soviets said that they had not planned on penetrating through Slovakia; they were willing to recognize the political independence of Slovakia, as they already had in 1939, but steadfastly refused to agree on the point that military operations in Slovakia should be undertaken by the Slovak Army alone. It was quite obvious already then that the USSR wanted to occupy Slovakia for political reasons. The story of General Mala.r's contact with the Soviet Military on December 17, 1943, was told during the trial of Dr. Joseph Tiso and members of the 'Slovak Government (19461947) before the National Court in Bratislava. About the end of June the Slovak National Council decided to send a delegation to Moscow to inform Stalin of its plans and to petition the Soviets to include Slovakia in their plan of operations. Karol Schmidke and General Nicholas Ferjencik were selected to make the trip. Because of "technical" reasons, they did not undertake the trip until August 4, 1944. Ferjencik, now enjoying political asylum in America, could easily give us the details of that meeting, if he desired to do so. The partisans engaged in terroristic acts rather regularly at the end of July and the beginning of August, 1944. When they seized the command of several garrisons in SLOVAKIA 13 central Slovakia and murdered many persons in that section of the country, General Malar, to save the situation, appealed to the Army in a radio broadcast not to be taken in by partisan rumors, not to join the partisans, because "our time has not yet arrived . . . When it does come, then we shall all pull at the same end of the rope." The terroristic acts of the partisans alarmed even Lt. Col. Golian, to whom Benes had entrusted the military preparations and operations of the "resistance" in Slovakia. G-Olian demanded that the partisans subordinate their activity to his command, the "authorized" military command of the "illegal" forces. Velicko, commander of the Soviet partisans, informed Golian that he would do so, but continued on his own any way. Angered and frustrated, Golian sent Lt. Col. Manica, August 20, 1944, with a request that Velicko order the partisans to cease their activities, otherwise the Germans would surely intervene. Velicko, however, disregarded the request and his .partisans continued to spread terror and violence in central and eastern Slovakia. The terroristic acts of the partisans created a very difficult situation for President Tiso and the Slovak Government. They did what they could to keep the German Army from occupying Slovakia. They explained that the disturbances were not widespread or "national," but local, and that the Slovak Army was capable of handling them and restoring order. The Germans, however, were reluctant to believe the Slovaks, especially after the murder of General Otto and his military mission at Banska Bystrica, August 27, 1944. Hitler's Wehrmacht began to occupy Slovakia, and the Slovaks really were in for the worst. The uprising, in which the Lettrich "Democrats" and the Communists collaborated fully to the joy of Moscow, was responsible for the Germans occupying Slovalkia in 1944. Why August 29, 1944? Benes Czechs, Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke Communists had told us - and are still telling us - that the Slovak uprising began on August 29, 1944. Why was that partic'ular date selected, when they knew - as we know now, 14 8LOVAKIA because even they themselves admitted it - that the partisans committed terroristic acts before that date? They selected that date as the "official" date so that they could tell the world that President Tiso and the Slovak Government called or invited the German Army to Slovakia and thus cover up the fact that the distuvbances created by the partisans were really responsible for the occupation of Slovakia by the Germans. Lettrich, Husak, N ovomesky and other "leaders" of the uprising were not even in Banska Bystrica on August 29, 1944. The Slovak National Council did not issue its declaration of the revolt until September 1, 1944. When German military units began moving into Slovakia as a result of partisan terroristic activities, the leaders of the uprising resorted to lies to gain the support of the Slovak Army and the Slovak people. They said: the Germans were coming to occupy the whole of ,Slovakia; that President Tiso was murdered; that members of the Slovak Government were seized and taken to Germany, etc. The ruse, however, even thoogh at first it deceiived many in SlovaJki:a and abroad, failed to attain its objective. What happened in Slovakia prior t,o August 29, 1944? Partisans committed terroristic acts in eastern and central Slovakia for at least three or four weeks before that date. The situation grew so tense that the Slovak Government conitem.iplated declaring Martial La,w on August 1, 1944, but did not resort to it till later. On several occasions the Germans warned Tiso and the Slovak Government that if they could not cope with the situation and keep order in Slovakia, the German Army definitely would move in to make order. Tiso and the Slovak Government did what they could under the circumstances to restore order and, thereby, keep the Germans out of Slovakia. They knew that their plans for joining with western forces of the United Nations could not be realized if the Germans occupied Slovakia. The partisans, however, taking orders from Moscow and London, were not interested in preserving order; they were only interested in preparing the ground for the Red Army: After SLOVAKIA 15 the latter occupied 'Slovakia, they figured they would take over all power in Slovakia. And they did. After the German front collapsed in Rumania, German diplomatic personnel - some thirty persons, including women and children - were hurriedly evacuated. Communist agents already were quite active in Slovakia, creating chaos and confusion and provoking incidents with Germany. The train carrying German diplomats from Bucharest was halted on the evening of August 26, 1944, at Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia, by partisans. The passengers were told rather politely that it would be impossible for them to go farther, because of engine trouble. Quarters were arranged for them in the local barracks. The next morning the entire group was ordered into the barracks square by one Major Kuchta, lined up and mowed down with machine guns. It was thus that the military mission of General Otto perished. Two days later German troops came in force into Slovakia "to restore order." The partisans, of course, told the Slovaks that the German occupation was entirely ttnprovoked and that they now had to fight for their freedom, Tiso was murdered, etc., as mentioned above. Before that time, however, on August 20, 1944, Velicko and his .partisans were busy in Turiec requisitioning autos, robbing stores and farmers. During the night of August 24 a group of German field gendarmes were taken by surprise and shot while they slept in the Hotel Slavia in Vrutky. Turiec and vicinity were also terrorized and victimized by a group led by the sadistic Lutheran preacher Vojtech HruskaTerenyi, the Communist from Hungary who already back in 1919, as a young preacher, had participated in the Red revolt of Bela Kun (Cohen). Francis Slamen, member of the Slovak Assembly and chairman of the Slovak Christian Labor Union, was among several persons murdered in Brezno Natl Hronom, August 27, 1944. On August 28, 1944, partisan officers shot Col. Zverin and Col. Kanak of the Slovak Army in Banska Bystrica. In Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas they arrested Col. Kl'ucik, of the garrison there, and Lt. Frecer; later they murdered them. 16 SLOVAKIA Let's fight to the last drop of your blood! On September 1, 1944, the Slovak National Council, headed by "Democrat" Lettrich and Communist Schmidke, met in Banska Bystrica and immediately made August 29, 1944, the "official" date of the start of the Slovak uprising. Futhermore, they issued a declaration which stated that the Council was the body supreme in Slovakia, the only representative and authorized body in Slovakia which had the right to speak in the name of the Slovak nation. The Slovak National Council was composed of Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke-Hus a:k Communists (-50-50); Dr. Joseph Lettrich was chairman and Karol Schmidke co-chairman of the Council. On September 5, 1944, during its first "solemn" session, the so-called Slovak National Council sent two telegrams: one to Stalin, the other to Benes. The Stalin telegram read as follows (translated from the Slovak): Josip Visarionovic ,Stalin Marshal of the USSR Moscow, Kremlin The Slovak National Council sends You and the nations of the Soviet Union from its solemn session its most cordial greetings and thanks You for the understanding which You have manifested for our fight of liberation, waged against the common enemy. Glory to the victorious Red Army! Banska Bystrica, September 5, 1944 The Slovak National Council It is significant that the Council made up of Communists and the Lettrich "Democrats" sent no greeting at that time either to the President of the United States or the King of England, who apparently did not rate. The Slovak National Council called in all reservists and ordered full mobilization. The response was poor; not many Slovaks answered the call voluntarily. The Council had to rest satisfied with those it could force to bear arms against their country in the area held by the partisans, a few districts in central and eastern Slovakia. A part of the Trnava garrison, led by John Benko, defected and joined the partisans; General Mala.r's divisions, however, refused to join. The German forces, led by Gen. Berger and Gen. iHoffle, soon encircled the partisan putschists. The heaviest fighting SLOVAKIA 17 took place near Telgart, Cremosne, Dubrava and Kremnicka, during which some 4,000 were killed. The partisans, who had taken to the hills and mountains of Slovakia before the Germans moved in, soon realized that their situation was quite hopeless. They lacked men and material to cope with the situation they had created. And promised help from the USSR and from Benes in London did not materialize to any noticeaible extent. Sporadic skirmishes continued for about two months; by the end of October the Communist-inspired "national" uprising in Slovakia was completely liquidated. Of course, the press of the USSR and the "Czechoslovak Press Bureau (CTK) of Dr. Benes in London supplied the world press, including our own OWI, with sensational fabrications; reports which told of the glorious and valiant stand of the Slovak nation which fought to renew the CzechoSlovak Republic - a "new" Republic, a Czecho-.Slovakia which would be a "people's" democracy - and shed its blood so that Benes might be president again; reports which told the world that the partisans had one third, then one-half and, later, almost the whole of Slovakia under their control after a week or two of "furious" fighting. Balderdash! The partisans fought in the fashion of partisans; there were practically no open, regular battles, but only sporadic skirmishes and attacks. When the "heroic" commanders of the partisan units saw that the situation was hopeless, they flew out of Slovakia into the USSR in planes that were ready just for such an eventuality. Talsky, a Czech and commander of the "eastern front" who was supposed to join with the Red Army at the opportune moment, flew to the USSR, leaving his "army" behind; there he was promptly arrested as a deserter. Generals Golian and Viest, officers who defected from the Slovak Army and joined the partisans, were ready to leave the scene of the "glorious" revolt, when their own soldiers blew up their plane with grenades. Viest and Golian hid themselves in a certain village, but were betrayed by their own men when the Germans sought them. Captured, they were taken to Germany and later shot. 18 SLOVAKIA The charact.er of the, -si.ovak uprising The Slovak National Council was busy issuing decrees to terrorize the vast masses of the Slovak population. It decreed the dissolution of the IIlinka Slovak People's Party, the German Party, and the Magyar Christian Social Party; ecclesiastical properties and institutions were nationalized and confiscated; a concentration camp was established at Slovenska Lupca, where over 700 victims were held to await partisan "justice." Partisan "people's" courts were quickly set up at Sklabina, Kunerad and elsewhere. Thousands of Slovaks were arbitrarily convicted and jailed; hundreds were liquidated without a hearing. The 1944 uprising in Slovakia pad all the earmarks of a bolshevik rebellion: partisans w~re :r:ed kerchiefs round their necks, Lenin goatees, and a rosary of grenades around their belts. They robbed and raped, plundered and murdered wherever they went. They forced priests to act friendly towards them, bless their weapons and even read the Holy Mass for the success of their diabolical venture. If a priest hesitated or refused to follow their orders, he was beaten, threatened with shooting or actually. shot. Joseph and Andrew Kocalko from Sucany, father and son respectively, were beaten to death beyond recognition by Hruska-Terenyi and his men. The father had spent quite a number of years in America. The Communist Lutheran preacher, Vojtech Hruska-Terenyi, and Jersov, a ·Russian professor, killed 147 Slovaks and buried them in a mass grave at Sklabina. Hruska-Terenyi was judge, jury and executioner. Those whom he sentenced to death had to strip down to their underclothes and march to the foot of the forest in Sklabina. There each victim was given a spade to dig his own grave. Some of the victims cracked under the ordeal and were shot forthwith; the rest kept digging slowly until Jersov blew his whistle and machine guns mowed them down into their shallow graves. The bodies of the hopeless victims were covered with twigs and a little dirt. The mass grave at Sklabina was uncovered in November 1944. Many of the victims had a bullet hole back of the neck. SLOVAKIA 19 Among the priests who were murdered there were: Rev. Anthony Salat, member of the Slovak Parliament and pastor of the Catholic congregation at Hajniky; Rev. Martinka of Liptovsky Svaty Michal; Rev. John Nemec of Zavadka; Rev. Sedo of Liptovsky Svaty Jan. In Povazska Bystrica, -a theologian named Milan was also murdered. I might note here for the record that the Communists and Lettrich "Democrats" joyously celebrated the "silver anniversary" of the invasion of Slovakia by the bolshevik hordes of Bela Kun from Hungary during the uprising of 1944 - the first time any one in Slovakia made a hero of the Magyar Communist revolutionary who murdered Slovaks, pillaged their lands and destroyed their homes! Need any more be said about the character of the Slovak uprising of 1944? I might add, too, that the same Slovak National Council of Lettrich "Democrats" and Schmidke-Husak Communists was making extensive preparations to celebrate "Czechoslovak Independence Day" on October 28, 1944, as it never had been celebrated before, but the events that followed the terroristic acts of the partisans forestalled the celebration. Mass murders and mass graves We have heard of mass murders and mass graves· i'n Poland (Katyn Forest), the Ukraine (Vinnitsia), and elsewhere, but little or nothing about those in Slovakia. In Slovakia mass graves have been uncovered in Micinska Dolina, Sklene, Podsucha, Pusty Hrad, in the Prievidza Valley, Lucivna, Sklabina, Kunerad, L'ubietova; also in the vicinity of Kovacova, Ruzomberok, Zvolen, Humenne, Bosany, and Tri Vody. There is also a mass grave near Petrzalka, but this one came into being after the occupation of Bratislava by the Red Army in the spring of 1945. The partisans were responsible for most of the murders and mass graves. During the trial of President Tiso in 1947, the prosecution stated that some 4,316 persons were buried in mass graves and blamed Tiso and the Slovak Government for them for obvious reasons. There is, of course, no way of ascertaining whether that figure is accurate or not. A thorough investigation would probably at least double it. 20 SLOVAKIA Why the putsch failed When Generals Golian and Viest were apprehended by the Germans, after their own soldiers had betrayed their hidingplace, they declared that the "uprising" had failed, because: 1. low morale prevailed in the army; soldiers had no desire to fight for a "new" Czecho-Slovakia or the USSR; · and they did not want to destroy their own State and their own Government; 2. partisan provocateurs and saboteurs had absolutely no respect or regard for the feelings of the Slovak people; they were beyond the law, brutal and reckless; 3. the Germans sent captured soldiers home, after disarming and a hearing them; 4. the partisan army lacked capable leadership; 5. communications were bad; 6. the Slovak population was hostile to the partisans and their cause; 7. little help came from the USSR and the West (Benes); 8. the Red Army was not ready to march into Slovakia; 9. the partisans did not have sufficient food, munition, guns and planes ; 10. thousands of men deserted. Conclusions From the above it is evident that the Slovak uprising of August, 1944, was not national in character; it did not have the backing of the vast ma,sses of the Slovak population. It was Communist-inspired and led; it was engineered by the Reds in Moscow and London, with the participation of Benes, without regard to the interests of the Slovak people. The partisans, no matter what their origin, were guilty of the most horrible crimes. The Communist-inspired putsch of 1944 brought terror and chaos, destruction and death, misery and Red enslavement to Slovakia. In reality, the Slovak uprising of 1944 was a "Warsaw" in miniature. Only the Communists and Moscow profited from it. Slovak Communists, Lettrich "Democrats" and Benes Czechs profited from it, but only temporarily. Together they celebrated the "great and lasting achievements" of that massacre, glorifying Stalin, the USSR, the Red Army and Benes, until February 25, 1948. And they still celebrate it today; of course, not with the Communists, nor in the same fashion as they did SLOVAKIA 21 prior to 1948. Those that were lucky enough to escape the hell they helped to create in Slovakia, that is. What fools they be, and what fools are we, if we continue to believe their version of the horrible massacre of the Slovak people in 1944, if we continue to trust them. The blood of thousands and thousands of innocent victims in mass graves of Slovakia cries to heaven for vengeance against them. Patriotic Slovaks everywhere do commemorate the Communist-inspired Slovak uprising of 1944, but not in the manner of the Benes Czechs, Lettrich "Democrats" and the Communists. Recalling the uprising as one of the darkest chapters in their history, which brought death and destruction and Red enslavement to their country, good Slovaks bow their heads reverently in prayer for the victims of that massacre and ask the almighty and just God to speed the day of judgment for all who were responsible for it and, too, that in His mercy He might also speed the day of liberation of their nation from the Godless, ruthless rule of Moscow and from all foreign domination. I firmly believe that it is in the highest interests of America and the rest of the free world that they lend a willing ear to the story patriotic Slovaks have to tell not only about the uprising of 1944, but also about the political mess that was Czecho-Slovakia, prior to Munich and after the "liberation" in 1945. I cannot and will not believe that our State Department, the U. S. Infonnation Agency (Voice of America), other U. S. government agencies, and the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe) are working in the interests of America and the rest of the free world, when they serve and promote the interests of the Benes Czechs and the Lettrich "Democrats" who collaiborated with the Communists and the USSR as members of the National Front government of the BenesGottwald coalition. Benes Czechs and Lettrich "Democrats" - now members of the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" operating out of Washington and New York - are gradually coming to the point of openly admitting that collaboration 22 SLOV.AK[A with Communists does not pay, that the history of CzechoSlovakia is clear proof of what attempted co-existence with Communists leads to. But they still are loath to admit that they did colla,borate with Communists and the USSR, that they did promote the pro-Soviet policy of Dr. Edward Benes and, hence, are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the peoples of CzechoJSlovakia. And they still insist on spreading the legend about the Slovak up~ rising which was fabricated by Moscow and the LettrichSchmidke Slovak National Council. Jfow, then, can we believe that they have really broken completely with the past? • • • WHO SAID IT? "The post~war economic changes in Czechoslovakia some of them revolutionary in tiheir scope but none of them an entirely new departure in CzechoslO'Vak history - have occurred with a minimum of political friction. It seems to have been generally understood that the rebuilding of capital and the recovery of ;production were the national needs, rather than a revhnal of the conflict of ideologies which paved the way to the Second World War. For these objectives, all political parties were willing to work together. Czechoslovakia has a Communist Party which accepts joint power with non-Communist parties; its second Marxist party the Social Democrats, works ~ith non-Socialists. The other Czech parties, non-Communist but not anti-Communist, are equally willing to cooperate with the Communist Party. The Slovak Democratic Party alone contains elements of irreconcilable opposition to the Communists, with the result that it is the weatl{est linlk in the National Front. There are no deiiinitely anti-Communist parties; these were all liquidated as a result of their pre-war and wartime activities. 'I'his coHalboration of Communists, socialists and liberals in a National Front Government has boon a condition (William Diamond, Czechoslovaof post-was process." kia Between East and West, 1947, !Stevens and Sons, Ltd., London ; p. 233) .  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Slovak Uprising of August 1944 Description An account of the resource Philip A. Hrobak Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 4-22 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hrobak, Philip Anthony, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/eb635f999ed711f2ef9c4b2ccc76ca4c.pdf fad6c62494aeb869bf33b589432a28b5 PDF Text Text ~~ IL (0) W& VOL.' i - : J - ~1~:'o;_ SEPT .-DEC. 1954 "- l ,: ~ - ~-4 ( ~~13 ) ~ IN THIS ISSUE: THE SLOVAK UPRISING OF AUGUST 1944 NATIONALISM VS INTERNATIONALISM DR. LETTRICH ' S PRINCIPLES THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC AND COMMUNISM THE LETTRICH "<DEMOCRATS " AND COMMUNISM NATIONALIZATION OF P R IVATE PROPERT Y IN SLOVAKIA SLOVAK FOLKLORE : THE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED EASTERN SLOVAKIA WAS SLOVAK FOR CENTURIES SELF- DETERMINATION FOR SLOVAKIA THE APOSTLE·$ OF BOGUS FEDERALISM HOW THE COMMUNISTS SEIZED POWER IN ~~ SLOVAKIA\ PROFILE OF AN EXILE POLITICIAN CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: T H E OLD CASTLE ( STARY HRAD)'\~ JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION WHO SAi D IT ? - * PP. 22, 58, 77, 84 * * Edit ed .:. nd · c ompil ed by PHILIP A . HROBAK Pub I ished by T HE S LOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA �SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the :::;1ovak League of America, a cultural arnl ci vie federation of Amerwans of Slovak d.e::icent. 'fhe chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA Ls to pro111ote a better understanding and appn!c1atio11 of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedorn and independence. As Americans, members of the Bluvak 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 1ife, Slovak freedom and world peace and are determined to oppose the plague of Communism and all other totalitarjan political systems. Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per .v ear in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere. Send subscriptions to: SLOVAKIA Box 150 Middletown, Pa. Printed in the U.S. A. JEDNOTA PRESS Middletown, Pa. �SL OV AK IA Published VOL. IV quarterly by the Slovak SEPT.-,DEC. 1954 With this issue SLOVAKIA ends its fourVh year. With th1s double issue it makes its thirteenth appearance. The first iss ue in 195£ will be marked Vol. V, No. 14. We hope that we haeve satisfied our readers in the past four years ,a nd will be able to do so in the future. At any irate we shall do our utmost not to disappoint them. SLOVAKIA is, indeed, different from most other periodicals, and it was intended to be so. It has a definite mission to fulfill, a mission that does not co mpare w1th that of other literature, ex. cept in its dedication to truth and justice, to the American way of life and to the struggle against all tyranny, THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the publisher of the SII.JOVAK,I,A, certainly is rendering a valuable service not only for its membership and the Slovak nation, but for America and the rest of the free world as well. 'I\he more the nations of the earth know and understand one another, the better -sh all they appreoia.te themselves and the friendlier will be their relationships , Without thls knowledge, relationship and understanding a peaceful world is unthinkable. Dr. Stephen Osusky, former Czecho,S,l ovak amb assador to France and now a member of the so.called "Coun,cll of Free Czechoslovakia," filed ,a $250,000.00 libel suit in July against the C. S. (Czeohoalovak) Publishing Co., and Dr. Hubert Ripka, former member of the Nation,al Front League of America NO. 3-4 (12-13) government of the Benes•Gottwald coalition. Andrew Valusek president of the pu blishing con'. cern, ,a nd Jan P,apa.nek, vice-presiden t and former Czecho-Slovak delegate to the United ations, were also named. We did n ot expect anything to come of that act:ion, ,hence we were not too dis. appointed Wlhen it was reported that noth1ng oame of it. Osusky today is supposed to represent the political will of the Slovak nation, but in reality he does not. Amerioans of Slovak descent still recall that Mir. Osusky was delegated by tihe Slovak League of America to go to Europe to look after the intereats of the Slovak nation after World War I. T. G. Masaryk offered him a tempting position and Osusky forgot about his Slovak people. As far as is known, h e has not as yet reported to the Slovak League on the mission en. trusted to him some 35 years ago. Osu sky ihas never been elected by the lovaks at home to represent them in any politf.cal capacity. "The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia" - by •S ister Cecilia as told to William Brinkley, assistant editor of :UIJF'E magazine - bas been published by Farrar, Straus and Young. Sister Cecilia, a SJo. v,ak nun, was w,anted by tihe Communists for her underground work of helping her countrymen flee the Reds. Then she had to flee for her life herself. Tille R eds pursued S·ister Cecilia for four months, ,b ut were unable to catch up with ber. Resorting to �2 SLOVAKIA various disguises, Sister Cecilia, finally in dangerous flight, made her way to the W-e st and free• dom. After two years in West Germany, Sister Cecilia came to America in Febmary, 1954. The story of Sister Cecilia's daring exploits is interestingly presented by Mr. Brinkley in 360 pages. Y-0u can get your copy from the pUJb!isher for $3.75. Over 20,000 book&, with a to• tal issue of some 330,000,0-00, 'have been published in Czedho•Slova•k ia by the Reds from 1945 to the end of 1953. MATUS ZVON , to whom Dr. ,Ce.sarich refers in 'his article "The Apostles of Bogus Federalism," in this Issue, is not kno,wn among Slovak writers, hence, tJb.e name obviously is a pseudonym. " Slova kia i n .B I o o d and Sh ackl es" by Stephen Blasko. for- mer Slovak deputy to tJhe Prague Parliament, w.as published dur• ing the summer by the Oatholic Slovak Sokol, Passaic, N. J. It is an expose of Gen. Nic-hoLas Ferjencik, called "the Bloody Gen• era!," and -h is brutal police force, the N.KVD of <SloV>akia. You can have a copy for just one dollar. We are often asked for tb ack copies of SIJOVA.IGA. All axe still ,availaible in limited num· bers except Vol. 1, N o. 2. OUT readers may stLll get ALL avail_ a,ble copies (13 issues) for only $5.00 as long as the supply ,l asts. THE NEW TESTAMENT, transl,ated into S'lovak by Charles Strmei'i of the Slovak Benedictine High School, Cleveland, Ohio, has just been pu'Mls'hed ,b y Obrana Press, lnc., Scranton, Pa., in easily rnadable type. Over 950 pages and bound in clotih, the bodk sells for $10.-00. The " t en th anniversary" of the Communist-inspired 1944 Slovak upnsmg (massacre) was cele. brated ,b y the Reds of CzechoSlovaki-a August 29, 1944. The Benes Czechs and Czech Slovaks (''Czechoslovaks"!) commemorat_ ed it in America -rulso (NE:W YOIRK TIMES, August 29, 1954), but not in the fashion they were accustomed to before February 25, 1948, w'hen they suddenly became "anti-Communist, democra_ tic exiles." A rather detailed account of the m1snom ered "Slovaik National Uprising" is presented in this issue of SiWVA- KIA. " FALSE FREEDOM " - a new book by Edward L. Delaney and dedicated " To the memo r y of th e martyred patri ot,. Prelate, and Presi dent, Joseph T •iso" made its ap·pearance recently. You can get your copy from S:UOVAKIA: in cloth (Library Edition) $3.00; paper cover -- $2.00. Andrew Gemersky ls the pseudonym of a •S lov,ak w ho escaped from Slovakia just several months ago, He contacted SLOV AKlA soon after he arrived in West Germany, He was witness t-0 the t'hlngs he writes about. His frun:lly is still in Slovakia. The Slovak Institute, spon. sored by the Slovak !Benedictine Fathers of Cleveland, 0 ., opened Its third year of ,a ctivity Novemb er 3. Evening olasses for adults, every second Wednesday, commence at 8 P. M. Slovak language and history courses are open to all without charge. Sessions are held at the Benedictine High Scho-01, 2900 Bast Boulevard. �SLOVAKIA History or propaganda? the title of an article that will aJP· pear in future issues of SLOVAKLA. Wak.h tor it and, in the meantime, send a subscription for a friend . We ihave said on many occasions that no nation has been so misrepresented, minimized and vilified as the Slovcak nation, and now for the proof as offered by "eminen.t" hist orians who attempted to write albout the Slovaks and t heir country without sufficient prEWaration and stud,y_ The International Peasant Union, headed by Mikolajczyk, did itself no good 1by publishing Fedor Hod.fa's a r ticle (The SJova'k Democratic P,a rty) in its ·B ul. letin. The pea,sants of S'1ovakia could never endorse Hodza's airticle - or any of the Lettrlch "democrats" w'ho collaborated with the Reds and the USSR. The Red Czech Government was among the very first s•a tellite governments to name a delegation to the USSIR•s'I)Onsored European confer·e nce, held in Moscow recently. It seems that nothing has c hanged in Czech Prague : even under Benes, the 0zechs were always among the fir.st to run to Mo scow. McCarthy or no MoGarthy, Ameri cans cannot let up in their fight against Communists and 1Red infiltration of Government and industry without endangering the security of the United States. The Was,hlngton "censure" spectacle was lamentable and reprehensible. Who of the di'stinguis·hed membe.rs of the Watkins committee was not at one time or another guilty of the same charges as McCarthy? And who is it that is so interested in hav. 3 i.ng Americans forget the task the MoOarthy committee was to accomplish and w'ho it was that initiated the Wlhole debacle by preferring C'harges ,a gain8t the committee? The New York S.tate Supreme Court ruled (No,v . 17) that the Ozecll Reds of Pra,gue ,aJ:1e not entitled to the 0 zecho.,s:Iova.k Red Cross fund'S he1d by Dr. Jan Papanek; former Czecho•Slovak delegate to the United Nations who voted with the US~IR on most im,portant issues. According to the NEW YORKSKY DIDNNiK, the money will lbe used by the "American Fund for Czec•hoslovak Refugees" of which Pa,panek is the ·head. OnJy bhe "politicaJ:ly relfable" get help from th!llt fund, so that means patriotic Sloviaks are out. The NY(l) was overjoyed that ''iPapanek won and the Communists lost." The latter ,Jost some.thin,g they did not have - and Papane.k got his hands on money that was not rightfully his to diis. pose of in t'he first place. 1 Mendes France, might say "veni, vidi" a bout his recent visit to the USA, but ·h ardly "vici," as many papers would htave us believe. Whether he ca.ptured the 'hearts of Americans remains to be :see.n. 'In the. meantime, it would be well for America to pause and ref.lect on what has happened in Vietnam, and ot•h er states witJh coalition governments which included the Reds. !Have you renewed your subscription to SLOVAKIA? And why not subscribe for a friend? IMIDRRY 0HRIS'I1MAiS AN'D A HAPPY NEW YEAR! � ~~ IL (0) W& VOL.' i - : J - ~1~:'o;_ SEPT .-DEC. 1954 "- l ,: ~ - ~-4 ( ~~13 ) ~ IN THIS ISSUE: THE SLOVAK UPRISING OF AUGUST 1944 NATIONALISM VS INTERNATIONALISM DR. LETTRICH ' S PRINCIPLES THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC AND COMMUNISM THE LETTRICH "<DEMOCRATS " AND COMMUNISM NATIONALIZATION OF P R IVATE PROPERT Y IN SLOVAKIA SLOVAK FOLKLORE : THE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED EASTERN SLOVAKIA WAS SLOVAK FOR CENTURIES SELF- DETERMINATION FOR SLOVAKIA THE APOSTLE·$ OF BOGUS FEDERALISM HOW THE COMMUNISTS SEIZED POWER IN ~~ SLOVAKIA\ PROFILE OF AN EXILE POLITICIAN CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: T H E OLD CASTLE ( STARY HRAD)'\~ JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION WHO SAi D IT ? - * PP. 22, 58, 77, 84 * * Edit ed .:. nd · c ompil ed by PHILIP A . HROBAK Pub I ished by T HE S LOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA �SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the :::;1ovak League of America, a cultural arnl ci vie federation of Amerwans of Slovak d.e::icent. 'fhe chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA Ls to pro111ote a better understanding and appn!c1atio11 of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedorn and independence. As Americans, members of the Bluvak 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 1ife, Slovak freedom and world peace and are determined to oppose the plague of Communism and all other totalitarjan political systems. Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per .v ear in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere. Send subscriptions to: SLOVAKIA Box 150 Middletown, Pa. Printed in the U.S. A. JEDNOTA PRESS Middletown, Pa. �SL OV AK IA Published VOL. IV quarterly by the Slovak SEPT.-,DEC. 1954 With this issue SLOVAKIA ends its fourVh year. With th1s double issue it makes its thirteenth appearance. The first iss ue in 195£ will be marked Vol. V, No. 14. We hope that we haeve satisfied our readers in the past four years ,a nd will be able to do so in the future. At any irate we shall do our utmost not to disappoint them. SLOVAKIA is, indeed, different from most other periodicals, and it was intended to be so. It has a definite mission to fulfill, a mission that does not co mpare w1th that of other literature, ex. cept in its dedication to truth and justice, to the American way of life and to the struggle against all tyranny, THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the publisher of the SII.JOVAK,I,A, certainly is rendering a valuable service not only for its membership and the Slovak nation, but for America and the rest of the free world as well. 'I\he more the nations of the earth know and understand one another, the better -sh all they appreoia.te themselves and the friendlier will be their relationships , Without thls knowledge, relationship and understanding a peaceful world is unthinkable. Dr. Stephen Osusky, former Czecho,S,l ovak amb assador to France and now a member of the so.called "Coun,cll of Free Czechoslovakia," filed ,a $250,000.00 libel suit in July against the C. S. (Czeohoalovak) Publishing Co., and Dr. Hubert Ripka, former member of the Nation,al Front League of America NO. 3-4 (12-13) government of the Benes•Gottwald coalition. Andrew Valusek president of the pu blishing con'. cern, ,a nd Jan P,apa.nek, vice-presiden t and former Czecho-Slovak delegate to the United ations, were also named. We did n ot expect anything to come of that act:ion, ,hence we were not too dis. appointed Wlhen it was reported that noth1ng oame of it. Osusky today is supposed to represent the political will of the Slovak nation, but in reality he does not. Amerioans of Slovak descent still recall that Mir. Osusky was delegated by tihe Slovak League of America to go to Europe to look after the intereats of the Slovak nation after World War I. T. G. Masaryk offered him a tempting position and Osusky forgot about his Slovak people. As far as is known, h e has not as yet reported to the Slovak League on the mission en. trusted to him some 35 years ago. Osu sky ihas never been elected by the lovaks at home to represent them in any politf.cal capacity. "The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia" - by •S ister Cecilia as told to William Brinkley, assistant editor of :UIJF'E magazine - bas been published by Farrar, Straus and Young. Sister Cecilia, a SJo. v,ak nun, was w,anted by tihe Communists for her underground work of helping her countrymen flee the Reds. Then she had to flee for her life herself. Tille R eds pursued S·ister Cecilia for four months, ,b ut were unable to catch up with ber. Resorting to �2 SLOVAKIA various disguises, Sister Cecilia, finally in dangerous flight, made her way to the W-e st and free• dom. After two years in West Germany, Sister Cecilia came to America in Febmary, 1954. The story of Sister Cecilia's daring exploits is interestingly presented by Mr. Brinkley in 360 pages. Y-0u can get your copy from the pUJb!isher for $3.75. Over 20,000 book&, with a to• tal issue of some 330,000,0-00, 'have been published in Czedho•Slova•k ia by the Reds from 1945 to the end of 1953. MATUS ZVON , to whom Dr. ,Ce.sarich refers in 'his article "The Apostles of Bogus Federalism," in this Issue, is not kno,wn among Slovak writers, hence, tJb.e name obviously is a pseudonym. " Slova kia i n .B I o o d and Sh ackl es" by Stephen Blasko. for- mer Slovak deputy to tJhe Prague Parliament, w.as published dur• ing the summer by the Oatholic Slovak Sokol, Passaic, N. J. It is an expose of Gen. Nic-hoLas Ferjencik, called "the Bloody Gen• era!," and -h is brutal police force, the N.KVD of <SloV>akia. You can have a copy for just one dollar. We are often asked for tb ack copies of SIJOVA.IGA. All axe still ,availaible in limited num· bers except Vol. 1, N o. 2. OUT readers may stLll get ALL avail_ a,ble copies (13 issues) for only $5.00 as long as the supply ,l asts. THE NEW TESTAMENT, transl,ated into S'lovak by Charles Strmei'i of the Slovak Benedictine High School, Cleveland, Ohio, has just been pu'Mls'hed ,b y Obrana Press, lnc., Scranton, Pa., in easily rnadable type. Over 950 pages and bound in clotih, the bodk sells for $10.-00. The " t en th anniversary" of the Communist-inspired 1944 Slovak upnsmg (massacre) was cele. brated ,b y the Reds of CzechoSlovaki-a August 29, 1944. The Benes Czechs and Czech Slovaks (''Czechoslovaks"!) commemorat_ ed it in America -rulso (NE:W YOIRK TIMES, August 29, 1954), but not in the fashion they were accustomed to before February 25, 1948, w'hen they suddenly became "anti-Communist, democra_ tic exiles." A rather detailed account of the m1snom ered "Slovaik National Uprising" is presented in this issue of SiWVA- KIA. " FALSE FREEDOM " - a new book by Edward L. Delaney and dedicated " To the memo r y of th e martyred patri ot,. Prelate, and Presi dent, Joseph T •iso" made its ap·pearance recently. You can get your copy from S:UOVAKIA: in cloth (Library Edition) $3.00; paper cover -- $2.00. Andrew Gemersky ls the pseudonym of a •S lov,ak w ho escaped from Slovakia just several months ago, He contacted SLOV AKlA soon after he arrived in West Germany, He was witness t-0 the t'hlngs he writes about. His frun:lly is still in Slovakia. The Slovak Institute, spon. sored by the Slovak !Benedictine Fathers of Cleveland, 0 ., opened Its third year of ,a ctivity Novemb er 3. Evening olasses for adults, every second Wednesday, commence at 8 P. M. Slovak language and history courses are open to all without charge. Sessions are held at the Benedictine High Scho-01, 2900 Bast Boulevard. �SLOVAKIA History or propaganda? the title of an article that will aJP· pear in future issues of SLOVAKLA. Wak.h tor it and, in the meantime, send a subscription for a friend . We ihave said on many occasions that no nation has been so misrepresented, minimized and vilified as the Slovcak nation, and now for the proof as offered by "eminen.t" hist orians who attempted to write albout the Slovaks and t heir country without sufficient prEWaration and stud,y_ The International Peasant Union, headed by Mikolajczyk, did itself no good 1by publishing Fedor Hod.fa's a r ticle (The SJova'k Democratic P,a rty) in its ·B ul. letin. The pea,sants of S'1ovakia could never endorse Hodza's airticle - or any of the Lettrlch "democrats" w'ho collaborated with the Reds and the USSR. The Red Czech Government was among the very first s•a tellite governments to name a delegation to the USSIR•s'I)Onsored European confer·e nce, held in Moscow recently. It seems that nothing has c hanged in Czech Prague : even under Benes, the 0zechs were always among the fir.st to run to Mo scow. McCarthy or no MoGarthy, Ameri cans cannot let up in their fight against Communists and 1Red infiltration of Government and industry without endangering the security of the United States. The Was,hlngton "censure" spectacle was lamentable and reprehensible. Who of the di'stinguis·hed membe.rs of the Watkins committee was not at one time or another guilty of the same charges as McCarthy? And who is it that is so interested in hav. 3 i.ng Americans forget the task the MoOarthy committee was to accomplish and w'ho it was that initiated the Wlhole debacle by preferring C'harges ,a gain8t the committee? The New York S.tate Supreme Court ruled (No,v . 17) that the Ozecll Reds of Pra,gue ,aJ:1e not entitled to the 0 zecho.,s:Iova.k Red Cross fund'S he1d by Dr. Jan Papanek; former Czecho•Slovak delegate to the United Nations who voted with the US~IR on most im,portant issues. According to the NEW YORKSKY DIDNNiK, the money will lbe used by the "American Fund for Czec•hoslovak Refugees" of which Pa,panek is the ·head. OnJy bhe "politicaJ:ly relfable" get help from th!llt fund, so that means patriotic Sloviaks are out. The NY(l) was overjoyed that ''iPapanek won and the Communists lost." The latter ,Jost some.thin,g they did not have - and Papane.k got his hands on money that was not rightfully his to diis. pose of in t'he first place. 1 Mendes France, might say "veni, vidi" a bout his recent visit to the USA, but ·h ardly "vici," as many papers would htave us believe. Whether he ca.ptured the 'hearts of Americans remains to be :see.n. 'In the. meantime, it would be well for America to pause and ref.lect on what has happened in Vietnam, and ot•h er states witJh coalition governments which included the Reds. !Have you renewed your subscription to SLOVAKIA? And why not subscribe for a friend? IMIDRRY 0HRIS'I1MAiS AN'D A HAPPY NEW YEAR! � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 ~~ IL (0) W& VOL.' i - : J - ~1~:'o;_ SEPT .-DEC. 1954 "- l ,: ~ - ~-4 ( ~~13 ) ~ IN THIS ISSUE: THE SLOVAK UPRISING OF AUGUST 1944 NATIONALISM VS INTERNATIONALISM DR. LETTRICH ' S PRINCIPLES THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC AND COMMUNISM THE LETTRICH "<DEMOCRATS " AND COMMUNISM NATIONALIZATION OF P R IVATE PROPERT Y IN SLOVAKIA SLOVAK FOLKLORE : THE MAN WHO NEVER SINNED EASTERN SLOVAKIA WAS SLOVAK FOR CENTURIES SELF- DETERMINATION FOR SLOVAKIA THE APOSTLE·$ OF BOGUS FEDERALISM HOW THE COMMUNISTS SEIZED POWER IN ~~ SLOVAKIA\ PROFILE OF AN EXILE POLITICIAN CASTLES OF SLOVAKIA: T H E OLD CASTLE ( STARY HRAD)'\~ JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION WHO SAi D IT ? - * PP. 22, 58, 77, 84 * * Edit ed .:. nd · c ompil ed by PHILIP A . HROBAK Pub I ished by T HE S LOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the :::;1ovak League of America, a cultural arnl ci vie federation of Amerwans of Slovak d.e::icent. 'fhe chief purpose of SLOVAK.IA Ls to pro111ote a better understanding and appn!c1atio11 of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedorn and independence. As Americans, members of the Bluvak 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 1ife, Slovak freedom and world peace and are determined to oppose the plague of Communism and all other totalitarjan political systems. Subscription to Slovakia $1.00 per .v ear in the U. S. A. - $2.00 elsewhere. Send subscriptions to: SLOVAKIA Box 150 Middletown, Pa. Printed in the U.S. A. JEDNOTA PRESS Middletown, Pa. SL OV AK IA Published VOL. IV quarterly by the Slovak SEPT.-,DEC. 1954 With this issue SLOVAKIA ends its fourVh year. With th1s double issue it makes its thirteenth appearance. The first iss ue in 195£ will be marked Vol. V, No. 14. We hope that we haeve satisfied our readers in the past four years ,a nd will be able to do so in the future. At any irate we shall do our utmost not to disappoint them. SLOVAKIA is, indeed, different from most other periodicals, and it was intended to be so. It has a definite mission to fulfill, a mission that does not co mpare w1th that of other literature, ex. cept in its dedication to truth and justice, to the American way of life and to the struggle against all tyranny, THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the publisher of the SII.JOVAK,I,A, certainly is rendering a valuable service not only for its membership and the Slovak nation, but for America and the rest of the free world as well. 'I\he more the nations of the earth know and understand one another, the better -sh all they appreoia.te themselves and the friendlier will be their relationships , Without thls knowledge, relationship and understanding a peaceful world is unthinkable. Dr. Stephen Osusky, former Czecho,S,l ovak amb assador to France and now a member of the so.called "Coun,cll of Free Czechoslovakia," filed ,a $250,000.00 libel suit in July against the C. S. (Czeohoalovak) Publishing Co., and Dr. Hubert Ripka, former member of the Nation,al Front League of America NO. 3-4 (12-13) government of the Benes•Gottwald coalition. Andrew Valusek president of the pu blishing con'. cern, ,a nd Jan P,apa.nek, vice-presiden t and former Czecho-Slovak delegate to the United ations, were also named. We did n ot expect anything to come of that act:ion, ,hence we were not too dis. appointed Wlhen it was reported that noth1ng oame of it. Osusky today is supposed to represent the political will of the Slovak nation, but in reality he does not. Amerioans of Slovak descent still recall that Mir. Osusky was delegated by tihe Slovak League of America to go to Europe to look after the intereats of the Slovak nation after World War I. T. G. Masaryk offered him a tempting position and Osusky forgot about his Slovak people. As far as is known, h e has not as yet reported to the Slovak League on the mission en. trusted to him some 35 years ago. Osu sky ihas never been elected by the lovaks at home to represent them in any politf.cal capacity. "The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia" - by •S ister Cecilia as told to William Brinkley, assistant editor of :UIJF'E magazine - bas been published by Farrar, Straus and Young. Sister Cecilia, a SJo. v,ak nun, was w,anted by tihe Communists for her underground work of helping her countrymen flee the Reds. Then she had to flee for her life herself. Tille R eds pursued S·ister Cecilia for four months, ,b ut were unable to catch up with ber. Resorting to 2 SLOVAKIA various disguises, Sister Cecilia, finally in dangerous flight, made her way to the W-e st and free• dom. After two years in West Germany, Sister Cecilia came to America in Febmary, 1954. The story of Sister Cecilia's daring exploits is interestingly presented by Mr. Brinkley in 360 pages. Y-0u can get your copy from the pUJb!isher for $3.75. Over 20,000 book&, with a to• tal issue of some 330,000,0-00, 'have been published in Czedho•Slova•k ia by the Reds from 1945 to the end of 1953. MATUS ZVON , to whom Dr. ,Ce.sarich refers in 'his article "The Apostles of Bogus Federalism," in this Issue, is not kno,wn among Slovak writers, hence, tJb.e name obviously is a pseudonym. " Slova kia i n .B I o o d and Sh ackl es" by Stephen Blasko. for- mer Slovak deputy to tJhe Prague Parliament, w.as published dur• ing the summer by the Oatholic Slovak Sokol, Passaic, N. J. It is an expose of Gen. Nic-hoLas Ferjencik, called "the Bloody Gen• era!," and -h is brutal police force, the N.KVD of <SloV>akia. You can have a copy for just one dollar. We are often asked for tb ack copies of SIJOVA.IGA. All axe still ,availaible in limited num· bers except Vol. 1, N o. 2. OUT readers may stLll get ALL avail_ a,ble copies (13 issues) for only $5.00 as long as the supply ,l asts. THE NEW TESTAMENT, transl,ated into S'lovak by Charles Strmei'i of the Slovak Benedictine High School, Cleveland, Ohio, has just been pu'Mls'hed ,b y Obrana Press, lnc., Scranton, Pa., in easily rnadable type. Over 950 pages and bound in clotih, the bodk sells for $10.-00. The " t en th anniversary" of the Communist-inspired 1944 Slovak upnsmg (massacre) was cele. brated ,b y the Reds of CzechoSlovaki-a August 29, 1944. The Benes Czechs and Czech Slovaks (''Czechoslovaks"!) commemorat_ ed it in America -rulso (NE:W YOIRK TIMES, August 29, 1954), but not in the fashion they were accustomed to before February 25, 1948, w'hen they suddenly became "anti-Communist, democra_ tic exiles." A rather detailed account of the m1snom ered "Slovaik National Uprising" is presented in this issue of SiWVA- KIA. " FALSE FREEDOM " - a new book by Edward L. Delaney and dedicated " To the memo r y of th e martyred patri ot,. Prelate, and Presi dent, Joseph T •iso" made its ap·pearance recently. You can get your copy from S:UOVAKIA: in cloth (Library Edition) $3.00; paper cover -- $2.00. Andrew Gemersky ls the pseudonym of a •S lov,ak w ho escaped from Slovakia just several months ago, He contacted SLOV AKlA soon after he arrived in West Germany, He was witness t-0 the t'hlngs he writes about. His frun:lly is still in Slovakia. The Slovak Institute, spon. sored by the Slovak !Benedictine Fathers of Cleveland, 0 ., opened Its third year of ,a ctivity Novemb er 3. Evening olasses for adults, every second Wednesday, commence at 8 P. M. Slovak language and history courses are open to all without charge. Sessions are held at the Benedictine High Scho-01, 2900 Bast Boulevard. SLOVAKIA History or propaganda? the title of an article that will aJP· pear in future issues of SLOVAKLA. Wak.h tor it and, in the meantime, send a subscription for a friend . We ihave said on many occasions that no nation has been so misrepresented, minimized and vilified as the Slovcak nation, and now for the proof as offered by "eminen.t" hist orians who attempted to write albout the Slovaks and t heir country without sufficient prEWaration and stud,y_ The International Peasant Union, headed by Mikolajczyk, did itself no good 1by publishing Fedor Hod.fa's a r ticle (The SJova'k Democratic P,a rty) in its ·B ul. letin. The pea,sants of S'1ovakia could never endorse Hodza's airticle - or any of the Lettrlch "democrats" w'ho collaborated with the Reds and the USSR. The Red Czech Government was among the very first s•a tellite governments to name a delegation to the USSIR•s'I)Onsored European confer·e nce, held in Moscow recently. It seems that nothing has c hanged in Czech Prague : even under Benes, the 0zechs were always among the fir.st to run to Mo scow. McCarthy or no MoGarthy, Ameri cans cannot let up in their fight against Communists and 1Red infiltration of Government and industry without endangering the security of the United States. The Was,hlngton "censure" spectacle was lamentable and reprehensible. Who of the di'stinguis·hed membe.rs of the Watkins committee was not at one time or another guilty of the same charges as McCarthy? And who is it that is so interested in hav. 3 i.ng Americans forget the task the MoOarthy committee was to accomplish and w'ho it was that initiated the Wlhole debacle by preferring C'harges ,a gain8t the committee? The New York S.tate Supreme Court ruled (No,v . 17) that the Ozecll Reds of Pra,gue ,aJ:1e not entitled to the 0 zecho.,s:Iova.k Red Cross fund'S he1d by Dr. Jan Papanek; former Czecho•Slovak delegate to the United Nations who voted with the US~IR on most im,portant issues. According to the NEW YORKSKY DIDNNiK, the money will lbe used by the "American Fund for Czec•hoslovak Refugees" of which Pa,panek is the ·head. OnJy bhe "politicaJ:ly relfable" get help from th!llt fund, so that means patriotic Sloviaks are out. The NY(l) was overjoyed that ''iPapanek won and the Communists lost." The latter ,Jost some.thin,g they did not have - and Papane.k got his hands on money that was not rightfully his to diis. pose of in t'he first place. 1 Mendes France, might say "veni, vidi" a bout his recent visit to the USA, but ·h ardly "vici," as many papers would htave us believe. Whether he ca.ptured the 'hearts of Americans remains to be :see.n. 'In the. meantime, it would be well for America to pause and ref.lect on what has happened in Vietnam, and ot•h er states witJh coalition governments which included the Reds. !Have you renewed your subscription to SLOVAKIA? And why not subscribe for a friend? IMIDRRY 0HRIS'I1MAiS AN'D A HAPPY NEW YEAR!  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. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/57771c21abf587901bbc84c916b62e8f.pdf 5ab02c69841d5adf74f6b3535bea90a3 PDF Text Text Officers of the Slovak League of America (Organi zed 1907 in Cle veland, Ohio.) • Honorary Dr. Peter 1943 W . C' hicago John J . Sirotnak 61U-612 Lincoln Trust Bldg. Sc ran ton 3, Pa. I'r es iJen l P. H letko 48th Street 9, [l]i nois Dr. Julius Janci 215 East Mason Street Pres id ent Owoss o, :vii ch. Philip A. H r obak P. 0 . Box 150, Middl e town , Pa. Ste phani e 0. Husek Georgian Co ur t Co ll ege Vice-Prei;id e n t L a kewood, N. J. J acob Kocis ADVISORY COUNCIL 1547 - 167 th Street Michael J. Vargovich H ammond, Tnd. National President First Catholic Slovak Union Vice-Pre sident of U . S . A. Julia Krajcovic 1648 W. 18th St., Chicago 8, Ill. Recording Secre tary Francis H rusovsky 2900 East Boulevard Cleve land 4, Ohio Helen Kocan National President First Catholic Slova k Ladies Union Frank Sobus National P r e sident Slovak Catholic Sokol S ec re ta ry-Tre as u rer Mi la n V. Blazek 4205 W . Cull erton Street Chicago 23, Ill. Stephen J. Tkach National President P e nna. Slovak Union Gabriela E. Vavrek National President Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Union EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Paul P . Jamriska 810 Montooth Street Pittsburgh 10 , P a . Joseph Prusa 205 Ma dison St.. Pa,ssaic, N. J. SLOVAK John Rozboril National President S lovak Cath olic Cadet Union NEWSPAPERS ( Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA S cranton, Pa. ZENSKA JEDNOTA Cleveland, Ohio. BRATSTVO Wilk es-Ba rre , P a . SLOVENSKE NOVINY Cleveland , Ohio. ZORNICKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLiCKY SOKOL Passai c, N . J . SVORNOST Whitaker, Pa. OSADNE. HLASY .\I iddletown, SLO VAK V AMERIK E Whi t ing, Ind . Chicago, m. �.,. ;.i. .:.q .. , ' • t ..,.CA ! ~>. . </ .,,; ., l , ;' r 1f·i~ ''U ;4 i; , '' ' ' ' ~ - .-. . ./ I -<'~· Ruins of Devin Castle (south view) i Slovaikia. History tells that the Slo;vak King Raistishw ruled the Great Moravian Empire from this fortress in the ninth century. � Officers of the Slovak League of America (Organi zed 1907 in Cle veland, Ohio.) • Honorary Dr. Peter 1943 W . C' hicago John J . Sirotnak 61U-612 Lincoln Trust Bldg. Sc ran ton 3, Pa. I'r es iJen l P. H letko 48th Street 9, [l]i nois Dr. Julius Janci 215 East Mason Street Pres id ent Owoss o, :vii ch. Philip A. H r obak P. 0 . Box 150, Middl e town , Pa. Ste phani e 0. Husek Georgian Co ur t Co ll ege Vice-Prei;id e n t L a kewood, N. J. J acob Kocis ADVISORY COUNCIL 1547 - 167 th Street Michael J. Vargovich H ammond, Tnd. National President First Catholic Slovak Union Vice-Pre sident of U . S . A. Julia Krajcovic 1648 W. 18th St., Chicago 8, Ill. Recording Secre tary Francis H rusovsky 2900 East Boulevard Cleve land 4, Ohio Helen Kocan National President First Catholic Slova k Ladies Union Frank Sobus National P r e sident Slovak Catholic Sokol S ec re ta ry-Tre as u rer Mi la n V. Blazek 4205 W . Cull erton Street Chicago 23, Ill. Stephen J. Tkach National President P e nna. Slovak Union Gabriela E. Vavrek National President Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Union EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Paul P . Jamriska 810 Montooth Street Pittsburgh 10 , P a . Joseph Prusa 205 Ma dison St.. Pa,ssaic, N. J. SLOVAK John Rozboril National President S lovak Cath olic Cadet Union NEWSPAPERS ( Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA S cranton, Pa. ZENSKA JEDNOTA Cleveland, Ohio. BRATSTVO Wilk es-Ba rre , P a . SLOVENSKE NOVINY Cleveland , Ohio. ZORNICKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLiCKY SOKOL Passai c, N . J . SVORNOST Whitaker, Pa. OSADNE. HLASY .\I iddletown, SLO VAK V AMERIK E Whi t ing, Ind . Chicago, m. �.,. ;.i. .:.q .. , ' • t ..,.CA ! ~>. . </ .,,; ., l , ;' r 1f·i~ ''U ;4 i; , '' ' ' ' ~ - .-. . ./ I -<'~· Ruins of Devin Castle (south view) i Slovaikia. History tells that the Slo;vak King Raistishw ruled the Great Moravian Empire from this fortress in the ninth century. � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 (Organi zed 1907 in Cle veland, Ohio.) • Honorary Dr. Peter 1943 W . C' hicago John J . Sirotnak 61U-612 Lincoln Trust Bldg. Sc ran ton 3, Pa. I'r es iJen l P. H letko 48th Street 9, [l]i nois Dr. Julius Janci 215 East Mason Street Pres id ent Owoss o, :vii ch. Philip A. H r obak P. 0 . Box 150, Middl e town , Pa. Ste phani e 0. Husek Georgian Co ur t Co ll ege Vice-Prei;id e n t L a kewood, N. J. J acob Kocis ADVISORY COUNCIL 1547 - 167 th Street Michael J. Vargovich H ammond, Tnd. National President First Catholic Slovak Union Vice-Pre sident of U . S . A. Julia Krajcovic 1648 W. 18th St., Chicago 8, Ill. Recording Secre tary Francis H rusovsky 2900 East Boulevard Cleve land 4, Ohio Helen Kocan National President First Catholic Slova k Ladies Union Frank Sobus National P r e sident Slovak Catholic Sokol S ec re ta ry-Tre as u rer Mi la n V. Blazek 4205 W . Cull erton Street Chicago 23, Ill. Stephen J. Tkach National President P e nna. Slovak Union Gabriela E. Vavrek National President Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Union EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Paul P . Jamriska 810 Montooth Street Pittsburgh 10 , P a . Joseph Prusa 205 Ma dison St.. Pa,ssaic, N. J. SLOVAK John Rozboril National President S lovak Cath olic Cadet Union NEWSPAPERS ( Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA S cranton, Pa. ZENSKA JEDNOTA Cleveland, Ohio. BRATSTVO Wilk es-Ba rre , P a . SLOVENSKE NOVINY Cleveland , Ohio. ZORNICKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLiCKY SOKOL Passai c, N . J . SVORNOST Whitaker, Pa. OSADNE. HLASY .\I iddletown, SLO VAK V AMERIK E Whi t ing, Ind . Chicago, m. .,. ;.i. .:.q .. , ' • t ..,.CA ! ~>. . </ .,,; ., l , ;' r 1f·i~ ''U ;4 i; , '' ' ' ' ~ - .-. . ./ I -<'~· Ruins of Devin Castle (south view) i Slovaikia. History tells that the Slo;vak King Raistishw ruled the Great Moravian Empire from this fortress in the ninth century.  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. 4, No. 1 (10) Description An account of the resource includes photo of ruins of Devín Castle Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1954 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6f9439fc83b357065608a09e9c3d34b7.pdf 6b14c62fdc51dbf80f29d47274b82007 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 49 624-659 A.D.: THE SLOVAKS AND KING SAMO'S EMPIRE Dr. Henrich Bartek The Great Morawian IDmpire, which had its greatest development during the reign of King Sivatoplwk (870---895), lasted Q/Ver one hundred years. It was the climax of the long struggle of the SlOIV~ trilbes for their own staite. The core or nucleus of the territory occU1pied by the forefathers of the Slovaik nation was the territory to the north of the coo.tool Danuibe. At the end of the eighth centwy and the beginning of the ninith, the SlovaJk trilbes succesSlf ully threw off the yoke of the A vars with the help of Chaxla;maigne. The history of the ninth century offers many possibilities to inquire into the various political and spiritual tendencies which chanced to meet in Great Moravia. But we must reimemlber that patrioti'c motives from the era of national rebinth strn play a significrunt role and visions of the mighty empire of our forefathers not only strengthened national lirfe, hurt also were a rich source of poetic and artistic creativeness. Overestimating the Cyrillo-Methodius episode, tJherefore, is quite common among the Slovaks. Digressions frOIIIl current views, for example, the Christianiwtion of the Slov,aJks by Saints Cyril and Methodius, are accepted with distrust, even though irt is quite obvious that the Slova;ks were Christians long before the adivent of Saints Cyril and Meithodius. F1unthermore, that t'he epochal work of the creators orf the nationa)l liturgy did not last long in Slovakia, but reached its climax outside the 1and od: the Slova;k,s among the southern and eastern SlolV'anic peoples. A thorough understanding of the cultural and political foundations of the development of the Great Moraivian Empire is unthinlkalble wirbhout -a knowledge of the period that preceded it, since Greait Morwia w,a;s neither the first state arrangement orf our forefathers, nor the beginning of their historical aotivti.1Jy, but the result and the c,limax of actions of seve·r al centuries. - -The meager sources before the ninth century do hot entice historiaJns, becaiuse they do not offer sufficient materia,1 �50 SLOVAKIA for the expression of more or less probable theories a:nd because the Slovruks, long /before the origin of the Great Moravian Empire, had oooupied a space in the Danuibi'clln region several times greater than that which they n:ow occupy. The fortunes of the Slov-aiks in the era before Great Moravia are veiled in mystery and will not become known U!Iltiil historical science shall be aJble to use the results of researches ()If those scientific departments w'hich could effeotwely CQl1lttibute to the solution of the problem of OUT oldest history. To date, however, a•r eheologicai finds were not sufficiently evaluated to let us know the pro,g ressi.ve penetraititon of the Slovaks into the Danulbian territory; and ethnography has not attempted to give an eociplanation of the origin of Slovak culture in comparison with the culture of its SlOIVIMlic •a nd nonSlovanic nei:gh!bors, saying rrothmg about our ,p hilology which neglected the history of our tongue by devoting 1tself ia11gely to registering dialects and the normalimtion of the· language of literature. Furthermore, comparative philology has such reliable methods that it often can with final validity solive even questions which historfans must leawe unnoticed for a laok of written memoirs, ,b ut which they possilbly could 'b uild farther if they had at hand some supporting poinJts gained through other departments. Philology itself could afford much valualble knowledge to clarify not only the era before Great Moravia in the Danubian area, but als'O the geographical position of the Slovak tri·bes in their ancient homeland because this oon 'b e done 'b y analysis of certain strata of the diotionary aind linguistic maI1ks, as well as by an am.alysis o!f geogmphical names of ancient origm. Of course, such resea:z,ches require exiceptional ca.111tion, but the fact that the ecclesiastica:l Slovanic language enaJbles us to reconst:rmct the arra111gement of vowels of Sl'OIV'lalk words used in the second haJ1f of the ninth century is a sufficient -basis so that we could, ac:cord!irng to single words prese:z,ved since before the ninth cen't;ucy, regressiive1y reconstruct the arrangement of vowels of words from the eighth to the fif,t h centuries, nay, even dooper into the past, whereby it win be shown at which sections of time certain foreign ~rds penetrated into our midst, which as dbjective proo1Js wi:ll enruble �S LOVAKIA 51 us to define the cuiturO-ipoliticaJ contacts of our forefathers in the era before Great MOTaviia. In this process of finding the dldest settlements of t'he Sio,V'a,ks, topograJphical names will have a speciaJJ. sig:niificance, a!boJVe al[ else the names of rivers aJnd settlements, as we shall see in examples presented below. So that we miig,ht arrive at positive results from the history before Great Moravia, we must accept a cert.a.in. working hypothesis, the aiutho,rlty of wlhfoh we shall inquire into, wherelby for the saJke of ancient histo11y we are uirged to issue out of Samo.' s emipire and assume that Great Moravria was not the first state formation of the Slova!k tribes, beca~ Fredegar's chronicles record a strong western-.Slovruric empire aJreadly in the sreiventh century; it was headed by King Samo and was strong enough to resist the pressure not only of the Avars, but esven of the Twktish kingdom of King Dagolmllrt. Fredega:r's report aibout the great defeat of the Franlks near the Wogastiburg Castle in 631, as well as several other notations 'by thtis same historian, are the only objective proof aibout Samn's empire, and on these records are based the most various theories about the ethnical composition and the territorial extent, as well as the principal city of Samo's state. As usua11y ha,pperns in such cases, when the som-ce does not a.icoorately define a territory, scho1a:rs of the individu.a1 SIOIValtlic nations striive to a:pip~iate unto themselves Samo's empire: some Czech scientists are seelkting Wogastibrn,g in the most western sections of Bohemia; the Slovenes would liike to find it in Coruta:nia; and foreign scholars lean to one or the other theory. For e}Cample, the Belgian histol'ian Pirenne was for Corutania, whiile Milk.kola, the F~itmish scholar on Slavistics, preferred Bohemia.. In the past recent years, Oze<!h, Polish, and Slov,ak scholars ha:d agreed that King Samo resided at DelVin near the Danube, which, therefore, must have been the center of his empire. We find the weak side of these theories in the lack of new objective proofs which could complement Fredegar's notations. Even. though many new staitemenrts aJbout Samo's empire are very reasonable and very pro!balble, they will re- �52 SLOVAKL<\. main only as suppositions until incontrovert1ble proofs aa-e offered to support them. These theories albout the center of Samo's empire were propagated in 1951 by Oettinger, well-Jmoiwn Viennese historian of arts and arrcheology, who teills us in his book "Das Warden Wiens" thait he regards Vienna as Samo's residence: He bases his b.elief on the fact that the construotion of the Berghof Castle in Vienna, jrUdging it according to prese1wed architectonic relics, can be traced only to Samo's era, because the Avam as a nomadic nation could not build such a great stooe citadel. Besides that, professor Oettinger produces a whole series of othea:- arguments to prove htis theory, one of which we might introduce at this time, that is, that the Slovenes use the name Danu~ for Vienna, namely, that they called the castle a:nd the city according to the rirver, which could hawe happened only during Samo's time, . when the Barghof in Vienna; was the seat of Samo's _, empire. 'I'he discovery of the castle is certainly a very weighty fact, which archeoilogy and history of the arts, th<l!Il!ks to the deductions of Professor Oettinger, presented to historians. Oettinger considers it sellf-evident that Sl0V1a:ks an~l_ other Slovanic peoples lived in the entire region of Vienna and far to the west :tlong the Danulbe territo;ry duriing Samo's time. Theories about the center of Samo's empire at Devin, and especially the proofs of Oeittinger are a suffidenit basis for philology to ask the question: What Slovanic peoples could have li'Ved during Samo.'s time in the Vienna region, near the Danube in present Austria:, and in the vicinity of Devin? Ilf it could be succeSSlf,u lly prorved that during Samo's time the Slovaks a!lrea:dy were settiled in the central Danwbian region, on both sides of this great river, that would mean a milestone in the most ancient history of the SllO!VaJk nation, because F'redegar wrote quite plainly that Samo came among the SlOIV'anic peoiples exactly at the time when they had successfully relbeHed against the Avars. Therefore, it was not Samo, a Frankish merchant by origin, who l~berated the Slovanic peoples who later elected him their king, because they had Uberated themselJves before his advent. Philological proofs of the Slovakness of the regions to �SLOVAKIA 53 the .south: of the central Danube in the seventh century could becomie the basis of extensive historical researches, which wouhl place the beginnings of the historical era of the political efforts of the Slo.vruks two centuries dooper into the past, t'herelby clarif~g eiven the origin of the Great Mom-wan Empire. As mentioned albO!ve, philology can throw light on even very runcient eras of nati:ons by ana>ly,z ing a>dopted foreign words and ancient names of ri'Vers and cities. At this time we shall attempt to girve at least a few examples to illustrate how this could be done. Several Ancient Geographical Names An ex,pl,a;n_ation of the origin of topographii.cal names is a useful aid of historians, be.<:ause quite frequentl;y it presents -a better picture orf an anoient settlement than fragmenta:r:y · reports orf chroniclers and, furthermore, vowel chamges,. to which geographical names succumbed, enaJbied us to determine the time of their origin and the period of their existence. In the past decades many wo;r,k,s were published a'bo.ut Slo'V'anic to,p ographical names, but most frequently they are rather conicerned with simply registering names than with explaining them, since the explanation of the oriigin of names encounters many diflficu[ties, especiaJ>ly i!Il the Danwbe territory, whe;re we meet with traces of the lllyrians, Celts, GeTmans and Romans, even the European aJbocygenes, whiHe t'he illyrian and Celtic languages arre not as yet suflficiently reasea.r ched. It is relatirvely very difficult to eociplain clearly to inexperts the origin orf some ancient name, ibecaiuse that requires considerable k!Ilowledge of comparative philology. Thus, for example, even at first glance it is abvious that the nam·e s Viede:ii and Wien (Vienna), which have a ,b asic importance for an.oient history of the Sloivalks, are somewhat related or conneicted togetherr, but maJking their relationship clear requires centain knowledge so that the explanation might 'be accessible to every one and, therefore, we shall ta'ke Ulp a few oth~ geog~aJphical names to show by what manner names of antique origin come to us. RfM___.ROMA (Rome) : The connooti10n of the terms is obvious, but the difficulty encountered is explaining the Slo- �5-1 SLOVAKIA vruk "i" for the Latin "o", as well as the masculine gender of the Slovak name. Quite some time ago, professor Skok of Zagreb University pointed out that on the Dalmatian coast the Latin Salona was cha:nged into Solin, Nona to Nin, Albona to Labin (lby changing position of V'OCals, like the Czech Labe from Albis, buit the German Elbe Wli,thout changing position; the ancient Serbian and Croatian name Jakin was derirved from Ancona). In these names, the Latin "o" was compensated for by the S1ovanic "ii" which then was changed to "y" and fmally to "i." At the same time t:he Latin femi'Illine gender of the names was changed to the masc'll'line in the Slovanic languages, be"Camse in unrefined Latin the Accusative ending "-m" disappeared' and "ad Roma" was used instead of "aid Roma:m" (to Rome). The Slovank peoples regarded the ending "-a" as a suffix of the genitive case of the mascU!line gender and from the forms "do Rima, z Rima, do Solina, zo Solina," etc., they made the maS:C'U'line nominative "Rim, Solin, Nin," etc. It cannot be said with cert.ainty whether the Slovaks got the word "Rim" through the southern Slova'l1S or directly from the Romans in Pamnon:ia, because the name of the princilpa:1 city of the Roman ffimpire may have become known to them when they already lirved in the Car,pathians, but as yet had not penetrated to the Danuibe. RABA-RABIOA-RAB: One of the important southern tributaries of the central Danulb,e in Pannorua is the river Raalb, which in t:he Roman era was ca.Heel Arabo. R is generaliliy ~cknowled'ged that the name is of Celtic origin, which in the S1orvanic was first aJbbrevfaJted into Arba and then later in the fi.mt half Oif the ninth century became Raba by transposition of letters. We find a river bea:ring the same name in Pol,and, which flows into the Visla alboive the Dunajec ; I :reg,ard the name of the Ra!ba of Polamd also of Celitic origin. The Polish Raba and the Pannonian Ra.ha a.re one Of the many proofs of the wandering Oif the Celts, after whom there are traces e:ven in Slovaikia in the names of rivers. Thus, for example, Orava is of Ce1tic origin,. as is Oravica in Rumania. 'Dhe Rabica (Ra.pea in Mayiga:r and Rabliltz �SLOVAKIA 55 in German) flows into the Danubian Raba. And Rabica means the SmaH Ralba, because in ancient Slovak diminlutiive names were formed- ~ the sulffix "-ica" - e.g. - NitraNitrica, Bystra-lBystrica, Tepla~Teplica, Lomna◄Lomnica, Byoca.,Bytx'!ica., Lovea◄Lovcioa, etc. One o.f the triburtaries of the Ralbica is named Repce in Magyar, which undoubtedly is am. older name than Ra.pea, because the Magyar Repce presupposes the older Slo'Va.k form Ratiica with an "-a" after a soft "c." In other words, the Magyar Repce was adopted bef<>i:re the thirteenth cen<bury, before the hardening of the soft "c," whife the Magyar Ra.pea is of later origin (afiter the "-a" changed into "-a" in Slovak). At the confluence of the Raba into the Danulbe is the city of RaJb (RaaJb), the Magyar Gyor, which used to be the site of a strong gianison to protect the Roman borders. In Slovll!k t'he name of the city is of the masculine gender in contrast to the name of the river. So, here again we meet with tilie same phenomenon as we did with the. name Rim (Rome). The SlovaJks ada,pted and preserved the ancient name of the river in the form oif Raba and out of it made the dimmuti<ve Rabica; but when they came to the name of the city, they changed the gender in the spirit of their language and, therefore, the form Rab proves a direct corm.ection with the Roman population. in Pannonia, from which the Slovaks tOOik the name of the r iver in the form of Arba, but in designating the city changed the form to Arb, from which at .t he end of the second half of the ninth century, by a trans.posiltion of vocals, the forms Raba and Rab originated. The German forms Raab, Rabnitz and the Magyar Raba (the riiveir) , Repce, Rapea coulld have been taJken onlry from the SlovaJk forms. Here the ancient Slov3'k continuity is quite clear. We must also mention that on the Adriatic, south of the ffihune River, lies the island of RaJb with a oity by that name. The IWian name of the island is Arbe, which also supports our etymology of the names Raba (in Poland), Raba, Rabica, Rab (beyond the Danu'be). When dealing with ancient geog,rruphica:l names, if we are concerned. with the afrooment of the name of a river with the name of a city or town, the name of the river, as a rule, is older. For example: Nitra is named according to �56 SLOVAKIA the river bearing that name, and not vice-versa. The same holds for the names Raba and Rab: the Celts first named the river and later the setrtJement by the same name, which became a Roman city or town. On the Polish Raba there is no town with a similiar name, 'b ut only the community Rabka, whose suffix is "-ka" shows that its origin came later, similarly liike Oravka is of a lateT date in comparison with the more ancient Oravica. In the period of migration of nations there were no great oo111flrcit:s in Panrnonia which could have destroyed ancient oities, because the Romans at the beginning of the fifth cenitury ceded Pann.onia to the H'l.l!Ils, who not only did not destroy A:q,uincum, near the present Budin, but not even the principal city of Upper Pannonia, SaJVaria (todaiy, the Magyar Szombathe ly and the German Stein am Anger). This wealthy city, the birthplace oif St. Ma,rtin, was Mstroyed oruy after the fall of the Tums, in 4!56, but by an earthquaJke. The Huns, similat1ly like the Arvara later, were not interested in destrnying the Pannonfam towns which had to pay them tribute. Therefore, eiven outsride oircumstain ces attest to the fact that the forefathers of the Slo:viaks were acquainted with Rab (Raab) during the time when it was a n important ancient town with a harbor on the Danube. RE~WEN NA-VIED EN-WIEN (Vienna): The official name of the southern tribuil:iary of the Danube in Vienna is Fluss Wien (1RiJver Vioona), even though in the ordinary German language, both in the City of Vienna and also in it.s vicmity, the ancient name Rekawenna is still qurite alive. The firsit part o!f the latter appelation cor.respond s to the SlovaJk "rieka" (rwhich happened to be "reka" in the tenth and eleventh centuries,). Near tJhe wpper part of this river is a community called Rekawinke l (A corner of the river). The second part of the com'I)O!U.Ild word with its "-wenna" reminds us of the names V!ienna (Viedeii) in Slov,ruk and Wien in German). The ending "-a" of the name Wenna tells us that we are concerned with a name that was taken o,ver into German at a relatively late date, s,i nce the "-a" ending ·· in old German disappeared . For exaJiniple: the ancient name of the river Ipusa �SLOVAKIA 57 changed into lps ( officially, Ybbs), of courrse thro1Ugh a Slovanic medil.llffi, as is proved by its. trilbutary, the Ipsitz, namely the Small ]jpsa, which in turn wa;s derived from the older term Ipsica. Similarly only thTou·g h a Slovanic medilllffi can be eXiplained the feminine gender of the name Enns, which professor E. Schwrurz noted correctly, according to which the ancient Anisus first gave the Slovams Anisa, from which then, b.y changing the "a" into an "e" and further changes in the German, the form Enns was created. The feminine gender of Enns points to its Slovanic origin against the masc'll!line gender of the class~ca·l name Anisus. This same phenomenon is noticed in t'he names Drava and Sava, which in Latin are Dravus and Savus (masclllline gender) . The change in gender in the Slovanic is given to the omitted or untleratood word "rieka" or probrubly "voda" (rirver and water, lbolth feminine gender). The form Rekawenna, wiith the irresevviation of the word "rieka" indicates not onliy the Sl{)!Varucity of the name, 'but also the necessity of disting1Uishing 'by means of this word t'he name of the ri;ver from another geographical name, so that ambiguity would not a-rise. The existence of the word "Rellmwenna" tells us that the name Wenna had to be. also• the name of a place. Rekawenna found its way into the common German language at the earliest by the end of the eleventh century, that is, aifter the disappearance orf the ending "-a," which otherwise agrees also with historical fact, because the Germans succeSSJfu[ly pushed out the Magyars from the Vienna region only as late as the eleiventh century. According to Much, the Celtic appelation for the Wien (Vienna) River was Vedunia, which means "mountain stream" ("Waldibach"). We thinlk that Much cor:rectly seeks the Ce1tic origin of the name of the river, but we cannot agree with him that we are here concerned with the suffix "-nia," beca:use the Romans wouJd have placed t'his word among the multitude of other names, which ended in "-ania, -onia, -inia, -unia, -enia" and all of which in common or vulgar Latin had a long, accented vowel before the "-n". Burt Vediinia with a long, accented "-ii" would not have become Vieden in Sl01Vak The Celtic V edona we regard as the same name which was preserved in the French name of the �58 SLOVAKIA river Vienne (a tributary of the Loire), as well as in the name of the City of V'ienne near Grenoble and in the regional name Haute Vienne. Here we are concerned with a similar ancient Celtic name as, for exarrniple, the French lsere, which corresponds to the Bava:rian lsar and the Czech Jizera, or the French Aube frrom the Celtic Albis (compaTe with Labe-Elbe, above). The French Vienne presuipposes the Celtic V oo.ona with a short aCJCented "-e-", w'hioh gave "-ie-," simila:rly as bene gaive bien. The change of Voo.ona to Vienne came aJbout according to t!he cmrent old..French vooal changes, which we cannot truke up here. We presuppose the Celto-Latin na,me of the riiver Vedona, in which the Latin short "-o-" gave the short "-u-" in the Sloivanic, w'hich later changed into a hard jer, like the Latin commater gaive kumatra and kmotra: like co:mlite(m) g,a,ve kumet and then kmef, and many others. In the same manner, Vedona first ga.ve Veduna, which after the disappeaora:nce of the weak jer (i.ei. the very short "-u") changed into Vedna, which the Germans adrupted in the form of Wenna, beoause they did not to[e,r ate the intervowel grollip "-dn-". In a word, Rekawenna got into the German lanigua:ge through a Sloviank medium ; not only because of the first part of the compound word, but also the second part. 'l'he glorious Vindobona of antiquity, which was situated rubove the river Vedona, lost its impomnce and a1read'Y in the beginning of tlhe fifth cenitury it is mentioned once as Vindomana, and at other tiimes as Vendomina or Vindomma. IDvidently we a:re concerned with a name of Celtic origin, which originaHy meant as much as "a white city" and whose name was being fu:rigotten by the ancient writers oif the fii.fith and sixth centuries. The SlO!V'aks could have known Vindobona--Vendomina already in the fifth century, and certainly not later than the beginning of the sixth; and sin(!e the names of rive:ris usually became the names of settlements, the settllement near the Vedona RiveT (today, the Rekawenna) was named after it. The name of the to:wn was of the mas<!uline gender, while the riiver remained feminine, like Rab (the river: Raba). �SLO \ .AK IA 59 Here the name of the river was Veduna and the town named after it bore the name Vedun (where the "-u-" later became a hard jer in a strong position, which was p~operly changed into an "-e-"). After the vocalimtion of the je:ra, therefore akeady in the tenth century, the foom Vedeii existed in SlowaJk; the genitive of this form wa.s Vediia (do Vedna - to Vienna) . The German na:me is not derived from the nominatirve, 'but from the SlO!Vlak geinitirve, as attested t-0 by the proof "Wenia" from 881. The attempt of pro!fessoc Liewehr, who preswpposes in this name a nasal vowel, CaJI1not be deduced in any manner, but even more incorrect is his claim that the Gerunans got the name "Wien" from the Czechs. Liehwehr obviously colllf,used Ol;ech with Slovak. When we consider that even today the Slovak ethnic border commences abo1Ut 35 !k ilometers northeast of Vienna, that during the entire ninth century the southern border of Great Moravia in Lower Austria was the Danube, and .tJhat durring the time of Ki'Il!g Sva.topllllk even the Vienna region belonged to his empire, it is altogether clear that the Slova,ks have ,preserved to the present time the ancient appelation o!f Viedeii (Viienna). 'f.he Czechs a;ccepted the name Viden from the Slorvaks, as they did the word "kost.el" (church) , rubout whic h we shall say something before we conclude this article. The German Rekawenna comes from the old Slovak form "reka Vedna" and from the ancient, indfrect cases: do Vediia (to Vienna, z Vedna (from Vienna) , in old German this was first Wena, and then later Wien. Llke the Germans along the Roman border on the Danulbe preserved the names Pata.via, Lentia, Lauriacum in the forms Pasau, Linz, Lorch, so the Slovaks in the names of Vied en and Rab ,preserved the names of V edona and Arabo along that ancient border. '.Ilhe Slo;venian Dunaj (iDanulbe) to designate Vienna supports the theory of professor Oettinger that the principal city of Samo's, empiTe was Vienna, rbecause only the constriuction of Benghof cOIUld haive girven the Slovenians the chance to name the new citadel according to the river, but �60 SLOVAKIA the irrediutaible oontinmty of the Sl01Vruk name wit'h the ancient one attests to the fact that during the time of King Samo, and even 1b efore him, the Slovenes did not live in the Vienna region, but the Slov8Jks did. Edtitz-Edlach-Edlbach: It is dbviol\.ls that the Slovruk population wais found not Ottl!ly in the immedliaite vii.cinity of Vienna, but extended fal'lt'her to the south, aJPpmx:imwte1y to the separation of the southern tributaries O!f the Danube in Lower Austria and partia,Uy in Upper AU1sitria, as is attested to by other to;pograiphica;l names, of which we might mention art 1€18JSt Edlitz and Eillach, which are east and north of Semmering. The consonant group "-di-" indicates its Slo!V'ruk origin. In Slovene "jela' comes from the older form "ela," as compared to the Slovruk "jedfa" (derived from the older fo:ran "edfa"). The grolllp "-di-" was also preseirved in the name of Modling (near Vienna) .f.rom the Sloviak "M:odlin" (another Modlin is near Wa:raaw). And south of Wind<ischg,a,rsten in Upper Austria we find the stream Edlbach. The very drcuimsitance that these names do not start with a "j-" proves their antiquity, that is, they must have penetrated into the Germian before the secondi half of the ninth century. In German names ta;ken over fr<>rr1 SIOIValk, we can ascertain three groups: 1. Edlitz (east of Semmering; another one is west of the Vienna Forest, near Wein1burg); here belong many other names, which we need not mention; Aflenz, a riiver in the SO'Utheastern region of Upper Austria; these and similar n8Jmes were taken over by t'he Germans when the Sloivak sit.HI used 'adfa, ablonica' instead of "jedfa, jablonica"; 2. the group with the initial "g" instead of the Slovak "j-" - e.g., Gaflenz (the nanie of the town above the river Aflertz W8JS ·adlapted later by the Germans, which means that the Sloiv,alk poipuiliaition preserwed itself there quite some time); 3. the ,groUJp with the presenved secondary "j-,r-" e.g. Jauerling (f,r om Javornik, a mountain ridge northw~ of MelO'k, a:bove the Danulbe; . the Gemnans adapted the word, just lirke they got "Moserling" from "MocamI'k"); Jas~tzbach, a trilburtal'y of the Erlaf, whfoh :filows into the Danu'be (Jasnitlz is from the SLO'V'ark Jasenica, naimed accordling to the tree "jasen" - ash). _ �SLOVAKIA 61 All this indicates the possi1bility which philology has to determine the time element of vowel changes, a,lso to ascertain the g.radual penetration of Gernnan colomzation and the period · of Gennanization of the Danube area in present-day Austria. Pregraten: Pro;fessor E. Pragarte Pregarten Schwartz correctly derives the name Pregarten from the word "pregarda," which later iby interposition of vocals, changed to "pregrada" (now priehrada in Slovak). We found over ten Pregartens in Upper AU/Stria alone, in the districts of Vociklalbruok, Perg, Gmunden, Freis,tadit, P,r egarten, Eferding, Ottens,tein, Raa>b, Schwanenstad t, which indicates that defense partitions are concerned, parts of the Slov.amic stronghold system which came from the sixth century and haippened to- be on the western border of Samo's empi-re. Designating territoria;l borders had a specia:l sig,rnifica:nce in the life o;f the ancient Slovans; even the German word "Grenze" comes from the Slo,vanic "granica." The Germans penetrated into easte•r n Tyrol after the change of ''gard-" to "grad-", because Pregraten was preser-v ed there. Of course., in some ,places they penetrated before this chamge took place, beca,use there we also find the settlement Aegarth (Oegarth) from the Sl01Va,k Ograda, similarly li!ke a sm~H plow in the German dialect used there is called "arl" from the ancient Slovene form "arlo" (today ralo a,nd, in Sloivruk, radio). The German form arl comes from the era before the interchange of vocals. Windisch garsten-Garsten: The first part of the na,me Windischgars ten indii'cates the Slovanidty of t'he seoon:d part, rubout which E. Schwartz claims that it comes from the Slovanic "chvorst-" ( chrasf in SloiVaik). We cannot, however, agree with him, beca,me in old German names taJken over from the Slov,8Jnic, "k" takes the place oif "ch"; e.g., in Austria, in the Damulbe region, there are several hills whi'C'h are called Kulm, Kulmitz; these are derived from the Slovak "chu!lm" (today, Chlmec, chlmok); therefore, the 'g" of Garsten ca,nnot come from "ch," but only from a word which began with .a "g". Besides that, Windischga-rs ten lies on the old, very im- �62 SLOVAKIA portant highway which already dUJring the Roman times corrected Noricum with the Danwbian region; therefore, already then this road was fortified with bast.rions. In the proximity Of Win<lischg•a rsten is Grad.au, whose. name is obvious1y connected or rel•a ted to the word "grad." A section of the city of Steyr is also called Garsten. We are here concerned with an elevation which hardly could halve been named after "chraist"' (thicket; s'lmufbbery), but l'ather after "brad" (castle; bastion). In our 01pilll.i.on, Garst.en is derived from "gardisce" - the accented "-i-" dlisappearing in the Geir,man, and the gl'OU'l) olf five consonants "rdsts-", because very difrficw.t to pronounce, was modified to "-rit-". Therefore,, we must derive "Garst.en" from "gardisce" and not from "chvorst" ( ohrasf, today). And since south of Windi-schg,a rsten we find the stream Edlbach, it is necesisary to assll!me that the Slovaks settled here very earJiy, because the Sioivenes along the Dra;v,a penetrated to the west in the sixt'h and serventh centuries and through Istria into northern J.truly. In a word, their goal was west and sourt'hiwest, but not north. Slovak tribes from the north also penetrated souith and so1.lfthwesit into the Danubian region. Inasmuoh as traces of Slovenian colonirzation have been ascertained recently around the central part of the Enns, they came from a 1a:ter ,period, when the penetration of the Slovenes to the west wais stopped by the Bavarians and in northern Italy by the Langobal'ds. The woros Garsten, Windischgarst.en, just lilke Pregart.en, are liiving testimony of the defense organization of the forefathers of the ~ovalks (.castles, bastions, citadels) ; other names in the Dainlllibian region of Austria will lead us to the sa:me conclusion. For example, Gairlen and Grat.en ( Garten berg ipresuipposes the name "Gradna), and many names conta•i ning "Strass", are for the most part related to the Slovak "straza" (guaro, and not to the German Strasse (street). Traces were even found after the name "brad.lo" (huge rock) , which the ancient SlovaJks used to designate a defensilve p1ace, usuiaaly a hill, on which defenses were set up (compare Brad.lo near Myjava and Domica; also Branisko, a hill between Saris and Spis) . �SLOVAKIA 63 By analyzing a large number of locail, river, borderline and other names in Lower and Upper AIUJStria and vicinity, as well as Austrian dia:leotic words of Slovak origin, we can define relatiively a;ccurateily just aibout what tme these areas were colonized, but also the 'beginnings, the bo,r ders and the fortunes of Slovak colonization. In summary, then: 1. The names Wien, Rekawenna, Raab, Rabnitz found their way into, German through a Slovak medium, and the Slovaks received the names Vieden, Raba, Rab directly from the Roman population wath whioh they came into contact after their advent into P,a nnonia. 2. The southern 1b ooodary of Slovak colonization in Lorwer and Upper Austria is coarsely indicated by the propagati001 of names of the Edlitz ty,pe, the Slo;va;kness of which cannot ibe questioned, and for the most par,t is c,overed with the waters of the southern tributaries of the central Danube and the northern tributaries of the Drava, besides the region of the centrai IDnns. 3. Names of the Pregarten--Garst,en type designate an ancient Slovak-Bavarian boundary line, which was sUJbjected to changes from the sixth to the eighth centuries. It is self-evident that the direct Slovak~Roman contact was not limited to topograiphicaJ names alone, but can be traced in a multitude of words which the forefathers of the Slovaks took 0 ver from the Pannonian Romams. Pressed for space here, let us mention at least a feiw exrumples. The Slo~ vaks could ha,ve received the word "cast.ellum" only in Pannonia, whose ecclesiastica.>l organization was clissolved thy the Acvars when they destroyed the archibishopris of Sirmium in 582. The Roman "cast,ella" (ca,s tles) served as places of worship long before that date. At that time, when the Slovaks became acquainted with the word castellum (lkostol" - church), they also came to know the word "t,ehla," which came from "tegla," and this word in turn from the Latin "tegula." The GeI1Illans changed "tegla" to "ziegel" in the first half of the sixth century. The Czec'hs got the word "kost.el' from the western-iSlovaJk "kostel," because on their ethnical territory there never wa,s 1 �64 SLOVAKIA a single Roman "castellum." The Czech "cihla" comes from the German, while the Slova;k "tehla" and the Moravian-Slovak "tihla" come directly from the Roman "teglartegula." Among other words the forefathers Olf the Slovaks took over directly from the Romans were also "marmor" (J1ater "mramor - ma:rible) and "ban.a (mine). This swpports our theory that the Slovaks had direct conitacts with the Romans in Pannon:ia. It is not the purpose of philology to analyize the political sitiuation in Europe of the first half of the seventh century and to point out the possibilities which were presented the ancient Slovaiks so that they became the core of the strong empire of King Samo. It shall be the task of ecclesiastical historiains to throw Hght on the reasons why St. Amandus, the apostle of the Belgians, was not suocessful with the Slovak tri!bes in the western Da;nUJbian area. Historians will perhaps tel,l us which Slovak tribes preserved their independence even after Samo's deat'h. Philology can simply state that the material culture of the Sl01Vak Tribes, just like their administrativ e organization, was the same during Samo's time as it was in the Great Moravian Empire and that differences in spiritual culture were only in religion. During Samo's time the ancient Slovaks held onto their pagan religion, whHe the creators of Great Moraivia were Christian Slovak princes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "The aHiiance with the USSR is the starting ,poirut of our new foreign policy and of our security system. This alliance will be complrumented by alhances with other Slav countries. It r epreseruts a mighty bulwairk ag,ainst iposs,i!bJe danger in the future Jirom German imperia:lisnn. In the spirit of these prino1ples, the Demooraitic Party aicted st!an.mchly at all forums. It put aH its weight behind this conception. This orientation is to be regarded as the invariable devise also for our future political life." - (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vi.ce-Chaimnan cxf the IDxecutive Committee of the "Council of Free Czechoslo.vakia," at session of Democratic Party, January 25, 194'8). � SLOVAKIA 49 624-659 A.D.: THE SLOVAKS AND KING SAMO'S EMPIRE Dr. Henrich Bartek The Great Morawian IDmpire, which had its greatest development during the reign of King Sivatoplwk (870---895), lasted Q/Ver one hundred years. It was the climax of the long struggle of the SlOIV~ trilbes for their own staite. The core or nucleus of the territory occU1pied by the forefathers of the Slovaik nation was the territory to the north of the coo.tool Danuibe. At the end of the eighth centwy and the beginning of the ninith, the SlovaJk trilbes succesSlf ully threw off the yoke of the A vars with the help of Chaxla;maigne. The history of the ninth century offers many possibilities to inquire into the various political and spiritual tendencies which chanced to meet in Great Moravia. But we must reimemlber that patrioti'c motives from the era of national rebinth strn play a significrunt role and visions of the mighty empire of our forefathers not only strengthened national lirfe, hurt also were a rich source of poetic and artistic creativeness. Overestimating the Cyrillo-Methodius episode, tJherefore, is quite common among the Slovaks. Digressions frOIIIl current views, for example, the Christianiwtion of the Slov,aJks by Saints Cyril and Methodius, are accepted with distrust, even though irt is quite obvious that the Slova;ks were Christians long before the adivent of Saints Cyril and Meithodius. F1unthermore, that t'he epochal work of the creators orf the nationa)l liturgy did not last long in Slovakia, but reached its climax outside the 1and od: the Slova;k,s among the southern and eastern SlolV'anic peoples. A thorough understanding of the cultural and political foundations of the development of the Great Moraivian Empire is unthinlkalble wirbhout -a knowledge of the period that preceded it, since Greait Morwia w,a;s neither the first state arrangement orf our forefathers, nor the beginning of their historical aotivti.1Jy, but the result and the c,limax of actions of seve·r al centuries. - -The meager sources before the ninth century do hot entice historiaJns, becaiuse they do not offer sufficient materia,1 �50 SLOVAKIA for the expression of more or less probable theories a:nd because the Slovruks, long /before the origin of the Great Moravian Empire, had oooupied a space in the Danuibi'clln region several times greater than that which they n:ow occupy. The fortunes of the Slov-aiks in the era before Great Moravia are veiled in mystery and will not become known U!Iltiil historical science shall be aJble to use the results of researches ()If those scientific departments w'hich could effeotwely CQl1lttibute to the solution of the problem of OUT oldest history. To date, however, a•r eheologicai finds were not sufficiently evaluated to let us know the pro,g ressi.ve penetraititon of the Slovaks into the Danulbian territory; and ethnography has not attempted to give an eociplanation of the origin of Slovak culture in comparison with the culture of its SlOIVIMlic •a nd nonSlovanic nei:gh!bors, saying rrothmg about our ,p hilology which neglected the history of our tongue by devoting 1tself ia11gely to registering dialects and the normalimtion of the· language of literature. Furthermore, comparative philology has such reliable methods that it often can with final validity solive even questions which historfans must leawe unnoticed for a laok of written memoirs, ,b ut which they possilbly could 'b uild farther if they had at hand some supporting poinJts gained through other departments. Philology itself could afford much valualble knowledge to clarify not only the era before Great Moravia in the Danubian area, but als'O the geographical position of the Slovak tri·bes in their ancient homeland because this oon 'b e done 'b y analysis of certain strata of the diotionary aind linguistic maI1ks, as well as by an am.alysis o!f geogmphical names of ancient origm. Of course, such resea:z,ches require exiceptional ca.111tion, but the fact that the ecclesiastica:l Slovanic language enaJbles us to reconst:rmct the arra111gement of vowels of Sl'OIV'lalk words used in the second haJ1f of the ninth century is a sufficient -basis so that we could, ac:cord!irng to single words prese:z,ved since before the ninth cen't;ucy, regressiive1y reconstruct the arrangement of vowels of words from the eighth to the fif,t h centuries, nay, even dooper into the past, whereby it win be shown at which sections of time certain foreign ~rds penetrated into our midst, which as dbjective proo1Js wi:ll enruble �S LOVAKIA 51 us to define the cuiturO-ipoliticaJ contacts of our forefathers in the era before Great MOTaviia. In this process of finding the dldest settlements of t'he Sio,V'a,ks, topograJphical names will have a speciaJJ. sig:niificance, a!boJVe al[ else the names of rivers aJnd settlements, as we shall see in examples presented below. So that we miig,ht arrive at positive results from the history before Great Moravia, we must accept a cert.a.in. working hypothesis, the aiutho,rlty of wlhfoh we shall inquire into, wherelby for the saJke of ancient histo11y we are uirged to issue out of Samo.' s emipire and assume that Great Moravria was not the first state formation of the Slova!k tribes, beca~ Fredegar's chronicles record a strong western-.Slovruric empire aJreadly in the sreiventh century; it was headed by King Samo and was strong enough to resist the pressure not only of the Avars, but esven of the Twktish kingdom of King Dagolmllrt. Fredega:r's report aibout the great defeat of the Franlks near the Wogastiburg Castle in 631, as well as several other notations 'by thtis same historian, are the only objective proof aibout Samn's empire, and on these records are based the most various theories about the ethnical composition and the territorial extent, as well as the principal city of Samo's state. As usua11y ha,pperns in such cases, when the som-ce does not a.icoorately define a territory, scho1a:rs of the individu.a1 SIOIValtlic nations striive to a:pip~iate unto themselves Samo's empire: some Czech scientists are seelkting Wogastibrn,g in the most western sections of Bohemia; the Slovenes would liike to find it in Coruta:nia; and foreign scholars lean to one or the other theory. For e}Cample, the Belgian histol'ian Pirenne was for Corutania, whiile Milk.kola, the F~itmish scholar on Slavistics, preferred Bohemia.. In the past recent years, Oze<!h, Polish, and Slov,ak scholars ha:d agreed that King Samo resided at DelVin near the Danube, which, therefore, must have been the center of his empire. We find the weak side of these theories in the lack of new objective proofs which could complement Fredegar's notations. Even. though many new staitemenrts aJbout Samo's empire are very reasonable and very pro!balble, they will re- �52 SLOVAKL<\. main only as suppositions until incontrovert1ble proofs aa-e offered to support them. These theories albout the center of Samo's empire were propagated in 1951 by Oettinger, well-Jmoiwn Viennese historian of arts and arrcheology, who teills us in his book "Das Warden Wiens" thait he regards Vienna as Samo's residence: He bases his b.elief on the fact that the construotion of the Berghof Castle in Vienna, jrUdging it according to prese1wed architectonic relics, can be traced only to Samo's era, because the Avam as a nomadic nation could not build such a great stooe citadel. Besides that, professor Oettinger produces a whole series of othea:- arguments to prove htis theory, one of which we might introduce at this time, that is, that the Slovenes use the name Danu~ for Vienna, namely, that they called the castle a:nd the city according to the rirver, which could hawe happened only during Samo's time, . when the Barghof in Vienna; was the seat of Samo's _, empire. 'I'he discovery of the castle is certainly a very weighty fact, which archeoilogy and history of the arts, th<l!Il!ks to the deductions of Professor Oettinger, presented to historians. Oettinger considers it sellf-evident that Sl0V1a:ks an~l_ other Slovanic peoples lived in the entire region of Vienna and far to the west :tlong the Danulbe territo;ry duriing Samo's time. Theories about the center of Samo's empire at Devin, and especially the proofs of Oeittinger are a suffidenit basis for philology to ask the question: What Slovanic peoples could have li'Ved during Samo.'s time in the Vienna region, near the Danube in present Austria:, and in the vicinity of Devin? Ilf it could be succeSSlf,u lly prorved that during Samo's time the Slovaks a!lrea:dy were settiled in the central Danwbian region, on both sides of this great river, that would mean a milestone in the most ancient history of the SllO!VaJk nation, because F'redegar wrote quite plainly that Samo came among the SlOIV'anic peoiples exactly at the time when they had successfully relbeHed against the Avars. Therefore, it was not Samo, a Frankish merchant by origin, who l~berated the Slovanic peoples who later elected him their king, because they had Uberated themselJves before his advent. Philological proofs of the Slovakness of the regions to �SLOVAKIA 53 the .south: of the central Danube in the seventh century could becomie the basis of extensive historical researches, which wouhl place the beginnings of the historical era of the political efforts of the Slo.vruks two centuries dooper into the past, t'herelby clarif~g eiven the origin of the Great Mom-wan Empire. As mentioned albO!ve, philology can throw light on even very runcient eras of nati:ons by ana>ly,z ing a>dopted foreign words and ancient names of ri'Vers and cities. At this time we shall attempt to girve at least a few examples to illustrate how this could be done. Several Ancient Geographical Names An ex,pl,a;n_ation of the origin of topographii.cal names is a useful aid of historians, be.<:ause quite frequentl;y it presents -a better picture orf an anoient settlement than fragmenta:r:y · reports orf chroniclers and, furthermore, vowel chamges,. to which geographical names succumbed, enaJbied us to determine the time of their origin and the period of their existence. In the past decades many wo;r,k,s were published a'bo.ut Slo'V'anic to,p ographical names, but most frequently they are rather conicerned with simply registering names than with explaining them, since the explanation of the oriigin of names encounters many diflficu[ties, especiaJ>ly i!Il the Danwbe territory, whe;re we meet with traces of the lllyrians, Celts, GeTmans and Romans, even the European aJbocygenes, whiHe t'he illyrian and Celtic languages arre not as yet suflficiently reasea.r ched. It is relatirvely very difficult to eociplain clearly to inexperts the origin orf some ancient name, ibecaiuse that requires considerable k!Ilowledge of comparative philology. Thus, for example, even at first glance it is abvious that the nam·e s Viede:ii and Wien (Vienna), which have a ,b asic importance for an.oient history of the Sloivalks, are somewhat related or conneicted togetherr, but maJking their relationship clear requires centain knowledge so that the explanation might 'be accessible to every one and, therefore, we shall ta'ke Ulp a few oth~ geog~aJphical names to show by what manner names of antique origin come to us. RfM___.ROMA (Rome) : The connooti10n of the terms is obvious, but the difficulty encountered is explaining the Slo- �5-1 SLOVAKIA vruk "i" for the Latin "o", as well as the masculine gender of the Slovak name. Quite some time ago, professor Skok of Zagreb University pointed out that on the Dalmatian coast the Latin Salona was cha:nged into Solin, Nona to Nin, Albona to Labin (lby changing position of V'OCals, like the Czech Labe from Albis, buit the German Elbe Wli,thout changing position; the ancient Serbian and Croatian name Jakin was derirved from Ancona). In these names, the Latin "o" was compensated for by the S1ovanic "ii" which then was changed to "y" and fmally to "i." At the same time t:he Latin femi'Illine gender of the names was changed to the masc'll'line in the Slovanic languages, be"Camse in unrefined Latin the Accusative ending "-m" disappeared' and "ad Roma" was used instead of "aid Roma:m" (to Rome). The Slovank peoples regarded the ending "-a" as a suffix of the genitive case of the mascU!line gender and from the forms "do Rima, z Rima, do Solina, zo Solina," etc., they made the maS:C'U'line nominative "Rim, Solin, Nin," etc. It cannot be said with cert.ainty whether the Slovaks got the word "Rim" through the southern Slova'l1S or directly from the Romans in Pamnon:ia, because the name of the princilpa:1 city of the Roman ffimpire may have become known to them when they already lirved in the Car,pathians, but as yet had not penetrated to the Danuibe. RABA-RABIOA-RAB: One of the important southern tributaries of the central Danulb,e in Pannorua is the river Raalb, which in t:he Roman era was ca.Heel Arabo. R is generaliliy ~cknowled'ged that the name is of Celtic origin, which in the S1orvanic was first aJbbrevfaJted into Arba and then later in the fi.mt half Oif the ninth century became Raba by transposition of letters. We find a river bea:ring the same name in Pol,and, which flows into the Visla alboive the Dunajec ; I :reg,ard the name of the Ra!ba of Polamd also of Celitic origin. The Polish Raba and the Pannonian Ra.ha a.re one Of the many proofs of the wandering Oif the Celts, after whom there are traces e:ven in Slovaikia in the names of rivers. Thus, for example, Orava is of Ce1tic origin,. as is Oravica in Rumania. 'Dhe Rabica (Ra.pea in Mayiga:r and Rabliltz �SLOVAKIA 55 in German) flows into the Danubian Raba. And Rabica means the SmaH Ralba, because in ancient Slovak diminlutiive names were formed- ~ the sulffix "-ica" - e.g. - NitraNitrica, Bystra-lBystrica, Tepla~Teplica, Lomna◄Lomnica, Byoca.,Bytx'!ica., Lovea◄Lovcioa, etc. One o.f the triburtaries of the Ralbica is named Repce in Magyar, which undoubtedly is am. older name than Ra.pea, because the Magyar Repce presupposes the older Slo'Va.k form Ratiica with an "-a" after a soft "c." In other words, the Magyar Repce was adopted bef<>i:re the thirteenth cen<bury, before the hardening of the soft "c," whife the Magyar Ra.pea is of later origin (afiter the "-a" changed into "-a" in Slovak). At the confluence of the Raba into the Danulbe is the city of RaJb (RaaJb), the Magyar Gyor, which used to be the site of a strong gianison to protect the Roman borders. In Slovll!k t'he name of the city is of the masculine gender in contrast to the name of the river. So, here again we meet with tilie same phenomenon as we did with the. name Rim (Rome). The SlovaJks ada,pted and preserved the ancient name of the river in the form oif Raba and out of it made the dimmuti<ve Rabica; but when they came to the name of the city, they changed the gender in the spirit of their language and, therefore, the form Rab proves a direct corm.ection with the Roman population. in Pannonia, from which the Slovaks tOOik the name of the r iver in the form of Arba, but in designating the city changed the form to Arb, from which at .t he end of the second half of the ninth century, by a trans.posiltion of vocals, the forms Raba and Rab originated. The German forms Raab, Rabnitz and the Magyar Raba (the riiveir) , Repce, Rapea coulld have been taJken onlry from the SlovaJk forms. Here the ancient Slov3'k continuity is quite clear. We must also mention that on the Adriatic, south of the ffihune River, lies the island of RaJb with a oity by that name. The IWian name of the island is Arbe, which also supports our etymology of the names Raba (in Poland), Raba, Rabica, Rab (beyond the Danu'be). When dealing with ancient geog,rruphica:l names, if we are concerned. with the afrooment of the name of a river with the name of a city or town, the name of the river, as a rule, is older. For example: Nitra is named according to �56 SLOVAKIA the river bearing that name, and not vice-versa. The same holds for the names Raba and Rab: the Celts first named the river and later the setrtJement by the same name, which became a Roman city or town. On the Polish Raba there is no town with a similiar name, 'b ut only the community Rabka, whose suffix is "-ka" shows that its origin came later, similarly liike Oravka is of a lateT date in comparison with the more ancient Oravica. In the period of migration of nations there were no great oo111flrcit:s in Panrnonia which could have destroyed ancient oities, because the Romans at the beginning of the fifth cenitury ceded Pann.onia to the H'l.l!Ils, who not only did not destroy A:q,uincum, near the present Budin, but not even the principal city of Upper Pannonia, SaJVaria (todaiy, the Magyar Szombathe ly and the German Stein am Anger). This wealthy city, the birthplace oif St. Ma,rtin, was Mstroyed oruy after the fall of the Tums, in 4!56, but by an earthquaJke. The Huns, similat1ly like the Arvara later, were not interested in destrnying the Pannonfam towns which had to pay them tribute. Therefore, eiven outsride oircumstain ces attest to the fact that the forefathers of the Slo:viaks were acquainted with Rab (Raab) during the time when it was a n important ancient town with a harbor on the Danube. RE~WEN NA-VIED EN-WIEN (Vienna): The official name of the southern tribuil:iary of the Danube in Vienna is Fluss Wien (1RiJver Vioona), even though in the ordinary German language, both in the City of Vienna and also in it.s vicmity, the ancient name Rekawenna is still qurite alive. The firsit part o!f the latter appelation cor.respond s to the SlovaJk "rieka" (rwhich happened to be "reka" in the tenth and eleventh centuries,). Near tJhe wpper part of this river is a community called Rekawinke l (A corner of the river). The second part of the com'I)O!U.Ild word with its "-wenna" reminds us of the names V!ienna (Viedeii) in Slov,ruk and Wien in German). The ending "-a" of the name Wenna tells us that we are concerned with a name that was taken o,ver into German at a relatively late date, s,i nce the "-a" ending ·· in old German disappeared . For exaJiniple: the ancient name of the river Ipusa �SLOVAKIA 57 changed into lps ( officially, Ybbs), of courrse thro1Ugh a Slovanic medil.llffi, as is proved by its. trilbutary, the Ipsitz, namely the Small ]jpsa, which in turn wa;s derived from the older term Ipsica. Similarly only thTou·g h a Slovanic medilllffi can be eXiplained the feminine gender of the name Enns, which professor E. Schwrurz noted correctly, according to which the ancient Anisus first gave the Slovams Anisa, from which then, b.y changing the "a" into an "e" and further changes in the German, the form Enns was created. The feminine gender of Enns points to its Slovanic origin against the masc'll!line gender of the class~ca·l name Anisus. This same phenomenon is noticed in t'he names Drava and Sava, which in Latin are Dravus and Savus (masclllline gender) . The change in gender in the Slovanic is given to the omitted or untleratood word "rieka" or probrubly "voda" (rirver and water, lbolth feminine gender). The form Rekawenna, wiith the irresevviation of the word "rieka" indicates not onliy the Sl{)!Varucity of the name, 'but also the necessity of disting1Uishing 'by means of this word t'he name of the ri;ver from another geographical name, so that ambiguity would not a-rise. The existence of the word "Rellmwenna" tells us that the name Wenna had to be. also• the name of a place. Rekawenna found its way into the common German language at the earliest by the end of the eleventh century, that is, aifter the disappearance orf the ending "-a," which otherwise agrees also with historical fact, because the Germans succeSSJfu[ly pushed out the Magyars from the Vienna region only as late as the eleiventh century. According to Much, the Celtic appelation for the Wien (Vienna) River was Vedunia, which means "mountain stream" ("Waldibach"). We thinlk that Much cor:rectly seeks the Ce1tic origin of the name of the river, but we cannot agree with him that we are here concerned with the suffix "-nia," beca:use the Romans wouJd have placed t'his word among the multitude of other names, which ended in "-ania, -onia, -inia, -unia, -enia" and all of which in common or vulgar Latin had a long, accented vowel before the "-n". Burt Vediinia with a long, accented "-ii" would not have become Vieden in Sl01Vak The Celtic V edona we regard as the same name which was preserved in the French name of the �58 SLOVAKIA river Vienne (a tributary of the Loire), as well as in the name of the City of V'ienne near Grenoble and in the regional name Haute Vienne. Here we are concerned with a similar ancient Celtic name as, for exarrniple, the French lsere, which corresponds to the Bava:rian lsar and the Czech Jizera, or the French Aube frrom the Celtic Albis (compaTe with Labe-Elbe, above). The French Vienne presuipposes the Celtic V oo.ona with a short aCJCented "-e-", w'hioh gave "-ie-," simila:rly as bene gaive bien. The change of Voo.ona to Vienne came aJbout according to t!he cmrent old..French vooal changes, which we cannot truke up here. We presuppose the Celto-Latin na,me of the riiver Vedona, in which the Latin short "-o-" gave the short "-u-" in the Sloivanic, w'hich later changed into a hard jer, like the Latin commater gaive kumatra and kmotra: like co:mlite(m) g,a,ve kumet and then kmef, and many others. In the same manner, Vedona first ga.ve Veduna, which after the disappeaora:nce of the weak jer (i.ei. the very short "-u") changed into Vedna, which the Germans adrupted in the form of Wenna, beoause they did not to[e,r ate the intervowel grollip "-dn-". In a word, Rekawenna got into the German lanigua:ge through a Sloviank medium ; not only because of the first part of the compound word, but also the second part. 'l'he glorious Vindobona of antiquity, which was situated rubove the river Vedona, lost its impomnce and a1read'Y in the beginning of tlhe fifth cenitury it is mentioned once as Vindomana, and at other tiimes as Vendomina or Vindomma. IDvidently we a:re concerned with a name of Celtic origin, which originaHy meant as much as "a white city" and whose name was being fu:rigotten by the ancient writers oif the fii.fith and sixth centuries. The SlO!V'aks could have known Vindobona--Vendomina already in the fifth century, and certainly not later than the beginning of the sixth; and sin(!e the names of rive:ris usually became the names of settlements, the settllement near the Vedona RiveT (today, the Rekawenna) was named after it. The name of the to:wn was of the mas<!uline gender, while the riiver remained feminine, like Rab (the river: Raba). �SLO \ .AK IA 59 Here the name of the river was Veduna and the town named after it bore the name Vedun (where the "-u-" later became a hard jer in a strong position, which was p~operly changed into an "-e-"). After the vocalimtion of the je:ra, therefore akeady in the tenth century, the foom Vedeii existed in SlowaJk; the genitive of this form wa.s Vediia (do Vedna - to Vienna) . The German na:me is not derived from the nominatirve, 'but from the SlO!Vlak geinitirve, as attested t-0 by the proof "Wenia" from 881. The attempt of pro!fessoc Liewehr, who preswpposes in this name a nasal vowel, CaJI1not be deduced in any manner, but even more incorrect is his claim that the Gerunans got the name "Wien" from the Czechs. Liehwehr obviously colllf,used Ol;ech with Slovak. When we consider that even today the Slovak ethnic border commences abo1Ut 35 !k ilometers northeast of Vienna, that during the entire ninth century the southern border of Great Moravia in Lower Austria was the Danube, and .tJhat durring the time of Ki'Il!g Sva.topllllk even the Vienna region belonged to his empire, it is altogether clear that the Slova,ks have ,preserved to the present time the ancient appelation o!f Viedeii (Viienna). 'f.he Czechs a;ccepted the name Viden from the Slorvaks, as they did the word "kost.el" (church) , rubout whic h we shall say something before we conclude this article. The German Rekawenna comes from the old Slovak form "reka Vedna" and from the ancient, indfrect cases: do Vediia (to Vienna, z Vedna (from Vienna) , in old German this was first Wena, and then later Wien. Llke the Germans along the Roman border on the Danulbe preserved the names Pata.via, Lentia, Lauriacum in the forms Pasau, Linz, Lorch, so the Slovaks in the names of Vied en and Rab ,preserved the names of V edona and Arabo along that ancient border. '.Ilhe Slo;venian Dunaj (iDanulbe) to designate Vienna supports the theory of professor Oettinger that the principal city of Samo's, empiTe was Vienna, rbecause only the constriuction of Benghof cOIUld haive girven the Slovenians the chance to name the new citadel according to the river, but �60 SLOVAKIA the irrediutaible oontinmty of the Sl01Vruk name wit'h the ancient one attests to the fact that during the time of King Samo, and even 1b efore him, the Slovenes did not live in the Vienna region, but the Slov8Jks did. Edtitz-Edlach-Edlbach: It is dbviol\.ls that the Slovruk population wais found not Ottl!ly in the immedliaite vii.cinity of Vienna, but extended fal'lt'her to the south, aJPpmx:imwte1y to the separation of the southern tributaries O!f the Danube in Lower Austria and partia,Uy in Upper AU1sitria, as is attested to by other to;pograiphica;l names, of which we might mention art 1€18JSt Edlitz and Eillach, which are east and north of Semmering. The consonant group "-di-" indicates its Slo!V'ruk origin. In Slovene "jela' comes from the older form "ela," as compared to the Slovruk "jedfa" (derived from the older fo:ran "edfa"). The grolllp "-di-" was also preseirved in the name of Modling (near Vienna) .f.rom the Sloviak "M:odlin" (another Modlin is near Wa:raaw). And south of Wind<ischg,a,rsten in Upper Austria we find the stream Edlbach. The very drcuimsitance that these names do not start with a "j-" proves their antiquity, that is, they must have penetrated into the Germian before the secondi half of the ninth century. In German names ta;ken over fr<>rr1 SIOIValk, we can ascertain three groups: 1. Edlitz (east of Semmering; another one is west of the Vienna Forest, near Wein1burg); here belong many other names, which we need not mention; Aflenz, a riiver in the SO'Utheastern region of Upper Austria; these and similar n8Jmes were taken over by t'he Germans when the Sloivak sit.HI used 'adfa, ablonica' instead of "jedfa, jablonica"; 2. the group with the initial "g" instead of the Slovak "j-" - e.g., Gaflenz (the nanie of the town above the river Aflertz W8JS ·adlapted later by the Germans, which means that the Sloiv,alk poipuiliaition preserwed itself there quite some time); 3. the ,groUJp with the presenved secondary "j-,r-" e.g. Jauerling (f,r om Javornik, a mountain ridge northw~ of MelO'k, a:bove the Danulbe; . the Gemnans adapted the word, just lirke they got "Moserling" from "MocamI'k"); Jas~tzbach, a trilburtal'y of the Erlaf, whfoh :filows into the Danu'be (Jasnitlz is from the SLO'V'ark Jasenica, naimed accordling to the tree "jasen" - ash). _ �SLOVAKIA 61 All this indicates the possi1bility which philology has to determine the time element of vowel changes, a,lso to ascertain the g.radual penetration of Gernnan colomzation and the period · of Gennanization of the Danube area in present-day Austria. Pregraten: Pro;fessor E. Pragarte Pregarten Schwartz correctly derives the name Pregarten from the word "pregarda," which later iby interposition of vocals, changed to "pregrada" (now priehrada in Slovak). We found over ten Pregartens in Upper AU/Stria alone, in the districts of Vociklalbruok, Perg, Gmunden, Freis,tadit, P,r egarten, Eferding, Ottens,tein, Raa>b, Schwanenstad t, which indicates that defense partitions are concerned, parts of the Slov.amic stronghold system which came from the sixth century and haippened to- be on the western border of Samo's empi-re. Designating territoria;l borders had a specia:l sig,rnifica:nce in the life o;f the ancient Slovans; even the German word "Grenze" comes from the Slo,vanic "granica." The Germans penetrated into easte•r n Tyrol after the change of ''gard-" to "grad-", because Pregraten was preser-v ed there. Of course., in some ,places they penetrated before this chamge took place, beca,use there we also find the settlement Aegarth (Oegarth) from the Sl01Va,k Ograda, similarly li!ke a sm~H plow in the German dialect used there is called "arl" from the ancient Slovene form "arlo" (today ralo a,nd, in Sloivruk, radio). The German form arl comes from the era before the interchange of vocals. Windisch garsten-Garsten: The first part of the na,me Windischgars ten indii'cates the Slovanidty of t'he seoon:d part, rubout which E. Schwartz claims that it comes from the Slovanic "chvorst-" ( chrasf in SloiVaik). We cannot, however, agree with him, beca,me in old German names taJken over from the Slov,8Jnic, "k" takes the place oif "ch"; e.g., in Austria, in the Damulbe region, there are several hills whi'C'h are called Kulm, Kulmitz; these are derived from the Slovak "chu!lm" (today, Chlmec, chlmok); therefore, the 'g" of Garsten ca,nnot come from "ch," but only from a word which began with .a "g". Besides that, Windischga-rs ten lies on the old, very im- �62 SLOVAKIA portant highway which already dUJring the Roman times corrected Noricum with the Danwbian region; therefore, already then this road was fortified with bast.rions. In the proximity Of Win<lischg•a rsten is Grad.au, whose. name is obvious1y connected or rel•a ted to the word "grad." A section of the city of Steyr is also called Garsten. We are here concerned with an elevation which hardly could halve been named after "chraist"' (thicket; s'lmufbbery), but l'ather after "brad" (castle; bastion). In our 01pilll.i.on, Garst.en is derived from "gardisce" - the accented "-i-" dlisappearing in the Geir,man, and the gl'OU'l) olf five consonants "rdsts-", because very difrficw.t to pronounce, was modified to "-rit-". Therefore,, we must derive "Garst.en" from "gardisce" and not from "chvorst" ( ohrasf, today). And since south of Windi-schg,a rsten we find the stream Edlbach, it is necesisary to assll!me that the Slovaks settled here very earJiy, because the Sioivenes along the Dra;v,a penetrated to the west in the sixt'h and serventh centuries and through Istria into northern J.truly. In a word, their goal was west and sourt'hiwest, but not north. Slovak tribes from the north also penetrated souith and so1.lfthwesit into the Danubian region. Inasmuoh as traces of Slovenian colonirzation have been ascertained recently around the central part of the Enns, they came from a 1a:ter ,period, when the penetration of the Slovenes to the west wais stopped by the Bavarians and in northern Italy by the Langobal'ds. The woros Garsten, Windischgarst.en, just lilke Pregart.en, are liiving testimony of the defense organization of the forefathers of the ~ovalks (.castles, bastions, citadels) ; other names in the Dainlllibian region of Austria will lead us to the sa:me conclusion. For example, Gairlen and Grat.en ( Garten berg ipresuipposes the name "Gradna), and many names conta•i ning "Strass", are for the most part related to the Slovak "straza" (guaro, and not to the German Strasse (street). Traces were even found after the name "brad.lo" (huge rock) , which the ancient SlovaJks used to designate a defensilve p1ace, usuiaaly a hill, on which defenses were set up (compare Brad.lo near Myjava and Domica; also Branisko, a hill between Saris and Spis) . �SLOVAKIA 63 By analyzing a large number of locail, river, borderline and other names in Lower and Upper AIUJStria and vicinity, as well as Austrian dia:leotic words of Slovak origin, we can define relatiively a;ccurateily just aibout what tme these areas were colonized, but also the 'beginnings, the bo,r ders and the fortunes of Slovak colonization. In summary, then: 1. The names Wien, Rekawenna, Raab, Rabnitz found their way into, German through a Slovak medium, and the Slovaks received the names Vieden, Raba, Rab directly from the Roman population wath whioh they came into contact after their advent into P,a nnonia. 2. The southern 1b ooodary of Slovak colonization in Lorwer and Upper Austria is coarsely indicated by the propagati001 of names of the Edlitz ty,pe, the Slo;va;kness of which cannot ibe questioned, and for the most par,t is c,overed with the waters of the southern tributaries of the central Danube and the northern tributaries of the Drava, besides the region of the centrai IDnns. 3. Names of the Pregarten--Garst,en type designate an ancient Slovak-Bavarian boundary line, which was sUJbjected to changes from the sixth to the eighth centuries. It is self-evident that the direct Slovak~Roman contact was not limited to topograiphicaJ names alone, but can be traced in a multitude of words which the forefathers of the Slovaks took 0 ver from the Pannonian Romams. Pressed for space here, let us mention at least a feiw exrumples. The Slo~ vaks could ha,ve received the word "cast.ellum" only in Pannonia, whose ecclesiastica.>l organization was clissolved thy the Acvars when they destroyed the archibishopris of Sirmium in 582. The Roman "cast,ella" (ca,s tles) served as places of worship long before that date. At that time, when the Slovaks became acquainted with the word castellum (lkostol" - church), they also came to know the word "t,ehla," which came from "tegla," and this word in turn from the Latin "tegula." The GeI1Illans changed "tegla" to "ziegel" in the first half of the sixth century. The Czec'hs got the word "kost.el' from the western-iSlovaJk "kostel," because on their ethnical territory there never wa,s 1 �64 SLOVAKIA a single Roman "castellum." The Czech "cihla" comes from the German, while the Slova;k "tehla" and the Moravian-Slovak "tihla" come directly from the Roman "teglartegula." Among other words the forefathers Olf the Slovaks took over directly from the Romans were also "marmor" (J1ater "mramor - ma:rible) and "ban.a (mine). This swpports our theory that the Slovaks had direct conitacts with the Romans in Pannon:ia. It is not the purpose of philology to analyize the political sitiuation in Europe of the first half of the seventh century and to point out the possibilities which were presented the ancient Slovaiks so that they became the core of the strong empire of King Samo. It shall be the task of ecclesiastical historiains to throw Hght on the reasons why St. Amandus, the apostle of the Belgians, was not suocessful with the Slovak tri!bes in the western Da;nUJbian area. Historians will perhaps tel,l us which Slovak tribes preserved their independence even after Samo's deat'h. Philology can simply state that the material culture of the Sl01Vak Tribes, just like their administrativ e organization, was the same during Samo's time as it was in the Great Moravian Empire and that differences in spiritual culture were only in religion. During Samo's time the ancient Slovaks held onto their pagan religion, whHe the creators of Great Moraivia were Christian Slovak princes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "The aHiiance with the USSR is the starting ,poirut of our new foreign policy and of our security system. This alliance will be complrumented by alhances with other Slav countries. It r epreseruts a mighty bulwairk ag,ainst iposs,i!bJe danger in the future Jirom German imperia:lisnn. In the spirit of these prino1ples, the Demooraitic Party aicted st!an.mchly at all forums. It put aH its weight behind this conception. This orientation is to be regarded as the invariable devise also for our future political life." - (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vi.ce-Chaimnan cxf the IDxecutive Committee of the "Council of Free Czechoslo.vakia," at session of Democratic Party, January 25, 194'8). � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 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 49 624-659 A.D.: THE SLOVAKS AND KING SAMO'S EMPIRE Dr. Henrich Bartek The Great Morawian IDmpire, which had its greatest development during the reign of King Sivatoplwk (870---895), lasted Q/Ver one hundred years. It was the climax of the long struggle of the SlOIV~ trilbes for their own staite. The core or nucleus of the territory occU1pied by the forefathers of the Slovaik nation was the territory to the north of the coo.tool Danuibe. At the end of the eighth centwy and the beginning of the ninith, the SlovaJk trilbes succesSlf ully threw off the yoke of the A vars with the help of Chaxla;maigne. The history of the ninth century offers many possibilities to inquire into the various political and spiritual tendencies which chanced to meet in Great Moravia. But we must reimemlber that patrioti'c motives from the era of national rebinth strn play a significrunt role and visions of the mighty empire of our forefathers not only strengthened national lirfe, hurt also were a rich source of poetic and artistic creativeness. Overestimating the Cyrillo-Methodius episode, tJherefore, is quite common among the Slovaks. Digressions frOIIIl current views, for example, the Christianiwtion of the Slov,aJks by Saints Cyril and Methodius, are accepted with distrust, even though irt is quite obvious that the Slova;ks were Christians long before the adivent of Saints Cyril and Meithodius. F1unthermore, that t'he epochal work of the creators orf the nationa)l liturgy did not last long in Slovakia, but reached its climax outside the 1and od: the Slova;k,s among the southern and eastern SlolV'anic peoples. A thorough understanding of the cultural and political foundations of the development of the Great Moraivian Empire is unthinlkalble wirbhout -a knowledge of the period that preceded it, since Greait Morwia w,a;s neither the first state arrangement orf our forefathers, nor the beginning of their historical aotivti.1Jy, but the result and the c,limax of actions of seve·r al centuries. - -The meager sources before the ninth century do hot entice historiaJns, becaiuse they do not offer sufficient materia,1 50 SLOVAKIA for the expression of more or less probable theories a:nd because the Slovruks, long /before the origin of the Great Moravian Empire, had oooupied a space in the Danuibi'clln region several times greater than that which they n:ow occupy. The fortunes of the Slov-aiks in the era before Great Moravia are veiled in mystery and will not become known U!Iltiil historical science shall be aJble to use the results of researches ()If those scientific departments w'hich could effeotwely CQl1lttibute to the solution of the problem of OUT oldest history. To date, however, a•r eheologicai finds were not sufficiently evaluated to let us know the pro,g ressi.ve penetraititon of the Slovaks into the Danulbian territory; and ethnography has not attempted to give an eociplanation of the origin of Slovak culture in comparison with the culture of its SlOIVIMlic •a nd nonSlovanic nei:gh!bors, saying rrothmg about our ,p hilology which neglected the history of our tongue by devoting 1tself ia11gely to registering dialects and the normalimtion of the· language of literature. Furthermore, comparative philology has such reliable methods that it often can with final validity solive even questions which historfans must leawe unnoticed for a laok of written memoirs, ,b ut which they possilbly could 'b uild farther if they had at hand some supporting poinJts gained through other departments. Philology itself could afford much valualble knowledge to clarify not only the era before Great Moravia in the Danubian area, but als'O the geographical position of the Slovak tri·bes in their ancient homeland because this oon 'b e done 'b y analysis of certain strata of the diotionary aind linguistic maI1ks, as well as by an am.alysis o!f geogmphical names of ancient origm. Of course, such resea:z,ches require exiceptional ca.111tion, but the fact that the ecclesiastica:l Slovanic language enaJbles us to reconst:rmct the arra111gement of vowels of Sl'OIV'lalk words used in the second haJ1f of the ninth century is a sufficient -basis so that we could, ac:cord!irng to single words prese:z,ved since before the ninth cen't;ucy, regressiive1y reconstruct the arrangement of vowels of words from the eighth to the fif,t h centuries, nay, even dooper into the past, whereby it win be shown at which sections of time certain foreign ~rds penetrated into our midst, which as dbjective proo1Js wi:ll enruble S LOVAKIA 51 us to define the cuiturO-ipoliticaJ contacts of our forefathers in the era before Great MOTaviia. In this process of finding the dldest settlements of t'he Sio,V'a,ks, topograJphical names will have a speciaJJ. sig:niificance, a!boJVe al[ else the names of rivers aJnd settlements, as we shall see in examples presented below. So that we miig,ht arrive at positive results from the history before Great Moravia, we must accept a cert.a.in. working hypothesis, the aiutho,rlty of wlhfoh we shall inquire into, wherelby for the saJke of ancient histo11y we are uirged to issue out of Samo.' s emipire and assume that Great Moravria was not the first state formation of the Slova!k tribes, beca~ Fredegar's chronicles record a strong western-.Slovruric empire aJreadly in the sreiventh century; it was headed by King Samo and was strong enough to resist the pressure not only of the Avars, but esven of the Twktish kingdom of King Dagolmllrt. Fredega:r's report aibout the great defeat of the Franlks near the Wogastiburg Castle in 631, as well as several other notations 'by thtis same historian, are the only objective proof aibout Samn's empire, and on these records are based the most various theories about the ethnical composition and the territorial extent, as well as the principal city of Samo's state. As usua11y ha,pperns in such cases, when the som-ce does not a.icoorately define a territory, scho1a:rs of the individu.a1 SIOIValtlic nations striive to a:pip~iate unto themselves Samo's empire: some Czech scientists are seelkting Wogastibrn,g in the most western sections of Bohemia; the Slovenes would liike to find it in Coruta:nia; and foreign scholars lean to one or the other theory. For e}Cample, the Belgian histol'ian Pirenne was for Corutania, whiile Milk.kola, the F~itmish scholar on Slavistics, preferred Bohemia.. In the past recent years, Oze<!h, Polish, and Slov,ak scholars ha:d agreed that King Samo resided at DelVin near the Danube, which, therefore, must have been the center of his empire. We find the weak side of these theories in the lack of new objective proofs which could complement Fredegar's notations. Even. though many new staitemenrts aJbout Samo's empire are very reasonable and very pro!balble, they will re- 52 SLOVAKL<\. main only as suppositions until incontrovert1ble proofs aa-e offered to support them. These theories albout the center of Samo's empire were propagated in 1951 by Oettinger, well-Jmoiwn Viennese historian of arts and arrcheology, who teills us in his book "Das Warden Wiens" thait he regards Vienna as Samo's residence: He bases his b.elief on the fact that the construotion of the Berghof Castle in Vienna, jrUdging it according to prese1wed architectonic relics, can be traced only to Samo's era, because the Avam as a nomadic nation could not build such a great stooe citadel. Besides that, professor Oettinger produces a whole series of othea:- arguments to prove htis theory, one of which we might introduce at this time, that is, that the Slovenes use the name Danu~ for Vienna, namely, that they called the castle a:nd the city according to the rirver, which could hawe happened only during Samo's time, . when the Barghof in Vienna; was the seat of Samo's _, empire. 'I'he discovery of the castle is certainly a very weighty fact, which archeoilogy and history of the arts, th<l!Il!ks to the deductions of Professor Oettinger, presented to historians. Oettinger considers it sellf-evident that Sl0V1a:ks an~l_ other Slovanic peoples lived in the entire region of Vienna and far to the west :tlong the Danulbe territo;ry duriing Samo's time. Theories about the center of Samo's empire at Devin, and especially the proofs of Oeittinger are a suffidenit basis for philology to ask the question: What Slovanic peoples could have li'Ved during Samo.'s time in the Vienna region, near the Danube in present Austria:, and in the vicinity of Devin? Ilf it could be succeSSlf,u lly prorved that during Samo's time the Slovaks a!lrea:dy were settiled in the central Danwbian region, on both sides of this great river, that would mean a milestone in the most ancient history of the SllO!VaJk nation, because F'redegar wrote quite plainly that Samo came among the SlOIV'anic peoiples exactly at the time when they had successfully relbeHed against the Avars. Therefore, it was not Samo, a Frankish merchant by origin, who l~berated the Slovanic peoples who later elected him their king, because they had Uberated themselJves before his advent. Philological proofs of the Slovakness of the regions to SLOVAKIA 53 the .south: of the central Danube in the seventh century could becomie the basis of extensive historical researches, which wouhl place the beginnings of the historical era of the political efforts of the Slo.vruks two centuries dooper into the past, t'herelby clarif~g eiven the origin of the Great Mom-wan Empire. As mentioned albO!ve, philology can throw light on even very runcient eras of nati:ons by ana>ly,z ing a>dopted foreign words and ancient names of ri'Vers and cities. At this time we shall attempt to girve at least a few examples to illustrate how this could be done. Several Ancient Geographical Names An ex,pl,a;n_ation of the origin of topographii.cal names is a useful aid of historians, be.<:ause quite frequentl;y it presents -a better picture orf an anoient settlement than fragmenta:r:y · reports orf chroniclers and, furthermore, vowel chamges,. to which geographical names succumbed, enaJbied us to determine the time of their origin and the period of their existence. In the past decades many wo;r,k,s were published a'bo.ut Slo'V'anic to,p ographical names, but most frequently they are rather conicerned with simply registering names than with explaining them, since the explanation of the oriigin of names encounters many diflficu[ties, especiaJ>ly i!Il the Danwbe territory, whe;re we meet with traces of the lllyrians, Celts, GeTmans and Romans, even the European aJbocygenes, whiHe t'he illyrian and Celtic languages arre not as yet suflficiently reasea.r ched. It is relatirvely very difficult to eociplain clearly to inexperts the origin orf some ancient name, ibecaiuse that requires considerable k!Ilowledge of comparative philology. Thus, for example, even at first glance it is abvious that the nam·e s Viede:ii and Wien (Vienna), which have a ,b asic importance for an.oient history of the Sloivalks, are somewhat related or conneicted togetherr, but maJking their relationship clear requires centain knowledge so that the explanation might 'be accessible to every one and, therefore, we shall ta'ke Ulp a few oth~ geog~aJphical names to show by what manner names of antique origin come to us. RfM___.ROMA (Rome) : The connooti10n of the terms is obvious, but the difficulty encountered is explaining the Slo- 5-1 SLOVAKIA vruk "i" for the Latin "o", as well as the masculine gender of the Slovak name. Quite some time ago, professor Skok of Zagreb University pointed out that on the Dalmatian coast the Latin Salona was cha:nged into Solin, Nona to Nin, Albona to Labin (lby changing position of V'OCals, like the Czech Labe from Albis, buit the German Elbe Wli,thout changing position; the ancient Serbian and Croatian name Jakin was derirved from Ancona). In these names, the Latin "o" was compensated for by the S1ovanic "ii" which then was changed to "y" and fmally to "i." At the same time t:he Latin femi'Illine gender of the names was changed to the masc'll'line in the Slovanic languages, be"Camse in unrefined Latin the Accusative ending "-m" disappeared' and "ad Roma" was used instead of "aid Roma:m" (to Rome). The Slovank peoples regarded the ending "-a" as a suffix of the genitive case of the mascU!line gender and from the forms "do Rima, z Rima, do Solina, zo Solina," etc., they made the maS:C'U'line nominative "Rim, Solin, Nin," etc. It cannot be said with cert.ainty whether the Slovaks got the word "Rim" through the southern Slova'l1S or directly from the Romans in Pamnon:ia, because the name of the princilpa:1 city of the Roman ffimpire may have become known to them when they already lirved in the Car,pathians, but as yet had not penetrated to the Danuibe. RABA-RABIOA-RAB: One of the important southern tributaries of the central Danulb,e in Pannorua is the river Raalb, which in t:he Roman era was ca.Heel Arabo. R is generaliliy ~cknowled'ged that the name is of Celtic origin, which in the S1orvanic was first aJbbrevfaJted into Arba and then later in the fi.mt half Oif the ninth century became Raba by transposition of letters. We find a river bea:ring the same name in Pol,and, which flows into the Visla alboive the Dunajec ; I :reg,ard the name of the Ra!ba of Polamd also of Celitic origin. The Polish Raba and the Pannonian Ra.ha a.re one Of the many proofs of the wandering Oif the Celts, after whom there are traces e:ven in Slovaikia in the names of rivers. Thus, for example, Orava is of Ce1tic origin,. as is Oravica in Rumania. 'Dhe Rabica (Ra.pea in Mayiga:r and Rabliltz SLOVAKIA 55 in German) flows into the Danubian Raba. And Rabica means the SmaH Ralba, because in ancient Slovak diminlutiive names were formed- ~ the sulffix "-ica" - e.g. - NitraNitrica, Bystra-lBystrica, Tepla~Teplica, Lomna◄Lomnica, Byoca.,Bytx'!ica., Lovea◄Lovcioa, etc. One o.f the triburtaries of the Ralbica is named Repce in Magyar, which undoubtedly is am. older name than Ra.pea, because the Magyar Repce presupposes the older Slo'Va.k form Ratiica with an "-a" after a soft "c." In other words, the Magyar Repce was adopted bef<>i:re the thirteenth cen<bury, before the hardening of the soft "c," whife the Magyar Ra.pea is of later origin (afiter the "-a" changed into "-a" in Slovak). At the confluence of the Raba into the Danulbe is the city of RaJb (RaaJb), the Magyar Gyor, which used to be the site of a strong gianison to protect the Roman borders. In Slovll!k t'he name of the city is of the masculine gender in contrast to the name of the river. So, here again we meet with tilie same phenomenon as we did with the. name Rim (Rome). The SlovaJks ada,pted and preserved the ancient name of the river in the form oif Raba and out of it made the dimmuti<ve Rabica; but when they came to the name of the city, they changed the gender in the spirit of their language and, therefore, the form Rab proves a direct corm.ection with the Roman population. in Pannonia, from which the Slovaks tOOik the name of the r iver in the form of Arba, but in designating the city changed the form to Arb, from which at .t he end of the second half of the ninth century, by a trans.posiltion of vocals, the forms Raba and Rab originated. The German forms Raab, Rabnitz and the Magyar Raba (the riiveir) , Repce, Rapea coulld have been taJken onlry from the SlovaJk forms. Here the ancient Slov3'k continuity is quite clear. We must also mention that on the Adriatic, south of the ffihune River, lies the island of RaJb with a oity by that name. The IWian name of the island is Arbe, which also supports our etymology of the names Raba (in Poland), Raba, Rabica, Rab (beyond the Danu'be). When dealing with ancient geog,rruphica:l names, if we are concerned. with the afrooment of the name of a river with the name of a city or town, the name of the river, as a rule, is older. For example: Nitra is named according to 56 SLOVAKIA the river bearing that name, and not vice-versa. The same holds for the names Raba and Rab: the Celts first named the river and later the setrtJement by the same name, which became a Roman city or town. On the Polish Raba there is no town with a similiar name, 'b ut only the community Rabka, whose suffix is "-ka" shows that its origin came later, similarly liike Oravka is of a lateT date in comparison with the more ancient Oravica. In the period of migration of nations there were no great oo111flrcit:s in Panrnonia which could have destroyed ancient oities, because the Romans at the beginning of the fifth cenitury ceded Pann.onia to the H'l.l!Ils, who not only did not destroy A:q,uincum, near the present Budin, but not even the principal city of Upper Pannonia, SaJVaria (todaiy, the Magyar Szombathe ly and the German Stein am Anger). This wealthy city, the birthplace oif St. Ma,rtin, was Mstroyed oruy after the fall of the Tums, in 4!56, but by an earthquaJke. The Huns, similat1ly like the Arvara later, were not interested in destrnying the Pannonfam towns which had to pay them tribute. Therefore, eiven outsride oircumstain ces attest to the fact that the forefathers of the Slo:viaks were acquainted with Rab (Raab) during the time when it was a n important ancient town with a harbor on the Danube. RE~WEN NA-VIED EN-WIEN (Vienna): The official name of the southern tribuil:iary of the Danube in Vienna is Fluss Wien (1RiJver Vioona), even though in the ordinary German language, both in the City of Vienna and also in it.s vicmity, the ancient name Rekawenna is still qurite alive. The firsit part o!f the latter appelation cor.respond s to the SlovaJk "rieka" (rwhich happened to be "reka" in the tenth and eleventh centuries,). Near tJhe wpper part of this river is a community called Rekawinke l (A corner of the river). The second part of the com'I)O!U.Ild word with its "-wenna" reminds us of the names V!ienna (Viedeii) in Slov,ruk and Wien in German). The ending "-a" of the name Wenna tells us that we are concerned with a name that was taken o,ver into German at a relatively late date, s,i nce the "-a" ending ·· in old German disappeared . For exaJiniple: the ancient name of the river Ipusa SLOVAKIA 57 changed into lps ( officially, Ybbs), of courrse thro1Ugh a Slovanic medil.llffi, as is proved by its. trilbutary, the Ipsitz, namely the Small ]jpsa, which in turn wa;s derived from the older term Ipsica. Similarly only thTou·g h a Slovanic medilllffi can be eXiplained the feminine gender of the name Enns, which professor E. Schwrurz noted correctly, according to which the ancient Anisus first gave the Slovams Anisa, from which then, b.y changing the "a" into an "e" and further changes in the German, the form Enns was created. The feminine gender of Enns points to its Slovanic origin against the masc'll!line gender of the class~ca·l name Anisus. This same phenomenon is noticed in t'he names Drava and Sava, which in Latin are Dravus and Savus (masclllline gender) . The change in gender in the Slovanic is given to the omitted or untleratood word "rieka" or probrubly "voda" (rirver and water, lbolth feminine gender). The form Rekawenna, wiith the irresevviation of the word "rieka" indicates not onliy the Sl{)!Varucity of the name, 'but also the necessity of disting1Uishing 'by means of this word t'he name of the ri;ver from another geographical name, so that ambiguity would not a-rise. The existence of the word "Rellmwenna" tells us that the name Wenna had to be. also• the name of a place. Rekawenna found its way into the common German language at the earliest by the end of the eleventh century, that is, aifter the disappearance orf the ending "-a," which otherwise agrees also with historical fact, because the Germans succeSSJfu[ly pushed out the Magyars from the Vienna region only as late as the eleiventh century. According to Much, the Celtic appelation for the Wien (Vienna) River was Vedunia, which means "mountain stream" ("Waldibach"). We thinlk that Much cor:rectly seeks the Ce1tic origin of the name of the river, but we cannot agree with him that we are here concerned with the suffix "-nia," beca:use the Romans wouJd have placed t'his word among the multitude of other names, which ended in "-ania, -onia, -inia, -unia, -enia" and all of which in common or vulgar Latin had a long, accented vowel before the "-n". Burt Vediinia with a long, accented "-ii" would not have become Vieden in Sl01Vak The Celtic V edona we regard as the same name which was preserved in the French name of the 58 SLOVAKIA river Vienne (a tributary of the Loire), as well as in the name of the City of V'ienne near Grenoble and in the regional name Haute Vienne. Here we are concerned with a similar ancient Celtic name as, for exarrniple, the French lsere, which corresponds to the Bava:rian lsar and the Czech Jizera, or the French Aube frrom the Celtic Albis (compaTe with Labe-Elbe, above). The French Vienne presuipposes the Celtic V oo.ona with a short aCJCented "-e-", w'hioh gave "-ie-," simila:rly as bene gaive bien. The change of Voo.ona to Vienne came aJbout according to t!he cmrent old..French vooal changes, which we cannot truke up here. We presuppose the Celto-Latin na,me of the riiver Vedona, in which the Latin short "-o-" gave the short "-u-" in the Sloivanic, w'hich later changed into a hard jer, like the Latin commater gaive kumatra and kmotra: like co:mlite(m) g,a,ve kumet and then kmef, and many others. In the same manner, Vedona first ga.ve Veduna, which after the disappeaora:nce of the weak jer (i.ei. the very short "-u") changed into Vedna, which the Germans adrupted in the form of Wenna, beoause they did not to[e,r ate the intervowel grollip "-dn-". In a word, Rekawenna got into the German lanigua:ge through a Sloviank medium ; not only because of the first part of the compound word, but also the second part. 'l'he glorious Vindobona of antiquity, which was situated rubove the river Vedona, lost its impomnce and a1read'Y in the beginning of tlhe fifth cenitury it is mentioned once as Vindomana, and at other tiimes as Vendomina or Vindomma. IDvidently we a:re concerned with a name of Celtic origin, which originaHy meant as much as "a white city" and whose name was being fu:rigotten by the ancient writers oif the fii.fith and sixth centuries. The SlO!V'aks could have known Vindobona--Vendomina already in the fifth century, and certainly not later than the beginning of the sixth; and sin(!e the names of rive:ris usually became the names of settlements, the settllement near the Vedona RiveT (today, the Rekawenna) was named after it. The name of the to:wn was of the mas<!uline gender, while the riiver remained feminine, like Rab (the river: Raba). SLO \ .AK IA 59 Here the name of the river was Veduna and the town named after it bore the name Vedun (where the "-u-" later became a hard jer in a strong position, which was p~operly changed into an "-e-"). After the vocalimtion of the je:ra, therefore akeady in the tenth century, the foom Vedeii existed in SlowaJk; the genitive of this form wa.s Vediia (do Vedna - to Vienna) . The German na:me is not derived from the nominatirve, 'but from the SlO!Vlak geinitirve, as attested t-0 by the proof "Wenia" from 881. The attempt of pro!fessoc Liewehr, who preswpposes in this name a nasal vowel, CaJI1not be deduced in any manner, but even more incorrect is his claim that the Gerunans got the name "Wien" from the Czechs. Liehwehr obviously colllf,used Ol;ech with Slovak. When we consider that even today the Slovak ethnic border commences abo1Ut 35 !k ilometers northeast of Vienna, that during the entire ninth century the southern border of Great Moravia in Lower Austria was the Danube, and .tJhat durring the time of Ki'Il!g Sva.topllllk even the Vienna region belonged to his empire, it is altogether clear that the Slova,ks have ,preserved to the present time the ancient appelation o!f Viedeii (Viienna). 'f.he Czechs a;ccepted the name Viden from the Slorvaks, as they did the word "kost.el" (church) , rubout whic h we shall say something before we conclude this article. The German Rekawenna comes from the old Slovak form "reka Vedna" and from the ancient, indfrect cases: do Vediia (to Vienna, z Vedna (from Vienna) , in old German this was first Wena, and then later Wien. Llke the Germans along the Roman border on the Danulbe preserved the names Pata.via, Lentia, Lauriacum in the forms Pasau, Linz, Lorch, so the Slovaks in the names of Vied en and Rab ,preserved the names of V edona and Arabo along that ancient border. '.Ilhe Slo;venian Dunaj (iDanulbe) to designate Vienna supports the theory of professor Oettinger that the principal city of Samo's, empiTe was Vienna, rbecause only the constriuction of Benghof cOIUld haive girven the Slovenians the chance to name the new citadel according to the river, but 60 SLOVAKIA the irrediutaible oontinmty of the Sl01Vruk name wit'h the ancient one attests to the fact that during the time of King Samo, and even 1b efore him, the Slovenes did not live in the Vienna region, but the Slov8Jks did. Edtitz-Edlach-Edlbach: It is dbviol\.ls that the Slovruk population wais found not Ottl!ly in the immedliaite vii.cinity of Vienna, but extended fal'lt'her to the south, aJPpmx:imwte1y to the separation of the southern tributaries O!f the Danube in Lower Austria and partia,Uy in Upper AU1sitria, as is attested to by other to;pograiphica;l names, of which we might mention art 1€18JSt Edlitz and Eillach, which are east and north of Semmering. The consonant group "-di-" indicates its Slo!V'ruk origin. In Slovene "jela' comes from the older form "ela," as compared to the Slovruk "jedfa" (derived from the older fo:ran "edfa"). The grolllp "-di-" was also preseirved in the name of Modling (near Vienna) .f.rom the Sloviak "M:odlin" (another Modlin is near Wa:raaw). And south of Wind<ischg,a,rsten in Upper Austria we find the stream Edlbach. The very drcuimsitance that these names do not start with a "j-" proves their antiquity, that is, they must have penetrated into the Germian before the secondi half of the ninth century. In German names ta;ken over fr<>rr1 SIOIValk, we can ascertain three groups: 1. Edlitz (east of Semmering; another one is west of the Vienna Forest, near Wein1burg); here belong many other names, which we need not mention; Aflenz, a riiver in the SO'Utheastern region of Upper Austria; these and similar n8Jmes were taken over by t'he Germans when the Sloivak sit.HI used 'adfa, ablonica' instead of "jedfa, jablonica"; 2. the group with the initial "g" instead of the Slovak "j-" - e.g., Gaflenz (the nanie of the town above the river Aflertz W8JS ·adlapted later by the Germans, which means that the Sloiv,alk poipuiliaition preserwed itself there quite some time); 3. the ,groUJp with the presenved secondary "j-,r-" e.g. Jauerling (f,r om Javornik, a mountain ridge northw~ of MelO'k, a:bove the Danulbe; . the Gemnans adapted the word, just lirke they got "Moserling" from "MocamI'k"); Jas~tzbach, a trilburtal'y of the Erlaf, whfoh :filows into the Danu'be (Jasnitlz is from the SLO'V'ark Jasenica, naimed accordling to the tree "jasen" - ash). _ SLOVAKIA 61 All this indicates the possi1bility which philology has to determine the time element of vowel changes, a,lso to ascertain the g.radual penetration of Gernnan colomzation and the period · of Gennanization of the Danube area in present-day Austria. Pregraten: Pro;fessor E. Pragarte Pregarten Schwartz correctly derives the name Pregarten from the word "pregarda," which later iby interposition of vocals, changed to "pregrada" (now priehrada in Slovak). We found over ten Pregartens in Upper AU/Stria alone, in the districts of Vociklalbruok, Perg, Gmunden, Freis,tadit, P,r egarten, Eferding, Ottens,tein, Raa>b, Schwanenstad t, which indicates that defense partitions are concerned, parts of the Slov.amic stronghold system which came from the sixth century and haippened to- be on the western border of Samo's empi-re. Designating territoria;l borders had a specia:l sig,rnifica:nce in the life o;f the ancient Slovans; even the German word "Grenze" comes from the Slo,vanic "granica." The Germans penetrated into easte•r n Tyrol after the change of ''gard-" to "grad-", because Pregraten was preser-v ed there. Of course., in some ,places they penetrated before this chamge took place, beca,use there we also find the settlement Aegarth (Oegarth) from the Sl01Va,k Ograda, similarly li!ke a sm~H plow in the German dialect used there is called "arl" from the ancient Slovene form "arlo" (today ralo a,nd, in Sloivruk, radio). The German form arl comes from the era before the interchange of vocals. Windisch garsten-Garsten: The first part of the na,me Windischgars ten indii'cates the Slovanidty of t'he seoon:d part, rubout which E. Schwartz claims that it comes from the Slovanic "chvorst-" ( chrasf in SloiVaik). We cannot, however, agree with him, beca,me in old German names taJken over from the Slov,8Jnic, "k" takes the place oif "ch"; e.g., in Austria, in the Damulbe region, there are several hills whi'C'h are called Kulm, Kulmitz; these are derived from the Slovak "chu!lm" (today, Chlmec, chlmok); therefore, the 'g" of Garsten ca,nnot come from "ch," but only from a word which began with .a "g". Besides that, Windischga-rs ten lies on the old, very im- 62 SLOVAKIA portant highway which already dUJring the Roman times corrected Noricum with the Danwbian region; therefore, already then this road was fortified with bast.rions. In the proximity Of Win<lischg•a rsten is Grad.au, whose. name is obvious1y connected or rel•a ted to the word "grad." A section of the city of Steyr is also called Garsten. We are here concerned with an elevation which hardly could halve been named after "chraist"' (thicket; s'lmufbbery), but l'ather after "brad" (castle; bastion). In our 01pilll.i.on, Garst.en is derived from "gardisce" - the accented "-i-" dlisappearing in the Geir,man, and the gl'OU'l) olf five consonants "rdsts-", because very difrficw.t to pronounce, was modified to "-rit-". Therefore,, we must derive "Garst.en" from "gardisce" and not from "chvorst" ( ohrasf, today). And since south of Windi-schg,a rsten we find the stream Edlbach, it is necesisary to assll!me that the Slovaks settled here very earJiy, because the Sioivenes along the Dra;v,a penetrated to the west in the sixt'h and serventh centuries and through Istria into northern J.truly. In a word, their goal was west and sourt'hiwest, but not north. Slovak tribes from the north also penetrated souith and so1.lfthwesit into the Danubian region. Inasmuoh as traces of Slovenian colonirzation have been ascertained recently around the central part of the Enns, they came from a 1a:ter ,period, when the penetration of the Slovenes to the west wais stopped by the Bavarians and in northern Italy by the Langobal'ds. The woros Garsten, Windischgarst.en, just lilke Pregart.en, are liiving testimony of the defense organization of the forefathers of the ~ovalks (.castles, bastions, citadels) ; other names in the Dainlllibian region of Austria will lead us to the sa:me conclusion. For example, Gairlen and Grat.en ( Garten berg ipresuipposes the name "Gradna), and many names conta•i ning "Strass", are for the most part related to the Slovak "straza" (guaro, and not to the German Strasse (street). Traces were even found after the name "brad.lo" (huge rock) , which the ancient SlovaJks used to designate a defensilve p1ace, usuiaaly a hill, on which defenses were set up (compare Brad.lo near Myjava and Domica; also Branisko, a hill between Saris and Spis) . SLOVAKIA 63 By analyzing a large number of locail, river, borderline and other names in Lower and Upper AIUJStria and vicinity, as well as Austrian dia:leotic words of Slovak origin, we can define relatiively a;ccurateily just aibout what tme these areas were colonized, but also the 'beginnings, the bo,r ders and the fortunes of Slovak colonization. In summary, then: 1. The names Wien, Rekawenna, Raab, Rabnitz found their way into, German through a Slovak medium, and the Slovaks received the names Vieden, Raba, Rab directly from the Roman population wath whioh they came into contact after their advent into P,a nnonia. 2. The southern 1b ooodary of Slovak colonization in Lorwer and Upper Austria is coarsely indicated by the propagati001 of names of the Edlitz ty,pe, the Slo;va;kness of which cannot ibe questioned, and for the most par,t is c,overed with the waters of the southern tributaries of the central Danube and the northern tributaries of the Drava, besides the region of the centrai IDnns. 3. Names of the Pregarten--Garst,en type designate an ancient Slovak-Bavarian boundary line, which was sUJbjected to changes from the sixth to the eighth centuries. It is self-evident that the direct Slovak~Roman contact was not limited to topograiphicaJ names alone, but can be traced in a multitude of words which the forefathers of the Slovaks took 0 ver from the Pannonian Romams. Pressed for space here, let us mention at least a feiw exrumples. The Slo~ vaks could ha,ve received the word "cast.ellum" only in Pannonia, whose ecclesiastica.>l organization was clissolved thy the Acvars when they destroyed the archibishopris of Sirmium in 582. The Roman "cast,ella" (ca,s tles) served as places of worship long before that date. At that time, when the Slovaks became acquainted with the word castellum (lkostol" - church), they also came to know the word "t,ehla," which came from "tegla," and this word in turn from the Latin "tegula." The GeI1Illans changed "tegla" to "ziegel" in the first half of the sixth century. The Czec'hs got the word "kost.el' from the western-iSlovaJk "kostel," because on their ethnical territory there never wa,s 1 64 SLOVAKIA a single Roman "castellum." The Czech "cihla" comes from the German, while the Slova;k "tehla" and the Moravian-Slovak "tihla" come directly from the Roman "teglartegula." Among other words the forefathers Olf the Slovaks took over directly from the Romans were also "marmor" (J1ater "mramor - ma:rible) and "ban.a (mine). This swpports our theory that the Slovaks had direct conitacts with the Romans in Pannon:ia. It is not the purpose of philology to analyize the political sitiuation in Europe of the first half of the seventh century and to point out the possibilities which were presented the ancient Slovaiks so that they became the core of the strong empire of King Samo. It shall be the task of ecclesiastical historiains to throw Hght on the reasons why St. Amandus, the apostle of the Belgians, was not suocessful with the Slovak tri!bes in the western Da;nUJbian area. Historians will perhaps tel,l us which Slovak tribes preserved their independence even after Samo's deat'h. Philology can simply state that the material culture of the Sl01Vak Tribes, just like their administrativ e organization, was the same during Samo's time as it was in the Great Moravian Empire and that differences in spiritual culture were only in religion. During Samo's time the ancient Slovaks held onto their pagan religion, whHe the creators of Great Moraivia were Christian Slovak princes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "The aHiiance with the USSR is the starting ,poirut of our new foreign policy and of our security system. This alliance will be complrumented by alhances with other Slav countries. It r epreseruts a mighty bulwairk ag,ainst iposs,i!bJe danger in the future Jirom German imperia:lisnn. In the spirit of these prino1ples, the Demooraitic Party aicted st!an.mchly at all forums. It put aH its weight behind this conception. This orientation is to be regarded as the invariable devise also for our future political life." - (Dr. Joseph Lettrich, Vi.ce-Chaimnan cxf the IDxecutive Committee of the "Council of Free Czechoslo.vakia," at session of Democratic Party, January 25, 194'8).  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 624-659 A.D.: The Slovaks and King Samo's Empire Description An account of the resource Dr. Henrich Bartek Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 2 (10), June 1954 pp. 49-64 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bartek, Henrich, 1907-1986 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1e5f8edf8c62b30c4b789a5d8ca7afe4.pdf cac4ae1c1f89b75ce5a4120f8ad1723d PDF Text Text 42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the world. �SLOVAKIA 43 The first act of the two international gangsters in their drive for world domain, was to divide up the Eurasian continent into spheres of influence. The future of the many small nations which then made u:p all of Central and Eastern Europe, were determined by the expediency of dictatorial decision. It was in these circumstances that I first began my interesting study orf the Slovak Nation. I was struok by the fact that the Slovak people had made a continuous and unremitting struggle for national independence for over 1,000 years. I was impressed by the fact that alien occupation and oppression had not dimmed the aspirations and the hopes of the Slo,v aks, but had increased their determination for national independence. The more I read about the Slovak cause, the more amazed I became with the fact that so little was known about it in the United States. This compelled me to delve deeper into the glorious history of the Slovak people. The things I learned are undoubtedly common knowledge to you, but I should like to use this occasion to say a few words about the struggle for freedom of the Slovak people down through the ages, in the hope that other Americans may become better acquainted with these facts. Slovak history really begins with the arrival of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius in Slovakia. These scholarly saints brought to Slovakia. which later spread to other Slavic lands, the first written language of the Slavs, which we know as Church Slovanic. They also brought to Slovakia a vast knowledge of government administration and law. They were quick to see the need for training Slovak scholars and training them in the masterful art of law and administration. They established the first school system in Slovakia. The contributions of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius are everywhere apparent in the long and heroic history of the Slovak people. Slovakia, like its sister nations of Central and Eastern Europe, has stood throughout history as the rampart of Christian civilization. The loyal sons of Saints Cyril and Methodius have stood firm in their faith for God and country. Beginning �44 SLOVAKIA with Janosik, to Anton Bernolak, to Tomasik, to Kollar, to Joseph Hurban, the Daniel O'Connell of Slovak history, to General Stefanik, symbol of Slovak nationhood, to the beloved leader, Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who ' symbolized the fight for independence of the Slovak people. Each and everyone of these great patriots is synonymous with the fight for human freedom and the preservation of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, like many other of the oppressed people of Central · and Eastern Europe, began to emigrate to the new world in the middle part of the 19th century. It has been said, and with good reason, that almost half of the population of Slovakia emigrated to the United States to build a new life in dignity and human freedom. It is no accident that today we find that the population of present day enslaved Slovakia is only slightly double that of the number of Americans of Slovak descent here in the United States. The Slovaks who have emigrated to the United States, their children, and their children's children have always demonstrated their adherence to the banner of God and country. They have never failed in their allegiance to God nor have they ever failed in their allegiance to their adopted land, the United States of America. With their adjustment to the American scene, they have never failed in · the advocacy of freedom and independence for the Slovak nation. I would like to say here now that it is right and proper for them to maintain that position. We admire the Irish for their demands for Irish union and independence; we admire the Poles · for their de~ :i.. nd for Polish independence; we support them and all other groups in the United States who support the political principles enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence and our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We, as good Americans, must always stand firmly behind the right of every nation, large or small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. For well over 100 years, adherence to this principle was the keystone of our foreign policy. This caused national patriots and fighters for human freedom the world over to look to the United State& of �SLOVAKIA 45 America for moral and material support. Many nations of the world won their freedom and have maintained their independence because of our courageous . adherence to this basic principle of a successful foreign policy. It is no overstatement to say that our current place in world affairs in no small measure results from our devotion to this basic human principle. Slovakia has never ceased in its struggles to attain national sovereignty and self government for its people. During and following World War I this effort was led by Monsignor Hlinka, who is revered by all the people of Slovakia as well as those in adopted homelands in · many parts of the world. As founder of the Slovak People's Party, Monsignor Hlinka crystallized the hopes of· the Slovak ·people for over 1,000 years to attain national sovereignty. Monsignor Hlinka died in 1938, at a time when the gathering storm c)f World ·war II threatened. all of Europe, but the spirit of Monsignor Hlinka did not die, because the Slovak _People'~ Party remained. ever dedicated to his historic cause. When the evil despots, Hitler and Stalin, began dividing up the geography (),f Europe, it was only natural that the Slovak people would make their bid for national sovereignty. Caught as they were between the powerful forces of Hitler and Stalin, it is all the more remarkable that they were able to attain national statehood when all other smaller nations of Eur9pe' were being destroyed. , Every conceivable charge has . been laid against the Slovak people, and the period of Nation.a] sovereignty they enjoyed from 1939 to 1945. Most of tqese charges have now been washed away. In the aftermath of World War II and as the dust has begun to settle on the events of that period in history, we are able to appreciate more adequately the facts in this matter. I am convinced that only after the world-wide struggle between human freedom and despotic slavery is settled, will we be ab!e to .fully understand, and appreciate that period of Slovak national independence from 1939 to 1945. If we, the God fearing people of the free world, fail to win the crucial struggle in which we are now engaged, these questions .wjll be buried deep in the thousand years of darkness which will �46 SLOVAKIA surely follow. But we shall not lose this struggle, and in our hour of inevitable triumph, all civilized men shall have the full and truthful answers to all the questions that have been raised about the period of Slovak independence that we commemorate here this evening. I am prepared, as I am sure you are, to let history answer for the heroi:c efforts of the Slovak people to attain their national independence. We are saddened by the events which are taking place in Slovakia today. There the evil hand of the Russian Communist is attempting to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of servility worse than that of the dark ages. But in their evil cause the Russian Communists shall fail, because the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail so long as there is a Slovak alive anywhere in the world. I join with you this evening in commemorating this, the l 5th anniversary of Slovak independence and share with you the unwavering conviction that just as surely as day follows night, the Slovak Nation will once again be free and independent. • • * .. The 14th day of March is annually celebrated by the Slovak people everywhere in the world as Slovak Independence Day. This year, as for a number of years past, the residents of Slovakia are unable to participate in this celebration as they are still suffering under the yoke of Communist tyranny. The strongest characteristic of the peace-loving Slovak people has always been and still is their ardent devotion to the cause of liberty and freedom, and their strong adherence to the sa.me truly democratic principles for which our country stands. Their sons and daughters have given their lives for these principles and many still linger in prisons and concentration camps because of their refusal to submit to Communist domination. On this, their Independence Day, I join with millions of Americans in expressing my hopes that the day may soon come when they will again be free and have the God-given right of self-determination of their own national future. Slovak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. �SLOVAKIA 47 Thaddeus M. Machrowicz of Michigan in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 14, 1954. March 14 was the 15th anniversary of the independence of Slovakia, which occasion found the people of Slovakia engaged in a continuing battle of resistance against Communist tyranny to retrieve their freedom and national independence. I know I speak for the American people in proclaiming our belief that the principles set forth in our Declaration of Independence of the rights of all peoples to self-determination and the opportunity to pursue their own national destiny under the government of their choice or the rights of all civilized peoples everywhere. By its brutal aggression against the Slovak nation, the Soviet Union placed itself squarely in opposition to the ideals held by the whole of the free world. In their resistance to the bolshevization of their country and in their suffering under a foreign tyranny which has attempted to undermine the most enduring basis of human society, the dignity and rights of the individual together with these national rights, the people of Slovakia have the moral backing and the sincere sympathy of the free world. - Fifteenth Anniversary of the Independence of Slovakia. Extension Of Remarks of Hon. B. W. (Pat) Kearney of New York in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 15, 1954. On Sunday next we observe the Slovak Independence Day, and from Americans everywhere will come a prayer that soon again liberty and the dignity of man will be restored to the brave men and women of the land of the Slovak. I am glad to have the opportunity of joining with other Members of the Congress of the United States in sincere assurance that we are standing by in their time of trial and tribulation and will not desist in our efforts until the people of the once proud Slovak Republic again are free. It was on March 14, 1939, in the spirit of our own July 4, 1776, the independence of Slovakia was proclaimed. The Slovak Republic came into being before World War II and was recognized by 27 countries. · �48 SLOVAKIA The Red army occupied the Slovak Republic at the end of World War II, and put an end to the freedom and independence of the Slovak people. Disregarding the right of self-determination and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, a foreign reign was forced upon this young Republic which in Febmary 1948 wa,s taken over _completely by the Communist regime. From the very beginning the Slovaks took a negative attitude toward communism. General Milan Rastislav Stefanik, the scientist-astronomer, after completing a trip through Russia in 1919, telegraphed his government: Say it loud to everybody: Bolshevism is not only a philosophical ideology but a morbid phenomenon, an apocalyptic chaos, in which the lowest instincts manifest themselves and the Bolshevist leaders are dictators in the most terr~ble sense of the word. Clad in rags, they seize wealth and in reality claim privileges. . . . To flirt with bolshevism means to leave the path of honor and of human commonsense. And I tell you out of the depth of my soul: The fight against all phenomena of bolshevism must dominate our policy. Let us act energetically as long as there is time. If we will not decide ourselves to act, bolshevism will weaken small nations and, at the end, will cause their full dissolution. A prophetic warning. Today the Slovak people are leading a double fight: the fight against Communist tyranny and against foreign rule. They are fighting heroically for their freedom and independence within a free and united Europe. That fight is marked by martyrs at home and refugees abroad. On Sunday, March 14, throughout the free world national independence day will be celebrated by the Slovak people, as a signal to Moscow that they have in their minds and hearts two purposes to free their country from foreign domination and an ideology to which by nature and tradition they are unalterably opposed. - Slo'Vak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. Barratt O'Hara of Illinois in the House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 9, 1954. � 42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the world. �SLOVAKIA 43 The first act of the two international gangsters in their drive for world domain, was to divide up the Eurasian continent into spheres of influence. The future of the many small nations which then made u:p all of Central and Eastern Europe, were determined by the expediency of dictatorial decision. It was in these circumstances that I first began my interesting study orf the Slovak Nation. I was struok by the fact that the Slovak people had made a continuous and unremitting struggle for national independence for over 1,000 years. I was impressed by the fact that alien occupation and oppression had not dimmed the aspirations and the hopes of the Slo,v aks, but had increased their determination for national independence. The more I read about the Slovak cause, the more amazed I became with the fact that so little was known about it in the United States. This compelled me to delve deeper into the glorious history of the Slovak people. The things I learned are undoubtedly common knowledge to you, but I should like to use this occasion to say a few words about the struggle for freedom of the Slovak people down through the ages, in the hope that other Americans may become better acquainted with these facts. Slovak history really begins with the arrival of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius in Slovakia. These scholarly saints brought to Slovakia. which later spread to other Slavic lands, the first written language of the Slavs, which we know as Church Slovanic. They also brought to Slovakia a vast knowledge of government administration and law. They were quick to see the need for training Slovak scholars and training them in the masterful art of law and administration. They established the first school system in Slovakia. The contributions of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius are everywhere apparent in the long and heroic history of the Slovak people. Slovakia, like its sister nations of Central and Eastern Europe, has stood throughout history as the rampart of Christian civilization. The loyal sons of Saints Cyril and Methodius have stood firm in their faith for God and country. Beginning �44 SLOVAKIA with Janosik, to Anton Bernolak, to Tomasik, to Kollar, to Joseph Hurban, the Daniel O'Connell of Slovak history, to General Stefanik, symbol of Slovak nationhood, to the beloved leader, Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who ' symbolized the fight for independence of the Slovak people. Each and everyone of these great patriots is synonymous with the fight for human freedom and the preservation of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, like many other of the oppressed people of Central · and Eastern Europe, began to emigrate to the new world in the middle part of the 19th century. It has been said, and with good reason, that almost half of the population of Slovakia emigrated to the United States to build a new life in dignity and human freedom. It is no accident that today we find that the population of present day enslaved Slovakia is only slightly double that of the number of Americans of Slovak descent here in the United States. The Slovaks who have emigrated to the United States, their children, and their children's children have always demonstrated their adherence to the banner of God and country. They have never failed in their allegiance to God nor have they ever failed in their allegiance to their adopted land, the United States of America. With their adjustment to the American scene, they have never failed in · the advocacy of freedom and independence for the Slovak nation. I would like to say here now that it is right and proper for them to maintain that position. We admire the Irish for their demands for Irish union and independence; we admire the Poles · for their de~ :i.. nd for Polish independence; we support them and all other groups in the United States who support the political principles enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence and our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We, as good Americans, must always stand firmly behind the right of every nation, large or small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. For well over 100 years, adherence to this principle was the keystone of our foreign policy. This caused national patriots and fighters for human freedom the world over to look to the United State& of �SLOVAKIA 45 America for moral and material support. Many nations of the world won their freedom and have maintained their independence because of our courageous . adherence to this basic principle of a successful foreign policy. It is no overstatement to say that our current place in world affairs in no small measure results from our devotion to this basic human principle. Slovakia has never ceased in its struggles to attain national sovereignty and self government for its people. During and following World War I this effort was led by Monsignor Hlinka, who is revered by all the people of Slovakia as well as those in adopted homelands in · many parts of the world. As founder of the Slovak People's Party, Monsignor Hlinka crystallized the hopes of· the Slovak ·people for over 1,000 years to attain national sovereignty. Monsignor Hlinka died in 1938, at a time when the gathering storm c)f World ·war II threatened. all of Europe, but the spirit of Monsignor Hlinka did not die, because the Slovak _People'~ Party remained. ever dedicated to his historic cause. When the evil despots, Hitler and Stalin, began dividing up the geography (),f Europe, it was only natural that the Slovak people would make their bid for national sovereignty. Caught as they were between the powerful forces of Hitler and Stalin, it is all the more remarkable that they were able to attain national statehood when all other smaller nations of Eur9pe' were being destroyed. , Every conceivable charge has . been laid against the Slovak people, and the period of Nation.a] sovereignty they enjoyed from 1939 to 1945. Most of tqese charges have now been washed away. In the aftermath of World War II and as the dust has begun to settle on the events of that period in history, we are able to appreciate more adequately the facts in this matter. I am convinced that only after the world-wide struggle between human freedom and despotic slavery is settled, will we be ab!e to .fully understand, and appreciate that period of Slovak national independence from 1939 to 1945. If we, the God fearing people of the free world, fail to win the crucial struggle in which we are now engaged, these questions .wjll be buried deep in the thousand years of darkness which will �46 SLOVAKIA surely follow. But we shall not lose this struggle, and in our hour of inevitable triumph, all civilized men shall have the full and truthful answers to all the questions that have been raised about the period of Slovak independence that we commemorate here this evening. I am prepared, as I am sure you are, to let history answer for the heroi:c efforts of the Slovak people to attain their national independence. We are saddened by the events which are taking place in Slovakia today. There the evil hand of the Russian Communist is attempting to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of servility worse than that of the dark ages. But in their evil cause the Russian Communists shall fail, because the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail so long as there is a Slovak alive anywhere in the world. I join with you this evening in commemorating this, the l 5th anniversary of Slovak independence and share with you the unwavering conviction that just as surely as day follows night, the Slovak Nation will once again be free and independent. • • * .. The 14th day of March is annually celebrated by the Slovak people everywhere in the world as Slovak Independence Day. This year, as for a number of years past, the residents of Slovakia are unable to participate in this celebration as they are still suffering under the yoke of Communist tyranny. The strongest characteristic of the peace-loving Slovak people has always been and still is their ardent devotion to the cause of liberty and freedom, and their strong adherence to the sa.me truly democratic principles for which our country stands. Their sons and daughters have given their lives for these principles and many still linger in prisons and concentration camps because of their refusal to submit to Communist domination. On this, their Independence Day, I join with millions of Americans in expressing my hopes that the day may soon come when they will again be free and have the God-given right of self-determination of their own national future. Slovak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. �SLOVAKIA 47 Thaddeus M. Machrowicz of Michigan in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 14, 1954. March 14 was the 15th anniversary of the independence of Slovakia, which occasion found the people of Slovakia engaged in a continuing battle of resistance against Communist tyranny to retrieve their freedom and national independence. I know I speak for the American people in proclaiming our belief that the principles set forth in our Declaration of Independence of the rights of all peoples to self-determination and the opportunity to pursue their own national destiny under the government of their choice or the rights of all civilized peoples everywhere. By its brutal aggression against the Slovak nation, the Soviet Union placed itself squarely in opposition to the ideals held by the whole of the free world. In their resistance to the bolshevization of their country and in their suffering under a foreign tyranny which has attempted to undermine the most enduring basis of human society, the dignity and rights of the individual together with these national rights, the people of Slovakia have the moral backing and the sincere sympathy of the free world. - Fifteenth Anniversary of the Independence of Slovakia. Extension Of Remarks of Hon. B. W. (Pat) Kearney of New York in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 15, 1954. On Sunday next we observe the Slovak Independence Day, and from Americans everywhere will come a prayer that soon again liberty and the dignity of man will be restored to the brave men and women of the land of the Slovak. I am glad to have the opportunity of joining with other Members of the Congress of the United States in sincere assurance that we are standing by in their time of trial and tribulation and will not desist in our efforts until the people of the once proud Slovak Republic again are free. It was on March 14, 1939, in the spirit of our own July 4, 1776, the independence of Slovakia was proclaimed. The Slovak Republic came into being before World War II and was recognized by 27 countries. · �48 SLOVAKIA The Red army occupied the Slovak Republic at the end of World War II, and put an end to the freedom and independence of the Slovak people. Disregarding the right of self-determination and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, a foreign reign was forced upon this young Republic which in Febmary 1948 wa,s taken over _completely by the Communist regime. From the very beginning the Slovaks took a negative attitude toward communism. General Milan Rastislav Stefanik, the scientist-astronomer, after completing a trip through Russia in 1919, telegraphed his government: Say it loud to everybody: Bolshevism is not only a philosophical ideology but a morbid phenomenon, an apocalyptic chaos, in which the lowest instincts manifest themselves and the Bolshevist leaders are dictators in the most terr~ble sense of the word. Clad in rags, they seize wealth and in reality claim privileges. . . . To flirt with bolshevism means to leave the path of honor and of human commonsense. And I tell you out of the depth of my soul: The fight against all phenomena of bolshevism must dominate our policy. Let us act energetically as long as there is time. If we will not decide ourselves to act, bolshevism will weaken small nations and, at the end, will cause their full dissolution. A prophetic warning. Today the Slovak people are leading a double fight: the fight against Communist tyranny and against foreign rule. They are fighting heroically for their freedom and independence within a free and united Europe. That fight is marked by martyrs at home and refugees abroad. On Sunday, March 14, throughout the free world national independence day will be celebrated by the Slovak people, as a signal to Moscow that they have in their minds and hearts two purposes to free their country from foreign domination and an ideology to which by nature and tradition they are unalterably opposed. - Slo'Vak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. Barratt O'Hara of Illinois in the House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 9, 1954. � 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the world. SLOVAKIA 43 The first act of the two international gangsters in their drive for world domain, was to divide up the Eurasian continent into spheres of influence. The future of the many small nations which then made u:p all of Central and Eastern Europe, were determined by the expediency of dictatorial decision. It was in these circumstances that I first began my interesting study orf the Slovak Nation. I was struok by the fact that the Slovak people had made a continuous and unremitting struggle for national independence for over 1,000 years. I was impressed by the fact that alien occupation and oppression had not dimmed the aspirations and the hopes of the Slo,v aks, but had increased their determination for national independence. The more I read about the Slovak cause, the more amazed I became with the fact that so little was known about it in the United States. This compelled me to delve deeper into the glorious history of the Slovak people. The things I learned are undoubtedly common knowledge to you, but I should like to use this occasion to say a few words about the struggle for freedom of the Slovak people down through the ages, in the hope that other Americans may become better acquainted with these facts. Slovak history really begins with the arrival of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius in Slovakia. These scholarly saints brought to Slovakia. which later spread to other Slavic lands, the first written language of the Slavs, which we know as Church Slovanic. They also brought to Slovakia a vast knowledge of government administration and law. They were quick to see the need for training Slovak scholars and training them in the masterful art of law and administration. They established the first school system in Slovakia. The contributions of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius are everywhere apparent in the long and heroic history of the Slovak people. Slovakia, like its sister nations of Central and Eastern Europe, has stood throughout history as the rampart of Christian civilization. The loyal sons of Saints Cyril and Methodius have stood firm in their faith for God and country. Beginning 44 SLOVAKIA with Janosik, to Anton Bernolak, to Tomasik, to Kollar, to Joseph Hurban, the Daniel O'Connell of Slovak history, to General Stefanik, symbol of Slovak nationhood, to the beloved leader, Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who ' symbolized the fight for independence of the Slovak people. Each and everyone of these great patriots is synonymous with the fight for human freedom and the preservation of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, like many other of the oppressed people of Central · and Eastern Europe, began to emigrate to the new world in the middle part of the 19th century. It has been said, and with good reason, that almost half of the population of Slovakia emigrated to the United States to build a new life in dignity and human freedom. It is no accident that today we find that the population of present day enslaved Slovakia is only slightly double that of the number of Americans of Slovak descent here in the United States. The Slovaks who have emigrated to the United States, their children, and their children's children have always demonstrated their adherence to the banner of God and country. They have never failed in their allegiance to God nor have they ever failed in their allegiance to their adopted land, the United States of America. With their adjustment to the American scene, they have never failed in · the advocacy of freedom and independence for the Slovak nation. I would like to say here now that it is right and proper for them to maintain that position. We admire the Irish for their demands for Irish union and independence; we admire the Poles · for their de~ :i.. nd for Polish independence; we support them and all other groups in the United States who support the political principles enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence and our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We, as good Americans, must always stand firmly behind the right of every nation, large or small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. For well over 100 years, adherence to this principle was the keystone of our foreign policy. This caused national patriots and fighters for human freedom the world over to look to the United State& of SLOVAKIA 45 America for moral and material support. Many nations of the world won their freedom and have maintained their independence because of our courageous . adherence to this basic principle of a successful foreign policy. It is no overstatement to say that our current place in world affairs in no small measure results from our devotion to this basic human principle. Slovakia has never ceased in its struggles to attain national sovereignty and self government for its people. During and following World War I this effort was led by Monsignor Hlinka, who is revered by all the people of Slovakia as well as those in adopted homelands in · many parts of the world. As founder of the Slovak People's Party, Monsignor Hlinka crystallized the hopes of· the Slovak ·people for over 1,000 years to attain national sovereignty. Monsignor Hlinka died in 1938, at a time when the gathering storm c)f World ·war II threatened. all of Europe, but the spirit of Monsignor Hlinka did not die, because the Slovak _People'~ Party remained. ever dedicated to his historic cause. When the evil despots, Hitler and Stalin, began dividing up the geography (),f Europe, it was only natural that the Slovak people would make their bid for national sovereignty. Caught as they were between the powerful forces of Hitler and Stalin, it is all the more remarkable that they were able to attain national statehood when all other smaller nations of Eur9pe' were being destroyed. , Every conceivable charge has . been laid against the Slovak people, and the period of Nation.a] sovereignty they enjoyed from 1939 to 1945. Most of tqese charges have now been washed away. In the aftermath of World War II and as the dust has begun to settle on the events of that period in history, we are able to appreciate more adequately the facts in this matter. I am convinced that only after the world-wide struggle between human freedom and despotic slavery is settled, will we be ab!e to .fully understand, and appreciate that period of Slovak national independence from 1939 to 1945. If we, the God fearing people of the free world, fail to win the crucial struggle in which we are now engaged, these questions .wjll be buried deep in the thousand years of darkness which will 46 SLOVAKIA surely follow. But we shall not lose this struggle, and in our hour of inevitable triumph, all civilized men shall have the full and truthful answers to all the questions that have been raised about the period of Slovak independence that we commemorate here this evening. I am prepared, as I am sure you are, to let history answer for the heroi:c efforts of the Slovak people to attain their national independence. We are saddened by the events which are taking place in Slovakia today. There the evil hand of the Russian Communist is attempting to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of servility worse than that of the dark ages. But in their evil cause the Russian Communists shall fail, because the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail so long as there is a Slovak alive anywhere in the world. I join with you this evening in commemorating this, the l 5th anniversary of Slovak independence and share with you the unwavering conviction that just as surely as day follows night, the Slovak Nation will once again be free and independent. • • * .. The 14th day of March is annually celebrated by the Slovak people everywhere in the world as Slovak Independence Day. This year, as for a number of years past, the residents of Slovakia are unable to participate in this celebration as they are still suffering under the yoke of Communist tyranny. The strongest characteristic of the peace-loving Slovak people has always been and still is their ardent devotion to the cause of liberty and freedom, and their strong adherence to the sa.me truly democratic principles for which our country stands. Their sons and daughters have given their lives for these principles and many still linger in prisons and concentration camps because of their refusal to submit to Communist domination. On this, their Independence Day, I join with millions of Americans in expressing my hopes that the day may soon come when they will again be free and have the God-given right of self-determination of their own national future. Slovak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. SLOVAKIA 47 Thaddeus M. Machrowicz of Michigan in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 14, 1954. March 14 was the 15th anniversary of the independence of Slovakia, which occasion found the people of Slovakia engaged in a continuing battle of resistance against Communist tyranny to retrieve their freedom and national independence. I know I speak for the American people in proclaiming our belief that the principles set forth in our Declaration of Independence of the rights of all peoples to self-determination and the opportunity to pursue their own national destiny under the government of their choice or the rights of all civilized peoples everywhere. By its brutal aggression against the Slovak nation, the Soviet Union placed itself squarely in opposition to the ideals held by the whole of the free world. In their resistance to the bolshevization of their country and in their suffering under a foreign tyranny which has attempted to undermine the most enduring basis of human society, the dignity and rights of the individual together with these national rights, the people of Slovakia have the moral backing and the sincere sympathy of the free world. - Fifteenth Anniversary of the Independence of Slovakia. Extension Of Remarks of Hon. B. W. (Pat) Kearney of New York in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 15, 1954. On Sunday next we observe the Slovak Independence Day, and from Americans everywhere will come a prayer that soon again liberty and the dignity of man will be restored to the brave men and women of the land of the Slovak. I am glad to have the opportunity of joining with other Members of the Congress of the United States in sincere assurance that we are standing by in their time of trial and tribulation and will not desist in our efforts until the people of the once proud Slovak Republic again are free. It was on March 14, 1939, in the spirit of our own July 4, 1776, the independence of Slovakia was proclaimed. The Slovak Republic came into being before World War II and was recognized by 27 countries. · 48 SLOVAKIA The Red army occupied the Slovak Republic at the end of World War II, and put an end to the freedom and independence of the Slovak people. Disregarding the right of self-determination and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, a foreign reign was forced upon this young Republic which in Febmary 1948 wa,s taken over _completely by the Communist regime. From the very beginning the Slovaks took a negative attitude toward communism. General Milan Rastislav Stefanik, the scientist-astronomer, after completing a trip through Russia in 1919, telegraphed his government: Say it loud to everybody: Bolshevism is not only a philosophical ideology but a morbid phenomenon, an apocalyptic chaos, in which the lowest instincts manifest themselves and the Bolshevist leaders are dictators in the most terr~ble sense of the word. Clad in rags, they seize wealth and in reality claim privileges. . . . To flirt with bolshevism means to leave the path of honor and of human commonsense. And I tell you out of the depth of my soul: The fight against all phenomena of bolshevism must dominate our policy. Let us act energetically as long as there is time. If we will not decide ourselves to act, bolshevism will weaken small nations and, at the end, will cause their full dissolution. A prophetic warning. Today the Slovak people are leading a double fight: the fight against Communist tyranny and against foreign rule. They are fighting heroically for their freedom and independence within a free and united Europe. That fight is marked by martyrs at home and refugees abroad. On Sunday, March 14, throughout the free world national independence day will be celebrated by the Slovak people, as a signal to Moscow that they have in their minds and hearts two purposes to free their country from foreign domination and an ideology to which by nature and tradition they are unalterably opposed. - Slo'Vak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. Barratt O'Hara of Illinois in the House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 9, 1954.  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 March 14 - Slovak Independence Day Description An account of the resource Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism" Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 2 (10), June 1954 pp. 42-48 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Feighan, Michael Aloysius, 1905- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/17b2ba5de24fde8f10d68ec6e9dabd71.pdf 987bd22423ada38132070f099872cd75 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 35 Jozef Pauco, Vojtech Balaz, Frank Deviatka, Method M. Balco, Juraj Getlik, Anton Moravcik, Otto Klement, Mike Soyka Sr., Joseph Stanek, Dr. Rudolph Medlen, Mary Student, Stephen Student, Gabriel Lantos, Andrew Welchek, Simon Siranec, Blase Dvorsky, Michal Rak, Veronica Janci, Anna M. Kocur, Irene F. Kocur, Anna V. Kocur, Mary Welchek, Irene Halac, Terezia Ondriska, Anna Vizza, Susanna K.lucar, Veronica Patala, Julia P. Benya. • • • ADDRESS OF PHILIP A. HROBAK, PRESIDENT OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, DELIVERED AT THE INFORMAL DINNER OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICANS OF SLOVAK DESCENT, WASHINGTON HOTEL, MAY 24, 1954 As citizens of the United States of America we firmly hold to the belief that all nations without exception have the inherent, God-given right to freedom and independence, the right to establish their own political state and to freely elect a govern.men t of their own choice. On March 14, 1939, after over ten centuries of alien domination, the Slovak nation exercised its inherent right when its duly elected representatives in the Bratislava Assembly of autonomous Slovakia proclaimed the independence of the land the Slovaks had occupied for 1500 years and established the Republic of Slovakia. Of course, certain people in America present this historical fact in a false light and attempt to debase and vilify everything connected with it. But the utterly simple historical truth is that the Slovak Assembly unanimously declared the land of the Slovaks an independent republic. Independent Slovakia, the dream of Slova;k generations, did become a reality and was thoroughly enjoyed by the Slovak people, even though it was short-lived (1939-1945). And it is significant even today that the Slovak Republic was recognized by twenty-seven countries, includmg Great Britain, France, Japan, and even the Soviet Union. Natu- �36 SLOVAKTA rally, the· enemies of S1ovak freedom and independence; the exploiters of the Slovak nation, furiously opposed the independence of Slovakia. Raving over the circumstances und.e r w}:iich the Slovaks· gained their independence, the foJlowen; of . Dr. E9,war4 Benes - the so-called Benes Czechs (Socialists) and "Czecho: slovaks" (Slovak Judases_ in the pay· of the Benes Cze.chs) - smeared and crucified true Slovak ·pa.triots who dared fo speak up for what their nation rightfully entitled· tci:' But no matter what the circumstances under which the nation we are descended from gained its independence, we as Americans declar_e unequiv<><;:ally tha,t the Repuplic of Slovakia should not have been destroyed against the will of the Slovak nationt · · ' · " -' · , · ·: ·' ·· ,,- ' was ._ ' /-: ·.• :·. :~-,:.,~• : l,. ·'· • ~. • •·: " ~ 1 • • · ;• • i '""•·t, ·~ · ·:.,;:· By what ·law of · God · ot man·· Wli.s i-ndepehderut ··s1ovakia destroyed? Its wanton destructiori" cannot be reconciled with our political beliefs; it was contrary to all Christian and democratic principles, in short, the destruction of Slovaikia in l945 was criminal. And_the eternal shame of it all is that Slovakia was destroyed by the victorious United Nations under the guise of liberation! . The present terri_ble plight of the Slovak nation, like that of th_e other naµo~s of Central Europe which had been "liberJLte.d " in 1945, can be trace<} to th~ blundering, undemocratic policy pursued and the secret agreements negotiated in the name of expediency by m~n in democratic government~. We are _all, therefore, res,po_n sible, more or less, for the Red enslavement of the nations behind the Iron Curtain and the iphu:manities suffered by .them. Defi~itely, we. should do . $Omething about it. Let at least be honest with ourselve-s and the rest of the wi:>-rld and admit .that it was morally wrong and contrary· to every democratic and Christian principle to surrender the Slovak nation and the other nations of Central and Eastern Europe to the ruthless men of the· K;remlin: Then; let us repudiate the treaties and secret agreements iby which these nations were enslaved by the USSR and immediately proceed in earnest with the task of real· liberation of all nations from all tyranny. · • . The struggle against tyranny· is nothing new to the Slo.. µs �SLOVAKIA 37 vaks. The history of the Slovak nation is a history of thraldom and exploitation. For over' ten centuries the Slovak nation -'-- one of the oldest Christian nations in Central :IDurope --'- has been but a pawn in the hands of alien rulers. Its freedom, security, economy and territorial integrity have always been determined by foreigners. The Slovaks have suffered longer under alien domination than any other nation of Europe. No other nation has been so thoroughly misundeI'.stood, misrepresented, degraded, maligned and vilified even by the very people who claimed to represent it and protect its national interests, by men who professed to be and were glorified as the very epitome of the democratic way of life. Many of us believed, as did many Slovaks at home, that the trials and tribulations of the Slovak nation were ended and its national existence safeguarded with the establishment of .the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918, which the Slovaks and the Czechs were supposed to govern as equal partners and in which the Czechs were to be masters of their own household and the Slovaks were to enjoy States' Rights according to the principle of self-determination. But we were mistaken, badly mistaken. We did not see the job through ; Czecho-Slovakia was not set up as a federation. It soon becanie evident that the Prague Government, headed by T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, did not regard the Slovaks as equal partners, but only as a colony to be exploited by the Czechs. · The Slovaks s9on realized that Czecho-Slcwakia ~imply meant an exchange of rulers: they were rid of the Magyar tyrant only to be placed under the Czech despot, ~ho also sought to destroy them eventuaily as a nation. They protested, but in vain. Andrew Hlinka, champion of Slovak freedom , went to Paris to attend the Peace Conference in 1919, but was promptly arrested by the French police, at the instigation of Dr. Edward Benes, and ordered o'ut of France. For this the Prague Government later hacf Hlinka jailed . . The Slovaks, however, ·outlived the tyranny of the past and today are determined to outlive the present scourge of Czecho-Co:tnmunist terror and violence and to continue in their march to complete political freedom and fndependen ce. �38 SLOVAKIA But what after Communism? Shall the Slovaks be surrendered to another tyrant? Are they willing to be exploited by another form of Czecho~Slovakfa? Certainly not! The Slovaks want only what rightfully belongs to them - no more no less. They want the United States of America and the rest of the free world to recognize and respect their inherent right to freedom and independence. The Slovaks, however , despite the many bitter memor ies of injustices suffered from ruling groups of neighboring nations, some of which blatantly claimed to be exemplary democracies - are fully aware of the fact that a free Ukraine, a free Poland, Bohemia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and even a free Russia are also nece&sary to form a better, free and more just order in Europe. The Slovaks well know that the struggle for freedom and independence camiot and must not be waged in isolation, that the goal of liberation from communist tyranny and all foreign domination must be the unified aim of all enslaved nations and of all friends of all the oppressed peoples. It is a matter of record that the Slovak nation fought Communism, the implacable foe of all free countries, in and out of season. Americans of Slovak descent can proudly stress the fact that their forefathers fought the plague of materialistic Communism consistently and resolutely for over a hundred years. Slovak history tells us that Louis Stur, champion of Slovak freedom, repudiated the Godless philosophy of Marx in 1849; at its very first session, in 1905, the political party of Andrew IIlinka, the Slova,k Populist Party, did not hesitate to condemn Communism; fourteen years later, in 1919, General Milan R. Stefanik, Slovak hero of World War I and one of the founders of Czecho-Slovakia, warned T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes to make no compromises with Bolshevism ; finally, Dr. Joseph Tiso, the first president of the Slovak Republic, appealed to his people to persevere in its fight against the dread plague of Communism even as he was being led to his death on the gallows by order of the Communist-dominated National Front Government of Dr. Edward Benes on April 18, 1947. And, today, the sons of Slovakia, wherever they might be, �SLOVAKIA 39 are more determined than ever to fight Communist tyranny until it is completely eradicated from the face of the earth. The Slovaks seek the opportunity to play a useful role in the struggle for freedom and, they believe, it is the responsibility of the free democratic world to afford them this opportunity. At the same time, however, they wish to make it perfectly clear that they do not intend to surrender their inherent right to freedom and independence under any circumstances. They do not beHeve the Soviet propaganda that the free democratic world wants the Slovak nation to commit national suicide. The Slovaks want the free nations of the world to recognize at long last a simple truth which the Slovaks and the Czechs have known for many centuTies past, that is, that the Czechs are not and do not desire to be Slovaks, and the Slovaks are not and do not want to be Czechs. The Slovaks recognize and respect the right of the Czech nation to complete freedom and political independence, but they also expect the leaders of the Czech nation to realize that the Slovak nation, too, has the inherent right to freedom and political independence. And in the struggle against Communism, the Slovaks want to be united with all free nations and not es,p ecially with and only with the Czech natioo. They want it clearly understood that they are not fighting Communism for the sake of a free or any other kind of Czecho-Slovakia. They were definitely through with the political monstrosity known as Czecho-Slovakia in 1939, when the Assembly of autonomous Slovakia declared the independence of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks subscribe wholeheartedly to the idea of a federation of Central Europe, or even a federation of the whole of Europe, in which all nations would be equal and none would be dominated and exploited by the others. The Slovaks do not want anything that they are not rightfully entitled to; they make no claims to Czech history, national traditions and customs, or the material, spiritual and cultural wealth of the Czech nation; and they do not covet Czech territory. The Slovaks do not want or request the Czechs to represent them in the field of human endeavor, whether cultural. political, or spiritual. �40 SLOVAKJ4 And, of course, the Slovaks do not want to be credited with the criminal acts committed by the Communist-dominated "National Front" Government of Dr. IDdward Benes and Clement Gottwald. The Slovak nation had nothing to do with the criminal expulsion of Germans and Magyars from Czecho-Slovakia, or the brutal persecution and suppression of religion and of all anti-Communist opposition in that hapless country. For the betrayal of Czecho-Slovakia - the Czech and Slovak nations - to the Communists and the Soviet Union, the Slovaks give full credit to Dr. Edward Be.nes and his socialist followers, who consistently promoted proSoviet policy. Slovak political, cultural and religious leaders did not betray the Czechs, but the "Benes Czechs" betrayed not only the Slovaks, but the entire Ozech nation as well. Today, in America and elsewhere, the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings - the apostles of "Czechoslovak" democracy .- are organized in various Czech and "Czechoslovak" organizations, the "American Fund fo,r Czechoslovak Refugees, Inc.," and the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" among them, which profess to be organizations of "anti-Communist, democratic exiles" from Czecho-Slovakia. In fact, however, they are controlled by the Benes Czechs, the Cze<:h National Socialists and former members of the Communist-dominated "National Front" Government of Dr. Edward Be.n.es and Clement Gottwald, which collaborated closely with the Soviet Union and outlawed all anti-socialistic and anti-communistic parties in Czecho-Slovakia in 1945. These "National Fronters," who claim they control the employees of RADIO FREE EUROPE and the VOICE OF AMERICA, never did and never will re-p resent the political will of the SlovaJk naiti01I1, and therefore, hruve no authority to speak for the Slovaks anywhere. Furthermore, they do not represent the anti-socialistic and anti-communistic Czechs. They should be recognized for what they really were in their homeland: promoters of the pro-Soviet policy of the Czech Socialists and Communists. And they should be treated accordingly. Under their leadership the so-called "Czechoslovak democracy" had practically no trouble at all in converting to a "people's democracy" after World ·War II. Americans of Slovak descent -consider it their sacred �SLOVAKIA 41 duty to unmask and embarrass all such pseudodemocratic Elements and to disarm them completely, because the enemies of Slovak freedom and independence are, in fact, the enemies of the American democratic way of life itself. Imagine then, if you will, our surprise and consternation when we learned as late as February 26, 1954, that our State Department still "considers the Council of Free Czechoslovakia to be an organization of leading anti-Communist political refugees from Czechoslovakia working for the liberation of that country from Communist domination." Rightfully we ask: "What goes on in official Washington?" ln our opinion, to defend an indefensible group of foreign politicians, who peddled the Moscow line for years, is today not only inexcusable but highly reprehensible. And more so in the case of a government official. We must not be confused by the propagators of the "new look" of the Soviet Union. Let us remember that such a "new look" had deceived intelligent statesmen and wary diplomats during the last war. Just ten yeaJrs ago today, May 24, 1944, the Hon. Winston Churchill said in the Commons: " Profound changes have taken place in Soviet Russia. The Trotskyite form of communism has been completely wiped out. The victories of the Russian armies have been attended by a great rise in strength of the Russian state and a remarkable broadening of its views. The religious side of Russian life has had a wonderful rebirth. The discipline and military etiquette of the Russian armies are unsurpassed. There is a new national anthem. The Comintern has been abolished." The Slovak nation was not deceived by the Soviet chamelon in 1938, or in 1944, and it will not be deceived by it now. The Slovaks are firmly convinced that the world cannot exist in peace half-slave and half-free; there can be no compromise between the forces of freedom and the forces of slavery. History has taught us one great lesson: no nation can have a monopoly on freedom and remain free. Freedom is the grandest of all of God's gifts to mankind ; freedom is the universal heritage of all the ages. The more we promote �42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the world. � SLOVAKIA 35 Jozef Pauco, Vojtech Balaz, Frank Deviatka, Method M. Balco, Juraj Getlik, Anton Moravcik, Otto Klement, Mike Soyka Sr., Joseph Stanek, Dr. Rudolph Medlen, Mary Student, Stephen Student, Gabriel Lantos, Andrew Welchek, Simon Siranec, Blase Dvorsky, Michal Rak, Veronica Janci, Anna M. Kocur, Irene F. Kocur, Anna V. Kocur, Mary Welchek, Irene Halac, Terezia Ondriska, Anna Vizza, Susanna K.lucar, Veronica Patala, Julia P. Benya. • • • ADDRESS OF PHILIP A. HROBAK, PRESIDENT OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, DELIVERED AT THE INFORMAL DINNER OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICANS OF SLOVAK DESCENT, WASHINGTON HOTEL, MAY 24, 1954 As citizens of the United States of America we firmly hold to the belief that all nations without exception have the inherent, God-given right to freedom and independence, the right to establish their own political state and to freely elect a govern.men t of their own choice. On March 14, 1939, after over ten centuries of alien domination, the Slovak nation exercised its inherent right when its duly elected representatives in the Bratislava Assembly of autonomous Slovakia proclaimed the independence of the land the Slovaks had occupied for 1500 years and established the Republic of Slovakia. Of course, certain people in America present this historical fact in a false light and attempt to debase and vilify everything connected with it. But the utterly simple historical truth is that the Slovak Assembly unanimously declared the land of the Slovaks an independent republic. Independent Slovakia, the dream of Slova;k generations, did become a reality and was thoroughly enjoyed by the Slovak people, even though it was short-lived (1939-1945). And it is significant even today that the Slovak Republic was recognized by twenty-seven countries, includmg Great Britain, France, Japan, and even the Soviet Union. Natu- �36 SLOVAKTA rally, the· enemies of S1ovak freedom and independence; the exploiters of the Slovak nation, furiously opposed the independence of Slovakia. Raving over the circumstances und.e r w}:iich the Slovaks· gained their independence, the foJlowen; of . Dr. E9,war4 Benes - the so-called Benes Czechs (Socialists) and "Czecho: slovaks" (Slovak Judases_ in the pay· of the Benes Cze.chs) - smeared and crucified true Slovak ·pa.triots who dared fo speak up for what their nation rightfully entitled· tci:' But no matter what the circumstances under which the nation we are descended from gained its independence, we as Americans declar_e unequiv<><;:ally tha,t the Repuplic of Slovakia should not have been destroyed against the will of the Slovak nationt · · ' · " -' · , · ·: ·' ·· ,,- ' was ._ ' /-: ·.• :·. :~-,:.,~• : l,. ·'· • ~. • •·: " ~ 1 • • · ;• • i '""•·t, ·~ · ·:.,;:· By what ·law of · God · ot man·· Wli.s i-ndepehderut ··s1ovakia destroyed? Its wanton destructiori" cannot be reconciled with our political beliefs; it was contrary to all Christian and democratic principles, in short, the destruction of Slovaikia in l945 was criminal. And_the eternal shame of it all is that Slovakia was destroyed by the victorious United Nations under the guise of liberation! . The present terri_ble plight of the Slovak nation, like that of th_e other naµo~s of Central Europe which had been "liberJLte.d " in 1945, can be trace<} to th~ blundering, undemocratic policy pursued and the secret agreements negotiated in the name of expediency by m~n in democratic government~. We are _all, therefore, res,po_n sible, more or less, for the Red enslavement of the nations behind the Iron Curtain and the iphu:manities suffered by .them. Defi~itely, we. should do . $Omething about it. Let at least be honest with ourselve-s and the rest of the wi:>-rld and admit .that it was morally wrong and contrary· to every democratic and Christian principle to surrender the Slovak nation and the other nations of Central and Eastern Europe to the ruthless men of the· K;remlin: Then; let us repudiate the treaties and secret agreements iby which these nations were enslaved by the USSR and immediately proceed in earnest with the task of real· liberation of all nations from all tyranny. · • . The struggle against tyranny· is nothing new to the Slo.. µs �SLOVAKIA 37 vaks. The history of the Slovak nation is a history of thraldom and exploitation. For over' ten centuries the Slovak nation -'-- one of the oldest Christian nations in Central :IDurope --'- has been but a pawn in the hands of alien rulers. Its freedom, security, economy and territorial integrity have always been determined by foreigners. The Slovaks have suffered longer under alien domination than any other nation of Europe. No other nation has been so thoroughly misundeI'.stood, misrepresented, degraded, maligned and vilified even by the very people who claimed to represent it and protect its national interests, by men who professed to be and were glorified as the very epitome of the democratic way of life. Many of us believed, as did many Slovaks at home, that the trials and tribulations of the Slovak nation were ended and its national existence safeguarded with the establishment of .the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918, which the Slovaks and the Czechs were supposed to govern as equal partners and in which the Czechs were to be masters of their own household and the Slovaks were to enjoy States' Rights according to the principle of self-determination. But we were mistaken, badly mistaken. We did not see the job through ; Czecho-Slovakia was not set up as a federation. It soon becanie evident that the Prague Government, headed by T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, did not regard the Slovaks as equal partners, but only as a colony to be exploited by the Czechs. · The Slovaks s9on realized that Czecho-Slcwakia ~imply meant an exchange of rulers: they were rid of the Magyar tyrant only to be placed under the Czech despot, ~ho also sought to destroy them eventuaily as a nation. They protested, but in vain. Andrew Hlinka, champion of Slovak freedom , went to Paris to attend the Peace Conference in 1919, but was promptly arrested by the French police, at the instigation of Dr. Edward Benes, and ordered o'ut of France. For this the Prague Government later hacf Hlinka jailed . . The Slovaks, however, ·outlived the tyranny of the past and today are determined to outlive the present scourge of Czecho-Co:tnmunist terror and violence and to continue in their march to complete political freedom and fndependen ce. �38 SLOVAKIA But what after Communism? Shall the Slovaks be surrendered to another tyrant? Are they willing to be exploited by another form of Czecho~Slovakfa? Certainly not! The Slovaks want only what rightfully belongs to them - no more no less. They want the United States of America and the rest of the free world to recognize and respect their inherent right to freedom and independence. The Slovaks, however , despite the many bitter memor ies of injustices suffered from ruling groups of neighboring nations, some of which blatantly claimed to be exemplary democracies - are fully aware of the fact that a free Ukraine, a free Poland, Bohemia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and even a free Russia are also nece&sary to form a better, free and more just order in Europe. The Slovaks well know that the struggle for freedom and independence camiot and must not be waged in isolation, that the goal of liberation from communist tyranny and all foreign domination must be the unified aim of all enslaved nations and of all friends of all the oppressed peoples. It is a matter of record that the Slovak nation fought Communism, the implacable foe of all free countries, in and out of season. Americans of Slovak descent can proudly stress the fact that their forefathers fought the plague of materialistic Communism consistently and resolutely for over a hundred years. Slovak history tells us that Louis Stur, champion of Slovak freedom, repudiated the Godless philosophy of Marx in 1849; at its very first session, in 1905, the political party of Andrew IIlinka, the Slova,k Populist Party, did not hesitate to condemn Communism; fourteen years later, in 1919, General Milan R. Stefanik, Slovak hero of World War I and one of the founders of Czecho-Slovakia, warned T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes to make no compromises with Bolshevism ; finally, Dr. Joseph Tiso, the first president of the Slovak Republic, appealed to his people to persevere in its fight against the dread plague of Communism even as he was being led to his death on the gallows by order of the Communist-dominated National Front Government of Dr. Edward Benes on April 18, 1947. And, today, the sons of Slovakia, wherever they might be, �SLOVAKIA 39 are more determined than ever to fight Communist tyranny until it is completely eradicated from the face of the earth. The Slovaks seek the opportunity to play a useful role in the struggle for freedom and, they believe, it is the responsibility of the free democratic world to afford them this opportunity. At the same time, however, they wish to make it perfectly clear that they do not intend to surrender their inherent right to freedom and independence under any circumstances. They do not beHeve the Soviet propaganda that the free democratic world wants the Slovak nation to commit national suicide. The Slovaks want the free nations of the world to recognize at long last a simple truth which the Slovaks and the Czechs have known for many centuTies past, that is, that the Czechs are not and do not desire to be Slovaks, and the Slovaks are not and do not want to be Czechs. The Slovaks recognize and respect the right of the Czech nation to complete freedom and political independence, but they also expect the leaders of the Czech nation to realize that the Slovak nation, too, has the inherent right to freedom and political independence. And in the struggle against Communism, the Slovaks want to be united with all free nations and not es,p ecially with and only with the Czech natioo. They want it clearly understood that they are not fighting Communism for the sake of a free or any other kind of Czecho-Slovakia. They were definitely through with the political monstrosity known as Czecho-Slovakia in 1939, when the Assembly of autonomous Slovakia declared the independence of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks subscribe wholeheartedly to the idea of a federation of Central Europe, or even a federation of the whole of Europe, in which all nations would be equal and none would be dominated and exploited by the others. The Slovaks do not want anything that they are not rightfully entitled to; they make no claims to Czech history, national traditions and customs, or the material, spiritual and cultural wealth of the Czech nation; and they do not covet Czech territory. The Slovaks do not want or request the Czechs to represent them in the field of human endeavor, whether cultural. political, or spiritual. �40 SLOVAKJ4 And, of course, the Slovaks do not want to be credited with the criminal acts committed by the Communist-dominated "National Front" Government of Dr. IDdward Benes and Clement Gottwald. The Slovak nation had nothing to do with the criminal expulsion of Germans and Magyars from Czecho-Slovakia, or the brutal persecution and suppression of religion and of all anti-Communist opposition in that hapless country. For the betrayal of Czecho-Slovakia - the Czech and Slovak nations - to the Communists and the Soviet Union, the Slovaks give full credit to Dr. Edward Be.nes and his socialist followers, who consistently promoted proSoviet policy. Slovak political, cultural and religious leaders did not betray the Czechs, but the "Benes Czechs" betrayed not only the Slovaks, but the entire Ozech nation as well. Today, in America and elsewhere, the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings - the apostles of "Czechoslovak" democracy .- are organized in various Czech and "Czechoslovak" organizations, the "American Fund fo,r Czechoslovak Refugees, Inc.," and the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" among them, which profess to be organizations of "anti-Communist, democratic exiles" from Czecho-Slovakia. In fact, however, they are controlled by the Benes Czechs, the Cze<:h National Socialists and former members of the Communist-dominated "National Front" Government of Dr. Edward Be.n.es and Clement Gottwald, which collaborated closely with the Soviet Union and outlawed all anti-socialistic and anti-communistic parties in Czecho-Slovakia in 1945. These "National Fronters," who claim they control the employees of RADIO FREE EUROPE and the VOICE OF AMERICA, never did and never will re-p resent the political will of the SlovaJk naiti01I1, and therefore, hruve no authority to speak for the Slovaks anywhere. Furthermore, they do not represent the anti-socialistic and anti-communistic Czechs. They should be recognized for what they really were in their homeland: promoters of the pro-Soviet policy of the Czech Socialists and Communists. And they should be treated accordingly. Under their leadership the so-called "Czechoslovak democracy" had practically no trouble at all in converting to a "people's democracy" after World ·War II. Americans of Slovak descent -consider it their sacred �SLOVAKIA 41 duty to unmask and embarrass all such pseudodemocratic Elements and to disarm them completely, because the enemies of Slovak freedom and independence are, in fact, the enemies of the American democratic way of life itself. Imagine then, if you will, our surprise and consternation when we learned as late as February 26, 1954, that our State Department still "considers the Council of Free Czechoslovakia to be an organization of leading anti-Communist political refugees from Czechoslovakia working for the liberation of that country from Communist domination." Rightfully we ask: "What goes on in official Washington?" ln our opinion, to defend an indefensible group of foreign politicians, who peddled the Moscow line for years, is today not only inexcusable but highly reprehensible. And more so in the case of a government official. We must not be confused by the propagators of the "new look" of the Soviet Union. Let us remember that such a "new look" had deceived intelligent statesmen and wary diplomats during the last war. Just ten yeaJrs ago today, May 24, 1944, the Hon. Winston Churchill said in the Commons: " Profound changes have taken place in Soviet Russia. The Trotskyite form of communism has been completely wiped out. The victories of the Russian armies have been attended by a great rise in strength of the Russian state and a remarkable broadening of its views. The religious side of Russian life has had a wonderful rebirth. The discipline and military etiquette of the Russian armies are unsurpassed. There is a new national anthem. The Comintern has been abolished." The Slovak nation was not deceived by the Soviet chamelon in 1938, or in 1944, and it will not be deceived by it now. The Slovaks are firmly convinced that the world cannot exist in peace half-slave and half-free; there can be no compromise between the forces of freedom and the forces of slavery. History has taught us one great lesson: no nation can have a monopoly on freedom and remain free. Freedom is the grandest of all of God's gifts to mankind ; freedom is the universal heritage of all the ages. The more we promote �42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the 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 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</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 1954 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 35 Jozef Pauco, Vojtech Balaz, Frank Deviatka, Method M. Balco, Juraj Getlik, Anton Moravcik, Otto Klement, Mike Soyka Sr., Joseph Stanek, Dr. Rudolph Medlen, Mary Student, Stephen Student, Gabriel Lantos, Andrew Welchek, Simon Siranec, Blase Dvorsky, Michal Rak, Veronica Janci, Anna M. Kocur, Irene F. Kocur, Anna V. Kocur, Mary Welchek, Irene Halac, Terezia Ondriska, Anna Vizza, Susanna K.lucar, Veronica Patala, Julia P. Benya. • • • ADDRESS OF PHILIP A. HROBAK, PRESIDENT OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, DELIVERED AT THE INFORMAL DINNER OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICANS OF SLOVAK DESCENT, WASHINGTON HOTEL, MAY 24, 1954 As citizens of the United States of America we firmly hold to the belief that all nations without exception have the inherent, God-given right to freedom and independence, the right to establish their own political state and to freely elect a govern.men t of their own choice. On March 14, 1939, after over ten centuries of alien domination, the Slovak nation exercised its inherent right when its duly elected representatives in the Bratislava Assembly of autonomous Slovakia proclaimed the independence of the land the Slovaks had occupied for 1500 years and established the Republic of Slovakia. Of course, certain people in America present this historical fact in a false light and attempt to debase and vilify everything connected with it. But the utterly simple historical truth is that the Slovak Assembly unanimously declared the land of the Slovaks an independent republic. Independent Slovakia, the dream of Slova;k generations, did become a reality and was thoroughly enjoyed by the Slovak people, even though it was short-lived (1939-1945). And it is significant even today that the Slovak Republic was recognized by twenty-seven countries, includmg Great Britain, France, Japan, and even the Soviet Union. Natu- 36 SLOVAKTA rally, the· enemies of S1ovak freedom and independence; the exploiters of the Slovak nation, furiously opposed the independence of Slovakia. Raving over the circumstances und.e r w}:iich the Slovaks· gained their independence, the foJlowen; of . Dr. E9,war4 Benes - the so-called Benes Czechs (Socialists) and "Czecho: slovaks" (Slovak Judases_ in the pay· of the Benes Cze.chs) - smeared and crucified true Slovak ·pa.triots who dared fo speak up for what their nation rightfully entitled· tci:' But no matter what the circumstances under which the nation we are descended from gained its independence, we as Americans declar_e unequiv<><;:ally tha,t the Repuplic of Slovakia should not have been destroyed against the will of the Slovak nationt · · ' · " -' · , · ·: ·' ·· ,,- ' was ._ ' /-: ·.• :·. :~-,:.,~• : l,. ·'· • ~. • •·: " ~ 1 • • · ;• • i '""•·t, ·~ · ·:.,;:· By what ·law of · God · ot man·· Wli.s i-ndepehderut ··s1ovakia destroyed? Its wanton destructiori" cannot be reconciled with our political beliefs; it was contrary to all Christian and democratic principles, in short, the destruction of Slovaikia in l945 was criminal. And_the eternal shame of it all is that Slovakia was destroyed by the victorious United Nations under the guise of liberation! . The present terri_ble plight of the Slovak nation, like that of th_e other naµo~s of Central Europe which had been "liberJLte.d " in 1945, can be trace<} to th~ blundering, undemocratic policy pursued and the secret agreements negotiated in the name of expediency by m~n in democratic government~. We are _all, therefore, res,po_n sible, more or less, for the Red enslavement of the nations behind the Iron Curtain and the iphu:manities suffered by .them. Defi~itely, we. should do . $Omething about it. Let at least be honest with ourselve-s and the rest of the wi:>-rld and admit .that it was morally wrong and contrary· to every democratic and Christian principle to surrender the Slovak nation and the other nations of Central and Eastern Europe to the ruthless men of the· K;remlin: Then; let us repudiate the treaties and secret agreements iby which these nations were enslaved by the USSR and immediately proceed in earnest with the task of real· liberation of all nations from all tyranny. · • . The struggle against tyranny· is nothing new to the Slo.. µs SLOVAKIA 37 vaks. The history of the Slovak nation is a history of thraldom and exploitation. For over' ten centuries the Slovak nation -'-- one of the oldest Christian nations in Central :IDurope --'- has been but a pawn in the hands of alien rulers. Its freedom, security, economy and territorial integrity have always been determined by foreigners. The Slovaks have suffered longer under alien domination than any other nation of Europe. No other nation has been so thoroughly misundeI'.stood, misrepresented, degraded, maligned and vilified even by the very people who claimed to represent it and protect its national interests, by men who professed to be and were glorified as the very epitome of the democratic way of life. Many of us believed, as did many Slovaks at home, that the trials and tribulations of the Slovak nation were ended and its national existence safeguarded with the establishment of .the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918, which the Slovaks and the Czechs were supposed to govern as equal partners and in which the Czechs were to be masters of their own household and the Slovaks were to enjoy States' Rights according to the principle of self-determination. But we were mistaken, badly mistaken. We did not see the job through ; Czecho-Slovakia was not set up as a federation. It soon becanie evident that the Prague Government, headed by T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, did not regard the Slovaks as equal partners, but only as a colony to be exploited by the Czechs. · The Slovaks s9on realized that Czecho-Slcwakia ~imply meant an exchange of rulers: they were rid of the Magyar tyrant only to be placed under the Czech despot, ~ho also sought to destroy them eventuaily as a nation. They protested, but in vain. Andrew Hlinka, champion of Slovak freedom , went to Paris to attend the Peace Conference in 1919, but was promptly arrested by the French police, at the instigation of Dr. Edward Benes, and ordered o'ut of France. For this the Prague Government later hacf Hlinka jailed . . The Slovaks, however, ·outlived the tyranny of the past and today are determined to outlive the present scourge of Czecho-Co:tnmunist terror and violence and to continue in their march to complete political freedom and fndependen ce. 38 SLOVAKIA But what after Communism? Shall the Slovaks be surrendered to another tyrant? Are they willing to be exploited by another form of Czecho~Slovakfa? Certainly not! The Slovaks want only what rightfully belongs to them - no more no less. They want the United States of America and the rest of the free world to recognize and respect their inherent right to freedom and independence. The Slovaks, however , despite the many bitter memor ies of injustices suffered from ruling groups of neighboring nations, some of which blatantly claimed to be exemplary democracies - are fully aware of the fact that a free Ukraine, a free Poland, Bohemia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and even a free Russia are also nece&sary to form a better, free and more just order in Europe. The Slovaks well know that the struggle for freedom and independence camiot and must not be waged in isolation, that the goal of liberation from communist tyranny and all foreign domination must be the unified aim of all enslaved nations and of all friends of all the oppressed peoples. It is a matter of record that the Slovak nation fought Communism, the implacable foe of all free countries, in and out of season. Americans of Slovak descent can proudly stress the fact that their forefathers fought the plague of materialistic Communism consistently and resolutely for over a hundred years. Slovak history tells us that Louis Stur, champion of Slovak freedom, repudiated the Godless philosophy of Marx in 1849; at its very first session, in 1905, the political party of Andrew IIlinka, the Slova,k Populist Party, did not hesitate to condemn Communism; fourteen years later, in 1919, General Milan R. Stefanik, Slovak hero of World War I and one of the founders of Czecho-Slovakia, warned T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes to make no compromises with Bolshevism ; finally, Dr. Joseph Tiso, the first president of the Slovak Republic, appealed to his people to persevere in its fight against the dread plague of Communism even as he was being led to his death on the gallows by order of the Communist-dominated National Front Government of Dr. Edward Benes on April 18, 1947. And, today, the sons of Slovakia, wherever they might be, SLOVAKIA 39 are more determined than ever to fight Communist tyranny until it is completely eradicated from the face of the earth. The Slovaks seek the opportunity to play a useful role in the struggle for freedom and, they believe, it is the responsibility of the free democratic world to afford them this opportunity. At the same time, however, they wish to make it perfectly clear that they do not intend to surrender their inherent right to freedom and independence under any circumstances. They do not beHeve the Soviet propaganda that the free democratic world wants the Slovak nation to commit national suicide. The Slovaks want the free nations of the world to recognize at long last a simple truth which the Slovaks and the Czechs have known for many centuTies past, that is, that the Czechs are not and do not desire to be Slovaks, and the Slovaks are not and do not want to be Czechs. The Slovaks recognize and respect the right of the Czech nation to complete freedom and political independence, but they also expect the leaders of the Czech nation to realize that the Slovak nation, too, has the inherent right to freedom and political independence. And in the struggle against Communism, the Slovaks want to be united with all free nations and not es,p ecially with and only with the Czech natioo. They want it clearly understood that they are not fighting Communism for the sake of a free or any other kind of Czecho-Slovakia. They were definitely through with the political monstrosity known as Czecho-Slovakia in 1939, when the Assembly of autonomous Slovakia declared the independence of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks subscribe wholeheartedly to the idea of a federation of Central Europe, or even a federation of the whole of Europe, in which all nations would be equal and none would be dominated and exploited by the others. The Slovaks do not want anything that they are not rightfully entitled to; they make no claims to Czech history, national traditions and customs, or the material, spiritual and cultural wealth of the Czech nation; and they do not covet Czech territory. The Slovaks do not want or request the Czechs to represent them in the field of human endeavor, whether cultural. political, or spiritual. 40 SLOVAKJ4 And, of course, the Slovaks do not want to be credited with the criminal acts committed by the Communist-dominated "National Front" Government of Dr. IDdward Benes and Clement Gottwald. The Slovak nation had nothing to do with the criminal expulsion of Germans and Magyars from Czecho-Slovakia, or the brutal persecution and suppression of religion and of all anti-Communist opposition in that hapless country. For the betrayal of Czecho-Slovakia - the Czech and Slovak nations - to the Communists and the Soviet Union, the Slovaks give full credit to Dr. Edward Be.nes and his socialist followers, who consistently promoted proSoviet policy. Slovak political, cultural and religious leaders did not betray the Czechs, but the "Benes Czechs" betrayed not only the Slovaks, but the entire Ozech nation as well. Today, in America and elsewhere, the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings - the apostles of "Czechoslovak" democracy .- are organized in various Czech and "Czechoslovak" organizations, the "American Fund fo,r Czechoslovak Refugees, Inc.," and the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" among them, which profess to be organizations of "anti-Communist, democratic exiles" from Czecho-Slovakia. In fact, however, they are controlled by the Benes Czechs, the Cze<:h National Socialists and former members of the Communist-dominated "National Front" Government of Dr. Edward Be.n.es and Clement Gottwald, which collaborated closely with the Soviet Union and outlawed all anti-socialistic and anti-communistic parties in Czecho-Slovakia in 1945. These "National Fronters," who claim they control the employees of RADIO FREE EUROPE and the VOICE OF AMERICA, never did and never will re-p resent the political will of the SlovaJk naiti01I1, and therefore, hruve no authority to speak for the Slovaks anywhere. Furthermore, they do not represent the anti-socialistic and anti-communistic Czechs. They should be recognized for what they really were in their homeland: promoters of the pro-Soviet policy of the Czech Socialists and Communists. And they should be treated accordingly. Under their leadership the so-called "Czechoslovak democracy" had practically no trouble at all in converting to a "people's democracy" after World ·War II. Americans of Slovak descent -consider it their sacred SLOVAKIA 41 duty to unmask and embarrass all such pseudodemocratic Elements and to disarm them completely, because the enemies of Slovak freedom and independence are, in fact, the enemies of the American democratic way of life itself. Imagine then, if you will, our surprise and consternation when we learned as late as February 26, 1954, that our State Department still "considers the Council of Free Czechoslovakia to be an organization of leading anti-Communist political refugees from Czechoslovakia working for the liberation of that country from Communist domination." Rightfully we ask: "What goes on in official Washington?" ln our opinion, to defend an indefensible group of foreign politicians, who peddled the Moscow line for years, is today not only inexcusable but highly reprehensible. And more so in the case of a government official. We must not be confused by the propagators of the "new look" of the Soviet Union. Let us remember that such a "new look" had deceived intelligent statesmen and wary diplomats during the last war. Just ten yeaJrs ago today, May 24, 1944, the Hon. Winston Churchill said in the Commons: " Profound changes have taken place in Soviet Russia. The Trotskyite form of communism has been completely wiped out. The victories of the Russian armies have been attended by a great rise in strength of the Russian state and a remarkable broadening of its views. The religious side of Russian life has had a wonderful rebirth. The discipline and military etiquette of the Russian armies are unsurpassed. There is a new national anthem. The Comintern has been abolished." The Slovak nation was not deceived by the Soviet chamelon in 1938, or in 1944, and it will not be deceived by it now. The Slovaks are firmly convinced that the world cannot exist in peace half-slave and half-free; there can be no compromise between the forces of freedom and the forces of slavery. History has taught us one great lesson: no nation can have a monopoly on freedom and remain free. Freedom is the grandest of all of God's gifts to mankind ; freedom is the universal heritage of all the ages. The more we promote 42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the 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 Address of Philip A. Hrobak, President of the Slovak League of America Description An account of the resource Delivered at the informal dinner of the National Conference of Americans of Slovak Descent, Washington Hotel, May 24, 1954 Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 2 (10), June 1954 pp. 35-42 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hrobak, Philip Anthony, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1954 LCNAF